88 (return) [ Pontius, c. 19. M. de Till_The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)

part i. p. 450, note 50) is not pleased with so positive an

exclusion of any former martyr of the episcopal rank. * Note: M.

de. Tillemont, as an honest writer, explains the difficulties

which he felt about the text of Pontius, and concludes by

distinctly stating, that without doubt there is some mistake, and

that Pontius must have meant only Africa Minor or Carthage; for

St. Cyprian, in his 58th (69th) letter addressed to Pupianus,

speaks expressly of many bishops his colleagues, qui proscripti

sunt, vel apprehensi in carcere et catenis fuerunt; aut qui in

exilium relegati, illustri itinere ed Dominum profecti sunt; aut

qui quibusdam locis animadversi, cœlestes coronas de Domini

clarificatione sumpserunt.—G.]

It was in the choice of Cyprian, either to die a martyr, or to

live an apostate; but on the choice depended the alternative of

honor or infamy. Could we suppose that the bishop of Carthage had

employed the profession of the Christian faith only as the

instrument of his avarice or ambition, it was still incumbent on

him to support the character he had assumed; 89 and if he

possessed the smallest degree of manly fortitude, rather to

expose himself to the most cruel tortures, than by a single act

to exchange the reputation of a whole life, for the abhorrence of

his Christian brethren, and the contempt of the Gentile world.

But if the zeal of Cyprian was supported by the sincere

conviction of the truth of those doctrines which he preached, the

crown of martyrdom must have appeared to him as an object of

desire rather than of terror. It is not easy to extract any

distinct ideas from the vague though eloquent declamations of the

Fathers, or to ascertain the degree of immortal glory and

happiness which they confidently promised to those who were so

fortunate as to shed their blood in the cause of religion. 90

They inculcated with becoming diligence, that the fire of

martyrdom supplied every defect and expiated every sin; that

while the souls of ordinary Christians were obliged to pass

through a slow and painful purification, the triumphant sufferers

entered into the immediate fruition of eternal bliss, where, in

the society of the patriarchs, the apostles, and the prophets,

they reigned with Christ, and acted as his assessors in the

universal judgment of mankind. The assurance of a lasting

reputation upon earth, a motive so congenial to the vanity of

human nature, often served to animate the courage of the martyrs.

The honors which Rome or Athens bestowed on those citizens who

had fallen in the cause of their country, were cold and unmeaning

demonstrations of respect, when compared with the ardent

gratitude and devotion which the primitive church expressed

towards the victorious champions of the faith. The annual

commemoration of their virtues and sufferings was observed as a

sacred ceremony, and at length terminated in religious worship.

Among the Christians who had publicly confessed their religious

principles, those who (as it very frequently happened) had been

dismissed from the tribunal or the prisons of the Pagan

magistrates, obtained such honors as were justly due to their

imperfect martyrdom and their generous resolution. The most pious

females courted the permission of imprinting kisses on the

fetters which they had worn, and on the wounds which they had

received. Their persons were esteemed holy, their decisions were

admitted with deference, and they too often abused, by their

spiritual pride and licentious manners, the preëminence which

their zeal and intrepidity had acquired. 91 Distinctions like

these, whilst they display the exalted merit, betray the

inconsiderable number of those who suffered, and of those who

died, for the profession of Christianity.

89 (return) [ Whatever opinion we may entertain of the character

or principles of Thomas Becket, we must acknowledge that he

suffered death with a constancy not unworthy of the primitive

martyrs. See Lord Lyttleton’s History of Henry II. vol. ii. p.

592, &c.]

90 (return) [ See in particular the treatise of Cyprian de

Lapsis, p. 87-98, edit. Fell. The learning of Dodwell (Dissertat.

Cyprianic. xii. xiii.,) and the ingenuity of Middleton, (Free

Inquiry, p. 162, &c.,) have left scarcely any thing to add

concerning the merit, the honors, and the motives of the

martyrs.]

91 (return) [ Cyprian. Epistol. 5, 6, 7, 22, 24; and de Unitat.

Ecclesiæ. The number of pretended martyrs has been very much

multiplied, by the custom which was introduced of bestowing that

honorable name on confessors. Note: M. Guizot denies that the

letters of Cyprian, to which he refers, bear out the statement in

the text. I cannot scruple to admit the accuracy of Gibbon’s

quotation. To take only the fifth letter, we find this passage:

Doleo enim quando audio quosdam improbe et insolenter discurrere,

et ad ineptian vel ad discordias vacare, Christi membra et jam

Christum confessa per concubitûs illicitos inquinari, nec a

diaconis aut presbyteris regi posse, sed id agere ut per paucorum

pravos et malos mores, multorum et bonorum confessorum gloria

honesta maculetur. Gibbon’s misrepresentation lies in the

ambiguous expression “too often.” Were the epistles arranged in a

different manner in the edition consulted by M. Guizot?—M.]

The sober discretion of the present age will more readily censure

than admire, but can more easily admire than imitate, the fervor

of the first Christians, who, according to the lively expressions

of Sulpicius Severus, desired martyrdom with more eagerness than

his own contemporaries solicited a bishopric. 92 The epistles

which Ignatius composed as he was carried in chains through the

cities of Asia, breathe sentiments the most repugnant to the

ordinary feelings of human nature. He earnestly beseeches the

Romans, that when he should be exposed in the amphitheatre, they

would not, by their kind but unseasonable intercession, deprive

him of the crown of glory; and he declares his resolution to

provoke and irritate the wild beasts which might be employed as

the instruments of his death. 93 Some stories are related of the

courage of martyrs, who actually performed what Ignatius had

intended; who exasperated the fury of the lions, pressed the

executioner to hasten his office, cheerfully leaped into the

fires which were kindled to consume them, and discovered a

sensation of joy and pleasure in the midst of the most exquisite

tortures. Several examples have been preserved of a zeal

impatient of those restraints which the emperors had provided for

the security of the church. The Christians sometimes supplied by

their voluntary declaration the want of an accuser, rudely

disturbed the public service of paganism, 94 and rushing in

crowds round the tribunal of the magistrates, called upon them to

pronounce and to inflict the sentence of the law. The behavior of

the Christians was too remarkable to escape the notice of the

ancient philosophers; but they seem to have considered it with

much less admiration than astonishment. Incapable of conceiving

the motives which sometimes transported the fortitude of

believers beyond the bounds of prudence or reason, they treated

such an eagerness to die as the strange result of obstinate

despair, of stupid insensibility, or of superstitious frenzy. 95

“Unhappy men!” exclaimed the proconsul Antoninus to the

Christians of Asia; “unhappy men! if you are thus weary of your

lives, is it so difficult for you to find ropes and precipices?”

96 He was extremely cautious (as it is observed by a learned and

picus historian) of punishing men who had found no accusers but

themselves, the Imperial laws not having made any provision for

so unexpected a case: condemning therefore a few as a warning to

their brethren, he dismissed the multitude with indignation and

contempt. 97 Notwithstanding this real or affected disdain, the

intrepid constancy of the faithful was productive of more

salutary effects on those minds which nature or grace had

disposed for the easy reception of religious truth. On these

melancholy occasions, there were many among the Gentiles who

pitied, who admired, and who were converted. The generous

enthusiasm was communicated from the sufferer to the spectators;

and the blood of martyrs, according to a well-known observation,

became the seed of the church.

92 (return) [ Certatim gloriosa in certamina ruebatur; multique

avidius tum martyria gloriosis mortibus quærebantur, quam nunc

Episcopatus pravis ambitionibus appetuntur. Sulpicius Severus, l.

ii. He might have omitted the word _nunc_.]

93 (return) [ See Epist. ad Roman. c. 4, 5, ap. Patres Apostol.

tom. ii. p. 27. It suited the purpose of Bishop Pearson (see

Vindiciæ Ignatianæ, part ii. c. 9) to justify, by a profusion of

examples and authorities, the sentiments of Ignatius.]

94 (return) [ The story of Polyeuctes, on which Corneille has

founded a very beautiful tragedy, is one of the most celebrated,

though not perhaps the most authentic, instances of this

excessive zeal. We should observe, that the 60th canon of the

council of Illiberis refuses the title of martyrs to those who

exposed themselves to death, by publicly destroying the idols.]

