cause to rejoice in all their afflictions, which stirred up a greater spirit of piety and love.

Huneric, the successor of Genseric, seemed at first more liberally and charitably inclined; but it was only the fair promise of a morning that was to yield to a day of storm. He soon commenced a regular and systematic persecution, revelling in cruelty, and according to the Roman historian, far exceeding all the malice of Pagan hatred; and it is a pleasing evidence to the existence of a pure church at this time, that nearly five thousand persons at one time were banished into the deserts, who might have escaped by embracing Arianism. One of these, an old and infirm bishop, was unable to march with the rest. Huneric was petitioned to allow him to end his few remaining days at Carthage. Let him be tied to wild oxen, and carried where I order,' was the brutal reply. This company of persecuted ones, men, women, and even children, were delivered into the charge of the Moors, who goaded them forward on their road with less humanity than the most brutal driver would use towards his cattle: they pricked them with their javelins, hastened them on with stones, and when they fainted with fatigue and insults, tied them by the feet and dragged them along.

The account of this horrible persecution is given by one of the sufferers, a bishop, named Victor, but I do not think you would like to hear the miseries he relates. I must, however, tell you

of one martyr; he was the richest man in Africa, and had been governor of Carthage: Huneric, willing to gain him to his side, offered him his favour if he would renounce the belief of the Trinity and embrace Arianism. Tell the king,' said this noble martyr, 'that, if there were no other life after this, I would not for temporal honour deny my God.' He was tortured to death. Thus the tyrant proceeded, until, as I told you before, the faithful bishops and pastors were driven from Africa, and Arianism triumphed over pure Christianity. But Huneric suffered the reward of his wickedness, and died, like other persecutors, a monument of God's vengeance. Some, indeed, have in this life been permitted to escape "the due reward of their deeds," because the life to come is the period of retribution; but we have seen other persecutors of the Church meet the end of this cruel Arian. Huneric died of a loathsome disease, in which his body was filled with and devoured by worms.

Nor were these sufferings confined to the African church. Through the whole western empire, now rapidly drawing to its end, the orthodox Christians felt a portion of these afflictions. Evaric, king of the Goths in Spain, forbade the ordination of any but Arian ministers, and banished those who would not subscribe to that erroneous creed. The British church mourned the oppression and sacrilegious fury of the idolatrous Saxons; and the Franks, who still adhered to Paganism, contributed their share to the afflictions of Christ's people. Such

is the view that the history of the church and the world presents at this period. During the twenty years which elapsed from the death of Valentinian to the period I am now speaking of, nine emperors had successively arisen and disappeared in the western empire. I have not spoken of the greater number of these, even by name, for they were but the shadows of emperors ;-weak and unworthy princes, who seem to have had no wish to attempt the defence of a throne they could not save. Orestes, whose beauty was his only recommendation, was the youth who was to bear that title for the last time.

Odoacer, king of the Heruli, a barbarous tribe, made himself master of great Rome, A. D. 476, and was the first barbarian who assumed the title and the authority of King of Italy. From this period is dated the entire subversion of the western empire of the Romans. Theodoric the Goth, afterwards expelled the conqueror; but amid all the revolutions of the earth, the Romans, who had ranked so high, never again ascended in the scale of nations.

He

Toward the close of this century, Clovis, king of the Franks, or French, as they are now called, was baptised and admitted into the Church. had married Clotilda, a Christian princess, who continued a steady Trinitarian, while all her father's house and nation were devoted to Arianism; and when she exchanged the society of heretics for that of idolaters, she showed the same steadiness

to her religion. It is said, that in a time of danger, Clovis recollected what he had heard from Clotilda of the power and mercy of Christ, and addressed his prayer to him for deliverance, owning that he had called upon his own gods in vain: the prayer was heard, the enemy fled, and Clovis embraced, nominally, at least, the religion of Christ, and was baptised, with three thousand of his army.

The remainder of this century affords nothing more to interest you and having now finished the history of the western division of the Roman empire, I shall here end the history of the church in it, for this century.

Of the church in the east, there is little or nothing to be said: superstition was still on the advance, and vital religion at a low ebb. Persecution had not revived or purified the spirit of Christianity there, as it had done in Africa and the West; yet still there are some evidences of the existence of a pure and spiritual church..

CENTURY VI.

JUSTINIAN-GREGORY 1. POPE OF ROME.

THE light of pure and undefiled religion is now rapidly departing from us, and in the dark ages of Christianity, on which we are entering, it will scarcely guide us to the few, preserved of the Lord, who had" not bowed the knee to Baal."

The first character that presents itself for notice in this century, is that of Justinian, the emperor of the east. He, or I should rather say, his general, Belisarius, for a time revived some gleams of the glory that had used to encircle the name and the arms of Romans. Italy and Africa were for a short time wrenched from the Gothic and Vandal hands, that had usurped their dominion. however interesting may be the tale of the victories, the honours, and the wrongs of the hero Belisarius, I have nothing to do with him or his master, except as they had to do with the church.

But

Justinian aimed at uniting the divided sects of Christendom, he warmly befriended the orthodox faith, he wished to bring all nations into a