emend. E. A. Schuhe. 17S3s. Th. III.; Historiam Saec. IS. add. Stosch. 1707; emend. Schickedam,
1786; IK J/««»c'/i«r, Lchrb. d. KGcsch. Marb. 1804; 2d ed. by Wackier, \?,\^\ M ci\. \>y Becl-hdun,
1826; P. Hofhteile de &roo*, Institt. Hist. ecc. Gronov. 1S35; // J. Poyaards, Cwn\\ Hist. ecc.
clir. Trnj. ail. Ilh. 1^0-5. 2 Fiisc. ir) Gcsch. d. Chr. Kirclie, edit, by Bannell. Brl. 1S40; (Works,
Abth. I. vol. II.) a) Gosch. d. Chr. Kirche, Lehrbuch. Lpz. 1840. y) Especially: <7. c/i«/u, Gescb.
d. Chr. Kirche. Brl. 1S.33 ; // Thiele, Kurzo Gesch. d. Chr. Kirehe. Zur. 1840 ; Alb. Buur, d. KGesch.
In gedriingter Ubersicht. Weim. 1846 ; Ilerihert Rau, Allg. Gcsch. d. Chr. Kirche (deutsclikath.).
Fur das deutsclie Volk. Frkf. 1S46. z) Allg. KGesch. Stuttg. 1841-4-1. 3 vols, (till the comiuencc-
ment of the lllh cent)
a) Synopsis Hist Itel. et Eccl. Cbr. methodo systematica adnmbrata. Vtoq. 17S5. Einl. in d. Chr.
Eel. u. KGesch. Prag. 17S8p8. 2d (modified) ed. 1790. Chr. Pel. u. KGesch. (but one Per) Pr.
1789-95. 4 vols, h) Institt Hist Eccl. Vien. (1788.) 1S06. 2 Th. Thread of the narrative after I)an-
nenm. (Collegienheft) 2 ed. Kottwell. 1826-8. 4 Th. c) Gesch. d. Christl. Eel. u. Kirche. Zur. 1792.
12 INTRODUCTION. CHAP. II. LITERATURE.
and of the ancient Church. A continuation of his history hy another hand
was merely a labored eftbrt to attain the same style, (d) "With the same gen-
eral views, but with more accuracy and science, Eaterhamp Avrote a history,
in which he has exhibited a more profound acquaintance with the original au-
thorities in his representations of the particular characters and circumstances
of the Church, {e) The liberal school, which now sought to accommodate
matters as much as possible with the hierarchy, Avas represented by Rittei\ (/)
and in the extensive and popular work of Locherer, (g) in many respects like
that of Schroeckh. The narrative of Euttenstoch is carefully limited to a
mere statement of facts. Qi) In other places the various parties were in di-
rect hostility to each other. The hierarchical method of writing history was
defended with keen wit by Ilortig^ the continuation of whose work by Dol-
Unger, is written in a loss animated, but in a more serious strain. In his re-
vised edition the latter has promised a great work, in which those fables of
the hierarchy which are altogether untenable, are to be given up as indiffer-
ent, but every position capable of any defence is to be maintained with all
the weapons which a learned ingenuity can sujiply. His text-book contains
merely the external facts of history. (/) On the other hand EcicTilin-Meldegg
has composed a prolix, declamatory, and flippant libel upon ecclesiastical an-
tiquity, and of course fell out with his own Church. Q:) Ahog again pre-
sents a specimen of a rather clumsy but spirited attempt to transfer a Protes-
tant form to a Catholic position, (Z) and Annegarn has compiled just such an
artless, rude, and tiresome History of the Clmrch, as was common in Ger-
many before the time of Joseph II., and as may even now be seen in many
an obscure seminary, {m)
3 Th. d) F. L. V. Stolberg, Gesch. d. Rel. J. C. Ilamb. 1800-181S. 15 Th. (till 1430.) 2 ed. of 1. 2 Th.
1810. Inde.x by Moritz, Vien. u. Hamb. 1S25. 2 Th. cont. by F. B. v. Kerz. Mentz. 1825-1846. 16-49
Th. Index by 8<ms»en. Mentz. 1834. e) KGesoh. Munster. 1819-30. 4 Th. (till 10T3.) /) Handb. d.
KGesch. Elburg. Bonn. 1826-35. 3 vols. 1836. 2 ed. of 1 & 2 vols, g) Gesch. d. Chr. Rol. u. Kh-clie.
