circles as adherents of the faith.1 The impression was particularly strong in the case of the latter. Eusebius tells us that "the story goes, that he, being a Christian, wished to take part with the multitude in the prayers of the Church on the day of the last vigil of Passover, but that he was not allowed by the bishop there to enter before he had confessed (his sins) and had numbered himself with those who were reckoned as transgressors and had a place for repentance. For otherwise, had he not done so, he would never have been received by him, on account of his many misdeeds. And he is said to have obeyed eagerly, showing by his acts a genuine and pious disposition as to the Divine fear." 2 Further details are contributed by later writers: 3 but whatever may be the truth that lies at the basis of the story, and whatever favour Philippus may have shown the Church, it seems clear in view of all the evidence that he was not a professed Christian himself. Nevertheless, the early efforts that were made to claim him as such cast an interesting light on the political views and hopes of contemporary Christendom. CHAPTER VII WAR THE PEACEFULNESS OF CHRISTIANITY.-The Isaianic prophecy of the substitution of agriculture for war is often spoken of as being fulfilled in Christianity.5 Clemens says moreover of the Christians : 1 Dion. Alex. ap. Eus. HE vII. x. 3 (see below, p. 556 n 6). These words were written shortly before Easter 262 A.D. The Emperors referred to can be only those named above (Gwatkin ECH ii. 151 n; Feltoe 72). It will be observed that Dionysius speaks of their having been called Christians before that time (λεχθέντες). 2 Eus. HE VI. xxxiv. 3 DCB iv. 355a. 4 DCA ii. 1272b; DCB iv. 355b; Neumann SK 246-250; Workman 242; Bigelmair 54-56 (thinks Philippus may have been secretly a Christian, but for reasons of State would not avow it by baptism); Harnack ME ii. 50; Gwatkin ECH ii. 151f. 6 Iren. IV. xxxiv. 4 (ii. 272) (Si autem libertatis lex, id est, verbum Dei . . . in tantum transmutationem fecit, ut gladios et lanceas bellatorias in aratra fabricaverint ipsae [sc. gentes], et in falces quae donavit ad metendum frumentum in organa pacifica demutaverint, et jam nesciunt pugnare [ Isa ii. 4], sed percussi et alteram praebent maxillam, non de aliquo alio prophetae dixerunt haec, sed de eo qui fecit ea), Demonstr. 61 (124f) (Isa xi. 6-9 applied to the change produced by conversion in those who, like wild beasts, were in the habit of " ravaging the weaker and warring on their equals "); Tert. Jud. 3 "We are being educated, not in war, but in peace"; "We, the peaceful race," are more temperate than the warlike races ; among musical instruments, " man is in reality a pacific instrument,' the others excite military and amorous passions; “but we have made use of only one instrument, the peaceful word, wherewith we honour God."1 Tertullianus speaks of the inoffensiveness of the Christian meetings. 2 The devil, says Hippolytus, "knows that the prayer of the saints produces peace for the world." 3 The Pseudo-Melitonian Apologist prescribed the knowledge and fear of the one God as the only means by which a kingdom could be peaceably governed. The Bardesanic Book of the Laws of the Countries' foretold the coming of universal peace as a result of the dissemination of new teaching and by a gift from God.5 In the Pseudo-Justinian 'Address to the Hellenes,' the Word is invoked as "O trumpet of peace to the soul that is at war! "' 6 Origenes says: "We have become sons of peace through Jesus, who is our Leader."? 4 THE CONDEMNation of War.