Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/548

 536 CHRISTIANITY ity itself contained nothing more wonderful or more convincing to its adversaries than the Christ-like spirit of its adherents. Though they were all imperfect, and though some of them fell into errors and into sins, yet we learn not only from the apostolic writings, but from the testimony of pagans, that their attachment to truth, and to the purest principles of morality, and to all the virtues of a truly Christian walk, was such as to present the most striking con- trast to what was observed among other peo- ple. Connected with this devotion of spirit was the earnestness with which every disciple espoused the Christian cause. Every one was a propagandist. That religion which was all things to them, they wished to communicate to others. They saw men living without God in the world. The same compassion which moved Christ to devote his life to the salvation of men, prompted his followers to render that salvation as availing to all their fellow men as possible. Wherever a Christian went, Christ was preach- ed, and the faith was propagated. A Christian captive was sometimes the means of converting whole communities and nations. The spirit of its founder animated the church, and conversions from idolatry were rapidly multiplied. The age of Christ and of his apostles is the turning point in the world's history. There is no other epoch of equal importance in itself or of equal influence upon mankind. If we ask what has made the moral history- of the world gradually improve from that date, no cause so powerful can be named as Christianity. As the industry of man has given a new face to nature, so the spirit of Jesus Christ has given a new aspect to human society. Its influence is so all-perva- ding that it is difficult to specify particulars. It new-models the individual morally, and ele- vates him intellectually. It acts upon the fam- ily in modifying and ennobling all its relations. The wife and mother is exalted to a nobler sphere, and her position of newly acquired honor enables her to shed a most benign influ- ence upon the family and upon society. The husband and father is a priest in his household, and has more sacred feelings of humanity and tenderness to those whose happiness and for- tunes are placed at his disposal. The child, first secured against infanticide, then elevated as a moral being, and educated to Christian virtue, makes the love and respect of parents a part of his religion. And so the whole domestic rela- tion is improved and sanctified by the example and teachings of Jesus. The exaltation of na- ture which blesses the individual and the family reaches also the state, and teaches it to respect the rights and to seek the well-being of the in- dividual. It no longer makes itself the end and men the means, as in ancient pagan times, but is itself a minister to man as a social being. It recognizes the rights of other nations, regards itself as an instrument for promoting the inter- ests of mankind, and acknowledges a higher aim than its own selfish purposes. Though the state is the last to feel the direct power of Christianity, it is beginning to consider itself commissioned by the genius of Christianity to do something noble as well as just for the whole brotherhood of man. It remains for us to sketch the working of Christianity from the time of its establishment to the present. This is not the place to give the details of ecclesias- tical history ; and yet the influence of Chris- tianity upon the world cannot be portrayed without involving what is most spiritual and vital in the history of the church. It will be convenient to divide the Christian age into three periods : the early period, when the church was oppressed and persecuted, reaching to the time of Constantine ; the mediroval period, when the church was recognized as catholic, and was for the most part dominant ; and the Protestant period, during which Christendom has been divided into two great parties, and the au- thority of the church over the state has been greatly diminished. Though the second pe- riod has a duration about four times as great as either of the others, in their relative histori- cal importance they stand nearly on a level with each other. First period, extending to the year 811. At the time the apostles were zeal- ously propagating the faith, the ape of classic antiquity was nearly gone by. Neither Greece with its individuality, liberty, and intelligence, nor Rome with its stern rule and power of conquest, had furnished anything which could perpetuate social progress and preserve na- tions from decay. Unless a more potent con- servative element could be thrown into society, the prospect was that all nations would share the fate of the great monarchies of the East, every period of great civilization being follow- ed by a relapse into barbarism. Judaism, which was never designed to be universal or perpetual, had done its work, and was already eft'ete. It was easy to see, within a very short time, that if there were any regenerative pow- er which could arrest the tendency to decay, it must be found in the inspiring youthful enthu- siasm of the new religion. Instead of the pre- vailing skepticism, the Christian had a positive faith. Instead of limiting his views to a mere earthly existence, and living after none but self- ish principles, he lived for another world, and after another's will. His character and life were hereby ennobled. He knew the worth of the human soul, and would not violate its obligations nor jeopard its interests to please men. He had the loftiest style of character, and was capable of the highest and most difficult virtues. Herein lay the vigor of the Christian cause ; and the want of all these things made the whole fabric of the Roman empire but a hollow shell. Hence, in the protracted strug- gle of three centuries between paganism and Christianity, the one was continually sinking while the other was steadily rising. The class of men of whose existence in any political rela- tions Trajan needed to be informed, gave char- acter to the whole empire under Constantine. Within a third of a century after the death of