CHAP. inaccurate, and sometimes contradictory, lan XXI ་དའ་འད of the church. guage, Authority 11. The devotion of individuals was the first circumstance which distinguished the christians from the platonists; the second was the authority of the church. The disciples of philosophy asserted the rights of intellectual freedom, and their respect for the sentiments of their teachers was a liberal and voluntary tribute, which they offered to superior reason. But the christians formed a numerous and disciplined society; and the jurisdiction of their laws and magistrates was strictly exercised over the minds of the faithful. The loose wanderings of the imagination were gradually confined by creeds and confessions; the freedom of private judgment submitted to the public wisdom of synods; the authority of a theologian was determined by his ecclesiastical rank; and the episcopal successors of the apostles inflicted the censures of the church on those who deviated from the orthodox belief. But in an age of religious controversy, every act of oppression adds new force to the elastic vigour of the mind; and the zeal or obstinacy of a spiritual rebel was sometimes stimulated by secret motives of ambition or 4 See Daillé de Usu Patrum, and Le Clerc, Bibliotheque universelle, tom. x, p. 409. To arraign the faith of the Anti-Nicene fathers, was the object, or at least has been the effect, of the stupen dous work of Petavius on the Trinity (Dogm. Theolog. tom. ii); nor has the deep impression been erased by the learned defence of Bishop Bull. The most ancient creeds were drawn up with the greatest latitude. See Bull (Judicium Eccles. Cathol.), who tries to prevent Episcopus from deriving any advantage from this observation. avarice. A metaphysical argument became the CHAP. cause or pretence of political contests; the subtle- XXI. ties of the platonic school were used as the badges Factions. of popular factions, and the distance which sepa-. rated their respective tenets was enlarged or magnified by the acrimony of dispute. As long as the dark heresies of Praxeas and Sabellius laboured to confound the Father with the Son, the orthodox party might be excused if they adhered more strictly and more earnestly to the distinction, than to the equality, of the divine persons. But as soon as the heat of controversy had subsided, and the progress of the Sabellians was no longer an object of terror to the churches of Rome, of Africa, or of Egypt, the tide of theological opinion began to flow with a gentle but steady motion toward the contrary extreme; and the most orthodox doctors allowed themselves the use of the terms and definitions which had been censured in the mouth of the sectaries. After the edict of toleration had restored peace and leisure to the christians, the trinitarian controversy was revived in the ancient seat of platonism, the learned, the opulent, the tumultuous city of Alexandria; and the flame of religious discord was rapidly communicated from the schools to the clergy, the people, the pro The heresies of Praxeas, Sabellius, &c. are accurately explained by Mosheim (p. 425, 680-714). Praxeas, who came to Rome about the end of the second century, deceived, for some time, the simplicity of the bishop, and was confuted by the pen of the angry Tertullian. * Socrates acknowledges, that the heresy of Arius proceeded from his strong desire to embrace an opinion the most diametrically op posite to that of Sabellius. XXI. Arius. Χ CHAP. vince, and the East. The abstruse question of the eternity of the logos was agitated in ecclesiastical conferences, and popular sermons; and the heterodox opinions of Arius" were soon made public by his own zeal, and by that of his adversaries. His most implacable adversaries have acknowledged the learning and blameless life of that eminent presbyter, who, in a former election, had declared, and perhaps generously declined, his pretensions to the episcopal throne. His competitor, Alexander, assumed the office of his judge. The important cause was argued before him; and if at first he seemed to hesitate, he at length pronounced his final sentence, as an absolute rule of faith. The undaunted presbyter, who presumed to resist the authority of his angry bishop, was separated from the communion of the church; but the pride of Arius was supported by the applause of a numerous party. He reckoned among his immediate followers two bishops of "The figure and manners of Arius, the character and numbers of his first proselytes, are painted in very lively colours