UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN D|EGO 3 1822 00754 8530 i^H- j^«T*i»-»*U»< •*■■«»-■ Vt-.%*i^.,,.. m ' -jt^ ."^.p^ ^ARY UNiH-'i:TY OP * , }t£«0 ^■ n UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO 3 1822 00754 8530 Central University Library University of California, San Diego Note: This item is subject to recall after two weeks. Date Due MAY 2 1 1992 .uiNO" 193Z i \ \ \ \ \ ij; UCSD Lib. - ..^ «'• * -_ _5:thnottrtmttj '^ dfjvrixlinii frrm llravnt -hflds in hrr riifht hniui . l/u rnnni rf /itiiiiir l)ihtV; til htr Irti Ihr Xtw Tfthinifiil .- .hm it rfiiretrnlal /'rii/tnilr : Ell- rppe III It hriuhnt/ innliirr -.llririi hr a fii/iirr kiitfliiui mut .4nifricn lir on liiiluiii Willi llif I'nliimil . rr fn/'r I'f /irtiff -Tlif hmkrii r/uuii.i A'r rf/irrtriti thr rffrfU rC I'hnxltiiiitlv III tlir iltjilriulioii of Sluvrry iinil hlilnlry Ttu Jiirk .^kr iii llir liurk ffri'iiiiil . .iliitm llu tUilt cf llii >rnrlM or gT.TBTEfV St Peter was crunfuH. with 7a/ lietid Hvwriward-f .- deeming hinutdf iwt wortTiv to suffer in the same pi^sture with our Lord. RELIGIOUS EVENTS, &. 1. State of the Jews at the coming of Christ. The state of the Jews was not much better than that of .other nations, at the time of Christ's appearance on earth. They were governed by Herod, who was him-' self tributary to the Roman people. His government was of the most vexatious and oppressive kind. By a cruel, suspicious, and overbearing temper, he drew upon himself the aversion of all, not excepting those who lived upon his bounty. Under his administration, and through his influence, the luxury of the Romans was introduced into Pales- tine, accompanied with the vices of that licentious peo- ple. In a word, Judea, governed by Herod, groaned under all the corruption which might be expected from the authority and example of a prince, who, though a Jew in outward profession, was, in point of morals and practice, a contemner of all laws, human and divine. After the death of this tyrant, the Romans divided the ' government of Judea between his sons. In this divi- sion, one half of the kingdom was given to Archelaus, under the title of Exarch. Archelaus was so corrupt and wicked a prince, that, at last, both Jews and Sa- maritans joined in a petition against him, to Augustus, who banished him from his dominions about ten years after the death of Herod the Great. Judea was by this sentence reduced to a Roman province, and ordered to be taxed. The governors whom the Romans appointed over Judea were frequently changed, but seldom for the better. About the sixteenth year of Christ, Ponthis Pilate was appointed governor, the whole of whose ad- ministration, according to Josephus, was one contin- ual scene of venality, rapine, and every kind of sav- 4 36 age cruelty. Such a governor was ill calculated to ap- pease the ferments occasioned by the late tax. In- deed, Pilate was so far from attempting to appease, that he greatly inflamed them, by taking every occasion of introducing his standards, with images, pictures, and consecrated shields, into the city; and at last, by at- tempting to drain the treasury of the temple, under pretence of bringing an acqueduct into Jerusalem. The most remarkable transaction of his government, how- ever, was his condemnation of Jesus Christ ; seven • years after which he was removed from Judea. About the time of Christ's appearance, the Jews of that age concluded the period pre-determined by God, to be then completed, and that the promised Messiah would suddenly appear. Devout persons waited day and night for the consolation of Israel ; and the whole nation, groaning under the Roman yoke, and stimula- ted by the desire of liberty or of vengeance, expected their deliverer with the most anxious impatience. Two religions flourished at tliis time in Palestine ; the Jewish and Samaritan. The Samaritans blended the errors of paganism with the doctrines of the Jews, The learned among the Jews were divided into a great variety of sects. The Pharisees, the Sadducees, and Essenes, eclipsed the other denominations. The most celebrated of the Jewish sects was that of the Pharisees. It is supposed by some, that this de- nomination existed about a century and a half before the appearance of our Savior. They separated them- selves not only from pagans, but from all such Jews as complied not with their peculiarities. Their separa- tion consisted chiefly in certain distinctions respecting food and religious ceremonies. It does not appear to have interrupted the uniformity of religious worship, in which the Jews of every sect seem to have always united. This denomination, by their apparent sancti- ty of manners, had rendered themselves extremely popular. The multitude, for the most part espoused their interests ; and the great, who feared their artifice, were frequently obliged to court their favor. Hence, they obtained the highest offices, in the state and 37 priesthood, and had great weight, both in public and private affairs. It appears from the frequent mention made by the evangelists, of the Scribes and Pharisees in conjunction, that the greatest number of Jewish teachers, or doctors of the law, (for those were expres- sions equivalent \o scribe,) were at that time, of the phai'isaical sect. The principal doctrines of the Phar- isees, were as follows : — that the oral law, which they suppose God delivered to Moses by an archangel on Mount Sinai, and which is preserved by tradition, is of equal authority with the written law ; that, by ob- serving both these laws, a man may not only obtain justification with God, but perform meritorious works of supererogation ; that fasting, alms-giving, ablutions, and confessions, are sufficient atonements for sin ; that thoughts afed desires are not sinful, unless they are car- ried into action. This denomination acknowledged the immortality of the soul, future rewards and punish, ments, the existence of good and evil angels, and the resurrection of the body. They maintained both the freedom of the will and absolute predestination ; and adopted the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls, excepting the notoriously wicked, whom they supposed consigned to eternal punishments. The sect of the Sadducees derived its origin and name from one Sadoc, who flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about two hundred and sixty three years before Christ. The chief heads of the Sadducean doctrine are as follow : — that all laws and traditions, not comprehended in the written law, are to be rejected as merely human inventions ; neither an- gels nor spirits have a distinct existence separate from their corporeal vestment ; the soul of man, therefore, expires with the body ; there will be no resurrection of the dead, nor rewards and punishments after this life ; man is not subject to irresistible fate, but has the framing of his condition chiefly within his power ; and that polygamy ought to be allowed. The practices of the Pharisees and SaSducess were both perfectly suitable to, their sentiments. The for- 38 mer were notorious hypocrites ; the latter, scandalous libertines. The Essenes were a Jewish sect ; some suppose they took their rise from that dispersion of their nation which took place after the Babylonian gaptivity. They maintained that rewards and punishments extended to the soul alone, and considered the body as a mass of malignant matter, and the poison of the immortal spir- it. The greatest part of this sect considered the laws of Moses as an allegorical system of spiritual and mys- terious truth, and renounced all regard to the outward letter in its explanation. Besides these eminent Jewish sects, there were sev- eral of inferior note, at the time of Christ's appear- ance ; the Herodians, mentioned by the sacred writers, and the Gaulonites, mentioned by Josephus.* The Herodians derived their name from Herod the Great. Their distinguishing tenet appears to be, that it is lawful when constrained by superiors, to comply with idolatry, and with a false religion. 2. Gentil,*: Philosophy. At the important era of Christ's appearance in the world, two kinds of philosophy prevailed among the civiUzed nations. One was the phiUosophy of the Greeks, adopted also by the Romans ; and the other, that of the Orientals, which had a great number of vo- taries in Persia, Syria, Chaldea, Egypt, and even among the Jews. The former was distinguished by the sim- pie title of philosophy ; the latter was honored by the more pompous appellation of science or knowledge ; since those who adhered to the latter seel pretended to be the restorers of the knowledge of God, which was lost to the world.* Amongst the Grecian sects, there were some who de- claimed openly against religion, and denied the immor- tality of the soul ; and others, who acknowledged a * Hannah Adams' Diet, of Religions. 39 Deity, and a state of future rewards and punishments. Of the former kind were the Epicureans and Academ- ics ; of the latter, the Platonists and Stoics. The Epicureans derived their name from Epicurus, who was born 242 years before Christ. He accounted for the formation of the world, in the following man- ner : — a finite number of that infinite multitude of atoms, which, with infinite space, constitutes the uni- verse, falling fortuitously into the region of the world, were, in consequence of their innate motion, collected into one rude and undigested mass. All the various parts of nature were formed by those atoms which were best fitted to produce them. The fiery particles form- ed themselves into air ; and from those which subsi- ded, the earth was produced. The mind, or intellect, was formed of particles in their nature, and capable of the most rapid motion. The world is preserved by the same mechanical causes by which it was framed ; and from the same cause it will at last be dissolved. The followers of Aristotle were another famous Grecian sect. That philosopher was born in the nine- ty-ninth Olympiad, about 384 years before the birth of Christ. Aristotle supposed the universe to have existed from eternity. He admitted, however, the existence of a Deity, whom he styled the first mover, and whose na- ture, as explained by him, is something like the prin- ciple which gives motion to a machine. It is a nature wholly separated from matter, immutable, and far su- perior to all other intelligent natures. The celestial sphere, which is the region of his residence, is also im- mutable ; and residing in his first sphere, he possesses neither immensity nor omnipresence. Happy in the contemplation of himself, he is entirely regardless of human affairs. In producing motion, the Deity acts not voluntarily, but necessarily ; not for the sake of other beings, but for his own pleasure. Nothing occurs in the writings of Aristotle, which decisively determines whether he supposed the soul of man mortal, or immortal. Respecting ethics, he 4* 40 taught, that happiness consisted in the virtuous exer- cise of the mind, and that virtue consists in preserving that mean in all things, which reason and prudence prescribe. It is the middle path between two extremes, one of which is vicious through excess, the other through defect. The Stoics were a sect of heathen philosophers, of which Zeno, who flourished about two hundred and fifty years before Christ, was the original founder. They received their name Stoics from a place in which Zeno delivered his lectures, which was a portico in Athens. Their distinguishing tenets were as fol- lows : — that God is underived and eternal, and by the powerful energy of the Deity, impressed with motion and form ; that though God and matter existed from eternity, the present regular frame of nature had a be- ginning, and will have an end ; tliat the element of fire will at last, by an universal conflagration, reduce the world to its pristine state ; tliat at this period all mate- xial forms are lost in one chaotic mass, all animated nature is reunited to the Deity, and matter returns to its original form : that from this chaotic state, however, it again emerges, by the energy of the efficient princi- pie ; and gods and men, and all forms of regulated na- ture, are renewed, to be again dissolved and renewed in endless succession ; that at the restoration of all things, the race of men will return to fife. Some ima- gined, that each individual would return to its former body ; while others supposed, that after the revolution of the great year, similar souls would be placed in sim- ilar bodies. According to the doctrine of the Stoics, all things are subject to an irresistible and irreversible fatality ; and there is a necessary chain of causes and effects, arising from the action of a power which is itself a part of the machine it regulates, and which, equally with the machine, is subject to the immutable law of necessity. The Platonic philosophy is denominated from Pla- to, who was born in the eighty-seventh Olympiad, 41 426 years before Christ. He founded the old academy on the opinions of Hernclitus, Pythagoras, and Socrates ; and by adding the information he had acquired, to their discoveries, he established a sect of philosophers, who were esteemed more perfect than those who had before appeared in the world. The outlines of Plato's philosophical system were as follows : That there is one God, an eternal, immutable, and immaterial being, perfect in wisdom and goodness, omniscient, and omnipresent ; that this all-wise and perfect Being formed the universe from a mass of pre- existing matter, to which he gave form and arrange- ment ; that there is in matter, a necessary, but blind and refractory force, which resists the will of the Su- preme Artificer, so that he cannot perfectly execute his desi^s ; and this is the cause of the mixture of good and evil, which is found in the material world ; that the soul of man was derived by emanation from God ; but this emanation was not immediate, but through the intervention of the soul of the world, which was itself debased by some material admixture ; that the relation which the human soul, in its original constitution, bears to matter, is the source of moral evil ; that when God formed the universe, he separated from the soul of the world, inferior souls, equal in number to the stars, and assigned to each its proper celestial abode ; that these souls were sent down to earth, to be imprisoned in mor- tal bodies ; hence proceed the depravity and misery to which human nature is liable ; that the soul is immortal, and by disengaging itself from all animal passions, and rising above sensible objects to the contemplation of the world of intelligence, it may be prepared to return to its original habitation ; that matter never suffered annihila- tion, but that the world will remain for ever, but that the action of its animating principle accomplishes certain periods, within which every thing returns to its ancient place and state. This periodical revolution of nature is called the Platonic ov great year. 42 3. CRrcIFIXIo^- of Christ. The coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his sufferings and death, are the greatest and most im- portant events which have ever taken place in our world. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, came into our world, took upon him our nature, and suffered the penalties of the divine law, in our stead. By his sufferings, and death by crucifixion, he hath brought " life and immortality to light ;" he hath open- ed a glorious way whereby fallen and depraved man can be reconciled and received into the favor of God. " In the hour of Christ's death," says an elegant writer, " the long series of prophecies, visions, types, and figures, was accomplished. This Avas the centre in which they all met ; this the point towards which they had tended and verged, throughout the course of so many generations. By that one sacrifice which he now offered, he abolished sacrifices for ever. Altars on which the fire had blazed for ages, were now to smoke no more. Victims were no more to bleed. ' Not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with his own blood, he now entered into the Holy Place, there to appear in the presence of God for us.' " This was the hour of association and union to all the worshipers of God. When Christ said, ' It is finished,' he threw down the wall of partition, which had so long divided the Gentile and Jew. He pro- claimed the hour to be come, when the knowledge of the true God should be no longer confined to one na- tion, nor his worship to one temple ; but over all the earth, the worshipers of the Father should ' serve him in spirit and in truth.' From that hour, they who dwelt in the ' uttermost ends of the earth, strangers to the covenant of promise, began to be brought nigh.' In that hour, the foundation of every pagan temple shook ; the statue of every false god tottered on its base ; the priest fled from his falling shrine ; and the heathen oracles became dumb for ever. 43 " In the hour when Christ expiated guilt, he disarmed death, by securing the resurrection of the just. When he said to his penitent fellow-sufferer, ' To-day shall thou be \\ith me in Paradise,' he announced to all his followers the certainty of heavenly bliss. From the hill of Calva^^^ the first clear and certain ^^ew was giv- en to the world, of the everlasting mansions." The manner of crucifixion by which our Savior suf- fered, was considered the most dreadful of all punish- ments, both for the shame and pain of it ; and so scan- dalous, that it was inflicted as the last mark of detesta- tion upon the vilest of people. The cross was made of two beams, one of which crossed the other at the top at right angles, thus, f, or in the middle of their length, thus, X , and the criminal's hands and feet were nailed thereon. The cross to which our Savior was fastened, and on which he died, was of the former kind ; being thus represented by old monumehls, coins, and crosses. 4, Maetykdoh of the Apostles. After the crucifixion of our Lord, the Apostles were scattered abroad in various parts of the world. Thev preached the gospel wherever they went, and the most of them were called to seal their testimony with their blood. St. James the Great was by trade a fisherman, and parmer with Simon Peter, and related to our Lord, his mother and the Virgin ^Nlary being kinswomen. When Herod Agrippa was made governor of Judea by the Emperor Cahgula, he raised a persecution against the Christians, and particularly singled out James as an object of his vengeance. This martyr, on being condemned to death, showed such an intrepidity of spirit, and constancy of mind, that even his accuser was struck with adiniration, and became a convert to Christianity. This transaction so enraged the people in power, that they condemned him to death likewise ; when James the Apostle, and his penitent accuser. 44 were both beheaded on the same day, with the same sword. These events took place in the year of our Lord 44. St. Philip was employed in several important com- missions by Christ, and being deput-ed to preach in Up- per Asia, labored very diligently in his apostleship. He then travelled into Phrygia, and arriving at Heliop- olis, found the inhabitants so sunk in idolatry as to worship a large serpent. St. Philip, however, was the means of converting many of them to Christianity, and even procured the death of the serpent. This so en- raged the magistrates, that they committed him to pris- on, had him severely scourged, and afterwards hanged him up against a pillar till he died, A. D. 52. St. Matthew. This evangelist, apostle, and mar- tyr, after our Savior's ascension, travelled into Ethio- pia, and Parthia, where he preached the gospel with great success. He suffered martyrdom in the city of Nadabar, being slain by a halberd, about A. D. 60. St. Mark. After writing his gospel, he went to Egypt and founded a church. When Mark was preach- ing in his church at Alexandria, some of the idola- trous inhabitants broke in upon him, and dragged him by his feet through the streets, till his flesh was torn off his bones, and he expij-ed under their hands ; they aftewards burned his body. . St. James the Less suffered martyrdom at Jerusalem, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. He was thrown headlong from the temple, stoned, and his brains dash- ed out by a fuller's club. St. Matthias, the apostle, who was appointed to sup- ply the vacant place of Judas Iscariot, suffered martyr- dom at Jerusalem, being first stoned, and then be- headed. St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations. On arriving at Edes- sa, the governor of the country ordered him to be cru- cified on a cross, two ends of which were transversely fixed in the ground ; he lived two days after he was tied to the cross, preaching the most of the time to the people. 45 St. Peter was crucified at Rome, by order of the ty- rant Nero ; he was led up to the top of a mount, and was crucified with his head downwards, (according to his request,) thinking it too high an honor to die in the same posture with his Lord and Master. Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom on the same day. St. Paul, Mfeing a Roman citizen, was beheaded. St. Jude went to Edessa, where many where con- verted to Christianity by his preaching, which, stirring up the resentment of the people in power, he was cru- cified, A. D. 72. St. Bartholomeio translated St. Matthew's gospel in the Indian tongue, and propagated it in that country ; but at length the idolaters, growing impatient with his doctrines, severely beat, crucified, and slew him, and then cut off his head. St, Thomas preached the gospel in Parthia and In- dia, where, displeasing the pagan priests, he was mar- tyred, by being thrust through with a spear. St. Luke. This apostle and evangelist had the ad- vantage of a liberal education, and was by profession a physician. He traveled with St. Paul to Rome, and preached to many barbarous nations, till the priests of Greece hanged him on an olive tree. St.. Simon was distinguished for his zeal by the name of Zelotes. He preached with great success in Africa, and it is asserted that he came into the island of Great Britain. He was crucified, A. D. 74. St. John is said to be the only apostle who escaped a violent death, and lived the longest of any of them, be- ing nearly one hundred years of age at the time of his death. 5. Signs and Appearances preceding the de- struction OF Jerusaleji. Afler our Lord had>.foretold the ruin and desolation coming upon the Jewish people, their city and temple, Tiis disciples came to him privately, saying, tell us when shall these things be, and what shaU be the sign 46 of thy coming ? &c. Our Lord then informs them of five signs wliich shall precede the destruction of Jeru- salem. The first sign is false Christs ; ^'■for many shall ■ come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many." The second, wars and commo- tions; ^'' nation shall rise against nation.'''' The third, pestilence and famine ; " there shall he famines aiM, pestilences." The fourth is " earthquakes in divers places." All of these events took place according to our Lord's prediction, as may be fully seen in the his- tory of the Jews, by Josephus, (the Jewish historian,) and also by other writers who lived at the time. The fifth sign is, " there shall he fearful sights arid great signs from heaven." (Luke, chapter xxi. 11.) Jose- phus, in his preface to the Jewish war, enumerates these, — 1st. A star hung over the city like a sword ; and a comet continued a whole year. 2d. The people being assembled at the feast of unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night, a great light shone about the altar and the temple, and this continued for half an hour. 3d. At the same feast, a cow, led to the sacri- fice, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple ! 4th. The eastern gate of the temple, which was of sol- id brass, and very heavy, and could hardly be shut by twenty men, and was fastened by strong bars and bolts, was seen at the sixth hour of the night, to open of its own accord ! 5th. Before sun-setting, there was seen, all over the country, chariots and armies fighting in the clouds, -and besieging cities. 6th. At the feast of Pentecost, when the priests were going into the inner temple by night, to attend their service, they heard first a motion and noise, and then a voice as of a mul- titude, saying, LET US DEPART HENCE. 7th. What Josephus reckons one of the most terrible signs of all was, that one Jesus, a country Mlow, four years before the war began, and when the city was in peace and plenty, came to the feast oC tabernacles, and ran up and down the streets day and night, crying, " a voice from the east ! a voice from the west ! a voice from the four winds! a voice against Jerusalem and the TJfrjr ialv tJir tvder ct' Ihi/fin.tviur .ten/ fi' h'nne mu f/em,/ llirmni leiihe wild heo.H.i fvt'f'ered mnTlvrilim . nhrid the ve^irlOH. 47 temple ! a voice against the bridegrooms and brides ! and a voice against all the people !" Though the ma- gistrates endeavored by stripes and tortures to restrain him, yet he still cried with a mournful voice, " Woe, woe to Jerusalem !" and this he continued to do for several years together, going about the walls and cry- ing with a loud voice, " Woe, woe to the city, and to the people, and to the temple ;" and as he added, " woe, woe to myself!" a stone, sent by the Romans from some sling or engine, struck him dead upon the spot ! It is worthy of remark, that Josephus appeals to the testimony of others, who saw and heard these fearful things. Tacitus, a Roman historian, gives nearly the same account with that of Josephus. — Clarke''s Com- menta-ry. • 6. Desteuctio:n- of Jekusalem. The siege and destruction of the city aiid temple of Jerusalem,* and the subversion of the whole political constitution of the Jews, is one of the most striking in- stances of the divine vengeance on a wicked people, that we have recorded, in history. Our Lord, who fore- saw the desolation and calamities coming upon the city, wept over it, declaring his willingness to gather them under his protection : but they would not accept of his salvation ; therefore destruction came upon them, and their " house was left unto then> desolate," About forty years after our Lord had foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, the Roman government sent an army under Cestius Gallius against the Jews, in or- der to quell their rebellious and factious spirit. Gal- lius came and invested Jerusalem with a powerful ar- my. Our Lord declared to his disciples, that "when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed toith armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.'' And then, in order that his followers might be preserved in safe- ty, he adds, " Then let tJievi that are in Judea flee to the mountains ; and let them that are in the midst of il depart out," &c. This counsel was remembered and 5 48 wisely followed by the Christians, and it is mentioned as a remarkable fact by Eusehius and other ancient historians, that not a single Christian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though many of them were there when Gallius invested the city ; and had he per- severed in the seige, he would have soon rendered him- self master of it ; but when he unexpectedly and unac- countably raised the siege, all who believed in Christ took that opportunity and fled to Pella, and other pla- ces beyond Jordan. Vespasian was appointed to succeed Gallius in pros- ecuting the war against the Jews ; he accordingly sub- dued the country, and prepared to besiege Jerusalem, but being appointed emperor, he returned to Rome, and gave the command of his forces to hi« son Titus. Ti- tus having made several assaults without success, re- solved to surrovmd the city (which was nearly four English miles in circumference) with a wall ; which was, with incredible speed, completed in three days ! The wall was strengthened with forts at proper distan- ces, so that all hope of safety was cut off; none could make his escape from the city, and no provisions could be brought into it ; thus fulfilhng our Lord's words, " thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and com. pass thee round, and keejp thee in on every side.'" Ti- tus now prosecuted the seige with vigor. In addition to this, the Jews were divided into factions among themselves, murdered each other with a bhnd fury, and burnt their provisions. No history can furnish us Avith a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews ; rapine, murder, famine, and pestilence within, fire and sword, and all the horrors of war without. While the famine prevailed, the house of a Jewish lady named Miriam, was repeatedly plundered of provi- sions. Her sufferings became so extreme, that she en- treated, and sometimes attempted to provoke those who plundered her, to put an end to her miserable life. At length, frantic with despair, she snatched her infant son from her breast, cut its throat, and boiled it ; and having satisfied present hunger, concealed the remain. 49 der. The smell of it soon brought the voracious sol- diers to her house ; they threatened her with the most excruciating tortures, if she did not discover her pro- visions to them. Being compelled in this manner, she set before them the mangled remains of her son. At this horrid spectacle, the soldiers, inhuman as they were, stood aghast, struck with horror, and at length rushed from the house. The report of this transaction having spread through the city, the horror and conster- nation of the Jews was universal : they now for the first time began to think themselves forsaken of God. Titus, on hearing this account, was filled with surprise and indignation. " Soon," said he, " shall the sun never more dart his beams on a city where mothers feed on their children ; and where fathers, no less guilty, choose to drive them to such extremities, rather than lay down their arms." Titus now pushed the siege with still greater vigor, and endeavored to obtain possession of the temple, the preservation of which was strongly desired by him. A Roman soldier, urged on, as he said, iy a divine im- pulse, seized a fire brand, and getting on his comrades' shoulders, threw it into a window of the temple, and immediately set this noble edifice, the pride and glory of the Jewish nation, in flames, Titus immediately gave orders to extinguish the fire ; he threatened, he entreated his soldiers, and used every exertion to stop the progress of the fire, but all in vain. The exasper- ated soldiery, bent on destroying the city, and all it con- tained, either did not hear, or did not regard him. " These were the days of vengeance, that all things* which were written might be fulfilled." These were the days in which all the calamities predicted by Mo- ses, Joel, Daniel, and other prophets, as well as those predicted by our Savior, met in one common centre, and were fulfilled in the most terrible manner on that generation. It is remakable that the temple was burnt by the Romans in the same month, and the same day of,the month, on which it had been burned by the Babylonians. 50 Josephus computes the number of those who perisii- ed in the siege at eleven hundred thousand, besides those who were slain in other places. When Titus was viewing the fortifications, after the taking of the city, he could not help ascribing his success to God. " We have fought," said he, " with God on our side ; and it is God who pulled tlie Jews out of these strong holds ; for what could machines or the hands of men avail against such towers as these?" Our Lord says. " They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down bv the Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." The Jews were miserably tormented, and distributed over the Roman provinces ; and continue to be dis- tressed and dispersed over all the nations of the world to this present day. Jerusalem also continues to be ^^ trodden down hy the Gentiles." Since its destruc- tion by Titus, it never has been in the possession of the Jews. It was first in subjection to the Romans, after- wards to the Saracens, then to the Franks, next to the Blameliikes, and now to the Turks. " Thus has the prophecy of Christ been most liter- ally and terribly fulfilled, on a people who are still preserved as continued monuments of the truth of our Lord's prediction, and of the truth of the Christian re- ligion." 7. Faith aad Practice of Christians in the First Century. The following account of the first Christians is taken from Dr. Mosheim's celebrated Church History : — "The apostles and their disciples took all possible care, that in the earliest times of the church, the Holy Scriptures might be in the hands of all Christians, that^ they might be read and explained in the assemblies of the faithful, and thus contribute, both in private and in public, to excite and nourish, in the minds of Chris- tians, a fevent zeal for the truth, and a firm attachment 51 to the ways of piety and virtue. Those who perform- ed the office of interpreters, studied above all things plainness and perspicuity. At the same time, it must be acknowledged, that, even in this century, several Christians adopted that absurd and corrupt custom, used among the Jews, of darkening the plain words of the Holy Scriptures by insipid and forced allegories, and of drawing them violently from their proper and natural signification, in order to extort from them cer- tain mysterious and hidden significations. For a proof of this, we need go no further than the Epistle of Bar- nahas, which is still extant. " The method of teaching the sacred doctrines of re- ligion, v/as, at this time, most simple, far removed from all the subtle rules of philosophy, and all the precepts of human art. This appears abundantly, not only in the writings of the apostles, but also in all those of the second century, which have survived the ruins of time. Neither did the apostles, or their disciples, ever think of collecting into a regular system the principal doctrines of the Christian religion, or of demonstra- ting them in a scientific and geometrical order. The beautiful and candid simplicity of these early ages, ren- dered such philosophical niceties unnecessary ; and the great study of those who embraced the gospel, was rather to express its divine influence in their dispositions and actions, than to examine its doctrines with an ex- cessive curiosity, or to explain them by the rules of hu- man wisdom. " There is, indeed, extant, a brief summary of the principal doctrines of Christianity in that form, which bears the name of the Apostles^ Creed, and which, from the fourth century downwards, was almost generally considered as a production of the apostles. There is much more reason and judgment in the opinion of those who think that this creed was not all composed at once, but, from small beginnings, was imperceptibly augmented in proportion to the growth of heresy, and according to the exigences and circumstances of the 5* 52 church, from whence it was designed to banish the er- rors that daily arose. , " lu tlie earUest times of the church, all who pro- fessed firmly to believe that Jesus was the only Re- deemer of the world, and who, in consequence of this profession, promised to live in a manner conformable to the purity of his holy religion, were immediately re- ceived among ■ the disciples of Christ. This was all the preparation for baptism then required ; and a more accurate instruction in the doctrines of Christianitv was to be administered to them after their receivh'u the sacrament. But when Christianity had acquirtu more consistence, and churches rose to the true God and his eternal Son, ahnost in every nation, this custom was changed for the wisest and most solid reascii-. Then none were admitted to baptism, but such as had been previously instructed in the principal points of Christianity, and had also given satisfactory proofe of pious dispositions, and upright intentions. Hence arose the distinction between catechumens, who were in o state of probation, and under the instruction of perso'i- appointed for that purpose, — and believers, who wer; consecrated by baptism, and thus initiated into all tii' mysteries of the Christian faith. "The methods of instructing the catechumens oil- fared according to their various capacities. Those in whom the natural force of reason was small, weru taught no more than the fundamental principles and truths, which are, as it were, the basis of Christianity. Those, on the contrary, whom their instructors judged capable of comprehending, in some measure, the whole system of divine truth, were furnished with superior degrees of knowledge ; • and nothing was concealed from them, winch could have any tendency to render them firm in their profession, and assist them in arriv- ing at Christian perfection. The care of instructing such was committed to persons who were distinguished by their gravity and wisdom, and also by their learn- ing and judgment. From hence it comes, that the an- cient doctors generally divide their flock into two 53 classes, — the one comprehending such as were soHdly, and thoroughly instructed ; the other, those who were acquainted with little more than the first principles of religion. Nor do they deny that the methods of in- struction applied to these two sorts of persons were ex- tremely different. " The Christians took all possible care to accustom their children to the study of the scriptures, and to in- struct them in the doctrines of their holy religion ; and schools were every where erected for this purpose, even from the very commencement of the Christian church. We must not, however, confound the schools designed only for children, with the gymnasia, or acad- emies of the ancient Christians, erected in several large cities, in which persons of riper years, especially such as aspired to be public teachers, were instructed in the different branches, both of human learning, and of sa- cred erudition. We may, undoubtedly, attribute to the apostles themselves, and their injunctions to their disciples, the excellent establishments in which the youth, destined to the holy ministry, received an edu- cation suitable to the solemn office they were to un- dertake. St. John erected a school of this kind at Ephesus, and one of the same nature was founded by Polycari) at Smyrna. But none of these were in great- ■er repute than that which was established at Alexan- dria, which was commonly called the catechetical school, and is generally supposed to have been erected by St. Mark. " One of the circumstances which contributed chiefly to preserve, at least, an external appearance of sancti- ty in the Christian church, was the right of excluding from thence, and from all participation of the sacred rites and ordinances of the gospel, such as had been guilty of enormous transgressions, and to whom re- peated exhortations to repentance and amendment had been administered in vain. This right was vested in the church, from the earliest period of its existence, by the apostles themselves, and was exercised by each Christian assembly upon its respective members. The 54 rulers, or doctors, denounced the persons whom tliey thought unworthy of the privileges of church-commun- ion ; and the people, freely approving or rejecting their judgment, pronounced the decisive sentence. It was not, however, irrevocable ; for such as gave undoubted signs of their sincere repentance, and declared their solemn resolutions of future reformation, were re-admit- ted into the church, however enormous their crimes had been ; but, in case of a relapse, their second exclusion became irreversible. " The rites instituted by Christ himself, were only two in number, and these designed to continue to the end of the church here below, without any variation. These rites were haptism and the holy supper, whicli are not to be considered as mere ceremonies, nor yet as symbolic representations only, but also as ordman- ces accompanied with a sanctifying influence upon the heart and affections of true Christians ; and we cannot help observing here, that, since the divine Savior thought fit to appoint no more than two plain institutions in his church, this shows us that a number of ceremonies is not essential to his religion, and that he left it to the free and prudent choice of Christians to establish such rites as the circumstances of the times, or the exigen- ces of the church might require. " There are several circumstances which inchne us to think, that the friends and the apostles of our bless- ed Lord, either tolerated through necessity, or appoint- ed for wise reasons, many other external rites in vari- ous places. At the same time, we are not to imagine that they ever conferred upon any person a perpetual, indelible, pontifical authority, or that they enjoined the same rites in all churches. We learn, on the contrary, from authentic records, that the Christian worship was, from the beginning, celebrated in a different manner in different places, and that, no doubt, by the orders, or at least with the approbation, of the apostles and their disciples. In these early times, it was both wise and necessary to show, in the establishment of outward forms of worship, some indulgence to the ancient opin- 55 ions, manners, and laws of tlie respective nations to whom the gospel was preached. " In those Christian societies which were totally or principally composed of Jewish converts, it was natural to retain as much of the Jewish ritual as the genius of Christianity would sutTer ; and a multitude of exam- ples testify that this was actually done. But that the same translation of Jewish rites should take place in Chi'istian churches, where there were no Jews, or a very small and inconsiderable number, is utterly in- credible ; because such an event was morally impossi- ble. In a word, the external forms of worship used in the times of old, must necessarily have been regulated and modified according to the character, genius, and manners of the different nations on which the light of the gospel arose." , Regard paid to the Sckiptures by the early Christians. The following interesting account of the regard paid to the Holy Scriptures by the early Christians, is ex- tracted from Cave's Primitive Christianity. " Their next care was diligently and seriously to read the Scriptures, to be mighty in the Divine Ora- cles, as, indeed, they had an invaluable esteem of, and reverence for the word of God, as the book which they infinitely prized above all others ; upon which account Nazianzen very severely chides his dear friend Grego- ry Nyssen, that having laid aside the Holy Scriptures, (the most excellent writings in the world,) which he was wont to read privately to himself, and publicly to the people, he had given up himself to the study of for- eign and profane authors, desirous rather to be ac- counted an orator than a Christian. St. Augustine tells us, that after his conversion, how meanly soever he had before thought of them, the Scriptures were be- come the matter of his pure and chaste delight, in re- spect of which all other books, (even of Cicero him- self, which once he had so much doated on,) became 56 dry and unsavorj- to him. It was in the study of this book that Christians then mainly exercised themselves, as thinking they could never fully enough understand it, or deeply enough imprint it upon their hearts and memories. Of the younger Theodosius, they tell us, that rising early every morning, he, together with his sisters, interchangeably sung psalms of praise to God ; the Holy Scriptures he could repeat, in any part of them, with the bishops that were at court, as readily as if he had been an old bishop himself. We read of Or- igen, though then a child, that when his father com- manded him to commit some places of Scripture to memory, he most willingly set himself to it, and not content with the bare reading, he began to inquire into the more profound and recondite meaning of it, often asking his father, (to his no less joy than admiration,) what the sense of this or that place of Scripture was ; and his thirst after Divine knowledge still continued and increased in him all his life. St. Jerome reports it out of a letter of one who was his great companion and benefactor, that he never went to his meals without some part of Scripture being read, never to sleep, till some about him had read them to him, and that, both by night and by day, no sooner had he done praying but he betook himself to reading, and after reading return- ed again to prayer. Valens, deacon of the church of Jerusalem, a venerable old man, had so entirely given up himself to the study of the Scriptures, that it was all one to him to read or to repeat whole pages togeth- er. The like we find of John, an Egyptian confessor, (whom Eusebius saw and heard,) that though both his eyes were put out, and his body mangled with unheard of cruelty, yet he was able at any time to repeat any places or passages, either out of the Old or New Tes- tament ; which, when I first heard him do in the public congregation, I supposed him, (says Eusebius,) to have been reading in a book, till coming near, and finding how it was, I was struck with great admiration at it. Certainly, Christians then had no mean esteem of, and took no small delight in these sacred volumes. For 57 the sake of this book, (which he had chosen to be the companion and counsellor of his life,) Nazianzen pro- fesses he had willingly undervalued and relinquished all other things ; this was the mine where they enriched themselves with divine treasures, a book where they furnished themselves with a true stock of knowledge : as St. Jerome speaks of Nepotian, that by daily read- ing and meditation he had made his soul a library of Christ, and he tells us of Blesilla, a devout widow, that though she was so far overrun with weakness and sick- ness, that her foot would scarce bear her body, or her neck sustain the burden of her head, yet she was never found without a Bible in her hand." 9. Greek ajs'd Latin Fathers. The term Father is applied to those ancient authors, who have preserved in their writings traditions of the church. No author who wrote later than the twelftli century is dignified with this title. The most distin- guished of the Fathers were the following characters : 1. Clemens Romanus, who was born at Rome, and was the fellow laborer of Paul, was distinguished both as a minister, and a zealous defender of the faith. He sustained a truly apostolic chai-acter. There is remain- ing of his writings, a very fine epistle to the church of Corinth, which, (next to holy writ,) has been esteemed one of the most valuable monuments, which have come down to us from ecclesiastical antiquity. He died at the advanced age of one hundred. 2. Ignatius was bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Trajan being on his way to the Parthian war, came to Antioch. Ignatius, hoping to avert any storm which might be arising against the Christians there, presented himself before the emperor, and offered to suffer in their stead. Trajan, being exasperated at the frankness and independence of Ignatius, ordered him to be sent to Rome, and thrown to the wild beasts. Being detained at Smyrna, while on his way to Rome, he had the pleasure of visiting Polycarp, who had been 58 a fellow-disciple with him, of St. John. Their mingled emotions of joy and grief can scarcely be imagined. "Wiiiie at Smyrna, he addressed four epistles to various churches. At length, he arrived at Rome, was thrown to the wld beasts, and devoured. A few bones were left, Avhich were collected by the deacons, his attend- ants, and buried at Antioch. 3. Polycarp lived in the reign of Marcus A. Anto- ninus, and was a companion of Ignatius. He was pas- tor of a church in Smyrna, eighty years. Being mark- ed as the victim of persecution, he was persuaded by his friends to retire for a season from the fury of his enemies ; upon which, they proceeded to torture some of his friends, to extort from them a disclosure of the place of his retreat. This was too much for Polycarp to bear ; who accordingly surrendered himself, a prey to his enemies. Being brought before the pro-consul, efforts were made to induce him to abjure his faith, and swear by the fortune of Csesar, Refusing, he was threatened with being made a prey to wild beasts. ^' Call for them," said he ; " it does not well become us to turn from good to evil." The consul rejoined, " Seeing you make so light of wild beasts, I will tame ^ou with the more terrible punishment of fire." To this he replied, " You threaten me with a fire that is quickly extinguished, but are ignorant of the eternal fire of God's judgment, reserved for the wicked in an- other world." As they were about to nail him to the stake, he said, " Let me remain as I am ; for he Avho giveth me strength to sustain the fire, will enable me to remain unmoved." The fire was kindled; but after a while, fearing he might not certainly be despatched, an officer drew a sword, and plunged it into his body. His bones were afterwards gathered up by his friends, and buried. 4. Justin Mariyr, so, called from his being a martyr, was born at Neapolis, in Palestine, and became a con- vert to Christianity in the sixteenth year of Trajan. From this time, he employed his pen in defence of Christianity. He drew up two apologies, addressed 59 to the Emperor Marcus, and the Roman senate, whicli very much irritated the temper of the times. He was accordingly, with six others, apprehended, whipped, and beheaded. Thus fell Justin Martyr, a man of dis- tinguished powers, and the first who had adorned the church with his learning, since the apostle Paul. 5. IrencEits, by birth a Greek, was born at or near Smyrna. He was a disciple of Polycarp, and for about forty years he Avas the bishop of Lyons ; in which of- tice he suffered much from foes without, and heretics within. Against the latter, he employed his pen. Five of his books are now extant. He suffered mar- tyrdom, in the reign of Severus, A. D. 202. 6. Clemens Alexandrinus, so called to distinguish him from Clemens Romanus, was born at Alexandria, in the second century. He was distinguished for his literature, and exact and enlarged views of the Chris- tian religion. Three of his works remain. 7. TertulUan, by birth a Carthagenian, was bred up at the bar ; but afterwards became a Christian. He possessed great abilities and learning, which he vigor- ously employed in the Christian cause ; but toward the latter part of his life, being naturally credulous and su- perstitious, he became a heretic. Eusebius says that he was one of the ablest Latin writers which had ex- isted. 8. Origen, one of the most conspicuous characters belonging to the age in which he lived, was born at Alexandria, A. D. 185. In his youth, he saw his fa- ther beheaded for the profession of Christianity, and the family estate confiscated. Being taken under the patronage of a rich lady, he applied himself to study, and soon acquired great stores of learning. At the age of forty-five, he was ordained, and delivered theo- logical lectures in Palestine. He was the author of the Hexapla, which filled fifty large volumes. This work was mostly destroyed in the capture of Tyre, in 653. He maintained that the Scriptures were not to be explained in a literal, but in an allegorical manner ; that is, it had a hidden or fgurative meaning. This 6 60 sense he endeavored to give, but often at the expense of the truth. He first introduced the practice of se- lecting a single text, as the subject of discourse. He suffered martyrdom under Decius, about 254. 9. Cyprian was bred a lawyer, received a liberal ed- ucation, and was distinguished as an orator. In 248, he was elected bishop of Carthage. His first efforts were, to restore the long neglected discipline of the church. Very soon the flames of persecution burst forth in Carthage ; from which he repaired to a retreat provided by his friends, where he remained two years. From this place he continued to send forth epistles to his distressed and persecuted brethren. During his exile, an unhappy schism took place in the churches of Alexandria and Rome, called " the Novatian Schism ;" against which he successfully employed his pen. Be- ing threatened with death, if he continued in his zeal and activity, he abated nothing ; but continued in his boldness and zeal for the Christian caurje, until he was banished by the pro-consul of Carthage. In the year 259, he was permitted to return, but not to remain long in peace ; for orders had been given by Valerian, that all ministers should be put to death. He was conduct- ed to a spacious plain ; on his arrival, he fell on his knees, and worshiped. He then laid aside his gar- ments, a napkin was bound over his eyes, and a sword severed his head from his body. 10. Amlrose was born in Gaul, A. D. 333. He was appointed governor over several small provinces, and settled at Milan. In 374, the bishop dying, a great contest arose between the Catholics and Arians, con- cerning his successor. He thought it his duty, as gov- ernor, to go to the church, in order to compose the tu- mult. On addressing the multitude, they with one voice exclaimed, "Let Ambrose be bishop." He yielded, and was ordained. He died at Milan, leaving behind him several choice works on religious subjects. 11. Jerome was born at Stride, near Pannonia. His father took care he should have all the advantages of learning, sacred and profane. After a while he retired 61 into a desert in Syria, scarcely inhabited by a human being. Here, he appUed himself to the study of the Scriptures, (which he is said to have gotten by heart,) and to the oriental languages. After four years' soli- tude, his reputation for piety and learning began to be spread abroad. He visited Rome, vv^here he composed several works. He translated the Bible into Latin, which was afterwards exclusively adopted by the Ro- mish church ; and of all the Latin fathers, he was con- sidered the* most able in unfolding the Scriptures. He finished his days in a monastery, in Bethlehem, near to Jerusalem, A. D. 420, aged ninety years. 12. Augustine was born in Africa, A. D. 354. His father, designing him for some of the learned profes- sions, placed him at school. But such was his vicious make, that he neglected study, and substituted gaming, and attendance at shows, &c. &c. and invented a thou- sand false stories, to escape the rod, with which he was often severely chastened. After a while, he ac- quired a taste for learning. While on his way to Rome, at a certain time, he stopped at Milan, and heard the preaching of Ambrose. He became a con- vert, and was elected bishop of Hippo. From this date, he set himself for the defence of the gospel, and becaine the admiration of the Christian world. From his writings was formed a body of theology, which for centuries after was the guide of those who desired the truth. He died A. D. 430, aged seventy-six years. 13. John Clirysostom was born at Antioch, A. D. 354. At an early age, he determined to adopt a mo- nastic life, and accordingly, spent six years in this way ; until, worn out with watchings, fastings, and other severities, he Avas forced to return to Antioch. After he was elected bishop of Constantinople, he be- gan to attempt a reformation in his diocese, which greatly enraged the clergy, and through their influ- ence, he was banished. But soon after, the emperor recalled him, and restored him to his bishopric. No sooner was he established in his office, than he began to display his customary zeal ; whereupon, his ene- 62 mies again procured his banishment. But before he arrived at his port of exile, through fatigue and hard treatment from the soldiers, he expired. He was one of the most able preachers that have adorned the church. 10. The Tex Persecutions. Historians usuall}^ reckon ten general persecutions, the first of which was under the Emperor N*ero, thirty- one years after our Lord's ascension, when that empe- ror, after having set fire to the city of Rome, threw the odium of that execrable action on the Christians. First, those were apprehended who openly avowed themselves to be of that sect ; and by them were dis- covered an immense multitude, all of whom were con- victed. Their death and tortures were aggravated by cruel derision and sport ; for they were either covered with the skins of wild beasts and torn in pieces by de- vouring dogs, or fastened to crosses, and wrapped up in combustible garments, that, when the day-light fail- ed, they might, like torches, serve to dispel the dark- ness of night. For this tragical spectacle, Nero lent his own gardens, and exhibited at the same time the public diversions of the circus ; sometimes driving a chariot in person, and sometimes standing as a specta- tor, while the shrieks of women, burning to ashes, sup- plied music to his ears. The Second general persecution was under Domi- tian, in the year 95, when 40,000 were supposed to have suffered martyrdom. The Third began in the third year of Trajan, in the year 100, and was carried on with violence for several years. The Fourth was under Antoninus, when the Chris- tians were banished from their houses, forbidden to show their heads, reproached, beaten, hurried from place to place, plundered, imprisoned, and stoned. The Fifth began in the year 127, under Severus, when great cruelties were committed. In this reiga 63 happened the martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas, and their companions. These two beautiful and amia- ble young women, mothers of infant children, after suffering much in prison, were exposed before an in- sulting multitude, to a wild cow, who mangled their bodies in a horrid manner ; after which they were car- ried to a conspicuous place, and put to death by the sword. The Sixth began with the reign of the Emperor Maximinus, 235. The Seventh, which was the most dreadful ever known, began in 250, under the Emperor Decius, when the Christians were in all places driven from their habitations, stripped of their estates, tormented with racks, &c. The Eighth began under Valerian. Both men and women suffered death, some by scourging, some by the sword, and some by fire. The Ninth was under Aurelian, in 274 ; but this was inconsiderable, compared with others before men- tioned. The Tenth began in the nineteentli year of Diocle- tian, 303. In this dreadful persecution, which lasted ten years, houses which were filled with Christians were set on fire, and whole droves were tied together with ropes, and thrown into the sea. It is related that 17,000 were slain in one month's time ; and that dur- ing the continuance of this persecution, in the province of Egypt alone, no less than 144,000 Christians died by the violence of their persecutors ; besides 700,000 that died through the fatigues of banishment, or the public works to which they were condemned. — Bucfs Theological Dictionary. 11. Martyedoji of the Theban Legion. During the reign of the Emperor Maximian, A. D. 286, a legion of soldiers, consisting of 6666 men, con- tained none but Christians. This legion was called the Theban legion, because the men had been raised in 6* 64 Thebais ; they were quartered in the east, till the Em- peror Maximian ordered them to march for Gaul, to assist him against the rebels in Burgundy ; when pass- ing the Alps into Gaul, under the command of Mauri- tius Candiaso and Experuis, their commanders, they at length joined the emperor. About this time. Max- imian ordered a general sacrifice, at which the whole army were to assist ; and he commanded, that they should take the oaths of allegiance, and swear, at the same time, to assist him in the extirpation of Christianity in Gaul. Terrified at these orders, each individual of the Theban legion absolutely refused either to sacrifice, or to take the oath prescribed. This so enraged Max- imian, that he ordered the legion to be decimated ; that is, every tenth man to be selected from the rest and put to the sword. This cruel order having been put into execution, those who remained alive were still in- flexible, when a second decimation took place, and ev- ery tenth man of those living were again put to the sword. But this second severity made no more im- pression than the first had done ; the soldiers preserv- ed their fortitude and principles ; but, by the advice of their ofiicers, drew up a remonstrance to the emperor, in which they told him " that they were his subjects a:id his soldiers, but could not at the same time forget the Almighty ; that they received their pay from him, aad their existence from God. " While your commands (say they) are not contra- dictory to those of our common master, we shall al- waj'^s be ready to obey, as we have been hitherto ; but when the orders of our prince and the Almighty difller, we must always obey the latter. Our arms are de- voted to the emperor's use, and shall be directed against his enemies ; but we cannot submit to stain our hands with the effusion of Christian blood ; and how indeed, could you, O emperor, be sure of our allegi- aiice and fidelity, should we violate our obligations to our God, in whose service we were solemnly engaged before we entered into the army ? You command us 65 to search out and destroy the Christians ; it is not ne- cessary to look any further for persons of that denom- ination ; we ourselves are such, and we glory in the name. We saw our companions fall without the least opposition or murmuring, and thought them happy in dying for the sake of Christ. Nothing shall make us lift up our hands against our sovereign ; we had rather die wrongfully, and by that means preserve our inno- cence, than live under a load of guilt ; whatever you command we are ready to suffer ; we confess ourselves to be Christians, and therefore cannot persecute Chris- tians, nor sacrifice to idols." Such a declaration, it might be presumed, would have affected the emperor, but it had a contrary effect ; for, enraged at their perseverance and unanimity, he com- manded that the whole legion should be put to death, which was accordingly executed by the other troops, who cut them to pieces with their swords. — MUner^s History of Christian Martyrdom. 12. WiLLIXGXESS OF THE ANCIEIfT ChKISTIAXS TO SUFFER FOR ChKISt's SAKE. The ancient Christians counted it an honor to suffer for their religion, and oftentimes gave up their lives with joy, for the sake of their Lord. In the fourth century, the Emperor Valens ordered the Christians in Edessa to be slain, on a certain da}', while they were at their devotions, in their churches. The officers, however, being more compassionate than the emperor, privately gave notice to the Christians not to assemble on the day appointed, so that they might escape death. The Christians thanked the offi- cers for their advice, but disregarded both that and the emperor's menaces, rather than neglect their duty. They accordingly repaired to the church, and the troops were put in motion to destroy them. As they marched along, a woman, with a child in her arms, broke through their ranks, when the officer ordered her to be brought before him, and asked her where she was 66 going ? She replied, to the church, whither others were making all the haste they could. " Have you not heard," says the officer, " of the emperor's order, to put to death all who are found there ?" " I have," says she, " and for that cause I make the more haste.-" " And whither," said the officer, " do you lead that child !" "I take him," replied she, " with me, that he also may be reckoned in the number of the martyrs." Upon this, the humane officer returned to the emperor, and told him that all the Christians were prepared to die in defence of their faith, represented to him the rash- ness of murdering so great a multitude, and entreated the emperor to drop the design, at least for the present ; with which he at length complied. — Milner's History of Christian Martyrdom. 13. Lettee of Pliny to Trajan, kelative to THE FIRST Christians. In the conduct and writings of ancient pagans, a great variety of important testimonies to the truth and spread of the Christian religion, and the purity of Christian principles, may be found. But perhaps in no instance is this testimony so clear, and yet so unde- signedly given, as in the epistle of Caius Plinius, or " the younger Pliny," (so called,) addressed to the Ro- man Emperor Trajan. Pliny was born A. D. 61, or 62, and about 107 was sent to the provinces of Pontus and Bithynia, by Trajan, to exercise the office of governor. The persecutions of Christians, under Trajan, had com- menccd about 100 ; and in these provinces, there were prodigious numbers of them, against whom Pliny, by the emperor's edict, was obhged to use all manner of severity. But being a person of good sense and mod- oration, he judged it prudent, before he proceeded to the extreme rigor of the law, to represent the case to Trajan, and receive further orders concerning it. He therefore wrote the following letter : — " Pliny, to the Emperor Trajan, wisheth health and happiness : — It is 67 my constant custom, sir, to refer myself to you, in all matters concerning which I have any doubt. For who can better direct me when I hesitate, or instruct me where I am ignorant ? I have never been present at any trials of Christians ; so that I know not well what is the subject-matter of punishment, or of inquiry, or what strictness ought to be used in eitlier. Nor have I been a little perplexed to determine whether any dif- ference ought to be made on account of age, or wheth- er the young and tender, and the full-grown, and ro- bust, ought to be treated all alike ; whether repentance should entitle to pardon, or whether all who have once been Christians ought to be punished, though they are now no longer so ; whether the name itself, although no crimes be detected, or crimes only belonging to the name, ought to be punished. Concerning all these things, I am in doubt. " In the mean time, I have taken this course with all who have been brought before me, and have been accused as Christians. I have put the question to them, whether they were Christians ? Upon their confessing to me that they were, 1 repeated the question a second time, threatening to punish them with death. Such as still persisted, I ordered away to be punished ; for it was no doubt with me, that contumacy, and inflexible obstinacy, whatever might be their opinion, ought to be punished. There were others of the same infatua- tion, whom, because they are Romans, I have noted down to be sent to the city. " In a short time, the crime spreading itself, even whilst under persecution, as is usual in such cases, di- vers sorts of people came in my way. An information was presented to me, without mentioning the author, containing the names of many persons, who, upon ex- amination, denied that they were Christians, or had ever been so ; who repeated after me an invocation of the gods, and with wine and frankincense made sup- plication to your image, which, for that purpose, I had caused to be brought and set before them, together with the statues of tlie deities. Moreover, they reviled 68 the name of Christ, none of which things, as is said, they who are really Christians can by any means be compelled to do. These, therefore, I thought proper to discharge. " Others were named by an informer, who at first confessed themselves Christians, and afterwards denied it ; the rest said they had been Christians, but had left them, — some three years ago, some longer, and one, or more, above twenty years. They all worshiped j'our image, and the statues of the gods ; these also reviled Christ. They affirmed that the whole of their fault, or error, lay in this, that they were wont to meet together, on a stated day, before it was light, and sing among themselves, alternately, a hymn to Christ as God ; and bind themselves by an oath, not to the commission of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, robbe- ry, or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor to de- ny a pledge committed to them, when called upon to return it. When these things were performed, it was their custom to separate, and then to come together at a meal, which they ate in common, without any disor- der ; but this they had forborne since the publication of my edict, by which, according to your commands, I prohibited assemblies. "After receiving this account, I judged it the more necessary to examine, and that by torture, two maid- servants, which were called ministers. But I have dis- covered nothing beside an evil and excessive supersti- tion. Suspending, therefore, all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you for advice ; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserving consideration ; espe- cially upon account of the great number of persons who are in danger of suffering ; for many, of all ages, and every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, and the open country. Nevertheless, it seems to me, that it may be restrained and corrected. It is cer- tain that the temples, which were almost forsaken, be- gin to be more Irequented ; and the sacred solemni- 69 ties, after a long intermission, are revived. Victims likewise are every where bought up, whereas for some time, there were few purchasers. Whence it is easy to imagine what numbers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those who shall repent." To this epistle, the emperor sent the following re- ply : — " Trajan to Pliny, wisheth health and happi- ness : — You have taken the right method, my Pliny, in your proceedings with those who have been brought before you as Christians ; for it is impossible to estab- lish any one rule that shall hold universally. They are not to be sought for. If any are brought before you, and are convicted, they ought to be punished. However, he that denies his being a Christian, and makes it evident in fact, that is, by supplicating to our gods, though he be suspected to have been so former- ly, let him be pardoned upon repentance. But in no case, of any crime whatever, may a bill of information be received, without being signed by him who presents it ; for that would be a dangerous precedent, and un- worthy of my government."* By this epistle, it will appear that Christianity had rapidly been spread almost over the then known world ; that the Christians bore all their sufferings with noble fortitude, pecuhar to none hut Christians ; that their purity and innocence is fully attested ; and against whom, after the strictest examination, their enemies could find nothing of which they were guilty, save that they professed and maintained the character of Chris- tians. 14. Introduction of Christianity into Britain. The tradition which has been m.ost generally receiv- ed by our ancient historians, and by the nations at large, says Dr. A. Clarke, is that which attributes the introduction of the Christian religion into Britain, to Pliny's Epist. Lib. X. 70 Joseph of Arimathea. The substance of this history is as follows : — About sixty three years after the in- carnation of our Lord, and thirty after his ascension, Joseph of Arimathea, who had buried our Lord's body in his own tomb, was furnished by Philip the evan- gelist with eleven disciples, and sent into Britain to in- troduce the gospel of Christ in place of the barl)arous rites of the Druids. With these rites, as well as with the character of the people, the Roman empire had be- come v/ell acquainted, through the writings of Julius Caesar. These holy men, on their landing, applied to Arvi- ragus, a British king, for permission to settle in a rude and uncultivated spot, called Yuswytryn by the Brit- ish, Avaloaia by the Romans, and Glaestinglyrig by the Saxons, and is still known by the name of Glas- lonhury. Their petition was granted, and twelve hides of land were assigned for their support ; and the place to this day is denominated the twelve hides of Glas- tonbury. Here, according to this tradition, the stand- ard of the cross was first erected ; and a chapel made of wicker work, was the first church, or oratory of God in Britain. The walls of this church, according to Malmsbury,AYere made of twigs twisted together. The length of it was sixty feet, and the breadth of it twenty six feet. The roof, according to the custom of the Britons, was of straw, hay, or rushes. The extent of the yard was so large as to contain, according to Mel- kinus, who lived in the year A. D. 550, a thousand graves. That this nation was converted to the faith of Christ by those who had been disciples of our Lord, was the early and constant belief of our forefathers. This runs through all our histories, and even through some of our regal acts. In the charter granted by Henry IL m the year of our Lord 1185, for the rebuilding of Glastonbury church, which had been burnt, it is styled " the mother and burying place of the saints, founded by the very disciples of our Lord ;" and adds, " it has the venerable authority of the ancients ;" and else- 71 where, the same charter continues, " which is incon- trovertibly acknowledged to be the fountain and origin of the whole religion of England." This church was the head of all ecclesiastical authority in those nations, till the year 1154, when Pope Adrian IV. transferred that honor to St. Alban's. It is stated by several authorities, that when the church built by Joseph of Arimathea was decayed by time, Deni, a Welsh or British bishop, erected a new one in the same place ; that this also, in time, falling away in decay, twelve men came from North Britain, and put it in good repair. And, lastly, King Ina, donor of the Peterpence, pulled down the old one, and built a stately church, to the honor of Christ. St. Peter and St. Paul, were filletted under the highest coping, with heroic verses in Latin, celebrating the memory of the founder, and the saints to whom it was dedicated. But afterwards, this church was, by the renowned Dunstan. converted to a monastery of Benedictine monks, him- self being sometimes abbot there ; and so it continued till the reign of Henry VIII. when it shared in the downfall of monastic establishments. The story of Lucius, king of Britain, who in A. D. 156, is said, by the venerable Bede, to have embraced the Christian faith, and who is called the first Chris- tian king, is generally known. Historians say, that this king sent Elwan and Medwin to Eleutherus, the twelfth bishop of Rome, praying that he might be in- structed in the Christian faith ; which was accordingly done. Lucius, when convinced of the truth himself, and being confirmed therein, by the preaching of some per- sons well versed in the doctrines of Christianity, took on him the profession of that rehgion, and usfed his influence for the promotion of it among the people, with Avhom his example must have had considerable weight. Idolatry hitherto prevailed among the Siluri- an Britons ; but now the religion of Christ was public- ly sanctioned, and the idolaters became ashamed of their practices. The ministers of the true religion 7 72 were poor and obscure men, and they had no regular places set apart for divine worship, and their adherents were in a forlorn and unprotected state. This gener- ous prince raised the Christians from their low condi- tion, erected suitable places for the celebration of reli- gious services, and thus became a nursing-father to the church. During the tenth general persecution, under the Em- peror Dioclesian, the Christians in Britain were for a short time great sufferers. It is said that at this time the Christian rehgion was nearly rooted out of the country, and they who suffered martyrdom were al- most without number. Gildas, says, "that their churches were thrown down, and all the books of the Holy Scriptures that could be found were burnt in the streets, and the chosen priests of the flock of our Lord, together with the innocent sheep, murdered ; so that in some parts of the province, no footsteps of the Chris- tian religion appeared. How many did then flee, how- many were destroyed, how many difterent kinds of sufferings some did endure, how great was the ruin of apostates, how glorious the crown of martyrdom!" Bede adds, " It made Britain to be honored with many holy martyrs, who firmly stood and died in the con- fession of their faith." 