THE ORATION
OF
THE EMPEROR CONSTANTINE,
WHICH HE ADDRESSED
"TO THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SAINTS."
CHAPTER I
Preliminary Remarks on the Feast of Easter: and how the Word of God,
having conferred Manifold Benefits on Mankind, was betrayed by his
Beneficiaries.
THAT light which far outshines the day and sun, first pledge of
resurrection, and renovation of bodies long since dissolved, the divine
token of promise, the path which leads to everlasting life -- in a word,
the day of the Passion -- is arrived, best beloved doctors, and ye, my friends
who are assembled here, ye blessed multitudes, who worship him who is the
author of all worship, and praise him continually with heart and voice,
according to the precepts of his holy word. But thou, Nature, parent of
all things, what blessing like to this hast thou ever accomplished for
mankind? Nay rather, what is in any sense thy workmanship, since he who formed
the universe is himself the author of thy being? For it is he who has arrayed
thee in thy beauty; and the beauty of Nature is life according to Nature's
laws. But principles quite opposed to Nature have mightily prevailed; in that
men have agreed in withholding his rightful worship from the Lord of all,
believing that the order of the universe depended, not on his providence, but,
on the blind uncertainty of chance: and this notwithstanding the clearest
announcement of the truth by his inspired prophets, whose words should have
claimed belief, but were in every way resisted by that impious wickedness
which hates the light of truth, and loves the ob
scure mazes of darkness. Nor was this error unaccompanied by violence and
cruelty, especially in that the will of princes encouraged the blind
impetuosity of the multitude, or rather itself led the way in the career of
reckless folly. Such principles as these, confirmed by the practice of many
generations, became the source of terrible evils in those early times: but no
sooner had the radiance of the Saviour's presence appeared, than justice took
the place of wrong, a calm succeeded the confusion of the storm, and the
predictions of the prophets were all fulfilled. For after he had enlightened
the world by the glorious discretion and purity of his character, and had
ascended to the mansions of his father's house, he founded his Church on
earth, as a holy temple of virtue, an immortal, imperishable temple, wherein
the worship due to the Supreme Father and to himself should be piously
performed. But what did the insane malice of the nations hereupon devise?
Their effort was to reject the grace of Christ, and to ruin that Church which
was ordained for the salvation of all, though they thus ensured the overthrow
of their own superstition. Once more then unholy sedition, once more war
and strife prevailed, with stiff-neckedness, luxurious riot, and that craving
for wealth which now soothes its victims with specious hope, now strikes them
with groundless fear; a craving which is contrary to nature, and the very
characteristic of Vice herself. Let her, however, lie prostrate in the dust,
and own the victorious power of Virtue; and let her rend and tear herself, as
well she may, in the bitterness of repentance. But let us now proceed to speak
of topics which pertain to the Divine doctrine.
CHAPTER II.
An Appeal to the Church and to his Hearers to pardon and correct the Errors of
his Speech.
HEAR then, thou master of the ship, possessor of virgin purity, and
thou Church, the cherisher of tender and inexperienced age, guardian of truth
and gentleness, through whose perennial fountain the stream" of salvation
flows! Be ye also indulgent, my hearers, who worship God sincerely, and are,
therefore, the objects of his care: attending, not to the language, but to the
truth of what is said; not to him who speaks, but rather to the pious zeal
which hallows his discourse! For what will be the use of words when the real
purpose of the speaker remains unknown? It may be, indeed, that I essay great
things; the love of God which animates my soul, a love which overpowers
natural reserve, is my plea for the bold attempt. On you, then, I call, who
are best instructed in the mysteries of God, to aid me with your counsel, to
follow me with your thoughts, and correct whatever shall savor of error in my
words, expecting no display of perfect knowledge, but graciously accepting the
sincerity of my endeavor. And may the Spirit of the Father and the Son accord
his mighty aid, while I utter the words which he shall suggest to speech or
thought. For if any one, whether in the practice of eloquence, or any
other art, expects to produce a finished work without the help of God, both
the author and his efforts will be found alike imperfect; while he has no
cause to fear, no room for discouragement, who has once been blessed with
the inspiration of Heaven. Wherefore asking your indulgence for the length of
this preface, let us attempt the theme in its utmost scope.
CHAPTER III.
That God is the Father of the Word, and the Creator of all Things; and
that Material Objects could not continue to exist, were their Causes Various.
GOD, who is ever above all existence, and the good which all things
desire, has no origin, and therefore no beginning, being himself the
originator of all things which receive existence.
But he who proceeds from him is again united to him; and this separation from
and union with him is not local, but intellectual in its character. For this
generation was accompanied by no diminution of the Father's substance (as in
the case of generation by seed); but by the determining act of foreknowledge
God manifested a Saviour presiding over this sensible world, and all
created things therein. From hence, then, is the source of existence and
life to all things which are within the compass of this world; hence proceed
the soul, and every sense; hence those organs through which the
sense-perceptions are perfected. What, then, is the object of this argument?
To prove that there is One director of all things that exist, and that all
things, whether in heaven or on earth, both natural and organized bodies,
are subject to his single sovereignty. For if the dominion of these things,
numberless as they are, were in the hands, not of one but of many, there must
be a partition and distribution of the elements, and the old fables would be
true; jealousy, too, and ambition, striving for superior power, would
destroy the harmonious concord of the whole, while each of the many masters
would regulate in a manner different from the rest the portion subject to his
control. The fact, however, that this universal order is ever one and the
same, is the proof that it is under the care of a superior power, and that its
origin cannot be ascribed to chance. Else how could the author of universal
nature ever be known? To whom first, or last, could prayers and supplications
be addressed? Whom could I choose as the object of my worship, without
being guilty of impiety towards the rest? Again, if haply I desired to obtain
some temporal blessing, should I not, while expressing my gratitude to the
Power who favored my request, convey a reproach to him who opposed it? Or to
whom should I pray, when desiring to know the cause of my calamity, and to
obtain deliverance? Or let us suppose that the answer is given by oracles and
prophecies,
but that the case is not within the scope of their authority, being the
province of some other deity.s Where, then, is mercy? where is the provident
care of God for the human race? Unless, indeed, some more benevolent Power
assuming a hostile attitude against another who has no such feeling, be
disposed to accord me his protection. Hence anger, discords, mutual censure,
and finally universal confusion, would ensue, while each departed from his
proper sphere of action, dissatisfied, through ambitious love of power, with
his allotted portion. What, then, would be the result of these things? Surely
this discord among the heavenly powers would prove destructive to the
interests of earth the orderly alternation of times and seasons would
disappear; the successive productions of the earth would be enjoyed no more:
the day itself, and the repose of night which follows it, would cease to be.
But enough on this subject: let us once more resume that species of reasoning
which admits of no reply.
CHAPTER IV.
On the Error of Idolatrous Worship.
WHATEVER has had a beginning, has also an end. Now that which is a
beginning in respect of time, is called a generation: and whatever is by
generation is subject to corruption, and its beauty is impaired by the
lapse of time. How, then, can they whose origin is from corruptible
generation, be immortal? Again, this supposition has gained credit with the
ignorant multitude, that marriages, and the birth of children, are usual among
the gods. Granting, then, such offspring to be immortal, and continually
produced, the race must of necessity multiply to excess: and if this were so,
where is the heaven, or the earth, which could contain so vast and still
increasing a multitude of gods? But what shall we say of those men who
represent these celestial beings as joined in incestuous union with their
sister goddesses, and charge them with adultery and impurity? We declare,
further, with all confidence, that the very honors and worship which these
deities receive from men are accompanied by acts of wantonness and profligacy.
Once more; the experienced and skillful sculptor, having formed the conception
of his design, perfects his work according to the rifles of art; and in a
little while, as if forgetful of himself, idolizes his own creation, and
adores it as an immortal god, while yet he admits that himself, the author and
maker of the image, is a mortal man. Nay, they even show the graves and
monuments of those whom they deem immortal, and bestow divine honors on the
dead: not knowing that that which is truly blessed and incorruptible needs no
distinction which perishable men can give: for that Being, who is seen by the
mental eye, and conceived by the intellect alone, requires to be distinguished
by no external form, and admits no figure to represent its character and
likeness. But the honors of which we speak are given to those who have yielded
to the power of death: they once were men, and tenants, while they lived, of a
mortal body.
CHAPTER V.
That Christ, the Son of God, created All Things, and has appointed to
Every Thing the Term of its Existence.
