them on account of the mere excellence of their nature; and that they regarded their sacrifices as a superior species of worship and highly acceptable to their gods.

V. This is further evinced by their sacrificial prayers. 'Sacrificial prayers' are mentioned by Sophocles,* and explained by the scholiast to be

prayers said at the time of sacrificing.' The design of those prayers we are at no loss to know from the forms transmitted to us by Cato.† Father Janus, on raising this pile I address to thee good prayers, that, being honoured with this cake, thou wilt deign 'to be propitious to me and my children, to my 'house and family.' Again: Father Janus, as on raising this pile I have well addressed thee in good prayers, for the sake of this very thing vouchsafe to accept inferior wine.' Another form is: .' O Jupiter, 'while presenting this cake, I address to thee good prayers, that, being honoured with this cake, thou 'wilt deign to be propitious to myself and my 'children, to my house and family.' Passing over many other forms, we shall add the following, used at a triple sacrifice, consisting of animals of three different species: Father Mars, I pray to thee, and 'beseech that thou wilt deign to be propitious to me, to my house, and to my family, for the sake of 'which I have ordered triple sacrifices to be carried ' about my field, land, and farm, that thou wilt keep off, forefend, and avert diseases seen and unseen, ' loss and desolation, calamities and judgments; that 'thou wilt permit the corn and fruits, vineyards and 'coppices, to grow and prosper; that thou wilt pre'serve the shepherds and flocks in safety; and wilt † De Re Rustica, c. 134.

* In Antigone.

grant health and happiness to myself, my house, ' and my family. For the sake of these things, to purify my farm, land, and field, and to effect the purgation, as I have said, deign to accept these three sucking animals which are now to be sacri'ficed.' Hence we learn that the Heathens employed sacrifices as well as prayers in order to obtain prosperity and the favour of their gods, and that they believed their sacrifices to be as efficacious for this purpose as their prayers.

VI. The same ideas are conveyed in the terms used by the heathen writers on all occasions to express the efficacy of sacrifices :-terms which clearly denote propitiating the gods, appeasing their anger, averting the effects of their displeasure, making a propitiatory

atonement.

Homer describes Minerva as propitiated by sacrifice; and Hesiod recommends sacrifice as the means of propitiating Jupiter and the other gods.-Plautus speaks of daily supplicating a god with incense, wine, or other offerings. Pliny mentions the offering of the salted cake as an ancient mode of supplication; and represents animal sacrifices as having great influence in propitiating the gods. Horace asserts the propriety of placating the gods by the blood of a calf; and introduces Agamemnon as having propitiated them by the blood of his own daughter. This horrible circumstance is referred to by Virgil, in almost the same words. Cæsar affirms it to have been believed by the Gauls, that the majesty of the gods could not be propitiated, unless the life of man were sacrificed for the life of man. Cicero, Livy, and Suetonius, all agree in representing sacrifices as

offered for the purpose of averting the anger of the gods and obtaining their favour.*

* Ενθάδε μιν ταυροισι και αρνείοις ιλαονται.

Homer. Il. ii. 550.

Αλλοτε δη σπονδησι θύεσσιτε ιλάσκεσθαι.

Hesiod. Oper. et Dier. i. 336.

Hinc etiam xaλλpe dictus est, cui exta victime deos propitios pol. licebantur.

Ea mihi cotidie,

Aut thure, aut vino, aut aliqui semper supplicat.

Lar apud Plautum, in Prolog. Aulular. Magna est pecori gratia in placamentis deorum.

L. viii. c. 48.

Et thure et fidibus juvat

Plin. Hist. Nat.

Plaçare, et vituli sanguine debito

Custodes Numidæ deos.

Horat. Carm. L. i. Od. 36.

Prudens placavi sanguine divos.

Horat. Serm. L. ii. Sat. 3.

1

Sanguine placasti ventos.

Virgil. Eneid. ii. 116.

Galli, pro vita hominis nisi vita hominis reddatur, non posse deorum immortalium numen placari arbitrantur. Cæsar de Bell. Gall. L. vi. Vide etiam Cicer. pro Fonteio.

Dicitur Otho per omnia piaculorum genera manes Galbæ propitiare. tentasse. Sueton. in Othone, c. 7.

Nec minus propitii erant mola salsa supplicantibus, imo vero, ut palam est, placatiores. Plin. Hist. Nat. L. xii. c. 18.

Per dies aliquot hostiæ majores sine litatione cæsæ, diuque non impetrata pax deum.-Senatus majoribus hostiis usque ad litationem sacrificari jussit. Cæteris diis perlitatum ferunt, Saluti Petilium perlitasse negant. Livii. Hist. L. xxvii. c. 25. L. xli. c. 15.

Quid? quum pluribus diis immolatur, qui tandem evenit, ut litetur aliis, aliis non litetur? Cicero de Divinat. L. ii.

Dein pluribus hostiis cæsis cum litare non posset, introiit in curiam spreta religione. Sueton. in Julio, c. 81.

Si hercle istuc unquam factum est, tum me Jupiter
Faciat, ut semper sacrificem, nec unquam litem.

Plaut. in Poenulo.

Secundum Servium, ad Æneid. 4. et Macrobium, L. iii. c. 5. vox litare est sacrificio placare numen.-Secundum Nonium Marcellum, c, 5. n. 12. Sacrificare est veniam petere: litare est propitiare et votum impetrare.— Secundum Vossium, Etymolog. Sacrificare generale erat: liturè autem locum habebat, cum sacrificium esset diis gratum

S

It is of no importance to our argument, if there were some Heathens who considered it improper to worship their gods with animal sacrifices, or with any sacrifices at all. For those who refused to worship their gods in this way, did not deny that they were so worshipped, or that these services had respect to them; which is as sufficient for our present purpose, as if they had agreed with others, who formed a very large majority, in regarding sacrifice not only as a proper mode of worship, but also as possessing a propitiatory efficacy.

VII. If we inquire what the Christian fathers thought of sacrifices, we shall find it to have been their unanimous opinion that it was never lawful to offer sacrifices except to the one true God; and consequently that they considered sacrifices as including the nature and design of divine worship. On this principle they condemned those who sacrificed to the heathen deities as guilty of idolatry. Thus Tertullian:* If I comply with an invitation to attend a sacrifice, I shall be a partaker of idolatry.' And again: 'If any one deliver wine to a person who is sacrificing, nay, if he assist by a word necessary to the sacrifice, he will be accounted a promoter of idolatry.' Thus Cyprian, to guard the Christians against sacrificing to the gods of the Heathens, urges the divine denunciation: "He that sacrificeth unto any "god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed." But it is needless to adduce testimonies on so plain a matter. One remark will be sufficient. They who thought that sacrifices could never, without the dreadful crime of idolatry, be offered to any other than the one true God, which

De Idololat. c. 16.

+ De Lapsis.

Exod. xxii. 20.

was the opinion of all the Christian fathers; must have attributed to sacrifices the proper nature and design of divine worship, and consequently must have concluded that all sacrifices, legitimately offered as acts of sacred worship, had respect to God.

VIII. Since it is evident that all sacrifices legitimately offered were intended to have respect to God, it follows that the same may be affirmed of the Sacrifice of Christ. For whatever was the object of every legitimate sacrifice, must necessarily have been the object of the sacrifice of Christ. And as his sacrifice belongs to the piacular class, and the whole class of piacular sacrifices was designed to obtain the pardon of transgressions, it follows that his sacrifice was designed to procure from God the pardon of our sins, on whose behalf it was offered. It seemed proper to remark this in passing, that we may not appear, in this and the preceding chapter, to have been pur suing an argument of no importance to our main subject.