The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . eeded withhis usual artifice. He found acrew of profligate and abandonedwretches, who were induced to con-fess themselves guilty; and on their testimony a number of Christians wereconvicted, not on clear evidence of having set the city on fire, but rather onaccount of their sullen hatred of the whole human race. They were put todeath with extreme cruelty, and to their agonies Nero added mockery andderision. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts, and left to bedev
The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . eeded withhis usual artifice. He found acrew of profligate and abandonedwretches, who were induced to con-fess themselves guilty; and on their testimony a number of Christians wereconvicted, not on clear evidence of having set the city on fire, but rather onaccount of their sullen hatred of the whole human race. They were put todeath with extreme cruelty, and to their agonies Nero added mockery andderision. Some were covered with the skins of wild beasts, and left to bedevoured by dogs ; others were nailed to crosses; numbers were burnt alive;.and many, smeared with inflammable materials, were used as torches to illu-mine the night. The emperor lent his own gardens for this tragic spectacle;he added the sports of the circus, driving a chariot, and then mingling withthe crowd in his coachmans dress. At length the cruelty of these proceed-ings filled every breast with pity. Humanity relented in favor of the Chris-tians. Their manners were no doubt pernicious, and their evil deeds called. ST. PAUL. I THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. for punishment; but it was evident that they were sacrificed, not to the publicwelfare, but to the rage and cruelty of one man. This extract from the great historian gives memorable witness both tothe atrocides of Nero and to the slanders then generally believed. Neanderthinks that many of these living torches and other victims of the tyrantmay have been accused as Christians without being so. There was evidentlyno regular inquiry, and no aim at what the laws called justice: the hatedname of Christian might conveniently be bestowed on any malefactor or per-son of evil repute. Tradition connects the death of the two chief apostles, St. Peter and , with this persecution; and Canon Farrar fancies that St. John also mayhave beheld these horrid scenes, and described them, in a large poetical way,in the Apocalypse. We m
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