1

that came out of Judea should obtain the empire of the world, which obfcure oracle foretold Vefpafian and Titus; but the generality of the common people, as ufual, indulged their own inclinations, and when they had once interpreted all to forebode grandeur to themfelves, adverfity itself could not perfuade them to change their minds, though it were from falfehood to truth."

We have been informed, that the number of the besieged, of every age, and of both sexes, male and female, was fix hundred thou fand.† There were weapons for all that could carry them, and more than could be expected, for their number were bold enough to do fo. The men and the women were equally obftinate; and when they fuppofed they were to be carried captive, they were more afraid of life than of death.

Against this city and nation Titus Cæfar refolved to fight, by ramparts and ditches, fince the fituation of the place did not admit of taking it by storm or furprife. He parted the duty among the legions; and there were no farther engagements, until whatever had been invented for the taking of cities by the ancients, or by the ingenuity of the moderns, was got ready.

ANNAL. Book XV.

Nfire) afcribed it to those people who were hated for their wicked

TERO, in order to ftifle the rumor [as if himfeif had fet Rome on

practices, and called by the vulgar, Chriftians: Thefe he punished exquifitely. The author of this name was Chrift, who in the reign of Tiberius was brought to punishment by Pontius Pilate the procura. tor. For the prefent this pernicious fuperftition was in part fuppreffed, but it brake out again, not only over Judea, whence this mischief firft fprang, but in the city of Rome alfo, whither do run from every quarter and make a noife, all the flagrant and shameful enormities At firit, therefore, thofe were feized who confeffed, afterward a vaft multitude were detected by them, and were convicted, not fo much as really guilty of fetting the city on fire, but as hating all mankind; nay, they made a mock of them as they perished, and destroyed them by putting them into the skins of wild beafts, and fetting dogs upon them to tear them to pieces: Some were nailed to croffes, and others 'flayed to death: They were also used in the night time inftead of torches, for illumination. Nero had offered his own garden for this fpectacle. He alfo gave them Circenfian games, and dressed himself like a driver of a chariot, fometimes appearing among the common people, fometimes in the circle itself; whence a commiferation arofe,

*This interpretation and these reflections are in Josephus, Antiq. B. VI. chap. v. fect. 4. vol. I.

The number 600.000 for the befieged is no where in Jofephus, but is there for the poor buried at the public charge, Antiq. B. v. chap. xiii, feƐ. 7. which might be about the number of the belieged, under Ceftius Gallus, though they were many more afterward at Titus's siege, as Josephus implies, antiq. B. VI. chap. ix. fe&t. 3.

This paffage feems to have been directly taken from Jofephus's famous teftimony concerning Christ, and the Christians, Antiq. B. XVIII. chap. iii. vol. II. of which Differt. I. before.

though the punishments were levelled at guilty perfons, and fuch as deferved to be made the moft flagrant examples, as if these people were deftroyed, not for the public advantage, but to fatisfy the barbarous humor of one man.

N. B. Since I have fet down all the vile calumnies of Tacitus upon the Chriftians as well as the Jews, it will be proper, before I come to my obfervations, to fet down two heathen records in their favor, and thofe hardly inferior in antiquity, and of much greater authority than Tacitus, I mean Pliny's epiftles to Trajan when he was proconful of Bythinia, with Trajan's anfwer or refcript to Pliny, cited by Tertullian, Eufebius, and Jerome. Thefe are records of fo great esteem with Havercamp, the last editor of Jofephus. that he thinks they not only deserve to be read, but almost to be learned by heart also.

SIR

PLINY'S EPISTLE to TRAJAN.

About A. D. 112.

IR, It is my constant method to apply myself to you for the refolution of all my doubts, for who can better govern my dilatory way of proceeding, or inftruct my ignorance? I have never been prefent at the examination of the Chriftians [by others] on which account I am unacquainted with what uses to be inquired into, and what, and how far they ufe to be punished: Nor are my doubts fmall, whether there be not a diftinction to be made between the ages [of the accufed] and whether tender youth ought to have the fame punishment with strong. men? Whether there be not room for pardon upon repentance* ? Or whether it may not be an advantage to one that had been a Christian, that he has forfaken Christianity? Whether the bare name+ without any crimes befides, or the crimes adhering to that name, be to be punished? In the mean time, I have taken this courfe about those who have been brought before me as Chriftians. I asked them, whether they were Chriftians or not? If they confeffed that they were Chrif tians, I asked them again, and a third time, intermixing threatenings with the questions: If they perfevered in their confeffion, I ordered them to be executedt for I did not doubt but, let their confeffion be of any fort whatsoever, this positiveness and inflexible obftinacy deserved: to be punished. There have been fome of this mad fect whom I took notice of in particular as Roman citizens, that they might be sent to that city. After fome time, as is ufual in fuch examinations, the Grime spread itself, and many more cases came before me. A libel was fent me, though without an author, containing many names [of perfons accufed]. These denied that they were Chriftians now, or ev

Till now it seems repentance was not commonly allowed those that had been once Chriftians, but though they recanted, and returned to idolatry, yet. were they commonly put to death. This was perfecution in perfection!

