The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1890-06-19

whom prayers and thanksgivngs are not
offered in the name of Jesus the Crucified,
to the Father and Creator of all things. -
'Such is the common faith" writes Tren.
deus (19S), land traditions of the Chris
tians of Germany, liberia, of the Celts as
well as those of the East, of Egypt of
Libya. and of the center of the world. +"
Iertullian (22O). in his elOQuence exclaims
In whom have all the nations believed but
III the Christ who is already come? In Him
believe the ParthianS, the Modes, the Ella
mites, the jewellers in MesopOtamia, in
Armenia. Phrygia, in Egypt, and in the
parts of Libya beyond Cyrene, inhabitants
OF Rome, Jews and proselytes. This is the
faith of the several tribes of the Getulians,
the Moors, the Spaniards, and the various
nations of Gaul. The parts of Britain, in
accessible to the Romans, but subject to
Jesus Christ, hold the same faith, as do also
the Sarmatians, the Decians, the Germans,
the Scythians and many other nations in
which we must fail to enumerate." 1--WE
are but as yesterday" says the same Ter
tullian in another stream of classical elo-
quence, land 10! we fill the whole Empire
your cities, your islands. your fortresses,
your municipalities. your councils, nay,
even the camp, the tribune, the decury, the
palace, the senate, and the FORUM"
These great victories were won and tri-
umphs achieved in the midst o. some of the
most deadly prosecutions. Tberius, Gaius,
ClaudiuS, and Nero, occupied the Roman
| throne successfully from A. d. II to 6S.
The first of these men was a sanguinary
tyrant, the second, a furious mailman, the
third, noXlous imbecile. the fourth,
heartless buffoon. These emperors are only
examples of some of those who welded
despotic power until Christianity assembled
the throne and dOnned the Roman purple
in the person of Constantine 1919.
Previous to the reign of Constantine
there were eight distinct and quite general
prosecutions: The first burst forth like
cyclone under Nero, Ga; the second under
IraJan, ITO, after his correspondence with
Pllney the younger, governor of Bithynia:
the third under Marcus Aurelius, TT; the
fourth under Septimus Senerus, 1914: the
fifth under MaXiminus 23S; the sixth under
DeciuS, 249; the seventh under Valeran,
257; and the eighth under Doclesian, 3OS.
Some historians count ten general persecu-
tlons, making one under Adrian, III, and
another under Aurelan, 27O. There seems
to be no good authority for such computa-
ton, but morbid desire to accommodate
trary typolOgy.
The Jews who crucified their spiritual
Deliverer, with the approval of the Roman
government. and stained the temple court
at Jerusalem (63) with the blood of st.
James, were made to drink the bitterness
OF gall. After the death of this Apostle,
by the hands of priests and zealOts, three
years had hardly elapsed before the marble
floor OF that temple swan with the blood
! OF more than 5000 ZealOts, who butchered
each other in internecine massacre. Hanan.
the prime mover in James martyrdOm,
persisted. He was seized by the 1dumeans,
murdered, and his body was flung out naked
to the dogs and beasts. Six years had not
passed before priests swollen with hunger.
were seen madly leaping into the alter
flames. Seven years had hardly ELAPSED be-
fore city and temple sank into charred and
blood stained heaps, and the city, the ma
ton. and the ritual of Jerusalem were
swept away by Titus and his Roman legiOns.
In 476, all that was left of that once proud
and great empire, whose seven hilled CITY
was founded B. G. 1853. passed away as did
Babylon. Ninevah, Memphis, and Garth
age.
Christianity has survived and moreover
has 400, 600, 600 adherents to-day, because
it was that something which had been
looked forward to by lawgivers and pro-
phets and appeared in the Man of Calvary,
who was without blemish and without
spot" The great Father sent Him in per-
son, that instead of speaking any longer in
symbols more or less obscure, He might re-
veal Himself in visible manner, and thus
demand and gain the recognition of the
world; Christianity has survived because
it was and is that for which all hearts
athirst for that which ''makes for right