PUBLICOLA

PUBLIUS

519

ihould consider more serious, but for the casesmentioned by Publicola of Isaac and Abimelech(Gen. xxvi. 31) and Laban and Jacob (Gen. xxxi.53)1 The command also of our Lord about notsW earing at all (Matt. v. 34, 36) seems to bedirected mainly against perjury, from which, asa heinous sin He wishes Christians to be as far'removed as possible. As a Christian ought notto swear at all, so he ought not to compel othersto do so, though scripture nowhere forbids himto take an oath from another, for if so, therewould be no such thing as peace, and not onlyproduce guai'ded by heathens would be polluted,but every thing included in a treaty of peacewith them, (c) To permit any produce fromfloor or press to be used to idols is plainly for-bidden to Christians, but there can be no reasonagainst their using the general store to which itbelongs, as water, even though some be takenfor sacrifice. We do not scruple to breathethe air into which the smoke of sacrificeascends. The point to be considered is to donothing, nor be thought to do any thing inhonour of false gods, and when temples orgroves are overthrown, Christians ought not touse the stores, or the timber for themselves, butonly for the service of God, as was the casewith Jericho, and in other cases. As to meatoffered to idols we have St. Paul’s rule. Hewho eats idol-meat in ignorance, sins not: sovegetables in general are a part of God’s crea-tion, but if offered to idols ought to be rejected.But if it be unlawful to eat a vegetable grownwithin a temple-enclosure, St. Paul would havebeen precluded from eating any at Athens,which was wholly consecrated to Minerva. Soalso with water, unless any parts of an idol-sacrifice be thrown into it. We behold the sunand breathe the wind, though some offer sacri-fice to them both. Doubts concerning an idol-sacrifice, if it be proved not to be so, cannotcause sin, because every one is at liberty tocorrect falsehood, and turn it into truth. To doa bad deed which the doer thinks at the time tobe good is a sin of ignorance : (d) As to killingthose who are endeavouring to kill us, the churchthinks it wrong to do so, except in the case ofsoldiers, and bearing in mind Matt. v. 39. Aman who builds a wall round his property is notguilty of murder if another man be struck fromit, nor if his beast wound him. So St. Paulwas justified in revealing the plot laid againsthim, and accepting the guard provided for him.It it were otherwise, no iron tools or ropescould be used, lest people should destroy them-selves with them; nor windows, lest they shouldthrow themselves out: (e) As to the case ofthe famishing Christian, if he knows food to beidol-meat, he does better to reject it, but if he• t ° eS fp°*’ know this, he may lawfully partake of! ■ The letter and its reply are not withoutimportance, and though the former may appearover-scrupulous and even frivolous in its doubts,1 is an instance of conscientious casuistry, iutespect of the questions which must have arisenlequently in the minds of Christians livingamong heathens, and which to a feebler andoi ei-sensitive mind presented difficulties whichbln C 6ar ,. *S U( % 1:neil t'> strong common sense, andor informed mind of Augustine were able inmost cases easily to solve. (. Ep. 47.)

[H. W. P.]

PUBLIUS (I), bishop of Athens in the 2ndcentury, and martyr in some persecution of thattime. He was succeeded by Quadratus, who re-vived the faith of the Athenian Church, whichhad almost failed. Cf. Ep. of Dionysius ofCorinth in Euseb. H. E. iv. 23 [Dionysius (3)].The exact date of Publius is a matter of doubt,and depends upon the identification of Quadratus.If Quadratus, bishop of Athens, were the apolo-gist mentioned by Euseb. (AT. E. iv. 3), he lived inthe time of Hadrian, and Publius may have beenthe successor of Dionysius the Areopagite asbishop of Athens. This, however, is disputed byYalesius in his notes on Eusebius, though assertedby Jerome in his Catalog, (cf. Ruinart, AA. Sine.praef. p. xxxv.). Valesius’s principal objection isthis; Eusebius (iii. 37) says that Quadratus wasdistinguished for his prophetical gifts; Dionysiuson the other hand calls his Quadratus a bishop.But a bishop could also have been a prophet.Cf. the words of the A iBaxh twv 5ct)5e/ca ’A7ro-crrSXcavj ed. Bryennios, cap. 15. Upon this contro-versy see writers cited by Eabricius in hisBiblioth. Graeca t t. vi. p. 154, when discussingQuadratus. [G. T. S.]

PUBLIUS (2), the eighteenth bishop ofJerusalem, followed Cassianus as the third of theGentile succession. The beginning of his episco-pate is placed in the 4th year of Marcus Aure-lius, A.D. 165. Two years of office are assignedhim by Eutychius (361) (Euseb. H. E. v. 12 fEpiphan. Hacr. lxvi. 20 ; Chron. Armen.).

[E. V.]

PUBLIUS JULIUS. [Aehus.]

PUBLIUS, persecutor. [Pollio.]

PUBLIUS (3), a solitary, commemoratedby Theodoret in his Religiosa Historia, cap. v. bomat Zeugma, on the Hellespont, of a family ofsenatorial rank. His person was singularlyhandsome, and his mental endowments wereequally remarkable. On his father’s deathPublius sold all that he inherited from him, anddistributed it to those in need, and built forhimself a small hut on a high ground aboutseven miles from his native town, where hepassed the remainder of his days. He devotedhis whole time to psalmody, reading the Scrip-tures, and prayer, together with the labournecessary for his maintenance and the entertain-ment of strangers, and latterly for the govern-ment of his brotherhood. His reputation forsanctity gathered many about him whom helodged in small huts contiguous to his own, butnot under the same roof. Over these he exer-cised a very strict oversight, imposing on thema very severe rule of abstinence, and nightlyprayer. After a while, on the advice of one ofthese fellow ascetics he erected a common house,or coenobium which they might occupy toge-ther, and each derive profit from the virtues ofhis companions, while all would be more imme-diately under his eye. At first all his fellowcoenobites were Greeks. P>ut the native Syrianshaving expressed a desire to join the society, hebuilt another house for them, and between thetwo erected a church common to both, whereeach might attend mattins and evensong, sing-ing alternately in their own language. This