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choose the best , lend wise men into different cou ^ tfi * k > z& ^ fdBftfiltf wbat peapie hon 6 ur God m ^ the manned " inofet worthy of him . * Accordingly , the grand duke selected for this purpose teii of The "wisest persons he could find . Among m ^ mmkw \ m & ^ otii ^ ^ t
1 «^ tc !^ tt . lB 6 k 1 ^ tetribles , tedious jrray-^ £ $ n <* ^ orr ^ ui faces ; aniotig the German Catholics , ceremonies without dignity 6 r magnificence . At length they reached Constantinople . * Let them see the glory of our God ! ' said the emperor . Knowing that a barbarous miud is more forcibly struck with external splendour than with abstract truths , he conducted the ambassadors into the church of St .
Sophia , where the patriarch himself , iu his pontifical vestments , was celebrating the divine office . The magnificence of the place , the presence of the clergy , the splendour of the sacerdotal garb , the ornaments of the altars , the exquisite odour of the incense , the delightful melody of the choristers , the silence of the
people , and finally , the holy and mysterious majesty of the ceremonies , powerfully affected the Russians . They thought the temple the residence of the Most High , and the place where his glory was manifested to mortals : On their return to Kief , they gave Vladimir an account of their nMS ^ iodr Th ^ yspjoUe With contempt of the Mahometan worship , and with little $ vQ ? ir tf the patffolic ^ "bat'of the Greek Wai Wltli the ^ eat ^ kt eiitbusiasm . ^^ p . m ' *• < ' ¦ '•* " T * ie ^ nklenlat ^ ns of ^ deputies , and ^ i 6 iilM ^ D ' ipM < M Vises * of ' inp ^^^^ ^ ^ ve embr aced a Md religion , ' sfon determined Vladim ir ; . Bufc ( ^ e Ihad no notion of being baptized like other m 0 ti : ne could not allow ' the Mm \ e Wiests Who had beejn pernii ^ d $ se % > # ief , toadftinister the sacre ^ riffl to him ; he cdiild not condescend to ifecpiVe it fron ) anV one beloV tLi . L i ' iL ' ' * i y ' - ^ i .. . * k » ' . '_«' . 1 * lJAL > ( # 4 l 4 i . l oiua swim favour
mx . jircnwisnup p / east , w ne tlie Greek emperors ( Basil and Cbnstantine ^ t ^ y ^\^^ ft > v xht } ^ ot he : he Would declare w ^ ir aWainsti them , and # ^ \ % * M& see , ih 4 f His batrtis ^ h Hos ^ n ^; % o riiin ^ ^ M i ^ e Mdi ^ and
ne eventually succeeded iu obtaining his admission not only Into the Christian church by no tasefe dignftifcry thau the ' Archbiahori of Cheraoo , l ^ ut even iuto the imperial family : as he forced , the Wftftyfrfflrfy \\ rWW ° ^ 'W » ' $ Pm 0 * 1 $$ 1 < Wiw : » # mpw * w $ e >^ & > ¦ u > J - ; 1 ) ) n ;/ ,. ! J . i . ;// . ' ! - - ) ¦ ir . ( . H . ' . ' i HH . ' J
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returned triumphant to Kief , with his , royal spouse , with priests , books , vases , and relics without uumber . " Vladimir was not satisfied with his OWn conversion ; he insisted that his subjects should imitate his example , and the means he adopted for the purpose were efficacious enough . He did more in
a single day than would have been performed by a thousand preaching missionaries . " ' He began by demolishing the idolSj which had so lately been the objects of his worship , and which he had probably loved the more from their being his own workmanship . Poor Perune found his fine whiskers of little avail ;
as he was the greatest of the gods , so he was doomed to receive the greatest measure of contempt . The deified log was tied to the tail of a horse , and , while dragged to the top of a hill to be rolled down into the river , it was soundly cudgelled
by twelve lusty soldiers . When all these visible signs of Paganism were removed , the royal convert ordered that his subjects should every where conform to the new faith , —an order obeyed without opposition . On a certain day all the inha « - bitants of Kief were assembled on the
banks of the Dnieper ; and , on a signal from the monarch , all plunged into the river , some to the waist , others to the neck ; parents held their children in their arms while the ceremony was performed by the priests in attendance . Thus a nation received baptism , not
only without murmuring , but with cheerfulness ; for all were convinced that a religion embraced by the sovereign and boyards , must necessarily be the best in the world . In ail places , however , this change was not immediate ; in some of the more sequestered districts Paganism subsisted until the twelfth century .
" Vladimir has Obtained the name of Great from his victories , and of Saint from his rieal . His conversion made him ahevV manJ He ^ who had indulged in th £ greatest feeneuality , was iroW faithful to W ttoistJdn cdrifcorte : he . who had deligftted in blood , baw hesitated to make war wttdniiis ; atinVihlima wefe invaded , aud even to ftutrfilH 'With $ eath the' most atoctoiis muMMs : " ( Mi founded schools fpki'ihe" nsWdticin of Ws barbarous subii ^; ii ^ mm Wb rtbekal Us well aa tfci ^ ece 68 & if W ; 'fortified' tbWns , j !> eor ^ d ^ ittiUhkbl ^ d WWoii ^ i atad by bb saluWiottlcM reg ^ l&fd'Ma |> prdvtd hitnselF ^' raUT OfeW Wgfcl'itorl' ^ Pp . I 5 Q -S-lfid "''" ' ' ^ , ' rfHf >> . 1 * Uih \< l lll- ) : tjr \ ii bJ n , ; , ; > - . ,,.
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784 Critical Notices .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Nov. 2, 1828, page 784, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2566/page/56/
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