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CALAMITOUS STATE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

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The emperor Decius ascended the throne in the year 250, when a new tempest was raised, the account of which is given us by Cyprian, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Eusebius. It seems to have been a period of very general distress and calamity to the empire at large. In the first place, the government appears to have been in a very unsettled and revolutionary state. The tyranny of Maximin, who has been emphatically designated a brutal savage," was destructive to many thousands of the noblest families of Rome; and, on his own death, the sword was let loose, only to rage more widely in the hands of the contending candidates for the supreme authority. Maximus and Balbinus, who had succeeded him, were massacred in a sedition at Rome. Six princes, in the space of a few months, had been cut off by the sword. The emperor Gordian met with the same fate as his predecessors, and was succeeded by Philip, who, after a reign of four years, was also murdered. From that time to the death of Gallienus, which took place in the year 268an interval that included the reigns of Decius, Gallus, and Valerian—there elapsed, says Gibbon, "twenty years of shame and misfortune, during which calamitous period, every instant of time was marked, every province of the Roman world was afflicted by barbarous invaders and military tyrants, and the ruined empire seemed to approach the last and fatal moment of its desolation. The whole period was one uninterrupted series of confusion and calamity: as the empire was at the same time, and on every side, attacked by the blind fury of foreign invaders, and the wild ambition of domestic usurpers." Nineteen pretenders, or persons who aspired to the throne, are taken notice of as existing at one time; and, as has been justly remarked, the election of these pretended emperors, their power, and their death, are equally destructive to their subjects. But this unhappy state of political anarchy was not the only evil to which the empire was exposed." Inundations, earthquakes, uncommon meteors, preternatural darkness, and a crowd of prodigies, fictitious or exaggerated," says Mr. Gibbon, who amuses himself with the account, "decorated this period." He, however, admits that "a long and general famine was a calamity of a more serious kind. It was the inevitable consequence of rapine and oppression, which extirpated the produce of the present,

and the hope of future harvests. Famine is almost always followed by epidemical diseases, the effect of scarcity and unwholesome food. Other causes must, however, have contributed to the furious plague, which from the year 250 to 265 raged without interruption in every province of the Roman empire." During some considerable time, five thousand persons are said to have died at Rome daily, and many towns that had escaped the hands of the barbarians were entirely depopulated. From a document relating to the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, Mr. Gibbon is led to conjecture "that war, pestilence, and famine had consumed, in a few years, nearly half the human race, insomuch that the wild beasts of the earth were multiplied." It is recorded that, in one instance, five hundred wolves were known to have entered a city which was deserted of its inhabitants. Such was the truly deplorable state of the empire immediately succeeding the middle of the third century, at which we are arrived.

In all this series of diversified calamity, the Christians shared in common with their pagan neighbours. But, as hath been already said, on the accession of Decius to the throne, they had to encounter a dreadful persecution in addition to other evils. This emperor, either from an ill-grounded fear of the Christians, or from a violent zeal for the superstition of his ancestors, issued a series of terrible and sanguinary edicts, by which the prætors were commanded, on pain of death, either to extirpate the whole body of Christians, without exception, or force them by torments of various kinds to return to the idolatrous worship of the Pagans. The consequence was that, in all the provinces of the empire, multitudes of the disciples of Christ were, during the space of two years, put to death by means of the most horrible punishments which an ingenious barbarity could invent. The most unhappy circumstance, however, attending these cruelties, was the fatal influence which they had upon the faith and constancy of many of the sufferers; for, as this persecution was much more severe than all those which had preceded it, so a great number of professed Christians, dismayed, it is said, not at the approach of death, but at the aspect of those dreadful and lingering torments the barbarous magistrates had prepared to combat their constancy, fell from their profession and secured

AFFECTING INSTANCES OF APOSTACY.

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themselves from punishment, either by offering sacrifices or by burning incense before the images of their gods. This state of things gave rise to some singular names, which were for some time current among them, such as Libellatici, Traditores, Sacrificati, &c. The Traditores were those that surrendered their bibles, or portions of the bible, with other books on Christianity to the Heathen officers; Sacrificati was an opprobrious name, given to such as sacrificed to the idol; and Libellatici to those who produced certificates, of which there were various kinds; some were purchased from the judges by a fee, and were merely a permission to abstain from sacrificing: these were very com mon and often obtained at high prices; they were a kind of letter of license to abstain from violating their consciences-while others contained a positive profession of Paganism, and were either offered voluntarily by the apostate, or were subscribed by him on being presented by the persecuting magistrate.

