and of interested perfons, who write in their own behalf, and want to difcredit their adverfaries. He commonly proceeds upon a fuppofition that they who have obtained the honour of Ecclefiaftical knighthood, and are called Saints, are all excellent men, and entirely to be trufted, and that all they who were, or were accounted heterodox, are to be little regarded, and held in bad esteem. He seems to have been a pious, humble, meek and modeft, as well as a very learned and accurate man; and yet he cannot forbear infulting Proteftant writers as heretics, even those to whom he and the Chriftian world had great obligations, as Ufher, Pearfon, etc. He takes all opportunities, and fometimes goes out of his way to feek opportunities, of inculcating the horrible doctrine that the very beft of Pagans, heretics, and fchifmatics are condemned to fuffer eternal tortures. Speaking of young Tiberius, who was murdered by order of the Emperor Caius, and compelled by the foldiers, as Philo relates it, to thrust a fword into his own body, he concludes the melancholy tale with this reflexion, Thus by his own hand he ended his miferable life, to begin another the mifery of which will never end. Hift. des Emp. i. p. 142. Obferve that this unhappy youth was then but nineteen years of age, that he had been bred up at court under Tiberius, in a fort of genteel prifon, that probably he had never heard Chritianity even mentioned, and that Hiftory re Q 4 lates lates no one bad thing concerning him: So that the Pagan ignorance of this poor child was altogether invincible, and might have been thought fufficient to qualify him at least for Purgatory. Tantum relligio potuit fuadere malorum! It is remarkable that in the little edition of Tillemont the paffage stands thus - he ended his miferable life, what follows was added afterwards in the Quarto edit. whence we may learn that the good man, as he grew older, grew more uncharitable in his religious notions. The apophthegm of Horace is not always true, Lenit albefcens animos capillus. The hoary heads of fome perfons are like mount Ætna, where the fnow and the fire dwell toge ther in ftrict friendship. Sed, quamvis nimio fervens exuberet aftu, These are some of the doctrines which have unhappily helped to propagate Atheism or Deifm, and have made many a man fay to himfelf, If this be Chriftianity, let my foul be with the philofophers. The old Chriftians were more charitable, and had nobler fentiments of the Divine Benignity. Juftin Martyr, in his Apology i. 46. fpeaks handfomely of Socrates and of other worthy men in the Pagan world, and represents them as a fort of Christians, and doubtlefs entertained favourable thoughts of their future ftate. Tou Χρισὸν πρωτότοκον εν Θεὸ εἶναι ἐδιδάχθημος και προετ μίωύσαμον λόγον ὅλα, ν' πᾶν γένει ανθρώπων μετέχει જે " ~ καὶ οἱ μετὰ λόγο βιώσαντες, Χριςιανοί εἰσι, κἂν ἄθεοι ένο μίσθησαν. οἷον ἐν Ἕλλησι μὲ Σωκράτης – Ηράκλειτο, καὶ οἱ ὅμοιοι αὐτοῖς - ώςε και οι προηγυόμθμοι ανα λόγω ώσεις βιώσαντες, άχρησοι καὶ ἐχθροὶ τῷ Χρισῷ ἦσαν, καὶ φονεῖς τ μετὰ λόγος βιένων· οἱ ἢ μετὰ λόγο βιώσαντες, και βιδες, Χριςιανοὶ καὶ άφοβοι, και ατάραχοι ὑπάρχουσι. Chrifum primogenitum Dei effe ac Rationem illam, cujus omne hominum genus particeps eft, didicimus, et fupra declaravimus. Et qui cum ratione vixerunt, Chriftiani funt, etiamfi athei exiftimati fint; quales apud Græcos fuere Socrates et Heraclitus, iifque fimiles- Similiter qui olim abfque ratione vixere, improbi et Chrifto inimici fuere, et eorum qui cum ratione vivebant, homicida. Qui vero cum ratione vixerunt et vivunt, Chriftiani funt, atque impavidi atque intrepidi. Ed. Parif. 