V.

CEN T. vinces; and fometimes carried their defolations as PART I. far as Rome, which they ravaged and plundered in the most dreadful manner. These calamities, which fell upon the western part of the empire from the Gothic depredations, were followed by others ftill more dreadful under the fucceeding emperors. A fierce and warlike people, iffuing out of Germany, overfpread Italy, Gaul, and Spain, the nobleft of all the European provinces, and erected new kingdoms in thefe fertile countries; and ODOACER, at laft, at the head of the Heruli, having conquered AUGUSTULUS, in the year 476, gave the mortal blow to the weftern empire, and reduced all Italy under his domi'nion. About fixteen years after this, THEODORIC, king of the Oftrogoths, made war upon thefe Barbarian invaders, at the requeft of ZENO, emperor of the eaft, conquered ODOACER in feveral battles, and obtained, as the fruits of his victories, a kingdom for the Oftrogoths in Italy, which fubfifted under various turns of fortune from the year 493 to 552 [a].

Thefe new monarchs of the weft pretended to acknowledge the fupremacy of the emperors who refided at Conftantinople, and gave fome faint external marks of a difpofition to reign in fubordination to them; but, in reality, they ruled with an abfolute independence, in their refpective governments, and, as appears particularly by the dominion exercifed by THEODORIC in Italy, left nothing remaining to the eaftern emperors but a mere fhadow of power and authority [b].

II. Thefe

[a] See, for a fuller illuftration of this branch of hiftory, the learned work of DE Bos, intitled, Hiftoire Critique de la Monarchie Françoise, tom. i. p. 258; as alfo MASCow's Hiftory of the Germans.

[6] CAR. DU FRESNE, Differt. xxiii. ad Hiflor. Ludovici S. p. 280. MURATORII Antiq. Ital. tom. ii. p. 578. 832. GIANNONE,

V.

The farther

decline of

II. These constant wars, and the inexpreflible c ENT. calamities with which they were attended, were PART I. undoubtedly detrimental to the cause and progrefs of Chriftianity. It muft, however, be acknowledged, that the Chriftian emperors, efpe- idolatry. cially those who ruled in the east, were active and affiduous in extirpating the remains of the ancient fuperftitions. THEODOSIUS the younger diftinguifhed himself in this pious and noble work, and many remarkable monuments of his zeal in this matter are ftill preferved [c]; fuch as the laws which enjoined either the deftruction of the heathen temples, or the dedication of them to CHRIST and his faints; the edicts by which he abrogated the facrilegious rites and ceremonies of Paganifm, and removed from all offices and employments in the ftate fuch as perfevered in their attachment to the abfurdities of Polytheifin.

This fpirit of reformation appeared with lefs vigour in the western empire. There the feafts of Saturn and Pan, the combats of the gladiators, and other rites that were inftituted in honour of the Pagan deities, were celebrated with the utmost freedom and impunity; and perfons of the highest rank and authority profeffed publicly the religion of their idolatrous ancestors [d]. This liberty was, however, from time to time,

GIANNONE, Hiftoire de Naples, tom. i. p. 207. Jo. CоCHLAEI Vita Theodorici Oftrogothorum regis, printed in 4to in the year 1699, with the obfervations and remarks of P&

RINGSKIOLD.

[] See the Theodofian Code, tom. vi. p. 327.

[d] See the Saturnalia of MACROBIUS, lib. i. p. 100. edit. Gronov. SCIPIO MAFFEI delli Anfiteatri, lib. i. p. 56, 57. PIERRE LE BRUN, Hift. Critique des pratiques fuperftitieufes, tom.i. p 237. And above all MONTFAUCON, Dif. de moribus tempore Theodofu M. et Arcadii, which is to be found in Latin, in the eleventh volume of the works of St. CHRYSOSTOM, and in French, in the twentieth volume of the Memoires de

l'Academie des Inferiptions et des Belles Lettres, p. 197.

V.

CEN T. reduced within narrower limits; and all those PART I. Public sports and feftivals, that were more peculiarly incompatible with the genius and fanctity of the Chriftian religion, were every where abolifhed [e].

Nations

to Chriftia

nity.

