The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . tending sovereigns distracted thewhole world. The earth groaned under the separate tyranny of its many (175) 176 THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. masters ; and, according to the strong expression of a rhetorical writer, thegrinding taxation had so exhausted the proprietors and the cultivators of thesoil, the merchants and the artisans, that none remained to tax but beggars. Thesufferings of the Christians, though still inflicted with unremitting barbarity,were lost in the co
The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . tending sovereigns distracted thewhole world. The earth groaned under the separate tyranny of its many (175) 176 THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. masters ; and, according to the strong expression of a rhetorical writer, thegrinding taxation had so exhausted the proprietors and the cultivators of thesoil, the merchants and the artisans, that none remained to tax but beggars. Thesufferings of the Christians, though still inflicted with unremitting barbarity,were lost in the common sufferings of mankind. The rights of Roman citizen-ship, which had been violated in their persons, were now universally neglected *and, to extort money, the chief persons of the towns, the unhappy decurions, whowere responsible for the payment of the contributions, were put to the the roasting by a slow fire, invented to force the conscience of the devoutChristians, was borrowed, in order to wring the reluctant impost from the un-happy provincial. Such, in remote ages, had been the usage of oriental. REMAINS OF A ROMAN AQUEDUCT. despotism, which the emperors now imitated; such is still the wretched practicein Turkey and other Mohammedan lands. In Italy the faithful no longer suffered for their faith ; if they still resortedto the catacombs, it was rather from precaution than from fear of active was a loose reprobate, dangerous to all mens wives and daughtersalike. If a Christian matron, the wife of a senator, submitted to a voluntarydeath rather than to the loss of her honor, it was her beauty, not her Chris-tianity, which marked her out as the victim of the tyrant. In France andBritain believers were protected, as far as possible, by Constantius and hisgreater son, who succeeded him in 306. But in the East their condition was noway bettered, for the Caesar Maximin was the worthy pupil of his uncle may be made for some earl
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