ABSTRACT
I ON the 24th August 410, Rome was taken by Alaric, defaced, and profaned,-Rome, the Mother of all civilisation, the creator of Law, the mistress of the races of the earth. It was an appalling event and produced a feeling of stupefaction. " My voice left me," wrote St Jerome, " and sobs choked my speech. The city which had conquered the whole world is herself captive. What can I say? She perished from hunger ere perishing by the sword.! That famous city, head of the Roman Empire, is laid waste by fire. There is no spot which is not receiving fugitives from Rome.2 I was desirous of setting to work to-day studying Ezechiel, but at the very moment when I began to dictate, I felt such anguish in thinking of the catastrophe in the West, that the words ceased to come to me. For long I remained silent, bethinking me well that this was a time for weeping... ." 3 The idea of the eternity of Rome was deeply rooted in all minds. Without denying themselves occasional mention of the blemishes which had soiled the history of the city, the Christian apologists themselves willingly accepted this idea since the close union between Church and State had been realised.