15. Aiv Account of the Druids. Druidism prevailed chiefly in Britain and in Gaul, though it may be found among other Celtic nations ; and owing to a peculiarity of national character, which perhaps may be said to remain to the present day, the Britons were more famous for the observance of their religion than the Gauls. For this circumstance we have the authority of Caesar, who says, that " such of the Gauls as were desirous of being thoroughly in- structed in the principles of their religion, (which was the same with that of the Britons,) usually took a jour- ney into Britain for that purpose." 73 The religion obtained its name from the Druids, who were its principal priests, and held in very high esti- mation. Csesar affirms, that the nobles and the Druids were the only two privileged orders among the Brit- ons. So greatly were they honored, that the people, supposing them peculiar favorites of the gods, were perfectly obedient to their commands ; and even when two hostile armies met, and were on the point of en- gaging in battle, they sheathed their swords on the mediation of the Druids. ' The persons of these priests were esteemed sacred and inviolable ; they were even exempted from all taxes and military services ; and, in fact, they enjoyed so many immunities and distinc- tions, that princes were ambitious of being admitted among them. The dignity of Arch-Druid, or the su- preme head of the order, was attended with so many honors, and so much power and riches, that the elec- tion of a person to fill it sometimes even occasioned a civil war. The generality of the Druids seem to have hved a kind of monastic life. The services of every temple required the attendance of a considerable number of them ; and these lived in community in the neighbor- hood of the temple. The Arch-Druid had his resi- dence in the isle of Anglesea, and he there maintained an ecclesiastical court in all the magnificence of the times. Vestiges of his palaces are still remaining. It is also very probable, that some of these ancient priests lived in seclusion as hermits ; and the small cir- cular houses in the western islands of Scotland, which are called by the people " Druids' houses," were most likely inhabited by such persons. All of them are supposed to have lived in celibacy ; but this is not ab- solutely certain. They were at any rate attended and associated with a number female devotees, called Druidesses who eissisted in the duties, and shared the honors and emoluments of the priesthood. The Ro- man soldiers were much terrified at seeing a number of these consecrated females, who ran up and down among the ranks of the British army, with flaming 74 torches in their hands, and imprecated the wrath of heaven on the invaders of their country. With respect to the doctrines of the Druids, they had two sets of opinions — the one for the initiated, and the other for the vulgar. The former was considered to contain only genuine truth, in its simple form ; the other admitted a variety of fables, which were thought better adapted for popular comprehension. The Dru- ids were exceedingly jealous of their secret doctrines, and took a variety of precautions to prevent them from transpiring. They never committed them to writing, and they taught their disciples in caves, or the deepest recesses of forests, that they might not be heard by the uninitiated. In consequence of this strict conceal- ment, we have at the present time but a very imperfect knowledge of these doctrines. It is tolerably certain, that the unity of the Godhead, and tliat there is one God, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, was one of the doctrines of the Dru- ids. There is also abundant evidence that the Druids taught the immortality of the souls of men ; and Mela tells us, that this was one of their secret doctrines, which they were permitted to publish for political rath- er than religious reasons. But though such might be the secret doctrines of the Druids, their public ones were far less agreeable to truth and reason. They taught the people that there were a great number of gods ; and they partly invent- ed, and partly adopted, an infinity of fables respecting them. These fables were generally contained in sa- cred verses, and were delivered by the Druids from little eminences, (many of which are still remaining,) to the surrounding multitudes. With these narratives were, of course, mixed many moral precepts ; and their orations arc said to have made great impression on the people, inspiring them with veneration for their gods, " an ardent love to their country, an undaunted courage, and a sovereign contempt for death." Their Supreme Being was originally worshiped un- der the name of Heses ; the worship of the sun was 75 joined with that of fire, which was held sacred as a symbol of the Divinity. Those celebrated circles of stones, which are still remaining at Stonehenge, and many other places, seem to have been temples of the sun, or of the moon, or probably of both. The Dru- ids, likewise adored a very considerable number of deified mortals, who substantially corresponded with the Greek and Roman gods ; they also held certain plants sacred, especi;ally the misletoe. Their mode of worship consisted in sacrifices, prayers, and offerings. Their sacrifices were princi- pally such animals as they used for food ; but on some occasions human victims were offered. These occa- sions, too, were more frequent than we may be willing to suppose ; for it was a part of the Druid's creed, that "nothing but the life of man could atone for the life of man." In times of particular emergency or national calamity, or for persons of very high rank, not merely a single victim, but a great number, were sacrificed at once. It is well known that huge colossal figures, made of osier, were filled with men, and then set on fire and reduced to ashes. But the avarice of the priests encouraged the people to present offerings as well as sacrifices. These generally consisted of the most costly and excellent things that could be procured ; and, of course, contributed much to the luxury and splendor both of the temples and of the priesthood. Like other heathen nations, also, the Druids had their acts of divination, their auguries, and omens. With respect to their times of worship, it is probable that they had daily sacrifices, and other acts of reli- gion ; and from the authority of Lucan, they seem to have chosen the hour of noon for the worship of the sun and the celestial gods ; and midnight for that of the moon and the infernal gods. They certainly knew the division of time into weeks, although it is doubtfid whether one of the seven days was consecrated to re- ligion. The sixth day of every lunar month, which by them was reckoned as the first day, was a religious festival. The first day of May was a great annual fes- 76 tival in honor of Belinus, or the sun. There are some vestiges of this festival still remaining in Ireland, and in the highlands of Scotland. JMidsummer day, and the first of November, were likewise annual festivals. All their gods and goddesses seem to have had similar festivals. The chief festival was, when the ceremony of cutting the misletoe from the oak was performed ; the day was about the beginning of March. On these festivals, after the appointed sacrifices and acts of de- votion were finished, the rest of the time was spent in feasting, singing, dancing, and other diversions. The places in which the Druids performed their wor- ship were always in the open air ; for it was considered unlawful to build temples to the gods, or to worship them within walls or under roofs. Sacred groves, if possible, of oak trees, were especially chosen. In the centre of the grove was a circular area, enclosed with one or two rows of large stones, placed perpendicu- larly on the earth. This was the temple ; and within it stood the altar upon which the sacrifices were offer- ed. It does not appear, though the Druids admitted a great number of gods, that they had any images. All the Celtic nations worshiped their principal deity un- der the symbol of an oak ; and this seems to be the nearest approach to the worship of images. The period at which the religion of the Druids took its rise, cannot be well ascertained ; but it seems to have been at its zenith at the time of the invasion of the Romans ; after this it decHned. The Druids both possessed and exerted a political as well as a religious influence upon the minds of the people ; and the Ro- mans, finding it inimical and dangerous to their author- ity, soon manifested a great animosity against the per- sons and the religion of these priests. They used ev- ery means to deprive them of their power, and showed them no mercy when they were found engaged in a revolt. At last, they pursued them into their sacred island of Anglesea ; and Suetonius Paulinus, who was governor of Britain, having defeated the Britons who attempted to defend it, made a cruel use of his victory. 77 He cut down their sacred groves, demolished their temples and altars, and burnt many of the Druids in the fires they themselves kindled, for sacrificing the Roman prisoners, had the Britons gained the victory. So great were the numbers who perished on this occa- sion, and in the unfortunate revolt of the Britons under Boadicea, which happened immediately after, that the Druids never after made any considerable figure. The Britons, however, clung long to their ancient supersti- tions ; and so late as the eleventh century, Canute found it necessary to make the following law against thera : — " We strictly charge and forbid all our subjects to worship the gods of the Gentiles ; that is to say, the sun, moon, fires, rivers, fountains, hills or trees, or woods of any kinds." 16. Alban, the first British Martyr. Alban, from whom St. Aiban's, in Hertfordshire, re- ceived its name, was the fi.rst British martyr. He was originally a pagan, and being of a very humane dispo- tion, he sheltered a Christian ecclesiastic, named Am- phibalus, who was pursued on account of his religion. The pious example, and edifying discourses of the refu- gee, made a great impression on the mind of Alban ; he longed to become a professor of a religion which charm- ed him ; the fugitive minister, happy in the opportunity, took great pains to instruct him ; and, before his dis- covery, perfected Aiban's conversion. Alban now took a firm resolution to preserve the sentiments of a Christian, or to die the death of a mar- tyr. The enemies of Amphibalus having intelligence of the place where he was secreted, came to the house of Alban, in order to apprehend him. The noble host, desirous of protecting his guest, changed clothes with him, in order to facilitate his escape ; and, when the soldiers came, offered himself up as the person whom they were seeking. Being accordingly carried before the governor, the deceit was immediately discovered ; and Amphibalus being absent, that officer determined to wreak his vengeance upon Alban ; with this view he commanded the prisoner to advance to the ahar and sacrifice to the pagan deities. The brave Alban, how- ever, refused to comply with the idolatrous injunction, and boldly professed himself to be a Christian. The governor, therefore, ordered him to be scourged, which punishment he bore with great fortitude, seeming to ac- quire new resolution from his sufferings ; he was then beheaded. The venerable Bede states, that upon this occasion, the executioner suddenly became a convert to Chris- tianity, and entreated permission either to die for Alban or with him. Obtaining the latter request, they were beheaded by a soldier, who voluntarily undertook the task. This happened on the 22d of June, A. D. 287, at Verulam, now St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire, Avhere a magnificent church was erected to his memory, about the time of Constantino the Great. This edifice was destroyed in the Saxon wars, but was rebuilt by Offa, king of Mercia, and a monastery erected adjoining to it, some remains of which are still visible. 17. Martyrdom of Maxijiiliax, in the fourth CENTURV. About the fourth century, many Christians, upon ma- ture consideration, thought it unlawful to bear arms un- der a heathen emperor. Their reasons were : 1st. They thereby were frequently under the neces- sity of profaning the Christian Sabbath. 2d. That they were obliged, with the rest of the army, frequently to be present at idolatrous sacrifices, before the temples of idols. 3d. That they were compelled to follow the im- perial standards, which were dedicated to heathen dei- ties, and bore their representations. Such reasons in- duced many to refuse to enter into the imperial army, when called upon so to do ; for the Roman constitution, obliged all young men, of a certain stature, to make several campaigns. 79 Maximilian, the son cf Fabius Victor, being pointed out as a proper person to bear arms, was ' ordered by Dion, the pro-consul, to be measured, that he might be enlisted in the service. Maximilian, however, boldly declared himself a Christian, and refused to do military duty. Being found of the proper height, Dion gave directions that he should be marked as a soldier, ac- cording to the usual custom. He, however, strenuous, ly opposed this order, and told Dion that he could not possibly engage in the service. The pro-consul in- stantly replied, that he should serve either as a soldier, or die. for disobedience. " Do as j^ou please with me.'' replied MaximJlian ; " behead me, if you think proper : I am already a soldier of Christ, and cannot serve any other power." Dion, wishing, however, to save the young man, commanded his father to use his authority over him, in order to persuade him to comply ; but Victor coolly re- plied, " My son knoweth best what he has to do." Dion again demanded of Maximihan, v/ith some acri- mony, if he was yet disposed to receive the mark ? To which the young man replied, he had already received the mark of Christ. " Have you !" exclaimed the pro- consul in a rage, " then I shall quickly send you to Christ." " As soon as you please," answered Maxi- milian ; " that is all I wish or desire." The pro-con- sul then pronounced this sentence upon him : — " That for disobedience m refusing to bear arms, and for pro- fessing the Christian faith, he should lose his head." This sentence he heard with great intrepidity, and ex- claimed, with apparent rapture, " God be praised." At the place of execution, he exhorted those who were Christians to remain so, and such as were not, to embrace a faith which led to eternal salvation. Then, addressing his father with a cheerful countenance, he desired that the military habit intended for him, might be given to the executioner ; and after taking leave Oi him, said, he hoped they should meet again in the other world, and be happy to' all eternity. He then received the fatal stroke, which separated his head from his 80 body. The father beheld the execution with amazing fortitude, and saw the head of his son severed from his body, without any emotions but such as seemed to pro- ceed from a conscious pleasure, in being the parent of one whose piety and courage rendered him so great an example for Christians to imitate. 18. Noble Fortitude and Martyrdom of three Christian Friends. While Maximus, governor of Cilicia, was at Tarsus, three Christians were brought before him by Demetrius, a military officer. Tarachus, the eldest, and first in rank, was addressed by Maximvis, who asked him what lie was. The prisoner replied, " A Christian." This reply offending the governor, he again made the same demand, and was answered in a similar manner. Here- upon the governor told him, that he ought to sacrifice to the gods, as that was the only way to promotion, riches, and honors ; and that the emperors themselves did what he recommended to him to perform. But Ta- rachus replied, that avarice was a sin, and gold itself an idol as abominable as any other : for it promoted frauds, treacheries, robberies, and murders ; it induced men to deceive each other, by which in time they de- ceived themselves ; and it bribed the weak to their own eternal destruction. As for promotion, he desired it not, as he could not in conscience accept of any place which would subject him to pay adoration to idols ; and with regard to honors, he desired none greater than the honorable title of Christian. As to the em- perors themselves being pagans, he added with the same undaunted and determined spirit, that they were superstitiously deceived in adoring senseless idols, and evidently misled by the machinations of the devil him- self. For the boldness of this speech, his jaws were ordered to be broken. He was then stripped, scourged, loaded with chains, and thrown into a dismal dungeon, to remain there till after the trials of the other two prisoners. Probus was then brought before Maximus, 81 who as usual asked him his name. Undauntedly he replied, the most valuable name he could boast of was that of a Christian. To this Maximus replied in the following words : — " Your name of a Christian will be of little service to you ; be therefore guided by me ; sacrifice to the gods, engage my friendship, and the friendship of the emperor." Probus nobly answered, " that as he had relinquished a considerable fortune to become a soldier of Christ, it might appear evident that he neither cared for his friendship, nor the favor of the emperor." Probus was then scourged ; and Demetrius, the officer, reminding him how his blood flowed, ad- vised him to comply ; but his only answer was, that those severities were agreeable to him. " What !" cried JMaximus, " does he still persist in his madness ?" To which Probus rejoined, " that character is badly bestowed on one who refuses to worship idols, or what is worse, devils." After being scourged on the back, he was scourged on the belly, which he suffered with as much intrepidity as before; still repeating, "the more my body suffers and loses blood, the more my soul will grow vigorous, and be a gainer." He was then committed to goal, loaded with irons, and his hands and feet stretched upon the stocks. Andronicus was next brought up, when, being asked the usual ques- tion, he said, " I am a Christian, a native of Ephesus, and descended from one of the first families in that city." He was ordered to undergo punishments sim- ilar to those of Tarachus and Probus, and then to be remanded to prison. Having been confined some days, the three prison- ers were again brought before Maximus, who began first to reason with Tarachus, saying that as old age was honored from the supposition of its being accom- panied by wisdom, he was in hopes what had already passed must, upon deliberation, have caused a change in his sentiments. Finding himself, however, mista- ken, he ordered him to be tortured by various means ; particularly, fire was placed in the hollow of his hands ; he was hung up by his feet, and smoked with wet S2 straw ; and a mixture of salt and vinegar was poured into his nostrils ; and he was then again remanded to his dungeon. Probus being again called, and asked if he would sacrifice, replied, "I come better prepared than before ; for what I have already suffered, has on- ly confirmed and strengthened me in my resolution. Employ your whole power upon me, and you will find, that neither you, nor your masters, the emperors, nor the gods whom you serve, nor the devil, who is your father, shall oblige me to adore the gods whom 1 know not." The governor, however, attempting to reason with him, paid the most; extravagant praises to the pa- gan deities, and pressed him to sacrifice to Jupiter ; but Probus turned his casuistry into ridicule, ancl said, " Shall I pay divine honors to Jupiter ; to oiie who married his own sister ; . to an infamous debauchee ; as he is acknowledged to have been by your own priests and poets?" Provoked at this speech, the governor ordered him to be struck upon the mouth, for uttering what he called blasphemy ; his body was then seared with hot irons, he was put to the rack, and afterwards scourged ; his head was then shaved, and red hot coals placed upon the crown ; and after all these tortures, he was again sent to prison. When Andronicus was again brought before Maximus, the latter attempted to deceive him, by pretending that Tarachus and Probus had repented of their obstinacy, and owned the gods of the empire. To this the prisoner answered, " Lay not, O governor, such a weakness to the charge of those who have appeared here before me in this cause, noi- imagine it to be in your power to shake my fixed resolution with artful speeches. I cannot believe that they have disobeyed the laws of their fathers, renoun- ced their hopes in our God, and consented to your ex- travagant orders ; nor will I ever fall short of them in faith and dependence upon our common Savior ; thus armed, I neither know your gods, nor fear your author. ity ; fulfil your threats, execute your most sanguinary inventions, and employ every cruel art in your power on me ; I am prepared to bear it for the sake of TJu JDmuls in. time of iiaii^nal calamify made cplossal -fiffmas ot' osier, lined th^m. -mill men, then ^ef them on fire ond re^ufd Ihmt to ashw. of Egypt in tfie Fvurili fnitvrv. rettifJ tr a, de^iert en-stwrn-il- '^ th Mle. Be- is fMi^siderd tlte first tltoi in.s-titiitrii the Afoiui.stir lite- % _^' 83 Christ." For this answer he was cruelly scourged, and his wounds were afterwards rubbed with salt ; but being well again in a short time, the governor re- proached the goaler for having suffered some physician to attend him. The gaoler declared, that no person whatever had been riear him or any of the other pris- oners, and that he would willingly forfeit his head, if any allegation of the kind could be proved against him. Andronicus corroborated the testimony of the goaler, and added, that God, whom he served, was the most powerful of physicians. These three Christians were finally brought to a third examination, when they re- rained their constancy, were again tortured, and at length ordered for execution. Being brought to the amphitheatre, several beasts were let loose upon them ; but none of the animals, though hungry, would touch tliem. Maximus became so surprised and incensed at this circumstance, that he severely reprehended the keeper, and ordered him to produce a beast that would execute the business for which he was wanted. The keeper then brought out a large bear, that had that day destroyed three men ; but this creature, and a fierce lioness, also refused to touch the Christians. Finding the design of destroying them by means of wild beasts ineffectual, Maximus ordered them to be slain by means of the sword, which was accordingly executed on the 11th of October, A. D. 303. They all declared, pre- vious to their martyrdom, that as death was the com- mon lot of all men, they wished to meet it for the sake of Christ ; and to resign that life to faith, which must otherwise be the prey of disease. 19. Vision of Constantine. The reign of Constantino the Great, the first Chris- tian emperor, is an important era in the history of the Christian church. The miraculous circumstances attending his conver- sion, though doubted by some, are fully ci'edited by others. According to Eusebius, (who received the ac- 84 count from the emperor's own mouth, and who also confii'med it by his solemn oath,) these extraordinary circumstances are as follows: " As the emperor was marching at the head of his army, from France into Italy, against Maxentius, on an expedition which he was fullj; aware involved in it his future destiny; oppressed with extreme anxiety, and reflecting that he needed a force superior to arms, for subduing the sorceries and magic of his adversary, he anxiously looked out for the aid of some deity, as that alone could secure him success. About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Avhen the sun began to decline, whilst praying for supernatural aid, a luminous cross* was seen by the emperor and his army, in the air, above the sun, inscribed with the words, "BY THIS CON- Q.UER ;" at the sight of which, amazement overpow. ered both himself and the soldiery on the expedition with him. He continued to ponder on the event till night, when, in a dream, the Author of Christianity ap- peared to him, to confirm the vision, directing him, at the same time, to make the symbol of the cross his military ensign. "f Constantine having vanquished his adversary, now built places for Christian worship, and showed great beneficence to the poor. He removed the seat of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, which he afterwards honored by the name of Constantinople, and prohib- ited, by a severe edict, the performance of pagan rites and ceremonies. He died on the 22d of May, in the year 337, at the age of sixty-four, after a reign of thirty-three years, having fully estabUshed the Christian religion in the Roman empire. * Historians axe much divided in their judgment respecting this miraculous appearance. It is in vain for us to attempt to ascertain a doubtful matter, at a period so remote from the event ; it is certain, however, that such a device was upon the stand- ards and shields of Constantine's army, and also upon several coins in existence at this day. t Milner's Church History. 85 "20. Origin of the Monastic Life. St. Anthony, of Egypt, in the fourth century, first instituted the monastic life. He was an ilhterate youth of Alexandria, and happening one day to enter a church, he heard the words of our Lord to the young ruler, " Sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor." Considering this as a special call to him, he distributed his patrimony, deserted his family and house, took up his residence among the tombs, and in a ruined tower. After remaining there a long time, he at length advan- ced three days' journey into the desert, to the eastward of the river Nile, where, discovering a lonely spot which possessed the advantages of shade and water, he fixed his last abode. His example and his lessons in- fected others, whose curiosity pursued him to the des- ert ; and before he quitted life, which was prolonged to the term of a hundred and five years, he beheld a numerous progeny imitating his original. Anthony formed his followers into a regular body, engaged them to live in society with each other, and prescribed to them fixed rules for their conduct. From this time, monks multiplied incredibly, on the sands of Lybia, upon the rocks of Thebais, and the cities of the Nile, Travelers, even to this day, may explore the remains of fifty monasteries, which were planted directly south of Alexandria, by the disciples of Anthony. These regulations which were made in Egypt, were .soon introduced into Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the adjacent countries ; and their example was fol- lowed with such rapid success, that in a short time the whole east was filled with a set of indolent mortals, who, abandonding all human connexions, advantages, pleasures, and concerns, wore out a languishing and miserable existence, amidst the hardships of want, and various kinds of suffering, in order to arrive at a more close and rapturous communication with God and an- gels. From the east, this gloomy disposition passed into the west, and Martin of Tours founded a monastery at 86 Poictiers, and thus introduced the monastic institutions into France. So rapid was the increase of his disci- pies, that two thousand monks followed in his funeral procession ; very soon, all Christendom became infect- ed with this superstition, and various orders of monks were founded, such as Franciscans, Dominicans, Bene- dictines, &c. This kind of life was not confined to males. Females also began to retire from the world and dedicate themselves to solitude and devotion. Nunneries were founded, and such as entered were henceforth secluded from all worldly intercourse. They were not allowed to go out, nor wvls any one per- mitted to go in to see them. 21. JuLiAPv, THE Apostate. Juhan, the Roman emperor, began his reign about the year 360. He is commonly called Julian, the apos. iate, from his casting off the profession of Christianity, and restoring the ancient pagan worship. In order to give the lie to our Savior's prophecy, he attempted to rebuild the temple, and the city of Jerusalem. He knew the Christians were firmly persuaded, that by the advent of Christ the typical dispensation had come to an end ; and could he succeed in restoring the Jews to their city and the ritual of their worship, he might con- vert it into an argument against the faith of prophecy and the truth of revelation. He therefore resolved to erect, on Mount Moriah, a stately temple ; and gave instructions to his minister Alypius, to commence without delay the vast under- taking. At the call of their supposed great deliverer, the Jews, from all the provinces of the empire, repair- ed to Jerusalem. Every purse was now opened in lib- eral contributions, every hand claimed a share in the labor, and the commands of the emperor were execu- ted with enthusiasm by the whole people. But they entirely failed in attaining their object. Ammianus Marcellinus, (a heathen writer who lived during this transaction,) says, "whilst Alypius, assisted by the governor of the province, urged with vigor and dili- gence the execution of the work, horrible balls of fire, breaking out near the foundations with frequent and reiterated attacks, rendered the place, from time to time, inaccessible to the scorched and blasted work- men ; and the victorious element continuLng in this manner, obstinately and resolutely bent, as it were, to drive them to a distance, the undertaking was aban- doned." This remarkable event is fully attested by various historians of that age.* During Julian's reign, open persecution was prohib- ited ; but by every other means, were the followers of Christ humbled and oppressed. The Savior he always distinguished by the name of Galilean. Being enga- ged in a war with the Persians, he was mortally wounded by a lance. As jie was expiring, he filled his hand with blood, and indignantly casting it up into the air, exclaimed, " O Galilean ! thou hast con- quered!" It is mentioned, that about this time one Libanius, an admirer of Julian, meeting a Christian schoolmaster at Antioch, asked him in derision. What the carpen- ter's son was now doing? ^' The carpenter's son,'' re- plied the schoolmaster, " is making a coffin for your hero." The event proved the truth of this prediction. 22. Ariam Controversy. -\bout the year 315, lived one Arius, who was a presbyter of the church of Alexandria. He maintained that the Son of God was totally and essentially distinct from the Father ; that he was the first and noblest of those beings whom God had created, — the instrument, by whose subordinate operations he formed the uni- verse ; and therefore inferior to the Father, both in na- ture and dignity; also, that the Holy Ghost was not God, but created by the power of the Son. He owned * Jones's History of the Christian Church. 8* the Son was the Word, but denied that Word to have been eternal. He gained many followers, who were called Arians. They were first condemned and anath- ematized, by a council held at Alexandria, in 320, un- der Alexander, bishop of that city ; who accused Arius of impiety, and caused him to be expelled from the church. In 325, they were again condemned, by the council of Nice, composed of 380 fathers, assembled by Constantine. Their doctrines, however, were not extinguished ; but soon became the reigning religion in the east. In two or three years, Arius was recalled by the emperor, and the laws which had been enacted against him were repealed. Athanasius, then bishop of Alexandria, refused to admit him or his followers to communion ; whereupon, the Arians became so enra- ged, that by their interest at court they procured him to be deposed and banished. But the church at Alex- andria still refused to admit Arius _to their communion ; upon which the emperor sent for him to Constantino, pie, where he delivered a fresh confession, in terms less offensive. The emperor, then commanded him to be admitted to their communion. But that very night, he suddenly expired, as his friends were conducting him in triumph to the great church at Constantinople. The Arians found a protector, in Constantius, who succeeded his fatlier. In 349, he was influenced to re- call Athanasius, and to restore him to his office. But no measure could be so repulsive to his enemies, who rose up against him in the most bitter accusations. Athanasius was obliged to flee before the storm, and take shelter in a desert. The blast fell upon his, friends, whom he had left behind. Some were banish, ed ; some loaded with chains, and imprisoned ; while others were scourged to death. The Arians underwent various revolutions and per- secutions, under succeeding emperors. Theodosius the Great put forth a mighty effort to suppress them ; but to no avail. Their doctrines were carried into Af- rica, in the fifth century, under the Vandals ; and into Asia, under the Goths ; and also into Italy, Gaul, and 89 Spam. In the commencement of the sixth century, Arianism was triumphant in many parts of Asia, Eu- rope and Africa. But when the Vandals were driven out of Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, by the arms of Justinian, it sunk, almost at once. The state of the church, during these scenes, was deplorable. The Scriptures were disregarded, and what was error, and what was truth, was to be deter- mined by fathers and councils. Ministers had departed ivoni the simplicity of Christian doctrine and manners ; avarice and ambition ruled ; and as either party, at any time, gained the advantage, it treated the other with marked severity. As the Arians, however, v/ere generally in power, the orthodox party experienced al- most uninterrupted oppression. But when they possess- ed the poAver, they were not much less violent than the Arians. Even Athanasius, who was at the head of the orthodox party, was a man of a restless disposition, and of ambitious and aspiring views ; and cannot be exempt, ed from the charge of oppressing his opponents, whenev- er he liad the means in his possession. At length, the Arians became divided among them- selves, and a great variety of sects sprang up from among them. Arianism has made its appearance in a great variety of forms, down to the present time. 23. Cou^xiLs. These councils were an assemblage of deputies, or commissioners, representing the body of the Christian church ; and were generally held to decide upon some controversial points, in religious sentiments. Of these, there have been quite a number held, since -the days of Constantino ; of which the following may be considered as the most important. The " Council of Nice," assembled by Constantino in 325, was the first general council. Its object was, to scan the doctrine of Arius. lu this council, which was composed of three hundred and eighteen bishops, besides presbyters, deacons, and others, the emperor 90 presided. It resulted in tlie deposition and banishment of Arius, and the adoption of the " Nicene Creed ;" to wliich all were commanded to subscribe, u])on pain of banishment. During its session, the different bishops began to complain to the emperor of each other, and to vindicate themselves. He listened for a while to their mutual recriminations, wiiich were reduced to writing. At length, growing impatient, he threw all their billets into the fire ; saying, it did not belong to him to decide the differences of Christian bishops ; which must be de- ferred till the day of judgment. The council determin- ed, that Easter should be kept at the same time through- out the church ; that celibacy was a virtue ; that new converts should not be introduced to oi'ders ; and that a certain course of penitence should be enjoined on the lapsed, &c. The " Council of Constantinople^^ was summoned in the year 383, by Theodosius the Great ; which de- creed that the " Nicene Creed'' should be the standard of orthodoxy, and all heresies condemned. Tw^o edicts were issued against these ; the one, prohibiting holding any assembhes ; the other, by the emperor, prohibiting the w^orshiping any inanimate idol, by the sacrifice of any animal, upon pain of death. This was a death- blow to paganism ; for it soon began to fall, and, in twenty-eight years after the death of Theodosius, not a vestige of it could be found. In 787, the question concerning the worship of ima- ges greatly agitated the Catholic church ; and a coun- cil was assembled at Nice, under the empress Irene, and her son. This council established the worship of images, and anathematized all who should refuse. The language employed in this anathema, was as follows : — " Long live Constantine, and his ?nother ; — damnation to all heretics ; — damnation on the council that roared against venerable images ; — the Holy Trinity hath de- posed them.''' The " Council of Clermont" was held in 1095. Here, the first crusade was determined upon ; also the name of pope was first given to the head of the church, 91 exclusive of the bishops, who had occasionally assumed that title. The " Council of Constance'''' convened in 1414 ; and was composed of several European ])rinces, or their deputies, with the emperor of Germany at their head ; twenty archbishops : one hundred and fifty bishops ; one hundred and fifty other dignitaries ; and two hun- dred doctors ; with the pope at their hestd. At this time, there were three persons who claimed the papal chair ; between whom a violent contest was carried on. But the council deposed them all, and placed one Mar- tin in the chair, as the legal head of the church. The object of this council was, to put an end to the papal schism ; which was finally effected, after it had existed about forty years. Before this body, Huss and Jerome of Prague were cited to appear, condemned, and afterwards burnt alive. The writings of John Wickliffe, also, were here condemned. The " Council of Trent" was assembled in 1545, by Paul III. and was continued by twenty-five sessions, for eighteen years, imder Julius III. and Pius IV. whose object was, to correct, illustrate, and fix with perspicui- ty, the doctrines of the church, to restore the vigor of its discipline, and to reform the lives of its ministers. The decrees of this council, together with the creed of Pope Pius IV. contain a summary of the doctrines of the Romish church. 24. Conversion of Justin Martyh. This great man was born at Neapolis, in Samaria, anciently called Sichem. His father was a Gentile, (probably one of the Greeks belonging to the colony transplanted thither,) who gave his son a philosophical education. In his youth he traveled for the improve- ment of his understanding ; and Alexandria afforded him all the entertainment which an inquisitive mind could derive from the fashionable studies. TJie Stoics appeared to him, at first, the masters of happiness. He gave himself up to one of this sect, till he found ho 92 could learn nothing from him of the nature of God. It is remarkable, (as he tells us himself,) that his tutor told him that this was a knowledge by no means necessary ; which much illustrates the views of Dr. Warburton concerning these ancient philosophers, — that they were Atheists in reality. He next betook himself to a Peripatetic, whose anxious desire of set- tling the price of instruction, convinced Justin that truth did not dwell with him. A Pythagorean next engaged his attention, who requiring of him the pre- vious knov»ledge of music, astronomy, and geometry, dismissed him for the present, when he understood he was unfurnished with those studies. In much solici- tude, he applied himself to a Platonic philosopher, Avith a more plausible appearance of success than from any of the foregoing. He now gave himself to retirement. As he was walking near the sea, he was met by an aged person, of a venerable appearance, whom he beheld with much attention. "Do you know me?" says he : Avhen he answered in the negative, he asked why he surveyed him with so much attention? " I wondered," says he, " to find any person here." The stranger ob- served, that he was waiting for some domestics. " But what brought you here ?" says he. Justin professed his love of private meditation ; the other hinted at the absurdity of mere speculation abstracted from practice ; which gave occasion to Justin to express his ardent de- sire of knov/ing God, and to expatiate on the praise of philosophy. The stranger, b}'" degrees, endeavored to cure him. of his ignorant admiration of Plato and Py- thagoras, and to point out to him the writings of the Hebrew prophets, as being much more ancient than any of those called philosophers ; and led him to some view of Christianity in its nature and its evidences, add- ing, " above all things, pray that the gates of light may be opened unto thee ; for they are not discernible, nor to be understood by all, except God and his Christ give to a man to understand." The man having spoken these things, and much more, " left me, (says Justin,) directing me to pursue these things, and I saw him no 93 more. Immediately a fire was kindled in my soul, and I had a strong affection for the prophets, and thos6 men who are the friends of Christ ; and weighing with- in myself his words, I found this to be the only sure philosophy." We have no more particulars of the ex- ercises of his soul in religion. His conversion tooic place from hence, sometime in the reign of Adrian. But he has shown us enough to make it evident, that conversion was then looked on as an inward spiritual work upon the soul, and that he had the substance of the same work of grace, which the spirit operates at this day on real Christians. — Mihier^s Church History. 25. Pelagiaks. About the end of the fourth century, there appeared a sect called Pelagians. They maintained the follow, ing doctrines: — 1. That Adam was by nature mortal, and, whether he had sinned or not, would have died ; 2. that the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his own person ; 3. that new-born infants are in the same situation with Adam before the fall ; 4. that the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven, and was founded upon equal promises v/ith the gospel ; 5. that the general resurrection of the dead does not follow in virtue of our Savior's resurrection ; 6. that the grace of God is given according to our merits ; 7. that this grace is not granted for the performance of every mo)-- al act, the liberty of the will and information in points of duty being sufficient. The founder of this sect was one Pelagius, a native of Great Britain. Pie was educated in the monastery of Banchor, in Wales, of which he became a monk, and afterwards an abbot. In the early part of his life he went over to France, and thence to Rome, where he and his friend Celestius propagated their opinions, though in a private manner. Upon the approach of the Goths, A. D. 410, they retired from Rome, and went thence into Sicily, and afterwards into Africa, Avhere they published their doctrines with more free- 94 ilorn. From Africa, Pelagius passed into Palestine, while Celestius remained at Carthage, with a view to preferment, desiring to be admitted among the pres- byters of that city. But the discovery of his opinions having blasted all his hopes, and his errors being con- demned in a council held at Carthage, A. D. 412, he departed from that city, and went into the east. It was from this time that Augustine, the famous bishop of Hippo, began to attack the tenets of Pelagius and Ce- lestius, in his learned and elegant writings ; and to him, indeed, is principally due the glory of having sup- pressed this sect in its very birth. Things went more smoothly with Pelagius in the east, where he enjoyed the protection and favor of John, bishop of Jerusalem, whose attachment to the sentiments of Origen, led him naturally to countenance those of Pelagius, on account of the conformity that there seemed to be between these two systems. Un- der the shadow of this powerful protection, Pelagius made a public profession of his opinions, and formed disciples in several places ; and though, in the year 415, he was accused by Orosius, a Spanish presbyter, (whom Augustine had sent into Palestine for that pur- pose,) before an assembly of bishops met at Jerusalem, yet he was dismissed without the least censure ; and not only so, but soon after fully acquitted of all errors by the council of Diospolis, This controversy was brought to Rome, and referred to the decision of Zosimus, who was raised to the pon- tificate, A. D. 417. The new pontiff, gained over by the ambiguous and seemingly orthodox confession of faith that Celestius, who was now at Rome, had artful. ly drawn up ; and also by the letters and protestations of Pelagius, pronounced in favor of these monks ; de- clared them sound in the faith, and unjustly persecuted by their adversaries. The African bishops, with Au- gustine at their head, little affected at this declaration, continued obstinately to maintain the judgment they had pronounced in this matter, and to strengthen it by their exhortations, their letters, and their writings. dffftitijiif t/te aUfiiifif iif Jiil?un ih)" Api\':tate,ii-i rebuild, tite City find 'Ihiifilr i^'Jen/jal^-in, in 97 sent the Helsiugians to the hall of Odin. Then did the sword bite. The waters were all one wound. The earth was dyed red with the warm stream. The swords rung upon the coats of mail, and clove the bucklers in twain. None fled on that day, till among his ships Herandus fell. Than him no braver baron cleaves the sea with ships : a cheerful heart did he ever bring to the combat. Then the host threw away their shields, when the up- lifted spear flew at the breasts of heroes. The sword bit the Scar- fian rocks ; bloody was the shield in battle, until Rafuo the king was slain. From the heads of warriors the warm sweat streamed down their armor. The crows around the Indirian islands had an ample prey. It were difficult to single out one among so ma- ny deaths. At the rising of the sun I beheld the spears piercing the bodies of foes, and the bows throwing forth their steel-point- ed arrows. Loud roared the swords in the plains of Lano. The virgin long bewailed the slaughter of that morning." He thus laments the death of one of his sons in bat- tle : — " When Rogvaldus was slain, for him mourned all the hawks of heaven," as lamenting a benefactor who had so liberally sup- plied them with prey ; " for boldly," as he adds, " in the strife of swords, did the breaker of helmets throw the spear of blood." The poem concludes with sentiments of the highest bravery and contempt of death. " What is more certain to the brave man than death, though amidst the storm of swords, he stands always ready to oppose it ? He, only, regrets this life, who hath never known distress. The timorous man allures the devouring eagle to the field of battle. The coward, whenever he comes, is useless to himself. This I esteem honorable, that the youth should advance to the combat fairly matched one against another ; nor man retreat from man. Long was this the warrior's highest glory. He who aspires to the love of virgins, ought always to be foremost in the war of arms. It appears tp me of truth, that we are led by the Fates. Seldom can any overccme the appointment of destiny. Little did I foresee that Ella* was to have my life in his hands, in that day when, fainting, I corfjjealed my blood, and pushed forth my ships into the waves, after we had spread a repast for the beasts of prey throughout the Scottish bays. But this makes me always rejoice that in the halls of our father Balder, (or Odin,) I know there are seats prepared, where in a short time, we shall be drinking ale out of the hollow skulls of our enemies. In the house of the * This was the name of his enemy who had condemned him to death. 98 mighty Odin, no brave man laments death. I come not with the voice of despair to Odin's hall. How eagerly would all the sons of Aslauga now rush to war, did they know the distress of their father, whom a multitude of venemous serpents tear ! I have given to my children a mother who hath filled their hearts with valor. I am fast approaching to my end. A cruel death awaits me from the viper's bite. A snake dwells in the midst of my heart. I hope that the sword of some of my sons shall yet be stained with the blood of Ella. The valiant youths will v.'ax red with anger and will not sit in peace. Fifty and one times have I reared the standard in battle. In my youth, I learned to dye the sword in blood ; my hope was then, that no king among men would be more renowned than me. The goddesses of death will now soon call me ; I must not mourn my death. Now I end my song. The goddesses invite me away ; they whom Odin has sent to me from his hall. I will sit upon a lofty seat, and drink ale joyfully with the goddesses of death. The hours of my life are run out. I will smile when I die." 27. Taki>'g op Rome by Alaric, Ki^'g of the Goths. In the year 401, the miperial city of Rome was be- sieged and taken by Alaric, king of the GotLs, who de- livered it over to the licentious fury of his army. A scene of horror ensued, scarcely paralleled in the histo- ry of war. The plunder of the city was accomplished in six da)'s ; the streets were deluged with the blood of murdered citizens, andsoi^e of the noblest edifices were razed to their foundation. The city of Rome was at this time an object of admi- ration. Its inhabitants were estimated at twelve hun- dred thousand. Its houses were but little short of fifty thousand ; seventeen hundred and eighty of which were similar in grandeui- and extent to the palaces of princes. Every thing bespoke wealth and luxury. The market, the race-courses, the temples, the fountains, the porticos, the shady groves, unitedly combined to add surpassing splendor to the spot. Two years before the surrender of the city, Alaric, had laid seige to it, and had received from the proud and insolent R.omans, as. a price of his retreat from the walls, five thousand pounds of gold, thirty thousand u pounds of silver, and an incredible quantity of other valuable articles. In the following year, he again appeared before the city; and now took possession of the port of Ostia, one of the boldest and most stupendous works of Ro- man magnificence. He had demanded the surrender of the city, and was only prevented from razing it to its foundation, by the consent of the senate to remove the unworthy Honorius from the throne of the Caesars, and to place Attalus, the tool of the Gothic conqueror, in his place. ■ But the doom of the city was not far distant. In 410, Alaric again appeared under the walls of the cap- ital. Through the treachery of the Roman guard, one of the gates was silently opened, and the inhabitants were awakened at midnight, by the tremendous sound of the Gothic trumpet. Alaric and his bands entered in triumph, and spread desolation through the streets. Thus this proud city, which had subdued a great part of the world ; which, during a period of 619 j'ears, had never been violated by the presence of a foreign ene- my; was itself called to surrender to the arms of a rude and revengeful Goth, who was well entitled the Destroyer of Nations, and the Scourge of God ! From this period, the barbarians continued, their rav- ages until 476, which is commonly assigned as making the total extinction of the western part of the Roman empire. Although the barbarians were idolaters, yet upon the conquest of the Roman empire, they generally, though at different periods, conformed themselves to the reli- gious institutions of the nations among whom they set- tled. They unanimously agreed to support the hierar- chy of the church of Rome, and to defend and main- tain it, as the established religion of their respective states. They generally adopted the Arian system, and hence the advocates of the Nicene creed met with bit- ter persecution. — Goodrich'' s Ecclesiastical History. 100 28. Augustine's Citv of God. The following summary account of St. Augustine's celebrated production, The City of God, is extracted from Milner's Church History. " The capture of Rome, by Alaric the Goth, and the subsequent plunder and miseries of the imperial city, had opened the mouths of the pagans, and the true God was blasphemed on the account. Christian- ity was looked on as the cause of the declension of the empire; and however trifling such an argument may appear at this day, at that time it had so great weight, that it gave occasion to Augustine, in his zeal for the house of God to write this treatise. " The work itself consists of twenty-two books. The first states the objections made by the pagans, and answers them in form. It was a remarkable fact that all who fled to the church called the Basilicm of the Apostles, whether Christians or not, were preserved from mihtary fury. The author takes notice of this singular circumstance, as a proof of the great author- ity of the name and doctrine of Chi-ist, even among pagans, and shows that no instance can be found in their history where many vanquished people were spared out of respect to their religious worship. He justly observes, therefore, that the evils accompanying the late disaster ought to be ascribed to the usual events of war, — the benefits, to the power of the name of Christ. His thoughts on the promiscuous distribu- tion of good and evil in this life are uncommonly ex- cellent. "If all sin,"" he observes, "were now pun- ished, nothing might seem to be reserved to the last judgment. If the Divinity punished no sin openly now, his providence might be denied. In like man- ner, in prosperous things, if some petitions for tem- poral things were not abundantly answered, it might be said that they were not at God's disposal. If all petitions were granted, it might be thought that we should serve God only for the sake of worldly things." And in a number of elegant allusions, he goes on to 101 show the benefit of afflictions to the rigliteous, and the curse which accompanies them to the wicked. He men- tions also the propriety of punishing the godly often, in this life, because they are" not sufficiently weaned from the world, and because they do not rebuke the sins of the world as they ought, but conform too much to the tastes of ungodly men. He answ.ers the objec lions drawn from their sufferings in the late disaster. "Many Christians say they are led captive. It would be very miserable," he owns, "if they could be led to any place, where they could not find their God." In the same book, he excellently handles the subject of suicide, demonstrates its cowardice, and exposes the pusillanimity of Cato. He mentions the prayer of Paulinus, bishop of Nola, who had reduced himself to poverty for the sake of Christ, when the barbarians laid waste his city ; — "Lord suffer me not to be tor- mented on account of gold and silver ; for where all my Avealth is, thou knowest." For there he had his all where the Lord hath directed us to lay up our treas- ure, and he strongly insists, as the fullest answer to objections, that the saint loses nothing by all his af- flictions. " Having sufficiently spoken to the particular occa- sion, he proceeds, in the second book to wage offen- sive war loith the pagans, and shows that while their religion prevailed, it never promoted the real benefit of men. In this book, he proves his point with re- spect to moral evils. Immoral practices were not dis- couraged or prohibited in the least by the popular idol- atry; but, on the contrary, vice and flagitiousness were encouraged. He triumphs in the peculiar ex- cellence of Christian institutes, because by them in- struction was constantly diffiised among the body of the people, of which the whole system of pagan wor- ship was void. His observations on stage-plays, and on the vicious manners of the Romans, even in the best times of their repubhc, as confessed bv Sallust, or at least deduced by fair inference from nis writings, are extremely worthy of attention. In the same book 102 will be found some valuable remains of Cicero de Re- publica, a most profound and ingenious treatise, of which a few fragments are introduced by him, to show, that, by Cicero's confession, the Roman state was com- pletely ruined before the times of Christianity. The book concludes with a pathetic exhortation to unbe- lievers. " In the third book, he demonstrates that the pagans had no more help from their religion against natural evils, than they had against moral. He recounts the numberless miseries endured by the Romans long be- fore the coming of Christ, such as would by malice have been imputed to the Christian religion had it then existed, some of which were more calamitous than any thing which they had lately sustained from the Goths. " In the fourth book, he demonstrates that the Ro- man felicity, such as it was, was not caused by their religion. Here he weighs the nature of that glory and extent of empire with which the carnal heart is so much captivated, and shows the futility of all the then popular religions. In the conclusion he gives a short view of the dispensations of Providence toward the Jews, and shows, while they continued obedient, the superiority of their felicity to that of the Romans. " In the fifth book, he describes the virtue of the old Romans, and what reward was given to it here on earth — -shadowy reward for shadowy vij-tue. He gives an excellent account of the vice of vain glory, and contrasts it with the humility of Christians. He demonstrates that it was the true God who dispen- sed his mercies and judgments towards the Romans. In the same book he argues against Cicero, and shows the consistency of the prescience of God with the free agen. cy of man. " Having shown in the five first books, that pagan- ism c^uld do nothing for men in temporal things, in the five following books he proves that it was as to- tally insigni^cant with respect to the next life. Here we meet with some valuable fragments of the very learned Varro, who divides religion into three kinds ; 103 the fabulous, tire philosophical, and the political. Here, too, we have a clear and historical detail of the opin- ions of the ancient philosophers." Of the remaining books, the first four describe the beginning, the middle four, the progress, and the last four the issues of the two states, namely, the city of God, and the world; the history of both, and the dif- ferent genius and spirit of each, are, throughout, con- ceived with great energy by the author, and are illus- trated with copiousness and perspicuity. " The eleventh book begins with a just and solid view of the knowledge of God by the mediator, and the au- thority of the Scriptures. A number of questions which respect the beginning of things, rather curious than im- portant, follow. " In the twelfth book, the question concerning the origin of evil is still more explicitly stated ; and the opinions of those who pretend to account for the origin of the world in a manner different from the Scriptures, and to give it an antiquity much superior to that which is assigned to it in them, are refuted. " The thirteenth book describes the fall of man ; but questions of little or no moment are interspersed. " The fourteenth book contains matter more inter- esting than the foregoing three ; though it is not with- out unimportant speculations. A just idea of the mag- nitude of the first sin is given, and the justice of Gk)d is excellently vindicated. "In the fifteenth book, he enters upon the second part of the history of the two states, namely, their pro- gress. He describes very justly the two types, Sarah and Agar, and illustrates the spirit and genius of the two sects, by the cases of Cain and Abel. He confutes those, who would make the lives of the antediluvians of shorter duration than that assigned them in Scrip- ture. " The sixteenth book carries on the history of the city of God from Noah to David, and contains important instruction throughout, especially to those who have not read the same things in modern authors. 104 " The seventeenth book may be called the prophetic history. "In the eighteenth, he displays much learning in describing the times of the world coeval with those of the church of God, to the birth of Christ. He proves the superior antiquity of prophetic authority to that of any philosophers. The remarkable harmony of the sacred writers in the promotion of one system, and the endless discordances of philosophers, are ably con- trasted. Yet, he proves, from the earliest times, that the citizens of tbe new Jerusalem were not confined absolutely to Jewry. " The last four books describe the issues of the two- states. The twentieth undertakes to describe the last judgment. In the last two books, he gives his ideas of the punishment of the wicked and of the happiness of the righteous, in a future state. In the last book, which describes the eternal rest of the City of God, he dwells a little on the external evidences of Christiani- ty ; and in speaking on miracles, he describes some which were wrought in his own time ; one of them, the healing of a disorder, seems peculiarly striking, be- cause it was in answer to prayer. He closes his work with a delightful view of the eternal felicity of the church of God." 29. Mahomet, the Arabian Imposter. Mahomet was born at Mecca, a city in Arabia, near the Red Sea, A. D. 569. Possessing but a scanty edu- cation, but of great natural talents, he sought to raise himself to celebrity, by feigning a divine mission, to propagate a new religion for the salvation of mankind. Early in life he was instructed in the business of a mer- chant, and employed by a rich widow of the name of Hadijah, as a factor. Into her favor he so effectually insinuated himself, as to obtain her in marriage. By this event, he became possessed of considerable wealth and power, and continued in the mercajitile occupation for several years. About the thirty-eighth year of his 105 age, he retired to the desert, and pretended to hold conferences with the angel Gabriel, who delivered to him, from time to time, portions of the Koran, (the sacred book of the Mahometans,) containing revela- tions from God, with the doctrines which he required his prophet (Mahomet) to communicate to the world. His first converts were his wife, his servant, his pu- pil, and his friend. In process of time, some of the citizens of Mecca were introduced to the private les- sons of the prophet; they yielded to the voice of en- thusiasm, and repeated the fundamental creed, " There is but one God and Mahomet is his prophet. ^^ ■ Being opposed in propagating his doctrines, he was obliged to flee. His flight, called the Hegira, (A. D. 622,) is the era of his glory. He betook himself to Medina, was joined by the brave Omar, and thence commenced propagating his religion by the sword. He divided his spoil among his followers, and from all sides the roving Arabs were allured to the standard of religion and plunder; the prophet sanctioned the li- cense of embracing the female captives as their wives or concubines, and the enjoyment of wealth and beauty was the type of Paradise. " The sword," says Ma- homet, "is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of God, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer ; whoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven ; at the day of judgment, his wounds shall be resplendent as Vermillion and odoriferous as musk ; and the loss of his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim." In a few years, Mahomet subdued all Arabia and a part of Syria. In the midst of his victories, he died at the age of 63, A. D. 632, being poisoned, as it was supposed, by a Jewish female. He was buried on the spot where he expired, but his remains were after- wards removed to Medina, whither innumerable pil- grims to Mecca often turn aside to bow in devotion before the humble tomb of their prophet. His sue- cessors extended their conquests and religion till their 106 empire was widely extended in many countries of the east; and in the eighth century, threatened the con- quest of Europe, and the extermination of Christianity. 30. An account of the Koran. The Koran or Alcoran, the sacred book of the Ma- hometans, contains the revelations and doctrines of their pretended prophet. The great doctrine of the Koran is the unity of God : to restore which, Mahomet pretended, was the chief end of his mission ; it being laid down by him as a fundamental truth, that there never was, nor ever can be, more than one true orthodox religion ; that, though the particular laws or ceremonies are only tempora.ry and subject to alteration according to the divine direc- tion, yet the substance of it, being eternal truth, is not liable to change, but continues immutably the same ; and that, whenever this religion became neglected or corrupted in essential, God had the goodness to re- inform and re-admonish mankind thereof, by several prophets, of whom Moses and Jesus were the most distinguished, till the appearance of Mahomet, who is their seal, and no other to be expected after him. The more effectually to engage people to hearken to him, a great part of the Koran is employed in relating ex- amples of dreadful punishments, formerly inflicted by God on those who rejected and abused his messengers ; several of which stories, or some circumstances of them, are taken from the Old and New Testaments, but many more from the apocryphal books and tradi- tions of the Jews and Christians of those ages, set up in their Koran as truths, in opposition to the Scrip- tures, which the Jews and Christians are charged with having altered ; and, indeed, few or none of the rela- tions of circumstances in the Koran were invented by Mahomet, as is generally supposed; it being easy to trace the greatest part of them much higher, as the rest might be, were more of these books extant, and were it worth while to make the inquiry. The rest of the Beijiff opposed m preJ?a^fat^n^ kis dortrmfs, Maliimirf flfj fi-om Mecca to3{ey tJud Toniiff to d^ pfiumf^ thref diiys before Tiis residence irv 1h^ depth ef winter Tfus hhiody Trihunal in orde^ t-o ejctort a eonfissiem, tram, it-' vietims' often put them to ejOrertie textures- ene metTwd is seen, in the en^raim^ 131 box filled with gunpowder, and out of the box hung a long thin match that was to burn slowly, and was hid- den among the leaves of the tree. As soon as the monk, or his assistant, had touched the match with a lighted coal, he began his sermon. In the meantime the magpie returned to her nest, and finding in it a strange body which she could not remove, she fell into a passion, and began to scratch with her feet, and chat- ter most unmercifully. The friar affected to hear her without emotion, and continued his sermon v/ith great composure ; only he would now and then lift up his eyes towards the top of the tree, as if he wanted to see what was the matter. At last, when he judged that the match was near reaching the gunpowder, he pre- tended to be quite out of patience ; he cursed the mag. pie, wished St. Anthony's fire might consume her, and went on again with his sermon. But he had scarcely pronounced two or three periods, when the match, all of a sudden, produced its effect, and blew up the mag- pie with its nest ; which miracle wonderfully raised the character of the friar, and proved afl;erwards very ben- eficial to him and to his convent. Galbert, monk of Marchiennes, informs us of a strange act of devotion in his time, and which, indeed, is attest- ed by several cotemporary writers. When the saints did not readily comply with the prayers of their vota- rists, they flogged their relics with rods, in a spirit of impatience, which they conceived was proper to make them bend into compliance. When the reformation was spread in Lithuania, Prince Radzivil was so affected, that he went in person to visit the pope, and pay him all possible honors. His holiness, on this occasion, presented him with a box of precious relics. Having returned home, the report of this invaluable possession was spread ; and, at length, some monks intreated permission to try the effects of these relics on a demoniac who had hitherto resisted every kind of exorcism. They were brought into church with solemn pomp, deposited on the altar, and an innumerable crowd attended. After the usual con- 12 132 jurations, which wore unsuccessful, they appHed to the relics. The demoniac instantly became well. The people cried out " A Miracle /" and the prince lift- ing his hands and eyes to heaven, felt his faith confirm- ed. In this transport of pious joy, he observed that a young gentleman, who was keeper of this rich treasure of relics, smiled, and appeared, by his motions, to ridi- cule the miracle. The prince, with violent indigna- tion, took our young keeper of the relics to task ; who, on a promise of pardon, gave the following secret in- telligence concerning them : — He assured him, that, in traveling from Rome, he had lost the box of relics, and that, not daring to mention it, he had procured'a simi- lar one, which he had filled with small bones of cats, and dogs, and other trifles, similar to what was lost. He hoped he might be forgiven for smiling, when he found that such a collection of rubbish was idolized with such pomp, and had even the virtue of expelling demons. It was by the assistance of this box that the prince discovered the gross impositions of the monks and the demoniacs, and he afterwards became a zealous Lutheran. The following account of the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius is related by a respectable eye witness : — " The grand procession on this occasion was composed of a numerous body of clergy, and an immense number of people of all ranks, headed by the arch-bishop of Naples himself, who carried the phial containing the blood of the saint. A magnificent robe of velvet richly embroidered was thrown over the shoulders of the bust ; a mitre, refulgent with jewels, was placed on its head. The arch-bishop, with a sol- emn pace, and a look full of awe and veneration, ap- proached, holding forth the sacred phial which con- tained the precious lump of blood ; he addressed the saint in the humblest manner, fervently praying that he would graciously condescend to manifest his regard to his faithful votaries, the people of Naples, by the usual token of ordering that lump of his sacred blood to assume its natural and original form ; in these pray- 133 ors he was joined by the muhitude around, particularly by the women. My curiosity prompted me to mingle with the multitude. I got, by degrees, very near the bust. Twenty minutes had already elapsed since the arch-bishop had been praying with all possible earnest- ness, and turning the phial round and round, Avithout any effect. An old monk stood near the arch-bishop, and was at the utmost pains to instruct him how to han- dle, chafe, and rub the phial ; he frequently took it into his own hand, but his manoeuvres were as ineffect- ual as those of the arch-bishop. By this time the peo- ple had become noisy ; the wonnen were quite hoarse with, praying ; the monk continued his operations with increased zeal, and the arch-bishop was all over in a profuse sweat with vexation. An acquaintance whis- pered, it might be prudent to retire. I directly took the hint, and joined the company I had left. An uni- versal gloom overspread all their countenances. One very beautiful young lady cried and sobbed as if her heart had been ready to break. The passions of some of the rabble without doors took a different turn ; in- stead of sorrow, they were filled with rage and indig- nation at the saint's obduracy, — and some went so far as to call him an old ungrateful, yellow-faced rascal. It was now almost dark, and, when least expected, the signal was given that the miracle was performed. The populace filled the air with repeated shouts of joy ; a band of music began to play ; Te Deum was sung ; couriers were despatched to the royal family, (then at Portici,) with the glad tidings ; the young lady dried up her tears ; .the countenances of our company bright- ened in an instant ; and they sat down to cards, with- out further dread of eruptions, earthquakes, or pesti- lence." The mysteries, as they were called, or representa- tions of the Divine Being, the crucifixion, &c. were formerly very common in the church of Rome. They served for the amusement and instruction of the people ; and so attractive were these gross exhibitions in the dark ages, that they formed one of the principal orna- 134 ments of the reception which was given to princes when they entered towns. In the year 1437, when Conrad Bayar, bisliop of Metz, caused the mystery of the Passion to be repre- sented on the plain of Veximiel, near that city, Christ was personated by an old gentleman named Nicholas Neufchatel, of Tourain, curate of Saint Victory, of Metz, and who was very near expiring on the cross, had he not been timely assisted. He was so enfeebled, that it was agreed another priest should be placed on the cross the next day, to finish the representation of the person crucified, which was done ; at the same time, the said Nicholas undertook to perform the resur- rection, which being a less difficult task, he did it, it is said, admirably well. Another priest, whose name was John De Nicey, curate of Metrange, personated Judas ; and he had liked to have been stifled while he hung upon the tree^ for his neck was dislocated ; this being at length Ifickily perceived, he was quickly cut down, and recovered. Addison, in his travels through Italy, makes mention of a wonderful sermon havin^ been preached to the fish- es by the famous St. Anthony, who lived about six hun- dred years ago, and is the favorite saint of Padua, where a magnificent monument has been erected by the Cath- dies, to his memory. It seems that, when the heretics would not regard his preaching, he betook himself to the sea-shore where the river Maxechin disembogues itself into the Adriatic. He here called the fish together, in the name of God, that they might hear his holy word. The fish came swimming towards him, in such vast shoals, both from the sea and from the river, that the surface of the water was quite covered with their multitudes. They quickly ranged themselves according to their several species, into a very beautiful congregation, and, like so many rational creatures, presented themselves before him to hear the word of God. After addressing them for a length of time he con- cluded in the following words : — " And since for all 135 this you cannot employ your tongues in the praises of your Benefactor, and are not provided with words to express your gratitude, make at least some sign of re- verence ; bow yourselves at his name ; give some show of gratitude, according to the best of your capacities ; express your thanks in the most becoming manner that you are able ; and be not unmindful of all the benefits which have been bestowed upon you." He had no sooner done speaking, but — behold a miracle ! the fish, as though they had been endued with reason, bowed down their heads, with all the marks of a profound humility and devolion ; moving their bodies up and down with a kind of fondness, as approving what had been spoken by the blessed father St. Antho- ny. The legend adds, that after many heretics, who were present at the miracle, had been converted by it, the saint gave his benediction to the fish, and dismissed them. 40. SUPP.EJIACY OF THE PoPE OF RoME. The Roman Catholics believe the Pope of Rome is, under Christ, supreme pastor of the whole church, and has a power and jurisdiction over all Christians. He is called the successor of St. Peter, and is believed to be infallible, that is, he cannot err, when he addresses himself to the faithful on matters of doctrine, &c. The pope is believed by the protestants to be the Anti- christ, the 3Ian of Si7i, mentioned in 2 Thess. ii. and Rev. xiii. " In ages of ignorance and credulity," says a cele- brated writer, " the ministers of reUgion are the objects of superstitious veneration. When the barbarians who overran the Roman empire first embraced the Christian faith, they found the clergy in possession of considera- ble power ; and they naturally transferred to those new guides the profoimd submission and reverence which they were accustomed to give to the priests of the pa- gan religion, which they had forsaken." 