victories of Antoninus over the Marcomanni and the Quadi, and the
miraculous shower of rain which refreshed the Roman soldiers and
discomfited their enemies. The statue of Antoninus was placed on the
capital of the column, but it was removed at some time unknown, and a
bronze statue of St. Paul was put in the place by Pope Sixtus the fifth.

In order to form a proper notion of the condition of the Christians under
M. Antoninus we must go back to Trajan's time. When the younger Pliny was
governor of Bithynia, the Christians were numerous in those parts, and
the worshippers of the old religion were falling off. The temples were
deserted, the festivals neglected, and there were no purchasers of
victims for sacrifice. Those who were interested in the maintenance of
the old religion thus found that their profits were in danger. Christians
of both sexes and of all ages were brought before the governor, who did
not know what to do with them. He could come to no other conclusion than
this, that those who confessed to be Christians and persevered in their
religion ought to be punished; if for nothing else, for their invincible
obstinacy. He found no crimes proved against the Christians, and he could
only characterize their religion as a depraved and extravagant
superstition, which might be stopped if the people were allowed the
opportunity of recanting. Pliny wrote this in a letter to Trajan. He
asked for the emperor's directions, because he did not know what to do.
He remarks that he had never been engaged in judicial inquiries about the
Christians, and that accordingly he did not know what to inquire about or
how far to inquire and punish. This proves that it was not a new thing to
examine into a man's profession of Christianity and to punish him for it.
Trajan's rescript is extant. He approved of the governor's judgment in
the matter, but he said that no search must be made after the Christians;
if a man was charged with the new religion and convicted, he must not be
punished if he affirmed that he was not a Christian and confirmed his