in the name of progress

This is a remarkable passage from Gibbon, in which St. Ambrose uses a scientific-sounding language of progress and skepticism toward invisible powers to convince Emperor Theodosius to reject the claims of Roman paganism that Rome became great through the support of its gods:

“But the hopes of Symmachus [spokesman for the Roman pagans] were repeatedly baffled by the firm and dexterous opposition of the archbishop of Milan; who fortified the emperors against the fallacious eloquence of the advocate of Rome. In this controversy, Ambrose condescends to speak the language of a philosopher, and to ask, with some contempt, why it should be thought necessary to introduce an imaginary and invisible power, as the cause of those victories which were sufficiently explained by the valour and discipline of the legions? He justly derides the absurd reverence for antiquity which could only tend to discourage the improvements of art and to replunge the barbarian race into their original barbarism.”

It would be difficult these days to find an archbishop who argued in similar fashion.