of the blessed state as belonging entirely to the world to come; or it has aimed at a dominion of the clergy. At no age has it distinctly set before itself the task of bringing mankind universally in all their relations under the dominion of Christ. Only to a few minds, at rare intervals, has the idea of a Christian commonwealth, of a Christian world, presented itself, and then almost always only to be abandoned. If this feebleness of conception is disheartening, we may on the other hand derive encouragement from it: for it shows that the capacities of Christianity, so far from being exhausted, have in their largest field of exercise yet to be brought into play.

The famous chapter of Gibbon, in which the causes of the spread of Christianity in the first three centuries are described, however suggestive it may be of the historian's own scepticism, and though an invidious turn is given to each of the causes, may yet be taken as indicating substantially the points of contact at which the Church's influence was felt, and through which it won upon the convictions of mankind. It will be seen, as we touch upon them, that the presentation of the moral ideal of Christianity is that which gave them force.

The first cause is the inflexible and even intolerant zeal of the Christians. It would seem that this is exaggerated. It is true that certain of the Christians, like Tertullian, protested against the most innocent customs, if even remotely connected with heathen observances; but this is contrary to the teaching of St. Paul. It is certain that even in the fourth century,

when Christianity was in the ascendant and had begun to persecute, the intermarriage of Christians and Pagans was not uncommon, and social intercourse went on freely between them1. But the earnest conviction which underlay the inflexible zeal of the Christians presented that for which the better mind of the Empire was craving, an assured moral resting-place. And the protest against idolatry, though it sometimes passed into intolerance, was in the main a salutary reproof, carrying on the process begun among the Greeks by Socrates and Plato, against the unworthy conceptions of God, an appeal to the better sense of mankind.

The second cause stated by Gibbon is the doctrine of immortality, and of a quickly approaching judgment in which the Pagans should be destroyed. No doubt various extravagant notions mixed themselves with the simple belief of judgment and immortality. But the foundation of these beliefs was profoundly moral. The belief in the permanence beyond the grave of the life of righteousness begun here is the counterpart and support of the belief in the eternal and absolute character of righteousness. That the vices of the nonChristian world must bring about its destruction was a moral conviction expressed in the burning words of St. Paul, and which was vindicated by the event, first at Jerusalem then at Rome 2.

The third cause assigned by Gibbon is the miraculous

1 See, for instance, Jerome's account of the heathen priest Albinus, whose daughter Læta was married to the son of Jerome's friend Paula, and whose granddaughter, the younger Paula, is described as lisping Halleluia on the knees of the heathen grandfather (Jerome, ad Latam, Ep. 107, ed. Vall.).

2 See I Thess. ii. 15, 16. 2 Thess. i. 5-9; ii. S.

power attributed to the Church. This we can scarcely estimate. It is certain that it is acknowledged by Christian teachers to have ceased at an early period. But, whatever the influence of this belief may have been, it was the witness of a larger belief, that of a Divine power inherent in the Church. This belief has been fully vindicated. The Son of Man was seen in the progress of the Church, according to His own words, Coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.'

The fourth of the causes specified by Gibbon is the virtuous lives of the Christians. This is the central fact from which all the rest gained their validity. It is important to note the special features of this virtue, which flowed direct from a belief in the supremacy of Christ. It was the virtue not of a sect or a nation, but partaking of the character of universality. This distinguished it from the current virtue of both Jew and Gentile. It was also not a customary nor enforced virtue, but original, and a matter of conviction; and this conviction was an enthusiasm for goodness, existing not, as heretofore, in a small class of cultivated men, but among the simple, the female sex, the slaves. Moreover this virtue was tested in the most signal manner by persecution. In that great trial the true quality of virtue, - real manliness, was evoked; it was seen that the meekness which distinguished this period of the Church was compatible with the most heroic energy and endurance.

The last cause enumerated by Gibbon is the attention which was paid to the government of the Church. This

is a point which must receive special attention from those who believe in the universal capacities of the Christian Church. The Church was the Christians' fatherland. To it they gave themselves up entirely. Into it they poured their offerings. And the fund thus created was administered by the officers of the Church, who were elected by the members with a special regard to their probity. A community which had such attractions was eagerly sought after. In the misery which pressed on the whole Roman world it was a harbour of refuge for the helpless. A rigorous test was therefore necessary for the admission of members, a rigorous discipline also for those within its pale 1. But to its sincere members it was a city of the saints, a new Jerusalem, a kingdom of God, the laws of which were on a level with the convictions of the citizens. And whereas the subjects of the Roman empire had been accustomed to submit for wrath's sake' to the iron rule of the imperial officers, confessing, perhaps, its necessity and even its justice, bowing down before its dread majesty, the Christians could feel that the laws of their community were the laws of God and of Christ; they regarded their bishops and presbyters as ministers of God doing them good in body and in soul, and could follow them with reverent and enthusiastic loyalty.

In this last cause of the influence of Christianity we may see the rise of something more than moral influence. It is impossible that a large society should be held together without some system of rewards and

1 See Pressensé, La Vie Ecclesiastique aux 2me et 3me Siècles, ch. iii.

punishments. St. Paul had said that 1, though Christians were not to judge those who were without, they were to judge those that were within: and this is precisely what came to pass. So long as men were outside the Church, the Church acted upon them only by means of persuasion. But so soon as men came within its pale, it acted upon them by means of discipline. Gibbon points out very rightly the fact that the government of the Church acted upon its members by both reward and punishment. Here we find the Church passing out of the condition of a sect or teaching body, to take upon itself some of the functions of the State, with its laws and their appropriate sanctions. It is vain to assert that the Christian communities were governed by merely spiritual motives. The rewards of its members were those of a constant share in the Church's benefactions, and admission to, and promotion in, the hierarchy. The Epistle to Timothy had said, 'Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour 2. Promotion and increase of emoluments are here clearly designated. The same epistle had given rules for the support of widows, and these rules served for an example of the general treatment of the poor 3. It is not necessary to traverse again the ground so adequately occupied by the Bampton Lectures of 1880*.

1 I Cor. v. 12.

2 1 Tim. v. 17.

3 Ib. 3-16.

* The Organization of the Early Christian Churches, by the Rev. E. Hatch, D.D. These Lectures show (1) How the organization of these communities grew up naturally according to their needs and circumstances; (2) How the Bishops and Presbyters, originally administrators and disciplinarians, gradually acquired control over the teaching and all other parts of the Church system. The strong animadversions called forth by these Lectures are but one of many proofs of the difficulty which men have in conceiving (1) of the Spirit of God as acting through