of the just, because they perform good and just actions; they slay the pious, and regard the very followers of justice as enemies, nay, as more than enemies. . . . But what is done against those who know not how to do wrong is unspeakable, and none are held more injurious than those who are the (most) innocent of all. Thus most wicked men dare to make mention of justice, (men) who surpass wild beasts in ferocity, who lay waste the most gentle flock of God. . . . The consciousness of crimes never recalls them from violating the sacred and pious name of justice with that mouth which, like the jaws of beasts, is wet with the blood of innocent people." The reason of this hatred is that the good lives of Christians rebuke, offend, and trouble those who wish to sin. "For truth is always hated for this reason, that he who sins wishes to have free scope for sinning and thinks he cannot otherwise enjoy the pleasure of his misdeeds with full security than by there being no one whom his faults may displease." 1 "What Caucasus, what India, what Hyrcania, ever nourished beasts so savage, so bloodthirsty? For the madness of all wild. beasts rages until their belly is satisfied, and dies down forthwith when hunger is appeased. He, he, is a true beast, by whose command alone dark blood is everywhere poured out; everywhere is cruel grief, everywhere terror and many an image of death.' No one can fittingly describe the savagery of this so great beast, which, reclining in one place, yet rages throughout the whole world with his iron teeth, and not only scatters the limbs of men, but even crushes the (ir) very bones and rages over the(ir) ashes, that there may be no place of burial (for them). . . . But it is impossible to describe the things that individual (governor)s have done throughout the whole world. For what number of volumes will contain (accounts of) such infinite, such various, kinds of cruelty? For each (governor), having received power, has raged according to his own character. Some, through excessive fear (of being thought slack), have dared (to do) more than they were bidden; others (acted) from their own hatred of the just; some by a natural ferocity of mind; some from a desire to please and in order that by this service they might prepare for themselves a way to higher (office)s; some showed themselves swift to kill, like one (governor) in Phrygia, who burnt a whole population together with their place of meeting." 2 He calls the first persecutor Nero an " evil beast" and 1 Lact. Inst. v. ix. 1-6; cf. also 7-14. 2 Lact. Inst. v. xi. 4-6, 9f; cf. also 1-3, 7f, 11-19, xx. 2, 5-8, xxiii. I (mali principes . . iniustissimi persecutores). "2 Decius an "execrable animal."1 Speaking of the administration of Diocletianus, Galerius, and Maximianus, he says: "Thus the whole earth was afflicted; and from east to west-except in the Gauls-three most bitter wild beasts were raging.' It is interesting to notice that Lactantius repeats the historical error of Meliton and Tertullianus, and leaps from Nero to Domitianus and from Domitianus to Decius, as if only these two of them regarded even by pagans as rascals-had been persecutors, and the rest, particularly those between Domitianus and Decius, had protected and befriended the Church.3 Eusebius refers frequently in general terms to past and present persecution of Christianity by earthly kings and rulers.4 THE PUNISHMENT OF PERSECUTORS.