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Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derniAre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ^ signifie "A SUiVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". lire Mapa, plataa, charta, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to bo entirely included in one expoaure ara filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames aa required. The following diagrams illustrate tha method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre filmte A des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque ie document etst trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un httal slichd. il est fiimi d partir de i'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche i droits, dt de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'imagea nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. by errata led to Bnt jne pelure, apon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 DOi re: VINDJ PP THE DOCTRINE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE, AND OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH, ON THK SUBJECT OF RELIGIOUS CELIBACY; WITH A VINDIC. TION OF THE EARLY CHURCH FROM THE MISTAKES OF THE AUTHOR OP •' ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY." IN THREE PARTS. BIT JAMES BEAVEN, M.A CURATE OF LEIGH. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 1841. LON DON : (ill.lfi:KT & niVINGTON, PKINTliRS, 3T. John's square. >• ; LIIHARV Oh IMt UNIVtRSJTY { * Of ALihu»* ; > INTRODUCTION. In ordinary times the question of leligious celibacy may be fairly left to the private judgment of indi- vidual Christians, and to their own separate ideas of what the word of God teaches, or their priyate cir- cumstances may require. For not being amongst the duties, nor amongst the things prohibited, but in the number of those things which are good or evil, according to the spirit in which they are taken up, and the practice being from the nature of the case not contemplated by any party for Christians in general, it can scarcely ever be suited for bring- ing forward as a subject of public discussion. But there are times in which old foundations are gene- rally disturbed or broken up, and extreme opinions propounded on either side. Again, there are times in which reflecting men have felt that the whole current of the feelings and habits of society has mis- chievously set in one direction, and in which they 2028529 6 consequently exert all their endeavours in an oppo- site one: and this again generates a tendency to extremes ; each party, in dread of the principles of the other, putting a high colouring on their own views, and actually giving them stronger tints than they would otherwise have thought of doing. In such times particular subjects not only have an importance given to them which they would not otherwise possess ; but they actually become of more importance in themselves : because upon them great principles are oftentimes tried and fought out, to be applied, when once settled, to other subjects more permanently and universally interesting. In this predicament the subject of religious ccli- hacy appears to be at the present time. The Church from various causes has been thrown upon the study of Christian antiquity. In searching the records of early ages, much has come to light again which had been forgotten ; and whilst we have sufficiently esta- blished our connexion with the primitive Church upon main points, we have been compelled to note our wide difference upon minor and accessory ones of various degrees of importance. Thus the whole range of the doctr.ne and discipline, and moral and religious habits, and tone of mind of the primitive depositories of the faith, have been to a certain extent examined ; and amongst the rest the question of the esteem in which celibacy was held. Again, it has been observed by many thoughtful persons, by the simple light of reason and Scripture, 10 in an oppo- ;endency to rinciples of their own r tints than doing. In ly have an would not jftie of more them great t out, to be bjects more sligious ccli- rhe Church n the study records of I which had iently esta- ive Church led to note essory ones the whole i moral and le primitive a certain he question thoughtful 1 Scripture, that, as I have said, the feelings of the age are in many respects perverted. For in ance, Scripture itself indicates, what; an acquaintance with its struc- ture would, on grounds of common sense, have led us to expect, that we must look elsewhere for a fuller development of its principles on some points. And yet the current of opinion has, till of late, con- fined I s in a great degree to the mere letter of the Scripture. So again, there are passages of Holy Writ, which cither with or without reflection \x\m\\ individual cases, would show that there may be a utility and an honour in f^elibacy ; and yet has not the feeling of the times been to ireat it as a statft inferior to matrimony, and less useful? Have not the very designations, by which those are marked out who have continued long unmarried, become bye- words ? Has not this been emphatically the case in regard to the weaker sex ? Nay, has it not been taken for granted, that no one could remain un- married altogether from choice? So far have we been from the spirit which prompted religious celibacy ! This has been noticed by some, and ihey have been compelled \ o acknowledge, that the ieeling of the age, at all events in the degree in which it pre- vails, is not only opposed to Holy Scripture, but even independently of Scripture may be seen to be positively pernicious; that it has prevented many, of both sexes, from remaining in a 3tate in which they might have been usefully and honourably (3m- 8 ployed, and driven them into another for which they were net fitted^ and which they have consequently not adorned nor derived comfort from. Acquaint- ance with other countries has shown that we are almost alone in such hahits of thinking. A slight knowledge of history informs us, that formerly a dif- ferent feeling prevailed amongst ourselves ; and at the same time, by exhibiting the abuses to which it was allowed to lead, discloses the origin of the opposite extreme into which we have fallen. Re- search into the primeval records of our religion opens to us a state of things more in accordance with Scripture. And this has confirmed our own impressions derived from that sacred source, and encouraged persons either to act by them, or to point out to others the indications of the word of God for their guidance, or at all events for the removal of their erroneous prejudices. It is possible that some of these persons may have expressed themselves indiscreetly on the subject, or even have given indications of a feeling akin to that which in other communions dictates the vow of celi- bacy '. And hence those who have a strong percep- tion of the mischiefs i)roduced by that vow take the alarm, and array themselves even against those views which an unbiassed examination of the Scripture would naturally lead to ; confounding together prin- ' I am not alluding here to Dr. Pusey, whose remarks on the subject, in his Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, are Scriptural and beautiful in a very high degree. 9 ' which they lonsequcntly Acquaint- that we are ^. A slight rmerly a dif- ves ; and at es to which rigin of the fallen. Re- our religion I accordance cd our own source, and them, or to the word of nts for the ns may have subject, or akin to that vow of celi- ong percep- ow take the those views e Scripture ^ether prin- ■emarks on the Scriptural and ciples and their distortion or misapplication, exag- gerating and misstating facts, and all with the view of alienating the mind of the Church from the whole system of those who reverence antiquity. I allude more particularly to a publication which professes to compare together " Ancient Christianity and the doctrine of the Oxford Tracts ;" in which, with great natural ability and power of language, and extensive though hasty reading, there appears much misapprehension, much carelessness, and a de- gree of unfairness, caused by strong prejudices, which the writer himself, if he could see it in its true light, would certainly recoil from. The impression produced by this writer has no doubt been great, especially from the circumstance that he has some points in common with several parties. He won the attention of high churchmen by the very able and forcible manner in which he pointed out the untenability of the position adopted by the modern and popular opponents of Popery, and the absurdity of looking on the Church as if it had been newly created at the Reformation. He has carried away many of those who, ueing high church- men, do not, nevertheless, think proper to identify themselves with the writers of the Oxford Tracts, by pointing out (truly, as they think,) the tendency of views and feelings entertained by some of that party. And he has taken with him the whole body of low churchmen, and of those who were coming over unwillingly to high-church principles, by supplying 10 thera with arguments taken from the Fathers them- selves, with whose writings they were for the most part unac(iuainte(l : thus happily enabling them to cope, as they think, with their more learned oppo- nents, and that with their own weapons. Ho has obtained the attention of many of all parties, from the knowledge that he had been a dissenter, had become a churchman from conviction, and that his former writings weio marked by great candour and freedom from prejudice; by the evident cuirM of his reading, and apparent sincere desire to do justice to the subject. Nor was it among his least recom- mendations in some quarters that he promised, at but little trouble or expense, to remove the veil which those whom he assailed had, as he said, held up to shroud Christian antiquity from the gaze of the vulgar, and to admit them behind the scenes, so far as it might be decent to do so. Under these circumstances, and knowing the effect j)roduced in many quarters, it has appeared to the writer of these remarks desirable, that a person like himself, unconnected with the party principally attacked, but agreeing with thera in old-fashioned high-church principles, such as were held by Hooker and Hall, Taylor, Sanderson and Bancroft, Wilson, Waterland, and Law, alike, should take up the subject which this writer has chiefly selected ; and after having detected some of his most glaring errors, show what the Word of God really teaches, and how its principles may bo fairly applied to our own times. II 'atliers tlieni- "or the most ing thcni to 3arned oppo- ms. Ho has l)artie8, from ssentcr, had and that hiH candour and ;nt Client of to do justice least rccom- mised, at but e veil which I, held up to gaze of the cenes, so far ing the effect sared to the % person like principally )ld-fashioned e held by nd Bancroft, )uld take up elected ; and laring errors, lies, and how r own times. It will then bo time to examine how far (succeeding ages of the Church agree with or depart from the spirit of Christ and his Apostles, and to indicate the cautions thence to be derived in the apj)lication of divinely given principles. It might perhaps have been expected that some one of the gifted and earnest-minded writers of the Oxford Tracts should descend into the arena with this writer. Wliether this is likely to be the case or not, time only can show. But there is this antecedent improbability, that he has in very few cases specified where we are to find in their writings the opinions with which he charges them : and of course no one of them can be supj)osed to be responsible for all the vagaries of oi)inion in which persons attached to their party may indulge. Indeed, strictures upon his pub- lications on this subject have already appeared in well-established periodicals '. But there are largo masses of persons not in the habit of reading those periodicals. And even were it not so, there are reasons why the main subject upon which " Ancient Christianity " hinges should be calmly discussed, apart from the prejudices of the age in which we live, and with a view to their correction. ' See particularly some very excellent papers in the " firitish Magazine," for January and the succeeding months of this year. CHAPTER 1. Mr. Taylor (for such is avowed to be the name of the author of " Ancient Christianity"), after an introductory discussion, sets out with this premiss, which will be readily conceded, that if there is any one point upon which it can be clearly proved that the ancient Church was from the very beginning radically wrong, and continued so universally down to the time of the Reformation, so that the test, "semper, ubique et ab omnibus" will apply to this one point ; then it must be granted that the authority of the ancient Church need not be much accounted of. He then asserts that these requirements will apply, unquestionably and fully, to the ancient doctrine and practice of religious celibacy ; which he thenceforward sets himself to prove : and upon this he confidently relies that all enlightened persons and good Protest- ants will for the time to come throw the Fathers overboard, as authorities in matters of religion. It was impossible that Mr. Taylor should do other- wise than lower himself in the eyes of all well-judg- ing and candid persons, by the tone he assumes to- 13 be the name ty"), after an this premiss, t if there is ;learly proved ery beginning versally down khat the test, 3ly to this one e authority of accounted of. its will apply, doctrine and henceforward le confidently ood Protest- the Fathers cligion. aid do other- all well-judg- assumes to- wards the authors of the Oxford Tracts. To assert or insinuate of them, that they were eitb so irre- deemably prejudiced by the study of the Fathers that they were incapable of perceiving their defects', or not sufficiently candid to communicate to others their real views ^: that in editing the Fathers they would make such selections as would suit a party purpose, and refrain from giving to the world such as would tell against that purpose'': such assertions and insi- nuations might suit the meridian of the " Dublin Review," but in a person professing peculiar candour were peculiarly unseemly. And they will appear still more so, when Mr. Taylor's own real, although one would hope not intentional, unfairness is taken into the account ; instances of which I shall now proceed to specify. It will be recollected that he undertakes to prove that the primitive Church, from the very age subse- quent to the Apostles, held erroneous opinions, and countenanced abuses connected with religious celi- bacy, which are equally deserving of reprobation with any that prevailed subsequently*. In order to prove this, instead of going to Scripture for sound prin- ' See Ancient Christianity, p. 11. ^ Ibid. p. 391. » Ibid. p. 367. 414, 415. * P. 61. •« They (the Oxford Tract writers) know that this opinion (the angelic excellence of virginity) and concomitant prac- tice, was no accident of the system, but its very nucleus ; . . and that . . . this opinion comes down to us sanctioned by . . . the entire catena patrum." P. 62. " Had it been possible, at any moment during the first 14 iMples, he begins to build upon tlie particular preju- dices of this age ; and having laid them down as un- deniable truths, he then proceeds to revolt the minds of his readers by quotations from the excited lan- guage of the Roman Catholic St. Bernard ; some of which however appears to be from suspected writings. From thence he transports us to the Nicene era, and finds little difficulty in furnishing us with language equally excited. As he proceeds onward and upward, the language becomes more calm ; and one would have thought this would have shown him that those who lived nearer to the Apostles felt more as the Apostles did. But no: this would not suit the theory ; and so we are told that the later language was merely a further deve- five centuries to have withdrawn this opinion and these practices altogether from the ecclesiastical system, the entire structure of polity and worship must have crumbled to the dust." P. (55. " Instead of a regular and slow developement of error, there was a very early expansion of false and pernicious notions in their mature propoi..lGns, and those attended by some of their rvorst fruits." P. 6". " The extreme evils usually considered as inseparable from these notions (the meiit and angelic virtues of celibacy) attached to them from the earliest times." P. 104. •' At the earliest period at which we find this doctrine and those practices distinctly mentioned, they are referred to in such a manner as to make it certain that they were at that time no novelties or recent innovations." P. 1 18. '• It is thus with the practices with which we are now concerned ; and which are as ancient as any other characteristics of ancient Christianity." i i irticular preju- m down as un- )volt the minds le excited lan- •ernard ; some rom suspected rts us to the in furnishing is he proceeds becomes more his would have learer to the did. But no: 10 we are told , further deve- nd these practices ntire structure of lust." opement of error, nicious notions in by some of their red as inseparable tues of celibacy) find this doctrine are referred to in were at that time fhich we are now er characteristics 15 lopement of the earlier principles, which are there- fore chargeable with the extravagances of the Nicenc age '. This might be a very good argumentiirn ad hominem to those who think the system of the fourth and fifth centuries legitimate developements of Scrip- tural principles, but it will scarcely be granted by any one besides. In this way it would not be very diffi- cult to trace the whole of Popery to the early Fathers. He had stated that the worst abuses of religious celibacy prevailed from the beginning ; and the proof of this statement is essential to his argument; but he nowhere endeavours to make it good by instances. In fact, there is rot a shadow of a proof of it ear- lier than Cyprian. There was an abuse certainly which prevailed in some parts of the Church, in Tertullian's time, that of married persons separating permanently on religious grounds ; but that was not one of the worst abuses. He had said again ^ that celibacy appeared on almost every page of the Fathers : whereas Ignatius, Justin, and Athenagoras only once or twice allude to it, and the other writers of that age not at all. In Clement of Alexandria, and Cyprian, there are not twenty pages each re- lating to the subject ; and it is very little noticed in either Origen or Minucius Felix. And they bring iis down to 225 years after the death of Christ. In drawing his proofs from the age immediately succeeding to the apostles, he of course looked into P. 144. ' P. 133. 16 the Epistles of Ignatius. But will it be believed, that this gentleman, who set out with such large professions and resolutions of enlightening the whole Church \ and dragging forth into day the blemishes of the Fathers, actually does not know the genuine writings of Ignatius from the spurious and interpo- lated ones ? He has actually 'quoted the Epistle to the Antiochians, to Hero, and to the Philippians, as though they were genuine ^ ! At that rate it will certainly be easy to bring forward matter which the Editors of the Library of the Fathers would pass over. So again, the Apostolical Constitutions, which he acknowledges to be a " spurious work," (p. 120), " betraying the ecclesiastical costume of the fourth century," (p. 325,) are brought forward in conjunc- tion with Ignatius " as good evidence in the present inquiry," as exhibiting " the general feeling of the ancient church, upon which TertuUian labours to ' Dedication, p. vii. " The time is now manifestly come, when the Christian community at large must be thoroughly in- formed concerning the spiritual and the moral condition of the Church during the morning hour of its existence, which, too easily, alas ! has been surrounded with attributes of celestial splendour, dignity, and purity. To collect and diffuse this now indispensable information, is then the task I have undertaken." p. ix. "As actually possessing the Greek and Latin church writers, and as being, in some degree, used to their company." ' P. 119. Some alterations have been made in the second edition, but the quotations from these epistles have been pre- served, and that by the gentleman who is " somewhat used to the company of the Greek and Latin Fathers." 17 t be believed, th such large ing the whole the blemishes V the genuine and interpo- the Epistle to B Philippians, at rate it will ter which the >uld pass over, ons, which he rk," (p. 120), of the fourth i in conjunc- n the present eeling of the n labours to nanifestly come, i thoroughly in- condition of the nee, which, too ites of celestial diffuse this now /e undertaken." 1 church writers, any." in the second have been pre- aewhat used to build a still loftier doctrine." So that this spurious work of the fourth century (or at least of whieli we cannot be sure that any part was earlier than that time, unless it is confirmed from other sources) is treated as embodying the general feeling of the Church prior to Tertullian. To go a step forward. Every one who knows any thing on the subject, is aware that Tertullian was a Montanist in the latter years of his life, and that many of his treatises were written after he became a Montanist. Indeed Mr. Taylor himself alludes to the circumstance. Now no one, we should have thought, would bring forward the opinions which Tertullian espoused after he became a Montanist, as specimens of the opinion of the Catholic Church of his period. Most persons would even suspect the whole of his writings as being liable to be tinged with unsoundness. But Mr. Taylor betrays very slight misgivings. He quotes Tertullian without hesitation, as a witness to Church feeling ', and his Montanist treatises equally with his Catholic ones ^ He not only quotes him, but also misunderstands or misrepresents him in an astonishing manner. He entitles the tract, " De Velandis Virginibus," " Con- cerning the veiling of Nuns^ ;" and adds, in a paren- thesis, " Do not startle at the term as employed by a writer of the pristine age ; for at this time the * P. 107. P. 90- -92. 94,9ri. B p. 94. 18 word virgo liad, among church-writers, lUready ac- quired its technical sense, and, in fact, cor.veyed all the meaning afterwards attached to the more pecu- liar epithet wowwa/' Will it be believed that the very opening of this treatise shows that it was Ter- tuUian's object in it to induce all unmarried ivonien ' to veil themselves ? And though there can be no doubt, from other portions of his writings, that there were persons of both sexes who silently dedicated their virginity to God, yet it is very doubtful whether they were at all extensivf v marked as a class ; and no doubt whatever, that for ages after, none secluded themselves, at least in societies. And where, then, is the truth of applying the term n'u:> to such females (even if the Latin word nonna was in after times applied to them), when we all know that in English it necessari.y implies seclusion, and that in societies? The same fallacy appears in another passage -, where he explains the expression, " Our sisters whose nan.es are with the Lord," to signify " enrolled as nuns in the church-books." Even if they were en- rolled in the church-books dy name (which could only ' His words are, " Ostendam virgines nostras velari oportere, ex quo transitum cetatis sucefecerint," This evidently has nothing to do with. 2^rofessed virgins : for even Mr. Taylor will not pretend that in Tertullian's age girls were dedicated before they had at- tained the age of puberty. Indeed, he elsewhere speaks of it as a monstrous thing that a virgin of twenty rhoul.l be entered on the church-books. '' P. 90. 19 rs, already a('- b, cor.veyed all the more pecu- ievcd that the !iat it was Ter- nrried ivoman ' ere can be no ngs, that there ;ntly dedicated ubtful whether LS a class ; and , none secluded d where, then, such females in after times hat in EnfvHsh t in societies? ther passage ^ r sisters whose " enrolled as tliey were en- lich could only IS velari oportere, ently has nothing r will not pretend ore they had at- re speaks of it as lid be entered on be that they might receive a share in the clnn-ch alms along with the widows, which again coukl be necessary for none but the poor amongst them), yet the natural meaning of the expression surely is no- thinof more than that of St. Paul, " whose names are written in heaven;" i.e. as having given up the lawful pleasures of life for the promotion of the glory of God. Mr. Taylor again ' attributes to Ter- tullian the doctrine "that Christianity, as revealed and verbally expressed in the canonical writings, is a mere sketch, or rough draft, of that mature truth which, by little and little, was to be granted to the Church, through the medium of its doctors, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit ;" and calls this " his fundamental church axiom," by which he supported " the characteristic sentiments and arti- ficial notions, which were the strength of the insti- tution," of " religious celibacy, as a standing and prominent part of the ecclesiastical system." Now, I appeal to any candid person, whether he would not suppose that Mr. Taylor was here stating an acknow- ledged axiom of the Church, exhibited in the writings of Tertullian. And what must be the surprise of such a person when he finds, that, in the passage quoted from that father, he is reasoning on the Mon- tanistical fancy that a new dispensation of the Holy Ghost had arisen, which superseded to a considerable extent the dispensation of Jesus, and the reveries of ' P. m. b2 20 whose prophets were to be sot above the teaching of the Apostles ; and that in various parts of his writings, Tertullian, upon the strength of this fancy, opposes the whole Catholic Church of his period ! And yet that is the simple fact, which a very slight acquaint- ance with his writings would show, and which ap- pears, indeed, in the very passage Mr. Taylor has translated. Clement of Alexandria, on the other hand, whose language happens to bo calm and sensible, and who actually opposes the exalted ideas of some of the Gnostics on marriage and celibacy, is brought forward as though he were but a single individual, opj)osing in vain a tide of fanaticism amongst " all around him ' ;" which fanaticism, for aught that appears, had not yet gained any head in the Church at large, whatever it might have done amongst heretics. He endeavours, indeed, to rebut this objection by •' turning to contemporary orthodoa; writers and their immediate successors." Now, the only " contempo- rary writer" he can bring forward is the Montanist Tertullian ; whose evidence, at the very outside, ex- tends to only a section of the Church : and the " immediate successor " must be Cyprian ; whom, however, in another place, he represents as Cle- ment's junior ^ ; although it is generally agreed that Clement and Tertullian died before a.d. 220, whilst Cyprian was only made bishop in a.d. 248. 3 p > * Ad ' P \\\. ' P. ll.^. 2\ tlie teaching of ? of his writings, fancy, opposes iod ! And yet flight acquaint- and which ap- Mr. Taylor has er liand^ whose isible, and who f some of the •rough t forward ual, op])osing in around him ' ;" irs, had not yet Sfe, whatever it is objection by riters and tlieir y " contempo- the Montanist ry outside, ex- jrch : and the 'prian ; whom, esents as Cle- lly agreed that D. 220, whilst .. 248. P. 115. And, to come to Cyprir ', his great stronghold prior to the Nicene ago. He misapprehends even tlie meaning of his words. Thus he entitles his tract, De habitu Virginum^ " On the attire of Nuns '." Of the misnomer of mms for virgins^ at a time when there was no seclrsion, I have already spoken ; and a writer in the British Magazine ^ has shown, what indeed the truct itself would have led one to see, ti it the proper rendering is, " On the Conduct or Habits of Virgins." Thus, again, he quarrels with Cyprian' for quoting passages of Scripture, in which the word disciplina occur'^. in the Latin version, in support of " that sys- tem of ecclesiastical discipline which the vow of celibacy involved," or "the rules of this artificial discipline, enjoined for enforcing the system of fac- titious purity :" where it is perfectly evident, that all that Cyprian means by the term is, the correction and restraint of all sin, which the rulers of the Church were, as a matter of course, bound to exer- cise, and in which it was the duty of the people to support tliem^ Whether he rightly applies Scrip- * P. 75. * Feb. 1840. P. 160. It must, however, be granted that the mistake was not unnatural ; for Mr. Thornton, who translated Cyprian for the Library of the Fathers, has, '* On the Dress of Virgins," to which Mr. Newman has likewise set his imprimatur. ' P. 74. * Ad Pomponium. His words are '* Primo igitur in loco, frater carissime, et prsepositis et plebi nihil aliud elaborandum est, quam ut qui Deum timemus, cum omni observatione disciplinse divina praecepta teneamus, nee patiamur errare fratres nostros, et pro arbitrio et ructu suo vivere." 