. Paganism, popery, and Christianity : or, The blessing of an open Bible, as shown in the history of Christianity, from the time of our Saviour to the present day. EARLY CHRISTIAN MARTYRS. EFORE proceeding to noticethe leading events of the re-formation of the sixteenthcentury, we must pause toRecord some examples ofI Christian heroism in theearly days of the usurpations of theclergy, and the corruptions[in faith and worship weregoing on, which we have no-ticed in the last article, theLord in his providence waspreserving a true churchI among the people. Here the Bible was al
. Paganism, popery, and Christianity : or, The blessing of an open Bible, as shown in the history of Christianity, from the time of our Saviour to the present day. EARLY CHRISTIAN MARTYRS. EFORE proceeding to noticethe leading events of the re-formation of the sixteenthcentury, we must pause toRecord some examples ofI Christian heroism in theearly days of the usurpations of theclergy, and the corruptions[in faith and worship weregoing on, which we have no-ticed in the last article, theLord in his providence waspreserving a true churchI among the people. Here the Bible was always making itsconquests. The simple good,the unlearned in all learning .„.._. but the best, namely, the Holy Scriptures, were at all times ready to seal theirfaith with their blood. . ., i In the primitive ages of Christianity the peoplehad free access to the Scriptures, and in those times. 128 EARLY MARTYRS. we find the most noble examples of martyrdom forthe truth. Our limits will not permit us to cite manyexamples of this kind. Under several of the Romanemperors the Christians were visited with terriblepersecutions. Paganism resisted the light of truthwith most envenomed malignity. Martyrs of all agesand both sexes were burned, decapitated, exposed in thearena of the amphitheatre to wild beasts and torturedwith a fiendish cruelty and ingenuity, which makesone shudder at the bare recital. We will quote from Dean Milners History of theChurch a portion of the narrative of the persecutionof the Christians under the emperor Severus ; andthis will serve as a sufficient indication of the spirit inwhich all those persecutions were conducted, and ofthe noble Christian heroism with which they wereborne. Dean Milner says,— If the ancient martyrologies had been preserveduncorrupted, they would, doubtless afibrd us usefulmaterials, and illustrate much the spirit and geniusof rea
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