Ravensb. 1824 33. 8 Th. (till 1073.) h) Institt. Ilistoriae Eccl. N. T. Vien. 1832-34. 3 Th. (till 1517.)
i) Ilandb. d. Chr. KGesoh. v. Ilovtig, beend. v. DbUiiiger. Landsh. 1S2C. 2 Th. Newly revised by
DolUnger (Gesch. d. Chr. K.) Landsh. lS33s. 1 vol. 1. 2 Abth. (in part till 1680.) By tho sanio.
Lehrb. d. KGesoh. Regensb. 1836ss. 2 vols. [J. J. Ig. DolUnger, Hist of the Church. Trans, by
Ed. Cox. Lond. 4 vols. 8vo.] k) Gesch. des Christentb. Ercib. 18808. 1 Th. in 2 Abth. (till 1824.)
I) Unlversal-gesch. d. Chr. Kircho. Mainz. (1841. 1848.) 1S44. w) Gesch. d. Chr. Kirche. Miinst. 1812s.
8 vols. Comp. Jen. L. Z. 1844. N. 144ss. [Eng. Gen. Eecl. Ilistt. arc. Win. Palmer, Compend. Eccl.
Hist 5 ed. 0.\ford, 1844. G. Waddington, H. of the Church to the Ref Lond. 1838. 2 vols. & cont.
through tho Ref. Lond. 1838. 2 vols. 8. J. Priestley, Gen. 11. of the Chr. Church. Lond. 1808. 6 vols.
6. Joneh" 11. of the Chr. Church to the 17th century. Lond. 1836. 2 vols. 8. M. Putter, II. of the Chr.
Church. New York. 8. C. A. Goodrich, Church Hist. Burlington. 1830. 8. II. Stehhing, H. of tho Chr.
Church (a Cont. of Milner), 8 vols. Lond. 1842.]
ANCIENT CHUUCH HISTORY.
FIRST PERIOD.
FROM CHRIST TO CONSTANTINE.
§ 14. General Vieio and Original Authorities.
I. 1) All ecclesiastical writers of this time. Fragments of those works which have been lost In ;
Orahe, Spicik-gluin Pntrum et ILicreticorum S.iec. I. II. et III. O.xon. (169S.) ITdO. 1714. 3 vols. liouth,
Reliquiae sacrac, s. .luctorum fere deperditoruiu I. ct II. Sacc. rr.igment.a. [Edit, altera. Oxon. 1S47.
4 vols.] 2) Fragments of Uegenippi {jTroixvi]ixa.Ta. ru>v fKKK-r\(jia.aTiKiiv Trpd^ewv in liouth, vol,
I. p. lS7s8. Eusehii iKKMimaffTLK^ icrropia. Ed. Valesius. Par. 1659. f. K Zimmermann, Frcf.
1822. 2. P. 4. Ifeinichen. Lpz. lS2Ts. 3 Th, 4. Bartnn, O.xon. 183S. 3 vols. [A new transl. with Life
of Eas. Lond. 1S42. 8.] 3) liiUnart, Acta prlnioium m.irtyrum, ed. 2. Amst. 1713. f. rep. Gnlura,
Aug. Y. 1S02. 3 vols. 4) Passages from writers not Christian : Josephus, Suetonius, Tacitns, Plinius,
Dio Cassius, Scriptorcs Hist. Angnstae, etc. explained in Kath. Lardner ; Collection of the Jewish
and Heathen testimonies of the Christian religion. Lond. 17(14.'ffl. 4 vols. 4 II. Tillemont (§ 11. nt. d.)
Clerici Hist. ecc. duoruni priorum Sacc. Amst. 1716. 4. MoshemUAa rebus Chrlstianorum ante Con.st
Commentarii. Ilelmst. 175-3. 4. [transl. by Vidal, 2 vols. 8. Lond. 1818.] Semleri Obss. quibus Illst
Christian, illustratur usque ad Const. Hal. 17S4 // W. MiUnian, Hist of Christianity from the Birth
of Christ to the extinction of Paganism In the Roman Empire. Lond. 1S40. 8 vols, [with notes by
Murdock. Svo. New York. Kaye, Ecclcs. Hist of 2 and 8 Centt. Svo. 1826. 2 vols. S. Hindu, Hist
of the Rise and early Prog, of Christianity. 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. W. B. Taylor, The Hist of Christian-
ity, from its Prornulg. to its legal estab. in tho Rom. Empire. 12mo. Lond. 1S44. E. Burton, Lectures
upon the Illst of the Chr. Church from the Asccn. of J. Christ to tho conversion of Const. 4 ed. 12mo.
