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as Tolerated in the Empire, namely, That it was a Religion deftructive to all Civil Government, and that the Profeffors of it were a Crew of peftilent feditious Fellows, who went to Meetings under pretence indeed of Worship and Confcience, but in truth to turn the World upfide down.

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About the beginning of Trajan's Reign, according to Baronius, tho' Dr. Cave in his Life of St. Clemens places it later, because that Epiftle of Pliny upon which the Annalift grounds his Conjecture, was not written in all probability till nine or ten Years after, there was a Law publifh'd against the Heteria, which were Colleges or Halls erected up and down the Roman Empire, where the feveral Societies or Companies met and feafted, under pretext of better dispatch of Bufinefs, and for the keeping up a mutual Intercourfe of Love and Friendship, but were fufpected by the State as Seminaries of Rebellion; and the Chriftians being a Society of Note, and confederated ündér one common Prefident, and conftantly meeting at their Love-feafts, and being a new Religion which multiply'd exceedingly, and directly oppofite to Heathenifm, the Chriftians were proceeded againft as other illegal Societies, and as Contemners of the Imperial Conftitution. By Virtue of this Edit, or one of fresher Date, perhaps upon the Confpiracies of Niger and Albinus, were the Chriftians again hunted after now in the time of the Apologift, and their Societies put down, and profecuted with the Reft, as ill-affected and dangerous to the State.

But to this Tertullian answers, and in Words worthy our notice." We " Chriftians (fays he) are a Society from whom nothing Hoftile ever comes, like the dreadful Iffue of other Meetings; for we are a People ftark cold and dead to all the Glories upon Earth, and what Occafion can fuch a

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Bar. ad an. 100. n. viii. Tom, 2: * Plin. Ep. 97.
Ap. cap. 38.1

1. 10.

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"People have for Caballing and Faction?" We
" acknowledge the Emperours to be next to God,
"fupreme; above all People, and your Gods too
"into the Bargain; and in all our Prayers and Inter-
"ceffions with Heaven, we are ever mindful of Em-
perors and Kings wherefoever we live, befeeching
"God for every one of them without Diftinction,
"that he wou'd blefs them with Length of Days, a
"quiet Reign, a well established Family, a couragi-
ous Army, a faithful Senate, an honeft People,
" and a Peaceful World, and what ever elfe either
"Prince or People can wifh for. And again,
"Under the moft enraging Provocations what one
"Evil have you obferv'd to have been return'd by
"Chriftians? Whereas we cou'd in a Nights time
"with Links and Torches in our Hands have given
"ample Satisfaction to our Revenge, by returning
"Evil for Evil, had we not thought it unlawful to
"quit one Injury with another: And wou'd we en-
gage you in the Field, do you think we cou'd
want Forces ?
We are but of yesterday,
and by to Day are grown up and overfpread
your Empire; your Cities, Iflands, Forts, Towns,
"Affemblies, Camps, Wards, Companies, Palace,
"Senate, Forum, all fwarm with Chriftians;

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And fuppofing us unequal in Strength, yet confidering our Ufage, what fhou'd we not readily attempt for our Rescue? We whom you fee fo ready to meet Death in all its Forms of Cruelty, was it not agreeable to our Religion to be killed, rather "than to kill. Nay, we cou'd make a terrible War upon you without Arms or fighting a Stroke, by being fo paffively Revengeful as only to leave you; "for if fuch a numerous Hoft of Chriftians fhou'd "but retire from the Empire into fome remote Regi"on of the World, the Lofs of fo many Subjects of "all Ranks and Degrees wou'd leave an hideous Gap,

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"and fhameful Scar upon the Government, and the

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very Evacuation wou'd be abundant Revenge; you "wou'd ftand aghaft at your Defolation, and be "ftruck dumb at the general Silence and Horror of "Nature, as if the whole World was departed; you "wou'd be at a lofs for Men to govern, and in the pitiful Remains you wou'd find, more Enemies than “Citizens, but now you exceed in Friends, because you exceed in Chriftians. Ap. c. 37.

