The allusion to the fifth authority is even more unsatisfactory than that of the fourth. It seems that Melito, bishop of Sardis, had written a discourse on the Lord’s day, which had been seen by Eusebius. As to its contents, the letter says not one word, neither shall we; for, as it is not now in existence, it is impossible that any person should be able to decide which view it would favor, provided it were in being. The sixth proof is brought from the writings of Pliny. It is couched in these words: “They [the Christians] affirmed that the sum of their fault, or error, was, that they were accustomed to assemble on a stated day, before it was light, and sing praise alternately among themselves, to Christ, as God.” Without debating the propriety of bringing forward a heathen writer to prove the practice of a Christian church, we proceed to examine the testimony itself. Its utter inability to fill the place assigned to it will be discerned by every intelligent person who examines its phraseology. In it is the declaration that Christians were in the habit of assembling on a stated day, at which time they sang praises alternately among themselves, to Christ, as God. Now that the statement of the facts is not incompatible with the idea that they were observers of the seventh day, all must admit. For surely, there is no incongruity in the notion that it would be in the highest degree proper for the observers of the ancient Sabbath of the Lord to devote its sacred hours to the delightful task of singing hymns of praise, and worshiping Christ, as God. That the language itself as completely harmonizes with this view, as with any other, will be felt when we remember that the writer does not say that they assembled on the first day of the week, or the Lord’s day, at all; but, simply, that it was on a stated day that they gathered themselves together for the purposes of worship. A stated day is one which recurs at fixed intervals. The Sabbath might have been the stated day; or, so far as anything to the contrary in the passage is concerned, the Sunday might have been the one. Pliny does not decide the point for us. His declarations, therefore, have not the slightest force in proving anything favorable to the opinions of the gentleman. Furthermore, if inference is to be taken at all, the preponderance would rather be in favor of the last day of the week, since, in devoting it to the worship of Christ, they would not only bring upon themselves the wrath of the heathen, because of their acknowledgment of our Lord’s divinity; but, also, in the sum of their fault would be found the fact, that they ignored the sacredness of the day of the sun, and celebrated another, as holy, by divine command.