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JAMES AMIRAUX JEREMIE, D.D.
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HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
SECOND MD THIRD CENTURIES.
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HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHllRCH
iBtniiii ml €\\hl €mhxm.
BY
JAMES AMIRAUX JEREMIE, D.D.
KECilCS PBOFESSOK OF DIVINITY, CAMIiKIDGE.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. — Observations Preliminary to the Ecclesiastical
History of the Second and Third Centuries .
Section 1. Introductory view of the principal Sources from which
the knowledge of the Ecclesiastical History of these
Centuries may be derived .....
2. Diffusion of Christianity ; its extent, mode, and conse-
quences ........
3. Influence of the Pagan Religion; causes of the opposi-
tion which Christianity experienced from the Roman
Government .......
CHAPTER II. — History of the Christian Church in the Second
Century .......
CHAPTER III. — History of the Christian Church in the Third
Century .......
CHAPTER IV. — Ecclesiastical Writers of the Second and Third
Centuries ....
Section 1. Introductory Remarks .
2. Greek Writers of the Sec^ond Century
.histia Martyr ....
Athonagoras ....
Herniias .....
Theophilus ....
Irenajus .....
Clemens Ale.xandrinus .
Page
Greek Writers of the Third Century
Hippolytus ...
Origen ....
Gregoiy Thaumaturgus
Slethodius . . . .
Latin Writers of the Second Century
Tertullian
Latin Writers of the Third Centuiy
Minucius Felix ...
Cyprian ....
11
17
44
72
72
81
81
83
84
85
86
88
91
91
92
101
102
104
104
109
109
110
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V. — Heresies of the Second and Third Centuries
Section 1. Introdnctoiy Kemarks
2. Heretics of the Second Century
Nazarencs and Ebionites
Elxai — Elcesaita; or Helcesaitas
Syrian Gnostics .
Saturninus
Bardesanes
Tatian .
Severus
Gnostics of Asia Minor
Cerdo
Marcion
Lucian .
Apelles .
Gnostics of Egypt
Basilides
Carpocrates
Valentiniis
Secundus
Ptolemy
Marcus .
Colobarsus
Heracleon
Lesser Sects of Gnostics
Sethians
Cainites
Ophites
Heresies not of Oriental origii
Patripassians ; Pi-axeas
Melchisedechians ; Theodotus and Artemon
Heresy of Hermogenes
Montanists ; Montanus
Millenarii or Chiliasts
o. Heresies of the Third Century
Manichaiism ; Manicha^us
Hieracites ; Hierax
Patripassians ; Noetus and Sabellius
Heresy of Beryllus
Paulianists; Paul of Samosat-a
Novatians : Novatus and Novatian
Page
114
114
117
117
120
122
122
123
126
129
130
130
131
141
142
144
145
153
155
162
162
162
163
163
165
165
165
166
168
168
170
171
173
178
181
181
190
191
194
194
197
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CR\]^&R':yr-T}rTrf'^
CHAPTER I.
OBSERVATIONS PUELIMINARY TO THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES.
SECTION I. — INTRODUCTORY VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL SOURCES FROM WHICH
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY OF THE SECOND AND
THIRD CENTURIES MAY BE DERIVED.
There is no portion of Ecclesiastical History more important than importance
that which extiMitls from the termination of the First to the commence- HirtorT''
ment of the Fourth century. It was during this interval that the during-'the
Church, no longer directed by the Apostles, and not as yet established l^i°^^ '^''
by civil autliority, may be said to have sustained the most severe part centuries,
of its conflict against the principles, the interests, and the ])assions,
sui)i)orted by the wealth, the power, and the learning of the Gentile
world.
The spectacle which it presents is on all sides fitted to arrest our Ltadin;;
attention. On the one hand, the situation of the primitive Christians, fn^qu',".
tlieir habits, their exertions, their sufferings ; the nature and extent of
their literature, and the influence of early associations and opinions ;
the origin and {progress of heresies, and the silent inroads of internal
corruption : on the other hand, the aspect of ancipnt polytheism, the
causes and circumstances of its opposition, the force of pojmlar
prejudice, the effects of philoso])hic scepticism ; the structure of the
Roman government, its line of ])olicy with regard to religion, and its
eilbrts to overcome a strange imjiedimcnt which suddenly crossed and
eml)arrassed its movements: such are the ])romincnt ])oints which,
even on a cursory view, cannot fail to awaken the interest of the his-
torical in<|uirer.
But it is a subject of deep regret that the loss of necessary materials Sources of
precludes the jtossibility of developing these points with the fulness ""' °"^^ '""*
and i)recision which their magnitude requires. Beset by various dif-
ficulties, the early Christians had little leisure to consign to writing
the results of their experience. Their works were but few, and of
those few some are much impaired, others wholly lost. The most
important ecclesiastical historian, after the sacred writers, is Eusebius, Ecclesiastical
wlio wrote in the beginning of tlie fourth centuiy. He declares at E.'fse'i'ius!
the very outset of his^ narrative' that he was entering on " a desert jts v..iue and
.' ^ Us defects.
' Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. 1.
[C. H.] B
A SOURCES OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
rcciesiasticai and untrodden road." The scattered documents which he collected
History of j^^.g compared to distant lights, that serve but to disclose the track
which the investigator might with safety pursue. And it is fortunate
that Eusebius undertook the task, l^efore even this faint glimmering
had died away. Without his assistance we should have remained
in a great measure in ignorance, not only of many events which
occurred in the remote ages of the church, but of writers from whose
treatises, then extant, he derived his information. As he is nearly
our first, so is he almost our only guide. Where his work ends,
the histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret begin.' Their
researches are, therefore, confined to later periods, when the state and
manners of the Christians had undergone a considerable change. This
neglect of the primitive times may, perhaps, have arisen from a
feeling of veneration for the talents, and of confidence in the fidelity,
of Eusebius. Yet, valuable as his collections must unquestionably be
deemed, it is to be lamented that, while topics of inferior moment are
largely detailed, many subjects, which deserve more ample notice, are
but meagrely treated ; and that to a want of ease and elegance in his
style, he should sometimes have added a want of exactness in his
account of facts, and of acuteness in his estimate of evidence. The
instances of inaccuracy, which the skill and diligence of modern critics
have detected, naturally induce a suspicion that there may still lurk
misstatements, which, from the scantiness of remaining records, we
are unable to discover. But there is one circumstance which, though
some, perhaps, may consider it a defect, we are inclined to reckon
as one of his merits. — His history is for the most part a series of
extracts.* He proposed to himself little more than to glean and bind
together such passages as would form a secpence of ecclesiastical
memoirs. This method, it is true, is jejune and tedious. It is neces-
sarily marked by inequality of language, and awkwardness of manner.
But the benefit drawn from it by the modern examiner fully compen-
sates for such disadvantages. As the fragments of each author are
distinct, the credit due to his dififerent relations varies in proportion to
the degree of assent which his difiierent authorities deserve. Except
where he is obliged to translate, the sentiments of the original writers
borrow no new colouring by passing into his narrative. And this
advantage is the greater, as it would otherwise have been no longer in
our power to ascertain if their meaning had been faithfully expressed.
With the exception of the historical works of Eusebius, to which
may be added a few detached pieces, such as the ' Book of the Deaths
of the Persecutors,' ascribed to Lactantius ; or succinct treatises, such
as the histories of Sulpitius Severus, and Orosius ; and lastly, the
numerous, but often doubtful and unsatisfactory, ' Acts of Martyrs,'
1 In the foiu-teenth century, Nicephorus Callistus composed a new Ecclesiastical
History of the first three centuries; but his work, though not inelegantly written,
is too re])lote with fables to be entitled to consideration.
- Du I'in, Nouvelle Biblioth. des Auteurs Eccles. torn. ii. p. 3.
SOURCES OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 3
our knowledge of the second and third centuries must be chiefly drawn
from indirect sources. Of these by far the most useful are the 'Apolo- Tke
gies,' presented to the Roman rulers by eminent Christians, with a Apologies,
view to set forth the superiority of their religion, and to deprecate the
cruelties of their opponents. There are great advantages peculiar to
this class of productions. For instance, the Apologists are obliged
to advert to the objections and the caUimnies of their enemies ; they
enable us, therefore, to discover the views of the opposite party, and
thus lay open the causes to which the difficulties which attended their
efforts are to be ascribed. They are, moreover, led to give some
description of their hal)its and discipline, a subject which contempo-
rary writers are most qualified to treat, but most liable to omit. At
the same time, such works are exposed to certain inconveniences.
The reader is apt to regard them but as profiles, if we may so express
ourselves, which, however correctlv they may represent the side-face,
convey but an inadequate idea of the entire contour and expression.
Apologists, it is usually thought, are naturally disposed rather to
select such circumstances as are calculated to produce a favourable
impression, than to enlarge on the abuses which may have crept into
the society to which they belong. They may be honest advocates,
but they are still advocates. A defence commonly bears this resem-
blance to a panegyric — all that is mentioned in it may be true, but
all that is true niay not be mentioned. Such are the anticipations
with which ajjologetic works in general are opened. But the Christian
Apologists assume a tone as open and manly, as devoid of subter-
fuges and sophisms, as full of earnestness and piety as any unpre-
judiced examiner can expect. Indeed, they sometimes stiite the
arguments, however subtle, the reports, however revolting, of their
adversaries, antl that too in the very hour of danger, with far more
miiuiteness, and far more force, than are usually found in conti-oversial
writings, even when published in times of security. Tliat tlieir
manner is occasionallv injudicious, cannot be denied ; but this very
absence of discretion frequently arises from that simplicity which is a
stranger to fraud. A full consciousness of innocence is the pervading
featm-e of their writings. Their greatest fault, in the eyes of the im-
partial historian, is the precipitancy with which, in some few instances,
they appeal to accounts, which, though current, required more cau-
tious examination. It might, indeed, have been supjwsed that, as
they addressed men Avhose means of information were necessarily
great, and whose power was almost unlimited, they would be par-
ticularly guarded on all points, from a conviction that an erroneous
assertion could be easily discovered, and, if discovered, would, how-
ever unimportant it might l.)e, have at least a tendency to aggravate
the evils of which they complained. Yet, it must be confessed, they
seem not alwavs to have sufficiently sifted reports ' in their detence of
a cause, to the excellence of which they were keenly alive. It is the
' Blondel, Des Sibvlles, Ji:c., p. 3. Duille'du Vrai Usage des Pferes, p.'3'20, &c.
152
4 SOURCES OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
part of a candid writer, to make full allowances for the harassing
series of obstacles which often checked investigation in an age when
tyranny leaned hard upon the Christians ; but it is due to truth, to
avail ourselves of the rules of sound criticism in weighing the internal
credibility of historical narratives.
Remaining Next in importance to the ' Apologies ' addressed to the Roman
pru^ersf"^^ rulers are, we think, the Defences of the Christian Religion, written in
answer to the attacks of the philosophic Gentiles. The remaining
works of the Fathers consist mostly of treatises against the Heathens,
the Jews, or Heretics ; on the various doctrines of the Church, on the
diflerent parts of its discipline ; moral discourses and commentaries on
the Sacred Scriptures. In all these works there is undoulttedly much
historical information ; but it is scattered in a mass of knowledge so
vast, so obscure, and frequently so little connected with the direct
studies of the historian, that the task of eliciting and combining every
latent fact, and every incidental remark which may cast light on the
early ages of Christianity, is more perhaps than can be expected to be
performed by any single individual.
Pagan The uotices of Christianity during the second and third centuries
Writers; found in Pagan writers are, with a few valuable exceptions, of no
their silence Considerable importance. Whatever mention of it occurs in the
or contempt. JJistory of Dion Cassius is perhaps to be ascribed to his abridger
Xiphilin, who lived as late as the eleventh century. The writers of
the ' Augustan History' have afforded us but little additional testimony.
Of the eminent philosophers who flourished during that period, Plu-
tarch has been wholly silent on this point; Epictetus, Galen, Marcus
Antoninus, and Lucian have left but a few passing sarcasms ; and as
the direct attacks of Celsus, Hierocles, and Porphyry are lost, the
substance of their works can only be gathered from the answers of
their Christian opponents. The silence of some, and the contempt of
others, are circumstances which ought to excite regret rather than
surprise. The progress of infant sects ' is seldom considered as pre-
senting those materials for brilliant detail and curious investigation
which draw the attention of the historian, or disturb the abstractions
of the philosopher. It is considered a debasement of their dignity to
notice efforts which are expected to fall into the same state of ob-
scurity and insignificance from which they are regarded as having
originally sprung. Christianity was esteemed as one of the innume-
rable varieties of popular delusion, one of the many-coloured garbs
with which superstition, ever versatile, clothes its votaries. Raised,
in their own imaginations, far above the influence of prejudice and
passion, the sages cast a transient glance of pity, but not of inquiry,
on a race of supposed enthusiasts, sectaries of a nation for which they
entertained unqualified aversion.* And this neglect was increased as
> See Bishop Watson's .^jjology for Christianity, p. 129.
^ The contempt which the Romans entertained against the Jews, and the preva-
lent ignorance respectnig tlieii- history, ai-e evident from Oic. pro L. Flacc. sec. 28 ;
SOURCES OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 5
they observed that the early Christians were chiefly of hiunble origin
and of inferior acquirements.' Considering for the most part that all
disquisitions on the nature and attriljutes of the Deitv* were per-
plexed with doubts and difficulties, not to be unravelled bv tlie
utmost subtility of which the human intellect is susceptible, their
indignation was wound up to the highest degi-ee, when uneducated
men seized with confidence on sulyects which had for ages eluded the
grasp of philosophy itself.* The assent of the multitude far from
being courted, was despised by all classes of the learned,'* An un-
quenchable pride glared through the veil of their aflected humilitv.'
This feeling must also have acquired force from the fact, that the
scheme of Christianity was presented rather in a popular form, than
with systematic nicety.* In short, it was long before they could
bring their minds to submit to the authoritv of a religion, which,
preaching virtues never urged in the eulogies of poets, and doctrines
never heard in the schools of philosophy, opened its arms to receive
the weak and ignorant with no less tenderness than the wise and
powerful. It is not surprising, therefore, if we find but little mention
of Christianity in writers who examined it at first not at all, and
afterwards superficially.
Such are, we think, the principal channels from which the know- Desi-n of the
ledge of the second and third centuries may be drawn. In presenting chapters^
to our readers the result of our inquiries, it is not our object to give
circumstiintial descrijjtions, nor to enter into minute discussions ; such
a plan would not be consistent with the nature of the present work.
For accounts so extensive, the reader, who cannot have recourse to
the fountain heads, must consult and compare large and elaborate col-
lections : such as those of the Centiu'iators of jNIagdeburgh, of Ba-
ronius, Pagi, Tillemont, Fleury, Basnage, and other writers,^ who
have dilated on almost every point connected with the subject.
Although a wish to supply deficiencies, where we believe them to
exist, may have induced us to dwell upon some particular points, our
general desire is rather to trace than to fill np the outline, rather to
direct to the sources than to exhaust the information which thev contain.
SECTION II. — DIFFUSION OF CHKISTIANITV ; ITS EXTENT, MODE, AND
CONSEQUENCES.
Of the extensive diftiision of Christianitv in the second centurv, the
Hor. Sat. lib. i. s. v. s. i.\. ; Pers. Sat. v. ; Tacit. Hist. lib. v. ; Jlaiti.il, lib. iv.
ep. 4; lib. ii. ep. 95; Juvenal, Sat. iii. vi. xiv. ; Pint. Synipos. &c.
* TertuU. Apol. c. xlviii. Arnob. Disput. adv. Gent. lib. i. p. 15, &c.
* See the instances collected by Grotius, Pioleg. ad Stob. &c.
* Min. Kel. c. v. * Senec. Ep. xxix. &c.
* Diog. Laert. lib. ii. c. s.Kxvi. &c. * Lactant. Div. Inst. lib. v. c. i. &c.
' Much valuable infonnation may also be found in Mosheini's large work, De
Rebus Christianoruni ante Constantinum Magnum Commentarii. See likewise
J. le Clerc, Historia Ecclesiastica duorum primorum saeculorum fe veteribus monu-
mentis deprompta.
DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY.
DifTusion of repeated declarations of the Fathers, confirmed by historical research,
(-liristianity. ^fibrd unequivocal proof. But the various details of this great moral
revolution, the exact periods, modes, instruments, and circumstances
of its progress, cannot, in the absence of authentic documents, be
developed with accuracy and precision. Although the existence of
Christians in the heart of remote and barbarous countries is sufficiently
attested, the names of the disciples who first penetrated into those
obscure regions, and the successive steps by which they proceeded to
conciliate, to enlighten, and to humanise their rude inhabitants, are
almost utterlv unknown. Instead of distinct and circumstantial de-
scription, the reader will find for the most part little but vague asser-
tion' in ancient, and bold conjecture in modern writers. Unable to
procure correct information, and ailxious to admit the truth of state-
ments deemed favourable to their cause, the early Christians seem
often to have spoken in a declamatory tone. But their exaggeration
arose not from a spirit of deceit. They knew that the successors of
the apostles exerted themselves with indefatigable zeal in proclaiming
the gospel, and that many had distributed their property to the poor,
in order that, unshackled by worldly considerations, they might carry
the faith to the most distant nations ;* they saw, moreover, the work
of conversion advancing rapidly under their own eyes, and they heard
of its progress in other countries from a diversity of sources ; hence
they stopped not to investigate the origin and to estimate the pro-
bability of reports, which, uncontradicted by surrounding appearances,
were to them a theme of exultation in their controversial writings,
and of encouragement under their severest misfortunes.
TertuUian exclaims, " We are but of yesterday, yet we have filled
your empire, — your cities, your islands, your castles, your corporate
towns, your assemblies, your very camps, your tribes, your companies,
your palace, your senate, your forum : your temples alone are lelt to
you."* Language, evidently rhetorical, ought not to be examined by
the mles of literal interpretation. The Apologist probably meant but
to convey the same idea which the historian would have expressed by
the simple assertion, that the Christians were extremely numerous in
places both far and near, in situations both civil and military. At
the same time, it must be allowed by any impartial inquirer, that the
expressions of TertuUian, though perhaps too strong, could not have
been hazarded in an address to persons who had ample opportimities
' E. g., Justin Martyr asseils, " There is no race of men, whether Barbarians or
Greeks, or by whatever appelhition they may be designated, whether they wander
in waggons or dwell in tents, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not
offered up to the Father and Creator of all things, in the name of the crucified
Jesus." (Dialog, cum Tryphon, p. 341.) Comp. Iren. adv. Har. lib. i. c. xi. ;
Arnob. adv. Gent. lib. ii. p. 50 : Lactant. Div. Inst. lib. v. c. xiii.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. xxxvi.
' Apolog. c. xxxvii. Comp. ad Scapul. c. v. ; adv. Judaos, c. vii. On the
testimony of TertuUian, see Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, ante Const. M. p. 204.
Bishop Kaye, Lectures on TertuUian, p. 93.
DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 7
of discovfrinrr the truth, had they not been warranted, to a certain
extent at least, by tlie ajjparent st;ite of the place in which they were
written. A description, inconsistent with the aspect of things, would
have defeated the very purpose for which it was made.
The vast and commodious roads which intersected the whole
Roman empire; the union of dilierent countries under one govern-
ment ; the consequent spread of civilization, and the partial adoption
of the Latin langiiage in every district : these were advantages which
facilitated the propagation of the gospel in countries subject to the
Caesars. The absence of these circumstances in remote wilds must be
deemed no incensiderable bar. May we not also reckon among the
obstacles to the conversion of the nations of Northern Europe,' the
influence, not yet perhaps destroyed, of the ancient Bardic system ; a
system which had inculcated the doctrine of an immortality, corre-
sponding with their haV)its and wishes, and productive of an enthu-
siastic devotion far beyond the powers of the Grecian and Roman
mythologies to excite ?
In Britain, the Christian Church appears to have been small and in Britain,
humljle.- In Transali)ine Gaul, which was converted to the faith at
a later period than other countries,^ the progress of Christianity was
comparatively slow ; since in the third century there were but a few
churches, raised bv tlie devotion of an inconsiderable number of
Clu-istians,'' and under the Emperor Decius it was found necessary to
send thither seven missionaries from Rome.* In German}-, tlie early
state of Christianity is involved in obscurity : it is probable, however,
that the persons who first ditl'used the knowledge of the gospel in
Gaul, were instramental in extending its blessings to the contiguous
countries. But a very different scene presents itself as we turn our
view to the regions of the east and of the south. Even beyond the
Euphrates, Edessa* Avas the seat of Christians; and from that river
to the shores of Asia ]\Iinor, throughout the whole country, the voice
of Revelation had gone forth. In Pontus and Bitliynia, in Greece,
Thrace and Alacedonia, in Rome, at Carthage, in Egypt, the number
of Christians was unquestionably great. In fact, there was probably
' It Wduld, we think, be an interesting; theme to explain the fact, that the dif-
fusion of Christianity among the tribes of the North was neither so rapid in its
progress nor so lasting in its eft'ects as in the more refined portions of the globe,
particularly as those circumstances, which Montesquieu (Esprit des Lois, lib. xxv.
c. ii. iii.) considers ;is most favourable to conversion, may be supposed in this case
to have existed.
* Kespecting the application for Christian teachers, which, according to Bede,
Lucius, a King of Britain, matle to Eleutherus, Bishop of Rome, in the reign of M.
Antoninus, see the observations of Mosheim (de Reb. Christ, p. 215).
^ Sulpit. Sever. Hist. Sacr. lib. ii. c. x.\xii.
* Ruinart. Act. Mart. Sincer. p. 130.
* Greg. Turnn. Hist. Franc, lib. i. c. xxviii.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. xiii.
8 DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY.
no city of much extent in the Roman empire, in which some portion
of the population had not been converted to Christianity.'
Mode by In considering this wide diti'usion of Christianity, we are naturahy
Christianity ^^^ *° inquire into the peciihar means by which it was effected. That
wasdiiTused. it is to be ascribed to the directing Providence which vouchsafed it to
man, no sincere behever will deny. But as the instruments employed,
and the feelings addressed, were human, it is not inconsistent with a
full conviction of Divine superintendence to examine in what manner
those instruments acted, and those feelings were aflected. With the
superficial, the question seems to be resolved by a mere reference,
grounded on experience, to the effects of novelty, and.to the influence
which the hopes and fears of futurity exert on the conduct of man.
But, although experience has certainly proved that the love of novelty
is not destitute of power, it has also taught us that the force of
ancient habits and long-cherished opinions retains a far stronger hold
on the mind ; though it has shown that even the indistinct hopes and
fears connected with the idea of the invisible world, occasionally give
a sudden impulse to our actions, it has also assured us, that the desire
of present ease, and still more the dread of instant pain, when coun-
terbalanced by no motives of immediate interest or ambition, will
operate with a degree of resistance which a fixed belief, and an entire
consciousness of rectitude can alone surmount. To attribute, therefore,
the rapid diffiision of a religion, essentially hostile to the systems,
estabhshments, customs, manners, and passions of the Gentile world,
to the vague and arbitrary action of various irregular humours, is to
take at least a very unphilosophical view of the subject.
If we omit the exercise of miraculous powers, the existence of
which after the apostolic ages is disputed (chiefly because the Fathers
of the second and third centuries speak of it only in general language,
an instance being seldom specified, and when specified usually relating
to the expulsion of demons,^ or to the healing of diseases, in which it
is commonly admitted there is more room for mistake than in any
other class of miracles), we must, doubtless, consider as among the
chief causes, which, under the assistance of the Holy Spirit, contri-
buted to the conversion of the heathen, the disgust which paganism,
notwithstanding its splendour, must often have left on the reflecting
mind; the disrepute into which divination and oracles had fallen;
the contrariety and unsatisfactoriness of the systems of philosophy;
the zeal, the fortitude, the aftection, the hospitality, the general virtues
' Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. c. xv.
* The expulsion of demons is considered by the Fathers as a great cause of the
conversion of the Gentiles. (Tertull. Apol. c. xsiii. ; Oiig. c. Cels. lib. ii. p. 20;
Lactant. lib. v. c. xxvii. &c.) That there was a strong piejudice in the minds of
the learned against this kind of demonstration may be inferred from Ulpian,
lib. viii. de Tribunal, in Digest, lib. 1. tit. xiii. leg. i. ; and Marcus Antoninus,
Med. p. 1.
DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 9
of tlio Christians so peculiar and so remarkable ; the union of their
well-organized religious community ; the unwearied eftbrts of their
preachers; the circulation of Apologies, pious works, and copies of
the sacred Scriptures (soon, in all probability, translated into Latin),
by which the evidences and the transcendent excellence of revealed
religion were gi-adually discovered and appreciated.
It is unfortunate, however, that the ancient converts have not de-
tailed with more minuteness the accidental circumstances which first
arrested their attention, and the progress of their thoughts fi-om in-
creasing respect to final conviction. The unparalleled patience of the
Christians under suilerings ; the improbability that men addicted to
vice should submit to the loss of all that is desirable, and deliver
themselves voluntarily to the executioner ; such was the first circum-
stance which awakened the curiosity of the ])hilosophic Justin ; such
the first reasoning which led him to embrace a religion, of which he
himself became subsequently a martyr.'
But it is not so much the method by which Christianity was spread, Effects of the
nor the numerical state of the early proselytes, which demands our onhe'^'""
consideration, as the mental efiects which conversion produced. The (jentiies.
change of conduct, as described by the early Christians, is unparalleled
in the history of man : " We," exclaims Justin Martyr, " who formerly
rejoiced in licentiousness, now embrace discretion and chastity : we,
who resorted to magical arts, now devote ourselves to the unbegotten
God, the God of goodness ; we, who set our aft'ections upon wealth
and possessions, now Itring to the common stock all our property, and
share it with the indigent ; we, who owing to diversity of customs,
would not ]xirtiike of the same hearth with those of a different race,
now, since the appearance of Christ, live togetlier, and pray for our
enemies, and endeavour to persuade those who unjustlv hate us, that
by leading a life conformed to the excellent precepts of Cliristianitv,
they may be filled with the good liojie of obtaining the same happi-
ness with ourselves from that God, who is Lord above all things."*
In an age of libertinism, the Christian was distinguished by purity.
Hatred was transformed into love, and the violence of passion sub-
sided into tenderness and peace. The proud became humble. The
contemner submitted to contempt. All felt,^ that the morality of
their religion was a fixed and imperative rule, and not like the ethics
of philosophy,* mere reasoning, often too vague and imperfect to con-
vince, and alwavs too destitute of authority to command. But this
reform was xital : it altered not so much the exterior appearance as
' Apol. i. c. xii.
* Ibid. c. xiv. Comp. Orig. c. Cels. lib. iii. ; Lactant. Div. Inst. lib. iii. c.
xxvi.
* The Christians, as long as they adhered to their religion, though many suffered
for the faith, were not charf;eJ with specific crimes in the courts of justice. (Ter-
tuU. Apcil. c. xliv.) So jlinucius Felix, De vestro numero career exajstuat :
Christianus ibi nullus, nisi aut reus suai Keligionis aut profugus, c. xxsv.
■• TertuU. Apol. c. slii.
10
DIFFUSION OF CnRISTIANIT Y,
the inward heart. The Christians, in general, appear to have affected
no pecuHarity in habit or diet, and to have refused no profession which
was consistent with their rehgious creed, and adapted to promote the
welfare of society. They frequented the forum and the baths : they
were seen in the camp,' and at the marts; they followed an agi'icul-
tural, a mercantile, or a sea-faring life.^
That some Christians fell into extremes in their condemnation of
innocent pleasures cannot be denied ; but the critical time in which
they lived, and the deep importance of being free from all that could
be construed into imjjropriety, or which had any tendency to produce
evil, are considerations which ought very much to diminish the severity
with which their conduct has been viewed.
But it has been urged as an objection that, among the early con-
verts, there were persons who had previously been guilty of immoral
practices.^ It ought to be remembered that the number of such
persons was comparatively small. The majority were men of regular
habits,* whose feelings were naturally drawn by a congenial influence
towards a religion by which their sentiments of virtue were strength-
ened, refined, and elevated. But that persons who had fallen into sin,
at a period of extreme licentiousness, should have sought forgiveness
in the bosom of a Church which, though it emphatically condemned
guilt, pointed out repentance, is, we conceive, a circumstance rather
redounding to its honour than deserving of reproach. The nature of
Paganism was little adapted to instruct, still less to console. The
offender, who had once broken through the fence of his first scruples,
felt no moral check to arrest him in his descent through the various
stages of crime.* At the same time he was not exempt from that
inscrutable feeling of remorse which, whether it flows from nature,
or from a combination of accidental influences, still clings to the
heart from which even belief has been banished.^ The uneasiness
which consumed Tiberius,'' the terrors which disturbed the dreams of
Nero,^ the phantoms of horror which haunted Caracalla," were torments
which Paganism could not assuage, and wdiich Scepticism could not
reason away. Christianity alone offered the remedy : it is not sur-
prising, therefore, if Christianity was chosen. In fact, a mighty
change seemed to have come over the hearts and minds of the Gentiles.
Thoughts and feelings which, ^vhile the possessors reposed beneath the
shade of ancient idolati'v, lay shrunk and closed, were warmed and
elicited. Strong principles evinced the operation of strong motives.
The hopes and fears of futurity — almost as unknown in that age to
' On this point, however, the views of different Christians seem to have been
different. See Orig. c. Cels. lib. viii. p. 427, and the note of Spencer.
* Tertull. Apol. c. xlv. ^ Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvi.
* Orig. c. Cels. lib. iii. p. 150.
■'' Quis peccandi finem posuit sibi ? Juv. Sat. xiii.
•^ Juv. Sat. xiii. &'c. ' Tacit. Ann. lib. vi. c. vi.
" Ibid. lib. xiv. " Dion Cassius, lib. Ixxvii.
INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION. 1 1
the uneducated as to the learned' — worked upon the Christian with
all their force and fulness ; and the eftects were proportionate to the
magnitude and activity of the cause.
It is scarce!}' neci^sary to rpj^eat here that the earl}' converts were
not men whose minds, suddenly struck and inflamed, had caught but
a jiartial light on some prominent points, without extending their view
over the general nature of Christianity ; but men who, before their
admission into the Church, had remained during a certain period, the
length of which seems sometimes to have been considerable,^ in the
degree of catechumens,^ in order that they might receive a course of
gradual instmction on the great moral truths of revealed religion, and
give satisfactory proofs of the sincerity of their intentions by the holi-
ness of their lives ; and if afterwards they should fall into guilt, a
severe, and often a very protracted, penance was required, as a neces-
sary step for the attainment of pardon.*
SECTION III. — INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION ; CAUSES OF THE OPPOSI-
TION WHICH CHRISTIANITY EXPERIENCED FROM THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT.
Notwithstanding this view of the state of Christianity, its historv, influence
previous to its civil establishment, is, for the most part, the histor}' of p'^!''^. . .
persecutions : it is necessary, therefore, to develop the causes of so system,
remarkable a circumstance.
The Pagan religion, with its rich succession of pageants, had natu-
rally a strong ascendancy over the minds of the unrellecting. Its
priests, its temples, its mysteries, its sacrifices, its magnificent pro-
cessions, calling to their aid the varied powers of music, painting, and
sculpture, and awakening the different feelings of awe, pleasure, in-
terest, and triumph, conspired with the force of early habits and recol-
lections, to work a very powerful delusion. Attention was diverted
from the poverty of its essence to the sumptuousness of its externals.
Its meagi'e system of ethics, and its cold and gloomy prospects of a
dimlv-shadowed futurity, were forgotten amid a glow of ritual bril-
liancv, A\'hich was designed to kindle intense enthusiasm.
But these were far from being the only means by which Paganism
excited that train of emotions which precluded the free action of tem-
perate incjuiry. It was the care of the statesman to imjjlant and Greatness of
cherish the prejudice, which afterwards clung with extreme tenacity JcribelTto''
to the minds of the populace, that, to their deep respect for the deities theirsuperiot
of the republic, the unexampled success of the Roman arms was to be
attributed. The jiiety of Romulus and of Numa was believed to liave
laid the foundations of their greatness. The vast extent of the Roman
' Cic. Or. pro Cluent. ; de Nat. Deor. lib. ii. c. ii. Juv. Sat. ii. 149, &c.
' Orig. c. Cels. lib. iii. p. 142, &c.
* Bingham, Antiquit. of the Christ. Church, vol. i.
* Tertull. de Poenit. Cyprian, de Laps. sec. 27.
12 INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAJT RELIGION.
empire was deemed the recompense of assiduous devotion. " It was,"
they pompously exclaimed, " by exercising religious discipline in the
camp, and by fortifying the city with sacred rites, with vestal virgins,
and the various degrees of a numerous priesthood, that they had
stretched their dominiofl beyond the paths of the sun and the limits of
the ocean."' And, as public prosperity was universally a.scribed to
the favourable agency of the gods, so were public calamities considered
as visitations of their anger. The influence of these opinions was
peculiarly active among the Romans, whose attachment to their reli-
gion was far greater than that of the other nations of the heathen
world. Hence arose that exclusion of foreign rites, Avhich, though
practically modified by political necessity, was theoretically a part of
their religious system.
Degree of It has been the practice of late writers to expatiate in terms of the
reh^'ious warmest admiration on the unbounded toleration which characterised
toleration
which the constitution of Rome,* yet it is evident from history that this sup-
the^Roman^' po^^d indulgence was far more circumscribed than its panegyrists have
Government, asserted. It was positively forbidden by law to honour with private
worship any other Deitv than such as had been incorporated into the
Roman religion by public authority;^ and this law, though it might
have been frequently allowed to slumber, was not abrogated at a very
distant period from its original enactment. L. jEmilius Paulus, in
his consulship, ordered the temples of Isis and Serapis, gods not
legally recognised by the Romans, to be destroyed, and, observing the
religious fear which checked the people, he himself seized an axe, and
struck the first blow against the portals of the sacred edifice.* On
several occasions the Senate exerted its power to prevent religious
innovations.* The Consul Posthumius is represented by Livy as
alleging, in a powerful speech, the ancient laws, so often repeated,
against worships derived from other countries, and as declaring that
' Sic imperiuni suum ultra Solis vias et ipsius Oceani limltes propagavit, dum
exercent in armis viitutem religiosam, dum urbem muniunt saci'orum religionibus,
castis virginibus, niultis honoribus ac nominibus sacerdotum. Min. Felix, c. vi.
* Montesquieu, in his Dissertation Sur la Politique des Romains dans Ja Religion ;
Voltaire, Diet. Philos. art. Tolerance, Giuvr. torn, xxsviii. p. 404 ; Gibbon,
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, c. xvi. &c.
* Tertull. Apolog. c. v. &c.
•» Val. Max. lib. i. c. iii. n. 2.
* In the year u.C. 326, when, in consequence of a severe drought, individuals
had resorted to new rites with a view of appeasing the wrath of Heaven, the Senate
enjoined the jEdiies to suffer no other god and no other form of worship than that
which had been sanctioned by Roman usage. (Liv. lib. iv.) In U.C. 541, in the
height of the second Punic war, the Senate published a strict decree against certain
religious innovations which had been introduced. (Liv. lib. xxv.) In U.C. 615
the Prsetor, C. Cornelius Hispalus, banished those who attempted to establish the
worship of the Sabasian Jupiter (Valer. Max. lib. i. c. iii.) ; and in U.C 701, the
Temples of Isis and Serapis were again demolished by order of the Senate. (Dion,
lib. xl.) These laws maybe found more fully detailed in an article, Sur le Respect
que les Romains avoient pour la Religion. Histoire de rAcadem. des Inscript.
torn, sxxiv. p. 110-125.
INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION. 13
nothino;, in the opinion of the wisest legislators, was more calculated
to dissolve the national religion than the introduction of foreign rites.'
Dion Cassius has transmitted to us a celebrated oration, in which '
]\I«cenas endeavours to press on Augustus a conviction of the dangers
which he conceives would result from the toleration of new religions.
And even under Tiberius the Egj-ptian ceremonies were violently
proscribed.
The mistaken opinion of an entire freedom from persecution may
have originated in a wrong inference, drawn from the verv remarkable
fact, that coexistent with intolerant laws against pulilic deviations
frora the established rites, was an almost unlimited liberty enjoyed by
individuals of expressing private sentiments. On the stiige, and in the
works of professed sceptics, the keenest ridicule against the popular
gods was exercised with perfect impunity.* The sarcastic attacks of
Plautus and Terence, as well as the impious sentiments of Seneai the
tragetUan, were heard without censure. The philosophic railler}" of
Cicero and of Luciau was indulged in without danger.*
The Christian religion had, therefore, to encounter the aversion Causes to
which the Romans entertained against foreign worship ; an aversion, opposition
indeed, which the enlargement of their empire had considerably dimi- ma^e }o
uished, but which may still be thought not to have been whollv mu"th«°' ^
eradicated. But however inclined the ruling powers might have been a^^i'ied.
in other cases to relax their severity, there were several distinctive
features in the Chiistian religion which soon awakened their appre-
hension. It was the religion, not of any particular nation or city, but
of a sect ; and that not merely a recent, but a proselyting sect. It
admitted no intercommunity of worship ; its existence required the
destruction of all other systems. It was not, like the religions of
polytheism, a new scion, which might be grafted on the general stock.
If was not an attempt to fill up an additional niche in the Pantheon.
It was an exclusive, uncompromising creed, which not merely did not
harmonise with anv other, but condemned all others. As it demanded
undivided allegiance from its followers, so it did not accept profiered
coalition with its opponents. The Christians took no pains to conceal
theii* contempt for the gods and temples and ceremonies of idolatry.
• Quoties hoc patrum avorumqiie atate negotium est magistratibus datum, ut
sacra externa fieri vetareiit : saorificulos vatesque foro, circo, uibe ])rohiberent;
vaticinos libros conquirerent comburerentque, omnem disciplinam sacrilicanJi pra;-
terqiiam more Romano abolerent? Judicabant enim prudentissimi viri omnis
divini humanique juris, nihil acque dissolvenda; religionis esse, quam ubi nou patrio,
sed externo ritu sacrificaretur. (Liv. lib. xxxix. c. xvi.)
* This was a circumstance which frequently struck the early Christians. Just.
Mart. Apol. i. c. iv. : Tertull. Apol. c. xlvi. Quinimo et Decs vestros palam des-
truunt .... laudantibus vobis, &c.
^ The same licence existed in Ancient Greece : and, by a somewhat similar
anomaly, the Church of Home combined with her former spirit of rigid intolerance
the strange permission of exhibiting theatrical pieces, in wliich the events of Scrip-
ture History were represented with irreverent buffoonery.
14
INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION.
The purple of the Pagan priesthood, to which the crowd had })een
taught to look up with reverence, was, in their eves, mockery.' This
spirit, though, perhaps, not at first fully perceived, was no sooner felt
than resisted.^ It was imputed to a strange obliquity of intellect or
of will. The niling maxim of Roman administration was, evidently,
if foreign worships could not be excluded, at least to consolidate them
into one great religious fedei'acy ; to allow men the free enjoyment of
their opinions, but to unite together those opinions by a common prin-
ciple of accommodation and reciprocal indulgence. The legislator,
who could not bend and mould Christianity into a component part of
the polytheistic sti'ucture, put it out of the circle of toleration, however
capacious, and endeavoured to crush it, before its magnitude was
increased ; and hence, perhaps, it is that the Christian was often con-
demned simply on account of his pi-ofession, when no criminal acts
were proved, or even alleged. The name was a test. The magistrate
was probably directed to consider it as such, with a view to prevent
the ultimate consequences of a system, of which, in particular in-
stances, it would have been difficult to define the mischief. But the
sufferer, who felt unable to explain on what principle so singular a
deviation from ordinary practice could be grounded, loudly complained
of the palpable injustice of passing sentence on him, in consequence of
a mere name, without any judicial inquiry into his character and con-
duct.^ Such, at least, seems to us to be the solution of the anomalous
mode of treatment which the Christians experienced.
But, independently of these apprehensions of the effects of the new
religion, arising from its essential incompatibility with polytheism, the
persons who professed it laboured under suspicions of disaffection to
the civil government. They refused to adore the image of the reign-
ing emperor ;* they refused to ofier idolatrous sacrifices for liis safety ;
they refused to swear by the genius of Cfesar, and to join in festivals
on the occasion of signal victories. They were sometimes accused of
declining to assist in the wars,"" by which the dangers which encircled
the Roman empire were averted. Doubts were consequently awakened,
which were not immediately dispelled by their declarations, however
' Sacerdotum honores et purpuras despiciunt. (Min. Fel. c. viii.)
* See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvi. The observation of Voltaire, in ac-
counting for the different treatment which the Jews and the Christians experienced
is not without truth. " Les Juifs ne voulaient pas que la statue de Jupiter fut k
Jerusalem ; mais les Chretiens ne voulaient pas qu'elle fut au Capitole." Diet.
Philos. art. Tolerance.
* Just. Mart. Apol. i. c. iv. ; Tertull. Apol. c. iii.
"* Tertull. Apol. c. xsxiii. &c.
* Tertullian, in his tract De Corona, considers it unlawful for a Christian to be
a soldier. This was written after his secession from the church ; but it must be
remembered that the Romans seem not to have distinguished the orthodox from the
schismatic. The perusal of the conclusion of the Eighth Book of Origen against
Celsus would, we think, have alone awakened in a high degree the fears of the
Roman rulers.
IXFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION', 15
emphatic, that, although they turned with shuddering fi-om profane
rites, yet thev cherished fidelity, oflered pravers* for the lives and
pros))erity of their ai)pointed governors, paid duly all trilnites and
taxes, abstained from factious commotions, and promoted charitv and
affection among the various members of the social bodv. The accu-
sation made more impression than the defence. It is also ])robable
that the habitual mention of the kingdom of the Messiah may, by a
misapprehension of its meaning, have tended to excite distrust.*
But nothing was more effectual in rousing the fears of the Roman NisiiiMy
nilers than the circumstance that men, whose principles were already '°^*"°t'^"
questioned, should hold frequent nocturnal meetings — meetings which
were expressly prohibited by law, and always dreaded as the secret
schools of dangerous conspiracies. Thus was it the hard lot of the
Christians that they could neither assemble openly, without being
exposed to violence, nor privately, without subjecting themselves to
suspicion. It was injudicious in them, however, to suli'er the alarm to
be heightened by adopting the language of unnecessary mvstery on the
subject of their sacraments.*
The feeling of fear or hatred already entertained was considerablv Calumnies
increased by the cloud of calumnies in which their conduct was ef,HstTai'i'^
enveloped. Strange reports of disgusting rites were industriouslv
circulated, and credulously believed. The furv of the lower and the
distrust of the higher orders were raised by absurd fictions, which
represented the Christians as slaying a new-born infant at their
initiation ; drinking the blood ; tearing asunder the limbs ; binding
themselves to secrecy ; and consummating their deeds of horror in
the shades of night, by the uncontrolled indulgence of the most
depraved passions.* In vain did the Christian, who avoided the sight
of the sanguinary feats of the amphitheatre, and who observed the
apostolic precejjt of abstaining Irom blood,* express his deepest abhor-
rence of inventions, which apparently originated in a monstrous per-
version of the meaning of the eucharistic commemoration of the death
of Ciirist ; in vain did he appeal to the common feelings of mankind,
and challenge the minutest investigation of his actions ; the jirogress
of falsehood was but slowlv repressed, and was attended bv manv and
serious evils. The expressions of affection which the Clu-istians em-
ployed were misconstrued.' The remembrance of the infamous practices
which kindled tiie indignation of the senate against the Bacchanals,
inspired the l^)inan statesman with a belief that there was no crime so
revolting which might not be committed under the cloak of religion.
' Tertull. A])()l. c. xxxviii. &c.
- Justin Miutyr (iti Apol. i. c. xi.) acknowledges that it was suspected to mean
a kiiisjdoni on eartli.
^ On the ancient custom of concealing the nature of the Sacraments, see Bing-
ham's Antiquities of the Christian Church,- b. x. c. v.
* See the description given in Minucius Felix, c. ix. &e.
* The heathen were aware of this fact. Tertull. Apol. c. ix.
" Davis, note in Min. Fel. c. ix.
1 6 INFLUENCE OF THE PAGAN RELIGION.
But the obstinacy of the Pagans in receiving reports which they
had not investigated, notwithstanding the internal improbabihty of
the pretended facts, notwithstanding the superior means of inquiry
which they possessed, notwithstanding the bold challenge of the
Apologists to sift thoroughly all charges adduced against their society,
is the more unjustifiable, as, on the supposed truth of these reports,
extraordinaiy cruelties were not unfrequently exercised.
( 17 )
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A.D. 101 TO 211.
Although we have already briefly adverted to the celebrated letter' A. r». 101.
which Pliny, during his residence as governor in the province of Review of
Pontus and Bithynia, addressed to Trajan, a more minute examination, toTrajan.""
and an illustration of it by a few additional remarks, will, perha])s, be
the best metiiod of conveying a clear and connected idea of the policy
which directed the conduct of the Roman rulers at the period suc-
ax'ding the apostolic age. The object of Pliny is to ascertain the i^* object,
nature and extent of inquiry and of punishment, which it was neces-
sary to adopt against the followers of the new religion. He states that
he had never been present at their trials, and that he entertained
doubts respecting the mode of proceeding, particularly on the following
points : — whether difference of age were taken into consideration, or
whether the tender and the robust were treated with the same
severity ; whether pardon were granted on repentance, or a renunciation
of Christianity were judged of no avail ; whether the mere name of
, Christian, unconnected with any crime, or the crimes that accompanied
the name, were the object of jmnishment.
From these questions it appears to us manifest that the Christians inferences
were then generally known as a se])arate body ; that judicial proceed- the questions
ings had been instituted against tliem ; that the repeated complaints proposed,
which the Apologists make of being punished for a name only, are
neitlier unfounded nor extravagant ; lastlv, that Piinv's design was to
suggest to the enqieror certain distinctions, calculated to mitigate the
rigour which had been exercised indiscriminately against the various
members of the rising sect.
It is still doubtful whether any edict, specifically directed against Kdicts
the Christians, Avas then in force.* The ex])ressions of Tertullian seem cM^ians!
to intimate that the laws of Nero, in this particular case, were not
» Plin. lib. X. Ep. 97. Vi(h> Church History, First Division, p. :i33.
2 -Mosiieim, Lardiier, Gibbon, &c. are of opinion that there were no edicts in
force atjainst the Christians. Bishop Kaye remarks, that the conclusion is erro-
neous, if any weight is to be attached to the statements of Tertullian, in his (irst
book ad Nationes, c. vii. Apolog. c. i. v. xxxvii. ; ad Scapul. c. iv. (Lectures on
Tertullian, p. 11 o). With respect to the abrogation of Domitian's laws by the
Senate, which Mosheim and I.ardner mention, and the belief in which rests upon
the authority of Suetonius (in Dom. c. sxiii.) and the writer of tlie Treatise de
Mortib. Persecut. c. xxi., it ought to be remembered that Trajan restored Domitian's
Rescripts, Epistolis enim Domitiani standinn est. (Plin. lib. x. Ep. 66.) (See
Gibbon's Index E.tpurgator. in his Miscell. Works, vol. v. p. 560.)
[C. H.J C
18
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
Method
pursued bv
Pliny.
Reasons
assigned
A. D. 101. abrogated. Nor can the contrary be inferred from the uncertainty of
so experienced a lawyer as Phny, since he himself, in another of his
letters, laments his deficiency on some points of legal knowledge.' It
may, however, be reasonably concluded that these laws, if not formally
and entirely annulled, were, in many respects, become of dubious
authority, and that the general decrees of the senate against the intro-
duction of new deities, though they enabled harsh or unjust governors
to pursue the most vigorous measures, were regarded by milder rulers
as attended with considerable difficulty in their meaning and in their
application.
In this state of perplexity, Pliny proceeds to describe the method
which he had followed towards all who were brought before him on
the charge of being Christians. He put the question. Whether they
were members of the body to which they were accused of belonging ?
If they answered in the affirmative, he repeated the question a second
and a third time, accompanjHing it with the threat of capital punish-
ment. Such as still persisted in their confession he looked upon as
infatuated, and ordered to be led away to prison or to execution ; for
the word employed is susceptible of this ambiguity.* " For," he adds,
in explanation of the motives which impelled him to the adoption of
this course, " I never doubted that, whatever might be the nature of
their confession, stubbornness, at least, and inflexible obstinacy, ought
to be punished." This sentence, when considered in connection with
his previous avowal of want of acquaintance with the trials of the
Christians, throws great light on an investigation of the causes of the
contempt and opposition which Christianity experienced from the phi-
losopher and the magistrate. Ignorance of the new, and attachment
to the old religion, were the main springs which directed the learned
and the powerful. The soft feelings of humanity were repressed by a
conviction that all attempts to endanger the religious establishment
would necessarily shake the stability of those civil institutions with
which, by a variety of means, it had long been united. The great
maxim of the Roman government, in its external relations, and in its
internal policy, was to spare the subject, but to enforce subjection,
Parcere subjectis, et dehellare superbos. The progress, however, of
Christianity seems not to have suffered that check which the severe
proceedings of the governor were intended to produce. A more
natural circumstance was, probably, the result : informations con-^
tinually multiplied. In consequence of an anonymous accusation, Pliny
examined several persons, who denied the profession of Christianity,
and who, as a mark of the sincerity of their assertions, repeated an
appeal to the gods, offered supplication with wine and frankincense to
• Ep. 14, lib. viii. wherein he consults Aristo, and gives the reasons of his want
of sufficient acquaintance with the Jus Senatorium.
* Pevseverantes duci jussi : that it does not necessarily imply capital punishment
is evident from many passages in other writers, e.g.'Ne mihi in carcere habitandum
sit, si Tribunus plebis duci jussisset. Cic. de Lege Agrar. Or. ii. sec. 37.
Conse-
quences of
the course
adopted.
pliny's account of the christians, 19
the image of the emperor, and reviled the name of Christ;* " with A. D. 101.
none of which things," adds tlie narrator, " as it is reported, can they
who are really Christians be induced to comply." These, therefore,
were discharged. Others at first confessed themselves Christians, and
afterwards recanted. Some, it appears, had renounced the profession
tliree years, some sooner, and others twenty years before ; which
periods cannot without difficulty be referred to the persecutions under
Domitian and Nero.*
The succeeding part of the letter contains the favourable account of Account of
the Christians which we have already transcribed.^ This account, it 0^11"*""^"
will be observed, was drawn by Pliny fi'om those who had recanted ; Christians,
men who, in all prol:)ability, by revealing any impious tenet, if such had
existed in the system, or any vicious habit in the professors, of the
religion which they had forsaken, would gladly have found a justifica-
tion of their apostacy, satisfactory alike to themselves and to their
judges, bringing peace to their consciences and security to their per-
sons. An infurmer, who had any reason to believe that he was tearing
the mask from the hvpocrite, and tlragging the criminal to light, would
have consoled himself with the reflection, that he was justly entitled to
the character of a public benefactor. Yet, for from finding any dis-
covery of concealed vice, any detection of subtle intrigue, we have a
tostimonv, recorded by an enemy, and deri\'ed from unsuspected wit-
nesses, which afl'ords not merely a rofutiition of the calumnies, by which
the character of the first Christians was assailed, Ixxta strong evidence
of their piety and rectitude, their unallected simplicity and affectionate
union. ^
Witli a view, moreover, to ascertain the trath of this account, V
Pliny, as we have already observed, deemed it necessary to examine
by torture two maid-servants, who are called ministers (perhaj)s
deaconesses) : he was unable, however, to discover anything, excej)t,
to use his own language, " a wilful and immoderate superstition ;" an
expression, as may be inferred from the whole tenour of the epistle,
only equivalent to " an oljstinate deviation from the established rites,
a presumptuous attempt to distui'b the religious harmony of the
heathen world."
In considering the moderation and humanitv, by which the general Examination
conduct of Pliny was distinguished, it appears difficult to determine ^^ ^o"""*-
' It is possible that tliis additional injunction may have been made in conse-
quence of a singular e(iuivi)cation, which we may perliaps suppose to liave been
tried before the time of the Valentinians, wlio argued that they might deny that
they were Christians without incurring the penalty denounced in the words of our
Saviour, " He who denies mc before men, him will I deny before my Father." (See
Bishop Kaye, on TertuUian, p. 15^i.)
* This inquiry was made probably A.D. 104-. Domitian perished in the year 96,
and Nero in G8 {i.e. 36 years before). The persons examined were perhaps con-
fused, and not scrupulously exact in the dates.
' Church History, First Division, pp. 291, 334,
C 2
20 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IX THE SECOND CENTURY.
A, D. 101. the reason which could induce him to select two females as fit subjects
to be tried by the horrors of the rack.^ It is most obvious to assign
this act of cruelty to a desire of extorting their secret with greater
facility, from the natural timidity of the weaker sex. We ought, how-
ever, to bear in mind, that the Roman laws did not allow any persons
to be put to the torture except slaves and female servants, whose
evidence, unless by this process, was inadmissible.*
It was not, however, his intention to continue these intolerent pro-
ceedings. Sensible of the inefficacy of any system of indiscriminate
persecution, and anxious, it may be allowed, to yield to the dictates
of pity, and to obtain from imperial authority some definite regulation,
which might alleviate the sufferings of the Christians, by silencing the
clamours of their informers, he suspended all rigorous measures till the
State of reply of Trajan should relieve bis perplexity. To impress on the ern-
[n'ponTi^'*^ l^eror's mind a pi'oper sense of the magnitude of the subject, he assures
andBithynia. him that persons of all ranks and ages and of both sexes, were accused,
and would still be accused : for the contagion, he adds, of the new
superstition had not merely seized cities, but lesser towns, and the
open countiy. The temples had been almost deserted; the sacred
ceremonies had sufi'ered a long intermission ; and the victims were for
some time without purchasers.
Influence of These assertions render it a very probable conjecture that the
hood"^'" severity of the governors, and the exasperation of tlie populace, were
excited and kept alive by the priests, by the inferior officers of reli-
gion, and, in short, by all to whom the splendid solemnities or gor-
geous structures, which were consecrated to the maintenance of Poly-
theism, were a source of pleasure, of emolument, and of distinction.
Nor would the representations of the priesthood be received without
alarm, even by the philosophic sceptic. Regarding the existing
religions as instruments of control, or incentives to exertion, many of
tlie sages of antiquity had no sooner closed their free speculations on
the divinity, than they bent before the senseless objects of popular
idolatry which they internally ridiculed.^ Even the followers of
Epicurus and of Pyrrho were willing to discharge the sacerdotal
' Mosheim adds, Presbyteris cum Episcopo aut fuga dilapsis, exortS tempestate,
aut in occulto latcntibus. (De Keb. Chr. p. 232.) The assertion is, we think,
unwarranted and luijust.
* This was not the case in other countries. Dicendum de institutis
Atheniensium, Khodioruni, doctissimorum hominum, apud quod etiam (id quod
acerbissimum est) Hberi, civesque torquentur. (Cic. de Part. Orat. c. xxiiv.) Hence,
as Gibbon has remarked, the acquiesence of the Provincials encouraged their
governors to acquire, and perhaps to usurp, a discretionary power of employing the
rack to extort from vagrant and plebeian criminals the confession of their guilt, till
they insensibly proceeded to confound the distinctions of rank, and to disregai-d the
privileges of fioman citizens. (See Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvii.) It may be
doubted, however, whether so conscientious a governor as Pliny would have
deviated from the practice of the state and the rule of civilians.
3 Orig. c. Cels. lib. v. p. 260.
CHRISTIANITY UNDER TRAJAN. 21
offices.' But the ascendency of the priesthood would be particularly a. v. 101.
great in the mind of Pliny, who was anxious that reverence sliould be
entertained " for the deities, for ancient glory, even for fables."^ The
glowing imagery of Pagan worship, with its train of varied associa-
tions, had taken possession of his ardent fancy. The elegance of his
taste lent charms to emptv pageantrv; and his time was s])ent in Ijuild-
ing and in adorning temples. Another remark must force itself on
the most incredulous examiner. The letter aiibrds an un(|uestionable ^^'i;'e
proof of tlie rapid dilTusion of Christianity, throughout the province of chri'stiTnitv.
Pontus and Bithvnia, in the short space of eighty vears after the death
of its Divine fomuler. The testimony of Pliny, corroborated as it is
by the writings of Lucian,^ ought to satisfy us that the expressions, in
which the Fathers describe the extent of the Church, though doubtless
hyperbolical, were not suggested by the remotest wish to invent and
deceive.
Pliny concludes by describing the revival of Pagan rites, in con-
sequence of his administration, and by expressing a confident hoj^e
that if pardon were granted on repentance, the new sect would lose a
considerable num])er of its adherents. The answer of Trajan is brief i»«pb' of
and ))Ositive. After declaring his approbation of the course pursued "•'*"■
by Pliny, and admitting the impossiliility of laying down any one
rule calculated for universal application, he directs, that the Christix^ns
sliould not be sought for, but that, if any were brought before tlie
governor, they should be punished. He was careful to add, that such
as denied the profession of Christianitv, and confirmed their denial by
supplications to the gods, notwithstanding any former suspicion,
should obtain pardon. Moreover, he observes, that an accusation
ought in no instance to be admitted, unless signed by the person who
presented it ; for the sanction of anonymous informations " would be
a disgraceful precedent, unworthy of the age of Trajan." It is in oisen-ations
speaking of this rescript that Tertullian has severely reflected on the on'^heEciic"
anomaly of forbidding the adoption of active measures against the examined.
CJu'istians, as if innocent, and yet ordering them to be punished as if
guilty. " If," he exclaims, " they deserve condemnation, why should
they not be sought for ? if they deserve not to be sought for, \\-hy
should they not be acquitted ?"■• But, although Trajan, from the
nature of existing laws, and the influence of preconceived opinions,
might not consider them as guiltless, he might nevertheless regard
them as a race of mistaken men, who, in their relation of citizens,
were not likely to endanger the peace and security of society : while,
' Epict Dissei-t. lib. ii. c. sx. ; Diog. Laert. lib. x. sec. 10, &c. ; Encyclopaedia,
History of Roman Philosophy, article Sext. Empiric. * Ep. 21, lib. viii,
' Alexander, the false prophet, is represented as complaining — if'mt Ift.irtx^.'ntSeii
xa) X^ia-TMiuv Tov riinriv. (Pseudomant. sec. 25.)
* O sententiam necessitate confusam ! Negat inquirendos, ut innocentes, et
mandat punienJos, ut nocentes. Parcit et sa;vit, dissimulat et aniniadvertit ! Quid
temetipsam, Censura, circumvenis ? Si damnas, cur non et iii([uiris ? si non in-
quiris, cur non et absolvis? (Apol. c. ii.)
22 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D, 101. on the other hand, all encouragement given to informers, a description
of men against whom he had published very severe laws, would
necessarily open a wide field for malignity, avarice, cruelty, and all
the passions which are nourished by persecution. He considered tacit
neglect as less dangerous than rigorous search, but open acquittal as
pregnant with the most disastrous consecjuences to the institutions of
the state. Tertullian himself has not reckoned Trajan among the per-
.secutors,' and has acknowledged that the eflect of this edict was in
some degree to frustrate the penal laws, on which the harsh treatment
which the Christians experienced from the provincial rulers was gene-
rally grounded.
Genuineness We have hitherto detailed and commented upon the contents of
"etters^ these letters on the tacit assumption of their genuineness. As Semler,
however, has undertaken to discover in them the traces of impostm-e,
it may be necessary to state briefly on what grounds their authority
has been received. The chief points on which we would insist are
the following : — these letters are not a single unconnected document,
such, for instance, as the ' Acts of Pilate,' which might be easily
forged, but they form a part of an extensive correspondence, into which
important epistles could not without great difficulty be interpolated ;
they are found in all manuscripts containing the Tenth Book of
Epistles,* in which this correspondence is preserved, and some of
these manuscripts are of very great antiquity : these lettei's, moreover,
are quoted by Tertullian, at an early j^eriod, when fal^rication might
have been speedily detected, particularly as it ap[)ears, from the
account of Pliny himself, that his works were widely circulated f the
quotation of Tertullian is renewed without the slightest suspicion by
Eusebius, by Jerome, by Orosius, and later writers : lastly, these
letters bear all the internal characters of truth ; — they are not suffi-
ciently favourable for a Christian fabricator, they are too ilivourable for
a Pagan ; the style, too, and manner of Pliny are so strikingly pre-
served, that an editor,* who professes to have spent many years in
thoroughly examining and illustrating his works, declares that he
could perceive nothing in this part of them which was not perfectly
in character with the rest ; they have been, besides, repeatedly sifted
and explained by men who possessed the deepest knowledge of lan-
guages and antiquities, yet of these examiners none, till the time of
Semler, ever ventured to deny their genuineness.* In a word, the
' Apol. c. V.
* It is but just to add, that suspicions have been entertained, but without suf-
ficient grounds, against the whole of the Tenth Book of Epistles, chiefly because it is
found in very few manuscripts.
^ £.g. Bibliopolas Lugduni esse non putabam : ac tanto libentius ex literis tnis
cognovi venditari libellos nieos, quibus peregre manere gratiam, quam in urbe col-
legerint, delector. (Ep. 11, lib. xi.) ■* Gierig.
* They have been examined by Balduinus, in his Commentaries on the Edicts of
the Roman Emperors ; by J. H. Boehmerus, by Sam. Petitus, and other writers,
enumerated by Fabricius in his Biblioth. Lat. torn. ii. p. 415, Ed. Ernest. For
EDICT OF HADRIAN. 23
authorit}- of manuscripts, the testimony of succeeding writers, the A. D. 101.
consent of commentators, the exceeding difficulty of any interpolation,
the absence of a sufficient motive for such an interpolation, the style
and suVvject of the whole,' must be admitted V;y the dispassionate
examiner, as far overlialancing a few captious objections, such as might
be urged against the authenticity of almost any record of antiquity.
The o})eration of Trajan's e<iict'^ was favouraljle to the rising state of
Churcli. Still it is evident that consideral)le scope was left to arbi- un"er'*""^
trarv governors for the exercise of those powers which reduced the Trajm.
Christians to a state of danger and disti-ess. The turbulence and
ferocitv of the po])ulacc, fomented by the artifices of the ])ri('sthood,
still displayed itself in those seasons of tumultuous festivity, when the
strength of a collected multitude was more sensibly felt, and its desires
less commonly o])posed. Tranquillity, for the most part, came or
departed according to the ebb or flow of popular feeling.
On the accession of Hadrian, a prince whose superstitious addiction Accession of
to divination and magic,* and whose zealous activity in the maintenance
of the Pagan ceremonies, may have encouraged the })riests to renew ^•^' -^ -^ ' •
their machinations, the Christians were assailed by fi'esh charges, and
harassed with increased violence. The public games became, as usual,
scenes of licentiousness inflamed by bigotry. The civil authorities
were unable to check the progress of an evil, of which they witnessed
the extent and deprecated tlie consequences. Hence the complaints A. n. 120.
of Serenius Granianus, the proconsul of Asia, and the consequent edict His edict,
of the emperor, addressed to his successor, which we have already
noticed.'* Though apparently not free from some ambiguity, it was
considered, probably from its real effects, as a powerflxl ])rotection.
Hadrian united an inquisitive disposition* with an affable address.'
It is probable, therefore, that this favourable result may have been
jiartly produced by the apologies of Quadratus and Aristides. But whether
liowever inclined the emperor might be to shield the Christians from ,iesi"nTa to
insult and injury, Ave cannot admit that it was his intention to Iiave consecrate
built a temple to Christ, and to have enrolled him among the gods. Christ?
No mention of any such design is to be found, where it is most natiu-al
further remarks on these Epistles, see G. J. Vossii in Ep. Plin. de Christijin. Com-
ment. ; and Lardner's Jewish and Heathen Testimonies, vol. v. p. 3-86.
' The above arguments will be found more fully detailed in Gierig's edition ot
Pliny the Younger (torn. ii. 498-519).
* It is hardly necessary to notice a supposed edict, by which Trajan is said to
have put a stop to the persecution in consequence of a letter from Tiberian,
governor of the First Palestine, complaining that he was wearied with destroying
the Christians, on whom severity had no effect. It is first mentioned by John
Malela, a credulous writer of the sixth century, and, though cited by Suidas
(v. T^a'iavii), contains undeniable marks of forgery. See Dodwell (in Dissert.
Cyprian. Diss. 11, sec. 23, 24).
* Dion Cassias, lib. Ixiv. Ammian. Marcell. lib. xsv.
* Encyclop.Tdia, History of Kome, .irticle Hadrian.
' Curiositatum omnium explorator. Tertull. Apol. c. v.
*■ In colloquiis etiam humillimorum civilissimus, Spart. Adrian, c. xs.
24 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
126. to seek it, in the Christian writers of the second and third centuries.
The assertion is founded on the single testimony of Lampridius,' from
whom we also learn that Hadrian commanded temples without images
to be erected in all cities. The origin of the report is thus easily
traced ; but to suppose that his object was really to introduce Chris-
tianity, is to contradict his character as one who exerted as much
diligence in supporting the religion of Rome, as he expressed contempt
for all foi'eign worship.* In the singular letter which he wrote from
Egypt to Servianus, the state of the Christians is described in a tone
of raillery.^ And, as we are expressly informed by Spartian,'* that he
consecrated several temples to himself, it is not improbaljle that these
buildings were designed for the same purpose, and left unfinished in
consecjuence of his death. From the prevalence of the report, how-
ever, we may safely draw one conclusion, that Hadrian was not re-
garded as being hostile to the professors of Christianity,
of the It was particularly during the reign of Hadrian, as Eusebius informs
inous. ^S' ^^^ *^*^ cause of revealed trath floiurished.* The deification of
Antinous, the temples erected, priests appointed, and victims offered,
in honour of a depraved favourite, gave the Christians an opportunity
of exposing the origin of the Pagan deities, which seems to have been
successfully seized.®
of the But, notwithstanding the measures adopted in their favour, the
heiws Christians were still in a precarious and often distressful situation.
Their apparent identity with the Jews, who had, not long before,
been engaged in a wide and bloody revolt, had exposed them to the
retributive excesses of the Roman populace. Their hardships now
arose iVom another quarter, but were accompanied with circumstances
of aggi-avated calamity. The vast numbers, who gathered together
under the standard of the daring impostor Barcochebas,'' spread terror
and desolation in every part of Palestine, and assailed with merciless
fiary the followers of Christ, as enemies alike to the liberty and the
religion of their country.^ The visitation of vengeance fell, indeed, no
less rapidly than dreadfully on that infatuated nation, and on the
ancient seat of her departed glory f but it came too late to protect
numbers, who, amid scenes of slaughter and of torment, amid the cry
of rebellion and of blasphemy, unrecorded and unpitied, resigned their
lives to preserve the faith which they had conscientiously embraced.
I In Vit. Alesand. Sever, c. xliii. The story is rejected by Casaubon.
® Sacra Romana diligentissimfe curavit ; peregrina contempsit. Spart. in Vit.
Adrian, c. sxii.
* Vopisc. in Vit. Saturnin. p. 245. ■* In Vit. Adrian.
^ Euseb. Pra;p. lib. iv. c. xvii. ^ See Univ. Hist. vol. sv. p. 169, note.
7 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. vi. On the revolt of Barcochebas, see Hottmger,
Hist. Eccles. p. 68, and Encyclopaedia, Hadrian.
8 Just. Mart. Apol. lib. ii. p. 12.
^ On the ruins of Jerusalem Hadrian built ^Elia Capitolina, from which he
excluded the Jews. (Dion. Cassius, lib. Ixix. ; Just,* Mart. Dial, cum Tryph. ;
Sulpit. Sever. Hist. Sacr. lib. ii. c. xxxi.)
EDICT OF ANTONINUS PIUS. 25
Thus was it the singularly unhappy situation of the Christians to be A.D. 12G.
deemed dangerous by the Romans, as men disafiected to their govern-
ment, and by the Jews as men attached to it.
The era of a new reign was generally the era of a new persecution. A. D. 138.
The salutary operation of Hadrian's decree ceased, in a great measure. Accession of
with his life ; the restless spirit of calumny revived, and impiety and p."'""'"'"*
atheism were the reproaches to which the Christians were exposed,
even in the reign of the mild, the amiable, the benevolent Antoninus
Pius. It was to deprecate this injustice that Justin INIartyr atldressetl
to the Emperor an apologv, remarkal)le for its open and manly lan-
guage. In consec[uence, perhaps, of this remonstrance, Antoninus
renewed by his sanction the rescript of Hadrian, and restored com-
parative tranquillity to the Church. Yet even the Imperial Decree
was not sufficient to control the force of popular exasperation. An Putiiic
earthquake furnished additional matter for insult and barbarity. For ^'.rn,e(i'"r
calamities, of whatever nature, and from whatever cause, storms, or <ii'';ni)"ence
blight, or pestilence, or famine, or commotions, or defeats, were ascribed tianity.*"
to the disciples of the new worship.' " Their enemies," savs Ter-
tullian, "call aloud for the blood of the innocent, alleging this vain
pretext for their hatred, that thev believe the Christians to be the cause
of every pul)lic misfortune. If the Tiber has overflowed its banks, or
tlie Nile has not overflowed ; if heaven has refused its rain ; if the
earth has quaked ; if famine or the ])lague has spread its ravages, the
ay is inmiediate, ' Away with the Christians to the lion.' "*
In this instance the Emperor is said to have issued an edict, pre- Edict of
served by Justin Martyr^ and Eusebius,* in which he not only prohibits pjus°"'""^
his subjects from resorting to vexatious and oppressive measures, but
contrasts the confidence of the Christians with the supineness and in-
diflerence of the heathen world. He adds, " if any shall continue to
molest the Christians merely on account of their profession, let the
accused party be discharged, though confessedly a Christian, and let
the informer himself be compelled to undergo the rigour of the law."*
' Amob. lib. i. in init.
* TeituU. Apol. c. xl. In the veiy beginning of his Apolooy, Amobius com-
plains of this unjust accusation, that Christianity excited even the depredations of
locusts and of vermin. The object of C3-prian's Tract to Denietrian is to prove
that the evils which oppressed the empire were not the etlects of Christianity.
Indeed, this persuasion continued to increase so strongly, that Augustine undertook
his great work De Civitate Dei, and Orosius composed his History, to remove the
objections which it raised. For even after the establishment of Christianity as the
religion of the state, it was charged, in the language of the defenders of Polytheism,
with having chased away the genii of the Roman people (Symm. pro Sacr. I'atr. ap.
PiTident.), and drawn down the indignation of their forefathers, as they bent from
their seats above to contemplate the land of their birth and of their fame (ibid.).
* Apol. i. ad fin.
* Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xiii. Eusebius quotes it from Melito.
' This edict, however (of which the genuineness has been doubted), is ascribed
to Blarcus Aurelius by Scaliger, Valesius, Huet, Pagi, Grabe, and other leanied
writers ; but it accords better with the character and conduct of Antoninus Pius.
26 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. I). 161. It was the singular happiness of the Roman Empire, that the virtues
Accession of of Antoninus Pius were transmitted to a successor, who illustrated by
Aureiius his life, as well as by his writings, the severe precepts of the most rigid
Antoninus, g^ct of ancient philosophy. This happiness, however, was not uni-
versally felt. One class of his subjects, either in consequence of new
rescripts or of the former penal laws, was still debarred from the
benefits of an equitable government, and the enjoyment of general
tranquillity ; still calumniated, still plundered, still persecuted. Even
Causes ofiiis Marcus Aurelius, the disciple of a school which professed to unite the
ChrS.i'anrty!' ^^'^^ ^f justice with Contempt of pain, viewed the sufferings and the
fortitude of the Christians without attempting to mitigate the one, or
to seek for the other any higher motive than mere obstinacy ; an in-
flexibility which arose not from deliberation and judgment, but which
exulted in producing a tragical eftect.' The impulse of his natural
humanity seems, on these occasions, to have been checked by various
joint causes, among the chief of which may be reckoned the paralysing
influence of the principles of Zeno, and the suggestions of the philo-
sophers, to whom he paid an unbecoming degree of obsequious reve-
rence,* while the Christians directed against them the most pointed
attacks ;' to which may be added, his own feelings of contempt for all
pretensions to miraculous powers ;* joined to a regard for the cere-
monies of the Roman religion, so excessive as to expose him to the
ridicule of his Pagan contemporaries.* Crimes, from which the mind
I'evolts with disgust and horror, were repeated without investigation,
and a persecution arose, of which the reader may form some idea from
the martyrdom of one of its most remarkable victims, Poly carp, which
we have already described.
Martyrdoms As an example of the persecutions which raged in the seventeenth
and Vienne. y^^''" of the reign of M. Aurelius, Eusebius® has preserved the account
of the Mart}Tdoms of Lyons and Vienne, written by the churches
there established. The situation of the Christians in those days of
terror is delineated with minuteness and animation. Debarred from
mutual intercom-se, excluded from the common rights of society, ex-
posed to mockery, reproach, and outrage, they had no source of solace
but the conviction that " the sufferings of the present time are not to
* O'/a irriv h i^/v^it rt iToifjbot, lav i'ow a-ToXuSyivai oin toZ auftoLTOi, xai riTei ff(itff-
6)ivat, ri trx,iia,(r6riva,i « aviJi,f/,UMai \ to Ss iroi/yt-im tovto, 'iva ccTto iS/xjj; x^iintu; 'ip^nra,!,
fi.r> icccra, ipiXtiv ira^aTa^iv, as oi X^iimetvoi, aXXa XiXoyio'fiiva;, xai ffifivu;, xa,i iliffn
x,ai aXXav 'Suaa.i, aT^aylulois. De Reb. Suis. lib. xi. sec. 3.
* Jul. Capitol, in M. Aurel. &c, ^ Tatian. Assyr. Orat. c. Grsec. &c.
* He observes, that he had leanit, after Diognetus, not to believe the reports of
workers of wonders and magicians on the subject of incantation, the averting of
demons, and such like effects, p. i. ed. Gatak.
* E. g. the satirical petition : oi Xivkoi fiiis Majxw ra Kaitrct^i' iv <ru niKwns yi/^Ts
a'TuXifiiia.. Ammian. Marcell. lib. xxv. c. iv.
^ Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. i. A part only of the account is preserved ; the whole
was inserted by Eusebius in his Collection of the Acts of the Martyrs, which is now
lost.
