Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by C. S. FRANCIS AND COMPANY, n the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. BL 80 ..C38 1855 v.3 CONTENTS OF VOL. III. PAGE. Constantine, 1 to 23. Virgil's Fourth Eclogue, 12. Christian Sects, 23 to 52. Constantius, 52. Julian, 54 to 79. Jovian, 79. Valentinian, 80. Theodosius the Great, 83 to 98. The Later Christian Fathers, 98 to 128; their opinions and customs, 128 to 184; extracts from their writings, 184 to 189. Festivals and Fasts, 189 to 196. Bishops, 196 to 207. Councils, 207 to 212. Hermits and Monks, 212 to 257. Monas- teries, 233. Nuns, 252. Gentiles or Pagans, 257. Jews, 262. Samar- itans, 270. Heretics, 272. Gregory the Great, 275. Slavery, 182 to 184; 189; 280 to 284. Churches, Images, Saints, and Rosaries, 284 to 294. Christian Sacred Books, 295 to 322. Spurious Books, 322 to 334. Nations converted to Christianity, 334 to 345. Separate churches, 345. PROGRESS OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS. CHRISTIANITY. "Whatever errors may have crept in among the simple, yet sublime views, published by Christ, the practical moral character of his Gospel has always stood prominently above the abstract doctrines. From the first publication of Christianity, to this very day, it may be safely asserted that no sincere convert has embraced it allured by its creed."―J. BLANCO WHITE FROM THE TIME OF CONSTANTINE. WHILE internal changes were being gradually wrought in Christianity, by the previous opinions of its converts, and by the various sects and schools, with which it was constantly engaged in controversy, important changes were also taking place in its relations to the government. The emperor Constantius, one of the colleagues of Diocletian, had been uniformly tolerant, and even friendly toward the Christians, either from humanity, or from motives of policy; they being numerous in the part of the empire which he governed. His son Constantine had been left as a hostage at the imperial court, and suffered much from the jealousy and tyranny of Galerius. He is said to have been in NicoVOL. III.-1 A |