12* 136 It was about the year 606 that Pope Boniface III. by flattering Phocas, the emperor of Constantinople, one of the worst of tyrants, procured for himself the title of Universal Bishop. From this time, he was raised above all others, and his supremacy was by imperial authority ; it Avas now also that the most profound ig- norance, debauchery, and superstition reigned. From this time, the popes exerted all their power in promo- ting the idolati'ous worship of images, saints, relics, and angels. They now took the most blasphemous ti- tles, such as Christ's Vicegerent, His Holiness, Prince over all Nations and Kingdoms, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, The Lord God the Pope, dfc. About the year 751, the pope began to establish him- self as a temporal Prince, and to dethrone kings, and put others in their places. Henry IV. emperor of Germany, having displeased Pope Gregory VII. the Roman pontiff summoned a council, and passed the fol- lowing sentence upon him : — " In the name of Al- mighty God, and by your authority," said Gregory, addressing the members of the council, " I prohibit Henry from governing the Teutonic kingdom of Italy ; I release all Christians from their allegiance to him ; and I strictly forbid all persons to serve or attend him as king." When this sentence became known, the greater part of Henry's subjects cast oif their allegiance, and ap- peared against him. Henry was humbled ; he came to the resolution of throwing himself at the feet of Gregory, in order to implore his absolution. The pon- tiff was at that time on a visit to the countess or duch- ess Matilda, at Canosa, a fortress on the Appenines. At the gate of this mansion, the emperor presented himself as a humble penitent. He alone was admitted within the outer court, where, being stripped of his robes, and wrapped in sackcloth, he was compelled to remain three days, in the month of January, A. D. 1077, barefoot and fasting, before he was permitted to kiss the feet of his holiness. 137 The indulgence was, however, granted him : he was permitted to throw himself at the feet of the haughty pontiff, who condescended to grant him absolution, af- ter he had sworn obedience in all things, and promised to submit to his solemn decision. The pontiff elate with triumph, now considered himself as the lord and master of all the crowned heads in Christendom, and said in several of his letters, that " it was his duty to pull down the pride of kings."'*' 41. I^'auISITIO^■. The inquisition is a tribunal in Roman Catholic countries, erected by the popes for the examination and punishment of heretics. This court was founded in the twelfth century, under the patronage of Pope Innocent, who issued orders to excite Catholic princes and people to extirpate heretics, to search into their number and quality, and to transmit a faithful account thereof to Rome. Hence, they were called Inquisi- tors, and gave birth to the formidable tribunal called the Inqusition. One of the most celebrated inquisitors was one Do7ii. inic, who was canonized by the pope, in order to ren- der his authority the more respectable. He and the other inquisitors spread themselves into various coun- tries, and treated the protestants with the utmost se- verity ; at length the pope, not finding these inquisitors so useful as he had imagined, resolved upon the estab- lishment of fixed and regular courts of inquisition ; the first office of which was established in Toulouse, and Dominic became the first regular inquisitor. Courts of inquisition were also established in seve- ral countries ; but the Spanish inquisition became the most powerful and dreadful of any. Even the kings of Spain, themselves, though arbitrary in all other res- pects, were taught to dread the power of the lords of the inquisition. * Jones' History of the Christian church. 138 This diabolical tribunal takes cognizance of heresy, Judaism, Mahometanism, sodomy, polygamy, witch- craft, &c. Heresy in their view comprises many sub- divisions ; and upon the suspicion of any of these, the party is immediately apprehended. Advancing an of- fensive proposition ; failing to impeach others who may advance such ; contemning church ceremonies ; defacing images; reading books condemned by the in- quisition ; lending such books to others to read ; de- viating from the ordinary practices of the Roman church ; letting a year pass without going to confes- sion ; eating meat on fast days ; neglecting mass : be- ing present at a sermon preached by a heretic : con- tracting a friendship with, or making a present to, or assisting a heretic, &c., are all matters of suspicion, and prosecuted accordingly. In the countries where this dreadful tribunal is es- tablished, the people stand in so much fear of it, that parents deliver up their children, husbands their wives and friends, masters their servants, to its officers ; with out daring in the least to murmur or make resistance. The prisoners are kept a long time, till they themselves turn their own accusers, and declare the cause of their imprisonment, for which they are neither told their crime, nor confronted with witnesses. As soon as they are imprisoned, their friends go into mourning, and speak of them as dead, not daring to solicit their pardon, lest they should be brought in as accomplices. When there is no shadow of proof against the pretend- ed criminal, he is discharged, after suffering the most cruel tortures, a tedious and dreadful imprisonment, and the loss of the greater part of his effects. Those who are condemned to death, are delivered over to sec- ular power, and perish in the flames. " Senor Llorente, who was secretary to the inquisi- tion of Madrid about the year 1790, makes the follow, ing calculation of the number of victims whom the in- quisition has sacrificed : — that during the three hun- dred years from 1481 to 1781, 31,912 heretics perished in the flames ; and adding to this period the years up 139 to the present time, 17,639 effigies have been burned, representing such criminals as the inquisition could not catch for more substantial vengeance, — and 291,456 have been condemned to severe penances."* 42. Grosseteste, Bishop of Lixcolx. Robert Grosseteste was born about the year 1175, and was a divine of principal note in the university of Oxford. He associated with both the Mendicant or- ders, and was the first lecturer in the Franciscan school of that seminary. He seems to have been always seri- ous in religion, according to the degree of light which he had. In the year 1234, he was elected, by the dean and chapter, bishop of Lincoln ; and King Henry III. con- firmed their choice. He continued to patronize the friars. These were his most intimate companions, with whom he used to hold conferences on the Scrip, tures; and at one time he had thoughts of entering into the Franciscan order himself. Events, however, occurred, which in some measure unfolded to the eyes of the bishop the real character of the friars. In 1247, two English Franciscans were sent into England to ex- tort money for the pope. They applied to the prelates and abbots, but seem, at this time at least, to have met with little success. Grosseteste was amazed at the in- solence and pompous appearance of the friars, who as- sured him that they liad the pope's bull, and who ear- nestly demanded six thousand marks for the contribu- tion of the diocese of Lincoln ; " Friars," answered he, " with all reverence be it spoken, the demand is as dis- honorable as it is impracticable. The whole body of the clergy and people are concerned in it equally with me. For me, then, to give a definitive answer in an in- stant, to such a demand, before the sense of the king- dom is taken upon it, would be rash and absurd." The * British Critic. 140 native good sense of the bishop suggested this answer ; but the true anti-Christian character of the pope was as yet unknown to Grosseteste. The blood of our Savior was about the same time pretended to be brought into England, and he had the weakness to vindicate the de- lusion. In 1248, he obtained, at a great expense, from Innocent IV. letters to empower him to reform the re- ligious orders. If he had understood at that time the real character of anti-Christ, he would have foreseen the vanity of all attempts to reform the churches, which were grounded on papal authority. The rectitude, however, of his own mind, was strikingly apparent in the transaction. He saw with grief the waste of large revenues made by the monastic orders ; and being sup- ported by the pope, as he thought, he determined to take into his own hand the rents of the religious hou- ses, most probably with a design to institute and ordain vicarages in his diocese, and to provide for the more general instruction of the people. But the monks ap- pealed to the pope; and Grosseteste, in his old age, was obliged to travel to Lyons, where Innocent resi- ded. Roman venality was now at its height, and the pope determined the cause against the bishop. Grieved and astonished at so unexpected a decision, Grosseteste said to Innocent, "I relied on your letters and promi- ses, but am entirely disappointed." " What is that to you ?" answered the pope ; " you have done your part, and we are disposed to favor them. Is your eye evil, because I am good ?" With such shameless effrontery can wicked men trifle with scriptural passages. The bishop, in a low tone, but so as to be heard, said with indignation, " 0, money, how great is thy power, es- pecially at the court of Rome !" The remark was bold and indignant, but perfectly just. It behoved Innocent to give some answer ; and he used the common method of wicked men in such cases, namely, to retort the ac- cusation. " You English," said he, " are always grind- ing and impoverishing one another. How many reli- gious men, persons of prayer and hospitality, are you striving to depress, that you may sacrifice to your own 141 tyranny and avarice ?" So spake the most unprinci- pled of robbers to a bishop, whose unspotted integrity was admitted by all the world. The bishop often preached to the people in the course of his perambulation through his diocese; and he required the neighboring clergy to attend the ser- mons. He earnestly exhorted them to be laborious in ministering to their flocks ; and the lazy Italians, who by virtue of the pope's letters had been intruded into opulent benefices, and who neither understood the lan- guage of the people, nor wished to instruct them, were the objects of his detestation. He " would often with indignation cast the papal bulls out of his hands, and absolutely refuse to comply with them, saying that he should be the friend of Satan if he committed the caro of souls to foreigners. Innocent, however, persisting m his plan, peremtorily ordered him to admit an Ital- ian, perfectly ignorant of the English language, to a very rich benefice in the diocese of Lincoln ; which Grosseteste absolutely refused to obey. Innocent, on receiving this positive denial, was incensed beyond measure ; and " Who," said he, " is this old dotard, who dares to judge my actious ? By Peter and Paul, if I were not restrained by my generosity, I would make him an example and a specta^e to all mankind. Is not the king of England my vassal and my slave 1 and, if I gave the word, would he not throw him into prison, and load him with infamy and disgrace ?" In the latter end of the summer of 1253, Grosseteste was seized with a mortal disease, at his palace of Buck- den ; and he sent for Friar John de St. Giles, to con- verse with him on the state of the church. He blamed Giles, and his brethren the Dominicans, and also the Francisi^ns, because, though their orders were found- ed in vc%ntary poverty they did not rebuke the vices of the g^eat. " I am convinced," said he, " that both the pope, unless he amend his errors, and the friars, except they endeavor to restrain him, will be deserved- iy exposed to everlasting death." He breathed his last at Buckden, October 9th, 1253. Innocent heard 142 of his death with pleasure ; and said with exultation, "I rejoice, and let every true son of the Pvoman church rejoice with me, that my great enemy is removed." He ordered a letter to be written to king Henry, re- quiring him to take up the bishop's body, to cast it out of the church, and to burn it. The cardinals, however, opposed the tyrant, and the letter was never sent, pro- bably on account of the decline of Innocent's health ; for he died the succeeding year. 43. Petee Celestine, the Roman Pontiff. In the thirteenth century, there was one pope, who, as Milner, in his Church History, remarks, deserves to be commemorated in the annals of the church of Christ. Peter Celestine was born in Apulia, about the year 1221, and lived as a hermit in a little cell. He was admitted into holy orders ; but after that, he lived five years in a cave on Mount Moroni, near Sulmona. He was molested with internal temptations, which his con- fessor told him were a stratagem of the enemy, that would not hurt him if he despised it. He founded a monastery at Mount Moroni, in 1274. The See of Rome, having been vacant two years and three months, " Celestine was uii^nimously chosen pope, on account of the fame of his sanctity. The arch-bishop of Lyons, presenting him with the instrument of his election, con- jured him to submit to the vocation. Peter, in aston- ishment, prostrated himself on the ground ; and after he had continued in prayer some time, he rose up, and fearing to oppose the will of God, he consented to his election, and took the name of Celestine V. Since the days of the first Gregory, no pope had ever assumed the pontifical dignity with more purity of intention. But he had not Gregory's talents for bu- siness and government ; and the Roman See was im- mensely, more corrupt in the thirteenth than it was in the sixth century. Celestine soon became sensible of his incapacity ; he was lost, as in a Avilderness. He attempted to reform abuses, to retrench the luxury of 143 the clergy, — to do, in short, what he found totally im- practicable. He committed mistakes, and exposed himself to the ridicule of the scornful. His conscience was kept on the rack through a variety of scruples, from which he could not extricate himself; and from his ignorance of the world, and of canon law, he began to think he had done wrong in accepting the office. He spent much of his time in retirement ; nor was he easy there, because his conscience told him that he ought to be discharging the pastoral office. Overcome with anxiety, he asked Cardinal Cajetan whether he might not abdicate 1 It was answered, yes. Celcstine glad- ly embraced the opportunity of assuming again the character of brother Peter, after he had been distress- ed with the phantom of dignity for four or five months. He abdicated in 1294. The last act of his pontificate was worthy of the sincerity of his character. He made a constitution, that the pontiff" might be allowed to ab- dicate, if he pleased. It is remarkable, that no pope has, since that time, taken the benefit of this constitu- tion. '.' ^' That same Cajetan, who had encouraged his resig- nation, coffilved to be elected his successor, and took the name of Boniface VIII. Though Petei; had given the most undoubted proofs of his love of obscurity, and desired nothing more than that he might spend the rest of his days in private devotion ; yet Boniface, who measured other men by himself, apprehended and im- prisoned him, lest he should revoke his resignation. Peter gave such proofs of his sincerity, as convinced all persons, except Boniface hiinself, that nothing was to be dreaded from his ambition. The tyrant sent him into the castle of Fumone, under a guard of soldiers ; the old hermit was shut up in a hideous dungeon, and his rest was interrupted by the jailors, who nightly dis- turbed his sleep. These insults and hardships he seems to have borne with Christian patience and meekness. He sent this message to Boniface ; " I am content ; I desired a cell, and a cell you have given me." But ambition is made of sterner stuff, than to yield to the 13 144 suggestions of conscience or humanity. In the year 1296, after an imprisonment of ten months, Celestine died of a fever, most probably contracted by the un- worthy treatment which he received. 44. The Albigenses. Alhi, an inconsiderable town in Languedoc, has had the honor of giving the name of Albigeois, or Albigen- ses, to the protestants of France, who were distinguish- ed in the thirteenth century, by their determined oppo- sition to the usurpations of the pope ; but whose entire history occupies little more than half a century. It was at this place that a celebrated public confer- ence was held between the opponents and the adher- ents of the church of Rome. This conference was held in the year 1176, which gave the name of Albi- genses to all such as avowed the principles then and there publicly advanced against the superstition and abuses of the Romanists. The conference at Albi, was the prelude to the bloody drama, which commenced at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The popish bishops, priests, and monks, who took part in that con- ference, finding that they could not persuade their ad- versaries to join in communion with themselves, tried to compel them, and began by ascribing false senti- ments to the advocates of the cause, against which they could not prevail in fair argument. They branded them with the name of Arians and Manichees ; they preached against them in the cities and villages, and charged them with atrocities of which they never were guilty. Raymond, Count of Thoulouse, (and sovereign of the provmces, where the doctrines propounded at Albi, and from thenceforward styled Albigensian, had long taken deep root,) was solemnly invoked by the pope, to exterminate the heretics by an armed force. But Raymond was too well convinced of the value which his state derived from the enterprising and industrious spirit of his non-conforming subjects, to comply with 145 this demand. His refusal drew down fresh denuncia- tions from the pope, and renewed charges of scanda- lous proceedings against the protestants. To refute these slanders, the protestants consented to hold an- other meeting with the Romanists, at Montreal, in the year 1206. The same opinions were freely expressed, as before at Albi, and soon afterwards a general cru- sade was preached, not only against the impugners of the papal authority, but against all who should -protect or refuse to destroy them. Count Raymond himself was involved in the edict of excommunication ; and the term Albigenses was indiscriminately applied to all such of the natives of the south of France as had in- curred the resentment of the Roman pontiff, either by questioning his infallibility, or refusing to persecute those Avho questioned it. The Romanists record as meritorious deeds, install- ces of carnage and spoliation committed by their own people, and do not disguise that the forces opposed to the Albigenses massacred the inhabitants of whole towns and villages ; that they twice put " sixty thou- sand" to the sword ; burnt " three hundred" in one castle, " and eighty in another." At the siege of Marmande, Prince Louis induced the inhabitants to deliver up the town, upon his sacred promise that their lives should be spared. But all the men, women, and children, five thousand in number, were massacred, in order that this human holocaust might bring God's blessing upon the arms of the cru- saders. The slaughter was in direct opposition to the will of Louis ; but the council of the bishop of Saintes prevailed. " My advice," said that prelate, " is that you immediately kill and burn all these people, as her- etics and apostates, and that none of them be left alive." Romish authors record this fact. The only enemy the Albigenses had was the Roman church, and when their legitimate prince, the count of Thoulouse, afler being reproached for indulging pity for the heretics, and saving them from punishment, was solicited by the popish clergy to carry the sen- 146 tencc of the church into effect against them, he plead- ed that " he could not and dare not undertake any thing against them ;" and why? "Because," said he, "the majority of the lords, and the greatest part of the com- mon people, have drunk the poison of their infidelity." The count was writing to the abbot of Cisteaux, and therefore he spoke in language which that churchman would understand. In the celebrated conference at Albi, which gave name to the Albigenses, where the leaders of protest- ants were met face to face by their accusers, the bur- den of the lay, which was echoed in full chorus against them, was "heresy" and " infidelity." No insurrec- tion, no act of iniquity, was so much as mentioned in the impeachment. The Albigenses were condemned as heretics, excommunicated, and anathematized ; and all Christian powers, whether civil or ecclesiastical, were exhorted and commanded by the pope to exter- minate a race of people, whose principles, (as the bull of extermination set forth,) were subversive of all re- ligion, natural and revealed, and of every moral tie. When Innocent III. found it was not enough to ex- communicate Raymond of Thoulouse, and to lay his territories under an interdict, he resorted to a measure which bigotry has ever found to be much more effect- ual than preaching of persuasion. He determined to hasten the work of conversion by fire and sword. For this purpose, he first instituted the inquisition, and commissioned the members of that execrable tribunal with full powers, to search out and denounce as infi- dels deserving of death, all such as should dispute the authority of the Roman See. He then enlisted the very worst passions of men in his service ; promised the pardon of sins, the property of the heretics, and the same privileges which had been granted to those who fought against the Saracens in Palestine, to all who would " take the cross against the Albigenses." The prospect of absolution, of booty, of freedom from restraint, and the barbarous superstition of the times, brought hordes of relentless savages upon the 147 devoted Albigenses ; and Simon de Montfort, by gen- eral consent, was put at the head of the crusaders. Chassineuil was one of the first places that fell before the invaders. It capitulated. The garrison was per- mitted to march out, but the inhabitants were left to the sentence of the pope^s legate. He pronounced them to be heretics, and all were committed to the flames. Beziers was attacked next. It relied upon .the strength of its walls and the courage of its defenders ; but the multitude of assailants was such, that " it appeared as if the whole world was encamped before it." The city was taken at the first assault, and some of the crusa- ders, thirsting after heretic blood only, desired the le- gate to take care and have a distinction made between the faithful and the unbelievers. " Kill all," said the pope's representative ; " the Lord will afterwards se- lect those that are his." The sentence of death was iulfilled to the very letter, and all were slain, Of men, women, and children, not one was left alive, and the town was reduced to ashes. The forces of de Montfort marched on in triumph to invest Cai-cassone. Strong intercession was made to the legate in favor of the young viscount, who was shut up with the citizens of Carcassone ; and the terms of mercy offered to him, were, that he might quit the city with twelve others, upon condition of surrender- ing up the rest of the townsmen and soldiers to the pleasure of the besiegers. " Rather than comply with the demand of the legate," replied the heroic youth, •' I would give myself to be flayed alive." The peo- ple of the city afterwards escaped by a secret passage. The legate took possession of Carcassone, " in the name of the church," and in malignant resentment at the thought of so many victims having escaped his fu- ry, burnt or hanged three hundred knights who had previously capitulated, upon the guaranty of his sol- emn oath that they should not be put to death ! Levaur was one of the cities whicli made the most memorable defence. By their frequent sorties, their perseverance in repairing the breaches, and intrepid 13* 148 exposure of life upon the walls, the Albigenses showed upon this and all other occasions, a generous courage, which would have insured success to the cause, if the ranks of their enemies had not been filled up by hosts of new levies, as fast as they were thinned by the cas- ualties of the war. In the year 1212, the army of the crusaders was four times renewed ; and so universally was it understood to be the quarrel of the church, that ecclesiastical dignitaries came from all quarters to give a color to the proceedings. A practicable breach was soon made in the walls, and a monkish historian re- lates that the bishops, the abbot of Courdieu, who ex- ercised the functions of vice-legate, with all the priests, clothed in their sacred vestments, gave themselves up io thanksgiving when they saw the carnage beginning, and sung the hymn, Veni Creator. He mentions, also, that when the castle of Amery fell, eighty knights were taken and condemned to be hanged ; but as this pro- cess was too slow, an order was given to destroy them en masse; that the order "was received by the pil- grims with avidity, and that they burnt the heretics alive, vjith great joy.'^ At length this horrible war ended as it began, by command of the sovereign pontiff, because all open re- sistance to his will was put down, and popish ascend. aucy was finally established in a quarter, where the right of liberty of conscience had hitherto been claim- ed from the first introduction of the gospel. The church had gained her object by the total destruction of all who dared to oppose her. There remained no Albigenses in the south of France, bold enough to preach their doctrines, or administer their forms of worship. Some of the more fortunate had fled to other countries, where they preserved and kept alive the lamp of truth, amidst the surrounding darkness. The extirpation was so complete, that in less than thirty- three years from the beginning of the crusade, the Al- bigenses were no more ; and when protestantism rear- ed its head again in Province and Languedoc, after an interval of three centuries, it was recognized under another name. 149 45. Persecution of the Waldenses. In the darkest period in the history of the Christian church, there have ever been some who have borne their testimony in support of the pure doctrines of Christianity, and raised their voices against the gene, ral corruption of the church. The most distinguished of these reformers were the Waldenses, who made their appearance about the year 1160. They were the most numerous about the val- iies of Piedmont. Peter Waldo, an opulent merchant of Lyons, in France, being extremely zealous for the advancement of true piety and Christian knowledge, caused a trans- lation of the four gospels, and other parts of the Holy Scriptures, to be made into the French language. Pe- rusing these books with deep attention, he perceived that the religion which was taught by the church of Rome, was totally different from that which was taught by Christ and his Apostles. Being animated with zeal for the truths of the gospel, he abandoned his mercan- tile vocation, distributed his riches among the poor, and forming an association with otlier pious men, who had adopted his sentiments, he began in 1180, as a public teacher, to instruct the multitude in the doctrines and precepts of Christianity. The attempts of Peter Waldo and his followers were crowned with great success ; they formed religious as- semblies, first in France, then in Lombardy, from whence they propagated their sect throughout the oth- er provinces of Europe, with great rapidity, and with such invincible fortitude, that neither fire nor sword, nor the most cruel inventions of merciless persecution, could damp their zeal, or entirely ruin their cause. The Roman pontiff" and his ministers often instigated the civil rulers to exterminate or drive the Waldenses from their dominions. For this purpose, troops wore sent against them many times, who plundered and de- stroyed their villages, and murdered many of the inof- fensive inhabitants. 150 The persecution in 1655, 1656, and 1666, was carri- ed on with pecuUar rage and violence, and seemed to threaten nothing less than the total extinction of this unhappy people. They were hunted like wild beasts upon the rocks and mountains, where they fled for safe- ty. The banditti and soldiers of Piedmont massacred all sorts of persons, of every age, sex, and condition ; they were dismembered, and hung up ; females viola- ted, and numerous other horrid atrocities committed. The few Waldenses that survived, were indebted for their existence and support to the intercession made for them by the English and Dutch governments, and also by the Swiss cantons, who solicited the clemency of the duke of Savoy on their behalf.* Milton the poet, who lived at this time, touched with sympathy for the suffering of the Waldenses, penned the following exquisite sonnet : On the late Massacre in Piedmont. Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughter'd saints, whose bones Lie scatter'd oji the Alpine mountains cold ; E'en them who kept thy truth so pure of old. When all our fathers worship'd stocks and stones. Forget not ; in thy book record their groans Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that roll'd Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to lulls, and they To heav'n, their martyr'd blood and ashes sow O'er all th' Italian fields, where still doth sway The tripled tyrant ; that from these may grow A hundred fold, who having learned thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe. 46. Mendicaivts, or Begging Friars. This sort of society began in the thirteenth century, and the members of it, by the tenor of their institution, wejre to remain entirely destitute of all fixed revenues an(f possessions ; though in process of time their num. ber became a heavy tax upon the people. Innocent III. was the first of the popes who perceived the ne- 151 cessity of instituting such an order ; and accordingly he gave such monastic societies as made a profession of poverty, the most distinguishing marks of his pro- tection and favor. They were also encouraged and patronized by the succeeding pontiffs, when experience had demonstrated their public and extensive usefulness. But when it became generally known that they had such a peculiar place in the esteem and pi-otection of the rulers of the church, their number grew to such an enormous and unwieldly multitude, and swarmed so prodigiously in all the European provinces, that they became a burden, not only to the people, but to the church itself. The great inconvenience that arose from the excessive multiplication of the Mendicant or- ders, was remedied by Gregory X., in a general coun- cil, which he assembled at Lyons in 1272 ; for here all the religious orders that had sprung up after the coun- cil held at Rome in 1215, under the pontificate of Inno- cent III. were suppressed ; and the extravagant multi- tude of Mendicants, as Gregory called them, were re- duced to a smaller number, and confined to the four following societies or denominations, viz. the Domini- cans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Augus- tins, or hermits of St. Augustin. As the pontiffs allowed these four Mendicant orders the liberty of traveling whei'ever they thought proper, of conversing with persons of every rank, of instruct- ing the youth and multitude wherever they went ; and as those monks exhibited, in their outward appearance and manner of life, more striking marks of gravity and holiness than were observable in the other monastic societies, they rose all at once to the very summit of fame, and were regarded with the utmost esteem and veneration through all the countries of Europe. The enthusiastic attachment to these sanctimonious beggars went so far, that, as we learn from the most authentic records, several cities were divided or cantoned out into four parts, with a view to these four orders : the first part being assigned to the Dominicans, the second to the Franciscans, the third to the Carmelites, and the 152 fourth to the Augustins. The people were unwilling to receive the sacraments from any other hands than those of the Mendicants, to whose churches they crowded to pei'form their devotions while living, and were extremely desirous there to deposit, also, their remains after death. Nor did the influence and credit of the Mendicants end here ; for we find in the history of this and of the succeeding ages, that they were em- ployed not only in spiritual matters, but also in tempo- ral 'and political affairs of the greatest consequence ; in composing the differences of princes, concluding trea- ties of peace, concerting alliances, presiding in cabinet councils, governing courts, levying taxes, and other oc- cupations, not only remote from, but absolutely incon- sistent with the monastic character and profession. However, the power of the Dominicans and Francis- cans greatly surpassed that of the other two orders, in- somuch that these two orders were, before the refor- mation, what the Jesuits have been since that happy and glorious period ; the very soul of the hierarchy, the engines of the state, the secret springs of all the motions of the one and the other, and the authors and directors of every great and important event, both in the religious and political world. By very quick pro- gression their pride and confidence arrived at such a pitch, that they had the presumption to declare public- ly, that they had a divine impulse and commission to illustrate and maintain the religion of Jesus. They treated with the utmost insolence and contempt all the different orders of the priesthood ; they affirmed, with- out a blush, that the true method of obtaining salvation was revealed to them alone ; proclaimed with ostcnta- lion the superior efficacy and virtue of their indulgen- ces ; and vaunted beyond measure their interest at the court of heaven, and their familiar connections with the Supreme Being, the Virgin Mary, and the saints in glory. By these impious wiles they so deluded and captivated the miserable, and blinded the multitude, that they would not intrust any other but the Mendi- cants with the care of their souls. They retained their 153 credit and influence to such a degree towards the close of the fourteenth century, tliat great numbers of both sexes, some in health, others in a state of infirmity, oth- ers at the point of death, earnestly desired to be ad- mitted into the Mendicant order, which they looked upon as a sure and infallible method of rendering hea- ven propitious. Many made it an essential part of their last wills, that their bodies after death sliould be wrap- ped in old ragged Dominican or Franciscan habits, and interred among the Mendicants. For such was the barbarous superstition and wretched ignorance of this age, that people universally believed they should readi- ly obtain mercy from Christ at the day of judgment, if they appeared before his tribunal associated with the Mendicant friars. About this time, however, they fell under an univer- sal odium ; but being resolutely protected against all opposition, whether open or secret, by the popes, who regarded them as their best friends and most effectual supports, they suffered little or nothing from the efforts of their numerous adversaries. In the fifteenth centu- ry, besides their arrogance, which was excessive, a quarrelsome and litigious spirit prevailed among them, and drew upon them justly the displeasure and indig- nation of many. By affording refuge at this time to the Beguins in their order, they became offensive to the bishops, and were hereby involved in difficulties and perplexities of various kinds. They lost their credit in the sixteenth century by their rustic impu- dence, their ridiculous superstitions, their ignorance, cruelty, and brutish manners. They discovered the most barbarous aversion to the arts and sciences, and expressed a like abhorrence of certain eminent and learned men, who endeavored to open the paths of sci- ence to the pursuits of the studious youth, recommend- ed the culture of the mind, and attacked the barbarism of the age, in their writings and discourses. Their gen- exal character, together with other circumstances, con- curred to render a reformation desirable, and to accom- plish this happy event. 154 Among the number of Mendicants are also ranked the Capuchins, Recollects, Minims, and others, who are branches or derivations from the former. Buchanan tells us, the Mendicants in Scotland, under an appearance of beggary, lived a very luxurious life ; whence one wittily called them, not Mendicant but Manducant friars. — Buck's Theological Dictionary. 47. johx wickliffe, the first english Reformer. This famous man was born in Yorkshire, in 1324. He was professor of divinity at Oxford, for many years. England, at this time, was completely under the papal dominion. The pure gospel of Christ was almost wholly buried beneath the load of errors and deceits, which the corruption, pride, and ignorance of the pope, and Romish clergy, had introduced. The country swarmed with the Mendicant orders ; who, invading the universities, attempted to persuade the students to join their fraternity. This state of things, at length, aroused the indignation of WicklifFe, who had for a long time been much concerned, on its ac- count ; and he commenced writing against the Mendi- cant orders, and even against the tyranny of the pope ; denying his power to be beyond that of any bishop, and asserting that the bread and wine used in the sacra- ment was not turned into the real body and blood of Christ. He declared the gospel to be a sufficient rule of life, without any other ; that if a man was truly pen- itent towards God, it was sufficient, without making a confession to the priests ; that friars (an order in the Romish church, who supported themselves by beg- ging) should labor for their support ; and that Christ never meant his word to be locked up in a learned lan- guage, which the poor could not understand ; but that it was to be read and understood by all classes of men. He therefore translated the whole Bible into the Eng- lish language, and circulated it abroad ; which was .1/1111/ llii voir lli.'ili ///)■ ll'ii/(/rii.f(V ill !/it m//u\' I'f' J'lir/mciit refitsiuff /( iiiilirinr l/ic Ciilliclir I'liilli .fiilTtntl llic irji ,/miply wilii fbpifTt a-reitumies, fed n niartvr of the Jtcthmiiid/m in Sm/zed^md. 167 dom one year after Huss. He was educated at the university of Prague, had traveled into many countries in Europe, and was greatly celebrated for his learning, virtues, and uncommon eloquence. Being of the sentiments of Huss, he was summoned before the council of Constance. It is said, that it was amazing to hear with what force of expression, fluency of speech, and excellent reasoning, he answered his ad- versaries. It was impossible to hear him without emo- tion. Every ear was captivated and every heart touch- ed. But wishes in his favor were in vain ; he threw himself beyond a possibility of mercy. He launched out into an high encomium of Huss, calling him a holy man, and lamenting his cruel and unjust death. He had armed himself, he said, with a full resolution to fol- low the steps of that blessed martyr, and to suffer with constancy whatever the malice of his enemies could in- flict. Firm and intrepid, he stQod before the council, collected in himself; not only contemning, but seem- ing even desirous of death. Two days were allowed him for reflection, and many persons of consequence endeavored to make him recant his opinions ; but all was in vain, and he was condemned as a heretic. With a cheerful countenance he came to the place of execution, pulled off his upper garment, and made a short prayer at the stake ; to which he was soon bound, with wet cords, and an iron chain, and inclosed with faggots as high as his breast. Observing the executioner about setting fire to the wood behind his back, he cried out, " Bring thy torch hither. Perform thy office before my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it." * As the wood began to blaze, he sang a hymn, which the violence of the flame scarce interrupted ; and the last words he was heard to say, were, " This soul in flames I offer, Christ, to thee I" 15 168 52. Martin Luther. Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church, was born at Eisleben, in Saxony, in 1483. Though his parents were poor, they endeavored to give their son an education ; but young Luther, with other poor students, was obUged to earn his bread by singing be- fore the doors of houses. In this occupation he often met- with hard language and bitter reproaches at many doors. One day being much dejected, the worthy wife of a citizen, penetrated with pity for him, called the liungry youth into the house and refreshed him with food. This worthy woman with her husband were so well pleased with young Luther, that they determined to provide him food and clothing, that he might, with- out interruption and care for his support, the more zealously pursue his studies, in which he gave many indications of future worth. As his mind was naturally susceptible of serious impressions, and tinctured with that religious melancholy which delights in the solitude of a monastic life, he retired into a convent of Augus- tinian friars ; where he acquired great reputation, not only for piety, but for love of knowledge and unwearied application to study. Happenmg to find a Bible in the monastery, he ap- plied himself to the study of it with so much eagerness and assiduity as to astonish the monks, and increased his reputation for sanctity so much, that he was chosen professor of theology in the university of Wittemburg. While Luther was thus employed, Tetzel, a Domin- ican friar, came to Wittemburg, in order to publish in- dulgences. Tliis appeared so contrary to the gospel, that Luther published his sentiments respecting them, which spread over German)^ with great rapidity, and were read with the greatest eagerness. Luther having thus begun to oppose one practice of the Romish church, was also led to examine other practices and tenets of the same church ; the result of which entirely convinced him tliat the popish religion was not the religion of the Bible, and he boldly de- 169 clared the pope to be the antichrist, or man of sin, whose appearance is foretold in the New Testament. The court of Rome being alarmed at the progress of Luther's sentiments among all classes of people, ex- communicated him as a heretic, c?nd would probably have put him to death, had he not been befriended by some of the princes of Germany, who were friendly to the new doctrines he set forth. Being at Augsburg in 1518, whither he had been summoned to answer for his o-pinions, Luther declared he could not renounce opinions founded in reason, and derived from Scripture, and at the same time delivering a formal protest, the cardinal asked, " What do you mean ? Do you rely on the force of arms? When the just punishment and the thunder of the pope's indignation break in upon you, where do you think to remain?" His answer was, " ei- ther in heaven or under heaven /" Luther was at length summoned to appear before the diet at Worms, to answer for his heresy. The Emperor Charles V. having granted him a safe con- duct, he yielded obedience and set out for Worms. While on his journey, many of his friends (whom the fate of Huss under similar circumstances, and notwith- standing the same security of an imperial safe conduct, filled with solicitude) advised and entreated him not to rush wantonly into the midst of danger. But Luther, superior to such terrors, silenced them with this re- ply : — " / a7n lawfiillij called,''^ said he, " to appear in • that city : and thither I will go in the name of the Lord, though as many devils as there are tiles on the houses were there comhined against me." When Luther arrived at Worms, greater crowds than had appeared at the emperor's public entry as- sembled to behold him. At his appearance before the diet he behaved with great decency and firmness. When called upon to recant his opinions, Luther re- plied in a truly exalted manner, " Except I can be con- vinced by clear reasoning, or by proofs taken from the Holy Scriptures, I neither can nor will recant, because it is neither safe nor advisable to do any thing which 170 is against my conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God! Amen!" Luther persist- ing in this answer, he was dismissed from the assembly under a strong escort, and was permitted by the empe- ror to return from Worms. . Luther, after this, in 1534, translated the Bible into " the German language, wrote many works, and labored with unwearied zeal in propagating the doctrines of the reformation. He had during his life the pleasure of seeing vast numbers of the people adopting his sen- timents, and the reformed religion firmly established in many parts of Europe. "Luther died February the 18th, A. D. 1546, at Eisleben, where he was born. The Almighty, who had protected him against so many dangers, saved him by a seasonable death from the tempest which was gathering, and ready to break forth against his follow, ers. When he felt his strength declining, he made his last will, which is preserved in its original state at Wittemburg, and concludes as follows : — ' I had my reason to omit in my last will the usual legal formali- ties, and I hope I shall be credited more than a nota- ry ; for I am well known in the world, since God the Father of all mercy has intrusted me, an unworthy sin- ner, with the gospel of his Son, and enabled me to this day to preach it with truth, faithfulness and persever- ance ; and many persons in the world have been con- ■ verted by my ministry, and think me a doctor of truth, nothwithstanding the ban of the pope, the emperor, and •■ the wrath of many kings, princes, parsons, yea, and of all the devils. Why then should I not be credited in a matter so insignificant ; particularly since my hand- writing is well known, and sufficient, if it "can be said, this is written by Dr. Martin Luther, the notary of God and witness of his gospel V " Though he felt great pain during his last illness, his native intrepidity did not forsake him ; he conversed with his friends to the last, about the happiness of the future world, and of meeting again hereafter. When the pain began to increase, and death approach. 171 ed, he called for Justus Jonas, who had accompanied him from Halle to Eisleben ; who heard him repeat three times these words : ' Father, into thy hand I give my spirit' — and say the following prayer : — ' O my hea- venly Father, wh^ art fhe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, thou God of all comfort, I thank thee for having revealed to me thy dear Son Jesus Christ, on whom I believe, whom I have preached and professed, loved and praised, but who is despised and persecuted by the pope and all the wicked. I pray to thee, Lord Jesus Christ, let my soul be recommended to thee. O my heavenly Father, though I must leave this body of clay, and depart this life, I know for certain that I shall remain for ever with thee, and that no one shall pluck me out of thy hand.' When marks of approaching death appeared in his face, Jonas asked him, ' Rever- end father do you die in Christ, and upon the doctrine which you have pi'eached V Having answered with a loud voice, 'Yes!' he fell into a soft sleep, and ex- pired." 53. ZuiKGLIUS, THE SwiSS REFORMER. Ulric Zuinglius was the son of a peasant of the Swiss valley of Tockenburgh, and was born January 1st, 1483. He was destined for the church, and was sent successively to Basil, Bern, and Vienna, where he ac- quired the meagre literature usual in the fifteenth cen- tury. After four years residence at Basil, he was or- dained by the bishop of Constance, on being chosen by the burghers of Glaris as their pastor. From this epoch commenced his religious knowledge. It occur- red to him, still in the darkness of popery, that to be master of the true doctrines of Christianity, he should look for them in the first instance, not in the writings of the doctors, nor in the decrees of councils, but in the Scriptures themselves. With the force of his clear and sincere mind turned to the great subjects of Christianity, he must have been in a constant advance to a more vigorous conviction of 15* 172 the errors of the popish system ; and the time must ar- rive when that conviction would declare itself. But the piety of Zuinglius was the direct reverse of the de- sire of exciting popular passion. The first appeal of the Swiss reformer, was to his •ccle^stical superiors. His addresses to the bishop of Constance, and the car- dinal of Sion, pointed out, for their correction, the er- rors which it was in their power safely to extinguish ; l)ut which could not, without public danger, be left to be extinguished by the people. The period had arrived when profound study, con- tinued interchange of opinion with the leading philoso- phers and divines of his country, and holy convictions, matured during many years, had fitted Zuinglius for the solemn and public commencement of his work of im- mortality. For this perilous efibrt, which required the heroism of the age of the martyrs, the great reformer chose a prominent occasion. The history of the convent of Einsiedlen was a striking compound of the wild legend and fantastic miracle of the dark ages. In the ninth century, a monk of noble family, probably disturbed by some m.emory of the furious excesses of the time, determined to hide himself from human eyes, in the most lonely depths of Switzerland. The spot which he chose was even then called " The Gloomy Forest." Here he built a chapel and a her- mitage, and after a solitude of twenty-six years, closed his career under the daggers of a banditti. A miracle sanctified his death. Two crows, his only associates in the wilderness, flew on the track of the murderers, screaming round them, until, in the market-place of Zurich, the popular suspicion was fixed on the robbers, and the crime was finally confessed and avenged. Once every seven years the consecration of this cha- pel was solemnized with great pomp. The event it- self had been fixed in the papal history, by a bull of Leo VIII. and the details had been preserved for pos- terity in a volume entitled " De Secretis Secretorum." 173 On the festival of this " Consecration of the Angels," Zuinglius ascended the pulpit. The concourse was immense, from the whole range of Switzerland, and every ear was turned to catch the panegyric of the " Mighty Mother" and the " Host of Glory" that had descended to pour the oil of holiness on that selected spot of the world. But a mightier strength, that was to break the power of the idol, was there. With the sincerity and the zeal of a new apostle to the Gentiles, Zuinglius thundered on them. " Bhnd are ye," exclaimed he, " in seeking thus to please the God of earth and heaven. Believe not that the Eternal, He whom the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain, dwells especially here. What- ever region of the world you may inhabit, there he is beside you ; he surrounds you, he grants your prayers, if they deserve to be granted. It is not by useless vows, by long pilgrimagt^s, by offerings to senseless images, that you can obtain the favor of God — that you can resist temptation — repress guilty desires — shun injustice — relieve the unfortunate — or console the afflicted. Those alone are the works that please the Lord. " Alas, alas ! I know our own crime. It is we, the ministers of the altar — we who ought to be the salt of the earth, — who have plunged the ignorant and credu- lous multitude into error. To accumulate treasures for our avarice, we raised vain and worthless practices to the rank of good works, until the people neglect the laws of God, and only think of offering compensation for their crimes instead of renouncing them. What is their language ? — let us indulge our desires — let us en- rich ourselves with the plunder of our neighbor — let us not fear to stain our hands with blood and murder. When all is done, we shall find easy expiation in the favor of the church. " Madmen ! Can they think to obtain remission of their lies, their impurities, their adulteries, their mur- ders, their treacheries, by a litany to the Queen of Heaven ? Is she to be the protectress of all evil- 174 doers ? Be deceived no longer, people of error ! The God of justice disdains to be moved by words which, in the very utterance, the heart disowns. The Eter- nal Sovereign of truth and mercy forgives no man his trespasses who does not forgive the trespasses against himself. You worship the saints. Did those sons of God, at whose feet you who fling yourself, enter into heaven by relying on the merits of others ? No — It was by walking in the path of the law of God, by fullfihng the will of the I\Iost High, by facing death rather than deny their Lord and Savior ! " What is the honor that you ought to pay those saints ? Imitate the holiness of their lives — walk in their footsteps — suffer yourselves to be turned aside by neither seduction nor terrors. " But in the day of trouble put your trust in none but God, who ci'eated the heaven and earth with a word. At the coming of death, invoke no name but that of Christ Jesus, who bought you with his blood, and who is the one and o^'LY Mediator between God and man!" This discourse struck at all the pillars of popery at once. Absolution for money — pilgrimages — the wor- ship of the Virgin — and the intercession of the saints. It was listened to in mingled astonishment, wrath, and admiration. Its effect upon the multitude was to in- flame, in some instances, the jealousy which no pru- dence of the pastor could have stifled ; of the monks, some were indignant, yet many heard in it only the doctrines that had been the subject of long meditation among themselves. In some instances, the conviction was immediate and complete, and pilgrims who had brought offerings to the shrine now refused to join in what they had learned to be an act of impiety, and took their offerings home. The great majority were awakened to a sense of their condition, and, from that hour, were prepared to abjure the crimes and supersti- tions of Rome. But, like the light that fell on St. Paul in his jour- ney, the fullest illumination descended on the preacher himself. 175 Others heard and acknowledged the voice of Hea- ven ; but it was to the preacher that the words of God came with living power. From that day forth, he was no longer the same man. His energy, intrepidity, and defiance of the common obstacles of Christianity, in the popular prejudices and the tyranny of the pope- dom, raised him to the highest rank of the champions of the gospel. The mind of this great man, deeply imbued with Scriptural knowledge by his ten years residence in his pastorship of Glaris, and further matured by his three years enjoyment of the literature of the intelligent members of Einsiedlen, was now prepared for the stern- er duties of a leader of the reformation. Through the advice of Myconius, a Greek professor in the school of Zurich, whom he had known in the convent, Zuinglius was chosen preacher in the cathedral of Zurich, Dec. 4th, 1518. The tenets of Luther, which were now spreading abroad in Germany, encouraged Zuinglius to oppose the sale of indulgences in Zurich, where he was se- conded by the public authorities and the people. In 1527, some districts of Bern, the most powerful of the cantons, petitioned its senate for the introduction of the system established at Zurich, and for the suppression of the mass. The senate was divided, but the propo- sal was finally referred to a council of the clergy of Bern and the other states of the league. Some of the cantons objected to the meeting, but it was at length held, and attended by names still memorable in the history of protestantism : — QScolampadius, Pellican, Collinus, Bullinger, Capito, and Bucer. On Zuinglius' arrival, the sittings commenced. The protestant doc- trines were proposed in the shape of ten theses, and they were so powerfully sustained by the learning and talent of the reformers, that, after eighteen debates, the great majority of the Bernese clergy signed their ad- herence to them, as the true doctrines of the gospel. The " Grand Council" of Bern then proceeded to act upon the decision. It declared the bishops of Lau- 176 sannc, Basil, Sion, and Constance, to be divested of all rights in its territory ; ordered the priests to teach nothing contradictory to the theses, ])ermitted priests to marry, and monks and nuns to leave their convents, and appropriated the religious revenues to lawful pur- poses. Within four months, protestantism was the re- ligion of the whole canton ; but this triumph was final- ly purchased by the death of the great leader and light of Switzerland. The accession of so powerful a state ,as Bern threw the Catholic cantons into general alarm. A league, prohibiting the preaching of the reformation, was made between the five cantons of Lucerne, Uri, Schweitz, Underwalden, and Zug. Protestant minis- ters were persecuted, and in some instances put to death, and all alliances were formed with the German princes, hostile to protestantism. Their persecutions awakened the resentment and fears of the refoi'med cantons, and to enforce the treaty by which they were to be protected, the cantons of Zurich and Bern deter- mined to blockade the five cantons. The blockade was contrary to the advice of Zuinglius, who depre- cated it as involving the innocent with the guilty. At length the five cantons collected their troops, and ad- vanced towards Cappel, a point where they might pre- vent the junction of the Zurichers and Bernese. Zu- rich was thrown into consternation ; and when four thousand men were ordered to march, seven hundred only were equii)ped in a state to meet the enemy. News came that the division already posted at Cappel Mas attacked by a superior force. The officer in com- mai'id of the Zurichers instantly marched to sustain the post. It was tlie custom of the Swiss, that their cler- gy should follow their troops to the fields to administer the last consolations to the dying. Zuuiglius attended this detachment, but with a full consciousness of the hazard. " Our cause is good," said he to the friends who crowded Jinxiously round him, as the troops marched out ; " but it is ill defended. It will cost my life, and that of a number of excellent men who would wish to restore religion to its primitive simplicity. No 177 matter ; God will not abandon his servants ; he will come to their assistance when you think all lost. My confidence rests on him alone, and not upon men. I submit myself to his will." Cappel is three leagues from Ziiricli. On the road the roaring of the cannon, attacking the position of the Zurichers, was heard. The march of the troops was slow, from the height of Mount Albis and the weight of their armor. Zuinglius, agitated for the fate of the post, urged the officers to push forward at speed. " Hasten," he cried, " or we shall be too late. As for me, I will go and join my brethren. I will help to save them, or we will die together." The little army, ani- mated by his exhortation, rushed forward, and at three in the afternoon came in sight of the battle. The troops of the five cantons were eight thousand ; an overwhelming superiority. After some discharges of cannon, they advanced to surround the Zurichers, who amounted to but fifteen hundred. The enemy were boldly repulsed for a wi.ilti, but their numbers enabled them to out-flank the p; otestants, and all was flight or slaughter. Zuinglius fell by almost the first fire. He had ad- vanced in front of his -ountrymen, and was exhorting them to fight for the cause of freedom and holiness, when a ball struck hinu He sunk on the ground m.or- tally wounded, and in tlie charge of the enemy was trampled over without being distinguished. When the tumult of the battle was passed, his senses returned, and raising himself from the ground, he crossed his arms upon his breast, and remained with his eyes fixed on heaven. Some of the enemy, v/ho had lingered be- hind, came up and asked whether he would have a con- fessor. His speech was gone, but he shook his head in refusal. They then exhorted him to commend his soul to the Virgin. Ho refused again. They were enraged by his repeated determination. " Die, then, obstinate heretic !" exclaimed one of them, and drove his sword through his bosom. 178 His body was recognized by the Catholics the next day, who held a mock trial over it, burned it, and scat- tered the ashes to the winds. He fell at the age of forty-seven ; but he had gone through his course well ; for he had sowed the seeds of virtue in a land barren before ; he had let in light on a land of darkness, and his immortal legacy to his country was, strength, wis- dom, freedom and religion ! 54. Jesuits. Jesuits, or the Society of Jesus, are a religions or- der of the Remisli church, founded in the sixteenth century, by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight. The plan which this fanatic formed of its constitution and laws, was suggested, as he gave out, by the immediate inspiration of heaven. Loyola proposed, that besides the three vows of poverty, chastity, and of monastic obedience, (which are common to all orders of regulars,) the members of this society should take a fourth vow of obedience to the pope, binding themselves to go whithersoever he should command them, and without requiring aid from the holy see for their support. At this time the papal authority received such a shock from the progress of the Reformation, and the revolt of nations from the Romish church, that the acquisi- tion of a body of men thus devoted to that church, was of much consequence. Pope Paul therefore confirmed the institution of the Jesuits by his bull, and granted the most ample privileges to the members of the order. The order of the Jesuits are peculiar in the opera- tions. The primary object of almost all their monastic orders is to separate men from the world, and from any concern in its affairs. They can be of no benefit to mankind but by their example and prayers. On the contrary, the Jesuits consider themselves as formed for action. They are required to attend to all the trans- actions of the world, on account of the influence which these may have upon religion ; they are directed to 179 study the disposition of persons in high rank, and to cultivate their friendship, and, by the very constitution and genius of their order, a spirit of action and intrigue is infused into all its members. From their first institution, the Jesuits considered the education of youth as their peculiar province ; tliey aimed at being spiritual guides and confessors ; they preached frequently, in order to instruct the people ; they set out as missionaries to convert unbelieving na- tions. Before the close of the sixteenth century, they had obtained the chief direction of the education of youth in every Catholic country in Europe. They had be- come the confessors of all its monarchs, a function of no small importance. They were the spiritual guides of almost every person eminent for rank or power ; possessed the highest degree of confidence and interest with the papal court ; and, at different periods, the di- rection of the most considerable courts in Europe ; they mingled in all affairs, and took part in every intrigue and revolution. Under the pretext of promoting the success of their missions, and of supporting their mis- sionaries, they engaged in an extensive and lucrative commerce, both in the East and West Indies ; and had their ware-houses in different parts of Europe. Not satisfied with trade alone, they imitated the example of other commercial societies, and aimed at obtaining set- tlements. They acquired possession of the large and fertile province of Paraguay, which then stretched across South America, from the bottom of the mountains of Potosi to the confines of the Spanish and Portuguese settlements, on the banks of the river De la Plata. In this country, it must be confessed, that the Jesuits were of some service ; they found the inhabitants in a savage state, subsisting by hunting and fishing ; and hardly acquainted with the first principles of subordi- nation and government. The Jesuits set themselves to instruct and civilize these savages ; they taught them to cultivate the groimd, build houses, and brougliX 16 180 them to live together in villages, &c. They trained them to arts and manufactures, and such was their power over them, that a few Jesuits presided over some hundred thousand Indians. But at length the power and influence of the Jesuits became so formidable, that the nations of Europe found it expedient to check their progress. They were ex- pelled from England in 1604 ; Venice, in 1606 ; Portu- gal, in 1759; France, in 1764; Spain and Sicily, in 1767 ; and finally were suppressed by Pope Clement XIV. in 1773. In 1814, however, the pope issued a bull for re-es- tablishinsjj the order of the Jesuits. 55. PERSECUTIO^"s IN China and Japan. At the commencement of the sixteenth century, three Italian missionaries, namely, Roger, the Neapolitan, Pasis, of Bologna, and Matthew Ricci, of Mazerata, en- tered China with a view of establishing Christianity there. In order to succeed in this important commis- sion, they had previously made the Chinese language their constant study. The zeal displayed by these missionaries in the dis- charge of their duty was very great ; but Roger and Pasis in a few years returning to Eui'ope, the whole la- bor devolved upon Ricci. The perseverance of Ricci was proportioned to the arduous task he had underta- 'ken. Though disposed to indulge his converts as far as possible, he disliked many of their ceremonies, which seemed idolatrous. At length, after eighteen years la- bor and reflection, he thought it most advisable to tole- rate all those customs which were ordained by the laws of the empire, but stiictly enjoined his converts to omit the rest ; and thus, by not resisting too much the ex- ternal ceremonies of tlie country, he succeeded in bringing over many to the truth. In 1630, however, this tranquility was disturbed by the arrival of some new missionaries ; who being unacquainted with the Chinese customs, manners, and language, and with the 181 t principles of Ricci's toleration, were astonished when they saw Christian converts fall prostrate before Con- fucius, and the tables of their ancestors, and loudly censured the proceedings as idolatrous. This occasion- ed a warm controversy ; and not coming to any agree- ment, the new missionaries wrote an account of the af- fair to the pope, and the Society for the propagation of the Christian faith. The Society soon pronounced, that the ceremonies were idolatrous and intolerable, which sentence was confirmed by the pope. In this ihej were excusable, the matter having been misrepre- sented to them ; for the enemies of Ricci had declared the halls, in which the ceremonies were performed to be temples, and the ceremonies themselves the sacri- fices to idols. The sentence was sent over to China, where it was received with great contempt, and matters remained in the same state for some time. At length, a true repre- sentation was sent over, explaining that the Chinese customs and ceremonies alluded to, were entirely free from idolatry, but merely political, and tending only to the peace and welfa:.'e of the empire. The pope, find- ing that he had not weighed the affair with due consid- eration, sought to extricate himself from the difficulty in which he had been so precipitately entangled, and therefore referred the representation to the inquisition, which reversed the sentence immediately. The Christian church, notwithstanding these divi- sions, flourished in China till the death of the first Tar- tar emperor, whose successor, Cang-hi, was a minor. During his minority, the regents and nobles conspired to crush the Christian religion. The execution of this design was accordingly begun with expedition, and car- ried on with severity, so that every Christian teacher in China, as well as those who professed the faith, was surprised at the suddenness of the event. John Adam Schall, a German ecclesiastic, and one of the princi- pals of the mission, was thrown into a dungeon, and narrowly escaped with his life, being then in the sev- enty.fourth year of his age. 182 In 1665, the ensuing year, the ministers of state pub- lished the following decree : — 1st. That the Christian doctrines were false. 2d. That they were dangerous to the interests of the empire. 