The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!’”[179]
During this century, Christianity made rapid progress. It is alike the testimony of pagan and Christian writers that this progress is mainly to be attributed to the zeal of the Christians, their kindness to the poor, their sympathy with the afflicted, their purity of morals, and their fortitude under the severest pangs of martyrdom.
Notwithstanding the fiery persecutions with which paganism with all its energies had assailed Christianity, it continued steadily to multiply its converts and to extend its peaceful conquests.
CHAPTER XV.
CONSTANTINE.—THE BANNER OF THE CROSS UNFURLED.
Helena, the Christian Empress.—Constantine, her Son, favors the Christians.—Crumbling of the Empire.—Constantine the Christian, and Maxentius the Pagan.—Vision of Constantine.—The Unfurled Cross.—Christianity favored by the Court.—Licinius in the East defends the Christians.—Writings of Eusebius.—Apostasy of Licinius.—Cruel Persecution.
T the commencement of the fourth century, Christianity had made such rapid progress, that there were flourishing churches in all parts of the Roman world, and spacious temples of worship in all the principal cities. Indeed, in about one century after the death of Jesus Christ, Justin Martyr wrote,—