Earlier text: General ArticlesThe Ostrogoths and the Visigoths.
By A. T. J.
"THE progress of the Goths had been checked by the doubtful event of that bloody day; and the Imperial generals, whose army would have been consumed by the repetition of such a contest, embraced the more rational plan of destroying the barbarians by the wants and pressure of their own multitudes. They prepared to confine the Visigoths in the narrow angle of land between the Danube, the desert of Scythia, and the mountains of Hæmus, till their strength and spirit should be insensibly wasted by the inevitable operation of famine. The design was prosecuted with some conduct and success; the barbarians had almost exhausted their own magazines and the harvests of the country; and the diligence of Saturninus, the master-general of the cavalry, was employed to improve the strength, and to contract the extent, of the Roman fortifications. His labors were interrupted by the alarming intelligence that new swarms of barbarians had passed the unguarded Danube, either to support the cause, or to imitate the example, of Fritigern. "The just apprehension that he himself might be surrounded and overwhelmed by the arms of hostile and unknown nations, compelled Saturninus to relinquish the siege of the Gothic camp; and the indignant Visigoths, breaking from their confinement, satiated their hunger and revenge by the repeated devastation of the fruitful country, which extends above three hundred miles from the banks of the Danube to the straits of the Hellespont. The sagacious Fritigern had successfully appealed to the passions, as well as to the interest, of his barbarian allies; and the love of rapine, and the hatred of Rome, seconded, or even prevented, the eloquence of his ambassadors. He cemented a strict and useful alliance with the great body of his countrymen, who obeyed Alatheus and Saphrax as the guardians of their infant king. The long animosity of rival tribes was suspended by the sense of their common interest; the independent part of the nation was associated under one standard; and the chiefs of the Ostrogoths appear to have yielded to the superior genius of the general of the Visigoths. He obtained the formidable aid of the Taifalæ, whose military renown was disgraced and polluted by the public infamy of their domestic manners. "But the most powerful auxiliaries of the Goths were drawn from the camp of those enemies who had expelled them from their native seats. The loose subordination and extensive possessions of the Huns and the Alani, delayed the conquests and distracted the councils of that victorious people. Several of the hordes were allured by the liberal promises of Fritigern; and the rapid cavalry of Scythia added weight and energy to the steady and strenuous efforts of the Gothic infantry. The Sarmatians, who could never forgive the successor of Valentinian, enjoyed and increased the general confusion; and a seasonable irruption of the Alemanni into the provinces of Gaul, engaged the attention and diverted the forces of the emperor of the West." "While Gratian deserved and enjoyed the applause of his subjects, the Emperor Valens, who, at length, had removed his court and army from Antioch, was received by the people of Constantinople as the author of the public calamity. Before he had reposed himself ten days [A. D. 378, May 30-June 11] in the capital, he was urged, by the licentious clamors of the hippodrome, to march against the barbarians, whom he had invited into his dominions; and the citizens, who are always brave at a distance from any real danger, declared with confidence, that, if they were supplied with arms, they alone would undertake to deliver the province from the ravages of an insulting foe. The vain reproaches of an ignorant multitude hastened the downfall of the Roman Empire; they provoked the desperate rashness of Valens, who did not find, either in his reputation or in his mind, any motives to support with firmness the public contempt. He was soon persuaded, by the successful achievements of his lieutenants, to despise the power of the Goths, who, by the diligence of Fritigern, were now collected in the neighborhood of Hadrianople. "The march of the Taifalæ had been intercepted by the valiant Frigerid; the king of those licentious barbarians was slain in battle; and the suppliant captives were sent into distant exile to cultivate the lands of Italy, which were assigned for their settlement, in the vacant territories of Modena and Parma. The exploits of Sebastian, who was recently engaged in the service of Valens and promoted to the rank of master-general of the infantry, were still more honorable to himself and useful to the republic. He obtained the permission of selecting three hundred soldiers from each of the legions; and this separate detachment soon acquired the spirit of discipline, and the exercise of arms, which were almost forgotten under the reign of Valens. By the vigor and conduct of Sebastian, a large body of Goths was surprised in their camp; and the immense spoil which was recovered from their hands, filled the city of Hadrianople and the adjacent plain. The splendid narratives which the general transmitted of his own exploits, alarmed the Imperial court by the appearance of superior merit; and though he cautiously insisted on the difficulties of the Gothic war, his valor was praised, his advice was rejected; and Valens, who listened with pride and pleasure