Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

282 THE SECOND AGE OF THE MARTYR CHURCH.Church its own questions, against which the divineScripture was defended with greater care than ifno such necessity had existed."47 Thus the doctrineof the Trinity owed its perfect treatment tothe Arian assault on it; the doctrine of penanceto that of Novatian ; the doctrine of baptism tothose who wished to introduce the practice of re-baptising; even the unity of Christ was broughtout with greater clearness by the attempt to rendit, and the doctrine of one Catholic Church diffusedthrough the whole world cleared from itsobj ectors by showing that the mixture of evil menin it does not prejudice the good. ;s And he illustrateshis meaning by a very picturesque image:" When heretics calumniate, the young of the flockare disturbed; in their disturbance they inquire;so the young lamb butts its mother's udder till itgets sufficient nutriment for its thirst."49 For thedoctors of the Church being called upon for ananswer supply the truth which before was latent.And there is no more signal instance of the greatwriter's remark than himself; for the attacks ofthe most various heresies led him during fortyyears of unwearied mental activity into almostevery question of theology.The gnostic heresy, then, presents us with thefirst instance of a law which will run all throughthe Church's history. Peter the first Apostle47 De dono persev. 53. 48 Enarr, in Ps. 54, torn. iv. 513.49 Serin. 51, torn, v. 288.