95 (return) [ See Epictetus, l. iv. c. 7, (though there is some

doubt whether he alludes to the Christians.) Marcus Antoninus de

Rebus suis, l. xi. c. 3 Lucian in Peregrin.]

96 (return) [ Tertullian ad Scapul. c. 5. The learned are divided

between three persons of the same name, who were all proconsuls

of Asia. I am inclined to ascribe this story to Antoninus Pius,

who was afterwards emperor; and who may have governed Asia under

the reign of Trajan.]

97 (return) [ Mosheim, de Rebus Christ, ante Constantin. p. 235.]

But although devotion had raised, and eloquence continued to

inflame, this fever of the mind, it insensibly gave way to the

more natural hopes and fears of the human heart, to the love of

life, the apprehension of pain, and the horror of dissolution.

The more prudent rulers of the church found themselves obliged to

restrain the indiscreet ardor of their followers, and to distrust

a constancy which too often abandoned them in the hour of trial.

98 As the lives of the faithful became less mortified and

austere, they were every day less ambitious of the honors of

martyrdom; and the soldiers of Christ, instead of distinguishing

themselves by voluntary deeds of heroism, frequently deserted

their post, and fled in confusion before the enemy whom it was

their duty to resist. There were three methods, however, of

escaping the flames of persecution, which were not attended with

an equal degree of guilt: first, indeed, was generally allowed to

be innocent; the second was of a doubtful, or at least of a

venial, nature; but the third implied a direct and criminal

apostasy from the Christian faith.

98 (return) [ See the Epistle of the Church of Smyrna, ap. Euseb.

Hist. Eccles. Liv. c. 15 * Note: The 15th chapter of the 10th

book of the Eccles. History of Eusebius treats principally of the

martyrdom of St. Polycarp, and mentions some other martyrs. A

single example of weakness is related; it is that of a Phrygian

named Quintus, who, appalled at the sight of the wild beasts and

the tortures, renounced his faith. This example proves little

against the mass of Christians, and this chapter of Eusebius

furnished much stronger evidence of their courage than of their

timidity.—G——This Quintus had, however, rashly and of his own

accord appeared before the tribunal; and the church of Smyrna

condemn “_his indiscreet ardor_,” coupled as it was with weakness

in the hour of trial.—M.]

I. A modern inquisitor would hear with surprise, that whenever an

information was given to a Roman magistrate of any person within

his jurisdiction who had embraced the sect of the Christians, the

charge was communicated to the party accused, and that a

convenient time was allowed him to settle his domestic concerns,

and to prepare an answer to the crime which was imputed to him.

99 If he entertained any doubt of his own constancy, such a delay

afforded him the opportunity of preserving his life and honor by

flight, of withdrawing himself into some obscure retirement or

some distant province, and of patiently expecting the return of

peace and security. A measure so consonant to reason was soon

authorized by the advice and example of the most holy prelates;

and seems to have been censured by few except by the Montanists,

who deviated into heresy by their strict and obstinate adherence

to the rigor of ancient discipline. 100

II.The provincial governors, whose zeal was less prevalent than

their avarice, had countenanced the practice of selling

certificates, (or libels, as they were called,) which attested,

that the persons therein mentioned had complied with the laws,

and sacrificed to the Roman deities. By producing these false

declarations, the opulent and timid Christians were enabled to

silence the malice of an informer, and to reconcile in some

measure their safety with their religion.101 A slight penance

atoned for this profane dissimulation. 1011

III. In every persecution there were great numbers of unworthy

Christians who publicly disowned or renounced the faith which

they had professed; and who confirmed the sincerity of their

abjuration, by the legal acts of burning incense or of offering

sacrifices. Some of these apostates had yielded on the first

menace or exhortation of the magistrate; whilst the patience of

others had been subdued by the length and repetition of tortures.

The affrighted countenances of some betrayed their inward

remorse, while others advanced with confidence and alacrity to

the altars of the gods. 102 But the disguise which fear had

imposed, subsisted no longer than the present danger. As soon as

the severity of the persecution was abated, the doors of the

churches were assailed by the returning multitude of penitents

who detested their idolatrous submission, and who solicited with

equal ardor, but with various success, their readmission into the

society of Christians. 103 1031

99 (return) [ In the second apology of Justin, there is a

particular and very curious instance of this legal delay. The

same indulgence was granted to accused Christians, in the

persecution of Decius: and Cyprian (de Lapsis) expressly mentions

the “Dies negantibus præstitutus.” * Note: The examples drawn by

the historian from Justin Martyr and Cyprian relate altogether to

particular cases, and prove nothing as to the general practice

adopted towards the accused; it is evident, on the contrary, from

the same apology of St. Justin, that they hardly ever obtained

delay. “A man named Lucius, himself a Christian, present at an

unjust sentence passed against a Christian by the judge Urbicus,

asked him why he thus punished a man who was neither adulterer

nor robber, nor guilty of any other crime but that of avowing

himself a Christian.” Urbicus answered only in these words: “Thou

also hast the appearance of being a Christian.” “Yes, without

doubt,” replied Lucius. The judge ordered that he should be put

to death on the instant. A third, who came up, was condemned to

be beaten with rods. Here, then, are three examples where no

delay was granted.——[Surely these acts of a single passionate and

irritated judge prove the general practice as little as those

quoted by Gibbon.—M.] There exist a multitude of others, such as

those of Ptolemy, Marcellus, &c. Justin expressly charges the

judges with ordering the accused to be executed without hearing

the cause. The words of St. Cyprian are as particular, and simply

say, that he had appointed a day by which the Christians must

have renounced their faith; those who had not done it by that

time were condemned.—G. This confirms the statement in the

text.—M.]

100 (return) [ Tertullian considers flight from persecution as an

imperfect, but very criminal, apostasy, as an impious attempt to

elude the will of God, &c., &c. He has written a treatise on this

subject, (see p. 536—544, edit. Rigalt.,) which is filled with

the wildest fanaticism and the most incoherent declamation. It

is, however, somewhat remarkable, that Tertullian did not suffer

martyrdom himself.]

101 (return) [ The _libellatici_, who are chiefly known by the

writings of Cyprian, are described with the utmost precision, in

the copious commentary of Mosheim, p. 483—489.]

1011 (return) [ The penance was not so slight, for it was exactly

the same with that of apostates who had sacrificed to idols; it

lasted several years. See Fleun Hist. Ecc. v. ii. p. 171.—G.]

102 (return) [ Plin. Epist. x. 97. Dionysius Alexandrin. ap.

Euseb. l. vi. c. 41. Ad prima statim verba minantis inimici

maximus fratrum numerus fidem suam prodidit: nec prostratus est

persecutionis impetu, sed voluntario lapsu seipsum prostravit.

Cyprian. Opera, p. 89. Among these deserters were many priests,

and even bishops.]

103 (return) [ It was on this occasion that Cyprian wrote his

treatise De Lapsis, and many of his epistles. The controversy

concerning the treatment of penitent apostates, does not occur

among the Christians of the preceding century. Shall we ascribe

this to the superiority of their faith and courage, or to our

less intimate knowledge of their history!]

1031 (return) [ Pliny says, that the greater part of the

Christians persisted in avowing themselves to be so; the reason

for his consulting Trajan was the periclitantium numerus.

Eusebius (l. vi. c. 41) does not permit us to doubt that the

number of those who renounced their faith was infinitely below

the number of those who boldly confessed it. The prefect, he says

and his assessors present at the council, were alarmed at seeing

the crowd of Christians; the judges themselves trembled. Lastly,

St. Cyprian informs us, that the greater part of those who had

appeared weak brethren in the persecution of Decius, signalized

their courage in that of Gallius. Steterunt fortes, et ipso

dolore pœnitentiæ facti ad prælium fortiores Epist. lx. p.

142.—G.]

IV. Notwithstanding the general rules established for the

conviction and punishment of the Christians, the fate of those

sectaries, in an extensive and arbitrary government, must still

in a great measure, have depended on their own behavior, the

circumstances of the times, and the temper of their supreme as

well as subordinate rulers. Zeal might sometimes 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_ persecutions 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. 104 But these transient persecutions served only

to revive the zeal and to restore the discipline of the faithful;

and the moments of extraordinary rigor were compensated by much

longer intervals of peace and security. The indifference of some

princes, and the indulgence of others, permitted the Christians

to enjoy, though not perhaps a legal, yet an actual and public,

toleration of their religion.

