IN CHURCH HISTORY. 53 



claiming that they had received new revelations 

 fr^m our Lord upon this subject. 



The stern, severe, disposition of Tertullian 

 inclined him to receive their views, and thus his 

 great powers were rendered less useful than they 

 might have become, although his words were 

 always a mighty force in the Church, even when 

 excommunicated for his errors. He was the un- 

 sparing censor of whatever seemed like worldli- 

 ness, and rebuked his brethren because they did 

 not live up to sufficiently rigid rules. Doubtless 

 his mission was needed to keep up the courage of 

 those who suffered, and to prevent others from 

 falling into sinful compliance to escape troubles. 

 Although he favored the Montanist heresy, he was 

 the great opponent of other forms of heresy, and 

 wrote most learned works against them. He 

 labored and wrote as a Presbyter in Carthage, 

 until very old, and died about a. d. 230. 



Origen. — One of the greatest scholars of the early 

 days was Origen. He was born of Christian 

 parents, in Alexandria, in a. d. 185, and was bap- 

 tized in his infancy. His great intellect was 

 early manifested. While a mere boy he knew 

 whole sections of the Bible, and could perplex his 

 teachers with very difficult questions. 



His father seemed to perceive the great work to 

 which his son was called, for it is said that while 

 the boy was sleeping he would often kneel by his 



