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condition of their becoming chriftians. To help out this addition, I would farther add, that another of the terms of the capitulation was, that they fhould from that time speak Greek, as without this, they could have derived no benefit from the offices of a Greek church.

Sulpicius fays, that by this severity to the inhabitants of Jerufalem, Adrian thought to deftroy the christian faith. But to this you oppofe the authority of Orofius (calling it, however, p. 43, but a feather in the scale) that when the Jews were excluded, the chriftians were allowed to remain. If your liberty of helping out a broken story may be exercised here, I should say, that in the idea even of this writer, the Greek chriftians might remain, but the Jewish not. If any regard is to be paid to Eufebius, the oldeft hiftorian, or to Sulpicius, who is much more circumftantial than Orofius, and on that account better entitled to credit, no Jews, chriftians or others, were allowed to remain in the place.

To make your account the more probable, you fay, p. 44, "It is a notorious fact that Adrian was "not unfavourable to the chriftians, and that the "church in his reign obtained a respite from per"fecution." But how far did this favour to chriftians extend? You fay, "the fury of their perfe"cutors was restrained by the imperial refcripts to "the provincial governors, who were directed not "to proceed against the chriftians, except by way of regular trial, upon the allegation of fome certain "crime,

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"crime, and when nothing more was alleged than "the bare name of chriftianity, to punish the in"former as a fycophant." That is, as the hiftory of thofe times enables us to interpret it, they were not to be punished as chriftians till they were proved to be fo, which was the cafe in the reign of Trajan, but does not amount to a toleration of the Jews at Jerufalem, on condition of their embracing chriftianity.

Your favourite Mofheim fays (Hift. vol. i. p. 128) that what was done by Adrian (in whofe reign the perfecution of chriftians had raged with peculiar violence) was a folemn renewal of the law of Trajan. In the reign of Antoninus Pius, but not before, it was ordered that a man being proved to be a chriftian, fhould not be deemed fufficient for his condemnation, unless he was alfo proved to have been guilty of fome crime against the ftate. There is, therefore, little reafon to think that Adrian was to well difpofed towards chriftianity, as to permit the rebellious Jews to remain in Jerufalem on condition of their embracing it.

I am, &c.

LETTER

LETTER III.

Of the Teftimony of Epiphanius to the Existence of a Church of Orthodox Jewish Chriftians at Jerufalem after the time of Adrian.

A

REV. SIR,

FTER the preliminary observations contained in the preceding letter, I fhall now confider the testimony that you have produced from Epiphanius.

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You fay. p. 46, that "the fact (viz. of the return of the Jews from Pella to Jerufalem, after the wars of Adrian) of which Dr. Priestley has done me "the honour to make me the inventor, is afferted

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by Epiphanius.-The confidence," you add, "with which he mentions this, as a fact forged by me, is only one inftance, out of a great "number, of his own fhameless intrepidity in " affertion."

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If, Sir, you wish to reclaim a perfon, you should never deprive him of all character, but fhould leave him a little, a fmall root, from which more may afterwards fpring. Having now no character to lofe, being capable of afferting any thing,

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true or false, that is likely to answer my purpose, I will, “with the most fhameless intrepidity," af sert, that Epiphanius mentions no fuch falt as you fo very confidently fuppofe him to have done. After carefully examining the paffage which you have produced, I do maintain, that in it he makes no mention whatever of any return of chriftian Jews from Pella, befides that which took place after the deftruction of Jerufalem by Titus, and not at all of any return after the deftruction by Adrian. This is moft evident, from attending to the very next fentence which follows the words that you have quoted. The whole paffage is as follows:

After mentioning Aquila, as appointed by Adrian, the inspector of his works at Ælia, Epiphanius gives the following hiftory of him."Aquila, living at Jerusalem, and feeing the dif

ciples of the difciples of the apoftles flourishing « in the faith, and working great miracles, efpe•cially of healing (For they had returned from "the city of Pella to Jerufalem, and taught there. "For when the city was about to be taken by the "Romans, all the disciples had been forwarned "by an angel to leave the city, which was devot "ed to deftruction. Thefe, leaving it, went and "dwelt in the above-mentioned Pella, beyond

Jordan, one of thofe that were called Decapolis; " but returning after the defolation of Jerufalem, "as I have faid, worked miracles). Aquila, there**fore, being convinced, became a christian, and

**after

"after some time requesting the feal of chriftianity [viz. baptifm] obtained it *."

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What can be more evident, than that the return of the Jewish christians from Pella, mentioned in this paffage by Epiphanius, is that return which followed the deftruction of Jerufalem by Titus? For he fpeaks of their having left that city, antecedent to this return to it, in confequence of being warned by an angel fo to do, which was faid to be the cafe before the deftruction by Titus, but never before that by Adrian ; and it was by the disciples of those who then returned, that Aquila was converted to christianity, which was probably a confiderable time before the deftruction of the Jews by Adrian.

After the imperfect quotation of the paffage of which I have given the entire translation, you have

* Ο τοινυν Ακύλας, διαγων εν τη Ιερεσαλήμ, και ορων τις μαθήτας των μαθητων αποτολων ανθενίας τη πίσει, και σημεία μεγαλα εργαζομενος, ιασεων και άλλων θαυμαίων . ήσαν γαρ υποτρέψανίες απο Πέλλης της πολεως εις Ιερεσαλήμ, και διδασκονίες, ηνικα γαρ ήμελλεν η πόλις αλίσκεσθαι υπο των Ρωμαίων, προεχρηματίσθησαν υπο αγγελώ, παν λες οι μαθήναι μέλαςηναι απο της πόλεως μελλέσης αρδην απολλυσθαι ὁ οι τινες, και μέλαναται γενόμενοι, ώκησαν εν Πελλη τη προγεγραμμένη πολει, πέραν τω Ιορδανε, ήτις εκ δεκαπόλεως λεγεται είναι . μελα δε την Ερημωσιν Ιερυσαλήμ υποτρεψανίες, ως εφην, σημεία μεγάλα επέλεγεν. Ο εν Ακύλας καλανυγεις την διάνοιαν, τω χρισιανισμω επιτευσεν. αλησας δε μεία χρονον την εν χρισω σφραγίδα, εκόμισαλο. De menfuris et ponderibus, Opera, vol. 2. p. 171.

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