Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 15. (4/15/1886)

Signs of the Times

Apr 15, 1886

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 15, 1886

General Articles.

By Mrs. E. G. White

The Character of the Law of God.

DAVID says: "The law of the Lord is perfect." "Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever." And Paul testifies: "The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good."

As the Supreme Ruler of the universe, God has ordained laws for the government not only of all living beings, but of all the operations of nature. Everything, whether great or small, animate or inanimate, is under fixed laws which cannot be disregarded. There are no exceptions to this rule; for nothing that the divine hand has made has been forgotten by the divine mind. But while everything in nature is governed by natural law, man alone, as an intelligent being, capable of understanding its requirements, is amenable to moral law. To man alone, the crowning work of his creation, God has given a conscience to realize the sacred claims of the divine law, and a heart capable of loving it as holy, just, and good; and of man prompt and perfect obedience is required. Yet God does not compel him to obey; he is left a free moral agent.

The subject of man's personal responsibility is understood by but few; and yet it is a matter of the greatest importance. We may each obey and live, or we may transgress God's law, defy his authority, and receive the punishment that is meet. Then to every soul the question comes home with force, Shall I obey the voice from Heaven, the ten words spoken from Sinai, or shall I go with the multitude who trample on that fiery law? To those who love God it will be the highest delight to keep his commandments, and to do those things that are pleasing in his sight. But the natural heart hates the law of God, and wars against its holy claims. Men shut their souls from the divine light, refusing to walk in it as it shines upon them. They sacrifice purity of heart, the favor of God, and their hope of Heaven, for selfish gratification or worldly gain.

Says the psalmist, "The law of the Lord is perfect." How wonderful in its simplicity, its comprehensiveness and perfection, is the law of Jehovah! It is so brief that we can easily commit every precept to memory, and yet so far-reaching as to express the whole will of God, and to take cognizance, not only of the outward actions, but of the thoughts and intents, the desires and emotions, of the heart. Human laws cannot do this. They can deal with the outward actions only. A man may be a transgressor, and yet conceal his misdeeds from human eyes; he may be a criminal,—a thief, a murderer, or an adulterer,—but so long as he is not discovered, the law cannot condemn him as guilty. The law of God takes note of the jealousy, envy, hatred, malignity, revenge, lust, and ambition that surge through the soul, but have not found expression in outward action, because the opportunity, not the will, has been wanting. And these sinful emotions will be brought into the account in the day when "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil."

The law of God is simple, and easily understood. There are men who proudly boast that they believe only what they can understand, forgetting that there are mysteries in human life and in the manifestation of God's power in the works of nature,—mysteries which the deepest philosophy, the most extensive research, is powerless to explain. But there is no mystery in the law of God. All can comprehend the great truths which it embodies. The feeblest intellect can grasp these rules; the most ignorant can regulate the life, and form the character after the divine standard.

If the children of men would, to the best of their ability, obey this law, they would gain strength of mind and power of discernment to comprehend still more of God's purposes and plans. And this advancement would be continued, not only during the present life, but during eternal ages; for however far we may advance in the knowledge of God's wisdom and power, there is always an infinity beyond.

The divine law requires us to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. Without the exercise of this love, the highest profession of faith is mere hypocrisy. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments," says Christ, "hang all the law and the prophets."

The law demands perfect obedience. "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Not one of those ten precepts can be broken without disloyalty to the God of Heaven. The least deviation from its requirements, by neglect or willful transgression, is sin, and every sin exposes the sinner to the wrath of God. Obedience was the only condition upon which ancient Israel was to receive the fulfillment of the promises which made them the highly favored people of God; and obedience to that law will bring as great blessings to individuals and nations now as it would have brought to the Hebrews.

