OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

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dious part of mankind . k But after the logos had chap.been revealed as the sacred object of the faith,the hope, and the religious worship of the Chris-tians , the mysterious system was embraced bya numerous and increasing multitude in everyprovince of the Roman world. Those personswho, from their age, or sex, or occupations,were the least qualified to judge, who were theleast exercised in the habits of abstract reason-ing, aspired to contemplate the economy of theDivine Nature ; and it is the boast of Tertul-lian, 1 that a Christian mechanic could readilyanswer such questions as had perplexed thewisest of the Grecian sages. Where the sub-ject lies so far beyond our reach, the differencebetween the highest and the lowest of humanunderstandings may indeed be calculated asinfinitely small; yet the degree of weaknessmay perhaps be measured by the degree of ob-stinacy and dogmatic confidence. These spe-culations, instead of being treated as the amuse-ment of a vacant hour, became the most seriousbusiness of the present, and the most usefulpreparation for a future life. A theology, whichit was incumbent to believe, which it was im-pious to doubt, and which it might be danger-

* In a treatise, which professed to explain the opinions of the ancientphilosophers concerning the nature of the gods, we might expect todiscover the theological trinity of Plato . Bnt Cicero very honestlyconfessed, that though he had translated the Timoeus, he could neverunderstand that mysterious dialogue. See Hieronym. przef. ad. 1. xii,in Isaiani, tom. v, p. 154.

1 Tertullian, in Apolog. c. 46. See Bayle,Dictionnaire an mot Simo-aide. His remarks on the presumption of Tertullian are profound andinteresting.

VOE. III.

Y