"saved, and escape the dreadful wrath of God. And there are other "islands which want water, and are filled with barren rocks, and, being uninhabitable, are destructive to sailors, and in which ships 66 are dashed to pieces, or are unfortunately detailed: so likewise are "there erroneous doctrines and heresies which destroy those who are "seduced and drawn aside by them." The most correct editions of his books to Autolychus, Mr. Butler says, are, that published by bishop Fell, at Oxford, in 1604; that given by John Christopher Wolf, at Hamburg, in 1724; and lastly, that of the Benedictins, with St. Justin's works.

The next learned father mentioned in the above cited note is Dionysius bishop of Corinth, who is stated to have written several treatises in defence of the truth. Eusebius mentions in his history several of the instructive letters of this prelate to other churches, cautioning them not to be led away by new and wild notions, but to stand stedfast to the doctrines received from the apostles. He also notices the letter of thanks to Soter, a passage of which is quoted in the note. But the editors of Fox do not tell us who Soter was. We are not informed whether he is a Christian pastor or a Heathen philosopher. By consulting however more authentic authors, we find this Soter to be no other than the twelfth bishop of Rome from St. Peter, and one of the three persons said to have succeeded "about this time" no one knew who, till we unravelled the mystery. By sending this letter of thanks, and informing the holy pope, that his epistle should be read for the exhortation of his flock, as also that of St. Clement, a predecessor of St. Soter in the papal chair, it is clear that the church of Corinth (as did all the other churches) acknowledged the primacy of the church of Rome. This is another weighty historical fact, which must be borne in mind by the reader who wishes to ascertain the truth. The editors of Fox admit that St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, following the example of St. Paul, whose epistle to that church makes part of the new testament. They admit that Dionysius informed St. Soter that this epistle was publicly read to the people; let us now see why it was sent. St. Clement is the person mentioned by St. Paul in his epistle to the Philippians, and was the third bishop of Rome after St. Peter. During his pontificate, some serious divisions arose among the Christians at Corinth, on which St. Clement wrote them an admonitory and instructive epistle, as head of the Christian church. He commences thus: "The church of God, which is at Rome, to that of "Corinth, to those that have been called and sanctified by the will of "God in our Lord Jesus Christ. May the grace and peace of God, “the Almighty, be increased by Christ Jesus in every one of you.' He then goes on to shew the evil state of anarchy and confusion, and exhorts them to unity in the following pathetic terms; "Why," asks the pontiff, "Why are there quarrels, why are there divisions among you? Have we not all the same God, the same Redeemer, the same Spirit, who has sanctified us by our vocation into ONE FAITH in "Christ Jesus? Why then do we divide his members, why do we tear our own body into pieces? For surely we can never forget that we are all members one of another," &c. This epistle was written about the year 96, and had the desired effect of healing the divisions lament

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ed. We see also that it is mentioned by Dionysius as being still read in his time, that is nearly a hundred years after it was penned. It may here be observed, that there is a variation between the version given by Fox's editors of the letter written by Dionysius to the church of Rome, and that given by Butler in his life of this saint. The latter gives it thus from Eusebius : “ From the beginning it is your cus"tom to bestow your alms in all places, and to furnish subsistence to many churches. You send relief to the needy, especially those who "work in the mines; in which you follow the example of your fathers. "Your blessed bishop Soter is so far from degenerating from your an"cestors in that respect, that he goes beyond them; not to mention "the comfort and advice he, with the bowels of a tender father to"wards his children, affords all that comes to him. On this day we " celebrated the LORD'S DAY, (Fox's editors say, the holy dominical day) “and read your letter, as we do that which was heretofore written to "us by Clement."