Obedience to the law is essential, not only to our salvation, but to our own happiness and the happiness of all with whom we are connected. "Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them," says the inspired word. Yet finite man will present to the people this holy, just, and good law, this law of liberty, which the Creator himself has adapted to the wants of man, as a yoke of bondage, a yoke which no man can bear. But it is the sinner who regards the law as a grievous yoke; it is the transgressor that can see no beauty in its precepts. For the carnal mind "is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

"By the law is the knowledge of sin;" for "sin is the transgression of the law." It is through the law that men are convicted of sin; and they must feel themselves sinners, exposed to the wrath of God, before they will realize their need of a Saviour. Satan is continually at work to lessen man's estimate of the grievous character of sin. And those who trample the law of God under their feet are doing the work of the great deceiver; for they are rejecting the only rule by which they can define sin, and bring it home to the conscience of the transgressor.

The law of God reaches to those secret purposes, which, though they may be sinful, are often passed over lightly, but which are in reality the basis and the test of character. It is the mirror into which the sinner is to look if he would have a correct knowledge of his moral character. And when he sees himself condemned by that great standard of righteousness, his next move must be to repent of his sins, and seek forgiveness through Christ. Failing to do this, many try to break the mirror which reveals their defects, to make void the law which points out the blemishes in their life and character.

We are living in an age of great wickedness. Multitudes are enslaved by sinful customs and evil habits, and the fetters that bind them are difficult to break. Iniquity, like a flood, is deluding the earth. Crimes almost too fearful to be mentioned, are of daily occurrence. And yet men professing to be watchmen on the walls of Zion will teach that the law was designed for the Jews only, and passed away with the glorious privileges that ushered in the gospel age. Is there not a relation between the prevailing lawlessness and crime, and the fact that ministers and people hold and teach that the law is no longer of binding force?

The condemning power of the law of God extends, not only to the things we do, but to the things we do not do. We are not to justify ourselves in omitting to do the things that God requires. We must not only cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. God has given us powers to be exercised in good works; and if these powers are not used, we shall certainly be set down as wicked and slothful servants. We may not have committed grievous

sins; such offenses may not stand registered against us in the book of God; but the fact that our deeds are not recorded as pure, good, elevated, and noble, showing that we have not improved our intrusted talents, places us under condemnation.

The law of God existed before man was created. It was adapted to the condition of holy beings; even angels were governed by it. After the fall, the principles of righteousness were unchanged. Nothing was taken from the law; not one of its holy precepts could be improved. And as it has existed from the beginning, so will it continue to exist throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. "Concerning thy testimonies," says the psalmist, "I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever."

By this law, which governs angels, which demands purity in the most secret thoughts, desires, and dispositions, and which "shall stand fast forever," all the world is to be judged in the rapidly approaching day of God. Transgressors may flatter themselves that the Most High does not know, that the Almighty does not consider; he will not always bear with them. Soon they will receive the reward of their doings, the death that is the wages of sin; while the righteous nation, that have kept the law, will be ushered through the pearly gates of the celestial city, and will be crowned with immortal life and joy in the presence of God and the Lamb.

BRINGING HOME THE FLOCK.

By Sarah Doudney

THROUGH pastures fair, And sea-girt paths all wild with rock and foam, O'er velvet sward, and desert stern and bare, The flock comes home.

A weary way, Now smooth, then rugged with a thousand snares; Now dim with rain, then sweet with blossoms gay, And summer airs,

Yet, safe at last, Within the fold they gather, and are still; Sheltered from driving shower and stormy blast, They fear no ill.

Through life's dark ways, Through flowery paths where evil angels roam, Through restless nights, and long, heart-wasting days, Christ's flock comes home.

Safe to the fold, The blessed fold, where fears are never known, Love-guarded, fenced about with walls of gold, He leads his own.

O Shepherd King, With pierced hands, whose lightest touch is blest! Thine is the kingdom, thine the power, to bring Thy flock to rest! —Sarah Doudney.

The Ten Commandments the Constitution of Old Testament Regulations.

