ed in the persons of Brutus and Collatinus. Tarquin, restless in his exile, and still grasping at regal supremacy, used every means within the powers of ingenuity and deception, to ingratiate himself in the affections of his people; but Brutus, knowing how to appreciate tyranny in disguise, and feeling the value of remaining firmly attached to the standard of liberty, which he had planted, and the vast importance of the solemn oath which he had voluntarily made before the gods, nobly and determinately refused to listen to his entreaties. This rejection of all terms, was but the signal for fresh device and treachery. The ambassadors of the deposed king, under pretence of taking care of his effects, corrupted two of the best families in Rome; that of the Aquilii, in which were three senators; and the Vitelli, among whom were two senators. The latter being intimately acquainted with Titus and Valerius,* the two sons of Brutus,† (and who had just arrived at years of maturity) persuaded them to engage in a conspiracy to murder both Brutus and Collatinus, and to re-establish the banished family of Tarquin; which was ratified by an oath in "drinking together of the blood, and tasting the entrails, of a man sacrificed for that purpose." The plot was discovered by a slave, named Vindicius, who communicated it without delay. They were arraigned in the Forum before the senators; the evidence was adduced; and Brutus, calling upon his two sons by name, demanded of them to make their defence. The question was repeated three times, and no answer being returned, he pointed to the lictors, and said, "Yours is the part that remains." The punishment was immediately inflicted, and when the awful ceremony was concluded by their being extended on the ground, and their heads cut off with the axe, Brutus departed, and left the remainder to his colleague, Such are the circumstances attending a most remarkable era in the Roman history; and from which the necessary deductions must * Langhorne says, that the name of the second son of Brutus was not Valerius, but Tiberius. + Deoringsus and Livy mention only two, but Plutarch and Cicero say that Brutus had more. be drawn, as they regard the solution of the query proposed. It will be seen, then, from the foregoing brief narrative, that as the projects of Brutus were founded upon the most undoubted equity, it was essentially necessary that the execution of them should proceed upon the same solid basis. It was impossible to devise the means, and look at the end, of the grand object which was sought, without a reciprocal principle of action to govern both. To have acted otherwise, would have been to endanger, if not entirely to subvert, that change of circumstances, which Brutus had nobly designed to consummate. He had risked his life and the liberty of Rome, in throwing off the idiot's garb; and it was only by the most inflexible justice, that these were to be maintained. In the due discharge of his consular duties, he had equal and indiscriminite justice to administer unto all parties, regardless of private worth, domestic affection, or kindred alliances; and without the most rigid observance of which, the very pillars of his government would have been undermined by the same hands which had reared them. Titus and Valerius had been guilty of no small crime, in conspiring to take away the life of their father and of Collatinus,-to recall the exiled house of Tarquin,--to wrest from Rome that liberty, which their father had proudly won; and to plunge it into all its former tyranny and barbarity. Their conspiracy was besides, considerably aggravated by sealing it in drinking of human blood, and tasting of human entrails, sacrificed for the express occasion, to show their utter detestation and abhorrence against their father and his measures. Filial sympathy had no place within their bosoms, for nature, with all her generous sentiments, had resigned her throne. The tears of repentance never glistened, or Pity might have offered a silent but fervent ejaculation, and Mercy have responsed the plaintive echo. It cannot possibly be supposed, that, had even Brutus been but a private citizen, and the plot laid against him as an individual, by his two sons, he would be accused of want of humanity in delivering them up to the just tribunal, to receive the punishment which they deserved. All the glowing feelings and affections which nuine patriotism never equalled, and perous. It was Brutus alone that de- Blackfriars-Road, Jan. 17, 1822. .M. *** An answer, similar in principle, has been received from W. S. of Hoxton. are entwined around the heart of the parent, must, in a great measure, be suspended, when his life is eagerly sought by any of his children. The anxious eye,—the trickling tear,-the fond embrace,-the beating heart,and all the tender emotions of parental love, must cease to vibrate, when ability, prove both perpetual and proschild shoots the arrow of malignity at the heart-strings of his father. But Brutus had not only the