-War is condemned by Clemens as contrary to the Christian spirit, but only in a very general way. The features which he singles out for special censure are its call (ii. 707) (Isa ii. 4 quoted. Qui igitur intelliguntur alii quam nos, qui, nova lege edocti, ista observamus, obliterata vetere lege . . .? . . nova autem lex clementiam designabat, et pristinam ferocitatem gladiorum et lancearum ad tranquillitatem convertebat, et belli pristinam in aemulos legis et hostes exsecutionem, in pacificos actus arandae et colendae terrae reformabat . . . ita et novae legis et spiritalis circumcisionis observantia in pacis obsequia eluxit), Marc. iii. 21 (ii. 151f) ('Et concident machaeras suas in aratra, et sibynas in falces,' id est, animorum nocentium et linguarum infestarum, et omnes malitiae atque blasphemiae ingenia convertent in studia modestiae et pacis. Et non accipiet gens super gentem machaeram,' utique discordiae; et non discent amplius bellare,' id est, inimicitias perficere; ut et hic discas Christum non belli potentem sed paciferum repromissum), iv. 1 (ii. 160) (atque exinde concidunt machaeras suas in aratra et sibynas, quod genus venabulorum est, in falces, id est feros et saevos quondam animos convertunt in sensus probos et bonae frugis operarios); Orig. Cels. v. 33 (see below, PP. 424f n 6). Cl. Paed. 1. xii. 98 fin., I. ii. 32 (“ Μέθῃ δὲ μάλιστα οἱ Σκύθαι χρῶνται Κελτοί τε καὶ Ἴβηρες καὶ Θρᾳκες, πολεμικὰ ξύμπαντα ὄντα ταῦτα γένη, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ εἰρηνικὸν γένος, κτλ.), iv. 42. Cf. De Jong 8f. 2 Tert. Apol. 39 (i. 266): În cujus perniciem aliquando convenimus? Hoc sumus congregati, quod et dispersi; hoc universi, quod et singuli; neminem laedentes; neminem contristantes. Cf. also for his views on the subject the passages quoted in the last note but one. 3 Hipp. Dan. III. xxiv. 7. * Ps-Mel. 10 (121) (see above, pp. 397f). Bardesanic Book, etc., in ANCL xxiib. III; DCB i. 258a. 'Orig. Cels. v. 33 (see below, pp. 424f n 6). On Christian peace in the sense of immunity from persecution, cf. Orig. Cels. iii. 15, viii. 70; Eus. HE v. xvi. On Christian appreciation of the Pax Romana, see above, pp. 386f. Cf. also Act. Thom. 86 (eulogy of gentleness, quoting Mt xxvi. 52f: "Put up thy sword," etc.). 19. for multifarious preparation 1 and its reliance upon the artificial stimulus of music! 2 Pseudo-Justinus appeals to the Hellenes: "Be instructed by the Divine Word, and learn about the incorruptible King, and recognize His heroes, who never inflict slaughter on peoples." 3 Tertullianus says that, when Peter cut off Malchus' ear, Jesus "cursed the works of the sword for ever after." 4 He criticizes the gentiles' greed of gold in hiring themselves out for military service. He comes closer to the real ground of the Christian antipathy to war when, after quoting the words of Psalm xlv. 3f—' Gird (the) sword upon (thy) thigh . . . extend and prosper and reign, on account of truth and gentleness and justice' -as applying to Christ, he goes on: "Who shall produce these (results) with the sword, and not rather those which are contrary to gentleness and justice, (namely) deceit and harshness and injustice, (which are) of course the proper business of battles ? "6 "Is the laurel of triumph," he asks elsewhere, “made up of leaves, or of corpses? Is it decorated with ribbons, or tombs ? besmeared with ointments, or with the tears of wives and mothers -perhaps of some even who are Christians—for Christ is among the barbarians as well?" Hippolytus' view of war comes out in his explanation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. "The wild beasts, which lived under it" (i.e. the tree), "signify the warriors and armies, which adhered to the king, carrying out what was commanded (them), being ready like wild beasts for making war and destroying, and for rending men like wild beasts." 