THE following, concerning the position which the ten commandments hold in moral government, is from W. A. Jarrel's "Old Testament Ethics Vindicated:"—

The ten commandments sustain the relation to the statutes and regulations of Israel that the constitution of a State or of the United States sustains to its statutes and regulations. In other words, the ten commandments were the moral constitution of Israel; the other laws and regulations were the statutes. The reader will, from this fact, readily see that none of the laws and regulations of Israel can conflict with the ten commandments; and that their interpretation and ethics must be according to the ethics of this constitution. Let the reader carefully, here, read and compare Ex. 20, 23. Then compare these with Ex. 34: 1. Dr. Rufus P. Stebbins says these were "a code of rules based upon the ten laws or commandments."—A Study of the Pentateuch, p. 29, note. And Dr. Stebbins quotes Davidson: "The Proverbs are ethical maxims, deducted from the Mosaic law and divine Providence."—Id., p. 128. Remember that neither Professor Stebbins nor Professor Davidson are members of the "evangelical" side. "On the basis of these, it may be conceived that the fabric of the Mosaic system gradually grew up under the requirements of the time."—Smith's Bible Dict., Vol. 2, p. 163.

The following are a few points from "The Decalogue," by that master of Old Testament learning, Professor Fairbairn, D. D.: "1. The very manner in which these commandments were given is sufficient to vindicate for them a place peculiarly their own. For these alone of all the precepts were spoken immediately by the voice of God, while the rest were privately communicated to Moses, and by him delivered to the people. Nor was the mode of revelation merely peculiar, but it was attended also by demonstrations of divine majesty, such as were never witnessed on any other occasion. . . . 2. The same may also be inferred from the number ten, the symbol of completeness. It indicates that they formed by themselves an entire whole, made up of the necessary, and no more than the necessary, complement of parts. . . . 3. It perfectly accords with this view of the ten commandments, and is a further confirmation of it, that they were written by the finger of God on two tables of stone—written on both sides, so as to cover the entire surface, and not leave room for future additions, as if what was already given might admit of improvements; and written on durable tables of stone, while the rest of the law was written only on parchment or paper. . . .

"Hengstenberg . . . justly remarks: . . . 'The stone points to the perpetuity which belongs to the law, as an expression of the divine will, originating in the divine nature.' It was an image of the truth uttered by our Lord: 'Verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.' 4. Then these ten words, as they are called, had the peculiar honor conferred on them by being properly the terms of the covenant, formed at Sinai. Then Moses, when rehearsing what had taken place, says (Deut. 4:13): 'And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon tables of stone.' Again, in chapter 9: 9, 11, he calls those tables of stone, 'the tables of the covenant.' So also, in Ex. 34: 28, the words written upon tables, the ten commandments, are expressly called 'the words of the covenant.' To mark more distinctly the covenant nature of these words, it is to be observed that the Scripture never once uses the expression, 'the tables of the law,' but always simply 'the tables of the testimony,' or, conjoining the two, 'the tables of the testimony or tables of the covenant.'

"It is true some other commands are coupled with the ten, when, in Ex. 34: 27, the Lord said to Moses, that after the tenor of (at the mouth of, according to) these words he had made a covenant with Israel. It is true, also, that at the formal ratification of the covenant (Ex. 24) we read of the book of the covenant, which comprehended not only the ten commandments, but also the precepts contained in chapters 21, 23; for it is clear that the book comprised all that the Lord had then said, either directly or by the instrumentality of Moses, and to which the people answered, 'We will do it.' But it is carefully to be observed that a marked distinction is still put between the ten commandments and the other precepts; for the former are called, emphatically, 'the words of the Lord,' while the additional words, given through Moses, are called 'the judgments.' Verse 3. They are, indeed, for the most part, peculiarly rights or judgments, having respect, for the most part, to what should be done from one man to another; and what, in the event of violations of the law being committed, ought to be enforced judicially, with a view of rectifying or checking the evil. . . .