feelings of a parent to contend against; but the high office of Consul demanded of him the most rigorous discharge of his duty. Upon the disposal of these conspirators depended the future destinics of Rome. Had Titus and Valerius received any punishment short of that which was inflicted, their fellow conspirators must have received the same mitigation; by which means the very decree which the senate had made, making it capital for any person to seck the return of the Tarquin family to the throne, would have been abrogated; the solemn oath which Brutus had made before the gods would have been violated; the commonwealth would have been destroyed; the Roman decree which had been enacted, banishing Tarquin. and his family from Rome for ever, would have been cancelled; and the iron grasp of cruelty and tyranny would have been spread throughout the land, in more than pristine vigour. Rome hung suspended as it were between hope and alarm,-between the feelings of the parent, and the duties of the consul. The laws provided no exemption for partiality, and justice cried aloud, and asserted her paramount claim. A long train of evils in quick succession must have followed the commutation of the sentence of death; for with it was indissolubly conjoined the re-establishment of the house of Tarquin. ON THE PROGRESSIVE INCREASE OF THE universal diffusion of divine truth, is an event which every pious mind must ardently desire, and which the prophecies of the holy scriptures clearly predict. Prior to the advent of the Messiah, the knowledge of the true God was restricted almost entirely to the Jews, to whom were committed the sacred oracles; but when the fulness of time was come, and the Saviour of the world had "appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," the GOSPEL, the glad tidings of redemption, was commanded to be proclaimed to every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue: Go, ye, into all the world," said Jesus to his apostles, "and preach the gospel to every creature.”—This gracious However agonizing the feelings of command, apostolic benevolence enBrutus as a parent might have been deavoured to accomplish, and the exto condemn his own sons to death; he tensive travels, and unparalleled had a more important office to fulfil in labours of these holy men, bespeak providing a safeguard for the future the zeal, and ardour, and power, and happiness and liberty of Rome. He, grace, with which they were endued who could watch over the destinies of from on high. Their successors enteran empire, and permit kindred sensi-ed into their labours, and when they bilities to have a greater claim upon steadily followed their example, were his regard than the official and nation-successful, for the great Head of the al responsibilities with which he was invested, would have been but little calculated to fill so arduous and trying a situation. But Brutus, with a ge church had promised to be with his ministers to the latest period; for "Lo!" said he, "I am with you even to the end of the world.” But, unhappily, all who have been "called Israel, have not been of Israel," and the Christian church has experienced revolutions and vicissitudes, various in their causes, and extensive in their influence. At some periods, worldly splendour has surrounded certain parts of the Christian church, and at others the gloom of ignorance and superstition, and persecution, has enveloped numbers of its nominal members. Yet, amid all the changes which have occurred, pure Christianity has continued,either secretly or publicly, to diffuse its benign influence in the world, and, like the leaven in the gospel, to leaven some portion or other of the general mass. It is not, however, easy to ascertain whether true Christianity has been gradually extending its blessings ever since its first promulgation; or, whether it has not sometimes been so controlled by corruption and persecution, as to have greatly fluctuated, so that at one period the progress of Christianity has been vigorous, and at another feeble; at one time the number of its members great, and at a subsequent period comparatively few. The latter is the opinion most generally maintained; but an investigation of the subject may probably lead us, if not absolutely to adopt, at least to consider the former as not without argument in its favour. probable to the understanding of the unbiassed reader. are The difficulty of obtaining complete evidence on the progress and extent of the dissemination of gospel truth, is great beyond what is generally supposed, whilst that very difficulty renders every document of more importance, and of more decisive weight in the scale of inquiry. Most of the ecclesiastical histories, written prior to the Reformation, are either partial or defective, or both. Nearly the whole of those with which we acquainted, were written by members of the Romish or Greek churches, who consequently extol and defend their own respective communions, and endeavour to sink into disrepute and contempt, all