-Christians reassured one another and the world generally that God would visit their oppressors -and, in fact, idolaters generally-with condign punishment, and remarked that several persecutors had already suffered well-merited vengeance at His hands. Galerius Maximus, the proconsul of Africa, died, we are told, a few days after he had sentenced Cyprianus to death. Dionysius of Alexandria said that the Emperor Gallus 6 1 Lact. Mort. Pers. ii. 7 ('ut ne sepulturae quidem locus in terra tam malae bestiae appareret.' It is not quite clear whether this expression and that in ii. 6, execrabilis ac nocens tyrannus' have reference to Nero's general reputation or to his persecution only), iv. 1 (Extitit enim post annos plurimos execrabile animal Decius, qui uexaret ecclesiam: quis enim iustitiam nisi malus persequatur ?). 2 Lact. Mort. Pers. xvi. 1. Lact. Mort. Pers. iii. 1, 4f (see below, p. 552 n 2), iv. 1: cf. Overbeck 93-100, 110f, 148-157; Holtzm. RS 37. * Eus. DE 1. i. 7 (i. 4), III. v. 119b (i. 137) (“ the confession of the Name of Jesus ever inflames the minds of rulers "), vi. 128a (i. 147), vii. 140d, 1412 (i. 162), IV. xvi. 182d–184a (i. 204f) (“ For even now nations, rulers, peoples and kings have not yet ceased their combined attack on Him and His teaching," etc. etc.), vII. i. 335d (ii. 73) (hostile rulers cannot carry out their threats), IX. viii. 440b (ii. 171), xiii. 448b (ii. 178), x. iii. 476c (ii. 204). On the idolatry of rulers, see DE vii. i. 319d (ii. 59) and the passages quoted above, p. 510 n 3. Cypr. Ep. 58 (55) 7 (grassatur et saeuit inimicus, sed statim sequitur Dominus passiones nostras et uulnera uindicaturus), 10 (O dies ille qualis et quantus adueniet, fratres dilectissimi, cum coeperit... Dominus mittere in gehennam nocentes et persecutores nostros, flammae poenalis perpetuo ardore damnare), 11, 65 (63) 1f, Laud. 20, Laps. 7, Demetr. 17 (see above, pp. 488f n 8), Mort. 15; Lact. Inst. 1. i. 15 ('nam malis qui adhuc aduersus iustos in aliis terrarum partibus saeuiunt quanto serius tanto uehementius idem omnipotens mercedem sceleris exsoluet, quia ut est erga pios indulgentissimus pater, sic aduersus impios seuerissimus iudex.' This is one of the passages added to the Institutiones after Constantinus' triumph), v. xx. Io (et ideo cum nefanda perpetimur, ne uerbo quidem reluctamur, sed Deo remittimus ultionem, etc.), xxiii. 1 (Quidquid ergo aduersus nos mali principes moliuntur fieri ipse [i.e. God] permittit. et tamen iniustissimi persecutores non se putent inpune laturos quia indignationis aduersus nos eius quasi ministri fuerunt). See above, pp. 488f, and below, p. 533. 6 Cypr. Act. Procons. 5 fin. persecuted without taking warning from the early death of his father Decius; 1 and he noted the downfall and death of Macrianus, who had instigated Valerianus to persecution.2 Eusebius tells us how Valerianus was reduced to slavery by the barbarians,3 and how Aurelianus was overtaken by death whilst in the very act of signing edicts of persecution. He enlarges, of course, at considerable length on the ignominious downfall of the enemies of Constantinus. So also does Lactantius -this, in fact, is the great theme of his ' De Mortibus Persecutorum: he reviews the history of all the well-known persecutors, and shows how they all came to an untimely end." 5 It was a fixed item in Christian belief that God would punish idolaters and persecutors. It was a matter of common experience that the rulers of the Empire were always idolaters and often persecutors. It would seem to follow from these premises that God would bring about the fall of the Empire. With this conclusion the usual Christian expectations of the approaching end of the world would harmonize. The downfall of Rome is not often mentioned; but, when it is, it is usually associated with the Divine punishment of persecution, though the latter is indeed more frequently thought of as affecting the individual persecutor, while the former is an incident in a historical programme-an item in the career of the dreaded Antichrist. It is to the Christian view of this figure that we must now turn. With Cyprianus and his circle, Antichrist does not cease to be an historical personage, but he is given a much larger province and is practically made to fill the rôle of Satan. Heretics and 1 Dion. Alex. ap. Eus. HE vi. i. (ἀλλ' οὐδὲ Γάλλος ἔγνω τὸ Δεκίου κακὸν οὐδὲ προεσκόπησεν τί ποτ' ἐκεῖνον ἔσφηλεν, κτλ.): cf. Lact. Mort. Pers. iv. 2, 3 (exutus ac nudus, ut hostem Dei oportebat, pabulum feris ac uolucribus iacuit [sc. Decius]). 