the prophets were not when the world was made; but the wisdom of God who was in him, and his Holy Word, who was always present with him."*

The next in order of the Fathers of the Christian church, whom I shall mention in this place, is IRENEUS. He was by birth a Greek, and born, it is thought, at or near the city of Smyrna, A. D 140; and died in 202. Tertullian mentions him with high respect, and says, he was one of the most considerable writers of the Christian church, "a diligent inquirer of all sorts of opinions"--meaning, probably, that Irenæus had well studied the sentiments of the heathen philosophers and heretics, as well as the principles of Christianity. He is said to have been trained up in the studies of philosophy and human learning; after which he became a disciple of Polycarp, whom he accompanied to Rome, on the controversy which then agitated the churches, concerning the time of keeping Easter. While at Rome, Irenæus was prevailed upon by the joint solicitations of Polycarp and Anicetus, the bishop of Rome, to go to France, where great numbers of Greeks, who had embraced the

* TATIAN, who flourished about the year 172, was born in Assyria, and was originally a heathen, but was converted to Christianity by reading the sacred writings. He was a disciple of Justin Martyr; but is said to have imbibed many strange and erroneous opinions after the death of his master, on which account he is seldom reckoned among the Christian Fathers. "Puffed up," says Jerome, "with the pride of eloquence, he founded a new heresy, called that of the Encraitites-condemned the use of wine-denied the lawfulness of marriage, &c. &c. He was the author of numerous treatises, of which only one remains; namely, his " Oration against the Greeks." In this work, Tatian inveighs strongly against the heathens; he tells them they boasted of arts which they never invented, and, though they now possessed them, they perverted them to the worst of purposes. Rhetoric they used to serve the purposes of calumny and injustice-Poetry, to corrupt the morals of mankind-and Philosophy, to confirm and sanction their monstrous errors. He then takes occasion to speak of the true God-his Word, or Son-the creation of the world-the fall of man-his restoration by Christ-the resurrection of the body, and a future judgment: after which he compares the Christian system with that of the heathens, and demonstrates its superior excellence. He has some very extravagant and absurd speculations respecting the human soul, which are not worth detailing. On the subject of the antiquity of the sacred records, he speaks with great force and argument, showing that Moses wrote long before Homer, and that the age of Homer was altogether uncertain; some placing him eighty years after the siege of Troy; others four and some five hundred. Finally, he shows the absurdity and iniquity of many of the Pagan rites and ceremonies, which he had observed in his travels over the world.

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gospel, had taken up their residence, especially about Marseilles; and the churches in that country were beginning to be disturbed by some pernicious heresies. Having arrived at Lyons, where there was a considerable church, under the pastoral care of Pothinus, Irenæus took up his residence there, and continued several years an assistant to Pothinus, in the elder's office, and by his behaviour distinguished himself so much that, about the year 177, he was chosen to draw up the opinion and judgment of the churches of Lyons and Vienne, in order to compose the differences lately raised by Montanus and his followers, the result of which was transmitted to the churches in Asia. In the same letter Irenæus took an opportunity of giving an account of the terrible persecution which then raged against the churches of Vienne and Lyons, and of which particular mention has been made in a former Lecture.

On the martyrdom of Pothinus, Irenæus became his successor in the pastoral office over the church in Lyons, in a troublesome and tempestuous time; when it was assaulted by enemies from without, who persecuted them on account of their Christian profession, while men of corrupt minds rose up among themselves, propagating destructive heresies. The last-mentioned evil induced him, at the request of many of his friends, to undertake his elaborate work "Against Heresies," part of which is still extant under his name. This treatise is mostly directed against Valentinus and his followers; that is, against what is usually termed the Gnostic heresy, which indeed had been smothering from the days of the apostles, but which, about the year 150, was fanned into a flame by the writings of Valentinus, an Egyptian, who, being foiled in some of his ambitious views, began to promulgate his pestilential opinions at Rome, and also through Asia and Africa. The Gnostics were a baneful progeny, and ranked among them-Simon Magus, Menander, Saturninus, Basilides, Carpocrates, and Valentinus.

In his work against heresies, Irenæus has shown himself well acquainted with the heathen authors, and the absurd and intricate notions of heretics, as well as with the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. He was at the same time a man of great modesty and humility, and a lover of peace, of which he has given proof in his letter to Victor, bishop of Rome, occa

sioned by the controversy about the time of keeping Easter. His writings are not free from imperfections; but he has given such demonstrations of learning, integrity, and good sense, on the whole, that every competent and candid judge must regard him as an ornament to the Christian name.

We now proceed to take some notice of CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, an eminent father of the church, who lived in the end of the second and beginning of the third century. He is, by some, termed an Athenian, but by others an Alexandrian, on which account he is usually called Clemens Alexandrinus, by way of distinguishing him from Clemens Romanus. We have no certain account of the time of either his birth or his death; but there is no doubt of his having flourished in the latter part of the second and beginning of the third century; that is, between the years 192 and 217. About the period of the former of these dates an application was made to Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, to send Missionaries to preach the gospel among the Indians, and Pantænus, who at that time presided over the catechetical school of Alexandria, was selected for that purpose. On his going into Ethiopia, about the year 190, Clemens succeeded him in the office of preceptor, and several eminent men are said to have been educated by him, among whom are mentioned the celebrated Origen, and Alexander bishop of Jerusalem.