BUT why do I defile my tongue with unhallowed words, when my object is to
sound the praises of the true God? Rather let me cleanse myself, as it were,
from this bitter draught by the pure stream which flows from the everlasting
fountain of the virtue of that God who is the object of my praise. Be it
my special province to glorify Christ, as well by the actions of my life, as
by that thanksgiving which is due to him for the manifold and signal blessings
which he has bestowed. I affirm, therefore, that he has laid the
foundations of this universe; and conceived the race of men, ordaining these
things by his word. And immediately he transferred our newly created parents
(ignorant at first, according to his will, of good and evil) to a happy
region, abounding in flowers and fruits of every kind. At length, however,
he appointed them a seat on earth befitting creatures endued with reason; and
then unfolded to their faculties, as intelligent beings, the knowledge of good
and evil. Then, too, he bade the race increase; and each healthy region of the
world, as far as the bounds of the circumambient ocean, became the
dwelling-place of men; while with this increase of numbers the invention of
the useful arts went hand in
hand. Meantime the various species of inferior animals increased in due
proportion, each kind discovering some characteristic quality, the special
gift of nature: the tame distinguished by gentleness and obedience to man; the
wild by strength and swiftness, and an instinctive foresight which warned them
to escape from peril. The gentler animals he placed entirely beneath man's
protecting care, but entailed on him the necessity of strife with those of
fiercer nature. He next created the feathered race, manifold in number,
diverse in character and habits; brilliant with every variety of color, and
endued with native powers of melody. Finally, having arranged with wise
discrimination whatever else the compass of this world contains, and having
assigned to every creature the stated term of its existence, he thus completed
the beautiful order of the perfect whole.
CHAPTER VI.
The Falsity of the General Opinion respecting Fate is proved by the
Consideration of Human Laws, and by the Works of Creation, the Course of which
is not Fortuitous, but according to an Orderly Arrangement which evinces the
Design of the Creator.
THE great majority, however, in their folly, ascribe the regulation of the
universe to nature, while some imagine fate, or accident, to be the cause.
With regard to those who attribute the control of all things to fate, they
know not that in using this term they utter a mere word, but designate no
active power, nor anything which has real and substantial existence. For what
can this fate be, considered in itself, if nature be the first cause of all
things? Or what shall we suppose nature itself to be, if the law of fate be
inviolable? Indeed, the very assertion that there is a law of fate implies
that such law is the work of a legislator: if, therefore, fate itself
be a law, it must be a law devised by God. All things, therefore, are subject
to God, and nothing is beyond the sphere of his power. If it be said that fate
is the will of God, and is so considered, we admit the fact. But in what
respect do justice, or self-control, or the other virtues, depend on
fate? From whence, if so, do their contraries, as injustice and intemperance,
proceed? For vice has its origin from nature, not from fate; and virtue is the
due regulation of natural character and disposition. But, granting that the
varied results of actions, whether right or erroneous in themselves, depend on
fortune or fate: in what sense can the general principle of justice, the
principle of rendering to every one his due, be ascribed to fate? Or how
can it be said that laws, encouragements to virtue and dissuasives from what
is evil, praise, blame, punishment, in short whatever operates as a motive to
virtue, and deters from the practice of vice, derive their origin from fortune
or accident, and not rather from that of justice, which is a
characteristic attribute of the God of providence? For the events which befall
men are consequent upon the tenor of their lives. Hence pestilence or
sedition, famine and plenty, succeed in turn, declaring plainly and
emphatically that all these things are regulated with reference to our course
of life. For the Divine Being delights in goodness, but turns with aversion
from all impiety; looks with acceptance on the humble spirit, but abhors
presumption, and that pride which exalts itself above what becomes a creature.
And though the proofs of these truths are clear and manifest to our sight,
they appear in a still stronger light, when we collect, and as it were
concentrate our thoughts within ourselves, and ponder their causes with deep
attention. I say, then, that it becomes us to lead a life of modesty and
gentleness, not suffering our thoughts to rise proudly above our natural
condition, and ever mindful that God is near us,
and is the observer of all our actions. But let us still farther test the
truth of the proposition, that the order of the universe depends on chance
or accident. Are we then to suppose that the stars and other heavenly
bodies, the earth and sea fire and wind, water and air, the succession of the
seasons, the recurrence of summer and winter, that all these have an
undesigned and fortuitous existence, and not rather that they proceed from the
creative hand of God? Some indeed, are so senseless as to say that most of
these things have been devised by mankind because of their need of them. Let
it be admitted that this opinion has a semblance of reason in regard to
earthly and corruptible things (though Nature herself supplies every good with
a lavish hand); yet can we believe that things which are immortal and
unchangeable are the inventions of men? These, indeed, and all things else
which are beyond the reach of our senses, and comprehended by the intellect
alone, receive their being, not from the material life of man, but from
the intellectual and eternal essence of God. Again, the orderly arrangement of
these things is the work of his providence: for instance, that the day,
deriving radiance from the sun, is bright; that night succeeds his setting,
and the starry host by which night itself is redeemed from total
darkness. And what shall we say of the moon, which when most distant from, and
opposite to the sun, is filled with light, but wanes in proportion to the
nearness of her approach to him? Do not these things manifestly evince the
intelligence and sagacious wisdom of God? Add to this that needful warmth
of the solar rays which ripens the fruits of the earth; the currents of wind,
so conducive to the fertility of the seasons; the cool and refreshing showers;
and the harmony of all these things in accordance with which all are
reasonably and systematically conducted: lastly, the everlasting order of the
planets, which return to the selfsame place at their appointed times: are not
all these, as well as the perfect ministry of the stars, obedient to a divine
law, evident proofs of the ordinance of God? Again, do the mountain
heights, the deep and hollow valleys, the level and extensive plains, useful
as they are, as well as pleasing to the eye, appear to exist independently of
the will of God? Or do not the proportion and alternate succession of land and
water, serviceable, the one for husbandry, the other for the transport of such
foreign products as we need, afford a clear demonstration of his exact and
proportionate providential care? For instance, the mountains contain a store
of water, which the level ground receives, and after imbibing sufficient for
the renovation of the soil, sends forth the residue into the sea, and the sea
in turn passes it onward to the ocean. And still we dare to say that all these
things happen by chance and accident; unable though we be to show by what
shape or form this chance is characterized; a thing which has no foundation
either in intellect or sense existence; which rings in our ears as the mere
sound of an unsubstantial name!
CHAPTER VII.
In regard to Things above our Comprehension,
we should glorify the Creator's Wisdom, and attribute their Causes to him
alone, and not
to Chance.
IN fact, this word "chance" is the expression of men who think in
haphazard and illogical fashion; who are unable to understand the causes of
these things, and who, owing to the feebleness of their own apprehensions,
conceive that those things for which they cannot assign a reason, are ordered
without reason. There are, unquestionably, some things which possess wonderful
natural properties, and the full apprehension of which is very difficult: for
example, the nature of hot springs. For no one can easily explain the cause of
so powerful a fire; and it is indeed surprising that though surrounded on all
sides by a body of cold water, it loses none of its native heat. These
phenomena appear to be of rare occurrence throughout the world, being
intended, I am persuaded, to afford to mankind convincing evidence of the
power of that Providence which ordains that two directly opposite natures,
heat and cold, should thus proceed from the self-same source. Many indeed,
yea, numberless, are the gifts which God has bestowed for the comfort and
enjoyment of man; and of these the fruit of the olive-tree and the vine
deserve especial notice; the one for its power of renovating and cheering the
soul, the other because it ministers to our enjoyment, and is likewise
adapted for the cure of bodily disease. Marvelous, too, is the course of
rivers, flowing night and day with unceasing motion, and presenting a type of
ever-flowing, never-ceasing life: and equally wonderful is the alternate
succession of day and night.
CHAPTER VIII.
That God bestows an Abundant Supply of whatever is suited to the Wants of
Man, and ministers but sparingly to his Pleasures; in Both Cases with a View
to his Advantage.
LET what has been said suffice to prove that nothing exists without reason
and intelligence, and that reason itself and providence are of God. It is he
who has also distributed the metals, as gold, silver, copper, and the rest, in
due proportion; ordaining an abundant supply of those which would be most
needed and generally employed, while he dispensed those which serve the
purposes merely of pleasure in adornment of luxury with a liberal and yet a
sparing hand, holding a mean between parsimony and profusion. For the
searchers for metals, were those which are employed for ornament procured in
equal abundance with the rest, would be impelled by avarice to despise and
neglect to gather those which, like iron or copper, are serviceable for
husbandry, or house-building, or the equipment of ships; and would care for
those only which conduce to luxury and a superfluous excess of wealth. Hence
it is, as they say, that the search for gold and silver is far more difficult
and laborious than that for any other metals, the violence of the toil thus
acting as a counterpoise to the violence of the desire. And how many instances
might still further be enumerated of the workings of that Divine Providence
which, in all the gifts which it has so unsparingly conferred upon us, plainly
urges us to the practice of self-control and all other virtues, and leads us
away from unbefitting covetousness! To trace the secret reasons of all these
things is indeed a task which exceeds the power of human faculties. For how
can the intellect of a frail and perishable being arrive at the knowledge of
perfect truth, or apprehend in its purity the counsel of God from the
beginning?