to the flattering suggestions of the eunuchs of the palace, was impatient to seize the glory of an easy and assured conquest. "His army was strengthened by a numerous reinforcement of veterans; and his march from Constantinople to Hadrianople was conducted with so much military skill, that he prevented the activity of the barbarians, who designed to occupy the intermediate defiles, and to intercept either the troops themselves or their convoys of provisions. The camp of Valens, which he pitched under the walls of Hadrianople, was fortified, according to the practice of the Romans, with a ditch and rampart; and a most important council was summoned to decide the fate of the emperor and of the empire. The party of reason and of delay was strenuously maintained by Victor, who had corrected, by the lessons of experience, the native fierceness of the Sarmatian character; while Sebastian, with the flexible and obsequious eloquence of a courtier, represented every precaution and every measure that implied a doubt of immediate victory as unworthy of the courage and majesty of their invincible monarch. "The ruin of Valens was precipitated by the deceitful arts of Fritigern, and the prudent adaptations of the emperor of the West. The advantages of negotiating in the midst of war were perfectly understood by the general of the barbarians; and a Christian ecclesiastic was dispatched, as the holy minister of peace, to penetrate and to perplex the councils of the enemy. The misfortunes as well as the provocations of the Gothic nation were forcibly and truly described by their ambassador, who protested, in the name of Fritigern, that he was still disposed to lay down his arms, or to employ them only in the defense of the empire, if he could secure, for his wandering countrymen, a tranquil settlement on the waste lands of Thrace, and a sufficient allowance of corn and cattle. But he added, in a whisper of confidential friendship, that the exasperated barbarians were averse to these reasonable conditions; and that Fritigern was doubtful whether he could accomplish the conclusion of the treaty, unless he found himself supported by the presence and terrors of an Imperial army. "About the same time, Count Richomer returned from the West, to announce the defeat and submission of the Alemanni; to inform Valens that his nephew advanced by rapid marches at the head of the veteran and victorious legions of Gaul; and to request, in the name of Gratian and of the republic, that every dangerous and decisive measure might be suspended till the junction of the two emperors should insure the success of the Gothic war. But the feeble sovereign of the East was actuated only by the fatal illusions of pride and jealousy. He disdained the importunate advice; he rejected the humiliating aid; he secretly compared the ignominious, at least the inglorious period of his own reign, with the fame of a beardless youth; and Valens rushed into the field to erect his imaginary trophy, before the diligence of his colleague could usurp any share of the triumphs of the day.—Dec. and Fall, chap. 26, par. 18, 20. Hold up the Standard.
By Nudis Verbis
CERTAINLY one of the most important duties made obligatory on Christians of this age, is to hold up the standard of duty and obligation in the Christian life; and this he can do only by holy living. It is natural for the world to drift away more and more into the ways of sin and into habits of iniquity; and if Christians do not lift up a standard for the people, and thus set before them the example of holy living, to whom can they look for example in this world? One of the prevailing sins of this age is the disposition, on the part of some of the ministers and church leaders, to lower the standard of Christian duty and obligation to meet the desires and tastes of the giddy and pleasure-loving element of society. It seems to be as hard for some of us to resist the smiles of the world as to bear its frowns. In many instances, comic entertainments are given in the name of the church of Jesus Christ, which would be much more becoming in the profane and ungodly theater. Ministers sometimes arrange their services, and work into their sermons many comic expressions and ridiculous anecdotes, that they may in this way amuse and attract those who love fun and laughter more than they love Christ. It is this unholy pandering to the tastes of the weak and the ungodly that is taking away from the church much of her true sanctity and her Christian influence. When the church thus reclines her head in the lap of worldliness, instead of winning souls to Christ, she is soon shorn of her spiritual strength, and becomes as other men.—Nudis Verbis, in Methodist Recorder. NONE of us can prevent the sun from shining, but all of us can prevent the sun from shining on us. The great orb of day still floods the earth with undimmed luster; but we can shut ourselves away from his beams, in caves and holes of the earth. So we may shut ourselves away from that Sun of the soul who lighteth every man that cometh into the world. We cannot make God less loving, less merciful, less gracious than he is; but we can stand apart from that love, that mercy, that grace. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated [are separating] between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear." Would you have the Sun shine on you? Tear down the wall and roof of separation which you have built between yourself and him.