Lond. 1840. liohert Millar, Hist, of tho Propag. of Christ Lond. 2 vols. Svo. 1731. 3 ed. Wm. Cave,
Lives of Fathers of the first four ages of the Church. Lond. 2 vols. fol. 1683-87. new cd. by H. Cary,
1840. 3 vols. 8. II. Cave, Prim. Chr. or Rel. of tho Anc. Christians, ed. by Cary. Oxf. 1840. 8. Philip
Schaff. H. of the Apostolic Church, transl. by E. I). Yeomans. New York. 1853. 8. vol. I. Samuel
Elliot, Hist, of the Early Christian.?. Lond. 1858. J. C. Robertson, Hist of the Christian Church to the
Pontlf. of Greg, tho Great Lond. 1858. 8.]
In the history of tho world, Classic Heathenism appears as a single form
of human life, on the development of which, its time was fulfilled ; and Ju-
daism appears as a great prophetic .system accomplished hy Christianity. The
Jewish veil, under which the latter made its appearance, was removed by
Paul, and when the Gospel had been proclaimed in all parts of the Roman
14 AXOIENT CHURCH HISTORY. PER. I.
empire, the forms of Greek and Roman civilization became incorporated in
the Church. But in the mean time a prodigious struggle was commenced by
the general spirit of antiquity. The Church, not so much by intellectual
weapons, as by its labors and sacrifices, was so completely victorious, that at
the end of this period the Roman empire was under the necessity of either
becoming Christian, or of being utterly subverted. During this struggle, with
no aid from the State, and with no external interference, the Church devel-
oped its appropriate Constitution. "With the exception of individual in-
stances of extravagance or timidity, its morals and its discipline were of the
strictest kind, and the private life of its members was serious and heavenly.
The religious feelings of the people, excited by Grecian philosophy, and strug-
gling with subtle foreign elements, now sought to attain definite and fixed
forms of thought. The Period may be naturally divided into two sections,
the first containing the historical conditions under which Christianity was
introduced, and the history of the Apostolic Church, until the death of the
last of the Ajjostles, near the close of the first century, and the other embra-
cing the formation of the Catholic Church. The Acts of the Apostles, by
Luke^ are the commencement of a Church History, limited by the personal
knowledge, position, and object of the writer. It presents us with the actual
establishment of the Church in its two principal departments — among the
Jews by Peter, and among the Greeks by Paul, (a) The authentic epistles of
these apostles are the most trustworthy monuments of the Apostolic Church.
IIegesii)])us^ about the middle of the second century, committed to Avriting
every thing he thought worthy of preservation in the Apostolic traditions. (5)
The first proper history of the Church (till 324) was written by Eusebius of
Cacmrea^ under the impression which the great revolutions of his age pro-
duced upon his mind. Though he was affected by the prejudices, he possessed
also the advantages of his position, and while he probably omitted some things,
we have no evidence that he has stated what is untrue, (c)
a) Schneckenherger- u. d. Zweck d. App. Gesoh. Bern. 1S41. I) Emeb. H. ecc. 11. 23. III. 16. 19.
IV. 7s. 11. 22. Comp. Ilieron. catal. c. 22. Schulthess, lieges, princeps auctor rerum Chr. Tur. 1S32.
c) With regard to liis authorities and credibility : Moeller, Hafn. 1813. (Areliiv. f. KGesch. vol. III.
6t. 1.) Diim, Jen. 1815. P. I. Kestner Goett. 1817. 4. Reiiterdahl, Lend. Gotli. 1826. Rienstra, Traj.
ad. Eh. 1833. Jachmann, in lUgcns Zeitschr. 1839. H. 2. F. C. Baur, coinparatur Eus. Ilistoriae ecc,
parens cum parente Ilistoriarum Ilerodoto. Tub. 1S34. 4.
CHAP. r. HEATHENISM. § 15. GREEK LIFE. 15
DIVISION I. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH.
CHAP. I. INTKODUCTORY HISTORY.
I. Classic Heathenism.
Creuser, Symbolik u. Mythologic d. altcn ViJiker, bes. d. Gricchcn, Lps. u. Darmst. (ISlOss.) 1819ss.
Til.; Baur, Symb. u. Myth. o. dio Natnrrel. d. Altcrtli. Stuttg. 1S2.^; Loheck, Aglaoplianius s, do
Tlieol. mysticae Graecoruin causis. Regiom. 1S29. 2 Tli. ; 0. Muller, Prologomi-na zu e. wiss, Mythol.
