of the Temple; while John of Gischala, who had obstinately resisted he Romans in Galilee, occupied the rest of the building, now converted into a fortress. When Titus advanced to the siege, Jerusalem was crowded with people from all quarters, who had come up to celebrate the passover; and they soon became a prey to the most horrible famine recorded in history, so that vermin, grass, and leather, were held a luxury, and sold at a high price. From the middle of April to the first of July, not fewer than 115,880 dead bodies were flung out at one gate of the city; the whole number thus disposed of is reckoned at 600,000; and after an unexampled siege of six months, the city was reduced, A. D. 70. "The destruction of Jerusalem exceeded all which God or man ever brought upon the world." Exclusive of those who perished in caves and woods, and in the vaults of Jerusalem, 1,364,000 are computed by Lipsius to have fallen in the war; 97,000 were taken prisoners; and 11,000 sullenly starved themselves to death. Titus, we are told, called God to witness that he was not the author of their calamities. In perusing the melancholy details of Josephus, it is impossible to resist the conviction, that in these awful transactions the hand of the Almighty was punishing a guilty people, and requiring from them the righteous blood of Christ, which they had invoked upon their heads, crying-"HIS BLOOD BE ON US, AND ON OUR CHILDREN!"

Read: Milman's History of the Jews; Huie's History of the Jews.

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH.

THE MESSIAHI. During a season of profound peace, in the reign of Augustus, when there was a general expectation that some great personage was about to appear, the time arrived for the redemption of the human race,-promised at the fall of man, predicted by all the prophets, typified by all the ceremonies of the ancient law, and earnestly desired by all just men. In the "fulness of time" JESUS CHRIST was born at Bethlehem. He escaped from the murderous rage of Herod, and for nearly thirty years lived an obscure life at Nazareth. At length, entering on his public ministry, he began to teach, in the reign of Tiberius, throughout all Judæa, confirming his divine mission by the purity of his life, the sublimity of his doctrines, and his miraculous powers. The Jews, who had looked for an earthly conqueror, refused to listen to the lowly Galilean, and procured his condemnation and execution as a criminal, 3d April, a. d. 30.

After the resurrection and ascension of our Saviour, the Christian religion spread rapidly under the ministry of the apostles and their converts. They preached throughout all the Roman empire the sublime truths revealed to them by their divine Master, and established churches in three quarters of the world. The name of Christian was first used at Antioch, A. D. 40. The four gospels contain the history of the Redeemer's life and doctrines, and were written in the order in which they stand, between A. D. 37 and 98.

CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH.

The first Christian societies or churches were formed, as far as circumstances would permit, on the model of the synagogue, were governed by deacons, and sometimes deaconesses, who were charged with the distribution of alms; elder

(presbyters or priests) exercised a right of censure over private individuals, bu their functions originally were not connected with religious instructions; and bishops (episcopi, overseers), the associates in the labours and the successors of the apostles. The bishop administered the sacraments and maintained the discipline of the church, superintended the daily increasing religious ceremonies, directed the funds, and arbitrated in the disputes of the faithful.*

Persecution forced the different communities to unite each round the nearest centre, generally some populous and neighbouring town; such was the origin of a diocese. The same necessity compelled the bishops of the country towns to unite with the capital of the province, and thus a metropolis was formed. This institution confirmed a custom which dates from the end of the second century, that of synods or councils, provincial meetings held in spring and

autumn.

FIRST PERSECUTION, A. D. 64.—The progress of the new doctrines brought down upon their professors the rage of the Jews and the cruel torments of Nero. The year A. D. 64 was an eventful epoch in the Christian Church. The dreadful conflagration which threatened with ruin the Eternal City was considered as the judgment of offended deities, to appease whom the followers of the Christian religion were exposed to the severest tortures. "Some of them (says the pagan Tacitus) were covered over with the skins of wild beasts, that they might be torn to pieces by dogs; some were crucified, while others, having been daubed over with combustible materials, were set up for lights in the night-time, and thus burnt to death." The apostles Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom in this persecution, which appears to have been principally confined to the capital, where the latter of these faithful men became the victim of imperial rage.†