8 One of the features of the Roman Empire, when viewed as the fourth 1 Cl. Paed. I. xii. 99: πολέμῳ μὲν οὖν πολλῆς δεῖ τῆς παρασκευῆς . εἰρήνη δὲ καὶ ἀγάπη, ἀφελεῖς καὶ ἀπράγμονες ἀδελφαί, οὐχ ὅπλων δέονται, οὐ παρασκευῆς ἀσώτου. * Cl. Paed. II. iv. 42 (οὐκέτι [χρώμεθα] τῷ ψαλτερίῳ τῷ παλαιῷ καὶ τῇ σάλπιγγι καὶ τυμπάνῳ καὶ αὐλῷ, οἷς ἔθος ἦν τοὺς ἐν πολέμῳ ἀσκητὰς καὶ τοῦ θείου καταπεφρονηκότας φόβου ἀνὰ τὰς πανηγύρεις συγχρῆσθαι, ὡς δὴ τὸ ἔκλυτον αὐτῶν τοῦ φρονήματος διὰ TŵV TOLOÚTWV ¿Tavloraodai pv0μŵr): cf. Quis Dives 34 (comparison of the Christian poor to a στρατὸν ἄοπλον, ἀπόλεμον, ἀναίμακτον, ἀόργητον, ἀμίαντον). Ps-Just. Orat. 5 init. Tert. Pat. 3 (i. 592). Peter's sword is mentioned also in Idol. 19 (i. 102) (see below, p. 425 n 2), Cor. 1 (i. 416f) (of a soldier resigning his calling: gladium nec dominicae defensioni necessarium reddidit '), and Fug. 8 (i. 475) (Jesus' attitude in Gethsemane, increpito etiam Petri gladio,' as indicating his disapproval of flight in persecution). Tert. Pat. 7 (i. 601): cum pecuniae causa etiam in foro nihil damnationi timendum aggredi dubitant, cum denique ludo et castris sese locant, cum per viam in mores bestiarum latrocinantur. Tert. Marc. iii. 14 (ii. 140). The same words, with minor differences, occur in Tert. Jud. 9 (ii. 723f). 'Tert. Cor. 12 (i. 448f). Cf. also the view of the military calling in Pudic. 10 (i. 813) Bene quod et Johannes . . non minus militantibus et publicanis, quam filiis Abraham, paenitentiae erat praeco. Hipp. Dan. III. viii. 9. "2 Beast and as a Satanic imitation of the Christian Church, was its preparation for war and its collection of the noblest men from all nations as its warriors.1 The Bardesanic Book of the Laws of the Countries' says that the Seres have laws forbidding to kill, and that the planet Mars cannot overpower their freedom "and compel a man to shed the blood of his fellow with an iron weapon." Origenes, we are told, spoke depreciatively of the military and juridical professions as being prized by ignorant and blind seekers for wealth and glory. Cyprianus declaims about the "wars scattered everywhere with the bloody horror of camps. The world," he says, "is wet with mutual blood(shed): and homicide is a crime, when individuals commit it, (but) it is called a virtue, when it is carried on publicly. Not the method of innocence, but the magnitude of savagery, procures impunity for crimes." He censures the vanity and deceitful pomp of the military office.4 CHRISTIANS' CONTACT WITH SOLDIERS.-There can be no doubt that the soldiers themselves were responsible for a good deal of the suffering inflicted on the Christians. Clemens and Origenes group them with kings, rulers, etc., as one of the parties regularly implicated in persecution.5 Tertullianus numbers them strangers and therefore enemies of the truth, the motive of the as 1 Hipp. Dan. IV. viii. 7 (νυνὶ δὲ τὸ νῦν κρατοῦν θηρίον οὐκ ἔστιν ἓν ἔθνος, ἀλλ' ἐκ πασῶν τῶν γλωσσῶν καὶ ἐκ παντὸς γένους ἀνθρώπων συνάγει ἑαυτῷ καὶ παρασκευάζει δύναμιν εἰς παράταξιν πολέμου, οἱ πάντες μὲν ̔Ρωμαῖοι καλούμενοι, μὴ ὄντες δὲ πάντες ἐκ μιᾶς χώρας), ix. 2 (τῷ αὐτῷ τρόπῳ ἀντιμιμήσατο ἡ βασιλεία ἡ νῦν ἥτις κρατεῖ σε κατ' ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ,” ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ αὕτη ἐκ πάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν συλλέγουσα τοὺς γενναιοτάτους καταρτίζει εἰς πόλεμον, Ρωμαίους τούτους ἀποκαλοῦσα), 3 (see above, P. 344 n 4). 2 ANCL xxiib. 101; cf. 108 ("And how many kings are there who, when they have got possession of countries which did not belong to them, have abolished their established laws ? " etc.). 3 Greg. Thaum. Paneg. vi. 76, 77 (αὐτά τε [i.e. wealth, honour, glory, and bodily comfort] περὶ πολλοῦ καὶ τοῦ παντὸς τιθέμενοι, καὶ τῶν τεχνῶν, ὅσαι ταῦτα ἐκπορίζεσθαι δύνανται, καὶ τῶν βίων, ὅσοι ταῦτα παρέξονται, στρατιὰς καὶ τὴν δικανικὴν καὶ ἐκμάθησιν τὴν τῶν νόμων· ταῦθ ̓ ἅπερ ἡμᾶς ἀνέσειε μάλιστα λέγων καὶ μάλα τεχνικώς, τοῦ κυριωτάτου, φησὶ, τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν, λόγου ἀμελήσαντας). On the low idea entertained of the soldier's calling in the third century, and particularly by the philosopher and the Christian, cf. Harnack MC 69f. 4 Cypr. Donat. 