CHRISTIANITY UNDER MARCUS AURELIUS. 27
be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." The delu- A. ii. 101.
sion and fury of the multitude, their crowding together, their cries,
their blows, as they dragged the suflerer, as they pillaged his property,
as they assaulted him with stones, as they converted his house into
his prison — these are scenes which, even on a transient glance, open a
view of the calamities which attended the professicni of Christianity at
that junctui'e. But, however afflicting, they sink in the shade when
compared with the dreadful circumstances which followed. Some
Christians shrank from torments, and abandoned their religion. Apos-
tate servants, overcome by the instant fear of ])unishment, accused the
faithful of cannil)alism, infanticide, and promiscuous incest; " crimes,"
exclaim the writers, " which it is not lawful for us to mention, or to
think of, or to believe to have ever been committed by human beings."
The calumny sjiread, and was credited ; the passions of the peof)le
were excited and inflamed : consternation and uncertainty arose among
the Christians; confidence was dissolved; the bonds of affinity and
friendship, which had hitherto linked them to the Gentile conmiunity,
were rent ; every feeling of compassion was smothered ; torments of
all kinds were exercised ; neither age, nor sex, nor infirmity claimed
protection. From morning till evening proceeded the horrid trial, till
tlie executioner himself grew faint and feeble, while his victim, torn
and mangled, still cried with renewed strength, " I am a Christian —
tliere is no guilty practice among us."
Pothinus, the bishop of Lyons, though upwards of ninety years of
age, was rudely assaulted, and perished in prison, in consec^uence of
tlie merciless treatment which he experienced.
It is not our intention to give a detail of the torments which are
mentioned. Indeed it is difficult to read them without asking whether
the ancient Christians w^ere beings of the same texture as ourselves,
mled by the same laws of self-preservation, possessed of the same
" senses, aftections, passions, fed by the same food, and hiu't by the
same weapons?"
The whole description is perhaps more affecting than any other Uemarks.
narrative in ecclesiastical history. It speaks of men who, though
marked by the prints of the lash and the scars of the burning iron, far
from glorying in their constancy, extended their alfectionate care to
their weak and fallen brethren, — of men who, in their own inijiressive
language, " had always loved peace, had always recommended peace,
and in ])eace departed to God." A tone of pious fortitude breathes
through it which comes home to the heart. Joseph Scaliger,' in whom
habits of callous criticism had not dulled the fine edge of sensibility,
declares that the perusal of it was wont to transport him be\ond himself,
to change him as it were into a new being. On the mind of Addison,"
fraught w'ith an exquisite perception of all that is pure and delicate,
and noble in sentiment and expression, it exerted its full powers to
charm, to elevate, and to convince. Amid so many legends, in which
' Animad. in Euseb. p. 221. * See his Evidences of Christianity, sec. 7.
28 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A, D. 161. circumstances, unnatural and distorted, revolt and disquiet the reader,
though ever so well disposed to repel captious surmises, it is pleasing
to point out some relations, on many parts of which it is impossible
to dwell without feeling the influence of religion.
Brief account To this reign' may be referred the death of Peregrinus, an occur-
and'death of ^^"*^^ which has been depicted by the lively pencil of Lucian.* The
Peregrinus. history of this singular person, succinctly sketched, mav sei've to throw
hght on the customs of the ancient Christians. In early youth, if we
may credit his hostile biographer, he was guilty of vices which
endangered his safety. He is even accused of having murdered his
father, in order to obtain more speedily his inheritance ; and it is
reported, that in consequence of the notoriety of the crime, he was
induced to fly his countr3\ In the course of his wanderings, whilst in
Palestine, he embraced, or affected to embrace, the Christian religion.
The reputation which he acquired in the new sect, who were either
ignorant of his former character, or satisfied with his subsequent
repentance, is said to have been considerable. He presided in their
assemblies, and displayed so much zeal in their cause, that he was
seized by their enemies, and cast into prison. Whilst in confinement,
he received from the Christians every attention which benevolence
could suggest to mitigate the severity of his situation. Widows and
orphans came anxiously to pay to him the duties of humanity ; the
ministers of the Church prevailed on his guards to allow them to
spend the nights by his side ; and deputies were sent with money to
relieve his wants and to administer consolation. Feasts of love, inter-
mingled with converse on sacred subjects, were celebrated in the scene
of his trial. And here even the raillery of Lucian aftbrds honourable
testimony to the disinterestedness and fortitude which actuated the
Christians. They are described as assisting their afflicted friends with
incrediljle promptitude and liberality, and as despising alike riches and
sufferings, in the hope of becoming qualified for immortality by per-
severance in the laws of their legislator ; one of which laws enjoined
tliem to regard all the members of their community as brethren. They
had all things, it is added, in common. The governor of Syria, a man
of a philosophic turn of mind, observing that Peregrinus wa.s resolved
to submit to martyrdom, rather than to renounce the religion he had
adopted, refused him the honour which he sought, and set him free.
On his release he returned to Parium, his native town, and ceded to
the public treasury the property which he had inherited from his
father ; an action which excited the highest degree of admiration.
Although professing Christianity, he wore the cloak and assumed the
usual exterior of a Cynic philosopher. In his travels, the Christians
continued to supply him with the necessaries of life, till, owing to
some breach of discipline which he committed, he forfeited their
esteem. Thus discarded, he indulged in all the grossness of the
' Respecting the miracle of the thundering legion, see Encyclopedia, M. Aurelius
Ant, Phil. * De Morte Peregrini.
CHRISTIANITY IN THE REIGN OF COMMODUS. 29
school he had last joined, and wandering through different countries, A. D. 161.
attracted notice l)y the scurrilities which he vented. But as the
novelty of liis conduct wore away, the attention Avhich it had excited
gradually diminished. He judged it necessary, therefore, to devise
some new method of raising himself to celebrity. The expedient which
he fixed upon was extraordinarv. He pulolicly proclaimed that he
intended to burn himself at tlie Olympic Games. The report was
extensively circulated, and naturally excited unusual interest. The
crowd assembled was immense. Vanity proved stronger than fear.
Peregrinus cast himself on a lighted pile erected for the ])urpose ; and,
in the words of his biographer, " the flames rising on every side,
nothing more was seen of him." His death was widely published,
and its circumstances were exaggerated. The satirical spirit of Lucian
was gratified as he heard a spectator seriously protest, that he had
seen prodigies attending this spectacle, which the writer himself (for
his love of truth seems not to have stood in the way of his fondness
for pleasantrv) had invented.
No general persecution is recorded as having happened in the reign A. p. 181,
of Commodus.' Some particular martyrdoms, however, are mentioned, Kei^'n of
and of these the most remarkable was that of Apollonius, a man dis- '"'" "*'
tinguished by his learning and philosophy. It is a singular circum- A. D. 189.
stance, that in this last instance both the accused and the accuser were Execution of
executed, It has been supposed that this punishment was inflicted on and the
the one in consequence of the law of Ti-ajan, and on the other, in 'icciised : how
compliance with the edict of Antoninus Pius. It is i^ossible, however,
that this double punishment may have arisen from a different cause.
The accuser of Apollonius was, as we leam from Jerome,* his slave ;
it may therefore be conjectured, that he was condemned according to
the ancient law, renewed by Trajan, by which the slave who informed
against his master was to be put to death. ^ It also apjpears that
Apollonius was of senatorian rank ; a proof, independent of the testi-
mony of Eusebius, that the Christian religion was now professed by
men of wealth and station.'* Indeed, we are informed by Dion Cause of the
Cassius* (unless the passage be one of the additions of Xijihilin), that ofu'e" "^
Marcia, the concubine of Commodus, exerted the influence which she Christians.
])0ssessed with the emperor, in procuring benefits for the Christians.
Thus, without a formal abolition of the penal laws, which were
directed against its members, the Church I'eceived little injury from the
powerful, whose prudence soon taught them to abandon persecution,
when their sagacity discovered that it was not the road to imperial
' Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xxi. * De Vir. Illust. c. xlii.
' That slaves, howuver, frequently accused the Christians, is evident from many
passages; e. ^. Quid ? quum doniestici eos vobis prodant? omnes a nullis magis
prodiraur, &c. Tertull. i. ad isation. c. vii. ; Bishop Kaye, on TertuUian, p. 139,
note.
* See the conjectures of M. de Mandajon in the article Sur une Pre'tendue Loi de
Marc. Aurei. en faveur des Chretiens. (Hist, de I'Acad. des Inscript. torn, sviii.
p. 222.) ^ Lib Ixxii. c. iv.
30 THE CHRISTIAN CHUP-CH IX THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D, 189. favour. But it is deeply to be lamented, that though we possess most
of the principal facts in Christian history, we are ignorant of numerous
slight intermediate occurrences, which, however trivial, when con-
sidered singly, afford in the aggregate the best clue towards a discovery
of tlie true motives which actuate the conduct of man. It is now left
to conjecture, to mould into a consistent whole a strange mass of
unconnected and sometimes discordant materials.
Pertinax No mention of the Christians occurs during the short reigns of
and Duiiiis Pertinax and Didius Julianus ; these emperors, unable to quell tiie
troubles ^vhich immediately surrounded them, had but little inclination
to make inquiries into the state of a religious sect.
Accession of The emperor Severus was at first favourably disposed towards the
Severns Christians, one of whom, named Proculus, had cured him of a disorder
A. u. 193. by anointing him with oil, and was in consequence retained in the
imperial palace till his death.' From a sense of gratitude, he defended
several Romans of high rank who had embraced Christianity, and
openly checked the fury which the multitude displayed against its fol-
lowers. Another circumstance may have contributed to produce this
fortunate effect : the Chi-istians had wholly abstained from taking part
in the civil dissensions raised by Niger in the East and by Albinus in
the West.^
circiter Incensed, however, at the rebellious spirit of the Jews,^ and, it mav
A. D. 202. be supposed, naturally averse to all deviations from the established
His edict creed, he issued an edict, prohibiting his subjects from abjuring their
religion in order to embrace the Jewish or the Christian faith. This
' The words of TertuUian are certainly ambiguous, Ipse etiam Severus, pater
Antonini, Christianorum memor fuit. Nam et Proculum Christianum, qui Torpa-
cion cognominabatur, Euhodiai [Euhodi] Procuratorem, qui eiim per oleum ali-
qiuando curaverat, requisivit, et in palatio suo habuit usque ad mortem ejus. (Ad
JScapul. c. iv. p. 87, ed. Rigalt.) Lord Hailes contends, but in our opinion wrongly,
that, according to Tertullian, the cure was wrought on Euhodus, and not on
Severus. (Inquiry into the Secondary Causes, which Mr. Gibbou has assigned for
the Rapid Growth of Christianity, p. 75.) This interpretation had been before
adopted by Basnage and Fleury. Dr. Jortin infers from the context that Tertullian
considered the cure as miraculous. (Remarks on Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 4.) Other
writers have regarded it as natural, and given instances of the medical uses of oil.
S. Petitus has made some learned remarks on the subject ; he conjectures that
Euhodia was the daughter of Euhodus, a freedman of Severus, who is called by
Dion Cassius, Caracalla's rjoipsu; (j. c. the person who had the care of his education),
and that Proculus was her freedman. (Diatrib. de Jure Princip. Edict. Eccles.
qusesit. p. 62.) Bishop Kaye has observed, " It may be doubted whether we ought
to infer from this statement tliat a practice then subsisted in the Church of anoint-
ino- sick persons with oil, founded on the injunction in the Epistle of St. James.
This, however, is certain, that the practice, if it subsisted, was directly opposed to
the Romish Sacrament of Extreme Unction ; which is administered, not with a
view to the recovery of the patient, but when his case is hopeless." (On Tertul-
lian, p. 4 55.) Besides the authors above mentioned, the reader may consult Fabric.
Lux. Evang. p. 2.';'.2. * Tertull. ad Scapul. c. ii.
3 Judajos fieri sub gravi poena vetuit. Idem etiam de Christianis sanxit. See
Spart. in \'it. Sever, c. xvii. : on which see the contradictory remarks of Mosheim
(de Reb. Christ, ante Const. M. p. 456), and Lardner (Testim. vol. iii. p. 12).
CHRISTIANITY IN THE REIGN OF SEVERUS. 31
edict, though it was, perhaps, only intended to stoji the progress of A. n. 202.
proselytism, proved in its operation destructive to the tranfjuilhty of
the Clmrch. The reign of Severus became prohfic in circumstances of
deep and extensive calamity.' In all parts, and ])articularl\- in Egvpt, Persecution.
persecution assumed its most dreadful forms, and among the victims
who endured their sufierings with extraordinary fortitude, the names of
Leonides, the father of Origen, of Perpetua and Felicitas, of Marcella
and Potiimi;T3na, and of many other martyrs are recorded.* It was Apoio-.-y of
i)njl)ablv about the commencement of this i)ersecution that TertuUian ''^rV'H'an-
l^ircittr
published his celebrated ' Apology,' addressed to the governors of Pro j^^ j,^ 204.
consular Africa.
It is manifest from this 'Apology,' that the Christians were exposed state of the
to peculiar hardships. Their true name was l)ut imperfectly learned, ^"'T'sti'""-
yet this name was used as a test, by which their guilt or innocence
was to be determined.^ They were not allowed to state their conduct
in a regulai" defence, but were asked the simple cjuestion, whether they
were members of the sect to which they were rejiorted to belong?
and, on their confession, they were either immediately condemned, or,
by a strange perversion of the usual reasons for the application of the
rack, were tortured, not in order to disclose, but in order to retract the
truth. The most drc'adful crimes were, as formerly, laid to their
charge, without any attempt being made to establish them by evidence,
or even to show their probability. The reformation of life produced
by conversion, was seen, felt, and yet disputed. Virtue in a Christian
was no longer deemed virtue. To the accusation of abandoning the
worshi]) of the gods, they answered that they were justified in rejecting
an idolatry, which invested with divine honours* deceased mortals, and
a)ntained a disgiisting mass of incongruity and jxjUution. But, as
their lives were t»-aduced, so were their doctrines misrepresented.
Fictions, which ought hardly to have obtained credit, when the sect
was but little spread, were still circulated and believed. The Christians
were still often confounded with Jews ; and the history of the latter
people was still misrepresented. The calumnies respecting the objects
of Christian worship were repetited. Thus, ignorance combined with
malice, and contempt with hatred, in directing tlie ellbrts of obloquv
and persecution.
One GUise of the hostility of the peojile arose from the abstinence conduct
of the Christians from all tumultuous expressions of joy on occasions of "f ''.'«.
public festivity.* Amid the revellings and banfjuetings of the crowd, at'pubnc"
when the city was become, in the language of the ' Airologist,' " a festivals.
pul)lic tavern ;" when the extravagance of uncontrolled mirth was
termed tlie effusion of a loyal spirit, the Christian, over whom religious
I This is reckoned the fifth persecution by Orosius (lib. vii. c. svii.), and tlie
sixth by Sulpitius Severus (Hist, Sac. lib. ii. c. x.xxii.).
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. i. &c.
" They were called Ciirestiani, instead of Christiani. (Teitull. Ai")!. c. iii.)
* TertuU. Apol. c. ii. * Ibid, c. xxxv. xxxvi. xxxviii. xxxix.
32
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IX THE SECOND CENTURY.
Opinions
of the
Christians
respecting
the origin
ami nature
of Idolatry.
A. D. 204. feelings exerted an undivided influence, retired from scenes of reckless
gaiety to the exercise of peaceful devotion ; his door-posts were not
overshadowed with laurels, his windows were not illuminated with
lamps, his tables were not spread with costly viands ; but, in tem-
perance and modesty, he followed the purer precepts of his religion,
and sought not in the general rejoicings an excuse for luxury and
licentiousness.' But this conduct was deemed, by some, disaffection
to the government, and, by all, a morose rejection of the pleasures
which shed a charm over human life.
It is impossil)le, however, to understand distinctly the slate of
feeling at this period, without giving a brief sketch of the opinion of
tlie Christians on the heathen worship. There was nothing of which
the Christians entertained greater horror than idolatry.^ It was the
general notion that, although the heathen deities were men, who during
tiieir lives had rendered eminent services to society,® the authors and
promoters of their worship were demons.* These demons, — either
corrupt angels,^ or their ]«-ogeny,* clothed in a texture of the utmost
tenuity, traversed the air, wandered over the earth, and employed their
subtile powers in deceiving and in tormenting the human race.'' They
first drew man from the knowledge of his Creator, and afterwards tried
every device to confirm him in his error. Susceptible of receiving
both nourishment and pleasure from the savoury steam of victims, they
encouraged sacrifices, and lurked in statues.^ Capable of transporting
themselves with wonderful velocity into the most distant regions, and
of entering, by reason of the fineness of their substance, into the most
minute and hidden recesses, they accjuired a knowledge almost instan-
taneous of passing events. These events they communicated to the
ministers of oracles, who were thus enabled to rival true prophets, by
declaring what it was beyond human power to learn, or, at least, to
learn so soon.* By their assistance children prophecied.'" To main-
tain the ceremonies of idolatry, they governed lots, moved the entrails
of victims, and directed the flight of birds." They were ever busy in
producing evil : they nipped the young bud, and shed blight upon the
corn ; they raised storms and infected the atmosphere ; they filled the
mind with violent passions and irregular desires ; they worked the
illusions of enchantment, and called up the souls of the departed by
' Tertull. Apol. c. ssxv.
* Tertull. (de Idolol. c. i.) calls it piincipale crimen generis humani, &c. Cyprian,
summiim delictum, Ep. 10. Thiers, Traite des Superstitions, lib. ii. c. iii.
3 Tertull. Apol. c. x. xi. &c.
* Oa this subject see Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. vol. ii. c. sv. p. 127, and
Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, p. 214-221.
* Min. Fel. c. xxvii, « Tertull. Apol. c. xxii. ^ Ibid.
^ Ibid. Min. Fel. c. xxvii. &c.
' Thus Tertullian (in Apol. c. xxii.) explains how Apollo knew that Croesus was
boiling a tortoise with the flesh of a lamb. The story is told in Herodotus, lib. i.
c. xlvii.
'" Tertull. Apol. c. xxiii. " Min. Fel. c. xxvii.
FEAR OF IDOLATRY. 33
necromancy ; thoy infused dreams, and deluded the senses by miracles.' A. n. 204.
By them the deatli of Socrates was suggested, in order to destroy
every etlbrt of truth.* By their invisible lash, the emperors, as the
Apologists boldly declared to them, were impelled to jjersecute the
foithful without cause.* Yet these demons were subject to the
Christians.* Tertullian ojienly challenges his adversaries to bring
demoniacs before the tribunals, and affirms, that the spirits which
possessed them, when sunmioned by the exorcist, would confess
themselves to be evil demons, and Ijear witness to the truth of Chris-
tianity.* Similar appeals are confidently made by other fathers of the
Church. Satiu-n, and Jupiter, and Serapis, and the other gods of
paganism, unable to endure the pain, are described as proclaiming
their nature.* Such were the general sentiments of the earlv believers.
By the constant application of these theories, they felt themselves under
no necessity to deny the most absurd pretensions and fables in the
ancient mythologv.' And, by the same system, whenever any simi-
larity existed between the Christian and the heathen ceremonies, it
was at once attributed to the wiles of malicious spirits."
The adoption of these ojiinions concurred with a sense of the Divine
])rohibitions, and with a view both of the practical evils, and of the
rooted force of polytheism, to inspire them with extreme feai' of all
which might, ev('n by indirect reasoning, be considered as connected
with the guilt of idolatry. An abhorrence of it was carefully instilled
into tlie mind of the new convert.' Some, as Tertullian, condemned Fear of
every employment which could tend in any manner to support and '*^°'''"'>'-
promote it. To carve statues, to adorn temples, to teach the ancient
mythology, to sell frankincense, or any merchandise used in the heathen
worship ; to allow themselves to be adjured or blessed by the name of
any idol ; to receive or pay money on legal days, which were sacred to
any heathen god ; to hang lamps or garlands at their doors : all these
acts, however strong the distinction which really existed between them,
were indiscriminately subjected to censure." But it should not be for-
' See TertuU. Apol. c. jcsiii. He even adds, that by their means " et caprae et
mensa: divinare consueverunt." See also Min. Fel. c, xxvii. ; Lactant. Div. Inst,
lib. ii. c. .\iv. • Just. Jlart. Apol. i. * Ibid. Comp. Tertiill. Apol. c. .xxvii.
* Just. Mart. Dial. c. Tiypli. ; Tcrtull. Apol. c. .\xiii. ; Cyprian, de Idol. Vanit.
ad Deniotrian. ; Orig. c. Cels. lib. i. and lib. vii. ; Theoph. ad Aiitol. lib. ii. ;
Lactant. lib. iv. c. xxvii. &c. ' Apol. c. xxiii.
* Cyjirian, ad Demetrian. Comp. Lactant. lib. iv. c. xxvii. &c.
' Thus Tertullian accounts for the tales of the sieve holding water — a ship drawn
by a girdle — the black beard of Domitius Ahenobarbus, which turned red at the
touch of Castor and Pollux, &c. The philosophic pagans would probably have
whispered some remark similar to that which Seneca makes, at an attempt to
explain an absurd fiction — Quanto expeditius erat dicere, mendacium et fabula est ?
(Qua-st. Nat. lib. iv. c. vii.)
* See, for instance, how Justin MartjT explains the supposed resemblance be-
tween baptism and the pagan lustrations, and between the mysteries of Mithra
and the Eucharist. (Apol. i.) ^ 0''ig. c. Cels. lib. iii.
*" See Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, p. 378, note 289, &c.
[C. H.] D
34 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D. 204. gotten, that this sensitive fear, though sometimes unreasonable, flowed
from a deep feehng of conviction and of piety ; and that it preserved
the Ciiurch from that disguised adoption of pagan ceremonies, with
which it was afterwards reproached.
Enmity of From the effects of these opinions, however, we may derive much
the populace. ^^ ^^^ popular enmity. To gratify it,' the magistrates, although it
must be confessed they wei'e often anxious, by suggesting evasions, to
have an opportunity of releasing the accused,* were sometimes willing
to sacrifice victims so easily obtained and destroyed as the Christians.
Hence they were daily besieged, daily betrayed : often surprised and
Cruelties seized in the very midst of their meetings and assemblies.* The
punishments were no less various than atrocious : they were cast into
exile, or condemned to the mines, or bound to crosses, or torn with
nails, or thrown to wild beasts, or beheaded, or consigned to the
fkmes :* penalties to which even persons guilty of sacrilege or rebellion
were not subjected.* But, as if the cup of misery was not yet full,
the bitterness of ridicule was infused, and pleasantrv was exercised in
giving them names derived from the nature of their torments.*
Nor were these severities, which were authorized by the civil magis-
trate, although unexampled,'' the only sufferings to which they were
exposed; often, in bacchanalian riot, the mob, with a spontaneous
motion, assailed them with stones and fire, or violated the quiet of the
tomb, tore the corpse from its sacred refuge, and mangled and dispersed
the remains of the already disfigured body f an outrage the more pain-
fully felt, as the ancient Christians were most careful, and, in fact,
expensive, in preserving and embalming the dead.^ From these ex-
pressions, openly made in a public document, the reader may form some
idea of the cnielties exercised against the Christians at this period.
It was in the persecutions of this reign that many Christians sought
TertuUian's safet)' by flight, or by paying money,'" TertuUian, who was then a
Fu^a^.'^^' '^ Montanist, wrote his tract ' De Fuga in Persecutione,'" in order to prove
that all attempts to avoid martyrdom were weak and impious endea-
vours to oppose the will and to accuse the justice of the Deity. From
this tract, the harsh production of a severe-minded man, it appears
that whole churches were in the habit of purchasing, by subscription,
' Tertull. Apol. cxlix.
^ Ibid. c. xxvii. Comp. ad Scapul. c. iy. Scoi^piace, c. i.
^ Tertull. Apol. c. vii. * Ibid. c. xii.
' Id. ad Scapul. c. iv. Bishop Kave, on TertuUian, p. 157.
« Tertull. Apol. c. 1.
^ TertuUian alludes to the almost incredible foot, that a female was committed
to the keeper of the ptiblic stews. (Apol. sub. fine.)
^ Tertull. Apol. c. xxxvii. ; JMush. de Reb. Christ, ante Const. M. p. 254.
^ TertuUian speaks of the quantities of costly spices which the Christians pur-
chased of the Arabian merchants for that purpose. (Apol. c. xlii.)
'" Pacisceris cum delatore, vel milite, vel furunculo aliquo preside, &c. c. xii.
" For an account of the Treatise, De Fuga in Persecutions, see Bishop Kaye, ou
TertuUian, p. 148.
CHRISTIAN MARTYRDOMS. 35
their tranquillity.' Yet the example of Riitilius, who employed this A. n. 204.
method, but, when seized, submitted to torments and death with
Christian fortitude, proves that a sense of religion was not necessarily
lost, Ijfcause a pmdential regard to personal seciurity was enteiiained.
But when sums of money were paid to informers and to magistrates,
it was not surprising that the number of the former increased, and the
vigilance of the latter was redoubled. Avarice was whetted. The
rapacious soldier watched their meetings, and his connivance was
obtained by bribes ; for the Christians considered that this voluntary
privation of worldly goods was in itself a pledge of their sincere
attachment to the faith which they had embraced.
* 'It may here, perhaps, be the proper place to make some remarks Digression on
on the sulyect of the Christian Martyrdoms in general. The term """ •
Martyr,* which originallv signified " a witness," was applied, not
merely to all who had laid down their lives in testimony of their faith,
but, with great latitude, to persons wdio had submitted to exile,
imprisonment, or other severities, in defence of their religion ; persons
who were afterwards more commonly designated by the term Con-
fessors. In consequence of this extension of the name, the list of
martvrs has been undulv swelled. Other causes have also contributed
to produce the false estimate, which has been sometimes admitted ;
such as the vanity or injudicious zeal of later monks, and the mistakes
arising from the misinterpretation of abbreviations on ancient inscrip-
tions.*
The learned Dodwell wrote a dissertation* to prove that the number
of martyrs who suflered death under the Roman emperors was very
limited. Ruinart* has maintained that the number was extremely
great. An examination of the fathers will lead rather to the former
than to the latter opinion.
But it has been justly remarked that the hardships of the Christians
are not to be weighed by the exact number Avho endured capital
punishment : they are not even appreciated by calculating the penalties
imposed by the niiigistrates, and the injm-ies inflicted by the people.
Their sufferings arose from a thousand private channels. The hus-
band, without ground of jealousy, divorced liis wife, simply because
she was a Clu-istiau : for the same cause the father disinherited his
' Parum detiique est, si unus aut alius ita eruitur. Massaliter totae Ecclesiae
tributum sibi irrogavenint, &c. c. xiii.
2 At a time when this application of the term was common, the members of the
Church of Lyons, notwithstanding their sufferings, had the humility to refuse it.
(Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. ii.)
3 The History of the Eleven Tliousand Virgins is supposed by Sirmond to have
arisen from a misUike of this kind. The first reporters having found in manuscrijit
Martyrologies, SS. Ursula et Undecirailla V. M. (i.e. Sancta- Ursuhi et Undecimilla
Virgines Martyres), supposed that Undecimilla, with V. and M. following, was an
abridgment of Undecim Millia Virgiuum M;u-tyrum. (Valesiaua, p. 42.)
* Dissert. Cyprian, xi.
* Pra;fat. Act. MartjT. Select, et Sincer.
d2
36 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D, 204. son, and the master dismissed his slave.* The nearest relations
scrupled not to bring informations against their kindred.^ The name
of Christian effaced the impression of every virtue calculated to con-
ciliate esteem. " He is a good man, but— he is a Christian."* The
end of the sentence cancelled the effects produced by the beginning.
But as the profession of Christianity entailed on the converts the insults
of their enemies, it naturally excited the affection of their brethren.
Vengeance on the one side vv^as not more deep than l^enevolence on
the other was warm and active. The pagans themselves, though they
questioned the motive, could not but remark the circumstance : " Be-
hold," they exclaimed, " how these Christians love one another !"*
The hardships of exile and imprisonment were alleviated by the con-
solations, by the reverence, and by the contributions of the members
Honours paid of the Cliurch.* The dungeon was visited by females, who came de-
to martyrs, youtly to kiss the fetters of the persecuted ; ® and by penitents, who
sought through intercession to be readmitted into the Church.^ If the
Christian passed tlu-ough his trial without suffering death, his cha-
racter commanded a high degree of deference and respect, which gave
him a superior claim to ecclesiastical dignities.* If it was his lot to
fall, he was told that martyrdom was a second baptism, which both
supplied the baptism by water, when this last had not been received,
and restored it when lost ;^ that it obtained the pardon of every sin ;'"
that the martyr enjoyed the privilege denied to other souls, of entering
immediately on the departure of life from the body into the mansions
of the blessed." His body was anxiously sought : his bones, deemed
more valuable than gold and precious stones,'^ were carefully interred
with the faithful, apart from the Gentiles.'* The anniversaiy of his
death was termed Natilitium, being, as it were, the day of his birth
into a better world." It was diligently noted '^ and commemorated at
his tomb.'® Such honours were designed as marks of veneration for
the dead, and as incentives of gratitude to the living.''' Nor was this
design unattended by the desired circumstances. The martyr re-
garded the pile which encircled him as his garb of victory, or his
chariot of triumph,'* His bonds were deemed as ornaments, which
adorned him, even as the fringed robe becomes a bride.'^ And as
in later times, Columbus,^" from a sense of indignation at ingratitude,
■ Tertull. Apol. c. iii. 2 i^ Scorpiace, c. ix. s.
^ Id. Apol. c. iii. * Ibid. c. xxxix.
•■* Ibid. 6 Id. ad Uxor. lib. ii. c. iv.
7 Id. ad Martyr, lib. i. Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, p. Ul.
* Tertull. adv. Valentinian, c. iv. Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, p. 142,
* Tertull. de Patient, c. xiii. ; de Baptism, xvi. See Testimonies collected in
Bingham, Antiq. book x. c. ii. Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, p. 441.
'" Tertull. Apol. c. 1. " Id. Resurr. Cariiis. c. xliii. &c.
'2 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xv. '=* Cyprian, Ep. 68, sec. 7, 3.
" Tertull. de Coron. Milit. c. iii. ; Scorpiace, c. xv.
" Cyprian, Ep. 37, sec. 2. '« Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. xi. &c.
"" Ibid. lib. iv. c. xv. '8 Tertull. Apol. sub fine.
'" Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c, 1, 20 Kobertson, Hist, of America, i. 176.
CONDUCT OF THE FATHERS. 37
SO the Christian anciently, from feehngs of exultation at distresses en- A, D. 204.
dured in tlie cause of truth, commanded that the chains which he had
worn should be buried in his grave.'
The ardour evinced by many of the early Christians to obtain the injiidicioug
honour of martvrdom,* thus strongly set forth, sometimes hurried them |^,e''71'oitre!
into a rash and unwarrantable exjjosure of their lives. The expres-
sions of the fathers were at times intemperate, though an indulgent
allowance ought to be made for the peculiar circumstances of distress
under which tliey were used. When the conduct of the Christians
liad the greatest influence on the minds of the unconverted, and when
their choice lav between apostasy and death, it is not surprising if
they eagerly availed themselves of the most powerful exhortations.
They might, however, have derived more just views from the conduct
of the Apostles, who, notwithstanding their desire to exchange this
fleeting life for immortality, never presumed by courting destniction to
tlirow off" the duties of |)atience and resignation. Their own experi-
ence also might have taught them, from two circumstances, that the
extravagant praises which they lavished on martyrdom were often un-
justifiable. In the first place, martyrdoms were not exclusively con-
fined to the orthodox believers. Among those who sutiered death at
Smyrna one was a priest of the sect of the Marcionites.* Several
other heretics claim their martyrs.'* To ascribe their fortitude in every
instance to the operation of pride* is to judge their conduct with too
much harshness. Although a true kno^vledge of Christianity, and a
corres])onding observance of the great duties which it requires, may be
justly deemeil most ada])teLl to prepare and strengthen and support
tlie sjiirit under pain and affliction, yet it cannot be denied that the
consciousness of sincerity, even in the cause of error, will enable the
mind to endure persecution with extraordinary firmness. Constancy
in maintaining principles is not a criterion of their truth, it is not even
a proof that the mode of inquiry which led to their adoption was free
from blame ; but, unless the tenor of circumstances manifestly points
out an evil motive, it is but common charity, in this our state of igno-
rance, to allow that principles so maintained might be conscientiously
' Chrysost. 1. de S. Babyl. torn. i. p. 6G9.
* In the Acts of Felicitas and Perpetua, who suffered in the time of Tertullian,
it is said that when one Saturus, a Catechumen, was thrown to a leopard, and, at
the first bite, covered with blood, the people gave him the testimony of the second
baptism, by crying '' Salvum lotum, salvum lotura!" (Baptized and saved, baptized
and saved !) whence it is inferred that the pagans were not ignorant of the opinion
entertained by the Christians. — Bingham, Antiq. book x. c. ii. sec. 20.
^ Euscb. Hist. Ecilcs. lib. iv. c. xv.
* Ibid. lib. V. c. xvi. ; lib. vii. c. xii. ; De Martyr. Palest, c x. See parti-
cularly Bayle, Diet. Hist. art. llarcionites. Cyprian, who follows Tertullian in
considering martyrdom as a second and etficacious baptism, excepts heretics and
schismatics from its advantages : " Quale delictum est, quod nee baptismo sanguinis
potest ablui ? Quale crimen est, quod martyrio non potest expiari ?" — De Orat.
Domin. p. 212, &c.
* See the reasons assigned by Tillemont, Mem. torn. ii. part ii. p. 138.
38
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D. 204.
Voluntary
martyrs.
Effects of
martyrdom
on the
pliilosophers,
General
effects
of the
(Christian
martyrdoms
professed. In the second place, persons even among the orthodox,
who had displayed great resolution in the times of persecution,
betrayed, when danger was past, the absence of many virtues essential
to the character -of a genuine Christian.
It has been, however, too often ascribed to an excess of mistaken
zeal that the Christians came in crowds to the pagan triljunals to ofter
themselves as martyrs to the cause of the faith which they had era-
braced. Their conduct may sometimes have originated in a desire of
forcing upon the minds of the magistrates the consideration that per-
secution must be at once extensive and unavailing, since the sufterers
were not only numerous but resolute, and punishment was not dreaded
but voluntarily encountered. Such self-devotion would, it was ex-
pected, appeal to the dictates of common ])rudence, or the natural
sentiments of humanity. During a persecution in Asia the Christians
appeared in a body before the proconsul Arrius Antoninus, who, strack
with wonder, exclaimed, " Wretched men ! if you wish to die, have
you not precipices or halters ?'" There are cases, however, which, it
must be confessed, if considered abstractedly from the influencing
motives, ought to be regarded rather as criminal than as meritorious.
On the philosophic Gentiles the effects produced by the martyrdoms
of the Christians were seldom of a nature calculated to leave on the
mind conviction of the trath of their religion. Their fortitude was
deemed by some " obstinacy,"^ and was traced by others to the force of
" mere habit."* The sages, to whom the prospects of a future world
were covered with doubts and darkness, were at a loss to conceive how
men could submit to pains which were certain, from the fear of
punishments, which were deemed uncertain.^ Since the death of
Socrates,* to die for the sake of truth formed no part of their creed or
of their conduct. Futurity had no hold on their convictions ; its
influence glimmered perhaps in the shades of study, but was suddenly
extinguished by active life ; its scenes were treated as ideal creations,
which the imagination richly lit up with its warmest colours, but which
melted away before present realities.
But very different were the general results. The blood of martyrs
was the seed of the church.® We are like grass, exclaimed the
Christian father, which grows the more abundantly the oftener it is
cut down.'' The multitude who saw the Christians mangled and torn,
yet misubdued and almost unmoved, naturally concluded that this
1 Tertull. ad Scapul. c. v. The conduct of these Christians is attributed to
intemperate ardour by Mosheim (de Reb. Christ, ante Const. M. p. 235), and by
Gibbon (Decline and Fall, c. xvi. vol. ii. p. SS-t). It is ascribed to a more laudable
motive by Lardner (Heathen Testim. vol. ii.), whose interpretation is supported by
Bishop Kaye (On Tertull. p. 147).
2 Marc. Anton, lib. si. sec. 3 ; Lactant. lib. v. c. ii.
8 Epiotet. lib. iv. c. vii. ; lib. viii. c. xlv. * Min. Fel. c. viii.
* See the reasons given by Timon, as quoted by Sextus Empiricus, for the flight
of Protagoras ; and by Diogenes Laertius (lib. v. c. v.), for that of Aristotle.
« Tertull. Apol. c. 1. ^ Ibid.
DISPUTES RESPECTING EASTER. 39
supernatural fortitude must proceed fi-om Divine assistance,' or, at A. D. 204.
least, that there must be some extraordinary force in the evidence of
that religion, which the most exquisite torments could not jjrevail on
its followers to renounce. While criminals, whose irame was most
robust, proved by their cries that they were overcome with pain, the
very children and females of the faithful are represented as enduring
their sufterings without a groan.* But while the martyr was silent
the spectators were sometimes unable to refrain from tears.* The
Christians were probably the only persons who, when condemned,
retimied thanks to their judges,* and in the midst of torments wore
smiles on their countenances, sang hymns, and rejoiced.* It was not
surprising, therefore, if martyrdoms were followed by conversions.
The ' Acts of the Martyrs' were careftilly preserved and read in the Martyroio-
ancient church. Eusebius informs us that he made a collection of^"'*"
such 'Acts.'* It is much to be regretted that this work is no longer
extant. Several works wei-e desti'oyed in suljse(:[uent ])ersecutions,
and the remaining Martyrologies are so replete with fables, and so
affectedly overspread with rhetorical conceits,' that it is impossible to
ascertain the degi'ee of credit to which they are respectively entitled.
The best are generallv such as are brief and simple, and abound not in
miracles and extraordinary punishments.
About the middle of the second century a celebrated controversy Disputes
arose, which, although it turned entirely on a matter of form, was Ks^Sr/'"*^
canned on with a degree of violence and acrimony which would ha\'e between the
been unbecoming even on questions of vital importance. At the same AVestem"
time it is right to observe, that much of this intemperance, deeply as christians,
it is to be lamented, sprang from a scrupulous attachment to every
branch of the Christian system, and an ajiprehension of the dangers
which might grow out of the slightest change in its external regula-
tions.
The dis])ute related to the proper days on which the festivals in
commemoration of the tleath and resurrection of Christ ought to be
observed. The churches of Europe and Africa kept the ])aschal least
on the night preceding the anniversarv of the resurrection, which was
always on a Sundav, and in defence of this custom they ap]3ealed to
the authoritv of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Asiatic Christians held
the paschal feast on the fourteenth day of the first month of the Jewish
' Lactant. lib. v. c. siii. * Ibid.; Cave, Primit. Christ, p. 108.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xv.
"• Tertull. Apol. c. xlvi.
5 Magis damnati (Hiim absoluti gaudemus. — Tertull. ad Scapul. c. i. &'c.
^ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. ix.
^ It was once the custom in monasteries to propose to the youns members, as an
exercise, the martyrdom of some saint, to be amplified and embellished with various
circumstances and discourses. The mast ingenious and plausible were set aside,
and being afterwards found among other manuscripts in the libraries of monasteries,
were probably often confounded with the true histories of saints. See Bayle, Diet.
Hist. ait. Valerius.
40 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D, 204. year, at the same time that the Jews eat the paschal lamb, and cele-
brated the day of the resurrection precisely three days ai'ter ; and, in
support of this practice, ' they urged the tradition derived from St,
Philip and St. John, the apostles. In consequence, however, of their
method, two difficulties arose. By this festival they interrapted the
solemn fast which the other Christians observed during the whole of
the great or passion week, i^nd as the fourteenth of the month fell
not on the same day of the week in every year, they were often pre-
vented from celebrating the resuiTection on the first day, or Sunday,
in conformity with the usage of the majority of Christians. From this
difference sprang various disputes. In the reign of Antoninus Pius,
Polycarp came to Rome, whereof Anicetus was bishop, to confer with
him on the best means of effecting an agreement. The result of their
conference was that each still retained his opinion, but both resolved
to preserve the bonds of charity unbroken. But the example of mode-
ration which they had set was afterwards but little imitated. At the
close of this century councils were held by the bishops in Palestine,
Rome, Gaul, and various other places, in which it was unanimously
decreed that Easter should be celebrated on a Sunday. Polycrates,
bishop of Ephesus, after having convened the Asiatic prelates, in con-
sequence of a menacing mandate from Victor, bishop of Rome, wrote,
with their concurrence, a spirited epistle in defence of the practice,
which they had always followed, and to which they were determined
to adliere. Victor, incensed at tlieir opposition, publicly pronounced
the brethren of the churches of Asia to be wholly excommunicated.
The other bishops, who disapproved of these harsh proceedings, not
only used their endeavours to persuade him to adopt a course better
calculated to promote peace, unity, and love, but even addressed him
in the language of severe censiu-e, a sufficient proof that the supremacy
of the bishop of Rome, though it was advancing by no imperceptible
steps, was not at that time acknowledged. Irenteus, in particular,
strongly recommended the preservation of mutual charity. These ex-
hortations appear to have been efficacious in arresting the progress of
imperious measures, and tranquillity was gradually restored. But the
difference of method still continued till the period of the Council of
Nice, in the fourth century, when the usage of the Asiatic churches
w^as condemned, and it was decreed that Easter should be celebrated
on the same day throughout the Christian world.'
In this centiuy forged writings were largely circulated and inju-
' Considerable confusion has arisen from a want of sufficient attention to the
various meanings of the word pascha. The Christian writei-s, posterior to the
Council of Nice, use to signify the day on which Christ rose from the dead, and
on which the memory of his resurrection is renewed. But the ante-Nicene
writers, e. g. Tertullian, mean by it not merely the day of the resurrection, but
also the day of the crucirixion, and sometimes the whole of passion-week. The
ti'ue nature of this dispute, which was properly concerning the celebration of the
paschal feast, has been explained, with his usual acuteness, by Mosheim (de Reb.
Christ. &c, p. 435-448). See also Decretl Nicseni de Paschate Explicatio, Chr.
THE SIBYLLINE ORACLES. 41
diciously received by the Christians. The most extensive fabrications a. d. 204.
which they are charged with liaving countenanced are the books of Sibylline
the ' Sibyihne Oracles.' That tlie eight books which still remain are i^ooil^of
replete with failles, so gross as to be almost beneath confutation, can their forgery,
hardly be denied. The design, the style, the nature of the verse,-the
matter, all are calculated to destroy their credibility. The ancient
oracles related to the sacrifices and ceremonies, by which the Romans
might appease the anger of the gods ; the modern are filled with vehe-
ment declamations against polytheism and idolatry ; the ancient, as
Cicero expressly asserts,' were so extremely vague as to be applical)le
to any time, place, or circumstance ; the modern are unecjuivocally
circumstantial ; the ancient were paracrostics, that is, the first verse of
every article comprehended all the letters in order that began the
follovviug verses ;* the modern present no instance of this kind of
acrostic (for even those which are cited in a speech of Constantine,
preserved by Eusebius, are differently constructed) ; lastly, the modern
oracles could be written only by a person well versed in the doctrines
of Christianity, and the details of the Evangelists ; and though the
difi'erent pieces of the collection may have been composed at different
times, there is strong internal evidence that some part was written at
a ])eriod posterior to the year 169 after Christ.^ In this collection
some of the prophecies cited by Justin Martyr, Theophilus Antiochenus,
Clemens Alexandrinus, and other writers, are wanting. These pro-
phecies, however, bear no clear marks of genuineness. It is not our
intention to offer the slightest defence of a worthless work ; perhajts
the only partial argument which has any claim to attention is that, as
Augustus sent deputies into various countries to collect Sibylline
G. F. Walchii, in Nov. Commentar. Societ. Reg. Scient. Gottingens. Ann. 1769,
torn. i. p. 10-65.
The above account of this dispute is taken from Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. lib. iv,
c. xiv. ; lib. v. c. xxiv.) See also Epiphau. (Ha^res. li.), and particularly Socrates
(Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xxii.).
' Callid^ enim, qui ilia composuit, perfecit, ut, quodcumque accidisset, pradictum
videretur, hominum et temporum definitione sublata. Adhibuit enim latebrara
obscuritatis, ut iidem versus alias in aliam posse accomodari viderentur. — Cic. de
Div. ii. c. liv. ^ Cic. de Div. ii. c. liv.
8 The last writer is clearly marked in the fifth and eighth books. He puts into
the mouth of the Sibyl a declaration that the Roman empire was to have fifteen
kings: the first fourteen are indicated by the numerical value of the first letter of
their name in the Greek alphabet. She is made to add, that the fifteenth will be
a white-headed man, whose name will be derived from a sea near Rome : the fif-
teenth is Adrian, so called from tlie Adriatic Gulf. From him will arise three
others, who will rule the empire toij;otln,'r at the same time, but at length one will
remain sole possessor. These three scions (^Kkaloi) are Antoninus, Marcus Aurelius,
and L. Verus : allusion is made to their adoptions and partnership. M. Aurelius
was sole master of the empire on the death of L. Verus, at the beginning of the
year 169, and he governed without a colleague till 177, when he took Commodus
as his partner on the throne. As there is nothing applicable to this new colleague,
it is manifest that the compilation was finished between A. D. 169 and 177. See
Fre'ret, Mem. de I'Academ. xxiii. p. 187-212.
42 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE SECOND CENTURY.
A. D. 204. verses, it is possible that many Jewish prophecies, relative to the
Inferences to Messiah, might he incorporated in the collection. But we wish to
fromThe" guarcl agalnst the conclusion that the Christians were either eager to
above facts, promote imposture, or utterly unable to discover it in the works which
they examined. That some person, either with settled malignity to
discredit a sect which he had abandoned, or with injudicious zeal to
promote the interests of a party of persecuted men whose character he
revered,' should have disgraced himself by inventing these prophecies,
is no improbable conjecture ; yet they may have been forged by
Causes which pagans.^ A belief was generally entertained that the Sibyl had pre-
th^^d"t''"'t' *^'cted some extraordinary reign, accompanied by the renovation of the
of the Golden Age. The minds of all were, therefore, in some degree pre-
forgery. pared for the reception of these oracles. The Christians appear not to
have been universally deceived. Some, however, were certainly ready
to admit as true what, destitute of the leisure, the means of research
and comparison, and the critical acumen which later inquirers have
possessed, they could not prove to be false, and they believed to be
cogent. They urged, therefore, not the whole mass of prophecies,
which is presented to us with all its absurdities concentrated, but
Similar Scattered parts which were extensively circulated. The pagan philo-
the m"ln^ sopliers, who were themselves so ignorant of the laws of rigid criticism
philosophers, as to cite as genuine the works fabricated by the later Platonists, under
the names of Orpheus, Musa^us, Eumolpus, &c., produced no proofs
that the Sibylline oracles were forged. Origen challenged Celsus to
show that they were a fabrication, and we never hear that the challenge
was accepted. The argument was therefore popular and plausible.
But progress of time probably convinced the Christians that it was
false, or at least doubtful. Eusebius, in his ' Evangelical Preparation,'
cites the testimony of the Sibyl only after Josephus, and alleges
favourable oracles only when found in Porphyry, the direct enemy of
Christianity. Augustine^ grants that these oracles were exposed to
the suspicion of spuriousness, and that it was the part of a writer of
sound judgment to confine himself to the testimony of the Jewish
prophecies. In fact, after the establishment of Christianity, their
credit fell into merited disrepute.* If, therefore, the authority of the
Christians is to be destroyed because many of them were inclined to
I Some forgeries were made tlirough mistaken zeal. A priest forged the Acts of
St. Paul and Thecla, out of attacliment to St. Paul. — Tertull. de Baptism, c. xvii. ;
Hieron, de Vir. Illust. ix. See other instances in Daille', du Vrai Usage des Peres,
torn. i. c. iii.
* Eusebius accuses the pagans of forging the Acts of Pilate (Hist. Eccles. lib. ix.
C V.)
* De Civ. Dei. xviii. xlvii.
■* The above line of argument will be found in the observations of IM. Fre'ret, Sur
les Recueils de Predictions e'crites qui portoient les noms de Musee, de Bacis, et de
la Sibylle. Me'm. de I'Aeadem. xxiii. p. 187-212. See also J. Alb. Fabric.
Bibliotli. Gra:c. torn. i. ; the able work of Blondel, des Sibylles celebre'es tant par
I'antiquite' Payenne que par les Saints Pferes, 1649 ; and Servat. Gallseus, in Dis-
sertat. de Sibyllis, &c.
REMARKS ON FORGED WRITINGS. 43
lay some stress on the Sibylline oracles, the book of Merciirius Trisme- A. D. 204.
gistus and Hystaspes, tlie epistles between St. Paul and Seneca, and
other records, of which they had not the means of demonstrating the
spuriousuess, the credibility of their pag-an contemporaries must also
be rejected, and history becomes but uncertainty and confusion. But Remarks on
ex])erience has taught us that men of remarkable acuteness and of un- J^'ri'lings,
sullied character may be grossly imposed upon by forgeries, and yet ami the
be considered as unexceptionable witnesses. In the list of names or'crecUt""
appended to the certificate of examination, which pronoimced the ^^'ji'^'l ."
fabrications of Ireland to be the composition of Shaks])eare, we may them should
remark the_ signatures of men whose aljilities and integrity were never P''o*i"'^-
called in (juestion. The same high character is attached to the de-
fenders of the forgeries of Psalmanazar, of Lauder, and of Chatterton,
]\Iuretus deceived Scaliger himself by a pretended copy of ancient
Latin verses.' So difficult is it to unite to an extensive and accurate
knowledge of customs and languages, that fine perception of the deli-
cate shades of style and exjn-ession which results from long experience
and peculiar tact.
' Bayle, Diet. Hist, art. Trabea.
( 44 )
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
FROM A. D. 211 TO A.D. 313.
We proceed with the thread of our history. Caracalla, though hia
nurse was a Christian/ cannot be reckoned among those who imbibed
the tenets and advanced the progress of the new religion. He is said,
indeed, when a youth to have expressed great indignation at a severe
punishment inflicted on one of his playfellows on account of the Jewish
religion.* There is perhaps no reason to suppose that Spartian, who
relates the anecdote, confounded the Jewish with the Christian faith ;
but it is probable that the anger of Caracalla was excited rather by
his affection for his friend, than by any feehng of respect for the reli-
gion which he professed. It seems, however, certain that during his
short reign, and that of Macrinus, the church enjoyed comparative
tranciuillity. Heliogabalus also, though sunk in every vice wliich can
disgrace human nature, was not inclined to molest the Christians.
Desirous that the worship of the sun, of which deity he was the priest,
should exceed all other worships in its pomp and mysteries, he was
more cm'ious to learn the secrets of the various sects than anxious to
resort to violence against their persons.^ And here it may natiirally
1)6 asked, to what cause are we to ascribe the leniency with which the
bad and the severity with which the good emperors often treated the
Christians ? How is it that the abandoned Heliogabalus is a protector,
and the philosophic Aurelius an enemy? The answer is obvious.
Princes, who were immersed in the depths of sensuahty, were least
likely to have turned their attention to the existence of a new and
peaceful sect. Their minds were seldom occupied by the considera-
tion of state affairs, and still less by the investigation of facts which
were regarded as comparatively of little consequence. The voice of
popular clamour was not loud enough to disturb the recesses of the
palace. As long as the Christians interfered not with their private
pleasures, they were passed over with profound indifference as harm-
less enthusiasts, except when very peculiar circumstances were sup-
posed to call for a different course. But, on the contrary, the emperors
who devoted all their energies to the great interests of the government
over which they presided, and who sought to reanimate the spirit of
a declining people, regarded Christianity as a dangerous innovation,
' Lacte Christiano educatus. Tertull. ad Scapul. iv.
* Spartian, in Vit. Caracall. c. i.
3 Dicebat praterea, Judeeorum et Samaritanorum religiones et Christianam devo-
tionem illuc transferendam, ut omniuna culturarum secretum Heiiogabali sacerdo-
tium teneret. — Lampr. Vit. Heiiog. c. iii.
ALEXANDER SEVERUS. 45
slowly undermining the religious and with it the civil establishment a. D. 211.
to which they were passionately attached, and therefore from their
principles, however erroneous, they felt themselves bound to repress
its increasing progress with the utmost rigour.
The reign of Alexander Severus was no less auspicious than the Alexander
two preceding to the Christian cause. This emperor, eminent for causeTof
manv virtues, was particularly distinguished by his filial piety.' We the favour
mav, therefore, in a great measure, attribute the protection which the showeii *
church enioyed in his time to the influence of his mother, Julia *""!*'■'!' '^^
ixT 1 • 1 1. • ■ ... , 1 Christians.
Mamma'a, who evmced a disposition to inquire into the nature, and
to show respect to the teachers of the new religion.* It seems also
probable that Alexander was inclined to the opinion, maintained by
many ancient sages,* that religious worship, under all its variety of
names and modes, was essentially the same in its object and spirit; a
bond which, while it united man to his Creator, linked together the A. D. 222.
multifarious parts of the great social system. We know from Tertul-
lian, that when some of the heathens were convinced from experience
that the Christians were not impostors, they still looked upon their
religion, not as a divme revelation, but as a kind of philosophy.* This
supposition otiei's, at least, a very plausible explanation of the motives
which induced him to place in his private chapel, and to reverence with
divine honours the images of Abraham, Orpheus, ApoUonius Tyanaeus,
and Cin-ist* It will likewise tend to give weight to the assertion of
Lampridius that Alexander entertained a design of erecting a temple
to Christ, but abandoned it in consequence of the report of the sooth-
sayers, that if such a measure were carried into execution all men
would become Christians, and the other temples would be abandoned.^
The emperor might have formed a plan for eftecting a kind of harmony Whether he
between the Christian and the polytheistic systems, while the priests, bunS'T
either from motives of private interest, or from a deeper insight into ^<^™.pi<' '°
tlie exclusive princi])les of the rising sect, might have m-ged the danger
or the impracticability of the attempt. We pretend not to deny,
' Lampr. in Vit. Sever, c. xiv.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxi. ; Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. liv. On the
supposed conversion of Mamma?a, see Fred. Spanheim, Diss, de Trad. Antiquiss.
Conversionib. Lucii Brit. Regis. Jul. Mammseae, et Philippi Imp. Patris et Filii.
Oper, torn. ii. p. 400.
* Plotin. Ennead. ii. lib. is. c. i.x. ; Themist. in Orat. 7, ad Valent.
■• Apol. c. xvi. Sed interim incredulitas, dum de bono secta3 hujus obducitur,
quod nsu jam et de commercio inuotuit, non utique diviuum negotium existimat,
sed magis Philosophia; genus.
^ Lampr. in Ales. Sev. c. xxix. Matutinis horis in larario suo (in quo et Divos
Principes, sed optimos electos et animas sanotiorcs, in queis et Apollonium, et
quantum scriptor suorum teuiporum dicit, Christum, Abraham, et Orpheum et
hujuscemodi Deos habebat ac majorum effigies) rem divinam faciebat. For " Deos,"
Saimasius would read "creteros." Jablonski prefers "alios." That he did not
consider persons so honoured as wholly perfect appears from the circumstance that
he admitted among them the image of Alexander the Great (c. xxxii.), whose
drunkenness and cruelty towards friends he himself condemned (c. sxs.).
^ Lampr, in Alex. Sev. c. xliii.
46
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
Arguments
against the
supposition
of his
conversion.
A. D. 222. however, that the whole account has much the appearance of a report
too easily believed and too hastily recorded. Of the golden rale of
Christian ethics, — " Do not to another what thou wouldst not that
another should do to thee," he felt an admiration so lively that he not
merely repeated it frequently, but caused it to be proclaimed by the
crier when any person was punished, and ordered it to be engraved
npon his palace and upon his public buildings.' That he entertained
no evil suspicion of the character of the Christians, but that at the
same time he did not consider their peculiar rites as entitled to any
marked superiority, may be inferred from the following circumstance :
when the victuallers complained that the Christians had seized a spot
of ground which had been public, and which they claimed for them-
selves, he answered, that it was better God should be worshipped in
any manner than that the ground should be granted to victuallers.^
This is not the language of an enemy to the Christians, but neither is
it that of a person who had embraced Christianity. Indeed, the
opinion of those who reckon Alexander among the secret converts,^
rests on no proof,* and is contradicted by the general tenor of his
conduct. Trae it is that he is said to have proposed the scrupulous
care of the Christians and Jews* in the ordination of their priests, as
an example which deserved to be imitated in the appointment of pro-
vincial governors ; but the very terms in which the comparison is made
hnply that he considered the former proceeding as far less important
than the latter, and, at most, indicate rather respect for the discipline
tlian belief in the tenets of the Christians or the Jews. It is certain,
however, that during his lifetime the Christians were sheltered from
injury, and enabled to apply themselves to the erection of edifices for
the express purposes of public worship. Indeed, the only interruption
by which this season of tranquillity was in a slight degree disturbed
arose from the severity of the jurisconsults,^ men stronglv attached to
uipian. the ancient institutions of Rome. Of this class was the celebrated
' Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. li.
* Rescripsit, melius esse, ut quomodocumque illic Deus colatur, quam popinariis
dedatur. — Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. xlix.
3 P. E. Jablonski endeavoured to prove that Alexander Severus was privately
initiated into the mysteries of Christianity by the Gnostics. His main argument
is derived from an ancient gem, bearing the monogram of Christ, vrith this inscrip-
tion, " Sal. Don. Alex. Fil. Ma. Luce," which he interprets to be " Salus Donata
Alexandre Filio Mammrea; Luce." "Salvation given to Alexander the son of
Mamma3a by the Light," i. e. of Chi'ist. (Dissertat. de Alexandr. Severo, Imperatore
Romano, Christianorum sacris per Gnosticos initiate.) This dissertation was pub-
lished in the Miscell. Lipsiens. Nov. tom. iv. part i. p. 56-94. It is republished
with additions in his Opuscula, tom. iv. pp. 38-79 ; see on this subject Mosheim,
de Reb. Christ, ante Const. Magn. p. 463.
* Lampridius says merely, Judseis privilegia reservavit. Christianos esse passus
est.
* Dicebatque, grave esse, quum id Christiani et Judtei focerent in prjedicandis
sacerdotibus, qui ordinandi sunt, non fieri in Provinciarum rectoribus, quibus et
fortunai hominum committerentur et capita. — Lampr. in Alex. Sev. c. slv.
^ Baron. Annal. tom. ii. pp. 367, 369.
The
Christians
build
churches.
Hostility
of the
jurisconsults.
MAXIMINUS, GORDIAN, PHILIP. 47
Ulpian, who is supposed to have pubhshed his writings about this A. D. 222.
period. He is said to have preserved in the seventli book of his
' Treatise on the Duty of a Proconsul ' the edicts issued against the
Christians by the Roman emperors.' None of these edicts, however,
are to be found in the ' Pandects.' and we must perhaps impute to
injudicious zeal the loss of a collection which would greatly have elu-
cidated the history of Christianity.*
It may justly be regarded as an additional proof of the favour which
Alexander evinced towards the Christians, particularly those connected
with his household, and of the increasing influence which their body
possessed, or were supposed to possess, that Maximinus, his assassin Maximinns.
and successor, was urged by fear or resentment, to seize and condemn A. D. 235.
the bishops, and to publish a decree against the chiefs of the Chm-ch,
as being the first authors and proi)agators of Christianity.^
This decree, though directed against the higher members, and, it Nature and
may be presumed, mostly, if not solely, against those whom the decree,
friendship of the late emperor had exposed to the suspicion of dis-
affection to the new government, may have extended its effects to the
inferior ranks of the Christian community. In Cappadocia and Pontus,
several earthquakes, the violence of which destroyed whole cities,
excited as usual a severe persecution, in which the fury of the people
derived encouragement from the harsh and savage character of Sereni-
anus, the Roman governor.'' This persecution, however, as Firmilian,
in a letter to Cyprian, expressly states, was not general, but local.
Many who fled from the scene of confusion found safety in the other
provinces of the empire.
The Churcli continued to enjoy tranquillity during the reigns of Maximnsand
Maximus and Balbinus, of Gordian, and especially of Philip and his cordian!'
son.
Of Philip, Eusebius has recorded a report, prevalent in his time, A. D. 244.
from which it has been inferred that he was, if not a professed, at Philip,
least a secret, convert to Christianity. It was said that the emperor, iSTis
on the last day of the vigils of Easter, was desirous of partaking with conversion,
the rest of the congregation in the prayers of the Church, but that the
bishop would not suffer him to enter, until he had made confession of
the crimes which he had committed, and had placed himself among
tlie penitents.* It is added, that he readily complied with this con-
dition, and manifested by his actions a sincere and devout sense of
' Domitms de Officio Proconsulis, libro septimo, rescripta nefaria collegit, ut do-
ceret, quibiis poenis affici oporteret eos, qui se cultores Dei profiterentur. — Lactaut.
lustit. lib. V. c. xL
- Larduer's Testimon. vol. ill. p. 44; Jortia's Discourses concerning the Truth
of the Christian Religion, p. 51.
3 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xsviii. ; Sulpit. Sev. lib. ii. c. xxxii. ; Oros.
Hist. lib. vii. c. sis.
■* Firmilian, in Epist. ad Cyprian.; Oper. Cyprian, p. 146, ed. Baluz. Conf.
Mosh. de Reb. Christ, lib. xc. p. 467.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. sxxiv.
48
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
Letters from
Origen to
Philip and
his wife
citnsidered.
Observations
on the
evidence of
successive
writers.
A. D. 244. the fear of God, Eusebius, who appeals only to common rumonr,'
has not specified the place in which this circumstance occurred, nor the
bishop by whom a measure so hazardous was adopted. Chrj'sostom,*
however, ascribes a conduct entirely similar to Babylas, bishop of
Antioch, but omits the name of the emperor. In addition to this
argument in favour of Philip's conversion, it is urged that Eusebius
mentions letters written by Origen to Philip, and to his wife Severa,
as extant in his time.^ Without attempting to deny this feet, it is
sufficient to remark, that the emperor might correspond with Christians
without being himself a member of their society, and that these epistles
may have been nothing more than petitions to request protection, or
statements relative to the extent and organization of the Church.
Indeed, had they contained any assertions or intimations calculated to
throw light on the supposed conversion, it is not probable that Euse-
bius would have been silent on the subject of their contents, and have
supported an important circumstance on no higher authority than
common fame. The fact, it is true, is repeated by Jerome,* and
by many writers in succeeding times ; but it cannot be too often
impressed on the historical examiner, that correspondent testimonies
are only valuable when derived from independent sources. The copies
of numerous authors are not, or are only in a very slight degree, cor-
roborative evidence. One historian states a report which he has
chanced to learn, but has taken no pains to investigate ; another,
without further examination, though not without some slight alteration,
transcribes the account ; a third coi)ies this copy, with a few additional
alterations ; and so on, till vague rumours swell into confirmed facts,
or mere surmises into direct declarations, and the real value of the
original conjecture can hardly be estimated, disguised as it is under
continued accretions of extraneous matter.*
Some arguments, however, are also adduced in contradiction of the
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxiv. Ka.rix.u x'oyo;, x. r. X.
2 Chrysost. de S. Babyla Cont. Julian, et Gent. Oper. torn. i. p. 658.
* Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxvi.
•• De Vir. Illust. c. liv. de Origene.
^ Another instance will illustrate our meaning. Justin Martyr, in an Apology
addressed to the Emperor and .Senate, declares that a statue was erected to Simon
Magus on the Tiber, with the inscription " Simoni Deo Sancto," to Simon, the
Holy God. Now in the Tiberine island has been dug up a statue inscribed " Semoni
Sanco (or Sango) Deo, &c.," to Semo Sancus, the God of the Sabines. (Gruter,
Inscrip. Antiq. tom. i. p. 96.) Most critics have concluded that the assertion of
Justm originated in a mistake ; yet is this mistake (if, as there is reason to be-
lieve, it be one) repeated by Irenajus, by Tertullian, by Eusebius, by Augustine,
&c. Thus one man, who would be very unwilling to deceive others, may deceive
himself, and many may afterwards be ready to circulate, on his authority, stories,
for the truth of which they would have been scrupulous to stake their own. No
new evidence is added, but the old is paraphrased ; and it is well if the poverty of
history be not gradually disguised by riches drawn fi-om the mint of fiction.
Stories, stamped with every mark of spuriousness, have been pertinaciously main-
tained, because supported in appearance by a train of witnesses, though in reality
by a series of copyists.
PHILIP. 49
fact, which are far from being conckisive. Not one of the writers in a. v. 244.
the Historia Augusta makes mention of the event ; but the secrecy Ar-uments
alone of Phihp's conversion is a satisfactory explanation of their silence, g^'n "^^.4",^.
Again, manv Christian writers' reckon Cunstantine as the first emperor
who emljraced Christianity ; but they mean, who professed it without
disguise. The innnoral conduct of Philip is also said to contradict this
assertion ; but it should be rememberetl that the cjuestion is, whether
he believed Christianity to be trae, not whether he acted consistently
\vith that belief. Of the same nature is the objection drawn from his
celebration of the secular games,^ with all their pagan solenmities.
For, granting that this event took place subsequently to his su|)posed
conversion, an emperor more anxious to gratify the Roman ])opulace
than rigorously to conform his conduct to his principles, might easily
exhibit games, which in after times were allowed even by the Christian
Emperor Honorius. And, with regard to the pagan emblems on his
coins and medals, they also occur in those of emperors who had openly
renounced the heathen worshi]") ; and, moreover, they may have been
strack by colonies and municipal towns without the imperial permission.
In this manner, as Mosheinf has shown, many objections may be eluded.
On the whole, we think it not impossible that Philip may have been
induced, by a sense of his heavy crimes, and by the ])ersuasions of his
wife Severa, to apply for consolation to an order of men, for whom he
]>robably entertained feelings of respect. But the sup])osition that he
had examined the proofs or imbibed the spirit of Christianity is not
supported by evidence sufficient to command our assent.
One point, however, is certain, that if we omit a popular comnK^tion
which arose at Alexandria in the latter part of his reign, the Church
exjierienced tranquillity under his government. To which may be
added, that by enacting a law calculated to repress those oflences
against moral purity,* which the principles of the Christian religion
severely denounce, he virtually co-operated with the efforts of its
preachers.
Thus, it appears, that with the exception of the severities of jMaxi- state of the
min, which were ijut brief in duration and partial in extent, the Church
was blessed with peace from the death of Severas in the year 21], to
that of Philip in 249, a period of 38 years, during which two emperors,
Alexander and Philij), were so favouralile, that one seemed inclined to
incorporate, the other was i-eported to have embraced, the Christian
i-eligion.* Such were the phases of imiierial favour till it suddenly
' Euseb. in Vit. Constant. Magn. lili. iv. c. Ixxiv.
2 Ibid. Chron. p. 174; Orosius, lib. vii. c. xx. Conf. Capitol, in Gordian. iii.
c. xxxiii. ; Eutrop. lib. ix. c. iii. &c.
* De Keb. Christ. &c. p. 471-476. On this subject see also F. Spanhcim's very
learned dissertation, de Tradit. Antiquiss. Convers. Lucii, &c. et Philippi In)p.
Patris et Filii. Oper. torn. ii. p. 405, and Lardner's Test. vol. iii. p. G2-71. For
a list of authors who have written on the same question, see J. A. Fabrieii Salut.
Lux. Evangel, p. 236.
* Aurel. Vint. * Tillemont, Me'ni. torn. iii. part ii. p. 123.
[C. H.] E
Church,
50 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
A. u. 244. darkened. But the soft influence of peace, more fatal than the violence
of persecution, insensibly relaxed the nerves of discipline, and intro-
duced the luxuries of a degenerate age into the bosom of the Christian
Degeneracy State. The melancholy ])icture which Cyprian and Origen have drawn
of the clergy, ^f j.|^g progress of Corruption at this time is perhaps too darkly coloured.
Their language may jjartake in too great a degree of the want of dis-
crimination, which not unfrequentlv characterises the censures of stern
reformers. But it is evident from their continued complaints, that in
numerous instances the desire of secular advantages had absorbed all
spiritual concerns. The state of Christianity might, on the whole, be
sound and vigorous ; but morbid humours had corrujited many of its
parts, and paralysed much of its influence. Faith is represented as
having grown languid ; the works of charity had fallen into neglect ;
the liarvour of devotion had been quenched ; the simplicity which
marked the primitive disciple had been sacrificed on the altar of vanity ;
insatiable thirst for gain seized men who were devoted to the profession
of holiness, and bishops forgot the duties of their sacred charge, and
the wants of their poorer brethren, in their anxiety to promote their
own private benefit.'
Decius. During the short period of his reign, Decius displayed manv of the
virtues which shed a lusti'e over private life, and evinced a strong
desire to restore the declining greatness of the Roman people by a
renewal of their ancient discipline, with all the sanctions of a free and
powerful censorship. It happened, however, most disastrously for the
Cause of iiis Christians, that in Y)roportion as an emperor was assiduous in correcting
rnmity to the ^j-^^ degcueracv of his subjects bv the re-enforcement of primitive cus-
toms, he was drawn into hostile measures against any bodv of men
who introduced innovations in religious rites. To this circumstance,
therefore, it is natural to ascribe the severe and intolerant edicts'' by
Persecution, which Decius attempted utterly to extirpate the Christian sect ; a sect
which was now widely spread ; which had erected churches in the
various provinces; and already had begun in some places to destroy
the altars, temples, and idols of the pagan community.* And when
' Cyprian, de Laps. Ep. 8. Orig. in Jos. 4, 7, &c. The unguarded intimacy in
their manner of living, which subsisted between priests and virgins, brought dis-
grace on the African Church. Strong assertions of chastity, though they might
be true, could not remove suspicions which had been rashly caused ; for, however
difficult it might be to draw tlie line between the enthusiastic confidence which en-
counters temptation in order to resist it, and the artful hypocrisy which seeks the
gratification of vice under the cloak of extraordinary virtue, it was thought evident
that the taint of, at least, mental impurity could scarcely be avoided. While the
truly pious Christians severely inveighed against a practice, scandalous in its ten-
dency, if not in its motives, we know not how far it may have influenced the
liostility of the Pagan rulers. — See Cyprian, Ep. 62, ad Pompon.; Dudwell, Dis-
sert. Cyprian, iii. ; Bingham, Antiq. vol. ii. p. 328.
^ The persecution of Decius is called the seventh by Sulpicius Severus (lib. viii.
c. sxxii.), Jerome (de Vir. lUust. c. Ixii.), Orosius (lib. vii. c, xxi.), and Augustine
(de Civ. Dei. lib. xviii. c. Iii.).
* Greg. Nyssen. Vit. Greg. Thaumat. torn. iii. p. 563.
DECIUS. 51
the reader bears in mind the inflamed state of the people, ever ready A. d. 249.
to avail themselves of the slightest indication of encouragement on the
part of their rulers, he will not be surprised to leani that t<jrments,
from which it is impossible not to turn with horror, were exL'rcised
against tlie Christians in all the provinces of the Roman empire. At state of the
Alexandria,' a whole year before the promulgation of the imperial V^''.'''""* *'
edict, the multitudo, instigated by the arts of a soothsaver and poet,
had continued to harass the Christians with unrelenting violence. The
young and the old, the strong and the weak, promiscuously, fell \-ictims
to the wild cry of religion. But if religion was the ostensible, j^lundcr
was often the real spring of these attacks. The houses of the faithful
were jjillaged ; whatever was valuable was retained by the authors of
the ruin ; and the remaining furniture cast into the streets, gave the
whole place the appearance of a captured city.
A sedition among themselves suspended for a while their enmitv
against the Christians. But the flame was soon rekindled by the news
of the death of Philip and the accession of Decius. The first step
which the new emperor took, was to publish a decree of the utmost
severity against the Christians, which was sent to all the provincial
governors, who were commanded, under heavy threats, to adopt every
method, how'ever rigorous, of constraining their subjects to retiu'n to
tlie religion of their forefathers. The eflect was overwhelming. We
are again presented by contemporary writers with those dark and
dreadful pictures of terror and agony, which, as they j)0ssess no dis-
tinctness of outline, no variety of tints, no natural distribution of light
and shade, rather shock than interest, rather conflise than inform us.
The complicated struggles, the silent pangs of internal emotion, the
sacrifice of everything which binds man to life, the sense of estranged
love, the l)ursting of the ties of long friendship and close affection, the
loss of worldly reputation — these are passed over almost untouched ;
while, as it were, the dissecting-room in all its loathsomeness is thrown
opi'n. All tiiat can produce the most violent mental revulsion — the
sword and fire, wild beasts, talons of steel, the wheel, red-hot iron
chairs — every varied torture which the most exquisite cruelty can
invent — pass before us in rapid succession, and the sensation is op-
pressive and sickening. But, turning from scenes at the bare imagi-
nation of which the heart dies away, it is deeply interesting to mark
the workings of human passions in those days of alarm and distivss.
Neighbour betrayed neighliour, and friend denounced friend. All persecution
feelings were deadened into apathy, or al)Sorl)edby selfishness. Some, ^* i'"n«"s-
whose spirit recoiled from the tivsk of dragging their victims before
the magistrate, pointed them out with the finger : others less scmpu-
lous sought them in their place of refuge, or pursued them in their
flight. The son brought information against his father, and the lather
against his son, and the brother exposed his brother to the horrors of
the rack. Superstition had smothered the voice of nature. All was
' Dionvs. ap. Enseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xli.
e2
52
THE CHPJSTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
A, T). 249. distrust and perplexity, consternation, and a sense of bitter wrong.
Families were dissolved, houses were left empty, and the deserts
peopled. The prisons could no longer contain "the number of the
accused, and most of the public buildings were converted into places
of confinement. Day after day the woi'k of carnage proceeded : it en-
gi'ossed all conversation ; it chased away all expression of gaiety from
public and private assemblies ; rank, or the infirmities of old age, or
infancy, or the feebleness of the weaker sex, obtained no compassion,
no mitigation of rigour.