CHAPTER IX.
Of the Philosophers, who fell into Mistaken
Notions, and Same of them into Danger, by their
Desire of Universal Knowledge. -- Also of the Doctrines of Plato.
WE ought, therefore, to aim at objects which are within our power, and
exceed not the capacities of our nature. For the persuasive influence of
argument has a tendency to draw most of us away from the truth of things,
which has happened to many philosophers, who have employed themselves in
reasoning, and the study of natural science, and who, as often as the
magnitude of the subject surpasses their powers of investigation, adopt
various devices for obscuring the truth. Hence their diversities of judgment,
and contentious opposition to each others' doctrines, and this notwithstanding
their pretensions to wisdom. Hence, too, popular commotions have arisen, and
severe sentences, passed by those in power, apprehensive of the overthrow of
hereditary institutions, have proved destructive to many of the disputants
themselves. Socrates, for example, elated by his skill in argumentation,
indulging his power of making the worse appear the better reason, and
playing continually with the subtleties of controversy, fell a victim to the
slander of his own countrymen and fellow-citizens. Pythagoras, too, who laid
special claim to the virtues of silence and self-control, was convicted of
falsehood. For he declared to the Italians that the doctrines which he had
received during his travels in Egypt, and which had long before been divulged
by the priests of that nation, were a personal revelation to himself from God.
Lastly, Plato himself, the gentlest and most refined of all, who first essayed
to draw men's thoughts from sensible to intellectual and eternal objects, and
taught them to aspire to sublimer speculations, in the first place declared,
with truth, a God exalted above every essence, but to him he added also a
second, distinguishing them numerically as two, though both possessing one
perfection, and the being of the second Deity proceeding from the first.
For he is the creator and controller of the universe, and evidently supreme:
while the second, as the obedient agent of his commands, refers the origin of
all creation to him as the cause. In accordance, therefore, with the soundest
reason, we may say that there is one Being whose care and providence are over
all things, even God the Word, who has ordered all things; but the Word being
God himself is also the Son of God. For by what name can we designate him
except by this title of the Son, without falling into the most grievous error?
For the Father of all things is properly considered the Father of his own
Word. Thus far, then, Plato's sentiments were sound; but in what follows he
appears to have wandered from the truth, in that he introduces a plurality of
gods, to each of whom he assigns specific forms. And this has given occasion
to still greater error among the unthinking portion of
mankind, who pay no regard to the providence of the Supreme God, but worship
images of their own devising, made in the likeness of men or other living
beings. Hence it appears that the transcendent nature and admirable learning
of this philosopher, tinged as they were with such errors as these, were by no
means free from impurity and alloy. And yet he seems to me to retract, and
correct his own words, when he-plainly declares that a rational soul is the
breath of God, and divides all things into two classes, intellectual and
sensible: [the one simple, the other] consisting of bodily structure; the
one comprehended by the intellect alone, the other estimated by the judgment
and the senses. The former class, therefore, which partakes of the divine
spirit, and is uncompounded and immaterial, is eternal, and inherits
everlasting life; but the latter, being entirely resolved into the elements of
which it is composed, has no share in everlasting life. He farther teaches the
admirable doctrine, that those who have passed a life of virtue, that is, the
spirits of good and holy men, are enshrined, after their separation from the
body, in the fairest mansions of heaven. A doctrine not merely to be admired,
but profitable too. For who can believe in such a statement, and aspire to
such a happy lot, without desiring to practice righteousness and temperance,
and to turn aside from vice? Consistently with this doctrine he represents the
spirits of the wicked as tossed like wreckage on the streams of Acheron and
Pyriphlegethon.
CHAPTER X.
Of those who reject the Doctrines of Philosophers, as well as those of
Scripture: and that we ought to believe the Poets in All Things, or disbelieve
them in All.
THERE are, however, some persons so infatuated, that when they meet with
such sentiments as these, they are neither converted or alarmed: nay, they
even treat them with contempt and scorn, as if they listened to the inventions
of fable; applauding, perhaps, the beauty of the eloquence, but abhorring the
severity of the precepts. And yet they give credence to the fictions of the
poets, and make both civilized and
barbarous countries ring with exploded and false tales. For the poets
assert that the judgment of souls after death is committed to men whose
parentage they ascribe to the gods, ex-tolling their righteousness and
impartiality and represent them as guardians of the dead. The same poets
describe the battles of the gods and certain usages of war among them, and
speak of them as subject to the power of fate. Some of these deities they
picture to us as cruel, others as strangers to all care for the human race,
and others again as hateful in their character. They introduce them also as
mourning the slaughter of their own children, thus implying their inability to
succor, not strangers merely, but those most dear to them. They describe them,
too, as subject to human passions, and sing of their battles and wounds, their
joys and sorrows. And in all this they appear worthy of belief. For if we
suppose them to be moved by a divine impulse to attempt the poetic art, we are
bound to believe them and to be persuaded of what they utter under this
inspiration. They speak, then, of the calamities to which their divinities are
subject; calamities which of course are altogether true! But it will be
objected that it is the privilege of poets to lie, since the peculiar province
of poetry is to charm the spirits of the hearers, while the very essence
of truth is that things told be in reality exactly what they are said to be.
Let us grant that it is a characteristic of poetry occasionally to conceal
the truth. But they who speak falsehood do it not without an object; being
influenced either by a desire of personal gain or advantage, or possibly,
being conscious of some evil conduct, they are induced to disguise the truth
by dread of the threatening vengeance of the laws. But surely it were possible
for them (in my judgment), by adhering faithfully to truth at least while
treating of the nature of the Supreme Being, to avoid the guilt at once of
falsehood and impiety.
CHAPTER XI.
On the Coming of our Lord in the Flesh; its
Nature and Cause.
WHOEVER, then, has pursued a course unworthy of a life of virtue, and is
conscious of having lived an irregular and disorderly life, let him repent,
and turn with enlightened spiritual vision to God; and let him abandon his
past career of wickedness, content if he attain to wisdom even in his
declining years. We, however, have received no aid from human instruction;
nay, whatever graces of character are esteemed of good report by those who
have understanding, are entirely the gift of God. And I am able to oppose no
feeble buckler against the deadly weapons of Satan's armory; I mean the
knowledge I possess of those things which are pleasing to him: and of these I
will select such as are appropriate to my present design, while I proceed to
sing the praises of the Father of all. But do thou, O Christ Saviour of
mankind, be present to aid me in my hallowed task! Direct the words which
celebrate thy virtues, and instruct me worthily to sound thy praises. And
now, let no one expect to listen to the graces of elegant language: for well I
know that the nerveless eloquence of those who speak to charm the ear, and
whose aim is rather applause than sound argument, is distasteful to hearers of
sound judgment. It is asserted, then, by some profane and senseless persons,
that Christ, whom we worship, was justly condemned to death, and that he who
is the author of life to all, was himself deprived of life. That such an
assertion should be made by those who have once dared to enter the paths of
impiety, who have cast aside all fear, and all thought of concealing their own
depravity, is not surprising. But it is beyond the bounds of folly itself that
they should be able, as it seems, really to persuade themselves that the
incorruptible God yielded to the violence of men, and not rather to that love
alone which he bore to the human race: that they should fail to perceive that
divine magnanimity and forbearance is changed by no insult, is moved from its
intrinsic steadfastness by no revilings; but is ever the same, breaking down
and repelling, by the spirit of wisdom and greatness of soul, the savage
fierceness of those who assail it. The gracious kindness of God had determined
to abolish iniquity, and to exalt order and justice. Accordingly, he gathered
a
company of the wisest among men, and ordained that most noble and useful
doctrine, which is calculated to lead the good and blessed of mankind to an
imitation of his own providential care. And what higher blessing can we speak
of than this, that God should prescribe the way of righteousness, and make
those who are counted worthy of his instruction like himself; that goodness
might be communicated to all classes of mankind, and eternal felicity be the
result? This is the glorious victory: this the true power: this the mighty
work, worthy of its author, the restoration of all people to soundness of
mind: and the glory of this triumph we joyfully ascribe to thee, thou Saviour
of all! But thou, vile and wretched blasphemy, whose glory is in lies and
rumors and calumny; thy power is to deceive and prevail with the
inexperience of youth, and with men who still retain the folly of youth.
