The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-20 00:00:00

THE REV. CANON GILLOW'S LECTURE.

On last evening, the Rev. Canon Gillow delivered, in the
Clayton-hall, his concluding lecture on the "triumphs of
Christianity over Pagan Rome," The attendance was not
so large as on the occasion of the first lecture, The chair
was occupied by Jour/ YATES, Esq., Jun. The other
gentlemen on the platform were the Revs. J. Worthy, C.
Zeehay, R. Gradwell, J. Nugent, and H. Gibson.
The Rev. Gentleman commenced his lecture by stating
that he had endeavoured to make himself master of the
facts of the history which he intended to comment on, and
these facts, he promised his audience, should be faithfully
submitted to them. They were probably aware that there
were ten great persecutions inflicted on the early christians
by the pagans. He would dwell upon the first and last.
The first general persecution was under that monster of ini-
quity the fifth Roman Emperor Nero ; and it was very re-
markable that this emperor who made his name so
infamous by his brutal and savage persecutions of the
Christians, was in his early life a most mild and gentle man.
The rev. lecturer here gave a brief outline of Nero's life—
his murder of his father-in-law Germanius, and other mem-
bers of his family—his associations with the worst characters
in his city—his ambition to be considered a good singer, and
his burning of Rome, to gratify at once his savage nature,
and to clear a foundation for the gorgeous palace which he
subsequently erected. Alarmed at the growing indignation
of the Romans, he diverted their rage from himself, by :lav-
ing it rumoured abroad, that it was the Christians who had
burned the city. The news spread like wildfire, and the cry
at once arose of " the Christians to the lions," and so the
persecution arose. Some of the Christians were put into the
skins of wild beasts, and fierce dogs set on them,
and so they perished. Others were nailed to crosses,
and so left to linger out existence in hideous tor-
ments. But the most savage of all those torments was what
was called tun? ca molesta - the monster invention of Nero
himself. The tunics molests consisted of garments made to
fit the human form very closely. They were steeped in
pitch, resin, and other inflammatory materials, and into
each of them was a Christian thrust, who was doomed by the
tyrant to suffer in the cause of our crucifie d Lord. He had
them, then, fastened to upright posts, and with their blazing
bodies lit up his gardens by night; while he himself, for the
amusement of his sanguinary people, drove his chariot
through the hideous illumination. And thus perished
myriads of Christians—martyrs in the faith—until, at last,
the butchery was brought to a close for the time by the cru-
cifixion of the Apostle Peter, and the decapitation of Paul.
Passing from this portion of his subject, the reverend
lecturer described the origin of the "Apologist " writers,
and quoted some passages from St. Justin, to shew the bold
and intrepid tone which the Christians adopted in their
defence, and with what confidence they even thus early
appealed to the common sense of their persecutors : being
fully convinced that the hatred which the latter bore them
was merely the offspring of error and misrepresentation. He
(the lecturer) was particularly anxious never to use one
word that could offend those who differed from him in
religion. But he wished to remind them of what happened
in England a few years ago, as analogous to the history
which he had been quoting, when the Pope changed their
vicars apostolic into bishops in ordinary. They remembered
how the platform, the press, and every conceivable engine.
was used to stir up the country against them. Thcy
remembered how their priests were hooted and hissed, and
how those ministering angels, the nuns, were insulted as
they went on their daily er-ands of mercy, to nurse the
sick and console the dying. And they remembered how,
during that time when the storm raged the fiercest, one
great champion 'of the church came forward, and taking,
as his model the great " Apologist " of old, like
him, with confidence appealed to the good
sense of his countrymen - the English nation. That cham-
pion he need scarcely tell them was Nicholas, Cardinal
Wiseman. (Applause.) And it was the advice of that
eminent man, and of that illustrious convert to the faith,
Dr. Newman, (applause) to endeavour each in his sphere to
disabuse their Protestant friends of the erroneous views
which were entertained of them as Catholics. Because,
believing the Catholics to be idolators to worship the Virgin
Mary, and to give permission to sin, they hated them and
their faith ; but if they were told that Catholics did neither
the one nor the other, then if Protestants did not love and
respect them, they would at all events cease to hate them.
The Rev. gentlemen, in conclusion, described the Dioclesian
persecution, and how Christianity eventually triumphed
after the miraculous conversion of Constantine.

The Rev. gentleman was frequently applauded during the
delivery of his address ; and on the motion of the chairman
the thanks of the assembly were voted by acclamation to
him.