The reader will here see the great and unbounded charity of the primitive Christians, who thought it nothing to divest themselves of every thing to succour their distressed or oppressed neighbours. Before we quit this subject we must direct the attention of the reader to the admission made by these editors, that before the time of Dionysius, they find no mention made by any writer, except St. Justin, of the transfer of the sabbath-day from the last to the first day of the week. How then was it so universally known and adopted, since it was neither mentioned in Scripture or by writers for near two hundred years after the Christian religion was first established? This is an important question, reader; for on it hangs the rejected doctrine, by Protestants, of tradition. The only answer that can be given is, that it was handed down by word of mouth-it was communicated from father to son-it was received with the light of truth, and its notoriety carried conviction with it. What absurdity must it then be, to deny the necessity of tradition in one instance when we are obliged to admit it in another.

THE FIFTH GENERAL PERSECUTION UNDER THE ROMAN EMPERORS.

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The Christians during the reigns of the emperors Commodus, Pertinax, and Julianus, Fox tells us, had a respite for several years from persecution. Severus, too, he says, at the beginning of his reign, became a great favourer of the Christians, "but the prejudice and fury of "the ignorant multitude again prevailed, and the obsolete laws were put in execution against the Christians. The Pagans were alarmed at "the progress of Christianity, and revived the calumny of placing acci"dental misfortunes to the account of its professors.' Why, yes, this is the usual way with those who are on the wrong side of the post, and especially when they have power in their hands. We are old enough to remember something of "Protestant-ascendency" about the year 1778, when a little favour was manifested by Parliament towards the persecuted and oppressed Catholics of this country. How the prejudices of the ignorant maltitude were then wrought upon by wicked and illdesigning men may be seen by consulting impartial history. The fury

of the people was inflamed to such a degree that in the year 1780, it was dangerous for a Catholic to be publicly known as such, and the metropolis of England was threatened with destruction by a lawless and fanatical mob. But let us examine the martyrs set down by Fox as suffering in this persecution.

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The first is thus recorded: "Victor, bishop of Rome, suffered martyrdom in the first year of the third century, A. D. 201, though the "circumstances are not ascertained."-Four paragraphs further on he adds:"Victor, the bishop of Rome, wanting to impose a particular "mode of keeping Easter there, it occasioned some disorders among "the Christians. In particular Irenæus wrote him a synodical epistle "in the name of the Gallic churches. This zeal in favour of Chris"tianity pointed him (Irenæus) out as an object of resentment to the emperor, and he was accordingly beheaded in A. D. 202." From this account the reader is led to suppose, by the introduction of the adverb " there," that this bishop of Rome meditated an innovation in the practice of the church in his own particular diocess, and that the zeal of St. Irenæus, in resisting this attempt of the holy pope, brought the wrath of the heathen emperor upon him, and was the cause of his martyrdom. But a moment of reflection must shew the absurdity of this story of John Fox. Victor is stated to have been the first sufferer, as he was martyred in 201, and Irenæus was not put to death till the year following. How then could his "zeal in favour of Christianity," in opposing the bishop of Rome, who is also stated to have been a godly martyr for Christianity, point him out as an object of resentment to the heathen emperor? Can any one be so besotted as to imagine that this emperor, who was intent upon the destruction of Christianity, cared one jot about the disputes between the head and members of the system? No man of common sense, we are sure, will entertain such an idea. What would it interest Protestant-ascendency" at this day, whether Easter was kept by the Catholics at one time in Ireland and at another in England, and that one of the bishops of that church was more zealous in arguing the question than any of the others? The intolerant spirit of "Protestant-ascendency" is opposed to the whole system of Catholicism, not to an individual member or abstract part of it, and so it was with Pagan ascendency in the time of the heathen emperors. St. Irenæus was an object of resentment, not for disputing with the bishop of Rome, but for his great abilities and influence in converting the Pagans from their idolatrous superstitions to the divine truths of the Catholic church.