104 (return) [ 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.]

Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To

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.]

Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To

Constantine.—Part VI.

Although the policy of Diocletian and the humanity of Constantius

inclined them to preserve inviolate the maxims of toleration, it

was soon discovered that their two associates, Maximian and

Galerius, entertained the most implacable aversion for the name

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,

144 for which the imprudent zeal of the Christians sometimes

offered the most specious pretences. A sentence of death was

executed upon Maximilianus, an African youth, who had been

produced by his own father 1441 before the magistrate as a

sufficient and legal recruit, but who obstinately persisted in

declaring, that his conscience would not permit him to embrace

the profession of a soldier. 145 It could scarcely be expected

that any government should suffer the action of Marcellus the

Centurion to pass with impunity. On the day of a public festival,

that officer threw away his belt, his arms, and the ensigns of

his office, and exclaimed with a loud voice, that he would obey

none but Jesus Christ the eternal King, and that he renounced

forever the use of carnal weapons, and the service of an

idolatrous master. The soldiers, as soon as they recovered from

their astonishment, secured the person of Marcellus. He was

examined in the city of Tingi by the president of that part of

Mauritania; and as he was convicted by his own confession, he was

condemned and beheaded for the crime of desertion. 146 Examples

of such a nature savor much less of religious persecution than of

martial or even civil law; but they served to alienate the mind

of the emperors, to justify the severity of Galerius, who

dismissed a great number of Christian officers from their

employments; and to authorize the opinion, that a sect of

enthusiastics, which avowed principles so repugnant to the public

safety, must either remain useless, or would soon become

dangerous, subjects of the empire.

144 (return) [ Eusebius, l. viii. c. 4, c. 17. He limits the

number of military martyrs, by a remarkable expression, of which

neither his Latin nor French translator have rendered the energy.

Notwithstanding the authority of Eusebius, and the silence of

Lactantius, Ambrose, Sulpicius, Orosius, &c., it has been long

believed, that the Thebæan legion, consisting of 6000 Christians,

suffered martyrdom by the order of Maximian, in the valley of the

Pennine Alps. The story was first published about the middle of

the 5th century, by Eucherius, bishop of Lyons, who received it

from certain persons, who received it from Isaac, bishop of

Geneva, who is said to have received it from Theodore, bishop of

Octodurum. The abbey of St. Maurice still subsists, a rich

monument of the credulity of Sigismund, king of Burgundy. See an

excellent Dissertation in xxxvith volume of the Bibliothèque

Raisonnée, p. 427-454.]

1441 (return) [ M. Guizot criticizes Gibbon’s account of this

incident. He supposes that Maximilian was not “produced by his

father as a recruit,” but was obliged to appear by the law, which

compelled the sons of soldiers to serve at 21 years old. Was not

this a law of Constantine? Neither does this circumstance appear

in the acts. His father had clearly expected him to serve, as he

had bought him a new dress for the occasion; yet he refused to

force the conscience of his son. and when Maximilian was

condemned to death, the father returned home in joy, blessing God

for having bestowed upon him such a son.—M.]

145 (return) [ See the Acta Sincera, p. 299. The accounts of his

martyrdom and that of Marcellus, bear every mark of truth and

authenticity.]

146 (return) [ Acta Sincera, p. 302. * Note: M. Guizot here

justly observes, that it was the necessity of sacrificing to the

gods, which induced Marcellus to act in this manner.—M.]

After the success of the Persian war had raised the hopes and the

reputation of Galerius, he passed a winter with Diocletian in the

palace of Nicomedia; and the fate of Christianity became the

object of their secret consultations. 147 The experienced emperor

was still inclined to pursue measures of lenity; and though he

readily consented to exclude the Christians from holding any

employments in the household or the army, he urged in the

strongest terms the danger as well as cruelty of shedding the

blood of those deluded fanatics. Galerius at length extorted 1471

from him the permission of summoning a council, composed of a few

persons the most distinguished in the civil and military

departments of the state.

The important question was agitated in their presence, and those

ambitious courtiers easily discerned, that it was incumbent on

them to second, by their eloquence, the importunate violence of

the Cæsar. It may be presumed, that they insisted on every topic

which might interest the pride, the piety, or the fears, of their

sovereign in the destruction of Christianity. Perhaps they

represented, that the glorious work of the deliverance of the

empire was left imperfect, as long as an independent people was

permitted to subsist and multiply in the heart of the provinces.

The Christians, (it might specially be alleged,) renouncing the

gods and the institutions of Rome, had constituted a distinct

republic, which might yet be suppressed before it had acquired

any military force; but which was already governed by its own

laws and magistrates, was possessed of a public treasure, and was

intimately connected in all its parts by the frequent assemblies

of the bishops, to whose decrees their numerous and opulent

congregations yielded an implicit obedience. Arguments like these

may seem to have determined the reluctant mind of Diocletian to

embrace a new system of persecution; but though we may suspect,

it is not in our power to relate, the secret intrigues of the

palace, the private views and resentments, the jealousy of women

or eunuchs, and all those trifling but decisive causes which so

often influence the fate of empires, and the councils of the

wisest monarchs. 148

147 (return) [ De M. P. c. 11. Lactantius (or whoever was the

author of this little treatise) was, at that time, an inhabitant

of Nicomedia; but it seems difficult to conceive how he could

acquire so accurate a knowledge of what passed in the Imperial

cabinet. Note: * Lactantius, who was subsequently chosen by

Constantine to educate Crispus, might easily have learned these

details from Constantine himself, already of sufficient age to

interest himself in the affairs of the government, and in a

position to obtain the best information.—G. This assumes the

doubtful point of the authorship of the Treatise.—M.]

1471 (return) [ This permission was not extorted from Diocletian;

he took the step of his own accord. Lactantius says, in truth,

Nec tamen deflectere potuit (Diocletianus) præcipitis hominis

insaniam; placuit ergo amicorum sententiam experiri. (De Mort.

Pers. c. 11.) But this measure was in accordance with the

artificial character of Diocletian, who wished to have the

appearance of doing good by his own impulse and evil by the

impulse of others. Nam erat hujus malitiæ, cum bonum quid facere

decrevisse sine consilio faciebat, ut ipse laudaretur. Cum autem

malum. quoniam id reprehendendum sciebat, in consilium multos

advocabat, ut alioram culpæ adscriberetur quicquid ipse

deliquerat. Lact. ib. Eutropius says likewise, Miratus callide

fuit, sagax præterea et admodum subtilis ingenio, et qui

severitatem suam aliena invidia vellet explere. Eutrop. ix. c.

26.—G.——The manner in which the coarse and unfriendly pencil of

the author of the Treatise de Mort. Pers. has drawn the character

of Diocletian, seems inconsistent with this profound subtilty.

Many readers will perhaps agree with Gibbon.—M.]

148 (return) [ The only circumstance which we can discover, is

the devotion and jealousy of the mother of Galerius. She is

described by Lactantius, as Deorum montium cultrix; mulier

admodum superstitiosa. She had a great influence over her son,

and was offended by the disregard of some of her Christian

servants. * Note: This disregard consisted in the Christians

fasting and praying instead of participating in the banquets and

sacrifices which she celebrated with the Pagans. Dapibus

sacrificabat pœne quotidie ac vicariis suis epulis exhibebat.

Christiani abstinebant, et illa cum gentibus epulante, jejuniis

hi et oratiomibus insisteban; hine concepit odium Lact de Hist.

Pers. c. 11.—G.]

