orum Vanitate," or Concerning the Vanity of Idols." In both these treatises he has copied so closely the Apologies of Tertullian and Minucius Felix as to subject himself to the charge of plagiarism.

Cyprian had been but a few months a member of the church at Carthage when he was called to the work of the ministry. This was considered to be rather irregular; viz. to ordain one in his very noviciate; but Cyprian was so extraordinary a person, and thought to be capable of doing such important service to the church, that it was deemed allowable, in his case, to dispense a little with the established order and discipline.

When Cyprian had been about two years engaged in the work of the ministry, the bishop or pastor of the church with which he was connected was taken away by death, and, it being found necessary to appoint a successor, the eyes of the whole church were instantly directed to Cyprian. We are told by Pontius, one of the deacons, who wrote memoirs of his life, that so little was Cyprian from coveting this honour, that he was at first extremely averse from it, and kept out of the way on purpose to avoid being chosen; but the people insisted upon it, and he was induced to yield to their wishes. This will, no doubt, appear marvellous to many in our day, and accordingly the sincerity of Cyprian's reluctance has been questioned; but in those days the pastoral office was no sinecure-the labour was arduous and the emoluments small-and, whenever a persecution broke out against the churches, the pastors never failed to be the first victims of popular fury. Cyprian, therefore, may, without any great stretch of charity, be thought sincere in declining the bishopric, as it was now pompously called, though he afterwards accepted it. The churches had at this time enjoyed about forty years exemption from persecution, and the unhappy result was a general corruption of manners, which to Cyprian was very distressing: it was his first care, therefore, to correct disorders, and to reform abuses. Luxury was prevalent among them, and the females in particular went to an unwarrantable extreme in the article of dress. He, therefore, with a view to correct this evil, drew up a piece, entitled "De habitu Virginum," or "Concerning the Dress of Young Women;" in which, besides calling their attention to what the apostles have

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inculcated on this subject, he insists much on modesty and sobriety, as the brightest ornaments of the sex.

In the year 249 the Roman emperor Decius issued some very severe decrees against the Christians, of which I shall speak more particularly in a subsequent Lecture, and the African churches were particularly affected by them. In the beginning of the following year, when they had got into full operation, the heathens in the circus and amphitheatre of Carthage became clamorous for having Cyprian thrown to the lions, which was a common method of destroying the Christians in that day. To escape the storm, Cyprian withdrew from Carthage, and sought an asylum at a distance; the consequence of which was that he was proscribed by name, and his goods confiscated. He lay concealed, but not inactive; for he continued to correspond with his friends and brethren as opportunity offered, and their unhappy situation and circumstances required. He exhorted his associates in the ministry, who were allowed to continue at their post unmolested, to look well to the discipline of the church, to take care of the poor, and especially such as suffered for the Gospel's sake; and he gave them particular directions on each of these topics. He exhorted the brethren at large to be of good courage, to stand fast in the faith, and to persevere against all the terrors of persecution even unto death; reminding them of the words of the apostle, 2 Cor. iv. 17, that "the present afflictions, which were but for a moment, would work out for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." In about two years the persecution ceased, and Cyprian returned to Carthage, and to the discharge of his pastoral duties.

He now found the affairs of the church in a very disorderly state. Many of the brethren had lapsed, as it was termed that is, they had not been able to stand the fiery trial of persecution, but had been induced by the terrors of it to renounce their allegiance to Christ, and do sacrifice to idols; and for the settlement of this matter he convened a council at Carthage. The following year [253] he called another council for the purpose of considering the question then debated respecting the baptism of infants. On this subject, the New Testament was entirely silent, for it contains not the slightest allusion to the practice;

nor, before the days of Tertullian, is there any trace of it to be found; but towards the end of the second century it crept in, among other errors, and in the days of Cyprian received the sanction of the sixty-six bishops who were present at this memorable council. In the year 255 a third council was held at Carthage to debate whether baptism received from the hands of heretics could be regarded as legitimate; but it was decided in the negative. All these points produced great disputes and disturbances; and as to the last, namely, the nullity of heretical baptism, it was so far from being settled at Carthage to the satisfaction of the church that Stephen, the bishop of Rome, and a great majority of the churches of Christ, afterwards opposed it with all their might.

