6 : 'liver the public from many evils. 4. That this God did 'not bestow such benefits upon any, unless they who worshipped him asked them of him. Without doubt, therefore, some of those who attended on Maximian in his deplorable sickness, had informed him that the God of the christians, when he dwelt on this earth, had given life to 'the dead, and health to the sick and that his beneficence had not yet ceased: and that there were many instances of men who had been healed in a wonderful manner by the prayers of christians. It was not impossible, therefore, but that he also might obtain deliverance from his grievous malady, if he gave peace to his worshippers, and asked their prayers for him. The emperor, earnestly desirous of life, had a regard to this adviser, and thereupon, when 'prayers and sacrifices to the gods of the Romans had failed of success, he at length fled to the God of the christians, 'whom, nevertheless, he himself would not worship. Fear ' of death, therefore, and the force of superstition, produced • this edict; not anguish of conscience for the sins which he had been guilty of. However, upon the promulgation of this edict, the persecution against the christians ceased, 'the prisoners were set at liberty, the exiles were recalled.' 6 k These observations of Mr. Mosheim are uncommon, and, as seems to me, curious. I therefore have transcribed them here, supposing that my readers may be willing to see them. VII. At the beginning of the ninth book of his Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius says: The revocation contained in the foresaid imperial edict was published throughout • Asia, and in all its provinces. But Maximin, who ruled in the provinces of the East, an impious man, if ever there was one, and a bitter enemy to the worship of the God of 'the universe, being much displeased with it, instead of 6 valetudinem largiri, periculaque a reipublicâ depellere possit. 4. Beneficia vero hæc sua non erogare Deum illum, nisi a cultoribus suis exoretur. Sine dubio igitur aliquis eorum, qui misere ægrotanti Maximiano aderant, subjecerat, Deum christianorum, his in terris agentem, mortuis vitam, ægrotantibus sanitatem reddidisse; hanc ejus beneficentiam non desiisse: multa exempla exstare hominum christianorum precibus mirabili modo sanatorum. Fieri ergo posse, ut ipse quoque ejus ope atrocem illum morbum, a quo consumebatur, superaret, si cultoribus illius pacem daret, precesque eorum expeteret. Fidem imperator, vitæ cupidissimus, monitori huic habebat, et eâ re, quum omnia desperata essent, frustraque dii Romanorum precibus et sacrificiis fatigati essent, postremo ad christianorum Deum, quem tamen ipse colere nolebat, confugiebat. Metus ergo mortis, visque superstitionis, non vero angor conscientiæ admissa scelera detestantis, edictum illud pariebat. Promulgato vero eo, statim ubique bellum in christianos cessabat; captivi dimittebantur; exules revocabantur; conventus ubique, nemine repugnante, habebantur. Moshem. De Reb. Christian, &c. p. 956-958. k H. E. 1. ix. cap. 1. p. 346, &c. 6 6 1 'publishing the edict itself, only sent orders by word of 'mouth to the governors, directing, that they should forbear to give us any disturbance, and no longer persecute us: which ordinance the governors of provinces were to com'municate to each other. And Sabinus, who had the præ'fecture of the prætorium, which is the highest office in the empire, made known the emperor's mind to the governors of the several provinces in a letter written in the Roman language, which we have translated into Greek, and is to this purpose: "The majesty of our most sacred lords the emperors, influenced by the pious and devout principle with which their minds are filled, have long since designed 'to bring all men to the true and right way of living; and that they who have embraced different usages from the Romans, should be induced to give due reverence to the immortal gods. But such is the obstinacy and perverse'ness of some men, that neither the justice of the imperial edicts, nor the imminent danger of punishment, could pre• vail upon them. Forasmuch, therefore, as by this means it has happened, that many have brought themselves into ́ great dangers, our most sacred and powerful lords the emperors, agreeably to their innate piety and clemency, 'considering it to be far from their intention, that upon this account many should be exposed to danger; have commanded us to write this letter to you, and to direct you, that if any of the christians should be found practising the worship of their sect, you should not bring him into any danger, nor give him any trouble, nor appoint any punishment to him upon that account. Forasmuch as it has been manifestly found, by the experience of a long course ' of time, that they cannot by any means whatever be induced to depart from this obstinacy of disposition, you are 'therefore to write to the curators, and other magistrates, and to the governors of the villages of every city, that they are no longer to concern themselves in this affair.' 6 6 Here is a remarkable testimony, from enemies, to the patience and fortitude of the christians at that time: they were not induced to renounce their religion through fear of sufferings: if some yielded, as undoubtedly some did, many persevered, and were faithful to death. 6 Eusebius goes on: Hereupon the presidents of provinces thought that to be the real mind of the emperor, which had been communicated to them in the letter of 1 λογῳ προςάττει τοις ὑπ' αυτον αρχεσι, τον καθ' ἡμων ανείναι πολεμον -αγραφῳ προςαγματι τοις ὑπ' αυτον αρχεσι τον καθ' ἡμων διωγμον ανείναι προτάττει. Ib. p. 347. A. B. m Sabinus. And they accordingly wrote to the officers and magistrates in country places; nor did they only write these things in their letters, but by their actions also they ' endeavoured to secure a regard to those orders of the emperor. They, therefore, presently set at liberty all whom they had confined in prisons for the confession of their faith in God. A like liberty was granted to such as had • been condemned to the mines: for they really thought that to be the mind of their prince, though it was quite ' otherwise. However, upon this occasion our places of worship were opened, and the congregations of the faithful were numerous-And many were seen returning to their habitations, singing hymns of praise to God as they ' travelled along the roads.' n But,' says Eusebius, that enemy of good men, and of 'all goodness, who ruled in the East, could not endure this, nor suffer this state of things to last more than six months: ' and trying all manner of ways to subvert the peace, upon some pretence or other he forbade our meeting in the co'meteries. Then he took care to send embassies to himself 'from the Antiochians, and the people of other cities, in which they ask it of him as the greatest benefit, that no christians might be allowed to live in their cities. The author of 'this contrivance at Antioch was Theotecnus, a subtle and wicked impostor, who then had the office of Curator in that city.' This man forged against us many injurious reports and calumnies, that we might be treated as thieves and the 'worst of malefactors. At length he erected an image to 'Jupiter Philius, and consecrated it with magic charms; and in honour of it instituted many vain and impure ceremonies of initiation, and detestable rites of expiation; and sent some of the oracles of his god to the emperor himself: and the better to flatter and please the emperor, he stirred up • his dæmon against the christians; and gave out, "that the ' god commanded, that the christians should be expelled out of the city and the territories belonging to it, as being ' enemies to him.” 6 In the next chapter 4 Eusebius says, that the like things were practised in some other places; and the magistrates and people in general, in the countries subject to this emperor, behaved very uncivilly and injuriously to the christians. m Και τους κατ' αγρος επιτεταγμένοις. p. 348. Α. n H. E. 1. ix. cap. 2. p. 349. —ειτα δια τινων πονηρων ανδρων αυτος ἑαυτῷ καθ' ήμων πρεσβευεται. p. 349. B. 6 Then having composed some Acts and Memoirs of Pilate and our Saviour, filled with all manner of blasphemy against Christ, by the authority of the emperor they were sent abroad every where into cities and country places, and published all over the empire: and it was commanded, that they should be set up every where in country places ' and cities to be read by all men; and that they should be ' delivered by schoolmasters to the boys to get them by heart, ' and to declaim upon them instead of other themes. Whilst these things were doing, a military officer, whom the Romans call Dux, at Damascus in Phoenicia, fetched some ' infamous women from the market-place, whom by threatenings he compelled to declare, and testify in writing, that they formerly had been christians, and that they were acquainted with their worship, and that in their places of worship they practised obscene actions, and every thing • else which he required them to say for defaming our religion. Having inserted the testimonies of those women into the Acts, he sent them to the emperor; and by his command, those Acts were published in every city, and • other place.' In another places Eusebius has observed, that the falsehood of those pretended Acts of Pilate was manifest from the date of them; for they placed the sufferings of our Saviour under Pilate in the seventh year of the reign of Tiberius: whereas, says he, it is certain from Josephus, that Pilate was not then come into Judea, and that he was made procurator of Judea in the twelfth year of that emperor's reign. 6 t Moreover,' says Eusebius, in the midst of the cities, which never was done before, decrees of cities and imperial rescripts against us were set up to public view, engraven on tables of brass: and the boys in the schools had nothing in their mouths all the day long, but Jesus and Pilate, and the Acts which had been forged to our prejudice. I think it proper for me here to insert the very rescript of Maximin, which was engraven on tables of brass. It was conceived in these very words; "A 6 copy of the translation of Maximin's rescript in answer to the decrees of the cities against us, transcribed from the brass table set up at Tyre. Now at length," says he, " the impudent confidence of men, having once shaken off the 'dark mists of error and ignorance, which for a while blinded the minds of men rather miserable than wicked, H. E. 1. ix. cap. 5. H. E. 1. i. cap. 9. p. 27. ' H. E. l. ix. cap. 7. p. 352. 6 may discern, that the world is governed by the indulgent providence of the immortal gods. It is impossible to say, how grateful, how delightful, how acceptable, your pious ' resolution for the honour of the gods has been to us: nor was it before unknown to any, how great is your respect ⚫ and veneration for the gods, which have been manifested not by vain words only, but also by great works: upon which account your city may be deservedly styled the 'seat and habitation of the immortal gods. And it is evident by many proofs, that she flourisheth by the advent and the presence of the heavenly deities. And now your city, negligent of your own particular interests, and no longer sending to me the requests which you formerly were wont to send, conducive to your own prosperity, when it perceived, that the promoters of the detestable vanity began to creep abroad again; and like fire carelessly raked up, it broke out again with redoubled violence: immediately, without delay, you had recourse to our piety, as the metropolis of all religion, requesting re'dress and assistance. Nor can it be doubted, that this 'wholesome design has been put into your minds by the 'immortal gods, for the sake of your pious regard for them. The most high and most mighty Jupiter has suggested this petition to you, who presides in your famous city: who preserveth your country gods, your wives, your children, your families and houses, from destruction. He it is who has breathed into your minds this salutary resolution; evidently showing, how excellent, and noble, and profitable it is to worship him, and to perform the sacred • rites and ceremonies of the immortal gods with due venera'tion. Who can be so void of all sense and reason as not to know, that it is owing to the propitious favour and 'bounty of the gods towards us, that the earth does not. " neglect to restore to us the seeds committed to it, and that 'the hope of the husbandman is not disappointed; and that the aspect of destructive war is not immovably fixed on 'the earth; and that our bodies are not destroyed by the intemperance of the air, and that the sea is not perpetually tossed, and made to overflow with stormy winds; and that 'the earth, the mother and nurse of all things, is not rent ' asunder by agitations within its own bowels, and mountains swallowed up by vast and unexpected scissures? There is no man that does not know, that all these and worse < calamities have heretofore often happened: and they have befallen us, because of the pernicious error and empty vanity of those execrable men, which has so spread as |