—Sunday School Times. "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Psalms 118: 8. THERE is nothing in the line of Christian duty that we should guard more carefully than our words. We can make our words so that they will be a power for good, or we can have them so loaded with evil that they will not only keep ourselves continually in trouble, but will have the community around us always in an uproar. I have been connected for sometime with the church, and have had more or less opportunity to observe its workings; and I have noticed particularly that in churches where trouble has existed, almost if not every case was wrought up and kept in a boil by words, that we, as Christians, have no right to speak. Some people are so shallow minded that unless they can be discussing the faults of their brethren or neighbors, they have nothing about which to talk. As long as the mind dwells upon such themes, it is evident that it will not rise any higher, and will always be of this low order. Our talk may be taken as a good index to our minds and thoughts. Those who think much about good things, will talk about good things. They will heed the admonition of Paul, who says: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Phil. 4:8. This tells us plainly that about which we should think. It is not the dark side of our brother's character, but the good side. If we think of the faults of others, we are sure to talk of them, and this will certainly injure the ones talked about; and then the things of which we are accustomed to think will insensibly influence our own lives and bring our characters into close conformity to the dark things of which we think. God's word is very explicit throughout in regard to talking about each other. And it would indicate that the Lord is displeased with those who will persist in it. He calls them "busybodies," "tattlers," "talebearers," and such like. "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people." Lev. 19:16. "And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not." 1 Tim. 5:13. In 1 Peter 4:15 the apostle classes the "busybody" with the "murderer," "thief," and "evildoer." These scriptures show unmistakably in what light God views this sin. And "thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people," is just as positive a command as, "Thou shalt not steal." Would not reasoning similar to that in James 2:11 be in place here? If we do not steal, yet if we act as talebearers we are convinced of God's word as transgressors. Certainly this reasoning would be correct. Wherein lies the difference between the common thief and the talebearer? Which is the worse? Proper consideration must teach us that the talebearer is decidedly the worse of the two. He throws suspicion on our character, and tries to steal that from us, while the thief only steals our goods, which are of little consequence in comparison. Surely we have no time to engage in such work. It can do no one any good; for its tendency is to alienate friends, and it may result in the final destruction of precious souls. Some of us seem to have the idea that if a brother or sister has a fault, it is necessary for us to talk about it to every one we meet. And we try to clear ourselves from the reproaches of our consciences by saying, "Of course he has some good qualities. These, about which we are talking are only his faults. We all have our faults, you know." This does not help things one bit. For the person with whom you have been talking will be quite sure to forget this latter remark, and all he can think of will be the faults you have brought out. No Christian has any right to talk to others about the faults of his brethren. It is positively a sin. There is just one person to whom we can talk about the wrongs of our brother, and that is the brother himself who has done the wrong. This is plainly the instruction of our Saviour in Matt. 18:15-17. Then how can we expect to merit his approval while we go about and talk to everybody we meet of the failings of our brethren? There is one thought, it seems to me, that we should dwell upon a great deal; that is the love the Saviour requires us to have for one another. The new commandment of Christ is, "that ye love one another, as I have loved you." John 15:12. His love is manifested in the sacrifice he made in leaving the bliss of Heaven and coming to earth to die for man. "He made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant." Phil. 2:7. He "endured the cross, despising the shame." Heb. 12:2. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8. What did he do all this for? To save fallen man. And in return he grants us the privilege of assisting in the same work, and calls upon us to have the same spirit which he had. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his." If we have the love for each other that we are required to have, and are so anxious for the salvation of our fellow-men that we are willing to sacrifice as Christ did, we shall have no taste for talking about the bad qualities of our fellow-men. And in speaking of them we shall use the same care as we would in speaking of ourselves; we shall dwell upon and extol their good qualities, passing the bad ones by unnoticed. Still, if we are very sure that we see faults in a brother which we are convinced will have a tendency to lead him to destruction, this places upon us a weighty responsibility; not to go to others and talk over his short-comings, but to seek God in earnest prayer, that our own hearts may be softened and made tender by the spirit of Christ, and then go directly to our brother and talk with him of his faults. Let him see by our kind and humble spirit, that we are doing it for his good; that we are working for his salvation and have no personal feeling in the matter. When we reprove faults in others, we are too apt to go with a petulant, angry spirit. We try to make our words cut, and thrust them out in such a way that instead of bringing repentance, they strengthen the reproved in their evil course. It means a great deal to be a Christian; and, too, the Christian's reward is great. We cannot afford to lose it. Therefore let us not deceive ourselves by thinking that we are Christians, or that we shall obtain the Christian's reward, while we are violating such an important and plain precept as the one forbidding tattling and evil talking about one another. The Lord holds us accountable for the words we speak, and we shall have to meet them in the Judgment. Matt. 12:36, 37. SAID Thomas Jones, an old colored preacher: "When I was escaping from slavery, and found myself out on the ocean, I prayed God to help me, and he did help me. I found some boards and got on to them. Well, what did I do then? Did I stop praying, and think because I had got a few boards I could go alone now, and didn't need the Lord's help any more? No! I kept on praying, and held on to the boards. Well, what did I do then? Sit still, and expect the Lord to carry me safely through, and think that I had nothing to do? No! I took a stick for a paddle, and went to paddling and praying. I did not sit still, like those who have a name to live, and are dead; but I just went to paddling, and I did not forget to pray; and by paddling and praying I got through. So God expects us to pray and also paddle, and not to wait for him to do the work that he has set us to do." There is sound philosophy in the old man's talk. Paddling is needful, as well as praying; and an ancient teacher once declared that "Faith without works is dead, being alone."—Sel. The Ancient Hope.
By Horatius Bonar, D. D.
THE hope which God furnishes is not merely the hope of a quiet close to this world's weariness, but the hope of infinite gladness which is to come. There is a passage in Job which exemplifies both of these very fitly. Groaning under the pressure of no common grief, he cries out: "Oh that thou wouldst hide me in the grave, that thou wouldst keep me secret until thy wrath be past!" As if he would be glad to be hidden anywhere, even in the grave, from such calamities. But then this is not enough. This is mere negative comfort. It is the mere cessation of suffering. And this does not content him. He bethinks himself, and cries out again, Oh "that thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me!" He cannot bear the thought of always lying in the dust, even though it is a secure hiding-place from the storms of earth. He would not be forgotten there. He would have a set time, at the end of which God might remember him. Then abruptly he asks, "If a man die shall he live?" And evidently answering himself, "Yes, he shall live again," he calmly adds: "All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come." For it is resurrection-change he looks for, and rejoices in as his hope. When that day arrives, the trumpet shall sound, and the voice of God shall speak. "Thou shalt call, and I will answer." But how is he so assured of being thus remembered of God? He knows how precious in his eyes is the dust of his saints. "Thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Thus, though Job begins with what is merely negative, that is, the ending of his grief and shame, he cannot rest there, but presses on, in rapid hope, to the beginning of his joy and glory. It is the morning, with all its new life and reviving sunshine, that rises before his view, and from afar pours into him its healing light. "The fashion of this world passeth away." This cheers us, for it assures us that no grief shall live long. But the fashion of "the world to come" endures. This is unspeakably gladdening; for all that that better "age" brings with it shall abide forever. The inheritance is vast, the city is "joyous," the mansions are many, the title is sure, and the possession is everlasting. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem!
Would God I were in thee!
Oh, that my sorrows had an end,
Thy joys that I might see!" Thus sweetly sung one of Scotland's holiest sons in the olden time. Broken with many griefs, he thus poured out his soul—weary and homesick, as a stranger here. And will not "night" fail in one of its objects if it does not make us long for the "day?" Will not tribulation be frustrated if it does not stir within us "earnest expectation," this "groaning within ourselves," this "fervent longing," this home-sickness which the saints in other days felt so tenderly and truly? And all the more, because "now is our salvation nearer than when we believed;" for we have arrived at the last stage of our journey, and a few more days will suffice to bring us home.—Horatius Bonar, D. D. It is the habitual thought that frames itself into our life. It affects us even more than our intimate social relations do. Our confidential friends have not so much to do in shaping our lives as have the thoughts which we harbor. The Coming of a Literal Christ.
