And agreeable to this settlement they constantly acted. A remarkable instance of which we have in Livy, the Roman historian; he tells us,[32] “that such a foreign religion spread itself over the city, that either men or the gods seemed entirely changed; that the Roman rites were not only forsaken in private, and within the houses, but that even publicly, in the forum and capitol, great numbers of women flocked together, who neither sacrificed nor prayed to the gods, according to the manner of their ancestors.—This first excited the private indignation of good men, till at length it reached the fathers, and became a public complaint. The senate greatly blamed the Ædiles and capital Triumvirs, that they did not prohibit them; and when they endeavoured to drive away the multitude from the forum, and to throw down the things they had provided for performing their sacred rites, they were like to be torn in pieces. And when the evil grew too great to be cured by inferior magistrates, the senate ordered M. Atilius, the prætor of the city, to prevent the people’s using these religions.” He accordingly published this decree of the senate, that “whoever had any fortune-telling books, or prayers, or ceremonies about sacrifices written down, they should bring all such books and writings to him, before the calends of April; and that no one should use any new or foreign rite of sacrificing in any public or sacred place.” ----- Footnote 32: Lib. 25 c. 1 ----- Mecenas,[33] in his Advice to Augustus, says to him: “Perform divine worship in all things exactly according to the custom of your ancestors, and compel others to do so also; and as to those who make any innovations in religion, hate and punish them; and that not only for the sake of the gods, but because those who introduce new deities, excite others to make changes in civil affairs. Hence conspiracies, seditions, and riots, things very dangerous to government.” Accordingly Suetonius, in his life of this prince,[34] gives him this character: “that though he religiously observed the ancient prescribed ceremonies, yet he contemned all other foreign ones; and commended Caius, for that passing by Judea, he would not pay his devotions at Jerusalem.” He also, as the same author tells us,[35] made a law, very much resembling our test act, by which he commanded, “that before any of the senators should take their places in council, they should offer frankincense and wine upon the altar of that god in whose temple they met.” It was no wonder therefore that Christianity, which was so perfectly contrary to the whole system of pagan theology, should be looked upon with an evil eye; or that when the number of Christians increased, they should incur the displeasure of the civil magistrate, and the censure of the penal laws that were in force against them. ----- Footnote 33: Apud Dion. Cassium, l. 52. Footnote 34: Vit. Aug. c. 93. Footnote 35: Ibid. c. 35. -----