"5. What has been said in regard to the ten commandments, as alone properly constituting the terms of the covenant, is fully established; and the singular importance of these commandments further manifested, by the place afterwards assigned them in the tabernacle. The most sacred portion of this—that which formed the very heart of all the services connected with it—was the ark of the covenant. It was the peculiar symbol of the Lord's covenant presence and faithfulness, and immediately above it was the throne on which he sat as king in Jeshurun. But the ark was made on purpose to contain the tables of the law, and was called the 'ark of the covenant,' simply because it contained the 'tables of the covenant.' The book of the law was afterwards placed by Moses at the side of the ark. . . . But the tables on which the ten commandments were written alone kept possession of the ark, and were thus recognized as containing in themselves the sum and substance of what in righteousness was held to be strictly required by the covenant.

"6. Finally, our Lord and his apostles always point to the revelation of law engraven upon these stones as holding a pre-eminent place, and, indeed, as comprising all that, in the strict and proper sense, was to be esteemed as law. . . . We should despair of proving anything respecting the Old Testament dispensation, if these considerations do not prove that the law of the ten commandments stood out from all other precepts enjoined under the ministration of Moses, and were intended to form a full and comprehensive exhibition of the righteousness of the law in its strict and proper sense."—The Typology of Scripture, by Fairbairn, Vol. 2, pp. 78-83.

The Evidence of Things Not Seen.

An English lady whose Christian work incurs a large outlay every year, and who trusts to her divine Master to provide everything in response to her faith and prayer, says: "I was once confronted with an infidel, who demanded what proof we have that there is a God, or, rather, that we could know there is a God. I replied:—

"If you had made an appeal to a person whom you had never seen, and of whose existence you only knew by report, for a thousand pounds, and if he had responded to your appeal by sending you the money by the hand of some friend, would you not know that such a person must be a living reality?"

"Yes," he said with an incredulous smile, "I think I should. Hard cash is pretty strong evidence."

"Well," said I, "I made an appeal to God for that very sum, toward building a house by the sea-side for the benefit of his servants; and he gave me the exact amount I asked for, by the hand of a friend, without my having to appeal to any one else but himself. I therefore claim to know that he exists."

"The man changed countenance, and turned away without answering. And I would say to wavering Christians, that when I have often, in answer to prayer, when no one but myself and the living God knew of the straits into which I have been brought, received 'hard cash,' sent in every variety of form,—sometimes a few stamps, sometimes a hundred pounds, at other times three hundred, and five hundred, and a thousand,—I think I have a tangible proof that God, whom Jesus Christ came to reveal as the Father, is, indeed, to all who seek him, 'a living, bright reality.'"—Christian Woman.

Honesty the Best Policy.

By Sabbath Recorder

An exchange facetiously asks whether it was worth while for Ferdinand Ward to steal $13,000,000 in order to procure the privilege of shoveling ashes and filing castings in Sing Sing. It certainly was a dearly-bought privilege; but, after all, the question is more serious than facetious. Does it ever pay to do wrong? Is there ever any profit in greed and selfishness? This is not a question of amounts, but of qualities. If it is wrong to steal millions, it is wrong to steal one dollar. It is the spirit of the man which gives character to his acts, good or bad, rather than the consequences involved in his deeds. Starting from that central point, every wrong act, every unkind word, every impure thought, smites back upon its author with crushing force, and sinks him lower in the scale of real life than prison bars alone can do.—Sabbath Recorder.

Peace and Happiness

How DIFFERENT is peace from happiness. Happiness is the result of harmony between our wants as creatures and the world without; peace is the harmony between us and the Father of our being. We may possess at once real happiness and real peace, yet either may exist without the other. Nay, more, happiness may be destroyed by God in order that the higher blessing of peace may be possessed; but never will he take away peace to give happiness.—Sel.

Logical Deductions of Antinomianism.