Such at least is the description, perhaps overcharged, which Gregory
Nyssen has given us of the state of Pontus, on the receipt of the im-
perial edict.' In other provinces, the storm appears not to have burst
at once in all its fury : exile and incarceration were first tried ; and
slow torments were employed to supersede, if possible, the necessity
of final execution. Nor were the efforts of the persecutors unattended
by circumstances deplorable to the Church. In Africa, and especially
at Carthage, the threats of the enemy were no sooner heard than the
greater number apostatised from the faith. They fell of their own
accord, says the afflicted Cvprian,^ before the violence of persecution
bad struck thfra down. Nor were they satisfied with renouncing
their religion themselves, but they exhorted their brethren to adopt
Defection at a similar course. At Alexandria, tlie same wide defection took place ;
Alexandria. gQj^g^ overpowcred liy fear, presented themselves before the magis-
trates, and assisted at sacrifices to idols ; others were forcibly drawn
by their relations. Some, pale and trembling, looked rather as if they
were themselves called to be sacrificed than to be sacrificers,^ and at-
ti-acted the ridicule of the multitude, as men who had neither courage
to meet death, nor to perform the conditions which would insure life.
Others ran boldly to the altar, and protested that they had never been
followers of Christ. Of some, the perseverance lasted till the doors of
the dungeon had closed upon them ; and of others, till the feeling of
pain had triumphed over resolution. The same weakness was betrayed
by Christians in most other countries. Bishops renounced their re-
ligion, and their flocks were seduced by their fatal example. The
Lapsed was a term applied to all who thus apostatised; but those
The who were particularly called ' Libellatici,'* seem, for the most part, to
Liijellatici. j^^yg avoided giving proofs of their rejection of Christianity — viz.,
burning incense or offering sacrifices — by purchasing from the magis-
trates certain certificates, which declared, that the persons named in
them had confirmed their adherence to the system of heathen worship.
Many, however, endured with fortitude the effects of this dreadfid and,
as it was then feared, exterminating persecution. Manv, from motives
of precaution and policy, took refuge in flight ; in this number, among
' Gre^. Nyssen. Vit. Greg. Thaumat.
in Vit. Pauli, &c.
3 Dionys. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xli.
■• Cyprian, Ep. 14, &c. Mosheini, de Eeb. Christ, ante Const. Maj.'p. 479.
Conf. Lartant. de Moit. Persecut. Hier.
■■^ De Laps.
DECIUS. — GALLUP. 53
others, are to be reckoned, Cyprian, Dionysius of Alexandria, and A. D. 249.
Gregory Tliaiunaturgus.
Our limits will not allow us to enter into a detail of particular mar- Marfynioms.
tyrdoms. In their trials, the Christians exhibited gi'eat fortitude.
The conduct of the Roman governors was necessarily varied by their
peculiar habits and disjjosition. A strong disinclination to shed blood,
if it could be spared consistently with their own erroneous notions, is
often manifest. Again and again the judge exhorted the accused man
to avoid running wilfully into destruction, and it was not till a variety
of attempts had failed, and after much hesitation and reluctance, that
he proceeded to put into execution the imperial decree. How long
the violence of this persecution continued cannot be accm'ately deter-
mined. It seems, however, to have subsided in a great degree, after
having raged about the period of a year. The troubles which distracted
the empire probaljly diverted the Roman rulers from the prosecution
of an odious task. Decius himself, if the ' Acts 'of Acacius be genuine,
occasionally relaxed his severity ;' for, smiling at the independent
spirit of the bishop, he released him from prison. Yet he was vigilant
in his attempts to prevent the increase of the Christian hierarchy, and
the see of Rome, which had remained vacant nearly one year and a
half, was not filled by Cornelius without the ap])rehension of extreme
danger.^
As external persecution expiretl, internal dissensions arose. The Disputes
La])sed, anxious to be readmitted into the Church, without the esta- [^e^^^psed
blished course of previous penance, obtained Letters of Peace, by
which they were declared worthy of being again received without
delay. Some of the bishops and presbyters were willing to extend to
them the pardon which they sought. Cyprian, however, the bishop
of Carthage, unmoved by the authority which supported, and the
earnestness which urged their claims, powerfully resisted an indulgence,
which he believed to be calculated to loosen the bonds of ecclesiastical
discipline. And, notwithstanding the strong opposition which was
offered to his eftbrts, the measures of necessary severity were finally
adopted.
The persecution, which had gradually abated till the death of Decius Gaiius.
was renewed by Callus and Volusianus, his successors. Itwaschiefiy a. D. 251.
directed against the heads of the Church, some of whom were cast
into exile.^ But, independently of the inijierial edicts, the fm-y of the
people was again kindled against the Christians, in consequence of the
sufferings arising from the douV)le calamity of a pestilence and a famine.
The Tracts of Cyprian to console his afflicted brethren, and to reiirove Tracts or
their incensed enemies, are evidently written under the influence of ^P"""-
gi'eat emotion, which betrayed his ardent mind from the simple ex-
pressions of piety and com'age, into the dangerous extremes of enthu-
' Tillemont, Jle'm. torn. iii. part. ii.
2 P^useb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. ssxix. ; Cyprian, Ep. 55.
^ Dionys. Ales. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. i. ; Mosh. de Reb. Christ,
p. 529.
54 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
A, P. 251. siasm and virulence. But it would tend to soften the unwarrantable
harshness with which the language of the ancient Christians has been
censured in modern days, if we were more careful to connect our
examination of their expressions with a just view of their peculiar
Expectation situation. It canuot surely excite our surprise that, under a complica-
Jud^ment^ °^ tion of Calamities, severe and unrelenting — the havoc of a consuming
disease on the one hand, and the fierceness of inflamed persecutors on
the other — the devout disciple should have imagined, that he per-
ceived in these various evils, the prognostics of the a]:)proaching end
of created things. All nature seemed to him to give testimony of her
hastening dissolution : the winter rain was no longer so copious as to
nourish the seed, the summer sun denied its usual heat in maturing
the harvest ; the temperature of the spring had lost its beauty, and
autumn had ceased to abound in fruit ; the race of culti\'atoi's was
diminished, camps were growing empty for want of soldiers, and the
sea 'ivas not covered, as formerly, with mariners ; skill in arts was fast
declining ; discipline in morals was dying away ; decay was stamped
on everv feature of the material world — its powers were languid and
exhausted,' and its whole frame proclaimed that the great Day of
Judgment was at hand. This, it is true, was the language of exag-
geration ; but it flowed from a strong faith in the promises of Chris-
tianity, and, addressed as it was to bitter enemies, its descriptions
must, at least, have carried some appearance of probability from the
aspect of circumstances in the country wherein they were made.
Cyprians A feeling of deep injury will explain, but not justify, the vehemence
Tract to ^^^ith which Cvprian attacks the private life of Demetrian, a person
charged with some othce or autliority, which he exercised witli extreme
rigour against the Christians. Intemperate censure was calculated
rather to irritate than to convince ; it might effect much mischief, it
could produce no benefit.
' The notion tliat tlie frame of the world showed evident marks of being grown
old and feeble, impaired and worn out, was maintained by the Epicureans : —
Jamque adeo fracta est tetas, ericetaque Tellus
Vix animalia parva creat, qua; cuncta creavit
SjEcla, deditque ferarum ingentia corpora partu.
*****
Ipsa (Tellus) dedit dulceis foetus et pabula la?ta ;
Qu£e nunc vix nostro grandescunt aucta labore :
Conterimusque boves, et vires agricolarum
Confieimus, ferrum vix arvis suppeditati :
Usque adeo pereunt fretus, augentque labores,
Jamque caput quassans grandis suspirat arator
Crebrius incassum magnum cecidisse laborem ;
Et cum tempora temporibus prasentia confert
Pra?teritis, laudat fortunas sa;pe parentis ;
Et crepat, antiquum genus ut, pietate I'epletura,
Perfecile angustis tolerarit finibus avum.
Cum minor esset agri multo modus ante viritim ;
Nee tenet omnia paulatim tabescere, et ire
Ad scopulum spatio eetatis defessa vetusto.
Lucret. lib. ii. 1149-1171.
GALLUS. VALKRIAX. 55
It must also bo rogrettod, that the Christians should have so inju- a.d. 251.
tliciously resorted to arguments against their adversaries, which were injudicious
constantlv employed against themselves. They presumed to ascribe ^^^"""eius
all pal)lic calamities to the displeasure of Divine Providence, which christians,
the conduct of the heathen world had drawn down. " You complain,"
says the Christian advocate, " that these misfortunes take place,
because your gods are not worshijjped bv us ; but we answer, that
they happen because the true God is not worshipped bvyow." Again,
" If your gods are really powerful, let them arise in their defence, let
them vindicate their majesty ; or what can they do for those who pay
them worshij), if they cannot avenge themselves upon such as refuse
it ?" The philosophic jjagans would naturally object, that if these
events were proofs of tiie inmiediate interposition of the Deity against
them, it was difhcult to account for the iact, that plague and famine
fell upon the most pious and eminent Christians, as well as upon their
persecutors.' And the less enlightened class would continue to
ascribe the general misfortunes of an empire, once flourishing, and
tlie peculiar afflictions which oppressed them, to the neglect of their
ancient religion.* The argument which the Christian, at least the Patience
reflecting and devout Christian, derived from the patience and resig- ciili'stuns
nation with which he submitted to the will of God, was entitled to "^''e''
more consideration. While the pagans are represented as being loud
in their complaints under the pressure of evil, the Christian supported
it without murmurs, looking forward, with the beautiful stillness of
religious confidence, to the final accomplishment of the Divine word,
in the rewards of a future life : and remembering the emphatic lan-
guage of Scripture, he declared that though the fig-tree should put
forth no blossom, and the vine should bear no fruit, though the labour
of the olive should tail, and fields should yield no meat, though the
flock should be cut off from the fold, and there should be no herd in
the stalls, yet would he rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of his
salvation.
The early part of the reign of Valerian was, in an eminent degree, Valerian,
auspicious to the Christians. So affectionately disposed towards them a. d. 253.
was the new emperor, that his household was filled with believers,
and compared to a Churcii of God.^
' See Dionys. Ale.x. ap. Euseb. lib. vii. c. xxii. The tender solicitude with which
the Christians ministered to the wants of the sick, at times when the plajjue raged,
exposed them in a high degree to the contagion. Priests and deacons, and the most
devout membei-s of the Church, fell victims to their atlectionate zeal. While the
pagans tied from their diseased, flung them half dead into the streets, and feared to
pay them the rites of sepulture, the Christians embraced the bodies of the saints,
closed their eyes, and bore them, with every mark of respect and decency, to the
grave. Ibid. Comp. Tertull. Apol. c. xli.
* See also Bishop Kaye, on Tertullian, pp. 127, 128. Bayle has collected
curious instances of this tendency in the party in power, to charge their enemies
with misfortunes arising from natural calamities. Diet, Hi.st, art, Vergerius,
^ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. x.
56
THE CHRISTIAN" CHURCH IX THE THIRD CENTURY,
A. D, 253. It is our painful task, however, to pass from external peace to in-
Disputes ternal disputes. The propriety of rebaptizing such persons as had
the baptism I'^ccivcd baptism from heretics was warmly discussed. No fixed
of heretics, rule had been adopted; but it appears to have been an ancient prac-
tice in the European churches, without the repetition of this ordinance,
to readmit them on their receiving the imposition of hands, accom-
panied with prayers. But in Africa, Agi'ippinus, bishop of Carthage,
had enforced, by the authority of a synod, the necessity of renewing
the rite ; and the same custom had prevailed in Cappadocia, and
probably in the other eastern churches. Cyprian was determined to
resist any relaxation of discipline, and especially one which had the
appearance of recognising the validity of heretical baptism. His sen-
timents were confinned by two councils of African bishops, and their
decision was transmitted to Stephen, bishop of Rome, who maintained
a contrary opinion with unbecoming vehemence and bitterness. In-
dignant at this opposition, Stephen not merely refused to receive the
two l^ishops who brought to Rome the account of these proceedings,
but forbade the members of the church from discharging towards them
the common offices of hospitality ; and in his letters, after rejecting
tlie decree of the council, called the Cvprian, declared that he would
not hold communion with such African and Asiatic bishops, as con-
tinued to denounce a practice which the tradition of his church had
sanctioned. In consequence, a third council, consisting of eighty-five
bishops, was summoned by Cyprian from the three provinces of
Africa, Numidia, and Mauritania ; and the determinations of the two
preceding councils were again unanimously confirmed. The issue of
tire dispute, conducted with great force on one side, and much uncha-
ritableness on the other, is not related ; both parties, however, seem to
have retained their opinions : but in after times, the majority of the
African and Eastern bisho])S retracted their decrees, and the judgment
of Stephen was generally followed.' /
Persecution. The Stale of the Christians, during the entire period previous to the
civil establishment of their religion, was sometimes free from the
actual exercise of violence, but was ever, in the highest degree, pre-
ciirious and uncertain. In the reign now under consideration they
were doomed to experience a sudden transition from extreme favour
to extreme severity. Valerian, a prince of mild and benevolent dis-
position, had, at first, treated them with more kindness than any of
his predecessors, not excepting those who had been suspected of
having privately embraced the Christian faith. His sentiments and
feelings on this subject soon underwent an extraordinary change, of
which it is difficult to ascertain the real cause. The wishes of the
powerful are no less variable than violent.^ By the Christians this
' Euseb. lib. vii. c. ii. — vi. viii. — x. Cyprian, Epist. 70, ad Jubaiamim. See
Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, ante Const. JIaj. p. 533-547.
2 Kegire voluntates, plerumque, ut vehementes sunt, sic mobiles, srepeque ipsjB
sibi adverse. Sallust. Jucrurth. Bell.
VALERIAN. 57
alienation was attributed to the influence of Macrianus, a man who a. D. 253*
sought in the nivstories of superstition the means of accomplishing Causes,
his ambitious projects. He is represented as having contracted enmity
against the Christians, in consequence of their opposition to magical
rites,' and as having advised the emperor to inspect the entrails of
new-born infants, and to engage in the ])erformance of strange and
bar]>arous ceremonies.'^ But, without denying that the bigotry of
JMacrianus may have powerfully atlected the plans of Valerian, and
contributed to l^light the fair jjrospect which the opening of his reign
presented, we ought carefully to remember that the early Christians
were too apt to impute motives for which there existed no stronger
authority than popular re])orts ; and that they, in fact, had not often
the opportunities requisite for a calm investigation of the complicated
machinery of court politics. But, whatever circumstances might
have conspired to bias the mind of Valerian, the progressive detail of
his persecution seems to us, at least, to prove that his object was not
to gratify private malice, but to effect an intercommunity of religions,
and to facilitate this design by removing the chief rulers of the new
sect.
The first attempts of Valerian^ bear no marks of that l?arbarity, a. d. 257.
which distinrruished the conduct of those, whose ol)iect was not to J!'"?' y^\^ "^
• riM 11 * ■ Ti valerians
unite, but to extirpate, llie order, address to Aspasius raternas, persecutions,
proconsul of Africa, was to enforce the observance of the religious
ceremonies of the Romans. Hence it is, prol)ably, that J^lmilian, Nature of
governor of Egypt, proposed to Dionysius* to worship his own God, poi™*"
together with the gods of paganism. For the great maxim of ancient
government was, as we have already observed, whilst it left private
judgment ft-ee, to require a pul)lic expression of adherence to the
estiil)lished system. The imperial letters also prohibited all public
assemblies, and, in particular, denied the Christians the enjoyment of
those cemeteries or j)laces wherein the martyrs were iiuried, and to
which multitudes were in consequence not unfretjuently drawn to-
gether.
The punishment inflicted on those who refused to comply witli the
Roman ceremonies was simply exile ; and the decree was directed
sjieciflcally, or rather solely, against the bishops and presbyters.
Among these, Cyprian, and Dioiiysius* of Alexandria, were sent into
' The persecution by the heathens is freiiuently ascribed to the opposition which
tlie practice of magic experienced t'roni the Christians. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii;
c xiv. ice.
* Dionys. Alex. Ep. ad Hemi. aj). Euseb. lib. vii. c. x. Jlosheim, de Reb. Christ.
p. 548.
' Tliis is reckoned the eighth {lersecution by Sulpicius Severus (lib. ii. c. xxxii),
Orosius (lib. vii. c. xxii.), and Augustine (de Civ. Dei, lib. xviii. c. lii.)
■• See his Letters to a Bishop named Germanus, in Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii.
c. xi.
* Dionysius has given an interesting account of his banishment, first to Cephro,
in Libya, and thence, in consequence of the crowds of followers whom he drew
58
THE CHEISTIAX CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
banishment. A severer sentence awaited those who, in violation of
this decree, should continue to hold meetings or to frequent cemeteries.
It has been remarked, that one of the best of the Roman emperors
refused to incorporate a company even of an inconsiderable number of
men, and for purposes too of unquestionable utilitv.' All associations
were viewed with distrust and apprehension. The fixed congregations
of bodies so large, so united, and so independent, as composed the
Christian churches, wei'e probably, beginning to excite, even in a
pacific breast, some feelings of alarm. From the tombs of their mar-
tyrs, over which they poured their fervent prayers, it was feared that
they might return with renewed zeal, or, according to pagan notions,
with confirmed obstinacy. Against all such, therefore, as infringed
this clause the punishment of death was denounced ; and to this clause
we must assign the occasional severities which were exercised even on
the inferior members of various ranks in the Christian community.
Such seems to have been the nature of Valerian's i)ersecution in its
first stage. It required the chiefs of the Church to unite their worship
with that of the State, under pain of banishment, and it forbade the
people fi-om collecting together. Thus the chiefs being banished, and
the means of re-electing them precluded, it was expected that Clu'is-
tianity would gradually die away.
The first edict of Valerian appears to have failed of producing the
desired effect. The Chi-istians continued to throng to the prisons of
their revered teachers, and derived fresh ardour from their example
and their discourses. Thus it was of little avail to guard the precincts
of the cemeteries with armed bands, if the very scenes of punishment
contriiiuted to stimulate rather than to deter, and to increase rather
than to diminish, the Christian population. The other orders of the
clergy doubtless supplied the absence of the bishops, and the organi-
zation of the new body was varied, but not dissolved. The bishops
too, though suflering under the actual operation of the imperial edict,
and threatened with the heaviest infliction which the violation of its
provisions could call down, with unabated, perhaps with too precipi-
tate, zeal, encouraged the assemblages of the people, and ])ursued the
great work of gentile conversion.^ But, be the cause what it may, it
is manifest that the indignation of the emperor was violently raised
from the severe rescript which he subsequently adilressed to the Senate,
and issued to the provincial governors. By this he ordered that
together, to the more distant and desert regions of Mareotis. In whatever spot,
however dreary its aspect, or remote its situation, the Christian exile was fixed,
thither the solicitude of his brethren induced them, through imminent dangers, to
repair. To visit, console, and assist the imprisoned, as well as to inter the mar-
tyred, such were the objects which, notwithstanding the prohibitions of the Roman
governors, were deemed too important to be neglected on any consideration.
(Dionys. Alex. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. xi.)
» Plin. Ep. lib. x. ep. 42, 43.
^ See Dionys. Alex. ap. Euseb. Hist, Eccles. lib. vii. c. xi.
VALEUIAX. 59
bishops, ])rcsl)yters, and deacons should lie put to deatli without A. D. 257.
delay ; that senators and men of rank, and Roman knights should be
stripped of their dignity and of their propei'ty; and if they still con-
tinued to be Christians, should be beheaded ; that matrons should be
deprived of their goods and lianished ; that the Coesariani (probaljly
the emperor's household) who either had confessed, or should after-
wards confess, should lose their property by confiscation, and should
be sent, bound in chains, to work in the manner of slaves, on the
emperor's estate.' From this decree it may very justly be inferred, Remarks..
that persons of considerable influence [)rofessed the Christian religion.
It may also be remarked, that no mention is made of the mass of
Christians of subordinate rank : and hence, in the accounts still extant
of the martyrdoms of that period, the lower orders may be, in general,
observed to have been unmolested spectators ; except when their own
attachment to religion urged them on to participate in the suftbrings
of its jireachers, or when some particular governor exceeded the limits
of his powers, or, lastly, when they reduced the magistrate to the
necessity of executing the ancient penal laws, "which, though suflered
to slumloer in consequence of later edicts, were, as yet, not formally
annulled.
Several accounts of the mart\'rdoms which took ])lace in this per- Martyrdom
secution still remain ; but the authority of many of these documents °' t;ypriim.
may reasonably be called in cjuestion. The most remarkable persons
who fell victims, were Sixtus, the bishop of Rome, Laurentius, a
deacon, who was consumed by a slow fire, and Cyprian, bishop of
Carthage. Of the last, the pi'ominent part which he bore in the aliaii's
of the Church, recjuires that we should offer a more particular descrip-
tion, Cyprian, who had returned from exile, was living in his gardens
near Carthage, not unprepared for the fate which he was conscious
would await him, when lie was apprehended by two officers of the
jiroconsul of Africa, Galerius Maximus. These ofiicers placed him in
a chariot between themselves, and conveyed him to Sexti, a place
about six miles from Carthage, where the proconsul then resided for
the recovery of his health. In consecjuence of some occupation, he
was carried back to the house of the chief officer, and the consideration
of his case was deferred till the ensuing day. The intelligence was
soon widely circulated, and great numbers from all parts of Carthage,
thronged together to witness the scene. The excellent character of
the bishoj), and the beneficence with which he had attended to those
who, on a late occasion, had been afflicted by the plague, conspired to
insure for him the respect of all ranks : and his present situation,
whilst it animated the courage of the faithful, excited the compassion
of the unbelieving. The treatment which he experienced i'rom his
guard was mild and considerate ; his friends Avere allowed to remain
with him as usual, and the crowd passed the \vhole night in anxious
suspense, before the door of the house. In the moniing he was led to
' Cjiivian, Eji. 82.
60 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURT.
A. D. 257. the PrcBtoriiim, attended by a vast multitude ; and, till the arrival of
the proconsul, he waited in a private place and rested himself on a
seat, which happened to be covered with linen, that, adds the narrator,
" even under the stroke of death he might still enjoy the honours of
episcopacy." On the arrival of the proconsul, he delivered, in answer
to the interrogatories, his name and office, but resolutely refused to
obey the imperial mandate which enjoined sacrifice to the gods. The
proconsul exhorted him to consider the consequences of his refusal,
and at length having deliberated with his council, pronounced, with
reluctance, the sentence of death in terms like the following — " You
have lived with a sacrilegious disposition a long time ; you have drawn
together great numbers into the same impious conspiracy; you have
shown yourself an enemy to the Roman gods and their sacred laws,
nor have our holy princes been able to recall you to the observance of
their ceremonies. Therefore, as you are convicted of being the ring-
leader of most nefarious criminals, you shall be made an example to
those whom you have associated with yourself in this impious course,
and by your blood shall discipline be sanctioned." Having uttered
these words he read the decree from a tablet : " It is om- pleasure
that Thascius Cyprianus be put to death by the sword." Cyprian
exclaimed " God be praised !" and the crowd of his brethren tumul-
tuously cried, " Let us, too, be beheaded with him !" and followed in
a numerous body. He was led into a wide plain, thick set with ti-ees,
on the boughs of which many of the spectators, who filled the spot,
had eagerly climbed. The deacons and presbyters were present ; and
his brethren spread linen on the ground to receive his blood, Cy])riaa
laid aside his cloak, and fell on his knees and prayed ; then put oft" his
dalmatic or under garment, and remained in his shirt ; and, having
ordered five-and-twenty pieces of gold to be given to the executioner,
he covered his eyes with his hands, and his head was severed from liis
body. His corpse was deposited near the spot, to gratify the curiosity
of the gentiles ; but at night it was removed, with lights and torches,
in solemn procession, and interred in the cemetery of INIacrol^ius Cau-
didianus, a procurator.
Thus died Cyprian, the first, it is said, of the numerous bishops of
Sources of Carthage who suffered martyrdom. The above account is drawn from
the above ^hg i Proconsular Acts,' which have eveiy appearance of genuineness,
account. J 1 I o '
and from the 'Life of Cyprian,' written, it must be observed, in a
iiighly rhetorical style, which is far from producing the intended im-
pression, by Pontius, his deacon, who was present in this aft'ecting
scene. We have thus largely detailed the circumstances of this mar-
tyrdom, because it is calculated to give the reader a correct notion of
tlie proceedings of the Romans and the Christians at this ])eriod, and
to suggest various reflections on the respect paid to episcopal dignity,
and the increasing veneration attending martyrdom, which it is unne-
cessary that we should point out.
That the persecution of Valerian continued three years and a half
GALUENUS. — CLAUDIUS. — AURELIAX. 61
has been deduced from the circumstance, that Dionvsius of Alexandria A. D. 257.
appHes to him the passage in the ' Apocal}i)so :" "And there was given
unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasjjhemies ; and ])o\ver
was given unto him to continue forty and two months." The captm-e
of Valerian by the Persians was the signal of tranquillit^•.
Gallienus, by his rescripts of universal application, jiermitted the Gaiiienns.
bishops to renew the duties of their othces without molestation, and -A- !'• 260.
restored to the Christians the enjoyment of the cemeteries.* Yet that Tranquillity
the ancient penal laws, against such as refused to comply with the "'^^''^ '
established ceremonies of I'eligion, when formally required, were not iaws"not
repealed, the following instance will serve to prove. In Caesarea of '^'^'°^'»'«'J'
Palestine, at a moment of deep tranquillity, Marinus, a man distin- Martyrdom
guished by his wealth and high liirth, was on the point of receiving '^
the dignity of centurion, when the next candidate for the vacant ]ilacc
objected to his nomination, on the ground that he was a Christian,
and refused to sacrifice to the emperors. The judge, astonished at the
accusation, inteiTogated Marinus on the sul>ject of his religion, and,
observing that he confessed himself to be a Chi-istian, allowed him
three hours to consider whether ho woukl persist in this profession^
On leaving the court, Theotecnus, bishoj) of the town, having joined
him, led him gradually into the church, placed him before the altar,
and having i)ointed out on one hand the sword, which hung at his
side, and on the other the gospel, he bade him choose which of the
two he prefen-ed. As Marinus unhesitatingly laid his hand on the
book, he was briefly exhorted by the bishop to adhere to his choice ;
and when he left the church, the time of deliberation being elapsed,
he was summoned before the tribunal, maintained the faith with re-
newed alacrity, and was beheaded.^ Astyrius, a Roman senator of
eminence, took on his shoulders the cor])se of the martvr, and paid it
the last honours.'' This action appears not to have subjected him to
punishment ; probably his rank, and the high favour of the emperors
which he enjoyed, deterred accusers.
In the eight years during wliich Gallienus, the two years during Claudius,
which Claudius ruled, and the first four of the reign of Aurelian, the Aurelian.
Christians in general were undisturljed. But in the fifth year, Aure-
lian, either at the impulse of some unknown adviser, or from the
influence of his own strongly superstitious feelings, determined to raise
a persecution,* which was expected to be severe. But the hand of
death arrested him, as it were, in the act of subscribing the edicts
against the Church ; and the eft'ects of his anger were, i)robably, but
little, if at all, experienced. After the murder of Aurelian, the Chris-
tians, with a few partial exceptions, continued uninjured nearly to the
end of this century.
During the first eighteen years of his reign, Diocletian exhibited no
' Oh. xiii. ver. 5. ^ Eusob. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. liii.
' Ibid. c. XV. * Ibid.
* Euseb. lib. vii. c. sxs. Lactant. Je Mort. Persecut. c. vi. &c.
62
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
A. IX 284.' symptoms of a disposition to disturb the prosperity of his Christian
Diocletian, subjects. ReHgious conviction was gaining fast on the minds of the
incredulous, or a more enlarged policy was gradually extending its
influence. The reputation of the new sect was considerably raised, and
procured for its members not merely protection against violence, but a
Cons'tanUus^ peculiar exemption from the performance of such duties as were in-
Cicsars. ' compatible with their religious tenets. When intrusted with pro-
Toleration of vincial governments, they were released from the usual obligation of
Christianity, jjggjg^j^^g j^j. sacrifices to the gods of the emperor. The imperial house-
hold were permitted to exercise their religion with the most undisguised
freedom. The wife and the daughter of the emperor appear, in some
degree, to have imbibed the principles of Christianity. The most marked
favour and affection were shown towards the bishops, not merely by
private persons, but by the Roman governors ; and conversions increased
with so much rapidity, that it was found necessary to erect new and
spacious churches throughout all the cities of the empire. But it is
Deseneracy again the melancholy duty of the ecclesiastical historian to mark, amid
chrisuans. *'^^ lustre of surrounding prosperity, the shades which fall on the
interior of the Christian state. Sloth and negligence, envy and bitter
calumny, and a spirit of factious ambition, which pervaded the higher
orders of the hierarchy, are among the numerous proofs of degeneracy,
which the writings of Eiisebius pathetically, ]:)ut, perhaps, to a certain
extent, rhetorically display.^
Conduct of The mildness of Diocletian entered not into the character of his
Herc^iHs."^ harsh and unfeeling associate, Maximianus Herculius. Actuated by
deep hostility, which ignorance and superstition had nursed, against
tlie Christian feith, he could easily inthdge in crueltv without expressly
refusing to acknowledge the general spirit of toleration which then
existed. One instance of severity is, however, cited, which can hardly
be established by evidence sufficient to command our belief.
It is pretended that Maximianus Herculius brought from the east a
legion, called the Thebean Legion, consisting entirelv of Christians,
which he intended to employ against the Gauls. On his march, the
emperor wished to oblige his army to sacrifice to the gods, or, accord-
ing to other writers, to persecute the Christians. On the refusal of
tliis legion, he ordered them to be decimated; and, finding that the
example of the sufferers produced no impression, he repeated the
puni.shment of decimation, but was unable to enforce obedience. Ex-
asperated at this inflexibility, he caused the whole legion to be mas-
sacred. The soldiers relinquished their arms in passive resignation,
and presented their necks to the executioners. This event is said to
have taken place at Agaunum, at the foot of the Alps, and is still
honoured by the Romish church. The famous abbev of St. Maurice
is so called after the supposed captain of this legion.
' The 29th of August, a.d. 284, is the beginning of the era of martyrs, which is
still ill use among the Copts of Egypt, the Abyssinians, and some other nations of
Africa. 2 Euseb. lib. viii. c. i.
DIOCLETIAN. — MAXIMIANUS. 63
Such is the account, which was once as impHcitly received, as it is a. d. 284.
now generally suspected. It is detailed in a letter, attributed to Arguments
Eucherius, bishop of Lvons, who ijrofesses to have learnt it from ^'"'"^^ "^
' • * truth.
certain persons, who declared that they had heard it from Isa;ic, bishop
of Geneva, who, it was supposed, had received it from Theodore,
bishop of Octodurum,' Of this relation there are two copies ; the
first was published by Surius, and, among other internal })roofs of
ialsehood, mentions a period posterior to Sigismond, king of Burgundy,
who lived, at the lowest computation, sixty-six years later than
Eucherius. The second copy, free from this anachronism and other
contradictions, was subsequently published by Chifflet, who asserted
that it was dra\vn from a very ancient manuscript in the monasterv
of Mount Jura. The relation was attacked with great learning and
ingenuity by M. J. du Bordieu,^ who referred it to some monk of the
seventh century.
It must be acknowledged, however, that the history was known in Date of the
the fifth century. From a homily of Avitus,^ puljlished by Sirmond, "^"ative.
who found it in a manuscript of unquestionable antiquity, it appears
tliat the anniversary of these martyrs was, in his time, celebrated in
the church dedicated to them at Agaunum. It is evident, therefore,
tliat these Acts may have been written about the time of Eucherius,
though it may, periiaps, be concluded, from the style, that he himself
was not the author.
The arguments which invalidate the whole narrative are nearlv in- internal
surmountable. The improbability of a legion which contained six thou- "^ ^°'^^'
sand Christians, the improbability that Maximian should have drawn
it from the eastern extremity of the empire, to repress a revolt in
Gaul ; the improbability that, if so strong a measure were requisite,
he should, when almost in the very presence of the enemy, destroy a
considerable portion of his own army ; the improbability that, even
under these circumstances, not one soldier should have redeemed his
life by an act of obedience to the orders of his commander, that not
one should have defended himself with the arms he held, that not one
should have escaped in a country, surrounded by woods and moun-
tains, which otiered the means of safety ; these are circumstances
which, unless supported by the unequivocal evidence of competent
witnesses, would be alone sufficient to excite distrust, if not total dis-
' If this were true, it would be str.ange that jVmbrose, bisliop of !\Iilan, \v1m)
must often have met Theodore, his sutl'ragaii, shoidd make no mention of this event,
notwithstanding his veneration for martyrs and relics. (Bibliotli. J.'aisou. torn, xxxvi.
p. 441.)
* His work is entitled Dissertation Critique sur le Martyre de la Legion The-
be'ene, 1705. The English translation, which ai)peared in 1696, was made from
tlie author's SIS. M. du Bordieu was induced to write his Dissertation l)y the dis-
gust which he conceived at the honours paid by the Church of Rome to the memory
of the Thebean soldiers (c. i.). The martyrdom was maintained by Joseph de
L'Isle.
^ The title of the homily is Dicta in Basilica Sanctorum Agauuensium, in inno-
vatione Jlonasterii ipsius, vel passione Martyrum.
64
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
contempo-
rarv writers.
Probable
orijrin of the
tradition.
A. D. 284. belief, in the mind of the inquirer. But, in the present case, they are
found in a narrative, which was not pubhshed till more than one hun-
dred and fifty years after the pretended event took place. All con-
siienceofail temporary writers are silent: the fact is not mentioned nor alluded to
l3y EuselDius, nor by Sulpicius Severus, nor by Orosius, nor by the
poet Pmdentius, nor by Lactantius ; all of whom have written of the
martyrdoms which reflected lustre on the name of Christian ; and the
last, in particular, had resided in Gaul not more than thirty years after
the remarkable occurrence which is said to have happened in that
country. Omitting the arguments which result from the difficulty of
assigning this pretended martyrdom to any local or general persecution,
we are inclined to an opinion that the tradition may have originated
in some really severe punishment of certain Christians in the Roman
army. The Greek martyrologies celebrate one Mam-ice, a tribune,
whom Maximian put to death, together with seventy soldiers, at
Apamaea, in Syria, the department over which he presided. It has
been conjectured, with great probability, that the supposed Maurice of
Agaunum is the same person, and that the Roman relater transferred
the scene from the East to Gaul, and enriched the detail with that
variety of improbaljle additions, which frequently attends the progress
of tradition.'
We learn from Eusebius, that persecution first began against the
Christians who were engaged in a military life.* To preserve their
faith, many abandoned their profession ; others laid down their lives.
If the extant accounts of the martyrdoms of that period be genuine, it
cannot be denied that the conduct of some Christian soldiers was so
public a violation of martial discipline, that it must naturally have been
expected that the Roman commanders would visit it with severe
proofs of their displeasure. At Tebesta, in Numidia, Maximilian
resolutely refused to follow the example of those Christians who
consented to serve in the army, and death was the punishment of
this disobedience.'* At Tingi, in Mauritania, Marcellus, a centurion,
amid the rejoicings and sacrifices which celebrated the birthday of the
emperor, in the presence of the whole legion cast away his arms,
his belt, and his vine- branch, the badge of his office, and cried aloud,
that he was the soldier of Jesus Christ, the eternal King, and that if
to sacrifice to the gods were the condition of a military life, he would
serve no longer under the imperial banners. He was accordingly
seized, and, after having confessed, he was reproached by the judge
with having broken his oath, and condemned to be beheaded as a
deserter.* Similar instances may, possibly, have produced an un-
favourable effect on the mind of the emperor. But the first cause of
' This conjecture, which seems to have been first suggested by Baronius (Annot.
ad diem xxii. Septemb. Martyrologii Romani, p. 375), is supported in a very able
dissertation on the subject of the Thebean Legion, which is contained in the Biblio-
th^que Raisonnee, torn, sxxvi. p. 427-454.
2 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. iv.
3 Acta Siucer. p. 299. ■* IWd. p. 302.
Conduct
of some
Christian
soldiers.
DIOCLETIAN. — VALERIUS. 65
his enmity may, perhaps, be sought in the machinations of the pagan A. D. 284.
priests. It is related, tliat when Diocletian expressed an extreme Arts of the
desire of penetrating into future events, the diviners found that there prits"hooci
were none of the ordinary marks in the entrails of the victims, and
attributt'd the want of success, which attended the rites, to certain
profiine persons who had intruded into their assemblies. The narrator
affirms, that some Christians, being jiresent, had made the sign of the
cross on their foreheads, and thus expelled the demons.' It was, on
this occasion, that Diocletian, being incensed, commanded that sacri-
fices should be observed, not merely by the court, but by the camp ;
and that those who refused, should be scourged ; and soldiers, who
would not comply, should be dismissed. And to this extent only did
his anger then proceed. P>om this narration it is manifest that the
Aruspices, subtle and intriguing men, contrived to instigate the super-
stitious emperor against the Christians, whose prosperity they viewed
with a jealous and fearful e)'e, by pretending that tlieir presence
destroyed the efficacy of the sacrifices. Various other means were
resorted to by the priests, and, perhaps, by the philosophers, to rouse
the fears of an emperor, whose unwillingness to sanction persecution
could only be overcome by working on his credulity and superstition.
These wiles, however, might have been unsuccessful, but for the influpnce of
unremitted exertions of Maximianus Galerius : coarse and uneducated, CaUrrSs!"^
his natural fierceness was easily excited by his mother, a woman of
extreme superstition, who had contracted hatred against the Christians,
in consequence of their refusal to assist at the sacrifices, which she
was in the habit of almost daily performing.*
During the whole winter which he sjjent at JSTicomedia, Galerius
held secret consultations with Diocletian on the subject of the
Christians. The aged emperor, whom caution or lenity had inspired
with aversion to the exercise of extraordinary violence, is represented
as having pressed on his rash adviser a consideration of the scenes of
disturbance and of bloodshed, which would unquestionably attend the
measures of coercion that he proposed. Convinced, however, of the
dangers which might accrue to the state from an unbounded toleration
of a hostile sect, or unwilling to ofler an entire opposition to the
wishes of his colleague, he suggested, as a sufficient check, that no
Christian should be allowed to continue in the court or in the armv.
Galerius, whose passions predominated over his reason, was dis-
satisfied with an expedient which presented but a partial remedv
to the pretended evil of which he witnessed the continual gi-owth.
His remonstrances, at length, were successful, in prevailing on Dio-
cletian to summon an assembly, composed of a few persons, who had
acquired eminence in the judicial, or in the military profession. Of
these some were already ]irejudiced against the Christians, and others
were too much influenced by their fears, or by the desire of gratifying
the powerful, to deny that Galerius was right in deeming the destruc-
' Lactant. de Mort. Persecut. c. s. * Ibid,
[C. H.] F
66 THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY.
A. D. 284. tion of Christianity essential to the permanence of the Roman institu-
tions. Yet, even then, the reluctant emperor, distrustful of human
counsels, applied for further advice to the oracle of the Milesian
Apollo. The oracle, as might naturally be foreseen, confirmed the
sentiments of the enemies of Christianity ; and the acquiescence of
Diocletian, in the adoption of severe proceedings, was at length ob-
tained.'
A. D. 303. The 23rd of February, which was the festival of the god Terminus,
liestruction w^s chosen as an appropriate day to begin the task of fixing, as it
ciiurcii of were, a period to the Christian religion. At the first faint dawn of
Nicomeiha. ^|^g moming, the prefect, attended by generals, tribunes, and receivers
of the revenue, proceeded to the church of Nicomedia, which stood on
an eminence within the view of the imperial palace. The doors were
immediately forced open, and an ineffectual search was made for the
image of the god whom the Christians worshipped. The sacred
scriptures, which were found there, were burnt ; and whatever
remained was divided as the spoil. While this work of confusion
and rain was busily proceeding, the two princes, who viewed the
scene from their palace, debated long whether they should order fire
to be set to the church ; but apprehensive of the danger, to which this
method of destruction would expose the rest of the city, Diocletian
resolved that it should be demolished by his guards. They came,
accordingly, in array of battle, with axes and mattocks, and rased, in
a i'ew hours, that lofty edifice to the ground.''
First edii:t of On the eusuing day an edict was issued, by which it was decreed
Diocletian, ^j-^^^j. |.j^g cliurclies slioukl be demolished to their foundation, and the
scriptures committed to the flames ; that such as professed Ciiristianity
should be considered incapable of holding any honour or oflice, and
should be liable to torture, whatever might be their rank or dignity ;
that any action might be received against them, but that they, on the
other hand, should have no right to sue upon any injury, wliether by
violence, adultery, or theft, which they themselves experienced.^
Slaves were also deprived of the hope of liberty ;* and the shield of
the law was withdrawn from every member of the proscribed sect.
It appears also to have been then enacted, that no assemblies should
be held hv the Christians, and that all their places of resort should be
confiscated.
Rasii ronduct This most unjust edict was no sooner fixed up in the most public
*"'V part of the city, than it was torn down by a Christian, who severely
oi'a" reflected on the conduct of the emperors ; and accused them of betray-
chnstian. j,jg .^ gpiijt ^s narrow and ferocious as that of the unenlightened hordes
of Goths and Sarmatians, over whom they boasted of having triumphed.
An action so daring could not fail to subject its author, however ex-
alted might be his situation in life, to peremptory punishment. The
' Lactant. de Mort. Persecut. c. x. ^ {bid. c. xii.
^ Comp. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. ii., and Lactant. de Mort. Persecut.
C. xiii. ' Toy; li e» oIkitmis .... iXi-jholu; grinnniat.
DIOCLETIAN. — GALERIUS. 67
Christian was immediately seized, and not merely tortured by the A. D. oOo.
ordinary process of the rack, but destroyed by a slow fire, which he
endured witli a tranquillity of mind, which s])read a smile over his
features even in the agonies of death. The historian, who acknow-
ledged that his conduct was a deviation from the mles of rectitude,
still considered it as having originated in courageous ardour ; and,
without approving of his dangerous indiscretion, it is difficult not to
ftM?l respect for the motive which inspired the extraordinary fortitude
that baffled, to the last, the eflbrts of his tormentors.'
An event soon after occurred, wliich was ])roductive of the most Fireiniiie
disastrous results to the Christian inhabitants of Nicomedia. A de- ^'j'^J'^^jj.,^
structive fire broke out in the palace wherein Galerius and Diocletian
resided, and the Christians were accused of having conspired with
some of the eunuchs, for the destniction of the two princes. The
rack was, as usual, resorted to, but \vas not attended by any dis-
covery. A fortnight afterwards, the palace was again in fiames. The
conflagration, indeed, was soon observed and extinguished ; but the
impression which it left on the mind of Diocletian was implacable
resentment against the whole sect, to which the calamity was im-
mediately ascribed. Every kind of torment, which the most ingenious
cruelty could invent, was now recklessly employed. Persons of all
ages and of both sexes, in great numbers, were burned alive, and their
servants cast into the sea ; officers, who had conducted the afiairs of
the palace, were put to death ; presbyters and deacons, without legal
proof, were condemned and executed; and the city presented an
api^alling sjK'ctiicle of ferocity exasperated into madness, and the
powers of destruction invested with their deepest horrors. The
feelings of humanity were crushed ; the internal pleadings of justice
were no more heard ; the mighty tide of persecution had set in, and,
no longer stemmed by prudence, it swept all befoi-e it in its progress.
The cause of the calamity is still envelo])ed in uncertainty. One
historian has not hesitated to impute it to the artifices of Galerius, Authors of
who had used every eObrt to stimulate his more mild, or more fearful '■^'"■^•
associate ; and who, in the depth of winter, hastened his departure
from Nicomedia, protesting that he was forced to fly from tlie danger
to which he was exposed by desperate incendiaries.* But it is mani-
fest that such a plot could only have been known by conjecture, for
its necessary secresy must have jirecluded any other means of in-
formation. The Emperor Constantine, who was himself an eye-
witness of the fire, attributes it to lightning;* and Eusebius ac-
knowledges that he was ignorant of the real cause.'' Whether,
therefore, it arose from accident or from design, it is not for us,
in these later ages, with no additional clue to guide our researches,
to determine.
' Lactant. de iloit. Persecut. c. xii. ; Euseb. lib. viii. c. v.
* Lactam, de Mort. Persecut. ^ Orat. aJ Sanctor. Ccetum. c. xxv.
■* Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. vi.
68
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH IN THE THIRD CENTURY,
A. D. 303. The edict of Diocletian was published in all the provinces of the
D?ocl tfan empire ; but it circulated so slowly, that the Christians in the more
remote quarters were visited by this affliction some months later than
the brethren who dwelt near the seat of its first promulgation. The
magistrates were enjoined, under the heaviest penalties, to seize the
sacred books, which were in the hands of the bishops and presbyters,
and to consign them publicly to the flames. Hence, though the law
seems not intended to affect the lives of the Christians, it proved de-
structive to many, who resolutely refused to deliver up the holy
writings.
Though most were doubtless influenced by the purest and holiest
motives — by that strong sense of religious duty which must draw
forth the respect even of those who might dissent in their estimate of
the course of action pursued — there were not wanting some few, who,
it must be confessed, were actuated by very different views : oppressed,
it is said, by public debts, or haunted by the consciousness of an ha-
bitual neglect of the precepts of Christianity, they rashly imagined that
the voluntary sacrifice of their lives, which were to them a burthen,
would be an expiation of their former crimes.'
Many, however, both of the Church and laity, were willing to
obey the imperial decree by delivering up the scriptures, and were,
in consequence, branded by the reproachful appellation of traditors.*
But, notwithstanding the ignominy which attended their conduct,
it would surely be a breach of charity to assert, that they meant
by this act to express their formal renmiciation of the Christian
religion.
Second and In couseqiience of some civil commotions in Armenia and Syria, a
thud edicts. ^^^ edict was published, commanding that all the presidents of the
churches should be seized, and the prisons were soon filled with
bishops, presbyters, deacons, readers, and exorcists ; insomuch, adds
the historian, that no place remained for the custody of condemned
criminals. This edict was followed by another, in which it was
ordained that they who were imprisoned, should be set at liberty on
their consenting to sacrifice, but that they who refused, should be
compelled to undergo every variety of torment. And just before the
Fourth edict. I'csignation of Diocletian, a fourth edict was issued, not merely
directed, as the foregoing, against the heads of the Church, but
embracing all ranks of Christians, who had now no alternative but to
worship the heathen idols,^ or to submit to all that could be devised
to overpower their feelings and subdue their spirit. The extent of
Galerius and the persecution which burst on the Christians, will be best conceived
Constantius, \yy reviewing their state in the different parts of the Roman empire,'*
' August. Brevicul. CoUat. cum Donat. lib. iii. c. siii.
2 Optat. Milevit. de Schis. Donat. lib. i. sec. 12, 13.
' Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. xiii. ; De Mart. Palest, c. xiii.
* See the view of this persecution taken in Dodwell (Dissert. Cyprian, dissert, xi.
Mosheim, de Keb. Christ, p. 947, &c.) ; Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. p. 575, &c.
DIOCLETIAN. — GALERIUS. 69
But our limits will only allow us to sketch with a rapid pencil those A. D. 303.
scenes which are drawn in deepened colours by contemporary his-
torians.
Constantius Chlonis, who presided over Gaul, was induced by the
natural mildness and benignity of his character, and by the favourable
opinion which he entertained of the Christian doctrines, to mitigate
severities which he could not prevent. Unwilling to oppose the state of the
authority of Diocletian, he complied with it, so far as regarded the l^^the'de-
demolition of the churches, but he exerted his power to shield the partment of
persons of the Christians from violence and injury. And that pro-
tection, which he had partially exhibited as Ca?sar, he subsequently
maintained in all its vigour as Augustus. The tranquillity enjoyed
by Gaul under Constantius, and afterwards under Constantine, was
])robablv extended to Britain. But in Spain, which, though it also
belonged to the same department, was not so directly under his super-
intendence, the governor, Datianus, appears in no degree to have re-
laxed the rigorous conditions of the imperial edicts, and the consequent
misery of the Christians is attested by the extant relations of numerous
martyrdoms.
In Italy and Africa, where IMaximianus, the inveterate enemy of Italy and
the Christians, whom he regarded as opponents of his ambitious ""^^
designs, the storm of persecution raged with a fury which seemed
destined, as it were, to tear up by the roots and cast down for ever
the new establishment. But the shock, though di-eadful, was brief.
On the resignation of Diocletian, Severus governed these provinces,
probal)ly, in a milder manner, when Csesar, and watched by Con-
stantius, than when Augustus, and influenced by Galei'ius. The revolt
of Maxentius restored tranquillity in these provinces to the Cliristian
Church.
In the east, the ambitious Galerius, long impatient of the restraints in the east.
Avhich a cautious policy had imposed on his impetuous sjiirit, no sooner
obtained the purple than he gave full scope to the measures of the
most savage craelty. His associate, Maximin, lent a willing co-opera-
tion in the enormities of this eventful period.
The heart-sickening details of I'efined torments, which the historians Torments,
of the Clmrch have transmitted to us, and which almost stagger belief,
cannot be even touched upon without a feeling of mental convulsion.
The method of burning by a slow fire, employed by men, whose only Buminfj by
fear was lest the violence of their fury should be abridged by the too *^°^''* '''■^•
speedy death of their victim, is alone sufHcient to give the reader a
transient glance into those s])ectacles of human agony, which were then
so frequent. The victims were chained, and a gentle file was a])])lied
to the soles of their feet, bv which the callus was contracted, till at
last it fell oft' from the bones. Torches which had been just lighted
and extinguished, while still hot, were pressed against every limb,
that no part of their bodies should be free from tortiu'e. And during
this process of horror, cold water was poured on their faces and in
70
THE CHRISTIAX CHURCH IN THE THIRD CEXTURY,
A. P. 811.
Edict of
Galerius.
A. D. 303. their mouths, le.st their throats being- quite dried up, they should
expire before the full measure of barbarity was exhausted. At
length, when their skin was wholly consumed, and the flame had
penetrated to their vitals, they were thrown on a funeral pile and
burned to ashes, which were ignominiously cast to the winds.' One
description of this natm'e is more than enough to give an idea of the
punishments adopted. They varied, indeed, in their nature* and
duration, according to the caprice of the different provincial governors,
but they were even marked by circumstances more harrowing than
imagination can conceive that cruelty could inflict.
In Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, wdiich the superstitious Maximin
administered, the same spirit of vengeance pursued the devoted
Christians, w^ho must have shrunk from the trial, had not faith lifted
up for them the veil of immortality, and soothed and strengthened
their oppressed spirits.
The cessation of persecution in the eastern part of the empire was,
if not caused, at least accelerated, by a dreadfld and loathsome dis-
order, under the protracted pains of which Galerius issued an edict,
permitting the Christians to resume their worship in tranquillity, and
expressing his hope, that, in return for this indulgence, they would
supplicate the deity, whom they adored, for his health, and for the
welfare of themselves and of the state.^ In this edict he assigns as
the motive which engaged him to employ means to compel the
Christians to return to the institutions of their ancestors, a desire to
correct all things for the benefit of the public, according to the ancient
laws and established discipline of the Romans.* He adds, that this
original design was abandoned, from his observation, that though
many had been subjected to danger and torments, many continued still
unchanged in their sentiments ; though they no longer worshipped the
god of the Christians, yet they adored not the gods of Rome.* He
felt, at last, that persecution may make hypocrites, but not converts.
This edict, which was warmly supported by Licinius and Constantine,
was productive of much benefit to the Christians. But Maximin,
who, after its promulgation, presided over the Asiatic provinces,
although at first he had so far acquiesced in its execution, that the
Christians, delivered from prison and from the mines, were retiu'nuig
' Lactant. de Mort. Peisecnt. c. xxi.
^ One circumstance which took place during some part of the persecution of this
period ought not to be omitted. We are informed by Eusebius that a certain small
town of Phrygia, of which tlie whole population, not excepting the magistrates,
professed Christianity, and refused to sacrifice, was burned, with its inhabitants, by
soldiers sent, doubtless, to enforce the execution of the imperial edicts. (Hist.
Eccles. lib. viii. c. xi.) Lactantius only says, speaking of the provincial magis-
trates who had put Christians to death, " Alii ad occidendum prsecipites extiterunt,
sicut unus in Phrygia qui universum populum cum ipso pariter conventiculo con-
cremavit." (Inst. Div. lib. v. c. xi.)
^ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. xvi. ; Lactant. de Mort. Persecut. c. xxxiii.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. Jib. viii. c. xvii. : Lactant. de Mort. Persecut. c. xxxiv.
* Ibid.
JIAXIMIN, — CONSTANTIXE. 71
to their habitations with hvnins of praise,' soon evmced a determina- A. D. oil.
tion to re-establish paganism in all its powers. Adth'esses from
Antioch and other cities, which prayed that the Christians might be
expelled from tlieir territories, either imposed on him the necessity of
gratifying one class of his subjects at the expense of another, or were
in fact secretly contrived by the emissaries of the emperor himself, to
give the appearance of popular sanction to the measures which he
himself premeditated. The fomentor of these artful proceedings was
one Theotecnus,* a curator at Antioch, who, availing himself of the
emperor's addiction to magic and behef in oracles, rekindled the flames
of persecution. Every means was now emploved to degrade the
Christian and to exalt the heathen religion. ' Acts of Pilate,' filled
with blasphemy against Christ, were industriously forged, and published
in all quarters by imperial authority.^ Abandoned women were sub-
orned to testify the foulest falsehoods respecting the practice of the
Christians.* To give force and consistence to the religious svstem of
]iaganism, he appointed priests in all cities, and over them a chief
priest in every province, selected from the most distinguished ranks,
and honoured with a military guard. Temples were everywhere
erected or repaired. All that bmtality can inflict, all that fortitude
can endure, was again inflicted and endured. Superstition, now
armed with all the energies of power, and guided by all the artifices
of policy, seemed fitted to demolish the stmctiire, so long assailed, of
the Christian Church.* But the overruling arm, which, in its mys-
terious movements, confounds and destroys the schemes of the children
of men, interposed. The death of Maximin,^ and the accession of Accession o!
Constantine, overthrew one of the worst enemies, and established the ^'onstantme.
strongest protector of the true religion. And, after a persecution of
ten years' continuance, which had swept away a very considerable
number of the faithful followers of Christ,^ and which, as inscriptions
still attest,^ was supposed to have extirpated his worship, the memo-
rable decree was passed which acknowledged the inviolable rights of
conscience, and the spiritual was subsequently united with the civil
establishment.
' Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. ix. c. i. ^ Ibid. c. ii.
3 Ibid. c. V. * Ibid.
5 Ibid. lib. viii. c. xiv. ; lib. ix. c. ii. &c. Lactant. de Mort. Persecut. c. xxxvi.
* He had already relented and published an edict in favour of the Christians.
Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. ix. c. x.
' Gibbon computes it at somewhat less than 2,000. Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire, c. xvi. sub fin.
^ The two inscriptions found at Clunia in Spain, in Gruter, Inscript. p. 280,
num. 3.
( 72 )
CHAPTER IV.
ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS OF THE SECOND AND THIRD
CENTURIES.
SECTION I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS,
Necessity of Of many writers it may be confidently asserted that it is impossible
biography, j-q enter into their fliU meaning and design without an adequate
acquaintance with the general circumstances of the time and country
in which they flourished. But of some, in jjarticular, it may be
added that, in order to form a correct judgment on their works, the
reader must previously inquire into the peculiar incidents of their
lives ; the nature of their education ; the tone of their opinions, con-
sidered in relation to the prevalent sentiments of their contemporaries ;
tlie profession which they followed ; the estimation in which they
were held ; and, lastly, the order in which their writings appeared,
and the occasions which respectively called them forth. Without
much of this introductoiy knowledge, the scope of many an argument
is unnoticed, the spirit of many an observation unfelt, and the fine
thread of allusion, which is often the best clue in unravelling intricacies,
insensibly escapes us.
These remarks are, in an especial degree, ap])licable to the study of
the Christian fathers. Their style and manner are materially influenced
by their situations and pursuits, and often vary at different periods of
their lives. Origen, in more advanced years, repents of what he had
composed in his early days.' Tertullian, after his adoption of Mon-
tanism, treats many points with feelings unlike those which actuated
him before his secession from the Church,
Moreover, in investigating any particular treatise, it is of much
consequence to ascertain beforehand, not merely (as must be obvious
to the most hasty examiner) whether the author was at the time of
its publication esteemed orthodox or schismatic, whether he was a
layman or a priest, and whether he wrote at a period of tranquillity
or of persecution, but also whether he had received a pagan or a
Christian education, and, above all, whether he wrote before the birth,
or during the height, or after the extinction, of certain heresies. As
inattention to these points has occasionally led to mistakes, it may not
be useless to illustrate, as briefly as possible, our reasons for laying
down such of these antecedent c^ueries as may not at first sight apjiear
requisite.
' Hieion. ad Pammach, et Ocean, £p, 41 (al, 65),
WRITERS OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES. 73
1. It is necessary to inquire into his early life and pursuits. Many Effects pro-
of the fathers were born and bred in paganism, popular and ])hilo- w"wnss"of ^
sophical. The defects of this education were sometimes imperfectly t''<j christian
felt, and seldom wholly remedied. The seam of the woimd was early papan
always visible, and it was liable to reopen. Even resolution was not educaiiun.
unfrequently the dupe of habit. Some portion of early error still
adhered to the opinions of the convert ; just as, in later times, some
remains of the spirit of the Church of Rome broke out in the conduct
of the Reformers. Bearing this fact in mind, we shall not be apt to
lay undue weight on th(i authority of the fathers, wherever there is
reason to suppose that their judgment has been warped by the preju-
dices and associations of their youth. We shall not be surprised to
find vestiges of Platonism in the writings of men who were formerly
Platonists, any more tliaii to observe the figures of rhetoric still
appearing in the language of such as were formerly rhetoricians.
2. It is also necessary to mark their age in reference to particular By the state
heresies. In examining their opinions on doctrinal questions, not ° ^'■"'^•
formally made the subject of dispute in their time, it is not just to
weigli the casual expressions of the early fathers with so much nicety
as the studied sentences and qualified terms of such as lived either
during or after the agitation of tlae controverted points. This equitable
rule prevails in the common converse of life. We draw a strong line
of distinction between incidental remarks and deliberate judgments.
For words drop])ed at random, or in a lax and unguarded manner, are
necessarilv deficient in precision, and sometimes applicable to the sup-
port of opinions which, if stated to him, the speaker would probably
have rejected. We are not, therefore, to be surprised if the ante-
Nicene fathers speak of the Trinity in language much less measured
and pointed than their successors.'
Again, another fact is not to be forgotten. Various terms were Variation in
used at particular periods in a difl'erent acceptation from that in which
tliey are at present understood ; such, for instance, are the words
pope, mass, confession, and some others.
And here we may be allowed, by way of caution, to make a few Me'hodsof
obser\'ations on the reasoning of the fathers. Attention must be s^vLe"&c!'
roused to determine whether their sentiments are delivered dogmati-
' JIulta latcbant in Scripturis, et cum prajcisi cssent Ha;retici, qu.tstionibus agi-
taverunt Ecclesiam Dei. Aperta sunt qua latcbant, et intellecta est voluntas Dei.
Numquid enim perfects de Trinitate tractatum est antequani oblatrarent Ariani ?
Numquid perfects de Pcenitentia tractatum est antequam obsistorent Novatiani ? —
Sic non pert'ectfe de Baptisniate tractatum est, antequam contradicerent foris positi,
rebaptizatores. — Nee de Unitate Christi, nisi posteaquam separatio ilia urgere ccepit
Fratres iufirmos. (S. Augustin, Hey's Lectures in Divinity, vol. ii. p. "227.) Ante-
quam in Alexandria quasi damonium meridianum Arius nasceretur, innocenter
quaidam et minus caute locuti sunt, et qu;u non possint perversorum hominnm
calumniam declinare. (Hieron. Apol. adv. Kufin. lib. ii.) Du Pin, Xouv. Bibl.
des Aut. Eccle's. Preface. Compare Daille, du Vrai Usage des Peres.
tlie use of
terms
74 ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS
cally or in disputation ; ' in the former case, they are defined, precise,
and unquahfied; in the latter, they sometimes, it has been remari<ed
— though the inference has been much too severe and the apphcation
much too general — resort to artifices of logic, employed, to speak in
their own language "by dispensation;"'' under the ample shield of
which the arguer, in some instances, seems to have thought that he
was at liberty, according to the urgency of the occasion, to carr\' a
point beyond the bounds which his own judgment would have set to
it, and, as it were, to force his way rather more obliquely than his
natural bent and impulse of mind would have directed. For, in dis-
jmte, as in war, stratagems, which a straightforward spirit disdains,
were tacitly permitted. It is certain that they appear to reason not
unfrequently from the concessions of their adversaries ; and hence it is
probable that their authority is sometimes pleaded in support of argu-
ments on which they laid but little real stress. Thus they often urge
the superior antiquity of the Jewish Scriptures to the Grecian
writings, not, perhaps, so much because they considered this as in
itself a decisive proof of the divinity of the Jewish religion, as because
the novelty of their faith, contrasted with the antiquity of paganism,
was constantly turned into an objection by their enemies. Another
circumstance is also frequently overlooked. What is accepted as
reasoning was often meant merely as illustration. We condemn by
the rules of logic what they intended should be measured b}- the laws
of rhetoric. These ornaments ai-e, it is true, sometimes puerile,* and
generally redundant : they are flowers which, being neither tastefully
chosen nor happily assorted, give a kind of quaint and grotesque
appearance to the matter which they incumber. But the same judg-
ment might be passed on the strained conceits and absurd embellish-
ments which, insinuating themselves into passages of infinite force,
animation, and splendour, often disfigure the writings of our best
ancient authors ; yet no one on that account would undervalue their
opinions, or heap ridicule on their abilities. Before we quit this sub-
ject, we are anxious to draw attention to the fact that it is wholly
' Simul didicimus plura esse genera dicendi, et inter csetera aliud esse yvu-taart-
xus scribere, aliud ItiyficiTixus. In priori vagam esse disputationem, et adversario
respondentem, nunc hsec, nunc ilia proponere : argiimentari ut libet, aliud loqui,
aliud agere, panem, ut dicitur, ostendere, lapidem tenere. In sequenti autem aperta
frons, et, ut ita dicam, ingenuitas necessaria est, Aliud est qua^rere, aliud definire :
in altero pugnandum, in altero docendum est. Hieron, Ep, 30 (al, 50), ad
Pammach. * Kost' o'lKovofilav.
3 As, for instance, the reasons given by Irenosus why there are only /our gospels
(Adv. Hsres. lib, iii. c, xi.), and by Tertullian, why there were twelve apostles
(Adv. Mai-oion. lib. iv. c, xiii.) In somewhat the same manner. Sir Edward Coke
discovered "abundance of mystery" in the " patriarchal and apostolical number"
twelve, of which the jury is composed. See Blackstone's Commentaries on the
Laws of England, book iii. c, xxiii. An amusing instance of ingenious absurdity
on "the ancient conceit" of the number /uc may be found in ch. v. of Sir Thomas
Browne's Garden of Cyrus, or The Quincunx mystically considered.
OF TIIK SKCOND AXD THIRD CEXTUrJE*, 75
improbable that the intention of the fathers should have been to
equivocate (however weak their reasoning may occasionally be
deemed), when it is considered that they cliose rather to lay down
their lives than to avail themselves of a mental reservation. Though
in polemical discourse they sometimes seem to have ado|)ted a prin-
ciple neither just in itself nor in unison with their general sentiments,
vet in tlie conduct of life they undoubtedly rejected with conteni])t
the sophism of the heathen poet : " My tongue, but not my mind,
has sworn."' We are far from wishing to deny or to extenuate their
faults as controversialists ; but at least their scope and method ought
to be distinctly understood before their arguments can be candidly
estimated. Injustice has recommended itself to indolence by an
attempt to condense the scrutiny of a laborious subject into superficial
strictures on extracts and shreds of extracts, on a kw sentences torn
from their context, and a few scattered reflections invidiouslv clustered
together. While excellencies have been left untouched, the slightest
inaccuracies, even when ambiguous, have been tortured into hete-
rodoxy, ignorance, and al)surdity.
As commentators u]X)n the sacred Scriptures, the fathers, in Valueof tlie
general, are not, perhaps, entitled to any very high portion of^ommenta-
confidence. For besides that, in professed expositions, they often Jp'"'; on
collect the sentiments of various writers, without specifically stating
from what source each interj:)retation is derived, and in Avhat degree it
coincides with their own opinion,* they often resort to the most
fanciful allegories, and in many instances betray an ignorance of the
Hel)rcw language," which led, as it was calculated to lead, to the
most erroneous conclusions. It ought also to be remarked that they
frequently quote Scripture (if the present text of their writings be
coiTect) without sufiicient accuracy.* Indeed, literal exactness appears
"not to have been scrapulously affected by ancient writers of any
party.
Another circumstance deserves consideration. Some of the fathers, Discipiina
either from the fear of confiding truths of a higher order to weak '*^*°''
minds, or in order to spread an appearance of solemnity and import-
ance over their writings, were at times apt to envelop their meanings
in enigmatical obscurity. Clemens Alexandrinus,* in particular, pro-
Just. Mart, in Apolog. i. sec. 39.
* Hieron. Apol. adv. Hiifin. The way in which Jerome professes to have written
his Commentaries is not entitled to much praise. After havinc; spoken of Origen,
Didymus, Apollinaris, and others, he adds, Legi base omnia et in mente mea plu-
rima coacervans, accito notario, vel mea vel alicna dictavi, nee ordinis nee verborum
interdum, nee sensuum memor. Kp. 74 (al. 89), ad Augustin.
* E.g. The derivation of the word Jesus by Irena>us, Abraham by Clemens
Alesandrinus, Cephas by Optatus, &c. See also I. Le Clerc, in Hist. Ecclesiast.
Ann. ci.
■• E.(j. Justin cites as from Zephaniah what is found in Zechariah. Tertullian
alleges as being said to Moses what was said to Samuel.
* Strom, lib. i.
76
ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS
Other causes
of obscurity.
Value of the
fathers as
historical
witnesses.
Considera-
tions on
cieduliiv.
fesses to have wrapt his thoughts occasionally in studied confiision.
He asserts, too, that on some points he had not ventured to write,
scarcely to speak, lest, being misunderstood, he should be found to
have put, as it were, a sword into the hand of a child, The sacra-
ments, especially, they treated with the utmost mystery.
Independently of this affected mysteriousness, the fathers are
obscure sometimes in consequence of their ignorance, and sometimes
by reason of their erudition. While one, but inadequately acquainted
with the laws of grammar and rhetoric, writes in a troubled and
perplexed style, without propriety in the selection of his terms, and
without clearness in the arrangement of his sentences, another, on the
contrary, deeply versed as well in the philosophy and learning of the
Gentile world as in the contents of sacred writ, presents us with a
curious mixture of motley fragments, allusions, sentiments, maxims,
and illustrations.
But, whatever be the defects of their style, it should be considered
that these were generally the defects of the age in which they lived ;
some, Minucius Felix, for instance, and Lactantius, are, perhaps,
superior, in point of language, to their heathen contemporaries ; and
very few are so inelegant as the writers in the Historia Augusta. If
their matter be valuable, it is surely not just to disregard them on
account of the manner in which it is conveyed. Who neglects
Polybius because his method of writing is coarse and unconnected ?
The character of the fathers, considered as historical witnesses, has
been already adverted to.' But it mav be still necessary briefly to
notice the charge of credulity which is urged against them, often with
all the force which ridicule can supply, seldom with all the considera-
tions which impartiality would suggest. The charge is, we think, not
wholly true. The single circumstance that the impostor Alexander
(whose successful artifices have been described by Lucian^) despaired
of being able to delude the Christians, is sufficient to show that they
were not very susceptible of being misled by the repute and dexterity
of deceivers.
That they were too ready, however, to admit accounts of super-
natural agency, which have been since regarded as false or exaggerated,
cannot be denied. But it should not be forgotten that, whether
miracles were still seen, or whether their cessation had taken place so
gradually as to escape observation, on either supposition there would
be a tendency to ascribe unusual phenomena, of which the natural
causes were unknown, to the immediate interposition of Divine Pro-
vidence.
But, independently of their peculiarity of situation, the age in which
they lived was, in a high degree, favourable to superstitious impres-
sions. The pagans, even in the philosophic classes, were equallv
prone with the Christians to credit reports without sufficient inquiry.
' Pages 2, 40, 41, and 47, of this volume.
* Pseudomant. v. Oper. torn. v. ed. Bipont.
OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES. 77
and to resolve any singular occurrence into the o])oration of some
miraculous power. Celsus, Hierocles, and Porphyry attributed extra-
ordinary events to the efficacy of magic ; even Julian, as we shall
have occasion to show by and by, was " addicted to the whole train
of sujierstitions, omens, presages, prodigies, spectres, dreams, visions,
auguries, oracles, magic, theurgic, psychomantic.'" But who is so
little conversant with the annals of mankind as not to have observed
how often weakness is intei'woven with greatness, how often a strange
blindness on some topics will coexist with great disceniment on
others ?* Are the writers of the age of Elizabeth and the first James
to be rejected because it was an age in which a belief in witchcraft
was rooted in the minds, not merely of the vulgar, but of men who
will ever be regarded as the lights and ornaments of English literature
and philosophy?* Would Sully and Henry IV. be deemed incom-
petent witnesses of ordinary facts, because they were the dupes of
random prophecies? Is a sneer raised against the genius of Dryden,
because he was a strong believer in judicial astrology, and seems to
have consoled himself with the reflection that " Cliaucer was an astro-
loger ; as were Virgil, Horace, Persius, and Manilius ? "''
But if acuteness may be found blended with credulity, much more
may honesty. That the intention of not deceiving renders us liable to
be deceived, is a remark which Rochefoucault* was not the first to
make ; it is confirmed by continual experience. Credulity arises from
a kind of ductility of spirit which is attached not merely to the most
sliining mental acquirements, but also to the most valuable quahties of
the heart. What mind was ever actuated by purer motives and
feelings than that of the benign and enlightened Fenelon ?* yet was it
swayed by the reveries of a weak devotee. What writers were ever
more powerfully impressed with a sense of the great duties of religion
and morality than Pascal and Jolmson ? yet were they the victims of
many a superstitious feeling. To accumulate instances would be easv,
but imnecessary. To those who are continually insisting on the cre-
dulity of the Christian fathers, in order to annihilate their authority
as impartial writers even in matters of common experience, we
would recommend attention to the following fact, that the " most
virtuous divine of the barliarous ages is the Veuerabk' Bede," and one
of the most honest historians of any age is Matthew Paris, " yet their
propensity to recount the wonderfi.il exceeds all imagination."^ This
' Bentley's Remarks on ji late Discourse on P'ree-tliinkiiisf, sec. 43.
* See the article Sestus Erapirlcus, in the History of Philosophy, in this Ency-
clojiajdia.
^ See an article full of curious research on Popular Illusions by Dr. John Ferriar,
in the Memoirs of the Philosophical Society of Manchester, vol. iii. p. 53.
■* Preface to his Fables.
* L'intentiou de ne jamais tromper nous expose k etre souvent trompes. —
Maximes, 143.
* See the observations of Bishop Kaye on Tertullian.
" Warburton, on Julian. Introd. p. x.
78 ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS
fact is mentioned by an author who, notwithstanding the extraordinary-
powers of his genius, and the vast scope of his varied erudition, may
himself, perhaps, be added to the hst of those great men who have
not been wholly free from credulity.'
The above reflections will, we hope, in some measure prepare the
reader for the tone and manner which the fathers assume. But it
ought not to be omitted that some previous difficulty exists in dis-
covering what are their genuine productions.
It is the task of the critic not merely to distinguish real from
counterfeit pieces, but also to detect whatever may have been added
or omitted, even in authentic works. A slight mistake in one copy
becomes, by some awkward or over-ingenious attempt at emendation,
a very material one in the text ; and if the first transcript be lost, the
error may sometimes become incurable. If the writer has chosen an
obscure and intricate style, the smallest alteration will inextricably
perplex his meaning. But even the characters of the most faithful
I'.opyists are changed by the defacing powers of age. If we should
suppose the transcriber not to have mistaken the shape of the letters
which he saw, or the sound of the words dictated to him ; neither to
have been led astray by the temptations of conjectm-e, nor overtaken
by moments of carelessness ; still the moth and the dust, and the
various injuries of time, will render doubtful what, in its original
state, was clear and correct. These are accidents which may befal all
ancient manuscripts, and therefore are not peculiar to the works of the
fathers. To consider them alone as serious objections would indicate
a captious and uncritical spirit. But very different and veiy important
are the alterations designedly made in the works of the fathers — made
with the positive intention of misrepresenting their opinions — some in
ancient and others in later times.* It was a pernicious notion of some
writers that the end sanctified the means, that falsehood might be
called into the aid of truth. Hence they framed, or at least tolerated,
relations manifestly spurious and absurd. Documents were shamefully
altered; and it is therefore highly necessary to point out the writings,
or parts of writings, attributed to the fathers, which, after impartial
examination, appear to be supposititious or doubtful.*
' See his Account of the Prophecies of Arise Evans. Append, to vol. i. of
Jortin's Rem. on Eccles. Hist.
'^ On the subject of falsifications, were written a Treatise by Barthol. Germon,
De Veter. Hseretic. Ecclesiast. Codic. Corrupt., and one by T. James, Of the Cor-
ruption of the Scripture, Councils, and Fathers, by the Prelates, &c. of tlie Church
of Rome, 1688. But it is a subject which requires much care, much acuteness,
and, above all, much candour and honesty, and good feeling. A deep sense of the
paramount importance of truth is the best preservative against rash accusations
and hasty inferences.
^ Rufinus, for instance, dreadfully mutilated the works which he undertook to
translate ; and Jerome, at one time his admirer, confesses that in different parts
of his own version of Origen he had omitted what was noxious, i. e. in other words,
what was contrary to his own opinions, or to the notions and views of his con-
temporaries ; and in defence of this method he alleges the examples of other fathers.
OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES. 79
Of such ancient authors as have professedly treated of the lives and Works on
writings of the fathers, collections have been made by Suffredus Petri, ^^o„'raphv!''
