prehended in this faying, Thou thalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of fleep: for now is our falvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore 'caft off the works of darknefs, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honeftly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in Arife and envying*."

Read this, and then think of exitiabilis fuperftitio!!-Or if we be not allowed, in contending with heathen authorities, to produce our books against theirs, we may at least be permitted to confront theirs with one another. Of this "pernicious fuperftition," what could Pliny find to blame, when he was led, by his office, to inftitute fomething like an examination into the conduct and

* Rom. xii. 9.-xiii. 13.

principles

principles of the fect? He difcovered nothing, but that they were wont to meet together on a stated day before it was light, and fing among themselves a hymn to Christ as a God, and to bind themfelyes by an oath, not to the commiffion of any wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, robbery, or adultery; never to falfify their word, nor to deny a pledge committed to them, when called upon to return it.

Upon the words of Tacitus we may build the following obfervations:

Firft, That we are well warranted in calling the view under which the learned men of that age beheld Christianity, an obscure and diftant view. Had Tacitus known more of Christianity, of its precepts, duties, conftitu tion or design, however he had discredited the story, he would have refpected the principle. He would have described the religion differently, though he had rejected it. It has been very fatisfactorily fhewn, that the "fuperftition" of the Chriftians confifted

in worshipping a perfon unknown to the Roman calendar; and that the "perniciouf nefs" with which they were reproached, was nothing else but their oppofition to the established polytheism: and this view of the matter was just such a one as might be expected to occur to a mind, which held the fect in too much contempt to concern itself about the grounds and reasons of their conduct.

Secondly, We may from hence remark, how little reliance can be placed upon the moft acute judgments, in fubjects which they are pleased to despise; and which, of course, they from the first consider as unworthy to be enquired into. Had not Christianity furvived to tell its own ftory, it must have gone down to pofterity as a "pernicious superstition ;" and that upon the credit of Tacitus's account, much, I doubt not, ftrengthened by the name of the writer, and the reputa tion of his fagacity.

Thirdly, That this contempt prior to examination,

examination, is an intellectual vice, from which the greatest faculties of mind are not free. I know not, indeed, whether men of the greatest faculties of mind are not the moft fubject to it. Such men feel themselves feated upon an eminence. Looking down from their height upon the follies of mankind, they behold contending tenets wafting their idle ftrength upon one another, with a common difdain of the abfurdity of them all. This habit of thought, however comfortable to the mind which entertains it, or however natural to great parts, is extremely dangerous; and more apt, than almost any other difpofition, to produce hafty and contemptuous, and, by consequence, erroneous judgements, both of persons and opinions.

Fourthly, We need not be furprised at many writers of that age not mentioning Christianity at all, when they who did mention it, appear to have entirely misconceived its nature and character; and, in confeVOL. II. Z quence

quence of this mifconception, to have regarded it with negligence and contempt.

To the knowledge of the greatest part of the learned heathens, the facts of the Chriftian history could only come by report. The books, probably, they had never looked into. The fettled habit of their minds was, and long had been, an indifcriminate rejection of all reports of the kind. With thefe fweeping conclufions truth hath no chance. It depends upon diftinction. If they would not enquire, how should they be convinced? It might be founded in truth, though they, who made no fearch, might not discover it.

"Men of rank and fortune, of wit and abilities, are often found, even in Christian countries, to be furprisingly ignorant of religion, and of every thing that relates to it. Such were many of the heathens. Their thoughts were all fixed upon other things, upon reputation and glory, upon wealth and power,