163 CHAPTER VII. VIRTUES AND MANNERS OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS. BEFORE the knowledge of the truths of the Gospel had spread much among the wealthy and great, and even some time after it had gained ground among these classes, so long as it continued to bring down trials and sufferings upon those who followed after it, the Christian character was remarkable for many virtues, the very opposite of what the heathens considered to be virtues. And indeed, even in the present state of things, when all, however unworthy, are Christians in name, we shall find those that are Christians indeed marked by the same disregard for worldly things, the same temperance, soberness, and chastity, the same humbleness of mind, and the same courage and patience in all afflictions, as distinguished the first believers in the name of Christ. A few instances of these virtues, (which, though they make but little show in the world, are of great price in the sight of God,) as they were displayed by the early Christians, may be at once interesting and improving. One cause which freed them from many temptations under which they might otherwise have fallen, was their total disregard for worldly matters. It was not merely the saying of one of their teachers, but the principle upon which they acted, that "what related to the spirit was their own, while what related to the world was another's,-a thing in which they had no interest." When Agatha, a virgin martyr, was asked, why, being the child of such rich and noble. parents, she would stoop to such low and mean offices as she took upon her*, she replied, "Our glory and our nobility lies in this,—that we are the servants of Christ.' When the emperor Domitian was told that there were some of Christ's kindred remaining in Judea, he being, like Herod, afraid of the seed of David, ordered them to be brought before him. They were grandsons of St. Jude, who is called one of the brethren of the Lord, (Matt. xiii. 55,) and upon their confessing themselves to be of the race of David, they were asked what were their possessions. They said that they had among them about thirty-nine acres of land, out of the produce of which they paid their tribute, and supported themselves by their own labour, in proof of which they showed Domitian their hands, all rough and hardened with toil. He then asked them about Christ and the state of His kingdom, and when they said that it was not of this world, but heavenly and angelical, the emperor, cruel monster as he was, nevertheless let them go without hurting them, thinking them beneath his noticet. And * It was customary for zealous Christian women to attend upon the martyrs in prison, and minister to their wants. + It may be observed, that those called in Scripture brethren of our Lord are generally supposed to have been his cousins, to which relations that name was often applied by the Jews. long after this, in the fourth century from Christ, when the Church was growing more worldly-minded, there were not wanting some who still were ready, if called upon, contentedly to forsake all for the truth's sake. Gregory of Nazianzum had been elected Bishop of Constantinople, but some noisy persons raised an opposition against him which caused much division in the assembly. Seeing this, he stood up, and begged the bishops, as preachers of peace to others, not to fall out among themselves; adding, "If I am the Jonas that raises the storm, throw me into the sea, and let these storms and tempests cease." And upon this he freely resigned his bishopric*. A heathen, and a great despiser of the Christians, has borne the following valuable witness to their disregard of worldly things. "It is not to be believed what expedition they (the Christians) use, when any of their friends are known to be in trouble. In a word, they spare nothing upon such an occasion;— for these miserable men have no doubt they shall be immortal and live for ever; therefore they despise death, and many surrender themselves to sufferings. Gregory, in the case above stated, acted according to the principles of Clement of Rome, the "fellow-labourer" of St. Paul, who says in his epistle to the Corinthians: "Who then amongst you is of a noble spirit? who is compassionate? who is full of charity?-let him say, If on my account sedition, and strife, and divisions arise, I will leave the country; I will go whithersoever you please, and will do what the people order me, only let the fold of Christ with its appointed priests be in peace." Moreover, their first lawgiver has taught them that they are all brethren, when once they have turned and renounced the gods of the Greeks, and worship this Master of theirs who was crucified, and engage to They have also a sove live according to His laws. reign contempt for all the things of this world, and look upon them as common." Nor was it only in respect of riches, or honour, or power, that the first believers cared not for the things of this world; they were ready quietly to give up the most endearing ties, if such was the Divine will. We read of mothers exhorting their children, and wives their husbands, in the midst of the fiery trials of martyrdom, to continue faithful even unto death. Origen, a person afterwards famous in the Christian world for his learning and writings, was quite a youth, when a dreadful persecution began, in which his father was a sufferer. The earnest wish of the young man was to become a martyr himself, but with great difficulty his mother contrived to disappoint in this respect his overflowing zeal. However, whilst his father was yet alive in the prison, Origen wrote him a letter with this simple, touching exhortation: "Beware, father, that you do not change your mind on our account." Such advice was not needed, as the father patiently endured death in a short time afterwards. Another story is told of a Christian lady, who, while her husband was lying dead, was suddenly deprived of two of her sons ; and when every one expected from her signs of the most violent grief, she stood still, and at last, falling down, as it were, at the feet of Christ only said: "Lord, I shall serve thee more quickly and readily, by being eased of the weight thou hast taken from me." It is said of Constantius, who, though not altogether a Christian emperor, was almost 'one, that he made this experiment. He ordered that all the officers and great men of his court should either sacrifice to the gods or else quit his service. Some of the Christians, to save their places, complied with this command, whilst others were firm, and would not give way. Upon this the shrewd emperor made his scheme known, and rewarded those who had continued resolute, but turned the others away, telling them that men who were false to their God would never be true to their king. It is in this way that we are tried by Heaven. Often does it seem so plainly for our present good to bend to circumstances, and depart somewhat from the strict line of duty, that men are apt to be misled into this sin. But as it proved with Constantius, so much more surely will it prove with God. He will sooner or later show us, either by rewarding our steadfastness or punishing our want of steadfastness, that, after all, honesty is the best policy, and the strait path of virtue the best and nearest way to the blessings we all desire. Urged at once by the strong warnings against worldlymindedness to be found in Scripture, and also lifted up above the world by their hard lot, which gave them |