The pleasure of the emperors was at length signified to the

Christians, who, during the course of this melancholy winter, had

expected, with anxiety, the result of so many secret

consultations. The twenty-third of February, which coincided with

the Roman festival of the Terminalia, 149 was appointed (whether

from accident or design) to set bounds to the progress of

Christianity. At the earliest dawn of day, the Prætorian præfect,

150 accompanied by several generals, tribunes, and officers of

the revenue, repaired to the principal church of Nicomedia, which

was situated on an eminence in the most populous and beautiful

part of the city. The doors were instantly broke open; they

rushed into the sanctuary; and as they searched in vain for some

visible object of worship, they were obliged to content

themselves with committing to the flames the volumes of the holy

Scripture. The ministers of Diocletian were followed by a

numerous body of guards and pioneers, who marched in order of

battle, and were provided with all the instruments used in the

destruction of fortified cities. By their incessant labor, a

sacred edifice, which towered above the Imperial palace, and had

long excited the indignation and envy of the Gentiles, was in a

few hours levelled with the ground. 151

149 (return) [ The worship and festival of the god Terminus are

elegantly illustrated by M. de Boze, Mém. de l’Académie des

Inscriptions, tom. i. p. 50.]

150 (return) [ In our only MS. of Lactantius, we read

_profectus;_ but reason, and the authority of all the critics,

allow us, instead of that word, which destroys the sense of the

passage, to substitute _prœfectus_.]

151 (return) [ Lactantius, de M. P. c. 12, gives a very lively

picture of the destruction of the church.]

The next day the general edict of persecution was published; 152

and though Diocletian, still averse to the effusion of blood, had

moderated the fury of Galerius, who proposed, that every one

refusing to offer sacrifice should immediately be burnt alive,

the penalties inflicted on the obstinacy of the Christians might

be deemed sufficiently rigorous and effectual. It was enacted,

that their churches, in all the provinces of the empire, should

be demolished to their foundations; and the punishment of death

was denounced against all who should presume to hold any secret

assemblies for the purpose of religious worship. The

philosophers, who now assumed the unworthy office of directing

the blind zeal of persecution, had diligently studied the nature

and genius of the Christian religion; and as they were not

ignorant that the speculative doctrines of the faith were

supposed to be contained in the writings of the prophets, of the

evangelists, and of the apostles, they most probably suggested

the order, that the bishops and presbyters should deliver all

their sacred books into the hands of the magistrates; who were

commanded, under the severest penalties, to burn them in a public

and solemn manner. By the same edict, the property of the church

was at once confiscated; and the several parts of which it might

consist were either sold to the highest bidder, united to the

Imperial domain, bestowed on the cities and corporations, or

granted to the solicitations of rapacious courtiers. After taking

such effectual measures to abolish the worship, and to dissolve

the government of the Christians, it was thought necessary to

subject to the most intolerable hardships the condition of those

perverse individuals who should still reject the religion of

nature, of Rome, and of their ancestors. Persons of a liberal

birth were declared incapable of holding any honors or

employments; slaves were forever deprived of the hopes of

freedom, and the whole body of the people were put out of the

protection of the law. The judges were authorized to hear and to

determine every action that was brought against a Christian. But

the Christians were not permitted to complain of any injury which

they themselves had suffered; and thus those unfortunate

sectaries were exposed to the severity, while they were excluded

from the benefits, of public justice. This new species of

martyrdom, so painful and lingering, so obscure and ignominious,

was, perhaps, the most proper to weary the constancy of the

faithful: nor can it be doubted that the passions and interest of

mankind were disposed on this occasion to second the designs of

the emperors. But the policy of a well-ordered government must

sometimes have interposed in behalf of the oppressed Christians;

1521 nor was it possible for the Roman princes entirely to remove

the apprehension of punishment, or to connive at every act of

fraud and violence, without exposing their own authority and the

rest of their subjects to the most alarming dangers. 153

152 (return) [ Mosheim, (p. 922—926,) from man scattered passages

of Lactantius and Eusebius, has collected a very just and

accurate notion of this edict though he sometimes deviates into

conjecture and refinement.]

1521 (return) [ This wants proof. The edict of Diocletian was

executed in all its right during the rest of his reign. Euseb.

Hist. Eccl. l viii. c. 13.—G.]

153 (return) [ Many ages afterwards, Edward J. practised, with

great success, the same mode of persecution against the clergy of

England. See Hume’s History of England, vol. ii. p. 300, last 4to

edition.]

This edict was scarcely exhibited to the public view, in the most

conspicuous place of Nicomedia, before it was torn down by the

hands of a Christian, who expressed at the same time, by the

bitterest invectives, his contempt as well as abhorrence for such

impious and tyrannical governors. His offence, according to the

mildest laws, amounted to treason, and deserved death. And if it

be true that he was a person of rank and education, those

circumstances could serve only to aggravate his guilt. He was

burnt, or rather roasted, by a slow fire; and his executioners,

zealous to revenge the personal insult which had been offered to

the emperors, exhausted every refinement of cruelty, without

being able to subdue his patience, or to alter the steady and

insulting smile which in his dying agonies he still preserved in

his countenance. The Christians, though they confessed that his

conduct had not been strictly conformable to the laws of

prudence, admired the divine fervor of his zeal; and the

excessive commendations which they lavished on the memory of

their hero and martyr, contributed to fix a deep impression of

terror and hatred in the mind of Diocletian. 154

154 (return) [ Lactantius only calls him quidam, et si non recte,

magno tamer animo, &c., c. 12. Eusebius (l. viii. c. 5) adorns

him with secular honora Neither have condescended to mention his

name; but the Greeks celebrate his memory under that of John. See

Tillemont, Memones Ecclésiastiques, tom. v. part ii. p. 320.]

His fears were soon alarmed by the view of a danger from which he

very narrowly escaped. Within fifteen days the palace of

Nicomedia, and even the bed-chamber of Diocletian, were twice in

flames; and though both times they were extinguished without any

material damage, the singular repetition of the fire was justly

considered as an evident proof that it had not been the effect of

chance or negligence. The suspicion naturally fell on the

Christians; and it was suggested, with some degree of

probability, that those desperate fanatics, provoked by their

present sufferings, and apprehensive of impending calamities, had

entered into a conspiracy with their faithful brethren, the

eunuchs of the palace, against the lives of two emperors, whom

they detested as the irreconcilable enemies of the church of God.

Jealousy and resentment prevailed in every breast, but especially

in that of Diocletian. A great number of persons, distinguished

either by the offices which they had filled, or by the favor

which they had enjoyed, were thrown into prison. Every mode of

torture was put in practice, and the court, as well as city, was

polluted with many bloody executions. 155 But as it was found

impossible to extort any discovery of this mysterious

transaction, it seems incumbent on us either to presume the

innocence, or to admire the resolution, of the sufferers. A few

days afterwards Galerius hastily withdrew himself from Nicomedia,

declaring, that if he delayed his departure from that devoted

palace, he should fall a sacrifice to the rage of the Christians.

The ecclesiastical historians, from whom alone we derive a

partial and imperfect knowledge of this persecution, are at a

loss how to account for the fears and dangers of the emperors.

Two of these writers, a prince and a rhetorician, were

eye-witnesses of the fire of Nicomedia. The one ascribes it to

lightning, and the divine wrath; the other affirms, that it was

kindled by the malice of Galerius himself. 156

155 (return) [ Lactantius de M. P. c. 13, 14. Potentissimi

quondam Eunuchi necati, per quos Palatium et ipse constabat.

Eusebius (l. viii. c. 6) mentions the cruel executions of the

eunuchs, Gorgonius and Dorotheus, and of Anthimius, bishop of

Nicomedia; and both those writers describe, in a vague but

tragical manner, the horrid scenes which were acted even in the

Imperial presence.]

156 (return) [ See Lactantius, Eusebius, and Constantine, ad

Cœtum Sanctorum, c. xxv. Eusebius confesses his ignorance of the

cause of this fire. Note: As the history of these times affords

us no example of any attempts made by the Christians against

their persecutors, we have no reason, not the slightest

probability, to attribute to them the fire in the palace; and the

authority of Constantine and Lactantius remains to explain it. M.

de Tillemont has shown how they can be reconciled. Hist. des

Empereurs, Vie de Diocletian, xix.—G. Had it been done by a

Christian, it would probably have been a fanatic, who would have

avowed and gloried in it. Tillemont’s supposition that the fire

was first caused by lightning, and fed and increased by the

malice of Galerius, seems singularly improbable.—M.]