1742. Now turn to the Preface, pag. xxxii. and fee the Benedictin Editor, fighting for a Theological Syftem which has nothing at all to do with an edition of Juftin, and taking great pains to clear the good Father from the shameful imputation of fuppofing that a virtuous Pagan might be faved, as well as a Monk. What will the Benedictin fay for Clemens Alexandrinus? This learned and good-natured Father was of opinion that Chrift and his Apoftles preached the Gospel in Hades to the dead, and that the fouls which repented and believed were received to favour : ἐπεὶ σωτήριοι, και παι δρυτικαὶ αἱ “ κολάσεις τῇ Θεῖ, εἰς ὑπιτροφίω ἄγεσαι, Διαφέρει δὲ τιμωρία & κόλασις· ἡ μὲν γὰρ κόλασις το πάχοις ἕνεκα ἐσιν· ἡ δὲ τιμωρία τῇ ποινής" lays Ariftocle. In Xenophon, Oecon, terra κολάζεται, i. e. emendatur. See જે κ τω μετάνοιαν ξ' ἁμαρτωλῷ μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν θάνατον αἱρετ Αναι· καὶ ταῦτα καθαρώτερον διοράν διαμένων ἳ σωμά των απηλλαγμένων ψυχῶν, καν πάθεσιν ὑπισκοτῶνται, καὶ τὸ μηκέτι ΕΠΙΠΡΟΣΘΕΣΘΑΙ (αρκίῳ. Sunt enim falutares, et quæ erudiunt, Dei caftigationes, adducentes ad converfionem, et potius pænitentiam peccatoris eligentes quam mortem: idque præcipue cum poffint anima purius perfpicere, quæ funt libera a corporibus, etiamfi obfcurentur perturbationibus, eo quod non fe amplius eis opponat et impediat caruncula. I think it should be, gotas Caprio, Επιπροσθεῖος (αρκίῳ, obnubilari, from gow. For the corrections of God are falutary, and inftructive, leading to amendment, and preferring the repentance to the death of a finner; and fouls in their Separate ftate, though obumbrated with perturbations, yet have a clearer difcernment, than they had whilst they were in the body, as they are no longer clouded and encumbered with the flesh. Strom. vi. p. 764. See also p. 794. and the notes. IN the EPISTLES of IGNATIUS there is a harthness of style, but a lively spirit, and a noble enthusiasm, especially in that to the Ro mans. He tells the Ephefians that he had a design to write them another letter, and to inftruct them A. Gellius vi. 14. Θεὸς δὲ ἐ τιμωρείται· ἔςι γὰρ ἡ τιμωρία, κακι αναπόδοσις κολάξει μλύτοι πρὸς τὸ χρήσιμον ( κοινῇ καὶ Idia mois xora Coμévois. Clemens Strom. vii. p. 895. Origen was of the fame opinion, and perhaps carried it fomewhat farther. in fome points, μάλιςα ἐὰν ὁ Κύριός μοι Σποκαλύψη, especially if the Lord should reveal any thing to me. Whence it seems not improbable that he had been favoured with fome revelations. xx. The fame inference may be made from these words to the Philadelph. vii. When I exhorted you to adhere to your Bishop, Prefbyters, and Deacons, fome of you fufpected that I had been informed of difentions amongle you, μάρτυς δέ μοι ἐν ᾧ δέδεμαι, ὅτι ὑπὸ (αρκὸς ἀνθρωπίνης οὐκ ἔγνων· τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ἐκήρυσσεν λέγων τάδε· Χωρὶς * Επισκόπε μηδὲν ποιῆτε. Tefis autem mihi is eft, in дио vinctus fum, quod a carne humana non cognoverim; fed Spiritus annunciavit, dicens ifta; Sine Epifcopo nibil facite. Ad Rom. vii. Ζῶν ἢ γράφω ὑμῖν, ἐρῶν ξ Σποθανεῖν. ὁ ἐμὸς ἔρως ἐςαυρώθαι, και σόκ ἔσιν ἐν ἐμοὶ, πῦρ φιλοϋλον ὕδωρ ἢ ζῶν, καὶ λαλῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἔσωθέν μοι λέγον, δεῦρο πρὸς τὴν πατέρα. Vivens enim fcribo vobis, amore captus moriendi. Meus amor crucifixus eft; et non eft in me ignis amans materia. Sed aqua vivens et loquens in me, intus mihi dicit; Veni ad Patrem. There is in this fomething very fublime and pathetic. The expreffion ὕδωρ λαλῶν, refembles the vocales unda which infpired the Poets and Prophets. Statius Silv. i. ii. 6. Et de Pieriis vocalem fontibus undam. An Oracle of Apollo Delphicus given to Julian, and preferved by Cedrenus: Εἴπατε τῷ βασιλά, χαμαὶ πέσε δαίδαλα αὐτά. Dicite |