by Epiphanius (tom. i, Hæres. Ixix, 3, p. 729); and we cannot but regret that he should soon forget the historian, to assume the task of contro versy. * See Philostorgius (1. i, c. 3) and Godefroy's ample Commentary. Yet the credibility of Philostorgius is lessened, in the eyes of the orthodox, by his arianism; and in those of rational critics by his passion, his prejudice, and his ignorance. Zozomen (1. i, c. 15) represents Alexander as indifferent, and even ignorant, in the beginning of the controversy; while Socrates (1. i, c. 5) ascribes the origin of the dispute to the vain curiosity of his theological speculations. Dr. Jortin (Remarks on Ecclesiastical History, vol. ii, p, 178) has censured, with his usual freedom, the conduct of Alexander; pogyny EŽUTTETUI εκέλευσε XXI. Egypt, seven presbyters, twelve deacons, and CHAP. (what may appear almost incredible) seven hundred virgins. A large majority of the bishops of Asia appeared to support or favour his cause; and their measures were conducted by Eusebius of Cæsarea, the most learned of the christian prelates; and by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had acquired the reputation of a statesman without forfeiting that of a saint. Synods in Palestine and Bithynia were opposed to the synods of Egypt.. The attention of the prince and people was attracted by this theological dispute; and the decision, at the end of six years," was referred to the. D. 318supreme authority of the general council of Nice. When the mysteries of the christian faith were Three sysdangerously exposed to public debate, it might trinity. be observed, that the human understanding was capable of forming three distinct, though imperfect, systems, concerning the nature of the divine trinity; and it was pronounced, that none of these systems, in a pure and absolute sense, were exempt from heresy and error. 1, According Arianism. to the first hypothesis, which was maintained by Arius and his disciples, the logos was a depend a z The flames of arianism might burn for some time in secret ; but there is reason to believe that they burst out with violence as early as the year 319. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. vi, p. 774780. a Quid credidit,? Certe, aut tria nomina audiens tres Deos esse credidit, et idololatra effectus est; aut in tribus vocabulis trinominem credens Deum, in Sabelii hæresium incurrit; aut edoctus ab Arianis unum esse verum Deum patrem, filium et spiritum sanctum credidit creaturas. Aut extra hæc quid credere potuerit nescio. Hieronym. adv. Luciferianos. Jerom reserves for the last the orthodox system, which is more complicated and difficult. 325. tems of the XXI. CHAP. ent and spontaneous production, created from nothing by the will of the father. The Son, by whom all things were made, had been begotten before all worlds, and the longest of the astronomical periods could be compared only as a fleeting moment to the extent of his duration; yet this duration was not infinite, and there had been a time which preceded the ineffable generation of the logos. On this only begotten Son the Almighty Father had transfused his ample spirit, and impressed the effulgence of his glory. Visible image of invisible perfection, he saw, at an immeasurable distance beneath his feet, the thrones of the brightest archangels; yet he shone only with a reflected light, and, like the sons of the Roman emperors, who were invested with the titles of Cæsar or Augustus, he governed the d universe in obedience to the will of his father and Tritheism, monarch. 11, In the second hypothesis, the logos possessed all the inherent, incommunicable perfections, which religion and philosophy appropriate to the Supreme God. Three distinct and infinite minds or substances, three co-equal and co-eternal beings, composed the divine essence; As the doctrine of absolute creation from nothing, was gradually introduced among the christians (Beausobre, tom. ii, p. 165–215), the dignity of the workman very naturally rose with that of the work. The metaphysics of Dr. Clarke (Scripture Trinity, p. 276-280), could digest an eternal generation from an infinite cause. This profane and absurd simile is employed by several of the primitive fathers, particularly by Athenagoras, in his apology to the emperor Marcus and his son; and it is alleged, without censure, by Bull himself. See Defens. Fid. Nicen. s. iii, c. 5, No. 4. • See Cudworth's Intellectual System, p. 559, 579. This dan. gerous hypothesis was countenanced by the two Gregories, of Nyssa and |