3d. That they should not be preached under pain of death. The result of this was a most furious persecution, in which some were put to death, many ruined, and all in some meas- ure oppressed. Previous to this, the Christians had suffered partially ; but the decree being general, the persecution now spread its ravages over the whole em- pire, wherever its objects were scattered. Four years after, the young emperor was declared of age ; and one of the first acts of his reign was to stop this persecution. The first introduction of Christianity into the empire of Japan took place in 1552, when some Portuguese missionaries commenced their endeavors to make con- verts to the light of the gospel, and met with such suc- cess as amply compensated their labors. They con- tinued to augment the number of their converts till 1616, when being accused of having formed a plan to subvert the government and dethrone the emperor, great jealousies arose, and subsisted till 1622, when the court commenced a dreadful persecution against both foreign and native Christians. Such was the rage of this persecution, that during the first four years, 20,570 Christians were massacred. Death was the conse- quence of a public avowal of their faith, and their churches were shut up by order of government. Ma- ny, on a discovery of their religion, by spies and in- formers, suffered martyrdom, with great heroism. The persecution continued many years, when the remnant of the innumerable Christians, with which Japan abounded, to the number of 37,000 souls, retired to the town and castle of Siniabara, in the island of Xinio, where they determined to make a stand, to continue in their faith, and to defend themselves to the very last extremity. To this place, the Japanese army followed them, and laid siege to the place. The Christians de- fended themselves with great bravery, and held out 183 against the besiegers three months, but were at length compelled to surrender, when men, women, and chil- dren, were indiscriminately murdered ; and Christianity from that time ceased in Japan. This event took place on the 12th of April, 1638, since which time, no Christians but the Dutch, have been allowed to land in the empire, and even they are obliged to conduct themselves with the greatest pre- caution, to submit to the most rigorous treatment, and to carry on their commerce with the utmost circum- spection. 56. Attempt of the J^IAH0META^"s to subdue Europe. Constantinople, after having been for many ages an miperial Christian city, was invested, in 1453, by the Turks, under Mahomet II.'*' whose army consisted of 300,000 men, and, after a siege of six weeks, it fell into the hands of the infidels ; and the Turks have, to this day, retained possession of it.f They no sooner found themselves masters of it, than they began to exercise on the inhabitants the most unremitting barbarities, destroying them by every method of ingenious cruel- * He was the ninth of the Ottoman race, and subdued all Greece. t About fifteen years before this fatal event took place, the city had yielded the liberties of its church to the pope of Rome. A man- ifest want of patriotism was evidenced in the inhabitants, who, instead of bringing forth their treasures to the publip service and defence of the place, buried them in vast heaps ; insomuch, that when Mahomet, suspecting the case, commanded the earth to be dug up, and found immense hoards, he exclauned, " How was it that this place lacked ammunition and fortification, amidst sucli abundance of riches ?" The Turks found a crucifix in tlie great church of St. Sophia, on the head of which they wrote, " This is the God of the Christians," and then carried it with a trumpet around the city, and exposed it to the contempt of the soldiers, who were commanded to spit upon it. Thus did the superstition of Rome afford a triumph to the enemies of the cross. 16* 184 ty. Some they roasted alive on spits, others they starved, some they flayed alive, and left them in that horrid manner to perish ; many vv^ere sawn asunder, and others torn to pieces by horses. Three days and nights was the city given to spoil, in which time the soldiers were licensed to commit every enormity. The 4}ody of the emperor being found among the slain, Ma- hornet commanded his head to be stuck on a spear, and carried round the town for the mockery of the sol- diers. About the year 1521, Solyman II. took Belgrade from the Christians. Two years after, he, with a fleet of 450 ships, and an army of 300,000 men, attacked Rhodes, then defended by the knights of Jerusalem. These heroes resisted the infidels till all their fortifica- tions were levelled with the ground, their provisions exhausted, and their ammunition spent ; when, finding no succors from the Christian princes, they surrender- ed, the siege having lasted about six months, in which the Turks suffered prodigiously, no' less than 30,000 of them having died of the bloody flux. After this, Soly- man retook Budafrom the Christians, and treated those vvl;o were found there with great cruelty. Mad with conquest, Solyman now proceeded west- ward to Vienna, glutting himself with slaughter on his march, and vainly hoping, in a short time, to lay all Europe at his feet, and to banish Christianity from the earth. Having pitched his tent before the walls of Vienna, he sent three Christian prisoners into the town, to ter- ify the citizens with an account of the strength of his army, while a great many more, whom he had taken in his march, were torn asunder by horses. Happily for the Germans, three days only before the arrival of the Turks, the earl palatine, Frederic, to whom was assigned the defence of Vienna, had entered the town with 14,000 chosen veterans, besides a body of horse. Solyman sent a summons for the city to surrender ; but the Germans defying him, he instantly commenced the siege. It has before been observed, that the religion 185 of Mahomet promises to all soldiers who die ia battle, whatever be their crimes, admission into paradise. Hence arises that fury and temerity which they usually display in fighting. They began with a most tremen- dous cannonade, and made many attempts to take the city by assault. ^ But the steady valor of the Germans was superior to the enthusiasm of their enemies. So- lyman, fdled with indignation at this unusual check to his fortune, determined to exert every power to carry his project. To this end he planted his ordnance be- fore the king's gate, and battered it with such violence, that a breach was soon made ; whereupon the Turks, under cover of the smoke, poured in torrents into the city, and the soldiers began to give up all for lost. But the officers, with admirable presence of mind, causing a great shouting to be made in the city, as if fresh troops had just arrived, their own soldiers were in- spired with fresh courage, while the Turks, being sei- zed with a panic, fled precipitately, and overthrew each other ; by which means the city was freed from de- struction. Grown more desperate by resistance, Solyman re- solved upon another attempt, and this was by under- mining the Corinthian gate. Accordingly he set his II- lyrians at work, who were expert at this kind of war- fare. They succeeded in coming under ground to the foundations of the tower ; but being discovered by the wary citizens, they, with amazing activity and dili- gence, countermined them ; and having prepared a train of gunpowder even to the trenches of the enemy, they set fire to it, and by that means rendered abortive their attempts, and blew up about 8000 of them. Foiled in every attempt, the courage of the Turkish chief degen- erated into madness ; he ordered his men to scale the walls, in which attempt they were destroyed by thou- sands, their very numbers serving to their own defeat ; till, at length, the valor of his troops relaxed, and dread- ing the hardihood of their European adversaries, they began to refuse obedience. Sickness also seized their camp, and numbers perished from famine ; for the 186 Germans, by their vigilance, had found means to cut off their supplies. Frustrated in all his designs, Soly- man, after having lost above 80,000 i^ien, resolved to abandon his enterprise ; and sending his baggage be- fore him, proceeded homewards with the utmost expe- dition, — thus freeing Europe from the impending terror of universal Mahometanism. * 57. DocTKirvE OF Romish I^'dulgeivces. This doctrine of the Romish church proceeded upon the idea, that all the good works of the saints, over and above those which were necessary towards their own justification, are deposited, together with the infinite merits of Christ, in one inexhaustible treasury ; the keys of which were committed to St. Peter, and his sue- cessors, the popes, who may open it at pleasure ; and by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any person, for a sum of money, may convey to him a pardon of all his sins, past, present, and future ; or a release of any of his friends from purgatory, who might be suffering its pains. Pope Leo X. in order to carry on the magnificent structure of St. Peter's, at Rome, published indulgen- ces, and a plenary remission to all who should contri- bute money for this object. They were, in some parts, farmed out to the highest bidders ; who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the most able preachers to cry up the value of their ware. The form of indul- gences is as follows : — " May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first, from all ecclesiasti- cal censures, in v/hatever manner they have been in- curred ; then, from all thy sins, transgressions, and ex- cesses, how enormous soever they may be, even from such as are reserved from the cognizance of the holy See, and as far as the keys of the holy church extend. 187 I remit to you all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account ; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism ; so that when you die, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the para- dise of delight shall be opened ; and if you die not at present, this grace shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death : in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." The prices of them were various, according to the character, ability, and crimes of the purchasers. For instance, if a man take a false oath, to be pardoned he must pay nine shillings ; for robbing, twelve shillings ; for murdering a layman, seven shillings and six-pence ; for laying violent hands on a clergyman, ten shillings and six-pence, &c. &c. In 1517, the sale of these indulgences was entrusted to one John Tetzel, who boasted that " he had saved more souls from hell, by his indulgences, than St. Pe- ter had converted to Christianity, by his preaching." He could assure a child, who might fear his father was unhappy in another world, " that the moment the mo- ney tinkled in the chest, his father's soul would mount up from purgatory !" A certain nobleman, thinking there was some impo- sition in the case, put this question to him, '• Can you grant absolution for a sin, which a man shall intend to commit in future ?" — " Yes," replied he, " provided the proper sum of money be paid down." — This being done, he received from Tetzel a certificate, absolving him from the crime he intended to commit ; which he did not divulge at that time. Not long after this, Tetzel left the place, with his chest of money. This nobleman concealed himself on the road, and when Tetzel appeared, he rushed forth, attacked, robbed, and beat him soundly with a stick, and sent him back with an empty chest ; at the same time producing the very certificate to him, which he had a short tim.e previous given him, and told him he 188 had done only what he intended to, v/hen he purchased it, and presumed he was, by virtue of that, free from the crime. Since the reformation, the popes have been more sparing in the exercise of their power ; though mdul- gences are still sold in India, for two rials apiece. A gentleman, not long since, being in Naples, to ascer- tain fully the fact respecting them, attended the sale ; and, for two sequins, purchased a plenary remission of all his own sins, and for any two of his friends, whose names he was empowered to insert ! 58. EjN'GLisH Martyrs. Queen Mary ascended the throne of England in 1.553. She was strongly bigoted to the popish reli- gion, and during her reign, (which was of about five years continuance,) she carried on a most bloody per- secution against the protestants. It was computed that, during this persecution, two hundred and seventy- seven persons were burnt, besides those punished by imprisonment, fines and confiscations. Among those who suffered by fire, were five bishops, twenty-one clergymen, eight lay gentlemen, eighty-four tradesmen, one hundred husbandmen, fifty-five v/omen, and four children. . Rogers, prebendary of St. Paul's, and Hooper, bish- op of Gloucester, were the first martyrs. Saunders and Taj'lor, two otlier clergymen, whose zeal had been distinguished in carrying on the reformation, were the next that suffered. " Bonner, bishop of London, bloat- ed at once with rage and luxury, let loose his ven- geance without restraint, and seemed to take a pleasure ih the pains of the unhappy sufferers ; while the queen, by her letters, exhorted him to pursue the pious work without pity or interruption. Soon after, in obedience to her commands, Ridley, bishop of London, and the venerable Latimer, bishop of Worcester, were con- demned together. Ridley had been one of the ablest champions for the reformation ; his piety, learn- 189 mg, and solidity of judgment, were admired by his friends, and dreaded by his enemies. The night be- fore his execution, he invited the mayor of Oxford and his wife to see him ; and when he beheld them melted into tears, he himself appeared quite unmoved, inward, ly siipported and comforted in that hour of agony. When he was brought to the stake to be burnt, he found his old friend Latimer there before him. Of all the prelates of that age, Latimer was the most remark- able for his unaffected piety, and the simplicity of his manners. He had never learned to flatter in courts ; and his open rebuke was dreaded by all the great, who at that time too much deserved it. His sermons, which remain to this day, show that he had much learning and much wit ; and there is an air of sincerity running through them, not to be found elsewhere. V/hen Rid- ley began to comfort his ancient friend, Latimer on his part was as ready to retui'n his kind ofhce. "Be of good cheer, brother," cried he, " we shall this day kin- dle such a torch in England, as, I trust in God, shall never be extinguished." A furious bigot ascended to preach to them and the people, while the fire was pre- paring ; and Ridley gave a most serious attention to his discourse. No way distracted by the preparations about him, he heard him to the last ; and then told him, that he was ready ,to answer to all that he had preach- i upon, if he were permitted a short indulgence, but . (lis was ref jsed him. At length, fire being set to the pile, Latimer was soon out of pain ; but Ridley con- tinued to suffer much longer, his legs being consumed before the fire reached his vitals. Cranmer, archbish- )[) of Canterbury, had less courage at first. His love r life, in an unguarded moment, induced him to sign ' paper condemning the reformation. Of this act, he .:terwards bitterly repented. Being led to the- stake, \\d the fire beginning to be^ kindled round hnn, he .retched forth his right hand and held it in the flames li it was consumed ; exclaiming several times, "This and has offended ! This wicked hand has offended !" Vhen it dropped off, he discovered a serenity in his 190 countenance, as if satisfied with sacrificing to divine justice the instrument of his crime. " AVhen the fire attacked his body, he seemed to be insensible of his tortures ; his mind was occupied wholly upon the hopes of a future reward. After his body was destroyed, liis heart was found entire ; an emblem of the constancy with which he suffered."* 59. Sufferings and Martyrdom of Anne Askew. Anne Askew was the second daughter of Sir Wm. Askew, of Kelsey, in Lincolnshire. She had received a genteel education, which, with an agreeable person and good understanding, rendered her a very proper person to be at the head of a family. Her father, re- gardless of his daughter's inclination and happiness, obliged her to marry a gentleman, who had nothing to recommend him but his fortune ; and who was a most bigoted papist. No sooner was he convinced of his wile's regard for the doctrines of the reformation from popery, than, by the instigation of the priests, he vio- icntly drove her from his house, though she had borne him two children, and her conduct was unexceptiona- ble. Abandoned by her husband, she came up to Lon- don in order to procure a divorce and to make herself known to that part of the court who cither professed or were favorers of protestanism ; but as Henry VIII. with consent of parliament, had just enacted the law of the six articles, commonly called the Bloody Statute, she was cruelly betrayed by her own husband, taken into custody upon his information, and examined con- cerning her faith. The act above mentioned denoun- ced death against all those who should deny the doc- trine of transubstantiation, or that bread and wine made use of in the sacrament, were not converted, af- ter consecration, into , the real body and blood of Christ ; or maintain the necessity of receiving the sa- * Goldsmith's History of England. Arehhishfij' nt' ('/tiilfrliii v. wlw .iiiffriYil ihiriru/ ihi- hlrnilv /irr.'fmiiim in Kiiqlniul juiilrr On mi Mi/rv /;/ J/i?'?. oil St.Bartlioh^ii'W.i ihiy niiinv thni.f/iti i/x rt' />f4f,,t,ititii ni f'raiw Wfrf muriUri-il iii tirrruni m' Ihnr Tflitfiifn . 191 crament in both kinds ; or affirm that it was lawful ibr priests to marry ; that the vows of celibacy might be broken ; that private masses were of no avail ; and that auricular confession to a priest was not necessary to salvation. Upon these articles she was examined by the inquisitor, a priest, the lord mayor of London, and the bishop's chancellor, and to all their queries gave proper and pertinent answers ; but not being such as they approved, she was sent back to prison, where she remained eleven days, to ruminate alone on her alarm- ing situation, being even denied the small consolation of a friendly visit. The king's counsel being at Green- wich, she was once more examined by Chancellor Wriothesley, Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, Dr. Cox, and Dr. Robinson, but, not being able to convince her of her supposed errors, she was sent to the tower. It was strongly suspected that Mrs. Askew was favored by some ladies of high rank, and that she carried on a religious correspondence with the queen ; so that Chancellor Wriothesley, hoping that he might discov- er something that would afford matter of impeachment against that princess, the earl of Hertford, or his count- ess, who all favored the reformation, ordered her td be put to the rack ; but her fortitude in suffering, and her resolution not to betray her friends, were proot" against that diabolical invention. Not a groan nor a word could be extorted from her. The chancellor, provoked with what he called her obstinacy, augment- ed her tortures with his own hands, and with unheard of violence ; but her courage and constancy w'ere in- vincible, and these barbarians gained nothing by their cruelties, but everlasting disgrace and infamy. As soon as she was taken from the rack, she fainted away ; but, being recovered, she was condemned to the flames. Her bones were dislocated in such a manner, that they were forced to carry her in a chair to the place of ex- ecution. While she was at the stake, letters were brought her from the lord chancellor, offering her the- king's pardon, if she would recant ; but she refused to look at them, telling the messenger, " that she came 17 192 not thither to deny her Lord and Master." The samie' letters were also tendered to three other persons con- demned to the same fate, and who, animated by her ex- ample, refused to accept them ; whereupon the lord mayor commanded the fire to be kindled, and with savage ignorance cried out, " Fiat Justitia,^^ — Let jus- tice take its course. The faggots being lighted, she commended her soul, with the utmost composure, into the hands of her Maker, and, like the great Founder of the religion she professed, expired, praying for her murderers, July 16th, 1549, about the twenty-fifth year of her age. " I do not know," observes a good English writer, " if all circumstances be considered, whether the histo- ry of this or any other nation can furnish a more illus- trious example than this now related. To her father's will she sacrificed her own inclinations ; to a husband unworthy her affections she behaved with prudence, respect, and obedience ; the secrets of her friends she preserved inviolable, even amidst the tortures of the rack. Her constancy in suffering, considering her age and sex, was equal, at least, if not superior, to any (thing on record, and her piety was genuine and unaf- fected, of which she gave the most exalted proof, in dying a martyr for the cause of her religion and liberty of conscience. But who can read this example, and not lament and detest that spirit of cruelty and inhu- manity which are imbibed and cherished in the church of Rome ? a spirit repugnant to the feelings of nature, and directly opposite to the conduct and disposition of the great Author of our religion, who came not to de- stroy men's lives, but to save them." GO. Massacre of St. Bartholomew's. In the month of August, 1572, in the reign of Charles IX. of France, 30,000, or, as some affirm, 100,000 pro- testants were massacred in France by the Catholics. This bloody massacre commenced in Paris, on the 24th of August, on St. Bartholomew's day. 193 In order the sooner to effect their purposes by cut- ting off the leaders of the protestants, many of the prin. cipal ones in the kingdom were invited to Paris under a solemn oath of safety, upon occasion of the marriage of the king of Navarre with the French king's sister. The queen dowager of Navarre, a zealous protestant, however, was poisoned by a pair of gloves before the marriage was solemnized. Upon a given signal, the work of death began. Charles, the savage monarch, from the windows of his palace, encouraged the furious populace to massacre his protestant subjects, by crying out, "kill! kill!" Cologni, admiral of France, was basely murdered in his own house, and then thrown out of the window, to gratify the malice of the duke of Guise ; his head was afterwards cut off, and sent to the king and queen mo- ther ; and his body, after many indignities offered to it, hung on a gibbet. After this, the murderers ravaged the whole city of Paris, and butchered in three days above ten thousand lords, gentlemen, presidents, and people of all ranks. " A horrible scene of things !" says a historian of the time ; " the very streets and pas- sages resounded with the noise of those who met to- gether for mhrder and plunder ; the groans of those who were dying, the shrieks of those who were just going to be butchered, were every where heard ; the bodies of the slain were thrown out of the windows, the dead bodies of others Avere dragged through the streets ; their blood running through the channels, in such plenty, that torrents seemed to empty themselves into the neighboring river ; in a word, an innumerable number of men, women, and children, were all in- volved in one common destruction, and the gates and entrances of the king's palace, all besmeared with their blood." From the city of Paris, the massacre spread through- out the whole kingdom. In the city of Meaux, they threw above two hundred into gaol ; and after they had ravished and killed a great number of women, and plun- dered the houses of the protestants, they exercised their 194 fury on those they had imprisoned, and calling them one by one, they were killed like sheep in a market. In Orleans, they murdered above five hundred men, women and children, and enriched themselves with the spoil. The same cruelties were practised at Angus, Troyes, Bouges, La Charite, and especially at Lyons, where they inhumanly destroyed above eight hundred protestants ; children hanging on tJieir parents' necks ; parents embracing their children ; putting ropes about the necks of some, dragging them through the streets, and throwing them, mangled, torn, and half dead, into the river. But what aggravates still more these scenes of wan- tonness and cruelty, was the manner in which the news was received at Rome. When the letters of the pope's legate were read in the assembly of the cardi- nals, by which he assured the pope that all was trans- acted by the express will and command of the king, it was immediately decreed that the pope should march with his cardinals to the church of St. Mark, and in the most solemn manner, give thanks to God for so great a blessing conferred on the see of Rome, and the Chris- tian world ; and on the Monday after, solemn mass should be celebrated in the church of Minerva, at which Pope Gregory XIIL and his cardinals were present ; and that a jubilee should be published throughout the whole Christian world, and the cause of it declared to be, to return thanks to God for the extirpation of the enemies of the truth and church in France. In the evening the cannon of St. Angelo were fired to testify the public joy ; the whole city illuminated with bonfires ; and no one sign of rejoicing omitted that was usually made fur the greatest victories obtained in favor of the Roman church ! ! ! Gl. Auto de Fe, or Act of Faith. " Act of Faith (Auto de Fe) in tlie Romish church, is a solemn day held by the inquisition for the punish- ment of heretics and the absolution of the innocent ac- 195 cused. They usually contrive the auto to fall on some great festival, that the execution may pass with the moi'e awe, and it is alwa5's on a Sunday. The auto de fe may be called the last act of the inquisitorial trage- dy ; it is a kind of gaol-delivery, appointed as often as a competent number of prisoners in the inquisition are convicted of heresy, either by their own voluntary or extorted confession, or on the evidence of certain wit- nesses. The process is this : — In the morning they are brought into the great hall, where they have a peculiar habit put on, which they are to wear in the procession, and by which they know their doom. The procession is led up by the Dominican friars, after which come the penitents, being all in black coats without sleeves, and barefooted, with a wax candle in their hands. These are followed by the penitents who have narrowly es- caped being burnt, who over their black coats have flames painted, with their points turned downwards. Next come the negative or relapsed, who are to be burnt, having flames painted on their habits pointing upwards. After these, come such as profess doctrines contrary to the faith of Rome, who, besides having flames painted upwards, have their picture painted on their breasts, with dogs, serpents, and devils, all open- mouthed, about it. Each prisoner is attended with a familiar of the inquisition ; and those to be burnt, have also a Jesuit on each hand, who is continually exhort- ing to them to abjure. After the prisoners, comes a troop of familiars on horseback ; and after them the in- quisitors, and other officers of the court, on mules : last o|" all, the inquisitor general, on a white horse, led by two men. A scaffold is erected large enough for two or three thousand people ; at one end of which are the prison- ers, at the other the inquisitors. After a sermon made up of encomiums of the inquisition, and invectives against heretics, a priest ascends a desk near the scaf- fold, and, having taken the abjuration of the penitents, recites the final sentence of those who are to be put to death, and delivers them to the secular arm, earnestly 17* 196 beseeching at the same time, the secular power 7iot to touch their blood, or put their lives in danger ! ! ! The prisoners, being thus in the hands of the civil magis- trate, are presently loaded with chains, and carried first to the secular gaol, and from thence, in an hour or two, brought before the civil judge ; who, after asking in what religion they intend to die, pronounces sen- tence on such as declare they die in the communion of the church of Rome, that they shall first be strangled, and then burnt to ashes ; or such as die in any other faith, that they be burnt alive. Both are immediately carried to the Ribera, the place of execution, where there are as many stakes set up as there are prisoners to be bui'nt, with a quantity of dry furze about them. The stakes of the professed, that is, such as persist in their heresy, are about four yards high, having a small board towards the top for the prisoner to be seated on. The negative or relapsed being first strangled and burnt, the professed mount their stakes by a ladder, and the Jesuits, after several repeated exhortations to be reconciled to the church, part with them ; telling them that they leave them to the devil, who is standing at their elbow, to receive their souls, and carry them to the flames of hell. On this a great shout is raised ; and the cry is, " Let the dogs^ beards be made /" which is done by thrusting flaming furze fastened to long poles against their faces, till their faces are burnt to a coal, which is accompanied with the loudest acclamations of joy. At last, fire is set to the furze at the bottom of them, over which the professed are chained so high, that the top of the flame seldom reaches higher than the seat they sit on ; so that they are rather roasted, than burnt. There cannot be a more lamentable spec- tacle ; the sufferers continually cry out, while they are able, " Pity for the love of God !" Yet it is beheld by all sexes and ages, with transports of joy and satisfac- tion.* * Buck's Theological Dictionary. 197 62. The War of the Cevennes, in Frajvce. The power of England being established by her great victory over the Spanish Armada, in the year 1588, made her the universal champion of protestant- ism. The popish kingdoms shrunk from provoking the resentment of a country which had thus shown the impotence of all external hostility. The church in France thenceforth continued undisturbed, except by the private jealousies and provocations of the monks. But the accession of Charles II., a popish hyprocite and a French slave, to the English throne, degraded England, and stripped protestantism abroad of sword and shield. The protestant church in France had increased rap- idly under the reigns of Henry IV. and Louis XIII. At the beginning of the reign of Louis XIV. it amount- ed to two millions and a half, incomparably the most industrious, intelligent and orderly portion of the peo- ple. Its clergy were distinguished for piety and learn- ing. It had six hundred and twenty-seven places of worship, and six hundred and forty-seven ministers. Protestantism is a safe religion in either master or subject ; for the Christian honors the laws for con- science sake. The Huguenots were eminently loyal during the period from the edict of Nantes in 1598 to the beginning of the persecutions under Louis XIV. They, have even the testimony of Louis to their unim- peachable allegiance. In a letter to Cromwell, who had desired that the duke of Savoy, in his cruelties to the Vaudois, should not be suffered to expect encour- agement from France, the king stated, "that it was not likely that he would co-operate in inflicting any pun- ishment on the subjects of the duke of Savoy, on ac- count of their attachment to the pretended reformed religion, seeing he conferred so many tokens of favor on his subjects of the same religious profession ; for he had reason to applaud their fidelity and zeal in his service. They omitted no opportunity of giving him evidence of their loyalty, even beyond all that could be 198 imagined, contributing in all things to the advantage of his affairs." Laws against religion are justifiable, only when that religion is made a political engine ; where, under the pretence of pious zeal, treason lurks, and where a ha- tred to the recognised establishments of the state, and an alliance with its foreign enemies, are leading princi- ples. The rebel must be restrained, let his pious pre- tence for rebelhon be what it will. But the spirit of persecution waits for none of those things. Within five years from this testimony to the pacific and obedient conduct of its protestant subjects, the government commenced a course of the most galling irritation. Every year some new drop of bitterness was instilled into the wound of the last, until the whole calamity was completed by the revocation of the edict of Nantes. On the 22d of October, 1685, the decree of revoca- tion announced, — 1. A repeal of the whole edict of 1598, and of every concession in favor of the reformed ; with a declaration that their churches should be demolished. 2. A prohibition of meeting for worship in any place or under any pretence. 3. An express interdict of every kind of religious ex- ercise in the houses of those among the reformed of high rank or noble birth, under pain of confiscation and death. 4. The banishment of all their ministers from the kingdom within fifteen days, unless they became Ro- man Catholics. 5. An offer of a third more than their stipend to those ministers who would conform, with a continua- tion of it to their widows. 6. An offer of admission to the profession of the law, three years sooner than the usual time. 7. The absolute sluitting up of all their schools. 8. The baptism of their children by the popish priests, under a penalty of five hundred livres. 199 9. Permission given, by the king's clemency, for the refugees, if returned within four months, and converted to popery, to recover their property and privileges. 10. A prohibition of leaving the kingdom under the penalty ol galleys or death. 11. The decrees against the relapsed were to be put in execution ; but those who were not decided or pre- pared to declare themselves, might remain where they resided, until it pleased God to enlighten them, con- tinue their trade or arts, and enjoy their property with- out being disturbed, provided they refrained from all exercises of their religion, and from every kind of meeting on that account. The apparent lenity of the final article, which yet utterly prohibited the exercise of that religion in which was all the hope of the reformed, was soon found to be no defence. Hired informers were., sent among the people. Soldiers hunted them down like wild beasts, and shot them. Their houses were burned, their prop- erty was plundered, their families were treated with the most cruel indignities ; many were tortured, and numbers of the more important persons were sent for galley slaves. Above a million of people fled into the protestant countries, carrying with them their arts, in- dustry, and manufactures. The loss to France in wealth, was immense ; but in character, honor, and re- ligion, it was incalculable. The difticulty of even this unhappy escape, became at length so great, that the reformed in the south took up arms for the mere preservation of their lives. Sue- cess increased their numbers, and the war of the Cau- risares began. The whole mountain country of the Cevennes became the seat of a severe conflict. The king's troops were harrassed and defeated, in a long series of encounters, by the undisciplined valor of a peasantry who fought the battle of despair. This war raged during four years. The Cevennes was the grave of a multitude of the persecutors. The sheddmg of the blood of the protestants was awfully repaid. The government finally found the necessity of gentler 200 ineaas ; partial pacifications were offered ; and it is probable that the comparative- quiet of the remaining protestants, during the century, was largely due to the exploits of the men of the Cevennes. But the persecution was to be retaliated by a deeper, though a more circuitous vengeance. Some links of the chain are traceable. It may be beyond human eyes to see how far they still extend. The first result was the encouragement of William III. to attempt the Eng- lish throne. Holland had received with generous hos- pitality a vast number of the refugees. Many of them were military ; they had among them distinguished of- ficers, and William thus found himself in possession of a most valuable body of troops. He obtained an al- lowance for their pay from the states, and prepared for invasion ! Another striking result was its effect on the mind of England. The notorious connexion of James II. with Rome had already prepossessed the nation against the Stuarts. But this fearful development of the natural heart of popery ; the cries that came on every wind across the channel ; the spectacle of the unhappy emi- grants, fiung on the British shore, worn out with flight and disease, terror and wounds ; and those men their fellow Christians bound by the closest tie of faith: and those sufferings undergone for the purest cause of Christianity ; put an end to all the insidious glosses and flatteries of priest or king. Within three years from the revocation, the Stuarts were driven into eternal ex- ile ; and Wilham was placed on the throne, to be the champion of the church throughout Europe, and the leading enemy of France. Another, and still sterner result, was the national impurity ; which, at length, af- ter undermining and consuming away the foundations of the public strength, flamed out in the French Revo- hition. — Cro/y's ISketch of the Hist, of the Church. 201 63. The Spanish Armada. Philip, king of Spain, husband to the deceased queen Mary of England, was no less inimical to the protest, ants than that princess. He had always disliked the English, and, after her death, determined if possible to crown that infamous cruelty which had disgraced the whole progress of her reign, by making a conquest of the island, and putting every protestant to death. The great warlike preparations made by this mon- arch, though the purpose was unknown, gave an uni- versal alarm to the English nation ; as it appeared evi- dent that he was taking measures to seize the crown of England, though he ha^ not declared that intention. Pope Sixtus V. not less ambitious than himself, and equally desirous of persecuting the protestants, urged him to the enterprise. He excommunicated the queen of England, and pubhshed a crusade against her, with the usual indulgences. All the ports of Spain resounded with preparations for this alarming expedition ; and the Spaniards seemed to threaten the English with a total annihilation. Tiiree years had been spent by Philip in making the necessary preparations for this mighty undertaking ; and his fleet, which, on account of its prodigious strength, was called " The Invincible Armada," was now completed. A consecrated banner was procured from the pope, and the gold of Peru was lavished on the occasion. Several instruments of torture were also taken on board the Spanish fleet, designed for the tor- menting of the English protestants, in case their scheme took effect. Troops from Italy, Germany, Flanders, and Spam were embarked, or sent to the points from which they might be thrown on England. The Spanish nobles volunteered. Men of the highest rank in the popish realms solicited employment ; the first sea officer of the age, the Marquis Santa Croce, whose very name seemed an omen, commanded the fleet ; the first gen- eral of the age,^ the Prince of Parma, marched the 202 Spanish army, thirty-four thousand of the most cele* brated troops in Europe, down to the Flemish shore, for invasion. The fleet numbered one hundred and thirty ships of war, carrying thirty thousand troops and seamen. But it had a darker freight of monks, papal bulls, and instruments of torture. Elizabeth, finding that she must contend for her crown with the whole force of Spain, made prepara- tions for resistance ; and though her fleet, (consisting of less than a hundred ships, and much inferior in point of size to her antagonist,) seemed very inadequate to oppose so powerful an enemy, every place in the king, dom discovered the greatest readiness in defending their religion and Uberty, by contributing ships, men, and money. Men of reflection, however, entertained the greatest apprehensions, when they considered the force of the Spaniards, under the duke of Parma, the most consum- mate general of the age. Elizabeth was sensible that, next to her popularity, the firmest support of her throne consisted in the zeal of the people, for the protestant religion, and their ab- horrence of popery. She reminded the English of their former danger from the tyranny of Spain ; and of the bloody massacres in the Indies, and the unre- lenting executions in the Low Countries ; and a list was published of the several instruments of torture, with which, it was said, the Spanish armada was load- ed. The more to excite the martial spirit of the na- tion, the queen appeared on horseback in the camp at Tilbury ; and riding through the lines, she exhorted the soldiers to remember their duty to their country and their God, declaring that she would rather perish in battle than survive the ruin and slavery of her people. The armada, after sailing from Lisbon, suffered con- siderably from storms ; but the damages being repaired, the Spaniards again put to sea. Efiingham, admiral of the English fleet, who was stationed at Plymouth, had just time to get out of port, when he saw the armada 203 advancing towards him, disposed in the form of a crescent, and stretching the distance of seven miles, from one extremity to the other. As the armada ad- vanced up the channel, the Enghsh hung on its rear, and soon found that the great size of the Spanish ships was no advantage to them. Their bulk exposed them the more to the enemy's fire, while their cannon, placed too'high, passed over the heads of the English. The armada had now reached Calais and cast an- chor, in expectation that the duke of Parma would put to sea and join them. The English admiral, however, filling eight of his smaller ships with combustible mate- rials, sent them one after another into the midst of the enemy. The Spaniards were so much alarmed, that they immediately cut their cables, and "fled with the greatest precipitation. The English, whose fleet now amounted to one hundred and forty sail, fell upon them next morning, while in confusion ; and besides doing great damage to other ships, they took or destroyed about twelve of the enemy. The Spanish admiral, defeated in many rencounters, and perceiving the inevitable destruction of his fleet, prepared to return homewards ; but conducting his shattered ships by the circuitous route of Scotland and Ireland, a violent tempest overtook them, near the Ork- neys. Many of the vessels were wrecked on the west- ern isles of Scotland, and on the coast of Ireland ; and not one half of this mighty armament returned to Spain. 64. Gunpowder Plot. In order to crush popery in England, King James 1. soon after his accession to the throne took proper measures for eclipsing the power of the Roman Cath- olics, by enforcing those laws which had been made against them by his predecessors. This enraged the papists to such a degree, that a conspiracy was formed by some of the principal leaders, the object of which was to blow up the king, the royal family, and both 18 204 houses of parliament, and thus to involve the nation in utter and inevitable ruin. The cabal who formed the resolution of putting in practice this scheme, consisted of thirteen persons, most of whom were men both of birth and fortune. Their consultations were held in the spring and sum- mer of the year 1604, and it was towards the close of that year that they begun their operations. It was agreed, that a few of the conspirators should run a mine below the hall in which the parliament was to assemble, and that they should choose the very mo- ment when the king should deliver his speeches to both houses, for springing the mine, and thus, by one blow, cut off the king, lords, commons, and all the other ene- mies of the Catholic religion, in that very spot where that religion had been most oppressed. For this pur- pose a house was hired adjoining the upper house oi' parliament, and the conspirators, expecting their vic- tims would meet on the 17th of February following, began on the 11th of December, to dig in the cellar, through the wall of partition, which was three yards thick. There were seven in number joined in this la- bor. They went in by night, and never after appeared in sight ; for, having supplied themselves with powder, shot, and fire-arms, they had formed a resolution rath- er to die than be taken. On Candlemas-day, 1605, they had dug as far through the wall as to be able to hear a noise on the other side ; upon which unexpected event, fearing a discovery, Guido Fawkes (one of the principal actors in this con- spiracy) was despatched to know the occasion, and returned with tlie favorable report, that the place from whence the noise came was a large cellar, under the up- per house of parliament, full of sea coal, which was then on sale, and the cellar offered to be let. On this information, the cellar was hired, and tlie remainder of the coal was bought by one of the conspi- rators. He then sent for thirty barrels of gunpow- der from Holland, and landing them at Lambeth, con- veyed them gradually by night to this cellar, where 205 they were covered with stones, iron bars, a thousand billets and five hundred faggots ; all which was done at their leisure, the parliament being proi'Ogued to the 5th of November. This being done, the conspirators next consulted how they should secure the duke of York, (who was too young to be expected at the parliament-house,) and his sister the princess Elizabeth. It was resolved, that two persons should enter into the duke's chamber, and a dozen more, properly disposed at several doors, with two or three on horseback at the court-gate to receive him, should carry him safe away as soon as the parlia- mant house was blown up ; or if that could not be ef- fected, that they should kill him, and declare the prin- cess Elizabeth queen, having secured her under pre- tence of a hunting-match that day. It was agreed, also, to apply to France, Spain, and other powers, for assistance after the plot had taken effect, and to proclaim the princess Elizabeth que6ti, spreading a report, after the blow was given, that the puritans were the perpetrators of this inhuman act. All matters being now prepared by the conspirators, they waited with the utmost impatience the 5th of No- vember. But all their counsels were blasted by a hap- py and providential circumstance. One of the con- spirators, having a desire to save William Parker, Lord Monteagle, sent him the following letter : " My Lord, " Out of the love I bear to some of your friends, I have a care for your preservation ; therefore I advise you, as you tender your life, to devise you some excuse to shift off your attendance at this parliament ; for God and man have concurred to punish the wickedness of this time ; and think not slightly of this advertisement, but retire yourself into the country, where you may expect the event with safety ; for though there be no appearance of any stir, yet I say they shall receive a terrible blow, this parliament, and yet they shall not see who hurts them. This counsel is not to be con- 206 tenined, because it may do you good, and can do you no harm; for the danger is past so soon (or as quickly) as you burn this letter ; and I hope God will give you grace to make good use of it, to whose holy protection I commend you." The Lord Monteagle was, for some time, at a loss what judgment to form of this letter, and unresolved whether he should slight the advertisement or not ; and fancying it a trick of his enemies to frighten him into an absence from parliament, would have determined on the former, had his own safety only been in ques- tion ; but apprehending the king's life might be in dan- ger, he took the letter at midnight to. the earl of Salis- bury, who was equally puzzled about the meaning of it ; and though he was inclined to think it merely a wild and waggish contrivance, to alarm Monteagle, yet he thought proper to consult about it with the earl of 'Suffolk, lord chamberlain. The expression " that the blow should come without knowing who hurt them," made them imagine that no time would be more proper than the time of parliament, nor by any other way like to be attempted than by gunpowder, while the king was sitting in that assembly. The lord chamberlain thought this the more probable, because there was a great cellar under the parliament chamber not used for any thing but wood 'or coal, belonging to Wineyard, the keeper of the palace ; and having communicated the letter to the earls Nottingham, Worcester, and North- ampton, they proceeded no further till the king came from Royston on the 1st of November. . His majesty being shown the letter by the earls, who at tlje same time acquainted him with their suspicions, was of opinion that either nothing should be done or else enough to prevent the danger ; and that a search should be made on the day preceding that designed for the execution of this plot. Accordingly, on I\Ionday, the 4th of November, in the afternoon, the lord chamberlain, whose office it was to see all things put in readiness for the king's coming, accompanied by Monteagle, went to visit all places 207 about the parliament. house, and taking a slight occa- sion to see the cellar, observed only piles of billets and faggots, but in greater number than he thought Wine- yard could want for his own use. On his asking who owned the wood, and being told it belonged to one Mr. Percy, he began to have some suspicions, knowing him to be a rigid papist, and so seldom there, that he had no occasion for such a quantity of fuel ; and Monteagle confirmed him therein by observing that Percy had made him great professions of friendship. Though there were no other materials visible, yet Suffolk thought it was necessary to make a further search ; and upon his return to the king, a resolution was taken that it should be made in such a way as should be effectual, without creating an alarm. Sir Thomas Knevet, steward of Westminster, was accordingly ordered, under the pretext of searching for stolen tapestry hangings in that place, and other houses thereabouts, to remove the wood, and see if any thing was concealed underneath. This gentleman going at midnight, with several attendants, to the cellar, met Fawkes, just coming out of it, booted and spurred, with a tinder box, and three matches in his pockets ; and seizing him without any ceremony, or asking him any questions, as soon as the removal of the wood dis- covered the barrels of gunpowder, he caused him to be bound and properly secured. Fawkes, who was a hardened and intrepid villain, made no hesitation of avowing the design, and that it was to be executed on the morrow. He made the same acknowledgment at his examination before a committee of the council ; and though he did not deny having some associates in this conspiracy, yet no threats of torture could make him discover any of them ; he de- claring that " he was ready to die, and had rather suf- fer ten thousand deaths, than willingly accuse his mas- ter, or any other." A number of the conspirators of this plot were ap- prehended and executed ; several, however, succeeded in escaping from the country. 18* 208 The lord Monteagle had a grant of two hundred pounds a year m land, and a pension of five hundred pounds for life, as a reward for discovering the letter which gave the first hint of the conspira;cy ; and the amiiversary of this providential deliverance was order- ed to be forever commemorated by prayer and thanks- giving. 65. Irish Massacre of the Protestants, in 1641. The gloom of popery had overshadowed Ireland, from its first establishment there, till the reign of Hen- ry VIII., when the rays of the gospel began to dispel the darkness, and afibrd that light which had till then been unknown in that island. The abject ignorance in which the people were held, with the absurd and su- perstitious notions they entertained, were sufficiently evident to many ; and the artifices of their priests were so conspicuous, that several persons of distinction, who had hitherto been strenuous papists, would willingly have endeavored to shake off the yoke, and embrace the protestant religion ; but the natural ferocity of the people, and their strong attachment to the ridiculous doctrines which they had been taught, made the attempt dangerous. It was, however, at length undertaken, though attended with the most liorrid and disastrous consequences. Anxious to extirpate the protestant faith, the papists concerted and put in execution a most diabolical plot, the design of which was, that a general insurrection should take place at the same time throughout the king- dom ; and that all the protestants, without exception, should be murdered. The day fixed for this massacre, was the 2.3d of October, 1641, the feast of Ignatius Loy- ola, founder of the Jesuits ; and the chief conspirators, in the principal parts of the kingdom, made the neces- sary preparations for the intended conflict. In order that this detested scheme might the more infallibly succeed, the most distinguished artifices were practised by the papists ; and their behavior in their 'Ak 1 209 visits to the protestants, at this time, was with more seeming kindness than they had hitherto shown, which was done the more completely to effect the inhuman and treacherous designs then meditating against them. The execution of this savage conspiracy was delayed till the approach of winter, that the sending of troops from England might be attended with greater difficulty. Cardinal Richlieu, the French minister, had promised the conspirators a considerable supply of men and mo- ney ; and many Irish officers had given the strongest assurances that they would heartly concur with their Catholic brethren, ^as soon as the insurrection took place. The day preceding that appointed for carrying this design into execution was now arrived, when, happily for the metropolis of the kingdom, the conspiracy was discovered by one Owen O'Connelly, an Irishman ; for which most signal service, the English parliament vo- ted him five hundred pounds, and a pension of two hun- dred pounds during life. So very seasonably was this plot discovered, even but a few hours before the city and castle of Dublin were to have been surprised, that the lords-justices had but just time to put themselves and the city in a proper posture of defence. The lord M'Guire, who was the principal leader here, with his accomplices, were seiz- ed the same evening in the city ; and in their lodgings were found swords, hatchets, pole-axes, hammers, and such other instruments of death as had been pz'epared for the destruction and extirpation of the protestants in that part of the kingdom. Thus was the metropolis happily preserved ; but the bloody part of the intended tragedy was past preven- tion. The conspirators were in arms all over the king- dom, early in the morning of the day appointed, and every protestant who fell in their way was immediate- ly murdered. No age, sex, or condition, was spa- red. The wife weeping for her butchered husband, and embracing her helpless children, was pierced with them, and perished by the same stroke. The old, the 210 \ y j-ouiig, the vigorous, and the infirm, uuderweftt the same fate, and were blended in one common ruin. In vain did flight save from the first assault ; destruction was every where let loose, and met the hunted victims at every turn. In vain was recourse had to relations, to companions, to friends ; all connexions were dissolved, and death was dealt by that hand from which protec- tion was implored and expected. AVithout provoca- tion, without opposition, the astonished English, living in profound peace, and, as they thought, full security, were massacred by their nearest neighbors,' with whom they had long maintained a continued intercourse of kindness and good offices. Nay, even death was the slightest punishment inflicted by these monsters in hu- man form ; all the tortures which wanton cruelty could invent, all the lingering pains of body, all the anguish of mind, and agonies of despair, could not satiate re- venge excited without injury, and cruelly derived from no just cause whatever. Depraved nature, or even per- verted religion, though encouraged by the utmost li- cense, cannot reach to a greater pitch of ferocity, than appeared in these merciless barbarians. Even the weaker sex themselves, naturally tender to their own sufferings, and compassionate to tliose of others, here emulated their robust companions in the practice of every cruelty. The very children, taught by example, and encouraged by the exhortations of their parents, dealt their feeble blows on the dead carcasses of de- fenceless children of the English. Nor was the avarice of the Irish sufl[icient to produce the least restraint on their cruelty. Such was their frenzy, that the cattle they had seized, and by rapine had made their own, were, because they bore the name of English, wantonly slaughtered, or, when covered with wounds, turned loose into the woods, there to per- ish by slow and lingering torments. The commodious habitations of the planters were laid in ashes, or leveled witii the ground. And where the wretched owners had shut themselves up in the houses, and wore preparing for defence, they perished 211 in the flames, together with their wives and children. This nmssacro,in which many thousands perished, was retahated upon the Irish in 1649, by Oliver Cromwell, who was sent to Ireland to quell the rebellion in that country. This energetic man, having defeated the Irish army, took Drogheda by assault, and put the whole garrison to the sword. This struck such a ter- ror, that the whole country soon after submitted to the authority of the English parliament. 66. R-ELiGious Rites, Opinioks, &c. of the North. Ajiericax Ixdiaxs. The Indians of this country were generally polythc- ists, or believed in a plurality of Gods. Some were considered as local deities ; yet they believed that there was one Supreme God, or Great Spirit, the Creator of the rest, and of all creatures and things. Him, the na- tives of New England called Kichtan. They believed that good men, at death, ascended to Kichtan, above the heavens, where they enjoyed their departed friends and all good things ; that bad men also went and knock- ed at the gate of glory, but Kichtan bade them depart, for there was no place for such, whence they wandered in restless poverty. This Supreme Being they held to be good, and prayed to him when they desired any great favor, and paid a sort of acknowledgment to Him, for plenty, victory, &c. The manner of worship in many of the Indian tribes, was to sing and dance around a large fire. There was another power which they called Hohba- mock ; in English, the Devil, — of whom they stood in greater awe, and worshiped him merely from a prin- ciple of fear, and it is said that they sometimes even sacrificed their own children to appease him.* They prayed to him to heal their wounds and diseases. When found curable, he was supposed to be the author Morse and Parish's History of New England. 212 of tlieir complaints ; when they were mortal, they were ascribed to Kichtan, whose diseases none are able to remove ; therefore, they never prayed to him in sick- ness. Their priests, which were called jwwmvs, and their chief warriors, pretended often to see Hobbamock in the shape of a man, fawn, or eagle, but generallj'' of a snake. The duty and office of the powaws was to pray to Hobbamock for the removal of evils ; the com- mon people joined or said amen. In his prayer the powaw promised skins, kettles, hatchets, beads, &c. as sacrifices, if his request should be granted. The apparent insensibility of the Indians under pains and wounds is well known ; yet they had awful appre- hensions of death. When sick, and all hope of recovery was gone, their bursting sobs and sighs, their wringing hands, their flowing tears, and dismal cries and shrieks, were enough to excite sympathy from the hardest heart. Their afiection was very strong for their children, who bj* mduigence were saucy and undutiful. A father would sometimes, through grief and rage for the loss of a child, stab himself. Some tribes of Indians would not allow of mentioning the name of a friend after death. When a person died, they generally buried with him his bow and arrows, dogs, and whatever was valuable to him while living, supposing he would want them in another world, as their ideas of the happiness of heaven consisted in finding plenty of game, feast- ing, dec. The Indians appeared to have distinct traditions of the creation and deluge, and some of their words, rites, and ceremonies, bear a strong affinity to those of the ancient Hebrews. The following is from various au- thors. " When the Indians determine on war or hunting, they have stated preparatory religious ceremonies, for purification, particularly by fasting, as the Israelites had. 213 '' Father Charlevoix gives an account of this custom in his time. In case of an intention of going to war, he who is to command does not commence the raising of soldiers, till he has fasted several days, during which he is smeared with black — has no conversation with any one — invokes by day and night, his tutelar spirh, and above all, is very careful to observe his dreams. The fast being over, he assembles his friends, and with a string of wampum in his hands, he speaks to them af- ter this manner : Brethren ! the Great Spirit authorizes my sentiments, and inspires me with what I ought to do. The blood of is not wiped away ; his body is not covered, and I will acquit myself of this duty to- wards him," (Sec. Mr. M'Kenzie in some measure confirms this ac- count, though among different nations. " If the tribes feel themselves called upon to go to war, the elders convene the people, in order to obtain the general opin- ion. If it be for war, the chief publishes his intention to smoke in the sacred stem (a pipe) at a certain time. To this solemnity, mediation and fasting are required as, preparatory ceremonials. When the people are thus assembled, and the meeting sanctified by the cus- tom of smoking, (this may be in imitation of the smoke of the incense oifered on the altar of the Jews,) the chief enlarges on the causes which have called them together, and the necessity of the measures proposed on the occasion. He then invites those who are \vil- ling to follow him, to smoke out of the sacred stem, which is considered as a token of enrolment." A sa- cred feast then takes place, and after much ceremony, usual on such occasions, " the chief, turning to the east, makes a speech to explain more fully the design of their meeting, then concludes with an acknowledgement for past mercies received, and a prayer tor the continuance of them, from the Master of Life. He then sits down, and the whole company declare their approbation and thanks by uttering the word Ho /" (in a very hoarse, guttural "sound, being the third syllable of the beloved name,) '• with an emphatic promulgation of the last let- 214 ter. The chief then takes up the pipe, and holds it to the mouth of the officiating person," (like a priest of the Jews, with the incense,) " who after smoking three whiffs, utters a short prayer, and then goes round with it from east to west, to every person present." The ceremony then being ended, " he returns the company thanks for their attendance, and wishes them, as well as the whole tribe, health and life." • " A writer (Adair) who has had the best opportuni- ties to know the true idiom of their language, by a res- idence among them for forty years, has taken great pains to show the similarity of the Hebrew with the In- dian languages, both in their roots and general con- struction ; and insists that many of the Indian words, to this day, are purely Hebrew, notwithstanding their exposure to the loss of it to such a degree as to make the preservation of it, so far, little less than miracu- lous." Mr. Boudinot speaking of the Indian traditions as received by their nations, says, not having the assist- ance afforded by the means of writing and reading, they are obliged to have recourse to tradition, as Du Pratz, Vol. II. p. 169, has justly observed, "to preserve \he remembrance of remarkable transactions or historical facts ; and this tradition cannot be preserved, but by frequent repetitions ; consequently many of their young men are ofT;en employed in hearkening to the old belov- ed men, narrating the history of their ancestors, which is thus transmitted from generation to generation.'" " In order to preserve them pure and incorrupt, they are careful not to deliver them indifferently to all their young pco[)Ic, but only to those youijg men of whom they have the best opinion. They hold it as a certain fact, delivered down from their ancestors, that their forefathers, in very remote ages, came from a far dis- tant country, by the way of the west, where all the peo- ple, were of one color, and that in process of time they moved eastward to their present settlements." This tradition is corroborated by a current report among them, related by the old Chickkasah Indians 215 to our Iraders, that about one hundred years ago, there came from Mexico, some of the old Chickkasah nation, or as the Spaniards call them, Chichemicas, in quest of their brethren, as far north as the Aquahpah nation, above one hundred and thirty miles above the Natchez, on the south-east side of the Mississippi river ; but through French policy, they were either killed or sent back, so as to prevent their opening a brotherly inter- course with them, as they had proposed. It is also said, that the Nauatalcas believe that they dwelt in an- other region before they settled in Mexico ; that their forefathers wandered eighty years in search of it, through a strict obedience to the commands of the Great Spirit, who ordered them to go in quest of new lands, that had such particular marks as were made known to them, and they punctually obeyed the divine mandate, and by that means found out and settled that fertile country of Mexico. Our southern Indians have also a tradition among them, which they firmly believe, that of old time, their ancestors lived beyond a great river ; that nine parts of their nation, out of ten, passed over the river, but the remainder refused, and staid behind ; that they had a king when they lived far to the west, who left two sons ; that one of them, with a number of his people, traveled a great way for many years, till they came to Delaware river, and settled there ; that some years ago, the king of the country from which they had emi- grated, sent a party in search of them ; this was at the time the French were in possession of the country on the river Alleghany ; that after seeking six years, they found an Indian who led them to the Delaware towns, where they staid one year ; that the French sent a white man with them on their return, to bring back an account of their country, but they have never been heard of since. It is said among their principal, or beloved men, that they have it handed down from their ancestors, that the book which the white people have, was once theirs ; that while they had it they prospered exceed- 19 216 ingly, but that the white people bought it of them, and Jearnt many things from it, while the Indians lost their credit, ofTended the Great Spirit, and suffered greatly from the neighboring nations ; that the Great Spirit took pity on them, and directed them to this country ; that on their way they came to a great river, which they could not pass, when God dried up the waters, and they passed over dry shod. They also say that their forefathers were possessed of an extraordinary divine spirit, by which they foretold future events, and con- trolled the common course of nature, and this they transmitted to their offspring, on condition of their obeying the sacred laws ; that they did by these means bring down showers of plenty on the beloved people ; but that this power, for a long time past, had entirely ceased. Mr. M'Kenzie, in his History of the Fur Trade, and his journey through North America, by the lakes, to the Pacific, in the year , says, that " the Indians informed him, that they had a tradition among them, that they originally came from another country, inhab- ited by wicked people, and had traversed a great lake, which was narrow, shallow, and full of islands, where they had suffered great hardships and much misery, it being always winter, with ice and deep snows ; at a place they called the Copper-mine River, where they made the first land, the ground was covered with cop- per, over which a body of earth had since been collect- ed, to the depth of a man's heighth. They believe al- so, that in ancient times their ancestors had lived till their feet were worn out with walking, and their throats with eating. They described a deluge, when the wa- ters spread over the whole earth, except the highest mountain, on the top of which they were preserved. They also believe in a future judgment." — HVKenzie's History, p. 113, The Indians to the eastward say, that previous to the white people coming into the country, their ancestors were in the habit of using circumcision, but latterly, not being able to assign any reason for so strange a 217 practice, their young people insisted on its being abol- ished. M'Kenzie says the same of the Indians he saw on his route, even at this day. {History, p. 34.) Speak- ing of the nations of the Slave and Dog-rib Indians, very far to the north-west, he says, " whether circum- cision be practised among them, I cannot pretend to say ; but the appearance of it was general among those I saw." The Dog-rib Indians live about two or three hundred miles from the straits of Kamschatka. Dr. Beatty says, in his journal of a visit he paid to the Indians on the Ohio, about fifty years ago, that an old Christian Indian informed him, that an old uncle of his, who died about the year 1728, related to him several customs and tra- ditions of former times ; and among others, that cir- cumcision was practised among the Indians long ago, but their young men making a mock of it, brought it into disrepute, and so it came to be disused. (Journal, p. 89.) The same Indian said, that one tradition they had was, that once the waters had overflowed all the land, and drowned all the people then living, except a Cew, who made a great canoe, and were saved in it. (page 90.) And that a long time ago, the people went to build a high place ; that while they were building of it, they lost their language, and could not understand one another ; that while one, perhaps,* called for a stick, another brought him a stone, &c. &c., and from that time the Indians began to speak different languages. Father Charlevoix, the French historian, informs us that the Hurons and Iroquois, in that early day, had a tradition among them, that the first woman came from heaven, and had twins, and that the elder killed the younger. In an account published in the year 1644, by a Dutch minister of the gospel in New- York, giving an account of the Mohawks, he says, " an old woman came to my house, and told the family, that her forefathers had told her that the Great Spirit once went out walking with his brother, and that a dispute arose between them, and 218 the Great Spirit killed his brother." This is plainly a confusion of the story of Cain and Abel. It is most likely from the ignorance of the minister in the idiom of the Indian language, misconstruing ; Cain being rep- resented a great man, for the Great Spirit. Many mis- takes of this kind are frequently made. 67. The Indian Mother. The following account, taken from Mather's Mag- nalia, serves to show us, that the Almighty has not left himself without a witness, even among pagan nations, and it ill becomes us to say that the Lord does not re- veal himself at times to those who look to him for help, who never have heard of the way of life and salvation by Jesus Christ. Pammehanuit, an Indian of prime quality, and his wife, on Martha's Vineyard, having buried their first five children successively, every one of them within ten days of their birth, notwithstanding all their use of poioaws and of medicines to preserve them, — they had a sixth child, a son, born about the year 1638, which was a few years before the English first settled on the Vineyard. The mother was greatly perplexed with fear that she should lose this child, like the former ; and utterly despairing of any help from such means as had been formerly tried with so little success, as soon as she was able, with a sorrowful heart, she took up her child, and went out into the field, that she might weep out her sorrows. While she was musing on the insufficiency of all human help, she felt it powerfully suggested unto her mind, that there is one Almighty God who is to be prayed unto ; that this God had cre- ated all the things that wc see ; and that the God who had given being to herself, and all other people, and had giv- en her child unto her, was easily able to continue the life of her child. Hereupon, this poor pagan woman resolved, that she would seek unto this God for that mercy, and she did accordingly. The issue was, that her child Uved ; and 219 her faith in Him, who thus answered her prayer, was wonderfully strengthened ; the consideration whereof caused her to dedicate this child unto the service of that God who had preserved his life ; and educate him, as far as might be, to become the servant of God. Not long after this, the English came to settle on Martha's Vineyard; and the Indians who had been present at some of the English devotions, reported that they assembled frequently together, and that the man who spoke among them, often looked upward. This woman, from this report, presently concluded, that their assemblies were for prayers ; and that their prayers were unto that very God whom she had addressed for the life of her child. She was confirmed in this, when the gospel was not long after preached by Mr. Mayhew to the Indians ; which gospel she readily, cheerfully, and heartily embraced. And in the confession that she made publicly at her admission into the church, she gave a relation of the preparation for the knowledge of Christ, wherewith God had in this remarkable way favored her. Her child, whose name was Japhet, be- came afterwards an eminent minister of Christ. He was pastor to an Indian church on Martha's Vineyard ; he also took much pains to carry the gospel unto other Indians on the main land, and his labors were attended with much success. 