As the edict against the Christians was designed for a general

law of the whole empire, and as Diocletian and Galerius, though

they might not wait for the consent, were assured of the

concurrence, of the Western princes, it would appear more

consonant to our ideas of policy, that the governors of all the

provinces should have received secret instructions to publish, on

one and the same day, this declaration of war within their

respective departments. It was at least to be expected, that the

convenience of the public highways and established posts would

have enabled the emperors to transmit their orders with the

utmost despatch from the palace of Nicomedia to the extremities

of the Roman world; and that they would not have suffered fifty

days to elapse, before the edict was published in Syria, and near

four months before it was signified to the cities of Africa. 157

This delay may perhaps be imputed to the cautious temper of

Diocletian, who had yielded a reluctant consent to the measures

of persecution, and who was desirous of trying the experiment

under his more immediate eye, before he gave way to the disorders

and discontent which it must inevitably occasion in the distant

provinces. At first, indeed, the magistrates were restrained from

the effusion of blood; but the use of every other severity was

permitted, and even recommended to their zeal; nor could the

Christians, though they cheerfully resigned the ornaments of

their churches, resolve to interrupt their religious assemblies,

or to deliver their sacred books to the flames. The pious

obstinacy of Felix, an African bishop, appears to have

embarrassed the subordinate ministers of the government. The

curator of his city sent him in chains to the proconsul. The

proconsul transmitted him to the Prætorian præfect of Italy; and

Felix, who disdained even to give an evasive answer, was at

length beheaded at Venusia, in Lucania, a place on which the

birth of Horace has conferred fame. 158 This precedent, and

perhaps some Imperial rescript, which was issued in consequence

of it, appeared to authorize the governors of provinces, in

punishing with death the refusal of the Christians to deliver up

their sacred books. There were undoubtedly many persons who

embraced this opportunity of obtaining the crown of martyrdom;

but there were likewise too many who purchased an ignominious

life, by discovering and betraying the holy Scripture into the

hands of infidels. A great number even of bishops and presbyters

acquired, by this criminal compliance, the opprobrious epithet of

_Traditors;_ and their offence was productive of much present

scandal and of much future discord in the African church. 159

157 (return) [ Tillemont, Mémoires Ecclesiast. tom. v. part i. p.

43.]

158 (return) [ See the Acta Sincera of Ruinart, p. 353; those of

Felix of Thibara, or Tibiur, appear much less corrupted than in

the other editions, which afford a lively specimen of legendary

license.]

159 (return) [ See the first book of Optatus of Milevis against

the Donatiste, Paris, 1700, edit. Dupin. He lived under the reign

of Valens.]

The copies as well as the versions of Scripture, were already so

multiplied in the empire, that the most severe inquisition could

no longer be attended with any fatal consequences; and even the

sacrifice of those volumes, which, in every congregation, were

preserved for public use, required the consent of some

treacherous and unworthy Christians. But the ruin of the churches

was easily effected by the authority of the government, and by

the labor of the Pagans. In some provinces, however, the

magistrates contented themselves with shutting up the places of

religious worship. In others, they more literally complied with

the terms of the edict; and after taking away the doors, the

benches, and the pulpit, which they burnt as it were in a funeral

pile, they completely demolished the remainder of the edifice.

160 It is perhaps to this melancholy occasion that we should

apply a very remarkable story, which is related with so many

circumstances of variety and improbability, that it serves rather

to excite than to satisfy our curiosity. In a small town in

Phrygia, of whose name as well as situation we are left ignorant,

it should seem that the magistrates and the body of the people

had embraced the Christian faith; and as some resistance might be

apprehended to the execution of the edict, the governor of the

province was supported by a numerous detachment of legionaries.

On their approach the citizens threw themselves into the church,

with the resolution either of defending by arms that sacred

edifice, or of perishing in its ruins. They indignantly rejected

the notice and permission which was given them to retire, till

the soldiers, provoked by their obstinate refusal, set fire to

the building on all sides, and consumed, by this extraordinary

kind of martyrdom, a great number of Phrygians, with their wives

and children. 161

160 (return) [ The ancient monuments, published at the end of

Optatus, p. 261, &c. describe, in a very circumstantial manner,

the proceedings of the governors in the destruction of churches.

They made a minute inventory of the plate, &c., which they found

in them. That of the church of Cirta, in Numidia, is still

extant. It consisted of two chalices of gold, and six of silver;

six urns, one kettle, seven lamps, all likewise of silver;

besides a large quantity of brass utensils, and wearing apparel.]

161 (return) [ Lactantius (Institut. Divin. v. 11) confines the

calamity to the _conventiculum_, with its congregation. Eusebius

(viii. 11) extends it to a whole city, and introduces something

very like a regular siege. His ancient Latin translator, Rufinus,

adds the important circumstance of the permission given to the

inhabitants of retiring from thence. As Phrygia reached to the

confines of Isauria, it is possible that the restless temper of

those independent barbarians may have contributed to this

misfortune. Note: Universum populum. Lact. Inst. Div. v. 11.—G.]

Some slight disturbances, though they were suppressed almost as

soon as excited, in Syria and the frontiers of Armenia, afforded

the enemies of the church a very plausible occasion to insinuate,

that those troubles had been secretly fomented by the intrigues

of the bishops, who had already forgotten their ostentatious

professions of passive and unlimited obedience. 162

The resentment, or the fears, of Diocletian, at length

transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had

hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts,

1621 his intention of abolishing the Christian name. By the first

of these edicts, the governors of the provinces were directed to

apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the

prisons, destined for the vilest criminals, were soon filled with

a multitude of bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and

exorcists. By a second edict, the magistrates were commanded to

employ every method of severity, which might reclaim them from

their odious superstition, and oblige them to return to the

established worship of the gods. This rigorous order was

extended, by a subsequent edict, to the whole body of Christians,

who were exposed to a violent and general persecution. 163

Instead of those salutary restraints, which had required the

direct and solemn testimony of an accuser, it became the duty as

well as the interest of the Imperial officers to discover, to

pursue, and to torment the most obnoxious among the faithful.

Heavy penalties were denounced against all who should presume to

save a prescribed sectary from the just indignation of the gods,

and of the emperors. Yet, notwithstanding the severity of this

law, the virtuous courage of many of the Pagans, in concealing

their friends or relations, affords an honorable proof, that the

rage of superstition had not extinguished in their minds the

sentiments of nature and humanity. 164

162 (return) [ Eusebius, l. viii. c. 6. M. de Valois (with some

probability) thinks that he has discovered the Syrian rebellion

in an oration of Libanius; and that it was a rash attempt of the

tribune Eugenius, who with only five hundred men seized Antioch,

and might perhaps allure the Christians by the promise of

religious toleration. From Eusebius, (l. ix. c. 8,) as well as

from Moses of Chorene, (Hist. Armen. l. ii. 77, &c.,) it may be

inferred, that Christianity was already introduced into Armenia.]

1621 (return) [ He had already passed them in his first edict. It

does not appear that resentment or fear had any share in the new

persecutions: perhaps they originated in superstition, and a

specious apparent respect for its ministers. The oracle of

Apollo, consulted by Diocletian, gave no answer; and said that

just men hindered it from speaking. Constantine, who assisted at

the ceremony, affirms, with an oath, that when questioned about

these men, the high priest named the Christians. “The Emperor

eagerly seized on this answer; and drew against the innocent a

sword, destined only to punish the guilty: he instantly issued

edicts, written, if I may use the expression, with a poniard; and

ordered the judges to employ all their skill to invent new modes

of punishment. Euseb. Vit Constant. l. ii c 54.”—G.]

163 (return) [ See Mosheim, p. 938: the text of Eusebius very

plainly shows that the governors, whose powers were enlarged, not

restrained, by the new laws, could punish with death the most

obstinate Christians as an example to their brethren.]

164 (return) [ Athanasius, p. 833, ap. Tillemont, Mém.

Ecclesiast. tom v part i. 90.]

Chapter XVI: Conduct Towards The Christians, From Nero To

Constantine.—Part VII.

Diocletian had no sooner published his edicts against the

Christians, than, as if he had been desirous of committing to

other hands the work of persecution, he divested himself of the

Imperial purple. The character and situation of his colleagues

and successors sometimes urged them to enforce and sometimes

inclined them to suspend, the execution of these rigorous laws;

nor can we acquire a just and distinct idea of this important

period of ecclesiastical history, unless we separately consider

the state of Christianity, in the different parts of the empire,

during the space of ten years, which elapsed between the first

edicts of Diocletian and the final peace of the church.