29 ture may in some cases be doubted ; but that there is any perversion of mind 1*^ ''ed in accommodating passages to purj)oscs for i .. they were not at first intended, or taking words in a shade of meaning dirt'erent from that which the writer meant them to have, I should not have imagined that any reader of the New Testament, where many such accommoda- tions are to be found, would have contended. In the tract quoted previously, Cyprian takes discipUna in a wider sense, as signifying the moral training under which God puts us, and under which we ought to put ourselves, as members of His Church ^ But these are trifles. From a single tract of his, written whilst he was yet a presbyter, some exag- gerated and rhetorical language is brought for- ward ; and that is treated as a specimen of the feeling of his age, although no other part of his writings, nor of those of his contemporaries, con- tains such language : so far from it, that Origen and Minucius Felix, who speak slightly on the subject, are perfectly calm and rational, and never hint at any abuse as arising from the practice-. ' In the same captious spirit Mr. Taylor censures the Christian writers of a later age (p. 210) for having adopted the terms 5 ianized domestic its place cauio ?li may not bo all this is made on a))ove mcn- muy bo easy to sal. with destroying [lerablc bodv of ?oes so far as to his own inven- f, and the whole the poor, the liavc added the or support upon the keeping of patronage and e addition these 1 made to the ," he subjoins prian then was ugh perhaps he in he said that •portion to the jins. There is t the ordinary )Ived; and yet istitution upon the power and influence of the clergy, has been very little regarded." And lest we should not apprehend the force of this inuendo, we find further on ', " Can we believe that the singular animation which marks the style of the Nicene orators, when they are lauding the monastic life, received no heighten- ing from the uncoufessed influence of inferior mo- tives ?" And again : " it is then a sheer infatuation, to cite seraphic hymns and glowing orations con- cerning the ' angelic life,' and to forget the homely import of the entire system in pounds, shillings, and pence." Still more strongly ^ *' the nuns might worm themselves through all the crevices of society, and at the same time, as they habitually * confessed' to the clergy, and received instructions from thera, they might be employed to effect any nefarious practice." Can any thing equal the cruelty of these insinuations, but the low tone of mind which suggests them ? If I went no further than this, 1 might perhaps think that I had done enough to raise a doubt, whether Mr. Taylor is altogether the sort of guide one should like implicitly to follow, and whether he is peculiarly qualified to remedy the alleged errors of prejudice and partiality committed by the Oxford Tract writei'S. I have very little doubt that I might point out corresponding mistake and misrepresentation every ' P. 386. » P. 387. 26 where. But the fact is, that I have not the advan- tage which Mr. Taylor enjoys of " actually pos- sessing the Greek and Latin church writers :" and J can therefore, for the present, only rest upon what he himself has stated of the later writers, to whom, however, I hope to come in due time, and to make use of them fairly. The use, however, which he made of such authors as I happened to have, led me to doubt whether, if I had possessed the others, 1 shouM not have found that he was quoting spurious or doubtful works of the authors he alleged, without any suspicion that they were not genuine. Indeed, if I had been ever so rich in Fathers, I could not have availed myself of them to any extent, from the want of references in the first edition of his work. In the second, however, these misgivings are entirely confirmed by finding that the documents he chiefly relies on are such as he is obliged to confess to be doubtful as to their authorship, and freedom from interpolation. It is true that he endeavours to get over this difficulty by alleging that these doubts are (juite unfounded ; (as indeed the Romanist Du})in agrees with him in thinking ;) but other persons will think that the business is not to be so quietly settled, and will take the liberty to doubt on, in comi)any with higher authorities. And this brings me to another charge I have to bring against him : and that is, that he confounds together, in his sweeping accusations, living j)ersons who differ decidedly in opinion. Thus, for instance. he cha churchi ment ; Gospel for ages system develoj of that This is surely i it is sc matter more s body o quity, a vice bo( ecclesia be, and that at but I a of adop mind o ness in men tli some zeal ar piety : taken ; shovvn, what r 27 not the advan- " actually pos- writers :" and I rest upon what writers, to whom, ne, and to make ever, which he to have, led me d the others, 1 •ting spurious or illeged, without nuine. Indeed, 3rs, I could not xtent, from the on of his work. ngs are entirely ents he chiefly confess to be freedom from eavours to get lese doubts are )manist Dupin er persons will be so quietly doubt on, in irge I have to he confounds living j)ers()ns , for instance. he charges the whole of the new school of high churchmen, with adopting the doctrine of develope- ment ; by which it is supposed that principles of the Gospel may remain, and have remained in abeyance for ages, and have then been developed ; or that the system prevalent in the fourth century, was but the developement, under more favourable circumstances, of that which came from the hands of the Apostles. This is very probably the opinion of individuals, but surely not of any considerable number : and whether it is so or not, we have no proof of it. It is all matter of assertion. And if that is unfair, how much more so is it to charge by implication the whole body of high churchmen, all who reverence anti- quity, and receive the principles implied in the ser- vice books of the church, with a desire to adopt the ecclesiastical system of the Nicene age. There may be, and no doubt are, pohits in the institutions of that age which many of us would wish to revive; but I am scarcely too bold in asserting, that the idea of adopting the whole en masse never entered into the mind of any sane person. There is the same unfair- ness in charging upon the principles of high church- men the extreme opinions or unguarded language of some of the new school. We respect them for their zeal and earnest sincerity ; we strive to follow their piety : but we regard them as in some respects mis- taken ; and some well-known high churchmen have shown, and are actually at this moment showing, in what respects they conceive them to have erred. 28 1 have thought it necessary to say so much in disparagement of " Ancient Christianity," and its author, partly because of the great vogue which his book has had, and still more from its high preten- sion, and the tone of covert or open disparagement with which he has thought fit to treat others. And I trust that if any of my readers has at all surren- dered his judgment to the apparent completeness of his proofs, he will now at least begin to doubt whether he has done wisely in so doing. At all events I have clearly established, I conceive, that his attempt to show that the test "■ semper, ubique et ab omnibus," applies to the erroneous opinions and abuses which have been connected with reli- gious celibacy, has been entirely unsuccessful ; that he has totally failed in carrying up the chain of proof to the Church authorities of the first ages ; and consequently his argument in disparagement of the Fathers, and of that test as a criterion of truth or falsehood, entirely falls to the ground. For even if he should succeed in proving the Nicene Fathers to have been ever so unsound on the point of celibacy, their unsoundness does not implicate the Church which succeeded to the Apostles. The error, what- ever it was, did not obtain countenance in that age, and the abuses did not even exist. And even where he does prove errors and abuses, he cannot do away with the force of the testimony of those who counte- nance them as to the great facts of the doctrine and discipline of their day. He uses their tcstimom/ 4 say so mucli in ianity," and its vogue which his its high preten- u disparagement at others. And 18 at all surren- completeness of begin to doubt doing. At all [ conceive, that 'semper, ubique Dneous opinions 3cted with reli- successful ; that p the chain of 3 first ages ; and igement of tlu; rion of truth or d. For even if cene Fathers to 3int of celibacy, ite the Church he error, what- ce in that age, Lnd even where ;annot do away se who countc- f the doctrine their tcstimonij 29 himself, and he cannot deny to us the use of it. And if only that be granted, even if we account the mdhoriiy of the writers as nothing, we can obtain sufficient support for those principles which are in- sisted on by the great body of high churchmen. If my object, therefore, had been merely to show that Mr. Taylor's writings were not trustworthy, I might stop here. But as I conceive that much un- scriptural prejudice exists on the subject of religious celibacy, which the general tone of this publication is calculated to foster, I will proceed to a careful, and, as I hope, candid consideration of this subject. In so doing, I purpose to reverse the plan pursued by Mr. Taylor, and to hegm by showing what ihc umrd of God really teaches on the suljject. In so doing, I trust I shall have with me the suffrages of all really candid persons, and all who desire to know the truth. And whether it be so or not, I shall not be deterred by the fear of being classed with those who covertly wish to bring back Popish j)ractices, if such there are ' ; being conscious that I have all my life simply sought the truth, and have been prepared to follow it out whithersoever it might lead me. Neither shall I be influenced by the fear of being classed with the party who are the especial objects of this writer's antipathy; being equally conscious that I have never yet attached myself to any but that of the old-fashioned high ' Sco Pref. vii. and pp. f)3. 101. m 30 I (jhurohmen ; and even that not from education or in the spirit of party, but because in the pursuit of truth my convictions have hitherto been more and more coincident with their opinions. For if I, like Mr. Taylor, may speak of myself, although brought up a churchman, and having become an early commu- nicant, I was yet from my childhood in constant and daily association with dissenters of almost every class, and in the habit of frequenting their places of worship and reading their books ; and was thus imbued with many of their prejudices, and filled with their objections against the Church. I was thus necessitated, when it was proposed to me to enter into holy orders, to examine, portion by por- tion, the whole ground of the Church. And although much time was thus spent in doubt and suspense, at a time of life when the mind has most need of unshaken belief, and many years elapsed before early prejudices were eradicated, yet I am thankful for that discipline, whatever it was, which has ended in the unwavering convictions I now possess ; and in my being privileged to have a fellow feeling with those in all ages who have held " church princi- ples," and have contributed to the strength and spiri- tual authority of the church, instead of its division and consequent weakness for the great ends for which it was establisher^ This egotism, I trust, will be pardoned me, inasmuch as it shows that I am not, (what however I think with Dr. Hook a more excellent state,) one of those unhappy bigots who 7 31 I education or in 3 pursuit of truth more and more or if I, like Mr. ^h brought up a a early eonimu- in constant and )f almost every ^ their places of and was thus ices, and filled Uhurch. I was •posed to me to portion by por- . And although md suspense, at most need of elapsed before I am thankful rhich has ended possess ; and in w feeling- with church princi- Bngth and spiri- cf its division great ends for im, I trust, will ows that I am . Hook a more py bigots who Lave been brought uj) in the principles they at pre- sent hold ; and consequently may entitle me to be considered as at least equally unprejudiced with the writer whom I am opposing. It may likewise [)er- haps be not amiss to mention, that I am so far likely to be unprejudiced on this particular subject, as that I have made trial of both the unmarried and the married state. CHAPTER II. The portion of Holy writ wliich naturally conies first under our consideration, both as standing earlier than any other in the New Testament, and as coming directly from our Lord himself, is that contained in Matthew xix. 10 — 12. If we read the context, we shall see that Christ had been speaking against the habit of divorce for com])aratively slight causes, which was then prevalent amongst the Jews, and had laid it down as a rule, that it was not lawful to effect a divorce, except for adultery. Some of his disciples, feeling probably tliat they might be placed in circumstances in which they would be glad to profit by the liberty they at present possessed, re- marked, that if they were to be so irrevocably bound, it would be better to abstain from marriage alto- gether. To this our Lord rejoined, that the cor- rectness of this conclusion would depend uj)on the circumstances of the individual person ; and that to most persons marriage, whatever might be its drawbacks, was most desirable. " He said unto them, to when who, wl] a divine of devot more or persons there ni their mi which \ eunuchs the kin, receive If it " have reliffious liest Wl (as, for • Mr. ' although instance, being a or abstra( very last open the should sii the respo - Stroi £)'(( yaf.10 Ibid. ^ 33 naturally conies standing earlier it, and as cominjr lat contained in the context, we ;ing ap^ainst the y slight causes, the Jews, and is not lawful to y. Some of his night be placed uld be glad to possessed, re- evocably bound, marriage alto- that the cor- pend upon the ■son; and that • might be its I To said unto them. All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given." But that there were j)ersons who, whether from nature or from violence, or from a divine gift accompanied by an overpowering desire of devoting themselves to the service of God, were more or less indifferent to marriage, and that such persons would do well to remain unmarried. " For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb ; and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men ; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's «ike. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it '." If it should be inquired why the expression, " have made themselves eunuchs," is applied to religious celibacy, my reply is — 1st, That the ear- liest writers who quote or allude to the ]>hrase, {as, for instance, Clement of Alexandria ', and Ter- ' Mr. Taylor agrees with me upon this passage in the main, although the tendency of his book is to disparage celibacy. For instance, he speaks with scora of the idea of an unmarried man being a bishop. " The meagre, heartless, nerveless, frivolous, or abstracted and visionary coelebs — make him a bishop ! The very last thing he is fit for : let him rather trim the lamps and open the church doors, or brush cobwebs from the ceiling! — how should such a one be a father to the Church ?" p. 393. Alas ! for the responsibility of those who made Taylor and Andrews bishops! Strom. III. i. § 1. 'HyuEtg tvvovyjiav fitv kui inc roiiro cecwf)i)Tai VTTO Qiov jiaKupili^o^iP, /.wroyafiiKi' Ct kcu ri)i' TTfp'i ror Ibid. wiii. § 10r>. 'I'lioc IXftrOiti rtiv fv}'()}i\i(if Kitrii -ur uyni C ?l 34 tuUian ',) apply it to that |)ra('tice, altliou^li ()i)|)ose(| to each other as to its value ; 'iiidly, Thai Origen, who in early life acted on its Ivtoral interpretation, has recorded his recantation of that opinion - ; and. lastly, That the Valesii, who supported that inter- pretation, were condemned by the Church at large. It is evident, I think, that the counsel of our Lord, " He that can receive it, let him receive it," must apply especially to those who choose celibacy for the kingdom of heaven's sake ; because, in tin- two cases previously mentioned, there are obvious reasons why the parties are so little at liberty, that it would almost amount to a sin for them to enter into the state of wedlock. And at all events, unless all marriage whatever be undesirable, their condition Or can scarcely be spoken of as a gift of heaven even if, with Origen, we take a figurative meaning throughout ^ and consider the first class as those fiiaovvra It Ti]v Kriaiv, ovCe eiovdefoin'Ta tovq yeyayuj/Korac. ' De virginibus velandis, 10. Viri tot virgines, tot spadones voluntarii. De cultu fem'tnarum, II. 9. Non enim et raulti ita faciunt ct se spadonatui obsignant, propter regnum Dei tarn fortem et utique permissam voluptatem s'jonte ponentes. * In Matt. torn. xv. 4. \\va\aftu)v . . . r/)i^ . . . /iaxatpui Tov YlvEVfxaTOQ /u») ifKTv^evoc Tov aijfiaTOQ. And again, ^oi oi)^ wc diovrai o'l atofiariKiuc ra Kara tov roiroy e^etX/j^one. ' Origen's words in the passage I have twice mentioned are these. FjVVOv\oi TiwTriKwtj vvv ol a()yo( npvq afpo^iffia Xiyoii'T ay, Kfu ^n) tTriCif^orTtr lavrovi; ra'if: Kara rnuro uireXytiaig Kut ■l who are not incj have be as migh by herct the simi state as the case in whicl by mort ence to strong ( powers 1 hxaQapaia ipyovvTuiv rOlOVTOl, 7i \6yu)v /x£i n&ffTjg 7?7c Tjfv Toiavi Karopdwai i^i\offO(j)ria A7r£)(£(T0a( iriXovaOai et Tvv \o inrtp Trdff OToXoc, jLtc ^IJ UTTTOflt obpavijjv, jiaffiXtiav ahrov. obpavwy. 35 altlioii^li oj)|)ost'(| lly, That Origeii, al intorpretation. it opinion ^ ; and. lorted that intor- Dhurch at large. 3 counsel of our t hiui receive it,' ) choose celi])aev ; because, in the here are obvious e at liberty, that for them to enter all events, unless e, their condition of heaven. Or curative meaning t class as those Ty Sodtiar) Xfip'ri, u'v 'C yey a /jiijKOTaQ, irgines, tot spadones multi ita faciunt et Dei tarn fortem et ts. Tt)v . . . fici')(aipat roe. And again, Km y i^EiXijcjjoTtQ, twice mentioned are C afpo^itria Xtyoii'T ■((iirn utjeXyuaig khi who are naturally indisposed to sensual pleasure, but not incapable of it ; and the second, as those who have been persuaded by tnerc human reasoning, such as might weigh with a heathen or an infidel, or by heretical notions, to renounce it ; we cannot, from the simple force of the terms, speak of this second state as a gift of God. It remains, therefore, that the case contemplated by our Lord as such, is that in which persons find in themselves, or have acquired by mortification and prayer, a comparative indiffer- ence to celibacy, at the same time that they feel a strong desire to devote their undivided thoughts and powers to the service of religion. And in such a case iucadapffiaiQ, y m TrapanXiitrtu avTolc- E/Vt Se tuiv npog ravTa iipyovvTti)y Siatbopai ol/xai rpcTc- Ot fxev yap ek Kara(TV£u»/f elirt roiovToi, Trepl tay Xiyoir ay tu' tlai ovrtoc. O/ St ek \6yti)v fiEv atTKovai TrpoTpairEyTtQ Ty)y rwv rKJipoSiiriwy airo-)^^t)y, kuJ ir&arrjg rijc Trept Tvy tottop aKoXaalag, Oh ^i)y to yevyiiaay avTo'it, Ttfy Toiavrrfv npudeaiy koi aaKr^aiv, icat Ti]v, 'iv ovtwq oro/xarrw, KaTopdojaiy Xoyog yiyove Qeov, aXXa ayQpunnyoL Xoyoi, e'ite rwr (^iXoffO(j>r](TdvTii)y nap' "EXXTjffti/, e'ite twv KwXvovTuy yufXEly, iLirE\E(Tdai jipw^aTwy, iv ralg aipiaEaiv. Ovtol Bt) fxoi SoKoiai SriXovadai kv t^' Eitrly aydpwTrioy. To o' u.wo\TJg at,ioy, tl Toy Xoyoy tiq ayaXafiiov Toy ^faivra Kai iyEpyfj Kai TOjiuiTEpoy bwEp TTuaav fxa^^aipay hioTOfiov, Ka\ Tr\y, wc oyofiairEv b 'Atto- OToXoQ, fxaj^aipay tov TlyEVfiaros, EKTEfxyoi to ttj^ \liv\r}£ nadrjTiKop, ftij anToncyoc tov awfxaTOQ' kai tovto ttoio'i kuI voijaac (iaaiXEiay ohpavwv, (cat fxiyiaToy cfviiftaXXofiEvov irpog to (>.\?;povoju>/ffa( fiaaiXtiav ovpaywy to EKTEfXEly Xoyu) to ■rradt]TiK6y Tijc \pvyrjt; uItov. To'iQ Se TOiovToig hpfi6(oi ay, Kai o'v\ o;c o'iovt' i o'l ffw/xantcwc Ta KaTci Toy tottov tlEiXtjtpoTEf^, to' Etalv ohpayHiy. c 2 ao nothing appears to be more clear than tliat (.lirist advises them to choose celibacy for tliat special end. But it is to be remarked that this indifference to marriage, whatever be the degree of it, is clearly spoken of as a (///?. " No man can receive this say- ing, save he to whom it is gircn." And from this it results in the first place, that no one can be expected to continue in celibacy permanently, even for a reli- gious end, who has not what the Church of England calls " the gift of continency ;" "indly, That although, like other divine gifts, it may be granted to prayer, especially if accompanied by fasting, yet that even then it n?ust not be looked upon as a matter of course, since it is not a gift essentially necessary to salvation; 3rdly, That it cannot be right for any person to bind himself irreversibly to celibacy, be- ciiuse, supposing him to have the gift at present, he cannot be certain how long it may be continued to him; and lastly. That it therefore cannot be right for classes of persons, of either sex, to be required to bind themselves by such an irreversible vow, because by that means a snare is laid for the conscience, and some will find themselves under a necessity of sin- ning, if in no other way, at least by breaking their vow. From these words of our Lord I come to the con- sideration of two passages in St. Paul's Epistles ; the first in which he speaks by divine inspiration ', the ' 1 Cor. vii. l—U. other in ' this distil her transl I am aw( tioned. equally v so much judgment will not h What which he to say. ] be contei which pn that it w oppositior thing of , that celibi I good in t set, that yet for so mass of speak by I Nay he c> state, suf God to re I would t ' from the or Midou • * / timt (Mirist that spcciul diffcrcnco to it, is clearly ivo this say- from this it be expected n for a reli- 1 of England lat although, ed to prayer, it that even a matter of necessary to iglit for any celibacy, be- ,t present, he continued to not be right e required to vow, because iscience, and essity of sin- eaking their e to the con- ^pistles ; the (iration ', the other in which he gives his own judgment '. I make this distinction, because the Church of England, in her translation of the epistle, evidently makes it ; but I am aware that the propriety of it has been ques- tioned. If, however, we consider both portions as equally written under inspiration, my case will be so much the more strengthened. In any event the judgment of an apostle, and such a one as St. Paul, will not be disputed by many. What were the particular inquiries in reply to which he wrote this chajjter it may not be easy to say. In the first passage, however, he appears to be contending with the Jewish notion, and one which prevailed to a considerable extent in Greece, that it was the duty of every man to marry. In opposition to this idea he declares that marriage is a thing of permission, and not of commandment, and that celibacy and widowhood are conditions equally good in themselves. For after affirming ai the out- set, that chaste celibacy is a state good in itself, and yet for some reasons recommending marriage to the mass of mankind, he goes on to say, " But this I speak by permission, and not of commandment. Nay he even declares his preference for the unmarried state, supposing that persons have the power from God to remain in that state without a snare. " For I would that all men were even as I myself:" (which from the whole context must imply either virginity or widowhood ;) " but every man hath his proper ' 1 Cor. vii. 25—40. V ■i S :iH gift of" God, out' utter tliis inaniier and anotlior after that." It is wortiiy of obsorvatioii, tliat all this is said /// fhf (t/isfrart, and without any roferonce to [•articular times or circumstances, and that it lies in that part of the chapter which is undeniably written by divine inspiration. And does not the whole passage, es[)ecially the apostle's declaration, that " it is good for a man not to touch a woman," his expressed wish that all men were like himself, and his assertion that marriage is a thing ])ermitted, and not commanded, show that ho regarded celibacy as, on some accounts, a higlmr state ? In the second part thr apostle ajtpears to be reply- ing to an inquiry dictated by a very diH'erent school ; namely, that of those who doubted whether it was not desirable to keep their daughters altogether un- married. In stating this to have been the question, I am not ignorant that another interpretation of this part of the cha])tcr has been pro])osed ; but since, if 1 should adopt this more recent interpretation, I should be deciding as an individual against the Church of which I am a minister, I prefer to adhere to the evident intention of " t\w authorized translation ;" which supposes such a (juestion as I have suggested. In replying to the question, however, whatever was the nature of it, St. Paul does not confine himself to the female sex, but lays down ])rinciples appli- cable to both. lie gives his judgment, that, at all events, during the existing [u-essure of persecution, it was most desirable for all persons to remain un- if agani. (I anotlier after liat ail this is y rciierenco to 1 tliat it lioH ill eniably Miitten not tlio wliolo •atioii, tliat " it a woman," liis CO liiniscif, and permitted, and led celibacy as, irs to bo ro|)ly- rt'orent school : vlietlier it was altogether un- 1 the question, •etation of this ; but since, if I atiou, I should the Church of adhere to the I translation ;" ave suggested, whatever was [>nfino himself inciples appli- nt, that, at all •f persecution, o remain un- married, Ht» long as they did not Hud celibacy a snare to their conscieiu'es ; and therefore, that where j)arents found that no evil was likely to arise from keeping their daughters unmarried, it was most advisable that they should do so. JJut in the course of the discussion, St. Paul brings forward principles which do not aj)ply ])eculiarly to times of persecution. And if wc are to adopt the whole of what ho has said, we nuist not only admit his decision uj)on the point immediately before him, but also the principles which he lays down incident- ally in deciding that point : and I press this observa- tion, because most Protestant conmientators, fearful ai)parently lest so great an apostle should be found to u])hold religious celibacy in the .ibstract, have endeavoured to bind down his decision to the ])arti- cular case which he immediately had in hand, and to others of a similar character. But where he says, " lie that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord ; but he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife ;" and again, " The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy, both in body and in sjiirit ; but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her hus- band;" T think I am not making too strong an assertion in saying that his remarks apply to all ages and to all countries. Tn ftict, does not our own experience and observation, at this distance of time 40 aiul place, prove the assertion to be correct ? He does not of course intend to assert this of all un- married and married persons indiscriminately ; but what he does intend evidently is, that supposing the unmarried and the married to have an equal intention of serving the Lord, the married person has stronger temptations on the side of the world than the un- married. The very affection and consideration for each other's weaknesses, which not only nature would prompt us to in the wedded state, but the Gospel expressly requires, becomes a temptation to go further in humouring each other's foibles than the Gospel would authorize. In the unmarried state we have our own follies alone to contend with, and we do not feel bound to show them any (quarter ; in the married state we have those of another, which we feel bound to treat with respect, or at all events with delicacy ; and the more amiable the disposition of either party, the stronger will be the temptation to that party. These are observations applicable to all ages and countries ; and they show that where the object is to devote one's self to distinctly religious objects, a state of celibacy is in the abstract prefer- able ; nay, that the ordinary walk of a religious life is easier to the unmarried than to the married '. riage. ' Mr Taylor is obliged to grant " the practical advantages of a single life, in relation to extraordinary labours of evangelic zeal, or to any circumstances under which a Christian might think himself or herself free to use the privilege of ' wait- ing upon the Lord without distraction."" 