N20568:632
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being…
The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of martyrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].The new and complete book of martyrs; or, An universal history of martyrdom: being Fox's Book of marytrs, revised and corrected, with additions and great improvements. : Containing an authentic account of the lives, persecutions and sufferings of the holy martyrs; and the many dreadful persecutions against the Church of Christ in all parts of the world, by pagans, Jews, Turks, papists, and others, from earliest ages of the church to the present period. ... The whole forming at once a general Christian martyrology, and a complete history of persecutions. / By the Rev. Mr. John Fox, M.A. late of Magdalen College, Oxford. ; Now revised, corrected and improved, with many additional articles, relating to the acts and monuments of the church. By Paul Wright, D.D. ; Embellished with forty elegant copper plate engravings. ; In two volumes. Vol. I[-II].
New-York: printed by William Durell, 1794
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
"IT happened, that while he was there, the emperor's birth-day was kept with great solemnity, and the sacrifices to the pagan idols ma•e a considerable part of that solemnity. All t•e subjects of the empire were expected on that occasion, to conform to the blind religion of their prince; but Marcellus, who had been well instructed in the duties of his profession, expressed his detestation of those profane practices, by throwing away his belt, the badge of his military character, at the head of his company, declaring aloud, that he was a soldier of Christ, the eternal king. He then quitted his arms, and added, that from that moment he ceased to serve the emperor; and that he thus expressed his contempt of the gods of the empire, which were no better than deaf and dumb idols. "If (continued he) their imperial majesties impose the obligation of sacrificing to the•• and their gods, as a necessary condition of their service, I here throw up my commission, and quit the army."
"IT happened, that while he was there, the emperor's birth-day was kept with great solemnity, and the sacrifices to the pagan idols ma•e a considerable part of that solemnity. All t•e subjects of the empire were expected on that occasion, to conform to the blind religion of their prince; but Marcellus, who had been well instructed in the duties of his profession, expressed his detestation of those profane practices, by throwing away his belt, the badge of his military character, at the head of his company, declaring aloud, that he was a soldier of Christ, the eternal king. He then quitted his arms, and added, that from that moment he ceased to serve the emperor; and that he thus expressed his contempt of the gods of the empire, which were no better than deaf and dumb idols. "If (continued he) their emperial majesties impose the obligation of sacrificing to the•• and their gods, as a necessary condition of their se••ice, I here throw up my commission, and quit the army."