whether or no that sacred trust fall into the hands of the Philistines. I call upon them, therefore, to prepare themselves for the trial. Every true Churchman, whatever be his condition in life, or his influence in` society, has his part to perform in the impending struggle; and it is the sacred duty of all, from the highest to the lowest, who desire prosperity and peace to the Church, to rally round her in this hour of her danger. If the enemy speak evil of her doctrines, tell them she is built on prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone. If they ridicule her ritual, refer them to the simplicity, the conciseness, the fulness, the beauty, and the perfection of her religious services. If they point out her alleged imperfections, tell them that she is the purest Establishment that ever adorned the face of the earth. Inform yourselves minutely on every period of her history; and then you may triumphantly challenge an inquiry as to her origin and her progress, as your experience can testify to her present efficiency. Then will you boldly proceed, exerting yourselves in her defence-your zeal, like that of the disciples of old, amidst persecutions and death, will rise with the emergency-you will pursue your hallowed course, undismayed by the threats, undeterred by the taunts of the enemy; and by thus doing you will manifest your sense of the blessings you enjoy, and prove yourselves worthy of deserving them. I would caution even the enemies of the Church:-"You may succeed, if God so permit; you may succeed in pulling down the walls of the Church; but beware lest you bury yourselves and your own cause in their ruins-lest your example give a sanction to those who would destroy all order, all government, all religion and peace from the face of the earth. I would bid you look abroad into the world, and see how many revolutions, which have originated in good, have terminated in evils of the most tremendous kind. I would remind you how disunion leads to strife, and strife to confusion; how it dissolves all the charities of human nature, and snaps the bonds which hold society together. I would remind you how religion pines and dies away, or is overwhelmed in this wild disorder, and brotherly love is lost in party animosity." I am persuaded that the ear of friendship will not misinterpret, and I trust that the ready voice of the caviller cannot condemn, my motive in any observations I have deemed it right to offer. I am fully sensible that no sound ought to be heard in the Church but the healing voice of Christian charity;" but I feel that I cannot be considered as stepping beyond her province in the course I have pursued. Believe me, I have no desire to be the instrument of attacking others, but I should consider myself unworthy of my sacred office, did I not raise my feeble voice in defending our venerable Church from the assaults of her bitter and restless foes.

In conclusion, let me exhort you, my Christian brethren, to be doubly watchful over your own lives and conversation: give no cause to the enemy to blaspheme, but endeavour to exhibit, in your own persons, bright examples of the influence of the pure religion you profess; "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and

* Taylor's Answer to the Question, "Why am I a Churchman?"

glorify your Father which is in heaven." And, above all things, pray daily to God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things, both in heaven and earth, that his continual pity may ever defend that portion of his visible Church established in these realms; and because it cannot continue in safety without his succour, may he preserve it evermore by his help and goodness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. S.

SECT. 1.-The Life, Character, and Writings of Arius.

THE accession of Constantine to the imperial dignity was not only the signal for the downfall of Paganism, and the final establishment of Christianity, but tended in no inconsiderable degree to check, for a period at least, the divisions which prevailed among its professors. National tranquillity was intimately connected in his mind with ecclesiastical unity; and the decided measures which he had taken against the schism of the Donatists, were followed up by a variety of edicts in support of the Catholic Church. It is worthy of remark, that the term Catholic was constantly employed by him in all public documents; nor did the conventicles of the Valentinians, or the Montanists, find more favour in his sight than the temples of the heathen deities. So earnest, indeed, were his exertions to unite all into one body, that numbers flocked to the Church, either from conviction or fear; and though Eusebius (Vit. Constant. III. 66.) regards their conformity in many cases as hypocritical, at least the outward appearance of heresy was greatly diminished within the confines of Italy.