2 Dion. Alex. ap. Eus. HE VII. x. 4, xxiii. 1f. 3 Eus. HE VII. xii., xiii. I: cf. Lact. Mort. Pers. v. 1 (. at illum Deus nouo ac singulari poenae genere adfecit, etc.), 2ff. 4 Eus. HE VII. XXX. 21: cf. Lact. Mort. Pers. vi. * Eus. HE IX. xi. 3 (εἶτα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐχθρῶν πᾶσαι τιμαὶ περιῃροῦντο, ἐκτείνοντο δὲ καὶ πάντες οἱ τὰ Μαξιμίνου φρονοῦντες, ὅσοι μάλιστα τῶν ἐν ἀρχικοῖς ἀξιώμασιν ὑπ ̓ αὐτοῦ τετιμημένοι τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν κολακείᾳ σοβαρῶς ἐνεπαροίνησαν Tŵ κal' nμâs λóyw); cf. DE 111. vii. 140f (i. 162) (terrible diseases of persecutors), VIII. i. 377cd (ii. 112). Lact. Inst. 1. i. 15 (see above, p. 518 n 5), VII. xxvi. 13 (illi enim, qui ut impias religiones defenderent, caelestis et singularis Dei cultum tollere uoluerunt, profligati iacent . . .), 14 (illi poenas sceleris sui et pendunt et pependerunt: .)-written after Constantinus' triumph. 7 Lact. Mort. Pers. i.-vi., ix. 11 (Diocles . . . tamdiu tamen summa felicitate regnauit, quamdiu manus suas iustorum sanguine non inquinaret), xvii., xxiv. I, xxx. 6, xxxi. 1, xxxiii., xxxv. 3, xlii., xlix.-lii. schismatics are said to be antichrists or the offspring of Antichrist or to be of his spirit: 1 Decius is "the pioneer of Antichrist": 2 in times of persecution Antichrist threatens, but Christ protects.3 Similarly Dionysius applies one of the well-known formulæ descriptive of Antichrist to the persecuting Emperor Valerianus.4 But Antichrist is also looked upon by Cyprianus in the traditional manner as one who is about to come.5 More or less lengthy descriptions of the career of Antichrist and the events connected therewith are given by Commodianus, Victorinus, and Lactantius.6 The details are, of course, in the main very similar to those already copied above from the pages of earlier Christian writers, and there is no need to repeat then here, as they bear but indirectly on our main theme. It is sufficient for our purpose to note that the destruction of Rome and the downfall of the Empire is an integral part of the story. The account of Commodianus is very unsystematic and difficult to make out clearly. He introduces the figure of Nero Redivivus: "For seven years the earth will everywhere tremble; but half the time Elias will hold, and half Nero. Then the whore Babylon will be reduced to ashes."7 Victorinus also handled the subject at different points in his commentary on the Apocalypse.8 1 Cypr. Ep. 59 (54) 3, 71 (70) 2 (nihil potest esse commune. . . antichristo et Christo [cf. M. Pionii xiv. το : πῶς καὶ ὁ ̓Αντίχριστος ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς pavýσeтaι ;]), 73 (72) 15, 74 (73) 2, 69 (75) 1; Syn. Carth. I, II, 24. 2 3 Cypr. Ep. 22 (21) I: metatorem Antichristi.' The letter is by Lucianus. 4 Dion. Alex. ap. Eus. HE vII. x. 2 (he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemy, and authority for forty-two months), 3 (ȧupóтepa dè ἔστιν ἐπὶ Οὐαλεριανοῦ θαυμάσαι, κτλ.) : cf. DCB iv. 11o2a. Cypr. Ep. 58 (55) 1, 7, 59 (54) 13, 19, 61 (57) 2, Fort. pref. 1. There is a brief outline of the coming of Elias and Antichrist in Clem. Hom. ii. 17. 