41 correct ? He this of all un- iminately ; but ; supposing tlie 3qual intention >ii has stronger I than tlie un- nsideration for ly nature would )ut the Gospel ptation to go (ibles than the arried state we end with, and ny (piarter; in another, which ir at all events the disposition 3 temptation to plicable to all lat where the nctly religious ihstract prefer- a religious life married '. icnl advantages of inary labours of ivhich a Christian ivilege of ' wait- But although this consideration may induce those persons to remain in celibacy, to whom that state itself presents no snare, yet it can impose no obliga- tion upon those who have not the necessary gift. It may lead them to seek it ; and even by those more muisual means, which are expressly pointed out by our Lord as useful for the attainment of extraordi- nary gifts. But, on the other hand, there is this opposite consideration, that if we are called to mar- riage, with its higher responsibilities, and stronger temptations, there is at least the grace common to all to enable us to cope with its difficulties ; there is a higher degree of attainment in those who struggle with them successfully ; and as a natural and inevi- table consequence, a corresponding additional reward in a future state of existence '. So that St. Paul follows out our Lord's idea, and explains it more fully. Christ had declared the power of celibacy to be a divine gift, and had indi- cated the purpose for which it was given. Now being a divine gift, there nnist be some advantage or benefit connected with it, having reference to the end to which it is suited ; and that advantage St. Paul has distinctly specified, viz. that a state of celi- bacy offers fewer hindrances and distractions to those who are disposed to devote themselves to the service of God and his Church, and that it is less liable to ' I will not deny myself the pleasure of referring to the beau- tiful language of Dr. Pusey, on the subject of inaniagc, in his LcUcr I'cfore mentioned, p. 210. 42 the temptation to worklliness of spirit. Not how- ever that celibacy disposes to piety ; but that it offers fewer impediments to it, for those who are already disposed to it. Neither is it at all implied that to most persons matrimony may not be a preferable state : on this account especially, that to those to whom it is desirable, it supplies an honourable object for natural passions ; and to those who use it aright, it makes those passions holy and })ure, and frc»m a curse transmutes them into a blessing. But still I apprehend it must be acknowledged that it does become to both parties an inducement to think of the things of the world, in order to gratify each other, and minister to each other's weaknesses. It will be said perhaps, that in this passage St. Paul is merely expressing his private opinion. It may be so : but I imagine it is an opinion corroborated by the experience of most of us ; and whether it be so or not, even the private opinion of such a })erson as St. Paul, favoured as he was by the continual special aid of the Holy Ghost, cannot be put upon the same footing as the opinions of any ordinary Christian. There is another passage which has a less powerful bearing upon the subject, inasmuch as it is not in itself so indisputably clear: I mean that in the 14th chapter of the Book of the Revelation. In this chapter St. John sees in a vision 144,000 standing with the Lamb on Mount Sion, having his Father's name written in their forehcnuls, and he declares res))octing them, " These arc they which were not defiled with 43 •it. Not how- ut that it offers /ho are already implied that to e a preferable at to those to nourable object o use it aright, ire, and from a ig. But still I d that it does ;nt to think of ,tify each other, les. )assage St. Paul on. It may be orroborated by hether it be so ch a person as )ntinual special upon the same f Christian, a less powerful as it is not in lat in the 14th ition. Tn this standing with Father's name ares resjiecting nt defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they wliich follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first- fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are without fault before the throne of God." We cannot, I say, argue with absolute certainty from this passage. But it surely is remarkable, that the immediate attendants upon Christ in heaven, and those who are represented as in constant attendance upon him (" who follow him whithersoever he goeth,") should be those who have never married. Nay, the very form of the expression is remarkable : for it is not said, " they are virgins, for they have not defiled themselves with women," which would simply imply that they were strictly chaste, whether married or unmarried : but " they were not defiled with women, for they are virgins." It is not however to be hastily concluded that there is any implication of defilement in marriage, (for that would be directly contrary to another pas- sage of Scripture,) but simply that they were so far from having sustained any pollution, that they had not even tasted of lawful pleasure. It is, I know, affirmed that the expression is alto- gether figurative or mystical, and that nothing more is meant than that they were not in any sense tainted with idolatry, false worship, or heresy". But there is ' This is Mr. Taylor's; view, and he contends, that " if these '■s 44 this strong objection to any sucli interpretation ; that in the Book of the Revelation there is no other spi- ritual whoredom spoken of but that with " the great whore," who is never spoken of in the plural form. There are no doubt passages of Scripture in which idolatry is spoken of under the figure of adultery : but then the guilty party is supposed to be a wife who is unfaithful to lier husband, and not a virgin who forfeits her chastity, still less an unmarried man who has become a profligate. The passage which goes the nearest to support the figurative interpreta- tion is that where St. Paul, speaking to the Co- rinthians, says, " I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." But even here the Apostle is merely using the well-known figure of the prophets with a slight clinnge. If a virgin is spoken of, it is a virgin espoused. And he is not speaking of individuals, but of the Church collectively. He does not say " chaste virgins," but " a chaste virgin." Moreover he paints the Church as a female, which is not the case with regard to those spoken of in the Revelation. In short, my own conviction is, that there is not a single passage, the analogy of which will bear us out in giving to this the figurative meaning which modern terras are to be understood in their literal sense, so must other terms with which they are connected, and then the endeavour to expound the book in any portion of it will be hopeless." I trust that I have shown that these terms stand upon different ground from others somewhat similar. I j^ A'i srpretation; that i is no other spi- with " the great the plural form, ripture in which ure of adultery: led to be a wife md not a virgin i unmarried man I passage which ative interpreta- ing to the Go- to one husband, irgin to Christ." ;rely using the with a slight it is a virgin individuals, but lot say " chaste 'eover he paints the case with Revelation. In is not a single 3ear us out in which modern ise, so must other I the endeavour to lopeless." I trust n different ground commentators in general have agreed to ])ut upon it. And I can scarcely believe that any person acquainted with tlie figurative language of the Bible would have felt himself justified in departing from the literal meaning, had it not been for the dread of giving sup- port to Popish abuses, or of finding in Scripture a dignity attached to celibacy, whicli our hereditary bias has taught us to regard as unscriptural. But I think it must be granted by every unprejudiced mind, or, if that be an impossible supposition, by every mind which regards truth as an emanation from God, and therefore to be cherished wherever found, that no dread of conseot-ences should deter us from adopting that interpret; " ■'■ of Scripture which sound criticism decides to be the correct one ; especially where, as is here unequivocally the case, that interpretation is supported by the voice of the early Church. If all men had studied the New Testament with the bias which requires a figurative interpretation of such a passage as this, should we ever have escaped from the errors and superstitions which once possessed our native Church ; which may, one and all, be supportev' by forced interpretations of Scripture ? Mr. Taylor takes an objection, that " such an in- terpretation excludes from the privileged quire several of the Apostles':" but it does not appear that there is not a quire higher than this, in which the Apostles may be included. He asks again " What ' P. 297. 46 lias been the general moral condition of those whom it must include ?" In raising this difficulty, however, he forgets that they are by the hypothesis " blame- less," and therefore can only be those unmarried Christians who have kept themselves pure. ffl*S>*'*''^Mi^ These directly coiitainc flow so said to 1 First, which t< eiders al desirous so ; and the light subjects of us bu whom al the eart good; w meeknes self-sacri that we )f those whom ^ulty, however, ;hesis '* blame- ose unmarried re. oriAPTER irr. These appear to be all the passages which bear directly upon the subject ; and from the princi])les contained in them, there are some conclusions which flow so naturally and evidently, that they may be said to be necessary corolhries. First, then, it must surely be evident that the spirit which too much prevails in our own times, which con- siders all persons, or at least all women, as necessarily desirous of marrying, and yet despises them for being so ; and regards those, who remain long unmarried, in the light of disappointed adventurers, and as proper subjects of banter and jest, is an improper spirit. Few of us but must have known persons in this condition, whom all would regard as amongst the excellent of the earth ; whose lives have I een spent in doing good; who have given examples of patience, and meekness, and humility, and self-denial, and in short self-sacrifice, which most of us would be glad to hope that we could imitate. And we must be perfectly 4.S seiisii)io tliat iiiany of tliesc liave expressly abstaiiicil from marriage, from the disinterested wish to devote themselves to the care of aged relatives, or the briiig- hig up of the children of others. Now we surely must feel that such a character is much more ele- vated and unselfish than tliat of those who marry ; and that it is a kind of sacrilege to make persons like these the subjects of a heartless jest. And if we admit this in the case of those who thus abstain from motives of benevolence towards others, how much more must we confess it, in i-egard to those who thus deny themselves from the desire of devoting themselves more unreservedly to the promotion of religion ! But this is not the only jioint. For when we consider that our Lord himself evidently speaks of the capacity for celibacy as a divine gift, who can tell whether we may not be mocking at the results of God's special favour ? And when we reflect further, that he has likewise encouraged jiersons to remain in celibacy from religious motives, and for the special advancement of his kingdom, saying, " lie that is able to receive it, let him rcceire it" who can say what real sacrilege we may commit in in- dulging such a habit ; whether we may not, in some cases, be doing our best to bring to nought the coun- sel of the Lord, and hinder the strengthening or extension of his kingdom, by entangling those in worldly and selfish cares, who might have been em- ])loyed on higher errands ? This of course has not })een thought of: and to some, from its novelty, it 9 if pressly Jibstainod (1 wisli to devote vcs, or the bring- Now we surely much more ele- lose who marry ; D make j)ersons ss jest. And if vho tlms abstain rds others, how regard to those 3sire of devotin<>- le j)romotion of oint. For wl)en evidently speaks 16 gift, who can g at the results hen we reflect aged i)ersons to lotives, and for ngdom, saying, receive it" who commit in in- ay not, in some ought the coun- rengthening or igling those in have been em- course has not its novelty, it 49 may bear somewhat of a fanciful aspect. But I appeal to every reflecting, every candid mind, whe- ther it does not inevitably follow from .in impartial study of the Standard of all truth. There is also a very i)revalent feeling connected with this habit. I mean that by which nearly every young person (and especially every young woman) is impelled by the opinion of others, and indepen- dently of his own wishes and inclinations, to seek out a matrimonial connexion as one of the great ends of earthly existence. There can be no doubt whatever, even looking at the matter witli the mere eye of common sense, that much mischief is done by this prevailing impulse : that not only are many driven into matrimony, who Mould have been well enough contented with a single life, (if left to their own feelings,) and would have been highly useful in it ; but that many likewise, who remain from various causes unmarried, are rendered unhappy in that state solely by the pernicious influence of general feeling. The one have no peculiar desire for marriage, but the spirit of society dictates it to them ; and tlioy comply, often to the ruin of their usefulness b) being involved in worldly cares, — often to the degradation of their characters, by the various arts and manoeuvres they have recourse to, that they may not be left behind in the forlorn list of the unmarried, or by tlie petty shifts to which an incompetency to the management of ordinary affairs afterwards reduces them. The other seek it without success, become debased by 50 unworthy arts in the pursuit of it, and are frctti'd and vexed for tlie remainder of their lives by tlu- disappointment. And thus characters which, for aught we know, might have been unsulUed by arti- fice or selfishness, are almost irredeemably degraded, and valuable powers are lost to society, and to the Church of Christ, because misdirected, or discouraged from flowing in their natural channel. These, and similar considerations, must surely show that this feeling is altogether a mistaken one. And when wo come further to view it in the light of Scripture, and to perceive that it not only interferes unjustifiably and cruelly with individual liberty, and perniciously both with individual character and with the general good, but also opposes itself, as it must do in many cases, to a direct appointment of Heaven, and makes useless the gifts of God, it surely must appear that it ought by all means to be abandoned and discou- raged. And if this be the case with regard to Ciiristians in general, I think it must appear to be especially the case wi<^h regard to the clergy. For although no doubt every private Christian is bound to pro- mote the kingdom of God, yet every one acknow- ledges that this is their peculiar office. If thereforo persons of any class ought to be free from tempta- tions to a worldly spirit, so as to serve the Lord without distraction, it must be those of the sacred order. And ye^t it must be familiar to many of us, that it has been a current opinion, nay, maintained Tj] aiul aro fretted fir lives by tlu; ters which, for nsullied by arti- nably degraded, iety, and to the , or discouraged el. These, and show that this And when we f Scripture, and •es unjustifiably md perniciously nth the general lust do in many Lven, and niakes ust appear that ned and discou- rd to Christians o be especially For althougli ; bound to pro- ry one acknow- s. If therefore 3 from tempta- serve the Lord } of the sacred to many of us, nay, maintained by somv^ as a precept of Holy Writ', that clergy- men, of all men, should be married; and a constant advice to young cleigyinen, having jKirochi.al charge, to enter with all speed into that deeply resjmnsible state, without any tlie least doubt suggested or im- ])lied, whether to some of them celibacy may not be a preferable condition. If, however, the considera- tions I have brought forward have any weight, it * must, I think, ai)pear (unless indeed it be contended that marriage in the present day brings with it peculiar cd'emptions from care) that such o[)inion and advice are altogether mistaken and most per- nicious. Let it not, however, be supposed that I am advo- cating the celibacy of the whole body of the clergy as a class. I am simply contending, that, as our Lord has informed us that God has bestowed on pome men the gift of continence, and that it is ad- visable for such persons to avail themselves of that Mr. Taylor has taken this ground ; and because St. Paul has directed that the person vho desires to enter into holy orders should be " the husband of one wife," he contends (pp. 109. 305. 399.) that he must needs be a married man. Now there is no doubt that St. Paul might have had such a meaning in his words ; but I imagine that most persons will allow that the natural mean- j^ng of the Apostle (especially taking into consideraticu what hs has said in favour of celibacy) is, that candidates for the sacred ministry should either have been only once married, which was the prevalent interpretation in the earliest age, or should not have divorced one wife to marry another, (a common custom with Jews and heathens,) which was the interpretation of Theodoret. D -2 4^ 58 gilt for tiio furtliomiice of his kingdom; ami St. I'uul has infoniic'd us how it may be useful to that end, by leaving us at liberty to promote religion without let or hindrance : and since it is the especial busi- ness of the clergy to promote piety in others, they of all men sliould not bo seduced l)y stress of public sentiment into tlirowing away a gift which many of them may liaply ])0S8ess. From the very nature of the case this cannot include the whole body of the clergy ; for it cannot be denied that there are many im])ortant ends to be answered by a married clergy, which nothing else can supply ; and therefore no doubt (fod has communicated to each his gift, some after this manner and some after that '. Besides the general reasons for protesting against the current feeling upon this point, particularly as regards the clergy, there are others derived from the circumstances of these times. And on that ground Ave may avail ourselves of the Ai)ostle's authority to the full, even supposing that we could not upon abstract and general grounds. For although this is not a time of persecution, as was tliat in which St. Paul lived, yet it cannot be denied that the Church is under a kind of stress at this period which it does not always sustain. Independently of a pressure from without, it is well known that there is a demand for greater exertion from all the friends of the Church, to enable her not merely to keep her ' See Dr. Pusey's Letter, p. 214. irronn to the ground. They say, moreover. You have boon in tlio hal)i! of attacliing gn^at wolgjit to tlu; authority of tin' early Church, and of (|uoMng its writers as testi- monies to the doctrine and polity which the aposth^ left behind them: but if tlio ]>riniitiv(> Church itscli was ill material error from the very beginning on this subject, what security htiw. \v(! that in any poiiii it is to bo relied upon ? If it dopavto for our standard the judgment of men. If indeed the subject were one which was dark and doubtful in the Scripture, the case might be different; but here it can scarcely be called so. Even those whose feelings are totally iii an opposite direction, are com- pelled to grant in the main the conclusions T drew ; e2 00 and evcMi if it. were othorvviso, tlio Scripture is not therefore to be reckoned doubtful, because prejudiced ])ersons refuse to acknowledge its plain meaning. If we grant this, wo shall open the way to universal scepticism. The conclusions, then, which I drew from the Word of God were, that He has given to some the gift of continency for the extension and support of his kingdom : that marriage is a state in which it is abstractedly more difficult to serve God without dis- traction than a state of celibacy : that to the mass of persons marriage notwithstanding is, from the con- stitution of their nature, most desirable: that by those to whom God has vouchsafed the gift of con- tinency, celibacy is most properly chosen as being in itself a state in which they who are thus gifted cai' best promote the honour of God and the extension of his kingdom : and that celibacy is therefore not to be disparaged or discouraged, but rather to be acknowledged as a state of privilege, and in some respects higher than that of matrimony. These conclusions are fill either distinctly laid down in Scripture, or directly implied in what is distinctly expressed. It appears to me in vain to say that these vie^vs may lead to an over-exaltation of celibacy, and to ii direct disparagement of matrimony. 1 am quite prepared to grant that they may; nay, more, I am prepared expressly to show that they have done so : but that does not jirove them to be wrong. It only ]>roves t extremes With myself tc J shall e] lor's Stat scrij)tura] on the SI either ex connectet practice general c and oppo] those less from the The fir epistle of and in t those wh remain in let him he is lost ' §5. ' The Ln ft is putting rifi))v rov K any authoril ' This ar irXiov ; but (o otlicr sen phrases it t f)l iripturc is not use prejudiced 1 meaning. If y to universal from the Word some the gift support of his in which it is )d without dis- to the mass of from the con- able: that by le gift of con- sen as being in ihus gifted ca;- the extension s therefore not t rather to be ?, and in some imony. Tliese laid down in lat is distinctly liat these views ibacy, and to ii 1 am quite nay, more, I am ^ have done so: wrong. It only j)roves that they are capable of being pushed to extremes : and what truth is not thus capable ? With these views, then, I purpose to address myself to the writings of the primitive Church ; and I shall endeavour to show, in opposition to Mr. Tay- lor's statements, that the sub-apostolical age was scri])tural on this subject : that corruption of doctrine on the subject came in gradually, and from sources either extrinsical to the Church, or not necessarily connected with celibacy : that no great corruption of practice followed in the sub-apostolical age, and no general corruption for many ages after: and if life and opportunity are granted me, I trust to point out those lessons on the subject which we may fitly draw from the whole history. The first notice we have of the subject is in the epistle of St. Ignatius to Polycarp ' and his Church ; and in this epistle St. Ignatius has this advice to those who remained in celibacy. " If any is able to femain in chastity in honour of the Lord of the flesh ^, let him so remain without boasting. If he boasts, he is lost ; and should he be more highly thought oP ^ The Latin version has " in honour of the Lord's flesh ;" but ft is putting a force upon the original so to render it. It is th: Tifi)]v Tov Ji^v^iov 7J/C (Taphoc : and there is no various reading of any autliority. ' This appears to be the most natural rendering of idf yiioniO] irKuiv ; but the Latin version seems to have led all the interpreters to other senses. This version gives si videri vclit. Smith para- phrases it thus : Si se magis cequo spcctandum cognosce ndumque m tlian the bisliop, he is corruiited." Here we find iio unscriptural principle even liiiited at. To clioosu cehbacy with a view to the honour of liiin who is liortl of the flesh e(iually with the s|)irit, seems to hv only anotlier way of h)okin^ at the scriptural idea ot doinii' it for the kinijdoin of God's sake. ]Jut wc have no doubt a hint at a practical abuse, namely, that some mIio had the gift were disposed to boast of it, and that some had begun to attach undue valuo to the gift when seen in otliers. This, I say, a})peai> to be hinted at, although not expressly stated. But what does it amount to ? Is this " one of the worst abuses" of religious celibacy ? Would to God it was. Is it even peculiar to celibacy ? Is it not what all God's gifts are liable to? Do Ave not find in the epistles of St. Paul himself that the gift of tongues gave occasion to vainglory in the j)ossessors, and to their being unduly exalted by those who heard them? Nay, more, to all parties actually sjtting themselves uj) against, not merely their bishoj), but one of the very inspired apostles ? Do we see any thing un- natural in this, however lamentable? Do we hear St. Paul discourage the exercise of the gift? nay, rather, does he not actually say, "Desire spiritual gifts." Is it made l)y any one to cast a slur upon the velit, tit in al'iorum opinione cpiscopo prccfcralur : Archblsliop Wake, If lie should desire to be more taJcen notice of: and Mr. Jacobson, the recent editor of the Apostolical Fathers, If k should glory over. I do not deny that it might have this sense, but 1 have suu^^ht in vain lor any uuthurity I'ur it. gift of 1 then sh( the case Corinthi attachin felt him gift of ci Exco] pass^age, of matrii of c/iasfi this was advocate with any disparag( what ot propriet not expi ried, but exprcssc individu was tak( the tern adds, eX; the mea correspo been bli though ■tft ■i 6a ere wo find iiu t. To clioose of him vvlio is i-it, seems to hv I'iptural idea ol sake. 15ut wo abuse, namely, t)sed to boast of ,ch undue vahio 5, I say, ai)pears ly stated. But >no of the worst d to God it was. it not what all not find in the ; gift of tongues )Ssessors, tmd to ho heard them? tting themselves but one of the c any thing un- ? Do we hear i' the gift? nay, ■ Desire spiritual : a slur upon tlio feralur : Archbishop I notice of: and Mr. ilical Fathers, 1/ k light have this sense, for it. gift of tongues? Notliing of the kind. And why then shouM we not look in the same manner upon the case of religious celibacy? St. Paul cautioned the Corintliians against tlie abuse of the gifts, and the attaching undue imi)ortance to them ; and Ignatius felt himself similarly called upon in regard to the gift of celibacy. Exception has likewise been taken against this passage, as though Ignatius had s])oken slightingly of matrimony in calling chaste celibacy by the name of climtiti/ {ayviiu): l)nt until it can be shown that this was a term sj)ecially invented by him or by the advocates of religious celibacy, it cainiot be argued with any fairness that he or they intended thereby to disparage marriage. Nor, indeed, even then : for what other term could have been used with equal propriety? 'Ayainia, or any equivalent term, would rot express that such persons were not c*^ly unmar- ried, but also chaste : and when the main idea to be expressed was that of the ahsolufe chastity of the individuals, it is no Monder that the governing idea was taken to include all. It is true that o-yajtiog is the term emjiloyed by Athenagoras ^ ; but then he adds, eXtt/Si tow /uaXXov avviataQui t«;) 0£w, which fixes the meaning. Justin Martyr ^ uses acpOopog, a term corresponding to ayveia. Justin, indeed, has also been blamed for applying this term to celibacy, as though he intended to imply that marriage was a ' Leg. 28. /Ipol. ii. 15. 04 pollution. But Ckmicnt of Aloxaiulrlii, who con- tends at great length ' for the purity and holiness of marriage, uses u(pOopoQ in the same sense as Justin, applying it to the son of Nicolas the deacon, who, as well as his sisters, never married ^ And, indeed, Ignatius himself elsewhere applies the same term iiyvua to the i)urity of married persons, thereby show- ing beyond a doubt that he had no idea of disparaging marriage. Besides the opinion of Ignatius himself, it would perhaps appear at first sight, from a passage in his epistles", that virgins had in his time displaced widows as servants or dei)oidents of the Church; for ho salutes the virgins called widmvs, without mentioning widows at all in any other way. Whether this may have been a peculiarity of Smyrna, that virgins acted as deaconesses, we have no direct information : but as we know from the Canons of various councils, that widows, as distinct from virgins, were an order of the Church for centuries afterwards, it is most probable that the substitution which had taken place at Smyrna was peculiar and local. Indeed Ter- tullian, long after, speaks* of it as an astonishing and even monstrous thing, that a virgin should be reckoned amongst the widows. His words are, " Plane scio alicubi virginem in viduatu ab annis non- • Strom. III. vi. § 45-56. * Strom, III. vi, § 46. TQy tKdvov riKvufv drjXtiac fiev Kara- ytjpdaai nnpOipovr, fxtpOopof Se Ota/itli'at roy v'tot'. ' Ad Smyrn. la. ' De Virg. V eland. 