68. Plymouth Settlers. The colony at Plymouth, Mass. the first European settlement in New-England, was planted principally for the sake of the free and undisturbed enjoyment of religious and civil liberty. The colonists were origin- ally from the north of England ; and were of that class of people in those days called Puritans, so named from their uncommon zeal in endeavoring to preserve the purity of divine worship. Being persecuted by their enemies, during the reign of James I. they fled with their pastor, to Amsterdam, in Holland, in 1608. They afterwards removed to 19* 220 Leyden, where they remained till they sailed for America. Having resolved upon a removal, they procured two small ships and repaired to Plymouth, Eng. and from thence they proceeded about one hundred leagues on their voyage, when they were compelled to return, in consequence of one of the ships being leaky. This ship M'as condemned, and the other, called the May Flower, being crowded with passengers, again put to sea, Sept. 6th ; on the 9th of November, after a dan- gei'ous passage, they arrived at Cape Cod, and the next day anchored in the harbor which is formed by the hook of the cape. Before they landed, having devoutly given thanks to God for their safe arrival, they formed themselves into a " body politic," and chose Mr. John Carver their gov- ernor for the first year. Their next object was to fix on a convenient place for settlement. In doing this they encountered manj' difficulties — many of them were sick in consequence of the fatigues of a long voyage — their provisions were bad — the season was uncommonly cold — the Indians, though afterwards friendly, were now hostile — and they were unacquainted with the coast. These diffi- culties they surmounted ; and on the 22d of December, 1G20, they safely landed at a place, which they named Plymouth. The anniversary of their landing is still celebrated by the descendants of the Pilgrims, as a re- ligious festival. The whole company that landed consisted of but one hundred and one souls. Their situation and pros- pects were truly dismal and discouraging. The near- est European settlement was five hundred miles dis- tant, and utterly incapable of affording them relief in a time of famine or danger. Wherever they turned their eyes, distress was befbre them. " Persecuted in their native land, — grieved for ])rofana1ion of the holy Sab- bath, and other licentiousness in Holland — fatigued by their long and boisterous voyage — forced on a danger- ous and unknown shore in the advance of a cold win- 221 ter — surrounded with hostile barbarians, without any hope of liuman succor — denied the aid or favor of the court of England — without a patent — without a public promise of the peaceable enjoyment of their religious liberties — without convenient shelter from the rigoi-s of the weatlier ; — such were the prospects and such tb.e situation of these pious and solitary Christians. To add to their distresses, a very mortal sickness prevailed among them, which swept off forty-six of their number before the ensuing spring. " To support them under these trials, they had need of all the aids and comforts which Christianity affords ; and these were found sufficient. The free and unmo- lested enjoyment of their religion, reconciled them to their lonely situation — they bore their hardships with unexampled patience, and persevered in their pilgrim- age of almost unparalleled trials, with such resignation and calmness, as gave proof of great piety and uncon- querable virtue." 69. Friends ok Quakers. The members of this society called themselves, at first, Seekers ; from their seeking the truth. But af- terwards assumed the appellation of Friends. The term Quakers was an epithet of reproach, given them by their enemies. This sect, as a body, trace their origin to George Fox, who was born at Drayton, Leicestershire, in 1624. He was bred a shoe-maker and glazier. In 1647, he became dissatisfied with the state of things in the church. He inveighed against the clergy, and their vices ; against the church, its modes of worship, and doctrines, and the manner in which it was supported. On account of his peculiar sentiments and conduct, he was persecuted, and impri- soned at Nottingham, 1649. After his release, he tra- veled into Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Germany, the West Indies, and the American colonies. During the whole of his laborious life, he employed himself in per- suading men to regard the " divine light," implanted 222 in the human mind, as being sufficient to lead to salva- tion. He was imprisoned no less than eight different times. He is represented as having been a meek, de- vout and inoffensive man, and died in London, 1090. In 1656, the Friends first made their appearance in the colony of Massachusetts, where, on account of their singular views, they suffered some persecution. The legislature passed laws for their banishment, threaten- ing all who should return, with death. Under this law, four were executed. In practice, they do not hold to a regular gospel min- istry, but admit any one, whether male or female, to exliort as they are moved by the Spirit ; nor do they strictly observe the Sabbath, or the ordinances of the gospel. Singing forms no part of their worship. They refuse to take an oath, but always practice affirmation. They also refuse to engage in war, or to pay outward homage to any man. In their dress, they are neat and uniform. In their manners, they are rather reserved ; but distinguished for tlieir love of order and sobriety. A certain writer remarks of them, that their " benev- olence, moral rectitude, and commercial punctuality, have excited and long secured to them, very general esteem ; and it has been observed, that in the multi- tudes that compose the legion of vagrants, and street beggars, not a single Quaker can be found." The principal residence pf the Friends in America, is in the state of Pennsylvania, so called after William Penn, an eminent Quaker, to whom this state 'was granted, by Charles II. 1680. There are in this coun- try about seven hundred congregatiojis. Within a few years, there has been a great division among them. One Elias Hicks arose, who essentially differed from them in religious sentiments ; and drew after him great numbers of the Fiiends. These are called Hicksites, to distinguish them from the orthodox. 223 70. John Bunyan. This celebrated and valuable man, was born A. D. 1628, at Elstow, a small village near Bedford, Eng. His father was by occupation a tinker, who bore a fair character, and brought up his son to the same business ; and was anxious, also, that he should be taught to read, write, &c. But being a profligate youth, we are told, he soon forgot nearly all he had learned ; yet, it is pro- bable that he retained so much as enabled him to re- cover, in part, the rest, when his mind became better disposed ; which was useful to him in the subsequent part of his life. Notwithstanding he had been addicted to gross vice and impiety, from his youth, still, he was the subject of continual alarms and convictions, which at times were peculiarly overwhelming. But these produced no lasting good effect, at the time. A copious narra- tive of these conflicts, temptations, and crimes, is con- tained in a treatise published by himself, under the title of " Grace abounding to the chief of sinners." During this part of his life, he was twice preserved from the most imminent danger of drowning. He was a soldier in the parliament's army, at the siege of Lei- cester, in 1645. At one time he was drawn out to stand centinel ; but one of his comrades, by choice, took his place, and was shot through the head ! After this, his mind was deeply exercised on the sub- ject of religion ; and he was enabled to beheve to the saving of his soul ; and was admitted, by baptism, a member of Mr. Gifford's church, at the age of twenty- seven, A. D. 1655. Soon after, he was set apart by fasting and prayer, to the ministerial office ; after much reluctance on his part. At a certain time, previous to the restoration of Charles II. he was expected to preach in a church, near Cambridge. A student of that uni- versity, not remarkable for sobriety, was induced by curiosity, to hear ^'the tinker prate;'' the discourse made a deep impression on his mind ; he sought every opportunity to hear Mr. Bunyan, and at length, be- came an eminent preacher in Cambridgeshire. 224 When tlie restoration took place, the laws were framed and executed with a severity, evidently intend- ed to exclude every man, who scrupled the least tittle of the doctrine, liturgy, discipline, or government of the established church. Mr. Bunyan was one of the first who suffered by them ; for being courageous and unreserved, he went on his ministry, without any dis- guise, until Nov. 12, 1660; when he with sixty others, was apprehended and committed to the county jail ! Security was offered for his appearance at the sessions ; but it was refused, as his sureties would not consent that he should be restricted from preaching. He was accordingly confined till the quarter-sessions, when his indictment stated, " That John Bunyan, of the town of Bedford, laborer, had devilishly and perniciously ab- stained from coming to church, to hear divine service ; and was a common upholder of several unlawful meet- ings and conventicles, to the great disturbance and diS' iraotiuii of the good subjocts of thisj, kingdom, contrary to the laws of our sovereign lord the king." The -charges in this absurd indictment were never proved. He had confessed he was a dissenter, and had preach, ed ; this was considered equivalent to conviction, and recorded against him ; and as he refused to conform, he was sentenced to perpetual banishment. This sen- tence, indeed, was not executed ; but he was confined in Bedford jail, more than twelve years. During this tedious imprisonment, he had no books, save a Bible and Fox's Martyrology ; yet, in this situ- ation, he penned the " Pilgrim's Progress," which ranks high among the works of original genius, and which, probably, will be read with admiration and profit, till the consummation of all things. He is the author of " The Holy War," " Solomon's Temple Spiritualized," Tracts, &c. &:c. which are held in high estimation by the religious community. In 1671, he was chosen pastor of the Baptist church at Bedford, and continued to exercise his ministry until his death, whicli took place August 31st, 1688, having arrived at the age of sixty vears. 225 71. PiKSTicAL Controversy. The commencement of Pietism was laudable and decent. It was set on foot by the pious and learned Spener, who, by the private societies he formed at Frankfort, with a design to promote vital religion, roused the lukewarm from their indifference, and ex- cited a spirit of vigor in those who had been satisfied to lament, in silence, the progress of impiety. The re- markable etfect of these religious meetings was increas- ed by a book published by this well-meaning man, un- der the title of Pious Desires, in which he exhibited a striking view of the disorders of the church, and pro- posed the remedies that were proper to heal them. Many persons of good and upright intentions were highly pleased both with the proceedings and writings of Spener ; and indeed the greatest part of those, who had the cause of virtue and practical religiori truly at heart, applauded his designs, though an apprehension of abuses retained numbers from encouraging them openly. These abuses actually happened. The remedies pro- posed by Spener to heal the disorders of the church fell into unskilful hands, were administered without sagaci- ty or prudence, and thus, in many cases, proved to be worse than the disease itself. The religious meetings above mentioned, (or the Colleges of Piety, as they were usually called by a phrase borrowed from the Dutch,) tended in many places to kindle in the bi'easts of the multitude the flames of a blind and intemperate zeal, whose effects were impetuous and violent, instead of that pure and rational love of God, whose fruits are benign and peaceful. Hence complaints arose against these institutions of Pietism, as if, under a striking appearance of piety, they led people into false notions of religion, and fermented, in those who are of a turbulent and vi- olent character, the seeds and principles of mutiny and sedition. These first complaints would have been undoubtedly hushed, and the tumults they occasioned have subsi- 226 ded by degrees, had not the contest that arose at Leip- sic, in the year 1689, added fuel to the flame. This contest was by no means confined to Leipsic, but diti'used its contagion with incredible celerity, through all the Lutheran churches, in the different states and kingdoms of Europe. For, from this time, in all the cities, towns, and villages, where Lutheranism was professed, there started up, all of a sudden, per- sons of various ranks and professions, of both sexes, learned and illiterate, who declared that they were called, by a divine impulse, to pull up iniquity by the root, to restore to its primitive luster, and propagate through the world, the declining cause of piety and vir- tue, to govern the church of Christ by wiser rules than those by which it was at present directed, and who, partly in their writings, and partly in their private and public discourses, pointed out the means and measures that were necessary to bring about this important revo- lution. AH those, who were struck with this imagina- ry impulse, unanimously agreed, that nothing coidd have a more powerful tendency to propagate among the multitude solid knowledge, pious feelings, and holy habits, than those private meetings that had been first coHtrived by Spener, and that afterwards were intro- duced into Leipsic. Several religious assemblies were accordingly formed in various places, which, though they differed in some circiunstances, and were not all composed with equal wisdom, piety, and prudence) were, however, designed to promote the same general purpose. In the mean time, these unusual, irregular, and tumultuous proceedings, filled with uneasy and alarming apprehensions both those who were intrusted with the government of the church, and those who sat at the helm of the state. These apprehensions were justified by this important consideration, that the pious and well-meaning persons who composed these assem- blics, had iiiidiscreetly admitted into their community a parcel of extravagant and hot-headed fanatics, who foretold the approaching destruction of Babel, (by which they meant the Lutheran church,) terrified the Tfie Ii\'nunjth srttli^^s hnni/ ifmimfriiifil fp (W2 hyk affe^tionole leave ef t/ieirfiieTiiti an J s,n7/'i7 f,irjmem>/ ip eriyc'v neh'i/inus freedcm . JJ©Mef EMLXOT, tlie'lAposde-t/) the Induvns" success fuJly rireajJieA the 6-0spel ti> tM Indians in, ^ew EngLxnd . Be T?eU!i. niiiii.'fidelity. Previous to the French revolution, Voltaire and some others formed a set design to destroy the Chris- tian rehgion-. For this purpose, they engaged, at dif- ferent periods, a number of men of distinguished tal. ents, power, and influence ; all deadly enemies to the gospel ; men of profligate principles, and profligate lives. These men distinguished themselves with diligence, courage, activity, and perseverance, in the propagation of their sentiments. Books were written and publish- 254 ed, ill innumerable multitudes, in which infidelity was brought down to the level of peasants and even ot' chil- dren ; and poured into the cottage and scliool. Others of a superior kind, crept into the shop and the farna- house ; and others of a still higher class, found the!r way to the drawing room, the university, and the pal- ace. By these and other efforts, infidelity was spread with astonishing rapidity in many parts of Europe, par- ticularly in France. In the year 1776, Dr. Adam Weishaupt, professor of the canon law in the universtity of Ingoldstadt, in Ba- varia, established the society of the Illuminati. This society was distinguished beyond all others, for cun- ning, mischief, an absolute des'titution of conscience, an absolute disregard of all the interests of man, and a torpid insensibility to all moral obligation. Their doc- trines were, that God is nothing ; that government is a curse ; that the possession of property is robbery ; that chastity and natural affection are mere prejudices, and that adultery, assassination, poisoning, and other crimes of a similar nature, are lawful, and even vir- tuous. The disciples of Voltaire finding this system one of more perfect corruption than their own, immediately united in its interests, and eageily entered into all its plans and purposes. These legions of infidelity, uni- ted, went forward with astonishing success, till their abominable doctrines infected all classes of the French people. The bloody storm of the French revolution commenced. Then it was, that infidelity obtained a complete triumph ; the dagger of the assassin, the axe of the executioner, the infuriated mob, were now let loose, and thousands and tens of thousands, perished ; and the National Assembly, in a public decree, declared that " there is no God, and that death is an eternal sleep." Voltaire labored through a long life to diffuse the poison of infidelity. In life he was pre-eminent in guilt, and at death, in misery. He had for years been accustomed to call the adorable Savior, "the 355 wretch," and to vow that he would crush him. He closed many of his letters to his infidel friend with these words — "Crush the wretch." This apostle of infidelity being laid upon his death-bed, was in the ut- most horror of mind. In the first days of his illness, lie showed some signs of wishing to return to that God whom he had so often blasphemed. He made a de- claration, he in fact renounced his infidelity, but in vain ; despair and rage succeeded in such a manner, that the physicians who were called in to administer relief, retired, declaring the death of the impious man too terrible to be witnessed. In one of his last visits, the doctor found him in the greatest agonies, exclaiming, with the utmost horror, " I am abandoned by God and man," He then said, " Doctor, I will give you half of what I am worth, if you will give me six months life." The doctor an- swered, " Sir, you cannot live six weeks." Voltaire repHed, " then I shall go to hell, and you will go with me !" and soon after expired. The following account of the tenets of the principal English infidels, is extracted from " Dr. Divight's Bac- calaureate Sermon.''^ Lord Herhert, of Cherbury, the first considerable English deistical philosopher, and clearly one of the greatest and best, declares the following things, viz. That Christianity is the best religion : That his own universal I'eligion of nature agrees wholly with Christianity, and contributes to its estab- lishment : That all revealed religion (viz. Christianity) is abso- lutely uncertain, and of little or no use : That men are not hastily, or on small grounds, to be condemned, who are led to sin by bodily constitution : That the indulgence of lust, and of anger, is no more to be blamed, than the thirst occasioned by the dropsy, or the sleepiness produced by the lethargy : That the soul is immortal ; that there will be a fu- ture retribution, which will be according to the works 22* 256 and thoughts of mankind ; and that he who denies these truths, is scarcely to be accounted a reasonable creature. 3Ir. Hobbes declares, That the Scriptures are the voice of God ; and yet that they are of no authority, except as enjoined by the civil magistrate : That inspiration is a supernatural gift, and the imme- diate hand of God ; and that it is madness : That the Scriptures are the foundation of all obliga- tion ; and yet that they are of no obligatory force, ex- cept as enjoined by the civil magistrate : That every man has a right to all things, and may lawtuUy get them, if he can : That man is a mere machine ; and that the soul is material and mortal. Mr. Blount declares. That there is one infinite and eternal God ; and yet insinuates that there are two eternal, independent Be- ings : That God ought to be worshiped with prayer and praise ; yet he objects to prayer as a duty : That the soul is probably material, and of course mortal. Lord Shaftshury declares, Tliat the belief of future rewards and punishments is noxious to virtue, and takes away all motive to it : That the hope of rewards, and the fear of punish- ments, makes virtue mercenary : That to be influenced by rewards is disingenuous and servile : That the hope of reward cannot consist with virtue ; and yet that the hope of rewards is not derogatory to virtue, but a proof that we love virtue. He represents salvation as a ridiculous thing, and in- sinuates that Christ was influenced, and directed, by deep designs of ambition, and cherished a savage zeal and persecuting spirit ; and That the Scriptures were a mere artful invention to secure a profitable monopoly, i. e. of sinister advanta- ges to the inventors : 257 That the magistrate is the sole judge of rchgious truth, and of revelation : That miracles are ridiculous, and that, if true, they would be no proof of the truth of revelation : That ridicule is the test of truth ; and yet that ridi- cule itself must be brought to the test of reason. 3[r. Collins, though chiefly a mere objector to reve- lation, declares, That man is a mere machine : That the soul is material and mortal : That Christ and his apostles built on the predictions of fortune-tellers and divines : That the prophets were mere fortune-tellers and dis- coverers of lost goods : That Christianity stands wholly on a false founda- tion ; (yet he speaks respectfully of Christianity ; and also of the Epicureans, whom he at the same time con- siders as atheists.) Mr. WooIsto7i, also a mere objector, declares, That he is the farthest of any man from being enga- ged in the cause of infidelity : That infidelity has no place in his heart : That he writes for the honor of Jesus, and in defence of Christianity ; and That his design in writing is to advance the messiah- ship, and truth, of the holy Jesus ; " to whom," he says, " be glory for ever, amen ;" and yet, That the Gospels are full of incredibilities, impossi- bilities and absurdities : That they resemble Gulliverian tales of persons and things, which, out of romance, never had a being : That the miracles recorded in the Gospels, taken lit- erally, will not abide the test of reason and common sense ; but must be rejected, and the authority of Jesus along with them. At the same time he casts the most scurrilous reflec- tions on Christ. Dr. Tindal declares. That Christianity, stripped of the additions which mistake, policy, and circumstances, have made to it, is a most holy religion ; and yet, 258 That the Scriptures are obscure, and fit only to per- plex men, and that the two great parts of it are contra- dictory : That all the doctrines of Christianity plainly speak themselves to be the will of an infinitely wise and holy God ; and yet, That the precepts of Christianity are loose, undeter- mined, incapable of being understood by mankind at large, giving wrong and unworthy apprehensions of God, and are generally false and pernicious : That natural religion is so plain to all, even the most ignorant men, that God could not make it plainer ; even if he were to convey, miraculously, the very same ideas to all men ; and yet. That almost all mankind have had very unworthy notions of God, and very wrong apprehensions of nat- ural religion. Mr. Chubb declares. That he hopes to share with his friends the favor of God, in that peaceful and happy state, which God hath prepared for the virtuous and faithful, in some other, future world ; and yet, That God does not interpose in the affairs of this world, at all, and has nothing to do with the good, or evil, done by men here : That prayer may be useful, as a positive institution, by introducing proper thoughts, affections, and actions ; and yet he intimates. That it must be displeasing to God, and directly im- proper : That a state of rewards and punishments, hereafter,, is one of the truths which are of the highest concern to men ; and yet. That the arguments for the immortality of the soul are wholly unsatisfactory ; and that the soul is probably matter : That Christ's mission is, at least in his view, probably divine ; and yet. That Christ, in his opinion, was of no higher charac- ter, than the founder of the Christian sect, i. e. another Sadoc, Cerinthus, or Herbert : 259 That his birth and resurrection were ridiculous, and incredible ; and that his institutions and precepts were less excellent than those of other lawgivers and teach- ers : That the apostles were impostors ; and that the Gos- pels and Acts of the apostles, resemble Jewish tables, and popish legends, rather than accounts of facts : That the behef of a future state is of no advantage to society : That all religions are alike : That it is of no consequence what religion a man embraces. Mr. Hume declares, That there is no perceptible connection between :ause and effect : That the behef of such a connection is merely a mat- ter of custom : That there is no reason to believe that the imiverse proceeded from a cause : That there are no solid arguments to prove the ex- istence of a God : That voluntary actions are necessary, and deter- mined by a fixed connexion between cause and etFect : That motives are causes, ooerating necessarily on the will: That man is a mere machine, i. e. an object operated on necessarily by external causes : That there is no contmgency, i. e. nothing happen- ing without a settled cause, in the universe ; and That matter and motion may be regarded as the cause of thought, i. e. the soul is a material cause, and thought its effect ; That no rewards or punishments can be rationally expected, beyond what is already kno^^-n by experience and observation : That self-denial, self-mortification, and humiKty. are not virtues, but are useless and mischievous ; that they stupify the understandmg, sour the temper, and harden the heart, and of course are gross crimes : 260 That pride and self-valuation, ingenuity, quickness ol" thought, easiness of expression, delicacy of taste, strength of body, health, cleanlines, taper legs, and broad shoulders, are virtues ; That suicide, or self-murder, is lawful and commend- able, (and of course virtuous :) That adultery must be practised, if we would obtain all the advantages of life : That female infidelity, (or adultery,) when known, is a small thing ; when unknown, nothing ; and That scepticism is the true and only wisdom of man. Lastly, as the soul of man, according to Mr. Hume, becomes every moment a different being, the conse- quence must be, that the crimes committed by him at one time, cannot be imputable to him at another. Lord Bolinhroke declares, That God is just ; and that justice requires, that re- wards and punishments be measured to particular cases, according to their circumstances, in proportion to the merit or demerit, of every individual ; and yet. That God doth not so measure out rewards or pun- ishments ; and tliat, if he did, he would subvert human affairs ; that he concerns not himself with the affairs of human beings at all ; or if he does, that he regards only collective bodies of men, not individuals ; that he pun- ishes none except through the magistrate ; and that there will be no state of future rewards and punish- ments ; That the religion of nature is clear and obvious to all mankind ; and yet. That it has been unknown to the greatest part of mankind : That we know material substance, and are assured of it ; and yet. That we know nothing of either matter or spirit : That there is undeniably, something in our constitu- tion, beyond the known properties of matter ; and yet. That the soul is material and mortal ; and that to say the soul is immaterial, is the same thing as to say, that two and two arc five. He also declares, 261 That there is no conscience in man, except artifi- cially : That it is more natural to beheve many gods than to beheve one. He teaches, That ambition, the lust of power, avarice, and sen- suahty, may be lawfully gratified, if they caii be safely gratified : That the sole foundation of modesty is vanity, or a wish to show ourselves superior to mere animals : That man lives only in the present world : That man is only a superior animal : That man's chief end is to gratify the appetites and inclinations of the flesh : That modesty is inspired by mere prejudice : That polygamy is a part of the law, or religion oi' nature. 85. Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine, a political and infidel writer, was born in England, in 1737, and bred a stay maker. Coming to America, he published a number of pamph- lets, which had a powerful effect in favor of the Amer- ican cause ; particularly that entitled " Common Sense." He went to London in 1790, and published " The Rights of Man." To avoid prosecution, he fled to France, where he connected himself with the leaders of infidelity, and was chosen a member of the Na- tional Assembly. Being sentenced to death by the revolutionary government, he was saved from the guil- lotine through the intercession of a number of Ameri- can citizens then in Paris. During his imprisonment in that city he debased himself by writing a deistical book, called " ilie Age of Reason,''^ a work which has stamp- ed his name with infamy. " In this performance is found nothing new, as to ob- jections against Christianity. He takes the ground long occupied by infidels. In the manner of his wri- ting, there is a kind of novelty. In rashness, inconsist- ency, misrepresentation, ridicule, and false reasoning, 262 few men, perhaps, on any subject, have ever surpassed liim." Mr. Paine speaks respectfully of Jesus Christ, but reprobates revealed religion, as the origin of all human inisery. His words are : — " The morality that lie preached and practised was of the most benevolent kind. He preached most excellent morality." Again he says : — " The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries, that have afflicted the human race, have had their origin in this thing called revelation, or revealed rehgion." He tells us : — " The word of God cannot exist in any written or human language ;" and in the same work he allows it possible for the Almighty to make a communication immediately to men. This is saying, God can reveal truth to men; but such a revelation cannot exist among men ; — which, in effect, is saying nothing. " Paine's method is, first, to misrepresent a fact, or assume a truth, and then cry out against a creature of his own imagination. None but a man of depraved inorals, and a bad heart, can read his book without in- dignation. A bold, profane, and daring spirit runs through his whole work. He speaks of sacred things with indecency ; he makes ridicule supply the place of solid argument ; he is engaged, with uncommon zeal, to load men, highly esteemed, with abusive epithets ; ho calls Moses a chief assassin ; Joshua, Samuel and David, monsters and imposters ; the Jewish kings a parcel of rascals ; the prophets liars, and St. Paul a fool." Paine died in New York, in the year 1809. For some time [irevious to his death, he so degraded him- self by his intemi)erate habits, that he was shunned by the respectable part of his associates. He lingered out a dark and gloomy period of several months, in a sullen, determined opposition to every religious thought or suggestion ; he evinced a continued and marked liostility to the ministers of the gospel, and would not permit them, under any pretext, to visit hiin. The Rev. Mr. Kctchum, however, in the common garb of JOMisJ M.OTf5rAiK.Jn) J'/ii.-- /Jii/nn/Jir,'/ii.sl vi.iitrrf fvery epiiriiry in ?}i/rnf'e,f.t'plrrimfpri.ivnt through the city of Bochara, announcing the time of liis execu- tion. An immense multitude cittended, and the chief men of the city. I also went and stood near Abdallali. He was offered his life if he would abjure Christ, tiic executioner standing by him with his sword in his hand. ' No,' said he, as if the proposition were impossible to be complied with, ' I cannot abjure Christ.' Then one of his hands was cut off at the wrist. He stood firm, his arm hanging by his side with but little motion. " A physician, by desire of the king, ofTered to heal the wound if he would recant. He made no answer, but looked up steadfastly towards heaven, like Stephen, the first martyr, his eyes streaming with tears. He did not look witli anger towards me. He looked at me, but it was benignly, and with the countenance of for- giveness. His other hand was then cut off. But, sir," said Sabat, in his imperfect English, " he never changed, he never changed. And when he bowed his head to re- ceive the blow of death, ;U1 Bochara seemed to say, ' What new thing is this V " — Dr. Buchanan. 271 89. Worship of thk Idol Jiggi:rnait. The idol Juggernaut is one of the deities worshiped by the Hindoos in India. The following account of this idol and its worship is extracted from the Journal of Dr. Buchanan, A\'ho visited the temple oi" Juggernaut, in Orissa, in 1806. " We know," says Dr. Buchanan, " that we are ap- proaching Juggei'naut, (and yet we are more than fifty miles from it,) by the human bones which we have seen for some days strewed by the way. We found large bodies of pilgrims coming from various parts of north- ern India ; some had been two months on their march, traveling slowly in the hottest season of the year, with their wives and children. Some old persons were with them, who wished to die at Juggernaut. Many of the pilgrims die on the road ; their bodies generally remain unburied ; and their flesh is devoured by dogs, jackalls, and vultures. " The temple of this idol is a stupendous building, and the walls and gates are covered with indecent em- blems sculptured upon them. The ground in many places about this temple is literal!}- whitened by the bones of the pilgrims who have perished in this place. " At the grand Hindoo festival of the Rutt Jatira, Juggernaut, the Moloch of Hindoostan was brought out of his temple amidst the acclamations of hundreds of thousands of his worshipers. When the idol was placed on his throne, a tremendous shout was raised by the multitude, which gradually died away ; after a short interval of silence, a body of men having green branch- es or palms in their hands, approached with great ce- lerity. The people opened a way for them ; and when they came up to the throne, they fell down before him that sat thereon and worshiped. The multitude again sent forth a voice ' like the sound of a great thunder.' " The throne of the idol was placed on a stujicndous car or tower about sixty feet in height, resting on wheels which indented the ground deeply, as they slowly turned this ponderous machine. Attached to it 272 were six cables, of the size and length of a ship's cable, by which the people drew it along. Upon the tower were the priests and satellites of the idol, surrounding his throne. The idol is a block of wood, having a frightful visage, painted black, with a distended mouth of a bloody color. His arms are of gold, and he is dressed in a gorgeous apparel. '• The car, as it was drawn along, would stop at in- tervals, at which time the priests would mount it, pro- nounce their obscene stanzas, and perform the most in- decent actions, which would be responded by the people. After the tower had proceeded some way, a pilgrim of- fered himself as a sacrifice to the idol. He threw him- self down in the road before the tower, as it was moving along, and v/as crushed to death by its wheels. A shout of joy was raised to the god. He is said to svxile when the libation of blood is made. " This festival continued a number of days, and num- bers devoted tliemselves as sacrifices to the idol, by falling down before the wheels of his car. As to the number of people who attend these festivals, no accu- rate calculation can be made. The natives themselves, when speaking of the numbers at particular festivals, usually say that a lack of people (100,000) would not be missed. It is said, however, of late years, such has been the influence of Christianity in India, that the num. ber has been creatlv lessened. 90. Henry Martyx. This useful man was born in Truro, Eng. 1781. At the age of seven or eight years he was sent to a gram- mar school, where he made a great proficiency in his studies ; and at length entered St. John's college, Cambridge. At this time he had a great dislike to re- ligion ; and he afterwards confessed, tlsat " the sound of the gospel, conveyed in the admonitions of a sister, was grating to liis ears." While settled in college, his whole mind was wrapped up in the pursuits of knowledge, to the neglect of his spiritual concerns, 273 until the death of a father ; after wliich, he became deeply impressed upon the subject of religion, and finally, a devoted Christian. He still continued to make rapid progress in litera- ture ; and in 1802 was chosen fellow of St. John's col- lege, at the same time assuming the character of a minister of the gospel : and towards the last of this year, was invested with the title of a " Christian mis- sionary." He offered himself to the society of missions to Africa and the east, to go to any parts, whither they deemed expedient to send him. He continued to exer- cise his pastoral office in Cornwall, until July, 1805, when he sailed for Calcutta, where ho safely arrived. But he soon left Calcutta, for Dinapore, where his ob- jecUWas to establish schools, to study the native lan- guages, in order to preach to the people, and to prepare translations of the Scriptures, and tracts, for distribu- tion. In March, 1808, he completed " the version of the New Testament into Hindoostanee." In 1809, he removed toCawnpore. Near the close of this year, he began his public ministrations among the heathen, by appointing meetings, and preaching to them. The fol- lowing account of his first essay in his new labor, is full of simpUcity and mcanmg : — " I told them," says he, " that I gave with pleasure the alms I could afford, but that I wished to give them something better, namely, eternal riches ; and then producing a Hindoostanee translation of Genesis, read the first verse, and explain- ed it word by word. In the beginning, when there was nothing, no heaven, and no earth, but God only, he cre- ated without help, for his own pleasure. But who is God ? One so great, so good, so wise, so mighty, that none can know him as he ought to know. But yet we must know that he knows us. When we rise up, or sit down, or go out, he is always with us. He crea- ted heaven, and earth ; therefore every thing in heaven, sun, moon, and stars. How then can the sun be God ? or moon be God ? Every thing on earth ; how then can Ganges be God ? If a shoe-maker make a pair of shoes, are the shoes like him ? If a man make an im- 274 fige, It is not like man, its maker. Infer, secondly, if God made the heaven and the eartli for you, aud made the meat also, will he not feed you ? Know, also, that he that made heaven and earth, can also destroy them, — and will do it ; therefore fear God, who is so great, and love God, who is so good." Having previously commenced a translation of the New Testament, into the Persian language, he now made arrangements to visit Shiraz, the seat of Pei'sian literature, for the pur- pose of collecting further materials for the work. While at Shiraz, he wa^ visited hy many vain phi- losophers, who endeavored to entangle him, by trying him with hard questions, or discoursing in unintelligi- ble language of the mysticisms of Soofcdsm. The translation was completed by him in February, ^fil2 ; and the following ■May, he left Shiraz, in order to visit, and present a Persian Testament, to the king. Upon his coming into the presence of the king, two Moolahs attacked him, with their arguments against the law and gospel ; and a viol^'nt contifoyersy was kept up for an hour or two ; when" tlie Vizier, joining in, ssfid to Mr. Martyn, " You had better say, God is God, and Mahomet is the prophet of God." He re- plied, " God is God ;" but added, (instead of " Ma- homet is the prophet of God,") " and Jesus is the Son of God." They no sooner heard this, than they all exclaimed, in anger and contempt, "He is neither born, nor begets," and rose up, as if they would have torn him in pieces. One of them said, " what will yon say, when your tongue is burnt out for blasphemy ?" They treated his book with contempt, and he went back to his tent. At length, he left Persia, on his way homeward ; but suffered much from fatigue and sickness on his way. At times, he was pitied, again hated, and perse- cuted. At Tocat, on the 10th Oct. 1812, he died. A short time previous to this event, he writes, " O, when shall time give place to eternity, and when shall fippear that new heaven, and earth, wlicrcin dwclleth right- eousness ? Then — ' there shall in no wise enter In, any I7u,< iJj^vi:tej(l Tnusi^riijry 7ui\nnff iiufTfrfd itnich f'rtmi fntii/iie ant? si£7cnats. di'rd aj Tocat rn Aria Mtlriz/r, en hit rehjm iircm FersiaJSlZ. /•v ihi" iiativrs ,tt' (>/fihr)/i' in J8JS.-The prnpJ/- n.t.ri/f,f hy l/ii-n ihiff'.t drmnJishrr/ ffiei'r Morui.^ and aJfor.i, nnd burnt thrir ipih- iii f/i^ tiri' 275 thing that defileth ;' none of that wickedness that has made men worse than wild beasts — none of those cor- ruptions that add still more to the miseries of mortal- ity, shall be seen, or heard of any more." His mem- ory is still, however, revered in Persia. A late trav- eller says : — " You little tliink how generally the En- glish Moolah, Martyn of Shiraz, is known throughout Persia, and with what atfection his memory is cherish- ed." The secretary to the embassy writes, " The Per- sians, who were struck with Martyn's humility, pa- tience, and resignation, call him a 7nerdt Khodoi, or man of God." Another says, that the Moolah who disputed with him, says, " that Henry Martyn ought not to be named among mortals." 91. J0A>''\A SOUTHCOT. Joanna Southcot was a prophetess, who appeared in England about the beginning of the pi-esent century. The book in which Joanna published her prophecies, is dated London, April 25, 1804 ; and she begins by declaring she herself did not understand the communi- cations given her by the Spirit, till they were afterwards explained to her. In November, 1803, she was told to mark the weather during the twenty-four first days of the succeeding year, and then the Spirit informs her that the weather each day was typical of the events of each succeeding month : New Year's day to corres- pond with January, January 2 with February, &c. After this she relates a dream she had in 1792, and declares she foretold the death of Bishop Buller, and appeals to a letter put into the hands of a clergyman whom she names. One night she heard a noise as if a ball of iron was rolling down the stairs three steps ; and the Spirit af- terwards, she says, told her this was a sign oi three great evils which were to fall upon this land, the sicord, the plague, and the famine. She affirms that the late war, and that the extraordinary harvest of 1797 and 24 276 1800, happened agreeably to the predictions which she had previously made known ; and particularly appeals to the people of Exeter, where it seems she was brought up from her infancy. In November 1803, she says she was ordered to open her Bible, which she did at Eccles. i. 9 ; and then fol- lows a long explanation of that chapter. When she was at Stockton upon Tees, in the next month, she informs us, three Methodist preachers had the confidence to tell her she uttered lies ; and she then refers them to four clergymen who could prove she and her friends were not liars. After this she gives us a long communication on Gen. xlix. wherein Jacob warns his sons of what should be- fall them in the last days, and which she applies to our present times. She then favors her readers with a long ESSAY on the marriage of the Lamb, and as va- riety is always pleasing, it commences in sober prose, but ends in jingling rhyme. The following is the conclusion of a communication which she had at Stockfort ; " As wrong as they are, saying thou hast children brought up by the parish, and thou art Bonaparte's brother, and that thou hast been in prison ; so false are their sayings, thy writings came from the devil or any spirit but the spirit of the liiviNG God ; and that every soul in this nation shall know before the five years I mentioned to thee in 1802 are expired ; and then I will turn as a diadem of beauty to the residence of my people, and they shall praise the God of their salvation." In March 1805, we find Joanna published a pamphlet in London, endeavoring to confute " Five Charges" against her, which had appeared in the Leeds Mercury, and four of which she says were absolutely false. The Jirst charge was respecting the sealing of her dis- ciples. The second on the invcLsion. The third on the famine. The fourth on her mission. The ffth on her death. Sealing is the grand peculiarity and ordinance of these people. Joanna gives those who profess belief in her mission, and will subscribe to the 277 things revealed in her " Warning," a sealed written paper, with her signature, by which they az"e led to think they are sealed against the day of redemption, and that all those who arc possessed of these seals will be signally honored by the Messiah when he comes this spring. It is said they looked upon Joanna to be the bride, the Lamb's wife ; and that as man fell by a woman, he will be restored by a woman. Some of her followers pretend also to have visions and revelations. At present, it seems, both warning and sealing have subsided ; they are waiting, probably in awful sus- pense, for the commencement of the thousand years' reign on the earth, when peace will universally pre- vail. Yet it is said they do not mean that Christ will come in person, but in spirit, and that the sealed who are dead before this time, will be raised from their graves to partake in this happy state. — Buck^s Theol. Dictionary. 92. Missions among the Hottentots. The Hottentots in South Africa have been consider- ed as the lowest and most degraded of any portion of the human race. In their religious views, they are but little removed from the brute creation, having no idea of the Supreme Being, and are apparently destitute of any religious principle.* Their language is said to be a compound of discordant, inharmonious sounds, more resembling the jargon of the feathered tribes, than the musical sounds of the human voice. Through the in- fluence of Christianity, the arts of civilized life have now been introduced among them, and tlie liberal sup- port they give to religious and charitable institutions is a striking exhibition of the power of Christianity in raising men from ignorance and degradation to a rank among civilized and intelligent beings. * Chapin's Missionary Gazetteer. 278 The United Brethren established a mission among this people in 1737, which was renewed in 1792. Since this time, the London Missionary Society has sent out many missionaries. Bethelsdorp, a settlement of Hot- tentots, is one of the principal stations of the London Society, it is situated about five hundred miles east of Cape Town, containing about twelve hundred inhabit- ants. Several missionaries have labored here with great perseverance and success. Hundreds have been instructed in their schools, and from the lowest state of degradation have become civilized, adorned a Chris, tian profession, and contributed liberallj' to the funds of the society, and for the support of the poor. In the latter part of 1821, Rev. Dr. Philip, of Cape Town, the superintendent of the society's missions in the col- ony, visited this station, and made the following state- ment to the society. " I now can meet the calumnia- tors of missions, and the enemies of the Hottentots, on their own ground, and challenge them to show me, in any part of the world, a people more capable of be- ing improved than the abused Hottentots of South Af- rica, or attempts at civilization more complete in their success, than what may now be seen at Bethelsdorp." The following authentic and remarkable account of the progress and influence of the gospel among the Bechuans, an African people residing eight hundred miles north of Cape Town, was published originally in the South African Commercial Advertiser, of Dec. 15th, 18-30. It is the substance of an address delivered by the Rev. Mr. Moffat, of Lattakoo, the principal of the town of the Bechuans, at a public meeting in Cape Town, after he had been fourteen years a missionary in South Africa. Lattakoo was first visited by Mr. Campbell, in 1813, when permission was obtained from the king of the country to send missionaries among his people. The first successful attcmjjt to commence missionary oper- ations among them, was in 1810. The former condi- tion and character of the inhabitants ; the mamier in 279 which the missionaries sought to bring .thcin under the purifying, civihzing, ennobUng influence of the gospel ; and the success of the self-denying and benevolent en- terprise, are strikingly exhibited by Mr. Molfat. — Mis- sionary Herald. " It has frequently been said, by persons unfriendly to the great cause of missionary exertion, that psalm-sing- ing was all that they taught the people ; but he could appeal to the effects of their humble endeavors, to con- vince the prejudiced that the missionaries did more than sing psalms, for, in many instances, their exertions had the effect of turning almost devils into men. " I speak from experience," continued Mr. M. " I appeal to the mission in which I am employed, and to the various stations which I have visited. I appeal to Lattakoo, where there is a church gathered from bar- barians, who, a few years ago, were in an awful state of degradation, and on a level with the beasts that per- ish ! I appeal to a well filled chapel, marked with a decorum which would do honor to a British congrega- tion. I appeal to the change which has been effected in the persons and habits of those residing on,our sta- tion. " It must be recollected that the Bechuans are alto- gether ignorant of a future state. They have no idea of an existence beyond the present. They suppose that all the pleasures, enjoyments, and honors of this world terminate in annihilation. Wlien the spirit leaves the body they suppose that it has ceased to exist ; and if a plebeian, the body is dragged away, and left a prey to the beasts ; and, if that of one more honorable, the body is committed to the gi'ave with many unmeaning ceremonies, while the females chant a dirge, deploring the eternal loss, and then return from the gi-ave witli- out one pleasing hope of immortality. " The consequence of such deplorable ignorance is, that they participate in every species of sin, and think as little of plunging a spear into their neighl)or's bo- som as of killing a tlog. A traveler among them, like a bird of passage, may be led to form a very favorable 24* 280 opinion of their humanity, their fidelity, and good sense ; but far different will be the judgment of those who have half the acquaintance with the native tribes which the missionaries possess. There you will see man tyrannizing over the females ; the weaker vessels doomed to bear infirmities and inflictions of which their husbands are comparatively ignorant. There you will see the men reclining under the shade of a spreading tree, while the females are most of the year employed in preparing the ground, sowing the grain, and gather- ing in the harvest. There you may see the mother of twins without compunction allow one to be strangled by the hands of her attendant, when it has just entered the world. If there be one of each sex, the female is the victim ; if both of one sex, the weaker is cut off. They are ' earthly, sensual, develish.' There might be seen a nation, looking to a man called the ' rain ma- ker,' to open the windows of heaven, and cause it to rain upon the earth ; and while such deceivers main- tained their influence over the people, the missionaries were made the butts of their indignation, and were treated as the supposed cause of every evil which befel them. " In endeavoring to convey a knowledge of true reli- gion to the natives, we taught them that they were men, fallen and sinful men ; we exhibited to them the character of that God against whom they had sinned, and disclosed to them the doctrine of the eternal state They were startled as if the}' had seen the Judge de scend, the graves open, the dead arise, and the adjudi cation of the awful day. We unfolded to them the meaning of the gospel. In fulfilling the ministry com mitted to us, our faith was tried ; and often have we hung our harps on the willows, and mourned over the condition of thousands, who were saying to us, ' away, away,' and threatened to drive us back with the spear and with fire. While we were yet praying, the bless- ing descended ; it ran from house to house, from heart to heart, and, in a short time the whole station seemed to be filled with prayer and praises. 281 '•• That season was one I cannot easily forget. It was indeed a time of refresliing from the presence of the Lord. Many received the truth, and a church was formed. The natives have acquired a taste for reading and writing, and are taught in tlieir own language. We trust we have also taught them to hold converse with heaven, and to meet the king of terrors with un- shaken faith. " They have been taught industrious habits, and to appreciate and be grateful for the boon which has been handed to them by British Christians. The station is increasing in size. Its capabilities are great ; its pros- pects are encouraging. " We have an extensive field of missionary labor. We have hundreds on the mission premises, and thou- sands in the neighborhood." 93. Progress of Christianity in the South Sea ISLANDS. In the year 1796, the London Missionary Society sent out to Otaheite, and other islands of the South Seas, a number of missionaries, for the purpose of Christianizing the natives. They were gladly received, as well as several others that were afterwards sent out in the year 1800. In consequence of disturbances in Otaheite in 1799, several of the missionaries were ob- liged to take refuge in New South Wales, some of whom afterwards returned to the islands. For fifteen years the missionaries labored with little or no appear- ance of success, and were almost discouraged. The hopes and expectations of the friends of the mission, in respect to the success of their endeavors to establish Christianity in these islands were nearly lost. But in 1812, Pomare, the king, declared his full con- viction of the truth of the gospel, his determination to worship the true God, and his desire to make a public profession of his faith by being baptized. About the same time, several other natives embraced Christianity. In 1815, the missionaries estimated the professed wor- 28-2 shippers of tlie true God at five liundretl, among vvhom were several leading chiefs. In this year, the idola- trous chiefs in Otaheite formed a conspiracy, and re- solved to massacre the praying people. Tliey being informed of their danger, fled to the neighboring island of Eimeo. The pagans then quareled among them- selves, and the chief instigators of the plot were slain. They were, however, still resolved on war, and for some time the issue was doubtful : but Pomare was finally restored to the government of Otaheite and its dependencies, November, ISl.'j. "This was the dawn of a most glorious day in this and the neighboring isl- ands." Pomare constituted, as chiefs, many of those who had made a public profession of their faith. The people, assisted by their chiefs, demolished their Mo- rals, overthrew the altars, and burned their gods in the fire. Idolatry was at once abolished, the worship of Jehovah substituted in its place, numerous buildings were immediately erected, for public worship and schools, in every district in the island. In June, 1816, one of the missionaries stated, " All accounts agree that a most wonderful cliange has been produced in all the Society Islands ; and iho spread of the gospel seems to be almost universal." An auxiliary missionary society was formed in May 1818, by the people of Otaheite and Eimeo, of which King Pomare was president. A missionar}' spirit is very prevalent. Eighteen natives have gone to distant islands to carrj* the knowledge of the gospel, some of whom went at the peril of their lives ; and they have labored with zeal, ability, and as- tonishing success. Several thousand have been taught to read, and two churches have been gathered by their means. According to late accounts, the inhabitants of nine- teen islands in the vicinity of Otaheite have renounced tlieir idols, and those in many others are eager for Christian instruction, fulfilling the ancient prediction, " The isles of the sea shall loait for thy Jaw." Con- siderable portions of the Scriptures have, been trans- lated, printed, and widely diffused among a people eager 283 to receive them. Elementary and devotional books have likewise been printed at their presses ; and educa- tion, civilization, and the influence of Christianity are steadily advancing. " These changes have been wrought, b}" the blessing of God upon missionary exertions, among a people the most unlikely, on account of their savagcness, sensuali- ty, and every thing that degrades the human character. The chiefs were intriguing, perfidious, cruel, and pro- digal of their people's lives, both in war and in furnish- ing sacrifices to demons ; the people were universally thieves, lewd beyond description, enslaved to the gross- est superstitions, and always ready to murder an}' one at the slightest intimations from their chiefs ; the strangling of infants was also the crime of every day, perpetrated by almost every motlier, without shame or remorse. Now the Sabbath is most sacredly regarded, all worldly business is entirely suspended, and scarce- !}'■ can an individual be found, who does not attend some house of Christian worship, nor a family, which neglects morning and evening prayers." The Rev. D. Tyerman, one of the deputation sent from England, to visit these islands, states the following facts concerning the people here : " No public immorality or indecency is seen. All drunkenness and profane swearing are unknown here. All their former sports and amuse- ments are completely put down. Never before did the (jospel obtain so complete and so universal triumph, in any country, over heathenism, cruelty, superstition, and ignorance." The following is from a recent publication : A writer in the London New Monthly Magazine, after candidly avowing his former hostility to missions, and stating that he now cheerfully yields to the con- victions forced upon him by the evidence of facts, pro- ceeds m the following firm and unhesitating language, to contrast the past and the present state of the South- Sea Islands. 284 "Certainly, no parts of the habitable globe have ev- er exhibited a more ignorant, barbarous, and denioraU ized race, than the Polynesian Islands, while under the dominion of the idolatrous superstitions which gov- erned them for ages. These dark places of the earth wez'e full of the habitations of cruelty. Infancy and age were alike its victims. There was a perpetual war- fare between all their institutions, and the well-being of society. The latter maintained a constant struggle even for existence, with the abominable customs which the former embodied and sanctioned. Population Avas rapidly diminishing, and the fairest portions of the world were becoming desolate. Man was the only contrast to the lovely scene around him, and it was perfect, — a moral ruin made doubly hideous by the blooming Eden which exposed and reproached his de- formity. But a change, as salutary as it is wonderful, was wrought by an agency, which the philosophers and moralists of civilized Europe were accustomed to re- gard with derision and contempt. The fact can no longer be disguised. The principal islands of the Pa- cific have risen to a state of intellectual and social improvement, which has scarcely a parallel in the his- tor)^ of nations ; and all this has been accomplished in the brief space of little more than thirty years, by the generous and self-denying labors of a few individuals who embarked from England, but slenderly endowed with general knowledge, ignorant of the languages, habits, and customs of the people they were destined to instruct, and unaccredited by the hierarchy of their native land. They were equally destitute of patron- age, wealth, and power ; but they were men of sound intellect, of patient industry, and, above all, sincerely and ardently devoted to the f^iith which had constrained them to become missionaries." The following testimony to the truth of the above statement, merits the attention of all who have been deceived by the studied attempts of the Quartely Re- viewers, and of some American writers, to misrepresent and undervalue the great moral change which has been wrought in these islands. 285 " A French naval ofricer, in a despatch to his govern. ment, dated Matavai Bay, May 15, 1828, says : " The state of the island of Tahiti is now very dif- ferent from what is was in the days of Cooke. The .rnissionaries of the Society of London have entirely chan- ged the manners and customs of the inhabitants. Idol- atry exists no longer ; they profess generally the Chris- tian religion ; the women no longer come on board the vessels, and they are very reserved on all occasions. Their marriages are celebrated in the same manner as in Europe, and the king confines himself to one wife. The women are also admitted to the table with their husbands. The infamous society of the Arreoy exists no longer; the bloody wars in which the people enga- ged, and human sacrifices, have entirely ceased, since 1816. All the natives can read and write, and have religious books translated into their language, printed either at Tahiti, Ulitea, or Eimeo, They have built considerable churches, where they repair twice in the week, and show the greatest attention to the dis- courses of the preacher. It is common to see nume- rous individuals take notes of the most interesting pas- sages of the sermons they hear." Another naval captain in the Russian service, in a letter dated as late as 1830, says, " I was quite delighted with the pious people who have been converted from idolatry. They bear a far larger proportmi to the inhahitants than can le found in towns and cities in Europe. What I saw and heard of the Christian devotedness of many of the natives, made me feel that my own religion was of a very low standard. I found, alas ! that all the natives are not followers of Christ, but as it is in Europe, so it is there ; many are still folloAving ' divers lusts and pleasures,' particularly among the youthful part of the population. There were several ships lying near the island (one from London, and the rest from other nations) during my visit ; but it appears to me, that the generality of seafaring men do not like the glorious change which God has wrought among the natives, through the in- 286 strumentality of the missionaries, and the reason is ob- vious.^' What the reason here spoken of was, may probably be learned by the following extract from Mr. Ellis's journal. " The traffic of prostitution, carried on by the natives with foreigners on ship-board, as well as on shore, is most public and shameless here. But this is a subject on which we must not, we dare not, record what we have seen and do know. The utter abolition of this infamy in the Christianized islands of the southern Pa- cific, is one of the most signal triumphs of the gospel in the history of human v/ickedness, in any age or part of the. world. It is painful to add, (as we have intimated before,) that for this very cause the gospel and its other triumphs are evil spoken of by many Christians (falsely so called) who visit these seas, and are filled with rage, disappointment, and malice, when they find that they cannot riot in licentiousness, as former voyagers did, on these once polluted shores ; therefore, do they abhor the change, and calumniate those who have been in- strumental in its production." We shall only add one testimony more, that of Sir Thomas Brisbane, late governor of the colony of New- South Wales, whose high official situation oftered many opportunities for receiving correct information respect- ing the state of the islands, and the influence of Chris- tianity on their inhabitants. " You can declare my favorable opinion, in the strong- est terms, of the value I attach to the missionary la- l^ors, and the inestimable benefits they have conferred on the vast extent of the population of the islands of the southern hemisphere. _" Captain Gambler, of the navy, stated to me, that he had touched at various of those islands, particularly at Owyhee, where he found the savages who had massa- cred Cooke, converted to peaceable Christians. " Were it necessary, I could add various other testi- monials in behalf of the inestimable blessing the mis- sionaries have conferred on mankind." /,",■/ niifjvf itmifre/fafitm in Hnwuii , one of the Sariflwji-Jt Zf7on,f.<- in /J92,1. iJrn.Lci (iiirde in iitfeni/ilin,/ //< .flr/> llie llie vinlenef of tiie fntho/it-^ ,1.1,1! risl l/ie J}v/es/,in/j! in Xi.tnie.t in ISl.'i w,i.-- shot I'V onn^flhr rnfi'. 287 94. BuRMAN Mission. The Burman empire is situated in that part of the continent of Asia, lying between Hindoo^stan aiid Chi- na ; and contains about eight milUons of inliabitants. Rangoon is the principal sea-port town. In 1807, sev- eral missionaries from England visited this country, among whom was a son of Dr. Carey. All their at- tempts, however, to establish a mission, at length failed. In the mean time, a missionary spirit began to be felt in America. A society was formed, and the board appointed Messrs. Judson, Nott, Hall, Newell, and Rice, as missionaries to the heathen ; and in June", 1812, they arrived at Calcutta. While on their pas- sage, Mr. Judson and wife, and Mr. Rice, changed their sentiments upon the subject of baptism, and adopt- ed those held by the Baptist denomination. This cir- cumstance eventually led to the establishment of the Burman mission, and in the formation of the Baptist Gen- eral Convention, in the United States. In July, 1813, Mr. Judson and wife arrived at Ran- goon. The Baptist board of Foreign Missions resolved to sustain this mission ; and accordingly, in^ 181.5, they sent Mr. Rough, a printer, and lady, to accompa- ny the two solitary missionaries. For six years had the untiring Judson and his wife labored, before any fruits were produced. But on the 27th of June, 1819, their hearts were gladdened by the baptism of Moung Naw, the first that occurred in the Burman empire. Soon after, others embraced the Christian religion ; which greatly enraged the king. In 1824, a war broke out between the Burmans and the British ; upon which, the missionaries were committed to prison, and when the Enghsh ships arrived, orders were given to have them executed the moment the first shot was fired upon the town. But after the English fired, the exe- cutioners, instead of performing the office, shrunk, ter- rified, into one corner of the prison. As the firing continued, they fled from the prison ; when about fifty 25 288 Burmans rushed in, drew them out, and almost literally carried them on the points of their spears, to the seat of judgment, where they were made to sit upon their knees, with their bodies leaning forward, for the con- venience of the executioner, who at that moment was ordered to behead them ; when, to their inexpressible joy, the English troops came up, and released them from the malice of the Burmans. The sufferings of Mr. Judson were more intense. He was taken by the executioner, and hurled into the death-prison, loaded with three pair of iron fetters, and fastened to a long pole, to prevent his moving. After this, he was forced to go, on foot, to Oung-pen-la, over burning sands, with blistered feet, while faint for the want of food. One of the company of prisoners, through fatigue and the intense heat of the sun, died. Being nearly exhausted, Mr. Judson was supported a little, by leaning on the shoulder of a native, who kind- ly offered to assist him in this way. Had it not been for this, it is probable he must have been left on the road, a victim of the cruelty and barbarity of the en- raged Burmese. After being imprisoned and subjected to the oppressive yoke of the natives for nearly two years, Mr. Judson was appointed to act as translator and interpreter to the Burmese army ; and the mission- arics felt that they were, once more, free. The affec- tionate courage of Mrs. Judson tended greatly to al- leviate the sufferings of her husband ; she, however, died soon after his release. Since that time the mission has assumed a more in- teresting character. . The number of converts has in- creased, and two or three of the natives are success- fully preaching the gospel to their ignorant and idola- trous countrymen. 95. Sandwich Islands Mission. The Sandwich Islands are a group of eleven islands in the North Pacific Ocean, containing, according to the estimation of the missionaries, about one hundred 289 and fifty thousand inhabitants. Of these islands, Owy- hee, or (according to the orthography established by the missionaries,) Hawaii, is the largest. Till recently, the inhabitants of these islands were gross idolaters, their religion being similar to that of the natives of the Society Islands before the introdue- tion of Christianity. In the year 1819, Tamehameha, king of the Sand- wich Islands, died, and was succeeded by his son Ri- horiho. This young prince, in the early part of No- vember, 1819, gave orders for the destruction of the monuments of idolatry, in Owyhee, and a few days af- ter sent the same orders to the other islands, which were promptly obeyed. In Atooi, the Morais and the consecrated buildings, with the idols, were set on fire, the first evening after the order arrived. The same was done in all the islands. These events took place, only a few days after the first missionaries sailed from Boston. This change appears to have been efibcted by the re- ports of what had been done in the Society Islands, the advice of foreigners, and some of the more intel- ligent chiefs. " The spell of diabolical enchantment was broken ; the priests having lost their proud and tyrannical pi'e-eminence, deserted their altars of abom- ination, the inveterate customs of three thousand years were abolished, and the people were left without the forms of any religion. Thus the Lord prepared the way for the introduction of the Gospel into these isl- ands." One of the principal events which seems to have led to the establishment of this mission, was the religious education of Henry Obookiah, a native of Owyhee, by tlie Rev. S. J. Mills, a zealous friend of missions. Obookiah was left an orphan in his native country, by one of those exterminating wars which often happened there, at the age of ten or twelve years. In a few years after, he was taken by an American captain to the United States, and landed at New-Haven, Conn, in 1809. While at New-Haven, Mr. Mills, then a stu- 290 dent of Yale College, conceived the plan of educating Obookiah as missionary to his native island. Oboo- kiah soon became hopefully pious, and strongly advo- cated a mission to his countrymen, in which he ardently longed to engage. He, however, died at the Foreign Mission School, at Cornwall, Conn. Feb. 17th, 1818 ; but " his mantle fell" upon others, and three missiona- ries, an agriculturalist, mechanic, printer, and physi- cian, with their families, and four native youths who had been educated as teachers at Cornwall, were sent out by the American Board of Foreign Missions, and sailed from Boston, Oct. 23d, 1819, and arrived off Owyhee, March 30th, 1820. These missionaries were cordially received by the natives, and immediately en- gaged in the duties of the mission. They found the encouragement so great, that they sent to the board for more laborers. Accordingly, five missionaries, with their families, embarked at New-Haven, Nov. 19th, 1822, and arrived at the Sandwich Islands, April 27th, 1823. In 1823, they were joined by the Rev. Mr. Ellis, with two pious Otaheitans from the Society Islands. Mr. Ellis was patronized by the London So- ciety, and has rendered important services to this mis- sion. An additional number of laborers were sent out by the Board in 1827, in 1830, and in 1831, so that the whole number of persons, male and female, who have left this country for the purpose of propagating Chris- tianity in these islands, will be fifiy-seren. According to the last accounts, there are about nine hundred schools, instructed by as many native teachers ; the number of readers and learners is estimated at fifty thousand. The following is from the last report (1831,) of the Board. " The mission press at the Sandwich Islands com- menced its operations on the first Monday in January, 1822. From that time, when the .language was just beginning to assume a written form, until March 20, 1830, scarcely ten years after the mission was com- menced, twenty-two distinct books had been printed in 291 the native language, averaging thirty. six small pages, and amounting to three hundred and ciglity-scvcn thou- sand copies, and ten million two hundred and eighty, seven thousand and eight hundred pages. This print- 'ing v^'as executed at Honolulu, where there are two presses. But besides this, three million three hundred and forty-five thousand pages in the Hawaiian language have been printed in the United States, (viz. a large edition of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John,) which swells the whole amount of printing in this time, for the use of the islanders, to thirteen millions six hun- dred and thirty-two thousand, eight hundred pages. Reckoning the twenty-two distinct works in a continu- ous series, the number of pages in the series is eight hundred and thirty-two. Of these, forty are element- ary, and the rest are portions of scripture, or else strict- ly evangelical and most important matter, the best adapted to the condition and wants of the people that could be selected under existing circumstances. " Perhaps never, since the invention of printing, was a printing press employed so extensively as that has been at the Sandwich Islands, with so little expense, and so,great a certainty that every page of its produc- tions would be read with attention and profit. "The language of the islands has been reduced to wri- ting, and in a form so precise, that five vowels and sev- en consonants, or twelve letters in the whole, represent all the sounds wliich have yet been discovered in the native tongue. And as each of these letters has a fixed and certain sound, the art of reading, spelling and wri- ting the language, is made far easier than it is with us. About one third part of the people in the islands have been brought into the schools, and one half of these have been taught to read. Many are able to write, and some are versed in the elementary principles of arithmetic. Nine hundred of the natives are employed as school masters. The historical parts of tlie New Testament, and selections from the Old, and summaries of Christian doctrines and duties, have been printed 25* 292 in the uative language, and placed in the hands of some thousands of the natives. The government of the isl- ands has adopted the moral law of God, with a know- ledge of its purport, as the basis of its own future ad- ministration : and the Christian religion is professedly the religion of the nation. Indeed most of the chief rulers are members of the visible church of Christ. Special laws have been enacted, and are enforced against murder, theft, licentiousness, retailing ardent spirits. Sabbath breaking, and gambling. The Chris- tian law of marriage is the law of the land. Commo- dious houses for ])ublic worship have been erected by the principal chiefs, with the cheerful aid of the people, in the places of their residence ; and w'hen there is preaching, these chiefs regularly and seriously attend, and their example is followed by great numbers of their subjects. Churches are gathered, as with us, wherever there are pastors to take the care of them, and access. ' ions are made to them, from time to time, of such as we may reasonably hope will be saved. In one small dis- trict, which, but a few years since, rang through all the length and breadth of it with the cries of savage drunk- enness, a thousand people have associated on the prin- ciple of entire abstinence from the use of intoxicating liquors. Moreover, in that same district and in two others, with a united population of perhaps forty thou- sand, where the morals were as degraded, a few years ago, as any where on earth, a fourth part of the inhab- itants have formed themselves into societies for the bet- ter understanding and keeping of God's lioly law, and require unimpeachable morals as a condition of mem- bership in their several fraternities. " All these are believed to be facts. And they «,re traceable wholly to the blessing of God on the estab- lishment of a Christian mission on those islands, a lit- tle more than eleven years ago." The following hymn was composed by Mr. W. M. Tappan, on the occasion of t)>e missionaries embarking at New Haven, Conn, for tlie Sandwich Islands. 