G<Jt.t. 1S25. [Introd. to a Scientific Syst of Myth, transl. by J. Leitch. Lond. 1844. S]; P. van Urn-
lurg J}romcer, Hist, do la civilisation morale et rel. des Grecs. Groen. 1833-43. 8 Th. ; Hegel, Phil.
d. Rel. Brl. 1S33. vol. 2. p. 148ss. Phil. d. Gesch. Brl. 1837. p. 232ss. ; P. F. Sluhr, die Rel. Systeino
d. Hellencn in ihrer gesch. Entw. Brl. 1838; J/. IK Ueffter^d. Rel. d. Griechen u. Rilmer, Brandcnb.
1845. [ W. Smith, Diet of Gr. & Rom. Myth. Lond. 1844-49. 3 vols. 8. T. Dwight, Gr. & Rom. Myth.
New York. 1S49. 12] ■,—Benj. Constant, du Polytheisuie remain. P.ir. 18-33. 2 Th. ; I/artuiig, d. Rel. d.
Rr.mer. ErI. 1S36. 2 vols. ; Ch. Wah, de rel. Kom. antiquiss. Tub. 1845. 4. P. l.— Tholuck, ii. d. Wesen
u. sittl. Einfl. d. Ileidenth. (Neandor's Denkwiirdigk, vol. I. modified in the 2d ed.) \_A. Tholuck.
Nature & Moral Infl. of Heathenism, transl. by R. Emerson, in Biblical Rep. for 1832. .and in Clarke's
Bibl. Cab. vol. 28. Edinb. 1S41] ; Im. XiUsch, Q. d. Religionsbogr. d. Alten. (Stud. u. Ivrit. 1828.
vol. I. H. 3s.) ■,—F. Jacuhts, u. d. Erziehung d. Hellenen z. Sittlichk. (Yerm. Schrr. Lpz. 1829. P. IIL)
Ileidenth. n. Christenth. (Lpz. 183T. Th. YI.) ; K. Gruneisen, u. d. Sittliche d. bild. Kunst b. d.
Grieeh. Lpz. 1833. (Illg. Zeitschr. vol. III. st. 2.) [J. Si John, Manners, Custt. Arts, &c. of Anc. Gr.
Lond. 1842. 3 vols. S ; // Ilase, Publ. & Priv. Life of the An. Greeks, transl. from Germ. Lond. 1S3G.
8 ; W. A. Becker, G.illus, or Rom. Scenes of the time of Augustus, illust. tlio manners and custt. of
the Romans, transl. from the Germ, by F. Metcalfe. Lond. 1844. 8. On the State of Man before Chris-
tianity. Lond. 1848. 12.]
§ 15. Popular Life among the Greeks.
The original civilizcation wliicli had prevailed in some portions of the
East liad finally become torpid within limits immutably fixed by the com-
bined influence of caste and despotism. But under the delightful sky of beau-
tiful Greece, the purely earthly life of man, in the mid«t of eflbrts to attain
social freedom, and triumphant struggles against the monarch of the Eastern
world (after 490, b. c), became developed in its fairest natural perfection.
Borne on by youthful energies and a noble spirit of refinement, directed by
a clear understanding and a wise moderation, it received still higher lustre
and distinctness from a state of art Avhich gave utterance to what is beyond
expression, and proclaimed the reconciliation of the spirit with outward na-
ture. Even when it presented nature in its utmost nakedness, it preserved a
chaste moderation, and when it portrayed the darker aspects of our earthly
existence, it always made liberty and beauty triumphant. Grecian manners
and science were carried by travelling expeditions and colonies to the shores
of Asia Minor, Sicily, and Southern Italy, and finally, by means of Alexan-
der's conquests (after 334), Grecian civilization became established over all
the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
§ 16. Limits of Grecian Refinement.
Man was regarded only as a citizen, and all virtues had relation to the
glory of his native laud. The free action of the citizen was founded upon
an order of slaves. A part of the women were confined within the narrow
limits of domestic life, and another purchased a participation in manly jjlea-
16 ANCIENT CHTJECH HI8T0RT. PEE. I. DIV. I. TILL A. D. 100.
sures and more attractive refinements, with a proportionate loss of womanly
dignity and domestic happiness. The political power of the several States
was developed and consumed in factious contests and civil wars. Even in
the brightest days of Greece, civilization had to contend with remnants of
ancient barbarism and its bloody crimes.