1). dinn vigi erat episi pitT'stari dixerim vidua." custom V The mention and Dio excellent were insi from im| of persoi their ch years of does not word is seen, in imply ce stance t Justin, Antonin that ma ried, v\ munion believe But than thi 05 Iriii, who con- 111(1 liolinoss of ciiso as Justin, leacou, who, as And, iiuloed, ;he same term , thereby show- i of disparaging mself, it woukl passage in his spl.accd widows !hurch; for lie out mentioning ether this may at virgins acted formation : but irious councils, were an order rds, it is most lad taken place Indeed Ter- an astonishing rgin should bo lis words are, u ab annis non- OtjXdac fitv KUTu- dnni vigiiiti collocatam : cui si (piid refiigcrii dclni- eiJit episcopus, alitor ubicpie, salvo rcspectu disciplinie, pra'stari potuisset, ne tale nunc miraculum (lu; dixerim monstrum) in ecclesia denotaretur, vi«-go vidua." This language sufficiently proves that the custom was uncommon, even in Tertullian's time. The only writers of the sub-apostolical age who mention the subject are, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, and Dionysius of Corinth. Justin ', in showing the excellence of the Christian religion, boasts that there were instances every where occurring of persons who from impurity were converted to chastity ; and even of persons who, having become disci}»les of Christ in their childhood, and being then sixty or seventy years of age, had remained chaste. This, it is true, does not necessarily signify celibacy ; but the same word is used by Clement of Alexandria, as we have seen, in such a connexion as almost necessarily to imply celibacy : and this, coupled with the circum- stance that Athenagoras, who was contemporary with Justin, but somewhat his junior, in his Apology to Antoninus Pius, brings forward the circumstance that many Christians " continued to old age unmar- ried, in the hope of having more complete com- munion with God," has decided most persons to believe that Justin alluded to the same thing. But we have somewhat more decisive evidence than this, in a prelate of great influence in those ' /iijul. ii. l.>. ^M^^Kf G(i I* (lays, but of wlioin sciuvcly jiiiy rcniuiiis liavt* oojin ^ down to UH : I moan Dioiiysius of Corinth. In tJK time of JOust'bins tliore wvyv oxtiint no loss than seven epistles of his to dillerent elnnvhes, in two of Avhicli he touches uiion this .suhjoet. It seems that Pinytus, bishop of (Jnossus in Crete, had pressed tlio subject of celibacy upon his people; and this calls for the fraternal advice of Dionysius, who, amou'^st other thlnii's, exhorts him "not to lay u]»on them so lieavv a burden, as to make celibacy a duty, but to consider the infirmity of the <>enerality of persons'." And it is added, that I'inytus expressed ;^reat esteem for Dionysius and assent to what he had said: but ul the same time it Avould seem that he took umbraiiv at him for his interference; for altiiou^h he veiy c«mrteously requested him to write a;»'ain, ho desires that it nuiy bo u[»on doo]»er subjects, and su^'i^ests to him, whether, by troatin*^ Christians always like babes, ho does not risk their growing old before tliey have left oil' leading strings. Dionysius has another epistle, in which, like St.l'aul, ho treats, amongst other things, upon marriage and celibacy. But what is there suri)rising in all this? After St. Paul's recorded wishes on the subject, is it wonderful that we find a single I lollop, of more zeal than judgniont, endeavour- ing, as ho might think, to carry out the Apostle's ideas more fully? Natural, however, as this was, ^ Euscb. Hist. IV. xxiii. 4. M») j-japv (poprlor ETtuyayictg ru 7r£f)t ayvtiui: roltj u^iXtpolr twiTiOivui, T-z/r vt twv nuWwi' kutu- we unuu checked day. \\\> a death of time e<(U the acce> time. A go undo: the und( the acts the vriti Dialogue and his course ( Athena^ anfn:d(r\f.iv de Ctiv Xlyovrtc K(u nWilXMV Tu jiufit) /3a(Tr«4£()', fi}) iroTf. ruj cokwv kuXuxj trrrdviu ku) (liiTotj TTtcTi]' irtpl ^e rod ^Evripov yufiov, el nvpol, (ptjfrlv u airi'irT-oXoi:, yuf^itjfrov. ■* Strom. III. xviii. § lOf). 'E^ov iXiaOui n)v (.vvuv^^iuv kutu rt!) I'ytTl Km'iivn fitr fiifff/-)f/<«c, fv-^^apirTTdviTu ftif tv\ rfi hiOflrrtj ^('i^i/ri; I'll fiimi'uiTH Tf ri/r urimi', (hk i ttavih tiifnTc. un'r yiynftifKOTUi,, kti- i -t i ; ■^ 72 virtuous unless it bo taken up from lovo tow.ii/ evi>ov)(^ici' ('ifi oitj i.ra-)(9i](Tap. eI yirwrrKovm /cat lif olc tTayOiiaav. ' Strom. HI. vi. § 51. Oikj' »/ (.vtovyja irupEror, tl ynw u uydrrifv yivotro rrfv irpuc ov 0£O)'. " Strom. III. xii. — xiv. i ^ i 1 i before hi trine, bu come a w and liavi Now, be terize th and ovei discipline and sepa Tertulliai J)c Fffdi against thought who had they had as well P the Chu .spiritual, case, it treatises Montani feelings the Chu wliere t ness or precise!} But ex])eriei comes a tliere hi 73 VO tOW.IKls with solf- and main- who marry. )f judgment accordance ligions celi- thc c-^pious- 8 elsewhere le does hint lary or even it peculiarly ippens every 1 which one her. )f this gene- 3ry different whose writ- r Tertullian," : but before tings, it will ; importance rtullian then IS a Church ir some years f.vya^imovvTior ay. I s ^ i before his death ho was not only a heretic in doc- trine, but also a schismatic in discipline, having be- come a warm partisan of the im})osture of iVlontanus, and having quitted the Church to join his sect. Now, besides the peculiar doctrines which charac- terize this sect, there was a disposition to a harsh and overexalted ])uritanism, which regarded the discipline and practices of the Church as too lax, and separated from it partly on that ground : and Tertullian actually wrote a treatise, invidiously styled De FiidicHia, against the Church, and partic 'urly against the then Bislio}) of Home, because they thought proper to readmit to communion persons who had been guilty of fornication or adultery, after they had done public j)enance ; and in this treatise, as well as in others, he draws a broad line between the Church and his own sect, calling the latter .spiritual, and the former carmd. This being the case, it must be clear to any one that those of hie treatises which were written after ho had imbibed Montanist principles must in many resi)ects express feelings at variance Avith those which [)revailed in the Church at large ; and especially upon any po'nt, where the question was one of greater or less strict- ness or severity of life or discipline: and this is precisely one of those questions. But I go further than this. For does not all ex])erience show, that where a man ultimately be- comes a separatist, and especially a leader of schism, tliere has all along been the tendency or ])ropensity, P ■,x, i .q 74 either to singularity, or to sourness of temper, or to mysticism, or in short, to whatever it may be which forms the centre notion of the system he finally adopts ? And if \ve must own this in general, an acquaintance with the writings of Tertullian will show that, when writing to Christians, there was always a disposition to an excited and rigid view of things. Tliat being the case, we shall not only be compelled to reject as evidence of Church feeling the decidedly Montanistical treatises, but likewise to consult the whole of his writings with great caution : whilst, on the other hand, if we find him any where asserting sentiments such as we have seen in the sacred Scriptures, and in the writings of Clement of Alexandria, we shall be safe in con- cluding that they were the current sentiments of the Catholic Church in his age. Dut if he states tilings as facts, we shall be generally right in regard- ing them as true, especially if he appears to speak of what came under his own knowledge : for, with the exception that where excited, he is liable to exagge- ration, there is no ground for charging him with misrepresentation. With these cautions then, which, although not al- together unknown to Mr. Taylor, have been prac- tically neglected by him, let us come to the writings of Tertullian. And first us to facts; he testifies that many in his time made themselves eunuchs, (i. e. abstained from marriage,) for the kingdom of heaven's sake; some from the time of their baptism: ■I i I nay, that trinionia vii. 29. is clearl; another represent degradati we do nc the Chu these mi dencies a treatises, to fornic ' De Cui liabcndas d tcmporiuii, ornaments, obsignant, voluptateni //(/ Uxoi cariiem suti matrimoiii regni coelei De Viri. quidem, pc suae pracfe ficentur a tarii, caec( faceret illn ' 1 Cor. 75 nper, or to be which ho finally Toncral, an uUian will there was yu\ view of ot only be ireh feeling lut likewise with great ,ve find him ■e have seen writings of iafe in con- ntinients of if he states lit in regard- >) to speak of for, with the e to exno-o-e- ig him with ough not al- ; been prac- the writings he testifies ^es eunuchs, kingdom of heir baptism: I I nay, tliat even married persons abstained from ma- trimonial intercourse, from taking the passage, 1 Cor. vii. 29. in a literal sense '. This latter element is clearly contrary to the advice of St. Paul, in another unecjui vocal passage -. But as Tertulliau represents them as so doing from a feeling of the degradation of sexual intercourse, a feeling M'hich we do not as yet find supported by any authority in the Church we are warranted in supposing that these might be persons of the same fanatical ten- dencies as Tertulhan himself; who, in another of his treatises, expressly speaks of matrimony as akin to fornication, and distinctly dissuades from mar- ' De Cullu Fcminarum, ii. 9. Si ergo uxorcs quoquc ij)sas sic liabendas demonstrat tanquam non liabeantur, propter aiigustias temporum, quid sentiat dc vanis instrunientis earuin ? (i.e. their ornaments.) Non cnim ct niulti ita faciunt, et sc spadonatui ol)signant, propter regnum Dei tain fortem et utique permissam voluptatem sponte poiientes ? /Id Uxorcni, i. 5, 6. Uiiot enim sunt qui statim a lavacro carnem suam obsignant ? Quot item qui consensu pari inter se matrimonii debitum tollunt, voluntarii spadones pro cupiditate regni coelestis ? De Virgin. Veland. 10. Caateruni satis inhumanuni, si femina' quidem, per omnia viris subditae, honorigeram notam virginitatis suae prscferant, quasi suspiciantur et circunispiciantur et magni- ficentur a fratribus, viri auteui tot virgiues, tot spadones volun- tarii, caeco bono suo incedant, nihil gestantes, quod et ipsos faceret illustres. ' 1 Cor. vii. 24, 27. I-' 2 70 na<]|'« At tlio same timo it may bo coiicodod that tlieso persons M'orc prol)al)ly in the Clinreli, since they are mentioned l)y him in liis tracts to his wife, whicli were certainly written before he had taken up such extreme views as 1 have just alluded to. We learn again from the treatise on the veilhuj of virgins, that there were those who were acknow- ledged and M'vt'^nj'^.'^d as professors of virginity-; but in what ^v.. doe not a])pear. It is not, how- ever, necessary that we tl.ould suppose any particular declaration. No doubt it was customary for young women in general to marry as soon as they were marriageable ; and the simple fact of continuing unmarried after they were grown up, was considered a declaration that they did so for religion's sake. * De Exhoitatione Cast'itntis, 9. ' Krgo,' inquis, 'jam ct primas, id est, unas nuptias destruis.' ' Nee immerito, qiioniani et ipsae ex eo constant, quo et stuprum.' ^ De Vclund. Virg. 9. Quid proerogativic meretur adversus conditionem suani, siqua virgo est et curneni sanctificare pro- posuit ? § 16. Nupsisti enim Cliristo : illi trarlidisti carncni suam ; illi sponsasti maturitatem tuam. Incede secundum spon^i tui voluntatem. Ad Uxnrem, 4. Et tu, adversus consilia ha;c ejus, adhibe soro- rum nostrarum exempla, quarum nomina penes Dominum, quae nullani formse vel fctatis occasionem, praemissis maritis, sanc- titati anteponunt: malunt enim Deo nubere. De Prcescr'vpt'ione HcercUcorum, 3. Si episcopus, si diaconus, si vidua, si virgo, si doctor, si etiam martyr lapsus a regula fuerit, \ 3 s Now it a iib()ve all ried imii ofirls renii that this only obse tiien, wh served, tl with thei jian's feel for the ; ])utting a oiving til where In young pe j)assed th of the uncover( very war sistency be inark( unfairnes 110 distin ' See a ^§10. Sic nee de feminae qu ginitatis s niagnificen voluntarii, faceret illi: 77 .i Now it appears very evident, from Tertullian's tract above alluded to, that Christian women when mar- ried immediately took the veil, Avhilst unmarried girls remained unveiled. It a])[)ears highly j)robable that this usage was not confined to Christians, but only observed more strictly by them. Jn the Church then, when virginity came to be frequently pre- served, there rose nj) the anomaly of grown women, with their lieads uncovered, which offended Tertul- lian's feelings : and the tract in (piestion was written for the ])urpose, not, as Mr. Taylor sujiposes, of jtutting a distinction upon the ])rofessed virgins, by ffivins: them the veil ; but of inducino- the Church where he was to make a regulation, that every young person whatever should be veiled, who had passed the age of j)uberty '. Some indeed, probably of the professed virgins, wished to preserve the uncovered head as a distinction : but he contends very warmly, not only on tlie immodesty and incon- sistency of one who lived only for Christ, wishing to bo marked out to the eye of man, but also on the unfairness to the celibates of the other sex, who had no distinction whatever-. All this tends strongly to ' See iibove, Part i. p. 18. ^ § 10. Adeo nihil virgiiii ad honorem de loco permissum est. Sic iiec de aliquibus insignibus. Ceterum satis inhumanuni, si femina; qiiidcm, per omnia viris subdita;, honorigcram notam vir- ginitatis sute prteferant, quasi suspiciantur et circumspiciantur et niagnificentur a fratribus, viri autem tot virgines, tot spadones voluntarii, cseco bono suo incedant, nihil gestantcs, quod et ipsos t'aceret illustres. I r 78 show tliat thorc was not in Tcrtnllijin's timo. anv known cliaractoristic to mark the jn-ol'cssod virgin, \ (1 til (I til )eyon(l that of lior contnnuni^ nnniarnod beyond tlic cnstomary time; and conserjucntly not adopting- the veil at the usnal time, although in other respects she dressed like a matron, and not like a very young ])erson'. It is evid nt, however, from the wiiole tone of the tract, that the virgius were not all so from religious motives : that a degree of credit had begun to attach to mere celibacy, and that some, probably, Merc desirous of personal admiration, and for that reason did not marry, lest they should be compelled to conceal their charms, whilst others ado])ted the profession from interested motives, be- cause they were gainers by it in a pecuniary point of view ^ There was likewise an esprit de corps creeping lu, which led them to wish for a public distinction, to attract others to their body ^ Against this desire 1 § 12. Quid quod etiam hx nostrae etium habitu mutationem iL'tatis confitentur ; simulque se muliores intcllcxerunt de vir- giuibus cducuntur, a capite quidem ipso deponentos quod fuerunt. Vertunt capillum, et acu lasciviore comam sibi inseruiit, crinibus a fronte divisis apertam professa; mulieritatem. ^ § 14. ^mulatio enim illas, non religio producit : aliquando et ipse venter Deus earum, quia facile virgines fraternitas suscipit. ^ § 14. Referunt aliquando dictum a quadam, cum piiinum qusestio ista tentata est, ' Et quomodo ceteras solicitabimus ad hujusmodi opus?" i. e. if there were no outward distinction. It is evident, however, that they uncovered their heads only in i Tertulliii grave c state of resolutic venting from a evils ha Tcrtulliti saw the tinctly i he actua all, the sequent nity," 1m stating telling A scmi-bai world M No event ; in its t of it, remedy, ternal express cclibac\ evils h( the assen tateni sui 70 time, any od virgin, jcyoiul tlio opting' the r respects very yonng tlio Miioie not all so credit had that some, iration, and y should bo lilst others notivcs, be- niiary point ps creeping- distinction, >t this desire tu mutationem sennit de vir- is quod fuerunt. serunt, crinibus it : aliquando et nitas suscipit. I, cum prlnmm nlicitabimus ad »rd distinction. 1' licads only in Tertnllian strongly contends, and i)oints out the jrrave evils which would certainly arise, if the then state of things were allowed tc continue, and some resolution were not come to for the ])urpose of pre- venting a virgin from being outwardly distinguished from a married woman. Whethcu* any of these evils had yet arisen does not appear certain : but Tertnllian, from the existing state of manners, fore- saw them, as they afterwards appeared more dis- tinctly in the time of Cyprian. Not only this, but lie actually pointed out the sources of all, or nearly all, the mischiefs which liav(^ followed in any sub- sequent time. " A constrained and unwilling virgi- nity," he said, " occasions such enormities :" not as stating what had actually occurred, but as fore- telling what inevitably would occur in the gross and semi-barbarous state, in which that part of the world was. No projdiecy can be truer, as we know by the event ; and if he saw the real germ of the mischief, in its then earliest indications, and warned the Church of it, and urged in the warmest manner the true remedy, of removing all outward distinction or ex- ternal stimulus, however he may have used rhetorical expressions in speaking of a pure and disinterested celibacy, he can scarcely be charged with fostering evils he did his utmost to prevent. Neither again is the assemblies of Christians. § 13. Certe in ccclesia virgini- tateni suam abscondant, quam extra occlesiam cclant. •V* •"■ic: T so it to l)t! forgotten, that TcrtuUinii, in Hta'/nig tiio niis- cliiefs, cither opL'ii or hitont, which ho witnesMoil «»r fojirod, is spunking not of the Church univursjii, hut only of that j)art to wiiich ho l)oh)ngo(l, tho Churcli of north-westorn Africa, one of tho least civilizod and most degenerate jmrtions of the Roman empire. VVe know, in our own day, that thoro is a great dif- ferenee in dillerent Christian countries, in regard to particular points of morals, and even in the sanu' c(»untry in dillerent periods; and no doubt it was so in all ages. It is not correct, therefore, to argue from the state of things at Carthage, that virginity every where indicated the same abuses. Indeed Tertullian expressly informs us, that the Church of Corinth required ' its unmarried women to be veiled, equally with the married ; and thus, in liis opinion, avoided the great danger to which a contrary |)ractice exposed those who observed, or professed to observi', religious virginity. Wii now see still more fully how fallacious was the rej)resentation which Mr. Taylor made of the object of this tract of Tertullian. His idea evidently was, that Tertullian was sjjeaking of the peculiar habit which his "nuns" were to wear, by way of distinction, and as a mark of their peculiar class ; whereas there is no evidence whatever that tlie ])ro- fessed virgins were a class ; (although those who ' De yirg. Velanil. 8. Hodie deni(iuf virgint-s situs Corintliii vcluut. i leceivtMl ( as they wi great obj( lliat Ihcrc from otlu their rem: From t we come part of tl pated. 'I his langu tho state which M speak of thcc wh more eas celibacy, of servin ' Ad U. (juarum no occasioiiern enim Deo vivunt, cui tant. Ok (lignatione consequun liaverunt, cU'putantu Lontinenti pisceiilian iuUitiii imi 81 1^ tlio niis- itiiossutl <»i- iversiil, hut tlio Cliiircli st civiliziMl uii empire!. I ^re.it (lif- M regard to I tlio saiiu' l)t it was .so «-', to argue lut virginity Indeed ) Churcli of ;() be veiled, liis opinion, I'ary practice I to observe, ilacions was lade of the 3a evidently the peculiar by way of 'uliar class ; lat the ])ro- those who suiis Corintliii received church alms nmst have been ;«( >, so long as they were in the receipt (»f them;) and Tertidlian's great object was to have all women veiled, in nn/cr flint there tniijlit he no distitietion of professed virgins from other women, except that which was made by their remaiuing unmarried. From the state of feeling in the Church at lar op. we come to Tertulliiin's own views ; although that jtart of the subject has been in some degree antici- pated. There can be no difficulty in conceding that his language and his feeling as to the excellence of the state of virginity is exaggerated. The passage; which Mr. Taylor has (pioted ', hoAvever, does not sj)eak of it in the abstract, lie is only speaking of tlio'=c who, thinking with St. Paul, that holiness is more easily preserved or maintained in a state of celibacy, do really sacrificj inclination to the desire of serving Ciod more perfectly, and of giving that ' Ad Uxorcvi, i. 4. Adhibe sororum nostroruni excmpla, (juarum nomina penes Doniinuni ; quae miUam forma3 vcl aetatis occasionem, praemissis maritis, sanctitati antepomint ; malunt enini Deo nubere. Deo speciosae, Deo sunt pucllae. Cum illo vivunt, cum illo sermocinantur. Ilium diebus et noctibus trac- tant. Orationes suas, vehit dotes, Domino adsignant : ab codem dignationem, velut munera dotalia, quotiescunque desidcrant, consequuntur. Sic aHernum sibi bonum donum Domini occu- paverunt, ac jam in terris non nubendo de familia angelica dt'putantur. Talium exeii lis feminarum ad acmulationem te contiuentiae cxercens, spiritai. afl'ectione carnalem illam concu- piscenliam lunnabis, teinporalia el volatica desidcria I'ovniiL' vel ictalis imujortalium bonoium coiiij)tnsationo dclendo. 8t timo to exercises of devotion which tliey would in the married state be required to devote to worldly care.^. Tliis, it is clear from other passages of this father, was not the case with all the professed virgins, and, therefore, he cannot be supposed to be speaking of them all. It is not abstaining from marriage in the abstract that he so extols, but ab- staining from such motives. And although it is somewhat exaggerated to say of such persons that they " arc reckoned as belonging to the anfjelic household ;'" it is yet an exaggeration not so very violent, as if we supposed with Mr. Taylor that ho was speaking of virginity in the abstract. I doubt if most of us do not regard a young person of devo- tional and pious habits, living not for herself, but for God and his Church, as more akin to heaven than to earth. And I doubt if wc should not regard such an one's marriage as a weakness, and almost as a disappointment. And if such feelings are experi- enced by many, and expressed by them, in this re- fined state of society, — refined by the longer preva- lence of Christian principles ; can it be wonderful that Tcrtullian, who lived in an age when faith had to struggle not only with the flesh within, but with a general grossness of manners without, so that he probably saw but few exami)les of marriage from true Christian afliection, (indeed it is very evident that he had no conception of such a thing ',) should have then no doubt sunie«l bii what >rou its larger IJ one I X It is scarcely conceivable that the early Christians should have regarded this holy state altogether as we do ... . All around Clement from mar us, all our the refinein matrimony, its true idt referring tc 3 religious el marriage ti early Chris \ their separ lived, anc counteract! ^ beauty of those who est means purity ? ' of papers perusal. ' For i, 7.) No est a Don carnis ist tatis, ad ' Dc A cceloruni, propterci 83 [ey would in to worldly affes of this professed posed to be iiiing from tols, but ab- hoiigh it is )ersoiis that the anfjelic not so very ylor that he I doubt son of devo- I'self, but for heaven than I not regard ,nd almost as s arc experi- i, in this re- onger preva- e wonderful len faith had lin, but with ;, so that he arriage from very evident ing ',) should ristians should . . . All around i ; liave them in an extreme degree? His opinions are no doubt exaggerated. Self-denial with him as- sumed l)ut one aspect, and that a sexual one : and what Tvould have been perfectly true of it taken in its larger sense he applies to it in its more restricted one'. He adopts the Gnorjtic notion, reprobated by Clement of Alexandria, of our Lord's abstinence from marriage being an example to us ^. us, all our laws and institutions, all the etiquettes of social life, the refinements and graces of polished company, revolve round matrimony, and are sustained by a recognition of its true idea ; its true idea, I mean, in an earthly point of view, and without referring to its sacramental nature. It is no peculiarity of the religious character cither to assert or to feel the sanctity of the marriage tie : with us the sentiment is spontaneous ; with the early Christians it was in its way matter of faith, and a badge of their separation from other men. The laws under which they lived, and the mass of society around them, instead of aiding, were counteracting influences. How could the essential purity and beauty of the married state be habitually felt and remembered by those who lived under laws which aftbrded to every one the easi- est means of divorce, and in a state of society reeking with im- purity?" — Brilish Magazine, June, 1840. p. 025 The series of papers from which this extract is made will amply repay the perusal. ' For instance, he uses language such as this : (Ad Uxorcm, i, 7.) Nobis continentiaad instrumentum ajtemitatis dcmonstrata est a Domino salutis, ad testimonium fidei, ad commendationem carnis istius txhibend.x* superventuro indumento incorruptibili- tatis, ad sustinendam novissime voluntatem Dei. ^ Dc Motiogavi'ia, 3. Ipso Domino spadonibus aperientc i-egna ccelorum, ut et ipso spadone : ad ([uem spectans et Apostolus, propterea et ipse castralus, continentiam mavult. -XI 84 Not only this, but lie actually enunciates the idea, no where appearing- in the Scripture, nor in the sound Church writers down to this period, of the abstract degradation of sexual intercourse '. This no doubt is at the bottom of all the false notions which have i)revailcd on the subject from his age to the present : but I rei)eat that it now appears for the first time in any Church writer, and it will be seen that it is not again taken up for a considerable time to come. Whether it arose in the Church from the influx of Gnostic feeling I will not pretend to say ; but it is not connected with the Gnostic doctrine, that matter was made by an inferior being : nor do I think that we can say with certainty that the feel- ing is peculiarly Gnostic. Tt appears to me to arise naturally in a person of aspiring mind, whose temp- tations lie peculiarly that way, and who feels him- self unable, by any endeavours he has yet made, to separate the use from tiie abuse ; and who, more- over, judges of all other persons by himself: and I doubt Mhether it is not tacitly felt by the mass of persons whose feelings have not been kept j)ure from childhood, and who, consequently, find earthly passion and guilt ct'crjjwiicrt' intruding, even into lawful indulgence ". ' § 1. Niliil tunc («. c. in heaven) inter nos dedocoris voluptuosi rcsumetur : non enim tain frivola, tarn spiirca Duus suis polli- cetiir. ^ " They (the early Christians) lived in a state of society, to the impurity of which modern JOurope presents no parallel, and If we f affords n( harmony we need i systemati his writin Church, of abstinc with who all persoi which it is ^ quately to passed the Gospel. . . had, speaki much hardc —British 1 • De E. distribnc c( species est nativitate, compacto, superest ir cxinde sex ' Ibid, mnnium e; scentiam primas, id ipsic ex ('( niulierem (|uia care below. ' Ibid. ^i) •ijites till' nor in the od, of the sc •. This se notions liis age to ars for the /ill bo seen arable time ;h from the end to say ; Ic doctrine, ng : nor do lat the feel- me to arise v'hose temp- > feels him- ct made, to who, morc- iself : and I the mass of kept ])ure find earthly , even into oris voluptuosi eus suis polli- of society, to J purullel, and If we find such views as these in a treatise which affords no distinct trace of Montanism, (excei)t its harmony on these points with subsequent treatises,) we need not wonder to find the same thoughts more systematized, and more exaggerated still in those of his writings which M'ere composed after he left the Church. In these he takes sanctification in the sense of abstinence from marriage'; he parallels marriage with whoredom", and he avows his wish to dissuade all persons whatever from marrying''. But in the which it is difficult for us even to imagine, and still more, ade- quately to recollect. In this abyss of pollution many of them passed the prime of their lives before they even heard of the Gospel Even after their reception into the Church they had, speaking generally, to maintain a struggle with uncleanness much harder than need fall to the lot of Christians now-a-days." — British Magazine, May, p. 501. ' De Exhurtalione Castitatis, 1. Sanctificationem in species distribnc complures, ut in aliqua earum deprehendamiir. Prima species est virginitatis anativitate ; secunda virginitatis a secunda nativitate, id est, a lavacro, quae aut in matrimonio purificat ex compacto, aut in viduitate perseverat ex arbitrio ; tertius gradus superost monogamia, quum post matiimonium unum interceptuni cxinde sexui renuntiatur. " Ibid. 9. Qua) res et viris et fen^lnis omnibus adest ad matri- mouium et stuprum ? Commixtio carnis scilicet, cujus conciipi- sccntiani Doininus stupro adaequavit. ' Ergo,' inquis, 'jam et primas, id est, unas nuptias destruis.' Nee immerito ; quoniam et ipsa) ex eo constant, quo et stuprum. Ideo optimum est homini inulierem non atfingere : et ideo virginis principalis sanctitas, ((uia caret stiipri adfinitate. Also De liig. Veland. 