of the Church to render ineffectual every weapon formed against her peace and salvation.

During this persecution, there was one Victor, a Christian, of a good family, at Marseilles, in France, who spent a great part of the night in visiting the afflicted, and confirming the weak, which pious work he could not, consistently with his own safety, perform in the daytime; and his fortune he spent in relieving the distresses of poor Christians. His actions becoming known, he was seized by the emperor's orders, and being carried before two prefects, they advised him to embrace paganism, and not forfeit the favor of his prince, on account of a dead man, as they styled Christ. In answer to which he replied, "That he preferred the service of that dead man, who was in reality the Son of God, and had risen from the grave, to all the advantages he could receive from the emperor's favor: that he was a soldier of Christ, and would therefore take care the post he held under an earthly prince, should never interfere with his duty to the King of heaven." For this reply, Victor was loaded with reproaches, but being a man of rank, he was sent to the emperor to receive his final sentence. When brought before him, Maximian commanded him, under the severest penalities, to sacrifice to the Roman idols; and on his refusal, ordered him to be bound, and dragged through the streets. During the execution of this order, he was treated by the enraged populace with all manner of indignities. Remaining, however, inflexible, his courage was deemed obstinacy to which he replied, "That the ready disposition of the disciples of Christ to undergo any sufferings on that score, and the joy with which they met the most ignomin. us and pain. ful deaths, were sufficient proofs of their assurance of the object of that hope." He added, "That he was ready to give an example of what he had said, in his own person." When stretched upon the rack, he turned his eyes towards heaven, and pray. ed to God to give him patience; after which he underwent the tortures with admirable for tude. The executioners being tired of inuicting the torments, he was taken from the rack, & Laveyed to a dungeon. During his confinement he converted the gaol. eis, named Alexander, Felician, and Longinus. This affair coming to the knowledge of the emperor, he ordered them immediately to be put to death, and they were beheaded accordingly. Victor was afterwards again put to the rack, beaten with clubs, and then again sent to his dungeon. Being a third time examined concerning his religion, he persevered in his principles; a small altar was then brought, and he was commanded to offer incense upon it immediately; but refus ing this, he boldly stepped forward, and with his foot overthrew both altar and idol. The emperor Maximian, who was present, was so enraged at this, that he ordered the foot with which he had kicked the altar, to be immediately cut off, and Victor to be thrown into a mill, and crushed to pieces with the stones. This horrid sentence was put into execution; but part of the apparatus breaking, he was drawn from the mill terribly bruised; and the emperor, not having patience to stay till it was mended, ordered his head to be struck off, which was executed accordingly.

To the foregoing affecting story, we shall add an account of the singular fortitude and noble conduct of three Christian friends, who were also called to seal their faith in Jesus with their blood.

While Maximus, governor of Cilicia, was at Tarsus, these three Christians were brought before him by Demetrius, a military officer. Tarachus, the eldest, and first in rank, was addressed by Maximus, who asked him what he was? The prisoner replied, "A Christian." This reply offending the governor, he again made the same demand, and was answered in a similar manner. Hereupon 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 Tarachus replied, that avarice was a sin, and that gold itself was 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 deceived themselves, and 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 emperors 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 machi

aations of the devil himself. 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 the trials of the other two prisoners. Probus was then brought before Maximus, who, as usual, asked his name. Undauntedly the prisoner 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 Christian will be of little service to you; be therefore guided by me; sacrifice to the gods, engage my friendship, and the favor 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, observing to him how his blood flowed, advised him to comply; but his only answer was, that those severities were agreeable to him. "What!" cried Maximus, "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 gaol, loaded with irons, and his hands and feet stretched upon the stocks. Andronicus was next brought up, when being asked the usual questions, 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 punishment similar to those of Tarachus and Probus, and then to be remanded to prison.

Having been confined some days, the three prisoners 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 accompanied by wisdom, he was in hopes that what had already passed, must, upon deliberation, have caused a change in his sentiments. Finding himself, however, mistaken, he ordered him to be tortured by various means; particularly, fire was placed in the palms of his hands; he was hung up by his feet, and smoked with wet straw; and a mixture of salt and vinegar was poured into his nostrils, and he was 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 only confirmed and strengthened me in my resolution. Employ your whole power upon me, and you will find that neither you, nor your master, the emperors, nor the gods whom you serve, nor the devil, who is your father, shall oblige me to adore gods whom I know not." The governor, however, attempted to reason with him, paid the most extravagant praises to the pagan deities, and pressed him to sacrifice to Jupiter; but Probus turned his casuistry into ridicule, and said, "Shall I pay divine honors to Jupiter; to one who married his own sister; to an infamous debaucher, as he is even 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 obstnacy, 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, nor 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, renounced their hopes in our God, and consented to your extravagant 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 authority; 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 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 reproached the gaoler for having suffered some physician to attend to him. The gaoler declared, that no person whatever had been near him, or the other prisoners, and that he would willingly forfeit his head, if any allegation of ô

the kid could be proved against him. Andronicus corroborated the testimony of the gaoler, and added, that the God whom he served was the most powerful of physicians. These three Christians were brought to a third examination, when they retained 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 them. 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 a sword, which was accordingly executed on the eleventh of October, A. D. 303. They all declared, previous to their martyrdom, that as death was the common 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 to disease.*

DISTINGUISHED CHARACTERS IN PERIOD III.

1. Clemens Romanus, a father of the Church, a companion of Paul, and bishop of Rome.

2. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, and author of seven epistles on religious subjects.

3. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, author of an epistle to the Philip pians.

4. Justin Martyr, who, from being a heathen philosopher, became a zealous supporter of Christianity, and wrote two admirable apologies for Christians.

