Identifier: historyofromeofr42duru (find matches)
Title: History of Rome and of the Roman people, from its origin to the Invasion of the Barbarians;
Year: 1883 (1880s)
Authors: Duruy, Victor, 1811-1894
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Jewett
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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n and six women (Eusebius, Hist. EccL, vi. 41), and in almost every timethe remains of the victims could be rescued. ^ The luimber of the condemned must have been very small, for neither Tertullian (ApoL,v.), nor Melito (Eusebius, Hist. EccL, iv. 26), nor Lactantius (de Morte jiersecutorum, chap,iii.), counted Trajan among the persecutors. From Domitian, says Lactantius (ibid.), toDecius, multi ac boni principes Roinnni imperii clavtmi regimenque tenuerunt. Christian inscrip-tions dating back witli certainty to the third century, tliat is. one century after Trajan, are yet 820 THE ANTONINES, 96 TO 180 A.D. these violations of the rights of conscience make us indignant ; butit must be considered that the contemporaries of Trajan thoughtas he did and could not think otherwise : that to them theChristians were rebels, and that, in fact, these men who were goingto break up the old order of things were the greatest revolutioniststhe world had yet seen. We are with them against their perse-
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Tomb at Delphi (Lebas and Waddiiîgton, op. cit., pi. 39). cutors, though with grief obliged to say that they experienced thelot of all reformers, that which they themselves afterwards inflictedon whoever undertook to replace the old law by a new one.^ Isit very long since to act as did the Christians of Pliny, with otherideas, ceased to expose persons to the same peril ? Trajan, who inscribes on the penal code of Eome a new crime,that of Chrktiankhig^ attempts at the same time to consolidate the very rare. (Comptes rendus de VAcad. des inscr., 1867, p. 168.) M. de Ro.ssi dates two ofthem in 107 and 110. (Inscr. Christ, ant., 2 and 3.) Tertiilliau expressly says : Sacrilegii et majestatis rei convenimur. Summa hœc causaimmo tota e.<<t (ApoL, x.). It must be added that the law of majesty did not only involve thepenalty of death, ))ut also torture. (Paulus, Smt., v. 2U, § 2.) Besides, Tertullian well under-stands that these two .«ocieties are absolutely incompatible with each o

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