10. cited below. ■* Ibid. J!) 86 midst of all tliis, it is very remarkal)le, that when lie comes to speak of merit, he puts absolute celibacy in a lower rank than abstaining from a second marriance'; showing, after all, that it is the seJf-denial exercised that he thinks of most consequence, and that he regards virginity as rather a state of ])rivilege than of merit. It is very evident, therefore, that tiiough his feelings on the subject were radically wrong, he is not to be classed with those who voluntarily extolled the merit of celibacy in the abstract, and apart from the religious motives which ]irompted it, or sui)posed that it M'ould have higher rewards in the world to come. And that the subject cannot have occui)ied a very largo portion of his thoughts may be judged by the circumstance that tlie whole of the tracts I have quoted, one of them containing much extraneous matter, do not amount to more than one part in ' Ibid. 1. Prima, virginitas, felicitatis est ; nun nosse in totun; a quo postca optabis liberari ; sccunda (virgiiiitatis a lavacro) virtutis est ; contemnere ciijus vim optiiii.! noris : reliqua species hactenus niibendi post niatrimoniim '^!te disjunctum, pnutcr virtutis etiam modestioc laus est. Ad Uxorem, I. 8. Gloriosior contincntia quae jus suum sentil ; quae quid viderit novit. Poterit virgo felicior haberi, at vidua laboriosior. In ilia gratia, in ista virtus coronatur. (iua?dam enim sunt divinae liberalitatis, quacdam nostrae operationis : Qiur a Domino indulgentur sua gratia gubernantur ; qua; ab homine captantur studio perpetrantur. De Virginihus Vdand. 10. Non enim et continentia virginitati antistat, sive viduaruni, sive qui ex consensu contumeliam commu- nem yxm recusaverunt ? Nam virginitas gratia constat, continentiii vcro virtute. 1,1'irty of 1 whilst in a grace, a lie agrees and exhil gej\eral ir trace of n the Churc may justl; prevail at hastily tli tliemselvc else groui common 1 from very as many ( was everj sense St. should sufiiicient posing t attachin< Conte his juni( former a ])upil an ordained comparii ])arts of begun t 87 at when lie celibacy in marriage'; al exercised 11(1 that he ege ^haii of tlioiigh his rong, he is filv extolled I apart from or supposed ho world to e occupied a )e judged by racts I have extraneous one part in nossc in totuii! utis a lavacro) reliqua species inctum, pniitcr IS suum scntil ; iberi, at vidua tur. QiKcdani jrationis : Qiut [Ua3 ab homine ;ntia virginitati iicliam conimu- tat, continent ia (hirty of his writings, such as they now romuiii to us : whilst in speaking of the power of celibacy as a gift, a grace, a happiness, springing from divine bounty, he agrees with those who preceded him in the Church, and exhibits no doubt the opinion of Christians in general in his own time. And further, as we find no trace of any other person contemporary with him in the Church expressing his exaggerated opinions, we may justly conclude that up to his time they did not prevail ai all generally ; since we are not to conclude hastily that even those married persons who bound tliemselves to non-intercourse, did so ujion the ])re- cise ground which he has stated ; for nothing is more common than for persons to pursue the same course from very different motives. If they merely thought, as many did in his time, that the end of the world was every day to be ex])ected, and took in a literal sense St. Paul's direction, tliat those who had wives should be as though they had them not, it Mill sufficiently account for their conduct, without sup- jiosing that they had adopted the idea of degradation attaching to matrimonial intercourse. Contemporary with Tertullian, though somewhat liis juniors, arc jNIiimtius Felix and Origen ; the former a layman of the Roman Church, the latter the pupil and successor of Clement of Alexandria, and ordained late in life. We have thus the means of comparing together the state of feeling in various parts of the Church, when Tertullian's writings had begun to 1)0 known ; iind may thus see more dis- •J J*. 88 tinctly wlietlior any such (?xagg*eratO(l vioww as liis wore goiicral. In this light the tract of Mlnutius Felix, although short, is valuable, inasmuch as his style has led critics to sn])posc that he was of African descent ; he has used expressions borrowed from Tertnllian, thus showing that he had read some of his writings ; and he was a member of the Church of Rome, where, by the confluence from all parts of the world, there was for many generations a better opportunity of knowing what was the general feeling in the Church than in any other jdace. jNIinutius is arguing with a friend, who is a heathen, and in proof of the })ower of the Gospel to change liumnn nature, he brings forward the case of the religious celibacy, which, as we have seen, was coniiuon amongst Christians'. He speaks of it in I j)erfectly ralni tone, and ^nerely remarks that those who lived in this state, rather enjoyed it as a privilege than boasted of it as a merit. His language is worthy fff observation on two accounts : both because it shows that the tone of feeling on the sub- ject at Rome, that most im])ortant Clmrch, was perfectly in accordance with the Scriptures, and be- cause it is a clear proof that up to that p(^i'iod it had been attended with no more corruption or abuse than wha*^ ;;Tust taways attend hnmun eltbrts ; for if the ' Outavius, 'H. Casto scniione, torpor, castiurc, plerique iii- violati corporis virpw itate pcrpetua fruuiitur polius (juam glorian- tiir. TaiituiJi abcst incesli cupido, ut iioiiiiuUib r\ibori sit etiaiii |.,ulica coiijuii-tio. vu'gms ai exemplar confident Felix. ] of some ])roves till Rome. ' few {notn the coarsi the instai contrast the powe without g nay, he d We ne must be have bee has been elusion the same with any Every th mind, in ' Tom. 7J/C v/'i'X'lc roTc airijaa Xpriaafjiipo xiv. 2.5. cupoi' eifu ^ovov hrrk fiffOl', TO' 8y virgins and celibates had not been for the most part exemplary, they would not have been apj)ealed to so confidently by an intelligent layman like Minutins Felix. It may perha})s be thought that the mention of some who " blushed even at a chaste union," proves that the views Tertullian advocates had reached Rome. They might perhaps have prevailed with a few {no?imdli) ; but at all events we hear nothing of the coarse comparisons instituted by that Father, and the instances .ire brought forward simply to show the contrast between heathenism and Christianity, and the power of the latter to control natural impulses, without giving any opinion of them in the abstract ; nay, he distinctly calls marriage " a chaste union." We next come to Origen, and of him our notice must be very slight indeed. The chief passage I hfive been able to discover bearing on the subject, has been already exhibited in part, and the con- clusion is here subjoined, together with another of the same cast ' ; but from them we cannot gather with any certainty that he advocated celibacy at all. Every thing he says may apply to perfect purity of mind, in the married equally with the single state : ' Tom. XV. 5. MtydXtf ce Bviafiir to \iopf}iTai tov uno \6yov TiJQ i/'Uj^^e tvvQvyirTfxov, or oh ndi'TtQ. . . . Si^orni. Ae'tJorot Se Tatri Tolc ulrrjaaaiv airo Qtoii r>)>' Xoyitcffv fxa^aipa^', Kcd deoi'TO)^ airj/ Xpr/ffajUtVotc, iV Evrov\y}(r\v dye' to beautify their hair, and piercing their ears ' for ear- rings, and using other artificial means ^ to alter their tea;. ""OS and amend their figures. The hrec points Cyprian takes up are ilress, fre- quenting the public baths, and attending wedding festivities: the former more copiously than the rest. lie r(!j)resents to the virgins that if they so attired themijclves as to show that they desired to attract attention from men, they were doing extremely wrong : that it was contrary to their profession of seeking the kingdom of heaven, to set their hearts on worldly gewgaws ; that it was contrary to their ])rofession, as devoted to Christ, to desire to at- tract the eyes of men ; that to do so, whilst ])ro- fessing celibacy, was a sign of im])urity of mind. He then replies to the wealthier jiortion of them, who thought that elegant dress and ex])ensive orna- ments were pro|)er appendages of their station in ' Oculos circunuUic'to nigrore fucarc nigro piilvcro. ' Genas mendacio ruboris inficere. ' Mutare adulterinis coloribus crinein adhibito fluvo colore Malo praesagio futurorum cajjillos jam tibi flam- meos auspicaris. ■• An vulnera inferri auribus Dcus voluit, quibus innoceiis adhuc infantia et mail secularis ignara crucietur ; ut postca .... pretiosa grana dependant. * Quoiibet lineamenta nativa corrumpente medicaniine Expugnata est mendacio fades, figura corrupta est. ' 'i •-a .J3 1 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 5^ ^ /. /^ *t ^<' /. fe 7/ 1.0 I.I 1.25 1^128 It i^ 12.0 2.5 2.2 1.8 U IIIIII.6 V -•« virgins frequenting the public baths, in which men and women could see each other. To us this ap- pears so utterly and irredeemably gross, that one wonders that the thing should be possible. But supposing such a state of things, there is nothing in Cyprian's mode of treating the subject which can be objected to. This tract is generally supposed to have been written when he was only a presbyter, and certainly in its style savours strongly of the profession of a rhetorician, which he had so long practised. We shall find, for the first time, in an unquestioned Church writer, those excited and artificial notions which have prevailed in various ])arts of the Church to the present day. The merit of the martyrs, we know, acquired for them privileges which we regard as extravagant and subversive of all order and dis- cipline. And why was this, but that their example Vi'as seen to make the strongest impression upon the heathen, and to be a fruitful source of conversion ? And so, no doubt, it was with virginity. The com- pany of virgins for life, a phenomenon produced by Christianity alone, was a powerful and striking argu- ment of its divine origin and transcendent claims. It was felt to be such, and was constantly appealed to as such by Christian writers. Not that they, for the most part, mention the celibates of the female sex alone, but that these were, from the nature of the case, less capable of making u deceitful profes- J,y . 97 siou. They, therefore, came to be regarded as next in honour ' in Cyprian's mind, and probably in those of his contemporaries : nor did he feel it the less from having been a convert from heathenism. He therefore, as one of the most persuasive arguments, to induce them to live worthily of their vocation, magnifies as much as possible the honour and dignity of their condition, if preserved untainted : nor can we doubt that his panegyric is so much the more highly coloured, from the habits of his original profession. With every allowance, however, his language is exaggerated, as may be judged when he calls them " the image of God, corresponding to the Lord's purity ^ the more illustrious portion of Chr.st's flock ;" and tells them, " When ye continue chaste virgins ye are equal to the angels ^ :" and again, " Great gain awaits you, the ample prize of virtue, the highest reward of chastity '." He likewise repeats and adopts the idea of imitating Christ by virginity ; but still no more than by purity, holiness, * Ut apud martyrem non est carnis et seculi cogitatio, tiec parva et levis et delicata congressio ; sic et in vobis, quaruiii ad gloriam merces secunda est, sic et virtus ad tolerantiuin proxima. ' Dei imago respondens ad sanctimoniam Domini, illustrior portio gregis Christi. * Cum castac perseveratis et virgines, angelis Dei estis jcquales. * Magna vos merces numct, pra^niium grande viitutis, muiiusi maximum caslitalis. })8 truth ', &c. It is evident, indeed, from the pas- sage I have last quoted, that he thinks it only one aniongst many excellencies, and not one which com- prised or could supersede all others ; and that, whatever be the excitement of his previous lan- guage, he regards that one virtue as of no avail, unless accompanied by the rest ". The request with which he concludes^ that they would remember him, "when virginity should begin to be honoured in them," has been quoted as though Cyprian countenanced prayers to departed saints. The expression is certainly obscure ; but the most natural meaning seems to be, that when they had reformed their manners, and had thus ceased to bring discredit upon virginity, he on his part should regard their remembrance as valuable, and they on their's could not make him a more fitting recompense for bringing them back into the right path. There is evidently not the slightest foundation here for ad- dressing those wiio had already quitted life. Before I pass on to the next subject, I have a ' Quomodo portavimus imaginem ejus qui de limo est, por- teinus et imaginem ejus qui de coelo est. Hanc imaginem virginitas portat, portat integritas, sanctitas portat et Veritas : portant disciplinae Dei memores, justitiam cum religione tenentes, stabiles in fide, humiles in timore, ad omnem tolerantiam fortes, ad sustinendam injuriam mites, ad faciendam misericordiam faciles, fraterna pace unanimes atque Concordes. ' Quae vos singula observare, diligere, implere dehelis. ' Tantum mementote tunc nostri, cum incipiet in vobis vir- "initas honoiari. 90 remark or two to make. First, it must be very evident, from the high terms in which Cyprian speaks of the virgins as a body, that the faults he pointed out could not have prevailed very extensively, other- wise they would have been a disgrace to the Church, instead of a grace and an ornament. Secondly, the degeneracy of the virgins was not peculiar to them, but was shared by the whole North- A.frican Church, They had enjoyed a long season of prosperity, and it is only ignorance which supposes that in any age of Christianity the sunshine of the world has had any other effect than that of producing relaxation in piety. Accordingly, in the persecution which fol- lowed not long after this tract of Cyprian's was writ- ten, the great body of professed Christians in that part of Africa denied their Lord, by conforming to tiie observances of paganism, to avoid suffering or death. It is a mistake, therefore, to suppose that the profession of celibacy is entirely to blame; although, no doubt, the credit in all cases, and the pecuniary advantage to the poor, which attended it in those days, had some share in producing the mis- chief. If, however, Tertullian's advice had been attended to, — if the rule had been established that every adult female should dress like a married woman, or in any other way the outward distinction of the virgins had been done away with, much of the evil would have been prevented, especially such as we find developed in the next portion of Cyprian's writings in which the subject is taken u[). i) 'A ■■K 100 This is a letter written by him after he became Bishop of Carthage, to Ponipoiiius, a fellow-bishop. The occasion was this, that some of the professed virgins ' in the diocese of which Pomponius was bishop, had been found to be in the habit of sleepiiir with men, and had confessed it to be their practice. One of these men vva:s a deacon. Pomponius imme- diately excommunicated the deacon, and wrote to Cyprian as his primate, for advice what to do with the virgins. It seems that, extraordinary as it may appear, the greater part of them declared themselves to be innocent of any criminal intercourse, and offered to submit to the most rigorous test. It must be owned at once, that the habits of socictv must have been very barbarous and gross in which any of these occurrences could have taken place : but those who are acquainted with the habits of the agricultural classes in some parts of England at the beginning of this century, will not think it imposdble that it may all have happened without any crime. Cyprian shows his feeling of the monstrous nature of the cir- cumstances related, and lecommends to Pomponius various degrees of penance according to the degrees of immodesty. We gain very little additional light from this letter, either as to his own opinions, or those which pre- vailed in the Church at large on the subject in ' Ciua> in statu suo esse, et continentlam firmiler teiicre decre- verinl. 101 liaiul. Tt is fiilly established that tho virgins lu speaks of were those who had in sonic well-known way signified that they had iken upon them the character of pe'^petual virginity : but yet this is so far from being considered as absolutely binding them to persevere under all circumstances, that, whilst he holds out as before the reward of "irginity to those who persevered in modesty and chastity; he dis- ti- ctly recommends niarriage to those who were unable or unwilling to continue in their resolution ^ It is likewise observable that there is none of the excited and rhetorical language which we find in his earlier tract ; although we may perceive that lie ex- presses with great energy his feelings of abhorrence of the conduct of the guilty persons, and of ardent desire for thoir restoration. But there is not that panegyric of the state itself which was so conspicu- ous in the tract. It may, therefore, not unfairly be argued, that experience had rendered him more cautious and less sanguine. It is likewise perfectly clear from his advice, that those who were either unable or unwilling to preserve absolute continency .-4 ■■< (4. tuncre dcca'- ' See above. Other passages are, Si ex fide se Christo dicave- runt ; and, V>gir.em suam sibi dicatam, et sanctitati sua) desti- natam. He likewise alludes to celil ates of the other sex, Qui se castraverunt propter regnum coelo'.um. ' Quod si ex fide se Christo dicaverunt, pudice et caste sine ulla fiibula perseverent; ita fortes et stabiles praemium virginitatis expectant. vSi autem perseverwe nolunt vel non possunt, melius est nubanf, quam in ionem dclictis suit oadant. 1()'2 should marry ', that tlie proft^ssidii of virginity cen the case. If is bio- grapher, Pontius, does indeed mention it as an ex- traordinary circumstance tliat, in the very dawn of his conversion, before he became a Christian, he had, by an unusual grace, begun to disciphne himself by self-denial in the desires of the flesh, under the persuasion that he should thus be better prepared to receive God's truth ', and he may perhaps mean that he bound himself to strict chastity. But nothing more can be gathered from the words with- out the advantage of Mr. Taylor's comment : and there is a subsequent jiassage which appears to imply that he was a married man ". Indeed F'shop Pearson understood it in that sense, and I do not see how without violence it could admit any other. I do not lay any great stress upon the circumstance ; but it is only another instance of the great doubtful- ness, to say the least, of some of Mr. Taylor's most confident asertions. I will merely mention further ••-J- ' Inter fulei sua; prima riulimenta nihil aliud credidit Deo dig- num, quam si continentiam tueref ir : tunc enim posse idoneum fieri pectus, et scnsum ad plenam viri capacitatem pervenire, si concupiscentiam carnis robusto atque integro sanctimonijB vigore calcarct. Quis unquam tanti niiraculi meminit? Nondum secunda nativitas novum hominem splendore toto divinae lucis oculave- rat, et jam vetetes et pristinas tenebras sola lucis paratura vincebat. ' Non ilium penuriu, non dolor fregit : non uxoris suadela deflexit : non proprii corporis dira poena concussit. 104 that tlu'se two tmrts of Cyprinii iiw only about u fbrtioth part of IiIm works. Coutoini)orary with Cyprian were Gregory Timu- Tnaturgus, and Dionysius of Alexandria. Their re- niainn, it is true, are not large ; hut as they have ])otli left some rules of discipline, if *' the excellence of virginity" appeared in every page of the Fathers, and formed the centre notion of the ancient Church system, we might expect some slight notice of them ; but in fact we have nothing. Dionysius indeed advises old persons not to marry again, but to give themselves to devotion ; which many a person would do, whose notions were very far from exalted, and without the slightest reference to the desirableness of marriage, or the contrary, for those in earlier life. And thus we arc carried on to the year 205, in which they both died : that is to say, we have arrived at a distance of time from the foundation of the Church as groat as that which has now elapsed since the first years of Charles the First, without finding the general prevalence in the Church of any unscriptural doctrine on the subject of religious celibacy, or any general abuse arising from the practice. At the same time we find indications of a value generally attached to it, which might easily be pushed to excess ; and language adopted by persons of high reputation, which, if dwelt upon and amplified by kindred minds, might be made very mischievous. ciiAPTKu rv. We have now to jiass over a space of nearly forty years, in which we have no indic.itions of the progress of opinion. In the beginning of the next century (lied Methodius, a bishop of the Eastern Church, wlio has left behind him an exprt»ss Treatise on Religious Celibacy. How far we have his own opinions in it may be doubtful ; for it is in the form of a set of dis- courses by a com]>any of professed virgins, in which different sh.ades of opinion are expressed by the dif- ferent speakers : ])ut perhaps it is on that account more valuable, as expressing in all probability the views of the higher class of minds in the Eastern Church on the subject. T say the higher class of minds, for it contains a refined and philosophical train of thought, which could not be appreciated and would not be read by persons of ordinary capacity and .attainments. There is a perfect harmony between all tlio speakers upon one subject, and that is the gr«'at 11 < 106 ».^ advantage of celibacy, as a means of detaching us from earth, and training ourselves up for heaven. The lady in whose garden the entertainment is given, at which these discourses are supposed to be delivered, addresses them as "the boast of her exultation," and congratulates them upon "cultivating the pure meadows of Christ with unmarried hands '." The first speaker declares that " virginity is a great thing, wonderful and glorious beyond nature; and, if we must speak openly, following the Holy Scrip- tures, the source and flower and firstfruits of immor- tality, and by itself the most excellent and most honourable endowment ^ ;" and that, " if we intend to resemble God and Christ, we shall be zealous in adorning virginity ^" But if we come to inquire further whether it is celibacy in the abstract that she so admires, we shall find her saying that " it is not sufficient that the body should be kept pure, (as it is not seemly that the temple should be more handsome than the image of the divinity that inhabits it,) but that the soul, which inhabits the body, as the image does the temple, should be kept in order, and ' Aretk. 'O »'£a)'t^£C( £y^'7c avj^^t'i fiara /U£ya\o; KuWiirapdipoi, roiic rivr/porowc ^ptfrrou ytwpywffat Xei^wfaQ a»'u/t- Marcella. MeyaAf; r/'t tariv, v7rEp(l>vb)g nai OawjUuoT)} Ka't ti'iu^oc Ij Tlapdeiia' Kut tl x("/ '/>«)'£f>wc etTTEly Eirufiiiiji' r«7c liyinir ypcKJuiiQ, TO oudap d/c dfOdpcrUiQ Kni to ciyOoc kui i'/ UTrap^t) avTi'ir, TO apianii' kui KaWirrTOv imTiiCiEVfia jjot'or Tvy^^iirei. Ka) lifie'ic up<«, ft neWoifxev Kad' ofiuiuaiv 'iffEtrdai G^oD kui XpnTTuii, (piXorifii'oi.itdu T))i' iranheyiai' Tif-KU'. 107 rrOai Qioii koi adorned with righteousness :" and that " it is to be kept in order and cleansed by zealous and unwearied attention to the words of God '." The next speaker is afraid that an impression might have been produced by the former to the dis- paragement of marriage ; she therefore sets herself to counteract that impression. A few quotations will show the train of thought which Methodius thought most correct. " I seem to myself to have clearly discerned from the Scriptures, that the word did not intend, when virginity came, to do away with parentage; for it does not follow that, because the moon is greater than the stars, therefore the light of the other heavenly bodies is done away with^" " The commandment to produce children is confessedly ful- filled up to the present timel" "We must not vilify marriage, but extol and prefer virginity. For * Ow yap fiovov a(j>dopu rd wwjuara Ttj^tladai ^el, iomrep ovCe ToiiQ vaovQ KptiTTOPag dnoipaiyeaOai riZv ayaX^arwr* dWn rdc \fiv\ag dydXfiara riSy auyfidrMv ovaaq OepantveffOai j(pi) Koa^ov- fiiyac Sitcaioffuvri. OtpmrevoiTat Se koI dirotTix)'i')(pvTai rare fidWov, OTTOTE aoKvwc KaTUKovfiv TMv dtiuiv dfiiWwfitvai Xoyioy, /u») a7ro\>;- yiiJtTi Trpii' avTOv i(pn\pa«Tdai !