+ This was the juft and heavy complaint of the ancient Chriftians, that they commonly fuffered for that bare name, without the pretence of any crimes they could prove against them. This was alfo perfecution in perfection!

Amazing doctrine! That a firm and fixed refolution of keeping a good conlcience fhould be thought without difpute to deferve death, and this by fuch comparatively excellent heathens as Pliny and Trajan.

This was the cafe of St. Paul, who being a citizen of Rome was allowed to appeal unto Cefar, and was fent to Rome ac cordingly, Acts xxii, 25–29. xxv, 25. xvi. 32. xxvii.

er had been. They called upon the gods and fupplicated to your im age, which I caufed to be brought to me for that purpose, with frankincenfe and wine, they alfot curfed Chrift: None of which things, as it is faid, can any of thofe that are really Chriftians be compelled to do; fo I thought fit to let them go. Others of them that were named in the libel, faid they were Chriftians, but prefently denied it again, that indeed they had been Chriftians, but had ceased to be fo, fome three years, fome many more; and one there was that faid, he had not been fo these twenty years. All thefe worshipped your image, and the images of your gods: Thefe alfo curfed Chrift. However, they affured me, that the main of their fault, or of their mistake, was this, that they were wont, on a flated day, to meet together before it was light, and to fing an hymn to Chrift, as to a god, alternately; and to oblige themfelves by a facrament [or oath] not to do any thing that was ill, but that they would commit no theft, or pilfering or adultery; that they would not break their promifes, or deny what was depofited with them, when it was required back again: After which it was their custom to depart, and to meet again at a common, but innocent meal, which yet they had left off upon that edict which I published at your command, and wherein I had forbidden any such conventicles. These examinations made me think it neceffary to inquire by torments, what the truth was, which I did of two fervant maids, which were called deaconefes; but ftill I difcovered no more, than that they were addicted to a bad and to an extravagant fuperftition. Hereupon I have put off any farther examinations, and have recourfe to you, for the affair feems to be well worth confultation, especially on account of the number of thofe that are in danger; for there are many of every age, of every rank, and of both fexes, which are now and hereafter likely to be called to account, and to be in danger for this fuperftition is fpread like a contagion, not only in cities and towns, but into country villages affo, which yet there is reafon to hope may be stopped, and corrected. To be fure the temples, which were almoft forfaken, begin already to be frequented; and the holy folemnities, which were Tong intermitted, begin to be revived. The facrifices begin to feli well every where, of which very few purchasers had of late appeared: Whereby it is easy to suppose how great a multitude of men may be amended, if place for repentance be admitted.

TRAJAN's EPISTLE to PLINY.

MY Pliny, you have taken the method which you ought in examin ing the caufes of those that had been accufed as Christians, for indeed no certain and general form of judging can be ordained in this

* Amazing stupidity! That the Emperor's image, even while he was alive, fhould be allowed capable of divine worship, even by fuch comparatively excellent heathens as Pliny and Trajan.

+ Take here a parallel account out of the martyrdom of Polycarp, § 9. The proconful faid, "Reproach Chiift." Polycarp replied, “Eighty and fix year have I now ferved Chrift, and he has never done me the leaft wrong, how then cas I blafpheme my King and my Saviour.

This muft moft probably be the feast of charity.

Some of late are very loth to believe that the Christians were numerous in the fecond century, but this is fuch an evidence that they were very numerous at least in Bithynia, even in the beginning of that century, as is wholly undeniable.

1. WE

TACITUS.

E fee here what great regard the beft of the Roman hiftorians though he never names him, as he very rarely names any of thofe Roman authors whence he derives other parts of his hiftory, yet does it appear that he refers to his feven books of the Jewish Wars feveral times in a very few pages, and almoft always depends on his accounts of the affairs of the Romans and Parthians, as well as of the Jews, during no fewer than 240 years, to which thofe books extend.