By William Covert

TRUTH is consistent at every standpoint from which it is viewed. Every truth is in harmony with itself and with every other truth. The conclusions arrived at from truthful premises always beautify the premises. Error also has certain necessary conclusions which must stand logically related to the premises upon which they are based; but the advocates of error are seldom willing to acknowledge the logical conclusions that grow out of their positions. It is characteristic of falsehood to deny its own children. Not so with truth; she loves her offspring and feels that she is honored by her relations.

God's law is emphatically "the truth." "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." Ps. 119: 142. Everlasting righteousness is based upon everlasting principles of truth found in the law of truth, which, if properly obeyed, will produce this righteousness. This truth relates to all the commandments in the law spoken of, for says the psalmist, "All thy commandments are truth." And again, "The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting."

This truth stated by God's word is now denied by a large class of professed Christians. In its stead they offer the gospel of Christ. The premise laid down by them is that the law of God was abolished at the cross of Christ, and that now only the gospel is to be obeyed. When requested to explain what the gospel is, they answer that the "gospel is the good news of salvation through Jesus." When asked to further explain, and tell from what man is to be saved, they reply that he is to be "saved from sin." But what is sin? If the law is not now binding, the violation of it cannot be sin. So sin must now be "the transgression of the gospel." But we ask further, Shall we regard the gospel as a moral system? or shall we regard it as a remedial system? We receive the answer that "it is a remedial system, because it saves." But from what does it save? Of course it must save from the transgression of the gospel!! The position necessitates this conclusion. What would our antinomian friends think of the wisdom of a physician who would tell them that they must all freely partake of a certain remedy or perish, simply because the remedy has an existence? If they should give credence to his testimony, would they not conclude that the shortest and safest road to health would be in the destruction of the remedy? If sin is the transgression of the gospel, how can the gospel be the good news of salvation from sin?

Again, if the transgression of the gospel is that which first condemns a man under sin, then we want to know how an individual can be regarded as a sinner where the gospel of Christ has not been preached? It is evident, as viewed from the antinomian standpoint, that the heathen world are not sinners. If not sinners, Christ did not die for them. If he has not died for them, how can he save them?

According to the theory advocated by this class of people, Christ either universally and unconditionally redeemed all mankind by the abolition of the law that condemned them, or else they are universally lost on account of the violation of the gospel, because there is not another gospel provided to save them from the condemnation of the one they have transgressed.

New London, Ind. WM. COVERT.

"Bogs."

By Editor

DURING a series of meetings recently held in London, we noticed a well-dressed lady, who was a regular attendant at all the services. She always managed to get a seat in about the same position of the hall, near the platform. She was a most attentive listener. She never engaged in the singing, but sat through all the services with a perfectly contented and satisfied expression on her face. Day after day, through three or four weeks, we watched her. She had become a sort of fascination. One day we asked a lady who was on the platform in the choir seats, if she knew her.

"O yes," was the reply, "very well."

"Is she a Christian?" was our next query.

"No," replied our informant, with an abrupt tone of voice, as if she did not care to say anything more about her; "she is a bog."

"A bog?" we repeated, not quite understanding what was meant.

"Yes," was the short, sharp reply, "a bog."

Still mystified, we repeated the question, "A bog?"

"Yes, a BOG, spelled with capital letters; that is what she is. Don't you know what a bog is?"

"Yes, I think I do," we replied; "in our country, at least, it is a bit of marshy ground, or a stagnant pond, which catches the surface drainage of the surrounding country, but which has no outlet. It is usually covered with a green slime, and is the home of wild waterweeds, and all sorts of reptiles."

"Well, that is what she is; she is a bog. She is found at all the religious meetings in London. She is a marsh; she has an unlimited capacity for hearing sermons, and receiving all kinds of religious instruction; but she has no outlet. She is never known to do anything for Christ; she never speaks to a soul; she never gives to any cause, though she has money. She never does anything but just absorb, absorb, absorb. She is a bog. We have a lot of them in London; and that is what we call them."