293 Wake, Isles of the South ! your redemption is near, No longer repose in the borders of gloom ; The strength of His chosen in love will appear, And light shall' arise on the verge of the tomb. Alleluia to the Lamb wlio hath purchased our pardon ; We will praise him again when we pass over Jordan ; We will praise him, &,c. The billows lliat girt ye, the wild waves that roar, The zephyrs that play where the ocean-storms cease, Shall bear the rich freight to your desolate shore, Shall waft the glad tidings of pardon and peace. Alleluia, &.c. On the islands that sit in the regions of night, The lands of despair, to oblivion a prey. The morning will open with healing and light ; The young star of Bethlehem will ripen to day. Alleluia, &c. The altar and idol in dust overthrown, The incense forbade that was hallowed in blood ; The Priest of Melchisedec there shall atone. And the shrines of Atooi be sacred to God ! Alleluia, &c. The heathen will hasten to welcome the time, The day-spring the prophet in vision once saw — When the beams of Messiah will 'lumine each clime. And the Isles of the Ocean shall wait for his law. Alleluia, &c. And thou OBOOKIAH ! now sainted above, Wilt rejoice, as the heralds their mission disclose ; And the prayer will be heard, that the land thou didst love, May blossom as Sharon, and bud as the rose ! Alleluia, &c. 96. MiSSIOXS AMONG THE NoRTH AMERICAN IN- DIANS. The eflbrts which have been made by Christian be- nevolence, to spread the gospd among the Indians in our country have been generally attended with much success. The success which attended the labors of Eliot, Mayhew, and others in New England, and of that devoted missionary David Brainerd, (who went alone among the Indians in New Jersey, about eighty years ago.) will stand as a monument of the power ot 294 tlie gospel, to change savages into mild, peaceable, and devoted Christians. Of late years, the attention of the Christian public has been awakened on beholding the moral degrada- tion of the Indians in our country, and efforts have been made to carry the light of Christianitj-, and the arts of civilized life into various tribes. The commis- sioners of the American Board for Foreign Missions have estabhshed a number of missionary stations in va- rious tribes, the principal of which are those o^ Brain, erd, among the Cherokees ; Eliot and Mayhew, among the Choctaws ; and D wight, among tlie Cherokees, in Arkansas Territory. In these, and other stations of the board, churches have been organized, schools open- ed for the instruction of Indian children, and Christian- ity and civilization have progressed with pleasing suc- cess. Missionary operations, however, in our south- ern tribes of Indians, have been quite recently much re- tarded by the efforts which have been made to have them remove westward of the Mississippi. The effect which these proceedings will have upon the welfare of the Indians, remains to be seen. The Methodist Missionary Society, in the course of a few years, have established stations among a number of Indian tribes. Their mission among the Cherokees, the Wyandots in the state of Oliio, the mission among the Mohawks and Missisaugas in Upper Canada, have been highly prospered. According to the report of the society in 1'327, the number of Indian converts be- longing to the church, was eleven liundrcd and sixty- four.* A tribe of Indians consisting of one hundred and eighty souls, residing at the river Credit, Upper Cana- da, have, with the exception of a few families, embraced Christianity. " Here," says the Rev. Mr. Case, " are seen the effects of Christianity on the manners of a rude and barbarous people. Here are industry, civili- * The whole number of Indians in the Methodist Connexion in the United States, according to the Minutes of 1831, was four thousand five hundred and one. 295 zation, growing intelligence, peace and grace ; and those who have witnessed the change have expressed their persuasions that this new nation of Christians en- joys a sum of religious and earthly felicity which is not •always found in civilized societies of longer standing and greater advantages. How great the change ! A nation of wandering, idle drunkards, destitute of al- most every comfort of hfe, have, in the course of twen- ty months, through the influence of Christianity, be- come a virtuous, industrious, and happy people ! The conversion of the tribe in the vicinhy of Bellville, is as remarkable as that at the river Credit. Ten months ago, these were the same unhappy, sottish drunkards. They are now, without an exception in the whole tribe, a reformed and religious community. They number about one hundred and thirty souls, and the society embraces every adult, of about ninety persons." There are now supposed to be upwards of two hun- dred thousand Indians in the United States and their territories. When it is considered that we now inherit the land of their fathers; when we consider the suc- cess that has ever attended the efforts to introduce Christianity among them, we must consider that they have strong claims upon the sympathy and benevolence of the American people. 97. African Colonies at Sierea Leone and Li- beria. " Colonization in Africa, with reference to civiliza- tion, appears to have been contemplated in England as early as 1780. Several favorable circumstances soon after occurred, which excited the public attention to the subject, and crave rise to the Society tor the Aboli- tion of the Shire^Trade, and WILBERFORCE intro- duced the subject into the British parliament."* The colony of Sierra Leone was commenced princi- pally by the slaves, who had served under the British * Chapin's Gazetteer. 296 standard, during the American revolutionary war. About four hundred of these slaves found their way to London, and were subject to every misery and vice. A committee was formed for their relief; they were embarked for Sierra Leone, and arrived, May 9th,« 1787. After struggling through many difficulties, the establishment was transferred to the British govern- ment in 1808. Since this time, the colony has enjoy- ed a degree of prosperity, and large accessions have been made by the vigilance of the British cruisers in rescuing from slave-ships many an African, who has been torn from his country, and sold into bondage. The Wesleyan and Church missionaries have labor- ed here with success, and a colony has b. en formed, " which, in order, decency, and sobriety, and in the knowledge and practice of Christian duty," says an English gentleman, "not only may rival, but, I firmly and from my heart believe, exceeds any equal popula- tion in the most favored part of this highly favored country." In the year 1817, a few distinguished Christian phil- anthropists in our country, touched with commisera- tion for the degraded and unhappy condition of many of the free blacks, met at Washington, and laid the foundation of the American Colonization Society. The object of this society was to establish a colony to which the free colored people of the United States might em- igrate, and enjoy among themselves the blessings of free government, and be instructed in all the arts which pertain to a civilized and Christian community ; which might, also, be an asylum for slaves, re-captured from smuggling ships. The object that first claimed the at- tention of the society, was the selection of a suitable place for the proposed colony. Accordingly, the Rev. Samuel J. Mills, and Rev. Eienezer Burgess, were senfe out as agents, on an embassy of inquiry to Africa, to survey the coast, and ascertain the most favorable situation. The result of their investigations and in- quiries was such, as to satisfy the managers that the establishment of a colony on the west coast of Africa 297 might be attempted with every prospect of success. Accordingly, after selecting two places, which were af- terwards relinquished, Dr. Ayres, a distinguished mem- ber of the society, and Lieut. Stockton, of the United States' Navy, purchased another territory, which they called Liberia. To this place, the colonists were re- moved from Sierra Leone, in April, 1821, and the foundation of a settlement laid at the town, called Mon- rovia, in honor of the president of the United States, (Mr. Monroe,) for the services he rendered to the in- fant colony. In August, 1822, Jehiidi Ashnmn, with a company of emigrants, arrived as colonial agent for this colony. He found them feeble, houseless, dis- heartened, and defenceless ; soon after his arrival, the colony, which could muster only twenty-eight effective men, was attacked by more than eight hundred savages. By his energy and prowess, they were driven back. Intent upon the destruction of this little band, the sav- ages, with increased numbers and redoubled fury, in a few days renewed their attack, and were again repul- sed.. Under the management of Mr. Ashmun, this fee- ble band became a nation in miniature. " From a chaos of heterogeneous materials he formed a well organized community of freemen. Like the patriarchs of old, he was their captain, their lawgiver, judge, priest, and governor." It is said that a more prosperous community than the African colony can now scarcely be found. Some of the settlers, who began with nothing, are now in af- fluent circumstances. All the children in the colony are favored with the privileges of a school education ; a large library has been established, and houses of wor- ship and other public buildings are erected. The whole population now consists of about seventeen hundred souls. It is believed that the establishment of the African colony will afford rare facilities for the operations of Christian benevolence, among the benighted African tribes. It promises to be a blessed asylum for a de- graded and wretched people. It is already, to the sur- rounding tribes, like " a city set upon a hill, which can- 298 not be hid." It is also believed that the establishment of these colonies will have an important etiect towards hastening on that time when " Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God." The most recent important information from this colony, is given in a letter from Capt. William Abels, who lately visited Liberia as master of the Colonial schooner Margaret Mercer. " On the 14th of Dec. (1831) I arrived, and on the 15th went on shore, and was received in the most polite and friendly manner by the governor, ]Mr. Mechlin, who in- troduced me to the minister, and the principal inhabitants. All the colonists appeared in good health. All my ex- pectations in regard to the aspect of things, the health, harmony, order, contentment, industry, and general prosperity of the settlers, were more than realized. There are about two hundred buildings in the town of Monrovia, extending along the Cape Montserado, not far from a mile and a quarter. Most of these are good substantial houses and stores, (the first story are made of stone,) and some of them are handsome, spacious, painted, and with Venetian* blinds. Nothing struck me as more remarkable than the great superiority, in intel- ligence, manners, conversation, dress, and general ap- pearance in every respect, of the people over their col- ared brethren in America. So much was I pleased with what I saw, that I observed to the people, should I make a true report, it would hardly be credited in the United States. Among all that I have conversed with, I did not find one discontented person, or hear one desire to return to America. I saw no intempe- rance, nor did I hear a profane word uttered by any one. Being a minister of the gospel, on Christmas day I preached both in the Methodist and Baptist church, to full and attentive congregations of from two to three hundred persons in each. Most of the settlers appear to be rapidly acquiring property ; and I have no doubt are doing better for themselves and their children in Liberia, than they could do in any other part of the world. Could the free people of color in this country 299 but see the real condition of their brethren who have settled in Africa, I am persuaded they would require no other motive to induce them to emigrate. This is my decided and dehberate judgment." 98. Modern Persecutions of the Protestants IN THE South of France. The persecutions in this section of France had con- tinned Avith very little intermission, from the revoca- tion of the famous edict of Nantes, till a short period previous to the French revolution. Towards the close of the year 1790, these persecuted people were again freed from their alarms, and suffered to enjoy them- selves in the exercise of their religion. This peaceful state continued through the reign of Napoleon Bona- parte, till the accession of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France, in 1814, when the torch of persecution was again lit up, and great cruelties were committed by the Papists upon those who professed the Protestant faith. iVfany were plundered, and many were cruelly mur- dered, by infuriated Popish mobs. As soon as the news of the arrival of Louis at Paris became known at Nismes, a line of distinction was tra- ced between men of different religious opinions ; the spirit of the old Catholic church was again to regulate each person's share of esteem and safety. The differ- ence of religion was now to govern every thing else ; and even Catholic domes+ics, who had served Protest- ants with zeal and affection, began to neglect their du- ties, or to perform them ungraciously and with reluct- ance. At the fetes and spectacles that were given at the public expense, the absence of the Protestants was charged on them as a proof of their disloyalty ; and in the midst of the cries of ' Vive le Roi,' the discordant sounds of ' A bas le maire,' (down with the mayor,) were heard. M. Castelnau was a Protestant; he ap- peared in public with the prefect M. Roland, a Catho- lie, when potatoes were thrown at him, and the people declared that he ought to resign his office. The bigots 26 300 of Nismes even succeeded in procuring an address to be presented to the king, stating that there ought to be in France but one God, one king, and one faith. In this they were imitated by the Catholics of several towns. Nismes soon exhibited a scene of most awful outrage and carnage, which was carried to such a length, that the Protestant refugees in Paris presented the following petition to Louis, in behalf of their brethren at Nismes. " We lay at your feet, sire, our ac-te sufferings. In your name, our fellow citizens are slaughtered, and their property laid waste. Misled peasants, in pre- tended obedience to your orders, had assembled at the command of your commissioner, appointed by your august nephew. Although ready to attack us, they were received with the assurances of peace. On the 15th of July, 1815, we learnt your majesty's entrance into Paris, and the white flag immediately waved on our edifices. The public tranquility had not been dis- turbed, when armed peasants introduced themselves. The garrison capitulated ; but we^-e assailed on their departure, and almost totally massacred. Our national guard was disarmed, the city filled with strangers, and the houses of the principal inhabitants, professing the reformed religion, were attacked and plundered. We subjoin the list. Terror has driven from our city the most respectable inhabitants. " Your majesty has been deceived if there has not been placed before you the piciure of the horrors which make a desert of your good city of Nismes. Arrests and proscriptions are continually taking place, and diflerence of religious opinions is the real and only cause. The calunmiated Protestants are the defenders of the throne. Your nephew has beheld our children under his banners ; our fortunes have been placed in his hands. Attacked without reason, the protestants have not even by a just resistance afforded their ene- mies the fatal pretext for calumny. Save us, sire ! ex- tinguish the brand of civil war ; a single act of your will would restore to political existence, a city interesting for its population and its manufactures. Demand an 301 account of their conduct from the chiefs who have brought our misfortunes upon us. We place before your eyes all the documents that have reached us. Fear paralizes the hearts and stifles the complaints of our citizens. Placed in a more secure situation, we venture to raise our voice in their behalf," &c. &c. At length the decree of Louis XVIII. was received, which annulled all the extraordinary powers confirmed either by the king, the princes, or subordinate agents, at Nismes, and the laws were now to be administered by the regular organs, and a new prefect arrived to carry them into effect. But, in spite of proclamations, the work of destruction, which stopped for a moment, was not abandoned ; but soon renewed with fresh vigor and eifect, and continued till the year 1820, since which time, owing to the interference of the English govern- ment in their behalf, no fresh complaints have issued from the south of France, on the score of relimon. 99. Bible Societies. Before the art of printing was discovered, it is said that it would cost a poor man thirteen years of hard labor to obtain a copy of the Bible, so great was the expense of furnishing a manuscript copy. But now, through the providence of God, so great has been the change, that scarcely any person who lives in a Chris- tian country, and sincerely desires the Bible, need re- main a day without this precious gift of heaven. The formation of the British and Foreign Bible So- ciety is justly considered a new and important era in the Bible cause. This society was formed in London on the 7th of March, 1804, by an assembly consisting of about three hundred persons, of diuerent religious denomina'tions. " The primary occasion," says Dr. Owen, in his his- tory of the Bible Society, "of all these measures, out of which this soi^iety grew, was the scarcity of Tlelch Bibles in the principalities, and the impracticability of obtaining adequate supplies, from the only source ex- 302 isting at that period, whence copies of the authorized version were to be derived, — the Society for the "pro- motion of Christian knowledge. A number of indi- viduals associated for the purpose of satisfying this want ; they found others disposed to co-operate in their views ; they then extended those views to the whole country ; and finally conceived the design of placing the gospel in the habitation of every Christian family, and of carrying the glad tidings of salvation and life by Jesus Christ, to the people that are still walking in darkness, and the shadow of death." The British and Foreign Bible Society is the paeext institution: its receipts during the last year (1831) amounted to upwards of 377,000 dollars ; it has 2,349 Auxiliary and Branch Societies connected with it in Great Britain, including 1672 Associations, 650 of which are conducted by females. The Society has aid- ed in printing or translnting parts of the Bible, in up- wards of one hundred and forty languages or dialects. The number of Bibles circulated by the British and Foreign Bible Society, during the last year (1831) was 343,727 ; making the total number circulated since the commencement of the society 7,424,727. The total amount of the expenditure of the society, since its es- tablishment in 1804, has been nearly eight millions of dollars. The Russian Bible Society was formed at St. Peters- burg, in 1813, and now consists of 196 auxiliaries and branches in almost all parts of the Russian empire. During the year 1823, the Russian society were enga- ged in printing editions of the Bibles and Testaments, in various languages, to the number of 85,000. The operations of the society, however, of late have been suspended by order of the Russian government. The American Bible Society was instituted at New York, in 1816. The receipts of the last year (1831) amounted to more than one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. The society issued from the deposi- tory during the last year, 168,637 Bibles in English ; 69,025 Testaments in English ; 127 Bibles in Spanish ; 303 164 Testaments in Spanish; 1,884 Bibles in French; 933 Testaments in French ; 1,281 Bibles in German ; 67 Testaments in German ; 40 Bibles in Welch ; 1 Bi- ble in Dutch ; 2 Gaelic Bibles ; 3 Testaments in Irish ; and 18 Indian Testmants : — making a total of 242,183 copies. The total number distributed since the forma- tion of the society in 1816, is one million, iliree hun- dred and twenty-six thousand, six hundred and ninety- eight. The Paris Protestant Bible Society, was instituted in 1818 ; the operations of this society, however, are lim- ited in comparison with those either of the British and Foreign, or the American Bible Societies. The total number of Bible Societies in various parts of the world, at the present time, is said to be about four thousand, who have circulated in 160 languages, about nine millions of Bibles. 100. Bethel Uniox Meetings. Bethel Flag. These meetings, which were instituted for the bene- fit of seamen, appear to have derived their origin from the prayer meetings of some pious colliers, who assem- bled on board of ditferent ships in the river Thanies, near London, in 1816. These meetings attracting some attention, a respectable number of gentlemen and ladies met in London, formed a society, and purchased a vessel, and fitted it up for public worship. This ves- sel which is now called " THE ARK," is of four hun- 26* 304 dred tons, and capable of accommodating from seven to eight liundred hearers, and many thousands of sea- men have had an opportunity of hearing tlic gospel, on board this floating chapel. Since this vessel was fitted up, " The British and Foreign Seameii's Friend Society ar^d Bethel Union" has been formed, arks fitted up in sea-ports, and the " Bethel Flag" now waves in various parts of the world. On the .5th of June, 1818, the "Society for Prc- MOTiXG THE GosPEL AMOXG Seaxex" was formed at New-York, and in 1820, a mariner's church was erect- ed in the same place, {being, it is believed, the first mariner'' s church ever erected.) "It is an interesting and novel feature in this institution, that sectarian views are discarded, and ministers of different denominations preach in its pu]])it." The New-York Bethel Union was established June 4th, 1821.* Since that time. Bethel meetings have been regularly held either on board of ships, or in sail- * On Friday, the 22d of June, 1821, for the first tune in Amer- ica, the Bethel Flag, (a present from the London Bethel Union to the Port of New-York Society,) was lioisted at the mast-head of the ship Cadmus, Capt. Whitlock, lying at the Pine-street wharf. In the morning of the day, the committee were apprehensive that tliey sliould have no hearers. The experiment here was novel — the issue was by many considered doubtful. They were told by several, who are " wise in wordly matters," that a guard of constables would be necessary to preserve order. At first it was thought advisable to hold the meetings in the cabin, to prevent the possibility of disturbance. On arriving at tlie vessel, the deck was found cleared, an awning stretclied, and all necessary pre- parations for holding the meeting there. At eight o'clock the president opened the meeting, by stating the object and plans of the society, and inviting the co-operation of captains and their crews in promoting the benevolent designs of the society. The mariners' (1U7) psalm was sung witli great animation and feeling, and seamen were innnediately seen pressing in from all quarters. After prayer by an aged sea captain, Dr. Spring ad- dressed the seamen — other exercises followed. The vessel and wharf were crowded — order and solemnity prevailed throughout — every oar was open, every eye was fixed. Tracts were dis- tributed aniojig the seamen, who received them with gratitude. 305 or boardinrr-hoLiscs, anci conducted by members of the Board of Managers, and appear to be attended with blessed effects. The engraving of the Bethel meeting in this work, represents an evening prayer meeting, on the deck of a ship, during the warm season of the year. When we consider the importance of seamen in a national or religious point of light ; the low state of morals too generally prevalent among them ; we must consider the efforts which are now making for their re- ligious improvement in various parts of the world, as an auspicious era in the efforts of Christian benevo- lence. Seamen, above every other class of people, have the opportunity to carry the light of the gospel to the remote and " dark places of the earth," and it is believed that their efforts will yet have an important effect in diffusing the light of Christianity throughout the world. 101. Sunday Schools. Among the various institutions which liave been es- tablished in modern times for the promotion of reli- Every circumstance was calculated to inspire the board with courage and confidence to go forward. On the 21st of August, a Bethel meeting was held on board the United States ship Franklin 74, commodore Stewart, lying off the Battery, about to depart on a long cruise. A congrega- tion, consisting principally of seamen, about eight hundred in number, were present. Dr. Spring of New-York, Dr. Stau'ghton and Rev. J. Eastburn of Philadelphia, conducted the exercises. The utmost decorum and solemnity prevailed. Several of the seamen came up to Mr. Eastburn, and thanked him for the many " good things he had told them." The crew were affectionately commended to the protection and mercy of that gracious Being who hath provided a Savior for them, and who was inviting them by the sweetest allurements of his love, to the everlasting enjoyment of his rest. The board, in behalf of themselves, the reverend clergj'^, and citizens who attended, embrace this oppor- tunity of expressing their grateful feelings to commodore Stew- art and his officers, for their politeness and attention to them on this interesting occasion. — Sailor's Magazine, 1831. 306 gious instruction, and the benefit of mankind, that of Sunday Schools must stand in the foremost rank. The first Sunday School was established by Robert Raikes, Esq. of Gloucester, Eng. in 1782. " The beginning of this scheme," says Mr. Raikes, " was owing to accident. Some business leading me one morning into the suburbs of the city, (Gloucester,) where the lowest of the people chiefly reside, I was struck with concern at seeing a group of children, wretchedly ragged, at play in the street. 1 asked an inhabitant whether those children belonged to that part of the town, and lamented their misery and idleness. ' Ah ! Sir,' said the woman to whom I was speaking, ' could you take a view of this part of the town on a Sunday, you would be shocked indeed ; for then the street is filled with a multitude of these wretches, who, released from employment, spend their time in noise and riot, playing at chuck, and cursing and swearing in a manner so horrid, as to convey to any serious mind an idea of hell rather than any other place.' " This conversation suggested to me, that it would be at least a harmless attempt, if it were productive of no good, should som.e little plan be formed to check this deplorable profanation of the Lord's day. I then inquired if there were any decent well disposed women in the neighborhood, who kept scliools for teaching to read. I presently was directed to four. To these I applied, and made an agreement with them, to receive as many children as I should send them upon Sunday, whom they were to instruct in reading, and in the church catechism." This appears to have been the or- igin of Sunday schools. Mr. Raikes soon found means to increase the number of schools ; the Methodists were the first to unite with him in this undertaking, and in two years he saw a gi'eat change wrought in Glouces- ter ; he laid his plan before the public ; and before his death, which took place in 1811, he had the happiness to learn, the Sunday schools in various parts of Britain, comprehended three hundred thousand children. 307 1 These schools have now become numerous in Eng- land, Scotland, Ireland, and America ; and it is believed, that the influence they will exert on the rising genera- tion, will have an important effect towards hastening on that day when " all shall know the Lord from the least unto the greatest," and " the eartli shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Several different modes have been adopted in con- ducting these schools, and improvements have been constantly made. In many places, the instructors of Sunday schools hold a weekly or monthly meeting by themselves, to report the progress of their respective classes, and to devise means for the religious improve- ment of the school. Libraries, for the use of the scholars and teachers, have produced very beneficial effects. 102. Temperance Societies. In the early settlement of this country, great care was taken to prevent the sale and use of ardent spirits, unless in very moderate quantities ; and for the first hundred years after its settlement, the population of the country was peculiarly temperate, and of course, free from the attending vices of drunkenness. The war of the Revolution, however, was attended with disastrous results to the morals of a great portion of the army ; and glorious as were their military achiev- ments, they laid broad the foundation of a vice, which, if not speedily checked, will enslave the country to a tyranny worse, ten thousand times, than the stamp act, or Boston port bill. From that period, intemperance, with all its train of deadly evils, marched through the length and breadth of the land, growing with the un- paralleled increase of our population, and increasing in the same ratio with the cheapness of intoxicating material. During this period the only community who interposed their influence to stop the drunkenness of the nation, was that of the Friends. But at length, 808 between 1810 and 1820, the magnitude of the evil be- came so great and overwhelming, that, in various parts 'of our country, individuals, and some whole neighbor- hoods, endeavored to make a stand. Occasional ser- mons were preached and printed, and a few societies were formed to stop intemperance. " The work went on at a tardy pace ; those who were endeavoring to stop others, were slowly making them- selves drunkards, by drinking moderately ; the true, the grand principle, was not yet discovered. In the spring of 1824, Charles C. P. Crosby laid a plan of a national movement before the Massachusetts Society for the suppression of Intemperance at their annual meeting, in order to put a stop to this vice ; but it was merely entered on file. This plan embraced nearly, if not fully, the course of operations now acted upon with so much vigor and applause by the American so- ciety for the promotion of temperance, formed in Bos- ton, March 1826.* " In 1825, a meeting of a few individuals Avas called to consider the following question, viz. " \¥hat shall he done to banish intemperance from the United States ?" " After prayer for divine guid- ance, and consultation on the subject, the result was, a determination to attempt the formation of an Ameri- t:Ax Tempera^xe SociETY, whose grand principle should be abstinence from strong drink ; and its object, by light and love, to change the habits of the nation, with regard to the use of intoxicating liquors. Some of the reasons of this determination, were, " 1. Ardent spirit, which is one of the principal means of drunkenness, is not needful, and the use of it is, to men in liealth, always injurious. " 2. It is adapted to form intemperate appetites ; and while it is continued, the evils of intemperance can never be done away. * United States Temperance Ahnanac, 1832. 309 " 3. The use of tliis liquor is causing a general de- terioration of body and mind ; which, if the cause is continued, will continue to increase. " 4. To remove the evils, we must remove the cause ; and to remove the cause, efforts must be commensurate with the evil, and be continued till it is eradicated. " 5. We never know what we can do by wise, uni- ted, and persevering efforts, in a good cause, till we try. " 6. If we do not try to remove the evils of intem- perance, we cannot free ourselves frorfi the guilt of its effects." A correspondence was therefore opened, and a meet- ing of men, of various Christian denominations, holden in Boston, January 10th, 1826. The meeting was opened with prayer, and after con- sultation, the following resolutions were introduced by Jeremiah Evarts, Esq. corresponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- sions, and adopted, viz. " 1. Resolved, That it is expedient that more sys- tematic and more vigorous efforts be made by the Chris- tian public, to restrain and prevent the intemperate use of intoxicating liquors. " 2. That an individual of acknowledged talents, piety, industry, and sound judgment, should be selected and employed as a permanent agent, to spend his time, and use his best exertions for the suppression and pre- vention of the intemperate use of intoxicating liquors." A committee was then appointed to prepare a consti- tution, and the meeting was adjourned to February 13th, 1826. At the adjourned meeting, a constitution was pre- sented and adopted, and the following persons were chosen by the members of the meeting, at the com- mencement, to compose the society, viz. Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D. ; Rev. William Jenks, D. D. ; Rev. Justin Edwards ; Rev. Warren Fay ; Rev. Benjamin B. Wisner ; Rev. Francis Wayland ; Rev. Timothy Merritt ; Hon. Marcus Morton; Hon. Sam- uel Hubbard ; Hon. William Reed ; Hon. George Odi- 310 orne ; John Tappan, Esq. ; William Ropes, Esq. ; James P. Chaplin, M. D. ; S. V. S. Wilder, Esq. ; and Enoch Hale, M. D. The Hon. Heman Lincoln, of the Baptist church, then offered the following resolution, which was unani- mously adopted, viz. " Resolved, That the gentlemen composing this meet- ing pledge themselves to the American Society for the Promotion of Temperance, that tliey will use all their exertions in carrying into effect the benevolent plans of the society." The society then held its first meeting, and chose the following officers, viz. Hon. Marcus Morton, President ; Hon. Samuel Hub- bard, Vice President ; William Ropes, Esq. Treasurer ; John Tappan, Esq. Auditor. Executive Committee — Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D. ; Rev. Justin Edwards ; John Tappan, Esq. ; Hon. George Odiorne, and S. V. S. Wilder, Esq. On the 12th of March succeeding, the society met, and chose eighty-four men, from the northern and mid- dle States, as additional members of the society. In April, 1826, the National Philanthropist, a week- ly paper, devoted to the cause of temperance, was es- tablished in Boston, by the Rev. William Collier. Its motto was, " Temperate drinking is the downhill road to intemperance.^'' This paper has been continued, and with some modifications is now published by Messrs. Goodell & Crandall, in New York. It is an able and efficient paper, and under its successive editors, has been a valuable auxiliary to the cause. In November, 1827, the committee appointed the Rev. Nathaniel Hewit, of Fairfield, Conn, to an agency for three years. Mr. Hewit visited various places in the United States ; preached powerfully on the subject, addressed public bodies, awakened public attention, and in various ways promoted successfully the great and good cause. On the first of May, 1831, there were reported more than one hundred and forty societies in Maine, ninety- 311 six in New Hampshire, one hundred and thirty-two in Vermont, two hundred and nine in Massachusetts, twenty-one in Rhode Island, two hundred and two in Connecticut, seven hundred and twenty-seven in New York, sixty-one in New Jersey, one hundred and twen- ty-four in Pennsylvania, five in Delawa,re, thirty-eight in Maryland, ten in the district of Columbia, one hun- dred and thirteen in Virginia, thirty-one in North Caro- lina, sixteen in South Carolina, sixty in Georgia, one in Florida, ten in Alabama, nineteen in Mississippi, three in Louisiana, fifteen in Tennessee, twenty-three in Kentucky, one hundred and four in Ohio, twenty- five in Indiana, twelve in Illinois, four in Missouri, and thirteen in Michigan Territory, making in all more than two thousand two hundred, and embracing more than one hundred and seventy thousand members. These members have been constantly increasing, and have, in many cases, been more than doubled since they were reported.* " There are more than two hundred vessels sailing out of ports, without ardent spirits for use among the crews. More than one thousand distilleries have been stopped. One hundred public houses have discontin- ued selling any kind of intoxicating liquors ; and three thousand merchants have given up traffic in ardent spirits." * Fourth Report of the American Temperance Society. 27 312 103. Religion and tresent State of the Jews. A coin struck at Rome, after the destruction of Je- rusalem by Titus, refresenting the conquered country — she that was full of people sitting a widow, solitary and u-eeping. From the destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus, the Jews have been scattered agreeably to the prediction of Moses, from one end of the earth to the other. Their preservation, as a distinct people, through eighteen hundred years of awful sufTei'ing and disgrace, a " re- proach and a by-word," among all nations, is a stand- ing miracle, furnishing incontestible evidence of the truth of Divine Revelation. The following account of the religion and present state of the Jews is extracted from Marsh's Ecclesiastical History. " To their religion, the Jews have adhered with an inflexible obstinacy. Such parts of their worship as were necessarily confined to Jerusalem, particularly sacrifices, have ceased ; but as closely as they could, in their dispersed state, they have adhered to the Mo- saic dispensation. They have continued to read the law of Moses ; to venerate the Sabbath, which they have viewed as commencing an hour before sunset on Friday ; to practice circumcision, and to observe the passover, feast of pentccost, of trumpets, of taberna- cles, of Purim, and the great day of expiation. They have also had many festivals not appointed by the law 813 of Moses. Since the destruction of Jerusalem, they have had no high priest. A rahbi, or priest, continues to preside in the synagogue worship, and occasionally preaches and marries. He is not confined to the tribe of Levi. The members of that tribe are now consider- 'd as laymen, yet they have some little deference paid tliem in the synagogue service. The Jews in their dispersion have rigidly adhered to a tew great articles of faith ; — the unity of God ; the inspiration and ever-binding power of the law of Mo- ses ; the future appearance of the Messiah ; the resur- rection of the dead ; and future i*etribution. They have supposed that Christ will be a great temporal prince', will restore the Jews to their native land, and will subdue all nations before him and the house of Judah. As the prophets have predicted his mean ap- pearance, and suife rings, they have supposed that there will be two Messiahs, Ban Ephraim, a person of low and mean condition, of the tribe of Ephraim, and Ban David, a prince of great power and glory, of the tribe <)^ Judah. Some new sects have from time to time appeared among the Jews ; but the Pharisees have ever formed the bulk of the nation. A few Caraites, who reject the traditions, and are Jewish protestants, remain. A col- ony of these are on the Chimea. The Sadducees as a sect, are nearly extinct. But there are many real Sadducees, that is Infidels, among the Jews ; men who reject all belief in revelation and moral accountability, and any Savior. A party has recently sprung up in Germany, who despise both the Talmud and the Old Testament. They are little better than Deists. The New Testament is read extensively. The number of Jews in the world, and in various countries at diflferent periods, is an interesting subject ; but never can be estimated with much accuracy. At the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, they proba- bly numbered not far from three millions. This num- ber has varied much in different ages and countries according to the opportunity given them for increase. 314 For the first twelve hundred years, they were far more numerous in the east than in the west. But in the tenth century, their numbers were greatly diminislied there by the invasion of the Tartars and persecution of the Persians. In Palestine their number has always been small. When they were banished from Spain in 1492, there were in that kingdom seventy thousand families. In 1619, there were in the province of Fez, eighty thousand. In the Ecclesiastical state they have num- bered an hundred synagogues, nine of which were in Rome. Their present number is probably between three and four millions. In the Ottoman empire it is supposed that there are a million. At Constantinople, eighty thousand, at Aleppo, five thousand, Jerusalem, three thousand. In China, India, and Persia, three hundred thousand. Of the white and black Jews at Cochin, sixteen thousand. In Ethiopia, one hundred thousand. In Morocco, Fez, and Algiers, four hun- dred thousand. In Poland, three hundred thousand. England twenty thousand. Holland, sixty thousand. France, twenty thousand. The United States, six thousand. As the Jews were, at the destruction of Jerusalem, dispossessed of their lands and driven into foreign coun- tries, they were compelled to resort to commerce for support. And having ever been in expectation of re- turning to Judea upon a sudden summons, they have never purchased to much extent, any territory, nor en- gaged largely in agricultural employments ; but have been the brokers and bankers of others. Their com- mercial pursuits were much promoted in the fifth cen- tury by tlie invasion of the northern nations, who had an abhorrence of commerce and suffered it all to be transferred to a people whom they viewed with igno- miny and contempt. In England, they were for a long time the chief conductors of foreign trade, and wrought most of the gold and silver ornaments for the churches. In the Ottoman empire, they obtained the privilege of selling wine, because it was supposed that they would strictly regard the Jewish law which forbade their 315 making any mixture. In Egypt and Morocco, they have ever farmed the customs, coined the money and conducted all foreign commerce. In most parts of the world and in every age, they have accumulated great wealth. In Europe and America, they are now gene- rally brokers, dealers in clothes, watches, jewels and a number of young people are teachers of children. In Great Britian, the Jews are not known in law, but they are connived at and valued for their enterprise. They have the free exercise of their worship, and the opportunity to acquire, and ability to hold property to any extent. Their literature is respectable. They have five synagogues in London. In Holland, the Jews are numerous, wealthy, and respectable. In Spain, they are not known as Jews ; but are nu- merous in every class of society, even among priests and inquisitors as good Catholics. In Portugal, they arc in the same manner obliged to dissemble. The Spanish and Portuguese Jews claim their descent from a colony of the tribe of Judah, sent into Spain at the Babylonish captivity, and will have no intercourse with the German Jews. They are in every respect superior to the German Jews, and vie with other Europeans in refinement and intelligence. They have separate synagogues wherever they reside. In Germany ancf Prussia, most of the vexatious stat- utes of former ages have been repealed, and the Jews are living in quiet. At Frankfort, however, they are subject to many humiliating restrictions. From Russia, they were formerly excluded, but they have been united to it by the union of countries in which they resided, and favorable edicts have been passed by the emperor. A colony of Caraite or pro- testant Jews, who adhere closely to the Scriptures, are on the Crimea. Poland has been their chief seat in modern ages. There are now in that country from 2 to 300,000, enjoying great privileges. In Sweden and Denmark, they have a good degree of liberty. 27* 316 In France, from whence they were expelled in 1394, and where only a few for centuries were known at Metz and Bordeaux, their situation since the revolution has been very gratifying. In 1791, all who would take the civic oath were admitted to the rank of citizens. This act first gave them a country in Europe. The Emperor Napoleon convened an assembly of them in Paris, May 30, 1806, that he might learn their prin- ciples, and the next year the Grand Sanhedrim, com- posed, according to the ancient custom, of seventy members, for the establishment of a civil and religious polity. A synagogue and a consistory were establish- ed in every department. In Paris, the Jews had in 1812, a consistory and three Grand Rabbles, and are improving in literature and agriculture. In the Ottoman empire, the Jews are still numerous, but less affluent, and more ignorant than in Europe. For a heavy tax to the Porte, they have tlie liberty of their own worship. They all wear beards, and are dis- tinguished by their dress. Their priests are much re- spected. " In Jerusalem, their ancient city, they are as a people, the objects of universal contempt ; who suffer the most wanton outrages without a murmur ; who endure wounds and blows without a sigh ; who, when the sacrifice of their life is demanded, unhesita- tingly stretch forth their necks to the sabre. If a mem- ber of tire community thus cruelly proscribed and abused, happens to die, his companions bury him clandestinely during tlie night, in the valley of Jchoshaphat, within the purlieus of the temple of Solomon. Enter their habitation and you find them in the most abject, squa- lid misery, and for the most part occupied in reading a mysterious book to their children, Avith wliom again it becomes a manual for the instruction of future gen- erations. The legitimate masters of Judea should be seen as they are in their own land, slaves and stran- gers — awaiting under the most cruel and ojipressive of all despotisms, a king who is to work their deliver- ance." 317 In China, the Jews have existed for many centuries in considerable numbers. They have their synagogues, but so far conform to the Chinese customs and wor- ship, and are so peaceable, as to meet with but little jier- secution. In India, the Jews are numerous. Dr. Buchanan, who visited that country in 1806 and 8, found their residence about a mile distant from Cochin, called Jewstown. Tiiey were divided into, two classes, the Jerusalem or white Jews, and the ancient or black Jews. The former came into India soon after the de- struction of Jerusalem. The latter have a tradition that their ancestors came thither soon after the Baby- lonish captivity. Their complexion differs much from the w'hite Jews, and they are viewed bj' them as an in- ferior race. From these. Dr. B. obtained a manuscript copy of the Pentateuch, handed down from their an- cestors, which differs but little from tlie European copies. 101. Millenium, This time is yet to come. Millenium is a term gen- erally used to denote the time when, according to prophecy ,^ a great moral change in our world will be effected by the universal prevalence of Christianity. " By this change, the ruins of the fall to a great extent, will be repaired ; the power and influence of the Mes- siah's reign will be felt and acknowledged by all na- tions, producing universal peace, and willing obedience to the law of the Creator ; and the earth with its inhab- itants, in d manner and degree beyond our anticii)a- tions, will return to the happy state of perfection, inno- cence, and peace, in which they were originallv form- ed."* We have many prophecies in the Bible respecting this time : the prophet declares, that " The knowledge Dr. Morse. ' 318 of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea," and, " all shall know the Lord, from the least unto the greatest." This world, which has been the theater of so much sin and misery, war and blood-shed, shall be changed, for in this time, " swords shall be beat into plough- shares, and spears into pruning-hooks ,; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." "There shall be nothing to hurt or of- fend, in all the holy mountain," for " the wolf- also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion, and the fathng together, and a little child shall lead them." The following is from Buck's Theological Diction- ary : — " MiLLE>'iuM, 'a thousand years;' generally em- ployed to denote the thousand years, during which, ac- cording to an ancient tradition in the church, grounded on some doubtful texts in the Apocalypse and other Scriptures, our blessed Savior shall reign with the faithful upon earth after the first resurrection, before the final completion of beatitude. "Though there has been no age of the church in which the millennium was not admitted by individual divines of the first eminence, it is yet evident, from the writings of Eusebius, L'eneeus, Origen, and others, among the ancients, as well as from the histories of Dupin, Mosheim, and all the moderns, that it was never adopted by the whole church, or made an article of the established creed in any nation. " About the middle of the fourth century the Millen- arians held the following tenets : " 1st, That the city of Jerusalem should be rebuih, and that the land of Judea should be the habitation of those who were to reign on the earth a thousand years. " 2ndly, That the first resurrection was not to be con- fined to the martyrs, but that, after the fall of Anti- christ, all the just were to rise, and all that were on the earth, were to continue for that space of time. 319 " 3dly, That Christ shall then come down from hea- van, and be seen on earth, and reign there with his servants. " 4thly, That the saints, during this period, shall en- joy all the delights of a terrestrial paradise. " These opinions were fouiuled upon several pas- sages in Scripture, which the MHlenarians, among the fathers, understood in no otlier than a literal sense ; but which the moderns, who hold that opinion, consider as partly literal and partly metaphorical. Of these pas- sages, that upon which the greatest stress has been laid we believe to be the following : — " And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bot- tomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid . hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled ; and, after that, he must be loosed a little season. And 1 saw thrones, and they sat upon tliem, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, nor in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Rev. xx. 1 — 6. This passage all the ancient Millenarians took in a sense grossly literal, and taught, that, during the millenium, the saints on earth were to enjoy every bodily delight. The moderns, on the other hand, consider the power and pleasures of this kingdom as wholly spiritual ; and they represent them as not to commence till after the conflagration of the present earth. But that this last supposition is a mistake, the very next verse but one assures us ; for we are there told, that, " when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations :3-20 which are in the four quarters of the earth ;'' and we iiave no reason to believe that he will have such power or such liberty in " the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." We may observe, however, the following things respecting it : 1. That the Scriptures afford us ground to believe that the church will arrive to a state of prosperity which it nev- er has vet enjoyed, Rev. xx. 4, 7 : Psal. Ixxii. 11 ; Is. ii. 2, 4 ; xi. 9 ; xlix. 23 ; Ix ; Dan. vii. 27. 2. That this will continue at least a thousand years, or a considerable space of time, in which the work of salvation may be fully accomplished in the utmost oxtent and glory of it. In this time, in which the world will soon be filled with real Christians, and continue full by constant propaga- tion, to supply the place of those who leave the world, there will be many thousands born and live on the earth, to each one that has been born and lived in the preceding six thousand years ; so that, if they who shall be born in that thousand years shall be all, or most of tbem saved, (as they will be,) there will, on the whole, be many thousands of mankind saved to one that shall be lost. 3. This will be a state of great hap- piness and glory. Some think that Christ will reign personally on earth, and that there will be a literal res- urrection of the saints. Rev. xx. 4, 7 ; but I rather sup- pose that the reign of Christ and resurrection of saints, alluded to in that passage, is only figurative ; and that nothing more is meant than that, before the general judgment, the Jews shall be converted, genuine Chris- tianity be diffused through all nations, and that Christ shall reign, by his spiritual presence, in a glorious manner. It will, hov/cver, be a time of eminent holi- ness, clear light and knowledge, love, peace, and friend- s^iip, agreement in doctrine and worship. Human life, perhaps, will rarely be endangered by the poisons of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. Beasts of prey, perhaps, will be extirpated, or tamed by the power of man. The inhabitants of every place will rest secure from fear of robbery and murder. War .shall be entirely ended. Capital crimes and punish- 321 iients be hoard of no more. Governments placed on iiir, just, and humane tbundations. The torch of civil iliscord will be extinguished. Perhaps Pagans, Turks, Deists, and Jews, will be as few in number as Chris, tians are now. Kings, nobles, magistrates, and rulers in churches, shall act with principle, and be forward to promote the best interests of men ; tyranny, oppres- sion, persecution, bigotry, and cruelty, shall cease. Business will be attended to without contention, dis- honesty, and covetousness. Trades and manufactories will be carried on with a design to promote the general iTood of mankind, and not with selfish interests, as now. -Merchandise between distant countries will be conduct- ■d v/ithout fear of an enemy ; and works of ornament and beauty, perhaps, shall not be wanting in those days. Learning, which has always flourished in pro- portion as religion has spread, shall then greatly in- crease, and be employed for the best of purposes. As- tronomy, geography, natural history, metaphysics, and all the useful sciences, will be better understood, and consecrated to the service of God ; and I cannot' hel[> thinking that by the improvements which have been made, and are making, in ship-building, navigation, electricity, medicine, &c. that "the tempest will lose half its force, the lightning lose half its terrors," and the human frame not near so much exposed to danger. Above all, the Bible will be more highly appreciated, its harmony perceived, its superiority owned, and its energy felt by millions of human beings. In fact, the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 4. The time when the Millenium will commence cannot be fully ascertain- ed ; but the common idea is, that it will be in the seven thousandth year of the v,-orld. It will, most probably, come on by degrees, and be in a manner in- troduced years before that time. And who knows but the present convulsions among different nations ; the overthrow which popery has had m places where it has been so dominant for hundreds of years : the fulfilment of prophecy respecting infidels, and the falling away of 322 many in the last times ; and yet, in the midst of all, the number of missionaries sent into diffei-ent parts of the world, together with the increase of gospel ministers ; the thousands of ignorant children that have been taught to read the Bible, and the vast number of differ- ent societies that have been lately instituted for the be- nevolent purpose of informing the minds and impress- ing the hearts of the ignorant ; who knows, I say, but what these things are the forerunners of events of the most delightful nature, and which may usher in the hap- py morn of that bright and glorious day when the whole world shall be filled with his glory, and all the ends of thf! earth see the salvation of our God ?" For the coming of this blessed day, Christians in all ages have prayed. Never, since the time of the first Apostles, has there been such an universal effort to spread the gospel throughout the world, as there is at the present time, and it is believed that we see the da\vn of that glorious period, when it will be said " One song employs all nations ; and they cry " Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us." " The dwellers in the vales, and on the rocks, Shout to each other, and the mountain tops From distant mountains, catch the flying joy ; Till nation after nation, taught the strain ; Earth rolls the rapturous Hosanna round." Cotcper. ^BETHKIL ME]£TIM& AT HlGlHLTo MHILILIElTnfMo Thf wolf fi/.'Y> .'TiJiU liwfll with tJu lamb. anJ the hfparj shuU h'f dinm with Ihrkiii ; ond fhf ealf iind thi- ypun^ tun and die ta//imf t/»fff/ifr; ,ind II littff rJii/d .-7/a7/ 7<-nd thrm . Isa. Jl Chap. over. A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF. PERSONS DISTINGUISHED IN RELIGIOUS HISTORY Abhas, the uncle of Mahomet, opposed the ambitious views of the impostor ; but wlien defeated in the battle of Bedr, was reconciled to his nephew, embraced his religion, and thanked heaven for the prosperity and grace he enjoyed as a mussulman. He died in the 32d year of the Hegira. Abbot, George, archbishop of Canterbury, born 1562, at Guildford, in Surry. In 1604, that translation of the Bible now in use was begun by the direction of King James I. and Dr. Abbot was the second of eight divines of Oxford, to whom the care of translating the whole New Testament, (excepting the Epistles,) was committed. He died at Croydon, Aug. 5th, 1633. Abdias, a native of Babylon, who pretended 'to be one of the seventy-two disciples of our Savior, wrote a legendary treatise, called Historia certaminis Apos- tolica, which was edited and translated into Latin, by WolfgE^ng Lazius, Basil, 1571. Ahelard, Peter, one of the most celebrated doctors of the twelfth century, was born in the village of Pa- lais, in Brittany. " He thought it necessary to have a mistress, and accordingly fixed his affections on Heloise, a niece of a canon at Paris. He boarded in his ca- 28 324 non's house, whose name was Fulbert ; where, pre- tending to teach the young lady the sciences, he soon made love to his scholar. Abelard now performed his public functions very coldly, and wrote nothing but amorous verses. Heloise, at length, being likely to become a mother, Abelard sent her to a sister of his in Brittany, where she was delivered of a son. To soften the canon's anger, he offered to marry Heloise privately; Fulbert, however, was better pleased with this proposal than his niece, who from a strange sin- gularity in her passion, chose rather to be the mistress than the wife of Abelard. At length, however, she consented to a private marriage ; but even after this, would on some occasions affirm with an oath, that she was still unmarried. Her husband thereupon sent her to the monastery of Argenteuil ; where, at his desire, she put on a religious habit, but not the veil. Heloise's relations, looking upon this as a second piece of treach- ery in Abelard, were transported to such a degree of resentment, that they hired ruffians, who forced into his chamber by night, and shamefully mutilated him. This infamous treatment forced Abelard to a cloister, to conceal his confusion, and he put on the habit in the abbey of St. Denis. He afterwards retired to a soli- tude in the diocese of Troyes, and there built an ora- tory, which he named the Paraclete, where great num- bers of pupils resorted to him. Here again his suc- cess excited that envy by w^hich he had through life been persecuted ; and having been several times in dan- ger of his hfe, by poison and other artifices, he was at length received by Peter the Venerable, into his abbey of Clugni, in which sanctuary Abelard was treated with the utmost tenderness and humanity. At length, hav. ing become infirm from the prevalence of the scurvy and other disorders, he was removed to .the priory of St. Marcellus, on the Saon, near Chalons, where he died, April 21st, 1142, in the 63d year of his age. His corpse was sent to Heloise, who deposited it in the Paraclete." 325 Abraham, Ben-choila, a Spanish rabbi, skilled in as- trology, prophesied that the coming of the Messiah would be in i358 ; died 1303. Abucara, Theodore, the metropolitan of Caria, ob- tained a seat in the synod held at Constantinople, 869 ; he wrote treatises against the Jews and Mahometans, which have been published. Abudhaher, the father of the Carmatians, in Arabia, opposed the religion of Mahomet, plundered the tem- ple of Mecca, and died in possession of his extensive dominions, 953. Acacius, a bishop of Amida, on the Tigris, sold the sacred vessels of his churches to ransom seven thou- sand Persian slaves ; he lived in the reign of Theodo- sius the younger. Acca, bishop of Hexham, author of treatises on the sufferings of the saints, died 1740. Acesius, bishop of Constantinople, in the age of Con- stantine, maintained that those who committed any sin after being baptised, ought not to be again adinitted in- to the church, though they might repent. Acliards, Eleazer, Francis des, distinguished by his learning, piety and humanity, was nominated bishop of Halicarnassus, and afterwards sent apostolic vicar to China; he died at Cochin, 1741. Acontius, James, a famous philosopher, civilian, and divine, born at Trent, in the sixteenth century. He embraced the protestant religion ; and, going over to Elngland in the reign of Elizabeth, met with a very friendly reception from that princess, as he himself has testified, in a work dedicated to her. This work is his celebrated " Collection of the Stratagems of Satan," which has been often translated and has gone through many different impressions. Acuna, Christopher, a Jesuit of Burgos, employed as missionary in America, published an account of the Amazon river at Madrid, 1641. Adalbert, archbishop gl Prague, preached the gospel among the Bohemians, and afterwards to the Poles, by whom he was murdered, April 29, 997. 326 AdeJgreiJf, John Albretcht, natural son of a priest near Elbing, pretended to be the vicegerent of God pn earth, was condemned to death at Konigsburg, for blas- phemy, 1636. Adelplms, a philosopher of the third century, who mingled the doctrines of Plato with the tenets of the Gnostics. Adhelme, William, nephew to Ina, king of the West Saxons, first bishop of Sherborne, and said to be the first Englishman who wrote Latin, died 709. Adrian, a Greek author, in the fifth century, wrote an introduction to the Scriptures. Adrian IV. Pope, the only Englishman that ever had the honor of sitting in the papal chair. His name was Nicholas Bukespere ; he was born at Langley, near St. Albans, in Hertfordshire, and after many vi- cissitudes of fortune, succeeded to the popedom in 1154. He died Sept. 1, 1159, leaving some letters and homi- lies which are still extant. Adricliomia, Cornelia, a nun of Holland of the Au- gustine order, published a poetical version of the Psalms in the sixteenth century. ^neas, Sylvius, or Pius II. born 1405, at Corsigny, in Sienna, where his father lived in exile. This pope was famous for his wise and witty sayings, some of which are as follows : — That common men should es- teem learning as silver, noblemen prize it as gold, and princes as jewels : A citizen should look upon his fam- ily, as subject to the city, the city to his country, the country to tlie world, and the world to God : That the chief place with kings was slippery : That the tongue of a sycopliant was the king's greatest plague : That a prince who would trust nobody, was good for nothing ; and he who believed every body, no better : That those who went to law were the birds, the court the field, the judge the net, and the lawyers the fowlers : That men ought to be presented to dignities, not dignities to men : That a covetous man never pleases any body but by his death : That it was a slavish vice to tell lies : That lust sullies and stains every age of man, but quite ex- tinguishes old age. 327 Agapiu^, a Greek monk of Mount Athos, in the seventeenth century, wrote a treatise in favor of trans- substantiation, called the " salvation of sinners." Agricola, Michael, a minister of Abo, in Finland, first translated the New Testament into the language of that country. Alasco, John, a Roman Catholic bishop, uncle to the king of Poland, became a convert to the Protestant principles, and died 1560. Alban, St. said to have been the first person who suffered martyrdom for Christianity in Britain, and therefore usually styled the proto-martyr of this island, was born at Verulam, and flourished toward the end of the third century. (See page 77.) Albert, Erasmus, a native of Frankfort, assisted Lu- ther in the reformation. Albert of Stade, author of a chronicle from the crea- tion to 1286, a Benedictine of the thirteenth century. Aleander, Jerome, archbishop under Pope Leo X. and celebrated for his attack on the doctrines of Luther, died at Rome, 1542. Alenio, Julius, a Jesuit, who went as a missionary to China, where he preached thirty. six years, and built several churches ; he died 1698. Alexander, bishop of Hierapolis, in the fifth century, who maintained that there were two natures in Christ ; he died an exile. Alexander I., bishop of Rome, 109. He was called a saint and martyr, and according to Platina, was the first who introduced the use of holy water into the church. Alexander IV. bishop of Ostia, was made pope in 1254. He bestowed the crown of Sicily on Edmund, son of the king of England ; and tried to unite the Greek and Latin churches. Alexander, a native of Asia Minor, was the founder of a sect called non-sleepers, because some of them al- ways kept awake to sing ; he died 430. Alexander V., Pope, was originally a beggar, but found means to cultivate his mind, so that he was dis- 28* 328 tinguished both at Oxford and Paris. He was elected pope in 1409, but soon died by poison. Ali Beg, a Pole, who was educated in the Mahome- tan faith, but employed himself in translating the Bible into Turkish. He also wrote on the reUgion of Ma- homet, and died in 1675. Allein, Joseph, a puritan of great learning and piety. His " Alarm" to sinners has been often published. He died at Taunton, Eng. 1668. Allyn, Henry, preacher in Nova Scotia, author of several strange and absurd religious doctrines. He died in 1783. His followers were few. He published a volume of hymns, and several sermons. Allen, Ethan, a brigadier general in the war of the American Revolution. He sustained the character of an infidel, and in his writings ridiculed the Scriptures. Ambrose, St., (seepage 60.) Anastasiui II., was raised from a private station to the throne of Constantinople by the voice of the peo- ple. He abdicated the throne for a religious habit, and afterwards, in attempting: to regain it, was put to death, 719. Anastasius I., pope of Rome, succeeded Siricius : he reconciled tl;e eastern and western churches, and died much respected for his sanctity and virtue, 402. Andreas, John, a famous canonist of the fourteenth century, born at Mugello, near Florence. We are told by good authors, strange things concerning the auster- ity of his life ; as, that he macerated his body with prayer and fasting, and lay upon the bare ground for twenty years together, covered only with a bear skin. Andreas had a beautiful daughter, named Novella, whom he instructed so well in all parts of learning, that when any affair hindered him from reading lectures to his scholars, he sent his daughter in his room ; when, lest her beauty should prevent the attention of the hearers, she had a curtain drawn before her. To per- petuate the memory of his daughter, he entitled his commentary upon the Decretals of Gregory IXth, " The Novellae." Andreas died of the plague at Bologna, 329 in 1348, after he had been professor forty-five years, and was buried in the cliurch of the Dominicans. Andreas, John, was born a Mahometan, at Xativa in the Kingdom of Valencia, and in the year 1417 embra- ced the Christian reUgion. He afterwards wrote his famous work of " The Confusion of the Sect of Ma- homet." This book was first published in Spanish, but has since been translated into several different lan- guages, and is much quoted by those who write against Mahometanism. Andrews, Lancelot, bishop of Winchester, was born in London, 1565. He died in 1626, having written many excellent religious tracts, particularly " A man- ual of private devotions and meditations for every day in the week ;" and " A manual of directions for the visitation of the sick." Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury in the reigns of Rufus and Henry 1st, born 1033, at Aost, in Savoy, died at Canterbury, 1109. He was the first archbishop Avho restrained the English clergy from marrying, and was canonized in the reign of Henry VIL A7ites, John, a native of America, educated in Ger- many, a Moravian missionary to Abyssinia, died 1811. Aquila, a mathematician of Pontus : he translated the Bible from Hebrew into Greek. Aquinas, St. Thomas, a celebrated teacher of the school divinity in the universities of Italy, and com- monly called the angelical doctor, was born in the castle of Aquino, in Italy, about the year 1224. In 1274, he was sent for to the second council of Lyons, by pope Gregory X. that he might read before them a book Avhich he had written against the Greeks at the cohimand of Urban IV. ; but he fell sick on his journey and died at Fossanova, aged fifty years. Aquinas left a vast number of works, which have been repeatedly printed, in seventeen volum.es folio. Aretin, Guy, a Benedictine monk, who lived in the eleventh century. He rendered himself famous by discovering a new method of learning music ; and was said to have been the inventer of tlie six notes in mu- sic, " Ut, Re, Mi," Fa, Sol, La. 330 Arius, (see page 87.) Armhiius, James, a professor of Divinity at Ley- den and founder of the sect of Arminians ; born in Holland 1560, and died in 1619. His sentiments are in opposition to those which are held by Calvinists. Arnold, a famous heretic of the twelfth century, born at Brescia, in Italy, whence he went to France, where he studied under the celebrated Peter Abelard. Upon his return to Italy, he put on the habit of a monk, and began to preach several new and uncommon doctrines, particularly, that the pope ought not to enjoy any tem- poral estate ; that those ecclesiastics who had any es- tates of their own, or held any lands, were entirely cut off from the least hope of salvation ; that the clergy ought to subsist upon the alms and voluntary contribu- tions of Christians : and that all other revenues be- longed to princes and states, in order to be disposed of among the laity as they thought proper. He was hang- ed at Rome in the year 1155. Ashury, Francis, the first bishop of the American Methodist Church. He died March 21st, 1816, in the seventy-first year of his age, having zealously devoted about fifty years of his life to the work of preaching the Gospel. Ascelin, an ecclesiastic of the eleventh century, de- fended transubstantiation against Berenger. Ashmim, Jehudi, agent of the American colony at Liberia, Africa. This philanthropist was eminently qualified for the station appointed him. Upon his ar- rival in the colony he found it in a feeble and defence- less state, and only twenty-eight effective men could be mustered wlien the colony was attacked by more than eight hundred savages. By his uncommon energy and prowess, he saved tlie colony from destruction, and laid the foundation of a large and well organized commu- nity of freemen. " Like the patriarchs of old, he was their captain, their lawgiver, judge, priest, and gover- nor." By his hardships and exposure to the climate, his health failed him, and he returned to the United States, and soon after his arrival, died, at the age of 331 thirty-four, in New Haven, August 26th, 1828, deeply lamented by his christian brethren. Augustine, St. (see page 61.) Augustine or Austin, St. the first archbishop of Canterbury, was originally a monk in the convent of St. Andrew, at Rome, and educated under St. Gregory, by whom he was dispatched into Britain, with forty other monks of the same order, about the year 596, to convert the English Saxons to Christianity. He died at Canterbury, 604. B. Baha, a Turkish impostor. He announced himself in 1260, as the messenger of God; was opposed and overpowed by the Turks, and his sect dispersed. Backus, Isaac, a distinguished Baptist minister of Massachusetts, and author of numerous publications. He was born at Norwich, Con. in 1724, and died in 1806. Bacon, Roger, a learned monk of the Franciscan order, descended of an ancient family, born near II- chester, in Somersetshire, 1214. His discoveries were little understood by the generality of mankind ; and because, by the help of mathematical knowledge, he performed things above common understanding, he was suspected of magic. He died 1294. Barclay, Robert, an eminent writer of the society of Quakers, born at Edinburgh, 1648. In 1676, his fa- mous " Apology for the Quakers," was published in Latin, at Amsterdam, and in 1678, translated into Eng- glish. He did great service to his sect all over Eu- rope by his writings, and died in 1690. Barcocheias, or Barcochab, an impostor among tiie Jews ; his followers were numerous, but afterwards de- stroyed by Julius Severus. Barebone, Praise-God, a, bigoted zealot of Crom- well's parliament, of such celebrity as a demagogue, that the parliament was ludicrously called after him. His two brothers adopted Scripture names, " Christ came into the world to save, Barebone," and "if Christ had not died, thou hadst been damned, Barebone," call- ed by the wits of the day, by the two last words. 332 Barroio, Isaac, an eminent matliematician and divine, born in 1630 in London, and died in 1677. He is cele- brated for his sermons, which are said to be richer in tiiought, than any other in tiie EngHsh language. Barton, EKzabeth, commonly called " The Holy Maid of Kent," was a religious impostor in the reign of Henry VIII. and executed at Tvburn, April 20th, 1534. Baschi, Matthew, founder of a new order of Fran- ciscans Capuchins, died 1552. Baxter, Richard, an eminent non-conformist divine, was born Nov. 12th., 1615, at Rowton in Shropshire, and died 1691. He wrote a vast number of books ; and the author of a note in the Biographia Brittannica tells us that he had seen one hundred and forty-five dis- tinct treatises of Mr. Baxter's : his practical works have been published in four vols, folio. He had a mov- ing and pathetical way of writing ; and was, his whole life, a man of great zeal and much simplicity. Bellamy, Joseph, D. D., a divine of New England, settled in Bethlehem, Con. in 1740, a teacher of candi- dates for the ministry, and distinguished for several re- ligious works. He died in 1790, aged seventy-one. Benedict, a celebrated abbot of the seventh century, of a noble Saxon family. He introduced many im- provements in architecture into England, from the con- tinent. He founded two monasteries, and was canon- ized after his death. Benedict IX., was elected pope, when only twelve years old, by the intrigues of his father the duke of Tusculum, and compelled to abdicate by the Romans on account of his debauchery : he died 1059. Benezet, St. a shepherd of Vevarais, who pretended to be inspired to build the bridge of Avignon, four arches of which only remain, died in 1184. Benezet, Anthony, (see page 246.) Benson, Dr. George, a very distinguished pastor among the English dissenters, was born at Great Sal- keld, in Cumberland, 1699, and died 1763. In 1740, he became colleague with Dr. Lardner at Crutched 333 Friars, and, on his death, had the sole pastorship en- trusted to him. Of his writings, the principal are, " Defence of the Reasonableness of Prayer ;" an lUus- tration of such of St. Paul's Epistles as Mr. Locke had not explained ; " A History of the first planting of Christianity," 2 vols. 4to. " Tracts on Persecu- tion ;" and " A Life of Christ." Bernard, of Menthon, an ecclesiastic of Savoy, foun- der of two monasteries in the passes of the Alps, for the relief of pilgrims and travelers, which still remain as monuments of his benevolence : born in 923. Bernard, St. a Romish saint, who died in 1153. Bernardine, an ecclesiastic, and very popular preach- er, born at Massar. He was the founder of three hun- dred monasteries in Italy, and was canonized by Pope Nicholas ; he died in 1444. Berkeley, George, bishop of Cloyne in L-eland, a distinguished benefactor of Yale College, (Con.) Avas born March 12th, 1684, at Kilcrin, county of Kilkenny, Ireland. The excellence of his moral character is con- spicuous in his writings. He was held by his acquaint- ance in the highest estimation. Bishop Atterbury, af- ter being introduced to him, exclaimed, " so much un- derstanding, so much knowledge, so much innocence, and so much humility, I did not think had been the portion of any but angels, till I saw this gentleman." He died January 14th, 1753. Beveridge, William, a learned English divine, bishop of St. Asaph, born at Barrow in Leicestershire, 1638, died in 1707, leaving behind him many learned and valuable works. Blair, Dr. Hugh, a celebrated Scotch divine, was the son of a respectable merchant in Edinburgli, and born in that city, April 7th, 1718. On the 15tii June, 1758, he was made one of the ministers of the high church of Edinburgh, and for more than forty years, amply evinced the propriety of the choice. Dr. Blair is well known by his " Lectures on Rhetoric and the Belles Lettres." His " Sermons," of which five vol- umes are before the public, have experienced a success 334 unparalleled in the annals of pulpit eloquence, though justly merited by purity of sentiment, justness of rea- soning, and grace of composition. They have circula- ted in numerous editions, and have been translated into almost all the languages of Europe. Doctor Blair died Dec. 27, 1800. Blair, James, M. A., a minister of the Episcopal church in Scotland, was sent by the bishop of London as a missionary to Virginia, in 1685. He procured a patent for the erection of a college there, and was its first president for nearly fifty years ; he was also presi- dent of the council of Virginia, and died in 1743. Bogardus, Everardus, first minister of the reformed Dutch church in New York. Bogoris, first Christian king of the Bulgarians ; he embraced Christianity in 865. Bois, Jean du, a Parisian ecclesiastic, became so con- spicuous in the military service of Henry III. as to ac- quire the name of Emperor of monks. On resuming his clerical character, he became eminent as a preach, er, but incurred the resentment of the church, he was confined at Rome, where he died in 1626. Boleyn, Anne, wife of Henry VIII. king of England, and memorable for giving occasion to the Reformation in that country, was born in 1507. Being accused (falsely it is believed) of conjugal infidelity, she was beheaded. May 19th, 1536. Bolsec, Jerome, a Carmelite, of Paris, forsook his order, and fled to Italy, and then to Geneva, where he lived as a physician. He there embraced the doctrines of Pelagius, and inveighed with so much bitterness and virulence against Calvin, that he was expelled from the city. He returned to France, where he died in 1584. His Lives of Calvin and Beza are a collection of false- hood and abuse. Boniface VIIL, Benedict Cajetan, a cardinal, and af- terwards a pope, in 1294. His ambition was unbound- ed. He hurled the thunder of the Vatican against the king of Denmark and France, and declared that God had made him lord over king and kingdoms. Philip 335 despising his threats, had him seized by force, but es- caping from his guards, he fled to Rome, where he died in 1303. Bonner, Edmund, bishop of London, in the reign of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Mary, was the son of an honest, poor man, and born in Worcester, shire. He was a inost violent and cruel bigot, and was the occasion of several hundreds of innocent persons be- ing put to death, for their firm adherence to the Protes- tant faith. Upon Queen Elizabeth's accession, he re- fused to take the oath of allegiance and supremacy ; for which he was deprived of his bishopric, and commit- ted to the Marshalsea. After several years' confine- ment, he died in 1569. Bore, Catharine Von, a nun, who, on the dissemina- tion of Luther's principles, quitted the veil. Her he- roic conduct attracted the notice of Luther, who after- wards married her. She was a woman of delicacy and virtue, and died in 1552. Boiulinot, Elias, LL. D., first president of the Amer- ican Bible Society, died in 1821. Bourg, Ann du, a learned counsellor of the parha- ment of Paris, was burnt by Henry II. for embracing the doctrines of Calvin, in 1559. Bourignon, Antionette, a famous female enthusiast, born in 1616, at Lisle, in Flanders. She came into the world so very deformed, that a consultation was held in the family for some days, about stifling her as a mon- strous birth. But her ntiind seems to have been raised far above the deformities of her person, for at four years of age, she not only took notice that the people of Lisle did not live up to the principles of Christianity which they professed, but was so much disturbed as to desire a removal into some more Christian country. Her progress through life was suitable to this begin- ning. She died at Francher in Holland, 1680. Her main principles of religion were nearly the same with those of the Quietists, excluding all external divine worship, and requiring a cessation of reason, wit, and understanding, that God might spread his divine light 29 336 over them, or cause it to revive in them : without which, the Deity is not sulficiently known. Brady, Dr. Nicholas, an Enghsh divine of good parts and learning, born at Baudon, county of Cork, 1659, died in 1726. He translated the iEnead of Virgil ; but he is best known by " A new version of the Psalms of David," written in conjunction with Mr. Tate. Brandt, Gerard, a Protestant divine, and minister of Amsterdam, died at Rotterdam, in 1695. He was au- thor of a " History of the Reformation of the Low Countries," in four volumes, quarto. It is written in Flemish ; and the grand pensioner Fagel said once to Bishop Burnet, that it was worth learning Flemish, merely to read Brandt's History. Brandt, Col. Joseph, a famous Indian chief, was ed- ucated under the care of the Rev. Dr. Wheelock, first president of Dartmouth College. In the war of thfe American Revolution, he attached himself to the Bi-itish cause. He died in Upper Canada, in 1807. He trans- lated into the Mohawk language the Gospel of St. Mark, and the liturgy of the English church, which was published for the benefit of the Indians. Brainerd, David. (See page 243.) Brown, Robert, a preacher, from whom the sect of Brownists derived their name. He died in 1630. His sect equally condemned episcopacy and presbytery. Brotvn, John, professor of divinity in Scotland, born in 1722, and died in 1788 ; author of the " Self Inter- preting Bible," and several other religious works. Bucer, Martin, born in 1491, at Schelstadt, a town of Alsace. He is looked upon as one of the first au- thors of the reformation at Strasburgh, where he taught divinity for twenty years, and was one of the ministers of the town. In 1548, Cranmer invited him to Eng- land, which invitation he accepted, and was appointed teacher of theology in the University of Cambridge. He died in 1551, and was buried in Cambridge. Budianan, Claudius, D. D., a Scotch divine; one of the chaplains of the East India Company, and provost of the college at Fort William. By his writings, he 337 excited a spirit of inquiry in reference to the moral condition of the heathen, and materially aided the cause of missions. He died in England, in 1815. Buell, Samuel, D. D., a presbyterian minister on Long Island, much distinguished for his piety. Died in 1798. Bunyan, John. (See page 223.) Burkilt, William, born at Hitcham, in Northampton, shire, 1650 ; died 1703. He was a pious and charita- ble man, who wrote several books, and among the rest, a " Commentary upon the New Testament," in the same plain, practical, and affecting manner, in which he preached. Burnet, Gilbert, bishop of Salisbury, born at Edin- burg, in 1643. He was a very zealous promoter of the revolution, which finally placed the present family on the English throne. As a writer, he is distinguished by his " History of the Reformation," published be- tween 1679 and 1681, and for which he had the thanks of both houses of parliament. In 1699, he published his " Exposition of the thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England;" and after his death, which happened in March, 1714-15, his "History of his Own Times, with his Life annexed," was published by his son, Thomas Burnet, Esq., afterwards Sir Thomas. BurneH, Dr. Thomas, a most ingenious and learned writer, born at Croft, Yorkshire, 1635. His most cel- ebrated work, " The Sacred Theory of the Earth," was originally published in Latin, in two volumes quarto ; the first two books, " concerning the Deluge and Paradise," in 1681 : the last two, " concerning the burning of the World, and the New Heavens and New Earth," in 1689. This work met with uncommon ap- probation from various eminent authors. He died in 1715. Butler, Joseph, bishop of Durham, a prelate of most distinguished piety, born at Wantage, Berks, 1692. His deep learning and comprehensive mind appear sufficiently in his writings, particularly in a work enti- tied, " The Analogy of 'Religion, natural and revealed, 338 to the constitution and course of Nature," He died in 1752. Caled, or Khaled, one of Mahomet's friends, called from his courage, " the Sword of God,'''' died in 639. Calef, Robert, a merchant of Boston, who published a work against witchcraft in 17G0, He died in 1720. Caligula, the Roman Emperor and tyrant, began his reign A. -D. 37, with every appearance of becoming the real, not the titular, father of his people ; but at the end of eight months he was seized with a fever, which, it is supposed, left a frenzy upon his mind, for his disposi- tion totally changed, and he committed the most atro- cious acts of impiety, cruelty, and folly : such as pro- claiming his horse consul ; feeding it at his table, in- troducing it to the temple in the vestments of the priests of Jupiter, and causing sacrifices to be offered to him- self, his wife, and his horse. After having murdered many of his subjects with his own hand, and caused others to be put to death without anj' offence, he was assassinated by a tribune of the people as he came out of the amphitheatre, A. D. 41, in the twenty-ninth year of his age. Callixtus II. Guy, Pope in 1119, held the first Lat- eran council, and died in 1124. Ca/met, Augustin, a Frenchman, born m 1672, died in 17.57. He was a man of vast erudition, and a won- derfully voluminous writer. The most celebrated of his works, are " A literal Commentary upon all the books of the Old and New Testament," and " A His- torical. Critical, and Chronological Dictionary of the Bible." Calvin, John, was born at Picardy, in France, July 10th, 1509. He received his early education at Paris, and being designed by his father for the church, at the age of twelve was presented to the chapel of la Gesine, ia the church at Noyon. Some time after, his father changed his resolution respecting his son. and put him to the study of law. In 339 1534, Calvin finally forsook the communion of the Ro- man church, and becoming interested in the doctrines of the reformation, espoused that cause, and began to forward it in the city of Paris. The reformers being persecuted, Calvin deemed it expedient for his safety to retire to Basil, where, in 1535, he published his celebrated " Institutions of the Christian Religion." In 1541, he settled at Geneva, where by his preaching, his writings, and his corres- pondence, he wonderfully advanced the Protestant cause, and was the author of that form of church gov- ernment which is termed preshylerian. He became the head of a numerous sect of Christians, who adopted many of his religious sentiments, and from him were denominated Cahinists. Calvin founded a seminary at Geneva, which obtain- ed a legal charter, and continued to flourish under his presidency and direction, until his death. In the literary pursuits of this college, he was assisted by the celebrated Theodore Beza, and other eminent men. The character of Calvin stands pre-eminent among the reformers. Next to Luther, he accomplished more for the reformation, than any other individual. He died at Geneva in 1564. Camphell, Dr. George, an eminent divine and theo- logical writer of Scotland, was born in 1719, died April 6th, 1796, leaving several valuable works.; the chief of which are " A Dissertation on Miracles," " Philoso- phy of Rhetoric," and " A new Translation of the four Gospels from the Greek, with Preliminary Dissertations and Notes," &c. Capellus, Lewis, an eminent French protestant and learned divine, born about 1579. His principal work is "Critica Sacra," a collection [of various readings and errors which he thought were crept into the copies of the Bible through the fault of the transcribers ; it must have been a work of great labor, since it occupied his attention thirty-six years. He died in 1658. 29* 340 Carpocrates, a heretic of Alexandria, who received and improved the Gnostic theory, about 130. Cartwright, Thomas, a puritan of great eminence und learning, born in Hertfordshire. He was a sharp and powerful controversialist, and was much perse- cuted, being obliged to quit the kingdom for safety. He wrote a practical commentary on the four gospels, and on the proverbs, and died in 1603, in great poverty. Casas, Bartholomi de las, a Spaniard, and bishop of Chiapa, born at Seville, 1474. At the age of nineteen, he attended his father, who went with Columbus to the Indies, in 1493. Upon his return, he became an eccle- siastic, and a curate in the isle of Cuba; but quitted his cure and his country, in order to devote himself to the service of the Indians, who were then enslaved to the most ridiculous superstitions, as well as the most barbarous tyranny. The Spanish governor.s had long since made Christianity detested by their unheard of cruelties, and the Indians trembled at the very narae of Christian. This humane and pious missionary resolved t,o cross the seas, and to , laj^ their cries and their miseries at the feet of Charles V. The affair was dis- cussed in council, and the representations of Casas so affected the emperor, that he made ordinances as severe to the persecutors as favorable to the persecuted ; but these ordinances were never executed, and the govern- ors continued to tyrannise as usual. Casas employed above fifty years in America, laboi-ing with incessant zeai that the Indians might be treated with mildness, equity and humanity ; but instead of availing any thing, he drew upon himself endless persecutions from the Spaniards, and died in 1566. Cassan, a Christian, who renounced his religion to become king of Persia, died in 1304. Casteil, Edmond, a divine of the seventeenth centu- '~y, and compiler of a very learned and laborious work, called " Lexicon Heptaglotton." He was also an em- ment assistant to Dr. Walton, in the celebrated edition of the " Polyglott Bible," and died in 1685. :3'41 Cave, Dr. William, a learned divine, born 1637,diea 1713. He was the author of some large and learned works relating to ecclesiastical history and antiquity ; particularly " The History of the Lives, Acts, Deaths, and Martyrdoms, of those who were cotemporary with the Apostles, and of the principal Fathers within the first three centuries of the Church," and " Historia Literaria," &c. ; in which he gives an exact account of all who had written upon Christianity, either for or against it, from Christ to the fourteenth century. Cerinthus, a disciple of Simon Magus, about A, D. 54, a heretic who denied the divinity of Christ. Chamier, Daniel, a French protestant professor of divinity at Montauban. He drew up the famous edict of Nantes, and was killed in 1621. Chandler, Thomas Bradbury, D. D. an eminent epis- copal minister and writer, of Elizabethtown, New Jer- sey, published several works in defence of episcopacy ; he died in 1790. Charles IX. ascended the throne in 1560. During his reign, the fatal massacre of St. Bartholomew took place, which renders his name odious. He died in 1574. Charlevoix, Peter Francis Xavier de, born in France in 1684 ; a learned Jesuit. He made a voyage to Can- ada, by order of the French king in 1720, from thence he passed up the great Lakes and descended the Mis- sissippi to New Orleans, then to St. Domingo, and from thence he returned to France. His History of New France or Canada, wherein the manners and customs of the Indians are described, is considered valuable. Charnock, Stephen, an eminent divine among the presbyterians and independents, who published his works in two volumes folio, and died in 1680. Chaucer, Geoffrey, one of the greatest and most an- cient of English poets was born in London, in 1328. In 1382, having given offence to the elegy, by adopt- ing many of Wickliffe's tenets, he was obliged to quit the kingdom; he died Oct. 25, 1400. 342 Charlemagne, king of France, was consecrated em- peror of the West by Pope Leo III. ; his conquests spread Christianity in the north of Europe ; he died in 814, in the seventy-fourth year of his age. Chillingworlh, William, a divine of the church of England, celebrated for his skill in defending the cause of protestants against papists; born at Oxford, 1602, died 1644. His most important work is, "A free In- quiry into Religion." Christina, queen of Sweden, and daughter of Gus- tavus Adolphus the Great, born Dec. 8, 1626. She succeeded him in the goverment of the kingdom, in 1633, and ruled it with great wisdom and prudence, till 1654, when she resigned it in favor, of her cousin, Charles Gustavus. She then changed her religion for that of the Romish church, and retii'ed to Rome ; yet upon the death of Charles Gustavus, which liappened in 1660, she returned to Sweden, with an intent to re- sume the government. But this could not be admit- ted, because, by the laws and constitution of the land, Roman Catholics are excluded from the crown. She died at Rome in 1689. Chubb, Thomas, born at East Harnham, near Salis- bury, Wilts, 1679. He was bred a glover, but became tolerably versed in mathematics, geography, and many other branches of science. But divinity above all was his favorite study ; and it is said, that a little society v/as formed at Salisbury, under the management and direction of Chubb, for the purpose of debating upon religious subjects. It appears, " that he had little or no belief in revelation ; indeed, he plainly rejects the Jewish revelation, and consequently the Christian which is founded upon it ; that he disclaims a future judgment, and is very uncertain as to any future state of exist- ence ; that a particular Providence is not deducible from the phenomena of the world, and, therefore, that pray- er cannot be proved a duty," &c. &c. He died at Salisbury in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Clarke, Dr. Samuel, a very celebrated English phil- osopher and divine, born at Norwich, in 1675 ; died May 17, 1729. His works are very numerous. 343 Claude, John, a French protestant, distuiguisned as an orator and writer in defence of the protestant church; died in 1687. His son, Isaac Claude, pub- lished his works, settled at the Hague, aad died in 1695. Clayton, Dr. Robert, a learned prelate and writer, bishop of Cork, in 1735: of Clogher, in 1745 ; died in 1758. Clemens, Romanus, a father of the church, compan- ion of Paul, bishop of Rome, and author of an epistle to the Corinthians ; died A. D. 100. Clement VII., Julius de Medicis, an Italian, electee pope, in 1523; he was beseiged by Charles V., who plundered Rome; he excommunicated Henry VIIL. which led to the reformation in England, and died m 15.34. Clement XIV., John Vincent Anthony Ganganelh, an Italian, raised to the popedom on the death of Cle- ment XIII. He suppressed the Jesuits, and died, sup- posed by some to have been poisoned, in 1774. Clovis I., founder of the French monarchy, was con- verted to Christianity, and died in 511. Cocceius or Cock, John, a native of Bremen, and He- brew professor there ; afterwards removed to Leyden ; he maintained that the Bible is mystical of Christ and the church ; he died in 1669. Coke, Thomas, LL.D., a leading minister of tne Wesleyan Methodists, a very zealous and able divine, and a most excellent man, was born at Brecon, m Wales, educated at Jesus College, Oxford, and entered nito orders in the i established church. For the last twenty-eight years, he discharged with unremitting dii- i_irfence the extensive duties of general superintendent of the methodist missions ; which so warmly engaged his active and incessant energies, that he many times crossed the Atlantic, visiting the West India Islands, and traveling through the United States. He gave to the world among many other works, " A Commentary on the Bible," in six large vols. 4lo. Dr. Coke died May 3d, 1814, on his voyage to India with six mission- aries intended for Cevlon and Java. 344 Co/et, Dr. John, a learned English divine, born in London in 1446, died in 1519. He founded and en- dowed St. Paul's school in London in 1512. He en- dowed it with lands and houses amounting then to 122/. As. Id. per annum. Colignl, Gaspard de, a celebrated admiral of France, who bravely supported the cause of the French pro- testants against the duke of Guise and his adherents ; but after several victories gained over their persecu- tors, was at last basely assassinated by one of the do- mestics of the duke of Guise, in the beginning of the horrid massacre of St. Bartholomew's day, 1572. Collins, Anthony, an eminent writer on polemical subjects, and the friend and correspondent of the great Mr. Locke, was born at Heston, near Hounslow, in Middlesex, in 1676, and died 1729. He published his celebrated "Discourse of Free-thinking" in 8vo. 171-3, and his " Discourse of the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Rehgion," in 1724 ; and wrote, besides these, a great many books, which were warmly attack- ed by the orthodox writers of that time. Col/ulhus, a priest of Alexandria, who maintained that God was not the author of the wicked ; he was condemned as a heretic in 324. Constantine, usually called the Great, and memora- ble for having been the first emperor of the Romans who established Christianity by the civil power, was boi'n atNaissus, a town of Dardania,in272, and died 337. Conybeare, Dr. John, bishop of Bristol, born at "Pin- hoe, near Exeter, in 1692, died at Bath, in 1755. His " Defence of Revealed Religion," published in 1732, in answer to Tindal's " Christianity as old as the Crea- tion," is an admirable work, and rendered eminent ser- vice to the church. Cotton, John, one of the most distinguished early ministers of New England, born in England ; he sus- tained a high reputation for wisdom and learning ; his publications w'ere numerous. Cotton, John, son of the Rev. John Cotton, minister of Plymouth, Mass. and of Charleston, South Carolina. 345 He was a faithful minister, and eminent for his know- ledge of the Indian language. He revised and superin- tended the printing of Eliot's Bible. He died in 1699. Coverda/e, Miles, bishop of Exeter, in the time of Edward VI. was ejected from his see, by queen Mary, and thrown into prison. Being liberated by queen EHzabeth, he attached himself to the puritans, and died in 1567, at the age of eighty-one. He assisted Tindal in the English version of the Bible, published in 1537, and afterwards revised and corrected the edition of it in a larger volume, with notes, in 1540. Cowper, William, an excellent English poet, equally distinguished by his genius and his virtues. He was born at Berkhampstead, Herts, Nov. 1731. His poems are various ; but the most celebrated of them is called " The Task ;" and the tendency of all his writings is, to enlarge the soul to every liberal sentiment and to improve the heart. Cowper died April 25th, 1800. Craddock, Samuel, a learned divine, author of " A History of the Old and New Testament," an " Apos- tolical History," and " The Harmony of the Four Evangelists," died in 1706, aged eighty-six. The lat- ter of these works was revised by Dr. Tillotson, who preserved it from the flames in the fire of London. Cradock, Thomas, rector of St. Thomas, Baltimore County, Maryland, published Psalms of David in he- roic verse, in 1756. Courtney, William, archbishop of Canterbury, a per- secutor of Wicklitfe, and his followers, died in 1396. Cgx, Richard, bishop of Ely, born at Whaddon, in Buckinghamshire, in 1499, died 1581. He was the chief framer of the Liturgy, and translator of the Bi- ble called " The Bishops' Bible," made in the reign of Elizabeth. Cranmer, Thomas, an English archbishop, memora- ble for having endured martyrdom in the cause of pro- testantism, was born at Aslacton, in Nottinghamshire, in 1489, and burnt at Oxford, March 21st, 1555, by order of Queen Mary. He was an open, generous, and honest man ; a lover of truth, and an enemy of 346 falsehood and superstition ; he was gentle and moder- ate in his temper, and though heartily zealous in the cause of the Reformation, yet a friend to those persons who most strenuously opposed it ; he was a great pa- tron of learning and the universities, a very learned man himself,. and author of several works. Crisp, Tobias, a controversial writer on divinity, and the great champion of Antinomianism, died in 1642. Cruden, Alexander, a corrector of the press, whose literary labors will ever entitle him to the veneration of all students of the sacred writings. His " Concor- dance of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament," is his chief work, and a singular instance of indefatigable labor and perseverance in the njost useful employment. His private character (though naturally liberal in the extreme,) was influenced by a temporary frenzy, which gave a certain color to all his actions, and suggested to him many whimsical plans of reformation, hopes of superiority, and visionary views of ambition, which were as useless to himself as unprofitable to others. Of his singularities, how. ever, which were many, the tendency was uniformly virtuous. He was born at Aberdeen, in 1701, and was found dead on his knees, apparently in the posture of prayer, at his lodgings in Islington, on the morning of Nov. 1st, 1770. • Cudtvorth, Ralph, an eminent English divine, was born at AUer, in Somersetshire, 1617, and died 1688. He was a man of very extensive learning, excellently skilled in the learned languages and antiquity, a good mathematician, a subtle philosopher, and a profound metaphysician. His great work, " The True Intellec- tual System of the Universe," was published in folio, 1678. Cuerenheri, Theodore Van, a native of Amsterdam, distinguished for science ; but especially for maintain- ing that a Christian should not enter a place of worship : he died in 1590. Cumberland, Dr. Richard, a very learned English divine and bishop of Peterborough, born in London, 347 in 1632, died in 1718. He had studied mathematics in all its branches, and the Scriptures in their original languages. His book " De Legibus Naturae" is his capital work, and will always be read while sound rea- soning shall continue to be thought the best support of religion. Cyprian, Thascius Cajcilius, bishop of Carthage, a principal father of the Christian church, born at Car- thage, in Africa, about the beginning of the third cen- tury, and beheaded there. (See page 60.) Cyril, of Jerusalem, one of the fathers, died in 386. Cyril, made bishop of Alexandria, in 412, died 444. His works are voluminous, and have been often printed. Cyrill, Lurcar, bishop of Alexandria and patriarch of Constantinople, strangled for attempting to reform the clergy, in 1638. D. ' Dalmatin, George, a Lutheran minister, of Layback, who translated the Bible into the Sclavonian language, in the 16th century. Dalmaiius, a bishop of Cyzicum, Avho attended the council of Ephesus and wrote the acts of the Synod of Nice. Damascenus, John, an illustrious father of the church, in the eighth century. He died about 750, leaving many compositions of various kinds behind him. Davenport, John, born in Coventry, Eng. in 1597, Being a Nonconformist, he was persecuted and was obliged to retire to Holland, from whence he came to America. He was the first minister of New Haven, Connecticut, and one of the founders of the colony of that name, where he endeavored to establish a civil and religious liberty more strictly in conformity to the word of God, than he had seen exhibited in any part of the world. After remaining in New Haven about thir- ty years, he was invited to become the pastor of the first church in Boston ; he accepted the call, antl died in that place in 1670. 30 348 David, St. the patron of Wales, was a native of Bangor, where he was educated in tlie fifth century. He was buried at St. David's Cathedral. David, de Dinant, taught in the thirteenth century that God was originally matter. David, George, a most extraordinary heretic, son of a waterman at Ghent, and bred a glazier, or, as some say, a glass painter. He began about 1525 to preach such whimsies as these ; namely, that he was the true Messiah, the third David, nephe.w of God, not after the flesh, but after the spirit. A persecution being com- menced against him and his followers, he fled first to Friesland, and from thence to Basil, where he lurked under the name of John Bruck, and died in that city in 1556. David el David, a Persian Jew in the twelfth century who pretended to be the Messiah. Davidis, Francis, a Hungarian, who changed his re- ligion four times, and finally declared that no worship was due to Christ ; he died in prison in 1579. Daille, John, a minister of the church of Paris, and one of the ablest advocates the protestants ever had, was born at Chatelherault, in 1594. In 1628, he wrote his celebrated work " Of the Use of the Fathers," which Bayle has pronounced a master-piece. Davies, Samuel, president of Princeton College, New Jersey ; eminent as a preacher ; published several ser- mons still much admired ; he died in 1761. Delaune, Thomas, wrote in 1683, " Plea for Non- conformity," which gave so much offence, that he was cast into prison, v/here he died. Diaz, John, a Spaniard who embraced the doctrines of Luther, for which, his .brother, Alphonsus, a violent Catholic, hired an assassin to dash out his brains, in 1546. Dickinson, Jonathan, first president of New Jersey College ; he published several sermons besides some miscellaneous works, and died in 1747. Dioclesian, Caius Valerius, a Roman emperor, whose bloody persecution of the Christians forms a 349 chronological sera, called the ^ra of Dioclesian or the Martyrs. It commenced August 29th, A. D. 284. Di- oclesian was born 233, and died 313. Diodati, John, a famous minister and professor of theology at Geneva, born at Lucca in 1579, died at Ge- neva in 1652. He is distinguished by translations of " The Bible into Italian," " The Bible into French," and of "Father Paul's history of the Council of Trent, into French." Dionysius, bishop of Rome, condemned the heresy of the Sabellians in a full synod, died in 269. Dodd, Dr. William, an ingenious divine of unfortu- nate memory, was born in 1729, at Bourne, in Lincoln- shire, Eng. In 1753, he recieved orders ; and being settled in London, soon became a popular and celebra- ted preacher. He obtained several lectureships, and advanced his theological character greatly by an almost uninterrupted publication of sermons and tracts of pie- ty. In 1766, he took the degree of LL. D. at Cam- bridge, having been made a chaplain to the king some time before. Becoming deeply involved in debt by his extravagant manner of living, in an evil hour he signed a bond which he had forged as from his pupil. Lord Chesterfield, for the sum of 4200/., and upon the credit of it obtained a considerable sum of money; but de- tection instantly following, he was committed to pri- son ; tried and convicted at the Old Bailey, Feb. 24th, and executed at Tyburn, June 27th, 1777. Doddridge, Dr. Philip, an eminent dissenting minis- ter, born in London, in 1702, died 1751. He was twen- ty-one years pastor of a church at Northampton ; di- rector of a flourishihg academy ; and author of many excellent writings ; in which his pious, benevolent, and indefatigable zeal to make men wise, good and happy, is every where manifest. He left many works behind him ; the principal of which are " The Rise and Pro- gress of Religion in the Soul, illustrated in a course of serious and practical addresses suited to persons of ev- ery character and circumstance ;" and " The Family Expositor, containing a version and paraphrase of the 350 New Testament, with Ciitical notes ; and a practical improvement of each Section," in six vols, quarto. Dominus, Mark Antliony de, archbishop of Spalato, in Dalmatia, in the sixteenth century. He wrote against the papal power ; turned protestant ; then again turn- ed Catholic. He was suspected, seized and imprison- ed. After his death, his body was dug up and burned as a heretic, in 1645. Donatus, a bishop of a religious sect in Africa, who began to be known about the year 329, and greatly con- firmed his faction by his character and writings. He was a man, of great parts and learning, but withal so prodigiously haughty, that he treated all mankind with contempt. The Donatists affirmed baptism in other churches, to be null and of no effect ; while other churches allowed it to be valid in theirs ; from which they inferred, that it was the safer to join that commu- nity where baptism was acknowledged by both parties to be valid, than that where it was allowed to be so only by one. Doring, or Dorink, Matthias, a German Franciscan, who, in his writings, inveighs against the vices of the popes and cardinals. He was the forerunner of Lu- ther, and died in 1494. Drownham, John, an English divine, author of a well known pious work, called the " The Christian Warfare ;" died in 1644. Drdincourt, Charles, minister of the church of Pa- ris, born at Sedan, 1595, and died 1669. His "Con- solations against the Fears of Death," have, of all his works, been the most frequently reprinted ; having passed through above forty editions, and been transla- ted into several languages. His " Charitable Visits," in five volumes, have served for continual consolation to private persons, and for a source of materials and models to ministers. He published three volumes of f ^rrnons ; in which, as in all the forementione^ pieces, there is a wonderful vein of piety, which is very affect- ing to religious minds. 351 DrexeUus, Jeremiah, a Jesuit of Augsburgh, author of a curious poem on hell torments, in which he calcu- lates how many souls can be contained in a given space ; he died in 1638o Duppa, Brian, bishop of Winchester, born at Lew- isham, in Kent, 1588-9. This bishop is deservedly re- membered for his numerous charitable institutions ; among which is to be remembered an alms-house at Richmond, on the gate of which is this inscription ; " I will pay my vows which I made to God in my trouble," &c. He died in 1662. Dioiglit, Timothy, D. D. LL. D. was born at North- ampton, Mass. 1752, " As a poet, philosopher, and divine, he had few equals ; as president and professor of divinity in Yale College, he stood unrivalled both for his talents as an instructor, and for eloquence as a divine." His system of Theology has been frequently republished in Europe ; he died in 1817. Dyer, William, a nonconformist of England, who turned quaker. He wrote much after the manner of Bunyan, and died in 1696. E. Ebion, a Stoic philosopher, father of the sect of the Ebionites who denied the miraculous conception and divinity of Christ, flourished about A. D. 72. Eckms, John, a learned German divine and contro- versial writer, born in 1483, died in 1543. He is chief- ly memorable for his disputations with Luther and Me- lancthon. Edwards, Jonathan, a celebrated American divine, and a most acute metaphysician, was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, Oct. 5, 1703. His uncommon genius discovered itself early, and while yet a boy he read Locke on the human understanding with a keen relish. Though he took much pleasure in examining the kingdom of nature ; yet moral and theological re- searches yielded him the highest satisfaction. He was not only distinguished for his vigor and penetration of mind, but also for his Christian virtues. In 1727, he 30* 352 entered the pastoral office in Northampton, Mass. where he preached the gospel about twenty-lour years. In 1751, he succeeded the Rev. Mr. Sergeant as mission- ary to the Indians at Stockbridge, Mass. He continued here six years, preaching to the Indians and white peo- ple ; during this time he found leisure for prosecuting his theological and metaphysical studies, and produced works which have distinguished his name. In January 1758, he accepted tlie office of president of the college of New Jersey. Before he had fully entered upon the duties of his station, he was innoculated with the small pox, which was the cause of his death, March 22d, 1758. His most celebrated works are " On Origin- inal Sin,'''' " Freedom of the Will," " Treatise on Reli- gious Affections,'''' &c. His essay on the freedom of the will, is considered by many as one of the greatest ef- forts of the human mind. Edwards, Jonathan, D. D. president of Union Col- lege. New York ; was the son of tlie preceding, and was likewise distinguished as a scholar and able theo- logian ; he died in 1801. Egede, Paul, bishop of Greenland, was born in the year 1708, and at twelve years of age was an active as- sistant to his father, the celebrated Hans (or John) Egede, (to M'hom Denmark is indebted for its colony in Greenland,) having accompanied him on his voyage thither, in 1720. His zeal for the conversion of the Greenlanders to Christianity, exerted with unabated ardor through the course of a long life, both during his residence in their country, and after his quitting it, is strongly displayed in his " Account of Greenland," published shortly before his death, which happened June 3d, 1789. Eliot, John. (See page 229.) Elliot, Caleb, a visionary enthusiast, who starved himself near Modbury, in Devonshire, Dec. 14th, 1789. It is imagined that he meant to have fasted forty days, as he actually lived sixteen, without food of any kind, having refused all sorts of sustenance. 353 Engelbrccht, John, a German Lutheran, of Bruns- wick, who maintained doctrines, similar to those wiiich Swedenborg has since promulgated; he died in 1641. Ephrem, St. an eminent Christian writer of the fourth century. Photius tells us, that he wrote above one thousand orations, and that himself had seen forty-nine of his sermons ; and Sozomen observes that he com- posed three hundred thousand verses. His works were so highly esteemed, that they were publicly read in the churches after the Scriptures. St. Ephrem was a man of the strictest severity of morals ; and so strict an ob- server of chastity, that he avoided even the sight of a woman. He died in 378. Erasmus, Desiderius, born at Rotterdam, in 1467, died at Basil 1536. He was a most learned man, and spent his life in promoting literature and true piety. He was cotemporary with Luther, and assisted the Re- formers by his writings. Eunomius, a heresiarch of the fourth century, bishoj) of Cyzicum, and founder of the sect that have since been called Eunoraians. He died very old, about 394, after having experienced a great variety of sufferings. Eunomius wrote many things, and his writings were so highly esteemed by his followers, that they thought their authority preferable to ithat of the gospel. His doctrines were, that " there is one God, uncreate, and without beginning ; who has nothing existing before him ; for nothing can exist before what is uncreate ; nor with him ; for what is uncreate, must be one ; nor in him ; for God is a simple and uncompounded being. This one simjjle and eternal being is God, the creator and ordainer of all things : first indeed, and principally of his only begotten Son, and then through him, of all other things ; for God begot, created, and made, the Son only, by his own direct operation and power, be- fore all things and every other creature ; not produ- cing, however, any other being like himself, nor im- parting any of his own proper substance to the Son ; for God is immortal, uniform, indivisible, and therefore cannot communicate any part of his own proper sub- stance to another," &c. 354 Euphrates, a heretic, of the second century, wlio maintained that our first parents were deceived by Clirist in the form of a serpent. Evtychius, a Christian author, patriarch of Alexan- dria, was born at Cairo, in Egypt, in 876, and became eminent in the knowledge of physic. He wrote annals from the beginning of the world to the year 900 ; in which may be found many things which occur no where . else ; but certainly many more which were collected from lying legends, and are entirely fabulous. He died in 950. Eutyches, an abbot of Constantinople, who maintain- ed that Christ's body was an aerial form, and therefore not human. Euzorms, a deacon of Alexandria, deposed and con- demned by the council of Nice, for adhering to Arius: he baptized Constantius, and died in 376. FareJ, William, an able reformer, born 1489. Being driven from Paris, as a Protestant, he went to Stras- burgh, Geneva, Basil, and Neufchatel, where he preach- ed the doctrines of the reformation, with zeal, ability, and success, although opposed with ridicule and abuse. He was the associate of Calvin, and died in 1565. Feijoo, Benedict Jerome, a Spanish benedictine, who attempted, by his writings, to expose the ignorance of the clergy and the inutility of pilgrimages,, &c. He died in 1765. Felix, Minutius, a father of the primitive church, who flourishad in the third century, about the year 220. He wrote a very elegant dialogue in defence of the Christian religion, entitled " Octavius." Fenelon, Francis de Salignac de la Motte, archbishop of Cambray, born at the castle of Fenelon, in the prov- ince of Perigord, 1651, died 1715. He wrote 'many works ; but what has gained him the greatest reputa- tion, is his " Telemaclius." He published another con- siderable work, entitled " A demonstration of the Be- ing of God, grounded on the knowledge of nature, and 355 suited to the meanest capacity;" which is one of the best books that is written in French, upon that subject. Ferrar, Robert, bishop of St. Davids, was burnt as a heretic, in the reign of Mary, in 1555. Finley, Samuel, D.D. a native of Ireland, and presi- dent of New Jersey College ; he was much distinguish- ed for his piety ; published many sermons, and died in 1766. Fisher, John, bishop of Rochester, and martyr to popery, born in 1459, was beheaded for denying the king's supremacy, in 1535. His death was hastened by an unseasonable honor paid him by Pope Paul III., who in May, 1535, created him cardinal priest. When the king heard of it, he said, in a great passion, " Well, let the pope send him a hat when he will ; Mother of God, he shall wear it on his shoulders then, for I will not leave him a head to set it on." Fisher was said to be a man of integrity, deep learning, sweetness of tem- per, and greatness of soul. Fisher, Mary, an enthusiastic quakeress, of the sev- enteenth century, who v/ent to Constantinople to con- vert the grand seignior. Mahomet, after hearing her patiently, sent her back to her own country in safety. Flavel, John, an English divine, educated at Oxford, was ejected from his living, at Dartmouth, and after- wards restored by Charles I. ; he died in 1692. Fleetwood, William, bishop of Ely, born in the tower of London, in 1656 ; died in 1723. His most celebra- ted work is, "An Essay upon Miracles." Bishop Fleetwood's character was great in every respect. As for his accomplishments, he was incontestably the best preacher of his time ; and for occasional sermons, may be considered as a model. Flemming, Richard, prebendary of York, and bishop of Lincoln, was the founder of Lincoln College, Ox- ford ; he died in 1431. Fletcher, John de la, vicar of Madeley, a learned and pious divine, in connexion with Mr. Wesley, the foun- der of Methodism, celebrated for his work entitled, " Checks to Antinomianism.'^ He died in 1785. , ' 356 Fordyce, Dr. James, many years a very popular and eloquent preacher among the Protestant dissenters ; born at Aberdeen in 1720, died in 1796, leaving behind Iiim some excellent moral and religious publications ; particularly, " Sermons to Young Men and Women." Formosus, bishop of Porto, and Pope after Stephen v., in 891. His unpopularity was such, that his body was dragged from its grave by the populace, and thrown into the Tyber. Foster, 13r. James, an English dissenting minister, born in 1697. He published a " Defence of the Use- fulness, Truth, and Excellency of the Christian Reve- lation," against Tindal's " Christianity as old as the Creation." This defence is written with great force of argument, and as he said, was spoken of with great re- gard by Tindal himself. He died in 1753. FothergiU, Samuel, was eminent as a pi'eacher among the Quakers. He traveled over Great Britain and North America, to propagate his doctrines, and died in 1773. Fox, Edward, an eminent statesman, almoner to Hen- ry VIII., and bishop of Hereford. He was the princi- pal pillar of the reformation as to the politic and pruden- tial part of it ; being of more activity, and no less abil- ity, than Cranrner himself; but he acted more secretly than Cranmer, and by that means did not bring himself into danger of suffering on that account. He was born in Gloucestershire, and died in 1538. Fox, John, an English divine, born at Boston in Lin- colnshire, in 1517, the very year that Luther began to oppose the errors of the church of Rome ; he died in 1587. He is distinguished for his " History of Chris- tian Martyrdom," a work which cost him above eleven years close application and study. Fox, George, the founder of the English Quakers, was born in 1624 and died in 1690. Being as he be- lieved divinely illuminated he commenced preaching. His wife Margaret being under the same persuasion, shared in his ministerial functions. (See page 221.) 357 Francis, of Paulo, a Romish saint canonized by pope Leo X. was the founder of the Minins, and celebrated lor his austerities; he died in 1507. Francis, of As^isi, a great saint of the Romish church, and founder of one of four orders of mendicant friars, born in 1182. He was the son of a merchant, whose profession he followed till 1206 ; at which time he became so strongly affected with religious truth, that he resolved to retire from the world. He pre- vailed with great numbers to devote themselves, as he had done, to the poverty enjoined by the gospei ; and drew up an institute, or rule for their use, which was approved by the Roman PontifTs. Francis was canon- ized b)- pope Gregory IX. the 6th of May 1230 ; and October the 4th, on which his death happened, in 1226, was appointed as his festival. His order soon rose to great splendor, and has done prodigious service to the Roman pontiffs. Francis de Sales, a Romish saint, was bishop of Ge- neva, and founder of the order of the visitation. It is stated by tiie Catholics, that he converted seventy thousand protestants before his death, which happened in 1662. He was canonized by pope Alexander VI. Frederick 1st, king of Denmark, distinguished him- self by his wisdom, prudence, and by the utility of his public measures, particularly in introducing Lutheran- ism among his subjects. He died in 1533. Frederic, surnamed the Wise, elector of Saxony, was the friend of the emperor Maximilian, and might have succeeded him had he not declined. He was the firm and zealous friend of Luther, and the reformation, and died in 1526. FrecJce, William, born in 1664. He wrote, among other things, " A Dialogue by way of question and an- swer, concerning the Deity," and " A brief and clear confutation of the doctrine of the Trinity;" which two pieces being laid before the House of Commons, were voted to be burnt, as containing much blasjohcmy, and accordingly were so : the author being afterwards fined j£500, and obliged to give security for his good behavior 358 for three years, and to make a recantation in the four courts in Westminster-hall. Fust, or Faustus, John, a citizen of Mentz, and one of the earliest printers. He had the policy to conceal his art ; and to this policy we are indebted for the tra- dition of " The Devil and Dr. Faustus," handed down to the present time. At about 1460, he associated with John of Guttenburgh ; their types were cut in wood, and fixed, not moveable as at present. Having printed off a considerable number of copies of the Bible, to im- itate those which were commonly sold in manuscript. Fust undertook the sale of them in Paris, where the art of printing was then unknown. As he sold his printed copies for sixty crowns, while the scribes demanded five hundred, this created universal astonishment; but when he produced copies as fast as they were wanted, and lowered the price to thirty crowns, all Paris was agita- ted. The uniformity of the copies increased the wonder ; informations were given in to the police against him as a magician : his lodgings were searched, and a great number of copies being found, they were seized : the red ink with which they were embellished was said to be his blood ; it was seriously adjudged that he was in league with the Devil ; and if he had not fled, most probably would have shared the fate of those whom ig- norant and superstitious judges condemned in those days for witchcraft. Fust died at Mentz, in 1466. G. Gale, John, a learned divine among the Baptists, born at London in 1680. He is chiefly known for his writings agninst " Wall's defence of Infant Baptism," and died in 1721. GanganelU, John Vincent Antony, was born in 1705, the son of a physician : and from being a petty monk of the order of St. Francis, ascended to the pa- pacy. May 19th 1769, when he assumed the name of Clement XIV. Thus becoming sovereign pontiff^in the most critical and tempestuous times. In his commerce with the world, he practiced the humility of a Francis- 359 .;an monk ; but on occasions of splendor, he sustained the papal grandeur with appropriate magnificence. The most striking incident of his life, was his being the instrument, under Providence, of annihilating the mighty order of the Jesuits. To the resentment of that order it is supposed he at last fell a sacrifice, his robust constitution and regularity of life seeming to promise him a much longer period than sixty-nine years ; for he died in 1774, poisoned, q,s is supposed, in the sacrament ; he himself declaring his suspicions be- fore he died, and all the after symptoms strongly con- firming the same. Gano, John, minister in New York, collected the first Baptist society in that city, and was ordained its minister in 1762. He distinguished himself in the American war, in the capacity of a chaplain to the ar- my. He left his society in New York in 1788, and re- moved to Kentucky, where he died in 1804. Garasse, Francis, a Jesuitical writer, and author of the enmity between the Jesuits and Jansenists, in the church of Rome, was born at Angouleme, in 1585, and died in 1631. Gardiner, Stephen, bishop of Winchester, and chan- cellor of England, was born at Bury St. Edmonds, in Suffolk, 1483. His character as a minister is to be drawn from the general histories ; he had a large por- tion of haughtiness, boundless ambition, and deep dis- simulation ; for he looked on religion as an engine of state, and made use of it as such. He died in 1555. Gastaiid, Francis, an ecclesiastic of Aix ; he insulted the bishop of Marseilles, in his writings, and was de- nied the honors of sepulture : he died in 1732. George, the Cappadocian, Arian bishop of Alexan- dria, was assassinated, in consequence of his oppres- sion, in 361. Gerard, Balthazar, the assassin of William I. prince of Orange, whom he shot through the head with a pis- tol, as he was going out of his palace at Delft. His sentence was the same as that of Damien ; and this 31 360 fanatic died in his own conceit a martyr to the cnurch of Rome, 1584. Germanus, bishop of Cyzicum, made patriarch of Constantinople, and was degraded for supporting im- age worship : he died in 740. Giafar or Sadek the Just, a Mussulman doctor uhc wrote a book on prophecies, &c. died at Medina in 764. Giaheclh, or Large Eyed, the head of the Motazalis, a sect who united religion and philosophy. Gibieuf, William, a priest, who wrote a book on the liberty of God, and the Creator, a work of great merit \ he died in 1650. Giles, John, or jEgidius, the first Englishman on record entered among the Dominicans ; he lived m the thirteenth century. Gill, Dr. John, an eminent Enghsh Calvinistic di- vine, a learned orientalist, and voluminous writer on theological subjects, born 1697, and died in London, 1771. His greatest work is a " Commentary on the Bible." He was a Baptist in sentiment. Gilpin, Bernard, an eminent English divine and re- former, born in 1517, died 1583. Giraldus, Cambrensis, an ancient British historian, who died about the latter end of the twelfth century, having written " A History of the World," in which his information respecting ecclesiastical affairs is very valuable. Glain, N. Saint, a zealous Protestant, born at Limo. ges about 1620, remarkable for having been, by reading of Spinoza's book, changed into as zealous an Atheist. Glass, John, a Scotch divine, who, in 1727, publish- ed a treatise to prove that the civil establishment of , rehgion was inconsistent with Christianity : for this he was deposed, and became the father of a new sect, called in Scotland, Glassites, and in England, Sande- manians. He was born at Dundee in 1698, and died in 1773. Glynn, Robert, a native of Cambridge, author of the Day of Judgment, a poem of great merit : he obtained the prize at Cambridge, and died in 1800. 361 Godfrey of Bouillon, a most celebrated crusader and victoi'ious general ; he took Jerusalem from the Turks in 1099, and was proclaimed king; but his piety, as historians relate, would not permit him to wear a dia- dem of gold in the city where his Savior had been crowned with thorns: he died in 1100. Goodwin, Thomas, a puritanical divine, one of the members of the assembly of divines at Westminster, and author of theological works ; he died in 1679. Goodzcin, John, a most acute and subtle controver- sialist of the seventeenth century. He wrote a vindi- cation of the death of Charles I. which at the Resto- ration was burnt by the common hangman. He was excepted out of the act of the common indemnity, and died soon after. His works are numerous, but mostly in support of Arminian doctrines. Gratian, a monk of Tuscany, in the twelfth centu- ry ; he was employed twenty-four years, in reconciling the contradictory canons, one to another. Gregory IX. Ugolin, elected pope in 1227. He ex- cited the Christian princes to undertake a crusade, and died in 1241. Gregory X. Theobald, summoned a general council at Lyons, and endeavored to heal all schisms in reli- gion ; he died in 1276. Gregory, Dr. John, an eminent physician and moral writer. Those writings by which he is best known, are "A comparative View of the state of Man and other Animals," and " A Father's Legacy to his Daugh- ters :" he died in 1773. Gregory, Nazianzen, patriarch of Constantinople, born in 324, died in 389. He was one of the ablest champions of the orthodox faith concerning the Trin- ity, whence he had the title given him of " The Di- vine,''' by unanimous consent. Gregory, Theodorus, bishop of Neo Cesarea, sur- named Thaumaturgus, a disciple of Origen, and fa- mous for his conversion of the Gentiles ; he died about 265. 362 Gua de Malves, John Paul de, a French ecclesiastic, who first conceived the idea of an encyclopedia, which was executed by d'Alembert : he died in 1786. Guillelma, of Bohemia, the foundress of an infa- mous sect, which started up in Italy, in the thirteenth century, and which under the mask of devotion, used to practice all manner of lewdness. Guillelma impo- sed so effectually upon the world by a show of extra- ordinary devotion all her life time that she was not only reputed holy at her death, but also revered as a saint, a considerable time after it. However, her frauds, and the delusions she had employed were at last discovered ; upon which, her body was dug up, and burnt in 1300. She died in 1281, and had been buried in Milan. Guise, Henry, duke of, memorable in the history of France as a gallant officer : but an imperious, turbulent and seditious subject, who placed himself at the head of an armed force, and called his rebel band, the League : the plan was formed by the cardinal, his younger brother ; and, under the pretext of defending the Roman Catholic rehgion, the king Henry III. and the freedom of the state, against the designs of the Frencli protestants, they carried on a civil war, mas- sacred the Huguenots, and governed the king. He was privately assassinated, Dec. 23d, 1558, in the thir- ty-eighth year of his age, by the order of the king. His brother, the cardinal, shared the same fate the next day. Guslavus Adolphus was the greatest king Sweden ever had. He protected the Lutherans in Germany, and by his victories greatly humbled the Catholic pow- ers. He was slain in battle, A. D. 1663, in the thirty- seventh year of his age. H. Hakem, the third of the Fatimite caliphs, was a vio- lent persecutor of the Christians and Jews, and pre- tended to be the visible image of God. He was assas- sinated by the intrigues of his sister, in 1021. 363 Hacket, William, an English fanatic, in the reign ol Eliisabeth. He was hung and quartered for blasphemy; in 1592. HakeweU, George, a learned divine, born at Exeter, in 1579, died in 1649. His principal work is " An Apology or Declaration of the Power and Providence of God in the government of the World," proving that it doth not decay, &c. Hali-Beigh, a Polander, whose oi'iginal name was Bobowski. Being taken by the Tartars, while a child, " he was sold to the Turks, who educated him in their religion. He acquired the knowledge of seventeen ■ languages, and became interpreter to the grand seign- ior : translated into the Turkish language, the cate- chism of the church of England, and all the Bible ; composed a Turkish Grammar and Dictionary, and other things which were never printed. His principa! work, is " A Treatise upon the Liturgy of the Turks, their Pilgrimages to Mecca, their Circumcision and man ■ ner of visiting the sick." He died in 1675. Hammond, Dr. Henry, a learned English divine and commentator, born at Chertsy, in 1605, died in 1660. His chief works are a " Practical Catechism ;" a " Par- aphrase and Annotations on the New Testament ;" and a " Paraphrase and Commentary on the Old Testa- ment;" of which he only published the Psalms, and went through a third part of the book of Proverbs. Hanifah, a saint among the Mussulmans, the head of all their sects ; he died at Babylon. Harmer, Thomas, an eminent dissenting divine and critical writer on Biblical literature, born at Norwich in 1715, was fifty-four years pastor of a congregation at Wattesfield, in Suffolk, and died in 1788. Hawley, Gideon, many years a missionary to the Stockbridge, Mohawk, and Oneida Indians, and emi- nently useful to them : he died in 1807. HeckeroeMer, John, a native of England, was for many years a Moravian missionary among the Dela- ware Indians, and author of an account of the manners 31* 364 and customs of the Indian tribes which once inhabited Pennsylvania ; he died in 1823. Heber, Reginald, lord bishop of Calcutta. He died suddenl)'- at Trichinopoly, a town in Hindoostan, April 3d, 1826, aged forty-three, in the third year of his epis- copate, universally lamented. He was the author of a number of beautiful poetic compositions. Helena, St., the mother of Constantine the Great, was distinguished for her piety and Christian charity, and as the founder of several churches. She died in 328. Heloise, the concubine, and afterwards wife of Peter Abelard ; a nun, and afterwards prioress of Argentuil ; and lastly, abbess of the Paraclete ; she was b'orn about the beginning of the twelfth century, and died 1163. Henry IV., king of France, was born at Pau, in 1553. His right to the throne was disputed, because he was a protestant ; but after the massacre of St. Bar- tholomew, he signalized himself against the leaguers ; and Henry III. dying, he succeeded him in opposition to Cardinal de Bourbon. In 1589, with four thousand men, he defeated thirty thousand, commanded by the duke of Mayenne, &c. He embraced the Catholic re- ligion afterwards, and was crowned. He also defeat- ed eighteen thousand Spaniards, in Burgund)', and re- duced the leaguers to their dut}^, whom he pardoned. A young scholar, John Chastel, would have struck him in the mouth with a knife, but missed him ; the kins said, " And is it so that the Jesuits must be condemned by my mouth ?" and thereupon they were banished. A protestant minister told him, " He denied God with his mouth, and therefore he was struck there, but if he denied him in his heart, the next stroke might be there- abouts too." He concluded a peace with Spain, and an agreement with Savoy in 1601 ; and was stabbed with a knife by Ravillac, in his coach at Paris, May 14th, 1610. Henry I., king of England, and duke of Normandy, was the third Son of William the Conqueror, and as- cended the throne in 1100. Although absolute in pow- 365 er, he reigned with wisdom, opposed the encroach- ments of the church of Rome, abolished the curfew, regulated the weights and measures of his kingdom, and laid the foundation of that liberty, of wliich Eng- lishmen arc so justly proud; he died in 1185. Henry VIII. , son and successor of Henry VII., as- cended the throne in 1509, at the age of eighteen. Al- though for a short time popular, he soon, by his arbi- trary and capricious conduct, proved himself a tyrant. He obtained the title of defender of the faith, from the pope, by opposing Luther. He afterwards quarreled with the pope, who refused to divorce him from his V. ife, and renounced his authority, and declai-ed him- self head of the church, thus introducing the reforma- tion into England. He was six times married ; two of iiis wives perished on the scaffold, and two others were divorced. Although benefits resulted from b.is reign, he must be deteSted for his tyranny and oppression ; he died in 1547. Henry, Matthev/, an eminent dissenting teacher and voluminous writer, born 1662, died in 1714. His best known work is his " Exposition of the Bible." Hervey, James, an English divine, of exemplary vir- tue and piety, born at Hardingstone, in Northampton- shire, in 1714, died in 1758. His chief writings are " Meditations and Contemplations ;" " Remarks on Lord Bolingbroke's Letters on the study and use of History," and " Theron and Aspasia, or a series of Dialogues and Letters on the most important subjects." Hiacoomes, the first Indian in New England, con- verted to Christianity, and minister at Martha's Vine- yard ; he died in 1690. Hicks, Elias, a preacher among the Friends or Qua- kers. He was the founder of the sect in that societj' called Hicksites. He was born in Hempstead, Long Island, N. Y. on the 19th of March, 1748, and died in Jericho, Long Island, Feb. 27th, 1830. Hieronemus, or, as he is commonly called, Jerome, a very celebrated father of the church, born about 329, died in 420- (See page 60. ) 366 Hoadly, Benjamin, bishop of Winchester, born at Westerham, in Kent, 1676, died in 1761. Preaching against what he considered as the inveterate errors of the clergy, among other discourses, one was upon these words, " My kingdom is not of this world;" which pro- ducing the famous " Bangorian controversy" as it was called, employed the press for many years. Hoadly contended that the clergy had no pretensions to tern- poral jurisdictions ; but that temporal princes, had a right to govern in ecclesiastical politics: and by this means he drew on himself, the indignation of almost all the clergy. These disputes, however, have long since subsided. Hohhes, Thomas, born at Malmsbury, in 1588, died in 1679. He published many works, but there have been few persons whose writings have had a more per- nicious influence in spreading irreligion and infidelity thanHobbes; and yet none of his* treatises, are di- rectly leveled against revealed religion. Hooker, Thomas, was born in Leicestershire, Eng. 1586, and educated at Emanuel College, Cambridge ; he preached in London and Chelmsford with great sue cess. On account of the persecution which raged, he came to New England, and was the first minister of Cambridge, Mass. He was one of the founders of the colony of Connecticut, where he removed with his peo- ple in 1636, traveling through the wilderness with no other guide but a compass. He published many ser- mons and ti'eatises which were much admired. He died July 7th, 1647. Ashe lay dying, one of his friends that stood by his bed side, observed to him that he now was going to receive the reioard of all his labors; "Brother," said he, " I am going to receive mere?/." Hooper, John, bishop of Gloucester, was born in Somersetshire, in 1495. In the persecution under Ma- ry, refusing to recant his opinions, he was burned in the city of Gloucester, and suffered death with admira- ble constancy in 1555. Hopkins, Samuel, D. D., a distinguished divine, was born in Waterbury, Conn. Sept. 17th, 1721. He died 367 m Newport, R. I. Dec. 20tli, 1803, where he had preached many years. He maintained in his writings that holiness consists in disinterested benevolence, and sin in selfishness. His peculiar sentiments are distin- guished by the term Hopkinsianism. Home, George, bishop of Norwich, born at Otham, in Kent, 1730, and died in 1792. This divine uni- ted, in a remarkable degi'ee, depth of learning, bright- ness of imagination, sanctity of manners, and sweet- ness of temper. Four volumes of his incomparable " Sermons" are published. His " Commentary on the Psalms,'''' in two volumes, quarto, " will, (as the wri- ter of his epitaph expresses it,) continue to be a com- panion to the closet, till the devotion of the earth shall end in the hallelujahs of heaven." Dr. Home also wrote a celebrated piece of irony, in reply to Adam Smith's sketch of David Hume's Life. HorseJy, Samuel, bishop of St. Asaph, was born in the parish of St. Martin's in the Fields, where his fa- ther was clerk in orders, and was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He became one of the most emi- nent men of his day, as a theologist, a mathematician, and a profound classic. No man of his age, perhaps, possessed more of what is generally understood by the idea of recondite learning, or was more profoundly ver- sed in classical chronology. He edited and illustrated some of the most important of Sir Isaac Newton's works in 5 vols. 4to., and was himself the author of several esteemed mathematical and theological productions. His lordship died at Brighton, Oct. 4th, 1806. Hospinian, Rodolphus, a learned Swiss writer, who has done prodigious service to the Protestant cause, born at Altdorf, in 1547, died in 1626. He wrote an excel- lent work, of vast extent, called " A History of the Errors of Popery." Howard, John. (See page 252.) Huhhard, William, minister of Ipswich, Mass.,* au- thor of a History of New England in manuscript ; he died in 1704. Hugo, of Cluni, abbot of Cluni, and a saint of the Romish calendar, died in 1609. 368 Hunneric, king of the African Vandals, known fo" his sevei'e persecution of the Christians ; died in 4S4 Hunter, Dr. Henry, an eminent presbyterian divine equally admired for his pulpit eloquence, and belove.'. for his benevolence, was born at Culross, in Perthshire . in 1741, and died at Bristol, in 1802. His works an numerous, but the most important are translations. Hi- principal original publication is a course of sermons. \: 6 vols. 8vo., entitled " Sacred Biography." The mo^■ distinguished of his translations is " Saurin's Sentnons. and "St. Pierre's Studies of Nature." Huntingdon, Selina, countess dowager of, was borr ■a 1707; married in 1728, Theophilus, earl of Hunt- ingdon, by whom she had four sons and three daugh- ters. She died in 1791. Her ladyship had been a widow forty- five years; and her great religious con cerns, as head of a very numerous sect in Great Brit- ain and Ireland, she left by will, in the hands of com- mittees, for managing them in both kingdoms. Her religious principles Imve been long since known ; am; her unbounded benevolence bore the best testimony of the purity of her intentions ; having in the course of her life expended above £100,000 in public and private acts of charity. Huntington, Joseph, D.D., minister of Coventry, Conn., author of " Calvanism Improved, or the Gospel illustrated as a system of real grace, issuing in the Sal- vation of all men;" this work was published after his death, in 1796, and was answered by Dr. Strong, of Hartford, Conn, the same year. Huss, iohn. (Seepage 165.) Hulten, Jacob, a native of Silesia, founder of an ana- baptist sect, called the Moravian brethren ; the time of his death is not known, although it is said that he was burnt as an heretic. Hutchinson, Ann, an artful woman in Massachusetts, wht)se religious opinions were heretical, and which were condemned by a council of ministers ; she was banished from the colony, and* was murdered by the Indians, west of New Haven, 1643. 