OP MONASTERIES, &C. 129 



which appeared to him in the air, as he was march- 

 ing towards Rome, to aitack Maxentius ; with the 

 inscription : * Hac Vince,* In this conquer. He 

 was convinced, in time, that Christianity bore the 

 marks of celestial truth, and divine origin, and ex- 

 horted his subjects to embrace the gospel, and at 

 length employed all the force of his authority, in 

 the abolition of the ancient superstition ; and to- 

 ward the latter end of his life, he issued edicts, for 

 destroying- the heathen temples, and prohibiting 

 sacrifices. This would make a change in favour of 

 Christianity here ; Britain being at that time a part 

 of the Roman empire. In this century, we may 

 almost fix the date of the rise of monkish super- 

 stition ; which was at least inflamed by the wri- 

 tings of the famous Grecian fanatic ; who gave 

 himself out for Dionysius the Areopagite, disciple 

 of St. Paul. 



Those Solitaries, who existed in small numbers 

 before, now increased. They maintained that com- 

 munion with God was to be iought, by mortifying 

 sense ; by withdrawing the mind from all external 

 objects ; by macerating the body with hunger and 

 labour, and by a holy sort of indolence. Thus solita- 

 ry monks, and sequestered virgins, soon over-ran the 

 whole Christian world. Many of this order of men, 

 had long been known amongst the Christians, and 

 had led silent and solitary lives in the deserts of 

 Egypt ; but a person named Anthony, was the first 

 who formed them into a regular body ; engaged 

 them to live in society with each other, and prescrib- 

 ed to them fixed rules for the direction of theic 



K 