Aubertus Mirseus, and, with much diligence and erudition, by J. Albert
Fabricius.' In this class are reckoned Jerome, of whom we have the
useful work ' De Viris Illustribus sive Catalogus Scriptorum Ecclesi-
asticorum,' (aennadius of Marseilles, Isidore of Seville, Ildefonsus of
Toledo, Honorius of Autun, Sigebert of Gemblour, Henry of Ghent,
&c.^ In more modern times, the study of ecclesiastical biography has
been promoted by the labours of Trithemius, Possevin, Bellarmine,
Labbe, Oudin, Cave, and others. To avoid frequent reference, it may
be here necessary to state that the writers whom, in addition to others
more particularly mentioned, we have chiefly consulted in the following
sketches, are Tilleraont, ' Memoires pour servir a I'Histoire Ecclesi-
To this cause we must attribute the shreds of different colour and substance, which
are not unfrequently complained of by the perplexed annotator and the disconcerted
reader. Interpolations have, it is said, been forced into the writings of Cyprian by
the defenders of papacy, who even wished to suppress the Letter of Firmilian, be-
cause it was thought injurious to their cause ; and whole books were destroyed by
tire in consequence of the public decrees of popes and councils. Even at a much
earlier period, the Ciiristiaiis declare that heretics had published various works
under the assumed names of the apostles and of the principal fathers of the church,
in order to give to their own opinions the sanction of authority. The same de-
plorable practice was followed by interested persons, that they might sell their
manuscript at a higher price. Hence we find the most imposing names affixed to
works in which those illustrious persons had no participation. Thus the Treatise
of Novation on the Trinity is ascribed to Tertullian ; the Book of Kufinus on the
Symbol of the Apostles to Cyprian. Ignorance has also conspired with the love of
gain and of celebrity. For instance, the works of Sextus the Pythagorean are at-
ti'ibuted to Sextus the Martyr. Nay, more, authors themselves have sometimes
circulated their works, either through ambition or through mistaken zeal, under
false but attractive titles. In Jerome's lifetime, a letter was published both in
Rome and in Africa, purporting to be written by him, in which he was introduced
expressing his regret that he had translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew.
This fact we have from Jerome himself; and indeed, if recorded by any other
person, it would scarcely have obtained belief. Many of tlie remarks above made
will be found more fully detailed in the celebrated work of Daille, Dn Vrai Usage
des P6res, a work abounding in talent and erudition. As the principal design of
Daille is to prove that the fathers could not be taken as judges in the particular
controversies which were agitated between the Church of Rome and the Protestants,
his treatise is rather a collection of the errors than of the excellencies of the fathers ;
but still it casts great light on many subjects connected with this portion of eccle-
siastical history. So far from meaning that the fathers shouhi not be studied, he
recommends that we should read them carefully and impartially, arguing from
what we find negatively rather than affirmatively, i. e. holding as suspicious articles
which are not contained in them ; it being hardly credible that men so excellent
should have been ignorant of the necessary and principal points of fliith : but not
immediately receiving as infallible what we meet in them ; because, being but men,
though saints, they may be sometimes mistaken, either through ignorance or pas-
sion, from which they were not entirely exempt, as clearly appears from their
extant writings.
' J. Greg. Walch. Biblioth. Patristic.
* The Bibliotheca of Photius also is highly valuable. It contains extra<:ts from
a great number of works now lost.
80 ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS, ETC.
astique ;' Fabricius, ' Biblioth. Greeca et Latina ;' Lardner, ' Credi-
bility of the Gospel History ;' and more especially the learned and
candid Du Pin, ' Nouvelle Bibliotheque des Anteurs Ecclesiastiques.'
Much information may also be derived from Cellier,' ' Histoire Gene-
rale des Auteur Sacres et Ecclesiastiques ;' and Lumper, ' Historia
Theologico-Critica de Vita, Scriptis, atque Doctrina Sanctorum
Patrum.'
Lost writings. We have noticed only those writers of whom any works are extant.
Catalogues of those whose writings are wholly or nearly lost may be
found in the above collections. From fragments still existing, it
would appear that we have particularly to lament that the numerous
works of Dionysius of Alexandria, who appears to have united great
talent with admirable moderation and benevolence, are no longer
remaining; to us.
ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS OF THE SECOND AND THIRD
CENTURIES.
Latin Writers.
Tertullian.
Second Century.
Greek Writers.
Justin Martyr.
Athenagoras.
Hermias.
Theophilus.
Iren^us.
Clement of Alexandria.
Third Century.
HiPPOLYTUS. I MiNUCIUS Felix.
Origen. Cyprian.
Gregory Thaumaturgus.
Methodius. |
Instead of dividing the fathers into Greek and Latin, they may be arranged
chronologically : in that system, Tertullian succeeds to Clement, Minucius Felix to
Tertullian, and Cyprian to Gregory.
( 81 )
SECTION II,
GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
JUSTIN MARTYR.
CIRCITER A.D. 140.
Justin was a native of Flavia Neapolis,' the ancient Sichem of Sa- Justin
maria. It is probable that he was born of Gentile parents, and *'^^''
educated in the religion which they professed. In early life he evinced ^- D. 140-
that ardent and disinterested love of truth, which finally conducted him
to its attainment. Tlie pretensions of philosophy, which naturally Early
awakened the curiosity of every mind susceptible of reflection, soon ^""''^*-
drew him to inquire into the peculiar principles of its various schools.
In the first place he applied to a Stoic preceptor, whom he abandoned
on discovering that a knowledge of the Deity formed no part of the
instructions which that sect deemed necessary to be acquired. The
Peripatetics next atti'acted his attention ; but the anxiety of the teacher
to fix the price of his lessons, appeared to him so inconsistent with the
character of a tnie philosoi)her, that he resolved to give a diflerent
direction to his pursuits. Accordingly he turned his thoughts to the
Pythagoreans, but here also he experienced disappointment : a previous
acquaintance with music, astronomy, and geometry, was indispensably
required ; but his eagerness to enter upon the investigation of subjects
more closely connected with the end of human existence, led him to
consider the time devoted to the study of physical sciences an unne-
cessary delay. At length he met with a Platonic philosopher, to
whose speculations on incorporeal objects he hstened with intense
enthusiasm. In order to meditate on abstruse reasonings, so congenial
to his contemplative disposition, he sequestered himself in the depths
of solitude. It was in tliis retirement that, as he was one day wallc- conversion,
ing at no great distance from the sea-shore, he was followed by an aged cireiter.
man of a comely mien and venerable aspect, who directed him to the a. d. 133.
study of the sacred writings, and pointed out the necessity of seeking
by prayer that divine assistance which opens, as it were, the gates of
light to the humble inquirer after truth. The impression left by this
conversation was never obliterated. Discarding the profession, though
not the garb of philosophv, Justin diligently examined and embraced
the Christian religion. Such is the account of his conversion which is
found in his ' Dialogue with Trypho the Jew :' it may, perhaps, be
doubted whether it was meant to be strictly historical. In his 'Apology'
he observes that the circumstance which induced him to intjuire into
' Apol. i. init.
[C. H.J Q
82 GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Justin the real character of the Christians, was the extraordinary fortitude
M=^'^y- with which they yielded their hves in defence of their faith ; a conduct
which was utterly irreconcilable with the hypothesis of imposture.'
Apologies. Dui'ing the persecution under Antoninus Pius he wrote in Kome his
first and larger ' Apology,' which is often, but erroneously, called his
second.
The second, which, by an eiTor equally common, is named the first,
was not written, according to Eusebius, till the time of IMarcus Anto-
ninus.
Of these ' Apologies,' the first gives a detail of the manners, rites,
and doctrines of the early Chi-istians. The second, which is less exten-
sive, is a complaint of the treatment of the Christians, and the pro-
ceedings of Crescens, a Cynic philosopher, from whose malignity Justin
anticipated the sufferings which shortly after entitled him to the name
Martyrdom, of Martyr, by which he is usually distinguished. The exact time when
he was executed is uncertain ; it appears to have been between the
years 163 and 170. The 'Acts' of his martyrdom, still extant, seem
in the main to convey a true narration of his courageous behaviom".
Dialogue In addition to his 'Apologies,' Justin composed 'A Dialogue with
withTrypho. Xrypho the Jew.' This work contains various arguments to demon-
strate that Jesus was the Messiah. Its genuineness, though commonly
admitted, has by some writers been called in question. Although
valuable in many parts, it is written without sufticieut method, and
Trypho is an adversary who allows himself to be overthrown with
little resistance.
Treatise Of the ' Treatise on Monarchy,' in which, according to Eusebius,^
^" ^^^ , Justin demonstrated the unity of the Deity by the authority of the
Monarchy *^ j j j
of God. sacred writings, and by the testimony of profane authors, we have
probably the second part in the extant piece so entitled. It contains
some fi-agments ascribed to Orpheus, Pythagoras, and the tragic poets,
which bear undeniable marks of spuriousness.
Among the works considered doubtful, may be reckoned the ' Ora-
tion to the Gentiles,' the ' Exhortation to the Gentiles,' and the ' Epistle
to Diognetus.' The ' Epistle to Zena and Serenus' apj^ears to have
been written at a later date.
Other works. The remaining books ascribed to Justin are commonly rejected as
spurious. Such are the ' Confutation of certain Ailstotelian Opinions];'
' Christian Questions, propounded to the Gentiles,' and ' Gentile Ques-
tions, propomided to the Christians;' Book of Answers to 146
Questions to the Orthodox,' a treatise which is stored with much
curious matter, but which was doubtless not composed by Justin, since
in it are many words, as hypostasis, person, consubstantial, &c., not
then in use in the chmxh ; many passages contradictory to the genuine
works of Justin, and even citations from Irenasus (who is there called
a martyr), from Origen, and from the Manicheans ; whence it may be
concluded that it was the production of some writer of the fiftli or
^ Apol. ii. sec. 12. '^ Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xiii.
JUSTIN MARTYR. — ATHENAGORAS, 83
sixth century. To these works may be added the ' Exposition of Faith,' Tustin
in which the mysteries of the Trinity are mentioned in a style foreign Martyr,
from that of the early ages, and the errors of the Arians, Nestorians,
and Eutychians, are distmctly attacked.
Several writings of Justin are lost ; among others, a ' Treatise
against Heresies,' mentioned by Eusel)ius, Jerome, and Photius.
The works of Justin show a considerable knowledge of the opinions Character of
of ancient philosophers, and an extensive acquaintance with the sub- '"* *'y'®*
stance of the Holy Scriptures, of the meaning of which, however, he
is sometimes but an indiilerent interpreter. His style, though neither
luminous nor energetic, without ornament and without elegance, is not
altogether destitute of a pleasing vivacity, and generally wears an
appearance of honesty and earnestness, which is in the highest degree
adapted to command respect. His manner of reasoning, however, is
often loose and rambling, sometimes fanciful and puerile. On the
whole he appears to have been a very pious and sincere, though some-
what enthusiastic and credulous man.
The most complete edition of his works is the following: ' S. Justini Editions of
Mart. Opera, qua? extant, omnia, &c. Opera et studio unius ex Mo- ^^ «orks.
nachis Congregation is S. Mauri,' Parisiis, 1742, fol. Eeprinted at
Venice in 1747. The editor, Prudentius Maranus, has dihgently
marked the various readings, and added copious notes and cUsserta-
tions. His opinions, however, received a bias from the Church to
which he belonged, and his interpretations are not considered as being
always just, or liis emendations as often fortunate.
The ' Apologies ' (which were also published by Grabe in 1700, &c.)
were edited, together with the ' Dialogue with Trj'pho,' by Styan
Thirlby in 1722. The notes of this splendid work are sometimes inge-
nious and learned, often petulant and rash. In the dedication, wliich
is remarkable for its Latinity, is a violent attack on Bentley, and other
eminent critics. The ' Dialogue with Trypho' was edited Ijy Samuel
Jebb, Loud. 1719, 8vo.
ATHENAGORAS.
CIKCITER A.D. 178.
Athenagoras, an Athenian philosopher, lived about the middle of Athenagonu.
the second century. No mention of him is fomid in Eusebius or a. D. 178.
Jerome ; but we learn from a fragment' of Philip Sidetes (who flou-
rished at the commencement of the fifth century) that he was at first
a heathen, and that his conversion was consequent upon the perusal of Conversion,
the Scriptures, which he had undertaken with the view of writing a
work against the Christians. He is also said to have been the first
president of the catechetical school of Alexandria, and the master of
Clemens Alexandi"inus. The source, however, from which tliis account
is derived, prevents us from attaching to it any great degree of credit.
' Published by Dodwell in Append. Dissert, Iren.
g2
84
GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Christianis.
Athenagoras. Two works, wliicli evince considerable learning and ability, remain
Legatio pro in his name : an ' Apology,' called ' an Embassy,' addressed to M.
Aurelius Antoninus and L, Aurelius Commodus, and a ' Treatise on
the Resurrection.' They are written in a style which, though embar-
rassed with parentheses, is Attic and elegant. The exact time when
the ' Apology' was written (antl, as it has been maintained, presented')
is imcertain : some place it as early as the year 168 ; others deny that
it can be placed before the year 177. In this work he refutes the
three chief calumnious accusations by which, with reckless falsehood,
the Christians were assailed — those of atheism, cannibalism, and infa-
mous crimes committed in their assemblies. In his other treatise be
Resurrection, shows, chiefly by reasoning, the possibility of a resurrection.*
Editions. The best edition of the treatises of Athenagoras is that of Dechair,
published at Oxfoi'd, 1706. They were also translated into English,
and pubhshed, with two preliminary dissertations,^ by David Hum-
phreys, of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1714.
On the
Irrisio
Gentilium
Philoso-
plioruin.
HERMIAS.
Usually appended to the works of Justin* is a small imperfect tract,
entitled Aiao-vp/xoc rwv t^w (l)L\o(T6(p(t)v. It is a satirical piece, written
with much neatness, and in a lively tone of agi'eeable humour, in ridi-
cule of the contradictory opinions of the philosophers on the principles
of things, the soul, and God. It was composed, in all probability,
before the extinction of paganism, and perhaps about the end of the
second century, by Hermias, of whom nothing certain is known. The
following pleasing analysis of it is extracted from Dr. Ireland's ' Pa-
ganism and Christianity compared.'* "He begins with the soul, but
is uttei'ly at a loss what to determine concerning it from the definitions
of the philosophers ; whether it be fire, air, or motion — whether it be
intelligence, or nothing but an exhalation. Some describe it as a power
derived from the stars ; and some call it an additional essence, the
result of the four elements compounded. One calls it harmony ; one,
the blood ; one, the breath of man ; and another, a monad. These
contests concerning the nature of the soul are a sure pledge of difter-
ences as to its duration. ' For a moment,' says he, ' I fancy myself
immortal ; but this illusion is presently dissolved by one who main-
tains that my soul is as subject to death as my body. Another is
determined to preserve its existence during 3,000 years. I pass into
1 See, however, Bayle, Diet. Hist. art. Athenag.
* The romance, Du Vrai et parfait Amour, which was published in French, pur-
porting to be a translation from the Greek of Athenagoras, by Martin Fume'e,
Seigneur de GeniJle'e, is a forgeiy.
^ The first dissertation is " concerning the Notions of the Jews about the Resur-
rection of the Dead ;" the second, " on Athenagoras and his Remains.'' In this
last he examines the passages of Athenagoras, concerning " the Trinity, concerning
Prophecy or Inspiration, and concerning a Plastic Nature, or Energetic Life of
Things."
■* it is also added to Worth's edition of Tatian. ' P. 329, note.
HERMIAS. — THE0PHILU3. • 8o
other bodies, and become a beast or a fish ; nor is it possible for me Hermias.
to call myself by any determinate name. I am a wolf, a bird, a serpent,
a chimai'ra. I swim, I fly, I creep, I ran, I sit still, and am made to
partiike of all opposite conditions in rotation.' He indulges the same
vein of humour in the disputes about God and Nature ; and describes
the fluctuations of his mind under the successive tuition of a number
of pagan masters each teaching him a difierent lesson. ' Anaxagoras
tells me that all things are derived from an intelligent Mind, the cause
of order, motion, and beauty. In this I should acquiesce, if Melissus
and Parmonides did not object, who contend, both in verse and prose,
that the miiverse is one, self-subsisting, eternal, infinite, immoveable,
and unchangeable. Awed, therefore, by this double authority, I begin
to drop m)- attachment to Anaxagoras. Yet neither do I rest with
Melissus and Parmenides ; for Anaximenes now proves to me that all
things are produced from air. I begin, therefore, to lean towards his
philoso])hy ; but on a sudden I hear a voice calling to me out of jEtna,
and commanding me to believe that the system of the world arose from
the collision of love and hatred, by whose operation alone can be satis-
factorily explained the existence of things similar and dissimilar, finite
and hifinite. Thanks to you, Empedocles, and in gratitude for so im-
portant a discovery I am ready to follow you, even into the crater of
your volcano ;' kc. He then jjasses rapidly through a number of other
systems ; — the heat and cold of Archelaus ; the God, matter, and ideas,
of Plato ; the active and passive principles of Aristotle ; the aether,
earth, and time, of Pherecvdes ; the atoms of Leucippus ; the existence
and non-existence, the plenum and vacuum, of Democritus ; the fire of
Heraclitus ; and the nmiibers of Pythagoras. Imitating, too, the well-
known sentiment of Anacreon, he declares, that his enumeration is vet
imperfect, and that other multitudes of names rush upon him from
Libya, &c."
THEOPHILUS.
CmCITER A.D. 181.
Theophilus, according to some writers, a convert from heathenism, Theophiius.
or, according to the less probable opinion of others, from Judaism, was a. d. 181.
bishop of Antioch; and wrote, about the year 181, three books in Ad
defence of the Christian faith, addiessed to Autolycus, a learned heathen, Autoiycum.
with whom he ^vas acquainted. In the first book, he ti'eats of the
natm-e and attributes of God, of a future life, and of the resurrection
of the body. In the second book, he marks the contradictions of phi-
losophers and poets on the subject of their deities, enlarges on the
account of the creation, maintains the antiquity and truth of the Mosaic
history (in demonstration of which he has subjoined to the work a
chronology of events from the creation to his own time), and endea-
vom's to show that the poets hatl borrowed some of their rektions from
the sacred Scriptures. In the third book, he refutes the accusations
made against the conduct and doctrines of the Chi'istians. The whole
86
GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Theophilus,
Suppositi-
tious works.
IreiioEus.
A. D. 192,
Education,
&c.
Address
to his
transcriber.
is fraught with a variety of learned researches and moral thoughts, and
is written in an eloquent, though diffuse, ornamented, and Asiatic
style.
It is placed with Tatian* and Hermias at the end of the works of
Justin Martyr, in the editions of the Benedictines, &c., and has also
been published with notes by Conrad Gesner, in 1546 ; Fell, in 1684 ;
and by J. C. Wolfius, in 1724, in 8vo.
Jerome informs us that Theophilus had made a ' Concordance ' of
the works of the evangelists, and speaks of ' Commentaries' on the
Gospel, which were ascribed to him, but corresponded not with his
diction and elegance. The four books of ' Commentaries,' or ' Alle-
gorical Scholia on the Four Gospels,' now extant in Latin, imder his
name, were compiled by a much later writer. Some of his tracts are
lost.
IRENtEUS.
circiter a.d. 192.
The exact time of the birth of Irenoeus is not known. By some it
has been supposed to have taken place towards the close of the reign
of Trajan, or the commencement of that of Hadrian. Dodwell places
it as early as the year 97, Massuet as late as 140. Though the name
of his countiy, and the nature of his education are unknown, it may
be inferred, with an appearance of probability from the tenour of his
writings and history, that he was an Asiatic Greek, and professed
Chri.stianity from early youth. He received instructions from Papias
and from Polycarp, both disciples of St. John the Evangelist. Having
proceeded to Gaul, he promoted the cause of religion as a priest under
Pothinus, the first bishop of the church of Lyons. The zeal with
which he was animated inspired respect, and he was selected by the
martyrs of Lyons to carry letters respecting the IVlontanists to Eleu-
therus, bishop of Rome. After the martyrdom of Pothinus in the year
178, he was elected his successor in the see of Lyons. In this capacity
he extended his care to the state of Christianity throughout Gaul, and
exerted himself with great activity in reclaiming heretics, the number
of whom was in his time considerable. He wrote in Greek ' Five
Books against Heresies.' In the first book he describes, and in the four
succeeding he undertakes to refute, the errors of various sects, and
particularly the Valentinians. He also composed two ' Letters,' one
to Blastus, ' concerning Schism,' and another to Florinus, also a heretic,
' concerning Monarchy,' in which he proved that there is but one God,
and that he is not the author of evil. When Florinus embraced the
opinions of the Valentinians, Irenseus composed a work, entitled Trepl
oydna^og, ' of the Ogdoad,' doubtless relating to the octonary number
of the a?ons of the Valentinians. It is from the end of this work that
Eusebius^ has cited a remarkable passage, in which Ireneeus adjured
' Some account of Tatian will be found in a subsequent chapter, on the Heretics
of the Second and Third Centuries. * Hist, Eccles. lib. v. c. sx.
IREN-EUS. 87
the transcriber in the name of Christ, and of his glorious advent, in irenseus.
which he will judge the living and the dead, to compare and diligently
to correct his transcript according to the manuscript whence it was
made, and even to insert the adjuration.* He was also the author of
a tract, 'concerning Knowledge,' directed against the Gentiles; another
addressed to Marcianus, being a demonstration of the apostolical
preaching ; and ' Dissertations ' on different subjects.^ We have already-
noticed his conduct on the occasion of the dispute respecting Easter f
it was marked by consistency, blended with charity and moderation.
He is commonly said to have suffered martyrdom ; but the silence of
Tertullian and Eusebius renders this point very doubtful. Some pas-
sages from the various writings of Irena?us may be found in Eusebius,
and in the ' Catentc ' (or short explanations of Scripture, formed from
various citations from Christian writers) ; but the only entire work
extant is his treatise ' on Heresies ;' and of that, with the exception of
part of the first book, and some Greek fragments collected from the
works of tlie fathers, we have but a very barbarous and incorrect,
though ancient, Latin translation. Irenteus declares, in the preface, style,
that in consequence of his residence among the Celtffi he had been
accustomed to a barbarous dialect, and that his style was simple and
unpolished.* His manner appears to us (although it is scarcely in our
power to form a correct opinion from his present disfigured writings)
to have been succinct and clear, but neither elegant nor powerfiil.
Photius complains that he sometimes adulterates the certainty of truth
in ecclesiastical doctrines by false reasoning.* On the whole, however,
he was highly esteemed by the ancient fathers, not only for the excel-
lence of his character, but for the extent of his knowledge. Tertullian,
in particular, calls him " a most diligent inquirer into all kinds of
doctrines."^
Among the best editions of Irenfpus are those of Grabe (published Editions,
at Oxford, in 1702, in fol.) and that of Massuet, a Benedictine of the
congregation of St. Maur (Paris, in 1710, in folio). As the latter
editor is ever anxious to prove that the authority of Ireureus is not
opposed to the discipline and doctrines of the Church of Rome, it may
be necessary to join to him the learned work of S. Deyling, entitled
' Irenteus Evangelicce veritatis Confessor ac testis a Renati Massueti
pravis explicationibusvindicatus. Editio altera, auctior et emendatior.
Lipsia^, 1721.' Several fragments of Irenaeus were published by C. M.
Pl'aff", in 1715. For further information, see Dodwell, ' Dissert, in
Irenajum.'
' The same request is made by Rufinus in his Preface to his translation of
Origen, de I'rincipiis. Gregory of Tours entreats all priests, by the coming of
Christ, and the terrible day of judgment, not to suffer parts only of his works to
be copied and parts to be neglected. (Hist. lib. s. sec. 19.) His adjurations have
been ineftectual in preserving his work from mutilations. (Barthol. Gennon, de
Veter. Ha;ret. Eccles. Codic. Corrupt.) * Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xxvi.
8 See p. 40. ■» Lib. i. in Prjcfat. 5 Cod. 120.
' Omnium doctrinai-um curiosissimus explorator. Cont. Yalent. c, v.
88 GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS.
CIRCITER A.D. 194.
Clemens Titus Flavius Clemens, a converted philosopher, was a presbyter of
Aiexandrmus Alexandria (which, according to some writers, was his birthplace),
A.D. 1j4. g^^^ flourished in the time of Severus and Caracalla. A disciple of
Pantsenus, he was instructed by several other masters, of vi^hom he
has mentioned the residence,' but not the names : from his account,
however, we may remark, that he must have travelled in Greece, in
Italy, in the East, and in Egypt. He was appointed master of the
catechetical school of Alexandria ; in which office, on his retirement
during the persecution raised by Severus, he was succeeded by Origen,
who, together with Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, is reckoned among
his disciples. Such are the most important facts to be gleaned from
the very meagre records of his life which antiquity has left us.
Style. Clemens may, perhaps, be esteemed the most profoundly learned
of the fathers of the Church. A keen desire of information had
prompted him to explore the regions of universal knowledge, to dive
into the mysteries of paganism, and to dwell upon the alistmser doc-
trines of Holy Writ. His works are richly stored and variegated with
illustrations and extracts from the poets and philosophers, with whose
sentiments he was familiarly acquainted. He lays open the curiosities
of history, the secrets of motley superstitions, and the reveries of
speculative wanderers, at the same time that he develops the cast of
opinions and peculiarities of discipline which distinguished the mem-
bers of the Christian state.
Works. The three principal works of Clemens still extant, are his ' Exhorta-
tion to the Gentiles,' his ' Peedagogue,' and his ' Stromata ;' designed,
in all probability, to foi'm a regular series of instructions, in imitation,
perhaps, of the three degrees of knowledge required by the ancient
mystagogues.*
Protrepticon. His first work, the ' Exhortation to the Gentiles ' {irpoTpETrriKog
Xoycg), is a discourse, intended to convert them from the errors of
paganism, of which he traces the origin, and discovers the folly, to the
truths of Christianity, of which he delineates the nature, and urges the
importance. In the course of this address he shows, with his usual
erudition, that many of the philosophers and poets have intimated the
unity of the Deity.
Pjedagogus. Having thus endeavoured to root out the prejudices in favour of
idolatry, he proceeds in the second work, called the ' Pfedagogue '
(which is divided into three books), to direct and conduct the convert
to the knowledge of the duties of a Christian life. It may be consi-
dered, therefore, a system of moral institutes. It is written without
sufficient method, and contains many rules of conduct, of which the
1 Strom, lib. i. p. 274.
* The ' AToxaKa^iris, the Muri(ris, and the 'E-Wa-rsja. This was remarked by
Daniel Heinsius.
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS. 89
overstrained rigour or palpable obscurity has been severely exi^osed bv Clemens
modern writers.
Having by this course attempted to prepare the mind for the recep-
tion of more recondite doctrines, Clemens discloses his further views in
his larger work, entitled ' Stromata,' or pieces of tayjestry, which, when stromata.
curiously woven, and in divers colours, present no unapt resemblance
i;o writings formed of various subjects strung together without order,'
Clemens himself compares this work to a thickly-planted momitain, in
which trees of different kinds, both fruitful and barren — the cypress,
tlie plane-tree, the laurel, the ivy, the apple-tree, the olive, the fig —
lie confusedly grouped together ; and this irregularity, he adds, was
purposely chosen, that mysteries might be concealed from the uninitiated,
and yet not hidden from more advanced disciples, even as the fruit-
trees porplexingly intermixed on the mountain would be unobserved
by the plunderer, without escaping the notice of the labourer, who
might trans])lant and arrange them in a well-disposed and pleasing
scene.* In this work (from which, as being the most considerable of
his writings, he is sometimes surnamed Stromateus), having under-
taken, among other points, to prove that the philosophy of the Hebrews
has the strongest claim to antiquity, he subjoins an exact chronology
which ends at the death of Commodus ; a circumstance which gives
us reason to believe that he was writing in the reign of Severus. In
the fifth book, which is replete with citations, he speaks of the art of
instruction by allegories and symbols ; and traces the origin of many
of the truths found in the Greek writers to the notions of the barba-
rians and of the Hebrews. The eighth and last book is an imperfect
treatise on logic, bearing no reference to Christianity, and belonging,
perhaps, to another work. Instead of it, in some manuscripts in the
time of Photius,* was a tract, still extant, entitled ' What Rich Man
can be saved?' which is mentioned by Eusebius as a distinct pro-
duction.''
The ' Stromata,' though written in a style neither clear nor suc-
> Csesellius Vindex, a Latin grammarian, and Plutarch, also wrote Stromata.
See the account which Aulus Gellius gives of such works in his Preface to the
Noctes Atticaj. It may not be amiss to give the explanation of the learned Casau-
bon : Solitos veteres stragulam vestem pellibus iuvolvere et loris constringere,
etiam Jurisconsulti sunt testes Constat autem ex veterum lectioue, et stra-
gula superiora, et involucrum istud, quod antiquiorcs <rTpaiiJt.a.rohiirfi.oy, recentiores
CT^ufiaTu; vocarunt, variis coloribus distincta fere fuisse. liide translate ea' dic-
tiones ad res significandas varietate insignes : cujusmodi fuit ])iscis irr^a>^aT£t/j
dictus, ob coloris aurei virgas per totum illius corpus perductas, imiuit Athenaus,
lib. vii. Similiter et viri docti Excerpta sua ex variis auctoribus, aut propria etiam
scripta, sed veterum referta testimoniis soliti ffr^u/io.To'hitrfji.a vcl ffrouftaru; appel-
lare, ut Clemens Alexandriiius, &c. (Auimad. in Athen. lib. i. c. vi. p. 4.)
* Strom, lib. vii. sub fin. ^ Cod. 111.
* Lib. iii. c. xxiii. ; lib. vi. c. xiv. This tract was found among the MSS. of
the Vatican, in which it was attributed to Origeu. It was published in Greek
under the name of Clemens, by Combefis, in his Auct. Nov. BibL Pat, There is
a sepai-ate edition of it, with copious uotes by C. Segaai".
90 GREEK WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Clemens cinct, and abounding with erroneous assertions, contain a great variety
of fragments from the lost works of the ancient poets, which have not
yet been collected and amended with the acumen and diligence which
a task at once so delicate and so laborious requires.
Hypotyposes. Besides the above-mentioned works, and many others now lost,
Clemens wrote eight books of Institutes, or Sketches, of which Photius
has given a most unfavourable judgment. He informs us, that they
ti'eated of various passages of the Old and New Testament, which
Clemens briefly explained and interpreted; and that though some of
his notions were correct, others were grossly erroneous. Among other
proofs of this latter assertion, he states, that Clemens maintained the
eternity of matter and of ideas ; the metempsychosis, and the existence
of various worlds before Adam ; and the merely apparent incarnation
of the Word. He quotes a sentence in which Clemens asserts that it
was not the Word of the Father that was incarnate, but a certain virtue
of God proceeding from the Word, which, having become intelligence,
penetrated into the souls of men. All which assertions he endeavoured
to establish by the sacred Scriptures.' Dupin supposes that Clemens
wrote this work before he had been thoroughly instructed in the
Christian njligion, whilst he was still attached to the opinions of
Plato. It is possible, however, that some corruptions may have
been introduced into them by the heretics, who, if we may believe
Rufinus, altered the writings of Clemens. It is also possible that this
work may have been rather a collection of the opinions of preceding
ecclesiastical writers, whether heretics or Catholics, than a statement
of his own.^
Editions. The best edition of Clemens Alexandrinus is the splendid one of
Archbishop Potter,^ printed at Oxford in 1715, 2 vols, in folio,
Greek and Latin, and I'eprinted at Venice in 1757, Avith additions :
the reprint is less esteemed. Fabricius published some additional
fragments at the end of the second volume of his edition of the works
of Hippolytus. For further particulars, see Le Clerc, ' Bibl. Univ.'
torn. X. p. 175; Jortin's 'Remarks on Eccl. Hist.' vol. ii. p. 126,
&c. N. Le Nourry, ' Dissertationes Tres de omnibus Clementis
Alexandrini Operibus,' &c.
' To this work we may, perhaps, refer the extracts of Theodotus still extant ; the
extracts from the Propliets published by Combefis ; and the Adumbrations on some
of the Catholic Epistles, still remaining in Latin.
* R. Simon, Hist. Crit. des Comment, de Nouv. Test. c. ii.
3 Mosheim observes, Potterus, vir egregius, Grsecarumque literarum peritissimus,
insigniter de Clemente meruit. Multis enim locis feliciter medicinam attulit:
multos ex veterum libris apte' illustravit. Sed non licuit per morbum oculorum et
gravissima negotia summo viro facere omnia, quse potuisset. Igitur Latina inter-
pretatio multis laborat adhuc maculis, multaeque Clementis sententise luce et per-
spicuitate carent. Difficillimum saspe est, sensus Clementis retrusos non raro et
dogmatibus parum cognitis nixos, assequi ; nee minus difficile sa?penumero, nexum
et ordinem cogitationum ejus perspicere. (De Reb. Christ, ante Const, p. 323.)
( 91 )
SECTION III.
GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
HIPPOLYTUS.
CIRCITER A.D. 220.
But little is recorded of the life of Hippolytus.' It appears that he Hippoiyttis.
was a disciple of Irena'us,^ and that he lived in the reign of Alexander A. D. 220.
Severiis, He is called by ancient authors both bishop and martyr f
bnt the seat of his Ijishopric/ and the time and place of his martyrdom,
are not certainly known. In the year 1 551 there was found not far
from the church of St. Lawrence, near Rome, a marble statue, repre-
senting, it is supposed, Hippolytus seated on a chair ; on the sides of
which was a paschal cycle, for sixteen years, beginning from the first Paschai
year of Alexander Severus, A.D. 222. There was also on it a catalogue '^^'^^•
of the writings of Hippolytus. The statue was placed in the Vatican ;
and the paschal cycle, which is the most ancient remaining, was
published by Scaliger,' by Gmter,* and by Bucherius.^ Several
other works of Hippolytus are mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome,
but they are either lost or unpublished.® Various treatises have
appeared under this name, which deserve not to be considered as
genuine.® His manner of writing is said by Photius to have been
' Some confusion has arisen from the circumstance that several persons in eccle-
siastical history bore the name of Hippolytus. * Phot. Cod. 121.
^ Euseb. Hist. Ecclts. lib. vi. c. xx. ; Hier. in Matth.
* Hier. de V^ir. Illustrib. c. Ixi. Gelasius (in the work ascribed to him, De
Duabus Naturus in Christo) seems to call him Metropolitan of the Arabians. Le
Moyne imagines that Hippolytus was Bishop of Portus Romanus, now Aden, in
Arabia Felix. By others it was supposed that he was called Portuensis from
Portm liomanus, near Ostia, in Italy. Heumann contends that his title Episcopus
arose from a civil and not an ecclesiastical office. See a variety of conjectures in
the note of Harles on Fabric. Bib. Gr. torn. vii. p. 184.
* See his De Emend. Temp. p. 721. * Thes. Inscript. p. 140.
' De Cyclo Victorii et aliis Cyclis Paschalibus. Fabricius refers the reader to
the dissertations of Fr. Blanchiuus, De Calendar, et Cycl. Ctesaris, ac de Paschal.
Canone S. Hippolyti, &c.
8 Jlabillon says th.it he saw at Rome an ancient MS. containing the books of the
four greater prophets, and a short commentary of Hippolytus on the dream of
Nebuchadnezzar. (Iter Italicum, ])p. 94, 95.)
8 Perhaps some doubt may exist respecting some tracts, particularly the Demon-
stration concerning Christ and Antichrist, published by Marquardus Gndius, and
inserted by Combefis in his Supplement to the Bibliotheca Patrum. CasimirOudin
considers as genuine the fragment of the book Against the (ireeks and Against
Plato, &c., and the fragments preserved by Theodoret. The pieces Of the Twelve
Apostles, and Of the Seventy or Seventy-two Disciples, were written by Hippolytus
Thebanus in the tenth or eleventh century, or by some other late writer. (Lardner,
Cred. vol. ii. p. 408.)
92
GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CEXTURY.
plain, serious, and concise ; but not distinguished by the purity of
Attic style. His remarks, like those of early commentators, were not
always exact ; but men who lay the foimdations of any science ought
to receive commendation for what they have elucidated, not censure
for what they have omitted/ See S. Hippolyti ' Episc. et Mart.
Opera, non antea collecta,' &c cui'ante I. Alb. Fabricio,
Hamb. 1716, folio, with a second volume published in 1718. It
is a valuable edition.
ORIGEN.
CIllCITER A.D. 230.
Origen, who was called Adamantius, was born in Egypt, about the
year 185, the sixth of the reign of Commodus. From early youth he
was trained by the pious assiduity of his parents in the knowledge of
the Christian religion. The study of the sacred Scriptures, of which
it was his daily task to commit to memory certain portions, preceded
the cultivation of profane literature. His mind, naturally quick and
active, was carried beyond a bare acquaintance with the obvious sense
of the passages, on which it was employed, into an investigation of
their more abstruse and mysterious meaning. His father, whom he
embarrassed by proposing difficulties which he was unable to explain,®
admonished him to rest satisfied with the simple interpretation of
scriptural expressions, without pursuing inquiries beyond the compass
of his youthful intellect; yet, in his heart, he rejoiced and ofiered
thanks to God, who had blessed him with such a son. Oftentimes,
adds the historian, he would, it is said, uncover the breast of his child,
whilst he slept, and embrace it with respect as the shrine of the Holy
Spirit. His education was also directed by Clemens Alexandrinus,
and by the philosopher Ammonius.' From their instructions, aided
by the propensity which he already evinced, to dive into obscure and
intricate questions, we may, doubtless, derive that habit of iudulgmg
in allegory, for which he was afterwards noted. His knowledge, at
whatever period of his life it was acquired, was vast and various. He
was familiar with the opinions of the difterent philosophic schools, and
of the various sects of heretics. He had learned rhetoric and the dia-
lectics, and was not unacquainted with the mathematical and physical
sciences. His skill, moreover, in Hebrew, unusual in his age and
country ,■* was deemed by the ancients considerable, though modern
critics have formed a less favourable judgment.
Origen was seventeen years of age, when, in consequence of the
persecution of the Christians by Severus, Egypt witnessed the suffer-
ings of many martyrs, and, among others, of his father Leonides. On
this trying occasion he displayed a violent desire to seal by his blood
the sincerity of his faith. His mother endeavoured to deter him by
' Phot. Cod. 121 and 202. * Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. ^i. c. ii.
* There was another Origen among the disciples of Ammonins.
■* Contra aitatis gentisque suse naturam. Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. liv. Ep. 22
(al. 25).
0RI6EN. 93
t-ntreaties from a rash exposure of his hfo. Finding, however, that Origen.
the imj»risonment of his father had redoubled his impatient zeal, she
was forced to }:)revent him from leaving the house, l)y concealing his
apparel. Thus confined, he could only write a letter of exhortation to
his father, in terms like the following: "Eemain firm, O my father,
and let not your afiection for us influence you to change your senti-
ments." After the execution of Leonides, his property was confiscated,
and Origen was left with his mother and six brothers in extreme indi-
gence. In this state he was relieved by a wealthy matron of Alex-
andria, who received him into her house.'
He continued to attend with so much application and ardour to the
study of profane learning which he had commenced, that he was soon
enabled to derive a competency by teaching grammar. As at this
time, in consequence of the persecution, there was no person at
Alexandria to uistruct the catechumens, some pagans applied to him,
notwithstanding his youth, for instruction in the Christian religion, catecw"!.
In this employment his zeal and charity were conspicuous. The
tenderness with which he followed the martyrs to their prisons, to
the public courts, to the place of execution, and the affection with
which he embraced them, repeatedly exposed him to the outrages of
his enemies, insomuch that he was often driven to change his lodfincrs
in order to elude their pursuit : from the same causes he obtained, at
the same time, a rapid increase of pupils and of converts. Appointed
by Demetrius, the bishop, to direct the catechetical school, and anxious
to avail himself of this opportmiity of promoting the cause of reliction,
he discontinued liis lectures on grammar, sold, to avoid being burthen-
some, his books on human learning, and contented himself with four
obols a day, which were allowed him by the purchaser. He then
adopted a system of rigid abstinence ; he fasted and worked durino-
the day, and spent the greater part of the night m the studv of the
sacred Scriptiu-es ; sleeping but little, and that little on the bare ground.
His exemplary conduct excited the warmest admiration. Manv severe mode
persons were most anxious to expend a portion of their fortune in "' ''^ing-
ministering to his wants, but no consideration could induce him to
relax his extraordinary severity. It is a singular circumstance, that
notwithstanding his propensity to seek an allegorical sense, he should ,— .
have founded his austere ])ractice on a too lit4l inteipretation of i/j^^^O^
Scripture. Thus he explained and observed, according to the exact
letter, the injunction of our Saviour to provide but one coat, to have
no shoes, and to take no thought of the moiTow. And havino- taken
a similar view of the text which speaks of " some who had made
themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake,"^ he o-ave a
proof alike of sincere faith and love of purity, as of youthful ardour
' Here he was obliged to bear the company of a celebrated heretic, whom num-
bers, even of the orthodox, attracted by his eloquence, came to hear. Origen,
however, scrupulously avoided being present with him at prayers, so great was^the
horror which he felt for false doctrine. * Matt. xix. 12.
94 GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Origen. and Want of discretion. His conduct, in this instance, though it
might be at first praised by such as were struck with astonishment,
was subsequently condemned by rational Christians, Origen himself
joined in disapproving of it, when mature reflection had convinced
him that it flowed from a false principle and might lead to dangerous
consequences. It is but just, however, to add, that the motive which
had influenced him to commit this act of excess was the desire that,
as females were among his pupils, all suspicion and calumny might be
removed.
Effects of his But, whatever, might be his faults as an expounder of Scripture, the
instructions, disinterested and affectionate fervour which he exhibited was attended
by the most happy effects. Even philosophic pagans, undismayed
by the violence of the persecution, which, under the government of
Aquila, then fell upon the Christians, came to rank themselves among
his disciples. The zeal which he felt, he imparted : several of his
pupils closed their lives by martyrdom.
His increasing fame soon multiplied the number of his hearers to
so great a degree, that he was obliged to intrust to his friend Heraclas
the task of instructing the new converts; reserving to himself the
tuition of such as had arrived at a superior measure of knowledge.
It was about this period, in the reign of Caracalla, that he visited, for
a short time, the ancient church in Rome.
Account of His application to study continued indefatigable, and he compiled
Uie Hexap'a hjg famous ' Hexapla ' and ' Tetrapla.' In his ' Hexapla/ by the side
an rap a. ^^ ^j^^ Hebrew text, written two ways, in Hebrew and in Greek
characters, he arranged in columns the translation of Aquila, that of
Symmachus, that of the LXX., and that of Theodotion ; with two
other versions, the authors of which were unknown, together with a
seventh of the Psalms only. The ' Tetrapla ' contained only the first
four of the versions.
Travels of Origen left Alexandria on different occasions. At one time he went
Origen. into Arabia, at the request of the governor : at another he retired, in
consequence of a war, into Palestine. In this latter journey, having
stopped at Csesarea, he was desired by the bishops of the province to
expound the Scriptures in the Church, and to instruct the people in
their presence, though he was not as yet a member of the priesthood.
Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, complained of a step which he re-
presented as an infringement of the rales of the Church ; Alexander,
bishop of Jerusalem, and Theoctistus, bishop ef Ceesarea, replied that
it had been customary to permit laymen, when duly qualified, to preach
before the people, and supported their assertions by enumeratmg some
precedents. Origen, however, being recalled by Demetrius, returned
A..D. 218. to his former occupation. He was afterwards obliged to interrupt it
at the soHcitation of Mammana, mother of Alexander Severas, who,
anxious to be instructed by a person whose re]5utation was so widely
spread, caused him to visit Antioch, where she was then remaining
with her nephew the Emperor Heliogabalus. Having stayed there
ORIGEN. 05
but a short time, during which he explained to her the traths of the Origen.
Christian rehgion, he resumed his residence at Alexandria, and com-
menced various commentaries on the sacred writings, chiefly at the
desire and by the assistance of Ambrose, whom he had converted to
the orthodox faith from the heresy of Valentinus. The industry of
Origen, in the prosecution of this immense task, is almost incredible.
The night scarcely brought relaxation after the labours of the day.
It is said, that, in addition to other works which engaged his attention,
he commented upon the whole of Scriptm-e.'
In the year 228, being obliged to proceed to Achaia, on account of
some ecclesiastical affairs,* probably the confutation of heretics,* he
passed through Palestine, and was ordained priest by the bishops of
that province.* This ordination was to Origen the source of a violent
persecution. Demetrius, his diocesan, incensed at a step which he
considered as an unauthorized interference with his duties ; and ac-
tuated, it appears, by feelings of jealousy, forgot his former praises,
and reproached Origen with the indiscreet act which he had committed
in his youth.*
On Ills return to Alexandria, where he continued with his usual A. D. 231.
ardour his studious pursuits, he felt the effects of the hostility which
had been excited against him. Envy never pardons. It was ordained
by a council that he should not be permitted to teach, nor even to
reside in that city ; but, nevertheless, he should retain his dignity of
priest.® Hence it may, perhaps, be inferred that his doctrine, as well
as his ordination, had exposed him to censure. Certain it is, that to
his real errors the malignant activity of fabricators had added many
mventions^ calculated to strengthen, if not to implant, unfavourable
prejudices. Thus banished from Alexandria, he left the office of
catechist to Heraclas, and retired again to Cgesarea, where he was
agam received with every mark of respect and affection by Alexander
and Theoctistus, who intrusted to his care the public exposition of the
Scripture.* Demetrius, however, dissatisfied with the first condemna-
tion against Origen, accused him before some bishops of Egypt ; and,
with their concurrence, deprived him of his priesthood, and put him He is
out of the communion of the Church. This sentence of deposition ^^vo^^^ af'd
r excommuni-
* Epiph. Hseres. Ixiv. c. iii. &c. So indefatigable was Origen, that Jerome
(Ep. 29) calls him Chalcenterus (xa^-xsvTsjoj), an epithet applied to Didymus the
Grammarian, who wrote 3,500 books. Erasm. Adag.
* Euseb. lib. vi. c. iii.
* Hier. de Vir. Illust. c. xxxiv, &c. •• Euseb. lib. vi. c. xxiii.
' Euseb. lib. vi. c. viii. &c. See, however, the manner in which Mosheim has
explained the dispute between Origen and Demetrius. De Keb. Christ, p. 680 i
6 Phot. Cod. 113.
^ Pamphil. Ap. pr. Orig. ; Ap. Hier. Op. tom. iv. p. 196. Origen complains
that the accoimt of a dispute which he had held with a certain heretic had been in
many parts falsified.
8 Epiphanius pretends that Origen left Alexandria in consequence of the re-
proaches which he incurred by offering incense to idols to avoid being the victim of
the brutality of his enemies. See this improbable story in Adv. Hser. Ixii, c. ii.
96 GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Origen. and excommunication was transmitted to the different bishops, and
obtained the assent of all except those of Palestine, Phoenicia, Arabia,
and Achaia, who were intimately acquainted with Origen, and showed
themselves determined not to withdraw their protection. The com-
plaints of Origen, if we may judge even from the citations of his
enemies, were marked by dignified moderation. The death of De-
metrius took place soon alter this event ; he was succeeded by
Heraclas ; on his election, the chair of catechist was occupied by
Dionysius, both former disciples of Origen. From these promotions,
we may, perhaps, conclude, that the virulence of persecution was
diminished, yet the judgment against him appears not to have been
revoked.
A. D. 235. During the persecution of Maximin, when Ambrose was exposed to
its violence, Origen wrote to him a zealous exhortation to mart}Tdom,
in which he represents the possession of large property, and the ties of
a wife and children, as circumstances which ought rather to animate
than to deter the sufferer, inasmuch as they enhance the merit of his
sacrifice. Yet even Origen is said to have concealed himself at this
ci-isis. f-j (J ')')± [
A. D. 238. When peace was re-established, Origen continued his exertions at
Ca?sarea, and, during his travels in the cause of revealed truth, by his
knowledge and powers of persuasion he induced Beryllus, bishop of
Bostra, in Arabia, who had fallen into heresy respecting the incarna-
tion, to return to the Catholic faith ; and he reclaimed from their
error some Arabians, who taught that the soul died with the body,
and resumed life at the resurrection.'
Though above sixty years of age, and employed almost daily in de-
livering discourses, often extemporaneous, he wrote many ' Epistles ;' *
and, among others, one to the Emperor Philip and one to Severa,
several ' Commentaries,' and his eight books against Celsus.^
A. D. 250. In the persecution of Decius, Origen, whose reputation had marked
him out as an object on which severity should be exercised, endured a
series of cruelties, which served but to display his constancy and
com'age. He detailed in letters, now unfortunately lost, but which
are represented as breathing a spirit of piety and consolation, how he
was confined in prison, and loaded with chains ; how, for the space of
several days, his feet were violently stretched in stocks ; and how his
enemies threatened to burn him alive, and subjected him to torments
designed to overcome his patience without causing his death.* The
crown of martyrdom, for which he panted, he never obtained. About
this time the death of his friend Ambrose left him in indigence.
A. D. 253. -^t length, under the Emperor Gallus, and in his sixty-ninth year.*
1 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. ssxvii. ^ Ibid. lib. vi. c. sxxvi.
^ Ibid. '' Ibid. lib. vi. c. xxsix.
* Ibid. lib. vii. c. i. Eusebius, who was a great admirer of Origen, has detailed
his life in the sixth book of his History most amply ; there is no ecclesiastical
writer of whom moi'e is known.
ORIGEX. 97
after having devoted his days to the explanation of the Scripture, the onspn.
conversion of the Gentiles, and the instruction of the converted ; after
having, under all circumstances, confessed his belief in Christ, and
assisted such as suffered from the same confession, this no less learned
than pious, humble, and unassuming man, resigned a life of continued
labour and of unabated zeal, repaid by persecution, alike from his
fellow-christians and from the pagans. Driven from his country, DeitH
stripped of his sacred offices, excommunicated from the Church, then
thrown into a dungeon, racked by torture, and doomed to drag his
aged frame and dislocated limbs in pain and poverty, " till the weary
wheels of life at length stood still ;" — surely he presents a picture on
which it is impossible to dwell without very mom-nful feelings. Nor
is the impression diminished on finding that, notwithstanding the
fervour of his piety, the modesty of his language, and the pmity of
his morals, his memory has been branded, his name anathematized,
and his salvation denied.'
The works of Origen were extremely numerous. Some assert that w,>rks of
he wrote six thousand volumes;^ but if this be correct, the expression Onpen.
must be applied to small tracts and other detached pieces, in which
sense every homily, or letter, may be esteemed a volume.
If we possessed a collection of his writings mentioned by ecclesias- Their state,
tical authors, we should, in all probability, derive considerable know-
ledge on the subject of the doctrines and discipline of the ancient
Church.^ But the greater part is lost, and in those which remain in Rufinus.
the Latin version of Rufinus, so many additions and retrenchments
have been confessedly made, that it is difficult, or rather impossible,
to ascertain what portion was composed by Origen, and what portion
was inserted by his translator.'* Allusions to Latin words, expressions
unknown to the ante-Nicene fathers, mention of practices not intro-
duced into the Church at the period at which the original work was
written — such are the evident interpolations which perplex and mis-
lead the investigator. The translations of Jerome also were, it is said,
' See the account of the disputes, Sec. on this subject in Bayle, Diet. Hist. art.
Origene.
2 Hier. in Rnfin. ; Epiph. Hrer. Ixir.
3 Pour Origene, contemporain de S. Cyprien, et qui seul, si nous I'avions entier,
nous donneroit peut-etre sur ce que nous cherchons plus de lumi&re et de satisfac-
tion que tous les autres, il ne nous reste que fort peu de choses, et la pluspart
encore mise'rablement de'chire'es et change'es, les excellens et presque innombrables
labours de ce grand et admirable esprit n'ayant pu se garantir de I'outrage du
temps ; ni de I'envie et haine des hommes qui les ont encore pirement traites que
tantde sifecles et d'annees qui ont coule depuis lui jusques a nous. (Daille', du Vrai
Usage des Peres, lib. i. c. i.)
■• Kufinus himself, in his translation of the Commentaries on the Romans, ac-
knowledges that he had supplied deficiencies : Ce qu'il temoigne lui avoir coutc
beaucoup, sans qu'on lui en ait beaucoupd'obligation : car la pluspart des personnes
souhaiteroient fort qu'il se fut epargne' ce travail, et qu'il ne nous donnat pas la
peine de lire ces pense'es quand nous cherchons celles d'Origene. (Tillem. Mem.
torn. iii. p. 223.)
[C. H.J H
98
GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY,
ar:es.
Ei<rht hooks
against
Celsas.
Editions and
translations.
disfigured by unwarrantable alterations. The version, still extant, of
the Commentaries on Matthew, which, according to Huet, mav have
been made in the time of Ciissiodorus, is both barbarous and incorrect ;
whole pages are added or retrenched.
The style of Origen is divested of rhetorical embellishments and
quaint conceits, and is considered rather plain and perspicuous, than
lotty and measured. It is often succinct, and generallv appropriate.
The mind of the writer appears to be stored with varied researches,
which he draws forth, and combines with ease and dexterity ; but not
to have been gifted with rich, original, inventive powers. As a dis-
]ratant, though sometimes weak and puerile, he is occasionally acute,
ingenious, and eloquent.
His works on the sacred Scripture are divided bv Jerome into three
classes: — 'Scholia,' or brief explanations of difficult passages; 'Ho-
milies,' or discourses addressed to the people ; ' Volumes,' or larger
commentaries. Of these, the contents of most, and the titles of some,
have perished. From information found in various writers, catalogues
have been made by Du Pin, Fabricius, and others, to whom the reader
is referred for details, which it falls not within the plan of om* work
to offer.
The treatise against Celsus, written, according to some, in the year
246, though according to others, not before 249, is still extant in the
original Greek. As it is one of Origen's latest, so is it considered his
best production. The style is polished with greater care, and the re-
marks display erudition.'
Origen informs us that there were two philosophers named Celsus,
both Epicureans ; one lived under Nero, the other under Hadrian and
the succeeding emperors. This last is the person, whose work, en-
titled Xoyoe aXr/6»)e, he undertook, at the instigation of Ambrose, to
refute.^ Yet from the objections of Celsus, as noticed by Origen, it is
difficult to believe that he could have followed the tenets of Ejiicurus ;
it would appear more probable that he belonged to the later Platonic
or Alexandrine school.*
This work was brought from Constantinople by a person sent pur-
posely by Pojie Nicholas V., who offered an ample reward to any one
who should translate it into Latin. But on his death, the task was
not undertaken till Theodore Gaza induced Christopher Persona, prior
of the convent of St. Balbina, to publish a version.* It was better
translated by Gelenius in the sixteenth century. It was afterwards
]iublished in Greek and Latin by David Haeschelius; and in 1658 it
' Huet. Origen, &c.
'*' Orig. c. Cels. lib. i. and iv. It was probably the latter Celsus to whom Lucian
dedicated his Pseudomantis. M. Aurelius was then dead.
^ This opinion is maintained by Mosheim, in his Preface to the German version
of this treatise.
* See the extract from Simon's Lettres Choisies in Bayle, Diet. Hist. art.
Persona.
ORIGEX. 99
was edited with great correctness, and learned notes, by W. Spencer, origen.
Fellow of Trinity College, Camliridge.
In 1700 appeared a French translation, with notes and conjectures,
by Mr. Bouhereau.
No part of the writings of Origen has exposed him to greater cen- Treatise de
sure than his treatise Uspl apxin'- The Greek text is no longer Jvruten"^'
found : the translation of Kufinus alone is extant. The licenses taken i^efore
})\- Rufinus (who confesses that he altered or omitted several passages,' "'
preteniling that none of the works of Origen had been more corrupted
by the heretics) were severely attacked by Jerome,* who himself pub-
lished a version, which hai- not reached our time. It is no longer in
our power, therefore, by distinguishing the author from the translator,
to discover the exact nature and extent of the errors of which Origen
has been accused. It is from this work that his adversaries have
chiefly drawn the proofs of their charges, and that heretics have
brought arguments in support of their opinions. It cannot be denied
that it is obscure and perplexed; and that the philosophy of Plato
is more apparent in it than the authority of the Church.^ Besides
the works of which we have spoken, Origen wrote ten books of
' Stromata,' in imitation of Clemens Alexandrinus, of which he com- Stromata,
])ared the opinions of the heathen philosophers with the doctrines of ['^gj^een
Christianity, and confirmed the Scripture maxims by Plato, Aristotle, a. d. 222 and
Numenius, and Cornutus ;* two books, and also two dialogues, on the
' Resurrection ;'•* a great number of epistles and other works, which
are lost. The Treatise to Africanus respecting the History of Susanna, Other works.
\vliich he defends ; the Exhortation to Martyixlom, written during the
persecution of Maximin ; the book on the interpretation of the Hebrew
names and measures contained in Scripture, and the book on Prayer,
are still preserved.
Among the works of Origen it is usual to insert the ' Philocalia,'
which is a collection of extracts from his writings, on various questions
relating to the sacred Scriptures, made by Gregory Nazianzen^ and
Basil the Great. It was published with annotations by Tarinus in
1619 ; and is subjoined, with a few additional notes, to Spencer's
edition of the Treatise against Celsus.
Several works are ascribed to Origen, which bear every mark of Suppositi-
tious works.
' In Prolog. Hiiet. Origen. Fragments of this treatise are found in the Philo-
calia, and in the letter of the Emperor Justinian on the errors of Origen, v. Concii.
edit. Labbei, torn. v. &c. For a brief account of its contents see Phot. Cod. viii.
* Cont. Kufin. i. p. 135.
^ Tillemont, Mem. torn. iii. part iii. p. 255 ; Fabric. Biblioth. Grsec. lib. vii.
pp. 230, 233.
■* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxiv. ; Ilieron. Ep. 84 ; Origen, in Johan.
p. 237. In the tenth book he explained the Epistle to the Galatians, and passages
of the Prophet Daniel. Jerome looks upon this work as one of those which con-
tained the greatest number of errors, particularly on the Resurrection, on which
account no one ventured to translate it. Ep. Ixi. c. viii. : Ixv. c. ii.
* Hier. in Kufin. lib. ii. « Naz. Ep. 88.
H 2
100 GREEK -WRITERS OF THE THIRD CEXTURY.
Origen. being supposititious : such are the two Commentaries on Job, and that
on St. INIark ; the ten HoraiUes on dift'eient passages of the gospel,
collected by jNIerlinus ; Scholia upon the Lord's prayer, and upon the
Hvmns of the Virgin, of Zachaiy, and of Simeon, which were more
probably written by Peter of Laodicea ; the Book on the Celibacy of
the Clergy ; that against Artemas and the Theodotians ; that on
Penance and Sighs ; and others. To this list may probably be added
(though mentioned as genuine in the ' Pliilocalia') the Dialogue
against M;ncion, in which Origen is introduced defending the doctrines
of the Church : it appears from internal evidence not to have been
written before the time of Constantine.^ James Gronovius endea-
voured to prove, that the ' Philosophumena,' giving an accomit of the
opinions of the difterent Greek schools, which is inserted in the tenth
volmne of his ' Thes. Antiq. Grajc' was written by Origen ; but he
was refuted by J. C. Wolf.
Entire works Of Origen's entire works, we have a complete edition in four
of Origen. voliunes in folio. It was commenced by Charles de la Rue, a Bene-
dictine of the congregation of St. Maur, and on his death continued
by his nephew, Charles Vincent de la Rue,* who published the last
volume at Pai-is in 1759. It is published by F. Oberthur, without
commentary, at Wiirtzbourg, in 15 vols. 8vo. The Greek fragments
of Orio-en upon the Scriptures were published, with a Latin translation
and notes, by Huet, who added to the work the celebrated Pro-
Huefs legomena, under the title of ' Origeniana,'^ in which the life and opinions
orijeniana. q£ Origen are largely detailed and learnedly discussed. Montfaucon
gave an edition, in 2 vols, folio, of the remains of Origen's ' Hexapla,'
Avhich have been also published at Leipsic in 1768-70, in 2 vols. 8vo.,
l)v Bahrdt.-*
Apoiou'j of Pampliilus, a presbyter of C^esarea, in Palestine, who suffered mar-
Paraphiius. fvrdom dmMng the persecution of ]\Iaximin, in the year 309, labom-ed
to collect the works of ancient writers, and particulai'ly of Origen, the
gi-eater part of whose writings he transcribed. When in confinement
he composed, with his fiiend Eusebius, (who is also surnamed Pam-
1 Huet, Origen. p. 276. The genuineness is, however, defended by Wetstein.
Tillemont conjectures that it may be ascribed to one Adamantius, who lived about
the vear 330. (Mem. torn. iii. part, iii.) The authors of the Philocalia remark
that "a passacje cited by Eusebius (De Pra;p. Evang. hb. vii. xxii.) from a treatise of
a Christian writer called Maximus, vi^) vXtis, occurs in the same words in this dia-
logue. Fabr. Biblioth. Grsec. torn. yii. p. 226.
2 Charles de la Rue, bom in 168-1, was a pupil of Montfaucon : his nephew,
Vincent de la Rue, assisted him in the preparation of this celebrated edition.
3 Of the progress of this work the reader will find an account in the Memoirs of
the Life of Huet, wiitten by himself, which have been translated into English by
Dr. John Aikin.
■• A list of works on Origen maybe found in Fabr. Biblioth. Graec. torn, vii., and
in J. G. Walch, Biblioth. Patristic, p. 273. See also L. W. Briiggemann's View
of the English Editions, Translations, and Hlustrations of the Ancient Greek and
Latin Authors.
GREGORY THADMATURGCS. 101
philus,' on account of liis attachment to him, and who wrote a ' Life Ongen.
of Pamphilus,' which is almost wholly lost,) five books in defence of
Origen. To these Easebius added a sixth after his death. Of this
' Apologv ' the first Book, translated by Mufiuus, is usually found
among the works of Origen and of Jerome. The other books, with the
exception of a few fragments, have perished. Jerome maintained, in
his Ajjology against RufiniLs, that Pamphilus had Avritten no part of
this • Apology .'* This opinion, though defended by some writers, is
refuted bv Tillemont, Huet, Bull, and De la Rue, which last has ad-
mirably edited the ' Apology.'
GREGORY THAUMATURGUS.
CIRCITEU A.D. 24:0.
Gregory, oiUed also Theodorns, and afterwai-ds surnamed Thau- cregon
maturgus, on account of the number of miracles which he is said Thaumatur-
to have worked during his life and after his death, was born at Xeoae- ^ p° 2.43.
sarea, a city of Pontus, and descended fi-om a family, illustrious for
its uobihty and wealth, but addicted to the pagan worship. On the
death of his flither, Oregon,-, then fourteen yeai's of age, though
hitherto educated in superstition, was touched with a feeling of resi>ect Education.
for the Christian rehgion. His m6ther was anxious that he should
apply himself to rhetoric, with a view of embracing the profession of
the law. His sister being obliged to accompany her husband to
Palestine, Gregorv, and his brother Athenodorus, availed tliemselves
of this opportunitv of proceeding t<.) Berytus, where there was a cele-
brated school of jurisprudence. In their journey they visited Cfesarea,
where Origen, wiio had retired to that city in consequence of the
measures of Demeti-ius, succeeded by force of reasoning happily
blended with the most bland, engaging, and afi'ectionate mamier, in
drawing tliLiu first to the study of philosophy, and thence by insensible
steps, to the knowledge and profession of the Christian taith. After
having spent five years with Origen, Gregory, desirous of expressing His
his gratitude for the advantages which he had derived from his pre- Panegyrical
cepts, and his regret at parting from a guide whose tenderness had
inspired the fondest attachment, pronounced before a numerous assem-
bly, among whom was the subject of his paneg}-ric, a very eloquent
discourse, which is still extant, and wliich has been considered one of
the most finished pieces of antiquity. Domestic afiaus occasioned his
return home : they appear not, however, to have I'etained any hold on
his afiections, if it be tinae that he abandoned his house, lands, and
possessions, in order that, disengaged from earthly ties, he might
attend in solitude to his spiritiuil concerns. From this state of retire-
ment he was reluctantly drawn by Pha^dimus, bishop of Amasea, who
consecrated him bishop of >seocfesiU'ea, although it is Siiid, there were
at that time but seventeen Christimis in the city. Conversions, how-
ever, were soon numerous in consequence of his zealous exertions;
' Soci-at. lib. iii. c. vii. ; Phot. Cod. 13. - Adv. Rutin, lib. ii.
102
GREEK WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY,
Giegory
Tlimitnatur-
and, if his biographers^ deserve credit, by the effect of his various
miracles. But the accounts of his life, excepting such as are derived
from his own works, seem to us, in many parts, too destitute of pro-
babihty to deserve being repeated. It appears that he was sought
after, but not found, during the persecution of Decius ; and that he
was present with Athenodorus at the Council at Antioch, held against
Paul of Samosata.^ Rufinus calls him a martyr ; but as this title is not
given to him either by Basil or bv Gregory Nyssen, it is probal^ly used
in a lax sense. His death can scarcely be placed before the year 270,
under Aurelian.
Works. Besides the ' Panegyric on Origen,' Gregory wrote a ' Paraphrase on
Ecclesiastes ' (which is still extant, and wrongly attributed, in some
ancient manuscripts, to Gregory Nazianzen). We have also his
' Canonical Ei)istle,' which is addressed to a bishop of Pontus, after
the Goths had desolated Asia under Gallienus ; and prescribes the
degrees of penance, which ought to be required of such persons as had
beea guiltv of offences, jjarticularly of an idolatrous nature, during
that period. The 'Creed' (which it is pretended that Gregory re-
ceived from St. John the Evangelist) is, though interpolated, perhaps
a genuine production ; liut the ' Exposition of Faith,' which is ascribed
to him, is doubtless different from that mentioned by Basil, and com-
posed by a later, though an ancient writer. The four ' Sermons,' and
the ' Treatise on the Soul,' addressed to Tatian, which were published
among the works of Gregor}', are reckoned by Du Pin as supposititious
pieces.
Editions. The works of Gregory Thaumaturgus were edited by Gerhard
Vossius in 160-i, in 4to. The ' Panegyric,' was separately published
by Ha^schelius, with short notes at the end of his edition of Origen's
' Ti-eaties against Celsus.' See also SS. Patrum Gregorii Thauraa-
turgi, Macarii ^Egyptii et Basilii Seleuciensis Opera Grseco-Latina.
Paris, 1622, in folio.
METHODIUS.
CIRCITER A.D. 290,
Methodius. Methodius, bishop of Olympus,^ or Patara,* in Lycia, and afterwards
A. D. 290. of Tvre, in Palestine, suffered martyrdom at Chalcis, in Syria, during
the Persecution of Diocletian, perhaps about the year 311,^
1 Particularly Gregory Nyssen, in his Oration on the Life of Gregoiy Thauma-
turgus, His accoiuit is full of wonders, which are faithfully copied by Tillemont,
Me'm. torn, iv, part ii. p. 685. He asserts, among other absurdities, that Gregory
Thaumaturgus received a creed (which the reader may find extracted in Fabr.
Biblioth. Grtec. torn. vii. p. 253) from St. John the Evangelist in a vision. Scul-
tetus calls this oration Somnium Somniorum. (Medull. Theol. Patr. p. 888.)
Comp. Van Dale, Praf. Diss, de Oracul. and Dodwell, Dissert. Cyprian, iv. sec. 10.
Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. viii. c. xxviii. &c.
^ See Suidas, in voc. r^nyo^io;. Kuster reads Aurelian instead of Julian, on the
authority of MSS.
^ Hier. de Vir. Illust. c. Ixxxiii. * Suidas, in Lex. in voc. Ms^o^/oj.
5 Jerome adds, that others place his martyrdom in the Persecution of Decius
METHODIUS. 103
We have still remaining his ' Banquet of Virgins,' a singular dia- Mehoiius.
logue in praise of virginity. A female, named Gregorimii, is intro- Symposium
duced relating to her friend Eubulus, (which is said to have been the v^r.tj'J^um
surname of Methodius,) the discourses made in an assemblv of ten
Virgins, each of whom (as she feigns) Arete, in whose gardens they
met, had requested to speak on the sul)ject of Virginitv. The first of
these launches forth into excessive praises of its excellency, of \\hich
Christ came to set an example ; the second, to prevent a dancrerous
inference, argues that Christ meant not utterly to abolish marriage,
which is a permitted, though an imperfect state ; the third enters into
a description of the mvstical union of Christ with the Church, as with
a spouse, asserting that the words " increase and multiply" were
fulfilled by the increasing greatness of the Christian state ; the fourth
enlarges on the efficacy of baptism in restoring Paradise, and conferring
immortality ; the fifth gives counsel for the preservation of this virtue ;
the sixth maintains that it ought to be attended with good works ;
the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth Virgins successively lavish their
encomiums, and explain, in a very allegorical manner, passages of
Scripture to support their opinions.
Tiiis Dialogue was published with notes, and a Latin version bv E^utions.
Leo Allatius, in 1656; by Peter Possinus in 1657, in folio; and
inserted by Combefis in his last supplement to the ' Bibliotheca
Patrum.'
Fabricius ])ublished it with notes at the end of the second volume
of the works of Hippolytus, Hamburgh, 1718. The extant fragments
of his works were collected and pul^lished with the works of Amphi-
lochius, &c., by Combefis, Paris, 1644, in folio.
Besides this piece, Methodius wrote a large work against Porphyry ;
a ' Dialogue on the Resurrection,' to refute the opinion of Origen' —
that men were not to be raised again in the flesh — of which Epipha-
nius has cited a large fragment f another ' Treatise against Origen,'
concerning the Pythoness ; a ' Dialogue between a Catholic and a
Valentinian, on Free Will and the Origin of Evil ;' ' Commentaries on
Genesis and the Canticles,' all mentioned by Jerome, besides a ' Trea-
tise of Created Things,' cited Ijy Photius f and a ' Sermon on the
Martyi'S.' The sermon entitled ' Simeon and Anna,' and that on
' Palm Sunday,' appear to have been either written by, or to have
received touches from, some later hand.
Methodius is sometimes acute and sometimes solid, but generallv style,
turgid and verbose, fond of far-fetched thoughts and flmciful com-
parisons.
and Valerian. In this they are followed by Suidas. Du Pin refers it to the year
302 or o03. It was, perhaps, as Saxius thinks, between the years 300 and 3u5.
(Onomast. i. p. 390.)
' It was, perhaps, in consequence of his attack on Origen that Jlcthodius is not
mentioned by Eusebius.
2 Ha2r. Ixiv. See also Phot. Cod. 234. a Cod. 235.
( 104 )
SECTION IV.
LATIN WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
TERTULLIAN.
Tertuiiian. QuiNTUS Septimius Florens Tertullianus, the most ancient of the
Latin ecclesiastical writers whose works still remain, was a native of
Carthage,' and flourished during the reigns of Severus and Caracalla.^
Life. The son of a proconsular centurion,^ he appears from his writings to
have been at first a heathen, or at least to have entertained but little
respect for some articles of the Christian faith.* He was afterwards a
Presbyter,^ and officiated, in all probability, either in Rome or in
Carthage. It was certain that he was married ; a circumstance which
militates against the supposition of the celibacy of the ancient priest-
hood.® After having remained in the Church till he had reached the
middle age of life, he separated from it and adopted the opinions of
Montanus. This change appears to have arisen from the austerity of
his character, to which the harsh and rigorous principles of the new
sect were peculiarly adapted, and from the vehemence of his temjDer,'
which the envy and ill-treatment of the Roman clergy" may, perhaps,
have contributed to exasperate. Whatever may have occasioned this
alienation, there is no reason to believe that it was ever removed. His
life (of which the above meagre summary contains almost the only
particulars of importance not wholly uncertain) is said to have been
extended to decrepit old age f but the time and manner of his death
are unknown.
v.fitings. The writings of Tertuiiian, as far as they tend to illustrate the his-
tory of Christianity during the second and third centuries, have been
analyzed and examined with admirable precision and candour by the
present learned bishop of Lincoln, in a course of lectures delivered
before the University of Cambridge.'** In noticing a work, to which
1 Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. liii. ^ Ibid. ^ Ibid.
* HaDC et nos risimus aliqiiando ; de vestris fuimus. (Apolog. c. xviii ) Pceni-
tentiam, hoc genus hominum quod et ipsi retro fuimus, creci sine Domini, lumine,
natura tenus norunt. (De Pceniteut. c. i. &c.) He may, however, possibly allude
rather to the general state of the Gentiles when unconverted than to his own
private case. * Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. liii.
6 On this subject, see Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church, b. iv. c. v.
^ Miserrimus ego semper a'ger caloribus impatientiie. De Patient, c. i.
8 Jerome attributes Tertullian's adoption of Montanism to this last cause. De
Vir. Illust. c. liii. * Hieron. de Vir. Illust. c. liii.
'" The Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centuries, illustrated from
the Writings of Tertuiiian, 2nd edit. For the sake of brevity, we have generally-
quoted it under the title of Bishop Kaye on Tertuiiian.
TERTULLIAN. 105
we have had such frequent occasion to refer, we may be allowed to Tertuiiian.
express our conviction, that, if the volumes of the remaining fathers
were investigated with similar undivided attention to the distinct tes-
timony of each particular writer, with similar diffidence of drawing
inferences from ambiguous expressions or doubtful narratives, and
with similar rejection of that spirit of system and hypothesis which has
so often converted the very resources of eradition into instruments for
the multiplication of error — it would then be a far easier task than it
is at present to frame an ecclesiastical history, which, exempt from the
opposite extremes of credulity and captiousness, might be calculated to
guide, correct, and promote the studies of the theological student.
Considerable difficulty has attended all attempts not merely to Classification
assign the particular dates of Tertullian's works,' but even to discover xertuiiian's
which were written before and which after his adoption of Montanism. writings.
The imperfection of the methods which have been piu-sued is pointed
out by Bishop Kaye, who considers the following classification as one
in adhering to which we shall perhaps " not deviate very widely from
the truth."
Works probably written while Tertuiiian was yet a member of the
Church: — ' De Pcenitentia,' ' De Oratione,' ' De Baptismo;' the two
books ' Ad Uxorem,' ' Ad Martyras,' ' De Patientia,' ' Adversus
JudKos,' ' De Proescriptione Hsereticorum.'
