aken from
the very fragments of his book preserved by Origen, and never pretends
to dispute His real existence, or the truth of the facts recorded of
Him. Hierocles, a man of learning and a magistrate, who wrote against
the Christians, speaks of Jesus as extolled by the Christians as a
god; mentions Peter and Paul by name; and refers both to the Gospels
and to the Epistles. The Emperor Julian, in the fourth century, called
"Apostate," writes of the birth of Jesus in the reign of Augustus;
bears witness to the genuineness and authenticity of the Gospels, and
the Acts of the Apostles; and allows that Jesus Christ wrought
miracles. He aimed to overthrow the Christian religion, but has
confirmed it. The slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem is attested by
Macrobius; the darkness at the crucifixion is recorded by Phlegon, and
quoted by Origen. The manners and worship of the primitive Christians
are distinctly named by Pliny. The great dearth throughout the Roman
world, foretold by Agabus, in the reign of Claudius (Acts xi. 28), is
attested by Suetonius Dion, Josephus, and others. The expulsion of the
Jews from Rome by Claudius (Acts xviii. 2) was occasioned, says
Suetonius, by the insurrection they had made about Chrestus, which is
his way of spelling Christ. It has been repeatedly proved, with
laborious research, and profuse erudition, that vestiges of all the
principal doctrines of the Christian religion are to be found in the
monuments, writings, or mythologies of all nations and ages. And the
principal facts contained in the Gospels are confirmed by monuments of
great fame subsisting in every Christian country at this very day. For
instance, baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the
rite by which from the beginning men have been initiated into the
Church of Christ, and the profession of Christianity. The Lord's
Supper, celebrated in memory of the dying love of Christ. And the
stated observation of the first day of the week, in honor of Christ's
resurrection from the dead. Who can say, and prove, that this is not
evidential of the truth and credibility of the New Testament? What but
inspiration could have produced such internal harmony, and such
external accordance?

[Illustration: FRIEZE FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS.]

Of the monuments, none is more striking than the Arch of Titus. This
celebrated structure was erected by the Senate and the people of Rome
in estimation of the services of Titus in conquer