first centuries, give birth to a single
ecclesiastical writer. From Gaul, which claimed a just preeminence of
learning and authority over all the countries on this side of the
Alps, the light of the gospel was more faintly reflected on the remote
provinces of Spain and Britain; and if we may credit the vehement
assertions of Tertullian, they had already received the first rays
of the faith, when he addressed his apology to the magistrates of the
emperor Severus. But the obscure and imperfect origin of the western
churches of Europe has been so negligently recorded, that if we would
relate the time and manner of their foundation, we must supply the
silence of antiquity by those legends which avarice or superstition long
afterwards dictated to the monks in the lazy gloom of their convents.
Of these holy romances, that of the apostle St. James can alone, by
its singular extravagance, deserve to be mentioned. From a peaceful
fisherman of the Lake of Gennesareth, he was transformed into a valorous
knight, who charged at the head of the Spanish chivalry in their battles
against the Moors. The gravest historians have celebrated his exploits;
the miraculous shrine of Compostella displayed his power; and the sword
of a military order, assisted by the terrors of the Inquisition, was
sufficient to remove every objection of profane criticism.

The progress of Christianity was not confined to the Roman empire; and
according to the primitive fathers, who interpret facts by prophecy, the
new religion, within a century after the death of its divine Author, had
already visited every part of the globe. "There exists not," says Justin
Martyr, "a people, whether Greek or Barbarian, or any other race of men,
by whatsoever appellation or manners they may be distinguished, however
ignorant of arts or agriculture, whether they dwell under tents, or
wander about in covered wagons, among whom prayers are not offered up in
the name of a crucified Jesus to the Father and Creator of all things."
But this splendid exaggeration, which even at present it would be
extremely difficult to reconcile with the real state of mankind, can be
considered only as the rash sally of a devout but careless writer, the
measure of whose belief was regulated by that of his wishes. But neither
the belief nor the wishes of the fathers can alter the truth of history.
It will still remain an undoubted fact, that the barbarians of Scythia
and Germany, who afterwards subverte