It must indeed be confessed, that under the latter emperors who persecuted the Christians, the simplicity and purity of the Christian religion were greatly corrupted, and that ambition, pride and luxury, had too generally prevailed both amongst the pastors and people. [G]Cyprian, who lived under the Decian persecution, writing concerning it to the presbyters and deacons,[51] says: “It must be owned and confessed, that this outrageous and heavy calamity, which hath almost devoured our flock, and continues to devour it to this day, hath happened to us because of our sins, since we keep not the way of the Lord, nor observe his heavenly commands given to us for our salvation. Though our Lord did the will of his Father, yet we do not the will of the Lord. Our principal study is to get money and estates; we follow after pride; we are at leisure for nothing but emulation and quarrelling; and have neglected the simplicity of the faith. We have renounced this world in words only, and not in deed. Every one studies to please himself, and to displease others.” After Cyprian, Eusebius the historian gives a sad account of the degeneracy of Christians, about the time of the Dioclesian persecution: he tells us,[52] “That through too much liberty they grew negligent and slothful, envying and reproaching one another; waging, as it were, civil wars between themselves, bishops quarrelling with bishops, and the people divided into parties: that hypocrisy and deceit were grown to the highest pitch of wickedness; that they were become so insensible, as not so much as to think of appeasing the divine anger, but that, like atheists, they thought the world destitute of any providential government and care, and thus added one crime to another; that the bishops themselves had thrown off all care of religion, were perpetually contending with one another, and did nothing but quarrel with, and threaten, and envy, and hate one another; were full of ambition, and tyrannically used their power.” This was the deplorable state of the Christian church, which God, as Eusebius well observes, first punished with a gentle hand; but when they grew hardened and incurable in their vices, he was pleased to let in the most grievous persecution upon them, under Dioclesian, which exceeded in severity and length all that had been before. ----- Footnote G: See note [G] at the end of the volume. Footnote 51: Epist. xi. Ed. Fell. Footnote 52: E. H. l. 8. c. 1. -----