These thou seducest from the service of the true God, and settest up false
idols as the objects of their worship and their prayers; and thus the reward
of their folly awaits thy deluded victims: for they calumniate Christ, the
author of every blessing, who is God, and the Son of God. Is not the worship
of the best and wisest of the nations of this world worthily directed to that
God, who, while possessing boundless power, remains immovably true to his own
purpose, and retains undiminished his characteristic kindness and love to man?
Away, then, ye impious, for still ye may while vengeance on your
transgressions is yet withheld; begone to your sacrifices, your feasts, your
scenes of revelry and drunkenness, wherein, under the semblance of religion,
your hearts are devoted to profligate enjoyment, and pretending to perform
sacrifices, yourselves are the willing slaves of your own pleasures. No
knowledge have ye of any good, nor even of the first commandment of the mighty
God, who both declares his will to man, and gives commission to his Son to
direct the course of human life, that they who have passed a career of virtue
and self-control may obtain, according to the judgment of that Son, a second,
yea, a blessed and happy existence. I have now declared the decree of God
respecting the life which he prescribes to man, neither ignorantly, as many
have done, nor
resting on the ground of opinion or conjecture. But it may be that some will
ask, Whence this title of Son? Whence this generation of which we speak, if
God be indeed only One, and incapable of union with another? We are, however,
to consider generation as of two kinds; one in the way of natural birth, which
is known to all; the other, that which is the effect of an eternal cause, the
mode of which is seen by the prescience of God, and by those among men whom he
loves. For he who is wise will recognize the cause which regulates the harmony
of creation. Since, then, nothing exists without a cause, of necessity the
cause of existing substances preceded their existence. But since the world and
all things that it contains exist, and are preserved, their preserver must
have had a prior existence; so that Christ is the cause of preservation, and
the preservation of things is an effect: even as the Father is the cause
of the Son, and the Son the effect of that cause. Enough, then, has been said
to prove his priority of existence. But how do we explain his descent to this
earth, and to men? His motive in this, as the prophets had foretold,
originated in his watchful care for the interests of all: for it needs must be
that the Creator should care for his own works. But when the time came for him
to assume a terrestrial body, and to sojourn on this earth, the need
requiring, he devised for himself a new mode of birth. Conception was
there, yet apart from marriage: childbirth, yet pure virginity: and a maiden
became the mother of God! An eternal nature received a beginning of temporal
existence: a sensible form of a spiritual essence, a material manifestation of
incorporeal brightness, appeared. Alike wondrous were the circumstances
which attended this great event. A radiant dove, like that which flew from the
ark of Noah, alighted on the Virgin's bosom:
and accordant with this impalpable union, purer than chastity, more guileless
than innocence itself, were the results which followed. From infancy
possessing the wisdom of God, received with reverential awe by the Jordan, in
whose waters he was baptized, gifted with that royal unction, the spirit of
universal intelligence; with knowledge and power to perform miracles, and to
heal diseases beyond the reach of human art; he yielded a swift and unhindered
assent to the prayers of men, to whose welfare, indeed, his whole life was
devoted without reserve. His doctrines instilled, not prudence only, but
real wisdom: his hearers were instructed, not in the mere social virtues,
but in the ways which conduct to the spiritual world; and devoted themselves
to the contemplation of immutable and eternal things, and the knowledge of the
Supreme Father. The benefits which he bestowed were no common blessings: for
blindness, the gift of sight; for helpless weakness, the vigor of health; in
the place of death, restoration to life again. I dwell not on that abundant
provision in the wilderness, whereby a scanty measure of food became a
complete and enduring supply for the wants of a mighty multitude? Thus do
we render thanks to thee, our God and Saviour, according to our feeble power;
unto thee, O Christ, supreme Providence of the mighty Father, who both savest
us from evil, and impartest to us thy most blessed doctrine: for I say these
things, not to praise, but to give thanks. For what mortal is he who shall
worthily declare thy praise, of whom we learn that thou didst from nothing
call creation into being, and illumine it with thy light; that thou didst
regulate the confusion of the elements by the laws of harmony and order? But
chiefly we mark thy loving-kindness, in that thou hast caused those
whose hearts inclined to thee to desire earnestly a divine and blessed life,
and hast provided that, like merchants of true blessings, they might impart to
many others the wisdom and good fortune they had received; themselves,
meanwhile, reaping the everlasting fruit of virtue. Freed from the trammels of
vice, and imbued with the love of their fellow-men, they keep mercy ever
before their eyes, and hoping for the promises of faith; devoted to
modesty, and all those virtues which the past career of human life had thrown
aside [but which were now restored by him whose providence is over all].
No other power could be found to devise a remedy for such evils, and for that
spirit of injustice which had heretofore asserted its dominion over the race
of men. Providence, however, could reach the circumstances even here, and with
ease restored whatever had been disordered by violence and the licentiousness
of human passion. And this restoring power he exercised without concealment.
For he knew that, though there were some whose thoughts were able to recognize
and understand his power, others there were whose brutish and senseless nature
led them to rely exclusively on the testimony of their own senses. In open
day, therefore, that no one, whether good or evil, might find room for doubt,
he manifested his blessed and wondrous healing power; restoring the dead to
life again, and renewing with a word the powers of those who had been bereft
of bodily sense. Can we, in short, suppose, that to render the sea firm
as the solid ground, to still the raging of the storm, and finally to ascend
to heaven, after turning the unbelief of men to steadfast faith by the
performance of these wondrous acts, demanded less than almighty power, was
less than the work of God? Nor was the time of his passion unaccompanied by
like wonders: when the sun was darkened, and the shades of night obscured the
light of day. Then terror everywhere laid hold upon the people, and the
thought that the end of all things was already come, and that chaos, such as
had been ere the order of creation began, would once more prevail. Then, too,
the cause was sought of so terrible an evil, and in what respect the
trespasses of men had provoked the wrath of Heaven; until God himself, who
surveyed with calm dignity the arrogance of the ungodly, renewed the face of
heaven, and adorned it with the host of stars. Thus the be-clouded face of
Nature was again restored to her pristine beauty.
CHAPTER XII.
Of those who are Ignorant of this Mystery; and that their Ignorance is
Voluntary. The Blessings which await those who know it, especially such as die
in the Confession of the Faith.
BUT it will be said by some, who love to blaspheme, that it was in the
power of God to ameliorate and soften the natural will of man. What better
way, I ask, what better method could be devised, what more effectual effort
put forth for reclaiming evil man, than converse with God himself? Was not he
visibly present to teach them the principles of virtuous conduct? And if the
personal instructions of God were without effect, how much more, had he
continued absent and unheard? What, then, had power to hinder this most
blessed doctrine? The perverse folly of man. For the clearness of our
perceptions is at once obscured, as often as we receive with angry impatience
those precepts which are given for our blessing and advantage. In truth, it
was the very choice of men to disregard these precepts, and to turn a deaf ear
to the commandments so distasteful to them; though had they listened, they
would have gained a reward well worthy such attention, and that not for the
present only, but the future life, which is indeed the only true life. For the
reward of obedience to God is imperishable and everlasting life, to which they
may aspire who know him, and frame their course of life so as to afford a
pattern to others, and as it were a perpetual standard for the imitation of
those who desire to excel in virtue. Therefore was the doctrine committed to
men of understanding, that the truths which they communicated might be kept
with care and a pure conscience by the members of their households, and that
thus a truthful and steadfast observance of God's commands might be secured,
the fruit of which is that boldness in the prospect of death which springs
from pure faith and genuine holiness before God. He who is thus armed can
withstand the tempest of the world, and is sustained even to martyrdom by the
invincible power of God, whereby he boldly overcomes the greatest terrors, and
is accounted worthy of a crown of glory by him to whom he has thus nobly
testi
fied. Nor does he himself assume the praise, knowing full well that it is
God who gives the power both to endure, and to fulfill with ready zeal the
Divine commands. And well may such a course as this receive the meed of
never-failing remembrance and everlasting honor. For as the martyr's life is
one of sobriety and obedience to the will of God, so is his death an example
of true greatness and generous fortitude of soul. Hence it is followed by
hymns and psalms, words and songs of praise to the all-seeing God: and a
sacrifice of thanksgiving is offered in memory of such men, a bloodless, a
harmless sacrifice, wherein is no need of the fragrant frankincense, no need
of fire; but only enough of pure light to suffice the assembled
worshipers. Many, too, there are whose charitable spirit leads them to prepare
a temperate banquet for the comfort of the needy, and the relief of those who
had been driven from their homes: a custom which can only be deemed burdensome
by those whose thoughts are not accordant with the divine and sacred
doctrine.