It appears from the letters of Cyprian, who himself fell a martyr during this trying state of things, that the Christian church, though greatly increased in number, had materially declined in genuine piety since the beginning of the century. "It must be owned and confessed," says he, "that the outrageous and heavy calamity which hath almost devoured our flock, and continues to devour it to this day, has happened to us because of our sins, since we keep not the way of the Lord, nor observe his heavenly commands, which were intended to lead us to salvation. Christ, our Lord, fulfilled the will of his Father, but we neglect the will of Christ. Our main study is to get money and raise estates. We follow after pride: we are at leisure for nothing but emulation and quarrelling, and have neglected the simplicity of the faith. We have renounced the world in words only and not in deed. Every one studies to please himself and to displease others."*

The picture which Cyprian has here drawn of the state of the church, in his day, led Dr. Jortin to remark that "Cyprian has described in very strong terms the relaxation of discipline and manners which had ensued, which yet may require some abatement. His vehement temper, his indignation against vice, and

* Cypriani Opera, epist. xi.

his African eloquence, might induce him to make free with a figure called exaggeration."* But, were we even to concede this to the candid Jortin, there still remains the testimony of Eusebius, who was nearly contemporary with Cyprian, to be disposed of, and which is as follows :—

"Through too much liberty, they (the Christians) grew negligent and slothful, envying and reproaching one another— waging, as it were, civil wars among themselves, bishops quarrelling with bishops, and the people divided into parties. Hypocrisy and deceit were grown to the highest pitch of wickedness. They were become so insensible as not to think of appeasing the divine anger, but, like Atheists, they thought the world destitute of any providential government and care, thus adding one crime to another. The bishops themselves had cast off almost all concern about religion; they were perpetually contending with one another and did nothing but quarrel, and threaten, and envy, and hate, one another; they were full of ambition and tyrannically used their power."+

There are two reflections which I cannot forbear making on this subject before we proceed. The first respects the lesson which what has now been stated is calculated to teach us.concerning the depravity of human nature. We see in this instance what effects were produced in the churches by a few years' exemption from persecution! So long as adversity was the lot of the disciples, they were driven to the gospel as the source of their consolation-" tribulation wrought patience, and patience experience, and experience hope:" and thus "their citizenship was in heaven, whence also they looked for the Saviour" to perfect their salvation. But, in proportion as the world smiled upon them, they cooled in their love to the gospel and to one another -its allurements prevailed-they began to take up with this world as their portion, and the Lord in mercy laid his chastening hand upon them.

The other reflection which I have to offer is, that, supposing the church to have arrived at that state of lukewarmness, sensuality, and corruption, which is described by Cyprian and admitted by Eusebius--can we be surprised that a schism should

* Remarks on Eccles. History, Vol. I. p. 376. + Eusebius Eccles. Hist. b. 8, chi.

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take place, as in the case of Novatian and his friends? Or upon what principle of justice, equity, or truth, can these people be condemned as heretics or schismatics? We are told that the defection of such a prodigious number of persons as at this time took place was the occasion of great commotion in the various churches to which they belonged, and produced debates of a very difficult nature. The persecution ceased with the life of Decius, who died about two years afterwards; and then numbers of those who had lapsed, or fallen from their Christian profession, applied for re-admission into the churches, without submitting to that painful course of penitential discipline which the case seemed to require. The bishops were divided upon the matter: some were for granting the desired indulgence, while others strenuously opposed it. Among the latter was Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, a man of inflexible integrity and great dignity of character. A very singular measure was resorted to by many of the temporizers—that is, of persons who swerved from their profession, in Egypt and Africa. In order to facilitate the pardon of their apostacy, they applied to such as were about to suffer martyrdom for letters of reconciliation and peace (libellos pacis), a formal act, by which the martyrs declared, in their last moments, that they looked upon them as worthy of their communion, and consequently requested that they might be restored to their place among the brethren. Some of the bishops and elders consented to receive them on these testimonies, when produced; but, though Cyprian had no intention to derogate from the respect due to the venerable martyrs, he resolutely opposed this unreasonable lenity, and consequently set limits to the efficacy of these letters of reconciliation and peace. This involved him in a warm contest with the martyrs, confessors, presbyters, and lapsed, supported as they all were by the great body of the people; yet, notwithstanding this formidable phalanx of adversaries, the venerable Cyprian came off victorious.*

In the year 254 Valerian was declared emperor, on which the church was instantly restored to a state of tranquillity, which continued for about five years, when the scene began to change, and that in a sudden and unexpected manner. The new empe

* The whole history of this affair may be collected from the epistles of Cyprian.— See also Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. vi. cap. 44.