As early as the beginning of the second century Roman officials began to search out and punish Christians, wherever they were found. During the third century the entire power of the imperial government was directed against this outlawed sect. The persecution which began under Diocletian was the last and most severe. With some interruptions it continued for eight years. Only Gaul and Britain seem to have escaped its ravages. The government began by burning the holy books of the Christians, by destroying their churches, and by taking away their property. Members of the hated faith lost their privileges as full Roman citizens. Then sterner measures followed. The prisons were crowded with Christians. Those who refused to recant and sacrifice to the emperor were thrown to wild animals in the arena, stretched on the rack, or burned over a slow fire. Every refinement of torture was practiced. Paganism, fighting for its existence, left no means untried to root out a sect both despised and feared. THE MARTYRS The Christians joyfully suffered for their religion. They welcomed the torture and death which would gain for them a heavenly crown. Those who perished were called martyrs, that is, "witnesses." Even now the festal day of a martyr is the day of his death. [Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CATACOMBS The catacombs of Rome are underground cemeteries in which the Christians buried their dead. The bodies were laid in recesses in the walls of the galleries or underneath the pavement. Several tiers of galleries (in one instance as many as seven) lie one below the other. Their total length has been estimated at no less than six hundred miles. The illustration shows a small chamber, or cubiculum. The graves have been opened and the bodies taken away.] 80. TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY CHRISTIANITY BECOMES A TOLERATED RELIGION Diocletian's persecution, which continued for several years after his abdication, came to an end in 311 A.D. In that year Galerius, the ruler in the East, published an edict which permitted the Christians to rebuild their churches and worship undisturbed. It remained for the emperor Constantine to take the next significant step. In 313 A.D. Constantine and his colleague, Licinius, issued the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed for the first time in history the noble principle of religious toleration. It gave absolute freedom to every man to choose and follow the religion which he deemed best suited to his needs. This edict placed the Christian faith on an equality with paganism. CONSTANTINE'S CONVERSION