In the mean time, however, a violent dispute had arisen in Egypt respecting the doctrine of the Trinity. Various controversies relating to this doctrine had been previously agitated in the Church, more especially in connexion with the heresies of the Ebionites, the Sabellians, and the disciples of Paul of Samosata. A complete view of the tenets maintained by these sects will be found in the concluding notes to Professor Burton's work on the Early Heresies; from whence, also, it appears, that the orthodox fathers of the time regarded the Arian heresy as an imitation of some which had preceded it. But to whatever origin it may be referred, from the attention which it at first excited, and the powerful and durable effects which it has since produced, Arianism must ever claim a degree of importance above every other system of heterodoxy which had preceded, and most which have followed it. The system, which was mainly built upon a denial of the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son, has been upheld from the period of its rise almost to our own times, with no less learning than zeal; and, though often apparently crushed, has arisen again into notice, and

found fresh adherents and defenders. Arius, its author, was a Lybian by birth; of a bold, subtle, and ambitious temper; and it has been sometimes alleged, that envy and disappointment were the primary cause of the adoption of that creed, which he afterwards maintained with all the ardour of conviction, though he did not hesitate to stoop to deception for the furtherance of his views. According to some, his father's name was Ammonius; but the authority upon which this supposition rests, is the appellation of father attached to Ammonius, the bearer of a letter which he had written to Eusebius of Nicomedia. He was ordained deacon, and appointed to a Church of Alexandria, by Peter, bishop of that city; but he subsequently fell under the censure of his diocesan, and underwent the sentence of excommunication. Upon the death of Peter, who suffered martyrdom in the Dioclesian persecution, Achillas succeeded to the see of Alexandria; and, receiving from Arius an explanation of his conduct, readmitted him into communion with the church, and forthwith advanced him to the priesthood. To Achillas succeeded Alexander; and, by the promotion of this prelate, Arius is said to have been thwarted in his hopes of the episcopate, and to have vented his spleen in acts of turbulent opposition to the new bishop. On the other hand, the historian Philostorgius asserts, that he declined the honour of the mitre. Certain it is, however, that shortly after the consecration of Alexander, the Arian heresy had not only sprung up, but was making rapid progress in the patriarchate of Alexandria.

According to Socrates (Hist. Eccl. I. 5.), the heresy arose out of certain expressions employed by Alexander in an assembly of the Clergy, which were supposed by Arius to savour of Sabellianism. Sozomen, on the contrary, affirms (Hist. Eccl. I. 15.) that Arius had for some time published the doctrines ascribed to him; and that it was not until the bishop was publicly called upon to interfere, that he convoked a synod for the investigation of the matter. At this meeting many of those present sided with the heretic; but another assembly being called, after a short interval, his doctrines were condemned, and sentence of excommunication was pronounced against himself and nine of his adherents. Nothing daunted at this result, he retired into Palestine; and, conscious of reckoning already among his adherents many of the most influential persons in the . Church, he wrote to them, from the place of his retirement, in vindication of his opinions. So specious and subtle were his arguments, and so eloquent his address, that, including, perhaps, his former partisans, Epiphanius numbers among his followers seven hundred virgins, twelve deacons, seven presbyters, and some bishops. Among these last was the celebrated Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia; and it would seem, from a letter of Arius himself to that prelate, preserved by Theodoret (I. 5.), that most of the eastern bishops had declared in his favour. He mentions Eusebius of Cæsarea, Theodotus, Paulinus, Athanasius, Gregory, and Aetius, expressly by name, and complains, that both himself and his brethren had suffered severely from the persecution of his diocesan, and had been expelled from the city, as impious, for maintaining the truth. Alexander, on the other hand, in a letter to his namesake, the Bishop of Byzantium, and in a catholic epistle to the Churches

generally, maintained the justice of the sentence, and exposed the dangerous and unscriptural tendency of the doctrines against which it was directed.*

The controversy at length assumed an appearance of so great interest and importance, as to attract the attention, not only of the most eminent individuals of the age, but of the emperor himself. Constantine, at first, contented himself with writing a letter to Arius and the bishop jointly; in which, after expressing a wish for the settlement of one uniform system of religious worship, he censures the latter for engaging his clergy in the discussion of unedifying questions, and the former for the avowal of sentiments which ought to have been confined within his own heart. Assuming that both agreed in fundamentals, - he concludes with advising an immediate reconciliation between the parties; an object, however, which Hosius, the bearer of the letter, endeavoured in vain to promote. As the only means, therefore, of settling the dispute, the emperor assented to the advice of Hosius, who recommended the convocation of a general council, in which the catholic doctrine of the Trinity might be formally declared, and thence afterwards adopted as the basis of Christian communion. Of this celebrated council, it would exceed the limits of the present paper to speak at large; and we, therefore, postpone an account of its proceedings to a future number. Suffice it to say, that they ended in the public condemnation of the Arian tenets: Arius himself was excommunicated by the council, and banished by the emperor; a severe edict was promulgated against his adherents; his books were ordered to be burned, and concealment subjected their possessors to the penalty of death.