We did not pursue the question any further, but we have kept up a good deal of thinking ever since. We have never called anybody a bog to their faces; we have never spoken of any particular persons to others as being bogs; but we have looked over a good many congregations, and as our eyes have rested upon certain professed Christians, we have been unable to keep the word, or at least the thought, "BOG," from rising to our lips. We pass the word along; it is a good one.—Words and Weapons.

The Chameleon and the Porcupine.

THE chameleon and the porcupine were comparing notes. The chameleon tried to agree with everybody; he promptly reflected the ideas and opinions of all he met, and yet he was not popular. The porcupine bristled all over when anybody came near him. He was full of self-assertion. He always presented sharp points, and yet nobody seemed to appreciate or admire him. "What is the matter with the world," they said, "that it don't like either of us. If the chameleon don't suit it, the porcupine should; and if it is not pleased with the porcupine's bristling, it ought to be with the chameleon's amiability and complaisance." Silly beasts; they did not know that people despise both the changeling and the bully. The man who has no opinions of his own, and the man whose opinions are continually obtruded like the spines of the hedgehog, are equally offensive. The true man has opinions, and is ready to state and defend them on all proper occasions. But he respects the opinions of others, and does not roll himself up in a ball of self-conceit, and say, If you touch me, I'll stick you.

Writing about bristles, we are reminded of the man who was always boasting that he had more backbone than his neighbors. He was ready to stand up even alone for what he believed. He was ready at all times to fight with those who differed with him. One day, after he had stuck out his quills as usual, an old man said to him: "John, you remind me of a hedgehog. Because it has a very weak backbone, nature has covered it with bristles. It can roll itself up like a piece of India rubber, and then its sharp spines stick out in all directions. Animals which have strong backbones never have any bristles. The man who is always boasting of his courage is an arrant coward. He wants to conceal his sense of moral weakness by bluster and bravado." And the old man was right.—Interior.

A Joyous Religion.

By Watchman

THE ministration of sorrow may be accounted providential. The somber-faced angel has, doubtless, a divine mission. An experience of sorrow tends to soften and deepen one's nature. Still, is it not true that those bright-faced angels that drink ever at the fountain of perennial joy are the angels which excel in strength? The glad heart is strong for conquest. A joyful soul works to far better advantage than a discontented and gloomy spirit. A complaining mortal, skilled chiefly in grumbling, would make neither an efficient soldier nor a good general. A man soured is in no working mood. Imagine such a one appointed agent of a missionary society! It would be the death of it. Such a man needs to be born again,—born into a better temper of mind,—and baptized with the oil of joy; when, with a happy heart, he can take up the thread of duty, and hopefully labor for the incoming of a better day. A sorrowful face and dolorous tone will never win the world to Christ. They do not properly advertise that religion whose substance is love, and whose key-note is joy. "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." The primary elements of the kingdom of God are "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." "He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men."—Watchman.

Preach the Gospel.

PREACH the gospel! To do it, what a work—the greatest, noblest work of man! The sermons must be full of thought—bold, sublime, burning, far-reaching, the greatest of all thought—yet so plain as to bring it within the reach of the untutored intellect.

The dead-level of common-place stirs no heart, moves no soul heavenward, and yet it is the highest level that some seem to reach. Their platitudes and repetitions weaken, sicken, disgust. Oh these poverty-stricken, no-thought sermons!

Wendell Phillips once said of a certain clergyman: "He scrupulously kept the Sabbath, never giving the brains of his people any work on that day."

Avoid, too, the "inexpressible masterpiece of sky-painting," flights into regions of doubtful existence, a parade of knowing everything that is knowable. One poor hearer tried hard to understand the sermon, but gave up, exclaiming, "It must be great, but I can't understand it."

Preach the gospel, we say; preach it on the level to reach, elevate and save humanity, for whom it was designed.—Christian Standard.

Honesty.

