tianity had in
the end spread among them, how did Christianity find its way here?

The various suggestions that have from time to time been made, in the
course of the early centuries, as to the introduction of Christianity to
this island, were collected and commented on in a searching manner
twenty-five years ago by two men of great learning and judgement. One of
them was taken away from historical investigations, and from his canonry
of St. Paul's, to the laborious and absorbing work of a bishop. The other
was lost to historical study by death. I need scarcely name Dr. Stubbs and
Mr. Haddan. Their work has made darkness almost light.

We cannot wonder that the marvellous apostolic journeys and missionary
work of St. Paul so vividly impressed the minds of the early Christian
writers, that they attributed to him even more than he actually performed.
Clement of Rome, of whom I suppose the great majority of students of the
Scripture and of Church History believe that he actually knew St. Paul,
says that Paul preached both in the West and in the East, and taught the
whole world, even to the limits of the West. Chrysostom says that from
Illyricum Paul went to the very ends of the earth. These are the strongest
statements which can be advanced by those who think that St. Paul himself
may have visited Britain. He may have reached Spain. There does not
appear to be any evidence that he ever reached Gaul; still less Britain.
One of the Greek historians, Eusebius, writing about 315, appears to say
that Britain was Christianised by some of the disciples; and another,
Theodoret, about 423, names the Britons among those who were persuaded to
receive the laws of the Crucified, by "our fishermen and publicans." This
is evidence, and very interesting evidence, of the general belief that
Britain was Christianised early in the history of Christianity, but it
practically amounts to nothing more definite than that[16].

But a very curious connection may be made out, between the Britons and the
great apostle of the Gentiles.

In speaking of the relations, real or fairly imaginable, between Soissons
or Senlis and the English in the parts of the island which lie opposite to
that part of Gaul, I asked you to note that this was Belgic Gaul. We have
seen that for some time before Julius Caesar's invasion a change had been
going on in the population of those parts of Britain to which I now refer.
The Belgae had been crossing the narrow sea and