who differ from them; in many instances this is remarkably the case; and no pains are spared to vilify and misrepresent those who oppose them, or do not submit to their authority. Few, if any, of these histories detail the spread of vital godliness among mankind. Hence they are rather records of disputes, and speculations, and worldly occurrences, than histories of the progress of true religion, and its influence upon the heart and conduct; they must, therefore, be necessarily defective in enabling us to estimate how far the word of God ran and was glorified. The paucity of any thing like historical record,derived from the churches which differed from those of Rome and Constantinople; forms a serious obstacle to the full discussion of a subject like the present. This deficiency has arisen from various causes. secular authority, many societies retired from public observation, and were too disadvantageously circumstanced to collect, arrange, transcribe, and defend, authentic documents, relative to their origin, progress, and history; for worldly grandeur, and extensive power, form no proof of an equal influence of piety and grace. In attempting a vindication of the progressive influence of Christianity, the writer must solicit the candour of his readers on a subject seldom, if ever, previously before the public; and he deems it necessary to premise, that vital Christianity, and not any-Persecuted by those possessed of particular mode of it, is the object of his inquiry; he will, therefore, consisider himself at liberty to regard its existence as important, whether discovered among societies or churches supported by the state, or unprotected by political authority; whether among societies pronounced orthodox, or calumniated as heretical. Pure experimental and practical religion, wherever found, will be designated as the Christianity he seeks. He is not, however, so sanguine as to suppose that his hypothesis can be established beyond contradiction; he is too well aware of the difficulty of obtaining direct evidence on the subject, to expect to do more than render it No. 38.-VOL. IV. This want of historical proof has been greatly increased also by the nefarious policy of the Romish, if not the Greek church, in destroying or altering the records of other churches, as in the case of the church of Malabar, by Archbishop Alexis; and prohibiting the reading or use of such R works as were supposed to be favour- who were at different periods conable to any party deemed heterodox demned by the Church of Rome, were or inimical, even if written by Roman | far from being the characters depicted Catholic writers, of which the decrees by their adversaries. These facts render it probable, that, had we complete histories of the churches differing from the views of the Romish and Greek hierarchies, we should find the most interesting details of the progress of the gospel, and its blessed effects in the world; especially, as even from the representations of their enemies, we may occasionally glean facts highly creditable to their practice and piety. of the Inquisition and the Indices Li- From this view, we venture to asbrorum Prohibitorum, &c. are suffi-sume the position, that if we possesscient proofs. ed true and complete histories of the societies of Christians, deemed heterodox by churches possessing greater splendour and secular power, we should probably find, that when religion was at a low ebb among those who had formerly been zealous in its cause, it was extending its gracious influence among churches of less note and worldly pomp. And it is worthy of recollection, that, although La Croze and Geddes had written on the Syrian Churches in India, comparatively little was known of their immense numbers, though existing from the 2d century, until the time of the late Dr. Buchanan's publication of his "Christian Researches ;" and that almost the only account we have of the origin and rapid spread of the Paulicians, is from the relation of Petrus Siculus, a bigoted enemy, and that only from a bald Latin translation, no copy existing of the Greek original. The principal objections urged against the writer's view of the progress of the gospel, are: 1. The number of Christian converts during the early ages of Christianity. 