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| 79. If two persons, while walking, divide so as to pass an obstruction one on one side and one on the other, they will quarrel. Children avert this catastrophe by exclaiming, bread and butter, which is a counter charm. On the other hand, if the... Read more of Friendship at Superstitions.ca | Informational Privacy |
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On Pliny's Letter To The Emperor Trajan[Pliny the younger was Governor of Pontus and Bithynia during some of the early years of the 2nd century. Trajan was Emperor from A.D. 98 to 117. The letter, from which we give some extracts, has been dated (Bp Lightfoot) A.D. 112. It shows that the marvellous spreading of the Faith took place in the face of laws which made it a crime to be a Christian: and that the closest enquiry on Pliny's part made him aware of their high moral standard, and of the stedfastness of their devotion.] "* * * The method I have observed towards those who have been brought before me as Christians is this; I interrogated them whether they were Christians; {175} if they confessed, I repeated the question twice, adding threats at the same time; and if they still persevered, I ordered them to be immediately punished. For, I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions might be, a contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserves correction. * * * An information was presented to me without any name subscribed, containing a charge against several persons; these, upon examination, denied they were, or ever had been, Christians. They repeated after me an invocation to the gods, and offered religious rites with wine and frankincense before your statue * * * and even reviled the name of Christ; whereas there is no forcing, it is said, those who are really Christians, into any of these compliances. * * * The rest owned indeed they had been of that number formerly, but had now (some above three, others more, and a few above twenty years ago) renounced that error. * * * They affirmed the whole of their guilt, or their error, was, that they met on a certain stated day before it was light, and addressed themselves in a form of prayer to Christ, as to some god, binding themselves by a solemn oath, not for the purposes of any wicked design, but never to commit any fraud, theft, or adultery; never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up: after which, it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to eat in common a harmless meal. * * * Great numbers must be involved in the danger of these prosecutions which have already extended and are still likely to extend, to persons of all ranks and ages, and even of both sexes. In fact, this contagious superstition is not confined to the cities only, but has spread its infection among the neighbouring villages and country. * * *" Melmoth's Translation (1747). Next: On The Addition Of Filioque To The Creed Previous: On The Lessons In The Day Hours
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