CHAP.

1.

wrestler to be mangled,-and yet to conquer :-Be more studious than thou art: Consider the times; and expect him who is above all time, who is unconnected with time, the Invisible one made visible for us, the impassible, but passible for us; who bore all sorts of sufferings for us.-Let not widows be neglected: Next to the Lord, do thou take care of them: Let nothing be done without thy cognizance: Do thou nothing without the mind of God. -Let assemblies be more frequently held: Seek out all by name: Despise not slaves of either sex; yet let them not be puffed up, but serve more faithfully to the glory of God, that they may obtain a better liberty from God: Let them not desire to be set at liberty at the charge of the Church, lest they be found slaves of lust.-If any can remain in chastity for the honour of the Lord, let them do so without boasting. If they boast, they are lost: and if the man set himself up above the Bishop, he is lost. It behoves the married to enter into that connection with the consent of the Bishop, that the marriage may be after the will of God, and not to fulfil the lusts of the flesh."

From Troas, Ignatius, being brought to Neapolis, passed by Philippi through Macedonia, and that part of Epirus, which is next to Epidamnus. Having found a ship in one of the sea-ports, his conductors sailed over the Adriatic; and thence, entering into the Tuscan sea, and passing by several islands and cities, at length they came in view of Puteoli, which being shown to him, he hastened to go forth, desirous to tread in the steps of the Apostle Paul; but a violent wind arising would not permit him to accomplish this design. His attendants, the relaters of the martyrdom, say, that the wind then became favourable for one day and night;-and that they were hurried on contrary to their wishes: THEY sorrowed at the thought of being separated from him: but HE rejoiced in the prospect of soon leaving the

world and departing to his Lord, whom he loved:They sailed into the Roman port Ostia; and when the impure sports were at an end, the soldiers began to be offended with his slowness; but the bishop joyfully complied with their hastiness. Ostia was some miles from Rome; and he was met by the Ro man Christians, who intimated their strong desire for his preservation. Some of them probably had influence with the great; and they were willing to try it: Ignatius, however, was inflexible. He was brought to Rome, and presented to the Prefect of the city.

When he was led to execution, he was attended by a number of the brethren, and was allowed to join in prayer with them. And he prayed to the Son of God in behalf of the Churches,-that he would put a stop to the persecution, and continue the love of the brethren toward each other. He was then led into the amphitheatre, and speedily thrown to the wild beasts. He had here also his wish: The beasts were his grave: A few bones only were left, which the deacons gathered, carefully preserved, and afterwards buried at Antioch.

The writers thus conclude: "We have made known to you both the day and the time of his martyrdom, that being assembled together according to that time, we may jointly commemorate the magnanimous martyr of Christ, who trode under-foot the devil, and completed the course which he had devoutly wished in Christ Jesus our Lord, by whom and with whom all glory and power be to the Father with the blessed Spirit for ever. Amen."

Usher has preserved, or rather restored to us also an epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians. It breathes the same spirit as those of his fellow-disciple, but has less pathos and vigour of sentiment. Citations from it will be needless.-He begs the Philippians to

* I use the expression of the Acts: let the reader make the obvious inference for himself.

CENT.

II.

Martyrdom

of

Ignatius.

A. D.

107.

CHAP.

I.

communicate to him what they knew of Ignatius, whom they had seen at Philippi, after his departure from Smyrna. We hence see how the Churches then formed one large fraternity, abstracted from partial views of supporting little factions and interests. He exhorts them to obey the word of righteousness, and to exercise all patience, which they had seen exemplified in Ignatius, and in others among themselves, and in Paul himself, and the rest of the Apostles: for these loved not this present world, but him, who died and was raised again by God for us. By his account it appears, that the Philippians still retained the Christian spirit.-One of the Presbyters, Valens, together with his wife, had sinned through covetousness. Would to God such spots in the pastoral character were as singular in our times! Polycarp beautifully expresses his charitable concern for them, and exhorts them, in affectionate sympathy, to endeavour to restore their spiritual health.

