simplicity and divine benevolence, the doctrine he has
espoused. He is a frequent inmate of our house, and Julia, not less than
myself, ever greets him with affectionate reverence, as both friend and
instructor. He holds the chief place in the hearts of the Roman
Christians; for even those of the sect who differ from him in doctrine
and in life, cannot but acknowledge that never an apostle presented to
the love and imitation of his followers an example of rarer virtue. Yet
he is not, in the outward rank which he holds, at the head of the
Christian body. Their chiefs are, as you know, the bishops, and Felix is
Bishop of Rome, a man every way inferior to Probus. But he has the good
or ill fortune to represent more popular opinions, in matters both of
doctrine and practice than the other, and of course easily rides into
the posts of trust and honor. Ho represents those among the
Christians--for, alas! there are such among them--who, in seeking the
elevation and extension of Christianity, do not hesitate to accommodate
both doctrine and manner to the prejudices and tastes of both Pagan and
Jew. They seek converts, not by raising them to the height of Christian
principle and virtue, but by lowering these to the level of their
grosser conceptions. Thus it is easy to see that in the hands of such
professors, the Christian doctrine is undergoing a rapid process of
deterioration. Probus, and those who are on his part, see this, are
alarmed, and oppose it; but numbers are against them, and consequently
power and authority. Already, strange as it may seem, when you compare
such things with the institution of Christianity, as effected by its
founder, do the bishops, both in Rome and in the provinces, begin to
assume the state and bearing of nobility. Such is the number and wealth
of the Christian community, that the treasuries of the churches are
full; and from this source the pride and ambition of their rulers are
luxuriously fed. If, as you walk through the street which crosses from
the Quirinal to the Arch of Titus, lined with private dwellings of
unusual magnificence, you ask whose is that with a portico, that for
beauty and costliness rather exceeds the rest, you are told, 'That is
the dwelling of Felix, the Bishop of Rome;' and if it chance to be a
Christian who answers the question, it is done with ill-suppressed pride
or shame, according to the party to which he belongs. This Felix is the
very man, through the easiness of hi