What the particular duties of the Catechist were I do not undertake to explain; but it appears that, when Clement had discharged them for some years, he was called to the pastoral office; about which time he undertook a defence of Christianity against both Pagans and Heretics, in a work entitled Stromata -the title intimating that it was of a miscellaneous nature. In this work he made so great a collection of heathen learning, for the purpose of showing the agreement there is between some of the choicest opinions of their philosophers and certain doctrines of Christianity, which were held in common, as proves him to have read almost every thing that had been written his reading, as is admitted on all hands, was cer→ tainly prodigious. But when the emperor Severus commenced a persecution against the Christians, A. D. 202, Clement found himself under the necessity of retiring from Alexandria in or

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der to escape the violence of it; and, to vindicate his conduct in this particular, he drew up a discourse, to prove the lawfulness of flying in times of persecution-an expedient which, though explicitly allowed, and even enjoined by the Saviour, had been rejected by some early converts as a base desertion of the cause of their divine master. Clement went to Jerusalem, and took up his abode for some time with Alexander, who was soon afterwards made bishop of the church there. During his residence at Rome, Clement was of great service to the church, as appears from a letter of Alexander to the church in Antioch, of which Clement was the bearer, and in which it is said, "Clemens is a man of great virtue, as the church of Antioch knew already [probably from report]; but would know better when he came among them; and that hav ing been at Jerusalem, he had, through the blessing of God, greatly confirmed and strengthened the church." From Antioch he returned to Alexandria, probably when the storm was over; but we do not know how long he lived. All that is certainly known is that he survived Pantænus, at least some years, and that he was not old when he composed his learned treatise, entitled "Stromata;" for he is explicit in stating that he had made that collection with a view of its serving him in his old age, when his memory should come to fail him. History says nothing of his death; but his character appears to have been highly reverenced at Alexandria, as we learn from an extract of a letter written by Alexander to Origen, which letter Eusebius has preserved. Among several works, of which Clement was the author, there are only three considerable ones remaining: viz. 1. "Protrepticon ad Gentes," or an Exhortation to the Pagans; in which he refutes the error and falsehood of their religion, and exhorts them to embrace Christianity: 2. "Pædagogus, or the Schoolmaster," in which he lays down a regular plan of duty for the Christian convert: and 3, "The Stromata," of which mention has been already made, and from which work, on account of the vast variety and profundity of learning displayed in it, he obtained the name of Stromateus.

The celebrated Spanheim, speaking of him, says, that he was a man of wonderful learning, as his Stromata evidently proves; and, though he is not without blemishes, yet a few Theological

errors and literary mistakes ought to be pardoned in so great a man.,'*

* As no English translation has yet been given of any part of Clement's works, (which is much to be regretted) it may be desirable to follow up this brief notice of him, by a few cursory remarks for the information of the general reader.

In his "Protrepticon," or Exhortation to the Gentiles, after a masterly exposure of the absurd system of Polytheism, he thus rallies them :-"These are the symbols of your voluptuousness! These your insulting Theologies! These the instructions of your co-fornicating gods!-your Satyrs, and your naked Nymphs, and contests of Buffoons, exposed naked in your Scriptures! Your ears are defiled-your eyes incontinent-your look adulterous, ye debasers of mankind! devoting to disgrace the first fruits of the divine particle of your frame!"

In his book, entitled "The Pædagogue, or Preceptor," he undertakes to sketch the "conduct of a genuine Christian,” gives him directions concerning his appetites; declaims against gluttony and luxury, and strongly recommends a vegetable diet. He draws a most odious picture of a glutton, hanging over every dish, peeping into, and tasting every thing, and cramming his belly like a wallet !—strongly recommends temperance and moderation in the use of wine, which, in general, should be mingled with water, and is of opinion that no more drink should be taken with food than what is sufficient to moisten it, in order to assist digestion-condemns sumptuous household furniture, and shows that utility, and not magnificence, should regulate our choice. He describes how Christians should behave themselves during their repasts--prohibits vain songs, and instruments of music, unless used to praise God. On this subject there is much curious information concerning the use of musical instruments among different nations. He forbids immoderate laughter and ridicule, and pronounces immoderate laughter among females "the laugh of a harlot." He is a most decided enemy to effeminacy in men-condemns the use of soft and costly beds-advises them to sleep sparingly if they wish for long life, and to take light suppers, that the body may be refreshed, and the mind undisturbed by idle visions and distracting phantoms, &c. He treats of beauty, which he resolves into the mind (viz. the faculty of reason), and of love-contends that the soul, not the body, should be adorned, and God, the supreme object of beauty, should be contemplated. When treating of riches, he shows that no person is truly rich but the genuine Christian, and insists on frugality, and the proper use of wealth. His book contains a variety of counsels, concerning the regulation of life-condemns games of chance, and theatrical entertainments-gives many directions to females concerning their decent behaviour-objects to plaiting the hair, but allows them to wear gold rings as a badge of their domestic life, and concludes the chapter with directions concerning "salutations in the church," particularly in reference to the "Kiss of Charity," which was then in common practice.

But the most valuable of the works of this very learned and judicious writer is what he calls his Stromata, or Miscellany, which contains a vast variety of subjects without any particular order or connexion. It is divided into eight books; the first of which treats of the utility of philosophy to a Christian. He mentions the origin of arts and sciences, and gives the history of philosophy among the Greeks and other nations, and shows that the Hebrews were the source whence all these excellences sprang. The second treats of faith and repentance, combats the errors of the Basilidians and Valentinians, and shows that frequent relapses into sin, though fol