> ftrriv dXrjdec, em aoi^tiit' dipiKi-ovfitvai 6vpag. This speaker is niadc to quote Rev. xiv. 3, as absolutely defining the number of virgins of both sexes. ' TilEOPHltA. — 'Eyio yap t^adeiopaKii'ai [.toi cokw aa(jjwg and roiv ypafMi', (>Ti irapdei'iag E\dovrrr}Q, o Xoyog ovk avelXf ndfT)] riiv TEKvoyoi'iav. Ou ydp i-wEihi} tmv dtTTEpior >/ atXiivr] f(flO>i'' fnvt, Trnpd Tovro roiy iiXXon' dnrfpio)' to (piijg dvaipflrni, ^ To SiaTayfin to ettI TfKvoTroi'lar iiie Church, and the breach of it therefore naturally involved Church cen- sures. Nor, supposing the vow thus publicly made, was the Canon without scriptural foundation ; for St. Paul expressly censures those widows, who, after professhif) widowhood, married, as having " waxed -I •4 •■-■ » '-4 JQ ' Kai'bii/ S'. — "Oaoi TrapQiviavjiirayyEWo^ii'oi, ndtTovm Tt)y InayyiKiav ,tuv Tuiy t ly a jiu) v\ o po v eKnKrjpovTUtrnv' 'lac piv Toi (Tvvtp)(op.ivaQ TTapQivoif, Tiaiv, wf ticiXcjxit:, 'tKwXvaHnev. ' 111 his remarks on the sevcuth canon oi" the Council of Nco- Caesarea. IIG wanton against Christ ;" and wliat more natural tlian to extend the ])rincii)le to virgins? The great error lay in the accejiting p, \ ^irofession. The hitter part of the Canon was, so far as appears, nothing but a provision to avoid scandal. It Mould be absurd to deny that an unmarried man and woman might live together in the same house in ])erfct't j)urity and correctness ; but there can be as little doubt that the eiij'orccment of the vow of celi- bacy, or the imposing a penance upon the breaking of it, must lead to many evasions ; and this was one of them, that those who became personally attached would seek to gratify their partiality, by living together as brother and sister. There is no need of supposing any hypocrisy in this, or any impurity in the majority of cases; but in an im])ure age, impurity would be suspected, and was in some cases likely to take place, and therefore the Canon was made. The real evil lay in the public profession of celibacy. It must be remembered, however, that this was not a canon of the universal Church. These regulations, then, so far as we have yet seen, were not general. In the Council of Nice, which was a council of the whole Church, an attempt was made to introduce a regulation, not indeed restricting the marriage of the clergy, l)ut re- quiring that in future those who were married should live as though unmarried. By what number of persons it was supported does not appear: and as it i)resupposes a i)reviously established law, that those 117 who entered holy (irders iiiinmrried fshoiiM romaiii so, (wliich clearly did not exist,) there may he sonic doubt whether the projiosition made to the council was so extreme as this. We are told, however, by the same authorities that it was opposed by Papliinitius, an Egyptian bishop, hinistdf an example of celibacy in his own person ; but in the true principle maintained by the primitive Church as a body hitherto, opposed to laying u})on others a burden which might prove too great for them to bear. It has been represented by Mr. Taylor, as though he were a solitary opponent ; but this is to forget the fact that the i)roposal was rejected hy the council: and nothing whatever Mas enacted by them on the subject of virgins of the other sex'. It is clear, therefore, that a majority of the members of the council, and by natural conse- quence a majority in the Catholic Church, however much disposed to exalt virginity, had not yet come to make the observance of the vow compulsory upon any one. It appears, however, if the historians were rightly informed, that it was acknowledged by Paph- nutius to be an ancient custom in the Church for those who entered holy orders unmarried to remain so, although no absolute law had been jiassed to that effect : but the canon of the council of Ancyra, cited above, shows that although probabl} very general, it was not universal. The great error of Popery on this subject was not therefore as yet adopted by the ex; ■~4 <4. » See Socr. Hist. Ecc' i. 8. Sozoni. i. 22. IIH (Jliurcli at largo, wI)atov(»r progrcsH it may liavu made in particular localities. And now wo have arrived at another era, the Nicene, which Mr. Taylor makes our grand resting- place after the apostolical age, and which ho charges with all sorts of corruptions ; and what do we find, up to this time, to have been the opinion and practice of the Church on the subject of religious celibacy '( There can bo no doubt that it was recognised by the great body of Christians as in itself preferable to marriage, and more perfect than that state ; and there can be as little doubt that it was on that ac- count regarded as more suitable for clergymen, and that it was by many pressed upon all mIio were willing to receive it. But we do not as yet find any indication that the Church at large had committed itself either to the enforcement of the vow of virgins and widows, or to the requirement of any vow upon the part of clergymen. One canon only of the universal Church bears upon the subject, viz. that which required that bishops, priests, and deacons, or any ecclesiastical officers, should not have any females to live familiarly with them but near relations'. This regulation shows that in point of fad celibacy was common with the ecclesiastical orders ; and the ' Concilium Nicwnum. A. C. ."Vi."). Kavwy y'. — 'A7r>jyof)£U'/ /if yttX?/ avpohoQ, fiifTt ini- K\lipo>, llelvai avvsiirnKToi' tx*"' '"'^V^ «« A") ''P" /"/'"*/'"> V ficiX- (liilf, */ dtiur, >/ ('« /uoi'ri 7r()0(7W7r« ndaar iiTro\lii(ir fiinriffimyf, }) Hi) i I very roasoii given lor it, viz. " to avoid sns]»icion," whilst it shows tlmt tho Church was anxious to avoid the appearance of evil, and that the evils of tho celi- ])ai'y of tho clergy were beginning to be apparent, by its very silence authorizes us in inferring that they were not as yet great or general. Indeed Bishop Dcveridge' informs us that the single case of Leontius, wiio kept with liini a professed virgin of the name of Kustolia, was the eause of tliis canon being made. We see then how unfounded are the charges of Mr. Taylor against the primitive Catludic Church up to this great era. For wo have passed over a space of time as long as that from tho fifteenth year of Queen Elizabeth to this time without any corruption of doctrine on the subject of religious celibacy whicli can be fairly laid to tho charge of tho Catholic Church, and without any (jeneral moral evil produced by the exaggerated value put upon celibacy by the mass of the ])eople, and by some distinguished writers, who, we must grant, do not appear since the time of Clement of Alexandria to have met with any con- tradiction. So tliat the real state of things seems to have been this ; that since the time of Cyprian, ex- aggerated notions of the merit of religious celibacy a])pear to have been gaining ground in many direc- tions ; that the public profession of virginity, unheard of in the earliest age, had been spreading, and was probably become general ; that a very considerable immber of the bishops and clergy, possibly a majority ' In his annotations on tliis canon. '4 120 ji»-< r--. of them, profossod celibacy ; that in .some i)arts of thu Church this vow was enforced by jienanco or degra- dation ; that the improprieties and scandals which TertuUian had foreseen from anything which should operate to enforce celibacy, did in some, perhaps many, Instances appear; and that matters appeared tending to the universal probihition of marriage to the clergy, and the universal enforcement of the vo^v, by whomsoever taken. And if Mr. Taylor had confined himself to such a statement, no contradic- tion vvould have been necessary. Every age of the Church has its actual evils and its evil tendencies : but, thank God, the monstrous charge that, upon nnif point, corruption of doctrine, and consequent corrup- tion of morals, prevailed throughout the primitive Church, down to the Nicene era, cannot be sub- stantiated. THE END OF PART II. |)arts of tlio c or degra- idals wliicli liicli should rie, perhaps rs appeared marriage to of the vow, Taylor had ) contradic- age of the tendencies : it, njjon any lent corrup- 16 primitive not be sub- PART III. CHAPTER I. The plan I have proposed to myself is really to do what Mr. Taylor promised to do, but did not fulfil ; viz. to give persons the power of judging for them- selves by a direct and explicit chain of evidence, as to the doctrine and practice of celibacy in the Pri- mitive Church, and in so doing to rebut whatever part of his charges against the ancient Church may be untrue : for that there should be no truth in them is not to be imagined. No person of character, no person who thought himself candid, (both of which I readily accord to JMr. Taylor,) could have made such statements without any foundation in fact. There are then five principal points to which I have endeavoured to confine mv attention. First, to show that no corruption on this subject, whether of doc- trine or of practice, other than such abuses as any the divinest gift is liable to, can be traced to the sub-apostolical age ; secondly, therefore, to disprove his attack upon the integrity of the rule, " semper 1 ^^ -^ ■^ 'K. ^■ -J- 122 r.; ubiqne ct al) omnibus," as ap])licd for a test of doc- trine or practice ; thirdly, to show, in opposition to his statement, by what decrees corruptions of doc- trine or practice came in ; fourthly to prove, in regard to the post Nicene Church, that the awful charge of apostacy, on the subject of marriage, can- not be substantiated against her ; and lastly to con- sider the practical lessons we may draw from the whole subject. That plan therefore obliges me to carry on my quotation of passages through the next century : and although there will necessarily be some tediousness in the process, and it cannot be made so entertaining as a more discursive style of writing, yet I trust it will be satisfactory to those who simply wish to know the truth of early Church history. And if I confine myself strictly to this branch of the subject, and take no notice of other charges brought by Mr. Taylor against the ancient Church, it is be- cause he himself in the opening of his subject lays the chief stress of his arguments upon this brancli, and because I feel this alone sufficiently ample for the time I am enabled to spare from other duties. Moreover my object is not merely to reply to Mr. Taylor, but to trace the history of religious celibacy; and to derive such lessons from it as may bo useful in the present day. I shall therefore go back a little from the period to which I had arrived, the era of the council of Nice, to mark the language and feeling of a religious layman on the subject; the more especially as wo may se( exactly gym an. the use power c shows i1 he proc( the acti ever, th; his doc " nor le and to c within t idea of i and nun ken \h-p enjoy wi ' Divin esse fraeiK tatis pudi nibus can ris integr vitae felic prajcepit tanquam sitatem. iiicompar fastigium siquis eni (liscipului consiniilii 123 st of cloc- )osition to IS of doc- prove, in the awful riage, can- ly to con- froni the ires me to ;h the next ily be some )e made so of writing, who simply ch history, anch of the ^es brouglit ih, it is be- mbject lays this brancli, y ample for ither duties, eply to Mr. us celibacy ; ay be useful 1 the period ; council of f a religious [jially as wo may sec in the sentiments of a layman much more exactly the prevalent feeling than in those of a cler- gyman. He is giving an account of Christianity for the use of the heathen; and, discoursing on its power of redeeming men from the dominion of lust, shows its effects upon married life ; and from thence he proceeds to show that it should reach not only the actions, but also the thoughts. Foreseeing, how- ever, that his heathen readers would be apt to think his doctrine impracticable, he proceeds to say', " nor let any one think it difficult to curb pleasure, and to confine it, naturally disposed as it is to roam, within the bounds of chastity and modesty : for the idea of even conquering it is held forth to mankind, and numbers have retained the blessed and unbro- ken virginity of the body ; and there arc many who enjoy with the greatest pleasure that heavenly me- ' Divin. Institut. vi. 23. Nee vero aliquis existimet difficile esse fraenos imponere voluptati, camque vagam et errantem casti- tatis pudicitiaeque limitibus includere : cum propositum sit homi- nibus cam vincerc ; ac plurimi bcatam atque incorruptam corpo- ris integritatem retinuerint, multique sint qui hoc ccelesti genere vitaj felicissimc perfriiantur. Quod quidem Deus non ita fieri prajcepit tanquam astringat, (quia generari homines oportet,) sad tanquam sinat ; scit onim quantam his atFectibus imposuerit neces- sitatem. Si quis hoc, inquit, facere potucrit, habebit eximiam incomparabilcmque mcrcedem. Quod continentia; genus quasi fastigium est omniuniquc consummatio virtutum. Ad quam siquis cniti atque cluctari potucrit, hunc servum Dominus, hunc discipubmi Magister agnoscit : hie terram triumphabit : liic erit consimilis Deo, (pii virtutem Dei cepit. I '2 'A 1-24 tliod of living. Which, however, God has not so enjoined to he done, as though he bound us to it, (because it is necessary that the human race should be perpetuated,) but as though he made a privilege of it : for he knows Avhat degree of necessity lie has imposed upon these passions. If any one, he says, has the power of doing this, he will have a distin- guished and incomj)arablc reward. And this kind of continence is as it were the topstone and finishing of all virtues : and if any one by strenuous efforts can reach it, such a servant his IMaster will acknow- ledge, such a disciple his Teacher : he shall triumi)h over earth ; he shall be like unto God, because he has attained the excellency of God." This passage indeed, shows that Lactantius had a very high, and somewhat exaggerated notion of the excellence of virgiiil!^y, but still there is no dis- couragement given to marriage ; whilst he regards pure celibacy as the perfection of bodily purity, he yet cordially allows the modesty and chastity of marriage; and regards the former as a state to which God has not seen fit that all should reach, but oidy those who have the privilege granted them : and he treats it not as a virtue in itself, so much as a special grace and ornament, which when other virtues are practised, may be added to them as a kind of finish- ing. B>om the African Lactantius we return to the Asiatic Eusebius, the famous historian of the Church. lie is valualdc as illustrating the feeling with which 125 las not so 1 us to it, ace slioukl )rivilegc of ity lie has c, he says, ^e a distin- his kind of d finishing lous efforts ill acknow- ill triumph because he ;antius had Dtion of the is no dis- lie regards Y purity, he chastity of ite to which 3h, but only jm : and lie as a special virtues are d of finish- ;urn to the the Church. with which celibacy was honoured in all, and matrimony dis- couraged in the clergy in his time ; for he shows that it was not from any idea of the comparative impurity of the matrimonial connexion, but because it was supposed that the peculiar business of the clergy, viz. the saving of men's souls, was a more important business than building up a family. In fact no sen- sual idea appears to have entered into his thoughts in speaking on the subject. He simply took the facts as they were, and discusses the question, what was the reason of the apparent opposition between the Old Testament and the New upon that subject ? Why were the ancients more intent uj)on per- [)etuating the race than Christians' ? For this he gives three reasons: 1. That there is not the same motive for multiplying the species as formerly, every corner of the world being full : 2. That men have a greater pressure of business and a less facility of procuring sustenance than formerly, and are consequently, if j)arents, more liable to be drawn away from the care of the soul ; and upc i that head he quotes St. Paul in those passages which I have myself cited : 3. That there is a more pressing need of ])ersons disengaged from worldly cares to spread the knowledge of God, since Christ has opened his kingdom to the whole w^orld. His language so en- tirely confirms what I have formerly said upon the ' Dcmonstr. Evang, i. 9. Tt ^j/i"" ot iitv Trtpt yaixovq koi irai- ^oTTottoc TrXeiiTToy elafjyoy /s/w)'rat upovpyiag, tovtokj u Xoyoc Kadv;e (i'log, a single life, which afterwards signified the ascetic discipline ; but he uses it simply to signify a state of celibacy, which he compares with matrimony, and thinks inferior in usefulness. There is no indication of any class making a pro- fession of it. When, therefore, we encounter the ascetics and hermits and monks in the writings of Eusebius and Atlianasius and subsequent writers, ' He shows that we may rencunce it in spirit whilst we retain the use of it to the honour of God and the good of others. Dc Divite servanda, 13-16. He says, § 14. Ok- apa diroppiirTiov -a Kai rovQ tteXoc wipeXovvra ^P'/juwa* KTt'ifiaTU yap Ian KTijrd ovra, nai y^pyi^uTct xp>/(7tyu« ovTii, Koi etc XpTiaiv dyOpwTruy TruptffKtvaa- fiiva vnu tov Qeov. 129 wo must remember tluat religious seclusion did not arise from Christian celibacy, but was the produce of natural religion in a certain class of minds, grafted upon the faith and profession of the Gos|)el. The ascetics and coiuobites already existing in Egypt before the Gospel was brought there, would find something in the Gospel which suited themselves. The Christians who met together daily for devotional exorcises in Jerusalem, who gave up all their goods and had all things in common, would carry the same feelings with them when they were scattered abroad overy where preaching the word. And the devout worshipper of one God in Egypt, w^ould have a mind prepared for the reception of the Gospel, and would not find that he must necessarily change his characteristic habits when he received it. If he was in habitual celibacy, it was rather an accident of the system, than the end of it. lie wished to withdraw his heart from the world, and therefore he would not involve himself in worldly cares. It was not from any aversion to marriage itself, but to its worldly entanglements. Shall we say that he would have done much better to mingle in the world, and set a good example, and exert himself for the benefit of his fellow creatures ? No doubt that, if well per- formed, would have been a more honourable part ; but it was far from being an easy one. lie felt it much easier to retire, and endeavour to save his own soul, by training it to the habits which he thought likely to i)revail in heaven ; to reading and devotion, •4. Q J- 130 uiul ,i»o(lly conversation, and intercourse with God. Neither was he inactive and void of charity. Ho read in order that he might instruct others, either by writing or by teaching under the direction of the bishop, or some more famous hermit. Or he laboured with his hands at some mechanical or laborious employment, and the produce of his industry he bestowed where it was needed. And if a brother required aid, whether for body or soul, or a heathen came in his way whom he thought likely to be a convert, or if from any undefined cause he felt an attachment to any one, he gave himself to promote his eternal good. IVIoreover he was much in prayer. He showed his charity in j)rayer for others ; what he could not do himself, God could do. It iiiight be the vocation of others to be wealthy, and to use wealth aright, — to marry and beget children, and bring them up for Christ, to enter into the arduous duties of the Christian ministry and the government of Churches ; for himself he preferred not to mix with men, lest he should become such as they, but to cultivate continual intercourse with God, and to bring down His Almighty Spirit by prayer to in- fluence the hearts of others. Who shall say that he was wrong ? Who shall say that prayer may not oftentimes do more than the most active exertions? Who shall say that we in this day should not be more mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds of sin, if many of us were less busy, and more prayerful ? Who shall say that wo are not as 13 much ill and seel the busi his vocal To ilh once rea mory, bii Abram fortune i from the vicinity, his mee] veneratic was like' which h; missiona At leng thought piety an no one persuasi( himself But he He did built the was not trustees, tune, c( intendec ^^'hen ] 131 kith God. rity. I To crs, cither ion of the laboured laborious dustry ho a brother a heathen y to be a he felt an promote in })rayer. ; what he It iiiight md to use Idren, and le arduous overnment ot to mix 1 they, but 3d, and to yer to in- lay that he • may not exertions ? Lild not be ^ down of s busy, and are not as much indebted even now to the prayers of the shy and secluded, few as they are, as to the activity ol tlie bustlin<^ and vigorous? Is not each useful in Ills vocation? To illustrate Avhat I have said I will tell a story I once read in Ephrem Syrus. It is indeed from me- mory, but the main features of it arc correct. Father Abram was a hermit, who had given a handsome fortune into the hands of trustees, and had retired from the city of Alexandria into a lonely place in its vicinity, and by his devotional and quiet habits, by his meekness and unfailing charity, had gained the veneration r.nd love of all that knew him. There was likewise a heathen town in its neighbourhood, which had resisted the eflbrts of missionary upon missionary : every one returned baffled and (lisi)irited. At length the bishop and some of the clergy be- thought them of Abram, and hoped that his deep piety and venerable character migh^^^ prevail where no one else had succeeded. He combated their persuasions for some time; but at length ho suffered himself to be ordained, and undertook the mission. But he did not undertake it in the ordinary way. He did not go and preach to them : he went and built them a church, though he knew well that there was not a Christian in the place. He went to his trustees, requested from them the relics of his for- tune, collected materials and workmen, and sui)er- intended the erection of a beautiful little temple. "When it was erected he did not go through the 5 -< •-« -a J- ! 13J strocts and invite the pooplo to conio and lioar Iiiin preach ; he did not invito the bislioj) and nol<;hb()in- ing clergy to coh'l)rato the consecrnfiou of it by an imposing ceremonial ; he went in alone and prnj/ed. He made his church his dwelling, and prayer his occupation. Curiosity was excited. The inhabitants entered, and found him praying for them. They were enraged, and beat him very severely. Still he resumed his ])rayers, and was again beaten. J5ut he was not to be deterred so long as life lasted, whilst his enemies became wearied of t/tcir occupation. One of them began to think that they were cowardly to beat one who did not resist, and ungrateful to injure one who had spent so much and who bore so much for no other perceivable end but their goo/)' iu oV&pwTrotc 5 (tW o linireiwg i!:;rvp Kid Twi' TTurrwr (iatriXevQ Xptorof roaovrov "i(j)(yEV kv rij ireol rnvrift; ( iraor^ctX/^j, wc ^''t TTUi^ia, fxiiwu) r»/c lo^if-ir]^ ^fXiKuir tirijiiiird, 7>/i' inrtp rur tojxoi' innyytWtrfOai irafiOtiun , t 4 4 :) 136 >-. of angels ', and declaring that the members of thr virgins were the peculiar proi)erty of Christ ^ lie relates on his own return to Alexandria, after a long banishment, that the spirit of religion which was well nigh extinct, began to revive ; and as one great proof of it he remarks, " How many of the unmarried, who were previously disposed to marry, remained in celibacy for Christ's sake ! lie ,v many young men seeing others who had embi'aced the solitary life, loved it also ! How many fathers exhorted their children to these steps, and how many parents were advised by their children not to be hindered from disciplining themselves for Christ's sake ! How many wives persuaded their husbands, and how many husbands their wives to give themselves up to prayer, according to the apostle's exhortation \" ' Ad ConsUint'inum ylpologia, 33. 'O tov Qtov Yioc 6 Kvpioc Kai 2wr?)p ///uw*' ^lijffovg Xpicrrog, apOpioirog yevoixEvog Si >/juac, Kal KciTapyi'iffUQ Tvv QavaTOV IXivdepuxrac ti to yivoq yfiCjy dwo rf/c ^ouXf/ac Tijg '/ KufloXtk)) £k(c\jj(T('a' rauroc ^£ "K\X?j)'£c opwirtC) wc fuof ovaat; TOV Aoyov Qavfiai^ovtTi' Trap' ovdei'l yap nXTfdwc tovto rd (Ttfiiov Kui ovpaviov iTTuyyiX^u KaTopdovrni, */ Traprt fioroiQ v/ilr role XpiiTTiavolg. jNIaXtffra y«p kui tovto fxiyn TiK^lipiov tffri, tou Trap yfut> tlrai t))v oi'twc Kal a'XrjOi/ deoaijSitav, 2 OvToi (the Arians, who tormented and wounded them when they prevailed) Tt)v parlay tov UiXarov VEriKt'iKairiv, on fit] fxiav TrXfvpap, a'XX' cifKbOTtp^c tsCffav. To yop /ic'Xj; tmp irapdirwy t'sfupfVwc iSia TOV i)wr>7('oc tort. ^ JJhturia Ar'iarwrum ad Moiiaclios, 25. jNIfyaX?/ yovy i/v But A speaks thing ai ever, o alone ; great b( He t habits i thing lil The fnovi a single or a col] may be lived in i thence 1 and, his Ev^poavi'T) dpETl'lV. tliEiyav TTi TOV novi\f. Ttoaoi he Xptffrw do avBpit>i> In * Expo TOV Qtov vapaftaati 'A^nyu, Toi To ^£ flUQv ii f, h^0V1]V. I by the Athanasii 137 crs of tln' i-ist^. lie fter a long ^vhich was 5 one great unmarried, remained young men )litary life, 3rted their rents were lered from How many how many vos up to lortation ^" Y'loQ 6 Kvpiuc )C h' >//iac, Kai ilfiCov dnu Tti(j 'icTi, Kui sIkuiii ; icaXf'ii' liiodtv wc radv ovauQ WTO t6 (Tturdv voiq »//i«>' TuiQ '/(UOJ' tiJTi, TOV led them when IV, on fxi} fiiav TMV napQii'tJJv ya\j/ yovv »'/»' But Athanasius goes further than this; he even speaks of marriage itself, as Milton does, as a corrupt thing and the first fruits of the fall '. Herein, how- ever, of orthodox writers, he is almost or quite alone; being, as we shall see, contradicted by the great b«dy of fathers and councils. He testifies to the wide prevalence of ascetic habits in his day: but it is doubtful whether any thing like a modern monastery was then to be found. Tlie ^ovoffr/j/otov of his days seems to have been either a single cell, not necessarily connected with any other, or a collection of such cells. The progress of things may be exemplified by the case of Antony. He first lived in a single cell, in or very near Alexandria : from thence he withdrew to a retired spot in the country, and, his reputation rising, he was followed by those Evfpoavi'rf riJii' Xawy kv rate (Tvya.l,tiJi Trapo^vvaPTtov aXKifXovQ c/'c uperi'iv. Ylotrni riLv dya^ioy, irpoTtpoy ovaui npug yafiov iroifioi, tfiiipav irapdeyoi r^ Xpiaro) ; Huffoi rewrepoi, pXinovTiq eripovc, Toy fioyi'ipr} fiioy I'ly/nrqffay ; IToo-ot Trart'pec TrpoiTpnrov reKya ; noaoi ^E Kat irapa riicrioy Ti^iu)di)(Tay fiy) e/jLTro^i^iirBai rj/c £»' Kpt(Tr(p dtTKt'ifTEoJc; Uoaai yvycutcsc tweKrav iiyOpac ; Troorit ^e nnpa. aydpHy ETrtiadtjfrav ffj^oXa^eir n; TrpofTEwxjj) <^c eJitep 6 'ATrrJoroXoc ", ' Exposit'to in Psalm. 1. 7. 'ETret^i) 6 Trpo/jyopoujuevoc (tkottoc Tov Qeov 7\y Tov fjii) ^ta ydfiov yiyEtrdai j/^ctc '>•■"» (pdopag' »/ ^e zapaflatTtq r>jc evroXjjc Toy ytifiov EinifyayEV lik to dyofiriaai tov 'A^Ufi, TovT 'iffTiy ddETriaai Toy ek Oeov hoQivTa avT^ vo^ov To Ze Kai' Ev dfiupTiaiq, k, t. X. (ji]^aiyEi oVt >/ Ewa TrLyTbty {)fiuiy »/ firjTtfp TrpuiTr] EKiaar](iE Tt)y a/uaprt'ar, CimrEp opywaa t}]v ilSoyi'iy. It must be observed, however, that it is doubted, even by the Romanist Dupin, whether this commentary is really Athanasius's. 4. 138 i»-« r t wlio were desirous of being under Iiis guidance. Fearing, however, the effects of so much respect on his own mind, he withdrew secretly into the desert ; but there he was found out ; and as he had built a cell for himself, so those who followed him built each his separate cell near his. Finally, to be entirely alone, he withdrew to an almost inacces- sible mountain. This, no doubt, was the origin of Christian monasteries. The reputation which the Egyptian solitaries gained in the great Arian con- flict caused their example to be followed. Atliana- sius saw it spread to Italy ; and in fifty years more the system had taken a settled form, and was be- come a regular discipline. It seems probable too, but far from certain, from a passage in Athanasius's life of Antony, that there were regular establislmients for the professed virgins, in which they lived toge- ther in society. There is one thing, however, perfectly clear from the panegyrics of Athanasius upon religious celibacy, and from the increasing popularity of asceticism, that the moral conduct of the devotees must have been generally unexceptionable; that father him- self testifies to the scrupulous modesty of the virgins '. Indeed we learn from him that religious celibacy and martyrdom, were the standing miracles of the ' Htstoria Arianorum, 55. Et^dret; yap (the Arians) to affiiov Tuiv iruf/divijjf, /cat to rfje (iKofjg axpo.PToy, kuI vti fiaWop XiOovq joai ^i(pr), y ra rfJQ ula\poppr]fioavvT]i; (pipeiy Cvvnvrai p>/^ora, TuvTOu t^pwrro kut uvt&v Intp^uf.tEvoi, Church with th regular there w them, a mentior children irreversi fathers, proposec there. The* 348, the added ni merely and wid living w ' Ep'ist fjirai TrapO De inca Otupeiro) Kal kv role TTiariv iv note' p. 1 ' Uisto KaTtKOTZrOV Kai TUQ Kf^ ' Epist fii'lKatTi, fj. (TKOTTOVQ ■* Cano} 139 guidance, respect on :ie desert; ad built a him built Uy, to be st inacces- e origin of wliicli the \rian con- . Atliana- years more id was bc- ,ble too, but iiasius's life ablishments lived toge- clear from lus celibacy, asceticism, , mast have father him- the virgins'. 3us celibacy acles of the ians) TO at^ruv . fiaWoy XiOovQ vnvrai p>)/xara, Church in his day, which wrought most powerfully with the heathen'. It is evident likewise from their regular attendance publicly in the churches, that there was no seclusion as yet introduced amongst them, although they veiled themselves ^ From his mention likewise of monks who married and had children, it is evident that the profession was not irreversible ^ ; and from that of bishops who became fathers, that they were not yet bound to the rule proposed in the council of Nice, and negatived there. The first Synod of Carthage, which was held a.d. 348, the yeo of Athanasius's first return from exile, added notl i ^ o the stringency of the celibate. It merely prohibited those who had taken the vow, and widows, from having persons of the other sex living with them *, for the sake of avoiding scandal ' Ep'ist. ad Dracontium, 7. *H ouxt /itya ar]\iiiov Koptjv iroi- ijaai TrapOEVEveiv, Koi rewTtpov iyKpaTEveadai; De incarnatione Verbi Dei, 48. llapira) yap o ftovXofxevoe, Kal d^topEiTO) rije fXEV apiriis to yvwpiiTfia kv raig Xpiarov Trapdivoie Kal kv Tolg auxpnoirvrrjv ayvtvovai vewrkpoiCf riig te d0ava,'"'ac r»/v iriany ky t^ ToaovT(^ tu>v ^apriipbtv avTov x°PV' ^^^ mor*. >ver note' p. 130. ravrag ^e"E\\?jv£c k. t, \. ' Ilisloria Arian. 56. Ta ^£ tuv irapQivwv ayia awfiarn. KaTiKOTTTOv irXrjyoig oi ddeot (the Arians), tlXKUfTe to. aKtnuafjLara (vat rue /C£0a\ac avTwi' kyvfxvovv. ' Ernst, ad Dracont. 