The mild and humane temper of Constantius was averse to the

oppression of any part of his subjects. The principal offices of

his palace were exercised by Christians. He loved their persons,

esteemed their fidelity, and entertained not any dislike to their

religious principles. But as long as Constantius remained in the

subordinate station of Cæsar, it was not in his power openly to

reject the edicts of Diocletian, or to disobey the commands of

Maximian. His authority contributed, however, to alleviate the

sufferings which he pitied and abhorred. He consented with

reluctance to the ruin of the churches; but he ventured to

protect the Christians themselves from the fury of the populace,

and from the rigor of the laws. The provinces of Gaul (under

which we may probably include those of Britain) were indebted for

the singular tranquillity which they enjoyed, to the gentle

interposition of their sovereign. 165 But Datianus, the president

or governor of Spain, actuated either by zeal or policy, chose

rather to execute the public edicts of the emperors, than to

understand the secret intentions of Constantius; and it can

scarcely be doubted, that his provincial administration was

stained with the blood of a few martyrs. 166

The elevation of Constantius to the supreme and independent

dignity of Augustus, gave a free scope to the exercise of his

virtues, and the shortness of his reign did not prevent him from

establishing a system of toleration, of which he left the precept

and the example to his son Constantine. His fortunate son, from

the first moment of his accession, declaring himself the

protector of the church, at length deserved the appellation of

the first emperor who publicly professed and established the

Christian religion. The motives of his conversion, as they may

variously be deduced from benevolence, from policy, from

conviction, or from remorse, and the progress of the revolution,

which, under his powerful influence and that of his sons,

rendered Christianity the reigning religion of the Roman empire,

will form a very interesting and important chapter in the present

volume of this history. At present it may be sufficient to

observe, that every victory of Constantine was productive of some

relief or benefit to the church.

165 (return) [ Eusebius, l. viii. c. 13. Lactantius de M. P. c.

15. Dodwell (Dissertat. Cyprian. xi. 75) represents them as

inconsistent with each other. But the former evidently speaks of

Constantius in the station of Cæsar, and the latter of the same

prince in the rank of Augustus.]

166 (return) [ Datianus is mentioned, in Gruter’s Inscriptions,

as having determined the limits between the territories of Pax

Julia, and those of Ebora, both cities in the southern part of

Lusitania. If we recollect the neighborhood of those places to

Cape St. Vincent, we may suspect that the celebrated deacon and

martyr of that name had been inaccurately assigned by Prudentius,

&c., to Saragossa, or Valentia. See the pompous history of his

sufferings, in the Mémoires de Tillemont, tom. v. part ii. p.

58-85. Some critics are of opinion, that the department of

Constantius, as Cæsar, did not include Spain, which still

continued under the immediate jurisdiction of Maximian.]

The provinces of Italy and Africa experienced a short but violent

persecution. The rigorous edicts of Diocletian were strictly and

cheerfully executed by his associate Maximian, who had long hated

the Christians, and who delighted in acts of blood and violence.

In the autumn of the first year of the persecution, the two

emperors met at Rome to celebrate their triumph; several

oppressive laws appear to have issued from their secret

consultations, and the diligence of the magistrates was animated

by the presence of their sovereigns. After Diocletian had

divested himself of the purple, Italy and Africa were

administered under the name of Severus, and were exposed, without

defence, to the implacable resentment of his master Galerius.

Among the martyrs of Rome, Adauctus deserves the notice of

posterity. He was of a noble family in Italy, and had raised

himself, through the successive honors of the palace, to the

important office of treasurer of the private Jemesnes. Adauctus

is the more remarkable for being the only person of rank and

distinction who appears to have suffered death, during the whole

course of this general persecution. 167

167 (return) [ Eusebius, l. viii. c. 11. Gruter, Inscrip. p.

1171, No. 18. Rufinus has mistaken the office of Adauctus, as

well as the place of his martyrdom. * Note: M. Guizot suggests

the powerful cunuchs of the palace. Dorotheus, Gorgonius, and

Andrew, admitted by Gibbon himself to have been put to death, p.

66.]

The revolt of Maxentius immediately restored peace to the

churches of Italy and Africa; and the same tyrant who oppressed

every other class of his subjects, showed himself just, humane,

and even partial, towards the afflicted Christians. He depended

on their gratitude and affection, and very naturally presumed,

that the injuries which they had suffered, and the dangers which

they still apprehended from his most inveterate enemy, would

secure the fidelity of a party already considerable by their

numbers and opulence. 168 Even the conduct of Maxentius towards

the bishops of Rome and Carthage may be considered as the proof

of his toleration, since it is probable that the most orthodox

princes would adopt the same measures with regard to their

established clergy. Marcellus, the former of these prelates, had

thrown the capital into confusion, by the severe penance which he

imposed on a great number of Christians, who, during the late

persecution, had renounced or dissembled their religion. The rage

of faction broke out in frequent and violent seditions; the blood

of the faithful was shed by each other’s hands, and the exile of

Marcellus, whose prudence seems to have been less eminent than

his zeal, was found to be the only measure capable of restoring

peace to the distracted church of Rome. 169 The behavior of

Mensurius, bishop of Carthage, appears to have been still more

reprehensible. A deacon of that city had published a libel

against the emperor. The offender took refuge in the episcopal

palace; and though it was somewhat early to advance any claims of

ecclesiastical immunities, the bishop refused to deliver him up

to the officers of justice. For this treasonable resistance,

Mensurius was summoned to court, and instead of receiving a legal

sentence of death or banishment, he was permitted, after a short

examination, to return to his diocese. 170 Such was the happy

condition of the Christian subjects of Maxentius, that whenever

they were desirous of procuring for their own use any bodies of

martyrs, they were obliged to purchase them from the most distant

provinces of the East. A story is related of Aglae, a Roman lady,

descended from a consular family, and possessed of so ample an

estate, that it required the management of seventy-three

stewards. Among these Boniface was the favorite of his mistress;

and as Aglae mixed love with devotion, it is reported that he was

admitted to share her bed. Her fortune enabled her to gratify the

pious desire of obtaining some sacred relics from the East. She

intrusted Boniface with a considerable sum of gold, and a large

quantity of aromatics; and her lover, attended by twelve horsemen

and three covered chariots, undertook a remote pilgrimage, as far

as Tarsus in Cilicia. 171

168 (return) [ Eusebius, l. viii. c. 14. But as Maxentius was

vanquished by Constantine, it suited the purpose of Lactantius to

place his death among those of the persecutors. * Note: M. Guizot

directly contradicts this statement of Gibbon, and appeals to

Eusebius. Maxentius, who assumed the power in Italy, pretended at

first to be a Christian, to gain the favor of the Roman people;

he ordered his ministers to cease to persecute the Christians,

affecting a hypocritical piety, in order to appear more mild than

his predecessors; but his actions soon proved that he was very

different from what they had at first hoped. The actions of

Maxentius were those of a cruel tyrant, but not those of a

persecutor: the Christians, like the rest of his subjects,

suffered from his vices, but they were not oppressed as a sect.

Christian females were exposed to his lusts, as well as to the

brutal violence of his colleague Maximian, but they were not

selected as Christians.—M.]

169 (return) [ The epitaph of Marcellus is to be found in Gruter,

Inscrip. p 1172, No. 3, and it contains all that we know of his

history. Marcellinus and Marcellus, whose names follow in the

list of popes, are supposed by many critics to be different

persons; but the learned Abbé de Longuerue was convinced that

they were one and the same.

Veridicus rector lapsis quia crimina flere

Prædixit miseris, fuit omnibus hostis amarus.

Hinc furor, hinc odium; sequitur discordia, lites,

Seditio, cædes; solvuntur fœdera pacis.

Crimen ob alterius, Christum qui in pace negavit

Finibus expulsus patriæ est feritate Tyranni.

Hæc breviter Damasus voluit comperta referre:

Marcelli populus meritum cognoscere posset.