CHAPTER XIII.
That there is a Necessary Difference between Created Things. That the
Propensity to Good and Evil depends on the Will of Man; and that,
consequently, Judgment is a Necessary and Reasonable Thing.
THERE are, indeed, some who venture with childish presumption to find
fault with God in respect of this also, and ask why it is that he has not
created one and the same natural disposition for all, but rather has ordained
the existence of many things different, nay, contrary in their nature, whence
arises the dissimilarity of our moral conduct and character. Would it not (say
they) have been better, both as regards obedience to the commands of God, and
a just apprehension of himself, and for the confirmation of individual faith,
that all mankind should be of the same moral character? It is indeed
ridiculous to expect that this could be the case, and to forget that the
constitution of the world is different from that of the things that are in the
world; that physical and moral objects are not identical in their nature, nor
the affections of the body the same as those of the soul. [For the immortal
soul far exceeds the material world
in dignity, and is more blessed than the perishable and terrestrial creation,
in proportion as it is noble and more allied to God. ] Nor is the human
race excluded from participation in the divine goodness; though this is not
the lot of all indiscriminately, but of those only who search deeply into the
Divine nature, and propose the knowledge of sacred things as the leading
object of their lives.
CHAPTER XIV.
That Created Nature differs infinitely from Un-created Being; to which Man
makes the Nearest Approach by a Life of Virtue.
SURELY it must be the very height of folly to compare created with eternal
things, which latter have neither beginning nor end, while the former, having
been originated and called into being, and having received a commencement of
their existence at some definite time, must consequently, of necessity have an
end. How then can things which have thus been made, bear comparison with him
who has ordained their being? Were this the case, the power to command
their existence could not rightly be attributed to him. Nor can celestial
things be compared to him, any more than the material with the
intellectual world, or copies with the models from which they are formed.
Nay, is it not absurd thus to confound all things, and to obscure the honor of
God by comparing him with men, or even with beasts? And is it not
characteristic of madmen, utterly estranged from a life of sobriety and
virtue, to affect a power equivalent to that of God? If indeed we in any sense
aspire to blessedness like that of God, our duty is to lead a life according
to his commandments: so shall we, having finished a course consistent with the
laws which he has prescribed, dwell for ever superior to the power of fate, in
eternal and undecaying mansions. For the only power in man which can be
elevated to a comparison with that of God, is sincere and guileless service
and devotion of heart to himself, with the contemplation and study of whatever
pleases him, the raising our affections above the things of earth, and
directing our thoughts, as far as we may, to high and heavenly objects: for
from such endeavors, it is said, a victory accrues to us more valuable than
many blessings. The cause, then, of that difference which subsists, as
regards the inequality both of dignity and power in created beings, is such as
I have described. In this the wise acquiesce with abundant thankfulness and
joy: while those who are dissatisfied, display their own folly, and their
arrogance will reap its due reward.
CHAPTER XV.
Of the Saviour's Doctrines and Miracles; and the Benefits he confers on
those who own Subjection to him.
THE Son of God invites all men to the practice of virtue, and presents
himself to all who have understanding hearts, as the teacher of his saving
precepts. Unless, indeed, we will deceive ourselves; and remain in
wretched ignorance of the fact, that for our advantage, that is, to secure the
blessing of the human race, he went about upon earth; and, having called
around him the best men of their age, committed to them instructions full of
profit, and of power to preserve them in the path of a virtuous life; teaching
them the faith and righteousness which are the true remedy against the adverse
power of that malignant spirit whose delight it is to ensnare and delude the
inexperienced. Accordingly he visited the sick, relieved the infirm from the
ills which afflicted them, and consoled those who felt the extremity of penury
and want. He commended also sound and rational sobriety of character,
enjoining his followers to endure, with dignity and patience, every kind of
injury and contempt: teaching them to regard such as visitations permitted by
their Father, and the victory is ever theirs who nobly bear the evils which
befall them. For he assured them that the highest strength of all consisted in
this steadfastness of soul, combined with that philosophy which is nothing
else than the knowledge of truth and goodness, producing in men the generous
habit of sharing with their poorer brethren those riches which they have
themselves acquired by honorable means. At the same time he utterly forbade
all proud oppression, declaring that, as he had come to associate with the
lowly, so those who despised the lowly would be excluded from his favor. Such
and so great was the test whereby he proved the faith of those who owned
allegiance to his authority, and thus he not only prepared them for the
contempt of danger and
terror, but taught them at the same time the most genuine confidence in
himself. Once, too, his rebuke was uttered to restrain the zeal of one of his
companions, who yielded too easily to the impulse of passion, when he
assaulted with the sword, and, eager to protect his Saviour's life, exposed
his own. Then it was that he bade him desist, and returned his sword to its
sheath, reproving him for his distrust of refuge and safety in himself, and
declaring solemnly that all who should essay to retaliate an injury by like
aggression, or use the sword, should perish by a violent death. This is
indeed heavenly wisdom, to choose rather to endure than to inflict injury, and
to be ready, should necessity so require, to suffer, but not to do, wrong. For
since injurious conduct is in itself a most serious evil, it is not the
injured party, but the injuring, on whom the heaviest punishment must fall. It
is indeed possible for one who is subject to the will of God to avoid the evil
both of committing and of suffering injury, provided his confidence be firm in
the protection of that God whose aid is ever present to shield his servants
from harm. For how should that man who trusts in God attempt to seek for
resources in himself? In such a case he must abide the conflict with
uncertainty of victory: and no man of understanding could prefer a doubtful to
a certain issue. Again, how can that man doubt the presence and aid of God,
who has had experience of manifold dangers, and has at all times been easily
delivered, at his simple nod, from all terrors: who has passed, as it were,
through the sea which was leveled by the Saviour's word, and afforded a solid
road for the passage of the people? This is, I believe, the sure basis of
faith, the true foundation of confidence, that we find such miracles as these
performed and perfected at the command of the God of Providence. Hence it is
that even in the midst of trial we find no cause to repent of our faith, but
retain an unshaken hope in God; and when this habit of confidence is
established in the soul, God himself dwells in the inmost thoughts. But he is
of invincible power: the soul, therefore, which has within it him who is thus
invincible, will not be overcome by the perils which may surround it.
Likewise, we learn this truth from the victory of God himself, who, while
intent on providing for the blessing of mankind, though grievously insulted by
the malice of the ungodly, yet passed unharmed through the sufferings of his
passion, and gained a mighty conquest, an everlasting crown of triumph, over
all
iniquity; thus accomplishing the purpose of his own providence and love as
regards the just, and destroying the cruelty of the impious and unjust.
CHAPTER XVI.
The Coming of Christ was predicted by the Prophets; and was ordained to be
the Overthrow of Idols and Idolatrous Cities.
LONG since had his passion, as well as his advent in the flesh, been
predicted by the prophets. The time, too, of his incarnation had been
foretold, and the manner in which the fruits of iniquity and profligacy, so
ruinous to the works and ways of righteousness, should be destroyed, and the
whole world partake of the virtues of wisdom and sound discretion, through the
almost universal prevalence of those principles of con
duct which the Saviour should promulgate, over the minds of men; whereby the
worship of God should be confirmed, and the rites of superstition utterly
abolished. By these not the slaughter of animals alone, but the sacrifice of
human victims, and the pollutions of an accursed worship, had been devised:
as, for example, by the laws of Assyria and Egypt, the lives of innocent men
were offered up in images of brass or earth. Therefore have these nations
received a recompense worthy so foul a worship. Memphis and Babylon [it was
declared] shall be wasted, and left desolate with their fathers' gods. Now
these things I speak not from the report of others, but having myself been
present, and actually seen the most wretched of these cities, the unfortunate
Memphis. Moses desolated, at the Divine command, the land of the once
mighty Pharaoh, whose arrogance was his destruction, and destroyed his
army (which had proved victorious over numerous and mighty nations, an army
strong in defenses and in arms), not by the flight of arrows or the hurling of
hostile weapons, but by holy prayer alone, and quiet supplication.
CHAPTER XVII.
