allegorical, and engaged in a heated controversy with the Christians
upon the subjects. The character of their discussions is well, although
supposititiously, expressed by Gerald Massey, in his work entitled,
"The Historical Jesus and the Mythical Christ;" page 179, American
edition, where he makes the Gnostics say to the Christians, "You poor
ignorant idiots; you have mistaken the mysteries of old for modern
history, and accepted literally all that was only meant mystically." To
which the Christians responded, "You spawn of Satan, you are making the
mystery by converting our accomplished facts into your miserable
fables; you are dissipating and dispersing into thin air our only bit
of solid foothold in the world, stained with the red drops of Calvary.
You are giving a satanic interpretation of the word of revelation and
falsifying the oracles of God. You are converting the solid facts of
our history into your newfangled allegories;" to which the Gnostics
replied, "Nay, it is you who have taken the allegories of Mythology for
historical facts."

But it was impossible to stem the rising tide; the lessons which the
priesthood had taught the ignorant masses had been too well learned.
They were sure that their scriptures were historical; that Jesus Christ
was truly the incarnate saviour who had died and rose again for the
salvation of the elect, and that being the elect it would be
pre-eminently just and proper that the old Pagan form of worship should
be abrogated and theirs recognized as the state religion. Thus the
conflict raged until the year 381, when, under the reign of the Emperor
Theodosius the Great, this demand having been formally made, and the
Senate, fearing the tumult a refusal would excite, with a show of fair
dealing ordered the presentation, before that body, of the respective
merits of the two forms of worship. In that memorable discussion, which
lasted a whole week, Symmachus, a senator, advocated the old system,