We may observe that Damasus was made Bishop of Rome, A. D. 366.]

170 (return) [ Optatus contr. Donatist. l. i. c. 17, 18. * Note:

The words of Optatus are, Profectus (Roman) causam dixit; jussus

con reverti Carthaginem; perhaps, in pleading his cause, he

exculpated himself, since he received an order to return to

Carthage.—G.]

171 (return) [ The Acts of the Passion of St. Boniface, which

abound in miracles and declamation, are published by Ruinart, (p.

283—291,) both in Greek and Latin, from the authority of very

ancient manuscripts. Note: We are ignorant whether Aglae and

Boniface were Christians at the time of their unlawful

connection. See Tillemont. Mem, Eccles. Note on the Persecution

of Domitian, tom. v. note 82. M. de Tillemont proves also that

the history is doubtful.—G. ——Sir D. Dalrymple (Lord Hailes)

calls the story of Aglae and Boniface as of equal authority with

our _popular_ histories of Whittington and Hickathrift. Christian

Antiquities, ii. 64.—M.]

The sanguinary temper of Galerius, the first and principal author

of the persecution, was formidable to those Christians whom their

misfortunes had placed within the limits of his dominions; and it

may fairly be presumed that many persons of a middle rank, who

were not confined by the chains either of wealth or of poverty,

very frequently deserted their native country, and sought a

refuge in the milder climate of the West. 1711 As long as he

commanded only the armies and provinces of Illyricum, he could

with difficulty either find or make a considerable number of

martyrs, in a warlike country, which had entertained the

missionaries of the gospel with more coldness and reluctance than

any other part of the empire. 172 But when Galerius had obtained

the supreme power, and the government of the East, he indulged in

their fullest extent his zeal and cruelty, not only in the

provinces of Thrace and Asia, which acknowledged his immediate

jurisdiction, but in those of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, where

Maximin gratified his own inclination, by yielding a rigorous

obedience to the stern commands of his benefactor. 173 The

frequent disappointments of his ambitious views, the experience

of six years of persecution, and the salutary reflections which a

lingering and painful distemper suggested to the mind of

Galerius, at length convinced him that the most violent efforts

of despotism are insufficient to extirpate a whole people, or to

subdue their religious prejudices. Desirous of repairing the

mischief that he had occasioned, he published in his own name,

and in those of Licinius and Constantine, a general edict, which,

after a pompous recital of the Imperial titles, proceeded in the

following manner:—

1711 (return) [ A little after this, Christianity was propagated

to the north of the Roman provinces, among the tribes of Germany:

a multitude of Christians, forced by the persecutions of the

Emperors to take refuge among the Barbarians, were received with

kindness. Euseb. de Vit. Constant. ii. 53. Semler Select. cap. H.

E. p. 115. The Goths owed their first knowledge of Christianity

to a young girl, a prisoner of war; she continued in the midst of

them her exercises of piety; she fasted, prayed, and praised God

day and night. When she was asked what good would come of so much

painful trouble she answered, “It is thus that Christ, the Son of

God, is to be honored.” Sozomen, ii. c. 6.—G.]

172 (return) [ During the four first centuries, there exist few

traces of either bishops or bishoprics in the western Illyricum.

It has been thought probable that the primate of Milan extended

his jurisdiction over Sirmium, the capital of that great

province. See the Geographia Sacra of Charles de St. Paul, p.

68-76, with the observations of Lucas Holstenius.]

173 (return) [ The viiith book of Eusebius, as well as the

supplement concerning the martyrs of Palestine, principally

relate to the persecution of Galerius and Maximin. The general

lamentations with which Lactantius opens the vth book of his

Divine Institutions allude to their cruelty.] “Among the

important cares which have occupied our mind for the utility and

preservation of the empire, it was our intention to correct and

reestablish all things according to the ancient laws and public

discipline of the Romans. We were particularly desirous of

reclaiming into the way of reason and nature, the deluded

Christians who had renounced the religion and ceremonies

instituted by their fathers; and presumptuously despising the

practice of antiquity, had invented extravagant laws and

opinions, according to the dictates of their fancy, and had

collected a various society from the different provinces of our

empire. The edicts, which we have published to enforce the

worship of the gods, having exposed many of the Christians to

danger and distress, many having suffered death, and many more,

who still persist in their impious folly, being left destitute of

_any_ public exercise of religion, we are disposed to extend to

those unhappy men the effects of our wonted clemency. We permit

them therefore freely to profess their private opinions, and to

assemble in their conventicles without fear or molestation,

provided always that they preserve a due respect to the

established laws and government. By another rescript we shall

signify our intentions to the judges and magistrates; and we hope

that our indulgence will engage the Christians to offer up their

prayers to the Deity whom they adore, for our safety and

prosperity for their own, and for that of the republic.” 174 It

is not usually in the language of edicts and manifestos that we

should search for the real character or the secret motives of

princes; but as these were the words of a dying emperor, his

situation, perhaps, may be admitted as a pledge of his sincerity.

174 (return) [ Eusebius (l. viii. c. 17) has given us a Greek

version, and Lactantius (de M. P. c. 34) the Latin original, of

this memorable edict. Neither of these writers seems to recollect

how directly it contradicts whatever they have just affirmed of

the remorse and repentance of Galerius. Note: But Gibbon has

answered this by his just observation, that it is not in the

language of edicts and manifestos that we should search * * for

the secre motives of princes.—M.]

When Galerius subscribed this edict of toleration, he was well

assured that Licinius would readily comply with the inclinations

of his friend and benefactor, and that any measures in favor of

the Christians would obtain the approbation of Constantine. But

the emperor would not venture to insert in the preamble the name

of Maximin, whose consent was of the greatest importance, and who

succeeded a few days afterwards to the provinces of Asia. In the

first six months, however, of his new reign, Maximin affected to

adopt the prudent counsels of his predecessor; and though he

never condescended to secure the tranquillity of the church by a

public edict, Sabinus, his Prætorian præfect, addressed a

circular letter to all the governors and magistrates of the

provinces, expatiating on the Imperial clemency, acknowledging

the invincible obstinacy of the Christians, and directing the

officers of justice to cease their ineffectual prosecutions, and

to connive at the secret assemblies of those enthusiasts. In

consequence of these orders, great numbers of Christians were

released from prison, or delivered from the mines. The

confessors, singing hymns of triumph, returned into their own

countries; and those who had yielded to the violence of the

tempest, solicited with tears of repentance their readmission

into the bosom of the church. 175

175 (return) [ Eusebius, l. ix. c. 1. He inserts the epistle of

the præfect.]

But this treacherous calm was of short duration; nor could the

Christians of the East place any confidence in the character of

their sovereign. Cruelty and superstition were the ruling

passions of the soul of Maximin. The former suggested the means,

the latter pointed out the objects of persecution. The emperor

was devoted to the worship of the gods, to the study of magic,

and to the belief of oracles. The prophets or philosophers, whom

he revered as the favorites of Heaven, were frequently raised to

the government of provinces, and admitted into his most secret

councils. They easily convinced him that the Christians had been

indebted for their victories to their regular discipline, and

that the weakness of polytheism had principally flowed from a

want of union and subordination among the ministers of religion.

A system of government was therefore instituted, which was

evidently copied from the policy of the church. In all the great

cities of the empire, the temples were repaired and beautified by

the order of Maximin, and the officiating priests of the various

deities were subjected to the authority of a superior pontiff

destined to oppose the bishop, and to promote the cause of

paganism. These pontiffs acknowledged, in their turn, the supreme

jurisdiction of the metropolitans or high priests of the

province, who acted as the immediate vicegerents of the emperor

himself. A white robe was the ensign of their dignity; and these

new prelates were carefully selected from the most noble and

opulent families. By the influence of the magistrates, and of the

sacerdotal order, a great number of dutiful addresses were

obtained, particularly from the cities of Nicomedia, Antioch, and

Tyre, which artfully represented the well-known intentions of the

court as the general sense of the people; solicited the emperor

to consult the laws of justice rather than the dictates of his

clemency; expressed their abhorrence of the Christians, and

humbly prayed that those impious sectaries might at least be

excluded from the limits of their respective territories. The

answer of Maximin to the address which he obtained from the

citizens of Tyre is still extant. He praises their zeal and

devotion in terms of the highest satisfaction, descants on the

obstinate impiety of the Christians, and betrays, by the

readiness with which he consents to their banishment, that he

considered himself as receiving, rather than as conferring, an

obligation. The priests as well as the magistrates were empowered

to enforce the execution of his edicts, which were engraved on

tables of brass; and though it was recommended to them to avoid

the effusion of blood, the most cruel and ignominious punishments

were inflicted on the refractory Christians. 176

176 (return) [ See Eusebius, l. viii. c. 14, l. ix. c. 2—8.

