It cannot be doubted, but that, by the preaching of the apostles and disciples of Christ, in Greece and other parts of the Roman empire full of these philosophers, many thousands of men were converted to the Christian faith, some really, and some feignedly, for factious ends, or for need; for Christians lived then in common, and were charitable. And because most of these philosophers had better skill in disputing and oratory than the common people, and thereby were better qualified both to defend and propagate the Gospel, there is no doubt, I say, but most of the pastors of the primitive church were for that reason chosen out of the number of these philosophers; who retaining still many doctrines which they had taken up on the authority of their former masters, whom they had in reverence, endeavoured many of them to draw the Scriptures every one to his own heresy. And thus at first entered heresy into the church of Christ. Yet these men were all of them Christians; as they were, when they were first baptized. Nor did they deny the authority of those writings which were left them by the Apostles and Evangelists, though they interpreted them, many times, with a bias to their former philosophy. And this dissention amongst themselves, was a great scandal to the unbelievers, and which not only obstructed the way of the Gospel, but also drew scorn and greater persecution upon the church. For remedy whereof, the chief pastors of churches did use, at the rising of any new opinion, to assemble themselves for the examining and determining of the same. Wherein, if the author of the opinion were convinced of his error, and subscribed to the sentence of the church assembled, then all was well again: but if he still persisted in it, they laid him aside, and considered him but as an heathen man; which to an unfeigned Christian, was a great ignominy, and of force to make him consider better of his own doctrine; and sometimes brought him to the acknowledgment of the truth. But other punishment they could inflict none; that being a right appropriated to the civil power. So that all the punishment the church could inflict, was only ignominy; and that among the faithful, consisting in this, that his company was by all the godly avoided, and he himself branded with the name of _heretic_, in opposition to the whole church, that condemned his doctrine. So that _catholic_ and _heretic_ were terms relative; and here it was that _heretic_ came to be a name, and a name of disgrace, both together.