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With what Forehead now cou'd Cardinal Bellarmine, or fome others who draw from the fame Quiver, tho' not of the Cardinal's Religion, with what Colour or Confcience, I fay, can they fo confidently affert, that the true Reafon why the Primitive Chriftians did not Depofe, Decollate, or Detruncate Nero, Dioclefian, Julian the Apoftate, and fuch like bloody Tyrants, was not out of any Sence of Duty or Allegiance; not because they would not, but in truth because they cou'd not, they wanted only Power proportionate to their Will; but cou'd fuch Numbers, as Tertullian here mentions, and fo prodigal of Life want Power? Cou'd not Revenge arm them with a Link or Torch, or raife up one Gerard or Ravilliac amongst them? But had the Firft Fathers fo learn'd Chrift, and preach'd up the Depofing and King-killing Doctrine, it had been as impoffible for them to have preach'd Princes into Chriftianity, as to have preach'd them into their own Ruin. Had but these Fathers been fomething more Moderate upon the Character of Princes, and lefs fparing upon Liberty, Property, and the natural Rights of the People; had they but talk'd of Protection and Allegiance as Duties Reciprocal, and found out the Art of foftning bard Texts, and extracting Rebellion out of St. Paul's Command to be fubject not only for Wrath, but for Confcience fake, according to the Chymistry of our modern Refiners, what rare Fathers had thefe been

* Bellar. de Rom. Pont. 1. 5. c. 7. col. 891.

then?

then? How Orthodox and Apoftolical, how Genuine their Writings, and their Authority venerable? But now alas! They are only a Parcel of old doting paffive Blockheads, who were in hafte to be gone to Heaven before their Time, and therefore took an awkward Pride in fuffering, and fooling away their Lives; they neither felt, nor argu'd, as if they had common Senfe or Reafon; they understood not the Doctrine of Self-prefervation, and how natural it is to prefer ones own Life before that of the Magiftrate. They. concluded with the odd Statesman Marcellus in Ta citus, That Subjects may wish for good Princes, but ought to bear with any, fo they did in good truth, they thought a wife and vertuous Prince the greateft publick Bleffing upon Earth, but they never thought their Obedience founded upon his Wisdom and Virtue, but upon his Character, as he was the Minifter. and Vicegerent of God; they knew it to be a diftinguishing Article of the Chriftian Profeffion to endure Grief, fuffering wrongfully, for hereunto they were called, becaufe Chrift fo fuffer'd, leaving them an Example, that they fhou'd follows his Steps; and how they cou'd fuffer for Confcience towards God, if God had not oblig'd them to fuch Sufferings, they cou'd not tell; they knew that the Gofpel was to enter, not like an armed Man, but like Rain into a Fleece, of Wooll, that they were to give no Offence, not fo much as to any private Jew or Gentile, much lefs to lay fuch a ftumbling Block in the way of Princes, as that of abfolving Subjects from their Allegiance for had the Gofpel been at variance with the Civil Power, and the Preachers of it interpos'd in Affairs of State, what a Cry wou'd this have rais'd against 'em, as Enemies to Cafar? This wou'd have look'd indeed, as if King Jefus had fet up his Claim to the Kingdom of this World, and that Dominion was foun ded in Grace, and that the Saints only were to inherit

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the Earth, and how this wou'd have arm'd the unbelieving World against the Gospel, and its Profeffors, I need not fay.

Obedience therefore to Civil Powers, being fo neceffary a Doctrine to be preach'd and practis'd in Perfection by the Firft Profeffors, before Christianity wou'd ever be lift'ned to by Princes, the great Founder and Finisher of our Faith Chrift Jefus began the Example in himself, he calls for a Piece of Money, and feeing the Superfcription to be Cafar's, without any farther enquiry he orders that the Things that are Cafars be render'd unto Cafar, and pays Tribute at the expence of a Miracle; his Apoftles inculcate the Duty of Obedience and Non-refiftance to the worft of Princes under pain of Damnation, their immediate Succeffors tread clofely in the fame Steps; and 'tis the grand Subject; 'tis that Chriftian Vein which in a peculiar Manner runs thro', and enriches this whole Apology.

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Of all the Writers of the Latin Church, now extant, Tertullian is the oldeft; and of all his Writings this Apologetic is the Flower; one of the most important and celebrated Pieces of Antiquity, which in the Judgment of St. Ferom takes in all the Treafures of human Learning; and wherein the Apologift, according to Lactantius, has fully pleaded the Chriftian Caufe, and faid all that can be well faid against the Idolatry of the Gentiles, and Vicentius Lirinenfis, who is far from fhading the Blemishes of this great Man, does him the Juftice to acknowledge him the fmarteft, ftrongeft, and moft irresistible Writer of the Age; fuch a Genius among the Latins, as Origen was among the Greeks: The Character indeed is moving, juft and fine, and not to be omitted

Epift. ad Mag. Orat. p. 328.

* Lact, de Juft. lib. 5. p. 243. Cambr. edit. Quanquam Tertullianus eandem caufam plene peroraverit, in eo libro cui Apologetico nomen est,

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