§ 17. The Eeligion of the GreeTcs.
Tbe celestial world, in which the Greeks beheved, was only an ideal
transcript of their ordinary life, embellished by the hand and for the pur-
poses of art. Even the fanciful relation of sex, which they ascribed to their
deities, though borrowed from oriental allegories, was so modified by the
poetic imaginations of the Greeks, as only to reflect and justify, as in a mir-
ror, the playful spuit of the people. This, however, exerted no very cor-
rupting influence upon a people whose matrimonial life Avas guarded by usages
and laws, and whose vigorous energies were controlled by the gymnasium,
and a predominant taste for the beautiful. But every thing great or beauti-
ful in common life, was adorned and consecrated by some connection with
the gods of their country. It was for this reason that, although the people
were sincerely attached to their deities, and their rehgious services were joy-
ous festivals embellished with all that art could contribute, they could enjoy
the keen wit of the poet when he ridiculed the weaknesses of the gods, no
less than when he laughed at those of the sovereign people of Athens. The
rehgion of the Hellenes was necessarily a deification not so much of nature
in its mysterious depths, as of the spirit in its various manifestations.
The real Deity revealed to them Avas beauty. The piety best conformed to
the national character Avas so far from rising above the earth, that it never
went even beyond their native land. The mysteries could of course transmit
no doctrine of religion inconsistent with this spirit of the popular faith.
They were simply celebrations of the festivals of the ancient gods. They
served not only to preserve the memory of the old and fallen deities of na-
ture, but to create a presentiment of a supreme Deity, Avho, at some future
period, would extend his sovereignty over the universe. The point at Avhich
the Hellenic theology found its termination and constructed an altar to the
TJnknoAvn God, was where it submitted to an absolute necessity, ruling over
gods and men.
§ 18. Eelation of Philosophy to the Popular Religion,
Socrates (4G9-399) brought back Philosophy from its attempts to ex-
plain the universe by ingenious fancies, to its appropriate Grecian object,
which was, to render the mind conscious of its nature, and thus to become
the supreme rule of life for a freeborn man. In doing so, however, he was
aware that as a citizen of a moral community he Avas liable to come into
conflict with Athenian usages. From the position which he had attained,
Plato (428-348) and Aristotle (384-322) sought to discover the ultimate prin-
ciple of all knowledge and being. Both recognized a spiritual and indepen-
dent author of the universe, and both appreciated the supreme importance of
the intellectual and moral life. Aristotle, commencing Avith sensible pheno-
CHAP. I. IIKATIIENISM. § 18. GIIKCIAN P1I1U>;J0PI1Y. 17
raenn, and proceeding 1)}' successive steps of reasoning to general laws, may
be regarded as the most perfect specimen of a healthy intellectual educa-
tion among the Greeks. If Plato, on the one hand, by tlie matter as well as
the form of his speculations, shows that the highest point of Grecian life con-
sisted in adorning the present existence by moral excellence and beauty, on
the other, he far transcends this, and stands like a prophet, incomprehensible
by his own age, on account of his earnest consciousness of sinfulness, and
his absolute exaltation of tlie eternal above the temporal.* Those who un-
dertook the further development of Pliilosophy, attached themselves once
more to the purely practical tendency of Socrates, and to the various parties
already springing up among his disciples. They, however, seized upon only
disconnected elements of Grecian life. Epicurus (342-271) laid hold of
pleasure alone, to which virtue was subservient as a necessary means, and
Zeno^ his contemporarj', selected power, with Avhich virtue is herself satisfied.
The former regarded the universe as the sport of chance, and the latter be-
lieved it animated by a divine omnipresent soul. In opposition to the views
of these teachers, and especially to those of Plato, there arose in the midst
of the Academy itself, a party under Arcesilaus (316-241) and Carncades (214-
129), which advocated a system of overwrought logic, teaching that man was
never designed to know the truth with certainty, and that consequently his
only peace was to be found in dealing with probabilities, and in the conscious-
ness of this universal uncertainty. Philosophy, in all its forms, had passed
beyond the limits of Polytheism. The Socratic school, however, regarded the
popular faith as a mode of conceiving truth indispensable to a people bound
in the fetters of sensuality. Its disciples therefore, without hesitation,
adopted the usages and modes of expression prevalent around them. The
way in which Epicurus maintained the existence of the gods was in fact an
adroit denial of it, but, satisfied with having freed his followers from all fear
of the gods, he was wise enough to warn them of the danger of contending
with public opinion. Stoical Pantheism allowed that the deities existed
merely as names and allegories for the various manifestations of the universal
life, but the deportment of the sages toward them was proud and independent.
