nisterie cōmended by their letter vnto Eleutherius, as is before premonished. At length after the martyrdome of Photinus he was apointed bishop of Lyons, where he continued about the space of. 23. yeares. In the tyme of this Ireneus, the state of the church was much troubled, not onely for the outward persecution of the forein enemie, but also for diuers sectes and errours then styrring, against which he diligētly labored, & wrote much, althoughe but fewe of his bookes be now remaining. The nature of this man well agreeing with his name, was such, that he euer loued peace, & sought to set agrement when any controuersie rose in the Churche. And therfore, when the question of keeping the Easter daye was renued in the church, betwene Victor Byshoppe of Rome, and the churches of Asia, and when Victor wold excommunicate them as schismatickes, for disagreing from him therin: Ireneus with the other brethrē, of the French church, sory to see such a cōtencion among brethrē for such a trifle, cōuented themselues together in a cōmon councel, and directing their letter with their common consent subscribed, sent vnto Victor, intreatyng hym to stay hys purpose, and not to proceede in excommunicating hys brethren for that matter. Althoughe they them selues agreed with hym in obseruing the sonday Easter as he dyd: yet with great reasons and argumentes exhorted hym not to deale so rygorouslye wyth hys other brethren, folowyng the auncient custome of their countrye maner in that behalfe. And beside thys he wrote diuers other letters abroade concerning the same contention, declaring the excommunication of Victor to be of no force.

MarginaliaTertulian ecclesiastical writer.Not long after Ireneus followed also Tertullian about the tyme of this Seuerus, and Antoninus Caracalla his sonne, a man both in Greeke and latine well expert, hauing great gifts in disputing, and in writing eloquent, as hys bookes declare, and as the commendacion of al learned men do testifie no lesse. To whō Vincentius Lirinensis geueth suche prayse, that he calleth him the floure of al latine writers, and of the eloquence of hys style so he writeth, that with the force of his reasons, he sayth, whom he coulde not perswade, them he compelled to consent vnto hym. How many woordes, so many sentences, and how many sentences, so many victories he had. &c.

Such men of doing and wryting God rayseth vp from tyme to tyme, as pyllers and stayes for his poore Churche, as he did this Tertulian in these daungerous dayes of persecution. For when the Christians were vexed with wronges, and falselye accused of the Gentiles, MarginaliaThe Apologie of Tertullian defēding the Christians.Tertullian taking their cause in hand, defendeth them agaynst the persecutors, and against their slaunderous accusations: First, that they neuer minded any styrre or rebelliō, either against the Empyre or Emperours of Rome: for somuch as the vse of Christiās was to pray for the state of their Emperours & gouernours And wher as they were falselye accused to be enemies to all mankinde: how could that be (sayth Tertullian to Scapula) MarginaliaTertullianus ad Scapulam.seing the proper office of the Christians is by their profession to praye for all men, to loue their enemies, neuer requiting euil for euil: when as al other do loue but onely their friendes, and scarcely them? As touching the horrible slaunder of murdering infants, how can that be true in the Christians (sayth he) whose order is to abstayne from al bloud, and strangled, in somuch that it is not lawfull for them to touche the bloode of any beast at their tables when they fede? From filthy copulation no sorte more free then they: which are & euer haue bene the greatest obseruers of chastitie, of whom such as may, lyue in perpetual virginitie all their lyfe, such as cannot, contract matrimonie, for auoyding all whordome and fornication. Neither can it be proued of the Christians to woorship the sunne with false sur-mise. MarginaliaThe occasion hereof belyke came of the Iewes worshipping the iawe of an asse in the story of Sampson.Tertullian declareth to ryse hereof, for that the maner of the Christians was to pray toward the East. Much lesse was ther any of them so mad to worship an Asses head, whereof the occasion being taken onelye of the Iewes, the slaunder therof therfore he proueth to be falsely & wrongfully laid to the charge of the Christiās.

And lykewise against all other lyes and slaunders, obiected of the Heathen against the Christians, the sayd Tertullian purgeth the Christiās, declaring them falsly to be belyed, and wrongfully persecuted, not for any desart of theirs, but onely for the hatred of their name. And yet notwithstanding by the same persecutions, he proueth in the same Apologie, the religion of the Christians nothing to bee impayred, but rather encreased. MarginaliaTertul. in Apologetico.The more (sayth he) we are mowne downe of you, the mo ryse vp. The bloud of Christians is seede. For what man sayth he, in beholding the paynful tormentes, and the perfect pacience of them, wil not search and enquire what is in the cause? And what he hath foūd it out, who wyl not agree vnto it? And when he agreeth to it, who wyl not desire to suffer for it? Thus (sayth he) this secte wil neuer dye, which the more it is cut downe, the more it groweth. For euery man seing and wondring at the sufferance of the saintes, is moued the more thereby to searche the cause, in searching, he findeth it, and in fynding, he foloweth it. Tertul. in eadem Apolog.

Thus Tertullian, in this daungerous time of persecution, being styrred vp of God, defended the innocencie of the Christians, against the blasphemie of the aduersaries, and moreouer for the instructiō of the church compiled many fruitful workes, whereof some are extant, some are not to be founde. MarginaliaThe errours & imperfections in learned men noted.Notwithstanding the great learning and famous vertues of this worthy mā, certayne errours and blemishes are noted in his doctrine, as wer before both of Origene and Ireneus, and lykewyse of them, were they neuer so excellent, that folowed them. Which errours all here in order to note & comprehende, were to long a matter for this storye to prosecute. This by the way shall be sufficient to admonish the Reader, neuer to looke for any suche perfection of any man in this world, howe singular so euer he bee (Christ onely excepted) but some blemishe or other ioyneth himselfe withal, wherof more perchaunce shall be sayd, when we come to Ciprian.

MarginaliaVictor byshop of Rome.And now to returne agayne to the order of bishops of Rome intermitted: after Eletherius afore mencioned, next in the bishopricke of Rome succeeded Victor, who as Platina sayth, dyed quietly in the dayes of Seuerus. MarginaliaVictor reported of some to dye a MartyrBut Damasus, Supplementum, lib. 8. and suche as folow the common Chronicles, affirme that he dyed a martyr, after he had sit. x. or as some say. xij. yeres. This Victor was a great styrrer (as partly before is signified) in þ^e cōtrouersy & contētion of Easterday. For þ^e which he would haue proceeded in excōmunicatiō against the churches of Asia, had not Ireneus then bishop of Lyōs, with the counsail of other hys brethren ther assembled, repressed hys intended violence. As touching that controuersie of Easter in those daies of the primitiue churche, the original therof was this, as Eusebius, Socrates, Platina, and other recorde. First certayn it is, that the Apostles onelye being intentiue and attendant to the doctrine of saluation, gaue no heede nor regarde to the obseruations of dayes and times, neyther bounde the churche to anye ceremonies and rites, MarginaliaThe cause dyscussed why the holy ghost forbad bloud and strangled in the primitiue churche.except those thinges necessary mēcioned in the actes of the Apostles, as strangled and bloude, whych was ordayned then of the holye ghost, not wythout a most vrgent and necessary cause, touched partlye in the historye before. For when the murdering and bloud of Infantes was commonly obiected by the Heathen persecutors against the Christians, they had no other argument to helpe them selues, nor to refell the aduersarie, but onely their owne