horizon, and let us view, with the indifference of persons not concerned in them, the various motions and agitations of human life.  Thou wilt then, I dare say, have a real compassion for the circumstances of mankind, and for the posture in which this view will represent them.  And when thou reflectest upon thy condition, thy thoughts will rise in transports of gratitude and praise to God for having made thy escape from the pollutions of the world.  The things thou wilt principally observe, will be the highways beset with robbers, the seas with pirates, encampments, marches, and all the terrible forms of war and, bloodshed.  When a single murder is committed, it shall be deemed perhaps a crime; but that crime shall commence a virtue, when committed under the shelter of public authority, so that punishment is not rated by the measure of guilt, but the more enormous the size of the wickedness is, so much the greater is the chance for impunity.”  These are the sentiments of Cyprian, and that they were the result of his views of Christianity, as taken from the divine writings, there can be little doubt.  If he had stood upon the same eminence, and beheld the same sights previously to his conversion, he might, like others, have neither thought piracy dishonourable, nor war inglorious.

Lactantius, who lived some time after Cyprian, in his treatise “Concerning the True Worship of God,” says, “It can never be lawful for a righteous man to go to war, whose warfare is in righteousness itself,” And in another part of the same treatise he observes, that “no exception can be made with respect to this command of God.  It can never be lawful to kill a man, whose person the Divine Being designed to be sacred as to violence.”

It will be unnecessary to make extracts from other of the early Christian writers, who mention this subject.  I shall therefore only observe, that the names of Origen, Archelaus, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Jerom, and Cyril, may be added, to those already mentioned, as the names of persons who gave it as their opinion, that it was unlawful for Christians to go to war.

With respect to the practice of the early Christians, which is the next point to be considered, it may be observed, that there is no well authenticated instance upon record, of Christians entering into the army for the first two centuries; but it is true, on the other hand, that they declined the military profession, as one in which it was not lawful for them to engage.

The first species of evidence, which I shall produce to this point, may be found in the following facts, which reach from the year 169 to the year 198, Avidius Crassus had rebelled against the emperor Verus, and was slain in a short time afterwards.  Clodius Albinus in one part of the world, and Pescenninus Niger in another, rebelled against the emperor Severus, and both were slain likewise.  Now suspicion fell, as it always did in these times, if any thing went wrong, upon the Christians, as having been concerned