Of the Wisdom of Moses, which was an Object of Imitation to the Wise among
Heathen Nations. Also concerning Daniel, and the Three Children.
No nation has ever been more highly blessed than that which Moses led:
none would have continued to enjoy higher blessings, had they not willingly
withdrawn themselves from the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But who can
worthily describe the praises of Moses himself; who, after reducing to order
an unruly nation, and disciplining their minds to habits of obedience and
respect, out of captivity restored them to a state of freedom, turned their
mourning into gladness, and so far elevated their minds, that, through the
excess of contrast with their
former circumstances, and the abundance of their prosperity, the spirit of the
people was elated with haughtiness and pride? So far did he surpass in wisdom
those who had lived before him, that even the wise men and philosophers
who are extolled by heathen nations aspired to imitate his wisdom. For
Pythagoras, following his wisdom, attained to such a pitch of self-control,
that he became to Plato, himself a model of discretion, the standard of his
own self-mastery. Again, how great and terrible the cruelty of that ancient
Syrian king, over whom Daniel triumphed, the prophet who unfolded the secrets
of futurity, whose actions evinced transcendent greatness of soul, and the
luster of whose character and life shone conspicuous above all? The name of
this tyrant was Nebuchadnezzar, whose race afterward became extinct, and his
vast and mighty power was transferred to Persian hands. The wealth of this
tyrant was then, and is even now, celebrated far and wide, as well as his
ill-timed devotion to unlawful worship, his idol statues, lifting their heads
to heaven, and formed of various metals, and the terrible and savage laws
ordained to uphold this worship. These terrors Daniel, sustained by genuine
piety towards the true God, utterly despised, and predicted that the tyrant's
unseasonable zeal would be productive of fearful evil to himself. He failed,
however, to convince the tyrant (for excessive wealth is an effectual barrier
to true soundness of judgment), and at length the monarch displayed the savage
cruelty of his character, by commanding that the righteous prophet should be
exposed to the fury of wild beasts. Noble, too, indeed was the united spirit
exhibited by those brethren (whose example others have since followed, and
have won surpassing glory by their faith in the Saviour's name), those, I
mean, who stood unharmed in the fiery furnace, and the terrors appointed to
devour them, repelling by the holy touch of their bodies the flame by which
they were surrounded. On the overthrow of the Assyrian Empire, which was
destroyed by thunderbolts from Heaven, the providence of God conducted
Daniel to the court of Cambyses the Persian king. Yet envy followed him even
here; nor envy only, but the deadly plots of the magians against his life,
with a succession of many and urgent dangers, from all which he was easily
delivered by the providential care of Christ, and shone conspicuous in the
practice of every virtue. Three times in the day did he present his prayers to
God, and memorable were the proofs of supernatural power which he displayed:
and hence the magians, filled with envy at the very efficacy of his petitions,
represented the possession of such power to the king
as fraught with danger, and prevailed on him to adjudge this distinguished
benefactor of the Persian people to be devoured by savage lions. Daniel,
therefore, thus condemned, was consigned to the lions' den (not indeed to
suffer death, but to win unfading glory); and though surrounded by these
ferocious beasts of prey, he found them more gentle than the men who had
enclosed him there. Supported by the power of calm and steadfast prayer, he
was enabled to subdue all these animals, ferocious as, by nature, they were.
Cambyses, on learning the event (for so mighty a proof of Divine power could
not possibly be concealed), amazed at the marvelous story, and repenting the
too easy credence he had given to the slanderous charges of the magians,
resolved, notwithstanding, to be himself a witness of the spectacle. But when
he saw the prophet with uplifted hands rendering praises to Christ, and the
lions crouching, and as it were worshiping, at his feet, immediately he
adjudged the magians, to whose persuasions he had listened, to perish by the
self-same sentence, and shut them up in the lions' den. The beasts,
erewhile so gentle, rushed at once upon their victims, and with all the
fierceness of their nature tore and destroyed them all.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Of the Erythraean Sibyl, who pointed in a Prophetic Acrostic at our Lord and
his Passion. The Acrostic is "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour, Cross."
My desire, however, is to derive even from foreign sources a testimony to
the Divine nature of Christ. For on such testimony it is evident that even
those who blaspheme his name must acknowledge that he is God, and the Son of
God if indeed they will accredit the words of those whose sentiments coincided
with their own. The Erythraean Sibyl, then, who herself assures us that
she lived in the sixth generation after the flood, was a priestess of Apollo,
who wore the sacred fillet in imitation of the God she served, who guarded
also the tripod encompassed with the serpent's folds, and returned prophetic
answers to those who approached her shrine; having been devoted by the folly
of her parents to this service, a service productive of nothing good or noble,
but only of indecent
fury, such as we find recorded in the case of Daphne. On one occasion,
however, having rushed into the sanctuary of her vain superstition, she became
really filled with inspiration from above, and declared in prophetic verses
the future purposes of God; plainly indicating the advent of Jesus by the
initial letters of these verses, forming an acrostic in these words: JESUS
CHRIST, SON OF GOD, SAVIOUR, CROSS. The verses themselves are as follows:
Judgment! Earth's oozing pores shall mark the day; Earth's heavenly king
his glories shall display: Sovereign of all, exalted on his throne,
Unnumbered multitudes their God shall own;
Shall sea their Judge, with mingled joy and fear, Crowned with his saints, in
human form appear.
How vain, while desolate earth's glories lie,
Riches, and pomp, and man's idolatry!
In that dread hour, when Nature's fiery doom
Startles the slumb'ring tenants of the tomb,
Trembling all flesh shall stand; each secret wile,
Sins long forgotten, thoughts of guilt and guile,
Open beneath God's searching light shall lie:
No refuge then, but hopeless agony.
O'er heaven's expanse shall gathering shades of night From earth, sun, stars,
and moon, withdraw their light; God's arm shall crush each mountain's towering
pride; On ocean's plain no more shall navies ride.
Dried at the source, no river's rushing sound
Shall soothe, no fountain slake the parched ground. Around, afar, shall roll
the trumpet's blast,
Voice of wrath long delayed, revealed at last.
In speechless awe, while earth's foundations groan,
On judgment's seat earth's kings their God shall own.
Uplifted then, in majesty divine,
Radiant with light, behold Salvation's Sign! Cross of that Lord, who, once for
sinners given, Reviled by man, now owned by earth and heaven, O'er every land
extends his iron sway.
Such is the name these mystic lines display; Saviour, eternal king, who bears
our sins away.
It is evident that the virgin uttered these verses under the influence of
Divine inspiration. And I cannot but esteem her blessed, whom the Saviour thus
selected to unfold his gracious purpose towards us.
CHAPTER XIX.
That this Prophecy respecting our Saviour was not the Fiction of any Member
of the Christian Church, but the Testimony of the Erythraean Sibyl, whose
Books were translated into Latin by Cicero before the coming of Christ. Also
that Virgil makes mention of the same, and of the Birth of the Virgin's Child:
though he spoke obscurely of this Mystery from Fear of the Ruling Powers.
MANY, however, who admit that the Erythraean Sibyl was really a
prophetess, yet refuse to credit this prediction, and imagine that some one
professing our faith, and not unacquainted with the poetic art, was the
composer of these verses. They hold, in short, that they are a forgery, and
alleged to be the prophecies of the Sibyl on the ground of their containing
useful moral sentiments, tending to restrain licentiousness, and to lead man
to a life of sobriety and decorum. Truth, however, in this case is evident,
since the diligence of our countrymen has made a careful computation of
the times; so that there is no room to suspect that this poem was composed
after the advent and condemnation of Christ, or that the general report is
false, that the verses were a prediction of the Sibyl in an early age. For it
is allowed that Cicero was acquainted with this poem, which he translated into
the Latin tongue, and incorporated with his own works. This writer was put
to death during the ascendancy of Antony, who in his turn was conquered by
Augustus, whose reign lasted fifty-six years. Tiberius succeeded, in whose age
it was that the Saviour's advent enlightened the world, the mystery of our
most holy religion began to prevail, and as it were a new race of men
commenced: of which, I suppose, the prince of Latin poets thus speaks:
Behold, a new, a heaven-born race appears. And again, in another passage
of the Bucolics:
Sicilian Muses, sound a loftier strain. What can be clearer than this? For he
adds,
The voice of Cuma's oracle is heard again.
Evidently referring to the Cumaean Sibyl. Nor was even this enough: the poet
goes further, as if irresistibly impelled to bear his testimony. What then
does he say?
Behold! the circling years new blessings bring:
The virgin comes, with her the long-desired king.