The later Academy maintained that the existence or non-existence of the
gods was equally probable, and its adherents thought it safest to honor them
with the ordinary forms of worship. While therefore Philosophy was not
directly hostile to the idolatry which had prevailed from ancient times, the
educated portion of the nation were elevated by it above the popular faith.
§ 19. Rome as a Republic.
The Roman people had sprung up in the midst of violence, they had been
kept together by a rigid discipline, and they had to attain maturity in the
battle-field, contending first for their existence, and then for their greatness.
At an early period, the opinion began to prevail, and soon became a predomi-
* C. Ackermann, das Christl. im Plato u. in d. plat Phil. Hamb. 1835; F. C. Baur, d. Christl. d.
Platonism. o. Sokr. ii. Christus. Tub. 1837 ; [Plato contra Atheos, or Platonic Theolojry, by T. Lewis.
New York. 1845. £. Pond, Life, Works, Opinions, &c of Plato. Portland. 8.]
2
IS AXCIKNT CllUltC'ir mSTOItV. TEi:. I. DIV. I. TILL A. P. inn.
nant popular sentiment, that they were destined to attain universal dominion.
All the virtues -which constitute the true hasis of civil and domestic pros-
perity were practised with simplicity and purity. But the keen enjoyment
of life, natural to youth, became passionate only in individual instances, for
we find among them no general refinement, or cultivation of tlie elegant arts.
Religion was wholly under the control of the State, and its sacred rites
were for a long time only in the hands of the Patricians. Its serious cere-
monies pervaded every relation, botli of the family and the State. While,
therefore, it was regarded as indispcnsahle to society, it was in reality only a
respectful reference for a superior power, recognized in the highest degree by
the boldest and mightiest minds.
§ 20. Decline of Greece.
During the strifes of contending fjictions, political power had become
despotic, in the hands sometimes of the nobles, and sometimes of the popu-
lace. The consequence was that Greece was distracted by internal divisions,
and became subject, first to the Macedonians, and then, with these masters,
(14G) to the Romans. The virtues of the people, which had been founded
upon their relation to their native country, could not, of course, survive the
loss of their independence. The individualiry of character, which had be-
fore so nobly distinguished them, now degenerated into selfishness; art be-
came subservient to the grossest sensuality, and it now became evident, in
the midst of public misfortunes, that a life consumed in the mere embellish-
ment of an earthly existence must be totally unsatisfoctory. Yet so abundant
was the inheritance of art and science bequeathed to them by their ances-
tors, that their private life was for a long time enriched by its stores, and
Greece gave laws to its conquerors.
§ 21. Elevation and Decline of Home.
"When Augustus, in his testament, advised the Roman people never to
surpass the limits which nature had assigned to them, as the permanent bul-
warks of the Empire, all nations inhabiting the coasts of the Mediterranean
had already submitted to the majesty of the Roman power, and all nationali-
ties had been broken up by the stern unity of the Empire. As .the Romans
had conquered the civilized world, they now resolved to participate in its ad-
vantages, by enjoying not only its coarse sensual pleasures, but its intellectual
treasures. But Grecian civilization was so far in advance of them, that it
could not be conquered without calling forth creative powers in the con-
querors. By the subjugation and government of so many provinces, such an
inequalitj' in power and possessions was introduced, that universal freedom
was no longer tolerable, and the popular character became so degraded, that
in spite of republican forms, no one thought of combining public freedom
with the monarcliy. Tlie will of the i)rince was acknowledged to be the su-
preme law, but the supremo power was actually in the army. Accordingly,
the successors of Augustus, while they knew that they were masters of the
world, knew quite as well that they could never call one day their own.
They therefore either stupified themselves in the wildest enjoyment of the
CIIAT. I. IIKATIIKMSM. § 22. DECLINE. 19
present moment, or souglit siilety in a roign of terror. Tlio wretcliedness of
the Roman populace, and tlie exliausted condition of tlio provinces, were in
desperate and friglitful contrast with an afflnence whicli strove witli shame-
less ingenuity to wrest from nature more enjoyment than she was able to
give or endure. And j'ct for ceiitiirios after tlie old Roman virtues had been
lost, there remained a noble national spirit, fho vaU)r of the legions, and in