By Raymond Franklin Cottrell

SOME flatter themselves that they are the friends of God and on their way to Heaven, while they willingly neglect and evade the payment of their debts. All their profession will amount to nothing in the sight of God. An apostle says, "Having your conversation [commerce, trade, dealing] honest among the Gentiles." The Christian religion has done but very little for that person who has not learned to be honest in dealing. One who will try to avoid the payment of just dues, may talk religion; but it is only a hollow sound, like the "sounding brass or the tinkling cymbal." My brother, "render to all their dues," if you would pass within those gates of pearl where there shall in no wise enter anything that defileth, worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the Lamb's book of life. See Rev. 21 : 27. R. F. COTTRELL

The Visigoths in the Western Empire.

(Continued.)

"In the arts of negotiation, as well as in those of war, the Gothic king maintained [Oct., A. D. 408] his superior ascendant over an enemy, whose seeming changes proceeded from the total want of counsel and design. From his camp, on the confines of Italy, Alaric attentively observed the revolutions of the palace, watched the progress of faction and discontent, disguised the hostile aspect of a barbarian invader, and assumed the more popular appearance of the friend and ally of the great Stilicho, to whose virtues, when they were no longer formidable, he could pay a just tribute of sincere praise and regret. The pressing invitation of the malcontents, who urged the king of the Goths to invade Italy, was enforced by a lively sense of his personal injuries; and he might speciously complain that the Imperial ministers still delayed and eluded the payment of the four thousand pounds of gold, which had been granted by the Roman senate, either to reward his services, or to appease his fury. His decent firmness was supported by an artful moderation, which contributed to the success of his designs. He required a fair and reasonable satisfaction; but he gave the strongest assurances that, as soon as he had obtained it, he would immediately retire. He refused to trust the faith of the Romans, unless Ætius and Jason, the sons of two great officers of state, were sent as hostages to his camp; but he offered to deliver, in exchange, several of the noblest youths of the Gothic nation.

"The modesty of Alaric was interpreted by the ministers of Ravenna as a sure evidence of his weakness and fear. They disdained either to negotiate a treaty, or to assemble an army; and with a rash confidence, derived only from their ignorance of the extreme danger, irretrievably wasted the decisive moments of peace and war. While they expected, in sullen silence, that the barbarians should evacuate the confines of Italy, Alaric, with bold and rapid marches, passed the Alps and the Po; hastily pillaged the cities of Aquileia, Altinum, Concordia, and Cremona, which yielded to his arms; increased his forces by the accession of thirty thousand auxiliaries, and, without meeting a single enemy in the field, advanced as far as the edge of the morass which protected the impregnable residence of the emperor of the West. Instead of attempting the hopeless siege of Ravenna, the prudent leader of the Goths proceeded to Rimini, stretched his ravages along the sea coast of the Hadriatic, and meditated the conquest of the ancient mistress of the world.

"An Italian hermit, whose zeal and sanctity were respected by the barbarians themselves, encountered the victorious monarch, and boldly denounced the indignation of Heaven against the oppressors of the earth; but the saint himself was confounded by the solemn asseveration of Alaric, that he felt a secret and præternatural impulse, which directed, and even compelled, his march to the gates of Rome. He felt that his genius and his fortune were equal to the most arduous enterprises; and the enthusiasm which he communicated to the Goths, insensibly removed the popular, and almost superstitious, reverence of the nations for the majesty of the Roman name. His troops, animated by the hopes of spoil, followed the course of the Flaminian way, occupied the unguarded passes of the Apennine, descended into the rich plains of Umbria; and, as they lay encamped on the banks of the Clitumnus, might wantonly slaughter and devour the milk-white oxen, which had been so long reserved for the use of Roman triumphs. A lofty situation, and a seasonable tempest of thunder and lightning, preserved the little city of Narni; but the king of the Goths, despising the ignoble prey, still advanced with unabated vigor; and after he had passed through the stately arches, adorned with the spoils of barbaric victories, he pitched his camp under the walls of Rome [A. D. 408]."—Decline and Fall, chap. 31, par. 2.

