178 THE DECLINE AND FALL C il A p. and seven women who suffered for the profession of the /__ J_ christian name*^. Exampleof During the same ])eriod of persecution, the zealous, ^i^o^jTf Car- ^^^^ eloquent, the amlntious Cyprian governed the • ii'igf- church, not only of Carthage, but even of Africa. He possessed every quality which could engage the rever- ence of the faithful, or provoke the suspicions and re- sentment of the pagan magistrates. His character as well as his station seemed to mark out that holy pre- late as the most distinguished object of envy and of danger*^. The experience, however, of the life of Cyprian, is sufficient to prove, that our fancy has ex- aggerated the perilous situation of a christian bishop ; and that the dangers to which he was exposed were less imminent than those which temporal ambition is always prepared to encounter in the pursuit of honours. Four Roman emperors, with their families, their fa- vourites, and their adherents, perished by the sword in the space of ten years, during which, the bishop of Carthage guided by his authority and eloquence the counsels of the African church. It was only in the third year of his administration, that he had reason, during a few months, to apprehend the severe edicts His danger of Decius, the vigilance of the magistrate, and the ^" '^ ■ clamours of the multitude, who loudly demanded, that Cyprian, the leader of the christians, should be thrown to the lions. Prudence suggested the necessity of a temporary retreat, and the voice of prudence was obeyed. He withdrew himself into an obscure soli- tude, from whence he could maintain a constant corre- spondence with the clergy and people of Carthage ; and concealing himself till the tempest was past, he pre- served his life, without relinquishing either his power f Dionysius ap. Euseb. 1. vi. c. 41. One of the seventeen was likewise accused of robbery. s The letters of Cyprian exhibit a very curious and original picture, both of the ma7i and of the li7nes. See likewise the two lives of Cyprian, com- posed with equal accuracy, though with very different views ; the one by Le Clerc, (Bibliotheque Universelle, tom. xii. p. 208 — 378.) the other by Tillemont, Memoires Eccl6siastiques, tom. iv. part i. p. 76 — 459.
