not persecuted; for we find that they had to take a certain oath, refused, saying that a respite of several years. At length, however, the prejudice and fury of the ignorant multitude prevailed, and obsolete laws were revived and put in execution against the Christians. he could not swear by the Roman idols, as he was a Christian. Struck with surprise, the people could not at first believe what they heard; but he had no sooner confirmed the same, than he was dragged before the judge, committed to prison, and speedily afterward beheaded. IRENEUS, bishop of Lyons, was born in Greece, and received both a polite and a posed that the account of the persecutions at Lyons was written by himself. He succeeded the martyr Pothinus as bishop of Lyons, and ruled his diocese with great The progress of Christianity alarmed the pagans, and they revived the stale calumny of placing accidental misfortunes to the account of its professors. Fire, sword, scourges, wild beasts, and cruel imprison-Christian education. It is generally supments, were now used; and even the dead bodies of Christians were torn from their graves with pagan prejudice, to be mangled by popular fury. But though persecuting malice raged, yet propriety: he was a zealous opposer of the gospel shone with resplendent bright-heresies in general, and about A. D. 187, ness, and, firm as an impregnable rock, wrote a celebrated tract against heresy withstood the attacks of its boisterous ene- and in A. D. 202, he was beheaded. mies with success. TERTULLIAN, who AGAPETUS, a boy of Præneste, in Italy, lived in this age, informs us, that if the who was only fifteen years of age, absoChristians had collectively withdrawn them-lutely refusing to sacrifice to the idols, was selves from the Roman territories, the em-severely scourged, and then hanged up by pire would have been greatly depopulated. {the feet, and boiling water poured over VICTOR, bishop of Rome, suffered mar- him. He was afterward worried by wild tyrdom in the first year of the third cen-beasts, and at last beheaded. The officer tury, viz: A. D. 201, though the circum-named Antiochus, who superintended this stances are not particularized. execution, while it was performing fell suddenly from his judicial seat, cried out that his bowels bnrnt him, and expired; while the martyr patiently suffered, in hopes of a glorious resurrection, when the following picture shall be realized : LEONIDAS, the father of the celebrated ORIGEN, was beheaded for being a Christian. Previous to the execution, the son, in order to encourage him, wrote to him in these remarkable words: " Beware, sir, that your care for us does not make you change your resolution." Many of Origen's hearers likewise suffered martyrdom; particularly two brothers named PLUTARCHUS and SERENUS: another Serenus, Heron, and Heraclides, were beheaded; RHAIS had boiling pitch poured upon her head, and was then burnt, as was Marcella, her mother. POTAMIENA, the sister of Rhais, was executed in the same manner as Rhais had been; but Basilides, an officer belonging to the army, and one ordered to attend her execution, became her convert. "Roused from their sleep unnumbered myriads come, Or tinged the sapphire with its lovely blue; There flowed the circling blood, a purer stream; The beaming eye its dazzling light resumes, Soft on the lip the tinctured ruby blooms; The beating pulse a keener ardor warms, BASILIDES being, as an officer, required? And beauty triumphs in immortal charms." ล THE SIXTH PRIMITIVE PERSECUTION UNDER THE ROMAN EMPERORS. N A. D. 235, Maximinus being emperor, he raised a persecution against the Christians. In Cappadocia, the president, Seremianus, did all he could to exterminate the Christians from that province. A Roman soldier, refusing to wear a laurel crown bestowed on him by the emperor, and confessing himself a Christian, was scourged, imprisoned, and afterward put to death. Patience in want and poverty of mind, MARTINA, a noble and beautiful virgin, likewise suffered martyrdom for the sake of Christ, being variously tortured, and afterward beheaded. HIPPOLITUS, a Christian prelate, was tied to a wild horse, and dragged through fields, stony places, bushes, &c., till he PONTIANUS, bishop of Rome, for preach-expired. ing against idolatry, was banished to Sar- During this persecution, raised by Maxdinia, and there slain. ANTEROS, a Grecian, who succeeded the last-mentioned bishop in the see of Rome, gave so much offence to the government, by collecting the acts of the martyrs, that he suffered martyrdom himself, after having held his dignity only forty days. PAMMACHIUS, a Roman senator, with his family, and other Christians to the number of forty-two, were, on account of their ligion, all beheaded in one day, and their heads