to have been condemned to death by the wife and pious Antoninus, but without giving us the author's name; who, most probably, poffeffed of more zeal than veracity, had a mind to imitate the history of the Maccabees. He begins his relation in the following manner: "St. "Felicity was by birth a Roman, and lived in "the reign of Antoninus:" it is clear by thefe words, that the author did not live at the fame time with St. Felicity. He says, that they were judged before the pretor in the Campus Martius: whereas the Roman prefect's tribunal was not in the Campus Martius, but in the capitol; for, although the Comiti had been held there formerly, yet at this time it was used only as a place for reviewing the foldiers, for chariotraces, and for military games: this alone is fufficient to detect the fiction.

The author adds furthermore, that after fen tence was paffed, the emperor committed the care of feeing it executed to different judges; a circumftance which is entirely repugnant to the ufual forms in those times, and in every other.

We also read of St. Hypolitus, who is faid to have been drawn in pieces by horfes, as was

Hypo

the

Hypolitus the fon of Thefeus. But a punishment of this kind was not known among ancient Romans; and this fabulous story took its rife wholly from the fimilitude of names.

And here we may make one obfervation, that in the multitude of martyrologies, compofed wholly by the Chriftians themselves, we almoft always read of a great number of them coming of their own accord into the prison of their condemned brother, following him to execution, faving the blood as it flows from him, doing the fepulchral rites to his dead body, and performing miracles with his relics. Now, if the perfecution was levelled only at the religion, would not the authors of it have destroyed those who thus openly declared themfelves Chriftians, adminiftered comfort and affiftance to their brethren under fentence, and were, moreover, charged with working enchantments with their inanimate remains? would they not have treated them as we have treated feveral different fects of proteftants, whom we have butchered and burnt by hundreds, without diftinction of age or fex? Is there amongst all the authenticated accounts of the antient perfecutions a fingle inftance like that of St. Bartholomew, and the maffacre in Ireland? Is

3

there

there one that comes near to the annual festival, which is ftill celebrated at Touloufe, and which for its cruelty, deferves to be for ever abolished, where a whole city goes in proceffion to return thanks to God, and felicitate each other, for having, two hundred years ago, maffacred upwards of four thousand of their fellow fubjects?

With horror I fay it, but it is an undoubted truth, that we, who call ourfelves Chriftians, have been perfecutors, executioners, and affaffins! And of whom? Of our own brethren: it is we who have razed an hundred towns to their foundations with the crucifix or bible in our hands, and who have continually perfevered in shedding torrents of blood, and lighting the fires of perfecution, from the reign of Conftantine to the time of the religious horrors of the canibals who inhabited the Cevennes; horrors. which, praised be God, no longer exift.

Indeed we ftill fee at times fome miferable wretches of the more diftant provinces fent to the gallows on account of religion: fince the -year 1745, eight perfons have been hanged of thofe called predicants or minifters of the gofpel, whofe only crime was that of having

prayed

prayed to God for their king in bad French; and giving a drop of wine, and a morfel of leavened bread, to a few ignorant peafants. Nothing of all this is known at Paris, where pleafure engrofles the whole attention, and where they are ignorant of every thing that paffes, not only in foreign kingdoms, but even in the more diftant parts of their own. trials in thefe cafes frequently take up less time than is used to condemn a deferter. The king wants only to be informed of this, and he would certainly extend his mercy on such occafions.

The

We do not find that the Roman Catholic priests are treated in this manner in any protestant country: there are above a hundred of them, both in England and Ireland, publickly known to be fuch, and who have yet been fuffered to live peaceable and unmolested, even during the last war.

Shall we then always be the laft to adopt the wholefome fentiments of other nations? They have corrected their errors, when fhall we correct ours? It has required fixty years to make us receive the demonftrations of the great Newton: we have but juft begun to dare to fave the

lives of our children by inoculation, and it is but of very late date that we have put in practice the true principles of Agriculture: when fhall we begin to put in practice the true principles of humanity, or with what face can we reproach the heathens with having made fo many martyrs, when we ourselves are guilty of the fame cruelties in the like circumstances ?

Let it be allowed, that the Romans put to death a number of Chriftians on account of their religion only if fo, the Romans were highly blameable; but fhall we commit the fame injuftice, and while we reproach them for their perfecutions, be perfecutors ourselves?

If there fhould be any one fo deftitute of honefty, or fo blinded with enthufiafm, as to afk me here, Why I thus undertake to lay open our errors and faults, and to destroy the credit of all our falfe miracles and fictitious legends, which ferve to keep alive the zeal and piety of many perfons? Should fuch a perfon tell. me, that fome errors are abfolutely neceffary, that, like ulcers, they give a vent to the humours of the body, and by being taken away would endanger its deftruction, thus would I answer him:

All