In the year 257 another persecution was raised against the Christians, under the reign of the emperor Valerian. On this occasion Stephen, bishop of Rome, was put to death, and Cyprian was summoned to appear before Aspasius, the proconsul of Africa, by whom, after he had confessed himself to be a Christian and refused to sacrifice to idols, he was condemned to exile, and sent to Curebes, a maritime town of Zeugitania, where he continued about a year, and without having suffered a forfeiture of his goods, when Galerius Maximus, a new proconsul, who had succeeded Aspasius, recalled him, and ordered him to appear publicly at Carthage. Cyprian, however, having obtained information that the proconsul had retired to Utica, and that he was to be conveyed thither, thought prudent to abscond; and, when soldiers were sent to apprehend him, he was not to be found. His apology for this conduct was, that "it was not the fear of death which induced him to conceal himself; but that he thought it became a bishop to die upon the spot, and in sight of the flock over which he presided." Accordingly, when the proconsul returned to Carthage, Cyprian voluntarily surrendered himself to the guards, who took him into custody. He was then conveyed to the proconsul, who ordered him to be brought up on the following day; when, being introduced, the proconsul put various questions to him, which he answered with undaunted fortitude; on which the former pronounced upon him the sentence of death. The only answer Cyprian made was, "God be praised.". He was then led away to the place of ex

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ecution, where he met his fate with great firmness and constancy. He died on September 14th, A. D. 258, having been bishop of Carthage ten years. In taking leave of the subject, I think it necessary to say that, while I honour his virtues, and would not intentionally withhold any particle of commendation to which he is fairly entitled, I am compelled to add that I think there was far too much of the clergyman about him to quadrate with his Lord's injunction, Matt. xx. 23, &c.; but, as I shall have occasion to touch upon this topic hereafter, I will not enlarge in this place. Suffice it to say, at present, that he is the great champion of our modern Episcopalians.

Of ORIGEN there is so much to be said, and so much that deserves to be said in a course of Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, that the great difficulty will be to compress the subject into the space allotted me on the present occasion. Perhaps I cannot better introduce the subject than by submitting to you at the outset the short character which is given of him by Dr. Jortin, whose candour and fidelity are proverbial. “ Origen," says he, "was very learned and ingenious, and indefatigably industrious. His whole life, from his early years, was spent in examining, teaching, and explaining the holy Scriptures, to which he joined the study of philosophy and all polite literature. He was humble, modest, and patient under great injuries and cruel treatment, which he received from both Christians and Pagans; for though he ever had a considerable number of friends and admirers, on account of his amiable qualities and accomplishments, he was persecuted and calumniated by men who had neither his learning nor his virtue; degraded from the order of presbyters; driven from his home, and excommunicated by one Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, who envied him, says Eusebius, for the reputation he had gained. His inquisitive genius, and his mixing philosophy with Christianity, led him, perhaps, into some learned singularities and ingenious reveries; but he was by temper far from dogmatizing on such points-far from fomenting schisms-far from setting up himself for the head of a party. He was ever extremely sober and exemplary, practising what he preached to others, and he lived and died so poor as even to be destitute of common conveniences." So far

Dr. Jortin; but it will be necessary to give you a few particulars of Origen's history.

He was born at Alexandria in Egypt, about the year 185, and his parents professed the Christian faith. His father Leonidas at first took upon himself the charge of his education, and for some time trained him at home, in classical and profane literature; yet with a particular view to the knowledge of the holy Scriptures, a portion of which he gave him to commit to memory and repeat every day. Origen's bent of mind coincided much with his father's design; for he prosecuted his studies with extraordinary zeal and ardour, and, possessing a quick apprehension and strong imagination, he could not content himself with that sense which first presented itself, but endeavoured to dive into mysterious and allegorical explications of the sacred writings. And here I cannot help remarking, by the way, that this fondness for allegorizing constituted one of the greatest blemishes in the writings of this great man. The thing is not in all cases to be condemned. The Saviour himself spoke often in parables, and used similitudes after the manner of the prophets. The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, allegorises the history of Hagar the bondwoman and Sarah the free-showing them to denote the two covenants, the two seeds-the two-fold view of Jerusalem which runs through the prophetical writings. We must not therefore lay figures, comparisons, and similitudes under an interdict; for this would cast a reflection on the wisdom of heaven: they have their use if managed with discretion and moderation. But a failure here is an occasion of many great evils: an intemperate use of figures tends to sensualize the mind and deprave the taste-the misapplication of them gives a false idea of the objects they are meant to represent-and the reasoning injudiciously from them begets a kind of faith that is precarious and ineffectual. In short, as managed by some preachers in our own day, the allegorical mode of treating the holy Scriptures only serves to excite the mirth of fools and aid the cause of infidelity. We are told that Origen would sometimes pose his father by teazing him about recondite meanings, which obliged the latter to chide his son and advise him not to penetrate too far into these matters, but content himself with the clear, obvi