Lactantius de M. P. c. 36. These writers agree in representing

the arts of Maximin; but the former relates the execution of

several martyrs, while the latter expressly affirms, occidi

servos Dei vetuit. * Note: It is easy to reconcile them; it is

sufficient to quote the entire text of Lactantius: Nam cum

clementiam specie tenus profiteretur, occidi servos Dei vetuit,

debilitari jussit. Itaque confessoribus effodiebantur oculi,

amputabantur manus, nares vel auriculæ desecabantur. Hæc ille

moliens Constantini litteris deterretur. Dissimulavit ergo, et

tamen, si quis inciderit. mari occulte mergebatur. This detail of

torments inflicted on the Christians easily reconciles Lactantius

and Eusebius. Those who died in consequence of their tortures,

those who were plunged into the sea, might well pass for martyrs.

The mutilation of the words of Lactantius has alone given rise to

the apparent contradiction.—G. ——Eusebius. ch. vi., relates the

public martyrdom of the aged bishop of Emesa, with two others,

who were thrown to the wild beasts, the beheading of Peter,

bishop of Alexandria, with several others, and the death of

Lucian, presbyter of Antioch, who was carried to Numidia, and put

to death in prison. The contradiction is direct and undeniable,

for although Eusebius may have misplaced the former martyrdoms,

it may be doubted whether the authority of Maximin extended to

Nicomedia till after the death of Galerius. The last edict of

toleration issued by Maximin and published by Eusebius himself,

Eccl. Hist. ix. 9. confirms the statement of Lactantius.—M.]

The Asiatic Christians had every thing to dread from the severity

of a bigoted monarch who prepared his measures of violence with

such deliberate policy. But a few months had scarcely elapsed

before the edicts published by the two Western emperors obliged

Maximin to suspend the prosecution of his designs: the civil war

which he so rashly undertook against Licinius employed all his

attention; and the defeat and death of Maximin soon delivered the

church from the last and most implacable of her enemies. 177

177 (return) [ A few days before his death, he published a very

ample edict of toleration, in which he imputes all the severities

which the Christians suffered to the judges and governors, who

had misunderstood his intentions.See the edict of Eusebius, l.

ix. c. 10.]

In this general view of the persecution, which was first

authorized by the edicts of Diocletian, I have purposely

refrained from describing the particular sufferings and deaths of

the Christian martyrs. It would have been an easy task, from the

history of Eusebius, from the declamations of Lactantius, and

from the most ancient acts, to collect a long series of horrid

and disgustful pictures, and to fill many pages with racks and

scourges, with iron hooks and red-hot beds, and with all the

variety of tortures which fire and steel, savage beasts, and more

savage executioners, could inflict upon the human body. These

melancholy scenes might be enlivened by a crowd of visions and

miracles destined either to delay the death, to celebrate the

triumph, or to discover the relics of those canonized saints who

suffered for the name of Christ. But I cannot determine what I

ought to transcribe, till I am satisfied how much I ought to

believe. The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius

himself, indirectly confesses, that he has related whatever might

redound to the glory, and that he has suppressed all that could

tend to the disgrace, of religion. 178 Such an acknowledgment

will naturally excite a suspicion that a writer who has so openly

violated one of the fundamental laws of history, has not paid a

very strict regard to the observance of the other; and the

suspicion will derive additional credit from the character of

Eusebius, 1781 which was less tinctured with credulity, and more

practised in the arts of courts, than that of almost any of his

contemporaries. On some particular occasions, when the

magistrates were exasperated by some personal motives of interest

or resentment, the rules of prudence, and perhaps of decency, to

overturn the altars, to pour out imprecations against the

emperors, or to strike the judge as he sat on his tribunal, it

may be presumed, that every mode of torture which cruelty could

invent, or constancy could endure, was exhausted on those devoted

victims. 179 Two circumstances, however, have been unwarily

mentioned, which insinuate that the general treatment of the

Christians, who had been apprehended by the officers of justice,

was less intolerable than it is usually imagined to have been. 1.

The confessors who were condemned to work in the mines were

permitted by the humanity or the negligence of their keepers to

build chapels, and freely to profess their religion in the midst

of those dreary habitations. 180 2. The bishops were obliged to

check and to censure the forward zeal of the Christians, who

voluntarily threw themselves into the hands of the magistrates.

Some of these were persons oppressed by poverty and debts, who

blindly sought to terminate a miserable existence by a glorious

death. Others were allured by the hope that a short confinement

would expiate the sins of a whole life; and others again were

actuated by the less honorable motive of deriving a plentiful

subsistence, and perhaps a considerable profit, from the alms

which the charity of the faithful bestowed on the prisoners. 181

After the church had triumphed over all her enemies, the interest

as well as vanity of the captives prompted them to magnify the

merit of their respective sufferings. A convenient distance of

time or place gave an ample scope to the progress of fiction; and

the frequent instances which might be alleged of holy martyrs,

whose wounds had been instantly healed, whose strength had been

renewed, and whose lost members had miraculously been restored,

were extremely convenient for the purpose of removing every

difficulty, and of silencing every objection. The most

extravagant legends, as they conduced to the honor of the church,

were applauded by the credulous multitude, countenanced by the

power of the clergy, and attested by the suspicious evidence of

ecclesiastical history.

178 (return) [ Such is the _fair_ deduction from two remarkable

passages in Eusebius, l. viii. c. 2, and de Martyr. Palestin. c.

12. The prudence of the historian has exposed his own character

to censure and suspicion. It was well known that he himself had

been thrown into prison; and it was suggested that he had

purchased his deliverance by some dishonorable compliance. The

reproach was urged in his lifetime, and even in his presence, at

the council of Tyre. See Tillemont, Mémoires Ecclésiastiques,

tom. viii. part i. p. 67.]

1781 (return) [ Historical criticism does not consist in

rejecting indiscriminately all the facts which do not agree with

a particular system, as Gibbon does in this chapter, in which,

except at the last extremity, he will not consent to believe a

martyrdom. Authorities are to be weighed, not excluded from

examination. Now, the Pagan historians justify in many places the

detail which have been transmitted to us by the historians of the

church, concerning the tortures endured by the Christians. Celsus

reproaches the Christians with holding their assemblies in

secret, on account of the fear inspired by their sufferings, “for

when you are arrested,” he says, “you are dragged to punishment:

and, before you are put to death, you have to suffer all kinds of

tortures.” Origen cont. Cels. l. i. ii. vi. viii. passing.

Libanius, the panegyrist of Julian, says, while speaking of the

Christians. “Those who followed a corrupt religion were in

continual apprehensions; they feared lest Julian should invent

tortures still more refined than those to which they had been

exposed before, as mutilation, burning alive, &c.; for the

emperors had inflicted upon them all these barbarities.” Lib.

Parent in Julian. ap. Fab. Bib. Græc. No. 9, No. 58, p. 283—G.

——This sentence of Gibbon has given rise to several learned

dissertation: Möller, de Fide Eusebii Cæsar, &c., Havniæ, 1813.

Danzius, de Eusebio Cæs. Hist. Eccl. Scriptore, ejusque tide

historica recte æstimandâ, &c., Jenæ, 1815. Kestner Commentatio

de Eusebii Hist. Eccles. conditoris auctoritate et fide, &c. See

also Reuterdahl, de Fontibus Historiæ Eccles. Eusebianæ, Lond.

Goth., 1826. Gibbon’s inference may appear stronger than the text

will warrant, yet it is difficult, after reading the passages, to

dismiss all suspicion of partiality from the mind.—M.]

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88 (return) [ Pontius, c. 19. M. de Tillemont (Mémoires, tom. iv.