Works certainly written after he became a Montanist : — ' First Book
against Marcion,' ' Second Book against Marcion,' ' De Anima,'
' Third Book against Marcion,' ' Fourth Book against Marcion,' ' De
Carne Christi,' ' De Resurrectione Carnis,' ' Fifth Book against
Marcion,' ' Adversus Praxeam,' ' In Scorpiacum,' ' De Corona
Mihtis ; ' ' De Virginibus Velandis,' ' De Exhortatione Castitatis,'
' De Fuga in Persecutione,' ' De Monogamia,' ' De Jejuniis,' ' De
Pudicitia.'
Works probably written after he became a Montanist: — ' Adversus
Valentinianos,' ' Ad Scapulam,' ' De Spectaculis,' ' De Idololatria ;'
the two Books ' De Cultu Foominannn.'
Works respecting which nothing certain can be pronounced : — the
' Apology,' the two Books ' Ad Nationes ; ' the tract ' De Testimonio
Animce,' ' De Pallio,' ' Adversus Hermogenem.'
Of Tertullian's works against the Valentinians, against Marcion,
against Praxeas, and against Hermogenes, the reader will find some
notice in a subsequent paper on the heretics of the second and third
centuries. Of the ' Apology' we have given a slight sketch at p. 31,
and of the tract ' De Fuga' at p. 34, of this volume. The subjects of
the rest may be thus very succinctly known.
' See P. Allix, Dissert, de Tertulliani Vit. et Script. ; Jlosheim, Comment.
Chroiiologico-Hist. de jEtate Apologetic. Tertull. &c. See also the list of treatises
relating to Tertuiiian in J. G. Walch. Biblioth. Patristic, p. 29. For an account
of Dr. Neander's German work, Antignosticus Geist des Tertullianus, &c. see the
Preface to the second edition of Bishop Kaye on Tertuiiian.
106
LATIX WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
' De Pcenitentia' shows the necessity of penitence, and gives a
description of the public confession of guilt, called Exoraologesis.
' De Oratione,' chiefly an explanation of the Lord's Praver. contains
also some account of the ceremonies commonly used bv the Christians
during prayer ; and touches on the innovations resembling the gentile
practices alreadv introduced.
' De Baptismo' was written to establish the necessity of baptism,
in reflitation of the opinion of a female, named Quintilla, who main-
tained that faith alone is sufficient for salvation. In this tract Ter-
tullian speaks strongly of the etticacy of bajjtism in procuring the re-
mission of sins and the descent of the Holy Ghost, and connects it with
regeneration : he also discusses many questions relatino: to this rite.'
' Ad Uxorem.' In the first book he exhorts his wife, if she should
sm-vive him, not to marry again ; in the second, he advises her, if she
should wish to marry again, to take a Christian husband.
' Ad Martyras' contains consolations to the Christians who were suf-
fering on account of their religion, and a wai^ning against indulging in
disputes wliilst they were in prison.
' De Patientia ;' a forcible exhortation to the exercise of patience.
' Adversus Judoeos,' to prove that the I\Iosaic law was of a tem-
porary nature, and that the J^Iessiah was foretold by the prophets.
' De Pra?scriptioue Ha?reticorum.' In this tract Tertulliim wishes
to show, that the doctrine of the heretics ought not to be admitted,
by reason of its novelty ; that it is not necessarv to enter into a dis-
pute with them on jiassages of the Scriptiu-es, inasmuch as they neither
received the Scriptures entirely, nor iuteipreted them in a imiform
manner ; but that the pm'e faith was to be sought in churches which
were founded by the apostles, and which could produce a regular- suc-
cession of bishops from their tune.*
' De Anima ;' on the natm-e and Cjualities of the soul. It is in this
tract that, among other erroneous notions, is found the argiuuent, that
the soul is a coiporeal substance formed with the body.
' Li Scorpiacum.' (meant to be a remedy for the poison of heretics,
as it were of scorpions,) directed against the Gnostics, is on the neces-
sitv and excellf nee of martvrdom.
' De Corona ;' a justification of the conduct of a Christian soldier,
who refused to place on his head the chaplet usuallv worn when the
emperors distributed largesses to tlie armv.
' De Yirginibus Velaudis ; ' to show that virgins should be veiled
in churches.
^ See Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 427.
' PrEBscriptio, a iaw term, is an exception, made before tlie merits of a cause are
discussed, showing in limine that the plaintiff ought not to be heard. On the
reasons which induced Tertullian to except against all arguments urged by heretics
out of Scripture, and to appeal to apostolic tradition, see the remarks of Bishop
Kaye on Tertullian, p. 291, and in the Addenda, p. 584, where some obsen^ations
on the reasoning of Tertullian in this tract, by the learned translator of :jchleier-
macher's Essay on St. Luke are examined.
TERTULLIAX. 107
' De Exhortatione Castitatis,' and ' De ]\[onogaraia/ represent second Tertuiiian.
marriages as, in fact, adidterv.
' De Jejuniis;' in jiraise of the exfa-eme fasts of the Montanists.
' De Pudicitia ; ' to show that the church has not power to remit the
sins of fornication and adultery, or to readmit into its communion, even
after penance, such as had once fallen into these crimes after baptism.
' Ad Scapulam.' An Address to Scapula, governor of Afi-ica, ex-
horting him to discontinue the severities which he exercised against
the Christians.
' De Spectaculis;' to show that a Christian cannot, without incurring
the guilt of idolatry, be present at public games or spectacles, which
were instituted in honom- of the heathen deities. After having shown
their eft'ects on the minds of such as were present, he undertakes to
evince that all the circumstances of those sights, such as the attire of
the actors, &c., were suggested by Satan, in order to deceive men by
their similarity to the Christian ceremonies ; or to draw them, even
unconsciously, into a violation of the Christian precepts. He con-
cludes with a well-known passage, which, though too severely stig-
matised and invicUouslv mutilated bv Gibbon,' is certainly marked by
declamatory virulence.
' De Idololatria ; ' an attempt to show in how manv different wavs
idolatry might be committed.*
' De Cultu Foeminarum ;' against ostentation in the dress of females.
' Ad Nationes ; ' in two books, of which the latter is imperfect ; a
defence of tlie Christian religion, written with more care but less
vehemence than the ' Apology.'
' De Testimonio Animas ;' to prove tliat the soul bears a natural
testimonv to the existence of one God and to a future life.
' De Pallio ;' composed in order to vindicate himself from the taunts
thrown out against him bv the Cai'thaginians, in consequence of his
quitting the Roman toga for the pallium, or mantle worn bv the
Greeks and by philosophers. This singular piece of learned exti-a-
vagance and obscurity is selected by Mallebranche to support the
severe censm-es which he passes on the style and character of Ter-
tuiiian.^ It was separately edited by Salmasius, in 8vo, 1656.
Several works of Tertuiiian are lost : several supposititious pieces sappositi-
pass under his name. In the latter class may be reckoned some poems *'°"^ works,
ascribed to him, deficient in metre and destitute of merit. We mav
also, perhaps, add a small ' Catalogue of Heresies ' subjoined to the
book ' De Preescriptione,' and not found in the Codex of Agobard, the
most ancient manuscript of Tertullian's writings. The book concerning
the Trinity (a subject, however, on which he appears to have written)
is certainly not genuine, and perhaps belongs to Isovatian. The
Treatise ' On Jewish Meats,' is also the production of a different
though ancient author.
' Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvi. * See page 33.
* De la Kecherche de la Ve'rite, lib. ii. c. iii.
108 LATIN WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
The language of Tertullian is harsh, uncouth, inflated, and obscure.
His Latinity, of which the expressions are often affectedly drawn irom
the works of the older writers,^ and often borrowed from the techni-
calities of jurisprudence, in which he is said to have been skilled,^ is
full of unnatural and barbarous constructions ; yet it cannot be denied
that bursts of great force and vivacity occasionally flash through his
dark and distorted sentences. His spirit, austere and yet fiery, was
reflected in a style at once rough and vigorous. His diction has been
compared by Balsac^ to the brilliancy of ebony. There is an impetu-
osity, a vehemence, and an acrimony in his manner, which combine to
astonish, to stun, and sometimes to disgust. His acquirements were
varied and copious, not select or well digested. His understanding
was acute rather than comprehensive ; and his method of reasoning is
often rather ingenious than solid. His fancy predominated over his
judgment, and his zeal often clouded his intellect. He possessed, too,
a satirical spirit, which occasionally adds poignancy to his remarks.
Above all, he felt a certain fondness for enthusiastic exaggeration,
which, while it led him to neglect the milder tones of simplicity and
the softer touches of delicacy, hurried him into the pursuit of quaint
conceits, smart retorts, and wild hyperboles. Hence the subtleties
which overcast his thoughts, the consfcmt allusions and the new or
newly-applied expressions which distinguish his style.
St. Cyprian, it is reported, never passed a day without reading some
part of Tertullian's works ; and used to say, when he called for the
book, " Give me my master."* Indeed, though he has not cited him,
or adopted his manner of writing, he has imitated him in the choice of
some of his subjects, and borrowed many of his thoughts.
The chief editors of Tertullian are Rhenanus, Pamelius, La Cerda,
and the learned Rigaltius (Rigault), whose candid remarks gave
offence to persons of the Roman communion, to which he belonged.
The edition of Rigault, published in Paris in 1664, in folio, is excel-
lent. Semler gave a new edition (1769-1773), in five volumes 8vo,
to which a sixth volume was added by Schiizius in 1776. The
edition of Oberthur appeared in 1780 and 1781, in two volumes.
The best edition of the ' Apology' is that of Havercamp (Ley den,
1718, 8vo). It has been translated into English (together with the
'Apologies' of Justyn Martyr, Minucius Felix, &c.) by W. Reeves.
For forther information on the different editions and translations of
Tertullian, see Lumper, ' Histor. Theol. Crit. de Vit., &c., Sanct.
Patrum,' torn. vi. p. 745.
' Ruhnken. Prsef. ad Schelleri Lexicon. See Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 67.
* He is not, however, to be confounded with another Tertullian, who was a
Jurisconsult. See Fabr. Biblioth. Latin, torn. iii. p. 347.
•* In a letter to Rirault. * Hieron. de Vir. Iliust. c. liii.
( 109 )
SECTION V.
LATIN WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
MINUCIUS FELIX.
CIRCITER A.D. 210.
MiNUCius Felix is supposed to have lived about the beginning of Minudus
tlie third century. Jerome, in his catalogue of ecclesiastical writers, "^ 1^'^ q
iilaces him between Tertullian and Cyprian ;' of these fathers the ' '
former furnished Minucius with many thoughts, the latter borrowed
from him many passages. Nothing certain is known respecting his
country : it has been conjectured, however, that he was an African.
That he followed the legal profession appears not only from the
testimony of Lactantius* and Jerome,^ but from the opening of his
dialogue in defence of the Christian religion.* This dialogue, on which
his fame rests, is entitled ' Octavius,' the name given to the Cliristian
advocate, who is introduced as answering the objections of the heathen
disputer, called Ctccihus,^ Minucius himself being arbitrator. It opens
with a free and vehement attack, in which, on the one hand, the
condition and attainments of the Christians are bitterly reviled, the
doctrines of their religion (such as a particular Providence, the resur-
rection, &c.) ridiculed, and the most absurd calumnies repeated ;
while, on the other hand, the uncertainty of human knowledge, the
superior wisdom of adhering to ancient opinions, and the consequent
prosperity of the Romans, are insisted upon. This attack is followed
by a spirited reply, in which the folly of heathen fables is severely
exposed ; the proofs of the existence, providence, and attributes of the
Deity set forth ; the circumstances of the rise of Roman greatness laid
open : some of the docti'ines of the Christians defended, and the
charge against their manners refuted; and their purity, fortitude, and
other virtues, warmly praised. The heathen adversary then acknow-
ledges himself vanquished and converted.
' De Vir. Illust. c. Ivjii. But, in Ep. 30 (al. 50), where perhaps chronological
order is not strictly observed, he places Minucius after Cyprian, in which he is
followed by Balduin, who thinks Minucius flourished after the middle of the third
century (Dissert, c. ii.). Baronius places him near the end of the reign of Severus,
A.D. 212 ; Cave, in the year 220, in his Hist. Lit. (part i. p. 66), but in the year
207 in his Chronological Table of the three first Ages of the Christian Church.
On this subject may be consulted Tillemont, Mem. torn. iii. p. 1, Notes sur Minuc.
Felix. 2 Lactant. Div. Inst. lib. v. c. i.
3 De Vir. Illust. c. Iviii. Ep. 83 (al. 84). * Octav. c. ii.
* C?ecilius has also the name of Natalis, Octavius of Januarius, and Minucius
Felix of Marcus.
110
LATIN WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Miinicius
Felix.
Jerome informs us that in his time there was a work concerning
destiny, ascribed to Minucius Felix ; but though it was the production
of an eloquent writer, its style corresyjonded not with that of the
' Octavius ;' ' it was perhaps attributed to him in consequence of a
]iromise which occurs in that dialogue that he would treat more largely
on that suliject.*
The ' Octavius ' was for a long time considered as the eighth book
of Arnobius. This error had been observed by Hadrian Junius,^ and
was fully shown by the celebrated jurisconsult Balduinus (Baudouin),
who published the work separately in 1560, and ]>refixed a learned
dissertation on its author and its contents. Several editions since
that time have appeared ; among which may be reckoned those of
Wowerius, of Elmenhorstius, of Heraldus, and of Rigaltius. All the
notes of these commentators were reprinted in the variorum edition in
1672. The dissertation of Balduinus, the entire observations of
Rigaltius, and a selection fi-om the notes of other writers, together
with his own judicious remarks and corrections, were published by
J. Davis, Master of Queen's College, Cambridge. There is also a
good edition by James Gronovius, 1709.
' Octavius ' is a work which, though not remarkable for extra-
ordinary research or powerful ability, is written in a very lively
varied, elegant, and agreeable manner. The arguments on both sides
are set forth with grace and force, and illustrated with learning and
intelligence. In the tone of flowing declamation and of poignant
raillery which pervades it, the style of a lavv}'er is perhaps obvious ;
but it is calculated rather to stimulate the attention, than to warp the
judgment, of the reader. Minucius Felix was evidently versed in the
writings of Cicero, which have imparted a superior degree of ease,
coiTectness, and polish to his diction.
CYPRIAN.
CIRCITER A.D. 248.
Thascius Caecilius'* Cyprianus, a native of Africa, and probably of
Carthage, was converted to Christianity, according to Pearson,^ in the
year 246. Previously to that period 'he taught rhetoric with great
applause,* and appears to have lived in a state of affluence and
splendour. Of his feelings after having received baptism he has given
a description in a florid letter, addressed to Donatus ; shortly after
which it is probable that he wrote his treatise ' On the Vanity of
Idols,' in which he shows the unity of God, the absurdity of paganism,
and the truth of the mission of Jesus Christ — the two first points
treated in the same manner as they are by Mmucius Felix, the latter
^ De Vir. Illust. c. Iviii. ^ Octav. c. xxxvi. ^ Anim. lib. vi. c. i.
■* So called from a presbyter named Cacilius, by whom he was converted. Ilier.
de Vir. Illust. c. Ixvii. * Ann. Cyprian, p. 6.
^ Lactant, Div. Inst. lib. v. c. i, ; Hier. de Vir. Illust, c. Ixvii. &c.
CYPRIAN. Ill
as it is by Tertullian. The first proof which he gave of the sincerit}' Cyprian.
of the change wliich liis opinions and habits had experienced was a
voluntary distriljution of his property among the poor.' He was
appointed presbyter, and afterwards rose to the dignity of l^shop of
Carthage, which was conferred on him by the universal suffrage and
pressing wishes of the people. While the persecution of Decius
raged, he took shelter in retirement ; when it had subsided, he applied
himself to remedy the relaxed state of discipline which it had occa-
sioned. His conduct during the disastrous pestilence which afflicted
Carthage affords a noble example of piety and judgment, united with
the keenest sensibility. When the streets were strewed with the
carcasses of the dead, and the living fled with selfish iear, abandoning
their nearest and dearest friends, Cvprian assembled the Christians,
and stronglv, as well as successfully, inculcated the great duties of
that humanity which, like the beneficence of the Father of the Uni-
verse, embraces within its circle not merely persons of the same
persuasion, but the gentile and the persecutor. In the reign of
Valerian, when Patenuis was proconsul of Africa, he w^as Ijanished
to Curubis, from whence he was recalled as soon as Galerius Maximus
succeeded to the proconsulate. His return was followed by his
martyrdom.
The last scenes of his hfe,* as well as the part which he took during
tlie disputes concerning the ' Lapsed,'^ and the re-baptizing of heretics,*
have been already described. The line of conduct which he adopted
with regard to Novatus will be touched upon in a succeeding paper.
Our accomits of Cyprian are chiefly derived from his ' Life,' written
bv his deacon, Pontius (which we have before mentioned),* the ' Acts
of his Martyrdom,' and various passages in his works.
C\'prian appears, it must be acknowdedged, to have been extremely
anxious to enforce the importance of ecclesiastical authority. Much
allowance ought, however, to be made for his peculiar situation, sur-
rounded by men, of whom some wished to relax, others to carry to
an unnecessary pitch of rigour the discipline of the Church ; some to
derogate from the episcopal dignity, and others to give undue influence
to the Church of Rome. It is much to his honour that he always
maintained the independence of the different sees, and that he ap-
])lauded in strong terms the custom of giving to the people their share
in the election of bishops. Discountenancing secret measures, he
referred all matters of consequence to his clergy and congregation.
A life of Cyprian has been written by Le Clerc,® in a manner very Life by
diflerent from that in which ecclesiastical memoirs are usually drawn Le aerc.
up. Of the observations wdiich it contains, some are acute, some
judicious, some, we think, ill-tempered.
The style of Cyprian is oratorical. It contains scarcely anv style.
' Hiei". de Vir. Ulust. c. l.xvii. - See page 60.
3 See pao;e 53. * See page 56.
* See page GO. ^ Biblioth. Univ. torn. .xii.
112 LATIN WRITERS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Cyprian. allusioHS to philosopliv. Tliough familiar with the works of Ter-
tulhan, his taste led him to avoid the perplexed and uncouth style of
that writer, and he is generally clear, flowing, and unembarrassed.
ienuine The Correspondence of Cyprian consists of eighty-one letters, coni-
orks. prising epistles addressed to him (of which an analysis may be found
in Du Pin). They cast gr^at light on the history, both internal and
external, of the Chmxh, particularly in Africa.
The book on the ' Discipline and Dress of Virgins,' is chiefly an
exhortation to avoid the ornamental attire and other corruptions of the
age. He speaks of virginity as being the state nearest to martyrdom
— as removing from its possessor the curse pronounced against the
first woman — as raising her to an equality with the angels.
The treatise respecting ' The Lapsed,' and that on ' The Unity of
the Church,' were written after the persecution of Decius.
The treatise on ' The Lapsed ' was directed, with expressions of
deep censure, against those Y)ersons of the party of Felicissimus w^ho
were desirous of extending reconciliation, on easy terms, to such as
had fallen away. Cyprian observes, that martyrs cannot give abso-
lution of sins, which is a power belonging to the Church alone. He
relates certain stories of apostates, whom he rei)resents as having been
punished from heaven for attemijting to receive the Eucharist.
The treatise on ' The Unity of the Church' contains severe reflec-
tions on schism and heresy.
Li the book ' On the Lord's Prayer ' may be found many general
remarks on prayer.
For an account of the tract to Demetrian, see ante, page 54.
The ' Book of Mortality ' was composed in consequence of the pesti-
lence which raged in the reign of Gallus.
The ' Exhortation to Martyrdom,' written during the j^ersecution of
Gallus, is a collection of texts from Scripture, calculated to animate
the Christians to submit with courage to the sufferings which attended
the profession of their religion.
The treatise on ' Good Works and Alms ' was written probably in
A. D. 254, when Cyprian collected considerable sums to redeem some
Christians captured by barbarians.
The book ' On the Advantages of Patience,' written in consequence
of the disputes respecting the baptism of heretics, was sent, in the
beginning of the year 256, with a letter, to Jubaianus. That ' On
Emulation and Envy ' (' De Zelo et Livore ') appeared some time
afterwards.
The work of ' Testimonies to Quirinus,' against the Jews, contains
a variety of scriptural passages : the first book treats of the tempo-
rary nature of the Jewish law ; the second, of the mission of Christ ;
the third, of the moral precepts of revealed religion.'
' Rivet considered the genuineness of this tract doubtful (Crit. Sacr. lib. ii. c. xv.)
Baluzius, who examined various maniiscri]its, admits that it has been interpolated
(Not. ad Cyprian, p. 596). In the opinion of Lardner " there can be no doubt but
CYPRIAN. 113
Among the books which have been wrongly ascribed to Cyprian Cypnan.
are the following : ' De Spectacuhs,' ' De Bono Pudicitiae,' ' De Laude
Martyrii,' ' Ad Novatianum Haereticum,' ' De Baptismo Haereticonun,'
' De Aleatoribus,' ' De Montibus Sina et Sion,' ' Adversus Judseos,'
' De Singularitate Clericorum,' &c.
The works of Cyprian were translated into English, not without Editions, &c.
care and elegance, by Nathaniel Marshall, in 1727 ; and into French,
with notes, by Lombert, in 1672.
The most complete editions are that of Bishop Fell, published at
Oxford in 1682 (this contains the ' Annales Cyprianici' of Pearson, to
which are added the ' Dissertationes Cyprianicce' of Dodwell), and
that begun by Baluzius and finished by Dom. Prudent. Maran, 1726,
in folio. This splendid edition was reprinted at Venice, in 1758.
St. Cyprian published a work with this title ; but it seems that the books of Testi-
monies which we now have, or at least some part of them, are liable to objections
that have not been fully cleared up." (Credibil. &c. part ii. c. xliv.)
[C, H.|
( 114 )
CHAPTER V.
HERESIES OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES.
SECTION I. — INTRODUCTORY REMARKS,
To the philosophic inquirer into the principles of human nature, there
is no portion of history which appears, at first sight, better calculated
to extend his knowledge than that detail of mental disorders which an
accoimt of ancient heresy presents. And, indeed, an accurate sketch
of the rise and progress of erroneous opinions would throw consider-
able light on the operations of our faculties. But such a sketch, even
under the most favourable circumstances, would be a task of no ordi-
nary difficulty. Few have the patience, and fewer still the ability, to
examine in all its bearings, and to deliver in all its force, the reasoning
of the author whose speculations they undertake to explain. Even
when not influenced by prejudices, an ingenious expositor will be
always apt to blend his own sentiments with the theories of others,
and insensibly to substitute a brilliant hypothesis for a tedious copy.
Hence it is that, even in modern times, under the existing wide dif-
fusion of literature, we can hardly expect to discover with exactness
the system of one writer fi'om the representations of another. And
this observation is true, if extended to authors whose character forbids
the suspicion of wilful deceit, and to subjects of a mere abstract
nature, not involving any personal interest, and not appealing to any
particular passion. A recent metaphysician, of distinguished talents,
after having forcibly shown, by numerous instances of misconception,
the necessity of consulting the opinions of authors in their own works,
makes the following remarks, which will find an echo in the language
of every man who has calmly applied himself to the investigation of
trath : — " From my own experience, I can most truly assure you that
there is scarcely an instance in which, on examining the works of
those authors v\^hom it is the custom more to cite than to read, I have
found the view which I had received of them to be faithful. There
is usually something more or something less which modifies the
general result ; some mere conjecture, represented as an absolute
affirmation, or some limited affirmation, extended to analogous cases
which it was not meant to comprehend. And by the various addi-
tions or subtractions thus made, in passing fi-om mind to mind, so
much of the spirit of the original doctrine is lost, that it may, in some
cases, be considered as having made a fortunate escape, if it be not at
last represented as directly opposite to what it is. It is like those
engraved jjortraits of the eminent men of former ages — the copies of
mere copies — from which every new artist, in the succession, has
taken something, or to which he has added something, till not a
lineament remains the same. If we are truly desirous of a faithful
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 115
likeness, we must have recourse once more to the original painting." ^
Bat no such means of verification remain for us in our researches into
the tenets of the ancient heretics. Their works have been destroyed
by time, by accident, or by injudicious zeal. The fathers (however
honest their motive, and however pure their intentions) have handed
down to us a picture, drawn sometimes by inflamed, sometimes by
ill-informed, adversaries; and who can pretend to trace where the
resemblance lurks amid darkened and distorted features ? Devoted to
the cause of Christianity, with an ardour to which the present state of
society offers no parallel, and alarmed not merely at the dangerous
doctrines, but sometimes, perhaps, at the disgraceful conduct of the
various sects, the orthodox Christians were too ready to admit reports
without patient and cautious investigation ; hence they occasionally
impute sentiments not held, and draw (a fault of most controversial
writers) consequences which, however logically deducible from certain
principles, were not contemplated by the persons who maintained
those principles. The excellence of the end in view sometimes, we
think, prevented them from examining the nature of the means by
which they hoped to attain it. Without the remotest design of
delivering what was positively false, they appear to us not sufficiently
anxious to ascertain what was exactly true. In fact, their object was
not to give a luminous view of the sources and windings of error, but
to draw a hasty outline of its hideousness, and to deter the faithful
from advancing a step into its impious circle. Thus systems which,
in their first state, were obscure and perplexed, are now become
almost hopelessly unintelligible. Conjecture alone can now pretend
to delineate the original structure of the strange labyrinth of early
heresy ; conjecture alone can discover the relation of scattered and
disjointed parts, and fill up the chasms of a mighty wreck. These
expressions, the result of dispassionate examination, are not, however,
applicable to every particular relation of every particular heresy, but
to the general state of the inquiry. They are offered as. an excuse for
the very unsatisfactory analysis which we now present.
So large a poi'tion of error is to be ascribed to the intermixture of Reason tiiat
phiTosophical principles with the peculiar tenets of Christianity, that nifnfberof V
TertuUian has not scrupled to call philosophers the patriarchs of early
heretics. The fact is, perhaps, not difficult to explain. There exists aroseVrom
in the human mind an unquenchable desire of knowledge ; a desire philosophy,
almost uniformly strong in all states and gradations of society, though
its immediate objects and channels, susceptible as they are of infinite
variety, will differ according to our different ages, capacities, and
acquirements. The same desire which draws the early efforts of the
savage towards civilized life, urges on his more enlightened neighbour
to speculations of a higher order and more extensive range.* The
feehng is implanted by Nature ; the direction is determined by cir-
' Dr. Thomas Brown's Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind, vol. ii.
p. 46. * See Pluquet, Diction, des Heresies ; Discours Pre'liminaire.
I 2
116 HERESIES OF THE SECOND AND THIRD CENTURIES.
cumstances. When revealed religion first disclosed its truths to
mankind, this desire of knowledge received a difierent bias, but lost
nothing of its inherent activity. Announced with extraordinary zeal,
by men whose manners were simple as their morals wei'e pure ;
recorded in works bearing the most incontrovertible marks of honesty
and truth ; supported, too, by a long chain of striking evidences ; and
adapted, moreover, to the wants and feelings of mankind, Christianity
gradually produced conviction even on the philosophic classes. Thus
the effect of this new belief may for a time have been to calm the dis-
quietude of thought, to suspend the restlessness of curiosity. But the
elements of agitation still existed, and were soon again excited. The
spirit of inquiry no longer turned itself towards the discovery of
general facts, but towards an investigation of all their possible
bearings, consequences, and modifications. The Christian duties were
received ; the Christian doctrines were admitted ; but then arose the
attempt to explain these duties in all their branches and relations, and
to accommodate these doctrines to our present faculties and precon-
ceptions. The passions still worked ; the imagination still wandered.
The mind of the philosopher, which had at first grasped with avidity
(if we raa}^ so express ourselves) the new system, and remained fixed
in momentary tranquillity on its recent acquisition, soon broke from
this unaccustomed state of rest. Questions which had long exercised
its powers, and which are, perhaps, insoluble in this our present cir-
cumscribed sphere of existence, insensibly suggested themselves again.
Explanations were sought in Christianity, and not found. The great
mvstery, for instance, of the existence of evil in the works of perfect
goodness, was thought still covered with obscurity. The philosopher,
therefore, Avithout rejecting his last-acquired belief, returned back to
his old opinions, and endeavoured to explain the facts which were
revealed on principles which he had long before embraced; and from
this alliance of philosophical works with Christian dogmas sprang most
of the heresies of the second and third centuries.
We shall endeavour, under each separate heresy, to point out the
principal works in which it is more particularly examined. The chief
ancient treatises on heresies in general are those of Irenteus, of Phi-
laster, of Epiphanius, of Augustine, and of Theodoret ; to which may
be added the short catalogue of heresies affixed to TertuUian's ' De
Praescriptione,' and the anonymous work entitled ' Prajdestinatus '
(which was first published by Sirmond, in 1643). At a later period,
the subject was treated by Joannes Damascenus, and several other
writers.' In modern times, it has exercised the learning of Ittigius,
Langius, Lardner, Pluquet, and many others ; but notwithstanding
the high merits of some writers on particular sects, as, for instance,
the masterly production of Beausobre on Manicheism, we know not of
any general work which gives a full and luminous view of the history
of heresies, their causes, origin, connexion, and extent.'
' J. G. Walch, Biblioth. Theolog. torn. iii. c. vii. sec. 10.
( 117 )
SECTION II.
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Nazarenes.
Ebionites.
Elxai.
Saturninus.
Bardesanes.
Tatian.
Cerdo.
Marcion.
Basilides.
Carpocrates.
Valentinus (different Sects
of Valentinians).
Ophites.
Praxeas (Patripassians).
Theodotus and Artemon.
Hermogenes.
montanus.
NAZARENES AND EBIONITES.
Though the heresies of the second and third centuries arose chiefly Sects arising
from an attempt to combine the dogmas of philosophy with the tenets Itt^hment
of the Christian rehgion, there were two sects which sprang from an toj;he^ ^^^^
attachment to the Mosaic law, as far as we can trace, under the follow- j./.^' j^^^^'j^
ing circumstances. Till the time of Hadrian, the Jewish converts of christia'iis'.
Palestine, of whom a great number had retired to the small town of
Pella, beyond the Jordan,' still cherished the hope that the glory
of their ancient capital would be restored ; and still adhered, for the
most part at least, to the rites and ceremonies of the Mosaic law.*
When, however, that emperor had raised JEWa Capitolina on the ruins
of Jerasalem, and excluded the professors of the Jewish faith from
entering its precincts, the Christians seem to have divided themselves
into two classes. One class rejected those usages, the necessity of
which they felt could not be maintained consistently with a true know-
ledge of Christianity, and the observance of which served to identify
them with the Jews in the opinion of the Romans ; and, as a pledge
of tlieir sincerity, they elected Marcus, who was a gentile, as their
bishop. Another, but far less numerous class, continued to unite a
behef in the chief doctrines of the Christian religion with the mainte-
nance of those practices in which they had been educated. These last,
in process of time, if not at first, were divided into two sects, tlie
1 Epiph. de Mensiiris et Ponderib. c. xv. ; Oper. torn. ii. p. 171, ed. Petav^.
* Et quia Christiani ex Judaeis potissimum putabantur (namque turn Hieroso-
lymse non nisi ex circumcisione liabebat Ecclesia sacerdotera) militum cohortem
custodias in perpetuum agitare jussit, quae Judseos omnes Hierosolymae aditu
arceret. Quod quidem Christians fidei proficiebat : quia turn psene omnes
Christum Deum sub legis observatione credebant. Nimirum id Domino ordinante
dispositum, ut legis servitus a libertate Fidei atque Ecclesite tolleretur. Ita turn
primum Marcus ex gentibus apud Hierosolymam Episcopus fuit. Sulp. Sever.
Hist. Sacr. lib. ii. c. xxxi. See the manner in which Mosheim has explained this
passage (De Reb. Christian, ante Const, p. 325).
118
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Nazarenes and the Ebionites, — a division which appears not to have
been accurately observed by ancient writers.'
Nazarenes. The Nazarenes, a name which in the primitive times seems to have
been commonly applied by the Jews to all Christians,* were not gene-
rally considered as being, strictly speaking, heretics.^ They appear to
have believed that Christ was born of a virgin, and partook, at least
in some measm'e, of the Divine nature.* They maintained that the
Mosaic ordinances were to be observed by the Jews, without pretend-
ing that they were obligatory on other nations.* They did not attach
any importance to the additional ceremonies of the Pharisees, or the
interpreters of the law.®
Ebionites. The Ebionites, who are supposed by many to have received this
appellation from one Ebion,^ and by others, with more probabihty, from
their poverty, proceeded much further than the Nazarenes, and were
accordingly regarded as decidedly hostile to genuine Christianity. They
looked upon Christ as a prophet, but denied his miraculous conception,
affirming that he was born like other men, according to the common
course of nature.** They deemed the practice of the Mosaic rites not
merely necessary to themselves, but essential to all who hoped for sal-
* Hence, perhaps, the different accounts of some writers ; e.g. Origen informs us
that the Ebionites were divided into two classes ; some asserting, others denying,
the miraculous conception of Christ. (Cont. Cels. lib. v.) Compare Euseb. Hist.
Eccles. lib. iii. c. xxvii. ; Theodoret, Fabul. Hteret. lib. ii. c. i. &c.
^ Epiph. Hser. xix. and xxix. See, however, Mangey's Remarks upon Nazaren.
pp. 9, 53.
^ Epiphanius, however, who has written on the subject (Hfer. xxix.), ranks them
among heretics ; but his account is very confused and unsatisfactory. The state of
feeling in the second and third ages towards those who, though they believed in
Christianity, still observed the Mosaic law, but did not force the observance of it
on others, may be learned from Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Trypho.
'SaX&i^iiuoi' 01 X^iiTTOv o/LioXoyoZiriv IviiraZv viov &ic.u' 5ravT« Ti xaTci vo/aev ToXinuo-
//.ivoi. (J. Damascen. de Hjeres. sec. 29.) On which see the note of Mich. Le Quien,
and also his Seventh Dissertation prefixed to the work.
* See, however, Augustin in Faust, lib. xix. c. xviii.
^ Hieron. in c. viii. : Esaije, v. 9, &c.
7 So Tertullian (c. Marcion. lib. iv. c. iii. &c.), and many other writers. Com-
pare, however, Orig. c. Cels. lib. ii. ; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. xxvii. &c.
" I do not know," says Mangey, " any fact of antiquity better proved than that
there was once such a person (as Ebion), and that he gave name to this sect."
(Rem. upon Nazar. p. 56.) But the Ebionites themselves, who surely ought to
have been acquainted with the subject, asserted that they were so called from their
poverty : uvtoi eii onhv <!ifi.)iv)iotTa.i, lawrovs ipaffxevTi; TTU^els, B;a to, (pairiv, \v
^^ovois Toiii ' A'jtoffTo'koiM 'TtctiXiit TO, avTuv vcrxg^ovTct. xai TiCivai vrapa toii; Toha; ruM
AfoffToXiat, xai ii; •mti^iia.v xai awoToi^ia.)), fiinXriXv^iyai' xai S/a tovto xaXi7tr(ai
liTTo vav-ruv (pair) -Trrtoy^o't. (Epiph. Hjer. xxx. c. xvii.) Simon says it may well be
that those writers who have thought that there was a man called Ebion, author of
this sect, had better grounds on which to establish the fact than a certain Spanish
historian (Illescas, lib. vi. de la Hist. Pontif) who invented a man called Hugo, a
sacramentarian arch-heretic, from whom the heretics of France have been named
Hugonots. (Hist. Crit. du Nouv. Test, part i. c. viii.)
* Epiph. Hser. p. 30, where he describes at some length the practices of the
Ebionites. See also Iren. lib. iii. c. xxiv. ; Tertull. De Virgin. Veland. c. vi. ; De
Prsescrip. Hseret. c. xxxiii, &c.
NAZARENES AND EBIONITES. 119
vation ; and, consequently, they rejected the authority of St. Paul, Ebionites.
which militated against their conclusions. They seem also to have
admitted the superstitious customs and traditions of the Jewish doc-
tors. Yet they are also said to have rejected the prophets with abhor-
rence, and though they retained the Pentateuch, to have entertained
for it but little veneration.'
Both these sects had their own gospel; that of the Nazarenes,* (^^ospeiofthe
sometimes called the ' Gospel of the Twelve Apostles,' sometimes the and*"^^"^^
' Gospel of the Hebrews,' has been considered by some writers of emi- Ebionites.
nence as being the original Hebrew of St. Matthew, with various
additions derived from tradition. That of the Ebionites is represented
as having been more corrupted.^
The Ebionites, moreover, are said to have forged several books
under the names of St. John the apostle, St. James, St. Matthew, and
other disciples ;* they also used the ' Voyages of St. Peter,' by St.
Clement, but disfigured by alterations and falsities.*
• Epiph. Hseres. 30 and 13. Simon thinks that the Ebionites, who received no
other than the five books of Moses, were descended from some Samaritans who em-
braced Christianity in imitation of the Nazarenes. (Hist. Crit. du Nouv. Test,
part i. c. viii.)
*"E%a[/o'/ o£ TO KctTo, ^laT^aiov ^layyiXiov TXnA(rTaTt»/ 'KSpaiiTTi' •jTcep auToi; yctg
<ra<pa; touto, xa^a; £^ ajX^^ iy^a(pn 'ESohikoT; ypdfAf/.a(riv sV/ (ra^irar ou» o'liec Vi, il
Kcu <ras yttiaXoyla; tcis avo toii 'A^^aau. oi^^i X^iittoZ VipiiiXov. (Haeres. xxix.
sec. 9.) Casaubon would read ov -rXn^icrTaTov, an alteration not supported by
MSS. (Exercit. xvi. ad Ann. Baronii, sec. 115.) In Evangelic, quo utuntur Naza-
reni et Ebionitse, quod nuper in Gra>cum de Hebrao sermone transtulimus, et quod
vocatur a plerisque Matthwi authenticum, &c. (Hier. in Matth. c. xii.) Conf Id,
Adv. Pelag. lib. iii. ; De Viris Illustrib. sec. 3, &c. Simon, who has treated the
subject with much learning, considers the Gospel of the Nazarenes as the original
Hebrew Gospel of St. Matthew, written for the early Christians of Palestine ; con-
taining, however, some additions which were inserted by the Nazarenes, but which
are not to be rejected as falsehoods. (Hist. Crit. du Nouv. Test, part i. c. vii.)
Grabe considers it not as being the Gospel of St. Matthew interpolated, but as being
composed by Jewish converts some time before our present gospels were written.
He supposes that the Nazarenes and Ebionites aftei-wards affixed to it the name of
St. Matthew in order to facilitate its reception. (Spicileg. Patr.) Mill also thinks
that it was written at Jerusalem before the Gospel of St. Matthew ; but is of opi-
nion that, even in its first state, it contained many errors. (Proleg. in Nov. Test).
Whitby (as well as Le Clerc) looked upon it as the Gospel of St. Matthew trans-
lated from Greek into Hebrew, with additions drawn from tradition. (Pref.
Discourse to the Four Gospels, p. 46.) Jones, who has diligently collected the
opinions of others, also regards it as an early translation of the Greek Gospel of St.
Matthew into Hebrew, with the addition of many fabulous relations and erroneous
doctrines, composed in the name of the Twelve Apostles by some convert Jews, to
favour their notions of mixing Judaism and Christianity together. (Method of
Settling the Canonical Authority of the New Test, part ii. c. xxxi.) See also Fabr.
Cod. Apocryph. N. T. tom. i.
Ey TM -TTOLO avTot; ihayyiXicii xara ^lariaiov oyof/.a^cuiv<u oly(^ oXui ol 'XXtiPlffraTu
iXXa vivohvfiivcfi xa) nx^u)rriPia.(rf/.'i.\icu. x. r. X. (Epiph. Hrer. xsx. sec 13.) The
Gospel of the Ebionites appears to have been difl'erent from that of the Nazarenes
only inasmuch as it was more coiTupted by mutilations and additions ; for instance,
they omitted the first two chapters of St. Matthew (Epiph. Ha3r. sxx. sec. 13),
which the Nazarenes appear to have retained.
■• Epiph. Haeres. xxx. sec. 22. * Ibid. sec. 15.
120 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Ebionites. For further information on the subject of the Nazarenes and Ebion-
ites, see Le Clerc, ' Hist, Eccles.,' An. 72 ; Ittigius, 'Dissert, de Haeres.,'
sec. 1, c. 6 ; Le Quien, 'Dissert. Damascenicse,' diss. 7 ; ' De Chris-
tianis Nazarenis, et eorum Fide, necnon de Ebionitis ;' Mangey's
' Remarks upon Toland's Nazarenus ;' Mosheim, ' Meditationes de
Ebione in Observat. Sacr.,' p. 233 ; W. Wilson's 'Illustrations of the
Method of Explaining the New Testament by the Early Opinions of
Jews and Christians concerning Christ,' &c.
ElcesaitEE. ELXAI— ELCESAIT^ OR HELCESAITiE.
Sect arising The Elcesaitse were followers of Elxai (sometimes called Elxseus
[ntom^xture ^"^ sometimes Elcesai), who lived in the time of Trajan.' Educated
of Judaism in the Jewish faith, acquainted with the Christian religion, and con-
versant with the notions of the oriental philosophy, Elxai seems to have
attempted a combination of parts gleaned from these various doctrines,
aird to have grafted the whole on the tenets of an ancient sect of Os-
senians (supposed by Scaliger* to have been the same as the Essenians),
into which he had gained admission. Such, at least, is the impression
left on our minds by an examination of the details of Epiphanius, who
professes to have seen one of the works of that heresiarch.
Attached to Jewish notions, the Elcesaitae turned towards Jerusalem
in their prayers, kept the sabbath, practised circumcision, and observed
other ceremonies ; but retaining little, if any, entire part of the Old
Testament, they expressed detestation of sacrifices, which they main-
tained had never been offered by the ancient patriarchs.^ Though they
believed in the existence of one unbegotten and Supreme Being^ (whom
they thought to honour by frequent purifications), they contended, that
external compliance with idolatrous rites was irreprehensible, as long
as the inward mind remained uninfluenced. They regarded it, there-
fore, as the part of an intelligent man, on trying cccasions, to renounce
his feith in words, provided he preserved it in his heart.*
It has been doubted whether the Elcesaits ought to be reckoned
among the Christian or the pagan sects ; and Epiphanius^ acknowledges
his uncertainty on that point. They spoke, indeed, of Christ as of a
great king, representing him as clothed in a human but invisible form,
of stupendous dimensions -^ but it is not clear whether they applied
' Epiph. HfEres. six. c. i. Eusebius places the rise of this sect much later.
(Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. sxxviii.) See Tillem. Me'm. Art. Les Elcesaites ; Lardner's
Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. xxii., which chapter, after the end of the third section,
was added by the editor, J. Hogg.
^ Not. in Euseb. Chron. p. 37. See, however, Barnage, Annal. Eccl. tom i.
^ Epiph. Har. xix. c. iii. * Theodoret, Hseret. Fab. lib. ii. c. vii.
5 Epiph. Hser. xix. c. iii.
® Epiph. Hasr. xix. c. iii. Theodoret gives a singular account of their belief.
Among other docrines, he says that they taught two Christs, one above and one
below ; and that they believed Jesus to transmigrate into other bodies, and every
time to appear diflerently. (Haer. Fab. lib. ii. c. vii.) Compare Epiph. Haer.
XXX. 0. iii. ^ Epiph. Hser. xix. c. iv.
ELCE3AITJE. 121
the title to our Lord or to some expected Messiah.' Since, however, Eicesaita
as we learn from Origen,"^ they retained various passages of the New
Testament^ (though tliey rejected the whole of St. Paul's epistles*), it
must, we think, be concluded, that they had partially admitted the
Christian religion.
Elxai (whom they regarded as a newly-revealed power, and to whose
race they showed the most abject devotion,*) had composed a work,
which they imagined to have fallen from heaven.^
The other tenets of the Elcesaitee. seem to be mostly of philosophic
origin. They are said to have been addicted to astrology and magic'
They set a high value on water, esteeming it, as it Avere, a divinity,
and as the fountain of life.^ Elxai is represented as having taught them
to swear by salt and water, and the earth, and bread, and heaven, and
the air, and the wind. And sometimes, it is added, he spoke of seven
other witnesses, namely, heaven, water, spirits, holy angels of prayer,
oil, salt, and tlie earth.* Of continence he expressed great aversion,
obliging his disciples to marry.'"
This sect is said by Eusebius" to have become extinct almost as soon
as it appeared ; but followers of it lived in the time of Epiphanius.
In Pera^a, beyond the Dead Sea,'^ they were also called Sampsa?ans, a
name of which the origin is doubtful. It is derived by Barnage from
Sampsa in Arabia; but by Scaliger and Le Clerc, who have the autho-
' Epiph. Hsr. xix. c. v.
* See an extract from Origen's Homily on the Eighty-second Psalm in Euseb.
Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxviii.
8 Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxviii. ; Epiph. Haer. six. c. ii.
" Hist. Eccles. Theod. Hcer. Fab. lib. ii. c. vii.
* Epiph. Hrer. liii. c. i. Elxai appears to have much influenced the Ebionites.
(Epiph. Hfer. xix. c. v. &c.)
^ Epiph. Hjer. xix. c. i. ; Orig. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxviii. Com-
pare Theodoret, Haret. Fab. lib. ii. c. vii. On similar impostures see Jortin's
Remarks on Eccles. Hist. vol. ii. p. 249. The reader cannot tail, we think, to ob-
serve many circumstances of similarity in the conduct _of Elxai and of JMahomet.
' Theodoret, Har.Fab. lib. ii. c. vii.
^ Epiph. Ha:r. xix. c. ii. Fire he considered as of an opposite nature to water.
Epiphanius introduces him as using the following strange expressions : Tlxva
Topivitrh f/,ri TTPOi TO I'loo; toZ vrvpog, on 'jrXavZtrh, ttXccvyi ya^ iim to toiovtov o^a;
yocp^ (pyiff])!^ avTO iyyvTCCTSo, xstt itTTiv aTo Toppoj^iv f/,y) "TopiuitrH '^oo; to sioo; OLVTOUy
Tootuiirh Ss f/,aXX»y i-jr) tydi ipwvjiv roZ u'SaTo;. (Ibid. c. ii.) His object seems to
have been to withdraw his disciples from sacrifices to the observance of purifica-
tions. But how can any system be framed from the disconnected fragments which
are left to us ?
9 Epiph. Hier. xix. c. i. M. J. Matter thus attempts to explain the theory of
Elxai : L'esprit, les anges de la priere, I'huile et le sel, appartiennent a un ordre de
choses spirituel, l'esprit ou le ptieuma est im don du plerome ; les anges mettent
I'homme en rapport avec le plerome, en y portant ses prieres ; I'huile et le sel sont
les emblemes de la communication du pneuma. Quant au genies du del, de I'eaii,
et de la terre, ils appartiennent a un tout autre ordre de choses : ce sont des
puissances cosmogouiques. (Hist. Crit. du Gnosticisme, torn. ii. p. 328, Paris,
1828.)
'0 Epiph. User. xix. c. i. " Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxviii.
'^ Hser. liii. c. i. ; Id. in Anac. c. vii.
122
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Eicesaitse. rity of Epiphanius in their favour, from a Hebrew word signifying the
sun.
The Gnostics may be divided into three schools ; that of Syria, that
of Asia Minor, and that of Egypt.' The chiefs of the Syrian school
were Saturninus and Bardesanes.
SYRIAN GNOSTICS.
Saturninus. SATURNINUS.
Saturninus, or Saturnilus, of Antioch, published his opinions in
Syria about the beginning of the second century, but appears not to
have acquired any considerable note.
System of According to his system, there is one Supreme Deity — the miknown
a urninus. f^^^j^gj. — -^yj^Q Created angels, archangels, principalities, and powers.
Seven angels formed the world and all which is therein.^ The Supreme
Deity descended in a visible shape to survey his work. The angels,
smitten with admiration of his luminous image,^ which had suddenly
vanished as they attempted to seize it, made it their model and created
man. But man, thus fashioned, was endued, at most, with mere
animal existence. He panted and crawled as the worm upon the
earth.* God, moved with compassion for his image, inspired it with
the spark of life — a reasonable soul ^ — which, on death, returns to the
heavenly source whence it emanated. Man arose and stood erect.
But the government of the world was left to the seven angels, one of
whom gave laws to the Jews, and was regarded as their God. All of
them attemped to establish their worship in preference to that of the
Supreme Deity, Satan, by which he perhaps meant the evil principle
* The Gnostics have been divided into JiuJaizing sects, Anti-Judaizing sects, and
Eclectic sects. The inconvenience of this division is pointed out by M. J. Matter
(Hist. Crit. du Gnosticisme, torn. i. p. 244).
^ The school of Saturninus maintained that the creation of the world is attri-
buted in Genesis to the Seven Angels under the plural Elohim, whereas the breath
of life is communicated to man by Jehovah Elohim. Many of their ideas are also
to be traced to Philo. D'apres Philon, ce qui distingue I'homme de I'animal, c'est
I'intelligence, 'jmuf/.a, et I'esprit, v«u; ; ce que I'homme a de commun avec I'animal,
c'est I'ame vitale, •v/'«/x>) ^cormh, ou le principe animant son organization corporelle,
■^v;(;h aXcyo;. Ce qui forme la nature de I'esprit, c'est le pneuma de Dieu. C'est
la ce que Dieu, Jehovah, a donne' a I'homme, en chargeant les puissances infe'rieures
de faire le reste. Philon espliquait, par cette circonstance, le pluriel employe' dans
la Genese, lorsqu'elle rapporte la resolution du Cre'ateur relativement a la forma-
tion de rhomme. (Matter, Hist, du Gnosticisme, torn i. p. 281.)
* Desursum a summa potestate lucida imagine apparente, &c. (Iren. Adv. Hares.
lib. 1. C. XXIV.) .... xara rity (/.o^ipiiv Ttj; avuhv vapa.x.v\}/airri; (pcovris .... (Epiph.
Hasr. xxiii. c. i.) Instead of (pavjj,-, it ought perhaps to be (fuTiivn; uk'ovcs. See
Dionys. Paetav. Animad. ad Epijihan. tom. ii. p. 40.
* Cum factus esset, et non potuisset erigi plasma propter imbecillitatem Angelo-
rum, sed quasi vermiculus scai'izaret, &c. (Iren. Adv. Hajr. lib. i. c. sxiv.) See
also Epiph. Haer. xxiii. c. i.
* Epiph. Hser. xxiii. c. i. See, however, Le Quien, Annot. in J. Damascen.
p. 81.
SATURNINUS. — BARDESANES. 123
which rules over matter, jenlous that any but himself should have Satuminus.
made animated bodies, and that God should have imparted to them a
virtuous soul, made another race of men, to whom he gave an evil soul.'
Hence the difference between the good and the bad among mankind.
God, displeased at the defection of the seven angels, and at the mixture
introduced by the evil principle, sent his Son Jesiis Christ as a Saviour
— unbegotten, incorporeal, and without figure, in appearance only in a
human shape — who, bringing men to the knowledge of the Father,
should destroy both the empire of the rebellious angels and the power
of the ruler of matter.
Such appears to have been, in the main, the theory of Saturninus. Consequence
Maintaining that one of the seven angels was the king of the Jews, he opinions."^^
rejected the Old Testament. Maintaining also the evil nature of matter,
he asserted that the body of Christ was not real, and he denied the
resurrection of the human body ; hence he recommended that the flesh
should be mortified in every man, and hence his disciples abstained
fi'om marriage and from animal food.^
BARDESANES. Bardesanes.
Bardesanes, a man highly celebrated for his eloquence, ingenuity,
and extensive learning,^ was a Syrian,^ born at Edessa, and flourished
in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Apollonius, a favourite of L. Veras, having attempted to draw him
by threats into a renunciation of the Christian faith, he replied, with
admirable firmness, that " he feared not death, from which he could
not escape, though he should comply with the emperor's desire." He
is said to have afterwards fallen into the Valentinian heresy, which he
subsequently recanted, but without being able entirely to disengage
himself from the false notions which he had once adopted.
The errors of Bardesanes arose chiefly from an attempt to explain System.
the origin of evil. Admitting a Supreme Being pure, happy, benefi-
cent, and wholly exempt from imperfection, he thought it absiu^d to
trace evil to his agency. He sought, therefore, a distinct cause, which
he considered to be Satan. To avoid the objection that this was
merely removing the difficulty one step, he described Satan not as the
a^eature but as the enemy of the Supreme Deity. Satan, however,
' Such is the theory which Mosheim, with more ingenuity than certainty, has
attempted to elicit from the perplexed account of Irenjeus. (De Reb. Christian.
p. 337.) It is extremely difficult to discover what were really the notions of
Saturninus on the creation of man and the origin of evil. Irena^us says that Satur-
ninus was the first who taught that thei-e are two kinds of men made by the angels,
one good and the other had ; the demons, he adds, assisted the worst.
^ The above account is chiefly drawn from Irenajus, Adv. Ha;res. lib. i. c. xxiv.,
Epiph. Ha;r. xxiii., and Theodoret, Ha;r. Fab. lib. i. c. iii.
^ Hier. de Vir. Illust. c. xxiii. Bai-desanes, cujus etiam philosophi admirantur
ingenium. Id. in Os. c. xii. &c.
* He is sometimes called Babylonian, whence it has been thought that there were
two persons named Bardesanes. See, however, Lardner's Credib. pait ii. c. xsviii.
sec. 12, and Matter, Hist, da Gnost. tom. i.
124 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY,
had no other divine attribute than that of self-existence ;' for Barde-
sanes did not consider that attribute as involving any other.* He had
no further part in the government of the world than as much as is
necessary for the solution of the existence of evil. In the system of
Bardesanes, the good ])rinciple is alone omnipotent, infinite, containing
all things, the Judge of the world. The evil principle is confined to
the earth ; for our Saviour declares, " I beheld Satan as iio-htnins; fall
from heaven ;" ^ his perverse nature is wholly insusceptible of amend-
ment.
The Supreme Being created the world ^ and its inhabitants. The
human soul, then formed, after His image, pure and innocent, was not
clothed with flesh, but with a subtile and ethereal body, conformable
to its nature ; an ancient opinion, which appears to have been of Jewish
origin. This soul, however, being afterwards seduced into transgression
of the Divine law by the artifices of the Prince of Darkness, was driven
from Paradise, and imprisoned in a gross and carnal body ; such, ac-
cording to Bardesanes, being the meaning of the " coats of skins"* with
which God clothed Adam and Eve after the fall, and such the " body
of this death "^ from which the apostle longed to be delivered.''
Thus was man degraded. CoiTuptions and disorders, the work of
the evil principle, were permitted to afflict the moral world. Hence
the internal conflict in the human breast between reason and passion.
On this theory, then, the union of the soul with the present body is
the cause of evil. The flesh is represented as being the sepulchre in
which the soul is buried. ^
In order to teach men how to subject this depraved body, of which
they are forced like captives to drag the chains through this period of
existence, came Christ, clothed not in gross flesh, the penalty of sin,
but in an ethereal frame, similar to that in which the angels, when
sent on missions by the Deity, had appeared on earth, and conversed
with man.'
^ ''Eyea to» Aid.[ioXov alroipvTi koyi^^ofiai, xai avToyivvriTov, are the expressions of the
Bardesanist in Orig. Dial. c. Marc. Yet he represents God as alone immortal.
Probably, therefore, Bardesanes thought that Satan was the production of matter,
which he regarded as eternal, and that he would perish on the dissolution of his
component particles. See Beaus. Hist, de Manich.
^ The Bardesanist (in Orig. Dial. c. Marc.) protests against the assertion that he
held more than one God. 3 st_ Luke, x. 18.
* It ought to be remarked, that in this respect Bardesanes differed from other
Gnostics.
* Genesis, iii. 21. Compare Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. p. 466, &c.
^ Epistle to the Romans, vii. 24.
^ Orig. Dial. c. Marc. s ibj^^
^ 'EyM (pji^), oTi MiTTi^ 01 ^ AyytX^i rev ' K^ooca.//, to(p^'/i(Tot.v, nat i(payov xa.) i'jfiov xai
afiiXmav, ourca xa) o X^iitto;. Words of the Bardesanist (Orig. Dial. e. Marc.)
In answer to the objection di'awn from St. John's Gospel (i. 14), "the Word was
made flesh," he pretends that flesh in that passage was used in the sense of body,
a-aifia xai ai^ to olIto Io-tL (Ibid.) Christ came into the world through the
Virgin ]\Iary, without having been formed in any respect of the substance of Mary,
Ata Ma^U; ccXX' ova ix Majj'ay. (Ibid.)
BARDESANES. 125
Abstinence, fasts, meditation — ^these enable us to break the bonds Bardesanes.
of the maleficent power, the passions, which enslave the soul — these,
therefore, he considered it as the duty of his followers to observe.
Such as attended to the preaching of Christ, would, after the disso-
lution of this " tenement of clay," rise to the seat of happiness, invested
with a certain subtile, celestial, and incorruptible body;' that body
which, according to the interpretation of the Bardesanists, St. Paul
calls " the temple of the Holy Ghost."*
In defence of this notion, they particularly insisted on the declara-
tion of the apostle, " that Hesli and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption."^
Bardesanes appears not to have rejected any part of Scripture,
though he admitted some apocryphal books.
It is hardly necessary to remark that the system of Bardesanes offers Remarks,
no solution of the great mystery which it was intended to remove.
The difficulty will always return. If the maleficent principle is beyond
God's control, God is not the Omni|)otent Ruler of the Universe ; if
he is under God's control, then God has pei'mitted the existence of
evil.
Again, the soul, according to this system, thougli created pure, was
seduced by the evil spirit. But the soul must have been by nature, at
least, susceptible of being seduced into sin. Why was it not created
without this susceptibility?
Besides, the hypothesis of Bardesanes is not merely unsatisfactory
with regard to imral evil, but not even applicable to the subject of
phi/sical evil.
In examining the opinions of those heretics, who supposed the body
of Christ not to have been real flesh, one important remark will
naturally suggest itself — the history of the crucifixion must have been
considered as resting on unquestionable evidence, otherwise it would
have been much easier to have denied the fact than to have attempted
the difficult task of explaining it away on the strange hypothesis of
false appearances, which fascinated the senses of the spectators.*
Besides writing treatises upon the persecution which the Christians Works,
in Syria experienced, Bardesanes composed many works in Syriac,
which were translated into Greek by some of his numerous disciples;
of these are particulai'ly mentioned one against Marcion and other
heresiarchs ; and another, an excellent ' Dialogue ' (said to have been
dedicated to the Em])eror Antoninus) ' on Destiny.' Fi'om this last
work Eusebius has cited* an elegant and learned fi-agment, in which
Bardesanes undertakes to prove that man is not conducted by instinct
and necessity, as the brute creation, but by reason and liberty. He
' Orig. Dial. c. Marc. He appealed to the expression of St. Paul (1 Corinth.
XV. 37), " Thou sowest not that body that shall be."
^ 1 Corinth, vi. 15. 3 Ibid. xv. 50.
•• See Pluquet, Diet, des Heres. art. Bardesane, and Bergier, Diet, de The'olog.
art. Bardesanistes. ^ Prsepar. Evangel, lib. vi. c. x.
126
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Bardesiuies. shows that although all men are of the same nature, yet there are
innumerable diversities of laws, religions, customs, and manners, some-
times in the very same country, and under the same climate; and he
considers this a circumstance as explicable only on the supposition of
freedom of choice. He observes, moreover, and it is an observation
which deserves to be attentively noted, that the Christians, though
dispersed in so many different parts, could by no means be induced to
deviate from their own peculiar laws and customs ; and chose to suffer
poverty, dangers, ignominy, and death itself, rather than to commit
what Christ had declared to be criminal. Of his ' Commentaries in
India' some fragments remain.' He also wrote a variety of ' Hjoiins,'
which, being rapidly difhised, contributed, doubtless, to lend very
powerful attractions to the errors which they conveyed. They were
superseded in the fourth century by the ' Hymns ' of Ephrem the
Syrian, composed in the same rhythm, and to the same tunes. These
last have thrown light on the opinions of Bardesanes, against whom
some of them were directed.
The best Recount of this heresy is contained in the ' Dialogue
against the Marcionites,' ascribed to Oria;en. For further information,
see Euseb. ' Hist. Eccl.' lib. iv., c. 30 ; Epiphan. ' Ha^r.' 56 ; Theo-
doret, ' Heer. Fab.' lib. i., c. 22 ; Augustin, ' Hcer.' 35 ; ' Chronic.
Edessen. ap.' Jos. Simon Asseman, ' Biblioth Orient.' torn, i., p. 389.
See also ' F. Strunzius,' ' Hist. Bardesanis et Bardesanistarum ;' and
particularly Beausobre, ' Hist, de Manich.' torn. ii. lib. iv. c. 9.
TATIAN (Encratit^)— SEVERUS (Severians).
Tatian. It may be here the most convenient place to notice the heresy of
Tatian and his followers. Tatian, surnamed from his native country
the Assyrian, after having acquired the learning of the Greeks, and
visited various countries, came to Rome ; in which city, being shocked
at the disgusting and cruel superstitions that prevailed,* he began to
feel that attachment for the Christian religion, which, on further
investigation, ripened into conviction. On the martyrdom of Saint
Justin,* whose acquaintance he had cultivated, and whose instructions
he had received, he returned to Syria, where he published the errors
which have caused his name to belong as much to the catalogue of
■atin c. heretics as of ecclesiastical writers. Some tinie prior to the adoption
rajcos. of these opinions, he composed a ' Discourse against the Gentiles,'
which alone of his numerous works is still extant. The scope of it is
to demonstrate that the Greeks were not the inventors of the sciences,
but had first received them from those who were styled barbarians,
and afterwards corrupted them, especially philosophy. In this treatise
he also defends the Christian religion, describing in attractive terms the
conduct of its followers. He discourses of the nature of God ; of the
' See Porphyr. de Abstin. lib. iv. &c.
2 Tat. Or. c. Grsec. 3 Ibid.
TATIAN. — SEVERUS. 127
Word ; of the resurrection of the body ; of freewill ; of the soul Tatian.
(which he regards as in itself mortal, though to be raised up with the
body) ; of devils ; the whole interwoven with sarcastic remarks on
the absurdities of paganism and the vices of philosophers. This
treatise is learned and eloquent, but not sufficiently finished, and not
methodically written. It is found annexed to the works of Justin, Edition,
edited by the Benedictines. A good separate edition, containing the
notes of W. Worth and other critics, was published at Oxford, 1700,
8vo.'
The spring of Tatian's heresy is said to have been vanity,* first Heresy.
excited by the celebrity of his master, afterwards left uncontrolled by
his death. The fame of his own pupils contributed to nourish his Alleged
ambition. The desire of being the founder of a sect occasioned his '^^'"'^^•
fall. Such are the causes recorded; but, ignorant as we are in a
great measure of the exact principles of the heretics, we are still more
ignorant of their latent motives. When we mention any it is rather
to state the opinion than to vouch for the knowledge and candour of
ancient reporters. If in the present instance we might indulge in
conjecture, we should be inclined to tliink that Tatian, fatigued and
harassed by the obscurity of philosophy ,"* had sought satisfaction in the
clearness of Christianity, but was soon startled by the difficulties which
occurred; thus dissatisfaction returned, and his notions, drawn from
the Gra^co-oriental philosophy, were again called into play. So diffi-
cult it is to repress the bent of nature, when confirmed by the force of
education ; so much easier it is partially to adopt new, than wholly to
eradicate old opinions.
Tatian is said to have formed the sect called Encratita?, or the Encratitie.
Continent, in the reign of M. Aurelius. He invented Jllnos and
Principalities.* He maintained that the Creator was but a subordinate
Deity,* whose words, " Let there be light," he represented not as a
command but as a prayer addressed to the Supreme God.^ To
difierent deities also he ascribed the law and the gospel.^ These
steps were made in order, it would appear, to defend the opinions
which distinguished his sect ; and these opinions doubtless originated
in the supposition that matter was the source of evil. Hence they
asserted that Christ had not a real, but only an apparent body ;" hence
they endeavoured by excessive rigour to mortify the flesh ; hence they
condemned marriage,^ appealing to the words of St. Paul, " He that
soweth to his flesh shall of his flesh reap corraption ;" hence, too,
they abstained from animal food."* They also avoided wine, and even
1 Respecting this work, see Le Clerc, Hist. Eccles. An. 172, sec. 1 ; Bull,
Deteiis. Fid. Nic. ; Bmcker, Hist. Crit. Philos. torn. iii. 378-396 ; Fabr. Biblioth.
(irsec. ed. Harles, torn. vii. p. 88.
2 Ireii. Adv. Hajr. lib. i. c. iii. ; Hier. de Vir. Illust. c. xxix.
•^ See his account of his conversion, Or. c. Grfec. ■* Epiph. Hser. xlvi.
* Clem. Alex. Excerpt ex libr. Hypotyp. ^ Orig. de Orat. lib. ii.
7 Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. * Hier. in (lal. p. 200.
^ Ireu. Adv. Hjer. lib, i. c. xxxi. '" Tiieod. Har. Fab. lib. i. c. .xx.
Works.
128 HKRETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Tii'ian. iit the Euclinrist used but water;' whence they are sometimes called
irydropanis- ' Hydropunistatu','* " otterers of water;" probably the same as the
tatir. ' Aquarii.'^ 'I'hey likewise denied the salvation of Adam,'' It was,
])robably, in defence of this system that Tatian wrote some of his lost
works. He compiled a gospel, or rather a kind of harmony, formed
out of passages taken from the Four* Evangelists ; that is, it may be
suj)posed, ])assages were selected or omitted, according as they coin-
Tatian's cided with or differed from his peculiar views. Thus he expunged
Diatfs.saron. ^j^g genpalogy of Cluist (a point in which it was similar to the gospel
of the Hebrews," with which it has been confounded), and retrenched
all that related to His human nature, and His descent from David —
facts, the knowledge of which would alone enable us to determine that
the ' Harmony,' still remainmg, and sometimes ascribed to Tatian, but
in which Christ is often called " the Son of David," is, in many
respects, at least, a diflerent work ; and, probably, by a different
author.'' Theodoret informs us, that he met with above 200 copies
of this ' Harjuony,' whicli were used, as compendious works, by
otiuT unsuspecting Christians. Tatian also wrote a book of j)roblems, or
(juestions, on the most obscure parts of Scripture, which questions his
pupil, Rliodon, intended to resolve." Besides these works, he com-
posed a treatise resjjecting animals,' another against those who reject
divine things, and another ' On Perfection according to the Saviour.'
He also undertook to put the ' Epistles ' of St. Paul into more elegant
language."* His sect was widely spread.
The Encratita? are sometimes called from their master ' Tatians,' or
' Tatianists ;'" though it would appear that the former were a branch
of the sect which had carried to greater heights the doctrines of the
latter.'^
The Encratita^ used the ' Acts ' of St. Andrew, of St. John, of
St. Thomas, the 'Gosi)er of the Egyptians, and other apocryphal
writings. They also used some of the books of the Old Testament.'"
Origen''' asserts that they discarded the 'Epistles' of St. Paul, but
' Epiph. Ilicr. xlvi. * Theod. Pl.^r. Fab. lib. i. c. xx.
8 Made a diU'erent heresy by Augustine (Ilivr. Ixiv.) and Pliilast. (Ha;r. Ixxvii.)
This practice had been followed by some Catholics in persecution, see Cyprian,
Ep. 63. ; Tillem. Mem. tom. ii. part ii. art. Les Encratites. On the ancient preju-
dice in the east against wine, see F. E. Jablonsky, I'antli. iEgyptor. parti, p. 131 ;
Mosh. de Reb. Christ, p. 399.
•" Theod. Hajr. Fab. lib. i. c. xx.
» This is a strong proof, as Lardner has observed, that there were four, and but
four gospels, which were in esteem with Christians. (Credib. part ii. c. xiii.)
8 I)u Pin, Biblioth. art. Tatian.
7 On tliis subject see Mill. Prolcg. in Nov. Test. p. 353 ; F. Wctstoin, Proleg.
in Nov. Test. p. 05 ; Vales, Not. ad Euseb. lib. iv. c. xxix. ; and Lardner's Credib.
&c. part ii. c. xxxvi. Asseman says that Tatian's Diatessaron is in the Vatican
library, in the Arabic language. (Bib. Or. tom. i. p. 619.)
" Enseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii.
9 Tat. Or. c. Gra'c. '" Euseb. flist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xxix.
•' Aug. Hur. XXV. &c. ''■' Epijih. Hasr. xlvii.
>3 Ibid. '■• la Cels. lib. v. p. 274.
TATiAX. — si;viaius. 129
Eusebius' ascrilios this moasun,' only to tlio ' Sevoriaiis,' so called from Sevprus.
Sevems, who coiisid('ra1)ly (ixteiided the heresy of Tatiuii.
8ov<'rus coiifoived that the existence and intennixtiire of <j;f)od and System of
evil in the world showed it to he suljjected to opposite; ijrinciples ; *J'^ .
some beiiefieent, and others mischievous ; subordinate, however, to the
Supreme Bein<r. These princi])les, by a kind of compact, had distri-
buted on earth an e<|ual proportion of blessings and evils. Man,
presenting an union of virtues and vices, was Ibrmed by tlie joint
eflbrts of good and evil spirits. His duty, therefore, was to distinguish
what he had received from those respective powers. Now every man
was made up of two great properties, sensibility and reason. Sensi-
bility ])roduces the passions which engender misery ; l)ut reason gives
))irth to such ])leasures only as i)romot(; tran(|uillity. Severus, there-
fore, inferred that the former was the gift of noxious, the latter of
beneficent pf)wers. As a consef|uence he regarded the seat of reason
as the work of benefici'iit, and the seat of the passions as the work of
maleficent Iteings ; from the head to the navel was ibrmed by the
former, and from the navel downwards by the latter. Man, thus
formed of two contrary ])arts, was placed upon the earth ; round him
tlu! gcjod beings had placed such aliments as serve to support the body
without exciting the passions; while the evil beings iiad placed all
that extinguishes reason and iniiuences ])assion. As the miseries
of man have been chii^ily caused by drunkenness and lust, Severus
concluded that wine and women were the productions of the evil
principle.^
The Severians rejected the; ' Acts of the Apostles.' They seem to
have retained tlie law, tlu; prophets, and the gospel, but to have
interpreted them in a jjeculiar manner." Probably as a necessarv
conclusion to their opinion respecting the (!vil natun- of matter, thev
deni<;d the resurrection of the body, which the Encratit* admitted.
Apparently another, tliough later branch of the Encratita;, were the Apoiactici.
' Apotactici,' or ' Renouncers ;' so called because, besides following
the <;pinions of Tatian nispecting marriage and other subjects, they
renoiuic(;d all property, considering such as possessed anything, tcjgetlier
with such as lived in the marriage state, as being incapable of salva-
tion. Epiphanius argues very justly against them, n(jt for giving up
th(jir jjroperty if they were so disposed, but for condemning all others
that did not follow the same line of conduct.* They termed tliera-
selves ' Apostolical,'* concluding that by this austerity they imitated
' Euseb. Hist. Ecclos. lib. iv. c. xxix.
^ For this development of his opinion see I'luquct, Diet, des He're'sie.s, ait.
Sevfcre.
* 'I'he Severians must not bo confounded with the followers of Severus, patrianli
of Antiocli, who, in the sixtji century, formed a party among the Eutychians.
lierj^ier, Diet, 'riie'ol. ait. .Severe.
'' See his comparison between the conduct of these heretics and of those persons
in the church who renounced th«ir goods or forbore frou) marriage. (Ha>r. p. 61.)
* Apostolici, qui se isto nomine arrogantissiuiii vocaverunt, eo quod in suam
[C. II.J K
130
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
the apostles. They also appear to have been called ' Saccophori,' or
Sack-bearers.
Respecting Tatian's heresy, see Clem. Alex. ' Strom.' lib. iii. p. 460,
and 'Excerpta ex. Philos. Orient.' p. 806 ; Epiphan. ' Hger.' 46, c. 1 ;
Orig. ' de Oratione,' c. 13 ; Hieron. ' Comm. in Galat.' ch. vi. See
also Le Clerc, ' Hist. Ecc. An.' 173 ; and the dissertations affixed to
Worth's edition of Tatian.
Gnostic
Scliool of
Asia Minor.
Cerdo.
GNOSTICS OF ASIA MINOR.
MARCIONITES.
Cerdo — Marcion — Lucian — Apelles.
CERDO AND MARCION.
The next school of Gnostics (if the word be taken in its widest sense)
may be called that of Italy, or Asia Minor ; not because it was con-
fined to those countries, for it was widely spread, but because it had
its rise there.'
It was distinguished from the other Gnostic sects by its marked
opposition to Judaism, by its rigorous ascetical discipline, and by its
pretended claim to possess alone, in consequence of superior critical
knowledge, the genuine Scriptures. Its chiefs were Cerdo and
Marcion.^
,Cerdo,came from Syria to Rome in the time of Antoninus Pius,
about the year 141.* Our accounts of his opinions are meagre and
inconsistent.* According to Epiphanius,* he held two opposite prin-
ciples ; one good and unknown, God, the Father of Jesus ; the other
evil and known, the Creator, who spake in the law, and appeared to
the prophets. According to the more ancient authority of Irenjeus,^
though he made a distinction between the God declared in the law
and the prophets, and the God who was Father of Jesus Christ, he
called the former ' Just,' the latter ' Good.' Theodoref develops this
view by giving Cerdo's illustration. The Creator, who was also the
author of the Mosaic law, is ' Just,' for He requires that " an eye
should be given for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth;" but the God
proclaimed in the gospels is ' Good,' for he commands, " Whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also," and
if any man " take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak alscj." The
communionem non reciperent utentes eonjugibus et res proprias possidentes : quales
habet catholica et monachos et clericos plurimos. Sed ideo isti ha;retioi sunt,
quoniam se ab ecclesial separantes, nullam spem putant eos habere, qui utuntur his
rebus, quibus ipsi carent, &c. (Aug. User, xl.)
' Matter, Hist, du Gnostic, torn. i. p. 334.
2 Ibid.
^ Iren. Adv. Hser. lib. i. c. xxviii. ; Euseh. Chron. p. 168 ; Philast. Hscr. xliv. &c,
■* Aug. de Hser. c. xxi. ^ Haer. xli. c. i.
'^ Adv. Hair. lib. i. c. xxvii. ' Hair. Fab. lib. i. c. xxiv.
MARCION. 131
former, he contended, directs us to love a friend, and hate an enemy ; cenio.
but the latter teaches us to love even our enemies.'