Who, then, is the virgin who was to come? Is it not she who was filled with,
and with child of the Holy Spirit? And why is it impossible that she who was
with child of the Holy Spirit should be, and ever continue to be a virgin?
This king, too, will return, and by his coming lighten the sorrows of the
world. The poet adds,
Thou, chaste Lucina, greet the new-born child, Beneath whose reign the iron
offspring ends,
A golden progeny from heaven descends;
His kingdom banished virtue shall restore,
And crime shall threat the guilty world no more.
We perceive that these words are spoken plainly and at the same time darkly,
by way of allegory. Those who search deeply for the import of the words, are
able to discern the Divinity of Christ. But lest any of the powerful in the
imperial city might be able to accuse the poet of writing anything contrary to
the laws of the country, and subverting the religious sentiments which had
prevailed from ancient times, he intentionally obscures the truth. For he was
acquainted, as I believe, with that blessed mystery which gave to our Lord the
name of Saviour: but, that he might avoid the severity of creel men, he
drew the thoughts of his hearers to objects with which they were familiar,
saying that altars must be erected, temples raised, and sacrifices offered to
the new-born child. His concluding words also are adapted to the sentiments of
those who were accustomed to such a creed; for he says:
CHAPTER XX.
A Farther Quotation from Virgilius Maro respecting Christ, with its
Interpretation, showing that the Mystery was indicated therein darkly, as
might be expected from a Poet.
A life immortal he shall lead, and be
By heroes seen, himself shall heroes see;
evidently meaning the righteous.
The jarring nations he in peace shall bind, And with paternal virtues rule
mankind. Unbidden earth her earliest fruits shall bring, And fragrant herbs,
to greet her infant king.
Well indeed was this admirably wise and accomplished man acquainted with the
cruel character of the times. He proceeds:
The goats, uncall'd, full udders home shall bear; The lowing herds no more
fierce lions fear.
Truly said: for faith will not stand in awe of the mighty in the imperial
palace.
His cradle shall with rising flowers be crown'd:
The serpent's brood shall die; the sacred ground
Shall weeds and poisonous plants refuse to bear;
Each common bush th' Assyrian rose shall wear.
Nothing could be said more true or more consistent with the Saviour's
excellency than this. For the power of the Divine Spirit presents the very
cradle of God, like fragrant flowers, to the new-born race. The serpent,
too, and the venom of that serpent, perishes, who originally beguiled our
first parents, and drew their thoughts from their native innocence to the
enjoyment of pleasures, that they might experience that threatened death.
For before the Saviour's advent, the serpent's power was shown in subverting
the souls of those who were sustained by no well-grounded hope, and ignorant
of that immortality which awaits the righteous. But after that he had
suffered, and was separated for a season from the body which he had assumed,
the power of the resurrection was revealed to man through the communication of
the Holy Spirit: and whatever stain of human guilt might yet remain was
removed by the washing of sacred lustrations.
Then indeed could the Saviour bid his followers be of good cheer, and,
remembering his adorable and glorious resurrection, expect the like for
themselves. Truly, then, the poisonous race may be said to be extinct. Death
himself is extinct, and the truth of the resurrection sealed. Again, the
Assyrian race is gone, which first led the way to faith in God. But when
he speaks of the growth of amomum every where, he alludes to the multitude of
the true worshipers of God. For it is as though a multitude of branches,
crowned with fragrant flowers, and fitly watered, sprung from the self-same
root. Most justly said, Maro, thou wisest of poets! and with this all that
follows is consistent.
But when heroic worth his youth shall hear, And learn his father's virtues to
revere.
By the praises of heroes, he indicates the works of righteous men: by the
virtues of his Father he speaks of the creation and everlasting structure of
the world: and, it may be, of those laws by which God's beloved Church is
guided, and ordered in a course of righteousness and virtue. Admirable, again,
is the advance to higher
things of that state of life which is intermediate, as it were, between good
and evil, and which seldom admits a sudden change:
Unlabored harvests shall the fields adorn,
that is, the fruit of the Divine law springs up for the service of men.
And clustered gropes shall blush on every thorn.
Far otherwise has it been during the corrupt and lawless period of human life.
The knotted oaks shall showers of honey weep.
He here describes the folly and obduracy of the men of that age; and perhaps
he also intimates that they who suffer hardships in the cause of God, shall
reap sweet fruits of their own endurance.
Yet, of old fraud some footsteps shall remain;
The merchant still shall plough the deep for gain: Great cities shall with
walls be compassed round, And sharpened shares shall vex the fruitful ground:
Another Tiphys shall new seas explore;
Another Argo land the chiefs upon the Iberian shore; Another Helen other wars
create,
And great Achilles urge the Trojan fate.
Well said, wisest of bards! Thou hast carried the license of a poet precisely
to the proper point. For it was not thy purpose to assume the functions of a
prophet, to which thou hadst no claim. I suppose also he was restrained by a
sense of the danger which threatened one who should assail the credit of
ancient religious practice. Cautiously, therefore, and securely, as far as
possible, he presents the truth to those who have faculties to understand it;
and while he denounces the munitions and conflicts of war (which indeed
are still to be found in the course of human life), he describes our Saviour
as proceeding to the war against Troy, understanding by Troy the world itself.
And surely he did maintain the struggle against the opposing powers of
evil, sent on that mission both by the designs of his own providence and the
commandment of his Almighty Father. How, then, does the poet proceed?
But when to ripen'd manhood he shall grow,
that is, when, having arrived at the age of manhood, he shall utterly remove
the evils which encompass the path of human life, and tranquilize the world by
the blessings of peace
The greedy sailor shall the seas forego;
No keel shall cut the waves for foreign ware,
For every soil shall every product bear.
The laboring hind his oxen shall disjoin;
But the luxurious father of the fold,
With native purple, and unborrow'd gold,
Beneath his pompous fleece shall proudly sweat;
And under Tyrian robes the lamb shall bleat.
Mature in years, to ready honors move,
O of celestial seed, O foster son of Jove!
See, laboring nature calls thee to sustain
The nodding flame of heaven, and earth, and main! See to their base restored
earth seas, and air;
And joyful ages, from behind, in crowing ranks appear. To ring thy praise,
would heaven my breath prolong. Infusing spirits worthy such a song,
Not Thracian Orpheus should transcend my lays,
Nor Linus, crown'd with never-fading bays;
Though each his heavenly parent should inspire;
The Muse instruct the voice, and Phoebus tune the lyre. Should Pan contend in
verse, and thou my theme, Arcadian judges should their God condemn.
Behold (says he) how the mighty world and the elements together manifest their
joy.
CHAPTER XXI.
That these Things cannot have been spoken of a Mere Man: and that
Unbelievers, owing to their Ignorance of Religion, know not even the Origin of
their own Existence.
IT may be some will foolishly suppose that these words were spoken of the
birth of a mere ordinary mortal. But if this were all, what reason could there
be that the earth should need neither seed nor plough, that the vine should
require no pruning-hook, or other means of culture? How can we suppose these
things to be spoken of a mere mortal's birth? For nature is the minister of
the Divine will not an instrument obedient to the command of man. Indeed, the
very joy of the elements indicates the advent of God, not the conception of a
human being. The prayer, too, of the poet that his life might be prolonged is
a proof of the Divinity of him whom he invoked; for we desire life and
preservation from God, and not from man. Indeed, the Erythraean Sibyl thus
appeals to God: "Why, O Lord, dost thou compel me still to foretell the
future, and not rather remove me from this earth to await the blessed day of
thy coming?" And Maro adds to what he had said before:
Begin, sweet boy! with smiles thy mother know,
Who ten long months did with thy burden go.
No mortal parents smiled upon thy birth:
No nuptial joy thou know'st, no feast of earth.
How could his parents have smiled on him? For his Father is God, who is a
Power without sensible quality, existing, not in any definite shape, but
as comprehending other beings, and not, therefore, in a human body. And
who knows not that the Holy Spirit has no participation in the nuptial union?
For what desire can exist in the disposition of that good which all things
rise desire? What fellowship, in short, can wisdom hold with pleasure? But let
these arguments be left to those who ascribe to him a human origin, and who
care not to purify themselves from all evil in word as well as deed. On thee,
Piety, I call to aid my words, on thee who art the very law of purity, most
desirable of all blessings, teacher of holiest hope, assured promise of
immortality! Thee, Piety, and thee, Clemency, I adore. We who have obtained
thine aid owe thee everlasting gratitude for thy healing power. But the
multitudes whom their innate hatred of thyself deprives of thy succor, are
equally estranged from God himself, and know not that the very cause of their
life and being, and that of all the ungodly, is connected with the rightful
worship of him who is Lord of all: for the world itself is his, and all that
it contains.
