cially heathen women, passed over to Christianity. His toler- ation, therefore, was neither that of genuine humanity, nor that of religious indiflerentism, but a hypocritical mask for a fanatical love of heathenism and a bitter hatred of Christianity. This appears in his open partiality and injustice against the Christians. His liberal patronage of heathenism was in itself an injury to Christianity. Nothing gave him greater joy than an apostasy, and he held out the temptation of splendid reward ; thus himself employing the impure means of prose- lyting, for which he reproached the Christians. Once he even advocated conversion by violent measures. Wliile he called heathens to all the higher ofiices, and, in case of their palpable disobedience, inflicted very mild punishment, if any at all, the Christians came to be everywhere disregarded, and their com- plaints dismissed from the tribunal with a mocking reference to their Master's precept, to give their enemy their cloak also with their coat, and turn the other cheek to his blows.* They ' Perhaps there lay at the bottom of this also a secret fear of the name of Christ, as Warburton (p. 35) suggests ; since the Neo-Platonists believed in the mysterious virtue of names. * 'Ao-e/Sels, 5v(T(Tel3e7s, &^eoi. Their religion he calls a fiupla or airufoia. Comp. Ep. 7 (ap. Heyler, p. 190). ' 'Av^pcaniffHos eureA^s. * Matt. v. 39, 40. M § 4. JULIAN THE APOSTATE. 63 were removed from military and civil office, deprived of all their former privileges, oppressed with taxes, and compelled to restore without indemnity the temple property, with all their own improvements on it, and to contribute to the support of the public idolatry. Upon occasion of a controversy be- tween the Arians and the orthodox at Edessa, Julian confis- cated the church property and distributed it among his sol- diers, under the sarcastic pretence of facilitating the Christians' entrance into the kingdom of heaven, from which, according to the doctrine of their religion (comp. Matt. xix. 23, 24), riches might exclude them. Equally unjust and tyrannical was the law, which placed all the state schools under the direction of heathens, and pro- hibited the Christians teaching the sciences and the arts.' Julian would thus deny Christian youth the advantages of education, and compel them either to sink in ignorance and barbarism, or to imbibe with the study of the classics in the heathen schools the principles of idolatry. In his view the Hellenic writings, especially the works of the poets, were not only literary, but also religious documents to which the heathens had an exclusive claim, and he regarded Christianity irreconcilable with genuine human culture. The Galileans, says he iti ridicule, should content themselves with expounding- Matthew and Luke in their churches, instead of profaning the glorious Greek authors. For it is preposterous and ungrateful, that they should study the writings of the classics, and yet despise the gods, whom the authors revered ; since the gods wt?re in fact the authors and guides of