'Commod. Instr. i. 41 (Tunc Babylon meretrix erit incinefacta favilla), ii. 1-4, 39, Carm. 791-1060, esp. 813ff. (Pergit ad Romam cum multa milia gentis 911f, 923ff (Luget in aeternum, quae se iactabat aeterna, cf. Gwatkin ECH ii. 258-260. Vict. Comm. Apoc. viii. 2 (86) (sunt igitur scripta quae sunt in tubis et in fialis aut plagarum orbi missarum clades aut ipsius Antichristi insania . . aut spes in regno sanctorum aut ruina ciuitatum aut ruina Babylonis, id est ciuitatis Romanae), xvii. 2 (120) (et Danihel ostendit: tria eradicabuntur de prioribus [of the ten kings], hoc est, tres duces primarios ab Antichristo interfici. ceteros septem dare illi 'gloriam et honorem et solium et potestatem,' de quibus ait: hi odient meretricem-urbem scilicet dicit, et carnes The account of Lactantius is the fullest and most systematic of the three. We quote only such passages of it as bear on the topic immediately before us. God will free His people from the heavy slavery of the world. . . . since the people of God is now gathered from all tongues, and sojourns among all nations, and is oppressed by these who rule (over them), it is necessary that all the nations, that is, the whole world, should be beaten with heavenly stripes, in order that the just people which worship God may be freed." 1 "As the end, therefore, of this age approaches, it is necessary that the condition of human affairs should be changed and become worse through the prevalence of wickedness, so that these times of ours, in which iniquity and evil have grown to the highest degree, will nevertheless be able to be considered happy and almost golden in comparison with that incurable evil." 2 He then draws a dismal picture of the wickedness, anarchy, confusion, war, and slaughter that will prevail, and continues: "The cause of this devastation and confusion will be this, that the Roman name, by which the world is now ruled-the mind shudders to say it, yet I will say it, because it will happen-will be taken away from the earth, and dominion will return to Asia, and again the East will bear rule, and the West will serve. Nor ought it to seem wonderful to anyone, that a kingdom, founded with such vastness, and so long increased by men so numerous and of such quality, and lastly strengthened by such great resources, should yet sometime or other fall to pieces. For there is nothing wrought by human strength which cannot equally be destroyed by human strength, since the works of mortals are mortal. Thus also other kingdoms in former times, though they had long flourished, nevereius comburentur igni), xiv. 1 (130) (sed quia... 'composito consilio' duces illius ciuitatem hanc magnam Babylonem sunt expugnaturi, ruinam illius est testatus), xvii. 2 (130, 132) (Ait enim: ueni, ostendam tibi damnationem meretricis, and so on, as to the guilt of Rome in persecuting the Christians, for which see also below, p. 533 n 5), xxi. 3 (150) (Danihel autem dixit lapidem sine manibus excisum percussisse statuam habentem quattuor in se id est aurum et argentum, aeramentum et ferrum [ = Rome] et in nouissimo testum [?= Antichrist]—et ipsum lapidem, postquam statuam in pulverem redegerat, factum esse montem magnum, implens totam terram. etc.). Other passages dealing with Antichrist in Vict. Comm. Apoc. are i. 4 (24), ii. 2 (36), vi. 2 (70), vii. (80), viii. 1 (82, 84), xi.-xvii. (98-134, passim): cf. Haussleiter xvii.-xxi., xxxv.f, xli.f. Victorinus identified Antichrist with the devil himself. Eusebius (DE xv. frag. (ii. 236f)) refers to the Danielic image representing four successive world-empires, the last of which is that of the Romans: the whole image is destroyed by the stone representing the Kingdom of God. Lact. Inst. VII. xv. 4f: a parallel is drawn with the plagues of Egypt. 2 Lact. Inst. VII. XV. 7. On this idea of earthly conditions getting worse instead of better, cf. Cypr. Mort. 2 and Alexander of Lycopolis 12, 16 (trans. in ANCL xiv. 249f, 253f). |