5. Irenæus, bishop of Lyons, disciple of Polycarp, and author of five books against the heresies of his time.

6. Clemens Alexandrinus, master of the Alexandrian school, and justly celebrated for the extent of his learning, and the force of his genius. 7. Tertullian, the first Latin author in the Church, much distinguish. ed for his learning, and admirable elocution in the Latin tongue.

8. Origen, a presbyter and lecturer at Alexandria, distinguished for his great learning, and for the Hexapla, a work which contained the Hebrew text of the Bible, and all the Latin and Greek versions then in use, ranged in six columns.

9. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, distinguished for his piety and eloquence, and for his zeal against the "Novatian schism."

10. Novatian, author of the "Novatian schism," which long afflicted the Churches, at Rome and Carthage.

1. Clemens Romanus was born at Rome; but in what year is uncertain. He was the fellow laborer of Paul, and sustained the character of an apostolic man. He became bishop of Rome, and was distinguished both as a minister and a defender of the faith. There is nothing remaining of his books, excepting an epistle addressed to the Corinthian Church. This epistle next to holy writ, has usually been esteemed one of the most valuable monuments which have come down to us from ecclesi. astical antiquity. Clemens died at the advanced age of one hundred.

2. Ignatius, see Sec. 6.

3. Polycarp, see Sec. 9.

4. Justin Martyr, so called from his being a martyr, was born at Neapolis, the ancient Sichem of Palestine, in the province of Samaria. His father being a Gentile Greek, brought him up in his own religion, and had him educated in all the Grecian learning and philosophy, to which he was greatly attached.

*Fox's Book of Martyrs.

As he was walking one day alone by the sea-side, a grave and ancient person, of venerable aspect, met him, and fell into conversation with him, on the comparative excellence of philosophy and Christianity. From this conversation Justin was induced to examine into the merits of the latter, the result of which was his conversion, about the sixteenth year of the reign of Adrian, A. D. 132.

From this time, Justin employed his pen in defence of Christianity, and finally suffered in the cause. See Sec. 9.

5. Irenæus was undoubtedly by birth a Greek, and not improbably born at or near Smyrna. He was a disciple of the renowned Polycarp, and for nearly forty years exhibited the meekness, humility, and courage of an apostle. Before the martyrdom of Pothinas, he was elected bishop of Lyons, in which office he suffered much from enemies without, and heretics within. Against the latter he employed his pen; but of his works only five have come down to us, and the greatest part of the original Greek is wanting in these. He suffered martyrdom in the reign of Severus, during the fifth persecution, about the year 202, or 203. See Sec. 12.

6. Clemens Alexandrinus, so called to distinguish him from Clemens Romanus, was born at Alexandria, and succeeded Pantenus as master of the school in that city, A. D. 191. He studied in Greece, Asia, and Egypt; and became not only distinguished in a knowledge of polite literature and heathen learning, but for his exact and enlarged views of the Christian revelation.

Of his works only three remain; his Stromates, or "Discourses abounding with miscellaneous matter;" an Exhortation to Pagans; and his Pædagogus, or "The Schoolmaster." History says nothing of his death; but his memory appears to have been long highly revered at Alexandria.

7. Tertullian was by birth a Carthagenian. He was at first a heathen, and pursued the profession of law, but afterwards embraced the Christian religion. He possessed great abilities and learning of all kinds, which he employed vigorously in the cause of Christianity, and against heathens and heretics; but towards the con. clusion of his life he appears to have fallen into some errors himself.

Both ancient and modern writers bear testimony to his abilities and learning. Eusebius says that he was one of the ablest Latin writers which had existed. He appears to have been a pious man, but his piety was of a melancholy and austere cast. He was deficient in judgment, and prone to credulity and superstition, which may perhaps serve to account for his departure from good principles, in the latter part

of his life.

8. Origen is one of the most conspicuous characters belonging to the age in which he lived. He was born at Alexandria, in the year 185. In his youth, he saw his father beheaded for professing Christianity, and all the family estate confiscated. But Providence provided for him. A rich lady of Alexandria took him under her patronage. He applied himself to study, and soon acquired great stores of learning.

On becoming master of the Alexandrian school, multitudes crowded to hear him, and were impressed by his instructions. At the age of forty-five, he was ordained a priest, and delivered theological lectures in Palestine. In diligence and learning, he seems to have surpassed all his contemporaries. Of these, his Hexapla, or work of six columns, is a memorial.

The occasion of his preparing this stupendous work, was an objection, on the part of the Jews, when passages of Scripture were quoted against them, that they did not agree with the Hebrew. Origen undertook to reduce all the Latin and Greek versions in use into a body with the Hebrew text, that they might be compared. He made six columns in the first he placed the Hebrew, as the standard; in the second the Septuagint, and then the other versions according to their dates-passage against passage. The whole filled fifty large volumes. It was found fifty years after his death, in an obscure place, in the city of Tyre, and deposited in the public library. The most of it was destroyed in the capture of the city, A. D. 653.

As a theologian, we must not speak so highly of him. Unhappily, he introduced a mode of explaining Scripture which did much injury to the Church. He supposed it was not to be explained in a literal, but in an allegorical manner; that is, that the Scrip tures had a hidden, or figurative sense. This hidden sense he endeavored to give, and always at the expense of truth.

His method of explaining Scripture was long after followed by many in the Church and schools, and greatly tended to obscure the evangelical doctrines of the Gospel. The errors of Origen were great. He was a learned man, but a most unsafe guide. He introduced, it is said, the practice of selecting a single text as the subject of discourse. He suffered martrydom under Decius, about 254.

9. Cyprian, see Sec. 23, and onward.

10. Novatian, see Sec. 24.