some, like the Philippovtsi, have preferred self-immolation in flames to submission, or, like the Stranniki, have abjured all civil restraints rather than risk contamination with an accursed world, and who, all, have for centuries denounced the Church, and preached resistance to the emperor, reviling him as the impersonation of Satan, ever be rendered peaceful, law-abiding subjects, or be even tolerated in a civilized community?
Time, however, softens asperities, and diminishes moral distances and differences; common interests suggest compromises; necessity imposes restraints; the bitter passions, aroused by persecution, are soothed by the milder spirit of modern civilization; and the fierce logic of fanaticism yields to the persuasive influences of toleration and forbearance. There are but very few of the Bezpopovtsi of to-day who still cling to the strict letter of their creed, and regard their sovereign as the vicar of Satan, and the incarnation of evil. Some explain the reign of Antichrist in a spiritual sense, others wait for fuller manifestations of his presence, and all obey existing laws without troubling their consciences as to the source from which they emanate. The very men who profess to believe that the earth is under the dominion of the devil are, in point of fact, generally as orderly, sober, and discreet members of society as their neighbors, who acknowledge the ever-present power of the Lord, and an overruling divine Providence.
The government, desirous of reconciliation, satisfied with obedience to the laws and tacit recognition of its authority, became tolerant, and ceased to harass or vex peaceful subjects on abstract matters of belief; it required, however, as evidence of loyalty, and as acknowledgment of its supremacy, that schismatics should, like the Orthodox, make public mention of the sovereign in