2. The supposed extermination of the Christian Religion, by Dioclesian. Reinerius, an Inquisitor in the 13th century, acknowledges that he heard a Waldensian peasant recite the book of JOB by heart, and that there were others among them who could perfectly repeat the whole NEW TESTAMENT: and the celebrated Thuanus, a Roman Catholic, in the 17th century, describes the Waldenses inhabiting one of the Valleys in Dauphiny, as poor, but content; and adds, "One thing is astonishing, that persons externally so savage and rude, should have so much moral cultivation. They can all read and write. They understand French so far as is needful for the understanding of the Bible, and the singing of psalms. You can scarcely find a boy among them who cannot give you an intelligible account of the faith which they profess." Egbert, a monk, says of the Cathari or Puritans of the 13th century, that he had often 3. The depressed and corrupted disputed with them. They are arm-state of Christianity during the middle ed," says he, "with all those passages of scripture, which in any degree favour their views." And Æneas Sylvius, afterwards Pope Pius II. speaking of the Bohemians or Taborites, in the 15th century, observes, "That it was a shame to the Italian priests, that many of them had never read the whole of the New Testament, whilst scarcely a woman could be found among the Bohemians who could not answer any questions respecting either the Old or New Testament." And let any unprejudiced person only read Milner's History of the Church of Christ; Crantz' History of the Brethren; and Hughes' Hora Britannicæ, Vol. 2, and he will meet with sufficient evidence to convince him, that many of those societies of Christians 66 ages. To the first of these objections, it is replied, that great allowances must be made for the hyperbolical and declamatory styles adopted by most of the early Christian writers, and for the association of modern ideas with ancient terms: thus the countries composing the dominions of the Emperors of Rome were designated as "the world," notwithstanding there were other governments of vast extent and immense population. Societies of Christians were denominated "Churches," though so inconsiderable as to assemble in the houses of private individuals; and every pastor, however small his flock, was dignified with the title of "Bishop." On the second objection, it may be were endeavouring quietly to serve God in simplicity and godly sincerity, prized and loved by him alone.' On a subject so interesting as that of the diffusion of evangelical truth, full and indubitable evidence would be cheering; but from some of the preceding remarks it may be seen, that almost insuperable obstacles have been thrown in the way of complete historical demonstration. Still, if the evidence discovered be sufficient to preponderate the mind, it will be pleasing to contemplate the gospel like the path of the just shining more and more unto the perfect sufficient to remark, that the monu- The third objection, is allowed to have considerable weight as it regards particular churches or denominations of Christians; but certainly it does not apply to Christianity in general, since it will be found that whilst religion decayed in some places and among some societies, it flourished and increased in others. It is also certain, that many of the churches deemed heretical, and vilified and misrepresented, by the writers of the Greek and Romish communions, possessed a spirit of true piety and devotion; and that some of them, at least, were of great extent, and embraced within their respective pales, vast numbers of Christian converts, as the Syrian church in India, the Paulicians, who flourished in the 9th, and several succeeding centuries; the early British churches, prior to the mission of Augustine; the Waldenses of the 13th and succeeding centuries; the Lollards of England; the Hugonots of France; the Hussites of Bohemia, &c. &c. It is likewise deserving of remark, that at the worst periods of corruption in the church of Rome, there were those who nobly endeavoured to stem the torrent, and who boldly inveighed against the manners of the age, among whom may be enumerated, Venerable Bede in the 8th, Claude of Turin in the 9th, Bernard in the 12th, Grosseteste in the 13th, and Wickliff in the 14th centuries; to whom may doubtless be added a cloud of witnesses, who, scattered, unobtrusive, and obscure, 66 The sketch offered in the present instance, is intended to invite others to a patient investigation of the subject; and if the hints which have been suggested, induce any of the readers of the Imperial Magazine to favour the public with a more elaborate essay on the extending influences of the gospel, your present correspondent will be highly gratified, and he conceives an essential service will be rendered to the cause of Sacred Truth. J. T. MEMOIR OF THE LIFE OF THE REV. (Continued from col. 163.) Mr. Buchanan, on his arrival at Bengal, was hospitably received by the Rev. Mr. Brown, to whom he had brought a letter of recommendation. In the family of this gentleman he resided for a short time. He then took a house in Durrumlollah, where he continued about two months, at the termination of which, he was appointed chaplain at Barrackpore, a military station, about sixteen miles from Calcutta. On reaching this place, he by no means found it such as he had anticipated. It possessed no place for public worship, and by the military staff to which he was attached, public worship was never required. This unexpected privation, accompanied with a seclusion from society congenial with his taste and mental feelings, and combining with the enervating influence of the climate, brought on him a considerable depression of spirits. Un |