These facts and observations throw some light on the persecution of Trajan, on the spirit of Christians so far as it can be collected at that time, on the martyrdom of Ignatius, and on the signal glory which God was pleased to diffuse around it among the Churches.

II.

Death of Trajan.

A. D.

THE

CHA P. II.

HISTORY OF CHRISTIANS DURING THE REIGNS OF ADRIAN AND ANTONINUS PIUS.

CHAP. TRAJAN died in the year 117. The latter part of his reign had been employed in his great military expedition into the East, whence he lived not to return. His exploits and triumphs fall not within my province: I have no concern with him except in that line, in which to a Christian he must appear to the greatest disadvantage; and out of which, it were heartily to be wished, that he had ever given any evidence of a desire to remove. His successor, Adrian,

117.

appears not to have issued any persecuting edicts. But the iniquity of his predecessor survived; and Adrian's silent acquiescence for a time, gave it sufficient scope to exert itself in acts of barbarity*.:

In the mean time the Gospel spread more and more. A number of Apostolical persons demonstrated by their conduct, that the Spirit, which had influenced the Apostles, re-ted upon them. Filled with divine charity, they distributed their substance to the poor, and travelled into regions, which, as yet, had not heard the sound of the Gospel: and having planted the faith, they ordained pastors, committed to them the culture of the new ground, and then passed into other countries. Hence, numbers through grace embraced the doctrine of salvation, at the first hearing, with much alacrity f. It is natural to admire here the power of the Holy Spirit of God in the production of so pure and charitable a temper; to contrast it with the illiberal selfishness too prevalent even among the best in our days; and to regret how little is done for the propagation of the Gospel through the world, by nations whose aids of commerce and navigation are so much superior to those enjoyed by the antients.-One advantage those Christians possessed indeed, which we have not: They were all one body, one Church, of one name, and cordially loved one another as Brethren: The attention to fundamentals, to real Christianity, was not dissipated by schismatic peculiarities, nor was the body of Christ rent in pieces by factions: There were indeed many heretics; but real Christians admitted them not into their communities: the line of distinction was drawn with sufficient precision; and a dislike of the person or offices of Christ, and of the real spirit of holiness, discriminated the heretics: and Separation from them, while it was undoubtedly

The persecution of the 2d year of Adrian, is commonly called the IVth Persecution of the Christians.

t.Euseb. B. iii. c. 33.

CHAP.
II.

the best mark of charity to their souls, tended to preserve the faith and love of true Christians in genuine purity.

Among these holy men Quadratus was much distinguished. He succeeded Publius in the bishopric of Athens, who had suffered martyrdom either in this or in the foregoing reign. He found the flock in a dispersed and confused state*: Their publick assemblies were deserted: their zeal was grown cold and languid: their lives and manners were corrupted; and they seemed likely to apostatize from Christianity. Quadratus laboured to recover them with much zeal and with equal success t. Order and discipline were restored, and with them the holy flame of godliness. One of the strongest testimonies of these things, is the account which the famous Origen, in the second book of his treatise against Celsus, gives of the Athenian Church. While this great man is demonstrating the admirable efficacy of Christian faith on the minds of men, he exemplifies his positions by this very Church of Athens, on account of its good order, constancy, meekness, and quietness-He represents it as infinitely superior in these respects to the common political assembly in that city, which was factious and tumultuary:-He affirms that it was evident, that the worst parts of the Church were better than the best of their popular assemblies. This is a very pleasing testimony to the growth of Christianity, since the time that a handful of seed was sown there by St. Paul: and let the testimony of so penetrating and sagacious an observer as Origen be considered, as one of the many proofs that might be given of the happy effect which real Christianity has on human society. To a mind not intoxicated with vain ideas of secular glory, the Christian part of Athens must appear infinitely more happy and more respectable, than that commonwealth ever had been in the meridian of it's glory. * Euseb. B. iv. c. 22. + Cave's Life of Quadratus.