ge length of the life of the
president for the remainder of the century; as, of the ten individuals
in all who were at the head of the Roman Church during its revolution,
the five who followed next after Clement lived only _forty-two_ years,
whilst their five successors lived _fifty-nine_ years. Thus, there is at
least some ostensible ground for the inquiry whether any arrangement was
made, about the time of Hyginus, which may account for these statistics.

The origin of the Church of Rome, like the origin of the city, is buried
in obscurity; and a very few facts constitute the whole amount of our
information respecting it during the first century of its existence.
About the time of Hyginus the twilight of history begins to dawn upon
it. Guided by the glimmerings of intelligence thus supplied, we shall
endeavour to illustrate tins dark passage in its annals. The following
statements may contribute somewhat to the explanation of transactions
which have hitherto been rarely noticed by modern ecclesiastical
writers.

I. A change in the organization of the Church about the time of Hyginus,
will account for the increase in the average length of the lives of the
Roman bishops. [539:1] If the alteration, mentioned by Hilary, was now
made in the mode of succession to the presidential chair, such a result
must have followed. Under the new regime, the recommendation of large
experience would still have much weight in the choice of a bishop, but
he would frequently enter on his duties at a somewhat earlier age, and
thus the ordinary duration of his official career would be considerably
extended. [539:2]

II. The time of Hyginus exactly answers to the description of the period
when, according to the testimony of Jerome, prelacy commenced. The
heretics then exhibited extraordinary zeal, so that "parties in
religion" were springing up all over the Empire. The Church of Rome is
said to have hitherto escaped the contagion of false doctrine, [539:3]
but now errorists from all quarters began to violate its purity and to
disturb its peace. Valentine, Cerdo, Marcion, and Marcus appeared about
this time in the Western capital. [540:1] Some of these men were noted
for their genius and learning; and there is every reason to believe that
they created no common ferment. They were assiduous in the dissemination
of their principles, and several of them resorted to very extraordinary
and unwarrantable expedients for strengthening their respectiv