9. IloWot ^e ruty kirinrKUTrijjy ov^e yeya- ju//ka(rt, iJ.ova-)(oi t"£ iraTEptq TEKvwy yEyuyaaiv' wairEp Kai £7ri- aKonovQ Traripac TEKywy Kai fioya-)(pve k'^ oXoKXi'ipov yivovc Tvy- J- )(oiTac. * Canon iii. and iv. k2 140 »-< .'111(1 tcinptatioii. These canons nndonbtcdly show tliat there were some who took the vow, who after- wards gave reason to think that tliey did not keep it from tlie heart. The more natural course, as we imagined, would have been to prohibit the takin;^ up a })ublic profession ; but this we have learnt by experience. The feeling of those days wiis, that as the vow was taken to God, it was necessary to keep it ; and therefore to removti all temptation to break it. The next author we shall have recourse to is St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, a contemjjorary still of Athana- sius, but of a very different school. Ilis style is for the most part simple and didactic, with just so mudi of the figurative as to show him an oriental, and with extremely little of exaggeration. His opinions may tliercfore be taken as a fair specimen of the average o]»inion of his age : and there cannot be selected a fairer specimen of his views than tluit to be found in the fourth of his Catechetical Lectures. He first of ail totally condemns those who re- garded the body as the cause of the soul's degrada- tion, and consequently punished it in every May '. " Tell me not, that the body is the cause of sin. — It is not the body which sins of itself, but the soul by means of the body. The body is <^lie instrument, ' Cat, iv. 23. Mf) Xc'ye |uoi to aw^a Trofjct/rtoi' ajjapruK: ilvai To aHo/jin ov)(^ ufxapTiii'ei Ka9' touro, aWu ^lii aw- fiuTOQ i) tpv^ii' ipyaXiiof enri to rrCif-in, i;iu loantp if-iuTiof Knl ', upu ovk c'/c Tbjy ytyan^KOTtoy tyeyriiOtjc; J\h| ycij), oVt xpvfftou ktj/ctu' t'x^tt', ru 4. J- 142 tlioii not born of married persons ? Do not, because thou hast a possession of gold, set at nouglit the silver. But let those who are married be of good cheer, who use marriage lawfully ; who subject their marriage to laws, not making it wanton by unbounded licence; who observe seasons of abstinence, 'that they may give themselves unto prayer;' who with clean raiment bring their bodies also clean to the assemblies of the Church ; wlio have entered into the state of matrimony not for indulgence, but for the sake of issue. And let not those who have been but once married, set at nought them who have involved themselves in a second marriage. Conti- nence is indeed a noble thing and an admirable ; yet we should make allowance for a second marriage, that the weak may not commit fornication." This language was used by Cyril, when appointed to deliver lectures in Lent, to the candidates for baptism. They may therefore be considered as the settled doctrine of the Church of Jerusalem in his thne. We may see that in this particular department apyvpiov aTToloKiiia^t. *A\\' iviXinhEQ 'iaru)aav Kul o'l iv yafio) vofiifjLtoQ ry yd/^^ ')^^pwiAEvoi' ol yafiov 'ivQta^ov, aWd fit) tovtov aEpovTEQ kv Toig avvuh,E(Jiv eIq EKKXrjffiav tci aw- Hara' ol Sid to TEicvoyoyE~iv aW ov Sid to (piXrjSoyElv rji yafxip TrpoffEXrjXvdoTES. Kal ol fxovoyafioi Se tovq Sevtep^ (TVfiirEpiEVE')(dEPras /kj) diroSo- KijxaiiETioffav' KaXoy fiEvydp y lyKpaTEia koI davnamoy' avyyvitXTTuv Se KUi Ti^ SsvTEp^ yfi/ixj) Trpo(TEXOE~iy, lyu fit) nopvEvamaiv ol dadEVE~iQ. 143 of morals, lie does unqucstiona})ly regard celibacy as at the top of the treo ; but not on account of any impurity in marriage, which he takes pains to deny. Another passage will be sufficient to give a full view of his doctrine and feelings ' : " Adored bo the Lord, born of a virgin, and let the virgins understand what is the crown of their own condition. Also let the order of Solitaries understand the renown of chastity ; for we too are allowed the same dignity. For nine months was the Saviour in the womb of the Virgin ; but the Lord was a man for threc-and-thirty years ; so that if a virgin has to boast of those nine months, much more we of those many years. " But run we all by tlie grace of God the race of chastity, young men and maidens, old men and chil- dren ; not going after licentiousness, but praising the name of Christ. Let us not be ignorant of the * Cat. xii. 33. UpoirKvytifTQu) o Ik irapQivov yEvvi^Qtiq Kipjoij. Rett yvwpii^tTbXjav al napBEioi rTji; oiKiiag iroXiTeicus roy arifat'oy. Vvcopi^iroj tt rwy fiopa^uyTujy ru 7ay;.')fiaTO£. 'E»' yaarpi (Atv wapdirov yiyovtv o rnv SwrJ/poc ivveanrivia'ioz 6 ■)(^^)6yoc, ayt)p ^e yiyovtv « Kupiot; rpmKoi'ra cat rpla ittj' wote el (re^yvyeTUi ■KupBiroQ hid tov tyytafiijvia'i'jy ^powv, ttoXu fidWoy //)U£tc hih TO TToXuertc TU)y '^(poyijjy, Ilciirec Se roy r»/c ayytiaQ hpofioy rj5 OfoO x^C""' ^pd/^Mfisy, yeayifTKoi ical TrapQiyoi, irpEffftvTepoi /u£ro vecortpwy, ovk dKoXaatuc l-itTioyTEi; ttW ah'ovi'TEQ to urofia tov \ptaTov, T\I// dyioSiaio^iiv "T/c ay y due to 'Eyhot,oy' dyyeXiKuv yc'ip tOTiy o aTi^avoi: ku\ virep 1. > r 144 glory of chastity ; for its crown is angelic, aniSov))y to ttjXikovtuv kui to(j- ovTOV ffUfJia fioXvviJiiEV' fiiKpd ^tv ydp Ka\ Trpoi,' Apav /y a^aprla, TroXvETi)e Se Koi atun'toc »/ atffj^ui'jj. "AyyeXoi TnpnraTovvTEg tm yfiC tlaiv 01 TTJe ayi'tiag ipyctTai. al irapQivoi fitTtl Mapiug Tt'ic napdivov i^ovai to ^ipoC' 'E^opii^iadut ttuc KaXXwTrKT^oc ko* Tti*' UTTjpoy (iXififia kuX ■ku.q irtpiizaTOQ irtpitnavpfiivoQ, Kui irdaa arvXi) Kni dvfiiufxa ij^iovfig ^eXeacTTiKoy. dvfiiafia ^e Lv iraaiv tdrw »'/ irpoa- tvyr} rf/e Evuiliaq cat // Tdtv uyuQdv irpdi,ni)v, Koi u twv (Tw^arwv iiyiacrfioe' li'a 6 Ik TrnpStVou yEyvrjduQ Kvpiog e'iirri Kat vTrep iifiuiy dyBpaiy te tUv uyvEvorTtov Kai yvvaiKtiy twv avovfjiEvwy, 'Ey- oiKi'iaw ky uvto'iq kui E^TrEpinaTiiaio, Kui kffojxai auTwy Oedg Kai HVToi ttruyTai fxoi Xav<;. 'Hi »y So^u eIq roi/t uldyav Twy iiluiyo)y. AfJit'iy. KUi ftXh liirwg iy r'tXXw Ce 145 One passage more ' ; and 1 quit this Fatlier. " Consider, I pray, of each nation, bishops, |)riests, deacons, solitaries, virgins, and other laity ; and then behold the Great Protector and Disj)enser of their gifts : how throughout the world he gives to one chastity, to another perj)etuai virginity, to another almsgiving, to another voluntary poverty, to another power of repelling hostile spirits." n\ Amen." VTUV Kal TUff- rwy (TuifXdTwy CHAPTER II. There can be but little doubt that from this time forward, for a very considerable time, the doctrine of Cyril was generally held in the Church. I shall therefore, in my further citations not think it neces- sary to mention particularly those who agree with him. But if I meet with any case which shows that the Church was not committed to any false doctrine on the subject, or any instances of persons of eminence who do not appear to have gone to the extent of the general feeling, these I will mention. The next writer then I will adduce is Zeno, * Cat. xvi. 22. BXtTTt fioi l/caVrou tdyovQ fKiaKo-rrovQ, vpcff- jivripovQ, hctKoi'ovQ, juoj'a'^ovrocj nnpOtyovc, Kal Xonrovc XaiKOVQ, Kui ftXiire Toy ptyav UpofTTurr}y Kcii rCJy ^npiafxariov ^dpo^ov, linojg iv Troj'ri rw Kuafu^ tm fxey ayyeiay, rw ^e aenrupdeylay, f'tAXw ce aKTTi^oavyriy, iiXXtp a-rriXaaiy nvEvnuTuiy uvTiKtifiiywy 14G of Verona, who floiirislicd about .'300 ; of wlioin wo have ninety sormons romainiiig. My (»l>joct in (luoting liiin is to show, tluit although ho rccognlzos the virgins and widows, and admires their condition, ho yet equally recognizes the honour of the married state, and that he extols other virtues, patience for in- stance, in the same terms in which he exalts virginity. Thus in his Sermon on Continence he shows that |)o[>ular feeling in his part of the Church was in favour of marriage and against virginity, and ex- ])ressly declares that in recommending the latter, he did not condemn the former'. Again, he classes together the married and the celibates, as having an Cipial share in the joys of the Gosj)el ^ " Exult ye ' Si cui forte aspcruni videtur ac durum, quod fiducialitor loquimur, fratres, rem penc contra naturam ; jam jamquu desi- nat pcrmoveri, intelligcns Christiana; virtutis banc esse maxi- niam gloriam ipsam calcare naturam. Scd quia virtus volup- tates semper ofFuscat, nihilque cuique nisi quod amaverit rectum est, maxime quod uno desiderio omnes cxcolunt populi, dubium non est, quin aut hostis publicus, aut certe judicetur insanus, quisquis nuptias dissuascrit. At ego non pertimescain scrmonis publici qua; de me fabuletur invidia : non enim nuptias con- demno, sed nuptiis mcliora propono : et quidem ipso Apostolo hortante. Sic Paulo, &c. Itaque in statu quo nata est permanens, virgo, gloriare ; sanc- tique pudoris florem nuUi legi subjectam fidei tbesaurum cus- todi. Esto sancta et corpore et spiritu. Amore Christi ignem carnis extingue. * Sernio de spirituali Md'ijicationc domus Dei. Exultate seniores : vos estis lapidibus adamantinis meliorcs. Exultate pucri, sacra) turris dulces et sine pietio niargarita;. Felicia 147 arrod, yo nro bettor tlinn rock a of ml am ant. rAiitl ye cliildrcMi ; sweet and inostiinable jiearls of tlio sacred tower. Exult yo happy marriages ; yo on/^rave gems preferable for adorimunit to your- selves. l*^xult ye widows : by tho exact j)roi)ortion of your virtue ye unite in marria<^o with the ('orner Stone. Exult ye virgins : ye adorn all these honour- able conditions by the beauty of your own bloom. Exult ye rich, &c. Exult ye ])oor, &c." So again he classes together the chastity of mar- ried persons and celibates : for in his sermon on e/idstih/ \ after declaring that it was the cement of society and of all domestic relations, lie goes on thus to apostrophize it. " IIovv admirable art thou, O chastity, who wouldst not be extolled in any other way than by being kept, content with the single ornament of a good conscience. Thou in virgins art hapi)y, in widows powerful, in married persons faith- exultate conjugia : meliores ornatui gemmas sculpitis, qiiam vos cstis. Exultate viduoe : quadratura vestraj virtutis angularis lapidis conjugio cohoeretis. Exultate virgines : oninem istam celebritatem lionoro vestri floris ornatis. Exultate divitco, &c. Exultate pauperes, &c. » De jntd'tcitia. Usee totius humani generis fundamenta con- firmat : liacc nominum proprietates universis afFectibus praestat : lia'C parentum, conjugum, liberorumque sacra jura custodit. Quanta est [Q,. es] miranda pudicitia, quae alitor laudari tc nonvis, quam ut custodiaris, solo bonae conscientice ornamento contenta. Tu in virginibus felix ; in viduis fortis ; in conjugiis fidelis ; in sacerdotibus pura ; in martyribus gloriosa ; in augelis clara; in omnibus vero rcgina." C V 148 fill, in the clergy pure, in martyrs glorious, in the angels bright, and in all a queen." In what stronger terms could the purity and worth of marriage be expressed ? So that we find a con- temporary of Cyril in a distant part of the vineyard, and one like him averse from the strifes of the age, and given to the promotion of practical piety, afford- ing his testimony, that even yet the Church was not as a body corrupt in her doctrine. His language, it is true, m speaking of virginity is strong and rhe- toricd, and so it is in speaking on other subjects. For example, he thus apostrophizes ^>flr^/6'wcc '. "O how could I desire, if possible, to extol thee more. Patience, queen of all things, by my own habits. . . . Thou stande't by virginity, that her bloom may not a';op oft through any blight, through any length of tiiiiC. Thcu art the appointed and faithful haven of pitiabi': widowhood, in the frequent hurricanes of the ever-elirujging i -clemency of the weather. Thou like a skilful charioteer, with gentle rein directest those who submit their untaught necks to the most holy yoke of wedlock, to an equal effort of toil or ' Sermo dc Patientia. O quam vellem te, si possim, rerum omnium regina Patientia, magis moribus concelebrare Tu virginitati praestas, ne flos ejus ullo morbo, ullo tempore deflorescat. Tu variarum semper intempestatum crebris tur- binibus constituta fidissimus miserandos viduitatis es portus, Tu sanctissimo conjugali jugo rudi cervice subeuntes in nisum laboris vel amoris iequalem, retinaculis blandis, quasi quidani peritus auriga componis. mg; ' C07l decor p ratione apud vi habcret, insitam ad cont sanctita minosa jejuniis naturan humiliti citation^ 149 IP, in tlic and worth ind a con- vineyard, f the age, 3ty, afford- h was not mguage, it ;' and rhe- r subjects. ticcK "O thee more, habits. . . . )loom may any length thful haven irricanes of lier. Thou in directest the most of toil or possim, rerum ire ullo tempore n crebris tur- tis es portus, ntcs in nisum quasi quidain love." In what age of the Church shall wo find a juster appreciation of the true dignity, of wedlock ? Thus again Titus of Bostra, in Arabia Petraja, (a. d. 362) expressly declares \ that the practice of celibacy no more goes upon the idea of any impurity in marriage, than that of fasting upon any sin in eat- ing ; but that both are taken up on the selfsame grounds of discipline and humiliation. It is very unfortunate that all the poems ascribed to Damasus of Rome are spurious ; else they might have furnished JNIr. Taylor some delightful specimens of superstition, esi)ecially in the article of prayers to saints, who happen to be virgins and celibates. But even Bellarmine gives them up, and therefore Mr. Taylor will scarcely like to avail himself of thorn. We therefore pass on to the Council of Gangra, which is reckoned by Du])in to have been held about ' Contra Manichceos, ii. Sed quomodo esset in hominibus decor pudicitiae privatae, nisi natura esset quod titillaret, et ratione coerceretur ? Ubi esset apud mulieres virginitas, aut apud viros intractatio nuptiarum, nisi ratio amorem sanctitatis haberet, quce naturaliter certans eos, qui recte cupiditatem insitam reprimunt et domant, victores declararet ? idque non ad contumeliam natura?, sed ad exercitationem tolerantiae et sanctitatis. Sic sane cibis et potionibus delectamur, non cri- minosa voluptate fruentes (naturalis enim haec est) : et tamen jejuniis nos exercemus ; non quod est supra naturam contra nuturaui exercentes, sed tolerantiam ampleetentcs, et Deuni per humilitatem placantes et propitium rcddcntes. Nunquam exer- citationem jejunii suscipcremus, nisi fames esset in corpore. 150 'O this time, although Bisliop Bevcridgo places it thirty or forty years earlier. The canons of this council testify to the existence of a small party in the Church, the Eustathians, who held extreme notions on the subject of virginity. What they were we shall learn by the canons themselves. The first canon condemns those who regard mar- riage as a pollution, and believe that a married person cannot be saved ^ The fourth is against those who say that we must not take the communion from the hands of a married priest ^ The ninth is against those who keep their virginity, not because of its excellence, but because they think marriage to be an abominable thing ^ The tenth is against those celibates who insult married persons*. The fourteenth is against those who forsake their hus- bands, as considering marriage a pollution^ . The ' Koi'. a. Et TiQ Tov yafxov nificpoiTO Koi t}\v KuQtvtovauv fUTii Tov clrcpuQ aurJ/G, ovaav iriariiv /cat tvatftri, fi^tXvnrffoiTO T/ fiifitfioiro, wc "I' fi)i Bvia^ifrfv £/c (iatriXeiai' eitTEXdEly, avudef^ia Earto. This was levelled against the Eustathians, * c. E'i 7/G ^lUKpivoiTO TTE^'i TTpEerfivTEpov yEyafiriKoroc, we ^») ■)(pfjfai XeiTovpy^iffavroQ avrov Trpoff^opac fitraXal^Eh', dyaOEfJin Effru), 3 &. Et Tiq TrapdivEVOl j) lyKpUTEVOlTO, wc a.v ftcEXvTTiov TWV ya^wv a'j'a^wpwj/, Kai fit) Si avru tv KiiXuf Kai iiyiov ri/c Traptlti/ac, araOtfia torw. 4 i, Et rtf rCJy napdEVivovTwv Eui tuv Kvpiov KaTEiraipoiro twv yEyaixt]K()T(i)i', aviiQEfia Etrrio. * t^'. Et rtc yvv)) KarnXiHTrdt'oi rur drSpa kui ur(t\(i)pe'iv eOeXoi, fldEXvTTOfiEVr) TUV ydflOV, UvdOEfiU ifXTU), Twr fjft'a yh'taOai 151 s it thirty is council ty in the le notions were we jgard mar- a married is against ommunion he ninth is ot because narriage to is against t)ns^ The their hus- ion'^ . The ivcovauy ^£r« iro j) fjiifi(ltoiT<), t etrrm. This ihly, dvudefiu rijg TrapOEi'imj, TtiralpoiTU TWV sixteenth is against those children who under pre- tence of piety forsake their parents *. The fathers of this council conclude in the fol- lowing words ' : " We ordain these things, not to exclude those members of the Church of God, who would, according to the advice of Holy Scripture, discipline themselves : but those who use austerity for a pretence to gratify their ambition, mIio despise those who lead an ordinary life, and who introduce innovations contrary to Scripture and the laws of the Church. We admire virginity when it is accom- panied with humility ; we praise self-denial which is joined with purity and prudence; we respect that retirement from worldly business which is made with humility : but we also respect the honourable inter- course of marriage In a word, we wish and desire that those things maybe observed in the Church, ' it'. E< Tiva TtKva yoviiav, fxctXiara ttkttuh', ava-)((opoir) wpo- (j)iiffEi BeoiTElieiac, avddefia 'iaTU). * ToOra Si ypdipo^ev, ovic eKtcoTrrovTet Tovg i\' rtj £KK\7jai(f tov Oeov kutU Tag ypatpag a(7iCE~i(7dni /BovXo^o'ouc, uWo Tovg \afjftd- vovTUQ Tiju vTTodEffiv TJ/C daKijaEuiQ Euj viTEprjipayEiav, Kara tUv ci^EXt'oTtfJoi' l3iovT(t)P ktrmpofiivovQ te Koi napd rdg ypafdg cat Tovg EKt:\r)(na(TTit:ovg Karuvug Kuiriiui' KUi twv cn^oaTokiKdv ■Kapahuatiov iv rj/ tKKXrfm^ yii'taSai tv)(^vniOu> 152 which we have learnt from the Scripture and tlic tradition of the Apostles." This, be it observed, is not the opinion of an indi- vidual, however distinguished or trusted ; nor of a national or provincial Church. It was so generally approved, that nlietj years? later we find these Canons quoted as generally received thu ighout the Cliurch. And it i&' remarkable how sober is its lan- guage Oil the subject we are discussing, and how strongly in its canons it reprobates the erroneous practices and opinions which prevailed more or less at that period. It is further to be remarked, that there were three important councils held in this generation, tliose of Antioch, a.o. 341 ; of Sardica, A.D. 347; and of Laodicea, a.d. 365; in which many important and minute regulations were made affecting both clergy and laity, and yet that not a single canon was made in either of them upon the subject of virgins, solitaries, or the celibacy or mar- riage of the clergy. The first canon of that of Laodicea enjoins a short penance on persons who contracted a second marriage ^ and that is all that in any way relates to the subject : so entirely were tliose matters left to the choice of individuals and ' Kaj'. a . Yifpi tov luv Kara tov tKK\t](Tia(TTiKuv Kavora tovq yaf-n'iaai'TaQ, oXiyov )(^p6yov TrapEXdoi'TOc, Kcti a^oXdnayTac tcuc; £v\tuQ Kal yrjcrrdaig, Kara nvyy vwfiijv anuiicoaOai ai/rolf Djy KOiVbJi'iav. 153 J and tlic of an indi- ; nor of a ) generally find these lo'liout the o is its lan- , and how erroneous I ore or less arked, that eld in this of Sardica, in which were made , that not a m upon the acy or niar- of that of )ersons who t is all that ntirely were viduals and :ov Kavora rove ^otf, /x»/ \adpo- ttXatrairac toIq the regulation of parties on the spot in eacli separate Church! I scarcely know in what better place than this to introduce the compilation commonly called the Apostolical Constitutions. They arc known to be as ancient as this period, foi- they are quoted by Epi- phanius', whom I shall soon have occasion to adduce; and they cannot as a whole have existed nuich above fifty years earlier, because they mention church-offi- cers, such as singers and donr-keepers, which do not appear earlier than this period -. They may there- fore bo taken as a fairer specimen of the general feeling of the period of the Council of Nice than the writings of any intlividual ; and on that ground I am sorry ti'at I c'id not bring them forward at an earlier stage of the discussion. They are known to have been somewhat tampered with ; but the j)as- sages I shall adduce are too primitive in sentiment to have been any ])art of the doubtful matter. They speak of celibacy, as a thing, not of duty, but of choice, depending ui)on the i)ower of the person choosing it ; taken uj) as a vow, and not made the subject of sj)ccial consecration ; not to be lightly profaned ; not intended as a stigma upon marriage, hut to obtain leisure for devotion'': and they declare the second marriage of prol\?ssed widows to be a sin, ' In Hceres. 2i» he quotes Lib. v. c. 14, 17. of tlie Constitu- tions ; in //. 45 a passage towards the commencement ; and in //. 80. lib. i. c. 3. '^ See Hingliam, HI. vi. 1. vii. 1. ' Const. A|)0st. IV. 14. Wtin Cf rTir tntpOfvluc ti'-o\,)i' ovv 1.04 not because there is any thing sinful in a second marriage, but because the person has been guilty of fiilsehood in breaking a promise '. Tliey likewise assert it to be the discipline of the church that no person in hohf orders should marry twice or after ordination ; but they recommend j)er- sons in the inferior orders to marry, if they feel dis- posed to it, to avoid temptation to sin ^ Now when we consider that persons were not ordained deacons till about twenty-five years of age, and consequently that all the previous period was left open for thoso who were disposed to marry; and that those wlio were so disposed were actually recommended so to do, there appears but little community of sentiment f-:j tKu.\io^.itv' Tij C£ rail' jiovXofiucoi' i.t,ov(ri(f roiiro tVtrpETro/tEi', (oq £i)X»'y»'' tKtlj'o fjiey ovv avrolq ■KapaivovvTtQ, /u»/ ^^po•)^(.i^)^oc n iTrayytiXaadui. VIII. 24. liapQivoQ ov \EipoTOvtlTai' Imrayiii' yup Kvpiov o'uK iyofXEV. lVw^»;c yap errn to iiraOXoy, ovk etti ciujioXf] roii ydfiov, aW iirl fy\oXf} r>/c EvacftEiac * III. 1. Ou^ on ('surtpw yctyuw avyi'icpOt], uXX' vri ti)i' tetVD/t iirayyEXiuv oiiK E(pvXaEs. 2. Atyti/i/fO' ^£ fJird tTrayyEXiav Trrifjaio/ior, v'u hd rijy avi- u; t)(0)T£c I'jXOoy etti Ti'iy ^EipoToyiay. 'YiDjpETur it, Kfij \paXr(pcuv(j kui ayayytjaruc K'ca nvXwpovr, kui u'vtuui: itovu- ydf.iovc tiyui KEXEvo/JEy' ei ci npo ydftov ilr uXFipoy iTU()EX(liofjiy, trriTpEKoiiEy avTolg yajiE'iy, I'l ye npix^ touto TTpoaUiaiy e\ovciv, ira fu) uf.iupT(iev- !y fool (lis- S^ow when ;d deacons nse(iuently for those those who iided so to ■ senthnent irpiirofiet', wf f yap Kufjtcu rrl aa/ioXij tov on Ti)p EUVT^i; l) lui r»'/i' (Tvr- ciKdi'oy tiKOjtir I yiifunu K(() y(ipotc ovaiy tri TrXtKEirOdi, ('i,\\' 'Yinjnirar tf, (ti tii/rouc liDi'n- 'jnoy 7ru()iX(.'(iJffii', between tlie current feeling- of the age in wln'cli tliesc sentiments were popular, and that of those who would forbid to marry. And whilst I am u})on this subject, I must correct an error into which I fell on the subject of the council of Eliberis, through trusting too nnich to the judgment of others. I have quoted the thirty- third canon of that council as though it rcijuircd the clergy to abstain from the rites of marriage, whereas it positively forbids them to cease their intercourse with their wives'. The simjde truth is that I trusted to the general candour of Dupin in drawing up that part of the history, and did not get a copy of the canon till I was going to [yress ; wh'^n I did not re- mark that its language was directly in the teeth of Dii pin's statement. We must therefore remember that up to this time there was no restriction put upon the marriage of the clergy in any part of the Church, excepting that they were not allowed to marry after ordination. CHAPTER m. From councils we return back to fathers, of whom we have a whole host contemporaries ; Epijdianius and Ephrem Syrus, Basil and the Gregories of Nazi- anzuni and Nyssa, Ambrose and Jerome ; who have ' Placuit III totum pio/tiberi episcopis, &c. nb.'tlinctc sc a conjugibiis suis ct tion generare fil'ws. I '> 15G 'J I -c all expressed either their own opinions or the practice of their several churches, or both. Epiphanius was bishop of Salaniis in Cyprus. lie was a person of a turl)ulent temper, and connnitted several breaches of discipline ; but that does not do away with the value of his testimony to facts. IJe mentions with approbation ' the various classes of virgins, ascetics or solitaries, married })ersons who abstained from Intercourse, and widows : but he classes with them " holy marriage," which he asserts to bo in great honour, especially that which is not repeated, and is attended with observance of the connnand- ments. lie declares likewise ^ that the clergy were chosen, if possible, from those who had taken the vow of celibacy, or, if not, from the solitaries ; or in default of any such, from those who refrained ' Adv. Iltvrcs, III. ii. 21. Kat Trpwroi' iilv Kpi]Tr\r, ku\, (In; I'mtir, /lafl^jyc (■*' "ir;/ [the Church] // TzupdEiia, iirrKov^ln] re Kul 0v\arro/i£r»; Trapa ttoWoIc i^ol ii'l)niri), "F^TTiiTU ci yj]p<)fT\j\'t] (.itrd rdmjr 7rno"' ('f)(jf)d}TOv avvaT!oaTpo7](:- Tauroif re tiu<: rdUtT!.!' uKuKovOor o aefxiog ydfxoi f.y /.uydXr] rifii}, o ir /loi oyn/im fidXirrrn, um vaptKpvXuKi'i tyrnXjjdrwi' k.t.\> ' Sr£0ai »; Ce ravTiov Trdt'Tioy y fii'iT",!), ujq tiTrtlv, kuI yein'iTpm >/ (tyi'a (tj)W(Tui'»7, Ik fity irafjOiiioy to irXt'itTruy op/fwyutr/;' t\ it uiiK tK irap6£y(i)y, etc fioyui^oyrtjy' ti ce {.n) iity tKayoi e'lg Intjptainr tiTTO fioyai^uyriuy, SK iyK^HiTtvo^iyuyy tCjv iclwy yvvtiiKuiy, i] ^^jptvadyTtjy htto fWvoyu^inQ, i\f.vrepi)yai.iui' ^t ovic tt,i(Tri (^f'Xe^TOai ty (tvrf) e'kj hpuj(Tvyt]y, kcii' re iyKpuTEvoji^roc e'iri vr/ or c'ctt' «[»x»7t) rd^twc iiriaKOTrov Ka\ Trpetjjwreodv kuI uukoyov um vKohaKoi'ov. Tlicre is a similar pai^sage at II. i. 3. 