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A passage in praise of the piety, virtue and tolerance of the 'barbarian' Huns, Vandals and Visigoths, by contrast with the hypocrisy and decadence of the pseudo-Christian Romans whom they conquered.
in English
Most of SL265 is now Yahuda Var. 1 Ms. 14, q.v. for the sale history.
Thus far of e
of e
Christian virtues, Charity, Abstinence from plea
sures & Chastity. In e
compare them in respect of persecuting, & here
if we consider persecution according to eof co
secuting, che
punish men by e
in Faith: it must be granted te
rians were ee
during Theodosius's reign & afterwards were
very great persecutors & e
at all. But this is but to return their own
argument upon those who are so blind & wicked
as to applaud that for piety in them
selves chcondemn
nesse
rule of Persecutors. The Magistrate may punish
or cut off any for their vices or evil actions
but not professors of Christianity for erronious
opinions, least they pluck up ethe
Tares. The Church may reprove or excommu
nicate these but she has as little power to autho
rity to guide ee
handle his sword: for this is but to make her self eeIn short Shee may excommu
Whatsoever wears sheeps
nicate f
ver instituted that a means of her propagation &
preservation. If we would have them once with us we use e
them, & not urge them by violence to do what is
contrary to their perswasion, seing whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
crease her numbers but ever allays & debases her
self with impure mixtures, force prevailing with
none but Hypocrites. And this I take to be e
reason of eech
Theodosius's reign, his persecution squeezing out e
consee
pocrytical part of e
a Wolf Matth 10.16, 17, & every Christian that preaches
it is one of e
thing Math 7.e
he said Then shall many be offended & shall betray
one another & shall hate one another Matth 24.
And to all such belongs that reprehension. Ye know
not what manner of spirit ye are of. Luke 9. In
short: whatsoever wears sheeps cloathing if it be
as ravenous as a wolf it betrays it self by it's ra
venousness to be no sheep. The Wolves may worry eee
them & not to excuse their ravenousness by pretend
ing they are sheep. For 'tis our Saviour's rule speak
ing of these wolfs, to judge ee
not e
Hence then we have another character of
a true Church. For you have already heard how
vehement persecutors e
dosius's reign & afterwar besides what they did after
wards; but e
Salvian 40 years after their breaking into the ee
fortè aliquis, non id esse nunc temporis ut pro
Christo nos perferamus quæ tunc Apostoli pertu
lerunt. Verum est. Non enim sunt Principes
Pagani, non Tyranni persecutores, non sanguis
sanctorum funditur, nec fides supplicijs compro
batur – – – – – et ideo cùm et Principes Christiani
sint, & Persecutio nulla sit & religio non inqui
etetur, qui ad probandum fidem experimentis
durioribus non compellimus inferioribus saltem
officijs domino plus placere debemus. Salv. lib. 3
De Gub. Dei.e
on of ebrbarians for e
their conquests: che
they absteined from pers
on those that had so highly provoked them by it.
They shewed themselves Christians in absteining from
persecuting: It was more for Conquered
persecute a conquered people, but not to retaliate
persecution on their conquered persecutors was a
high instance of Christian Principles.
This is enough to shew the temper of their
religion at their first breaking into ee
Empire: though if we should prosecute it to
later times when their religion abated began more
& more to decay, we should find them generally
less persecutors then reigning Christians used to be
in any ages since. The a
ted. The Visigoths
are not accused for it till e
& he did no more then to bat e
death of each of their Priests e
that Priest officiated, should be taken from themchtheth
The Vandals I reccon began not to persecute till
Hunneric A C. 484. For Geiseric was rather a
Tyrant then a persecutor being as cruel to those
of his own religion as to others, & making no Law
against e
to raise a national persecution. But whatever e
later times were when e
degenerate & imitate e
said to shew e
fluenced by those Roman Christians whom e
sian persecution had made fly to them, that at
their first Conquests & for 40 years after, besides
some time after Salvian wrote they persecuted
not at all, & afterwards not so much as e
mans: no not ee
geries of e
been to cry up Malefactors
We have seen out of Salvian how much the
Barbarians transcended e
towards man: let us now see out of e
Salvian how much they differed in piety & de
votion towards God.