ent on us diligently to remember, that the kingdom
of heaven was promised to the poor in spirit, and that minds afflicted
by calamity and the contempt of mankind, cheerfully listen to the divine
promise of future happiness; while, on the contrary, the fortunate are
satisfied with the possession of this world; and the wise abuse in doubt
and dispute their vain superiority of reason and knowledge.

We stand in need of such reflections to comfort us for the loss of some
illustrious characters, which in our eyes might have seemed the most
worthy of the heavenly present. The names of Seneca, of the elder and
the younger Pliny, of Tacitus, of Plutarch, of Galen, of the slave
Epictetus, and of the emperor Marcus Antoninus, adorn the age in which
they flourished, and exalt the dignity of human nature. They filled with
glory their respective stations, either in active or contemplative life;
their excellent understandings were improved by study; Philosophy had
purified their minds from the prejudices of the popular superstition;
and their days were spent in the pursuit of truth and the practice of
virtue. Yet all these sages (it is no less an object of surprise than of
concern) overlooked or rejected the perfection of the Christian system.
Their language or their silence equally discover their contempt for the
growing sect, which in their time had diffused itself over the Roman
empire. Those among them who condescended to mention the Christians,
consider them only as obstinate and perverse enthusiasts, who exacted an
implicit submission to their mysterious doctrines, without being able
to produce a single argument that could engage the attention of men of
sense and learning.

It is at least doubtful whether any of these philosophers perused the
apologies * which the primitive Christians repeatedly published in
behalf of themselves and of their religion; but it is much to be
lamented that such a cause was not defended by abler advocates.
They expose with superfluous with and eloquence the extravagance of
Polytheism. They interest our compassion by displaying the innocence and
sufferings of their injured brethren. But when they would demonstrate
the divine origin of Christianity, they insist much more strongly on the
predictions which announced, than on the miracles which accompanied, the
appearance of the Messiah. Their favorite argument might serve to
edify a Christian or to convert a Jew, since both the one and the other
acknow