ard the acts of the Church of the imperial city
with peculiar indulgence. It was the sentinel at the seat of government
to give them notice of the approach of danger, [335:1] and the kind
friend to aid them in times of difficulty. The wealth of Rome was
prodigious; and though as yet "not many mighty" and "not many noble" had
joined the proscribed sect, it had been making way among the middle
classes; and there is cause to think that at this time a considerable
number of the rich merchants of the capital belonged to its communion.
It was known early in the second century as a liberal benefactor; and,
from a letter addressed to it about A.D. 170, it would appear that even
the Church of Corinth was then indebted to its munificence. "It has ever
been your habit," says the writer, "to confer benefits in various ways,
and to send assistance to the Churches in every city. You have relieved
the wants of the poor, and afforded help to the brethren condemned to
the mines. By a succession of these gifts, Romans, you preserve the
customs of your Roman ancestors." [336:1]

The influence of the Roman Church throughout the West soon became
conspicuous. Here, as in many other instances, commerce was the pioneer
of religion; and as the merchants of the capital traded with all the
ports of their great inland sea, it is not improbable that their sailors
had a share in achieving some of the early triumphs of the gospel.
Carthage, now one of the most populous cities in the Empire, is said to
have been indebted for Christianity to Rome; [336:2] and by means of the
constant intercourse kept up between these two commercial marts, the
mother Church contrived to maintain an ascendancy over her African
daughter. Thus it was that certain Romish practices and pretensions so
soon found advocates among the Carthaginian clergy. [336:3] In other
quarters we discover early indications of the extraordinary deference
paid to the Church of the city "sitting upon many waters." Towards the
close of the second century, Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, was
pastor of Lyons; and from this some have rather abruptly drawn the
inference that the Christian congregations then existing in the south of
France were established by missionaries from the East; but it is at
least equally probable that the young minister from Asia Minor was in
Rome before he passed to the more distant Gaul; and it is certain that
he is the first father who speaks of the superior importance o