"By a skillful disposition of his numerous forces, who impatiently watched the moment of an assault, Alaric encompassed the walls, commanded the twelve principal gates, intercepted all communication with the adjacent country, and vigilantly guarded the navigation of the Tyber, from which the Romans derived the surest and most plentiful supply of provisions. The first emotions of the nobles, and of the people, were those of surprise and indignation, that a vile barbarian should dare to insult the capital of the world; but their arrogance was soon humbled by misfortune; and their unmanly rage, instead of being directed against an enemy in arms, was meanly exercised on a defenseless and innocent victim. Perhaps in the person of Serena, the Romans might have respected the niece of Theodosius, the aunt, nay, even the adoptive mother, of the reigning emperor; but they abhorred the widow of Stilicho; and they listened with credulous passion to the tale of calamity, which accused her of maintaining a secret and criminal correspondence with the Gothic invader. Actuated, or overawed, by the same popular frenzy, the senate, without requiring any evidence of her guilt, pronounced the sentence of her death. Serena was ignominiously strangled; and the infatuated multitude were astonished to find that this cruel act of injustice did not immediately produce the retreat of the barbarians, and the deliverance of the city.

"That unfortunate city gradually experienced the distress of scarcity, and at length the horrid calamities of famine. The daily allowance of three pounds of bread was reduced to one-half, to one-third, to nothing; and the price of corn still continued to rise in a rapid and extravagant proportion. The poorer citizens, who were unable to purchase the necessaries of life, solicited the precarious charity of the rich; and for a while the public misery was alleviated by the humanity of Læta, the widow of the emperor Gratian, who had fixed her residence at Rome, and consecrated to the use of the indigent the princely revenue which she annually received from the grateful successors of her husband. But these private and temporary donatives were insufficient to appease the hunger of a numerous people; and the progress of famine invaded the marble palaces of the senators themselves. The persons of both sexes, who had been educated in the enjoyment of ease and luxury, discovered how little is requisite to supply the demands of nature, and lavished their unavailing treasures of gold and silver, to obtain the coarse and scanty sustenance which they would formerly have rejected with disdain. The food the most repugnant to sense or imagination, the aliments the most unwholesome and pernicious to the constitution, were eagerly devoured, and fiercely disputed, by the rage of hunger. A dark suspicion was entertained that some desperate wretches fed on the bodies of their fellow-creatures, whom they had secretly murdered; and even mothers (such was the horrid conflict of the two most powerful instincts implanted by nature in the human breast), even mothers are said to have tasted the flesh of their slaughtered infants!

"Many thousands of the inhabitants of Rome expired in their houses or in the streets, for want of sustenance; and as the public sepulchres without the walls were in the power of the enemy, the stench which arose from so many putrid and unburied carcasses, infected the air; and the miseries of famine were succeeded and aggravated by the contagion of a pestilential disease. The assurances of speedy and effectual relief, which were repeatedly transmitted from the court of Ravenna, supported, for some time, the fainting resolution of the Romans, till at length the despair of any human aid tempted them to accept the offers of a preternatural deliverance. Pompeianus, prefect of the city, had been persuaded, by the art or fanaticism of some Tuscan diviners, that, by the mysterious force of spells and sacrifices, they could extract the lightning from the clouds, and point those celestial fires against the camp of the barbarians. The important secret was communicated to Innocent, the bishop of Rome; and the successor of St. Peter is accused, perhaps without foundation, of preferring the safety of the republic to the rigid severity of the Christian worship. But when the question was agitated in the senate, when it was proposed, as an essential condition, that those sacrifices should be performed in the capitol, by the authority, and in the presence of the magistrates, the majority of that respectable assembly, apprehensive either of the divine or of the Imperial displeasure, refused to join in an act which appeared almost equivalent to the public restoration of paganism."—Id., chap. 31, par. 14.

(To be continued.)

Sowing in Tears

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."

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