The decision of the Council of Nice, though it checked, was far from stopping, the progress of Arianism; and during the whole episcopate of the famous Athanasius, who succeeded Alexander in the See of Alexandria, he was engaged in an incessant struggle with the advocates of its pernicious tenets. Towards the close of his life, Constantine himself is supposed to have embraced it, through the influence of his favourite sister, Constantia, who was an Arian. Thus much is certain, that, in compliance with her dying request, the exiled heretic was recalled; the edict which had been issued against his followers revoked; Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, reinstated in his See; and the followers of the sect readmitted into communion with the Church of Jerusalem. Athanasius, however, perseveringly refused to restore Arius to his rank in the presbytery of Alexandria, which so exasperated the party, that they determined, if possible, to effect his ruin. They disseminated the most cruel slanders against him, and even accused him before the emperor of rebellion, adultery, and murder. A synod was convened at Tyre for the purpose of inquiring into the truth of these statements; and, notwithstanding the most irrefragable evidence of his innocence, the influence of his enemy, Eusebius, prevailed, and Athanasius was banished into Gaul. Still the Church of Alexandria

These letters are preserved by Theodoret and Sozomen, respectively. It may be as well to observe, that the other authorities consulted in the present article, are Eusebius, in his Life of Constantine; Athanasius, Hilary, Basil, Epiphanius, and the Hist. Eccl. of Sozomen.

refused to acknowledge Arius as a member of their presbytery; and a peremptory mandate of the Emperor to the Church of Byzantium failed of alarming the bishop of that See into an admission of his claims. Thus repulsed, he had recourse to artifice. He subscribed, at the instance of Constantine, to the Nicene decrees, and confirmed his assent to them with an oath; whereupon a day was appointed for Alexander to admit Arius into communion, or to resign his See. The almost prophetic remark of Constantine upon this occasion, however, plainly indicated a suspicion of the heretic's dissimulation : "Arius has well sworn," said he, "if his words had no double meaning: if otherwise, God will avenge."

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In the interim, the Church of Byzantium, true to their principles, and attached to the cause of their bishop, gave themselves up to fasting and prayer. Alexander, having tried in vain to move the Emperor, threw himself at the foot of the altar, and, "with strong crying and tears," made his fervent supplication to heaven for guidance and support. If Arius was right, he prayed to be delivered from the approaching contest; but that, if the doctrines which he had disseminated were calculated to deprive the Christian of his most sacred hopes, their tendency might be marked by the just punishment of their devoted author. While the bishop and his people were thus employed, Arius was parading the streets with his followers, in triumphant expectation of his approaching ascendancy, and the defeat of his pious and persevering opponent. But "God himself," says Athanasius, gave sentence against the heresy of the Arians ;" and, as the procession entered the Forum of Constantine, the stroke of death was upon their leader. Being seized with a sudden and violent affection of the bowels, he stepped aside from the crowd for the purpose of obtaining relief: when, like another Judas, his bowels gushed out, and he expired on the spot. His followers were anxious to attribute his death to poison; but though, in ordinary times, an uncharitable view of the divine judgments is expressly forbidden by the Son of God himself, yet there have been extraordinary manifestations of God's vengeance; and the vindication of his honour may reasonably be supposed to have demanded such a manifestation in the person of Arius. A Jehovah-Jireh-not of mercy but of wrath-the spot on which he died was shown, in after ages, as a monument of his impiety.

We have thus given a brief, but uninterrupted, sketch of the principal incidents in the life of this heresiarch, merely hinting at the nature of the doctrines which he professed. These doctrines, as stated by himself and his contemporaries, and examined and condemned by the Council of Nice, will form the subject of our next article. In the meantime, we may remark that a full description of the person and manners of Arius are given by Epiphanius (Hær. 69.), who speaks of him as majestic in his stature, serious and reserved in his deportment, but, at the same time, affable, courteous, and prepossessing. His dress was always strictly clerical; and he is said to have been unblameable in his conduct, except inasmuch as he was led to adopt the arts of duplicity and dissimulation for the purpose of forwarding his views. He is said, moreover, to have been an acute logician, of good natural talents, a sound scholar, and to have excelled in poetry and music. This latter qualification was the