|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 4
[A] Eusebius (v. 5) quotes Tertullian's Apology to the Roman
Senate in confirmation of the story. Tertullian, he says,
writes that letters of the emperor were extant, in which he
declares that his army was saved by the prayers of the
Christians; and that he "threatened to punish with death those
who ventured to accuse us." It is possible that the forged
letter which is now extant may be one of those which Tertullian
had seen, for he uses the plural number, "letters." A great
deal has been written about this miracle of the Thundering
Legion, and more than is worth reading. There is a dissertation
on this supposed miracle in Moyle's Works, London, 1726.
During the time of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Antoninus there appeared
the first Apology of Justinus, and under M. Antoninus the Oration of
Tatian against the Greeks, which was a fierce attack on the established
religions; the address of Athenagoras to M. Antoninus on behalf of the
Christians, and the Apology of Melito, bishop of Sardes, also addressed
to the emperor, and that of Apolinarius. The first Apology of Justinus
is addressed to T. Antoninus Pius and his two adopted sons, M. Antoninus
and L. Verus; but we do not know whether they read it.[A] The second
Apology of Justinus is entitled "to the Roman Senate;" but this
superscription is from some copyist. In the first chapter Justinus
addresses the Romans. In the second chapter he speaks of an affair that
had recently happened in the time of M. Antoninus and L,. Verus, as it
seems; and he also directly addresses the emperor, saying of a certain
woman, "she addressed a petition to thee, the emperor, and thou didst
grant the petition." In other passages the writer addresses the two
emperors, from which we must conclude that the Apology was directed to
them. Eusebius (E.H. iv. 18) states that the second Apology was
addressed to the successor of Antoninus Pius, and he names him Antoninus
Verus, meaning M. Antoninus. In one passage of this second Apology (c.
8), Justinus, or the writer, whoever he may be, says that even men who
followed the Stoic doctrines, when they ordered their lives according to
ethical reason, were hated and murdered, such as Heraclitus, Musonius in
his own times, and others; for all those who in any way labored to live
according to reason and avoided wickedness were always hated; and this
was the effect of the work of daemons.
[A] Orosius, vii. 14, says that Justinus the philosopher
presented to Antonius Pius his work in defence of the Christian
religion, and made him merciful to the Christians.
Justinus himself is said to have been put to death at Rome, because he
refused to sacrifice to the gods. It cannot have been in the reign of
Hadrian, as one authority states; nor in the time of Antoninus Pius, if
the second Apology was written in the time of M. Antoninus; and there is
evidence that this event took place under M. Antoninus and L. Verus,
when Rusticus was praefect of the city.[A]
[A] See the Martyrium Sanctorum Justini, &c., in the works of
Justinus, ed. Otto, vol. ii. 559. "Junius Rusticus Praefectus
Urbi erat sub imperatoribus M. Aurelio et L. Vero, id quod
liquet ex Themistii Orat. xxxiv Dindorf. p. 451, et ex quodam
illorum rescripto, Dig. 49. 1. I, � 2" (Otto). The rescript
contains the words "Junium Rusticum amicum nostrum Praefectum
Urbi." The Martyrium of Justinus and others is written in
Greek. It begins, "In the time of the wicked defenders of
idolatry impious edicts were published against the pious
Christians both in cities and country places, for the purpose
of compelling them to make offerings to vain idols. Accordingly
the holy men (Justinus, Chariton, a woman Charito, Paeon,
Liberianus, and others) were brought before Rusticus, the
praefect of Rome."
The Martyrium gives the examination of the accused by Rusticus.
All of them professed to be Christians. Justinus was asked if
he expected to ascend into heaven and to receive a reward for
his sufferings, if he was condemned to death. He answered that
he did not expect: he was certain of it. Finally, the test of
obedience was proposed to the prisoners; they were required to
sacrifice to the gods. All refused, and Rusticus pronounced the
sentence, which was that those who refused to sacrifice to the
gods and obey the emperor's order should be whipped and
beheaded according to the law. The martyrs were then led to the
usual place of execution and beheaded. Some of the faithful
secretly carried off the bodies and deposited them in a fit
place.
The persecution in which Polycarp suffered at Smyrna belongs to the time
of M. Antoninus. The evidence for it is the letter of the church of
Smyrna to the churches of Philomelium and the other Christian churches,
and it is preserved by Eusebius (E.H. iv. 15). But the critics do not
agree about the time of Polycarp's death, differing in the two extremes
to the amount of twelve years. The circumstances of Polycarp's martyrdom
were accompanied by miracles, one of which Eusebius (iv. 15) has
omitted, but it appears in the oldest Latin version of the letter, which
Usher published, and it is supposed that this version was made not long
after the time of Eusebius. The notice at the end of the letter states
that it was transcribed by Caius from the copy of Irenaeus, the disciple
of Polycarp, then transcribed by Socrates at Corinth; "after which I
Pionius again wrote it out from the copy above mentioned, having
searched it out by the revelation of Polycarp, who directed me to it,"
&c. The story of Polycarp's martyrdom is embellished with miraculous
circumstances which some modern writers on ecclesiastical history take
the liberty of omitting.[A]
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|