III. The limits of the church continued to Convert extend themselves, and gained ground daily upon the idolatrous nations both in the eastern and western empires. In the east, the inhabitants of mount Libanus and Antilibanus being dreadfully infested with wild beafts, implored the affiftance and counfels of the famous SIMEON the Stylite, of whom we shall have occafion to fpeak hereafter. SIMEON gave them for answer, that the only effectual method of removing this calamity was to abandon the fuperftitious worship of their ancestors, and substitute the Christian religion in its place. The docility of this people, joined to the extremities to which they were reduced, engaged them to follow the counfels of this holy man. They embraced Christianity, and, in confequence of their converfion, they had the pleafure of feeing their favage enemies abandon their habitations; if we may believe the writers who affirm the truth of this prodigy. The fame SIMEON, by his influence and authority, introduced the Christian worship into a certain diftrict of the Arabians; fome allege, that this alfo was effected by a miracle, which to me appears fomewhat more than doubtful [f]. To thefe inftances of the progrefs of the golpel, we may add the converfion of a confiderable number of Jews in the ifle of Crete, who, finding themfelves grofsly deluded by the impious pretenfions of an impoftor,

[] ANASTASIUs prohibited, towards the conclufion of this century, the combats with the wild beasts, and other fhews. ASSEMAN. Biblioth. Orient. Vatic. tom. i. p. 246.

[f] ASSEMANNI Bibl. Orient. Vat. tom, i. p. 246.

called

V.

called MOSES CRETENSIS [g], who gave himfelf CENT. out for the MESSIAH, opened their eyes upon the PART I. truth, and embraced the Chriftian religion of their

own accord [b].

verfion of

Chriftiani

IV. The German nations, who rent in pieces The conthe Roman empire in the west, were not all con- the German verted to Chriftianity at the fame time. Some nations to of them had embraced the truth before the time ty. of their incurfion; and fuch, among others, was the cafe of the Goths. Others, after having erected their little kingdoms in the empire, embraced the gofpel, that they might thus live with more fecurity amidst a people, who, in general, profeffed the Chriftian religion. It is, however, uncertain (and likely to continue fo) at what time, and by whofe miniftry, the Vandals, Sueves, and Alans were converted to Chriftianity. With respect to the Burgundians, who inhabited the banks of the Rhine, and who paffed from thence into Gaul, we are informed, by SOCRATES [i], that they embraced the gofpel of their own accord, from a notion that CHRIST, or the God of the Romans, who had been reprefented to them as a most powerful being, would defend them againft

[g] We shall give the relation of SOCRATES, Concerning this impoftor, in the words of the learned and eftimable author of the Remarks on Ecclefiaftical History. ་་ In the time "of THEODOSIUS the younger an impoftor arofe, called "MOSES CRETENSIS. He pretended to be a fecond MoSES, fent to deliver the Jews who dwelt in Crete, and "promifed to divide the fea, and give them a fafe paffage

through it. They affembled together, with their wives " and children, and followed him to a promontory. He "there commanded them to caft themfelves into the fea. Many of them obeyed and perifhed in the waters, and many were taken up and faved by fishermen. Upon this, "the deluded Jews would have torn the impoftor to pieces; "but he escaped them, and was feen no more." See JoRTIN's Remarks, &c. firft edit. vol. iii. p. 331.

[b] SOCRATES, Hift. Ecclef. lib. vii. cap. xxxviii. p. 383. [i] Idem, Hift. Ecclef. lib. vii. cap. xxx. p. 371.

B 3

the

PART I.

CEN T. the rapines and incurfions of the Huns. They V. afterwards fided with the Arian party, to which alfo the Vandals, Sueves, and Goths were zealously attached. All thefe fierce and warlike nations judged a religion excellent, in proportion to the fuccefs which crowned the arms of thofe that profeffed it, and efteemed, confequently, that doctrine the beft, whofe profeffors had gained the greatest number of victories. When therefore they faw the Romans poffeffed of an empire much more extenfive than that of any other people, they concluded that CHRIST, their God, was of all others the most worthy of religious homage.

Of the Franks.

V. It was the fame principle and the fame views that engaged CLOVIS [k], king of the Salii, a nation of the Franks, to embrace Chriftianity. This prince, whofe fignal valour was accompa nied with barbarity, arrogance, and injuftice, founded the kingdom of the Franks in Gaul, after having made himself mafter of a great part of that country, and meditated with a fingular eagerness and avidity the conquest of the whole. His converfion to the Chriftian religion, is dated from the battle he fought with the Alemans in the year 496, at a village called Tolbiacum [1]; in which, when the Franks began to give ground, and their affairs feemed defperate, he implored the affistance of CHRIST (whom his queen CLOTHILDIS, daughter of the king of the Burgundians, had often reprefented to him, in vain, as the son of the true God), and folenuinly engaged himself, by a vow, to worship him as his God, if he rendered him victorious over his enemies. Victory decided in

[k] Befides the name of Crovis, this prince was alfo called CLODOV.EUS, HLUDOVICUS, LUDOVICUs, and Lu

DICIN.

[1] Tolbiatum is thought to be the prefent Zulpick, which is about twelve miles from Colegn.