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Mr. Echard, in his Ecclesiastical History, says, "The Christian religion had now (A. D. 201) diffused itself through all the known parts of the world; but more fully and triumphantly in the vast Roman empire, where it was most violently opposed, and met with the "most terrible conflicts. Christians were now in the cities, towns and villages, in the camp, in the senate, in the palace, and in all places, "besides the Pagan temples and theatres; and that in such numbers " and multitudes, that Tertullian assures us, that if they had unanimously retired to any other country, the empire would have become "a mere desert and solitude." This astonishing progress of an indivi sible and undeviating rule of faith among all ranks of people, and of

For's Book of Martyrs,

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all nations, notwithstanding the horrid persecutions of the Pagans, the malice of the Jews, and the treacherous attacks of heretics, must, we think, carry conviction of its divine nature, and be considered a proof of the existence of an omnipotent and all-powerful Being. The holy pope Victor was a very watchful guardian of this divine faith, detecting and condemning many heresies that sprung up in his pontificate. He also wished to bring about an uniformity in the time of celebrating Easter, but not to impose a particular mode of keeping it, as the Book of Martyrs insinuates. At this time Mr. Butler writes, "the "churches of Lesser Asia kept it with the Jews on the 14th day of "the first moon after the vernal equinox, on whatever day of the week "it fell. The Roman church, and all the rest of the world, kept Easter always on the Sunday immediately following the fourteenth day." This was a matter of discipline, and not of faith, but still unity was

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considered necessary, and Victor was desirous to effect it. Pope Anicetus allowed the Asiatics to follow their own custom even at Rome; but Soter required that when at Rome they should do as Rome did. Several councils were held in different parts of the world, and the décisions were in favour of the Roman custom. Some of the Asiatic bishops, however, defended their custom, as derived from St. Philip, St. John the evangelist, and St. Polycarp. Victor, seeing them obstinate, thought to bring them round by excommunication, from which he was dissuaded by St. Irenæus, and died soon after. This is the correct history of the affair of keeping Easter, so far as Victor was concerned, which Fox would make us believe was an attempt at imposition on the part of this pope, and the cause of St. Irenæus's martyrdom. After the death of Victor, Fox places "Leonidas, the father of the " celebrated Origen, beheaded for being a Christian." Next follows a confused account of other martyrs, of whose names and sufferings we can trace no account in the authors before us. Then comes the following paragraph: "Irenæus, bishop of Lyons, was born in Greece, "and received a Christian education. It is generally supposed that "the account of the persecutions at Lyons was written by himself. "He succeeded the martyr Pothinus as bishop of Lyons, and ruled his "diocess with great propriety; he was a zealous opposer of heresies in general, and wrote a celebrated tract against heresy about A. D. 187." Here then we have it acknowledged by John Fox, that this "godly "martyr" was not only an orthodox Christian, but likewise " a zea"lous opposer of heresies in general, and wrote a celebrated tract "against heresy." Now, as heresy is defined by Dr. Johnson to be, An opinion of private men different from that of the Catholic and orthodox church," John Fox and his editors, the "few plain Christians," who tell the public, in their address, that they "have united "themselves for the purpose of diffusing among their fellow-believers "a KNOWLEDGE and LOVE of the GENUINE PRINCIPLES OF "CHRISTIANITY, and CONSEQUENTLY (they add), a hatred and "abhorrence of the crimes and corruptions of POPERY and its professors,' ought most certainly to have pointed out WHAT THE DOCTRINES WERE that this "zealous opposer of heresies in general" defended. For how can their fellow-believers obtain a 66 knowledge of the genuine "principles of Christianity," unless they are laid down before them for their information? And how can they "love" these principles while they are ignorant of them? To tell the reader that this martyr wrote a "celebrated tract against heresy," without telling him the substance of the work, is saying nothing; it is leaving him as much in the dark as ever. But unfortunately this system of suppression, where information is essentially necessary to obtain a knowledge of truth, has been invariably followed by the adversaries of Catholicism, until the people of this country have been cheated out of their faith, and their understandings bewildered, while they imagine themselves gifted. with a superiority of intellectual wisdom above their fellow creatures. Fox says Irenæus wrote a "tract," which means a small book, against heresy in general. Now the fact is, this work was a very elaborate one, and consisted of five books. In the first the learned father and martyr gives a long list of heresies. In the second he confutes them

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