In consequence of this view he despised the authority of the Old
Testament,* and maintained that the object of Christ's mission from
the unknown Father was to overthrow the empire of the Creator of
the world.^
But as he, doubtless, looked upon matter as evil, he would not
allow the truth of the birth, and the reality of the passion of Christ.
He supposed that He had assumed the mere phantom of a human
form, and had suffered only in appearance.* He was also led in con-
sequence to deny the resurrection of the body.®
These errors Cerdo recanted, and afterwards taught again," The
result was his ejection, or perhaps previous secession,' fi-om the
Church, The system of Cerdo was embraced and am])lified, more
boldly maintained and more successfully taught by his disciple Mar- Marcion.
cion, a native of Sinope,* in Pontus, who flourished in the reign of Life.
Antoninus Pius.^
Epiphanius traces his alienation from the true faith to an act ofimproba-
incontinence, in consequence of which he was not only excluded from wi'tyfthe
the communion of the Church by his father, the bishop of Sinope, feuL°
notwithstanding his professions of repentance, but also by the elders ^^P'Pha"'"^.
of the church of Rome, to the bishopric of which his ambitious views
had been directed.'" Beausobre" has shown, with his usual acuteness,
the incredibility of a story, on which the ancient authors, who pro-
fessedly wi-ote against Marcion, have been wholly silent, though the
tenour of their argmnent, falling in with their indignation and ani-
mosity, would frequently have led them to allude to such a circum-
stance, if currently reported in their time. His subsequent conduct,
at least, ajipears not to have exposed him to any accusation of immo-
rality.
Tertullian relates that Marcion, regretting the errors which had Tertuiiian-s
. account of
' It was justly observed that Cerdo had not attended to the precept of the law, Iiis
" If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it recantation,
back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his
burden, and thou wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely helpwith him."
(Exod. xxiii. 4.) Nor had Cerdo weighed the expressions of the Gospel, which
show its author to be just : " With whatever measure ye mete, it shall be measured
to you again." (Matt. vii. 2; Luke, vi, 28.) Theod. User. Fab. lib. i. c, xsiv,
■■^ Epiph. Ecn: xli. &c. a jbij,
* Epiph. Ha?r. xli. &c. ; Philast. Hrer. xliv,
* Epiph. Ha-r. xli, &c, 6 ij.g^^ j^^^^^ jjjpj._ ];][, jjj^ g_ j^._ p_ j-^^
' Vales, Ann. in Euseb, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. ii. ; Lardner, Hist, of Heretics,
book ii. c. ix.
^ It is apparently owing to the situation and pursuit of his native city that he is
called a sailor by Khodon (ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib, v. c, xiii.), and frequently
by Tertullian (Adv. Marc, lib, iii, c. vi. &c.)
9 Tertull. Adv. JMarc. lib. v. c. six. &c. On the time in which Marcion lived,
see Lardner, Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. x. sec. 2.
'_" Hasr. xlii, c, i. This story is also found in the Catalogue of Heresies, added
to Tertull. de Prescript.. " Histoire de Manich. torn, ii. p. 77.
K 2
132
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
M;ution. Occasioned his repeated ejections from the Churchy applied_for read-
mission, and that his appHcation was granted, provided he could bring
■^back to the Catholic faith those persons whom he had drawn into
heresy. ' To this condition he assented, but death prevented him from
fulfilling it.' There is great reason to suppose that Tertullian has here
confounded Marcion with Cerdo.^
Marcion is described as a man fond of innovations,^ of an ardent
temperament, and of considerable acquirements.*
umeroHs It is Certain that his followers were very numerous.* They are
iiioHeri. represented by Justin Martyr as being of all ranks, and in divers
places.® The variety of works written against him suificiently evince
the fact.^ About a thousand Marcionites were converted by Theodoret
in his diocese.® These followers are said to have held their founder
in high veneration. Many of them, however, differed from him on
several points,^ and divided themselves into many parties,'" a circum-
stance which is not peculiar to this heresy, and which, by not being
sufficiently considered, has proved a source of much confusion in the
historv of religious sects,
/stem of I* is difficult to recoucile the accounts" of the opinions of Marcion,
arcioii. which have been transmitted to us. The following, however, appears,
we think, to ha\e been something like his system.
Familiar with the Stoical doctrines,'* he admitted two eternal prin-
ciples, God the Father, and matter. From God the Father, who was
' De Prrecept. Hjer. c. xxx. * Tillem. Mem. torn. ii. p. 195, &c.
3 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iv, * Hieroii. in Os. c. s.
s See Lai'duer, Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. x. sec. 9.
I Apol. i. pp. 70, 92.
^ Among others, Justin Martyr, Dionysius of Corinth, Theophilus of Antioch,
Philip of Gortyna, Modestus, Melito, Apollinaris, &c.
8 Ep. 113, tom. iii. » Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iii. c. ii.
'" Rhodon, ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii.
" Theodoret (Ha;r. Fab. lib. i. c. xxiv.) says Marcion held four principles ;
Epiphanius (Hrer. xlii. c. iii.) that he held three ; so also Cyril of Jerusalem (Cat,
xvi. c. vii.), and the Dialogue against tlie Marcionites, ascribed to Origen. Augus-
tine, expressly contradicting Epij)hanius, says he held only two (De Hrer. c. xxii.)
According to Rhodon, in Eusebius, it vi^as one Synerus who introduced the doctrine
of three principles and three natures (Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii.) Some of these
contradictory statements arose, perhaps, from confounding the different branches of
the IMarcionite heresy ; they may, however, be also attributed, as Beausobre has
shown, to the ambiguous meaning of a^%i^, or principle, which was sometimes
taken in its philosophical sense, sometimes in its political : in the former signifying
a self-existent and eternal being, causing the existence of others (a^x^' ^^ kiyofitv
S<a TovTo, 'on ot/x. \<tt) ti Tr^wri^ov, £| ou yivvarai, Plut. de Plac. Phil. c. ii. p 87o) ;
in the latter, a being who has power and authority over l,he subjects whom he
rules. When, therefore, the Marcionite asserted that he admitted but two prin-
ciples, he meant in a philosophical sense ; i. e. there were but two self-existent
beings, causing the existence of others, God and Matter ; when he asserted that
there were three principles, he used the word in its political sense ; i. e. there were
three beings who had power and command, God, the Creator, and Satan. God
having power over the Christians, the Creator over the Jews, the Evil One over
the Pagans. (Hist, de Manich. tom. ii. p. 89.)
^'2 Tertull. de Prescript, c. vii.
MARCION. 133
essentialh' good, came the Creator, or Demiurge, whom, in conformity Marcion
to the notions of Cerdo, he termed Just, or Severe.' From matter,
which was essentially evil, came Satan. The good principle governs
the Christians ; the Demiurgic principle the Jews ; the evil principle
the Heathens.*
Marcion is often represented as having admitted the existence of whether he
two Gods.* The lax use of the title God, doubtless, led to this con- ^'imitted
cuision ; but it is clear that he did not admit the existence oi two
equal and independent beings, having each of them the nature and
perfections of the Deitv. The good principle, the Marcionites main-
tained, was infinitely the most powerful ; and Satan, to whom, in
imitation of Scriptural expression, they sometimes gave the name of
God, was considered by them as an angel.* The Supreme Deitv —
the Father of pure and infinite goodness, inaccessible, invisible," the
maker of spiritual and happy beings — created the immaterial and
unseen world, far greater and better than this lower and visible world,
of which the author (operating on matter pre-existent, which is in its
nature evil)^ was the Creator, the God of the Jews,^ spoken of bv the
Prophets, and represented as a sanguinary Judge."
It is necessary to ascertain what was their distinction between
good, just, or severe, and evil. The division of mankind^ by Barde-
sanes'" will illustrate and explain it. Some men, like scorpions and Explanation
adders, hurt without provocation ; others are satisfied with doing evil ^f^tynction
to those who do evil to them ; others, lastly, are gentle as lambs, and into good,
render not evil for evil: of these, the first are called wicked, the'g"^i'/'"
second just, or rather rigorous, the last good. By the evil one,
tlierefore, was meant he who does evil, even to the guiltless ; by the
just, he whose treatment of men is measui'ed by their mere deserts,
whose penalties are consequently confined to the guiltv ; by the good
one, he who does evil to no one, neither to the guilty nor to to the guilt-
less (goodness being employed in the sense of mildness and benefi-
cence), in defence of which he urged the text, as he read it, "There is
but one good, namely, God the Father." In this scheme, the Supreme
Deity resembled the gods of Epicurus, and most philosophers,'' neither
' He is often, however, said to have looked upon the Demiurge as an evil god.
See Tertull. Adv. Marc. ^ Orig. Dial. adv. Marcion, sec. 1.
^ Iren. lib. iii. c. xxv. &c. When the Orthodox, in the Dialogue ascribed to
Origen, asks the Marcionite if his three principles were equal in power, he answers,
|K';7 ytvoiTo, oiiK s'ltriv "(rot.
•* Lardner, Hist, of Heretics, bool: i. sec. 9 ; book ii. c. x. sec. 10.
5 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. vi. ^ Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii.
' Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xv. ; Hier. Com. in Is. c. xliv. &c.
^ Hier. Com. in Is. c. viii.
' Pointed out by Beausobre, Hist, de Manicli. torn. ii. p. 91.
'" Ap. Euseb. Prrep. Evang. lib. vi. c. x.
'^ Hoc commune est omnium philosophorum, non eorum modo, qui Deum nihil
habere ipsum negotii dicunt, et nihil exhibere alteri ; sed eorum etiam, qui Deum
semper agere aliquid et moliri volnnt, — nunquam nee irasci Deum neo nocere.
(Cic. de Offic. lib. iii.) See Warburton, Div. Leg. book iii. sec. 4.
134 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
suffering nor, in any case, inflicting pain or trouble, insusceptible alike
of oftence and anger/
Marcion was drawn to the adoption of these notions chiefly by an
anxiety — the great cause of most of the early philosophical heresies —
to reconcile the origin of eviP with the attributes of the Deity. He
thought it inconsistent with perfect benevolence to create a world of
sin and misery like the present; he perceived not that his own system
was exposed to the objection, that it was equally inconsistent with
perfect benevolence not to have prevented the Creator, a being of
imperfect power, from making this world, or not to have guarded
against the evil results of the creation.
He also regarded the formation of all minute parts of the universe
as a task unbecoming^ the Supreme Deity; a very shallow, but not
unusual, method of reasoning.
Marcion maintained that Jesus was the son of the good Deity, who
came to reveal the existence of his Father,* and to deliver man from
the empire of the Demiurge,* and, doubtless, of Satan, if, as it would
appear, Marcion really separated these two principles. But, as he
considered matter to be evil, and the body to be the work of the
Demiurge,® he asserted'' that Christ was not born at all, that He did
not grow up from infancy and early youth, but descended at once in
full manhood," clothed however, not in a real, but in an apparent
bodv.* In support of the assertion that the Saviour's body was but a
phantasm, he urged that, in the Old Testament, angels had conversed
and eaten with men, being only apparently clothed with human
bodies ;'" he referred to the ])assage in the ' Epistle ' of St. Paul to the
' Philippians,'" in which it is said, that " Christ, being in the form of
God, emptied Himself, and took the form of a servant," that is, as
Marcion pretended, not the reality, " and was made in the likeness of
man," that is, in the outward shape or resemblance of man, " and
found in fashion as a man," that is, not in substance or flesh .^^
It was also in consequence of these opinions that he denied the
' TertuU. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. ssv.
2 On this subject see Bayle, Diet. Hist. art. Marcionites. The orthodox, as
that iiigenions disputant has sliown, have not solved the difficulty respecting the
orioin of evil. The failure is not peculiar to them, but to all who have treated a
subject beyond the compass of the human intellect.
3 Narem contrahentes impudentissimi Marcionitse convertuntur ad destructionem
operum creatoris : mmirum, inquiunt, grande opus et dignum Deo mundus.
(Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i, c. xiii.) Animalia irrides minutiora, quae maximus
artifex de industriEi ingeniis aut viribus ampliavit. (Ibid. c. xiv.)
■* Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xv. * Ibid. c. xvi.
6 Iren. Adv. Hser. lib. i c. xxvii. ^ Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iv, c. six.
8 Tertull. Adv. Marc. c. vii. 21 ; De Carne Christi. c. i. &c,
9 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xi. xxii. &c.
>9 Ibid. lib. iii. c. ix. " Ch. ii. 6-8.
12 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iii. c. xi. Tertullian shows the consequences which
result from supposing the body of Christ to be merely illusory. He also, very
justly, quotes St. Luke, xxiv. 38, 39. See Marcion's way of evading this proof
(Adv. Marc. lib. iv. c. xliii.)
MARCION. 1 35
resuiTection of our present material' body.® He allowed, however,
the truth of a future judgment, l)ut the Demiurge was to be judge or
punisher.^ Rejected by the Supreme God, the wicked would be
seized by the fire of the Demim-ge ;* the souls of the yirtuous, on the
other hand, would partake of eternal happiness in the presence of the
Benevolent Being and of Christ.* —
According to Iren^us, Marcion also taught, that Cain, and others
like him, the people of Sodom, and the Egyptians, and all the nations
in general, notwithstanding the immorality of their lives, were saved
by the Lord, when he descended into the lower regions ; for they
came to Him, and he took them up into His kingdom ; but that Abel,
Enoch, and Noah, and the patriarchs, and all the prophets, and other
men who had pleased God, had not obtained salvation ; for, as they
knew that their God always tempted, and as they suspected he was
then tempting them, they did not come to Jesus, nor believe in His
annunciation, therefore their souls remained in the lower regions.*
Epiphanius, also, mentions that, in the opinion of Marcion, the Lord
descended into the lower regions, and saved Cain, Corah, Dathan,
Abiram, and Esau, and all the nations who worshipped not the God
of the Jews ; but left there Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moses, David, and Solomon.'^ This singular doctrine is re-
]ieated by Theodoret,* and is alluded to by TertuUian f no doubt,
tlierefore, of his having held it, or, at least, some very similar notion,
can reasonably be entertained. The following appears to be the most
plausible explanation : it was commonly supposed that Christ, in
order that the dead might be enabled to obtain salvation through faith
in His name, as well as the living, had descended into Hades, and
preached there : now Hades comprehended not merely the seat of
torment for souls, but also the place of rest, the bosom of Abraham ;
in this last, Christ found the just men mentioned in the Old Testa-
ment ; to them He announced the Supreme Deity hitherto unknown ;
but having been w^arned in the Scriptures to avoid such prophets as
preached another God, even if they wrought signs or w^onders, which
came to pass, because Jehovah thus proved their fidehty,"* they sus-
pected that the Demiurge designed to try them, and rejected Christ.
The Lord, therefore passed to Tartarus, and preached to the wicked
who were suffering punishment, and they embraced the offer of mercy,
and were saved.'^
' See Orig. Dial. c. Marc. sec. 5.
* TertuU. Adv. l^Iarc. lib. i. c. xxiv. ; Epiph. Haer. xlii. &c.
^ Orig. Dial. c. Marc. sec. 3, &c. * Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xxvii.
* Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iii. c. xxiv. ; lib. iv. c. xxxiv. Epiphanius was pro-
bably mistaken in asserting (Hser. xlii.) that Marcion admitted the transmigration
of souls. See Lardner, Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. x. sec. 17.
* Iren. Adv. Haer. lib. i. c. xxvii.
^ Hser. xlii. c. iv. 8 Hser. Fab. lib. i. c. xxiv.
^ Adv. Marc, lib. iii. c. xxiv. '" Deut. xiii. 3.
" This is the explanation of Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. torn. ii. p. 3.
136
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Marcion. Though Marcion admitted that Jesus was Chrigt, the Son of the
wo good God,' he would not allow that He was the Christ, or Messiah,
hunts. foretold by the prophets, and Son of the Demiurge.^ This last was,
according to his account, a Saviour promised to the Jewish nation,
J and yet to come, in order to free them from their enemies.^ The
latter was designed to restore the state of the dispersed Jews, the
former to deliver the whole human race. He denied that the descrip-
tions given of Christ in the Old Testament corresponded with the
accounts of him in the New.* He contended that these prophecies
were not necessary in order to establish the mission, the truth of
which was sufficiently proved by the manifestation of His power in
miracles f the reality of which miracles, therefore (though it may be
thought their evidence would be weakened, if not destroyed, by his
previous suppositions)'' this heresiarch must have allowed.''
Marcion appears to have admitted, in the main," the Gospel accoimt
of the death and resurrection of Christ (though, consistently with his
notion, he could surely not have granted the reality of His sufferings)."
He ascribed his crucifixion to the powers subject to the Demiurge,
who had jealously observed that the Good Being was destroying the
law.*'* The Creator was not aware that the death, or the apparent
death, of Christ (for a piire spirit could not sutler death), would pro-
cure the salvation of mankind," i, e., their deliverance from the ancient
law, and their adoption as children of the Perfect Father, and heirs of
eternal life.
Thus, then, Marcion endeavoured to trace the difference between
the Deity, all-powerful and perfectly good, and the Demiurge, just in
his intentions, but weak and imperfect; and also between the Christ
of the former and the Christ of the latter ; consequently, between the
doctrine of the former, and the doctrine of the latter ; and conse-
quently, also, between the conduct in the lower regions of those who
admitted the one, and that of those who admitted the other.'^
Marcion seems to have diflered from the Gnostics of his age in not
professing to be acquainted with secret traditions, under the cover of
which he could neglect and despise received notions ; he confined him-
self to the Scriptures ; but then he ]3retended to be able to discern
parts genuine and parts corrupted and parts spurious, in these Scrip-
tures. He corrected what he conceived to have been altered with as
' Athan. cont. Sabell. torn. ii. p. 42. * Ibid.
3 Teitull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. sv. ; lib. iii. c. vi. xx. ; lib. iv. c. vi. See also
Orig. Dial. c. Marc. sec. 1. ' Tertull. Adv. Marc.
* Ibid. lib. iii. c. iii. * Ibid. lib. iii. c. viii.
^ Orig. Dial. c. Marc. sec. 1. Compare Lardner, Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. x.
sec. 22, and Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 4y2, note.
^ He retrenched the fact of the garments of Jesus being divided, because foretold
by the Psalmist. (Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iv. c. xlii.)
^ Tertull. De Carne Christi, c. v. ; Adv. Marc. lib. iii. o. viii.
1" Tertull. De Carne Christi, lib. iii. c. v. ; Orig. Dial. c. Mnrc, sec. 2.
" Orig. Dial, c. Marc. sec. 2, '^ See flatter. Hist, du Gnost. torn. i. p. 389.
MARCION. 137
much boldness and presumption as he rejected what he imagined to Marcion.
have been interpolated. His system, ushered forth at a time when
the Church was exposed to the attacks of the Pagan philosophers, of
the Jews, and of the numerous sects of heretics, was peculiarly dan-
gerous,' inasmuch as it tended to shake and confound the very founda-
tions on which the weight of Christian evidences must rest. Entire
fabrications were, perhaps, less to be dreaded than such attempts,
because less specious and less likely to entangle the inexperienced
examiner. Marcion, doubtless, availed himself of the circumstance,
that a great variety of forged works, tales and legends, Gospels and
Acts, were circulated in all quarters, in order to give an appearance of
plausibility to his efforts. He observed, that in the time of St. Paul*
false apostles had endeavoured to corrupt evangelical truths, and con-
necting this remark with supposed conti-adictions in the sacred volume,
he very rashly concluded that, even in the earliest time, the contents
of the New Testament had suffered from flilsification. A slight view
of the chief alterations which he made will be sufficient to give an
idea of the extent to which he carried his critical reform. Marcion
wholly rejected the Old Testament,'' as proceeding from the Demiurge,
whose law it was, in his opinion, the object of Christ's mission to
destroy."* To attempt to unite the Old with the New Testament,
according to his interpretation, was to put " new wine into old bot-
tles," and "a piece of a new garment upon an old."* He wrote a
work called ' Antitheses,' ^ in which he opposed passages of the Old
and New Testament, with a view of showing, from the disagreement
of the law and Gospel, that the same God could not be the author of
both. For instance, he contrasted (without considering that the
scheme of revelation, gradually developed, was adapted to the different
capacities and situations of man under the old and under the new dis-
])ensations) the lex talioms, in the Old Testament, with the forgiveness
of injuries in the New ; the interference of Moses in a quarrel between
the two Israelites, with the non-interference of Christ 1 letween the two
brethren, on the subject of a division of their inheritance ; the Mosaic
permission of divorce, with the Christian prohibition of it, except in
cases of adultery,' He considered the Deluge as a proof of mutabilit)^
and consequent imperfection, in the God of the Old Testament : as if
tlie vicissitudes of human affairs necessarily implied a change in the
Divine nature." He objected, too, that God was repi'esented as re- objections,
penting ; without oljserving that it is the poverty of language, and the "
limited nature of our faculties, which induce the necessity both of
describing things spiritual by metaphors drawn from things sensible,
and of speaking of the effects of the divine operations in modes of
expression which are strictly applicable onlv to the workings of human
' flatter, Hist, du Gnost. torn. i. p. 351. ^ Galat. ii. 4.
^ Orig. Dial. c. Marc. sec. 2. * Ibid. sec. 1.
* Vid. Epiph. Hffir. p. 2o3. "^ TevtuU. Adv. Marc. lib. iv. c. i.
7 Tertull. Adv. Marc, and Oris;. Dial. c. Marc. » Ibid.
138
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
!Marcion .
Tertull. Adi.
Marcionem.
Pe Cariie
Christi.
De Kesur-
rectione
('amis.
Dialog, de
Recta Fide.
Marcion's
Gnspel.
feeliugs and passions. He urged as objections the ceremonies of the
Mosaic law, the institution of sacrifices, the distinction of meats, and
the command given to the IsraeHtes to plunder the Egyptians, and
other points. These objections were refuted by Tertullian, who wrote
five books against this heresiarch. In the first, he shows the ab-
sui'dity of supposing that the Supreme Deity is diflerent from the
Creator ; in the second, he exposes the weakness of the arguments by
which this absurdity was defended; in the third, he proves that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, who was the Creator and the Author of the
Jewish dispensation : he then reconciles the supposed contradiction
between the Old and the New Testament, showing, in the fourth
Book, that St. Luke's Gospel, and also in the fifth, that St. Paul's
Epistles, are in harmony with the Jewish Scriptiu'es. In his work on
the ' Flesh of Christ,' he proves against Marcion and other heretics,
that Christ took real and human flesh ; and in his tract on the ' Resur-
rection of the Flesh,' he refutes those persons who denied that the
body would rise again.^ We have also a very curious refutation of
the doctrine of Marcion, in the ' Dialogus contra Marcionitas, sive de
Recta in Deum fide,'* ascribed, though wrongly, to Origen, To con-
firm his doctrine, Marcion expunged from the New Testament all
quotations from the Old Testament, and all passages that referred to
the law or prophets.
Marcion compiled a Gospel,^ chiefly from St. Luke (though without
calling it by his name), whom he appears to have selected, because
that Evangelist had been the companion of St, Paul, the great opposer
of tlie Judaizing Christians. This preference for St. Luke has also
l:)een explained by the circumstance that his Gospel contained not the
account of the man-iage at Cana, and of some parables, not corre-
eponding with Marcion's aversion to all pleasures and enjovments.*
This reason appears to be insufficient, as Marcion would doubtless
have expunged these passages with as much temerity as he rejected
the genealog}' and baptism of Christ, and the history of the tempta-
tion,* fi'om the Gospel, which he is said to have received in the main.
It is not easy to account for his rejection of a Gospel so deeply revered
in Asia Minor as that of St. John, with whose disciples he was
acquainted.® On this subject we are unwilling to hazard conjectures.
If the ancients have shown prejudice in avoiding to give us minute
' See Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, from p. 474 to 505.
* It was published in 1673, in 4to, with notes by J. R. Wetstein, who considers
it as the work of Origen. See, however, Kivet, Crit. Sacr. lib. ii. xiii. ; Beaus.
Hist, de Man. torn. ii. p. 84.
3 Iren. Adv. Hser. lib. i. c. xxvii. &c. Marcion omitted the two first chapters
of St. Luke. * Matter, Hist, du Gnost. tom. i. p. 334.
^ The Gospel of Marcion (which some deny to have been grounded on St. Luke)
has exercised the pens of Semler, Lseffler, Corodi, Eichhorn, Schmidt, Storr, Paulus,
Hug, Ameth, Schiitz, Gratz, Neander, Hahn, and Olshausen. (Matt. Hist, du
Gnost. p. 357 ; Fabr. Biblioth. Grsec. ed. Harl. tom. vii. p. 180, note.) See also,
particularly, Simon's Hist. Crit. du Nouv. Test, and Marsh's Michaelis, vol. iii.
* Matter, Hist, du Gnost. tom. i. p. 334.
BiArxiox. 139
information respecting the modes of reasoning by which Marcion was Marcion.
led to pretend that certain passages were spurious, far greater prejudice
has in modern times been evinced by the assertion that the Marcionites
were " enhghtened sceptics," who present the " first specimen of
BibHcal criticism." ' To have learned exactly the successive steps by
which Marcion arrived at these false conclusions would have furnished
us with additional instances of the mistakes to which unsound prin-
ciples of criticism and logic infallibly lead; but, as far as we can now
discover, it seems most just to conclude that, with the exception of
slight variations in consequence of diiierent readings, sometimes, per-
haps, caprice, and sometimes, perhaps, the adoption of false rules of
interpretation and reasoning,^ but far more often the desire of removing
obstacles to an assumed hypothesis, were, in this case, as in many
others, the principal sources of innovation. One useful result must,
however, follow from the inquiry ; it has led to the examination of
Christian evidences, and to the collection of manuscripts in ancient
languages, by which we can now illustrate the authority and genuine-
ness of the canonical books of the New Testament.
It would be foreign from our purpose to enter into a review of the
different texts which Marcion altered ; they will be found amply de-
tailed by Epiphanius : some may be considered as only the various
readings found in manuscripts,^ but by far the most are, we think,
gross and deliberate corruptions, designed to prevent the objections to
which the system of Marcion was exposed. It ought, however, to be
added, that he avoided expunging every text which militated against
his opinions. Tertullian supposes that he so acted in order that, since
he left what he might have omitted, it might be denied with greater
plausibility that he had erased any passage, or, at least, erased it
' Eichhorn, cited by Matter, p. 355.
* It is a very melancholy fact, but one which cannot justify the conduct of
JIarcion, that some, even among the orthodox, are charged with having retrenched
certain passages, because they appeared to them to ascribe too great a degree of
human weakness to our Lord. For instance, Epiphanius says that in the copies of
St. Luke which had not been corrected, it was written that Jesus had wept, but
the orthodox had expunged the words : oo^olo^oi 11 atpiikofro to ptirov, (ficp»ifivTi;
xa) //.ri vonffavn; alrov to tIXo; xai to i(r-x,i>poTaTov. (Epiph. in Aucor. c. xxxi.)
The account of Christ's agony in the garden, and the angel strengthening
him, was also effaced in many copies : Nee sanfe ignorandum nobis est, et in
Grfficis et in Latinis codicibus complurimis Tel de adveniente Angelo vel de sudore
sanguineo nihil scriptum reperiri. (Hilar, de Trin. lib. x.) See Daille', Du Vrai
Usage des Peres, p. 68, and Lardner's Hist, of Heret. p. 252.
^ As instances of emendation, not intended to mutilate, and perhaps even correct.
In Epistle to Galatians, v. 9, he reads SoXs? (corrupteth) for ^vfio7 (leaveneth).
Epiphanius says that Marcion changed zv^iov, in first Epistle to Corinthians, x. 9,
into X^iffTov; but Xo;<rTo» is the reading in our copies. He accuses him with
having added lyioug, in Epistle to Thessalonians, ii. 15. It is in our copies. In
second Epistle to Corinthians, iv. 4, Marcion explained Sios rou alUvos tovtov to
mean the Demiurge : to avoid the objection, Irena;us and other ancients place a
comma after ©soj, and refer alivos Toiirou to ivlaTuv \ a singular instance of rash
criticism.
140
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURl'.
Marcion. without Sufficient cause.' To prove that these alterations were unau-
thorised, his opponents adopted the only course of argument which
remained by which he might be refuted, viz., to establish the superior
antiquitv, and the consequent genuineness, of their copies of the
Gospel of St. Luke.^
Marcion rejected the ' Acts ' of the Apostles. Indeed, his New
Testament consisted only of two parts f the ' Gospel,' being chiefly
that of St. Luke, mutilated and altered, and the ' Apostolicon,' con-
sisting of ten of the ' Epistles ' of St. Paul, also, for the most part, for
similar reasons, mutilated and altered. The ' Epistles ' which he
admitted are the following, in the order in which he arranged them :
the ' Epistle to the Galatians,' ' first ' and ' second to the Corinthians,'
' Epistle to the Romans,' ' first ' and ' second to the Thessalonians,' ' to
the Ephesians,' which he called ' to the Laodiceans,' ' to the Colos-
sians,' ' to Philemon,' ' to the Philippians.' Some variations appear
to have been made by the followers of Marcion subsec^uent to the time
of Tertullian.''
The conduct of the Marcionites in general appears not to have been
marked by immorality. When TertuUian^ taunts them by asking
why, if they acted consistently with their opinion that the Deity,
being of absolute goodness, was not to be feared, they did not comply
with the pleasures and vices of the heathens, and save their lives in
times of persecution by oflering incense to idols ? it is quite evident,
fi"om the tenour of his argument, that their actual practice (whatever
may have been the supposed consequences of their principles) was
apparently free from reproach.® As a proof of their sincerity, many
of them are said to have submitted to martyrdom.^ In times of per-
^ Et Marcion qncedam contraria sibi, ilia credo industi'ia eradere de Evanc^elio
suo noluit, ut ex his qufe eradere potuit, nee erasit, ilia quae erasit, aut negetur
erasisse, aut merito erasisse dicatur. (Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iv. c. xliii.)
^ Ego meum dico verum : Marcion suiim. Ego Marcionis affirma adulteratum ;
Marcion meum. Qais inter nos de'terminabit, nisi temporis ratio, ei prtescribens
auctoritatem, quod antiquius reperietur, et ei prajudicans vitiationem, quod poste-
rius revincetur? (Tertull. Adv. Iilarc. lib. iv. c. sliii.)
3 See Epiph. Adv. Hser. slii. c. x. &c.
* At least, this seems the best way of reconciling Epiphanius with Tertullian on
eh. is., where the former asserts that the Epistle to Philemon was totally cor-
iTipted ; the latter, that it, by reason of its brevity, had escaped the falsifying
hands of Marcion.
* Age itaque, qui Deum non times quasi bonum quid non in omnem libidinem
ebullis, summum quod sciam fructum vitse omnibus qui Deum non timent? Quid
non frequentas tam solennes voluptates Circi furentis, et cave^e ssvientis et scenas
lascivientis ? Quid non et in persecutionibus statim oblatji acerra animam necra-
tione lucraris ? Absit, inquis, absit. Ergo jam times delictum, et timendo pro-
basti ilium timeri qui prohibet delictum. (Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xxvii.)
^ Lardner, Hist, of Heret. book ii. c. x. sec. 26.
^ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. xv. .See Chap. II., p. 37. Clemens Alexandrinus
says that some men hastened to deliver themselves to be put to death, out of aver-
sion to the Demiurge (Strom, lib. iv.) : he alludes, in all probability, to the
Mai-cionites.
LUCIAX. 141
secution, according to Epiphaniiis, they abstained from animal food.' Maxcion.
They were in the habit of fasting, especially on tlie sabbath, as bemcr
the day on which the Demiurge, or God of the Jews, towards whom
they were anxious to show no respect, created the world and rested.
The same principle of opposing the Creator, and of combating matter
which is evil, which led them to subdue the body by fasting, and to
embrace martyrdom with the greater cheerfulness as the means of
being delivered from this corporeal prison, also induced them to extol
virginity,* always to despise, and sometimes to forbid maniage, bv
which the world of the Demiurge is peopled.^ Regarding the good
Deity as holding married life in detestation, they admitted none to
baptism but the unmarried,* none to the Eucharist but such as re-
nounced the connubial state.* For these two sacraments, Baptism and
the Eucharist, they observed, though it appears not in all respects
in the regular manner.®
We are also informed that they had their own chmxhes." Such
seem to be the most important particulars which remain of the
manners of the IMarcionites. The obvious fact, that nearly all their Remarks.
follies and absurdities may be traced to then- very erroneous idea of
the Creator of the universe, affords a striking proof of the danger of
adopting a single false pi'inciple.
Lucian, Lucan, or Leucius,® was one of the disciples of IMarcion, Lucian.
wlio designed, by certain modifications, to improve his s\-stem, and
wdio appears to have formed a distinct sect.* We are not, however,
informed in what particular respects he deviated from his master. He
agreed with him in holding the doctrine of the three principles,'" good,
just, and e\'il ; he proscribed marriage, in order to oppose the economy
of the Demiurge;" and he denied the reality of the body of Christ."'*
' Hser. xlii. c. xii. See, however, Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. xiv.
® Epipli. H;rr. xlii. c. iii.
3 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c. x. * Ibid. c. xxix. &c.
5 Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. iv. c. ii. Neo alibi conjunctos ad sacramentum Bap-
tismatis et Eucharistia admittens, nisi inter se conjuraverint adversus fi-uetum
nuptiarum, ut adversus ipsum creatorem. (Ibid. lib. iv. c. xxxiv.) Compare
Clem. Alesandr. Strom, lib. iii. p. 43.
6 They permitted women to baptize. (Epiph. Haer. xlii.) They used water in
the cup. (Ibid.) They ot'teu repeated baptism many times. (Ibid.)
7 Faciunt t'avos vespse, faciunt ecclesias et Marcionita;. Tertull. Adv. Jlarc.
lib. iv. c. V.
8 Called in Epiphanius Lucian the Elder (Ha?r. xliii. c. i.) ; Tertullian (De Eesur.
Cam. c. ii.) and Origen (c. Cels. lib. ii.) call him Lucan. He seems to be the
same heretic who is sometime.s called Lucius, Leicius, Leucius, Lentitius, Leontius,
Lentius, Seleucus, Lucius, Charinus, iS'exocharides, and Leonides. (Lard. Hist, of
Heret. book ii. c. xiii. sec. 6.)
9 Epiph. Ear. xliii. c. i. He adds that this sect no longer existed in his time.
10 Epiph. Hfpr. xliii. c. i. Photius says that Lucian represented the God of the
Jews as an evil being, and Simon Masus as his minister ; and called Christ Father
and Son. (Cod. 114.)
" Epiph. Ha;r. xliii. c. i. In defence of his aversion to the Demiurge, he ap-
pealed to Malachi, iii. 14, 1.3. »« Phot. Cod. 114.
142 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Lucian. With him, also, Lucian regarded the souls of animals to be of the
same kind as the souls of men ;' and hence it is, that he allowed the
resurrection as well of the former as of the latter.* According to
Tertullian,^ he supposed that neither the Iwdy nor the soul would be
raised, but a sort of third substance ; which opinion is represented as
being derived from Aristotle.
Fori,'eries. Luciau is cliiefly known as being the author of numerous forgeries ;
amoncT others, the ' History of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary ;' the
' Protevangelion or Gospel of James ;' the ' Gospel of Nicodemus ;'
the ' Acts or Joiu-neyings of the Apostles,' &c.* Dr. Lardner closes
his view of these apocryphal works with the following judicious remark :
Observations. — "One obvious conclusion to be drawn from this long account of the
forgeries of Leucius is, that the Scriptures of the New Testament, par-
ticularly the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, were then received
with distinguished respect, and regarded as writings of great autho-
rity : otherwise he would not have thought of publishing books under
the names of the Evangelists and Apostles. Besides, these forged
writings do not oppose, but confirm the general account given us in
tJie canonical Scriptures. They all take for granted the dignity of
our Lord's person, and His power of working miracles ; they acknow-
ledge the certainty of there having been such persons as Matthew and
tlie other evangelists ; and Peter and the other apostles. They
authenticate the general and leading facts contained in the New Testa-
ment. They presuppose that the apostles received from Christ a com-
mission to propagate His religion, and a supernatural power to enforce
its authority. And thus they indirectly establish the truth and Divine
original of the Gospel."
Applies. Apelles, also a celebrated disciple of Marcion, considerably altered
the system of his master.
He pretended to have received instructions by revelation, (which
he afterwards committed to writing, and published under the title
(bai'epujfTeiQ,y from a female fanatic called Philumene ; a circumstance
which may be considered, indeed, as indicative of a mind, the powers
of which were clouded and controlled by an overheated imagination,
but is certainly not in itself a proof that Apelles had contrived, with
the dexterity of impostors, to turn ^.peculation into a handmaid of sen-
suality. The chief points in -which be differed from Mai'cion were the
1 Philast. Hffir. 87. « Phot. Cod. 114 ; Philast. Har. 87.
3 TertuU. De Resur. Cam. c. ii.
* For an account of these forgeries see Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. ; Jones,
Method of settling the Canonical Authority of the Books of the New Testament ;
and Lardner's Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. xi.
* Le cre'dule enthousiasme d'Apelles pour une femme est excuse' par des croy-
ances analogues qui, dans I'antiquite' et dans les temps raodernes, dans la Grece
civilize'e comme dans la sauvage Germanic, en Italie comme en Suede, ont attribue
aux femmes des oracles et des revelations dont la de'licatesse de leur etre semblait
les rendre plus susceptibles que les hommes. (Matter, Hist, du Gnost. torn. i.
p. 413, note.) Tertullian accuses Apelles of some impurity; but see Lard. Hist, of
Heret. p. 316.
APELLES. 143
following: he held but one principle;' one God of perfect goodness, Apeiies.
nameless, or ineffable, unbegotten, who (probably by emanation) Held one
created the angels, and also another power,* or inferior god, or rather i"'""''p *•'•
glorious and hery angel,* namely, the Demiurge, the God of the
Jewish nation.* This fiery angel, having di'awn down, by earthly
allurements, the souls of men from their super-celestial seats, encom-
passed them with sinful flesh.* He supposed that the distinction of
the sexes which exists in the bodies, was derived from these souls,
which were male and female.^ Apelles, without supposing that the
body of Christ was a mere phantasm, denied that He was born of the Christ's
Virgin Mary ; maintaining that in His descent from Heaven,'' He bor- b",t ethereal
rowed a kind of aerial form from the substances of the upper world substance,
and the sidereal regions.^ In support of this doctrine, he appealed
t<3 the words of Christ, " Who is my mother ? and who are my
brethren V"^ and, in illustration of it, he referred to the angels, whom
he represented as assuming a human body, without having entered the
womb.'" This ethereal body, Christ, on His ascension to Heaven,
returned to the stars and the elements from which it had been derived."
By this theory Ajielles doubtless thought to obviate the objection of the
Marcionites, that to admit the realitv of the body of Christ, was to
admit the reality of His birth ; and therefore His connection with the
Demiurge, Vv^ho created the human body.'* But what, according to
his system, was the object of Christ's mission, and what the entire
scheme of Apelles ? In our opinion, formed from a collation of pas-
sages,'* the following : the Demiurge was not in his nature evil, but
only imperfect ; he created the world for the glory of the unbegotten
God, the God essentially good ; but being unable to prevent the
introduction of evil into the world, he repented of his work. Hence
tlie Demiurge requested the unbegotten God to send his son Jesus Analysis of
Christ, in order to amend and correct the world which he had formed. '"^ system.
In process of time his request was granted, his purpose eftected. The
s<juls of men were to be saved; but the body, composed of gross
matter, tlie work of imperfection, was not to rise again.'''
> Rhod. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii. ; Epiph. Hrer. sliv. c. i. &c.
2 Philast. ExY. 47.
^ Tertull. de Piwscr. c. xxxiv. ; De Carne Chrlsti, c. viii. &c.
'' Tertullian's words are, Ab igneo Angelo, Deo scilicet Israelis et nostro. (De
Anim. c. xxiii.) On the origin of this notion compare Bishop Kaye on Tertullian,
p. 506, ■ivith Matter, Hist, du Gnost. p. 416.
3 Tertull. de Anim. c. xxiii. ^ Ibid. c. xxxvi.
" Append, ad Tertull. de Pra3scr. ^ Id. de Came Christi, c. i.
9 Ibid. c. vii. '" Il)i(l. n Epiph. Hrer. xliv.
•* See Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 444.
'3 Deum, qui hunc mundum condidit, ad gloriam alterius ingeniti et boni Dei
eum construxisse pronuntiavit. (Pamphil. pro Orig. ap. Hieron, torn, v.) Angelum
quendam inclytum nominant (Apelleiani) qui mundum hunc instituerit, et institute
60 pcenitentiam admiserit. (Tertull. de Carne Christi, c. viii.) Ilium autem inge-
nitum Deimi in consummatione seculi misisse Jesum Christum ad emendationem
mundi, rogatum ab eo Deo qui eum fecerat, ut mitteret filium suum ad mundi sui
correctionem. (Paniph. pro Orig.) ■'* Tertull. de Prascrip. c. sxsiii. &c.
144 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Apeiies. Apelles appears not to have utterly rejected the Old Testament ;'
he published many writings, in the form and under the title of ' Syllo-
gisms,' in which the truth and authority of Moses were denied, or
called in question,^ in consequence of certain supposed contradictions
or improbabilities.
Discassion Eusebius has preserved an account of a short discussion between
with Riiodon. Riiodon and Apelles ; in which the latter, then advanced in years,
and remarkable for his austere gravity, perplexed by the arguments
of his opponent, answered, that the investigation of the Di\ane nature
was fraught with difficulty; that the mind, exhausted by perpetual
inquiry, must at length rest in faith ; that though he could not
explain how God was unbegotten, yet he firmly embraced the doctrine.
He thought that all who believe in Christ crucified would be saved,
provided their works should be found to have been good. Rhodon
regarded these arguments as deserving nothing more or better than a
smile. Lardner considers them as a testimony of the piety and
charitableness of Apelles' principles.*
Thus different is his scheme from that of Marcion : in it the
Supreme God is not utterly unknown ; the mission of Christ was not
against the wish of the Demiurge ; His design was not to overthrow,
but to amend the old system ; His body was not mere appearance,
but substantial, Apelles quoted, as a saying of our Saviour, and as
in His Gospel, though it is not in our copies, " be good money-
changers;" meaning, separate what is useful from all parts of the
Scripture, as the money-changers distinguish what is genuine from
what is counterfeit.
GNOSTICS OF EGYPT.
Gnostics of In Egypt, the fertile parent of mysteries and emblems, and at this
Egypt- period the seat as well of the various sects of Greek philosophers as
of Judaism, strangely blended with Pythagorean and Platonic theories,
the Gnostics borrowed largely from the different systems then flourish-
ing, and found in the ancient traditions of that country, the notion of
an unknown'* Supreme Deity, who had manifested Himself by a series
of emanations, one of which was tlie Creator.
Christianity, too, it may be remarked, had been taught in Egypt
with a greater display of learning and subtilty ; and the instructions of
Pantffinus, Clement, and Origen, combined, occasionally, with the
' Licet non omnibus modis Dei esse legem deneget et prophetas. (Pamph. pro
Orig.) Compare, however, Rhod. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii.
2 Comp. Khod. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xiii. App. ad Tertull. de
Prtescrip. with Origen, in Gen. Horn, ii., from which it appears that Apelles de-
nied the ark could hold the creatures mentioned ; and Ambrose (De Paradiso, c. v.),
where one of his difficulties is thus cited, Quomodo lignum yitse plus operari
videtur ad A'itam, quam insufHatio Dei ? &c.
3 Hist, of Heret. p. 330.
* Amon, or Amou-Re, is like the Trarza clyyua-ros of the Gnostics. See Cham-
poUion, Pantheon Egyptien.
BASILIDES. 145
advantages of the library of Alexandria, in investing speculations with Gnostics of
the riches and lustre of erudition.' J^gypt-
BASILIDES.
Basilides flourished in the second century, chiefly in the time of Basilides.
Hadrian. Inquiries into the origin of evil, involving, as a preliminary
step, a view of the origin of the world, and, as connected points, the
history of the Jewish state, and the theory of man's redemption, then
principally exercised the reasoning, or rather the imaginative, powers
of the converted portion of the philosophic world, Basilides was
drawn into the common vortex of speculation. He was aware that Process of
the hypotheses, as well of the ancients as of his contemporaries, could *°"^
not be regarded as aftbrding any satisfactory solution of the disputed
question. This consideration should have taught him the vanity of
systems ; unfortunately, it only instigated him to systematise. Ima-
gining, doubtless, that notwithstanding the alloy of error, there was
some solidity and value mixed up in the various notions of the Plato-
nists and Pvthagoreans as then modified, of the Cabalistic Jews and
the Christian heretics, he attempted to combine select parts of their
respective principles. He admitted the main point, on which nearly Fundamental
all the hypotheses, then prevalent, may be said to hinge — viz., that the ^° "'"
world had been created, not by the immediate operation of the Supreme
Being, but with his tacit consent, by the agency of inferior intelli-
gences, or jEons, (who emanated from Him,) in whose want of skill
originated evil.'^ This was the common theory : the various genealo-
gies, offices, and actions of these intelligences formed the points of
difference.
It is a singular instance of the weakness which is found in intellects, inutility of
otherwise acute, that Basilides should not have perceived that this jnaccomulng
theory offered no solution of the great difficulty. The simple question for the origin
always returns : Why did God permit these unskilful architects to °
attempt a work for which they were unqualified ? But illogical in
themselves, and pernicious as contradicting the Divine authority, as
these opinions were, it should, in common charity, be remembered,
that they often arose from an anxiety " to vindicate the ways of God
to man." These heretics always denied that such heresies were sub-
versive of Christianitv.
The following is a sketch of his particular plan : —
The Supreme Being, the Unbegotten and Nameless Father, perfectly
wise and good, produced from His own substance Intelligence (Novc) ;
• Matter, Hist, dii Gnost. torn. ii. p. 4.
- According to other explanations, Basilides maintained that the Powers of Dark-
ness, who bordered upon the lowest world of the Pure Intelligences, having per-
ceived their light, and being struck with the desire of sharing it, violently broke
into their realms, and thus the two empires of Light and Darkness were mixed
and Confounded : in order to separate them, therefore, God caused this world to be
created. Matter, Hist, du Gnost, torn. ii. p. 63.
[C. U.] L
14(3 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Basiiides. Intelligence produced the Word (Ao'yoc) ; the Word, Prudence
($(odi'jj<7ic) ; Prudence produced Wisdom (Zofla) and Power
(Auj/a/itc) ; Wisdom and Power produced the Angels.' These angels
were of different orders; of these orders the first formed, as their
abode, the first heaven ; the second, produced by the former, and
inferior, the second heaven ; and so on till the 365th, still degene-
rating, produced (if Irenseus may be relied upon) the 365th heaven.*
The angels, who occupy the last of these heavens, which is visible
to us, touching on matter, eternal, self-animated, maleficent, formed
out of this shapeless mass the world, and a new order of beings as its
inhabitants. The Supreme B:4ng approved of their world, endowed
man, who had received from them but animal life, with a reasonable
soul, and left him subject to the government of the angels. But
acquired power corrupted their original purity. The angels endea-
voured to extinguish the knowledge of the Supreme Being, and to
establish their own worship. On a distribution of the world, the
prince of the angels of this lower heaven, in which is found the earth,
had the Jewish nation for his share. His power was displayed by
the prodigies which he wrought in their favour. Turbulent and
ambitious, he aspired to submit all nations to the Jews, so as to seize
the undivided sovereignty of the whole earth. Then the other angels
leagued against him, and the hatred against the Jews became deep
and universal. Hence the wars, the disasters, the miseries, of that
nation.
Digression on It ought to be here observed, that the notion of different nations,
the notion of beins; each under the protection and o-overnment of an ansel, was
tiillerent ~ ^ ^ «-^ '
nationsbein? familiar to the Jews. In Deut. ch. xxxii. v. 8, 9, where we find
a^rt'erenf ^^' ^'^ °"'" version, " When the Most High divided to the nations their
angels. inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds
of the people, 'according to the number of the children of Israel,'" the
Septuagint has translated the last words, " according to the number of
the angels of God." '^ Allusion to this notion occurs in Daniel, ch. x.
V. 20, 21; where the angel says to the prophet, "Now will I return
to fight with the Prince of Persia ; and when I am gone forth, lo, the
Prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show thee that which is
noted in the scripture of truth ; and there is none that holdeth with
me in these things, but Michael your prince."* After the captivity,
the Jews made curious inquiries into the nature and offices of angels,
' Among the ^Eons, Clemens Alexandrinus also mentions Justice and Peace.
2 Iren. Adv. Hser. lib. i. c. xxiv.
^ "Ot£ ^nuioi^iv 'uypiir-To; Ta 'ihyi eVtjjtsv oota. Ihoiv Kctr a^i^fiov ayy.kc'jv
Qtov. Bochart conjectitres that they had a bad copy before them, which left out
the three first letters of Israel, and thus they read Baneel, the children of God,
meaning the Israelites: instead of which, some transcribers put the Aivjels of God,
who are sometimes called his sons. (Patrick, in loc.) Compare Arnald's Com-
mentaries on the Book of Ecclesiasticus, c. xvii. v. 17 : " In the divisions of the
nations of the whole earth, he set a ruler over every people, but Isi-ael is the
Lord's i)ortion." ^ See also Beausob. Hist, de Manich. torn. ii. p. 16.
BASILIDES. 147
and gradually began to worship them. The sect of Angelici seems Hasiiides.
to have existed in the first ages of the Church. St. Paul says in his
Epistle to the Colossians (ch. ii. v. 18), "Let no man beguile you of
your reward in a voluntary humility (affecting humility) and worship-
ping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen,
vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind."'
Theodoret and (Ecumenius remark that the worship of angels con-
tinued long in Pisidia, Phrygia, and Laodicea, near to Colosse, where
they had "oratories of St. Michael, the captain of the Lord's host," as
he is called in Joshua.^ In the ' Book of the Pastor' it is said, that
the Christians, as soon as they believe, are under the government of
Michael, " the good messenger," saith Hennas, "being Michael, who
hath the government over his people."*
Since the ambition and jealousy of the angel-creators of the world System ot
have thus existed, mankind had pined under their tyranny. In com- MTssi'o'rof
passion for their miseries, the unbegotten and nameless Father sent Christ,
his first-begotten Nour, or Divine Intelligence, who is Christ,* to free •
such as would believe in Him, and to destroy the empire of the
angels.
This Novc, or Christ, the chief of the ^ons, descended into the
man Jesus, at his baptism, and using him as an instrument, revealed
to mankind the knowledge of the true God, and performed various
miracles. This object being accomplished, the man Jesus was cruci-
fied, but not the Christ, who was united to Him only as far as the
functions of his ministry required. Basilides maintained, therefore,
that it was not the crucified man, but the son of God, who was the
object of faith.
Iren.Tus,* however, says, that in the scheme of Basilides, it was story of the
Simon the Cvrenian, who was crucified, havino- been transformed into *"'„';^""t'9"
■ f T 1 1 1 • 1 ^iinon in
the likeness of Jesus, who himself assumed the shape of Simon, stood the room of
by, and smiled at the illusion of his enemies, and afterwards ascended '^'^'"^'
to heaven. This absurd story, the origin of which cannot be traced, is,
in the judgment of the very acute Beausobre,^ unworthy of credit. It
' Theodoret thus explains the passage : — " They who advocated the law per-
suaded men to worship angels, because, according to them, the law was given bv
angels. And this they advised, pretending faith with humility, by saying that the
Ood of the Universe was invisible, inaccessible, and incomprehensible, and that it
was fit that these favours should be procured by means of angels." (In loc.)
* Ch. V. 14, 15. V.lKTr.oia, Tov ay'iou MiyariX. Qilcumen. ap. HjEschel. Not. in
Orig. p. 231. Whitby, in Col. ii. 18.
' Whitby, in Col. ii. 18; Pluquet, Diet, des Here's, art. Angeliques.
■* Basilides called the Saviour Caulacau (Theod. Haer. Fab. lib. i. c. iv.) from
Isaiah, xxviii. 10, where our translation is " line upon line," but the Septuagint,
iXr/Sa iv IXTi'hi, ''hope upon hope." See Clodius, Diss, de Canlncau : Nicolaus,
Diss, de Salvatore Basilidis Caulacau dicto ; Brucker, Diss, de Caulacau Basilidiaii-
orum (in Museo. Helvet. part xxii. p. 229) ; Matter, Hist, du Unost. tom. ii. p. 89.
5 Iren. Adv. Hier. lib. i. c. xxiv.
" Hist, de jManich. torn. ii. p. 24; and see also Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, ji. 354.
It mav probablv have been the notion of some Basilidian.
l2
148 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Basiiides. is Said, indeed, to have been in consequence of it, that the followers of
Contempt for BasiUdes decried martyrdom, which was suffering not for Christ, but
martjrdom. f^^. gjjj-,Qjj_ g^^ j^ jg j-nore probable that they disparaged it because
Basiiides considered all the pains and sufferings of this life as penalties
inflicted bv Divine justice. It was, in his opinion, utterly inconsistent
with the righteousness of God to suffer the innocent to be punished ;
in answer, therefore, to the examples of martyrs, which the orthodox
urged as an objection, he maintained that no man is without fault : that
God punished in man either criminal desire, or actual, though secret,
crimes, or sins committed in a previous state of existence. This argu-
iUeiit led Basiiides to assert that Jesus, though a man of the greatest
excellence, since the Divine Intelligence had chosen Him as his organ,
\\'as not absolutelv impeccable. It is better, he said, to make anv
su]:)position than to admit that Providence could be the author of any
evil, which would be the case on the admission that undeserved
sufferings had been inflicted on any one. It appears, then, that the
disciples of Basiiides undervalued martyrdom,' and probably on this
account ate, without scruple, things ofiered to idols. ^ It is also
affirmed, that the Basilidians, who said that God was to be loved and
not feared,* regarded all kinds of lewdness as indifferent ;'* an accusa-
tion which appears to have originated in an unfair construction of the
opinions of Basiiides, who, instead of falling into the common error of
unreasonably extolling virginity, considered it not as a virtue in itself,
but as a state of life, which, being free from incumbrances, might be
occasionally convenient, especially in times of persecution.* Clemens
Alexandrinus, whose notices of Basiiides are valuable, expressly says,
that though some Basilidians led vicious lives, Basiiides himself, and
his son Isidore, taught a contrary course.® Indeed, so far from incul-
cating a lax moi'alitv, Basiiides held that of sins committed before bap-
tism, those only would be remitted, which are involuntary and through
ignorance/ It certainly appears very probable, that some of the fol-
lowers of Basiiides availed themselves of the construction of which,
however unintentionally, his principles were susceptible, in order to
abandon themselves to licentiousness.
Admits Basiiides taught that the soul could not be disengaged from thepre-
cTio»ir^**^" ^^"* V)ody, in which it expiated sins committed in an anterior life, till
it had been purified by successive transmigrations from body to body.
Two souls. He also adopted the Pythagorean notions of the two souls in man,
to explain the conflict between reason and passion.
But his system has, perhaps, acquired most note from a singular
' Orig. in Matt. ; App. ad Tertull. de Prsescrip. ; Philast. Haer. xxxii. ; Epiph.
Hair. sxiv. c. iv.
* Iren. Adv. Hper. lib. i. c. xxiv. 3 Clem. Alexandr. Strom. &c.
* Iren. Adv. Har. lib. i. c. xxiii. Comp. Philast. Hser. xxxii. ; Epiph. User.
xxiv. c. iii.
* See his explanation of Matt. xix. 10-15, quoted by Clemens Alexandrinus
(Strom, lib. iii.), and explained by Beausobre, Hist, du Manicb. torn. ii. p. 43.
•^ Strom, lib. iii. p. 427. 7 Ibid. lib. iv. p. 536.
BASILIDES. 149
circumstance, arising from the adoption of Pythagorean ideas,' from Basiiides.
an intimation of the cabalistic and oriental philosophy, and from a
fondness, so common among Egyptians, for a kind of hieroglyphical
symbols. Basiiides sought to know what numbers were most agree-
able to the Supreme Intelligence ; he fixed upon 365,^ the number
of days in the year, which he expressed by the word Abraxas, or
• The following development of the notion of Pythagoras on the intluence of
numbers is given by the Abbe' Pluqnet : — Pythagore, clont Basilide avoit adopte
les principes, reconnaissait, comme les Chaldeens ses maitres, I'existence d'une In-
telligence Supreme, qui avait forme' le nionde ; ce philosophe voulut connaitre la
rin que cette Intelligence s'etait proposee dans la production du monde : il porta
sur la nature un ceil attentif, pour de'couvrir les lois qu'elle suit dans les pheno-
menes, et saisir le til qui liait les evenemens. Ses premiers regards se port^rent
vers le ciel, ou I'auteur de la nature semble manifester plus clairement son dessein.
II y decouvrit un ordre admirable et une liannonie constante ; il jugea que I'ordre
et I'harmonie constante qui re'gnaicnt dans le ciel, n'etaient que les rapports qu'on
apercevait entre les distances des corps celestes et leurs mouvemens re'ciproques.
La distance et le mouvement sont des grandeurs, ces grandeurs out des parties, et
les plus grandes ne sont que les plus petites, multipliees un certain nombre de fois.
Ainsi les distances, les mouvemens des corps celestes s'exprimaient par des nombres,
et rintelligence Supreme, avant la production du monde, ne les connaissait que par
des nombres purenient intelligibles. C'est done, selon Pythagore, sur le rapport
que rintelligence Supreme apercevait entre les nombres intelligibles, qu'elle avait
forme' et execute' le plan du monde. Le rapport des nombres entr'eux n'est point
arbitraire ; le rapport d'e'galite entre deux fois deux et quatre, est un rapport
ne'eessaire, inde'pendant, immuable. Puisque les rapports des nombres ne sont point
arbitraires, et que I'ordre des productions de rintelligence Supreme depend du
rapport qui est entre les nombres, il est clair qu'il y a des nombres qui ont un
rapport essentiel avec I'ordre et I'harmonie, et que rintelligence Supreme qui aime
I'ordre et I'harmonie, suit dans son action ces rapports de ces nombres, et ne peut
s'en e'carter. La connaissance de ce rapport, oil ce rapport est dans la loi qui dirige
rintelligence Supreme dans ses productions, et comme ces rapports s'expriment
euxmemes par des nombres, on supposa dans les nombres une force et une puissance
capable de determiner I'Intelligence a produire certains etfets pliitot que d'autres.
D'apres ces ide'es, on rechercha qu'ils etaient les nombres qui plaisaient davantage
a. I'Etre Supreme; on vit qu'il y avait un soleil, ou jugea que I'unite e'tait agi'eable
a la Divinite: on vit sept planetes, on conclut encore C[ue le nombre de sept e'lait
agre'able a I'Intelligence Supreme. Telle etait la pliiiosophie Pythagoricienne qui
s'etait re'pandue dans I'Orient, pendant le premier et le second siecle du Christianisme,
et qui dura long-temps apres. (Diet, des Here's, torn. i. p. 592.)
^ Ut Basiiides, qui omuipotentem Deum appellat Abraxas, et eundem secundum
'irrecas literas et aimui cursus numerum dicit in solis circulo contmeri : quem
ethnici, sub eodem numero aliarum literarum vocant Mvthram. (Hier. in Amos,
c. iii.)
A ... 1 M . . . 4(1
B . . . -J E . . . 5
P . . . lUO 1 ... I'l
A ... 1 e . . . 9
H ... 60 P . . . lUU
A ... 1 \ . . . 1
C . . . 201) C ... 200
.\BPAHAt = :'.65 MEiePAC = >". ;5
Mithras is the Deity of tlie Persians, or the Sun, who is also Apollo, the God of
Healing.
150 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTUEY,
iiasiiide.s. Abrasax (ABPACA^' ), compounded of Greek letters used as numerical
AiinxHs. characters. It may be remarked, that these kind of numerical designa-
tion were not rare at that period. Possibly Basilides meant to express
by it the number of Intelligences which compose the Pleroma, or the
Deity under various manifestations, or, perhaps, the sun, in which
Pythagoras supposes that the Intelligence resided which produced the
Gnostic world. This word Abraxas was graven on gems, of which a very
L;ems. great number are found in the cabinets of antiquaries. This is the
most common supposition respecting the origin of these gems ; many,
however, and widely different, have been the conjectures offered, for as
yet nearly all that has been written on the subject is conjectural. It
has exercised the learning of numerous writers, among whom may be
reckoned not only Chifflet,^ who republished with an ample commen-
tary the work of J. Macarius (' Jean I'Heureux ') and Montfaucon,^ who
are generally referred to, but also Salmasius,* Kircher,^ Pignorius,^
Augustinus,^ Gorlaeus,* Maffei,^ Stoch,'" Passerius,'' Bartolus,'^ Lip-
pert,'^ Ficornius,'* and many others mentioned by Matter'^ and other
writers."'
But even the derivation of this enigmatic word Abraxas has been
much contested ; mysteries have been sought in the syllables, and even
in the letters, which compose it. Beausobre and Lardner have con-
cluded, from an examination of the subject,"' that Abraxas was not the
' Irenseus says the Basil idians call Ihe Prince of the Heaven Abraxas, that name
having in it the number CCCLXV. (Adv. Reer. lib. i. c. 33.) So also Theodoret,
Haeret. Fab. lib. i. c. i. Besides Jerome, the author of the Catalogue of Heresies,
prefixed to Tertull. de Pra^ser. says, that the Supreme God of the Basilidians was
called Abraxas. Compare Epiph. Hser. xxiv. c. vii.
^ Macarii Abraxas, seu de Gemmis Basilidianis.
^ Palseograph. Grsec. lib. ii. c. viii.
■* De Annis Climactericis et Antiqua Astrologi^.
* (Edipus /Egyptiacus.
® Mensa Isiaca.
■^ Gemmaj et Sculpture Antiqnre depicts, &c.
^ Dactyliotheca, ed. Gronov.
* Gemme Antiche Figurate da Domenico de Rossi, &c.
" GemniEE Antiquse Ctelatse, per B. Picart.
" Thesaur. Gemmarum Astriferarum Antiquarum. Cura et studio Ant. F. Gori.
'2 Museum Odescalchum, s. Thesaur. Antiq. Gemmar.
'^ Dactyliotheca Universalis.
•* Gemmas Antiqute litteratse aliseque rariores, ab A. P. H. Galeotti.
'* Hist, du Gnost. torn. ii. p. 52. He also refers to the notices of these gems
fomid in the following tracts : Le Pois, Discours sur les Medailles ; Baronius,
Annales Ecclesiastici, tom. ii. p. 72 ; Sponius, Miscellanea Eruditaj Antiquitatis ;
De la Chausse, Romanum Museum ; Molinet, Cabinet de la Bibliotheque de Saiute
Genevieve ; Beger, Thesaurus Brandeborgicus ; Fabietti, Inscriptiones Antiquse,
&c. ; Ebermayer, Thesaurus Gemmarum ; Middleton, Germana Antiq. Monu-
menta, &c.
'^ A small work, entitled Essay on Ancient Coins, Medals, and Gems, as illus-
trating the Progress of Christianity in the Early Ages, by Dr. J. Walsh, contains
some gems from the collection of Lord Strangford, &c.
'7 Bellerman maintains that it comes from the Coptic, the ancient language of
Egypt : the syllable Sadsch (which the Greeks were obliged to convert into (ra|, or
BASILIDES. 161
god of the Basilidians ; that this name signifies nothing but the sun ; Basiiides.
that the figiires found in Cliifflet and Montfaucon are, for the most
part, Egyptian; that there is no kind of proof that any of them be-
longed to the BasihcUans ; that those which have Lio, Sabaoth, &c.
upon them, were the works of professors of magic, who were not
Christians ; and that some of these figures derived their origin from the
Simonians and Ophites, who made no profession of Christianity.'
It certainly appears to be an error to call everv Gnostic gem an
Abraxas, or every Abraxas a genuine Basilidian stone. It is probable
that these gems were used as talismans or amulets, intended to insiu'e
the protection of celestial intelligences ; as such, other Gnostics and
even heathens may, particularly in a country like Egypt, so noted for
hieroglyphics, by an impulse of superstition, have been led to imitate
these supposed preservatives. Even the orthodox Christians, long
after the heresv of Basiiides had expired, still used magical charms and
amulets, as the language both of fathers and councils sufiiciently attests.^
Montfaucon, who has given plates of a great number of these gems,
has divitled them into seven classes : the first contains such as have at Montfaiicons
the top the head of a cock, which is the symbol of the sun ; the second classification,
class such as have the head or body of a lion, expressive of the strength
and the vehement heat of the sun — on these is often the inscription
Mythras ; the third class such as have the figure or inscription of
Serapis ;^ the fourth are sphinxes, apes, and animals of that kind ; the
fifth are human figures, with the names lao, Sabaoth, Adonai, &c. ;
the sixth are inscriptions without figures; the seventh such as have
monstrous forms.
It is possible that from this expression Abraxas may have arisen Abracadabra.
fftt;, or o-a^, as the last letter of this syllable could be expressed only by X, 2, or Z),
signifying word, and Abrak, blessed, holy, adorable ; Abraxas, being, therefore,
" the sacred word." Munter, who also derives it from the Coptic, makes it signify
" the new word." (Matt. Hist, du Gnost. torn. ii. p. 50.) Beausobre derives it
from aS^oj, which he renders magnificent, and either crau, I save, I heal, or (tS,
signifying safety or health. (Hist, de Manich. tom. ii. p. 55.) Wendelin, com-
pounding it of the initials of Hebrew and of Greek words, finds no difficulty in
discovering in the word both the Trinity, and Salvation by the Cross ; two
doctrines, by the wav, which correspond not with the notions of the Basilidians.
(Miscell. Chifflet, vol. vi.)
' Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. torn. ii. p. 68, and Lardnei's Hist, of Heret.
book ii. c. ii. sec. 28.
* Thiers, Traite des Superstitions, and Le Brun, Histoire Critique des Pratiques
Superstitieuses, lib. iii.
^ It is, perhaps, in consequence of the use of such amulets, that the Christians
of Egypt were sometimes said to have adored Serapis : in the curious Letter of
Adrian found in Vopiseus, .^^gyptum, quam mihi laudabus, Serviane carissime,
totam didici levcm, pendulam, et ad omnia fama» momenta volitantem. Hli, qui
Serapin Cfllunt, Christiani sunt, devoti sunt Serajiidi, qui se Christi episcopos
dicunt, iS'emo illic archi-synagogus Judaeorum, nemo Samarites, nemo Christiano-
rum Presbyter; non Mathematicus, non Aiuspex, non Alyptes. Ipse ille Patriarcha,
cum jEgyptum venerit, ab aliis Serapidem adorare, ab aliis cogitur Christum.
(Vit, Saturnin. p. 245.)
152 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Basiiides. the superstitious use of the word Abracadabra, described by Serenus
Samonicus/ (the preceptor of the younger Gordian), who has been
ranked, apparently without cause, among the followers of Basiiides.
Basiiides pretended that his opinions were derived from Glaucias,^
th$ interpreter of St. Peter, and also appealed to certain prophecies of
Barcabbas and Barcoph or Parchor.^ He regarded the prophecies in
the Old Testament as being given by the angel-creators of the world,
and the law by their chief, who brought the Israelites out of the land
of Egypt,* and through whose jealousy and machinations Jesus was
sacrificed. It is evident, therefore, that, consistently with his view of
the object of Christ's mission, he could not regard it as the duty of a
Christian to receive and comply with the Jewish Scriptures. The
New Testament, however, he appears, for the most part at least, to
have admitted,* Besides composing odes,® he wrote twenty-four books
of commentaries upon the Gospel,'^ which work is probably the same^
which is called the Gospel of Basiiides, mentioned by Origen,® Am-
brose,'" and Jerome ;'' a circumstance which proves that expositions on
the New Testament were written at an early period, by which all
attempts at alteration or corruption would scarcel}' have escaped being
very soon discovered.'^
' Mortiferum magis est, quod Grsecis hemitritajum
Vulgatur verbis, hoc nostra dicere lingua
Non potuere ulli, puto, nee voluere parentes.
Inscribis Chartse, quod dicitur Abracadalira,
Sgepius et subter repetis, sed detrahe summam,
Et magis atque magis desint elementa figuris
Singula, quce semper rapies, et catera figes.
Donee in angustum redigatur litera conum,
His lino nexis collum redimire memento, &c.
Serem. Sam. de Medic, n. 53.
That is, ABRACADABRA
BRACADABRA
RACADABRA
A C A D A B R A
CADABRA
ADABRA
DABRA
ABRA
BRA
RA
A
- Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. vii, p. 764.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. c. vii. Clem. Strom, lib. vi. p. 641.
* Iren. Adv. Hsr. lib. i. c. xxiii.
* See, however, Hier. in Epist. ad Tit. in Proem.
" See Grabe, Spicil. Patr. tom. ii.
" Agripp. Castor ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. o. vii.
" Beausobre, Hist, de Man. tom. ii. pp. 3, 4.
^ Horn, in Luc. lib, i, '" Prasf. in Comm. in Luc,
" Ibid, in Matth, '« Lardner's Hist, of Heret, p, 123,
CARPOCRATES. 153
CARPOCRATES— (Branches of Carpocratianism.)
Carpocrates of Alexandria/ who lived in the reign of the emperor Carpoorates.
Hadrian, was the founder of the sect of Carpocratians. Like the other
Gnostics, they held the existence of one Supreme Principle, the
unknown and unnamed Father,'^ and the formation of the visible world
and all which is therein by angels, much inferior to the Father,*
They regarded Jesus Christ as having been born, in the ordinary Doctrines,
course of nature, of Joseph and Mary ; but as having excelled other
men not only by the holiness and virtue of His life, but by the won-
derful firmness and purit\- of His mind, which had retained the remem-
brance of what He had seen, in a pre-existent state, with the Father.
They admitted that He had been educated among the Jews, but had
despised them, and had therefore obtained the power to surmount His
sufiiirings, and afterwards ascended to the Father.* The Carpocratians Morality.
boasted of resembling Christ, and even allowed, hypothetically speak-
ing, that, if any person had a purer soul, or despised in a greater
degree the things here below, he might excel Him.* They had pic-
tures of Christ and His apostles, and also of Pythagoras, Plato,
Aristotle, and other eminent men, whom they are said to have
honoured with superstitious rites.^ Carpocrates maintained the notion
of the transmigi-ation of the soul, which must perform all which it was
destined, before it can obtain rest. In support of his doctrine he cited
the words of our Lord, " Verily, thou shalt not depart hence, until
thou hast paid the uttermost ferthing."
But the Carpocratians are chiefly stigmatized on account of the con-
sequences which they drew from their principles. They are charged
with asserting, that there was nothing good or evil in itself; that the
distinction between right and wrong was not real, but depended merely
on human opinion ;^ an assertion which appears inconsistent with their
view of the character of Christ, and which was, perhaps, applied not
to moral duties, but to positive rites.® They are also said to have
taught the community of women ; a doctrine which, together with
their notions of a pre-existent state, and of metempsychosis, may be
traced to Plato, in whose writings Carpocrates and his son Epiphanes
(by whom the opinions of this sect were much amplified, and to whom
extraordinary honour was paid") were familiarly versed.'" Li conse-
' Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. p. 4'2S. Tlieod. Har. Fab. lib. i, c. v. Epiphanius
calls him a Cephaleniaii. (Har. slii. c. iii.)
* The Ylarri^ ayvoKTTos aKaTovof^airTOi, SO often mentioned by the Gnostics, was
both known in India and Persia, and even reached the West, as may be interred
from Acts svii. 27.
3 Epiph. Hffir. xsvii. c. xi. Iren. Adv. Haer. lib. i. c. xxv. kc.
■* Iren. Adv. Haer. lib. i. c. xxv. * Ibid.
^ Ibid. Comp. page 4.5 of this volume. '' Iren. Adv. Ha;r. lib. i. c. xxv.
3 See Lardner's Hist, of Heret. p. 136.
^ He wrote many works, and is said to have been honoured after his death as a
god at Sama, in Cephalenia, the birth-place of his mother. Clem. xVlex. Strom,
lib. iii. p. ■i28. lo Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iii. p. 428.
154
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Carpacrates. quence of these last opinions, they are represented as having indulged
in the grossest licentiousness, and as having given occasion to the
dreadful calumnies' by which the early Christians were assailed.*
Epiphanius says the Carpocratians rejected the Old Testament. It
appears not certain that they rejected any part of the New.
Antitactics. The ' Antitactics ' pretended, it is said, that it was their duty to
practise all which the Scriptures forbid, in the hope of again attaining
that state of innocence and bliss in which man had been originallv
placed by the Perfect and Good Being, and from which an evil and
envious creature had drawn him, by infusing into his mind ideas of
right and wrong, which have attached the feeling of shame to that
which nature itself inspires, connected the notion of crime with that of
hapjDiness, remorse with pleasure, and, by leaving man tormented by
opposite impulses — his propensities on the one side, and the law on
the other — filled the world with murmuring, with disorders, and with
misery; such was the flimsy reasoning by which these infatuated men en-
deavoured to justify their opposition to the laws which regulate society.^
(Jnostics. The general term ' Gnostics ' is applied to all those early sects who
pjretended to possess a certain mysterious gnosis, or higher degi-ee of
religious knowledge, and a deeper acquaintance with the intellectual
world than other men. But it was claimed, especially, by a branch of
the Carpocratians. They used several apocryphal works, among others
the Gospel of St. Philip. Their notions, which appear to have been
almost pantheistic, led to that utter disregard of external laws, by
which they sank into the lowest effeminacy. They also thought that
after death the soul passes through kingdoms of various intelligences,
and that those which have not arrived at perfect gnosis, fall to the lot
of the prince of this world, who, in the form of a dragon, devours them
and casts them into the material world : then they are forced to begin
again, in the shapes of various animals, their career of purification.
The others pass into the region of Sabaoth, prince of the world, bruise
the serpent's head, and enter into the abode of Barbelo,'* who is here
substituted for the ' Sophia ' of the Gnostics.
Among the Carpocratian heresies may, perhaps, be reckoned the
Adamites and the Prodicians.
Adamites. The 'Adamites '* (if such a sect really existed^) affected to imitate
' Euseb, Hist. Eccles. lib. iv. o. vii. Epiph. Har. xxvii. &c. The charge of
promiscuous lewdness, cast against the Christians, was probably previous to the
time of Carpocrates, who flourished under Hadrian. Lardn. Hist, of Heret. p. 28.