II. Yet does it appear that when he now and then followed other hiftorians or reports concerning the Romans, the Parthians, or the Jews, during the long interval, he was commonly miftaken in them, and had better have kept clofe to Jofephus than hearken to any of his other au thors or informers.

III. It alfo appears highly probable that Tacitus had feen the antiquities of Jofephus, and knew that the moft part of the accounts he produced of the origin of the Jewish nation entirely contradicted thofe antiquities. He alfo could hardly avoid feeing that thofe accounts contradicted one another alfo, and were childish, abfurd, and fupported by no good evidence whatfoever: As alfo he could hardly avoid feeing that Jofephus's accounts in thofe antiquities were authentic, fubftantial, and thoroughly attefted to by the ancient records of that nation, and of the neighboring nations alfo, which indeed no one can avoid feeing, that carefully perufes and confiders them.

IV. Tacitus therefore, in concealing the greateft part of the true an cient hiftory of the Jewish nation, which lay before him in Jofephus, and producing fuch fabulous, ill-grounded, and partial hiftories, which he had from the heathens, acted a moft unfair part: And this procedure of his is here the more grofs, in regard he profeffed fuch great impartiality. Hift. B. I. chap. i. and is allowed to have obferved that impartiality in the Roman affairs alfo.

V. Tacitus's hatred and contempt of God's peculiar people, the Jews, and his attachment to the groffeft idolatry, fuperftition, and aftral fatality of the Romans, were therefore fo ftrong in him, as to over bear all restraints of fober reafon and equity in the cafe of thofe Jews, though he be allowed fo exactly to have followed them on other occa fions relating to the Romans.

VI. Since therefore Tacitus was fo bitter against the Jews, and fince he knew that Chrift was a Jew himfelf, and that his apoftles and first followers were Jews; and alfo knew that the Chriftian religion was derived into the Roman provinces from Judea, it is no wonder that his hatred and contempt of the Jews extended itfelf to the Chriftians alfo, whom the Romans ufually confounded with the Jews: As therefore his hard words of the Jews appear to have been generally groundless, and hurt his own reputation, instead of theirs, to ought we to efteem his

alike hard words of the Chriftians to be blots upon his own charactery and not upon theirs.

VII. Since therefore Tacitus, foon after the publication of Jofephus's. antiquities, and in contradiction to them, was determined to produce fuch idle ftories about the Jews, and fince one of thofe idle ftories is much the fame with that published in Jofephus against Apion, from Manetho and Lyfimachus, and no where elfe met with fo fully in all antiquity, it is most probable that thofe antiquities of Jofephus were the very occafion of Tacitus giving us thefe ftories, as we know from Jofephus himself, Contr. Apion, B. I. § 1. that the fame antiquities, were the very occafion of Apion's publication of his equally fcandalous ftories about them, and which Jofephus fo thoroughly confuted in his two books written against them. And if Tacitus, as I fuppofe, had alío read these wo Books, his procedure in publifhing fuch ftories, after he had feen fo thorough a confutation of them, was ftill more highly criminal. Nor will Tacitus's fault be much lefs, though we fuppofe he neither faw the antiquities, nor the books against Apion, because it was very eafy for him, then at Rome, to have had more authentic accounts of the origin of the Jewish nation, and of the nature of the Jewish and Chriftian religions, from the Jews and Chriftians themfelves, which he owns were very numerous there in his days; fo that his publication of, fuch idle ftories is ftill utterly inexcufable,

VIII. It is therefore very plain, after all, that notwithstanding the encomiums of feveral of our learned critics upon Tacitus, and hard fufpicions upon Jofephus, that all the (involuntary) mistakes of Jofephus, in all his large works put together, their quality, as well as quanzity, confidered, do not amount to near fo great a fum, as do these grofs errors and mifreprefentations of Tacitus's about the Jews, amount to in a very few pages, fo little reafon have fome of our later and leffer critics to prefer the Greek and Roman hiftorians and writers to the Jewish, and particularly to Jofephus. Such later and leffer critics fhould have learned more judgment and modefty from their great father Jofeph Scaliger, when, as we have seen, after all his deeper inquiries, he folemnly pronounces, De Emend. Temp. Prolegom. p. 17. That Jofephus was the most diligent and the greatest lover of truth of all writers;" and is not afraid to affirm, That it is more fafe to believe him, not only as to the affairs of the Jews, but also to those that are foreign to them, than all the Greek and Latin writers, and this because his fidel ity and compass of learning are every where confpicuous."