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| That We Need Only to Read History in Order to See What Calamities the Romans Suffered Before the Religion of Christ Began to Compete with the Worship of the Gods.
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Chapter 3.—That We Need Only to
Read History in Order to See What Calamities the Romans Suffered
Before the Religion of Christ Began to Compete with the Worship of
the Gods.
But remember that, in recounting
these things, I have still to address myself to ignorant men; so
ignorant, indeed, as to give birth to the common saying, “Drought
and Christianity go hand in hand.”88
| 88
Pluvia defit, causa Christiani. Similar accusations and similar replies may be seen
in the celebrated passage of Tertullian’s Apol. c. 40, and
in the eloquent exordium of Arnobius, C. Gentes. | There are indeed some among them
who are thoroughly well-educated men, and have a taste for history,
in which the things I speak of are open to their observation; but
in order to irritate the uneducated masses against us, they feign
ignorance of these events, and do what they can to make the vulgar
believe that those disasters, which in certain places and at
certain times uniformly befall mankind, are the result of
Christianity, which is being everywhere diffused, and is possessed
of a renown and brilliancy which quite eclipse their own gods.89
| 89
Augustin is supposed to refer to Symmachus, who
similarly accused the Christians in his address to the Emperor
Valentinianus in the year 384. At Augustin’s request, Paulus
Orosius wrote his history in confutation of Symmachus’
charges. | Let them then, along with us, call
to mind with what various and repeated disasters the prosperity of
Rome was blighted, before ever Christ had come in the flesh, and
before His name had been blazoned among the nations with that glory
which they vainly grudge. Let them, if they can, defend their
gods in this article, since they maintain that they worship them in
order to be preserved from these disasters, which they now impute
to us if they suffer in the least degree. For why did these gods
permit the disasters I am to speak of to fall on their worshippers
before the preaching of Christ’s name offended them, and put an
end to their sacrifices?E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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