300 NOTES. 



first of light/' by assemblies, public readings, exhortations, 

 and prayers. 



The Roman Pliny, in his celebrated letter to the Emperor 

 Trajan (in the beginning of the second century), relates that 

 the Christians of his Province *^were accustomed to meet to- 

 gether on a stated day, hefore it was light [^stato die, ante 

 lucem''}, and sing a hymn," &c., and then separate; after 

 which they reassembled at a common meal. As the Sabbath 

 day appears to have been quite as commonly observed at this 

 date as the Sun's day (if not even more so), it is just as pro- 

 bable that this '^ stated day" referred to by Pliny was the 

 seventh day, as that it was the Jirst day; though the latter is 

 generally tåken for granted. We have no contemporary record, 

 unfortunately, to determine positively which of these days (or 

 whether either of them) was the day denoted. The custom of 

 assembling ^^before daylighf' was obviously adopted that it 

 might not interrupt the labors or occupations of the day, a 

 large portion of these early disciples belonging to the servile 

 and laboring classes. 



Ignatius, who wrote at the close of the first century, depre- 

 cates the observance of the Sabbath, and makes no allusion to 

 any custom of observing the Sunday. Indeed, 7io such custom 

 is to he traced in any writer of the first century! And when 

 we refer to the New Testament writers, the only passage which 

 might seem, at first sight, to indicate a public distinction of 

 " the first day" (1 Cor. xvi. 2), proves, on a careful examina- 

 tioUj to be decidedly repugnant to the existence of Sunday 

 assemblies. 



