364 ELEMENTS OF SCIENCE 



convoked, Under his son Constantius, Paganism began 

 to be persecuted, and Julian (the son of a brother of 

 Constantine), in his fruitless attempt to revive Paganism, 

 was rather seeking to oppose to Christianity a new 

 Hellenic religion of his own devising, than trying really 

 to restore the old worship of Rome and Italy. The 

 school of Alexandria, though it opposed, really helped 

 to promote and develop, the theology of the Christian 

 Church; and ultimately, in the time of the Emperor 

 Theodosius (367 to 375 A.D.), all public profession of the 

 religion of Pagan Rome finally ceased. 



With this brief and elementary sketch of the history 

 of the rise and development of the Christian empire 

 we must here content ourselves, referring the student to 

 the various historical works wherein he will find depicted 

 the struggles which eventuated in (i) the destruction 

 of the western half of the empire; (2) the establishment 

 of the existing European nations; (3) the rise and 

 gradual extension of the recognised prominence and 

 and power of the Bishop of Rome (which followed so 

 naturally the traditions of the city of Rome, as having 

 possessed in an eminent degree the genius of legislation, 

 orderly rule, and universal dominion) ; (4) the tempo- 

 rary eclipse of antecedent culture and civilisation; (5) 

 the gradual awakening of the spirit of inquiry ; (6) the 

 discovery of the previously unknown half of the globe ; 

 (7) the schools of philosophy which from time to time 

 arose up to our own day ; (8) the rapid advance of 

 physical science ; and (9) the rise of the conception of 

 human progress. These can be but mentioned here, 

 our intention being to present our readers with no more 

 than an introduction to such elementary historical 

 knowledge as may serve to incite them to pursue the 

 great science of human history. 



