: Defense du paganisme par Temper. Julien en Grec et en Franc, (collected from fragments in Cyril), avec des dissertat. Berl. 1764, sec. ed. augment^e, 1767. This singular work gave occa- sion to two against it by G. Fe. Meier, Halle, 1764, and W. Ceichton, Halle, 1765, in which the arguments of Julian were refuted anew. Nath. LaPvDner, in his learned collection of ancient heathen testimonies for the credibility of the Gospel History, treats also largely of Julian. See his collected works, ed. by Dr. Kippis, Lond. 1838, vol. vii. p. 581- 652. SoHEocKn : vi. 354-385. Neander : iii. 77 sqq. (Engl, transl. of Torrey, ii. 84-93). The internal conflict between heatlienism and Christianity presents the same spectacle of dissolution on the one hand and conscious power on the other. And here the !Nicene age reaped the fruit of the earlier apologists, who ably and fearlessly de- fended the truth of the true religion and refuted the errors of idolatry in the midst of persecution.' The literary opposition * Comp. vol. i. §§ 60-6C. § 8. HEATHEN POLEMICS. NEW OBJECTIONS. 73 to Christianity had already virtually exhausted itself, and was now thrown by the great change of circumstances into apology for heathenism ; while what was then apology on the Christian side now became triumphant polemics. The last enemy was the Neo-PUitonic philosophy, as taught particularly in the schools of Alexandria and Athens even down to the fifth century. This philosophy, however, as we have before remarked,' was no lunger the product of pui-e, fresh heathenism, but an artifi- cial syncretism of elements heathen and Christian, Oriental and Hellenic, speculative and theurgic, evincing only the growing weakness of the old religion and the irresistible power of the new. Besides the old oft-refuted objections, sundry new ones came forward after the time of Constantino, in some cases the very opposite of the earlier ones, touching not so much the Cliristianity of the Bible as more or less the state-chm*ch sys- tem of the Nicene and post-Nicene age, and testifying the in- trusion of heathen elements into the church. Formerly sim- plicity and purity of morals were the great ornament of the Christians over against the prevailing corruption ; now it could be justly observed that, as the whole world had crowded into the church, it had let in also all the vices of the world. Against those vices, indeed, the genuine virtues of Christianity proved themselves as vigorous as ever. But the heathen either could not or would not look through the outward appearance and discriminate the wheat from the chafi". Again : the Christians of the first three centuries had confessed their faith at the risk of life, maintained it under sufferings and death, and claimed only toleration ; now they had to meet reproach from the hea- then minority for hypocrisy, selfishness, ambition, intolerance, and the spirit of persecution against heathens, Jews, and here- tics. From being suspected as enemies to the emperor and the empire, they now