Excerpt from The Synod of Elvira and Christian Life in the Fourth Century: A Historical Essay The fourscore Canons of the Synod stereotype in outline a faithful picture of the Spanish Church as it existed in the early years of the fourth century and although it is the dark and ignoble elements of thought and action that must inevitably prepon derate in a representation of this nature, through the shadow and the shame of penal legislation we catch glimpses of a noble ideal, present then in aspiration and hope. From that which is denounced and condemned we may infer what was reverenced and pursued. In the Canons the moral standard sur vives in them we see' the system of ecclesiastical organization still unconsolidated, but advancing from isolated independence to corporate unity. But, above all, the Synod sets before us the earliest stages of a policy destined to make that century an abiding epoch in the world's history. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.