SECOND PERSECUTION.-For nearly 30 years after the death of Nero, the Christians were allowed to live undisturbed; and their numbers had multiplied considerably, when the gloomy tyrant Domitian began the second persecution, A. D. 95. It is probable that the emperor acted through fear, since there is a singular story related of an edict issued by him fc the extermination of the whole family of David. Some descendants of our Lord's brethren still survived, and were brought before the tribunal of the procurator of Judæa, but, after examination, they were dismissed as too humble to be dangerous to the authority of Rome. The apprehensions of Domitian were aroused by the appearance of danger from a nearer quarter. One of his cousins-german, the consul Flavius Clemens, being suddenly accused of atheism and Jewish manners, the common charge against Christians, was put to death, and his wife, Domitilla, the emperor's niece, was banished. Tertullian relates that St. John was miraculously delivered unhurt from a vessel of flaming oil, into which he had been cast by the orders of the tyrant. He was afterwards banished to the isle of Patmos, on the western coast of Asia Minor, where he committed to writing his sublime Book of Revelation.

*The apostolic succession of the bishops appears to be undeniable, but the extent and nature of their authority are altogether uncertain. It should, moreover, be observed that the term "successors of the apostles" can be applied to them in a very limited signification only.

† Count Stolberg, a Romanist writer, brings Peter to Rome at the beginning of Nero's reign, but denies that the apostle founded the Christian church in that city. It is, however, more than questionable if St. Peter ever was at Rome. Lightfoot positively asserts that he lived and died in Chaldæa. Milman endeavours to reconcile testimony and tradition by the theory of two churches, a Petrine and a Pauline, a Judaising and a Hel lenising community.

Ten great persecutions of the early Christian church are recorded by nistorians; we shall treat of them as they occur, but it may be convenient to arrange their epochs together:

3d PERSECUTION, A. D. 106, under Trajan.

4th PERSECUTION, A. D. 166, under Marcus Aurelius.

5th PERSECUTION, A. D. 202, under Severus. 6th PERSECUTION, A. D. 235, under Maximin.

7th PERSECUTION, A. D. 250, under Decius.

8th PERSECUTION, A. D. 258, under Valerian.

9th PERSECUTION, A. D. 272, under Aurelian.

10th PERSECUTION, A. D. 303, under Diocletian and Maximian.

Read: Milman's Hist. of Christianity; Milner's Hist. of the Church of Christ

In the years 55 and 54 B. C., Julius Cæsar invaded this island, but his two campaigns were indecisive, and the country maintained its inde pendence until A. D. 43, when the Emperor Claudius in person, and afterwards the generals Plautius and Vespasian, compelled various tribes to acknowledge the majesty of Rome. The last of these commanders fought thirty battles before he could subdue the inhabitants, and Caractacus opposed Plautius during five years with varying success. This brave chief of the Silures being without allies, his army was at last defeated with great slaughter, and he himself taken prisoner and carried to Rome. Suetonius endeavoured to destroy the Druids who had taken refuge in the isle of Anglesey, and quelled a formidable insurrection headed by the celebrated Boadicea, A. D. 61, which cost the lives of 150,000 men. In the course of seven years, 78-85, the power of the empire was firmly established by Agricola: he subdued the natives as far north as the Forth, and also defeated Galgacus and his Caledonians at the foot of their native Grampians. Rutilius has said, with equal beauty and truth, that Rome embraced the whole world in her legislative triumphs, causing all to live under a common bond; that she blended discordant nations into one; and that, by offering to the conquered a full companionship in her privileges, she made the earth one united city. With these principles Agricola endeavoured to civilize the island, by inspiring the barbarians with a love of letters, and by the introduction of the Roman dress, language, and luxurious manners. Four legions were stationed in Britain, and as many great roads facilitated the communication between distant points.

The most ancient inhabitants of the country appear to have been the Cymry, from whom the Welsh are descended; and these were followed