'^ Bayle, Diet. Hist. art. Cainites.
3 Theod. HiEr. Fab. lib. i. c. xvi. Pluquet, Diet, des Here's, lib. i. p. 425, &c.
■* Hence another sect is said to have been called Barbeliotes, or Barborites. On
the derivation of the corrupt word Barbelo, see Beausobre, Hist, de Manich.
torn. ii. p. 327. The Phibionites, or Phemionites, were, also, an obscure and
depraved branch of Carpocratians.
^ Epiph. Hasr. lii. See a curious passage from Evagrius, quoted in Pluquet,
Diet, des Here's, art. Adamites.
* On this subject see the Dissertation of Beausobre in the Biblioth. Germaniq.
torn. ii. reprinted at the end of L'Eufant's Histoire des Hussites.
VALENTINUS. 155
the primitive conduct, even tlie nudity, of man in his state of innocence. Carpocrates
At first, perhaps, irreproachable in their morals, though strangely
misled b\' false reasoning and enthusiasm, they were naturally drawn,
by the tendency of their principles, into corruptions, alike dangerous to
themselves, and ruinous to the peace and regularity of civil societv.'
The ' Prodicians,' or followers of Prodicius, who is sometimes called Prodicians.
the founder of the Adamites, are placed by some writers among the
Valentinians. They are represented as having abandoned themselves
to licentiousness, (though they kept private their vicious practices
through fear,) under pretence that they were, by natm'e, the children
of the Supreme Deity, and privileged to live without control, in what-
ever manner they chose."^ 'I'hey boasted of possessing certain secret
books of Zoroaster,* who was, at that period, peculiarly venerated by
philosophical heretics. They are, moreover, said to have denied the
utility of prayer,* and the necessity of martyrdom.*
VALENTINUS.
Disciples of Valentinus.
Secundus — Ptolemy— Marcus — Colobarsus — Heracleon.
Lesser Gnostic Sects.
Sethians — Cainites — Opuites.
Valentinus was a native of Egypt, and flourished in the reign of System of
Antoninus Pius. He is described as a man of eloquence and talent, Vaientinus.
who seceded from the Church on being disappointed in his hope of ob-
taining a bishopric. Valentinus supposed a Supreme Being, infinite
and incomprehensible, dwelling in heights invisible and inefiable, and,
therefore, called Bvdoc, the depth which the understanding cannot
fathom ; the UpoirdrMp, who hath always been, and who will always
be. This is evidently the unknown and nameless Father, (the Ilarrip
ixyyuxyroq, the Ilarjjp dvwi'o/iaCTroc,) eternal and perfect, constantly
found as the leading principle in the Gnostic systems.
The notion of absolute creation being rejected, the Supreme Being
was considered as developing or senchng forth what was hidden or
concentrated in the Pleroma. This act produced certain intelligences,
or hypostatical manifestations of the Deity, called sometimes develop-
ments, (ctoOeVfic,) sometimes powers, {hwdjieiQ,) but more commonly
^ons (uiwj'fc). Such is the theory of emanations, which, though
adapted by the Gnostics before Valentinus, received from him con-
siderable increase from the fertility of his speculative powers. New
classifications of jEons, new names, new associations, peculiarly dis-
tinguish his doctrines.
' The Turlupins furnish a deplorable illustration of this remark.
2 Clem. Alexandr. Strom, lib. iii. p. 438.
3 Ibid. lib. i. p. 304. « Ibid. lib. vii. p. 722.
* Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. iii. See also page 19, note ', and Bishop Kaye on Ter-
tuUian, p. 151.
156 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Vaientinus. The Supreme Deity, or Bythos, after having spent numberless ages
in silent repose, resolved to reveal himself, and employed, for this
purpose, his thought, ("Eiroia,) who alone had dw^elt with or within
him, Ennoia, who is not a manifestation, but the source of all mani-
festation, is also called Xdpic and 2ty?), her happiness being perfect,
and her essence ineffable. This notion of the Supreme Being dwell-
ing, before the production of worlds, with silence, was familiar to the
Indians, the Persians, the Jews, and also to other Gnostic sects.
The first manifestation which the thought of the Supreme Being
produced, was Intelligence ; that is, in the allegorical language of
Vaientinus, Ennoia, impregnated by Bythos, gave birth to Nous
(Noue), the only Son (Moyoyeyyc).
Nous is the first of the ^ons, the beginning of all things, alone able
to comprehend the greatness of the Father. By him the Divinity is
revealed ; without him all had remained concealed in the depths of
Bythos. With Nous (though he was termed Monagenes) was born
Truth {'AXi]d£ici) : these two, together with Bythos and Ennoia, form
the first Tetrad or Qaarternion, the root from which all the remaining
-^ons are derived.
These ^ons are but the revealed forms of the Supreme Being — but
the names of Him whose perfections no one name can express. They
are in the language of generation, which easily flows from that of ema-
nation, and which was used not merely in the theogony of Egypt but
also of Greece, some males, and some females; the first being considered
as the active, the second as the passive principles, united homoge-
neously by pairs or syzygies, as the Bythos with the Ennoia. From
their union sprang other JEons, who are considered as their image or
revelation. The combination of all these ^ons constituted the Pleroma,
or iulness of the attributes and perfections of the Godhead.
From the abovementioned quarternion (BvOoc, "Evroia, Nouc, and
*A.Xr]deia) arose the following manifestations. From Noug sprang the
Word (Aoyoe) and Life (Zw>)), and from them Man (^' Ardpujiroe) and
the Church ('E/>.x\r/(7ta). This second Tetrad forms with the first the
Ogdoad.
From Aoyoe and Zwjy sprang ten more ^Eons : Bufltoe (or, as some
read, another Bvdoc) and MI^iq, 'Ay>;paroe, and "Efiotng, Avrofv^Q
and 'H^oyi), 'AnlyrjTOQ and ^vyKpatng, Movoyevrjc (another of the
name) and Mampia.
Yvom*Avdp(i)7roQ and 'EfcjcXTj^ia sprang twelve .^ons : JlapaKXrjTOi
and Uiarig, liarpiKOQ and 'EXttiq, MrjrpiKuQ and 'Ayawt], 'Atvoe (or
rather 'Aeivovg) and ^vvtaig,^ KKt^XrimaaTiKog and MaicapioTrjg, QeXr)-
Tog and Iiocpia.
These thirty -^ons formed the Pleroma.
Without attempting to explain the details of this strange system, it
is sufiiciently obvious that the above Decad in a manner typically inti-
mated the Divine attributes — the nature of Bythos, which is always
the same, neither impaired by age nor affected by change. The female
VALENTINUS. 157
jEons revealed their condition and influence — Union, Pleasure, Felicitv, Vaientinus
&c. In the Dodecad are marked those points in the Divine Nature to
which the Valentinian looks for j^rotection : the Holy Ghost, Hope,
Faith, Charity, Intelligence, Hap[)iness, Wisdom, and other ^ons,
whose nature is not evident.
All these ^ons, though pure manifestations of the Deity, reflecting
some rays of the Divine attributes, were unequal, boi'dering on imper-
fection, and decreasing in knowledge, in proportion as they were re-
moved from the Deity. Fi'om this gradual degeneration ensued the
Fall even in the heavenly ranks, a notion long known in the East.
The Fall is thus imagined by Vaientinus. The entire knowledge of
Bythos was communicated only by Noug, his only-begotten son. He
was desirous of imparting it to the other ^Eons, but was prevented bv
2(y>), his mother. The JEons then were consumed with a secret desire
of knowing the hidden God. This desire was especially vehement in
'Eo(pia, the last of the jEons, who disdained her companion QeXrjroQ,
and pined to be united with Bythos. The violent struggles of her
passion to attain an object incompatible with her imperfect nature
would at length have gradually annihilated her, had she not been
forced to return to the limits assigned her capacity, and thus preserved
by the Mon "OpoQ (Limitation), who was sent forth for that express
purpose, not having before existed, while the harmony of the Pleroma
was undisturbed. It is scarcely necessary to point out the meaning of
a myth which is so obviously intended to show, that the intelligence,
unchecked by its proper bounds aud will, which aspires to a degree of
knowledge unattainable in its actual state, wastes away with feverish
speculation, loses itself in endless mazes, and would at length fret its
powers into decay and destruction.
To "OpoQ, who, by casting out 'Eydvj^rjaic, had restored So^ta to
the Pleroma, are applied the names Mtraywyoe, 'OpoOirrig, Sravpoc,
or, perhaps, ZTcivpijJTfic, Ai/7-pw-?)c, and Kop7rt(Tr»)e.
But as the passionate agitations of 2o(pia had troubled the harmony
of the Pleroma, a restoration was necessary : hence new existences.
Nowc begot Christ (Xptoroe) and the Holy Spirit {Upev/jia, con-
sidered as a female -lEon), of which the following were the offices :
Christ explained to the J^lons the nature of the union of the different
pau's in the Pleroma, or of the successive developments by means of
which they were enabled to arrive at the knowledge of the Supreme
Being : after this communication the Holy Spirit rendered them grate-
ful and satisfied w^ith the instruction which they had received. Thus
were calm and harmony restored. All the -^ons, with mutual affec-
tion, resolved to glorify Bythos, by contributing to form a creature
possessing all which is excellent in nature. The fable of Pandora will
naturally suggest itself to the reader. By these joint contributions was "^
produced the JEon Jesus, who contained in his person the seed of
Divine life, to be spread among all existing beings who were without
the Pleroma.
158 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
He was also called Christ, as being to the inferior world what Christ
had been to the Pleroma, which may be termed the celestial or intel-
lectual world.
Between the higher or celestial and the lower or terrestrial world is
an intermediate region, touching upon the latter and governing it, as
itself is governed by the former.
In the vehemence of her desire to be united with Bvthos, Sophia
had produced a female ^on called KaTU)-e70(pia, the Achamoth of the
Cabala, who was but an abortion, an imperfect creature, and who,
incapable of being exalted to the Pleroma by the exertions of "Opog,
XpKTTOQ, and Urtvfxa, was precipitated into Chaos, or the regions of
darkness. In a degraded state of chequered joys and grief, she was
alternately swayed by different emotions ; now shuddering at the
thought of ialling into annihilation, now ravished by the remembrance
of the realms of light from which she had fallen ; now giving birth to
various beings, or drawing out of Chaos all living souls, and among
them the soul of the Demiurge, and all material substances. From
her tears came the element of water ; from her sadness, opaque matter ;
from her smiles, caused at the remembrance of Christ, light. At length,
in her anguish she supplicated Christ, who first sent her Horus ('Opoc),
and afterwards the ^on Jesus, as a deliverer.
Thrown into ecstacy at the appearance of Christ, with his attendant
angels, Sophia- Achamoth producetl three different kinds of existences
or elements — the material, the animal, and the spiritual. Out of the
animal, and the soul to which, during her passion, she had given birth,
she formed the Demiurge, who was also called MrjTpoiraTwp.
Assisted by Sophia and Jesus, the Demiurge separated the material
from the animal principle, which were conlbunded in Chaos, and formed
six regions — the imperfect image of the upper world — and, in order to
govern them, six Intelligences, who, with the Demiurge and his mother,
were the imperfect image of the Ogdoad of the Pleroma.
The Demiurge would have formed man after his image, so that he
would have possessed only the material principle : but without his
knowledge, and through the unperceived communication of Sophia, he
imparted a portion of divine light to man ; and thus the creature, dis-
])laying a degree of superiority to the inferior creation, surprised the
Creator. His jealousy was consecjuently excited. In unison with the
six spirits, he forbade man to taste of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil ; and, on the transgression of this order, he cast man out
from the aerial region of Paradise into this gross and material world,
where his soul is clothed with corporeal covering, by which its ener-
gies are cramped and debilitated, and subjected to the influence of
material spirits, which fill it with evil desires. The degeneracy of the
soul would then have been in danger of increase, but that Sophia — the
" light of the world," the '' salt of the earth," — enlightens and fortifies
it by some secret invisible power. Those who follow her impulse, by
, combating evil and the powers of matter, strengthen the seeds of
VALENTINUS. 159
divine life, which she was insti-umental in imparting, and then become Vaientinus.
truly " the spiritual," ■ — they reveal God even in this lower world, to
which the Saviour will come to deliver whatever is found to correspond
with I he spirituality of his nature.
Vaientinus divided man as well as substances into three different '[."P!'^
classes : the spiritual (or pneumatic), the material (hylic), and the mlnkimU
animal (psychical). The spiritual are they who, having the seeds of
divine life, display it in this world ; the material or carnal, they who
are blindly carried away by the passions excited by the matter, of
which they are composed, and the spirits which govern it ; the animal,
tliey who fluctuate uncertainly between these two classes. The mate-
rial are represented by Cain, the animal by Abel, the spiritual by Seth.
The material are doomed to certain perdition, and the spiritual to cer-
tain salvation. The future state of the animal is uncertain ; it will
depend on the greater degree of inclination which they may have
shown either for the material or for the spiritual : by assuming the
spirit, the vesture of incorruptibility, they may become immortal ; but
not having the higher capacities or intuition of truth, which distinguish
the S])iritual, they cannot comprehend divine points : they have not
faith, cannot ol:)tain iaith but through the miracles, and, even with this
extraordinary aid, they cannot raise themselves higher than the empire
of the Demiurge, a middle region between the celestial and terrestrial
worlds, which is much below felicity. Whereas the spiritual will in
time arrive to so high a degree of perfection, as to be able to cast
away the animal principle, which is the only present vehicle of intelli-
gence. For the ipvxii was long regarded as a kind of element in
which the Uvevixa resided. And hence the Valentinians rejected the
testimony of the senses, which they referred to the animal portion in
human nature, and explained the five foolish virgins in the parable to
mean the five senses in man. In applying this triple division, Vaien-
tinus considered the Christians as spiritual, and ranged the Jews under
the Demiurge, who was animal, and the heathens under Matter, or
Satan, that is, the progeny of Matter resisting the creative act of the
Divinity. He allowed, however, that there were individual exceptions
to this general classification ; the spiritual, who compose the new
Church, having existed in all nations.
And here it is worthy of remark, that Vaientinus admitted not the
theory of preceding Gnostics, wdio regarded Satan as a fallen angel, or
an eternal principle of evil. His notions approach nearer to the Greek
]jhilosophy on the subject of matter, which he considered as shapeless
and dead, unsubstantial and void, mere darkness, the shadow of reality
((Tcia Tov ovror), which, resisting the pervading principle of divine
life, has within itself a mode of being productis^e of evil.
As a redemption had in a manner been necessary in the superior
worlds, in consequence of their fall, it was especially necessary in the
lower regions, in consequence of their deep degeneracy. In each of
the worlds inhabited by intelligences, there was a peculiar redemption
160 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
effected by the first of the spirits of each class, imitating the Supreme
Saviour,
The Demiurge, who was himself merely psychical, had promised
those over whom he ruled a deliverer, but only one of an animal
nature, according to his conceptions and power. Ignorant of his
origin, and of the Pleroma, the Demiurge was in some respects even
more ignorant than his creature Satan, the " Spirit of wickedness."
He knew neither the trae method of redemption, nor the trae nature
of the Redeemer.
The Redeemer was the ^on Jesus, an image of the Superior
Christ ; according to his ideas, was the world formed ; by his means
were such of the inhabitants, as were susceptible of elevation into the
Pleroma, redeemed. Composed of the spiritual principle, derived
from Sophia Achamoth, and the animal principle, drawn from the
Demiurge, he had also a corporeal form, made with exquisite skill,
and the Superior Christ (who has been above described as formed out
of the contributions of the J^ons), descended upon him in the shape
of a dove at his baptism. He had nothing material, having passed
through the body of the Virgin merely as water through a canal. The
carnal and animal Christ alone was crucified ; the Saviour quitted him
when he was examined by Pilate.
It was during this union with the Superior Christ, that Jesus
performed the most important part of His mission ; before that period
He was chiefly distinguished by His moral life, enabled, in conse-
quence of the nature of His body, to engage in the common actions of
men,, without sharing their earthly affections.
Such as were only of an animal nature received the assistance only
of the animal Saviour, after his separation from Christ. His cruci-
fixion, the image of the act of redemption in the higher world, brought
back animal man into the limits of his nature (for the word nravpoQ
may also be considered as a bound or fence) ; and enabled the
psychical principle, by successful struggles, utterly to destroy the
hylic principle, which destruction is the ultimate end in the present
constitution of things.
The Saviour, on the point of death, still recommended the animal
seed, which He had received from his mother, that it might pass
beyond the kingdom of the Demiurge, and rise with the Spiritual
into the realms of the superior Saviour. The animal Saviour carried
what remained after the separation of the pneumatic principle into the
kingdom of the Demiurge, who, cheerfully acknowledging the superior
revelation of the Saviom-, b'ansmitted to him the sovereignty. To
this state the psychical beings may be admitted.
The union of the spiritual with the superior Christ, typified by his
union with Jesus at the ba])tism, will jnirge the soul, so that it may
overcome the evil spirits which lay strong siege against it. " For the
heart," says Valentinus, " which is not purified from the evil spirits
.that fix within it their impure abode, may be compared to an inn,
VALENTINUS. 161
which men, regardless of property not their own, disorder and defile.
But as soon as it becomes an object of some one's care, as soon as the
good Being visits and sanctifies it, then shines it forth with the
brilHancy of a pure light — then truly is it said of the person who
possesses such a heart that he shall see God." In another place, after
having addressed the Spiritual, " the immortal from the beginning,"
" the children of life eternal," he adds, " If you dissolve the material
world without suffering yourselves to be dissolved by it, you are
masters of the creation, and you rule over all which is formed but to
perish." For it was the opinion of Valentinus, that the present state
of things would cease when the end of redemption was full}- attained.
Then will the fire, which is spread or concealed in the world, burst
forth from all quarters, destroy the veiy dross of matter, the last seat
of evil. And at this final consummation, Sophia Achamoth, the bride
of the ^on Jesus, will be received into the Pleroma, together with
the spirits, who, then arrived at maturity, will enjoy the delights of an
intimate union with their fond companions. This is the 'AvcnravcnQ,
celebrated by many Gnostics.
The animal men, being satisfied with the middle region, l)etwcen
the Pleroma and this world, which they will share with the Demiurge,
the felicity of divine life, issuing from Bythos, the fountain of all things,
will flow into every degree of existence.
Such was, as far as can now be discovered, the fanciful system by
which Valentinus chiefly intended to explain the origin of evil ; for
this question, it should be remembered, was the great source of heresy
in the early centuries of the Church.
The sect of Valentinus obtained great celebrity. It was very
widely spread, and was, according to Tertullian, numerous among the
Gnostics. But his followers introduced considerable alterations into
the systems of their master ; a circumstance which has probably, in
this case, as in many others, been productive of much confusion.
Valentinus perverted the sacred Scriptm-es by interpretation, but
avoided mutilating them. The works of Valentinus are lost ; luit we
have stfll fragments of his ' Letters,' ' Treatises,' and ' Homilies.' The
above sketch of his system is chiefly taken from Irena^us.' It has also
been incidentally described by Clemens Alexandrinus f and Origen,*
Theodoret,* and Epiphanius,* funiish us with some additional infor-
mation. The brief account of Tertullian is little more than a trans-
lation of the first book of Irenanis against the Gnostics ; he may have
seen the ti'eatise of Valentinus entitled ' Sophia ;'^ but his anti-oriental
spirit made him but an indifferent expositor of heresies, which he
appears not to have taken sufficient pains to understand.
' Adv. HffiP. lib. i. 2 ytrom. and Excerpta Theodoti, affixed to his works.
^ C. Cels. and De Princip. •* Ha^r. Fab. lib. i. c. vii. * Ha?r. xxxi.
* Woide supposed that he had found this treatise among the MSS. of Dr. Askew ;
but see Matter, Hist, du Gnost. p. 163, note.
[C. H.] M
162
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
followers. The most noted disciples and successors who altered the system of
Valentinus, were Secundus, Ptolemy, Marcus, Colobarsus, Heracleon,
to whom may be added Theotimus and Alexander. Axionicus alone
adhered faithfully to the theories of Valentinus.
Secundus. Secundus (from whom the ' Secmidians ' received their name) is
said to have acquired great reputation. He divided the first Ogdoad
of the Pleroma into two Tetrads, the right and the left, or light
and darkness. God, though himself above all evil, no sooner began
his developments, than the germ of difference between good and evil
manifested themselves. This deviation from the system of Valentinus,
and approximation to the ancient notions of the East, contributed to
the increase of the sect of the Secundians, and were the means of
Isidore, bringing over Isidore, the son of Basilides, and Epiphanes, the son of
Epiphanes. r-i j. 11'
Cai-pocrates.
Ptolemy. Ptolemy founded the second branch of the Valentinians. He had
different notions respecting the number and nature of the Jj]ons. His
opinions may be learnt from the very curious ' Letter,' preserved by
Epiphanius, which he addressed to an orthodox female, called Flora,
with a view to convince her of the truth of his system. On the
subject of the Old Testament, he argues that the Mosaic law is too
frill of imperfections to have proceeded from the perfect Deity ; and
yet contains too many points of excellence, too many prohibitions
against wickedness, to have been the work of an evil being. The
same argument he applies to the inferior creation, which evinces too
many defects to have proceeded from the unknown Father, and too
many marks of wisdom to have arisen from the principle of evil.
Consequently, both the law and the creation, being of mixed good and
evil, arose from the Demiurge, who is himself a being of a middle
natm'e.
In the laws of the Pentateuch (which is not perfect) must still be
distinguished what proceeded from the Demiurge, what was given by
Moses, and what was subsequently added by the ancients. The part
which came from Moses is not contrary to that of the Demiurge, but
it was drawn from the reluctant legislator in consequence of the hard-
ness of heart of the Jews ; that part which was added by the ancients,
is that which is often censured by Jesus Christ. Again, the law of
the Demiurge admits of a triple division : the first consists of those
pure laws of unmixed good which Jesus Christ came to accomplish ;
the second are those mixed with evil, for instance, that of retaliation,
which He came to abolish by the substitution of better precepts ; the
third are those which, being merely typical, have been converted from
things sensible into things spiritual ; such are sacrifices, fasts, the
passover, circumcision, and other rites, which, being symbolical, have
been succeeded by the time worship of the heart, by mental abstinence
from evil, by the sacrifice of love for God and of charity for man.
Marcus. Marcus, another disciple, founded the sect of ' Marcosians.' He is
MARCUS. — COLOBARSUS. — HERACLEON. 163
accused of magic ; an accusation very common against heretics, and, Marcus,
doubtless, often proceeding from want of sufficient acquaintance with
what might be private in their ceremonies, or obscm'e in their doctrine.
If the instances given of his arts are correct, he must be considered as
having resorted to a kind of legerdemain for pm-poses of imposture.
His chief refinement on the system of Valentinus consisted in adding
to it some Cabalistic notions. He attached great mystery to the
letters of the alphaljet, without which truth could not be discovered,
and in which its whole perfection resided. .Jesus, according to his
idea, was said to be Alpha and Beta, because He had in him all
nmnbers. He maintained that when the Father wished to manifest
himself, he produced by the word of his mouth the Logos, who con-
tained the whole Pleroma of -(Eons, that is all the attributes of God,
which JEons or attributes were thus displayed. When the Supreme
Being pronounced the first word, it was a syllable of four letters,
which became four beings, who formed the first tetrad ; the second
word consisted of fom* letters, and formed the second tetrad ; both
tetrads corresponding to the Ogdoad of Valentinus ; the third word
consisted of ten, and the fourth of twelve letters, which, forming the
decad and dodecad, completed the Pleroma. But these thirty ,Eons
of the Pleroma were not the only sjiirits formed by this method.
Each of the letters which produce them contains a number of letters
in itself; for instance, the letter delta contains five, d, e, X, r, a, and
each of these contains many others, so that it alone contains an
immense series. The reader will, doubtless, be satisfied wirh this
short specimen.
Colobarsus, the coadjutor of IMarcus, afterwards separated from Coiobarsus
him. His alteration consisted chiefly in presenting a new -(Eogony
and a new Christogony.
Heracleon was one of the most learned and celebrated of the iieracieon.
Valentinians. He appeals not to apocryphal writings, which, though
commonly used by the Gnostics, may have tended, from their multi-
plicity and from their evident inferiority to the canonical works,
rather to impede than to advance the progress of heresy. He applied
himself to writing ' Commentaries ' on several parts of the New Tes-
tament, more especially of St. John ; and instead of attaching himself
to the doctrinal parts, or Jilogony, of the Valentinian system, he
turned his attention to more practical details. Some fragments of
tliese ' Commentaries ' remain. We give the substance of his remarks
on St. Luke, ch. xii. v. 8, 11, 12, which appears worthy of being
transcribed, if it were only on account of the historical information it
contains : — " There is one confession by faith and manner of life, and
another confession by word of mouth. The latter, which is made
before persons in power, is considered by many as the only one
necessary. But this opinion is erroneous. For it may be made even
by hypocrites. And besides it cannot be universally applied : for not
all who are saved have made this confession, and, in consequence,
Ji 2
164
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Heracieon. Suffered martyrdom: for instance, Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi,*
and many others. There is then a general and a particular confession.
The first is made by works and actions, agreeable to right faith ; the
second, wliich is made before authorities, will ensue, if occasion
should so require, for, beyond a doubt, that man will make a
true confession in words, who hath before made it m the tenour of
his actions." *
Remarks. Among the Valentinian chiefs are Florinus, who founded the
' Florinians,' and others. After the time of these more eminent
disciples, the schools of the Valentinians, so famed (more especially
the Marcosian), fell into demoralization and decay. In the fifth
century they had become obscure. The fatal notion that the
spiritual, exalted above positive laws, were incapable of corruption,
naturally led, at least among the mass of followers, to those deplor-
able results, which were, perhaps, not anticipated by the first or
more enlightened teachers, and which afford a very useful lesson
to the philosophic observer of the history of the human mind.
Supposed internal excellence was said to exem]:)t the possessor from
strict attention to external conduct. Intellectual speculations degene-
rated into sensual debasement. The infatuated mystic imagined that
his superior spirituality was as little affected by these acts of indulgence
as the nature of precious metals is altered by the gross matter in which
thev happen to lie. The scrupulous Christian, who spent his life in
the practice of moral duties, and exposed his person to the fury of
persecutors, was regarded as an ignorant and narrow-minded man,
doomed to toil for his salvation, in the opinion of those who, suddenly
raised by a mysterious science to perfection, imagined themselves the
very seeds of election ! ^ When they were in danger of judgment, the
power of Sophia Achamoth would cover the redeemed with the
armour of Orcus, and, becoming invisible, they would escape the
power of the Demiurge.
At the same time we cannot but repeat the remark, which we have
thought it a duty due to tmth so often to make, that the accounts of
the ancient fathers must be cautiously received ; that the general state
of a sect must not be judged of by some individual instances ; that
consequences, however strictly deducible from certain doctrines, are
not to be urged, unless it can be shown that these consequences were
actually deduced by those who held the doctrines ; and that the alarm,
excited by these either real or supposed consequences, must often
have concurred with want of opportunity, at a moment of extreme
danger from enemies without and within, and with the fear of con-
* Levi means Lebbeus, who is also called Judas or Thaddeus, This passage
shows that the modern traditions, that all the apostles suffered death, are not cor-
rect. For further information see Lardner, Hist, of Heret. book ii. c. viii.
* Ap. Clem. Alex. Strom, lib. iv. p. 502.
' In drawing up this account we have been guided by Bishop Kaye on TertuUian,
p. 510-521 ; and especially by Matter, Hist, du Gnost. vol. ii. p. 101-177.
SETHIANS. — CAIXITES. 165
tracting impurity by reading impious works,' to check the desire of Remarks,
minutely explaining, or candidly weighing, the numerous obscure and
diversiiied systems of the ancient Gnostics.*
A succinct view of some less considerable Gnostic sects may be
requisite to complete our sketch of the early heresies.
The error of the ' Sethians '^ is grounded on an allegorical explana- Sethians.
tion of the first part of ' Genesis,' which they regarded as containing
not an historical narrative, but a series of myths. According to their
notion, there were from the begimaing two sorts of men — the material,
created by evil Genii; and the animal, created by the Demiurge.
Abel, the representative of the animal race, having through his weak-
ness been overcome by Cain, the representative of the material race,
Sophia substituted Seth, to whom she imparted the additional aid of
the spiritual principle. The descendants of Seth formed a family of
spiritual persons,* who struggled against the angels of darkness. When
Sophia resolved to destroy the wicked by the deluge, this family
escaped, but among them Ham, who was of the other race, contrived,
by means of the evil angels, to enter clandestinely into the ark. Hence
was the vigilance of Sophia increased, and, at the crisis of the greatest
danger, she sent to save the human race Seth, in the person of Jesus
Christ,^ the type of the spiritual. The Sethians, it may be remai'ked,
were not anti-judaical, as were many of the Gnostics. They acknow-
ledged the holiness of the patriarchs and the prophets. They thought,
as many Gnostics, that Christ descended into Jesus at His baptism,
and left Him when He was led away to be cmcified. They had many
apocryphal books, such as Seven Books of Seth, &c.
The ' Cainites ' (if the accounts of them are correct, and any sect Cainites.
really assumed tliat name), on the contrary, extolled Cain, regarding
him as a superior power. They are also said to have paid divine
honours to Judas, and also to Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the people
of Sodom. They appear, in short, not only to have regarded as
superior men all those who are represented as enemies of God by
the writers of the Old Testament, but also to have considered the
books of the New Testament as works written by persons, who had
been deceived in their opinions by their attachment to Judaism.
Judas was their only spiritual apostle, the only one who understood
the Gnosis. He alone knew that by the death of the Savioin-, the
' That this fear deterred many Christians from reading the works of the heretics
api>ears fi'om Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii, c. vii.
* There is a work by Bishop Hooper (of Bath and Wells), De Valentinianorum
Hffiresi conjecturae quibus illius origo ex jEgyptiaca Theologia. deducitur.
' On the subject of the Sethians see Iren. Adv. Haer. lib. i. c. sxxi. ; Epiph.
Hajr. sxsix. ; Theod. Ha;r. Fab. lib. i.
* See Genesis iii. 15; iv. 25, 26. In Numbers xxiv. 17 (where, instead of
" destroy," some translate "rule over"), the expression "children of Seth," has
been interpreted to mean "the Church, or the Faithful."
* Possibly they only thought that Jesus was descended from Seth. See Lardner,
Hist, of Heret. art. Sethians.
166 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Cainites. empire of Jaldabaoth would be destroyed, and it was to accomplish
this purpose that he betrayed Him. To him we owe, in a manner,
our salvation, and the knowledge which we have attained by it. In
defence of these notions they referred to the Gospel of Judas, which,
with other apocryphal books, they had in use. They also appealed
to a work, which they pretended to have been written by St. Paul
after his ascension to the third heaven.'
Nor is their conduct represented in a more favourable light than
their principles. Desirous of showing their contempt for the Judaical
laws, and in mockery of the evil angels, they are said to have aban-
doned themselves to the lowest sensuality. Thus the same principle,
which led one party to the most rigid continence, was pleaded by
another (so full of contrarieties is man) as a defence of the most un-
I'estrained licentiousness.
Ophites The Sethians and the Cainites may, perhaps, be considered as
branches of the ' Ophites ' (so called from 64>iq, a serpent) — the most
remarkable of the Gnostic sects after the Valentinians, from whom
they appear to have separated, though their existence has been traced
to a much higher period.
They agreed with the Gnostic theories in many points : they re-
garded the Old Testament as being inspired by an inferior God, and
containing but few revelations of Sophia ; and the New Testament as
containing the opinions of our Saviour, mutilated by his disciples.
The Ophites had their peculiar theory of jEons, which was more
simple than that of the Valentinians. They had their notion of the
formation of the world against the will of God ; of the chiefs of the
seven planets presiding over the world ; and the union of Christ with
the man Jesus, and his mission to destroy the empire of the Demiurge ;
but our limits prevent us from giving minute details of such sects as
have exerted but little influence on the opinions of man in their own
or succeeding ages.
The point in which the Ophites are most remarkable is the honour
which they paid to the serpent, in the belief that it was under the
figure of that animal that wisdom had revealed herself to mankind.
This belief was fomided on the narrative in ' Genesis,' that the serpent
had made Adam and Eve acquainted with the taste of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, and therefore had effected the greatest
services. The Ophites, however, were much divided on this subject.
Some thought that the genius Ophis, after having thus advised and
enlightened man, was pi'ecipitated, as well as man, into a material
body by the exasperated Demiurge Jaldabaoth ; hence Ophis was con-
verted from the friend into an enemy and seducer of the human race,
on whose account he had fallen. Others considered him as having
continued to be the faithful genius of Sophia, with whom he was
sometimes confounded. With him also the Saviom* was sometimes
identified ; in defence of which they appealed to the passage where
' See 2 Corinth, sii. 4.
OPHITES. 167
Christ is compared in his crucifixion to the Hfting up of the brazen Ophi-es.
serpent by Moses in the wilderness.' It is evident, therefore, that the
notion is of Jewish origin, though afterwards it was possibly con-
nected with the theories of the Egyptians respecting the god Cneph,
or AgathodemoD. And the Phoinicians, it may be remarked, con-
sidered the serpent as the most pneumatic of all reptiles. For the
rapidity and vigour of its movements, the variety and flexibleness of
its attitudes, together with its longevity, appeared to give it a character
of mystery, which was confirmed by the sacred rites of various nations.
In the Greek mythology the serpent was a salutary emblem, the type
of iEsculapius, who was worshipped under the form of that animal at
P]pidaums as a good genius. Hence it is found on Greek coins with
the legend 2wrj}p, saviour, or healer. Those Ojjhites who honoured
the serpent are said to have kept this animal in a chest or kind of
cage ; and when the period of commemorating the supposed services
rendered to mankind by the power which had assumed this form was
arrived, they opened the door of the cage, and with a certain cry
called him forth. The serpent is then described as coming out, crawl-
ing up to the tables, and twisting itself roimd certain loaves which had
been there placed on them, and thus sanctifying them.^ They m-ged
tliat the serpent was the symbol of the piiident artifices which Sophia
was obliged to resort to against Jaldabaoth.^
Though these were the true Ophites, they formed, it would seem,
but the smaller part of the sect so denominated. The notion so
common in the east, and in the ' Zend-Avesta,' that the serpent was
connected with the principle of evil, was probably embraced by the
majority : they allowed, however, that the disobedience of man to the
Demiurge was productive of the most salutary effects.
Origen, who was led to the inquiry because Celsus had confoimded
the Ophites with the Christians, has presented to us their diagram,''
which was a kind of symbolic picture of their belief, accompanied
with some prayers. This very curious monument is probably in an
imperfect state, and, consequently, scarcely intelligible. It appears,
' " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son
of Man be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life." (John iii. 14, 15.) The passage there alluded to is in Numbers
sxi. 8, 9. " And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery sei-pent, and set it
upon a pole : and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he
looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon
a pole ; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass, he lived." The serpent appears frequently in the superstitions
and customs of the Egyptians. (See Sir John ISIarsham, Chronic.) The Israelites,
as it appears from 1 Kings xviii. 4, " burnt incense" to it all the days of Hezekiah.
iElius Lampridius infonns us, that Heliogabalus " kept at Rome, serpents which
were called Agathodemones, Good Demons, by the Egyptians." See also the gems
having serpents in Montfaucon.
* Lardner looks upon this story as a mere calumny. See Hist. Heret. p. 111.
^ This symbol, said they, was reproduced in the shape of the bowels of man.
See Iren. Adv. Hrer. lib. i. c. xxx. Theod. Hjer. Fab. lib. i. c. xiv.
* See an account of it in Matter, Hist, du Gnost. torn. ii. p. 222.
168 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Ophites, however, that they supposed the world to be ruled by different powers ;
that these powers had separated their regions ; that the soul, in order
to retiirn to heaven, must gain, or deceive, those powers, and pass un-
noticed, from one world to another.'
According to Origen, the Ophites are so far from being Christians,
that they would admit no one into their sect till he had cursed Jesus.
This appears to be incorrect. The name of their master was
Euphrates.
We now pass to heresies no longer of Oriental origin.
PRAXEAS.
Praxeas. Our knowledge of the opinions of Praxeas is almost entirely drawn
from the treatise written against him by Tertullian.* From this piece
it appears that Praxeas, coming from Asia to Rome, had by his repre-
sentations induced the bishop of that see to recall letters of peace, in
which he had recognised the prophecies of Montanus ;^ a step, it must
be cautiously remarked, not calculated to produce a favourable impres-
sion on the mind of TertuUian, who, at the time when he wrote this
work, had joined the sect of Montanists."* Praxeas is described as a
man of an unquiet temper; elated at having suffered persecution,
which is said to have consisted in a short imprisonment in the cause
of the Christian religion.* From Rome, in which city he openly
taught the errors which have added his name to the list of heretics,
he appears to have proceeded to Africa. It was there, probably, that
he held a dispute on the subject of his new doctrines, acknowledged
himself confuted, and delivered to the Church a formal recantation.'
Whether his conduct in this instance proceeded from conviction, or
from interested motives, cannot be known ; it is certain, however, that
he afterwards maintained again the same opinions.
is opinions. His heresy consisted in denying the distinct personality of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost, which he conceived to be inconsistent with
the unity of God.'' In the words of TertuUian, he asserted that the
• On the subject of the Ophites see Iren. Adv. Hasr. lib. i. c. xxsiv. ; Clem.
Alex. Strom, lib. vii. ; Orig. c. Gels. lib. vi. sec. 25 ; App. ad Tertull. De
Prsescrip. ; Epiph. User, xxxvii. xxxix. ; Aug. Ueer, svii. ; Theod. Hser. Fab. lib. i.
c. xiv. ; Damas, De Hser. c. xxxvii. &c.
2 Praxeas is not mentioned by Irenaus, Eusebius, Epiphanius, or Theodoret.
No distinct account of this heresy is found in Philaster or Augustine, but he is
spoken of by them in the Chapter on Sabellius.
3 Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. i. * See p. 105, and below, note *.
5 Nam iste primus ex Asia hoc genus perversitatis intulit Romae, homo et alias
inquietus, insuper de jactatione martyrii inflatus, ob solum et simplex et breve
carceris tjedium. Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. 1.
s Manet chirographum apud Psychicos, apud quos tunc res gesta est. Exinde
silentium. Et nos quidem postea agnitio Paracleti atque defensio, disjunxit a,
Psychicis. Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. i. By Psychici (i^ux'*o')> o^* animal (homines
solius aniraffi et carnis) (De Jejun. c. xvii.), TertuUian means the Catholics, to
distinguish them from the ■mufit.a.rix.oi, or spiritual, which appellation he applied to
the Montanists.
^ Unicum Dominum vindicat Omnipotenteum mundi conditorem, ut et de unioo
PRAXEAS. 169
Father himself descended into the Virgin, was bom of her, suffered, Praxeas.
and, in short, was himself Jesus Christ.' And hence his sect were
called Patripassians. Praxeas, however, denied the fairness of this
statement. He said the Father did not suffer in the Son, but sympa-
thised with the Son.^
In order to support the entire identity of the Father and Son,
Praxeas appealed to various passages of the sacred Scriptures. After
quoting texts in the Old Testament in which the unity is asserted,^ he
referred to the expressions in St. John's Gospel, " I and my Father
are one. He who has seen me has seen the Father also. 1 in my
Father, and my Father in me."*
Yet, on the other hand, in order to disprove the distinction of
persons — the Trinity — Praxeas is represented as asserting that, in the
j^assages on which the doctrine was grounded, the Son meant the
flesh, i. e. man, i. e. Jesus ; the Father meant the Spirit, i. e. God, i. e.
Christ.^
To these arguments the answers of Tertullian are the more interest-
ing, as they lead him to give a view of his own sentiments — a summary
of faith — on the great doctrines in question.®
The heresy of Praxeas '^ appears not to have made very extensive
progress ; it was almost unknown in Africa in the time of Optatus.®
hferesim faciat. Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. i. Tertullian says, that the simple-minded,
not to call them unwise and unlearned (or superficial) — who always form the
majority of believers — inasmuch as the true faith condemns polytheisra, were
alarmed at the doctrine of the Trinity, which they supposed divided the Unity.
Simplices quique ne dixerim imprudentes et idiotre. By idiotae Tertullian, doubt-
less, meant persons who do not possess that thorough knowledge of a subject
which is obtained by those who have professionally studied it. The meaning of the
word is clearly illustrated by Bentley, in his Remarks on a late Discourse on Free-
Thinking, p. 33, and by Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 527, note.
' Ipsum dicit Patrem descendisse in virginem, ipsum ex ea natum, ipsum passum ;
denique ipsum esse Jesum Christum. (Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. 1.)
* Ergo nee compassus est Pater Filio ; sic enim, directam blasphemiam in
Patrem veriti, diminui eam hoc modo sperant, concedentes jam Patrem et Filium
duos esse, si Filius quidem patitur ; Pater vero compatitur. (Ibid. c. xxis.)
3 Ibid. c. xviii. xix. * Ibid. c. xx.
* Ut xquh in un^ person^, utrumque distinguant Patrem et Filium, dicentes
Filium cai'nem esse, id est, hominem, id est, Jesum ; Patrem autem Spiritum, id
est, Deum, id est Christum. (Tertull. Adv. Prax. c. xxvii.) Again, Ecce inquiunt
fib Angelo pr^edicatum est, propterea quod nascetur sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei ;
Caro itaque nata, est Caro itaque erit Filius Dei. (Ibid.) F'rom these passages,
two inferences may, we think, be drawn ; first, that Praxeas did not suppose that
the Divine Nature had suffered on the Cross ; and, secondly, that Praxeas admitted
the Miraculous Conception. (See Lardner's Hist, of Heret. book ii. c. xx.)
® The arguments of Tertullian have been detailed at large, and their agreement
with the Articles of the Church of England examined, in an interesting analysis of
the Treatise against Praxeas by Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 523-548.
^ In the Catalogue of Heresies affixed to Tertull. de Prescript, it is said that
this heresy was confirmed by Victorinus. Beausobre supposes that Victor, bishop
of Rome, is here meant. (Hist, de Manich.)
^ Lib. 1. p. 37. See also below our account of the heresies of Noetus and
Sabellius.
170 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
THEODOTUS AND ARTEMON— (Melchisedechians).
Theodotus of Byzantium, b}' trade a tanner,' but of acknowledged
learning and ability,* was the founder of ttie sect of Theodotians. He
maintained that Jesus was a mere man,^ but of eminent virtue, and
born of a virgin^ by the operation of the Holy Spirit. This view of
the nature of Christ he considered, or affected to consider, as extenu-
ating the apostacy* into which he had fallen in some persecution f
perhaps that which was infhcted upon the Christians by M. Aurelius.'
Artemon, or Artemas (from whom the Artemonists were so deno-
minated), maintained, apparently with greater fame, the same opinions
as Theodotus ; but it is difficult to determine whether he was prior or
posterior to him in point of time.
In defence of these notions, the Artemonites appealed to the
primitive doctrine as taught by the Apostles, and as preserved by the
Church till the time of Victor, thirteenth bishop of Rome ; by whose
successor, Zephp-inus, the truth, according to their statement, was first
corrupted. In refutation of this argument, the Catholic writers referred
to the sacred Scriptures ; to the preceding ecclesiastical writers, as
Justin, Miltiades, Irenfeus, Clemens of Alexandria, Melito, who
asserted the divinity of Christ ; to the ancient hymns and canticles of
the Church ; and to the sentence of excommunication pronounced by
Victor against Theodotus. This account of their reasoning we derive
from an anonymous writer (suj^posed by some to be Caius,^ priest of
Rome), whose ' Argument against the Heresy of Artemon' is cited by
Eusebius.^ From his extracts, it also appears that some of the
Theodotians engaged with zeal in the study of works on geometry and
on philosophical subjects, and applied the principles of grammar and
logic to the support of their peculiar doctrines.'" They are accused of
corrupting the Scripture, their copies being, it is said, different" one
' Theodotus, the Tanner, is not to be confounded, as Cave has done, with
Theodotus the Valentinian. (Beaus. Hist, de Manich. torn. i. p. 420, &c.)
2 Epiphan. Anac. p. 397. Hasr. liv. cf. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. xxviii.
3 Theodotus and his followers defended their opinion by appealing to the passages
of the Old and New Testament (a proof that they admitted their authority);
among the rest to the following, Deut. xviii. 15 ; Isaiah liii. 3 ; Matt. sii. 31, 32 ;
Luke i. 35 ; Acts ii. 22 ; 1 Tim. ii. 5, &c. Theodotus cited John viii. 40. " But
now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of
God." The Theodotians, therelbre, did not, as it has been said, reject St. John.
•* Theodoret. Hfer. Fab. lib. ii. c. v. &c. Epiphanius, however, asserts that
Theodotus taught that Christ was born in the same manner as other human beings.
(Hser. liv.) But Epiphanius himself says, that Theodotus appealed to Luke i. 35 ;
which, if correct, seems to contradict his previous account.
* Epiphan. Anac. p. 397. Append, ad Tertull. de Prsescript. Philast. Har. 1.
Aug. Hner. xxxiii. No mention of this circumstance is found in the anonymous
writers against the Artemonites cited by Eusebius, or in Theodoret.
^ Obx, otia, iiTruv iv oToia huyfji.M, Epiphan. Hasr. 54.
^ Baron. Annal. Ann. 196, sec. 2, &c.
8 See Phot. Biblioth. Cod. 48. Tillem. Mem. Art. Les The'odotiens.
9 Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xxviii. '» Ibid. " Ibid.
HERMOGENES, 171
from the other ; and some of them are represented as rejecting the Artemon.
Law and the Prophets.'
Among the followers of Theodotus was another of the same name, Mekhise-
a banker by profession, who is said^ to have founded a new sect,
called Melchisedechians? They coincided with the Theodotians
respecting the nature of Christ, but entertained particular opinions on
the subject of Melchisedec, whom they described as -ItiRiiil^ not a
human being, but a celestial virtue or power ; the intercessor or advo-
cate of celestial angels or powers, as Christ was of men.* Melchisedec,
according to their notion, had literally, in the words of the Epistle to
the Hebrews,^ " neither father nor mother;" his beginning and end
were incomprehensible. They regarded him as superior to Christ,^
who is called " a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."^
They are said to have used certain apocryphal books of their own
invention. 8
HERMOGENES.
Hermogenes appears to have been a painter by profession,' and to Hermogenes.
have lived m Africa.'" He was still living in the time of Tertullian,
who wrote against him a tract," which enables us to form some judg-
ment on the nature of his heresy.
It arose from an attempt to prove satisfactorily that God was not System and
method of
soul '"^ and spirit, were created out of self-existent and eternal matter,
the author of evil, and consisted in asserting that all things, even the leasonme.
* This sect either had, or were desirous of having, bishops. See the ridiculous
story of Natalis told in Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. xxviii. and illustrated by
Jortin, Remarks on Eccl. Hist. vol. ii. p. 227.
'^ Theodoret, Hair. Fab. lib. ii. c. vi.
' Lardner observes : " Possibly there never was any such set of men. But
some Catholics, from some comparisons occasionally made by the Theodotians, or
others, between Jesus and Melchisedec, imagined a distinct sect, and gave it such a
name as they saw fit." (Hist, of Heretics, book ii. c. xvii. sec. 7.)
* Append, ad Tertull. de Prescript. The opinion that Melchisedec was not a
man but an angel, or a celestial power, was held by other Christians ; among the
rest, by Origen and Didymus. (Hier. Ep. 126.) * Ch. vii. 3.
* Ap. ad Tertull. de Praescript. See also Philast. Hser. lii. and cxliv.
' Psalm ex. 4.
8 Philast. Hffir. lii. Respecting Melchisedec, see also a subsequent article on
Ilierax. ® Tertull. Adv. Hermogenem, c. i.
'" Philast. Haer. liv. Augustin. Har. xli.
" But for this Tract (to which may be added the notice of Theodoret) we should
scarcely have had any knowledge of Hermogenes, though it appears Theophilus of
Antioch had undertaken to refute him. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. iv. c. xxiv.) He
is neither mentioned by Irenaus nor by Epiphanius ; he is omitted in the catalogue
affixed to Tertullian, de Praescriptione, nor is a distinct article assigned to him by
Philaster or Augustine.
*^ Ceterum adversus Hermogenem, qui eam (animam) ex materia, non ex Dei
flatu contendit, flatum proprie tuemur. Hie enim adversus ipsius scripturas fidem
tiatum in spiritum vertit, ut dum incredibile est Spiritum Dei in delictum et mox
in judicium devenire, ex materia potius auima credatur, quam ex Dei Spiritu.
(Tertull. De Anim. c. ii.) It may be remarked that Hermogenes did not deny a
172
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Hermosfenes. Hermogenes arrived at this conclusion by the following reasoning:
God must have made the world either out of Himself, i. e.. His own
substance, or out of nothing, or out of pre-existent matter. Now,
God did not make the world out of His own substance — this would
be inconsistent with His indivisible and immutable nature, of which,
moreover, evil could not form a part ; neither did God create it out of
nothing ' — this, by implying that He had produced evil, when He was
at liberty not to produce it, would be contradictory to His infinite
goodness. It remained, therefore, to assert, that God made it out of
uncreated matter, to the defects of which matter the origin of evil was
to be traced.^
ObjecUons. To this System (which is but the doctrine of the Stoics, which he
is said to have studied) it was objected that it made matter inde-
pendent of God, equal if not superior to God, necessary as God ; that,
in fact, it made two Gods — a consequence which Hermogenes denied,
expressly declaring that there was but one God, the maker of the
world, supreme, unchangeably good, with whom no other being was
comparable.^ It was also urged, and very justly, that the difficulty
respecting the existence of evil was not removed ; for, if God could
not purge matter of its evil qualities. He is not omnipotent ; if He
would not, He is not infinitely good.*
Artruments Hemiogenes endeavoured to support his opinions by expressions of
aei'^s""a^nst ^criptiuTe, which he contended nowhere affirmed that matter was
absolute Created from nothing. He maintained that the first words of Genesis,
in primipio (as they are translated in the Latin version), meant the
first principle, i. e., pre-existent and eternal matter, out of which
heaven and earth were created — as clay is the principle of the vessel
which is formed from it — and that by the " earth," in the sentence
" the earth was without form and void," is signified this same matter.*
Hermogenes also argued that the word Lord, which was from
eternity applied to God, implied the existence from eternity of some-
thing ov^er which He was Lord — that something was matter. To
avoid this inference, Tertullian answers that the title Lord, being
merely relative, was not applicable to God before the Creation.*
future judgment. The notion of Hermogenes that the soul was made out of matter
was refuted by Tertullian, in a work entitled De Censu Animse, On the Origin of
the Soul, which is now lost. (De Anim. c. i.)
' It would appear that Hermogenes did not argue from the physical impossibility
of creation from nothing, but from the moral impossibility of explaining, on that
supposition, the permission of evil. Proinde ex nihilo non potuisse eum facere sic
contendit. Bonum et optimum definiens Dominum, qui bona atque optima tarn
velit facere quam sit ; immb nihil non bonum atque optimum et velle eum et
facere. Igitur omnia ab eo bona et optima oportuisse fieri secundum conditionem
ipsius. Inveniri autem mala ab eo facta, utique non ex arbitrio, nee ex vohm-
tate. . . . Quod ergo non ex arbitrio suo fecerit, intelligi oportere ex vitio alicujus
rei factum, ex materia esse sine dubio. (Tertull. Adv. Herm. c. ii.)
* Ibid. c. iii, ^ i})[i_ c. iv. v. vi. xii. ■* Ibid. c. x. xiv.
* Ibid. c. xxiii. ^ Ibid, c. iii.
MONTANUS. 173
Of matter, Hermogenes is said to have taken the following view : Hermogene
it was partly corporeal, because bodies were drawn from it; it was Nature of
partly incorporeal, because it had motion,' and motion is incorporeal ™*"^''-
(as if motion were a part, and not a particular state of a substance).
Out of a portion of this matter, God formed the universe. It lay a
confused and undigested mass — agitated by vague and undetermined
motion, turbulent, and like the fermentation of water when it boils
over — which the mere approach of the Deity reduced into order and
harmony; somewhat after the manner that beauty, by its very ap-
pearance, affects the mind ; and that thg loadstone, by approximation
only, attracts a piece of iron.^ But matter (which Hermogenes some-
times said was, properly speaking, neither good nor evil) still retained
a certain blind force, a degree of inflexibility, owing to which it could
not be entirely bent and conformed to the will of the Deity. Hence
the evils and disorders which afflict the world.
Hermogenes is also said to have asserted that the body of Christ was
deposited in the sun,^ and that the Devil and demons would be again
resolved into matter.*
Hermogenes disputed with ingenuity, and set forth his arguments other
in syllogistic arrangement. The answers of Tertullian bear the usual °p'"'""*-
character of his style; sometimes intemperate, generally harsh, often
acute.'
As Tertullian frequently appeals to the Scriptures of the Old and
New Testament in his refutation, it may be, doubtless, inferred that
their authority was fully allowed by Hermogenes ; who, in fact, is not
even said to have established a separate communion.®
MONTANUS— (MoNTANisTs).
The sect of Montanists derived their name from Montanus, who Montanus
began to publish his opinions about the 171st year of the Christian
1 Commune autem inter illos facis, quod a semet ipsis moventur et semper
moventur. Quid minus materia; quam Deo adscribis ? Totum consortium divini-
tatis hoc erit, libertas et seternitas motus. Sed Deus composite, materia incondite
movetur. Nam, secundum olla similitudinem sic erat, inquis, materiae motus,
antequam disponeretur, concretus, inquietus, inadprehensibilis, prje nimietate cer-
taminis. (Tertull. Adv. Herm. c. xlii. xliii.) The Hebrew word tehom, which we
translate deep in Genesis, i. 2 (" and darkness was upon the face of the deep ")
signifies tumult and turbid confusion. See Bishop Patrick's Comment, upon Genes.
* Tertull. Adv. Herm. The expression of Anasagoras will naturally suggest
itself, TlavTa xj>)/[taTa »iv ofiou i'lra, Nou; Ixffay auTa '^iixcurf/.tio-t. Diog. Laert.
^ Theodoret, Har. Fab. lib. i. c. xix. &c. The same opinion is attributed to the
followers of Seleucus and Hermias in Philaster (Har. Iv.) and Augustine (Hser. lix.)
* Theod. Ha;r. Fab. lib. i. c. xix.
* It has been remarked that they are in many respects similar to those used bv
Dr. Clarke to disprove the eternity of matter. Bergier, Diet, de Theologie, art.
Hermoge'niens.
^ On the heresy of Hermogenes, see Lardner's Hist, of Heretics, p. 374—387, and
particularly the excellent analysis of Tertullian's Tract against Hermogenes in
Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 563-574.
174
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Montniius. era.' They are also called Cataphrygians and Phrygians, from the
country in which they first appeared, or chiefly abounded. Montanus
was a native of Ardaba, in Mysia, which was contiguous to Phrygia,
or perhaps formed a part of it.
jpinions The main error of Montanus consisted in his assertion that the
viontoniste P^i'aclete, or Comforter, delivered through his mouth precepts of a
severe discipline necessary towards the perfection of the Christian
scheme. He maintained, as far as we can judge of liis views from the
expressions of his celebrated disciple Tertullian, that revelation had
not received its full developjnent ; that as Christ had withdrawn the
indulgences granted by Moses, so the Paraclete abolished the per-
missions of St. Paul f that the system, which was in its infancy
under the Law and the Prophets, and in its youth under the Gospel,
was brought to its state of matm'ity by the Paraclete. This reasoning
was employed to concihate belief in the authority of the new revela-
tions, which he pretended to communicate, when, under the influence
of delirious agitation,^ he pom'ed forth the wild effusions of a dis-
ordered imagination, and the austere dictates of a harsh and melancholy
temperament. The precise meaning of incoherent expressions, uttered
in the paroxysms of frenzy, it was doubtless difiicult, if not impos-
sible, to ascertain ; the natin-e of his pretension has, therefore, been
variously represented ; yet it appears not that he assumed the charac-
ter of the Paraclete, or Holy Ghost,* much less of God the Father,
though his language might occasionally lead to that supposition. He
' Euseb. in Chronic. Epiphanius places the beginning of the Cataphrygian
heresy about the nineteenth year of Antoninus (HaBr. xJviii. c. i.), i. e. about
A.D. 156 ; and yet says (Ha;r. li. c. xxxiii.) that the church of Thyatira was cor-
rupted by the Cataphrygians ninety-three years after tlie death of Christ, i. e. about
A.D. 126. The accounts of Eusebius are more consistent with themselves and with
other historical facts. The subject has, however, been much contested. J. P. Ba-
ratier, the young but learned author of the Treatise De Successione Romanor.
Pontific, refers the commencement of this heresy to the year 126 ; Blonde!, who
supposes that Montanus may have forged the Sibylline books, to the year 142 ; Le
Clerc (in Hist. Eccles. Duor. Prior. Ssec. p. 676) to the year 157.
^ Regnavit duritia cordis usque ad Christum, regnaverit et infirmitas carnis
usque ad Paracletum. Tertull. de Mon. c. xiv. &c.
^ Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xvi. xvii.
•* Mosheim, in his Ecclesiastical History (cent. ii. c. v. p. 237, note), maintains
that Montanus made a distinction between the Paraclete promised by Christ to his
apostles, and the Holy Spirit that was shed upon them on the day of Pentecost ;
and understood by the former a divine teacher, pointed out by Christ under the
name of Paraclete or Comforter, who was to perfect the Gospel by the addition of
some doctrines omitted by our Saviour, and to cast a full light upon others, which
were expressed in an obscure and imperfect manner, though, for wise reasons, they
subsisted during the ministry of Christ. This paraclete Montanus represented him-
self to be. Though Mosheim refers to no passage, we suppose he grounded this
assertion on what the author of the Catalogue of Heresies, affixed to Tertullian, de
Prasscriptione, says, — that Proclus, the head of one of the sects into which the
Montanists divided themselves, distinguished between the Holy Ghost, which in-
spired the apostles, and the Paraclete, which spoke in Montanus. But see the
remarks of Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 23-29.
MONT ANUS. 175
considered himself as the chosen instrament of the Divinity, but not as Montanus.
the depositary in which it was embodied.^
Montanus made no alteration in the fundamental articles of the
Christian faith f he objected to no part of the Ancient and New
Testament ; his chief innovations affected discipline. He enjoined
abstinence and multiplied fasts.* He regarded second marriages* as
adultery, and seems to have spoken of marriage in general with im-
plicit censure : he rejected penance, and denied absolution to heinous
sins committed after baptism :* he condemned flight during persecu-
tion, and the purchase of safety by money.* His prohibitions are also
thought to have extended to the use of ornaments in attire, and to the
cultivation of the arts and sciences. These notions, it will be re-
marked, were not altogether novel or peculiar to himself. Marriage
had already been viewed by some of the more rigid party in the
Church in no favourable light, though their opinions were obscurely
and reluctantly expressed. A tendency to imagine that a degree of
moral excellence and spiritual knowledge (rvwo-te), carried beyond
the standard of Christianity, as vulgarly understood, was requisite in
forming the character of a perfect Christian, had already been inti-
mated. The indulgence of ascetic practices, which laid the foundation
of monastic life, was already considered as neither unusual nor blam-
able. Even the pretension to inspiration was not in itself calcu-
lated to excite suspicion or surprise. The gift of prophecy was sup-
' Tertull. de Jejun. c. i. &c. ; Philast. Ha3r. xlix. &c.
* Epiph. Hser. xlviii. &c. According to Tlieodoret, though Montanus made no
innovation in the doctrine of the Trinity, some of his followers denied the hypos-
tases, and agreed with Sabellius and Noetus. (Hfer. Fab. lib. iii. c. ii.) Comp.
Add. ad Tertull. de Prescript. ; Hieron. torn. iv. p. 64 ; Isid. Pelus. lib. i. Ep. 67.
3 ApoU. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xviii. ; Tertull. de Jejun. c. i. ; Hier.
torn. iv. p. 65, in Matt. c. ix. torn. iv. p. 31. " The difference between the Ortho-
dox and Montanists, on the subject of fasting, appears to have consisted iu the fol-
lowing particulars. With respect to the Jejunium, or total abstinence from food,
the former thought that the interval between our Saviour's death and resurrection
was the only period during which the apostles obser\'ed a total fast ; and conse-
quently the only period during which fasting was of positive obligation upon all
Christians. At other times it rested with themselves to determine whether they
would fast or not. The Montanists, on the contraiy, contended that there were
other seasons during which fasting was obligatory, and that the appointment of
those seasons constituted a part of the revelations of the Paraclete. With respect
to the Dies Stationarii, the Jlontanists not only pronounced the fast obligatory
upon all Christians, but prolonged it until the evening, instead of terminating it, as
was the Orthodox custom, at the ninth hour. In the observance of the Xerophagice,
the Montanists abstained — not only from flesh and wine, like the Orthodox — but
also from the richer and more juicy kinds of fruit, and omitted all their customary
ablutions. Montanus appears to have enjoined only two weeks of XcrophagioB in
the year; but his followers were animated by a greater love of fasting than their
master ; for Jerome says that, in his day, the Montanists kept three Lents, one ot
them after Whitsunday." Bishop Kaye on TertuUian, pp. 416, 417.
* Aug. Haer. xxvi. Comp. Tertull. Adv. Marc. lib. i. c, xxx. ; De Monog. c. i. &c.
* Tertull. de Pud. c. i. xix. xx. ; Hier. Adv. Marc. p. 65.
® Tertull. de Fuga in Persecut.
176 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
Montanus. posed to have been but a little time previous possessed by some emi-
nent members of the Church/ and was expected to continue till the
second coming of Christ. In what, then, were the doctrines of Mon-
tanus considered as essentially hcretically ? His first pretension was
looked upon as heretical, not so much because he asserted that he was
inspired, as because he maintained that he was inspired and commis-
sioned to alter and to perfect the Christian system — an opinion which,
as it was grounded on the inadequateness of the morality of the
Gospel, and as it opened a door for the claims of innumerable vision-
aries, was pregnant with the most dangerous consequences. The
particular precepts which he delivered were also deemed heretical, not
so much because they were regarded as noxious in themselves, as
because they were imposed as obligations — mortifications, in their
nature voluntary, being represented as necessary,^ and the authority of
the Church being transferred to an individual, who assumed the
language of the Supreme Being. This view of the subject, though
sufficiently obvious, appears not to have been universally seized.
The predictions of Montanus were heard with reverence, which
invited repetition, by many persons, of whom some, particularly two
females of rank and fortune,^ Maximilla and Prisca, or Priscilla, pro-
fessed to be inspired by the same spirit, and contributed by their
wealth to the increase and organization of the new sect. Themiso,
one of its members, prevented Zoticus, bishop of Comana, and Julian,
bishop of Apamaea, from convicting of imposture the spirit by which
they conceived that Maximilla was possessed. Others, however, not
merely refused to recognise the pretensions, but endeavoured to check
the preaching of Montanus, Avhom they viewed in the light of a de-
moniac. It was urged that those fits of spiritual frenzy, which sus-
pended his powers of reason, were not observable in the prophets of
tlie Old and New Testament, who, retaining full possession of their
faculties, clearly understood the meaning of the predictions which they
uttered.* It is also possible that, as the Montanists predicted wars
and seditions, and the approaching downfall of the Roman empire,*
many were apprehensive that, by suffering themselves at a critical
period to be identified with intemperate enthusiasts, they would in-
crease the distiaist and enmity of the civil government, and involve
tlie Christians in additional difficulties and dangers. The dictates of
]jrudence, though not, perhaps, tempered with mildness, prevailed.
The faithful met at different times and places ; the new prophecy was
dihgently examined ; and the Asiatic councils condemned and excom-
municated a sect, who either anticipated or confirmed the sentence bv
secession from the Church. A bishop of Rome, whose name is not
mentioned, was inclined to form a more favourable judgment, but the
' Iren. Adv. Hser. lib. v. c. vi. ; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xvii.
* Tertull. de Jejun. c. ii. ^ Hier. torn. iv. p. 477.
■• Epiph Hffir. xlviii. c. iii. &c, ; Hier. Prol. in Is. torn. iii. p. 3, &c.
5 See Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, and Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 21.
MONTANUS, 177
arguments and representations of Praxeas prevailed on him to retract Montanus.
the letters of reconciliation which he had sent, and to leave the deci-
sions of his predecessors in undiminished force.'
The progress of the heresy was not, however, stopped ; it spread
itself over many parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Montanus himself
dwelt at Pepuza, a desert place in Phrygia, the seat of a ruined city,
where he pretended that the heavenly Jerusalem had descended.^ The
efforts of the orthodox appear not to have relaxed. Montanism was
attacked by several writers. Of two of these, viz., an anonymous
author (supposed to be Asterius Urbanus), who wrote about thirteen
years after the death of Maximilla, and Apollonius, who wrote forty
years after Montanus began to prophesy, Eusebius has preserved some
fragments.* The anonymous author informs us, among other circum-
stances, that it was reported that Montanus and Maximilla destroyed
themselves by hanging, but he does not vouch for the truth of the
report. Apollonius represents the austerity of Montanus as the cloak
of avarice and luxury ; objecting to him that he dyed his hair, darkened
his eyebrows, wore splendid attire, indulged in amusements, and lent
money on usury. As we proceed, accounts darken, and the language
of doubt gradually assumes the tone of more determined prejudice.
Cyril of Jerusalem,* and Isidore of Pelusium,* who could not be so
accurately informed as contemporaries, speak of him as of a man
stained with the deepest crimes.
The enormities which have been described by writers of the fourth
and fifth centuries as practised at the mysteries of the Montanists are
revolting and incredible. These descriptions wear the ai)pearance of
ignorance and enmity. And many mistakes have doubtless arisen from
confounding the later with the earlier Montanists, and from attributino-
the faults of individuals to the whole body.
It would be certainly rash to decide positively upon the character Character of
of Montanus — to pronounce him wholly a deceiver or wholly deceived, '^""'"""s-
He is said to have been a recent convert to Christianity, and to have
been led into heresy by an ambitious desire of obtaining ecclesiastical
distinctions. It is not impossible that there may be some trath in the
assertion. Yet it seems to us, from a review of his conduct, that,
whatever may have been its secret spring, it bears much more ob-
viously the traits of enthusiasm than of imposture, with which also,
however, it may have been blended. The Montanists were afterwards Sects of
divided into smaller sects :* such were the ' Priscillians,' so called ^J°"'='" ■'*'*•
from Priscilla ; the ' Quintillani,' from Quintilla ; the ' Pepuziani,'
from Pepuza; the 'Artoturitse,' from using bread and cheese in their
mysteries ; and the ' Tascodrugitee,' so named from two Phrygian
' TertuU. Adv. Praxeam. c. i.
^ ApoU. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xviii. Conf. Epiph. Hcer. slviii.
* Hist. Eccles. lib. v. c. xvi. * Catech. 16, a 8.
* Lib. i. Ep. 243. 6 Epiph. Ha;r. xlix.
[C. H.] N
178
HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
words/ indicating their custom of putting the finger on the nose whilst
at prayer,^
The Montanists maintained that the heavenly Jerusalem would
descend on earth, and that the saints would reign there for a thousand
years.* A brief view of the opinions of the ' Millenarii ' or ' Chiliasts,'
in general, may serve to complete our account of the heresies of the
second century.
The doctrine of the Millennium, which may be ti'aced back to a very
early period in the history of the Church, was held under different
modifications, by many of the most distinguished fathers in the primi-
tive ages.* It originated chiefly in too literal an interpretation of the
prophetic writings, more especially of some passages in the Apo-
calyse,^ and appears to have corresponded with the notions and pre-
judices of the Judaizing Christians.® The first, according to Eusebius,
who introduced it, was Papias, a man of slender capacity, who had
published certain parables of Christ, not recorded in the Gospel, and
various fables which he pretended to have received by unwritten
tradition.'' It was subsequently embraced by Irena?us,^ Justin Martyr,*
TertuUian,'" Lactantius," and othei's, but was severely attacked by
Origen, with whose peculiar opinions it was inconsistent. Nepos, an
Egyptian bishop, about the middle of the third century, wrote, in
defence of the doctrine, a work entitled ' A Confutation of the Alle-
gorists' (by which name were designated such as explained allego-
rically the passages on which the opinion of a millennium rested).
This work, which acquired much reputation, was refuted with equal
zeal and candour by Dionysius of Alexandria, whose truly Christian
exertions v/ere successful in checking this error. It was still common,
however, in the time of Jerome, who himself was one of its oppo-
nents.
The following appear to have been the general opinions of the
' -TaiTKOi, in Phrygian a stake, and ^^oZyyo;, a nose or beak.
2 Augustine (de Hser. c. sxvi.) and Theodoret (Hser. Fab. lib. iii. c. ii.) speak of
them as sects of Montanists then existing ; so also Jerome (Adv. Marc. Ep. 27), &c.
For an account of Montanus, see Tillemont, Mem. art. Montanistes ; Lardner's Hist,
of Heretics, p. 388-406; and Bishop Kaye on TertuUian, p. 12-36.
3 The millennium was also held by the Cerinthians, the Marcionites, &c.
* It was not universally held in the church. In answer to a question on this
opinion put by Trypho, Justin Martyr answers, ' UpLoXiyriffa. oZv sol y.ai •Tr^d-Tioov, on
iyeu f/.iv xa.1 a-XXoi ^oXXoi ravra (pi^ovovf/,iv, u; xai TTavTia; I'XKrTa.a^i Tovro yivn(roi/,i\iov,
•roXXou; c av, y.a.i tui t?j xa^a^Sj xa* ihai^oi; ovrai Xoiitticcvuv yvMfitis, tovto fi'i
yva^i^iiv isri/jLOLiva tTo\. (Dial, cum Tryph.) DaiUe boldly inserts fm before rjij
xoi.6a,ga; . . . yvuifjiiri;.
* Ch. XX. T. 4-6. See also passages in Isaiah, &c.
* It is called by Jerome a Jewish fable. Such as maintained it were said to
interpret Scripture after the manner of the Jews. The conversion and restoration
of the Jews were fixed to this period.
7 Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. xxxix.
* Lib. V. c. xxxii.-xxxvi. ' Dial. cum. Tryph.
'" Adv. Marc. lib. iii. c. xxix. " Lib. vii. c. xxiv.-xxvi.
MILLENAPJANS. 179
ancient ' Millenarii :' — They thought that the city or temple of Jeru- Miiieuarians.
salem should be rebuilt, and splendidly adorned with gold and jewels,' Opinions of
and that Christ, having come down from heaven upon earth,^ all the Mfnenaries
just,^ both those who were before dead, and those who were still
found alive,'* should reign with Him in the land of Jud«a for the
space of a thousand years, at the expiration of which the conflagration
of the world and the last judgment were to take place. The descrip-
tions which they give of this period of enjoyment are not marked by
that spiritual character which peculiarly distinguishes the state of
beatitude in the Christian paradise. The productions of nature were
to be lavishly multiplied and prodigiously enlarged to administer
to corporeal delights.* The earth was to pour forth spontaneously its
abundant harvests. The rocks of the mountains were to exude honey,
wines were to run down with the stream, and the rivers to overflow
with milk,* Rich vineyards and luxuriant fruits, delicious fare and
immoderate banquets, were the pictures of bliss which they drew and
embellished.' And lest the prospect of any exertion should cast the
slightest shade over the brilliancy of the colouring, they imagined that
nations should serve them as slaves, that princes should bow down to
them,^ that aliens should come to ofi'er them gold and frankincense
and precious stones, and should perform for them menial offices,
as ploughmen or as builders.^ And not merely men, but beasts, both
Avild and domestic, should be raised up and sul)jected to them.'"
The marriage state" was still, in the opinion of nearly all the Mil-
lenaries, to flourish during this term of triumph. While such were
the carnal views of many of the Millenaries (for some, Tertullian'"^ for
' Iren. lib. v. c. xxxiv., xxxv. Just. Dial, cum Tryph. Orig. De Principiis,
lib. ii. c. xii. Hier. Pief. in lib. xviii. Com. in Isiam.
^ Nep. ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. vii. xxiv. &c.
* Lact. lib. vii. c. xxiv. ■* Iren. Adv. User. lib. v. c. xxxv.
* See a very absurd passage in Irenaeus, lib. v. c. xxiii. — " Quemadmodum pres-
byteri meminerunt, qui Joannem discipulum Domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo,
quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat Dominus, et dicebat: Venient dies in
quibus vineae nascentur singulaa decern millia palmitum habentes, et in uno palmite
dena millia brachiorum, et in uno vero palmite dena millia flagellorum, et in
vmoquoque flagello dena millia botruum, et in unoquoqne botro dena millia acino-
rum, et unumquodque acinum expressuni dabit vigmti quinque metretas vini. Et
cum eorum apprehenderit aliquis sanctorum botrum, alius clamabit botrus, ego
melior sum, me sume, per me Dominum benedic," &c.
* Lactant, lib. vii. c. xxiv. ^ Aug. De Civ. Dei, lib. xx. c. vii.
* Iren. lib. v. c. xxxiii. ^ Orig. de Princep. lib. ii. c. xii.
'" Iren. lib. v. c. xxxiii. Stephan. Gobar. ap. Phot. Cod. '232.
" Iren. lib. c. xxxv. Lact. lib. v. c. xxxiv. Orig. de Princ. lib. ii. c. xii.
Philoc. c. xxvi. Steph. Gob. ap. Phot. Cod. 232. Methodius is of a different
opinion (ap. Epiph. Heer. Ixiv. sec. 32). On this subject see Tillem. Mem. tom. ii.
part ii. p. 243, art. Les Millenaires, and Whitby's Treatise of the True Millenium,
added to his Commentaries on the Epistles, from which the above sketch has been
chiefly drawn.
'- Bishop Kaye on Tertullian, p. 363. With respect to Justin Martyr, Bishop
Kaye i-emarks, " Middleton has most unfairly charged Justin with maintaining
that the saints will pass the millenium in the enjoyment of sensual pleasures.
