to him, but that he carried his inquisitive temper to excess. His successor the second Antoninus owns, that he was religious without superstition, and that he was not superstitious in the worship of the gods. This we have in his stoical meditations still extant.* We cannot therefore doubt but that he had an opportunity of knowing what christianity was. He knew something of it, and he approved of the moral conduct of christians. He gives them the most honourable character, has no fear of them as disloyal or turbulent, and makes comparisons between them and Pagans to the advantage of the former. From an expression in the edict, " if they "be able," one is almost tempted to suspect, that he had very little internal respect for the gods. Were there no God, no divine Providence, and no future state, the virtue of this man would doubtless be com plete. But his case shews, that it is possible, by the united influence of good sense and good temper, for a man to be extremely beneficent to his fellow creatures, without the least regard to his Maker. Surely were christianity and mere moral virtue the same things, Antoninus ought to be called a christian. Yet it does not appear that he ever seriously studied the gospel. A skeptical carelessness and indifference, not unlike that temper which, under the names of candour and moderation, has now overspread the face of Europe, seems to have possessed the mind of this amiable prince; and while he attended to the temporal good of mankind, and felicitated himself on his good actions, he seemed to forget that he had a soul accountable to the Supreme Being, and scarce to think it possible, that it should have any guilt to answer for before him. The evil of such a contempt of God is what mankind are of all things least inclined to discern. Yet it is the evil of all others the most vehemently opposed in scripture under the several branches of idolatry, unbelief, self-righteousness, and pride. And without a knowledge of it, and a humble sense of guilt on account of it, the very na B. 6. ch. 30. ture of the gospel itself cannot be understood. The conclusion resulting from this consideration is, that godliness is perfectly distinct from morality, which always flourishes indeed where godliness is, but is capable of a separate existence. 3. The edict of this good emperor is a singularly valuable testimony in favour of the christians of that time. It appears that there were then a race of men devoted to the service of Christ, ready to die for his name and on account of his religion, rather than to renounce it, who exemplified the superior worth of that religion by a superior probity and innocence of manners, so as to appear as the best of subjects in the opinion of an emperor of the highest candour, intelligence, and acute observation. They were not inferior to the best of the heathens in morality, and had besides, what this emperor confesses their enemies were void of, a sincere spirit of reverence for the Supreme Being, an unaffected contempt of death, and that to which stoicism pretends, a real serenity of mind under the most pressing dangers, and this grounded on an unshaken confidence in God. We see hence that the out-pouring of the Spirit of God, which began at the feast of Pentecost, was still continued. Christians were so in power, and not in name only, by the testimony of an heathen prince; and those who would substitute morality in the room of their religion, would do well to consider, that good morality itself knows no support like that of christianity. This divine religion comprehends every possible good thing that can be found in all others, and has, over and above, its own peculiar virtues, and a fund of consolation and an energy of support under the prospect of death itself, and points out the only safe and sure road to a blissful immortality. CHAPTER III. Justin Martyr. THIS great man was born at Neapolis in Samaria, anciently called Sichem. His father was a Gentile, probably one of the Greeks, belonging to the colony transplanted thither, who gave his son a philosophical education. In his youth he travelled for the improvement of his understanding, and Alexandria afforded him all the entertainment which an inquisitive mind could derive from the fashionable studies. The Stoics appeared to him at first the masters of happiness. He gave himself up to one of this sect, till he found he could learn nothing from him of the nature of God. It is remarkable (as he tells us himself*) that his tutor told him this was a knowledge by no means necessary; which much illustrates the views of Dr. Warburton concerning these ancient philosophers, that they were atheists in reality. He next betook himself to a peripatetic, whose anxious desire of settling the price of his instructions convinced Justin, that truth did not dwell with him. A pythagorean next engaged his attention, who requiring of him the previous knowledge of music, astronomy, and geometry, dismissed him for the present, when he understood he was unfurnished with those studies. In much solicitude he applied himself to a platonic philosopher, with a more plausible appearance of success than from any of the foregoing. He now gave himself to retirement. As he was walking near the sea, he was met by an aged person of a venerable appearance, whom he beheld with much attention. Do you know me ? says he; when Justin me? answered in the negative, he asked him why he surveyed him with such attention? I wondered, says he, to His dialogue with Trypho, whence the account of his conversion is extracted. find any person here. The stranger observed that he was waiting for some domestics, but what brought you here, says he? Justin professed his love of private meditation; the other hinted at the absurdity of mere speculation abstracted from practice, which gave occasion to Justin to express his ardent desire of knowing God, and to expatiate on the praises of philosophy. The stranger by degrees endeavoured to cure him of his ignorant admiration of Plato and Pythagoras, and to point out to him the writings of the Hebrew prophets as being much more ancient than any of those called philosophers, and led him to some view of christianity, in its nature and in its evidences, adding, "above all "things, pray that the gates of light may be opened to "thee; for they are not discernible, nor to be under"stood by all, except God and his Christ give to a man "to understand." The man having spoken these things and much more, left me, says Justin, directing me to pursue these things, and I saw him no more. Immediately a fire was kindled in my soul, and I had a strong affection for the prophets and those men who are the friends of Christ, and weighing within myself his words, I found this to be the only sure philosophy. We have no more particulars of the exercises of his his soul in religion. His conversion took place from hence some time in the reign of Adrian. But he has shewn us enough to make it evident, that conversion was then looked on as an inward spiritual work on the soul, and that he had the substance of the same work of grace which the Spirit operates at this day on real christians. There appears in his case an earnest thoughtfulness, attended with a strong desire to know God, and an experimental sense of his own ignorance, and of the insufficiency of human resources. the providential care of God in bringing him under the means of christian instruction, a direction to his soul to pray for spiritual illumination, the divine hunger created in his heart, and in due time the satisfactory comforts and privileges of real christianity; which with him was not mere words and declarations, but he found it, Then he says, to have a formidable majesty in its nature, adapted to terrify those who are in the way of transgression, as well as a sweetness, peace, and serenity for those who are conversant in it. He owns in another of his works, that the example of christians suffering death so serenely for their faith, moved his mind not a little; this is an obvious consideration and need not to be insisted on; it is not for the interest of the cause of those called philosophers in any age, that it should be insisted on. Justin after his conversion still wore the usual philosophic garb, which demonstrates that he retained, perhaps, too great an affection for the studies of his youth; and if I mistake not, he always preserved a very strong tincture of the philosophic spirit, though not in such a manner as to prevent his sincere attachment to the gospel. Coming to Rome in the time of Antoninus Pius, he there wrote a confutation of the heretics; particularly of Marcion, the son of a bishop born in Pontus, who for lewdness was ejected from the church and fled to Rome, where he broached errors of an Antinomian tendency. It makes no part of my plan to define the systems of heretics, but only to speak of them as they come in my way, with a special reference to their opposition to the fundamentals of the gospel. That holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord, and which was the great design of Christ to promote, found in this pretended christian a cordial enemy; and Justin, who had tasted of the holy nature of the gospel in his own experience, withstood him both in conversation and by his writings. About the year 140, he published his excellent Apology for the Christians, addressed to Antoninus Pius, which may be reasonably supposed to have had a considerable influence on the political conduct of that prudent emperor, with respect to the christians. Apology Second, though misnamed the First, in all the copies of Justin The truth of this charge against his morals has been disputed, possibly with justice. |