proselyte to the Jewish religion, ingratiated himself into the favour of Julius Cesar. The result was, that his son was made king of Judea. This was Herod, who reigned in Jerusalem at the time that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

On that occasion, Herod caused all the infants in Bethlehem, under the age of two years, to be massacred in cold blood, in the hope that the new-born Messiah would perish among them. He soon after died in extreme torture, leaving his dominions divided among his four sons; who, from their inheriting a fourth part of the kingdom, were called Tetrarchs. One of these sons was that Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, who put to death John the Baptist, and who derided our blessed Lord, when he was sent to him by Pilate, the Roman governor. Archelaus had Judea for his province; but, incurring the enmity of his subjects, they accused him at Rome, and ultimately procured his banishment. Judea was then made a Roman province, and continued to be so till the destruction of Jerusalem; except for a few years, during which, by the favour of Caligula and Claudius, that Herod reigned who put to death the apostle James, and imprisoned Peter; and who, after a vain-glorious speech, was smitten with the diseases of which he died. Agrippa and Bernice, before whom Paul pleaded his cause, while Festus was Roman governor, were also of the same family. Agrippa reigned, however, not over Judea, but over some of the neighbouring districts.

MODERN HISTORY.

THAT portion of the history of the world, which followed the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, may fitly be called Modern History, because the institutions of the empire of Rome, which then had reached its height, still continue to influence the western world; and particularly, because that great revolution in religion, and generally, in the state of the human mind, which then commenced, has continued to advance; and, in the present day, is proceeding with unabated, or rather renewed vigour.

eras.

This portion of history, like that which preceded it, from the creation of the world, might also be regarded as distributed into periods of 500 years, by remarkable The first period of 500 years after the Christian era, is marked pretty nearly by the reign of Justinian, and the fall of the western empire. The second period is marked by the reign of William the Conqueror, and the settlement of the Gothic nations. The third is marked by the discovery of America, the fall of the eastern empire, and the reformation. These divisions, however, do not suggest the leading revolutions in the history of the world, since the birth of Christ. We rather, therefore, adopt the following eras, as our resting points. The dates are given in round numbers. I. The era of Constantine, marked by the toleration of Christianity, and the division of the Roman territory into the Eastern and Western empires, A. D. 300. II. The rise of Mahomet, A. D. 600. III. The Crusades, A.D. 1100. IV. Charles the Fifth, of Germany, and the discovery of America, A. D. 1500. And V. Bonaparte and the French Revolution, A. D. 1800.

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FIRST ERA.-Birth of Jesus Christ.

At the birth of Jesus Christ, nearly the whole of that territory that had been successively occupied by the Babylonian, the Persian, and Grecian monarchies, was under the dominion of the city of Rome, now itself governed by a despotic monarch, retaining, indeed, the forms of a republic, but really under the absolute government of a military chief. And besides the territories of the former monarchies, this great empire now included under its sway those western countries, Spain, France, Holland, or Batavia, as far as Britain, which were scarcely known to history, even at the latest of the former eras. It was, with the single exception of Palestine, pagan. That country was inhabited by the Jews; who derived their religion with more or less purity, from the Scriptures of the Old Testament.

FIRST CENTURY-After the birth of the Saviour of the world, Augustus continued to govern the empire with judgment and clemency, attending to its internal order and prosperity, and to its protection from foreign invasion. Towards the end of his reign, he adopted his step-son, Tiberius, and appointed him his successor in the empire. He died, A.D. 14, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and the forty-first of his reign.

Tiberius succeeded him, a man naturally of dark suspicious temper-a disposition which was fostered by the circumstances in which he was placed-till he became a torment to himself, and a scourge to all who fell within his reach. In the 12th year of his reign, he retired to the Island of Capreæ, opposite to Naples, which he has rendered infamous by his cruelties, and abominable debaucheries. It was in the 18th year of his reign that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.

Caligula succeeded him; but was remarkable for nothing but his extravagant vices. His cruelty, his rapacity, his profligacy, and his licentiousness, were without bounds, till the injuries which he inflicted on the citizens of every rank, became intolerable. A conspiracy was formed to murder him, which proved successful, in the fourth year of his reign, and the 29th of his age.

Claudius, his uncle, was raised to the empire by the soldiery. He began, as most of the emperors did, to reign well. He paid great attention to the making of aqueducts, roads, bridges, harbours, and other works of public utility; but, partly under the influence of his wife, and partly through suspicions and fears to which his exalted rank exposed him, he became jealous and cruel, and a multitude of persons of the first families in Rome fell a sacrifice to his apprehensions. At length his wife, becoming apprehensive for her own safety, caused him to be poisoned, after he had reigned 13 years, A. D. 54. was succeeded by

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Nero, son of Agrippina, the second wife of Claudius. He began his reign well, but afterwards rushed with such headlong fury into every species of wickedness, as to eclipse the enormities even of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius.

During his reign, a great part of Rome was burned; and most historians attribute to him the conflagration. To remove the odium of it from himself, he attributed it to the Christians, who were then beginning to attract attention; and upon that pretence commenced an inhuman persecution against them. Some of them were covered with the skins of wild beasts, and in this disguise devoured by dogs; some were crucified, and others burned alive. It was during this persecution that Paul was imprisoned the second time, as mentioned in his second epistle to Timothy, and in all probability suffered death. Peter also, it is generally believed, suffered about the same time.

For thirteen years Nero was permitted thus to outrage human nature, till at length the empire was roused to rid itself of such a monster. Servius Galba, who was at that time governor of Spain, and much revered both by the soldiery and the citizens, accepted an invitation that was given him to march an army towards Rome. When Nero heard that Galba had declared against him, he gave himself up for lost. He made one or two efforts to put himself to death, but his courage always failed him. At length he gave himself a mortal wound with a dagger, and expired just as the soldiers who pursued him burst into his apartment.

The three emperors who succeeded Nero, were raised to the throne by the soldiery, and had nothing in their