Page:1909historyofdec04gibbuoft.djvu/113

Chap, xxxvii] OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 85 by what means, from what cause, were the eldest of the gods or goddesses produced ? Do they still continue, or have they ceased, to propagate? If they have ceased, summon your antagonists to declare the reason of this strange alteration. If they still continue, the number of the gods must become infinite ; and shall we not risk, by the indiscreet worship of some impotent deity, to excite the resentment of his jealous superior? The visible heavens and earth, the whole system of the universe, which may be conceived by the mind, is it created or eternal? If created, how, or where, could the gods themselves exist before the creation ? If eternal, how could they assume the empire of an independent and pre-existing world ? Urge these arguments with temper and moderation ; insinuate, at seasonable intervals, the truth, and beauty, of the Christian revelation ; and endea- vour to make the unbelievers ashamed, without making them angry." This metaphysical reasoning, too refined perhaps for the Barbarians of Germany, was fortified by the grosser weight of authority and popular consent. The advantage of temporal prosperity had deserted the Pagan cause, and passed over to the service of Christianity. The Eomans themselves, the most powerful and enlightened nation of the globe, had renounced their ancient superstition ; and, if the ruin of their empire seemed to accuse the efficacy of the new faith, the disgrace was already retrieved by the conversion of the victorious Goths. The valiant and fortunate Barbarians, who subdued the provinces of the West, successively received, and reflected, the same edifying example. Before the age of Charlemagne, the Chris- tian nations of Europe might exult in the exclusive possession of the temperate climates, of the fertile lands, which produced corn, wine, and oil, while the savage idolaters, and their help- less idols, were confined to the extremities of the earth, the dark and frozen regions of the North. 83 Christianitv, which opened the gates of Heaven to the Bar- Effects of . J f ° , ij their con- banans, introduced an important change m their moral and version political condition. They received, at the same time, the use of letters, so essential to a religion whose doctrines are con- tained in a sacred book, and, while they studied the divine 83 The sword of Charlemagne added weight to the argument ; but, when Daniel wrote this epistle (a.d. 723), the Mahometans, who reigned from India to Spain, might have retorted it against the Christians.