TRACTS OF CYPRIAN, BISHOP OF CARTHAGE. IN TWO PARTS. PART I. CONTAINING OF CARTHAGE DURING A SEASON OF PESTILENCE, AND CAUSES OF NATIONAL AFFLICTION. PART II. CONTAINING "Whoever feels a desire to serve God in the most arduous and the most MILNER. ABRIDGED FROM MARSHALL’S TRANSLATION, BY A MASTER OF ARTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. London : PRINTED FOR F. WESTLEY AND A. H. DAVIS, AND SOLD) BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. AN EXTRACT FROM MILNER'S REVIEW OF THE CHARACTER AND WRITINGS OF CYPRIAN. “ The affairs of Cyprian detain us long, because his eloquent pen continues to attract us; and because we would not lose an able and a faithful guide, till we are compelled to leave him. Probably there were many before his time whose christian actions would have equally deserved to be commemorated : But the materials of information fail us : The fine compositions of this Bishop are still, however, a capital source of historical instruction. “Cyprian was intended for very great and important services in the Church, and those of an active nature, and attended with an almost uninterrupted series of sufferings; such as no man could perform to the glory of God, but one, who knew assuredly the ground on which he stood, by a strong work of the divine Spirit on his soul. His reception of Christianity was not the effect of mere reasoning or speculation. It was not carried on in a scholastic or philosophical manner, but may truly be said to have been “ in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” He felt the doctrines of the Gospel, namely, the grace of God; forgiveness of sins by Jesus Christ; and the influence of the Holy Ghost,-powerful, exuberant, and victorious, and his soul was brought into the love of God, tempered ever with humility and godly fear. “In every fundamental principle he speaks as the oracles of God. His Tract on Patience, as a practical performance, and that on the Lord's Prayer, as a doctrinal one, deserve the highest praise—and his pastoral exhortations, where they were received, left effects of unadulterated piety, through the divine influence that attended them The calamity of the Plague gave him an opportunity of impressing on the minds of his people what in truth had been the ruling object of his own life since his conversion, namely—a warm and active regard for the blessings of immortality, joined with a holy indifference for things below. In his letter to Demetrian, he preaches justification, by faith only, with an affectionate spirit and great clearness of doctrine, he appeals to the conscience as affording full proof of guilt before God, and exhibits, in lively colours, the all-important scenes of the last judgment. A truly regenerated person will not only relish his compositions, but also will not fail to be affected with a generous glow of the purest godliness upon reading them with care and attention. “ As a Christian Bishop scarcely any age has seen his superior—in activity, disinterestedness, and steady attention to discipline. He was equally remote from the extremes of negligent remissness, and impracticable severity; and he possessed a charity and a patience unwearied, and ever consistent. He may safely be recommended as a model to all pastors, and particularly to those of rank and dignity throughout Christendom. Whoever feels a desire to serve God in the most arduous and the most important of all professions, may profitably,--next after the study of the sacred oracles,—give days and nights to Cyprian's writings.” CONTENTS OF THE SECTIONS. PAGE. varco EPISTLE TO THE CHURCH OF CARTHAGE. 1. That it is of great consequence in afflictions to consider that they are 2. That afflictions argue the kingdom of God to be near.............. 3 3. That no security nor lasting rest is to be expected before death ...... 4. That our great aversion to death proceeds from want of faith ........ 5. That it was an impertinent complaint which Christians made of their suffering in common with the Gentiles ...... ........ 6. That Job and other good men are as remarkable for their afflictions as 7. That afflictions of all sorts serve to the proof of Christian fortitude.... 12 8. That how formidable soever death may be to heathens, it should by no means be so to Christians .......... 9. Several advantages recounted as'attending this dispensation ........ 16 10. That this distemper should not be dreaded under the pretence of its preventing any one's martyrdom ..... 11. What we should principally regard is composing ourselves to do or 12. A remarkable account of the death of a certain Bishop ............ 13. That to be afraid of death is to betray our faith and hope i......... 14 It is a very just foundation of joy to a Christian, that death shall associate him with Christ, and deliver him from persecution...... 15. Especially since now at the end of the world many calamities hover 16. That we should always bear in mind our baptismal vow, and that state 1. The reason of the author's former silence, and of his present writing.. 27 2. That national sin is the cause of national punishment.............. 28 3. That men are unreasonable in their expectations of having all things answer their wishes, when they will not acknowledge God who has all things at his disposal.................... ......... 30 4. Our author appeals to the conscience of Demetrian.. 5. That 'tis the height of madness to worship idols, and provoke the living 6. That Christians bear with the injustice of their persecutors, because they are secure that God will avenge their quarrel ............. 39 ........ 40 |