The History of Persecution (eBook)

SECT. V.
Persecutions under the Romans.

The very civil constitution of Rome was founded upon persecuting principles. BTertullian28 tells us, “that it was an ancient decree that no emperor should consecrate a new god, unless he was approved by the senate;” and one of the standing laws of the republic was to this effect, as Cicero29 gives it: “that no one should have separately new gods, no nor worship privately foreign gods, unless admitted by the commonwealth.” This law he endeavours to vindicate by reason and the light of nature, by adding,30 “that for persons to worship their own, or new, or foreign gods, would be to introduce confusion and strange ceremonies in religion.” So true a friend was this eminent Roman, and great master of reason, to uniformity of worship; and so little did he see the equity, and indeed necessity of an universal toleration in matters of religion. Upon this principle, after he had reasoned well against the false notions of God that had obtained amongst his countrymen, and the public superstitions of religion, he concludes with what was enough to destroy the force of all his arguments:31 “It is the part of a wise man to defend the customs of his ancestors, by retaining their sacred rites and ceremonies.” Thus narrow was the foundation of the Roman religion, and thus inconsistent the sentiments of the wisest heathens with all the principles of toleration and universal liberty.

And agreeable to this settlement they constantly acted. A remarkable instance of which we have in Livy, the Roman historian; he tells us,32 “that such a foreign religion spread itself over the city, that either men or the gods seemed entirely changed; that the Roman rites were not only forsaken in private, and within the houses, but that even publicly, in the forum and capitol, great numbers of women flocked together, who neither sacrificed nor prayed to the gods, according to the manner of their ancestors.—This first excited the private indignation of good men, till at length it reached the fathers, and became a public complaint. The senate greatly blamed the Ædiles and capital Triumvirs, that they did not prohibit them; and when they endeavoured to drive away the multitude from the forum, and to throw down the things they had provided for performing their sacred rites, they were like to be torn in pieces. And when the evil grew too great to be cured by inferior magistrates, the senate ordered M. Atilius, the prætor of the city, to prevent the people’s using these religions.” He accordingly published this decree of the senate, that “whoever had any fortune-telling books, or prayers, or ceremonies about sacrifices written down, they should bring all such books and writings to him, before the calends of April; and that no one should use any new or foreign rite of sacrificing in any public or sacred place.”

Mecenas,33 in his Advice to Augustus, says to him: “Perform divine worship in all things exactly according to the custom of your ancestors, and compel others to do so also; and as to those who make any innovations in religion, hate and punish them; and that not only for the sake of the gods, but because those who introduce new deities, excite others to make changes in civil affairs. Hence conspiracies, seditions, and riots, things very dangerous to government.” Accordingly Suetonius, in his life of this prince,34 gives him this character: “that though he religiously observed the ancient prescribed ceremonies, yet he contemned all other foreign ones; and commended Caius, for that passing by Judea, he would not pay his devotions at Jerusalem.” He also, as the same author tells us,35 made a law, very much resembling our test act, by which he commanded, “that before any of the senators should take their places in council, they should offer frankincense and wine upon the altar of that god in whose temple they met.” It was no wonder therefore that Christianity, which was so perfectly contrary to the whole system of pagan theology, should be looked upon with an evil eye; or that when the number of Christians increased, they should incur the displeasure of the civil magistrate, and the censure of the penal laws that were in force against them.

The first public persecution of them by the Romans was begun by that monster of mankind, Nero; who to clear himself of the charge of burning Rome, endeavoured to fix the crime on the Christians; and having thus falsely and tyrannically made them guilty, he put them to death by various methods of exquisite cruelty. But though this was the pretence for this barbarity towards them, yet it evidently appears from undoubted testimonies, that they were before hated upon account of their religion, and were therefore fitter objects to fall a sacrifice to the resentment and fury of the tyrant. For CTacitus tells us,36 “that they were hated for their crimes.” And what these were, he elsewhere sufficiently informs us, by calling their religion “an execrable superstition.” In like manner Suetonius, in his life of Nero, speaking of the Christians, says, “they were a set of men who had embraced a new and accursed superstition.” And ïtherefore Tacitus farther informs us,37 that those who confessed themselves Christians, “were condemned, not so much for the crime of burning the city, as for their being hated by all mankind.” So that it is evident from these accounts, that it was through popular hatred of them for their religion, that they were thus sacrificed to the malice and fury of Nero. Many of them he dressed up in the skins of wild beasts, that they might be devoured by dogs. Others he crucified. Some he cloathed in garments of pitch and burnt them, that by their flames he might supply the absence of the day-light.

The persecution begun by Nero was revived, and carried on by Domitian, who put some to death, and banished others upon account of their religion. Eusebius mentions Flavia Domitilla,38 neice to Flavius Clemens, then consul, as banished for this reason to the island Pontia. Dion the historian’s account of this affair is somewhat different. He tells us,39 “that Fabius Clemens, the consul, Domitian’s cousin, who had married Flavia Domitilla, a near relation of Domitian, was put to death by him, and Domitilla banished to Pandataria, being both accused of atheism; and that on the same account many who had embraced the Jewish rites were likewise condemned, some of whom were put to death, and others had their estates confiscated.” I think this account can belong to no other but the Christians, whom Dion seems to have confounded with the Jews; a mistake into which he and others might naturally fall, because the first Christians were Jews, and came from the land of Judea. The crime with which these persons were charged, was atheism; the crime commonly imputed to Christians, because they refused to worship the Roman deities. And as there are no proofs, that Domitian ever persecuted the Jews upon account of their religion, nor any intimation of this nature in Josephus, who finished his Antiquities towards the latter end of Domitian’s reign; I think the account of Eusebius, which he declares he took from writers, who were far from being friends to Christianity, is preferable to that of Dion’s; and that therefore these persecutions by Domitian were upon account of Christianity. However, they did not last long; for as Eusebius tells us,40 he put a stop to them by an edict in their favour. Tertullian41 also affirms the same; and adds, that he recalled those whom he had banished. So that though this is reckoned by ecclesiastical writers as the second persecution, it doth not appear to have been general, or very severe. Domitian42 also expelled all the philosophers from Rome and Italy.

Under Trajan, otherwise a most excellent prince, began the third persecution, in the 14th year of his reign. In answer to a letter of Pliny, he ordered: “that the Christians should not be sought after, but that if they were accused and convicted of being Christians they should be punished; such only excepted as should deny themselves to be Christians, and give an evident proof of it by worshipping his gods.” These were to receive pardon upon this their repentance, how much soever they might have been suspected before. From this imperial rescript it is abundantly evident, that this persecution of the Christians by Trajan was purely on the score of their religion, because he orders, that whosoever was accused and convicted of being a Christian should be punished with death, unless he renounced his profession, and sacrificed to the gods. All that was required, says Tertullian,43 was “merely to confess the name, without any cognizance being taken of any crime.” Pliny himself, in his letter to the emperor, acquits them of every thing of this nature, and tells him, “that all they acknowledged was, that their whole crime or error consisted in this, that at stated times they were used to meet before day-light, and to sing an hymn to Christ as God; and that they bound themselves by an oath not to commit any wickedness, such as thefts, robberies, adulteries, and the like.” And to be assured of the truth of this, he put two maids to the torture, and after examining them, found them guilty of nothing but “a wicked and unreasonable superstition.” This is the noblest vindication of the purity and innocency of the Christian assemblies, and abundantly justifies the account of Eusebius,44 from Hegesippus: “that the church continued until these...