6, 1ο (dispersas orbe toto multiplices pugnas), II (quos honores putas esse, quos fasces, quam afluentiam in diuitiis, quam potentiam in castris, in magistratus purpura speciem, in principatus licentia potestatem: malorum blandientium uirus occultum est, et adridentis nequitiae facies quidem laeta, sed calamitatis abstrusae inlecebrosa fallacia. etc.). 5 Cl. Strom. VI. xviii. 167 (τὴν δὲ ἡμετέραν διδασκαλίαν ἔκτοτε σὺν καὶ τῇ πρώτῃ καταγγελίᾳ κωλύουσιν ὁμοῦ βασιλεῖς καὶ τύραννοι καὶ οἱ κατὰ μέρος ἄρχοντες καὶ ἡγεμόνες μετὰ τῶν μισθοφόρων ἁπάντων, κτλ.); Orig. Cels. i. 3 (ἐπὶ δὲ Χριστιανοῖς ἡ Ρωμαίων σύγκλητος βουλὴ καὶ οἱ κατὰ καιρὸν βασιλεῖς καὶ τὰ στρατιωτικὰ καὶ οἱ δήμοι καὶ οἱ τῶν πιστευόντων συγγενεῖς προσπολεμήσαντες τῳ λόγῳ ἐκώλυσαν ἂν αὐτὸν νικηθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν τοιούτων ἐπιβουλῆς, εἰ μὴ θείᾳ δυνάμει ὑπερέκυψε καὶ ὑπερανέβη, κτλ.). Jews being jealousy, that of the soldiers desire for gain.1 Christians seem to have been exposed to as much danger from the interference of the military as from the hatred of the mob.2 This is easily intelligible when we recollect that Christians were legally liable to be sought out and punished as a matter of police administration. Nor was the soldiers' conduct to condemned Christians generally such as to conciliate Christian respect. We do indeed come across a few cases of soldiers treating their prisoners kindly and even being touched by their sufferings to the point of conversion; 3 but normally they seem to have performed their grim duties of torture and execution without pity or reluctance.1 It was not unusual for imperilled or imprisoned Christians or their friends to secure better treatment or even release or immunity by secretly bribing a soldier or some other influential party, justifying their action by saying that they were rendering to Cæsar the things that were Cæsar's. Tertullianus disapproved of the practice.5 But there was also a brighter side to the picture. We sometimes see Christians under the special protection of soldiers. The martyr Potamiana was protected by the still heathen soldier Basileides from the violence of the mob. Origenes performed his visit to Julia Mammæa at Antioch-and doubtless also that to the governor of Arabia—under a military escort. Gregorius, with his brother and sister, was conducted from his home at Neo-Cæsarea in Pontus to Palestine by the soldier who had been sent to bring the last-named to her husband and to invite her brother to travel with her.8 THE WARS OF HEBREW HISTORY.-Up and down the writings of this period, as of previous periods, we find numerous allusions to the ancient Hebrew wars, usually with no indication that the writer was conscious of any incompatibility between the usages recorded and commended in Scripture and those approved and 1 Tert. Apol. 7 (i. 137): Tot hostes ejus quot extranei, et quidem proprii ex aemulatione Judaei, ex concussione milites, ex natura ipsi etiam domestici nostri. 2 Tert. Fug. 14 (i. 491): Neque enim statim et a populo eris tutus, si officia militaria redemeris. 3 I have collected above the references to what little evidence I can find on this matter; see p. 303 n 1. 4 Cf. e.g. Act. Thom. 168. 5 Tert. Fug. 12–14.. 6 Eus. HE VI. v. 3. * Eus. HE VI. xxi. 4: μετὰ στρατιωτικῆς δορυφορίας αὐτὸν ἀνακαλεῖται (sc. Mammaea). As the governor of Arabia sent a soldier with his letter of invitation, we are fairly safe in assuming that the same soldier conducted Origenes on the journey (Eus. HE vi. xix. 15). 8 Greg. Thaum. Paneg. v. 67–71, |