CHAPTER XXII.
The Emperor thankfully ascribes his Victories and all other Blessings to
Christ; and condemns the Conduct of the Tyrant Maximin, the Violence of whose
Persecution had enhanced the Glory of Religion.
To thee, Piety, I ascribe the cause of my own prosperity, and of all that
I now possess. To this truth the happy issue of all my endeavors
the great city itself allows with joy and praise. The people, too, of that
much-loved city accord in the same sentiment, though once, deceived by
ill-grounded hopes, they chose a ruler unworthy of themselves, a ruler who
speedily received the chastisement which his audacious deeds deserved. But be
it far from me now to recall the memory of these events, while hold
gentle words. Yet will I say one thing, which hazy shall not be unbefitting
or unseemly. A furious, a cruel, and implacable war was maintained by the
tyrants against thee, Piety, and thy holy churches: nor were there wanting
some in Rome itself who exulted at a calamity so grievous to the public weal.
Nay, the battlefield was prepared; when thou disdst stand forth, and
present thyself a voluntary victim, supported by faith in God. Then indeed it
was that the cruelty of ungodly men, which raged incessantly like a devouring
fire, wrought for thee a wondrous and ever memorable glory. Astonish-merit
seized the spectators themselves, when they beheld the very executioners who
tortured the bodies of their holy victims wearied out, and disgusted at the
cruelties; the bonds loosened, the engines of torture powerless, the
flames extinguished, while the sufferers preserved their constancy unshaken
even for a moment. What, then, hast thou gained by these atrocious deeds, most
impious of men? And what was the cause of thy insane fury? Thou wilt say,
doubtless, these acts of thine were done in honor of the gods. What gods are
these? or what worthy conception hast thou of the Divine nature? Thinkest thou
the gods are subject to angry passions as thou art? Were it so indeed, it had
been better for thee to wonder at their strange determination than obey their
harsh command, when they urged thee to the unrighteous slaughter of innocent
men. Thou wilt allege, perhaps, the customs of thy ancestors and the opinion
of mankind in general, as the cause of this conduct. I grant the fact: for
those customs are very like the acts themselves, and proceed from the
self-same source of folly. Thou thoughtest, it may be, that some special power
resided in images formed and fashioned by human art; and hence thy reverence,
and diligent care lest they should be defiled: those mighty and highly exalted
gods, thus dependent on the care of men!
CHAPTER XXIII.
Of Christian Conduct. That God is pleased with those who lead a Life of
Virtue: and that we must expect a Judgment and Future Retribution.
COMPARE our religion with your own. Is
there not with us genuine concord, and un
we not exercise,, not only sincere faith towards God, but fidelity in the
relations of social life? Do we not pity the unfortunate? Is not ours a life
of simplicity which disdains to cover evil beneath the mask of fraud and
hypocrisy? Do we not acknowledge the true God, and his un
is the life of wisdom; and they who have it are travelers, as it were, on a
noble road which
the pollutions of the body, does not wholly die: rather may he be said to
complete the service appointed him by God, than to die. Again, he who
confesses allegiance to God is not easily overborne by insolence or rage, but
nobly stands under the pressure of necessity and the trial of his constancy is
as it were, a passport to the favor of God. For we cannot doubt that the Deity
is pleased with excellence in human conduct. For it would be absurd indeed if
the powerful and the humble alike acknowledge gratitude to those from whose
services they receive benefit, and repay them by services in return, and yet
that he who is supreme and sovereign of all, nay, who is Good itself should be
negligent in this respect. Rather does he follow us throughout the course of
our lives, is near us in every act of goodness, accepts, and at once rewards
our virtue and obedience; though he defers the full recompense to that future
period, when the actions of our lives shall pass under his review and when
those who are clear in that account shall receive the reward of everlasting
life, while the wicked shall be visited with the penalties due to their
crimes.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Of Decius, Valerian, and Aurelian who experienced a Miserable End in
consequence of their Persecution of the Church.
To thee, Decius, I now appeal, who has trampled with insult on the
labors of the righteous: to thee, the hater of the Church, the punisher of
those who lived a holy life: what is now thy condition after death? How hard
and wretched thy present circumstances! Nay, the
thy miserable fate, when overthrown with all thine army on the plains of
Scythia, thou didst expose the vaunted power of Rome to the contempt of the
Goths. Thou, too, Valerian, who didst manifest the same spirit of cruelty
towards the servants of God, hast afforded an example of righteous judgment. A
captive in the enemies' hands, led in chains while yet arrayed in the purple
and imperial attire, and at last thy skin stripped from thee, and preserved by
command of Sapor the Persian king, thou hast left a perpetual trophy of thy
calamity. And thou, Aurelian, fierce perpetrator of every wrong, how signal
was thy fall, when, in the midst of thy wild career in Thrace, thou wast slain
on the
CHAPTER XXV.
Of Diocletian, who ignobly abdicated the Imperial Throne, and was
terrified by the Dread of Lightning for his Persecution of the Church.
DIOCLETIAN, however, after the display of relentless cruelty as a
persecutor, evinced a consciousness of his own guilt and owing to the
affliction of a disordered mind, endured the confinement of a mean and
separate dwelling. What then, did he gain by his active hostility against
our God? Simply this I believe, that he passed the residue of his life in
continual dread of the lightning's stroke. Nicomedia attests the fact;
eyewitnesses, of whom I myself am one, declare it. The palace, and the
emperor's private chamber were destroyed, consumed by lightning, devoured by
the fire of heaven. Men of understanding hearts had indeed predicted the issue
of such conduct; for they could not keep silence, nor conceal their grief at
such unworthy deeds; but boldly and openly expressed their feeling, saying one
to another: "What madness is this? and what an insolent abuse of power, that
man should dare to fight against God; should deliberately insult the most holy
and just of alI religions; and plan, without the slightest provocation, the
destruction of so great a multitude of righteous persons? O rare example of
moderation to his subjects! Worthy instructor of his army in the care and
protection due to their fellow-citizens! Men who had never seen the backs of a
retreating army plunged their swords into the breasts of their own
countrymen!" So great was the effusion of blood shed, that if shed in battle
with barbarian enemies, it had been sufficient to pur
chase a perpetual peace. At length, indeed, the providence of God took
vengeance on these unhallowed deeds; but not without severe damage to the
state. For the entire army of the emperor of whom I have just spoken, becoming
subject to the authority of a worthless person, who had violently usurped
the supreme authority at Rome (when the providence of God restored freedom to
that great city), was destroyed in several successive battles. And when we
remember the cries with which those who were oppressed, and who ardently
longed for their native liberty implored the help of God; and their praise and
thanksgiving to him on the removal of the evils under which they had groaned,
when that liberty was regained, and free and equitable intercourse restored:
do not these things every way afford convincing proofs of the providence of
God, and his affectionate regard for the interests of mankind?
CHAPTER XXVI.
The Emperor ascribes his Personal Piety to God;
and shows that we are bound to seek Success from God, an attribute it to him;
but to consider Mistakes as the Result of our own Negligence.
WHEN men commend my services, which owe their origin to the inspiration of
Heaven, do they not dearly establish the truth that God is
the cause of the exploits I have performed? Assuredly they do: for it belongs
to God to do whatever is best, and to man,, to perform the commands of God. I
believe, indeed, the best and noblest course of action is, when, before an
attempt is made, we provide as far as possible for a secure result: and surely
all men know that the holy service in which these hands have been employed has
originated in pure and genuine faith towards God; that whatever has been done
for the common welfare has been effected by active exertion combined with
supplication and prayer; the consequence of which has been as great an amount
of individual and public benefit as each could venture to hope for himself and
those he holds most dear. They have witnessed battles, and have been
spectators of a war in which the providence of God has granted victory to this
people: they have seen how he has favored and seconded our prayers. For
righteous prayer is a thing invincible; and no one fails to attain his object
who addresses holy supplication to God: nor is a refusal possible, except in
the case of wavering faith; for God is ever favorable, ever ready to
approve of human virtue. While, therefore, it is natural for man occasionally
to err, yet God is not the cause
first for our own individual security and then for the happy posture of public
affairs: at the same time intreating the favor of Christ with holy prayers and
constant supplications, that he would continue to us our present blessings.
For he is the invincible ally and protector of the righteous: he is the
supreme judge of all things, the prince of immorality, the Giver of
everlasting life.