A FEW more direct and unmistakable evidences of the coming of the Lord himself will be noticed. 4. "Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." Heb. 9:28. This accords precisely with the words of Jesus himself, "If I go away, I will come again." Says Paul, he shall "appear the second time." He came once to bear sin; he will come again, but without sin. Then his priesthood will be ended. Henceforth sinners must bear their own sins. That day will be a day of glory to the righteous, and of terror to the wicked. 5. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Col. 3:4. 6. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter 5:4. These two texts are exact parallels. A comment on one would be a comment on both. But they need no comment; no one can mistake their language. 7. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." Rev. 1:7. It is not possible that they who spiritualize the second coming of Christ, can successfully use this scripture. It does not refer to the death of the saints; for every eye does not see him in such an event; much less do they who pierced him see him at such a time, in any sense. We have shown, and shall further show, that the resurrection is contingent upon his coming, and nothing less than a resurrection can fulfill the scriptures which we have quoted and shall quote. 8. "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt. 24:30. In this text, as in the last one previously quoted, the tribes, or kindreds, of the earth, wail at his appearing. But the saints will rejoice; for, "He shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Verse 31. 9. "It is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled [to recompense] rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:6-8. Here is shown why it is that the tribes of the earth mourn at the coming of Christ. It is the day of the overthrow of the ungodly nations, yes, of all the unrighteous of every tribe and nation. But it is the day of restoration, of redemption, of deliverance and rest, to the people of God. In regard to the wailing of the kindreds of the earth, compare Rev. 6:15-17. 10. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. In Col. 3:4, we learned that we shall appear with him in glory when he appears. In 1 Peter 5:4, we find that the crown of glory will be given when he appears. In the text here quoted, Jesus says his reward is with him when he comes, to give every man according as his work shall be. He is bold indeed, who will deny such plain declarations, so evident in their intention. 11. Paul gave his charge to Timothy before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, "who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." After giving him his charge to the ministry, he speaks of his own labors and his expectations: "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:1-8. In regard to the time of receiving the reward, the crown of life or righteousness, these words exactly coincide with those of all the texts quoted. On no subject in all the Scriptures is the evidence more clear, full, and harmonious than on the second coming of the Lord himself, this same Jesus, literally to the eyes of all classes and nations, and that the reward is to be given at that day. 12. But plain and clear as is the evidence, we are forewarned that it will be denied and derided; that it will be a subject of ridicule and scoffing. "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter 3:3, 4. We are living in the very days of which the prophet spoke. In no other age was the doctrine of the second advent the subject of scoffing, a doctrine denied. In all past ages it was the hope of the church, because they rested upon the precious promises which we have recited. For this hope, see the following scripture. 13. "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13. Literally, "the appearing of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." And this exactly agrees with the words of our Saviour: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Matt. 16:27. We have not exhausted this testimony; but, as far as convincing any people of the truth stated is concerned, why pursue it any further? And we return to the idea of the prophecies of the two advents. Will any reader please compare the prophecies of the first advent with those of the second advent, only a part of which we have quoted, and say if we are not right, that there was far less infidelity on the part of the Jew in denying the facts of the first advent, than there is on the part of the professed Christian in denying the second advent? Every literal fact of the first advent confirms the doctrine of the literal second advent. The Jew had less, far less, explaining away to do to evade the truth of the first advent, than Christians have to evade the truth of the second advent. They may reply: "We believe all those scriptures, but we find it possible to give another meaning to them." True; and so could the Jew put another meaning to the scriptures which spoke of his first advent. Often, when conversing with Hebrews concerning the advent of the Messiah, and his mission, as fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, have we heard the exact parallel of the popular arguments against the literality of the second advent. It is not difficult for them to find other meanings to the prophecies of the first advent, but are they true meanings? It is not permitted to inquire how many possible meanings we can put upon the sacred word, but, What is the actual meaning? It is not difficult to invent other than the actual meaning, but all such will lead us astray. And so we return to the question of the Saviour which we quoted at the beginning, "How readest thou?" There are other lines of argument which are conclusive in themselves; taken in connection with the positive declarations which we have quoted, they make the evidence irresistible. We refer especially to the arguments drawn from the doctrines of the Judgment and the resurrection, which will next be noticed.