The Arians, who had suffered so much from the im perial edicts, and especially from those of Theodosius, found refuge and protection among those savage nations, that were gradually overturning the western empire ; smarting under a sense of recent oppression, freed in a great measure from the danger of retaliation, and sup ported now by those who had themselves embraced Arian sentiments, they began to retort on the Catholics with unsparing severity, and harassed in various ways all who professed adherence to the Nicene doctrines. The Vandals, especially, who reigned in Africa, were distinguished by the cruelties which they practised on this occasion. Huneric, one of their kings, caused the churches of all who acknowledged the divinity of Christ to be pulled down, and their bishops to be banished. He tormented those who remained firm and inflexible on that point : and declared, that, in carrying matters to such extremities, he considered himself justified by the example of the emperors, who had been equally ri gorous against all the sects that differed from the Chris tians of Constantinople.
In one instance, Huneric ordered some Catholics to be deprived of their tongues. The inhuman order was executed ; and yet we are assured, that these unfortu nate beings were able, notwithstanding their loss, to proclaim, in loud and distinct language, the divine ma jesty of Christ. We do not feel ourselves at liberty to deny the truth of this extraordinary fact, since it is sup ported by the testimony of witnesses most respectable, both as to number and character. We are much dis posed, however, to question its miraculous nature, for which many have contended with as much earnestness, as if upon that depended the fate of the Arian contro versy. It appears to us extremely improbable, at least, that God should work a miracle for the suppression of a heresy, which certainly did not threaten, but for such an interposition, to make a permanent establishment in the church ; or that he should work a miracle for the pur pose of giving support to a doctrine which was already contained in the rule of faith ; or, finally, that he should work a miracle, in order to teach mankind a truth, which he had not seen proper to communicate clearly in the written revelation of his will. And, when we read that two of the confessors utterly lost the faculty of speaking, by the punishment inflicted on them ; and when we re flect, that instances have occurred, in which persons, deprived of part of their tongue, have yet been able to utter articulate sounds, is it not an obvious and reason able supposition, that the cruel operation had been im perfectly performed on all but the two already mention ed ; that a part of the organ had been allowed to remain, and that, in this situation, the high-spirited martyrs easily articulated a few words, which the hearers, who knew well what they were disposed to say, would, on that account, think more intelligible than they really were.
For a full and interesting discussion of this curious oc currence, in the history of Arianism, we refer our read ers to ?bbadie's la Triomphe de la Providence, 'et.. vol. iii. Middleton's Free Enquiry into the Miraculous Pow ers, &c. Toll's Deface of Middleton, and Dodwell's Answers to Middleton and Toll.
About the beginning of the fifth century, Arianism was prevalent in several parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. The Greeks, indeed, who had acquiesced in the decrees of the council of Nice, persecuted the Arians as far as their power could reach ; but the Niceni ans were, in their turn, treated with no less severity by the Arians, particularly in Italy and Africa, where they indulged in strong and bitter expressions of resentment. But this transient prosperity of Arianism soon came to an end. Justinian having expelled the Vandals out of Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, and the Arian prin ces having been induced, not only to abandon the doc trine of that sect, but also to employ the force; of law, and the authority of councils, for the extensive purpose of extirpating it from their dominions, it fell speedily into disrepute, and could never afterwards regain any considerable share of that credit and influence which it had once enjoyed. In the succeeding ages of the church, it continued to have a good many adherents, but their number, at no time, became formidable ; their spirit was in a great degree subdued, and, if they occasionally ap peared to gather strength, it was quickly broken by the strong measures of their opponents. After the seventh century, indeed, they seem not to have excited any par ticular attention till the sixteenth, when Campanus, native of Juliers, began to teach at Wittemberg, and other places, that the Son is inferior to the Father, and that the Holy Ghost is merely a denomination made use of to denote the nature of the Father and the Son. Simi lar tenets were propagated by one Claudius, and occa sioned some commotions among the Swiss and the Gri sons. At Bern, Valentile Gentilis, a Neapolitan, ' was put to death for maintaining that the Son and the Holy Ghost are subordinate to the Father. And Gribaldi, a lawyer, narrowly escaped the same cruel fate, for sup posing that the divine nature was divided into three eternal spirits, distinguished from each other by sub ordination. In the following century, Arianism had re ceived encouragement and support from several cele brated writers, the chief of whom was Sandius ? but it does not appear to have given rise to any violent dispute.