set up on the city gates. re SIMPLICIUS, another senator, met with exactly the same fate. CALEPODIUS, a Christian minister, after being inhumanly treated, and barbarously dragged about the streets, had a millstone fastened about his neck, and was thrown into the river Tiber. (See engraving.) QUIRITUS, a Roman nobleman, with his family and domestics, were, on account of all being Christians, put to the most excruciating tortures, and then to the most painful deaths. Thus this nobleman suffered the confiscation of his effects, poverty, revilings, imprisonment, scourgings, tortures, and loss of his life, for the sake of his blessed Redeemer; well knowing, that "Our Savior came not with a gaudy show, Nor was his kingdom of the world below: iminus, numberless Christians were slain without trial, and buried indiscriminately in heaps; sometimes fifty or sixty being cast into a pit together, without the least decency. The tyrant Maximinus dying, A. D. 238, was succeeded by Gordian, during whose reign, and that of his successor, Philip, the church was free from persecution for the space of more than ten years; but A. D. 249, a violent persecution broke out in Alexandria. It is to be observed, however, that this was done at the instigation of a pagan priest, without the knowledge of the emperor. The popular fury being let loose against the Christians, the mob broke open their houses, stole away the best of their property, destroyed the rest, and murdered the owners: the universal cry being, “Burn 'em, burn em; kill 'em, kill 'em." The names of the martyrs (three excepted) and the particulars of this affair, however, have not been transmitted to posterity. The three martyrs alluded to were the following: METRUS, an aged and venerable Christian, refusing to blaspheme his Savior, was beaten with clubs, pricked with sharp reeds, and at length stoned to death. QUINTA, a Christian woman, being car ried to the temple, and refusing to worship the idols there, was dragged by her feet over sharp flint-stones, scourged with whips, and at last despatched in the same manner as Metrus. APOLLONIA, an ancient maiden lady, confessing herself a Christian, the mob dashed out her teeth with their fists, and threatened to burn her alive. A fire was accordingly prepared for the purpose, and she fastened to a stake; but requesting to be unloosed, it was granted, on a supposition that she meant to recant, when, to their great sur- "Submit thy fate to Heaven's indulgent care, THE SEVENTH PRIMITIVE PERSECUTION UNDER THE ROMAN EMPERORS. ECIUS being now emperor { first person of eminence who felt the seof Rome, began a dread- verity of this persecution. The deceased ful persecution against emperor Philip had, on account of his inthe Christians, A. D. 249. tegrity, committed his treasures to the care This was occasioned, of this good man. But Decius, not finding partly by the hatred he as much as his avarice made him expect, bore to his predecessor, Philip, who was determined to wreak his vengeance on the deemed a Christian, and partly to his good prelate. He was accordingly seized, jealousy concerning the amazing increase and on the 20th of January, A. D. 250, of Christianity; for the heathen temples suffered martyrdom, by being beheaded. began to be forsaken, and the Christian churches thronged. ABDON and SEMEN, two Persians, were seized on as strangers; but being found Christians, were put to death, on account of their faith; and MoYsEs, a priest was beheaded for the same reason. JULIAN, a native of Celicia, as we are informed by St. Chrysostom, was seized upon for being a Christian. He was frequently tortured, but still remained inflexible; and though often brought from prison for execution, was again remanded to be the object of greater cruelties. He at These reasons stimulated Decius to attempt the very extirpation of the name of Christian; and it was unfortunate for the cause of the gospel, that many errors had about this time crept into the church: the Christians were at variance with each other; self-interest divided those whom social love ought to have united; and the virulence of pride occasioned a variety of factions. The heathens, in general, were ambi-length was obliged to travel for twelve tious to enforce the imperial decrees upon this occasion, and looked upon the murder of a Christian as a merit in themselves. The martyrs, upon this occasion, were innumerable; but of the principal we shall give some account in their order. months together, from town to town, in order to be exposed to the insults of the ignorant populace. Finding the endeavors to make him recant his religion ineffectual, he was brought before his judge, stripped, and whipped in FABIAN, the bishop of Rome, was the a most dreadful manner. He was then |