369 I. Isnaiius. (See page 57.) Innocent III., Lothaire Conti, elevated to the pope- dom in 1198. He persecuted the Albigenses, and rais- ed the papal authority to its greatest heighth. He died in 1216. Innocent IV., Sinibaldi de Fiesque, was elected pope in 1243, and was the first who invested the cardinals with a red hat as a mark of dignity. He died in 1254. Innocent X., John Baptist Pamphili, was elected pope in 1644. He published a bull against the Jansenistt, and died in 1655. Irenaeus. (See page 59.) Isidore, St. surnamed Pelusiota, or Daciate, from his leanng into a solitude, near the town which bears both these names, was the most celebrated of the disciples of John Chrysostom. He died about 440 ; and we have remaining 2,012 of his letters, in five books. J. Jaaphan, Eben Tophaii, an Arabian philosopher, co- temporary with Averroes, who died about 119S. He- composed a philosophical romance, entitled " The Lift or History of Hai Ebn Yokddhan;" in which he en- deavors to demonstrate how a man may, by the mere- light of nature, attain the knowledge of things natural and supernatural ; more particularly the knowledge of God, and the affairs of another life. Jacob, Ben Napthali, a famous Jew rabbi in the fifth century, and inventor (with Ben Aser) of the points in Hebrew, to serve for vowels, and of the accents, to fa- "Inate the reading of that language. mneway, James, educated at Oxford, was ejected for non-conformity, and died in 1674. Jansen, Cornelius, bishop of Ypress, and principal of the sect called Jansenists, born at Leerdam, in Holland, m 1585, died in 1638. Jenyns, Soame, born in London in 1705, and well known in the literarv world as the author of '' Thf. In- 370 iernal Evidences of the Christian Religion ;" an " Es- say on the Origin of Evil ;" and various poetical pieces. He was many years member of parliament for the town of Cambridge ; he was also a commissioner for trade and plantations, and died in 1787. Jrnks, Benjamin, a pious divine, born in Shropshire, in 1646, died in 1724. His best known writings are, " Prayers and Offices of Devotion for Families," and Meditations on various important subjects. Jerome of Prague. (See page 166.) Jerome, of St. Faith, or Joshua Lavehi, a Spanish Jew of great influence, who became a convert to Chris- tianity, and, it is said, 5,000 Jews followed his exam- ple. He died in the fifteenth century. Jewel, John, bishop of Salisbury, a great polemic writer in defence of the English church against pope- ry ; he was born in 1522, and died in 1571. Joachim, abbot of Corrazo, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He pretended to be a prophet, and died in 1202, leaving a numerous sect behind him. Joan, Pope, a woman placed among the successors of St. Peter as John VIII. or John VII. This story was believed for more than two hundred years, but is now generally discredited. Joan of Arc, commonly called the maid of Orleans, whose heroic behaviour in re-animating the expiring valor of the French nation, though by the most super- stitious means, (pretending to be inspired,) deserved a better fate. She was burnt by the English as a sor- ceress, in 1431, at the age of twenty-four. John VI., a Roman, was made pope in 985. He was the first who rewarded meritorious deeds by canoniza- tion ; he died in 986. John III., king of Sweden, son of Gustavus Vasa, as- cended the throne in 1568. He attempted to restore the popish religion, but was unsuccessful, and died in 1592. Jones, Sir William, one of the judges of the supreme court in Bengal, born in London in 1746. He was a celebrated oriental scholar and sincere Christian. His 371 researches in Asia have done much to give validity to tho Mosaic history of the creation. He died at the age of forty-eiglit. Johnson, Edward, an inhabitant of Massachusetts, author of a work entitled, " The Wonder Working Providence of Zion's Savior in New England, from 1628 to 1652." Johnson, Samuel, D.D., a native of Connecticut, distinguished as the first convert to episcopacy in the colony, and afterwards as president of King's college. New York : he died in 1772. Jq0in, Dr. John, a learned English divine and eccle- siastical historian, born in London, in 1698, died in 1770. His chief works are, "Discourses concerning the truth of the Christian Religion," and " Remarks upon Ecclesiastical History." Joseph, Father, an apostate monk, who raised six thousand banditti in 1678, to extirpate the Catholic re- ligion in Hungary. Josephus, Flavius, the ancient Historian of the Jews, born at Jerusalem, A. D. 37, died in 93. His " Histo- ry of the Jewish War and the Destruction of Jerusa- lem," in seven books, was composed at the command of Vespasian, and is singularly interesting and affect- ing, as the historian was an eye witness of all that he relates. His " Jewish Antiquities," in twenty books, written in Greek, is a very noble work ; we have also " A Discourse upon the Martyrdom of the Maccabees ;" which is a master piece of eloquence ; he was a great orator, as well as a great historian. Julian, the Roman emperor, commonly styled the apostate, because he professed Christianity before he ascended the throne ; after which, he openly embraced paganism, and persecuted the Christians. (See page 86.) Jovinian, a monk of Milan, who became the head of a sect, and died in consequence of his debauchery, A. D. 406. 32 372 Juliana, a singular character, of Norwich, Eng. who in her zeal for mortification, confined herself between four walls ; she lived in the time of Edward 111. Justin, surnamed the martyr, one of the earliest writers of the Christian church. (See page 59.) Juxon, Wm. archbishop of Canterbury, was impris- oned by the parliament ; he was reinstated in office at the restoration, and died 1663. K. Kam-hi, emperor of China in 1661, was a liberal patron of the literature and arts of Europe, s#i of Christian missions : he died in 1722. Kempis, Thomas a, famous for his transcendant pi- ety and devotion, was born at Kempen, in the diocese of Cologne, about 1380, and died in 1471. His well known work, " The Imitation of Christ,''' has been translated into numerous languages. Kirldand, Samuel, a missionary among the Seneca Indians for forty years : he died at Paris, New York, in 1808. Kirwun, William, dean of Killala, a distinguished ornament of the church, was originally a Romish priest ; but became a zealous adherent, and powerful supporter of the protestant faith. He was one of the most popu- lar orators that ever appeared in the pulpit, and no man ever made a more powerful impression on his audience. He was at all times ready to exert his great powers in forwarding the objects of benevolence. He was born about 1754, and died near Dublin, in 1805. Klopstock, Frederic Theophilus, a very celebrated German jioet, born in 1724, died in 1803. His "Mes- siah," by which his name is chiefly immortalized, was publislied at Halle, in 1751. He was likewise the au- thor of three tragedies, called the " The Death of Adam," " Solomon," and " David." His funeral was conducted with extraordinary pomp : being attended by the Sen- ate of Hamburg. Knox, John, an eminent Scottish minister, a chief instrument and promoter of the reformation in that 373 country, and a steady and undaunted patriot in the worst of times ; born in 1505, and died in 1572. As to his character, he was like Luther, one of those extra- ordinary persons of whom few, if any, are observed to speak with sufficient temper ; all is either extrava- gant encomium, or senseless invective. After his death came out a " History of the Reformation, in the realm of Scotland," &c. to which are subjoined all his other works. Knox, Viccsimus, D.D., a learned divine and mis- cellaneous writer, born in 1752. He was master of Tunbridge school, where he presided thirty-three years- The duties of a parish priest he discharged for nearly forty years, with a zeal and ability perhaps never sur- passed: he died in 1821. His principal works are "Essays, Moral and Literary;" "Christian Philoso- phy;" "Sermons;" "Domestic Divinity;" "Elegant Extracts ;" " Elegant Epistles ;" " Winter Evenings ;" " Liberal Education ;" " Personal Nobility," &c. Knuzen, Matthias, a celebrated atheist, born in Hoi- stein, about 1650. He was the only person on record who openly taught atheism ; and he undertook long journeys on purpose to make proselytes. His follow- ers were called conscienciaries, because they asserted that there was no other god, no other religion, no other lawful magistracy, than conscience. KoUerus, Christopher, a tanner, of Silesia, and one of the three fanatics whose visions were published at Amsterdam in 1657, with the following title, " Lux in Tenebris." He died in 1647. Kuick, John Van, a painter of Dordt, accused of heresy, was cruelly burnt by the Jesuits in 1572. L. Labat, John Baptist, a celebrated traveler and mis- sionary, of the order of St. Dominic, born at Paris in 1663, died in 1738. His " Voyages and Travels" into different kingdoms, are works of much amusement, and of good reputation. 374 Laidlie, Archibald, D.D., the first mmistcr ot' the Dutch Church in America who officiated in the EngUsh language. He was a native of Scotland, arrived in New York in 1764, and died in 1778. Lardner, Dr. Nathaniel, a very eminent dissenting divine, author of " The Credibility of the Gospel His- tory ;" "The Testimonies of the Ancient Jews and Pagans in favor of Christianity ;" " The History of the Heretics," &c. He was born in 1684, and died in 1768. Latimer, Hugh, bishop of Worcester, one of the first reformers of the church of England, born in 1470. From being a papist, he became a zealous protestant, active in supporting the reformed doctrine, and assid- uous to make converts. For his zeal, however, in the protestant faith, he was, with Ridley, bishop of Lon- don, burnt at Oxford, 1555. (See page 188.) Laud, William, archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Charles I. was born in 1573, and beheaded in 1645 for high treason ; he fell a sacrifice to party violence. Lavater, John Gaspar Christian, a Swiss divine, of warm fancy, and natural acuteness, by which he was led to turn his attention to the expression of human sentiment and character. He perceived that not only transient passion, but even the more permanent qual- ties of character, are often very distinctly expressed ; but carried his observation on this subject much far- ther than any other person had before advanced. Suc- cess inflamed his imagination, and he became an enthu- siast in the study of physiognomy. The opinions rel- ative to it which he propagated, were a medley of acute observation, ingenious conjecture, and wild reverie. His books, published in the German language, were multiplied by many editions, and translations. This amiable clergyman (for such he was,) was born at Zu- rich, in 1741, and died there in 1801, in consequence of a wound which he received from a French soldier a twelve-month before. 375 Leese, Anna, founder of the sect of Shakers, was born in England. She was of low parentage, and of doubtful character. She first divulged her extraor- dinary pretensions in 1770, assuming the name of the " elect lady" but being more generally denominated the " Motlicr." She came to America with five of her followers in 1774, and settled near Albany, N. Y. About the year 17R0, she declared herself to be the woman clothed with the sun, mentioned in the twelfth chapter of Revelations, claimed the power of ministering the Holy Spirit to whom she pleased, asserted that she was daily judging the dead of all nations, &;c. These impious pretensions she enforced upon persons by the magical charms of wry looks, whimsical gestures, un- intelligible muttering, alternate groans and laughter, the ceremony of dancing, whirling, &c. By these means she succeeding in obtaining a considerable num- ber of followers. One of these was Mr. Rathbun, a Baptist minister, who, however, in about three months recovered his senses, and published a pamphlet against the impostor. He says, that there attended this in- fatuation an inexplicable agency upon the body, to which he himself was subjected, that affected the nerves suddenly and forcibly like the electric fluid, and was followed by tremblings and the complete deprivation of strength. " Mother Anna" asserted that she was not liable to death, but when she should leave this world, she should ascend in the twinkling of an eye to heaven. She died in 1784, and her sect has experi- enced a number of revolutions. Leland, Dr. John, a celebrated English dissenting divine, settled in Dublin, distinguished himself by some very estimatble and laborious publications, particularly, "A View of the Deistical Writers of England," and " The Advantage and Necessity of the Christian Reve- lation." He was born in 1691, died 1766. L'Enfant, James, an eminent French protestant minister, born in 1691, died in 1728. He was author of three capital works, viz. " Histories of the Coun- Cil of Constance, Basil and Pisa." Besides these, he 32* 376 published the New Testament, translated into French from the original Greek, with notes, in conjunction with Beausobre ; which version was much esteemed by the protestants. Leo II. pope, was an able and resolute pontiff. He first established the kiss of peace, at the mass ; and the use of holy water ; he died in 683. Leo X. pope of Rome, ever to be remembered by the protestants, as having been the cause of tiie Reforma- tion begun by Luther, was born at Florence, in 1475, and died in 1521. He was a lover and patron of learn- ing and learned men, and equally favored arts and sci- ences, being himself a man of taste. Leovitius, Cyprian, a noble Bohemian, author of a collection of astrological productions, and incoherent reveries. He prophesied that the world would end in 1584; he died in 1574. Leslie, Charles, studied law, which he afterwards forsook for divinity, and became a famous theological disputant. His tracts on religion and politics amount to fifty. He left also two folio volumes of theological works, and was a man of great talents ; he died in 1722.' Light/oot, John, a most eminent divine, born in Staf- fordshire. He was one of the most learned rabinnical scholars that England ever produced. Ilis works are published in two volumes folio ; he died in 1675. Lillurne, John, a famous English enthusiast, born in 1618, died in 1657. He was the chief ringleader of the levelers, a modeler of State, and publisher of several seditious pamphlets ; and of so quarrelsome a disposi- tion, as to have it appositely said of him, that if there were none living but him, John would be against Lil- burnc, and Lilburne against John. Lilly, Williiun, a famous English astrologer, born in 1602, died in 1681. In him we have an instance of the general superstition and ignorance that prevailed in the time of the civil war between Charles I. and his parliament ; for the king consulted this astrologer to know in what quarter he should conceal himself if he 377 could escape from Hampton court ; and General Fair- fax, on the other side, sent for him to his arnij% to ask him, if he could tell by his art whether God was with them and their cause. Lilly, who made his fortune by favorable predictions to both parties, assured the gen- eral that God would be with him and his army. His almanack were in repute upwards of tliirty-six years, and to be found in almost every family in England. LodbroJ:, Regner, a celebrated king of Denmark at the beginning of the ninth century. He was a warrior and poet, full of fanaticism and religious frenzy. (Se^ page 96.) Lollard, Walter. (See page 159.) Louis VII. the Young, king of France, was early engaged in a quarrel with the pope, and was excom- municated by him. He made a crusade with an army consisting of eighty thousand men to Palestine, but was defeated by the Saracens ; be died at Paris, in 1180. Louis IX., called the Saint. He made two crusades, during the last of which he died at Tunis, in 1270, and was canonized by Boniface VIII. Loicth, Dr. Robert, bishop of Ijondon, &c. born in 1710, died in 1787. His literary character is well known by his " Translation of Isaiah ;" a sublime po- etic composition. Loyola, Ignatius of, the founder of the order of the Jesuits, born in 1491, at the castle of Loyola, in Spain, was first page to Ferdinand V., king of Spain, and then an officer in his army ; in which he signalized himself by his valor, and was wounded in both legs at the siege of Pampeluna, in 1521. To this circumstance the Je- suits owe their origin ; for while he was under cure of his wounds, a Life of the Saints was put into his hands, which determined him to forsake the military for an ecclesiastical profession. His first devout exercise was to dedicate himself to the blessed virgin as lier knight ; he then went a pilgrimage to the Holy Land ; and on his return to Europe, he continued his tiieological studies in the universities of Spain, though he was then thirty- 378 three years of age. After this he went to Paris, and in France laid the foundation of this new order, the insti- tutes of which he presented to Pope Paul III., who made many objections to them ; but Loyola adding to the three vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, a fourth of implicit submission to the holy See, the institution was confirmed in 1540. Loyola died in 1555. (See pa,ge 178.) Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, in Sardinia ; author of a new schism called Luciferians ; he died in 370. Lucius, IIL, Humbaldo AUineigoh, a native of Luc- ca, elected pope in 1181. The inquisition originated under this pontiff. Lugo, John, a Spanish Jesuit, born at Madrid, a professor of theology at Rome. He was made cardi- nal by Pope Urban, introduced Jesuits' bark into France, wrote seven volumes folio, and died in 1660. Luther, Martin. (See page 168.) M. Macedoniics, Arian, bishop of Constantinople, in 341. He was deposd by a council, and caused great commo- tion and trouble in his diocese. Macknight, Dr. James, an eminent clergyman of the church of Scotland distinguished by his learned and useful labours in illustration and defence of the New Testament, was born in 1721, and died at Edinburgh in 1800. Of his various works, the most distinguished are " the harmony of the Four Gospels," and his " Translation of the Epistles." Mahomet, or Mohammed. (See page 104.) MaiUa, Joscjih Anne Maria de Mayrice de, a Jesuit born in Savoy, a most learned and amiable man, who spent forty five years as a missionary in China. He translated the " Great Annals of China," published in twelve volumes quarto, and died at Pekin in 1748. Malagrida, Gabriel, an Italian Jesuit, for a loug time regarded as a saint, and consulted as an oracle. He was burnt alive in 1761, at the age of seventy-five, as a false prophet. 379 Malehranche, Nicholas, a celebrated French divine and philosopher, born in 1638, died in 1715. He wrote several works ; of which the first and principal, as in- deed it gave rise to almost all that followed, was his "Search after Truth." His design in this book is, to point out to us the eri-ors into which we are daily led by our senses, imagination, and passions ; and to prescribe a method for discovering the truth, which he does by starting the notion of seeing all things in God. Manning, James, D.D., a distinguished Baptist cler- gyman, who was the first president of the college at Providence, R. I., and a member of congress from that state ; he died in 1791. Manton, Thomas, D.D., a popular preacher in Lon- don, and before parliament. At the restoration, he was chaplain to the king. He wrote sermons and Calvin- istic tracts, and died in 1677. Martin, St., was converted to Christianity, and be- came bishop of Taurus. He is regarded as the apos- tie of Gaul. His confession of faith is still extant ; he died in 397. Mary, queen of England, eldest daughter of Henry VIII., and Catharine of Arragon. She was a learned woman, but bigoted in the popish superstition, exceed- ingly jealous, and violent and sanguinary in her resent- ments. During her reign, fire, faggots, and the stake, were the liorrid means used to make proselytes to the Romish church. The sacrifice of the innocent Lady Jane Grey and her husband, to a mean fit of jealousy, showed a degree of iDarbarity rarely equalled in civi- lized life. She married Philip of Spain, whose coldness toward her, together with the loss of Calais, is said to have so preyed on her mind, that she fell into .a fever, of which she died in 1558. Mason, John, a learned and pious dissenting minis- ter, author of " Self Knowledge," " Practical Dis- courses for FamiKes," and other works. He died in 1763. Mascaron, Julius, bishop of Agen, and a most emi- nent French preacher, born in 1634, died in 1703. His Hoquence wa^ astonishing ; audit is related *' 380 preaching had such an elTect upon the Huguenots, that, of thirty thousand Calvinists, which he found at his coming to the see of Agen, twenty-eight tliousand for- sook tiieir church. MassUIon, John Baptiste, a celebrated French preach- er, and considered as a consummate master of eloquence, bom in 1663, died in 1742. Mather, Increase, D.D., a clergyman of Boston, and afterwards president of Harvard College, and author of several works. He died in 1723. Mather, Cotton, D.D., F.R.S., son of the preceding, distinguished for his great learning and piety, and was the mo:-:t eminent clergyman of his day in New England. His writings on various subjects v.'ere very numerous; his publications amounted to three hundred and eighty- two. He died at Boston, 1728. Mayhew, Thomas, governor of Martha's Vineyard, and distinguished for his regard for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the Indians. He died in 1631. A number of descendants, of his name, were distinguished for their ministerial labors among the Indians on Mar- tha's Vineyard. Mills, Samuel J., an American clergyman, distin- guished for his piety and zeal in promoting the mis- sionary cause. He died in 1818, on his return from Africa, whither he liad gone as an agent of the Ameri- can Colonization Society. Melanclhon, Philip, a celebrated German divine, co- adjutor with Luther in the reformation, and one of the wisest and greatest men of his age, born at Bretten, Feb. 16th, 1497, died in 1560. Menno, Simonis, an ecclesiastic of Fricsland, and an anabaptist leader. His followers are still to be found in tlie Low Countries, bv the name of Mennonites. He died in 1565. Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople, in 1043 ; he prevented the union of the eastern and west- ern churches, and was banished in 1059. Michaelis, John David, a very learned German wri- ter on divinity, and the oriental languages, wfis born in 1717, and died in 1791. His works are numerous, 381 but his most celebrated is '' introduction to t?ie New Testament," a translation of whicli was published in English, in 1761. ^Itddleton, Thomas Fanshaw, D. D., a distinguished English clergyman, and bishop of Calcutta ; he was the first English bishop in India, appointed in 1814, and died in 1822. Milner, Joseph, a divine born in 1744. He became vicar of a church at Hull ; was author of" An answer to Gibbon's attack of Christianitv," and " A History of the Church of Christ." 3Iilner, Dr. Isaac, brother of Joseph, was a mathe- matical tutor at the university of Cambridge. Mr. Wilberforce and Mr. Pitt were among Ins pupils. He afterwards became dean of Carlisle, continued his brother's " History of the Church of Christ," and died in 1820. Milton, John a most illustrious English poet, was born in London, in 1608, and died of the gout in 1674. His most'celebrated poems are '• Paradise, Lost,'''' which he publislicd in 1667, and his " Paradise Regained," published 1670. Molay, James de, the last grand master of the Tem- plars. Philip the Fair summoned him to Paris, where he came with sixty knights, who were seized and burnt alive in 1314. Molinos, Michael de, a Spanish ecclesiastic, who caused great controversy in the church. He was the founder of the sect called quietists, and died in 1696. Montanus, an ancient hercsiarcli among the Chris- tians, and founder of a sect in the second century, call- ed Montanists. They pretended to the gift o^ proplie- cy, and prohibited s. :-.ond marriages. Marin, Simon, a celebrated French fanatic, burnt alive at Paris, in 1663, for having assumed fhe title of the Son of God. Morin, Stephen, a learned Frtnch Iheological and biblical writer, born in 1625, died m 1700. In one of his works he endeavors to prove that the Hebrew lan- guage is as old as the creation, and that God himself inspired it into Adam. 382 Morton, Nathaniel, one of the early settlers of Ply- mouth, author of a History of the Church of that colo- ny, and of " New England's Memorial," pubHshed in 1699. Mosheim, John Lawrence, an illustrious German di- vine, ecclesiastical historian, and critic, born in 1695, died in 1755. His " Ecclesiastical History, from the birth of Christ to the beginning of the eighteenth centu- ry," is unquestionably the best that is extant. Muggleton, Lodowick, an English tailor of notori- ous fame as a schismatic, who dannied all the world that differed from his strange mode of faith. He was born in 1607; his books were burnt by the hangman, him- self pilloried and imprisond, and he died in 1697. 3Iuncer or Muntzer, Thomas, a saxon divine, one of the disciples of Luther, and chief of the German ana- baptists. In conjunction with Stork, he pulled down all the Images in the churches which Luther had left standing ; and then, finding an army in his followers, he commenced leveler, and openly taught that all dis- tinctions of rank were usurpations on the rights of man- kind. At the head of 40,000 men he ravaged the country. The landgrave of Hesse at length defeated him ; 7,000 of the enthusiasts fell in battle, and the rest, with their leader, fled ; he was taken and beheaded at Mulhausen, in 1525. N. Nuyler, James, a remarkable enthusiast, born in 1616 ; he became a convert of the famous George Fox to quakerism, and commencing preaching, he set out for Bristol, attended by a numerous cavalcade, singing, "Holy, holy, holy. Lord God of Sabaoth ; Ilosannah in the highest; Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Israel." He was brought bcfbro parlaiment, tried and condemn- ed as guilty of blasphemy, and sentenced to imprison- ment for life. But two years after, he was liberated, and died in 1666. Neal, Daniel, a non-conformist divine, born in 1678. In 1706, he was chosen pastor of an independent con- 383 gregation in London. As a writer, his principal pro- duction is, " A History of the Puritans." He died in 1743. Nelson, Robert, a learned and eminently pious Eng- lish gentleman, born in 1656, died in 1715. He pub- lished several works of piety, and left his whole estate for charitable uses. There is a great degree of excel- lence in all his writings ; but his " Companion for the Festivals and Fasts," &c. will perpetuate his memory. Nestorius, a Syrian, bishop of Constantinople in 431. He was deposed for denying the incarnation of the Redeemer. Newel, Samuel, one of the first American missiona- ries to India; he died at Bombay in 1821. His wife, Harriet, who accompanied him, died at the Isle of France, in 1812. Newton, John, an English divine, author of sermons, and other valuable rehgious works; he died in 1807. Newton, Dr. Thomas, bishop of Bristol, and dean of St. Paul's, born in 1703, died in 1782, having distin- guished himself by publishing an edition, with annota- tions, of " Milton's Paradise Lost," and " Paradise Regained ;" but more by his learned and valuable "Dissertations on the Prophecies." Nicepliorus, Callistus, a Greek historian, who flour- ished in the fourteenth century, and wrote an " Eccle- siastical History," in twenty-three books, eighteen of which are still extant, containing the transactions of the church from the birth of Christ to the death of the emperor Phocas, in 610. Nicholas I., surnamed the Great, was elected pope in 858. He was the cause of the schism between the Greek and Latin churches, and died 867. Nicholas III., John Gaetan, was elected pope in 1277. He sent missionaries to Tartary ; died 1280. Novatian, a pagan philosopher of the third century, who was converted to Christianity, but founded a new heresy. His followers were called Novatians. 33 384 O. Occum, Sampson, a Mohegan Indian, converted to Christianity, and became a missionary among tlie West- ern Indians ; he died in 1792. Olaf, a king of Norway in the tenth century, sent missionaries to Greenland to convert the natives. Oldcastle, Sir John, called the good lord Cobham. (See page 161.) O Leary, Arthur, a native of Ireland, who entered into the Franciscan order of Capuchins. Returning to Ireland he soon distinguished himself by his writings, both on religious and political subjects, by which he gained the esteem of all parties, as a friend to freedom, liberality and toleration. His addresses to the Catho- lies gained him the most flattering notice of the Irish government ; he died in London in 1802, aged 73. Omar I., Caliph of the Saracens, the second after Mahomet, and one of the most rapid conquerers of modern history. He drove the Greeks from Syria and Phoenicia ; Jerusalem was surrendered to him ; his generals took the capital of Persia ; and soon after, Memphis and Alexandria submitted to his victorious troops ; and in this conquest, the famous Alexandrian library was burnt by these savages, who heated their stoves with its valuable books. He was assassinated by a Persian slave in 643, the tenth year of his reign, and sixty-third of his age. Orono, an Indian chief of the Penobscot tribe, was faithful in his attachment to the white people, and la- bored to promote Christianity among his own. He died in 1801, aged 113. His wife died in 1809, aged 115. Orton, Job, a dissenting minister, born at Shrewsbu- ry, in 1717, and died in 1783. He wrote " Memoirs of Dr. Doddridge," " Letters to a Young Clergyman," and " An Exposition of the Old Testament." Osterwald, John Frederic, a celebrated Swiss pro- testant minister, born in 1663 and died in 1747. He 385 was the author of many excellent works, the best of which is his " Instructions in the Christian Rehgion." Owen, Dr. Henry, a very celebrated English divine, whose biblical knowledge was perhaps superior to any of his cotemporaries. He was born in 1715, published many excellent works of divinity, and died in 1795. Owen, Dr. John, an eminent English divine, among the Independents, and sometimes styled the oracle and metropolitan of that sect, was born 1616, and died in 1683. He was a very voluminous writer. P. Paine, Thomas. (Seepage 261.) Paley, Dr. William, archdeacon of Carlisle, an ele- gant writer on ethics, author of " Natural Theology," " Moral Philosophy," &c. ; born in 1743, died in 1805. Parkhurst, John, a learned divine, born in 1728. He died at Epsom in 1797, leaving, among other works, "A Greek and English Lexicon to the New Testa- ment." Patrick, St., the apostle, and guardian saint of Ire- land, was, as is supposed, a native of Wales, or of Corn- wall, who was seized by pirates and carried to Ireland, where he converted the inhabitants to Christianity : he died about 460. Paul, a celebrated heresiarch of Samosata, a city on the Euphrates. He was bishop of Antioch, in 260 ; but avowing his belief that Jesus Christ was only a good man endowed with great wisdom, he was deposed by the synod of Antioch in 270. Paul, Father, a most illustrious person, and univer- sal scholar, but particularly skilled in the canon and civil law, and in physic. He wrote many works, and is principally celebrated for his " History of the Council of Trent," the rarest piece of history the world ever saw. Pelagius. (See page 93.) Penn, William, the founder and legislator of the colony of Pennsylvania, was born in London, in 1644. He was a member of the society of Friends, or Qua- kers, and became a preacher of that order at the age of twenty-four. * He died in England in 1718. 386 Peler the Hermit, a French officer of Amiens, who, quitting the mihtary profession, commenced hermit and pilgrim. He traveled to the Holj^ Land, in 1093 ; af- ter which, he received a commission from Pope Urban II. to excite all Christian princes to a general crusade against the Turks and Saracens. He died about 1100. Peter III., king of Arragon, married Constance, daughter of the king of Sicily, and having formed the plan of seizing that kingdom, against the pretensions of Charles of Anjou, he caused all the French in that isl- and to be assassinated at the same time, which was done on Easter day, 1282. This massacre has been since called the Sicilian Vesj^ers. ^ Peter Nolasque, a native of Languedoc, in the ser- vice of James, king of Arragon. He established the " order of mercy," whose sole business was the re- demption of Christian slaves from the power of infidels. He died in 1256. Peter de Osma, a Spanish ecclesiastic, iia the fifteenth century, who was, perhaps, the forerunner of the re- formation, as he wrote and preached against the infalli- bility of the church of Rome. Philip II., surnamed Augustus, king of France. In conjunction with Richard I. of England, he made a crusade to the Holy Land, with three hundred thousand men, but, though victorious, returned with little glory. He died in 1223. Philip III., or the Hardy, was proclaimed king of France, in 1270, while in Africa on a crusade with his father, Lewis IX. He defeated the Saracens, and made a truce with them for ten years ; he died in 1285. Philip v., surnamed the Long, king of France. He banished the Jews from the kingdom ; he permitted great cruelties against lepers, who were either put to death or confined ; he died in 1531. Philpot, John, a native of Hampshire, a warm ad- vocate for the reformation, was made archdeacon of Winchester, by Edward VI ; but in the next reign was convicted of heresy, and burnt at Smithfield, in 1555. 387 Photinus, bishop of Sirmium, was deposed for sup- porting that Christ was only a man ; he died in 376. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, in the ninth century, and the greatest man of the age in which he lived. Of his works, the greatest is his " Bibliotheca." He died 886. Piazzi, Jerome Bartholomew, a historian of the " In- quisition in Italy," of which court, he was formerly a judge ; but became afterwaixls a convert to the church of England, and died at 'Cambridge, in 1745. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, (see page 58.) Pompignan, John James Le Franc, marquis of, a French poet, little inferior to Racine. He pronounced a discourse in favor of Christianity, before the French academy, in 1760, which drew upon him the ridicule of his associates. He died in 1784, highly esteemed. Porteus, Dr. Beilby, bishop of London, was born in 1731, and died in 1809. His single sermons and charges are numerous, and his " Lectures," at St. James church, are well known. Priestley, Joseph, a distinguished polemical and phi- losophical English writer, who, having embraced the Unitarian faith, and meeting with opposition in Eng- land, removed to America, where he died in 1804. Prince, Thomas, an eminent American clergyman, settled at Boston ; he was author of a Chronological History of New England, and made large collections for a history of the country.. He died in 1758. Pucci, Francis, a noble Florentine. After changing his religious opinions several times, he was taken while a Protestant, and burnt at Rome as a heretic, in 1600. Q. Quadratus, a disciple of the apostles and bishop of Athens, who composed an "Apology for the Christian Faith," and presented it to the emperor, who stopped the persecution against the Christians, A. D. 125. Quarks, Francis, an English poet who wrote a num- ber of religious works. He was born in 1592, and died in 1644. 33* 388 Quesnel, Pasquier, a celebrated priest of the oratory, in France, born at Paris, in 1634 : he became the head of the sect of the Jansenists ; wrote many polemical books, and died at Amsterdam, in 1719. R. Radegonde, St., a German princess, renowed for her personal charms, and devotedness to religious du- ties. At the age of ten, she renounced Paganism for the Christian faith, by direction of Clotaire, who af- terwards married her, and then yielding to her wishes, permitted her to retire to the seclusion of a monastery ; she died 587. Raikes, Robert, a printer and philanthropist, founder of Sunday Schools, born in Gloucester, Eng. in 1735, died in 1811. Rantzan, Josias, a Danish nobleman in the French service, died 1645. Chiefly known as the active agent, by whom the protestant religion was introduced into Denmark. Rasles, or Ralle, Sebastian, a French Jesuit, who was a missionary among the Indians, and acquired great influence over them. The last twenty. six years of his life he spent among the Indians at Norridge- wok, on the Kennebec river. He was a man of learn- ing, and wrote " A Dictionary of the Indian Language," which is still preserved in Harvard College. He was killed in an attack of the English in 1724, in the sixty- seventh year of his age. Richard I. king of England, left his country for a crusade to the Holy Land, where, after displaying great bravery, he defeated the infidels under Saladin, and embarked for Europe. He was killed while be- sieging Chalus, 1199. Richmond, Legh, Rector of Turvey, Bedfordshire, Eng. was born at Liverpool, Jan. 29th, 1772, died May 8th, 1827. He was the author of the "Dairyman's Daughter," " Young Cottager," &c. works which are highly esteemed throughout the Christian world. Ridley, Nicholas, bisliop of London, one of the prin- ciparinstruments of the reformation, who suflfered mar- 389 tyrdom for it in the reign of queen Mary, was born in 1500, and burnt at Oxford, in 1555. (See page 188.) Robinson, John, a distinguished English clergyman, pastor of the Englisli cluircli at Amsterdam, and after- wards at Leyden, and died there in 1625. S. Sabatai-Sevi, (see page 232.) SabelUus, a noted African, founder of a sect in the third century, which denied distinction in the Trinity, Sandeman, Robert, founder of the sect of the San- demanians, was born at Perth in Scotland, about the year 1718. He represented faith as the mere opera- tion of intellect, and maintained that men were justi- fied merely on speculative behef. He came to New England and gathered a church in Danbury, Con. in 1765, where he died April 2d, 1771. Saturninus, a heretic of the second century. He supposed that the world was created by angels, and re- garded the connexion of the sexes as criminal. Saurin, James, an eminent Flemish divine and theo- logical writer, died in 1730. Scott, Thomas, D.D., an English divine, and chap, lain to the Lock Hospital, and Rector of Aston San- ford, Bucks, distinguished for his " Commentary on the Bible," and other works : he died in 1821. Scudder, Henry, a Presbyterian clergyman of Eng- land, author of " The Christian's Daily Walk." He died before the restoration of Charles II. Seabury, Samuel, D.D., an Episcopal clergyman, bishop of Connecticut and the first diocesan in the United States, published two volumes of his sermons, and died in 1796. Seeker, Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury, born in 1693, and died in 1768. His catechetical lectures and sermons, published after his death, are masterly compo- sitions. Seneca, a celebrated Stoic philosopher, born in Spain, at Corduba, A. D. 12. He was put to death, in A. D. 65, by order of the tyrant Nero, to whom he had been a preceptor. 390 Sergeant, John, a missionary to the Stockbridge In- dians ; he translated part of the bible into the Indian tongue, born at Newark, N. J. and died at Stockbridge in 1749. His son of the same name afterwards en- gaged in the same cause. Sergius, a Syrian, patriarch of Constantinople, and head of a sect called the Monothelite : died in 638. Servetus, Michael, a most ingenious and learned Spaniard, was burnt at the stake in Geneva, for his her- etical and blasphemous opinions, in 1553, aged forty- four. He was first a physician, and then a divine. Severus, a heretic of the second century, who main- tained the existence of a good and evil principle. Shepard, Thomas, an English non-conforming di- vine, became minister of Cambridge, Mass. and was author of many useful works : he died in 1649. Sherlock, Dr. Thomas, bishop of London, a contro- versial writer, died in 1761, aged eighty-three. Sigismond, son of Charles IV. king of Hungary, in 1386, and Emperor of Germany, in 1410. He prevail- ed upon the pope, to call the council of Constance, in 1414, to settle the difficulties of the church, at which he presided, and at which were present eighteen thou- sand ecclesiastics, and sixteen thousand nobles ; he suffered that council to burn John Huss, ahd Jerome of Prague, after he had given them a safe passport. Simeon Stylites, the founder of a sect 'of devotees, called Stylites. He died in 461, aged sixty-nine, after having spent forty-seven years on the top of a column sixty feet high, exposed to the inclem.encies of the sea- son, and often supporting himself for days, on one foot. Simpson, John, a Scottish divine, and divinity pro- fessor at Glasgow ; he was deposed and excommuni- cated for denying the doctrine of the Trinity, and died in Edinburgh, in 1744. Smith, Samuel Stanhope, D.D., LL.D., an eminent Presbyterian clergyman, who was the founder and first president of Hampden Sidney College, Virginia, and afterwards professor of Moral Philosophy and Theology at Princton college, and president of that institution ; he died in 1819. 391 Soiithcot, Joanna, (see page 275.) Sjyener, a Lutheran divine, founder of the sect called Pietists, held some ecclesiastical dignities at Berlin, and died in 1705, aged seventy-six. Spinoza, Benedict de, was born at Amsterdam in 1638, was first a Jew, then a Christian, and lastly an atheist. He died in 1677. Spira, Francis, an eminent Venetian lawyer, in the sixteenth century ; he favored the tenets of the refor- mation, and was compelled to make a recantation to save his life, which had such an effect upon his spirits as to hasten his death. He died in 1548. Stephen II., was eliosen pope in 752. Being attack- ed by the king of Lombardy, he appealed for assistance to Pepin, king of France, who defeated the Lombards, and took from them twenty-five towns, which he gave to the pope, and thus laid the foundation of the tempo- ral power of the Holy See. Stephen died in 757. Sternliold, Thomas, an English poet celebrated for his ■ version of the Psalms of David in conjunction with Hopkins ; he died in 1549. Stifelius, Michael, a protestant divine of Germany, died in 1567. He predicted that the destruction of the Avorld would happen in 1553, but lived to witness the fallacy of his prediction. Siillingjleet, Dr. Edward, bishop of Worcester, died in 1699, greatly distinguished by his numerous writ- ings, particularly by his " Origines Sacrte," or a ration- al account of natural and revealed religion. Stoddard, Solomon, an eminent clergyman of New England, settled for nearly sixty years at Northamp- ton, Mass. and died in 1729. Summerfield, John, A. M. a very eloquent and pop- ular preacher of the methodist episcopal cluirch, died at New York in 1825, aged twenty-seven, having been a preacher eight years. Swartz, Christian F. (See page 242.) Stoedenlorg, Emanuel. (See page 227.) ' Swift, Dr. Jonathan, dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, an illustrious political, satirical, and miscellaneous 392 Writer and poet, died in 1745, aged seventy-eight. He was the author of several singular books. T. Taylor, Dr. Jeremy, bishop of Down and Connor, in Ireland, and a very eminent theological writer and con- troversialist, died in 1667, aged fifty-four. Tetzcl, John, a Dominican, of Germany. He was commissioned to publish the indulgences of the holy See ; and the zeal with which he executed the office, caused the animadversion of Luther, and consequently, the reformation. When charged with being the author of the disasters of the church, he was so afflicted with the imputation, that he died of a broken heart in 1519. Thcodorus, a bishop of Cilicia, who died in 428. His works, some of which are extant, were condemned as heretical, by a general council. Theodosius, the Great, the last Roman emperor, a convert to Christianity and renowned general and -le- gislator, died in 395. His sons, Arcadius and Hono- rius, made a division of the empire into East and West ; Arcadius, being first emperor of the East, and Honorius of the West. Theodotus, a tanner of Byzantium, who apostastized from the Christian faith, to save his life, and founded a new sect, which denied the divinity of Christ. An- other of the same name, was the head of a sect, which maintained that the Messiah was inferior to Melchisedec. TiUotson, Dr. John, archbishop of Canterbury, was the son of a clothier, and died in 1694. He published many valuable sermons. Titus, Vespasian, a Roman emperor, son of Vespa- sian, distinguished for his conquest of Jerusalem. The "Triumphal arch of Titus," built at Rome to commem- orate this event, is still remaining. He died A. D. 81, in the forty-first year of his age. Trimmer, Sarah, an English lady, eminent for her exertions in support of Sunday Schools, and other reli- gious institutions, died in 1810. 393 Tyndall or Tindal, William, an English reformer, memorable for having made the first English version of the Bible. He suffered death as a heretic, in 1536. U. Urban V., William, de Grimoald, elected pope in 1302, after Innocent VI. He was the first pope vv^ho resided at Rome, and was the patron of learned and religious bodies, founded churches and colleges, and corrected abuses. He died at Avignon, in 1370. V. Vanini, LuciHo, a most determined atheist, who set- tled in France, and was burnt for blasphemy, in 1619. Vanderkempt, J. T., D. D., missionary to South Af- rica. He labored with success among the Hottentots g,nd Caffres, and died in Cape Town in 1811. Varenius, Augustus, an eminent Lutheran divine of Lunenburg, celebrated for his profound knowledge of the Hebrew. It is said that he could repeat the He- brew Bible by heart. He died in 1684. Veil, Charles Maria de, a Jew, of Metz, was con- verted to Christianity by Bossuet, and made canon of St. Genevieve. After lecturing on theology at Angers, he went to England, where he joined the anabaptists, and became a preacher of that persuasion. He wrote commentaries on the Scriptures, and died about 1700. Venner, Thomas, a noted fanatic, in the time of Cromwell and Charles II., was originally a wine coop, er. His followers were called fifth monarchy men. He was executed with twelve of his associates, in 1661. Vincent, Thomas, an English non-conformist divine, author of " Explanation of the Catechism," and other religious tracts, died in 1671. Voltaire, Marie Francis Arouet de, gentleman of the bed chamber, and historiographer to the king of France, a celebrated historian, philosopher, dramatic writer, and epic poet ; died in 1788. He is also distinguished as a champion of Infidelity. (See page 253.) 394 W. Waldo, Peter, a merchant of Lyons, was the founder of a sect called the Waldenses, in the twelfth century. Warburlon, William, bishop of Gloucester, a very em- inent theological writer, critic, and controversialist ; he died in 1779, leaving behind him numerous valuable works. Ward, William, D.D., Baptist missionary to Seram- pore, in Hindostan. He died in 1823. Watson, Richard, a celebrated English prelate, who became bishop of XlandafF; he wrote, among other works, an answer to Paine's Age of Reason, called an Apology for the Bible, and died in 1816. Watts, Isaac, a dissenting divine, philosopher, poet, and mathematician, of uncommon genius and celebrity ; died in 1748. Wesley, John. (See page 249.) Wcstjield, Thomas, a native of Ely, was made arch- bishop of St. Alban's, and soon after, bishop of Bristol. He was so eloquent and pathetic a preacher, that he was called the weeping prophet ; he died in 1644. Wheelock, Eleazer, D.D., first president of Dart- mouth College ; he formed at Lebanon, Con. a school for the purpose of educating Indian youth for mission- aries. He removed to Hanover, N. H., and founded Dartmouth College in 1770. He died in 1774, aged sixty-eight. Whitehead, John, was first a methodist preacher, and thenaquaker, and at last applied himself to physicinLon- don. He published a Life of Wesley, and died in 1804. Whitgift, Dr. John, archbishop of Canterbury, died in 1604. Whitejicld, George. (See page 249.) Wicklijfe, John. (See page 154.) Wilkinson, Jemima, a religious enthusiast, was born in Cumberland, in America, and died in 1819. She claimed that she had been raised from the dead, and that she was invested by divine authority with the power of working miracles, and the authority of teach- ing in religion. 395 Williams, Roger, the founder of the colony oi' Rhode Island, of which he became president ; he was an eminent clergyman, of great learning, and uncom-, mon energy. He was born in Wales in 1599. Aft^ having been for some time a minister of the church of England, his non-conformity induced him to seek reli- gious liberty in America. He arrived in Boston in 1631. His peculiar sentiments soon brought him be- fore the magistrates. He asserted that an oath ought not to be tendered to an unregenerate man ; that a Christian should not pray with the unregenerate, &c. Persisting in these sentiments, he was banished. He went with a number of his friends to a place which he named Providence, in acknowledgment of God's mer- cies. He embraced the sentiments of the Baptists ; he was baptized by one of his brethren, and he then bap- tized about ten others. He died in April, 1683. His memory is deserving of lasting honor, for the liberty of conscience and generous toleration which he estab- Hshed. Williams, John, a clergyman of Deerfield, Mass. He, with his family, and many of his parishioners, were taken prisoners by the Indians in 1704 ; his wife and two children were murdered, and the remainder of the party carried to Canada, and after two years of suffer- ing, were ransomed. He returned to Deerfield and died in 1729. Winchester, Elhanan, an itinerant preacher of the doctrine of universal restoration, was born in Brook- line, Mass. in 1751. In 1778 he was a Baptist minister on Pedee river. South Carolina, zealously teaching the Calvinistic doctrines as explained by Dr. Gill. In 1781 he became a preacher of universal salvation in Phila- delphia. He preached in various parts of America and England, and died in Hartford, Con. in 1797. Wolsey, Thomas, prime minister of Henry VIII., who, from being the son of a butcher, rose to be arch- bishop of York, chancellor of England, cardinal of St. Cicily, and legate a latere. He died in 1530. 34 396 Woolston, Thomas, an English divine, author of sev- eral works, filled with heterodox sentiments and absurd- ities. He died in prison in 1733, where he had been sentenced for publishing a blasphemous work. Worceste7-, Samuel, D. D.,' an American clei'gyman settled in Massachusetts, distinguished for his zeal in promoting the missionary cause. He died in 1821. Wyatt, Sir Thomas, one of the most learned and ac- complished persons of his time. He wrote poetry, and was the first Englishman who versified any part of the book of Psalms. He died in 1541, aged thirty-eight. X. Xavier, Francis, the great coadjutor of Ignatius Loyola, was born at Xavier, at the foot of the Pyre- nees, in 1506 ; and was sent one of the earliest mission- aries to the East Indies ; for his zeal and ability in this undertaking, he obtained the appellation of the " Apos- tle of the Indies." He died in 1.552, and was canonized in 1622, by Gregory XV. Y. Young, Edward, an Enghsh poet and divine, died m 1765. He wrote " Night Thoughts," and other works. Z. Zanzalus, James, an obscure monk in the sixth cen- tury, who became founder of the sect of the Jacobites. They hold the perfection of the gospel to be the strict observance of fasts. Zeigenbalg, Bartholomew. (Seepage 241.) Zegeden, Stephen, of Hungary, was one of the first disciples of Luther, and wrote several theological works ; he died in 1572. Zuinglius, Ulric. (See page 171.) A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING RELIGIOUS EVENTS, Which have occurred since the commencement of the Christian Era to the present ti?ne. A. D. Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, is born, four years before the commencement of the Christian era. 26. .John the Baptist' preaches in Judea, the coming of the Messiah. 29. Jesus Christ is crucified. 35. Conversion of St. Paul to Christianity. 39. St. Matthew writes his Gospel. 40. The name of Christians first given to the disciples of Christ at Antioch. 41. Herod persecutes the Christians, and imprisons Peter. 42. Sergius Paulus, pro-consul, converted by St. Paul. 44. St. Mark writes his Gospel. 50. St. Paul preaches in the Areopagus at Athens. 60. Christian religion published in England. 64. The first persecution raised by Nero. 67. St. Peter and St. Paul put to death. 70. Titus destroys Jerusalem. The lands of Judea sold. 95. Dreadful persecutions of the Christians at Rome and in the provinces. 95. St. John writes his Apocalypse. writes his Gospel. 98. Trajan forbids the Christian assemblies. 108. St. Ignatius was devoured by wild beasts at Rome. 118. Persecution of the Christians renewed by Adrian, but af- terwards suspended. 137. Adrian rebuilds Jerusalem by the name of Elia Capitolina. 139. Justin Martyr writes his first Apology for the Christians. 167. Polycarp and Pionicusus suffered martyrdom in Asia. 177. Persecution of the Christians at Lyons. In the Second Century Christian assemblies are held on Sunday and other stated days in private houses and in the burying places of martyrs. . . 398 A. D. Infant Baptism and Sponsers used in this century. Various Festivals and Fasts established. A distinction formed between the Bishops and Presbyters, who v/ith the Deacons and Readers are the only orders of Ecclesiastics known in this century. The sign of the cross and anointing used. The custom of praying towards the east introduced. 902. The fifth persecution against the Christians, principally in Egypt. '203. The Scots converted to Christianity by the preaching of Marcus and Dionysius. :236. The sixth persecution of the Christians. 2.50. The seventh persecution of the Christians under Decius. 257. The eighth persecution of the Christians. 2(i0. The temple of Diana of Ephesus burned. 272. The ninth persecution of the Christians. The Jewish Talmud and Targum composed in the Third Century. The Jews are allowed to return into Palestine. Many illustrious men and Roman Senators converted to Christianity. Religious rites greatly multiplied in this century ; altars used ; wax tapers employed. Public churches built for the celebration of Divine worship. The Pagan mysteries injudiciously imitated in many re- spects by the Christians. The tasting of milk and honey previous to baptism, and the person anointed before and after that holy rite — receives a crown and goes arrayed in white some time after. 302. The tenth persecution of the Christians. 306. Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome, stops the perse- cution of the Christians. 313. Edict of Milan published by Constantine — Christianity tol- erated throughout the Empire. 325. Constantine assembles the first General Council at Nice, where the doctrines of Arius are condemned. j26. St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, introduced Monach- ism into the Roman Empire. ;5(il. Julian, Emperor of Rome, abjures Christianity, and is elec- ted Pontifex Maximus. Attempts fruitless!)' to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem. 3S1. Second general council held at Constantinople. 387. St. Jerome dies, aged seventy-eight. 307. St. Chrysostom chosen patriarch of Constantinople. In the Fourth Century the Athanasians or Orthodox per- secuted by Constantius, who was an Arian, and b}' Valens, who ordered eighty of their deputies, all ecclesiastics, to be put on board a ship, which was set on fire as soon as it was got clear of the coast. 399 A. D. Remarkable progress in this century of the christian reh- gion among the Indians, Goths,Marcomanni, and Iberians. Theodosius the Great, is obliged, by Ambrose bishop of Mi- Ian, to do public penance for the slaughter of the Thes- • salonians. The Eucharist was during this century administered in some places to infants and persons deceased. Something like the doctrine of Transubstantiation is held, and the ceremony of the Elevation used in the celebra- tion of the Eucharist. The use of incense, and of the censor, with several other superstitious rites, introduced. — The churches are considered as externally holy, the saints are invoked, images used and the cross worshipped. The clerical order augmented by new ranks of Ecclesi- astics, sucli as Archdeacons, Country Bishops, Archbish- ops, Metropolitans, Exarchs, &c. 412. The Pelagian Heresy condemned by the bishops of Africa. 432. The conversion of the Irish to the Christan faith effected by St. Patrick, whose original name was Succathus. 451, The fourth General Council held at Chalcedon. 497. Clovis and the Franks converted to Christianity. During the fifth century, terrible persecutions were carried on against the Christians in Britain by the Picts, Scots, and Anglo-Saxons — in Spain, Gaul, and Africa, by the Vandals — in Italy and Pannania, by the Visigoths — in Africa by the Donatists and Circumcellians — in Persia by the Isdegerdes — besides the particular persecutions carried on alternately against the Arians and Anathasians. Felix III. Bishop of Rome, is excommunicated, and his name struck out of the Dyptycs, or sacred registers, by Acacius, Bishop of Constantinople. Many ridiculous fables invented during this century ; such as the story of the phial of oil, brought from heaven by a pigeon at the baptism of Clovis — the vision of Attia- la, &-C. 51G. The computation of time by the Christian Era, introduced by Dionysius the monk. 519. Justin restores the orthodox Bishops, and condemns the Eutychians. 525. The Emperor Justin deposes the Arian Bishops. 565. The Picts converted to Christianity by St- Columbia. 569. Birth of Mahomet the false prophet. 580. The Latin tongue ceases to be spoken. 596. Forty Benedictine monks with Augustine at their head, sent into Britain by Gregory the Great to convert Ethel, bert, king of Kent, to the Christian faith. In the sixth century the orthodox Christians are oppressed by the emperor Anslatius Thrasemond, king of the Van- dais, Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, &c. 34* 400 A. D. Benedictine order founded, and the canon of mass estab^ lished by Gregory the Great. Augustine the monk converts the Saxons to Christianity. Female converts are greatly multiplied in this century. Litanies introduced into the church of France. The Arians are driven out of Spain. The Christian Era formed by Dionysius the Little, who first began to count the course of time, from the birth of Christ. The Justinian Code Pandects, Listitutions and Novellas, col- lected and formed into a body. 609. The Jews of Antioch massacre the Christians. (ill. The Church and Abbey of Westminster founded. 612. Mahomet begins to puljlish the Koran. In the seventh century the Archbishoprics of London and York are founded, with each twelve Bishoprics uiider its jurisdiction. Boniface IV. receives from the tyrant Phocas (who was the great patron of popes, and the chief promoter of their grandeur,) the famous Pantheon, which is converted into a church. Here Cybele was succeeded by the Virgin Mary, and the Pagan Deities by Christian Martyrs. Idol- atry still subsisted, but the objects of it were changed. Ina, king of West Saxony, resigns his crown and assumes the monastic habilfia a convent at Rome. During the hep- tarchy, many Saxons kings took the same course. Pope Agatho ceases to pay the tribute which the see of Rome was accustomed to pay the emperor at the election of its pontiff. 72G. Leo forbids the worship of images, which occasions a great I'ebellion of his subjects, the pope defending the practice. 7-^8. Leo orders pope Gregory to be seized and sent to Constan- tinople, but the order is frustated, and Leo confiscates the imperial dominions of Sicily and Calabria. 736. Leo persecutes the monks. 737. Death of Pelagius, who preserved the Christian Monarchy in Austria. 753. Astolphus, king of the Lombards, erects the dukedom of Ravenna, and claims from the pope the dukedom of Rome. 7.54. Pepin invades Italy, and strips Astolphus of his new pos- sessions, conferring them on the pope as a temporal sove- reignty. 770. Constantine dissolves the monasteries in the east. 78 L Irene re-establishes the worship of images. 787. The seventh General Council, or second of Nice is held. In the eighth century the ceremony of kissing the pope's toe is introduced. 401 A. D The Saxons, with Witekind their monarch, converted to Christianity. The Christians persecuted by the Saracens, who massacre five hundred monks in the abbey of Lerins. Controversy between the Greek and Latin church, con- cerning the Holy Ghost's proceeding from the Son. Gospel propagated in Hyrcania and Tartary. The reading of the Epistle and Gospel introduced into the service of the church. Churches built in honor of saints. Solitary and private masses instituted. 829. Missionaries sent from France to Sweden. 851. Pope Joan supposed to have filled the papal chair for tv.'o years. 867. Photius, patriarch of Constantinople, excommunicates pope Adrian. 866. The University of Oxford founded by Alfred. In the ninth century the conversion of the Swedes, Danes, Saxons, Huns, Bohemians, Moravians, Sclavonians, Rus- sians, Indians, and Bulgarians, which latter occasions a controversy between the Greek and Latin churches. The power of the pontiffs increase ; that of the bishops di- minishes ; and the emperors are divested of their eccle- siastical authority. The fictitious relics of St. Mark. St. James, and St Bar- tholomew, are imposed upon the credulity of the people. Monks and abbots now first employed in civil affairs and called to the courts of princes. The superstitious festival of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, instituted by the council of Mentz, and confirmed by Pope Nicholas I. and afterwards by Leo X. The Legends or lives of the saints began to be composed in this century. The Apostles' Creed is sung in the churches ; organs, bells, and vocal music introduced in many places — Festivals multiplied. The Order of St. Andrew, or the Knights of the Tliistle in Scotland. Tlie canonization of Saints introduced'by Leo II. Theophilus from his abhorrence of images, banislies tlie painters from the Eastern Empire. Harold, King of Denmark, is dethroned by his subjects on account of his attachment to Christianity. 915. The University of Cambridge founded by Edward the Elder. 965. The Poles are converted Christianity. In the tenth century the Christian religion is established in Muscovy, Denmark, and Norway. 402 A. D. The baptism of bells, the festival in remembrance of de- parted souls, and a multitude of other superstitious rites were introduced in the tenth century. Fire Ordeal introduced. The influence of monks greatly increased in England. 1015. The Manichean doctrines prevalent in France and Italy. 1061. Henry IV. of Germany, on his knees asks pardon of the Pope. 1065. The Turks take Jerusalem from the Saracens. 1076. The Emperor Henry IV"., excommunicated and deposed by the Pope. 1079. Doomsday-book begun by William the Conqueror. 1095. The First Crusade to the Holy Land. The Crusaders take Antioch. 1099. Jerusalem taken by Godfrey, of Boulogne. The Knights of St. John instituted. In the eleventh century, the office of Cardinal instituted. — A contest between the Emperors and Popes. — Several of the Popes are looked upon as Magicians, and learning was considered magic. — The tyranny of the Popes oppo- sed by the Emperors Henry I., II. and III. of England, and other monarchs of that nation ; by Philip, king of France, and by the English and German schools. Baptism performed by triple immersion. Sabbath Fasts introduced by Gregory VII. The Cistercian, Carthusian, and Whipping orders, with many others, are founded in this century. 1147. The second Crusade excited by St. Bernard. 1160. The Albigenses maintain heretical doctrines. 1171. T. Becket nmrdered at Canterbury. 1187, The City of Jerusalem taken by Saladin. 1189. The third Crusade under Richard I. and Philip Augustus. In the twelfth century, the three military Orders of the Knights of St. John, of Jerusalem, the Knight Templars, and the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary, were instituted. Sale of Indulgences begun by the Bishops, soon after mo- nopolized by the Popes. The Scholastic Theology, whose jargon did such mis- chief in the Church, took its rise in this century. Pope Paschal II., orders the Lord's Supper to be adminis- tered only in one kind, and retrenches the cup. 1202. The fourth Crusade sets out from Venice. 1204. The Inquisition established hj Pope Innocent III. 1210. Crusade against the Albigenses, under Simon de Montfort. 1226. Institution of the orders of St. Dominic and St. Francis. 1234. The Inquisition committed to the Doininican monks. 1248. The fifth Crusade under St. Louis. 403 A. D. 1260. Flagellants preach baptism with blood. 1283. The Sicillian's Vespers, when 8,000 Frenchmen were mas- sacred in one night. 1291. Ftolemais taken by the Turks. End of the Crusades. 1293. Jubilee first celebrated at Rome. 1299. Ottoman or Othoman, first Sultan, and founder of the Turkish Empire. In the thirteenth century the Knights of the Teutonic order, under the command of Herman de Saliza, conquer and convert to Christianity the Prussians. The power of creating Bishops, Abbots &c. claimed by the Roman Pontiff. John, King of England, excommunicated by Pope Inno- cent III., and through fear of that Pontiff, is guilty of the most degrading compliances. Jubilees instituted by Boniface VIII. The Jews driven out of France, by Lewis IX., and their Talmud burnt. The associations of Hans-Towns, Dominicans, Francis- cans, Ser\'ites, Mendicants, and the hermits of St. Augus- tine, date the origin of their orders from this century. The Festivals of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin and of the Holy Sacrament, or Body of Christ instituted. 1308. The seat of the Popes transferred to Avignon for seventy years. 1310. Rhodes taken by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 1377. Wickliffe' s doctrines propagated in England. 1378. The schisms of the double Popes at Rome and Avignon be- gins and continues thirty-eight years. 1386. Christianity encouraged in Tartary and China; the Lithu- anians and Jagello, their prince, converted to the Chris- tian faith. In the fourteenth century. Pope Clement V. orders the Ju- bilee, which Boniface had appointed to be held every hun- dredth year, to be celebrated twice in that space of time. The Knight Templars are seized and imprisoned ; many of them put to death, and the order suppressed. The Bible is translated into French by the order of Charles V. The festival of the holy lance and nails that pierced Jesus Christ, instituted by Clement V., in this century. Such was this Pontiff's arrogance, that once while he was din- ing he ordered Dandalus, the Venetian Ambassador, to be chained under his table, like a dog. 1409. Council of Pisa, where Pope Gregory is deposed. 1414. Council of Constance, in which two Popes were deposed, and the Popedom rem.ained vacant near three years. 404 A. D. 1415. John Huss condemned by the Council of Constance for heresy, and burnt. 1416. Jerome of Prague, condemned by the same Council, and burnt. 1439. Reunion of the Greek and Latm Churches. 1450. The fir.st book printed with type.s of metal ; which was the Vulgate Bible published at Montz. 1453. Constantinople taken by the Turks. 1471. Thomas a Kempis, died. 1492. America discovered by Columbus. 1498. Savanazola burnt by Pope Alexander VI., for preaching against the vices of the Clergy. In the fifteenth century, the Moors in Spain are conver- ted to the Christian faith by force. The Council cf Constance remove the Sacramental Cup from the laity, and declare it lawful to violate the most solemn engagements when made to Heretics. 1517. The Reformation in Germany begun by Luther. 1518. Leo X. condemns Luther's doctrines. 1520. Massacre of Stockholm by Christiern II., and Archbishop Trollo. 1521. Gustavus Eriscon introduces the Reformation into Sweden by the ministry of Olaus Petri. 1524. Sweden and Denmark embrace the Protestant faith. 1529. Diet of Spires against the Huguonots, then first termed Protestants. 1530. The League of Smalcand between the Protestants. 1531. IMichael Servetus burnt for heresy at Geneva. 1534. The Reformation takes place in England. 1535. The society of the Jesuits instituted by Ignatius Loyola. 1533. The Bible in English appointed to be read in the churches in England. 1540. Dissolution of the Monasteries in England by Henry VIII. 1545. The Council of Trent begins, which continued eighteen years. 1548. The Interim granted by Charles V., to the Protestants. 1552. The treaty of Passau between Charles V. and the Elector of Saxon3', ^or the establishment of Lutheranism. 1555. A number of Bishops in England burnt by Queen Mary. 1560. The Reformation completed in Scotland by John Knox, and the Papal authoritj^ abolished. 1504. John Calvin, a celebrated Theologian, died. 1572. The massacre of St. Bartholomew's, Aug. 24th. 1576. The league formed in France against the Protestants. 1587. The second settlement in Virginia. Manteo, an Indian, received Christian Baptism. Virginia Dare, born, the first child of Christian parents born in the United States. 1592. Presbyterian church government established in Scotland. 405 A. D. 1598. Edict of Nantes tolerating the Protestants in France. In the sixteenth century. Pope Julius bestows the Cardi- nal's Hat upon the keeper ts^his monkeys. 1608. Arminius propagates his opinions; the Socini;.ns publish their Catechism at Cracow.' I'jlO. The Protestants form a confederacy at Heilbroh. 1618. The Synod of Dort, in Holland. 1619. Vanini burnt at Thoulouse for Atheism. 1620. Settlement of Plymouth by the Puritans. 1622. The congregation De Propaganda, Sslc. founded at Rome by Pope Gregory XV. 1626. League of the Protestant Princes against the Emperor. 1638. The solemn League and covenant established in Scotland. 1639. First Baptist church in America formed at Providence. 1640. New England Psalm Book first published. 1641. The Irish Rebellion and Massacre of the Protestants, Oct. 23. 1656. The Friends or Quakers first came to Massachusetts. Four executed in 1659. 1664. Mr. Eliot's Indian Bible printed at Cambridge, Mass. T he first Bible printed in America. 1674. John Milton, a celebrated poet, died. 1685. Revocation of the Edict af Nantes by Lewis XIV.. 1690. Rev. J. Eliot, " Apostle of the Indians," died. Episcopacy abolished in Scotland, by King William. 1708. Saybrook Platform formed by a Synod of Ministers under the authority of the State of Connecticut. 1731. Rev. Solomon Stoddard, a Theological writer, died. 1740. C4eorge Whitfield, a celebrated preacher, first arrives in America ; he dies at Newburyport, Mass. Sept. 30, 1770, on his seventh visit to America. 1748. Dr. Watts, a celebrated poet and divine, died, aged 75. 1751. Dr. Doddridge, a celebrated divine, died. 1758. President Edwards, a celebrated divine, died. 1772. Swedenborg, the founder of the New Jerusalem Church, died. 1773. The society of the Jesuits suppressed by the Pope's Bull, Aug. 25. 1774. The Shakers first arrived from England ; they settled near Albany. 1782. First English Bible printed in Americi by Robert Aiken, of Philadelphia. 1788. Voltaire, a celebrated Infidel philosopher, died. 1790. Howard, the Philanthropist, died. 1791. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, died, aged 87. 1793. TriumpTiof Infidelity in France. The National Conven- tion decreed that " death is an eternal sleep." 406 A. D. 1796. The London Missionarj,- Society sent out a number of mis- sionaries to the Society Islands. 1798. The Papal Governmen.t suppveoced by the French. — The Pcpe quits Rome, I eb. 26th. 1804. British and Foreign. Bible Society instituted. 1806. The Slave Trade abolished by act of Parliament, February. 1812. Pomare, king of Otaheite, baptized. \e"i3. n.u»bian Bibld Society formed at St. Petersburg. 1815. Idolatry abolished in the Society Islands. 1816. The American Bible Society instituted at New York. 1818. Paris Prote.stant Bible Society formed. 1820. First Mariner's Clmrch erected at New York. 1821. Monrovia settled by the American Colonization Society. 182.3. American Missionaries arrived at the Sandwich Islands. 1826. American Temperance Society, formed at Boston, Maes, ^^^^_MEMlgFjj^ ^^ll|)))l>se^l r<(]iii|;ilii>ii i)f llii- Kiirlli. A S 1 .1 AFlllCA . A.MV.UICA . '.•(Ill IIIIO 11(1(1 IIKI IMMI (111(1 110 (Kill 110(1 i;'. (11101)0(1 r'l.t uooouo \ Sians 'WDiEan!). r EXHIBITING THE RISE ^V^STD PHO^RE 2'iir /jTr\'al('i tfrfiolfd liv thf M'hftf spn^-e C9 < 1 K^ m ^ B ^ ^ ^'■■. — ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ii„ih„i.,l liid^^^^^^l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l ■■ .VmrHcn ^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^l ■ H x.„.,Tri,„. ^^Hi^^^^H^^^l ^" EXHIBITIS* TlIK RISE AiNI) l-llOOKESS OF IIUIISTI.VNITY >VND JLUIOjrETAXISM TIIROlClKirT THE WI)Hy>. c p^ \. y, :^ r ^' 1^1