Note 107 — Chapter VIII
William Johnston translation
It is a very just observation, that since the establishment of Christianity, nothing has contributed so much to its propagation, as the singing of sacred hymns and songs. Even in the New Testament, Eph. v. 19. we find some traces of church-singing; and Pliny the younger, in one of his letters to the emperor Trajan, informs him that the Christians sung hymns in their religious assemblies. Arius, by his talent for composing harmonious verses, and his tender pathetic songs, gained over many Christians to his party. It is also well known, that the Moravian brethren, or Hernhuters, as they are called, gain many partisans by their soft and agreeable melody. This circumstance may be easily accounted for by the effects produced on the greater part of mankind by music. F.