N 2
180 HERETICS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
instance, regarded the enjoyments of this period as purely, or at least
as chiefly, spiritual), it is not surprising that Origen should represent
the doctrine as a reproach to Christianity, the heathens themselves
having better sentiments. It is a lamentable fact that notions so
mistaken, and apparently so calculated to degrade the affections,
should have been so generally adopted in the less corrupted ages of
the Christian Church. The history of heresy teaches a great lesson
of toleration. That men of unquestionable ability, learning, and piet)',
should have fallen into errors, from which so many of their inferiors
in every quality of heart and mind have been exempt, is a circumstance
which most strongly inculcates the necessity not merely of great
circumspection, to avoid errors ourselves, but also of great indulgence
in viewincr the errors of others.
Nothing of this kind is to be found in Justin's description," &c. (See Some
Account of tJie Writings and Opinions of Justin Martyr, p. 104, note.)
( 181 )
SECTION III.
HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Manich^us.
HiERAX.
NOETUS.
Sabellius.
Beryllus.
Paul of Samosata.
novatians.
MANICH.EUS— (Manich.eism).
Mani, Manes, or Manicha?us, lived, and perhaps received his birth, Manichams.
in the territories subject to the kings of Persia. According to the Life.
Greek writers,' he was a slave, and was purchased by a widow, wlio
set him free, adopted him as her son, gave him a liberal education,
and bequeathed to him her property. This account is wholly unno-
ticed by eastern authors ; and as Manes, among the Greeks, was a
common designation for a slave,^ it is possible that his name may have
created this error, as it appears to have occasioned others.^ That he
was a man of considerable talent and learning is acknowledged ; his
skill in astronomy is particularly mentioned.* According to eastern Account oi
writers, not very ancient, Mani, having acquired some reputation, •'astem
drew together a number of followers who opposed the religion of
Zoroaster, which at that time was established in Persia. This conduct
having excited disturbances, exposed him to the anger of Sapor, to
avoid whose pursuit he fled into Turkestan. From his retirement he
circulated notions which inspired an ignorant multitude with an extra-
ordinary degree of reverence for his character. Having assured his
followers that he was about to proceed to the heavenly regions, and
to remain there for the space of a year, he concealed himself in a cave,
and, at the expiration of that period, appeared in an appointed place,
and showed them a work, filled with strange figures, and called
Ergenk and Estenk, which he pretended to have brought from above ;
an artifice which considerably increased the number of his disciples.
On the death of Sapor, Hormisdas, his successor, embraced the tenets
of Mani, and treated him with marks of distinguished kindness.
Baharam or Varanes, the next king, also appeared to regard him with
favom- at the commencement of his reign ; but having drawn him out
of a castle (which Hormisdas had built for him as a place of security),
' Socrat. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. xxii. &c.
2 Vid. Comm. ia Arist. Av. 1329.
3 See the derivations of Cyril of Jerusalem (Cat. vi. n. 24), &c.
■* Epiph. Ha?r. Ixvi. c. xiii. It is probable that he believed that this earth had
two inhabited hemispheres, the upper and the lower, and therefore that there are
Antipodes. Beaus. Hist, de Manich. torn. ii. p. 374-.
182
HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Sources of the
iccounts of
Manes in tlie
fathers.
Acts of the
Dispute at
( -'asp.Iiar.
under pretence of holding a dispute with the doctors of the Zoroastrian
sect, he flayed him alive, and caused his skin to be filled with straw,
and to be hung up as an object of terror to his followers. Of these
some fled to India, some, it is said, penetrated into China, and others,
remaining in Persia, were reduced to a state of slavery.' Socrates,
the ecclesiastical historian,^ ascribes his execution not to his religious
opinions, but to the indignation of the king on the death of his son,
whom Manes had undertaken to cure of an illness. But whether
these circumstances be true or not, the fact of his having been put to
death seems to be indisputable.^
The accounts of JManes which are found in the fathers, Cyril of Jeru-
salem, Epiphanius, Socrates, and others, were drawn from an ancient
piece, entitled ' The Acts of the Dispute between Archelaus, bishop of
Mesopotamia, and the Ha?resiarch Manes.'* Of this piece, which is said
to have been written originally in Syriac and translated into Greek, we
have now only a Latin version, which is considered as having been writ-
ten before the seventh century. The authority of these Acts has been
attacked with great ingenuity and research by Beausobre^ in his ' History
of Manichgeus and Manichteism,'* a work which bears continual proofs
of the most extensive acquaintance with ancient philosophy and eccle-
siastical antiquities combined with extraordinary acuteness and with
' This is the account in D'Herbelot, Bibl. Or. art. Mani. See also Hyde, De
Relig. Vet. Pers. c. xxi.
* Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c. sxii. ^ Lardn. Credib. part ii. c. Ixiii.
* Acta Disputationis Archelai, Episcopi Mesopotamia, et Manetis Hseresiarcha;.
It was published under this title by M. Zaccagni, Librarian of the Vatican. See
Collect. Monument. Ecclesife Gracaj et Latina;, RomaB, 1698, in 4to. Valesius
has inserted nearly the whole of the Dispute in his notes on Socrates. See also
Cellier, Hist, des Aut. Eccles. torn. iii. ; and Hippol. Oper. ed. Fabric.
* En general toute cette Piece, qu'on nomme, ' Les Actes de la Dispute
d'Archelaiis,' n'est qu'un Roman fabrique' par un Grec, et publie depuis I'an 330,
soixante ans ou environ apres la mort de Manichee. (Disc. Prelim, p. 6.) He
considers the Greek, by whom this fiction was written, as having had some memoirs
respecting the life and opinions of Manes. (Pref. p. vi.) II y a quelques verite's,
mais en petit nombre, et le pen qu'il y en a est alte're', coni'us, mele de fables
manifestes. (Disc. Prel. p. 6.) The following is Mosheim's opinion : Satis
quidem ilk (Beausobre) luculenter ostendit, esse qusedam in his Actis de quorum
veritate jure optimo dubites : at non, opinor, testatum fecit, nunquam ejusmodi
Archelai et Manetis disputationem contigisse. Certe hoc neque ex erroribus non-
nuUis Historicis, quos scriptor sive admisit, sive admisisse videtur, neque ex
veterum et recentiorum quorundam de his Actis silentio firmiter effici potest.
Majora vero non habet vir doctissimus argumenta, qui excellenti quidem ingenio
prseditus, verum justo proclivior erat ad veterum scriptorum Christianorum fidem
infirmandam, et conjecturis suis nimis sspe fidebat. Quidquid id est, magna;
tamen antiquitatis commendationem hrec Acta habent, et quod nee ipse adversarius
eorum diffiteri velit, multa continent aut valde probabilia, aut vero consentientia.
(De Reb. Christ, p. 729.)
* A new edition, or perhaps, as Lardner wished (Cred. part ii. c. xxxiii. sec. 7),
a translation of this work, with such additional remarks as the researches and
strictures of succeeding writers have furnished, accompanied with a good index, is,
we think, a great desideratum. It is objected to Beausobre, that he is rathei~
loquacious; but who can complain of the loquacity of genius?
MANICH/EUS. 183
singular candour. Dilating on every point, even remotely connected ManichaeiH.
with his principal object, the author has illustrated a great variety of
questions with all the aids which a learning almost inexhaustible can
supply to the nicest subtilty and discrimination. True it is, however,
that this celebrated work has been considered as not wholly exempt from
defects.' In studiously avoiding the practice, so common before his
time, of invariably impugning the motives and ridiculing the systems
of the early heretics, Beausobre was, perhaps, led into the contrary
extreme of seeking too often to justify their conduct and to systematise
their notions. Doubtless the heretics neither on all occasions acted
conformably to their principles, nor at all times reasoned consistently
with their own theories. If it is a mistake to suppose them always
vicious or absurd, it is equally one to regard the fathers as always
ignorant or unfair.
Jerome places the rise of Manichfeism in the year of Christ 277. Date of the
In Beausobre's opinion,^ it was known in Rome probably about that Manicha>ism.
time, but it may have arisen in Persia eight or ten years sooner,
Lardner^ is doubtful whether it was known in the Roman empire
before the very end of the third century, or the beginning of the fourth.
Scythian and Terebinthus ai'e said to have been the predecessors of Scythian and
Manes, but the accounts given of these two persons appear too incor-
rect to entitle them to credit.*
Among the works of Manes may be reckoned four books, some- Works of
times ascribed to Terebinthus, and sometimes to Scythian, entitled
the ' Mysteries,' the ' Chapters ' or ' Heads,' the ' Gospel,' and the
' Treasure.' In the ' Mysteries ' Manes endeavoured to demonstrate
the doctrine of two principles from the mixture of good and evil
which is found in the world. He grounded his reasoning on the
argument, that, if there were one sole cause, simple, perfect, and good,
in the highest degree, the whole, corresponding with the nature and
will of that cause, would show simplicity, perfection, and goodness,
and everything would be immortal, holy, and happy, like himself.*
The ' Chapters ' contained a summary of the chief articles of the
Manichsean scheme. Of the ' Gospel ' nothing certain can be asserted.
Beausobre, apparently without sufficient grounds,^ considers it as a
collection of the meditations and pretended revelations of Manes.
The ' Treasure,' or ' Treasure of Life,' may, perhaps, have derived its
name from the words of Christ, wherein he compares his docti'ine to
a treasure hid in a field.'' Manes also wrote other works** and letters,
and among them the ' Epistle of the Foundation,' of which we have
fi-agments still extant in St. Augustine, who undertook to refute it,'
1 For an answer to the attacks with which it was assailed, see Biblioth. Ger-
manique, torn, xxxvii. &e. * Hist, de Man. torn. i. p, 121.
3 Credib. part ii. c. Ixiii. sec. 2. ■* Ibid. sec. 3.
s Ibid. 6 Ibid.
7 Matt. xiii. 44. * Lardn. Credib. part ii. c. Ixiii. sec. 3.
^ Cont. Ep. Manich. There is a fragment of it in another of his works, De
Natur. Boni, c. xlvi. There are also fragments in the Treatise de Fide (c. v. xi.
xxviii.) joined to his works. He also wrote a Letter to Menoch, a Manichsean
184 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Manichseus. His works appear to have been originally written some in Syriac,
some in Persic,
Pretensions Although the accounts of the pretensions of Manichasus' which the
ch^s?'" ancients have left us are not consistent, it appears not difficult to draw
from them a probable conclusion. He is represented sometimes as
endeavouring to assume the appearance of Christ, sometimes as calling
himself an apostle, more frequently as professing to be the Holy
Ghost. At the beginning of the conference at Caschar,^ he is intro-
duced as saying, " I am a disciple of Christ, an apostle of Jesus. I am
the Paraclete, promised to be sent by Jesus, to convince the world of
sin and of righteousness :^ as also Paul, who was sent before me, said
that he knew in part, and prophesied in part ;■* reserving for me that
which is perfect, that I might do away that which is in part. Receive,
therefore, this third testimony, that I am a chosen apostle of Christ.
If you will receive my words, you will obtain salvation : if not, you
will be consumed by eternal fire." St. Augustine informs us that
the IManichees asserted that our Lord's promise of sending the Com-
forter, the Holy Ghost, had been fulfilled in their master Manichaeus ;
that in his ' Epistles ' he styles himself apostle of Jesus Christ, foras-
much as Christ had promised him, and into him had sent the Holy
Ghost ; and that, accordingly^, he had twelve disciples in imitation of
the number of the apostles, which number, adds Augustine, is retained
by the Manichees to this day.* It is obvious that the pretensions of
ManichfEus were of a nature extremely similar to those of Montanus.
The following is Beausobre's opinion : " Manichseus assumed the
authority of an apostle of Christ, and a prophet immediately inspired
by the Paraclete, to reform all religions, and to reveal to the world
truths, in wliich our Lord thought not proper to instruct his first dis-
ciples. This was his imposture or fanaticism. For whatever the
ancients may assert, there are no evident proofs that he ever endea-
voured to pass for the Paraclete, or the Holy Spirit." ® The Mani-
chseans boasted of possessing superior knowledge, and ridiculed the
Catholics, as if they undervalued the use of reasoning. It was the
hope of thus enlarging his understanding, which Augustine himself
confesses, seduced him when young into the Manichtean heresy. The
errors of Mani undoubtedly arose from an attempt to combine a philo-
sophical scheme, formed out of the principles of the magi, with the
Christian revelation.^
female. From this piece Julian, the Pelagian, urged parts in a work against
Augustine, who has transcribed them in his answer entitled Opus Imperfectum,
because left unfinished. Also a Letter to Marcellus, which Beausobre considers to
be genuine. Lardner thinks it probable that the Epistle to Patricius, cited by
Julian, the Pelagian, in the Opus Imperfectum of Augustine, is the same as the
Epistle of the Foundation. (Credib. part ii. c. Ixiii.) Fragments of some of his
Letters were published by Fabricius in the fifth volume of his Bibliotheca Grasca.
' Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vii. c. 31. Epiph. Hser. Ixvi. &c.
2 Act. Archel. =* John xvi. 8. * See 1 Cor. xiii. 9, 10.
* Aug. Hser. xlvi. Lardner, Credib. part ii. c. Isiii.
^ Beaus. Hist, de Manich. torn. i. Prasf. p. x. xi. ^ Ibid. p. 179.
MANICHyT:US. 185
The leading principle of Manichseism, that the world and its phe- Manidwiis.
nomena are attributable to two distinct powers, one essentially good, Origin oi the
and the other essentially evil, may undoubtedly be traced to an age pr^nc?p*les." °
much earlier than the rise of the Christian religion. It has its root in
tliat train of thought which is natural to man in the first rude state of
society. When the knowledge of one Supreme Being was nearly
extinct, and the progress of civilization had not yet provided against
the various wants to which the human frame is subject, men feelingly
considered themselves as beings exposed to a perpetual succession of
good and evil. They could derive food and enjoyment from their
flocks and from the fruits of the earth ; but these flocks were often
wasted by disease, these i'ruits often destroyed by the inclemency of
the seasons. They reflected, moreover, that their own conduct was a
kind of copy of this state, — at one time they imparted a portion of
their stock and laboured to relieve their neighbour, at another they
plundered his harvests and depopulated his abode. The idea of
Invisible powers not being effaced from the mind, they offered to them
prayers against the continuance of misery, yet misery continued. By
these considerations, therefore, they were probably led to imagine
that the goods and ills of life flowed from good and evil spirits, wdio
straggled for the predominance. And as these goods and ills vary in
magnitude, so these spirits were thought to vary in power. But the
notion of infinite gradation is not easily conceived, and the scale was
supposed to terminate in two presiding and independent spirits, one
by nature good, the other by nature evil, who employed these subordi-
nate agents.
The process of thought by which this conclusion was arrived at
was soon neglected, and the conclusion itself opened a wide field for
systems and hypotheses, particularly in Persia and in the East. Light
is the greatest of blessings, — it beautifies the face of nature, it brings
to maturity the productions of the earth, it cheers and directs the
steps of man, — it was, therefore, the first good, and the beneficent
spirit was supposed to reside in pure light. But darkness was
observed to be attended with storms and iearful commotions : vague
horrors are associated with the very idea; therefore the evil spirit
was said to dwell in the abyss of night.
The two spirits were at war : the origin of the war then furnished
another subject of speculation, and the following hy[)Othesis, though
under a great variety of modifications, was commonly adopted. The
two opposite beings were originally independent : each resided in his
own portion of space. But the powers of darkness, ever turbulent
and agitated, were in continual seditions, and the vanquished in their
flight from the victors passed the " flaming bomids," and entered the
happy realms. A consequence of this irruption was the formation of
the world, and the intermixture of good and evil.'
It may be remarked, that the doctrine of two independent powers
> Such is the development of Pluquet, Diet, des He'res. art. Manicheisme, sec. 1.
186
HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
was expressly contradicted by the Jewish Scriptures, wherein good
and evil are represented as being at the disposal of God alone. " See
now that I, even I, am He, and there is no God with me : I kill, and
I make alive ; I wound, and I heal." ^ Again, " I am the Lord, and
there is none else. I form the light and create darkness. I make
peace and create evil : I, the Lord, do all these tilings."^ These last
words being directed to Cyrus, king of Persia, may, perhaps, be con-
sidered as conveying a warning against the lessons of the magi.^
The superstitious Hebrews, however, had their good and evil for-
tune under the names of Gad and Meni (though they did not consider
them as eternal and independent creators*), as the Romans had their
Joves and Vejoves.* The Persians had their Ormizdas and Arimanius.
The Egyptians called the good god Osiris, and the evil Typhon.
There is a very curioiTS treatise of Plutarch on Isis and Osiris, in
which the antiquity and extent of dualism are discussed.
The system of Manichgeus, as developed by Beausobre,^ appears to
have been the following : Manicheeus acknowledged one God, in
whom all the attributes, which in his opinion were necessary to
constitute perfection, resided. Unable to conceive a substance having
neither place nor extension, he represented the Deity as a living imma-
terial Light, which had eternally dwelt in the highest heaven, or
intellectual world, accompanied with pure and immortal intelligences,
or Jj]ons, proceeding from his essence.
From the Father emanated two persons' — far superior to the other
emanations — the Son and the Holy Ghost, consubstantial with Him,
but subordinate to Him. The Son, since the formation of the mate-
rial world, dwells in the sun and moon, the former of which is pure
fire, the latter pure water. The Holy Ghost dwells in the air. There
they execute the orders of the Father ; there they will remain till the
consummation of the age.
In a corner of infinite space existed from eternity an evil power —
matter, or the Devil, or darkness, according as philosophical, or com-
mon, or mystical terms were used. His empire was divided into five
regions, the uppermost containing within it the rest, each of which
had one of the elements of matter, and each its prince, subject to the
evil power. These two empires were separated by some kind of wall,
and on a certain side were neighbours.
The powers of darkness, on the occasion of a sedition, came forth
from their bounds, saw the Light, and made an irruption into its
realms. God opposed to them a power, called " the first man," who
was gifted with the five elements of the celestial substance (one of
which was light, that is, probably, the human soul) ; but as he proved
' Deut. xxxii. 39. ^ Isaiah slv. 6.
3 Prideaus, Scrip. Conn, part i. p. 215.
* Bergier, Diet. Tlieol. art. Manich.
* Spencer, Diss, de Hirco Emiss. c. xix. sec. 1.
^ See his Preface ; his view is also extracted by Jortin, Rem. on Eccles. Hist,
vol. ii.
JIANICH/EUS. 187
weaker than his adversaries, the Deity sent another power, called " the
Living Spirit," who effected his deliverance. The demons, vanquished
by the Living Spirit, were chained in the air, and became the cause of
storms, thunder and lightning, and pestilence. The Living Spirit left
them no more liberty than he judged necessary for his designs.
But the demons having seized the ])ortion of the heavenly substance,
light and darkness became confounded.
The Living Spirit undertook, therefore, to separate such parts of the
celestial substance as had not been blended with matter. Of these he
formed the sun and moon, and of such as had suffered but little cor-
ruption the planets and the lower heaven. The rest, which was mixed
with matter, was used in forming this sublunary world, in which good
and evil are woven together.
The demons having retained the most excellent part of the heavenly
substance which they had seized — human souls, the Evil Power made
two bodies, of different sexes, on the model of " the fii'st man," whom
he had seen, and imprisoned in them the first souls they had taken.
Their object was to allure and rivet them by the blandishments of sense,
and to render them enamoured with their captivity, and as bodies of
similar figures and organs to the two first are generated, the souls,
which flutter in the air and are dispersed throughout nature, enter
incautiously into these corporeal prisons, which concupiscence inces-
santlv ])repares for them. Thus united, and attached by the attractions
which they find, they drink the fatal poison from the cup of oblivion,
by which they lose the remembrance of their heavenly origin. To
procure their liberation, the Divine Providence at first employed the
ministry of good angels, who taught the patriarchs salutary truths ;
these delivered the insti'uction to their descendants ; and lest this light
should be totally extinguished, God ceased not to raise up, in all times
and among all nations, sages and prophets, till at length He sent His
Son, Jesus Christ informed men of their true origin, the causes of the
captivity of their souls, and the means of recovering their ibrmer dig-
nity. Having wrought innumerable miracles in order to confirm His
doctrine, He taught them, by His mystical crucifixion, how they
should mortify incessantly their flesh and its passions. He showed
them also, by His mystical resurrection and ascension, that death
destroys not the man, but only his prison, and restores to pm-ified
souls the liberty of returning to their heavenly country.^
' The ManicliKans not merely assumed the name of Christians, but constantly
applied to Christ the titles of Lord and Saviour, and professed the strongest
attachment for his I'evealed religion. At the beginning of the dispute with
Augustine, in the year 392, Fortunatus, the Manich.-ean presbyter, affirms in a
confession of faith, that his sect believed that God is incorruptible, glorious,
inaccessible, incomprehensible, impassible, dwelling in His own eternal light : that
He produces nothing from Himself corruptible, neither darkness, nor demons, nor
Satan : that He sent a Saviour, like Himself, the Word, born before tlie foundation of
the world, who came among men to save the souls worthy of His holy favour, and
sanctified by His heavenly commandments : that under His conduct those souls
188 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Maintaining that flesh was composed of the most vicious part of
matter, Manichgeus asserted that Christ was man in figure only ; that
He was born, took nourishment, suffered, died, and rose again in
appearance only, not in reality. Hence he denied the resurrection of
the flesh ; hence he disapproved of marriage, by which it is perpetu-
ated ; hence he recommended those austerities which mortify the bod}^,
and abstinence from wine and flesh, by which its sensual affections are
inflamed. He required of his elect, or the perfect, to live in voluntary
poverty and without interfering in temporal matters. To those whose
aspirations were less exalted, he conceded the use of meat and wine
and the possession of property.
As all human souls cannot acquire perfect purity in the course of
this life, he admitted the transmigration of souls, but asserted that
those which were not purged by a certain number of revolutions are
delivered to the demons of the air, to be tormented and tamed by
them ; that after this discipline, they are sent into other bodies, as it
were into a new school, till, having acquired a sufficient degree of
purity, they traverse the region of matter, and pass into the moon
(which consists of water) ; that the moon, when full of these spirits,
which happens when the whole of her surface is illuminated, transmits
them to the sun, who in his turn sends them to tliat place which the
Manicha?ans called " the pillar of glory."
The Holy Ghost, who dwells in the air, continually assists the souls,
pouring over them its salutary influence. The sun, which is composed
of a fire pure and purifying, f;\cilitates their ascent to heaven, and
detaches the material particles which weigh them down.
When all the souls and all the parts of the celestial substance shall
be separated from matter, then shall be the consummation of the age.
The destroying fire shall burst from the caverns in which the Creator
has enclosed it ; the angel who sustains the earth in its equilibrium
shall let it fall into the flames, and then cast the useless mass from the
bounds of the world into the place which the Scripture calls " outer
darkness." There the demons shall dwell for ever ; and the indolent
souls, who have not finished their purification when this great cata-
strophe shall take place (as the punishment of their negligence), shall
be appointed to keep the demons confined in their prison, in order that
they may make no further attempts against the kingdom of God. The
punishments to which the human souls are subjected, are intended to
shall, according to His promise, again return to the kingdom of God, which cannot
be attained tlnough any other Mediator. This he represents as their belief;
adding, that they lield the doctrine of the Trinity.
1 The Manich»an sect was divided into two pai-ts, elect and auditors. The
Assembly of the Manichoeans appears to have been headed by a president, repre-
senting Jesus Christ, and twelve masters, in imitation of the twelve apostles.
These were followed by seventy-two bishops (after the example of the seventy-two
disciples of our Saviour). These bishops had presbyters and deacons under them.
All the members of the religious orders were chosen from the class of the elect.
See Mosheim, de Reb. Christ.
MANICH^US. 189
produce reformation ; but those which are found imperfect at the last Manichsus.
day are destined to this employment, which is rather a privation of
superior happiness than actual misery.
ManichfEus rejected the Old Testament, and denied the superior
authority of the Hebrew prophets, to whom he opposed other pro-
phets, whose books the Eastern nations professed to have preserved.
He affirmed that prophets had arisen in every nation, and that the
Christian Church, consisting mostly of Gentiles, was to be guided by
those illuminated Gentile instructors, rather than by Hebrew teachers.
Manichaeus pretended that the Gospels were either not composed
by the authors whose names they bear, or had been corrupted by
Judaizing Christians. Yet it appears not that the Manichieans cur-
tailed or interpolated the New Testament.
He admitted the authority of apocryphal books written to maintain
the heresies of the Docetse (or those who held that Christ had only the
appearance of a man), and the Encratitse.
Bayle,' who was fond of embarrassing his literary adversaries by Bayie's
the defence of metaphysical difficulties best calculated to display the MlnkhaTiLn
brilliancy of his own talents, undertook to extenuate the absurdities,
and to give point to the objections of the Manichaean system, not
indeed with a view of establishing its truth, which he did not admit,
but in order to involve all systems indiscriminately in the darkness of
Pyrrhonism. The nature and extent of this brief notice will not allow
us to detail the various arguments advanced on a subject, in which the
human understanding is perplexed and lost. His reasoning, which
had startled others by its boldness, or entangled them by its subtilty,
was attacked'^ by Le Clerc under the name of Theodore Parrhase,'^ by Answers
Dom Alexander Gaudin,* by Archbishop King,* by Jacquelot,® by De "^'"letoit.
la Placette,'' by Leibnitz,^ and by Malebranche.^
Manichaeism coming from Persia excited the aversion of the Roman Piscipies of
Manes.
' Diet. Hist. art. Manicheens.
* See a brief analysis of their answers in Pluquet, Diet, des Here's, torn. ii. p. o7o.
* Parrliasiana, on Pensees diverscs sur des Matieres de Critique, d'Histoire, de
Morale, et de Politique, p. 301. See the answers of Bayle in Diet. Hist. art.
Origfene. Rep. aux Quest, d'un Provineial, torn. iii. e. 172.
* La Distinetion et la Nature du Bien et du Mai traite' ou I'on combat I'Erreur
des Manicheens, les Sentimens de Montagne et de Charron, et ceus de M. Bayle,
1704. See also Hist, des Ouvrages des Savans, Aout, 1705, Art- 7.
* De Origine Mali, 1702. The translation, with notes, and a Dissertation con-
cerning the Principle and Criterion of Virtue and the Origin of the Passions, by
Bishop Edmund Law, appeared in 1732. A third edition was published in 1739.
Bayle, Rep. aux Quest, d'un Provincial, tom. ii. p. 74. See also Rep. des Let-
tres, 1796, Janvier, p. 57.
^ Conformite' de la Foi et de la Raison. Comp. Rep. aux Quest, d'un Provincial,
tom. iii. See also Esamen de la The'ologie de M. Bayle. Entretiens d'Ariste et
de Themiste. '' Re'ponse a deux Objections de M. Bayle, in 12mo, 1707.
8 Essais de The'odice'e, p. 3, n. 405, &e.
* See Conversat. Christ. Traite de la Nature et de la Grace. Re'flexion sur la
Pre'motion Physique. The principles of Malebranche were attacked by Arnauld,
Reflex. Phil, et The'ol. sur le Traite de la Nature et de la Grace, 3 vol. in 12mo.
De i'Action de Dieu sur les Cieatures, &c. in 4to.
190
HERETICS OP THE THIRD CENTURY.
Manichaeus.
emperors
means of
From the time of Diocletian to that of Anastasius, various
ersecution were employed against the Manichteans, They
were banished, spoiled, or butchered. In 491, the mother of Anas-
tasius, being a Manichaean, caused a suspension of the rigorous laws to
which they were subjected. After having enjoyed tranquillity twenty-
seven years, they were deprived of it by Justin and liis followers.
About the middle of the seventh century, a Manicha^an woman, named
Callinice, taught her errors to her two sons, Paul and John, and sent
them to preach in Armenia. The disciples of Paul took the name of
' Paulicians.' His successor. Sylvan, undertook to accommodate Mani-
chasism with Scripture, as received by the orthodox, and thus obtained
great success in making proselytes. In 810, the Paulicians were
divided under two chiefs, one called Sergius, the other Baanes ; the
followers of the last were called ' Baanites ; ' after a bloody war they
were reunited by one Theodotus.' But the state of Manichasism in
later times belongs to a subsequent period of history.
HIERAX.
Hierax, or Hieracas, a native of Leontium, or Leontopolis, in Egypt,
founded the sect of ' Hieracites,' about the end of the third century.
He was distinguished as well by his austerity and abstemiousness as
by his extensive acquaintance with literature and science. He com-
poseei^ commentaries on various parts of the Old and New Testament,
the whole of which he is said to have committed to memory.
Agreeing with Manichjeus, of whom he has been reckoned a dis-
ciple,* on some points, he differed from him on many others. Regard-
ing the mission of Jesus Christ, as having introduced more rigid rules
of conduct than the laws of Moses, he inferred that the enjoyment of
wine, of meats, of marriage, and of all sensual pleasures was abolished,
or at least forbidden to such as aspired to a high degree of virtue.
Nor was this his only error. He denied the resurrection of the
body ; he pretended that children, who died before the age of reason,
could not enter into the kingdom of heaven, which was promised to
those only who had successfullv combated the passions of the flesh ;
he supposed that Melchisedec was the Holy Spirit, endeavouring to
confirm this notion by an apocryphal book, entitled ' Anabaticon,' or
' The Ascension of Isaiah.' With respect to the Father and the Son,
he compared them to two wicks lighted in the same lamp, and with
the same oil.*
' For an account of the authors who wrote against the Manicha!ans, see Lardner's
Credibilit}', part ii. c. Ixiii. Among their most celebrated opponents was St.
Augustine, who had himself been nine years among the auditors of this sect.
2 He composed a dissertation On the Creation of the World in Six Days, and also
Hymns.
^ Beausobre, Hist, de Manich. tom. i. lib. ii, c. vi. sec. 2, note. See, however,
Mosheim (de Keb. Christ, p. 903) and Lardner (Credib. part ii. c. Ixii. sec. 7),
who are of a ditferent opinion.
* See the Letter of Arius to Alexander in Epiphanius (Haer. Ixix. c. vii.), Athann-
sius (De duab. Synod. Oper. tom. i. p. 728), and Hilary (de Trinit. lib. vi. sec. 5, &c.)
NOETUS. SABELLIUS. 191
It was doubtless this speculative turn of mind which led him to Hierax.
interpret, or rather to obscure, the Sacred Scripture by numerous
allegories.
His austere doctrines proved particularly attractive to the monks or
ascetics of Egypt. Many of his followers sincerely observed, thouo-h
others merely affected to oliserve, an entire abstinence from animal
food, and other rigorous practices.'
NOETUS.
The heresies which had already appeared on the subject of the Noetus.
Trinity, continued m the third century.
Noetus, a native of Smyrna, or, according to another account, of
Ephesus, taught that there was but one person in the Godhead, which
at one time was called the Father, and at another the Son. He main-
tained, therefore, that it was the Father who had been born of the
Virgin Mary, and had suffered on the cross ; whence his followers,
like those of Praxeas, have been called ' Patripassians.'
Having been called before the priests, he disavowed, without in-
wardly renouncing his errors, which, when they had been adopted by
some persons, he openly professed. Being again summoned, he per-
sisted in the opinion which he had taught, and was expelled from the
Church. His conduct has been ascribed to pride, which, as it is allied
to folly, induced him, it is said, to pretend that he was (more probably
that he was like) Moses, and that his brother was (more probably
that he might be compared to) Aaron, His name was almost unknown
in the time of St. Augustine. His errors are mentioned in an ancient
piece still extant, and ascribed to Hippolytus,* from which Epiphanius
has almost entirely borrowed his refutation of this hseresiarch.
SABELLIUS.
Though the doctrines of Sabellius acquired great repute, but little Sabeiiius,
is known of his history. He was boi'n in Pentapolis, a division of
Cyrenaic Libya. It was in its capital, Ptolemais, of which he was,
perhaps, bishop, that he first taught the heresy so well known under
the name of Sal:iellianism. This heresy, which arose fi-om the fear of
appearing to fall into polytheism,* consisted in asserting that the dif-
ferent persons of the Godhead are merely different operations of one
Being ; that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are but various
names of God, according as he is viewed in various relations. Thus,
when God was considered as resolving to save mankind, He was called
' On the subject of Hierax see Epiphan. Hser. Lxvii.
2 Sei-m. c. Hser. Noeti, in the 2nd volume of the works of Hippolytus, edited bv
Fabricius. Besides which discourse, see on the subject of Noetus, Epiphanius,
Hser. Ivii. Theodoret, Ha>r. Fab. lib. iii. c. iii. Beausobre, Hist, de Manich.
torn. i. part ii. lib. iii. u. vi. p. 533. Mosheim, de Reb. Christ, p. 682 ; and
Lardner's Credib. part ii. c. xli.
3 When the Sabellians met the Orthodox, they said to them, ti a.v il-!ruf/.ii Si oSrai,
'Ua. esov 'ix't^'-i « '■js7j esat/f, Epiphan. Hair. Ixii. Comp. page 1(38, art. Praxeas,
note".
192 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Pabeiiius. the Father ; when as entering into the Virgin's womb, and as siifFer-
ing death on the cross, He was called the Son ; and when as display-
ing His efficacy on the minds of sinners, He was called the Holy Ghost.
He save the law as Father ; He was incarnate as Son ; He descended
upon the apostles as Holy Ghost.' Thus these different appellations
of God were borrowed from the different acts for man's salvation.*
The Trinity was the Divine nature under the three ideas of substance,
thought, and will, or action. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were
three denominations in one hypostasis, as in man, body, soul, and
spirit.* In defence of this view he maintained that the doctrine of the
Church opened a field to gross corporeal imaginations.
His disciples were called ' Patripassians.' Yet Sabellius is said by
Epiphanius'' to have denied that the Father suffered death. Accord-
ing to Mosheim, Sabellius " maintained that a certain energy only,
proceeding from the supreme Parent, or a certain portion of the Divine
Nature, was united to the Son of God, the man Jesus ; and he con-
sidered, in the same manner, the Holy Ghost as a portion of the
everlasting Father."*
1 Theodoret, Hser. Fab. lib. ii. c. ix.
2 Again, the Father might be compared to the figure or substance of the sun, the
Son to the power of lightning (ro (ptunrTiKov), and the Holy Ghost to the power of
heating (ro 9uXvro\i). Epipli. Hrer. Hi.
* 'fis iv av^pd'TrM iruf/,a, xai "^u^n xcc) -rvw/jix. Epiph. Hser. Ixii. Comp. Basil,
Ep. 210, Oper. torn. iii. p. 317, and Isid. Pelus. lib. i. Ep. 247.
* Anaceph. Oper. torn. ii. p. 146. Comp. J. Damasc. de Hasr. n. 72.
* Eccles. Hist. Cent. 3. part ii. c. v. Com. De Reb. Christ, p. 689-699.
Beausobre thus explains Sabellianism : Sabellius ne concevoit en Dieu qu'une seule
Personne, dont le Verbe est la Raison, la Sagesse, et dont le Saint Esprit est la
Vertu. Ni le Verbe, ni le Saint Esprit, n'etoient point, selon Sabellius, des
Hypostases, tout de meme que les facultez de raisonner et de vouloir, ou d'agir,
n'ont point une subsistance distincte de celle de I'ame humaine, et ne sont point des
personnes difterentes de I'homme L'erreur Sabelliene consistoit a ane'antir la
Personalite du Verbe et du Saint Esprit, la Trinite' n'etant autre chose, dans ce
systeme, que la Nature Divine consideVe'e sous les trois idees de Substance, de
Substance qui pense, de Substance qui veut et qui agit Jesus, Fils de Marie,
est le Fils de Dieu, parcequ'il a ete con(;\i du Saint Esprit, et que le Verbe ou la
Sagesse de Dieu, qui est toujours en Dieu. de qui elle est un attribut inseparable, a
deploys' sa Vertu dans la Personne de Jesus, afin de lui reveler les veritez, qu'il
devoit enseigner aux hommes, et le revetir du pouvoir ne'cessaire pour confii-mer
ces veritez par des miracles. Le Verbe ne sort jamais du Pere, que comme notre
Raison sort, pour ainsi dire, hors de nous, lorsqu'elle fait connaitre, par des paroles
et par des commandemens, quelles sont nos pense'es et nos volontez. Ainsi le
Verbe, qui a ete' en Je'sus-Christ, n'est qu'un Verbe Declaratif, qui a manifeste a
Jesus la Science du Salut, et un Verbe Operatif qui lui a confere' une Puissance
miraculeuse. L'union du Verbe Divin avec la Personne de Jesus n'est point une
union substantielle, mais de Vertu, et de Vertu seulement. Aussi les Sabelliens
ne reconnoissoient-ils acune union hypostatique de I'Essence Divine avec la Nature
Humaine de Jesus-Christ. Ce n'est qu'une Operation de la Divinite', une pleine
effusion de la Sagesse et de la Vertu Divine dans Fame du Seigneur. (Hist, de
Manich. torn. i. p. 537.) He also concludes that it was not true that the Sabel-
lians were Patripassians: Ni de leur aveu, car ils soutenoient, que la Divinite' est
impassible, comme Epiphane le dit en propres termes : ni par une consequence
legitime, car ils n'ont jamais reconnu aucuiie union substantielle de la Nature
Divine avec la Nature Humaine de Jesus-Christ. (Ibid.)
SABELLIUS. 193
Facundus says, that the Chuixh had not begun to use the word sabeliius.
person in the Trinity, till it was obliged to do so in order to defend
the faith against Sabellius.'
The opinions of Sabellius had made so many proselytes (among
others, some bishops) in Pentapolis, that Dionysius of Alexandria sent
legates to that province, and wrote three letters in refutation of this
heresy. But it is often the failing of controversialists, to be so vio-
lently bent against one extreme as to overlook the other. In his efforts
to prove that the Son was a different Person from the Father, he
unfortunately made too much difference between their natures. He
dropped the expressions that the Son was the work of the Father;
that He was to the Father as the vine to the vine-di-esser, and the
vessel to the carpenter ; — that He did not exist before He was made.
These expressions (of which Origen afterwards availed himself) induced
some persons to complain against him to Dionysius, bishop of Rome.
On l^eing informed of this proceeding, he wrote ' Fom* Books,' in
which he refiited both the errors of Sabellius and that which was
ascribed to himself. These books formed, probably, the piece entitled
' A Refutation and an Apology,' in which, according to Athanasius,
though he did not much approve of the word consubstantial, his
opinions respecting the Trinity corresponded with the orthodox faith.*
From this accomit of their controversy we may infer, that the Remarks,
opinion of the Church at that period was that the Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost were not different names of the Divine Nature, and that,
moreover, it would not allow, even when it was of great import-
ance to confute an opposite error, expressions which might be con-
sidered as asserting that the Son was of a different nature from the
Father.^ From the vindication of Dionysius we may also remark how
dangerous it is to conclude that, because certain consequences may be
even justly deduced from unguarded expressions or illustrations, it
necessarily follows that the author in whom they are found perceived
or allowed those consequences.
From an extract from the work of Dionysius against Sabellius, pre-
sei-ved by Eusebius,'* it appeal's that this heresiarch coincided with
Hermogenes in denying that matter was created ; hence it is, perhaps,
that his disciples were sometimes called ' Hermogenians.'* They
received the canonical Scriptures, but also used some apocryphal
books, chiefly the Gospel according to the Egyptians.®
' Pro Defens. Trium. Capitul. lib. i.
* Sabellius is mentioned by nearly all writers on heresies of this period. See
especially Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib, vi. c. 6. Epiphan. Hser. 62. Athanas. Lib.
de Sententia Dionysii. See also particularly Historia Sabelliana by the learned
Wormius, printed at Frankfort and Leipsic, 1696. Comp. Beausobre, Hist, de
Manich. torn. i. p. 535. See also Tillem. Mem. p. 4. Art. Les Sabelliens.
3 Pluquet, Diet, des Here's. Art. Sabellius. * Prsep. Evang. lib. vii. c. sis.
* August. Hfflr. 41, &c. « Epiph. Hier. 62.
[C. H.]
194 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
BERYLLUS.
Beryllus, bishop of Bozrah in Arabia, a man of great learning and
repute, taught that Jesus Christ had no proper existence or distinct
personahty before His incarnation, that He was the only God, inasmuch
as the Father resided in Him/
After many persons had attempted to withdraw him from his heresy,
Origen had a conference with him, in which he succeeded, by mildness
of address in discovering his sentiments, and by strength of argument
in refuting them, and thus was Beryllub' brought back into the path of
truth ;^ a striking instance of the elfects of sound learning when tem-
pered with gentleness, moderation, and charity. The same man,
whom volumes of controversial invective would perhaps have left con-
firmed in error and exasperated into enmity, is often not only per-
suaded, but conciliated by a few well-directed and candid observations.
Bei'yllus had written some works which are no longer extant. We
have also to regret the loss of the account of his conference with Origen,
mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome.^
PAUL OF SAWOSATA.
The history of Paul, a native of Samosata, and bishop of Antioch,
presents a very mournful view of the progress of ambition and luxury
' in the Church, at a period not much beyond the middle of the third
centuiy. It must be read, however, with the caution at all times
necessary to be observed in examining the statements of an adverse
party. The sketch which we give is drawn from the circular letter
(preserved by Eusebius*) which was transmitted to the various
churches of the eni])ire, and i)articularly to Dionysius and Maximus.
bishops of Rome and Alexandiia, by the bishops assembled at the
Council of Antioch to judge of the opinions of Paul. He is said to
have possessed great wealth, which was neither acquired, by inherit-
ance from his parents, nor* gained by his own industry, but amassed
by extortions and sacrileges, and drawn from the injured by deceitful
promises of protection, and under a false appearance of piety. His
pride Avas equal to his avarice. Preferring to the title of Bishop that
of Ducenarius,* or Procurator of the Emperor, he was charged with
' Tov (TUTYipa, Koci Kvoiov 'hf^Mv Xiyiiv ToXf^av (/.ri 'Xfoul^iaTa.vai, xaT' toiui ovffia;
i/^TD'Ai^tuofiUyiv auTM f/,iv/i« Tr,v -TraT^Dcrit. (Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xxxiii.
torn. ii. p. 238, ed. Heiuiclien.) On the meaning of these words, see Mosheim, de
Eeb. Christ, p. 699.
* Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. .xxxiii. See also c. xx. &c.
3 De Vir. Iliust. c. Ix. On the subject of Beryllus, see also Socrat. Hist. Eccles.
lib. iii. c. vii. ■• Hist. Eccl. lib. vii. c. xxx.
* The Ducenarii, or Imperial attendants, were so called, because their salary
was 200 sestertia, or 1,600/. a-year. (Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvi.) In
the Palmyrene Inscription the word ducenarius (in Greek louxriva^ioi) is often
found. Athanasius says that Zenobia protected Paul. (Ad Solitar. vit. agentes
Op. torn. i. p. 857. Vid. Bayle, Diet. Hist. art. Ze'nobie.) It has been con-
jectured that Paul obtained through her the office of Ducenarius.
PAUL OF SAMOSATA. 195
displaying in the places of public resort, amid a crowd of attendants,
an aflectation of business, and a degree of splendour and arrogance,
which, though designed to dazzle and astonish, drew down odium on
the Christian religion. Having raised a high and stately throne in the
church, he assumed the manners of a sophist, and imitated the pomp
of a secular judge. His gestures were theatrical and violent. It is
added, that he warmly reproved such as listened with the modesty
and seriousness so becoming in the house of God, instead of express-
ing their applause with confused and tumultuary cries. For the
hymns smig in honour of Christ, which he termed recent inventions,
he substituted hvmns in praise of himself. The neighbouring bishops
and priests pronounced the most extravagant panegyrics in his pre-
sence, assuring their congregations that he Avas an angel descended
froin heaven. His impieties were dissembled by his clergy, who were
attached to his interest l.)y the riches which he bestowed, or who, con-
scioas of their own detected crimes, were kept in dependence from the
feai" of punishment. He is also represented as being much addicted to
the pleasures of the table, and as exciting great scandal by leading
with him, wherever he went, two young females remarkable for their
beauty. This conduct, continue the writers, would have awakened
accusations even against one who professed the orthodox faith. The
expression of indignation seems, however, to have been drawn forth
by the heretical opinions which he maintained, and of which we shall
endeavour to convey an idea, as far as we can collect anything clear
and consistent from the confused accounts of ancient writers.
His main errors appear to have been the two opinions — that the Heresy.
Logos was not a distinct person from the Father ; and that the Logos
was not strictly united with the human nature of Christ. The first
affected the doctrine of the Trinity, the second that of the Incarnation ;
this last was that which excited most attention. To explain his
notion more fully, he taught that the Logos and the Holy Spirit were
in the Father, merely as reason is in man, without any real and per-
sonal existence. Properly speaking, there was neither Father, nor
Son, nor Holy Ghost, but simply one God.^ Jesus Christ was born a
man, not exalted by nature above other human beings, but into Him
descended, fi-om God, the Logos — the wisdom and the light. In
this there was no personal hypostatical union, but the Logos merely
dwelt in, and operated throvigh Him. Jesus Christ was, indeed,
called God, but only in an improper sense of the word ; i. e., only by
virtue of the inhabitation of the Logos in Him.^ He was not just
essentially, or by His nature, but He exercised justice by the commu-
nication of the divine Logos, which (at the period, doubtless, of His
death) was said to have cjuitted Him, and returned to the Father.
These opinions Paul maintained in tracts, which, as we learn from
' Epiph. Hrer. l.xv. c. i.
2 It is in this sense that he meant that the Son was consubstantial with the
Father. iSee Tillem. Mem. torn. iv. part ii.
o2
196 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
Vincentius Lerinensis, abounded with quotations from Scripture. No
part of these works remains, if we except the Ten Questions on diffi-
culties, which are preserved in the pieces ascribed to his opponent
Dionj'sius of Alexandria, pieces of which the genuineness is doubted.
Many councils assembled to examine the errors of Paul ; one was
held at Antioch in the year 264. Bishops, as well as priests and
deacons, came to it in gi^eat numbers, and from very distant parts.
Paul promised to renounce his erroneous doctrines. FiiTnilian (Bisho]>
of Ceesarea in Cappadocia, who appears to have presided,) hoping that
the affair might be terminated without bringing prejudice against the
Christian community, deferred giving judgment. But as the promise
of Paul was not ]>erformed, and as the fame of his errors continued to
spread in all quarters, the rulers of the Church, after having fruitlessly
attempted to effect a reformation by letters, met again at Antioch,
under the reign of Aurelian, about the year 269 or 270. This last
council was composed of many bishops. All the means of concilia-
tion — exhortations, prayers, and ap]:)eal3 to former assurances — were
tried in vain. The crafty Heresiarch disguised his notions with much
art ; but Malchion, a learned rhetorician, who had been raised to the
priesthood, succeeded in a conference in laying open the nature of his
errors.
Paul was unanimously deposed and excommunicated, and Domnus,
the son of his predecessor Demetrian, elected in his place. The coun-
cil wrote the Synodal letter, to which we have ah'eady alluded, to the
whole Church, giving a detail of their proceedings, Paul refused to
submit to this decision, and, by the favour of Zenobia, was enabled to
retain his office, and to keep possession of the house of the Chm-ch, or
the Bishop's seat. At length, towards the end of the year 272,
Aurelian, who had retaken Antioch, in consequence of the i>etitions
which he received, commanded that the episcopal mansion should be
delivered up to those pereons to whom the bishops of Rome and Italy
addressed their lettei-s ; either because these bishops were better known,
or less interested than the eastern bishops, or lastly, because he wished
to promote the subjection of the provinces to the seat of the empire.
Thus the sentence of the council was earned into execution.'
The followers of Paul were denominated Paulianists or Paultcms.
There were some at the period of the Nicene council ; and even as
late as the year 428. Theodoret informs us that, in 450, no remains
of them were seen, and even the name of such a sect was not gene-
rally known.*
Beside the above-mentioned errors, there arose, as we have already
remarked, a sect in Arabia, which denied the necessary immortality of
the soul, supposing that it would perish with the body, though it
would be again raised with it by the power of God. Origen, having
' Gibbon, Decline and Fall, &c. c. xvi.
* Hser. Fab. lib. i. c. ii. See Tillem. Mem. torn. iv. part ii. art. Paul de Samo-
sate, where, as usual, almost everything wliich refers to the subject is collected.
PAUL OF SAMOSATA. 197
been sent to refute this rising sect, appears to have been completely
successful in bringing it back into the bosom of tlie Church.'
NOVATIANS.
The schism of the Novatians was commenced by Novatus, and car- Novatians,
ried on by Novatian, of which two persons, who are often confounded,
it may be necessary to give a brief account.
Novatus was a priest of the Chiurch of Carthage. He is described Novatus.
(the description is from his enemies) as notorious for his restless and
innovating spirit, — a torch which kindled factions and war, a mist
which carried into all quarters discord and tempests. Full of dissi-
mulation and perfidy, he sought confidence but to betray it, lavished
flattery but to deceive. Swollen with arrogance and vanity, he had
lost all sense of dutv. Driven by ungoveniable rapaciousness, he
plundered the wards and robbed tlie widows of the Church. Awai;p
that his crimes would be visited with just severity, he hailed with joy
the persecution which shielded him for a time from the scrutiny and
condemnation of his indignant brethren. To avoid the shame of a
sentence of deposition, (in which the bishops were unanimous,) he
voluntarily withdrew from the Church. Resolved to embroil tlie
community which he had dishonoured, he united with the schismatic
Felicissimus, who, with some other priests, had exerted himself in
opix>sing Cyprian,* and admitted scandalous sinners to the commu-
nion, before they had undergone the required penance. He then
passed from Africa to Rome, and joined Novatian.
Novatian appeal's to have been a man of a very different disposition. Novatian.
A philosopher before he embraced Christianity, he was distinguished
by his attainments and his eloquence. The occasion of Iris difference
with the Church, was the election of Cornelius to the see of Rome,
over which he himself was ambitious of presiding. With a view to
impugn the ordination of Cornelius, he advanced against him varioiTS
defamatory charges, which Cyprian has considered mibecoming the
sacerdotal dignity to publish. His principal ground of objection
which we find mentioned, was, that Cornelius admitted to the com-
' Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. sxxvii.
* Cyprian (Ep. 49), Jlosheim observes, *' Verissima hasc omnia esse, renini
Christianarum scriptores non dubitant, quoniam a sanctissimo martyre scripta sunt,
cui fidem simpliciter affirmanti habendum esse arbitrantur. Atqiie absit, ut
sanctum virum ego mentitum esse dicam, et studio fallere voluisse. At dabunt
mihi, ut opinor, facile viri boni atque renim periti, martyi-em falli et errare, com-
motionem animi vehementia exca!cari saepe atque concitatae imaginationis £pstn
modo ad exaggerandum, modo ad diminuendum impelli posse. Hoc ergo si eximio
alioquin Cypriano in hac causa evenisse suspicemur, nullS, manes ejus injuri;\
afficiemus. In recensendis vitiis Novati manifesto declamat, Rhetorisque officio
fungitur : et sciunt, qui hominem norunt, nulla in re facilius en-ari posse, quam
in aliorum, prsesertim adversariorum, mentibus depingendis, &c." (De Reb.
Christian, p. 500.) It is added that he neglected his father in his illness, and
paid him no honours after his death. He struck his wife while pregnant with his
foot, and caused her to miscarry.
198 HERETICS OF THE THIRD CENTURY.
munion such as had been guilty of idolatry ; a relaxation which, ac-
cording to his own opinion, ought in no case to be allowed. In this
schism he was followed by some of the clergy and of the people, and,
from the beginning, by the greater part of the confessors ; men who,
having themselves suffered persecution with firmness, were unwilling
that those who had shown less courage should enjoy equal privileges.
This defection is attributed in a great degree to the intrigues of Nova-
tus, who artfully impelled the irritated but wavering Novatian into
decisive measures. Thus the same person, who had but just before
adopted the exti-eme lenity of Felicissimus, now advocated the ex-
treme rigour of Novatian, the two opposite errors which, at the same
time, rent the Church. Such is the versatility of error, and perhaps
of interest.
By his counsels, when the ordination of Cornelius, notwithstanding
his opposition, was ratified by the Church, Novatian contrived to get
himself elected bishop,' though he had before protested that the de-
sire of the episcopal dignity had not influenced his conduct.
Without entering into a detail of the fruitless attempts of Novatian
to obtain a general approval of his election, it is more useful towards
acquiring a just notion of the ecclesiastical discipline at that period, to
state some of the particular pleas urged against its validity by Corne-
lius in his letters preserved by Eusebius.
He informs us that Novatian, when dangerously ill, had baptism
administered to hira in bed, without afterwards receiving the cere-
monies required by the canons of the Chm'ch; and the clergy and
people objected to a person, so baptized, being ordained priest, but
were prevailed upon to permit it, in his case, by particular request of
the bishop. From this account we may infer, that it was contrary
to the laws, or at least, to the customs of the Christians in that age,
to admit to the priesthood those who had received clinical baptism
only, and had not subsequently gone through the usual rites annexed
to Baptism ; ^. e., had not received milk and honey, unction, and the
imposition of hands.
Cornelius also reproaches Novatian with having, during persecution,
denied his sacerdotal office, and with having said, (on being requested
by the deacons to assist his distressed brethren,) that he wished to be
no longer a priest, and designed to embrace another philosophy.
The refusal of the African bishops to recognise Novatian was soon
followed by a diminution of his adherents. Of the three bishops who
had ordained him, one acknowledged his error with contrition, and was
readmitted to the communion of the Church. The confessors with-
* To efTect this purpose, two of his partisans were sent to three ignorant and
rustic bishops, who lived in the smallest province of Italy, and prevailed upon
them to hasten to Rome as mediators, to put an end to the divisions which agitated
the Church. On the arrival of these bishops, Novatian is said to have shut them
up in a chamber, to have reduced them to a state of intoxication, and then to have
induced them to ordain him bishop by the imposition of hands.
NOVATIANS. 199
drew from his party ; and, besides other assembUes, a synod of sixty
bishops, and a great number of his clergy, convened at Rome by Cor-
nehus, passed a sentence of excommunication against him and his fol-
lowers. These measures were not eftectual in preventing him from
holding his notions, which were for a long time maintained by a nu-
merous sect, of which he became the founder.
The Novatians appear not to have entertained sentiments on doc- Opinions
trinal points at variance with the opinions of the orthodox Christians, ^^p^^^j^ns
The leading feature of difference was, that such as had been guilty of
heinous crimes, as apostacy and other sins, could not be admitted into
the Church, which had no power to pardon them ; and, indeed, con-
tracted pollution by receiving them into her communion. Hence they
called themselves Cathari, as it were Puritans, and rebaptized their
proselytes. Still Novatian maintained the necessity of penance :
either to avoid odium, or because the hope of salvation was not, like
tlie reconciliation of the Church, denied to the penitent sinners. The
effect of this severity was so fatal, that some who had apostatized
during persecution, returned, through desjiair, to Paganism.'
The Novatians, probably, made additions to the tenets of their
master ; such, perhaps, was their condemnation of second marriages.
Novatian, besides an eloquent letter written to Cyprian in the name Novatian's
of the clergy of Rome, before the election of Cornelius, composed ^*"'^' ^^•
various works, which are lost. The two treatises, one on the Trinity,
and the other on Jewish meats, which are found in the works of Ter-
tullian, are, probably, to be ascribed to Novatian. The design of the
latter tract is to prove the animals called unclean were not so in their
nature ; but that it was forbidden that they should be eaten, by the
Mosaic law, in order to teach men to avoid the sins of which they were
the figure. For instance, swine's flesh was prohibited, to deter us from
a carnal life. The author then enjoins temperance and abstinence from
meats offered to idols.
The style of Novatian is i^eckoned pure and elegant, his reasoning
methodical, his citations apposite, and his spirit candid."^
Socrates^ says, that Novatian suffered martvrdom under Valerian,
but this opinion has been rejected by other writers.
> Cypr. in Nov. 2 Dupin, Biblioth. p. 112.
^ Lib. iv. c. sxviii. On the subject of Kovatian and his schism, see Euseb.
Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. c. xliii. ; Cyprian, Ep. 49, 52, &c. ; Tillemout, Mem. On the
name Novatian, see Lardner, Cred. part ii. c. xlvii.
INDEX.
Abraxas, or Abrasas of Basilides, 149
Achamoth, 158, 160, 161
Accuser and accused executed, 29
Acuteness and credulity often blended, 77
Adamites, practices of, 154
vEons, their ministry, &c., 127, 145, 155,
156, 157, 166, 186
Alexandria, persecutions at, 51
Alexander Severus, did he intend to dedicate
a temple to Christ ? 45
, was he a secret disciple ? 46
Allegorical Scholia, by Theophilus, 86
Amulets of the Gnostics, 149
Anabaticon, an apocryphal book, 190
Angel-creators, 122, "l27, 145, 147
Angelici, sect of, 147
Angels, in the system of Saturninus, 122
— — , in the system of Basilides, 146
Animal food rejected by the Hieracites, 191
Antiuous, deification of, 24
Antitactics, sect of, 154
Apelles, a disciple of Marcion, 142
, his pretensions to revelation, 142
, analysis of his system, 143
, his discussion with Rhodon, 144
Apollo, oracle of, consulted with reference to
the punishment of Christians, 66
Apologies, their advantages and inconveni-
ences, 3
for Christianity, written by Justin
Martyr, 82 ; Athenagoras, 84 ; Ter-
tullian, 105
Apologists, Christian, their boldness, simpli-
city, &c., 3
Apostacy in Africa, 52
Apotuctici, or Renouncers, 129
Artemon and Theodotus, 170
Artoturitae, singular customs of, 177
Athenagoras, his conversion, 83
, his writings, 84
[C.H.]
Austerities of early sects, 125
Authorities respecting the history of the third
and fourth centuries, 5
Authors should be consulted in their own
works, 114
Baptism of heretics, 56
, Tertullian on, 106
, clinical, 198
Barchochebas the impostor, 24
Bardesanes, his tlieological system, 123
, his works, 125
Basilides, his system, 145
Beausobre's history of Manichseism, 183
Beryllus, his heresy and recovery, 194
Biography, necessity of, 72
, ecclesiastical, works on, 79
Bythos, or Supreme Deity, 156
Cabalistic numbers of Basilides, 149
notions of Marcus, 163
Cainites, their opinions, 165
Calumnies against the early Christians, 15
Cai-pocrates, heresy of, 153
Cataphiygians, or Mont;uiists, 174
Catechumens in the early Church, 11
Cathari, 199
Cemeteries, Christians forbidden to assemble
at, by Valerian, 57
Cerdo, his history, 130
, his religious system, 130
, his recantation, 131
Christianity, early defenders of, 3
despised by learned Pagans, 4
, its early and extensive difiusion, 6
, mode and causes of its difiusion, 8
, its influence upon its i-ecipients, 9
subjected to ridicule and other species
of opposition, 12
, causes of opposition to, 13
202
INDEX.
Christianity, its condition in Pontus and
Bithynia, 20
, Influence of Pagan priesthood adverse
to, 20
, why persecuted by Virtuous emperors,
44
opposed by the Jurisconsults, 46
corrupted by Pagan philosophy, 115
perverted, 117
Christians, eavly, were regarded as deluded en-
thusiasts, 4
, early, bore their afflictions patiently, 9,
19,55
treated idolatry with public contempt,
were suspected of disaffection, 14
calumniated, 15, 26, 27, 31
, the simplicity and purity of their man-
ners, 19
confounded with Jews by Pagans, 24,
31
, their conduct with reference to public
festivals, 31
, their horror of idolatry, 32, 33
neither eager to promote imposture, nor
unable to discover it, 42
Church, degeneracy of, 50, 62
, persecution of. See Persecutions of
Christians.
, tranquil periods of —
under Hadrian, 23
in the reign of Commodus, 29
during the reigns of Pertinas and Ju-
lianus, 30
in the time of Caracalla, 44
under Masimus, Balbinus, Gordian, and
Philip, 47
during part of the reign of Valerian, 55
under Gallienus, Claudius, and part of
Aurelian's reign, 61
in the earlier part of Diocletian's reign,
62
, Unity of, Cyprian's treatise on, 112
Church History, importance of, 1
, leading points of inquiry, 1
, sources of information, 1
Churches of Nicomedia demolished, 66
Clemens Alexandrinus, 8S
, his literary productions, 88
Colobarsus the Gnostic, 163
Concordance of the Evangelical Histori(*s by
Theophilus, 86
Commentaries on the Scriptures, by —
Theophilus, 86
Origen, 96
Gi-egoiy Thaumaturgus, 102
Methodius, 103
Bardesanes, 126
Commentaries on the Scriptures, by — contd.
Heracleon, 163
Hierax, 190
Constantine, accession of, 71
Constantius Chlorus protects the Christians, 69
Continence abhorred by Elxai, 121
extolled by Marcion, 141 ; Lucian, 141 ;
Tatian, 127
Conversion of the Gentiles, effects of, 9
Creation, absolute, denied, 172
Credulity, instances of, among the pious and
the learned, 77
Cyprian, his life, 110
, Ills conduct daring a pestilence at
Carthage, 111
, style of his writing. 111
, his various works, 112
, editions of them, 113
, his letter to Demetrian, 25
, his consolatory tracts, 53
, his martyrdom, 59
Darkness, ideas connected with, 185
Day of judgment, expectation of, 54
Demiurge, the, of Apelles, 143
, of Lucian, 141
, of Marcion, 133
, of the Ophites, 166, 167
, of Ptolemy, 162
, of Valentinus, 158, 160
Demons, their occupations, powers, &c., 32
Destiny, works on, by Bardesanes, 125
, by Miuucius Felix, 110
Dialogue on the resurrection, 99, 103
on destiny, 125
between a Catholic and a Valentinian,
103
Diffusion of Christianity in the second century,
5
in the Roman empire, 6
, circumstances which facilitated the, 7
in Britain and other places, 7
, mode and causes of, 8
its efi'ects, 9
Disciplina Arcani of the fathers, 75
Disputes respecting Easter, 39
concerning the Lapsed, 53
on the rebaptizing of heretics, 56
, intemperate, among the early Christians
accounted for, 39
Docetaj, heresy of, 189
Ducenarius, a title adopted by Paul, bishop of
Antioch, 194
Earthquakes led to pei-secution, 25, 47
Easter, dispute i-especting the time of observ-
ing it, 39
Ebionites,^117, 118
INDEX.
203
Ecclesiastical writers of the second and third
centuries, 80
Edicts, Imperial, against Christians, 17, 21,
25, 31, 47, 50, 53, 57, 58, 66, 68,
70
Egypt, fertile of mysteries, 144
Egyptian Gnostics, 144
Ekesaitre (Elxai), 120
Elxai, revelation and tenets of, 121
Encratitae, a sect of heretics, 126, 128
Era of martyrs, 62
Erroneous opinions, importance of an accurate
sketch of their rise and progress,
114
Evidence of successive writers, observations
on, 48
Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, 1
Evil. See Origin of.
Fathers, Works of, points of inquiiy before
investigating, 72
, the ages of, in reference to particular
heresies, 73
, their various methods of reasoning and
illustration, 73
, their value as commentators, 75
— — , obscurity of their writings, 75, 76
, their value as historians, 76
, coiTuptions of their works, 78
Fire in the palace of Nicomedia, 67
, its origin uncertain, 67
, its effect on the mind of Diocletian, the
emperor, 67
Florinians, a sect of Gnostics, 164
Forged Writings, remarks on, 43
Gad and Meni of the Hebrews, 186
Gems, Gnostic, classification of, 151
Gnostic, meaning of the teiTn, 154
Gnostics, three principal schools of, 122
, Syrian, 122
, Asiatic, 130
•— — , Egyptian, 144
, lesser sects of, 165
Gospel of the Hebrews, 119
of the Twelve Apostles, 119
Gregoiy Nyssen's narrative of the sufferings
of Christians at Pontus, 51
Gregory Thaumaturgus, his birth, education,
and early history, 101
, his panegyrical oration on Origen, 101
, period of his death, 102
, his works, 102
Hadrian addicted to magic, &c., 23
issues an edict favourable to Christians,
23
Heathen writers, answers to, by —
Athenagoras, " Apology," 84
Hermias, " Irrisio Gentilium," &c., 84
Irena;us, " Concerning Knowledge," 87
Clemens, " Protrej)ticon," &c., 88
Minucius Felix, "Octavius," 109
Origen, "Contra Celsum," 98
TertuUian, "Ad Nationes," 107
Theophilus, " Ad Autolycum," 85
Tatian, " Oratio contra Grsecos," 126
Heracleon, his theories, 163
Heresies of the second and third centuries, 114
which arose from philosophy, 115
, early, ancient treatises on, 83, 86, 106,
116, 138
Heresy, the lesson its history teaches, 180
Hermias, his writings, 84
Hermogenes, his religious system, 171
HeiTnogenians and Sabellians, 193
Hexapla and Tetrapla of Origen, 94
Hierax, his history and character, 190
, his erroneous opinions, 190
Hippolytus. writings of, 91
Hydroparastatae, 128
Idolatry, Christian horror and avoidance of,
32, 33
, indiff^erence to, 120
, the vanity of, 110
Interpolations of manuscripts, 78
Irenaeus, his birth, education, &c., 86
, his writings, 86
Jablonski on the conversion of Severus, 46
Jaldabaoth of the Cainites, 166
Jesus, heretical notions concerning, 118, 120,
123, 124, 127, 131, 134, 136, 143,
147, 148, 152, 153, 157, 158, 160,
163, 165, 169, 171, 172, 173, 187,
188, 192, 193, 195
Jews, ancient works against —
Justin Martyr's "Dialogue with Trypho
the Jew," 82
TertuUian " Adversus Judaos," 106
Testimonies to Quirinus, 112
Jurisconsults, their hostility to Christianity
46
Justin Martyr, early life and studies, 81
, his conversion, 9, 81
, his writings, 82
, his martyrdom, 82
. , character, literary attainments, and style,
83
Lapsed, disputes respecting, 53
, treatise on, 112
Latin writers of the second century, 104
of the tliird century, 109
204
INDEX.
Laurentius, martyrdom of, 59
Leonides, martyrdom of, 92
Libellatici, the, 52
Light and darkness, war between, 186
Logos, notion of, by Paul of Samosata, 195
Lucian, a Marcionite, 141
Lyons, martyrdoms at, 26
Mankind, triple division of, 159
Manichaeism defended by Bayle, 189
persecuted, 190
Manichffius, his history, 181
, his death, 182
, his opinions, 182
, his works, 183
, his pretensions, 184
, his system, 186
Marcion, his heresy, 131
, his recantation, 131
, his followers, 132
, his writings, 132
, his religious system, 132
, dangerous tendency of his views, 137
, his gospel, 138
, books rejected by him, 140
Marcionites, conduct and customs of, 130,
140
Marcosians, sect of, 162
Marinus, martyrdom of, 61
Marriage disapproved of, 127, 141, 188, 190
Marriages, second, condemned, 107, 175
Martyr, a term of extensive application, 35
Martyi-dom eagerly desired by some, 37, 38
, its effect on Pagan philosophers, 38
, its effect on the popular mind, 39
, esliortations to, 99, 112
Martyroloeies, Christian, 3, 39
Martyrs, "Acts of," 3
, honours paid to, 36
, voluntary, 38
— — , era of, 62
Matter, nature of, according to Hennogenes
and Sabellius, 173, 193
Maurice, St., Abbey of, at Agaunum, 62
Melchisedechians, their tenets, 171
Metempsychosis of the Gnostics, 148, 154
Methodius, his martyrdom, 102
, his writings, 103
Millenarians in the early church : —
Papias, Irenffius, Justin Martyr, Ter-
tullian, Lactantius, Nepos, «&c., 178
, anti-, in the early church : —
Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, Je-
rome, &c., 178
, opinions of, 179
Millenium, doctrine of, its origin, 178
Minucius Felix, his life, 109
, his writings, 109
Minucius Felix, editions, style, &c., 110
Montanists, 173
, excommunicated, 176
, their antagonists, 177
Montanus, his heresy, 174
, his predictions, 176
, his residence, 177
, report as to his death, 177
Mosaic observances ingrafted on Christianity
by early heretics, 118, 120
Name of Christian, to bear it esteemed a
punishable crime, 17
Nazarenes and Ebionites, 117, 118
Nice, council of, on Easter, 40
Nicomedia, church of, its destruction, 66
, palace of, on fire, 67
Noetus, his history and errors, 191
Novatus and Novatian, their history and
schism, 197
Ophites, a sect of Gnostics, 166
, their diagram, 167
Origen, his birth, education, acquirements, 92
witnesses his father's martyrdom, 92
, his youthful zeal, 93
is chosen catechist, 93
, his exemplary conduct and severe mode
of life, 93
, his success as a teacher, 94
, his travels, 94
instructs Mammjea, 94
is ordained priest in Palestine, 95
, his persecutions at the hands of Chris-
tians, 95
, and from Pagans, 96
converts Beryllus, 194
, his death, 97
, writings of, 94, 96, 97
, editions of his works, 98
, translation of, 99
, supposititious works, 99
Origin of evil, theories to account for it, 123,
134, 143, 145, 158, 166, 172, 183, 186
Orthodox, answers to one hundred and forty-
six questions to the, 82
Pagan customs, Christianity hostile to, 8
— — writers of the second and third centuries
silent respecting Christianity, 4
, reasons for their silence, 4
Paganism, disgusting to the reflecting mind, 8
contrasted with Christianity, 10
, its influence on the unreflecting, 11
Pamphilus, a collector of Origen's works, 100
, his 'Apology' for Origen, 101
Papias, 178
Paraclete. See Montanus.
INDEX.
205
Pascha, various meanings of, 40
Patripassians, opinions of the, 169, 191, 192
, Tertullian's replies to, 169|
Paul, of Samosata, his history, 194
, heresy, 195,
, his deposition and excommunication, 196
Paulianists, 196
Paulicians, sect of, 190
Peace, external, produced internal strife among
Christians, 50, 56
Penitence, treatise on, 106
Peregrinus, his life and death, 28
Persecution, freedom from, sometimes pur-
chased, 35, 52
, private as well public, 35
Persecutions of Christians: —
under the Emperor Trajan, 18
during the revolt of Barchochebas, 24
on the accession of Antoninus Pius, 25
under Marcus Aurelius, 26
in the time of Severus, 31
under Maximinus, 47
in the reign of Decius, 50
under Gallus and Volusianus, 53
in the latter part of Valerian's reign, 57
at the close of Aurelian's reign, 61
by Maximian, 62, 64
under Diocletian, 66, 67
by Galerius and Maximin, 69
Persecutors, book of the Deaths of, 2
Person, when first used ni the Trinity, 193
Phenomena, Natural, often attributed to mira-
culous agency, 76, 77
Philip, emperor, inquiry into his conversion,
47
Philosophers ridiculed by Hermias, 84
Piety of the Romans, the cause of their great-
ness, 11
Pleroma, in the system of Valentinus, 155
Pliny's letter to Trajan, its object, 17
, inferences drawn from it, 17
— — , its genuineness proved, 22
Polycarp's conference with Anicetus, 40
Pontius's Life of Cyprian, 60
Pontus, persecutions at, 51
Populace, enmity of, to Christianity, 34
Pothinus, Bishop, a martyr at Lyons, 27
Praxeas, his history, 1 68
, his theories, 169
Priesthood, pagan, opposition of, to Christianity,
20
Principle, a single false one, danger of adopt-
ing, 141
Principles, the Two conflicting, origin of the
notion of, 185
Priscillians, a sect of Gnostics, 177
Prodicians, their tenets, 155
Ptolemy, his tenets, 162
QuiSTiLLANi, a sect of Gnostics, 177
Resurrection, Dialogue on, by Methodius,
103
, dialogues on, by Origen, 9(*
, treatise on, by Athenagoras, 84
treatise, by Tertullian, 105
of the body denied, 129, 131, 135, 188
of body and soul, 142
of souls, not of bodies, 143
Rhodon, Apelles' discussion with, 144
Ridicule added to the other sufferings of
Christians, 12, 28, 34
Roman Government, great maxim of, 18, 57
Rulers, their prejudices against Chris-
tianity, 14 r^
, their fears respecting its diffusion, 15
Rulers, Roman, frequently reluctant to proceed
to extreme measures, 18, 34, 60
Sabellius, his life and heresy, 191 "^^
Saccophori, or Sack-bearers, loO
Satan, in the system of Bardesanes, 123
, in the system of Marcion, 133
Saturninus's theological system, 122
Scythian and Terebinthus, 183
Secundus, his theories, 162
Serpent, worship of, 166
, why so honoured, 167
Sethians, their tenets, 165
Severians, religious system of, 129
Sibylline Oracles, forgeries, 41
Sixtus, martyrdom of, 59
Soul, human, notions respecting, 122, 124,
142, 148, 153, 154, 158, 168
, an evidence of the existence of God, &c.,
107
, means of enfranchising it from its present
slavery, 125
, its immortality denied, 196
Souls, transmigration of, 188
Sti-omata, the, of Clemens, 89
of Origen, 99
Sufferings of the early Christians, 9
TascodhugiT/E, singular custom of, 177
Tatian, his history, 126
, his theological system, 127
, his diatessaron, 128
Terebinthus and Scythian, 183
Terms, variation in their use, 73
Tertullian on the diffusion of Christianity, 6
on Trajan's letter to Pliny, 21
on the cure of Severus, 30
, his " Apology," 31
on demons and Idolatry, 33
, " de Fuga in Persecutione," 34
on Public Games, 107
206
IJJDEXo
Tertullian, his life, 104
, his writings, 104
, supposititious works, 107
, stvle and character of his writings, 108
, editors of his works, 108
Theban Legion, massacre of, 62
Theodotus and Artemon, 170
Theophihis of Antioch, his works, 85
Toleration, Religious, among the Romans cir-
cumscribed, 12
taught by the history of the early
heresy, 180
Tonnents, refined, of Galerius and Maximin, 69
Torture, examination by, 19
Traditors, 68
Trajan's Edict in reply to Pliny, 21
, operation of, 23
Trinity, according to Justin Martyr, 83
Trinity, according to Manichaus, 186
, rejected by Praxeas, 169
, Sabellius's view of, 191, 192
, when person was first used in, 193
Valentinus, his religious system, 155
Victor excommunicates the Asiatic Churches, 40
Vienna, martyrdoms at, 26
Virgins, banquet of, by Methodius, 103
, discipline and dress of, 112
to be veiled, 106
Water, a divinity of the Elcesaitse, 121
Writers, Greek, of the second century, 81
of the third century, 91
Zena and Serenus, epistle to, 82
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