from a pastor in divine things, have often an affection for him, of which the world has no idea. The last moments of a faint are absorbed in divine things, compared with which, the lofs of empire weighed as nothing in the mind of Gratian,

for his life. It was with great difficulty, that he could procure admiffion into the royal prefence, where he prevailed at length, by his importunate folicitations, and faved the life of the condemned perfon.

СНА Р.

CHAP. XIV.

THE HERESY OF PRISCILLIAN-THE CONDUCT OF MARTIN-THE PROGRESS OF SUPERSTI, TION.

I JOIN these fubjects together, to connect the ecclefiaftical information of Sulpitius Severus, an historian who belongs to this period, an Aquitanian of great learning, and who wrote a fummary of Church-history, which he extended to his own times. What he records of tranfactions which paffed within his own memory, and alfo what he collected by information of other parts of the empire, may deserve to be very briefly reviewed. Very little fhall we find adapted to our purpose; the deep decline of evangelical purity will be the chief discovery we fhall make; and he will thus make my apology for evidencing fo little of the fpirit of Christianity at this period, because so little

is to be found.

The Prifcillianifts, an heretical fect, who seem to have combined all the moft pernicious herefies of former times, had already appeared in the time of Gratian, and infected the greatest part of Spain. Prifcillian himself, whose character is defcribed by the claffical pen of Sulpitius with much elegance and energy*, was exactly fitted for the office which he filled; learned, eloquent, factious, acute, of great powers both of body and mind, and by a fpurious modesty and gravity of manners, extremely well qualified to maintain an ascendancy over weak and credulous fpirits. Idacius and Ithacius, the one an aged prefbyter, the other bishop of Soffuba, applied to the fecular power, in order, that by the decrees of the

Sulp. Sev. p. 419.

the magiftrates the heretics might be expelled from the cities. The Prifcillianifts endeavoured to gain friends in Italy; but their corruptions were too glaring to procure them any countenance either from Damafus of Rome, or from Ambrofe of Milan.

On the death of Gratian, Maximus the ufurper entered victorious into Treves. While Ithacius earnestly preffed him against the Prifcillianifts, the Herefiarch himself appealed to Maximus, who took upon himself the office of deciding. Sulpi tius very properly obferves, that both parties were highly culpable; the heretics in fpreading notions entirely fubverfive of Chriftianity, and their accu. fers in fubferving only their own factious and selfish

views.

In the mean time, Martin bishop of Tours, blamed Ithacius for bringing the heretics as criminals before the emperor; and intreated Maximus to abstain from the blood of the unhappy men; he said, it was abundantly fufficient, that having been judged heretics by the fentence of the bishops, they were expelled from the churches, and that it was a new and unheard evil, for a fecular judge to interfere in matters purely ecclefiaftical. These were Chriftian fentiments; and deserved to be here mentioned, as describing an honest, though unsuccessful refistance made to the first attempt, which appeared in the church, of punishing herefy with death. I fcarce know any thing more difagreeable to the spirit of a really good man, than to think of punishing capitally perfons whom he is conftrained to believe are walking the broad road to eternal destruction. He has no need to enter into the political arguments against it, which are fashionable in the mouths of infidels. He has much more weighty, reasons against perfecution, drawn from the genius

of

of his own religion. To do what in him lies to prevent the converfion of a finner by fhortning his days-how contrary is this to the spirit of him, who came not to deftroy men's lives but to fave them!

Yet there were found men at this time capable of fuch enormity, and it marks the degeneracy of the age. But Chrift had still a church in the weft, and Martin perfevered with fuch pious zeal in oppofing the hitherto unheard of innovation, and was himself fo much refpected for his piety and integrity, that he prevailed at first, and the ufurper promifed, that he would not proceed to blood against the heretics. Two bishops, Magnus and Rufus, however, changed his refolution afterwards, and he referred the cause to Euodius the prefect, who after he had found them guilty, (and they appear to have been defiled with all the impurities of the antient Gnoftics) committed them to custody, and referred them again to the emperor. Prifcillian in the if- A.D. fue was put to death, and four other leaders of his 384. fect. A few more were condemned to die, or to be banished. The herefy was not extinguished by this means; for fifteen years after the contention was extreme between the parties; Prifcillian was honoured as a martyr; Christianity never received a greater fcandal, though like all the reft, undeferved from the mouths of its enemies; and men, who feared God, and loved moderation and charity, wept and prayed in fecret, despised and difregarded by the two parties, who trampled on all the rules of godliness. In the mean time the selfish and worldly paffions triumphed in Spain, and though the form of orthodoxy prevailed, it was evident, that the power was reduced almoft to the brink of deftruction.

Let us attend to our business, and catch the face of the church, if we can. We fee her in Ambrose,

who

who coming to Maximus on an embaffy from the younger Valentinian, refufed to hold communion with his bishops, who had been concerned in the deaths of the heretics. Maximus, enraged, ordered him to withdraw. Ambrofe entered upon his journey very readily, being only grieved to find an old bishop, Hyginus, dragged into exile, through it was evident that he was very near his end. The generous bishop of Milan applied to fome of the courtiers to furnish him with conveniences*; but in vain. A number of holy men, who protested against these barbarities, were themselves afperfed with the charge of herefy, and among the reft Martin of Tours. Thus in Gaul and Spain there were three parties; firft, the Prifcillianifts, men void of godliness evidently, and bearing the Chriftian name to difgrace it with a complication of herefies; fecondly, men of formal orthodoxy, who perfecuted the Prifcillianifts even to death, and ruined them as a fect, at the fame time that they themselves difgraced the Gospel by a life of avarice, faction, and ambition; and thirdly, men who feared God and ferved him in the Gospel of his Son, condemning the principles of the former by argument only, and the practices of the latter by their meek and charitable conduct. A divifion of men, not uncommon in the church of Chrift; but let it be remembered, that the last fort are the true branches of the mystical vine, and are alone to be regarded as belonging to our hiftory.

Martin was born at Ticinum in Italy, and in his youth had ferved in the army under Conftantius and Julian; but against his will. His father, by profeffion a foldier, had compelled him. For he himself, when only ten years old, went to the church, and gave in his name as a catechumen. At twelve

Ambrofe, Ep. 27. + A candidate for baptifm.

he