e stiff with wax, fixed to axletrees,
and set on fire in his gardens, in order to illuminate them. This
persecution was general throughout the whole Roman empire; but it rather
increased than diminished the spirit of christianity. In the course of
it, St. Paul and St. Peter were martyred.

To their names may be added, Erastus, chamberlain of Corinth;
Aristarchus, the Macedonian; and Trophimus, an Ephesian, converted by
St. Paul, and fellow-labourer with him; Joseph, commonly called
Barsabas; and Ananias, bishop of Damascus; each of the seventy.

_The Second Persecution, under Domitian, A. D. 81._

The emperor Domitian, who was naturally inclined to cruelty, first slew
his brother, and then raised the second persecution against the
christians. In his rage he put to death some of the Roman senators, some
through malice; and others to confiscate their estates. He then
commanded all the lineage of David to be put to death.

Among the numerous martyrs that suffered during this persecution was
Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, who was crucified; and St. John, who was
boiled in oil, and afterward banished to Patmos. Flavia, the daughter of
a Roman senator, was likewise banished to Pontus; and a law was made,
"That no christian, once brought before the tribunal, should be exempted
from punishment without renouncing his religion."

A variety of fabricated tales were, during this reign, composed in order
to injure the christians. Such was the infatuation of the pagans, that,
if famine, pestilence, or earthquakes afflicted any of the Roman
provinces, it was laid upon the christians. These persecutions among the
christians increased the number of informers and many, for the sake of
gain, swore away the lives of the innocent.

Another hardship was, that, when any christians were brought before the
magistrates, a test oath was proposed, when, if they refused to take it,
death was pronounced against them; and if they confessed themselves
christians, the sentence was the same.

The following were the most remarkable among the numerous martyrs who
suffered during this persecution.

Dionysius, the Areopagite, was an Athenian by birth, and educated in all
the useful and ornamental literature of Greece. He then travelled to
Egypt to study astronomy, and made very particular observations on the
great and supernatural eclipse, which happened at the time of our
Saviour's crucifixion.

The sanctity of his conversation, and the purity of