157 from their wives, or from widowers wlio have been only once married. He likewise declares ' it to be a sin for a jierson who has determined celibacy to turn back to marriage ; and the ground he takes is that which I have already adverted to, that St. Paul declares that those jtrofessed widows who married again, incurred condemnation thereby. From J<]j)hrem Syrus, who was so determined a solitary, that he never chose to rise above the order of deacon, and absolutely refused to be a bisho}), wo should naturally look for excited notions upon the sul)ject of celibacy. Accordingly we are not suri)rised to find him exclaim ' : " Blessed are those who ])ractise self-ucnial ; blessed are they who keep their baptism ]iure ; blessed arc they who for- sake this world for the sake of Christ ; blessed are the bodies of virgins ; blessed arc they who have wives as though they had them not." Neither again ' II. i. ('). rin()i'2aJK"tu' Toiv'vv o'l tiyioi Otov airoaroXoi rrj aytiji Oiov £K(>.X»;(T/y, [(jjufia^tToy eiycit to, ^ira ru o(H(toi TrapOeviai', £(t yu^ov rpintaOdi. In support of this assertion he quotes 1 Tim. V. 11 ; and then proceeds, El Toii'vy kui /; fierd nelpay Ki'xT^ov ^tjpevtjufru yvyi), did to rtra'j^Sat ry Otw, f7r£«ra yi'iixaaa Kftifiu t'sti, uOtri'iaaffa D/r Trpuirrjy nintriV ttoitw ye ^ctWoj' >/ Kui uvTi'iy iii'tv Treipag Kuofiov vnaQeiaa irapQivoQ OfjJ, yHfiiiaaaa' TTwc ovy\ yidWov uiiTrj vTrip mpiaffov KarErrrpiiviacrE XpiaTov, Kui T))t> HEii^ora TTiariv I'ldirrjae, Kid i^ei Kpifia wc ata^aXaffOtliru tj/c ictac KUTO. Qeov Trpodiaecor ; ' On Sorrow for Sin, MaKapiot o'l iyKparfvo^Evoi' fxamptoi o't -u /5((V7-trr/Ju hyvhv t^vXaini'TtQ' fiaKdoiai ol £td tuv Xpitrruv aTruTciEdnei'OL rw K('itTf.io) tovtm' i.iuKapia rd cw^ara rwy irapOtiujy' 158 'n .43 is it astoiiisliiii!:^ tliat ho re«^ar(lo(l tlio ascetic virtues, such as *' tears and lamentation, fasting and watching, psahnody and virginity, patience and mercifuhiess," as the fitting qualifications for heaven '. But still it is satisfactory to find that he does not confine self-denial to one only ])oint. For in his treatise on that subject, he treats of the government of the tongue, of the hearing, of the temper, of the thoughts, of meat and drink, and lastly of the sen- sual desires. Nor is his language upon that subject exactly such as wo might have expected. " Self- denial V he says, " in regard to lust and sinful plea- sure, is to master our thoughts, not to succumb to the desires which chance to be awakened in us, not to fall in with reasonings which suggest indulgence, not to take pleasure in the imaginary committing of abomination, not to work the will of the flesh, ' Kal v\)V TtLx^uKiCKtii: tiatXQtiv ottov ovity TrpoerrtfixpuQ ; viruv oi'cei' f^iic inroKii/jiEyoy ; oh o'lKpvu, uli KXavOfxoy, oh yi]«TTi.iat', (ivK uyiwrniav, oh ;^o/\jU'^^/a»', oh TnipOeyiay, o^)(^ hnofioyiiy, ovi; i\Ei]fX()iTvyi]y. OhSiy urro rovrioy ^o) npoTtifX'^iK: iS^t, [i. e. to heaven] ri i^rjrt'ic i tovto to i:aroiicrii()ioy 01 ii ifit Trru'f^ivijayTtij oiKovcriy. avTt} y ftatnXiia tu)v iXttjfxoytoy trrty. avrr) Ij thippoffuyi) Tu>y ireyHijadyTioy iari^'. uvtj] // \n(>d riur fiirnyot}- rravTtiJv Kiu icXavcrdyrwp larl, i:ai ruiy OpT)yt](TdyTii)y tu(; iuvrtjy ai-iapTUKj. a'urt] »'/ (lyaTravtrii; T(Ji>y aypviryovyrajy i^ai yifrrrtV' oyrwy kariy. uutt] ij i^wt) Twy j^»/f)wv Kui opcpayuty iotiv, (Let ol Titiydtrayrtc Kot ^it^liirayTtQ ehcppairoyTai eI<; ra't,' uiCJyuQ. ^ 'Ey/ci;rir£ta tVt kin^vniuQ kuX ti^oyrjQ Troyrjpdr, 70 Kpan'iy r»7<, ulffOi'iatiot;, mi yuj) ffuyraraTrtTrrcu' rnlc av^iflaiyovrruiQ tiriOvfiidic, TO fjit) KUTUTiOttrOui Tint: \oyiafio~iQ li^vrrdStiay hwoftdWovai, to f-ii) iicurtcrOui il'(; tire St) irpdaaioy to ^Iffor, to fxS) noitty to OiXijuh ixdyiov ovaay' ic virtues, wjitcliiii<^', ci fulness," But still r)t confine Tcatise on nt of the r, of the f the sen- lat subject d. " Self- sinful plea- uccunib to in us, not indulgence, iiniitting of the flesh, n^\pag ; ottov oh vi]rTTtiat', viro^urii*', ovK J^£, [i. e. to ■IV. a'vTt] 11 Tuiv [.uraioii- iy Tiu; lavToii' • KlU ri](tTtv- l>v iariv, loci TO K{mTl'lV Tt'lr iig iTTiiiviiUiic, ■oftciWovat, TO tiiiv Tu OiXiiiin 1511 hut to rein in our feelings by the fear of God. For lliu truly continent is he who has the desire of the eternal good things, and fixing the eyes "t" his mind upon them turns away from lust. Ho abhors fleshly intercourse, as nothing but a shadow. He does not rejoice in the countenance of women, nor delight in their figures, nor yield to their graces, nor please liimself with their sweet breath, nor is taken with words of flattery. He does not frequent the com- pany of women, esi)ecialiy of the ungi.arded, nor sjiend his time in their conversation. The truly manly and si'lf-tlenying person, who reserves himself for that infinite bliss, keeps a check ujjou every imagination, and masters every lust, through desire of a better life, and fear of the life to come." This is but a specimen of his sentiments : but, as he writes much to ascetics, and upon subjects connected with their mode of life, which he evidently regards as an anticipation of heaven, we might fill pages with similar extracts. They show at all events that n'lQ (TUpKuc, aXX« j^aXuoiir rip ^xi/^^ rov Oeov rh iraBr], 'O yap i\\i)Ou)<: iyh:p(iTi)i: (.KEti'Of; tarii', <> txioy iTnOvfjiini' twv aQiivhrdJV tKiii'DV uyaOibt', Kdi irpoc aiirh uTEiii^iof T(f rw, TavTr]v uiroarpE- v my wretched course of life, f desired that a guidi' uiight be given me, to introduce mc to ' 'Kyw TToXiiv \^i('ii()r ^^^)O^T^lya\u>m^(: TJj fiiiTdWTtiri, K'at Triiffui' rrxttoy T))t' t^avTOv rtornra h'iKJxwiaaQ n] nurutonuiiii,, »'))' ax"^ 7ri)0(TCiutTi)ii^u)f Tij ui'uXiixpii tCjv naOtinuTioi' r»/c Trufxi Tuv Otuv |lu>^)l !itt(r;/(.' (Tiifiar, iVtiO; ttute, ulffneii il viTiou l^aOtoQ ^uiiu- (True, a?r£/j\£i/'a /iU' irpoc to (hiv[.iu(TTu>' i^juk: rfic uXz/Otmc tou tliityytXiov, KUTt'iiiuy ee. tv ux/x/rrro)' rf/i; mxpiui: tOjv intyjUriov tou (i'lujnii: rovTov tmv k(ir<(|>y()i)/u)(J)'' irnWd T)IV I.Kiiivin' ^lou ^w(/r (iTTUKXuvmir, »/i;x"/";i' loOfn'ui fioi xt«,""ywy«»' tt/joi rin' t'tauyuyiii/ IGt? an ac(jnjiintaiice vvitli the doctrines of religion. And above all things, I was anxious to make an improve- ment in my habits, which had been long perverted by associating with the wicked. Wherefore having perused the Gospel, and having read therein, that the greatest means of perfection would be to sell my property and impart it to the poor brethren, and in short not to be anxious about this life, and not to set my soul's affections upon things here ; T was desirous of finding some brother who had chosen that way of living, in company with whom I might cross the deep tide of this life. And indeed I found many about Alexandria and in the rest of Egypt, and others in Coelosyria and TNIesopotamia, whose temperate mode of life and hardihood under toil I admired, whose perseverance in prayers filled me with amazement ; and how they vanquished sleep, TU)i' ujyf^tdrioi' rJ/G tvmfttiac. Kai npn ye ttui'tu)!' tTrt^tXtc i'/*/ fiui itoodvjrrii' riva rov I'ldovg TroiiitravOai, vroXiiy j^porov Ik r»/c Tr^)uij TOVQ (j)av\ov(: ()i.uXiac ciatTTfUKpii'TO^' Kai roifvy upayi'oiic ri) tvay- yiXioy, khI tiiatrdixEvvi; IksI fX£yiaTT)y it^op^ifv £(c TiXtiiixriv t))^ huKpuait' tCov 'vTru^yJ>:'TMy .:ai T>)t' TrpA" rove iycit'ir rwy dctXfwy Koivwyiayy Kui oXwc to (i(j)poyTitTTiO(j i\ciy tou fiiov rovrou K'ld viro fiijcei-uat; avfnraOeiciQ Trpog -d loSe Ttjy '\pv)(^))y kinaTfn(^>tai)ai, '/^X'V"''' ^vp'~^y Tiya Tu>y (ueX^wi' Tuvrriy tXo^ieyoy riiy <'w6y tgu j-)i()v, lotjTE av-(^ avi.nr£()aiti}Ofiyai ruy ftaOvy tovtov jnav k\ii](T0V iflOl £(pl fitKEy. XiipoiiyT 'Tiortipm oil I dv tniyvfxii- 103 l)cinf^ bowed down by no necessity of nature, keep- iii<»" the bent of their souls always lofty and uneu- slavcd, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, not giving way to the body, nor submitting to bestow any thought upon it, but as though living in bodies not their own, they showed practically how to be sojourners here, nnd how to have their home in heaven. Wherefore admiring and blessing the life of these men, how they show j)ractically that they bear about the death of Jesus in the body, I was desirous as far as I was capable of it, to imitate them. For this end, seeing some in my own country endea- vouring to imitate them, I thought that I had found a help towards my own salvation. And I made out- ward things a declaration of things invisible : for since our inward thoughts and feelings do not ajipea)', I thought humility of dress a sufficient in- dication of humilitv of mind, and the coarse cassock virt'ov (vurt^Ht- Touv tff' oi/rfjutac ^uffti^i/C firay^i/c t^nrciKa^TTTO^tvoi, v\pj]X6v dfi Kdi u^ovXwTov r»jc 4"^X''- ^^ (pp('n'r]fia ^utfTui^ovTec, Iv X(//w Kai uxpi], ey 4'^X^'- ''"' yf/'i'OD/rt, fii) iniaTpKpofitvoi TTfjoc to awfxu fxtjCe K(iTuV.t\(i[tEyui (ivTip Trporrutu\w(Tai ni'a (ppovTiSw a\\\ wc £»' ('(Worrjiy tI} aapK^ ^luyovTEC t()7W t£ttt,uv, tI to 7r((j)0(>w£7«' Tohj wle (v((« -i TO Tro\irEV/.ni 't\tiy iv ovpai(ii. 'I'AtTca 0(ivf.u'i(Tac, Kcit [uui;a- pifTitr Tu)i' urt^^pwi' Tt)y ii'w»)»', oti tpyoi ^^eiKiEvnvcri Ti)y yii^pwiriy tov '|j;(ToD £)' T(f) (Tw/mri -KipKpipoyTEc, j/uj^fYn/i' k(u avroc, i^aO' oeroy i/^vi tipiKToy, ^»j\wr»)c fiiai rwr (ii/pw)' ttctiytay. Tovrov yovy h'EKey, y£a(T((jti£)'oe Tiyug ini rfjc ira-piloi^ ^i/XoCr tu EKti'ywy tVt- )(£/(joD>T«C) ii'o^ifTu Tiyit lidi'iOEUiy EvpijKEidi irpuc Tijy Ef-iavTov moTtfpUiy. Kui inruCEi^iy tVoioi'Y*//!' rwr ucjxtiojy th (tpt'o^EiW etteI (wr luriXu ret tV r^l KpvTCTt^) iKutJTov Ij^ioy, iiyovf.uiv avTupKif itijyvijLUTii til fit rt/f.' TitTTtiyotpporrvytii; to TUTTityoy tov (.ycvfiaroc. 164 -< ^-J ■■•■1 5111(1 girdle became alnindaiitly sufficient to me. And although many endeavoured to detach me from my association with these men, I would not ^wa May, seeing that they preferred enduring hardness to a life of pleasure, and I was emulous of them on account of the surpassing excellence of their insti- tutions." This is his general statement, made many years afterwards: but he did not all at once join any society of this descrijjtion, nor at first attempt to gather a society under him. From the first, he was no doubt deterred by that infirmity of bodily consti- tution, of wliich he complains in after life as having accoinpaiiied him from his earliest years down to old age. He took what had been the original course of Antony, the father of the Solitaries ; he with- drew into a retired spot in Pontus, and commenced hermit. But this was not altogether his choice. His friend Gregory was to liave joined him, and he had been looking out for a jilace of retirement Avhich might suit them both. After waiting in vain for his joining him to proceed thither, (for he excused himself for a while on the particular ground of the illness of his mother, and then on the gene- ral one of duty to his parents,) he set out with- out him, and before he was well settled, he thus ad- dressed him. " I have hoard from my brother Kiu i'lpKCi j-toi TCfwij 7rX?/f)0(/jo()(a)' to tvu^^v /'/.J(ino)' Kcii ii i^oJi'i). Kat TToXXioy uTTayoi'Tiijy fit rijc T^pov uvroiic rrvvifOEUtQ, ovk »'/r£txo)U)jv, ('ipijji' uvr(iv(; rou uTuXavfTTn^iiv jtlov tov K((/jr4j»i(C0J' npoTtfiiUvTUQ' Kin tut T(j 7ra()»;\X((y/Lt£)'«)'' r»/t noXirtiat: OiXoTvnojv ti)(()i' rrpuQ nvruvr. 105 Gregory (of Nyssa) timt you have boon for sonio time wishing to cast in your lot with mo ; and he adds that ^ j have even determined on it : but partly having become slow to believe it from fre- quent disai)])ointments, and partly being distracted with business, I could wait no longer; for I must set out for Pontus, where by the blessing of God, I trust some time to rest from mv roannnos. For I have with difficulty bid adieu to the vain hopes which I had in you, .... and departed to seek my sustenance in Pontus, where God has pointed me out a place exactly suited to my turn of mind, such as we often used, when at leisure, to amuse ourselves in fashioning together in imagination." He then describes ^ a very picturesque and delightful retire- ment, at the foot of a woody hill, shut in by a moun- tain stream, and two d ?e}) dells, abounding in flowers and fruits and fish, free from wild beasts, excepting such as furnished amusement and food to the sports- man, and possessing only one access, of which he himself had the entire command. With this pictnrc he hoped to wile Gregory into joining him. This letter appears to have been followed by tv. of playful banter from Gregory, to which he replicci in another of great interest, which I need not tran- scribe, after the beautiful parai)hraso of it given by o ' Mr. Newman has translated iJasil's own words in liis " Churcli of the Fatliers,'" doin;; that justice to tliem which no one, not gifted with the spirit of I'jttry, can do. 16G rr; -I •— « I Mr. Newman, in his "Church of the Fathers." lie had now found by experience, that although he had quitted the temptations of a city, he could not leave his own heart behind him ' : " for since we carry about us our innate passions and affections, we dwell every where with the same commotions ; so that I have got no benefit from this solitude :" buL still he in- tended to stay, and struggle to attain a quiet mind. Ho felt the disadvantages of celibacy in his own case -. " The man Avho is not yet united in the bonds of wedlock has his peace broken by frantic desires, and impulses difficult to be restrained, and sometimes by love without affection." But on the other hand marriage has its tumultuous crowd of cares, wliicli he enumerate3. He then speaks at some length of the benefit he expected from solitude, as the means of ' 'Eyo * \ ■« byw t'£ a fiii' Ttono avruc tin rtjQ tirj^aridc rnvrijc fVKruc /cm illiipuc ypiKpEw aln-^vroixni. Kart'XiTroi' ^iv yup roc ii> cifrrei ha- TplftuQ, WC ^VpiiitV KUKUlV H ofiolwi' dnpvjitjv iafiiv' CitaTt ovciv fitya rj/c £/5/;/x/ac nTTtjJvaiuda TavTtjc. "A [.uitoi Troult' 'icei, nal iiBev vTrijp^EV >//i7r rwi' i)(^r(t)f tj^£(T0oi Tov Trpof (Tu)Ti]piai' KaQr)yr]aa^i\'nv, rnvTU tariv' ii iiav^l(f tup loiii' tytii' neipaffdai Trpofft'iKei k.t.X. * 'AWct TUP fjitv ninrui rulr reiTjUoTc tuv yuf.wv avveC^vyyiiyiir XvffffwctKj tTridvuictL cat upfxai ^vffKaOeKTOi Kctt tpwrt'c Tipec Cuir- tp(i}T£g inTapuaaovari' tup Ee j'/oj KUTEt\r}fXfiiPOP uftui^vyu) iTEpoi: dupvfioi; (pp(iyTicu)p EK(E)(^Erai' ir ('nrailla zaicojp i7r1Ovf.Hu, yv- paiKtxj (j>vXuKii, u'lKuv t/Tt/itAfta, o'iketwp irpoaTuaiui, '/ [.uXetj] tCjv ()toTrviviJTii)v ■ypo^wc* ir ravraiQ yap kui at Tuiv irpu^iiov vwoOrii^ui svpliTKorTai' teal o'l jjioi rioy fxaicnplui' at'Spuit; aiaypaTTTOi TrapadiCofiivoi, olor eiKuPEij ruEf 'ifi^pvxoi r»7c Kara Qeov TroAtrftar, rw (.111.111 fi an rioi' 'ipyMv irnoi^uiTat. Kal Toifvy, TTEOi ovirep ar tKuaroc ki'^iwr 'iyjivToc tavrov aiadavriTnt, tKEirf irpondiarpifiu))', o\()v utto tivhq koivdv larptiov ru TTp6(T', iraodXafi- ftuvavai, Ei'X'/ *■'' '^■"^'/ '/ f-ru[>yn tf-iirowvaa rov Otov tviuiui' ti] eyiCovfiiioy iv uvtio tI)i> Qevv. Oi'lrw yivuf-uOd riwtj Gtov, llrav fi)) (ppofTiai yififutg to nvi't\E(: t^<: fH't'i^ric h t'iq thaefiettic nffKjjrac, aTrorasa/xti'ouc rw Koafiu) kiu Ttumiis tcuc (nioTii^ruQ ^t£()<- l^itair, ac «\ai'0ut(,' 7rfe(j£a(t^£i o Kvpiog, ih: nai}Tro(j)opiaf ihtXOui' tov Xiiyov ^ii) crvyywpovcraiv. ()J roioDrot r»))' »'£i.()or»jra row ^Ir^aov ty TO) tTw/jLiiTi ■iTtpi(j)tpovtn, Kcd upavTt(: Toy tavTujy aravpov tiroyrai rJ Oty. 'Eyw H iraiToc ?"' rifitjadlfiyjy tov efxavToii j^lov e/ia elyai Til uhKy'i^ara TCtiira, kcu £X^"' "''^P«t """f' if^avrip, vk ehoi Ciha- (TKiWio, T))y l[aKi]cny ravTijy TtpoeXofxiyovc. NDr ^t ey Aiyvirro) jitv uKovo) TutavTi)y tlyai uy^pwy dpiTifv' kiu Tdx<^ riytc kui im ri/f ir(i\at(Tr/»'>;c rt)y Kcirii tu tvayyiXtoy TToXtTEiay KUTopOovaiy' hkovm '«' tV) -»)<; fittrifv Tioy Trornftwr reXii(W(j Kul fiuKuplmK: M 170 4-, found in E^ypt ; and perhaps sonic also in Palestine have set iij) this evangelical association ; and I hear that there are also some of these perfect and blessed men in Meso})otanriia. For myself, I am but a child, in comparison with the ])erfect. And if there are women who ii.we chosen to live according to the Gospel, ] '^fer celibacy to marriage, who subdue the bent v the desh, and live in a blessed mortifica- tion, blessed are tiiey for their choice, in whatever quarter of the world they live. But with me there is but little of this : T am but learning the elements and introduction to religion. If, indeed, they cause anything unseemly in the conduct of women, I do not undertake to excuse them : but this I protest to you, that the very things which Satan, the father oi" lies, has never undertaken to say, hearts void of fear .ind mouths unbridled always utter without scruple. But I wish you to know that I desire to have com- lii'SpaQ, 'Ilyntlc ^£ Tiau^ec ia^ev, Trpoc y£ riiv tu>v rtXtiMv avy- Kpimv. El ^£ Koi -"/lalKec, evayyiXii^uiQ i^jjy TrpoeXonciai, napOe- riuv yu£i' ydfiov TTpoTi^Hxrai, SovXaytoyovaai ^e to (ppoytjua r»/i; (TUpKoc, Kai ir TTfi'Qti l^wtrai rt^ unKapi^ojiiyu, fxaKapiai r»yc Tpo- aipiatwr, VTTOV di> wirt rfje yfjc. Uapa ^e i)^iL\' f-UKpa ruvra, (TTOi')(^tiovfiipioy 'in, Kal tiaayo^iivbtv irpuQ Ttjf thircfieiay. El tt Tit'O. aKoan'iav rif (iit^ rioi' yvraiKutv iirKpipovmi', aTToXoytlffQai fitv vntp avTwv oh Kuraciyj)^irn' iKtlvo Be. vfiip Biai.iapTopoiJ.ai, on d fiiXP'^ '*''' " (TUTuydc o TTUTrip Tov ypiiidovQ tliTEly ov KareBiliaru, Tdvra at oKpoJMi KapBiai Kal tu aj^aX/i'wra OTO/jLaTa del (pdtyy tTui doeCJc. TirwiTKeii' Be i/^ctc fiovKofiai oti tifit'lg iv»j(o/t£0a Kal dyBpuiy fcdt ywi'fiiKtij)' avuTii^aTU tx^ir, w»' to iroXhiv^d iariy tv ovpayolc^ T(Sv Tt)y (T('ipKa nrftvpiOfrdyrMy avv toIq 7raO///Lto(Tt Kai 70(c iniOv- panies heavei lusts, ' uj)on to pra not of who c they m then d fore dn dividing alternat Scriptu single J finally a each m case: ai Lybia, PhoenicI wherev« psalmoc] This to consi whom the asce Ulaic/ oil oiraroL oyf rnlg Bo'itrl ^dWovaif \fp \Fp(Tii; 'I'ya i\toaiy fura^i^oiai role •)(p(iai' 'E\nv(Ti. 17'J t >-* I ►-a 4, -4- As lie found tlioni, not bound by any vo\v of colibacv, and free to quit the society Avhencver they chose ; ji society in Avhich they niinht learn subordination and self-discipline, nii«^ht accustom themselves to u'vtwv T>)y (Tvi'it(j)tniy. 'I'outh I7:i ciso motive lor this rtyilation was \v(> arc not iii- tbnnod, tiirtlii'r tlian that it was to avoid i\\v sneers of the horetit's against the laxity of discipline in the (yhurch. It was, liowever, evidently nothing more than a rule of discipline, to meet a peculiar irrogu- iaritv. Hut still we niav think that such a rule was an evil ; and though the ill eflects of it might not bo immediately visible, time was sure to bring them out. lint still this was only /us rule, it was not as yet that of the universal Church. lie likewise introduced the custom of binding monks by an ex])licit vow, which had not prevailed previously'. So that com- pulsory celil)a('y made great strides wherever he had influence. This was not, however, forbidding to marry in general : he ex})rcssly recognizes the right of a widow who had taken no vow to marry again. I fe only reasoned from St. Paul's language in regard to the Church widows, that when a vow was once made to God, the infraction of it was to be restrained by the Church ; and admitting the propriety of yn(> Kill rij tVkXrjffi^ npixj ua(pA\tiaf XvaiTtXec, Ktu to'ii; aipETiKoli: lib tw(T£( KuO' lii-tioy \uft>)y, d*c tt« ti)i' tov njjiniTui'tiy iictiuv iiri- mrM^irwv ttjioc tavruvQ. ' Kai'. tt/. 'Ai'^fjwj' ^£ i^oXoyUn' uvk 'iyvu^tv, Tr\t)i' £i fiti riftr iiiVToiic T^> Tciyfiari Tuiy fiovaiivyTU)v lyKaTij^idfiijerav, o'l karri to (JuoTTijfiei'oy ^oKovat 7rapa^£X£(T0ai Tt)v ayn^iui'. YlXtif «ti iw' Utiviiiv ht'ii'O iiyovfxai TrpotiytitrOai TrpoffZ/zctO', tpioTdaOai avroug k(u Xfi^j/vui'iffOai Ti)y nup nvriuu o^oXoyiay eyufiyfi, {oart. ittticiiv litTaridEVTui npoc to (piXoanpKoi' xai ijcopikou ftiov, vivuytiv nvTOvv rw roil' TToin'tvoi'TWV tTriTifiiif)- 174 •^1 making the vow publicly, tlic conclusion can Hcarcoly bo contravened. Besides these indications of St. Basil's opinion, it is but natural to have recourse to his treatise on virginity, which wo should of course do without hesitation, (as it is well-known that ho wrote such a treatise, and this which we have agrees in all main points with the description of it given by St. Gregory, of Nazianzuni,) were it not for passages ' in it which appear to speak of matrimonial intercourse as a sort of pollution. Now it is well-known that this opinion was condemned in the Eustathians by the Synod of Gangra; and that Basil was very much opposed to this sect : so that it is im])robable that he would have held opinions in connnon with them. Still there is nothing impossible in his having in this point differed from the Church of his day, and symbolized with the adverse i>arty ; as we know that he had adopted a rule of ascetic discipline from them, and that he patronized the monks, although accused of favouring the Arian heresy. Or if this be not thought likely, he may have used the term Oopa in a modi- fied sense, as implying not absolute but relative im- ' 'O tSjv ffwuuTwi' viifiipiog rifv iKpOupo}' TrapOtroy rij rv^i purity; because carnal intercourse is the necessary cliannel by which original sin is j)r<)))ugate(l ; and therefore, although not sinful in itself, cannot be dis- connected from pollution, in a more especial sense than other human actions. There is, moreover, a strict resemblance between the language he holds in his canons, on the subject of the marriage of pro- fessed virgins, and that which is used in this treatise: so that there appears considerable ground for think- ing that the greater portion of it was written by him : and as the more extravaiiant laiiffuaije all occurs in the latter part, it may be supposed not to have been a part of the original treatise. Taking this, there- fore, for granted, there are some j)arts of this treatise which are especially worthy of attention. For instance, he takes es])ecial care to say that when he magnifies and exalts virginity, he does not mean merely strict bodily purity, which, bo it as strict as it may, he regards as merely the hanchnaid of the true divine virginity of the soul. The passage is so indicative of his sentiments that I will tran- scribe it '. " Beyond doubt virginity is a great thing, render- ing man (to say all in one word) like to the incor- ruptible (jod. But it does not pass from the body to the soul, bu being especially the property of the ' Mf'yct fitf yap, wt ''t\>;6wc, irafiOEVta, rw ui^jU/\<«/y tiTTtiv, i^ofiowiiiTu Tvy upOptoTTOv. OvK airo ffwf^uircjy ^t lifHt ETTi ^^v^iuj avrr] lihvtt, aWa »/'i'X»7c '"'/C OTw/iarou ovaa f'^n/pc- '(><:, Tt] TUVT)\<: OtoipiXtl napdii'itf ciijidofm (jwKuTTet rii (TuifiUTU, 13 17() i'4 '■<:. i'^.. •^ !!!yul when separate from the body, it i)reserves the body incorrupt by its own divinely loved virginity. For the soul, having the conception of that which is really excellent, aiming only to serve the incorrupti- ble God as he ought to be served, makes use of the bodily virginity as a handmaid, to attend upon that which is excellent in itself. And since it is desirous of always having its undistracted aid in the contem- plation of God, it repels from it as far as possible the pleasures of the body which keep up a tumult within it, using self-denial in carnal pleasures as a handmaid to bodily virginity, and that again to abso- lute virginity ; so that by preserving its virginity free from the taint of every disturbing thought, it may attain an established resemblance to the incorrujitible God, whilst he sheds the bright beams of his graces upon it, as from a spotless mirror, to its own advance- ment and praise." It will be seen fiom this extract, that ascetic Tou yap oiTWc k«XoD »'/ \pv)(^t) (pai'TatrUtP Xaj^ovtra roi' HipdupToy Qtuy dei)ainve(rdai ^ovwg Trpoc «^/«i' udpovtra, rijf tov awfiamc Trapdeviay OEpuiraivai' tig Ti)y tov khO' tavTijy Ki'iWovi depmrdav enayiTai. Kat Trupe^pov aoj(\»/rwc Tpoc T))y tov Otov (JEwplav Tavrj]v tx*"' "^' fiovXo^ivr}, raq ivoyXovaag uvrij tov orwyiKirot,' »/^o»'ac wf iroppuiTUTio iXuvyii, T))t' fxey TQy iitto yatTTipa ilcovHtv lyKpuTEiai' ti)q rTU)fiaTiKi]Q TrapdEviuQ depHiraii'ui', u'vt))i' ct TuvTrji' Tijg KCtQ' EavTt)i' TCoiovfXEVi] na Ti)y LuvTiji' irup- dsriay litjjOopoy hiraaric juo^^^Oripug tyroiuQ (pvXti^ufra, Tt)v npog Toy n(j)OapToy Qeoy E^oiJoUoariy, uiawEp iy aKr]XiOijjT(u KUTowTpip Xotiroy, iivTvv tik: nitp" fUVTov avTJi Ey all their efforts; and their view would thus become limited to the cor|)oreal celibacy. 178 1-3 (.4, and that which was only intended to be a means to an end would become their end. Or again, the self- denial they had to practise to conquer the animal desires would so weaken all their powers, that they would be unequal to those devotional exercises, which were to be their highest and most chosen employment: and the mind thus weakened, would be open to Satan's assaults, and become liable to be a prey to spiritual vices. These dangers Basil saw : but he was not willing to allow any relaxation of the resolution. To turn back was with him a sjjiritual adultery : weakness was sin. At least that was his view at that period of his life, when his Canons were drawn up. But there is a passage in his treatise on virginity, in which he appears to recommend marriage to those who did not choose celibacy for religious ends. His w< i'.^ are : — ' " If whilst she rejects the yoke of a husband, she is to be useless for the life for which she was created, for the government of the house and the production of offspring, and likewise a discredit to the virgin state which she has vowed, it is all loss, whilst she cor- ' Ei fjiiXXoi, rov irpoQ di'^pa i^vyuy a7rof)j')l\pa(Tu, a)(pi]aTO(; Ka'i Tifi ftiip vrpoc ()V fit" o'lKovfuai' Kai TtKvoyoviav lir\uai)t], koI rij tTrayytWnnevri trapQtviq. trrlxLoyoc yiveffdui, to liXov ^»;/(('a, kcu T))i' i//U)(»/»' cnrcu^EVTOig iyi>oiaiQ Kal to aiufia aitToiQ aKi^iTiifxaai (pOeiiiovuct, IloWaJi ai()eTtjJTef)Oi' ui'C^u avi'aipdeTaay tovtij) ^(wg roy ftioy iiri.o\i'i(7tiai' to Tf ■)(^i)eiwhc t'f lioiideiiiy Kara Toy oJKoy cijitoi- /3//»' rJ/f 7rf)«(77a;\oru7ri'atc, wc oioy Tt, t^ Giji jrupdtytvuvauy. ought tllC n 179 rupts her soul with uulridled thoughts, and her body with unrestrained wantonings. Much more prefer- able would it be to be united to a husband and to have him to guide her conduct, and both to re- compense him for his oversight of her, by making lierself a useful aid in his house, and bring up his children, so that they may take care of him in his age and keep up his family; and so through her husband's jealous care in one way at least be a virgin to God." Now all this is so strangely different in sentiment from what we have seen in other passages, that it is very difficult to reconcile them : so that as I have hinted, many persons have been led to think that the more extreme vieMS were introduced into the treatise by copyists. The very circumstance of speaking of the employments of a married woman with respect, and as a divine appointment, and the very end of creation, and of purity in that state, as being one method of consecration to God, is so con- tradictory to the idea of matrimonial intercourse being a pollution : a.d especially the recommending a jirofesscd virgin to marry, is so contrary to the energetic remonstrances made against such a step in other parts of the treatise, that it is inconceivable that the same feelings should have existed in the same mind at the same time. When he conies to speak of marriage again, as it ought to be entered upon, in .sup|)ort of his idea that the marriage of a professe«l virgin who has fallen 180 r-T, ■•i < ■■< into sill, is nothing' better than licensed impurity, he expresses in substance the feeling of every Chris- tian mind u])on the subject. " For this is lawful ' and scriptural matrimony, not when pleasure has been indulged in before the law has been complied with, but when due consideration, having for its aim the aid each party is to render to the other, and the Iceejiing up of the family, brings about an union really honourable ; when the relatives pre-arrange the marriage upon due consideration, and the holy foundation has been laid in the Lord according to the laws, and lawful indulgence is found to follow as a necessary consequence of marriage, making of twain one flesh." Making allowance for dilferenco of usages, and for the circumstance that women in those days did not mix in promiscuous society, and that young persons had no recognized way of form- ing matrimonial connexions, except through their relatives, there is nothinp: iu this passage to object to ; on the contrary it shcivi •. ;■ pure and refined view of marriage. But it is very clear that love in the Christian sense before marriage, was almost totally ' Tore yap vu^ijioq Koi Kara tcIq Oeiac ypa0ac (Twiararui yd- fiotj, i')Tuv fiii TTuOog //coj'j/t' TrpokoraXa'/^jj roii t'Ofiov ti)p ■)(^piiai; Xo- •ytffjuor Tov TE e\(^ /v(j//(J£i i»' avayKaUtv (cat r»;(; tHjv naictjy ciuCoj^ijij Tov yaj-iov npoirOHQ tup (tkottuv, rlfiiot' optm^ fxvr]aTtvti. riv ydfjiov' (jTt Tuii' uvayKaiojp tov yafxuv 7rp()£i\i](j)UTti)y tm Xoyiff/iJ, ku\ *>'/)»/- rTt'of ayiac tr Kvpiu) icard I'ofxovi; TtOeicriic, iTTUKoXovOtifia tov Ktird Tuv yufiuy ui'dyKaiav li f\ r»/': /.a'i;f.wr iicufi), fduv mtpKU rovr I vv TToiuvaa f'uplctTUi, XoTfpOlt KllWii, ■t-^v 181 in purity, ry Chris- lawful • sure has complied )r its aim ', and the an union e-arrange the holy lording to to follow [nakhig of dilfereUL'tj women in )cietv, aii■/)»/- l\()v()t)fltl Till) uv (T«(p»>. Tvy)^uiov(Ta Il/\))i' uAXZ/Aatr (Tvv^t(Ti.ie~i(TO£ k(u TTttpOtioi Kfii yv)(UKn:, K(u tr Itrri If Ki/p/w KUi aXAZ/Awi' KtiWio- Tria/in, (>ii*> (I)' »)i' uyiifiov, ti /(// yc'i/tor. 182 But, yc virgins aiitl wives, be united to cacli other, jind be one in the Lord, and an ornament to each other. For there could not be the unmarried, if there were no marriage." This shows a different estimate of things from what we have seen in many oiliers. He even implies that there were those who doubted whether marriage were not the highest Stat?: but he shows that his own feeling was that each was good in its way, and both acceptable to God. Thus again in his thirty-second Oration ', he classes together as equally pure, a chaste married woman and a consecrated virgin. Again in another discourse, arguing with some one who was disposed to baptism, but from some misunderstanding of the Christian vow of renouncing tlie flesh, dreaded to take it uj>on him, lest he slu^nld wish to marry after- wards, ho assures him' that ho need have no mis- givings oil that hcore, for that marriage was pure, else Chiist would not have wrought a miracle at u wedding, and honoured it with his presence. This no doubt indicates the presence of much false feeling on the subject; but it is likewise, we may safely ' § 43 TvvaiKwt' otTov viru l^vyttv Oejj jjuWop f/ anfiKi (tv)ce- ie/nvoi', tJ/T v ct^uyoi' Kot iXevdtpor Qtu tu irur t^aOufno^iyoi'. * Urat. Xi, O'vTTW (rupKi ffvr£^e»'\W»jr ; /u) (puihjOfn; Tijv rtXti- vtmi', haOi'i'.'oc £t '''"' fit~ii tvv ynfj.ov. 'F.f^wr !> Kiicvrov' tyui TiivTfv avra^ij-ioff-i'ii:' iyw rviJi(l)0(T-ti\ur. Oh yiip iirti »'/ iraoOtria Tifxiwrlpa, Iv Tolc urifxinQ i ya^or. Mii.tlitToi.iai XfHirrui', ror tcaOo^Hiv I'vfiipayioyoi' Kdl iv^tjHoy, of Kal ()(iv^aTvv()yt'i yufHf (>ai rt/i^ avi^vyiay rtj Trufwvai^, 18:3 eonclmle, a proof that all were not led away ('qually, and that, in the East at least, the tide was l)c<>in- ing to turn. The same spirit is shoMii again in his 193rd Epistle, to his intended son-in-law Diodes, at whose marriage he jmrposed to be present ; and in liis 56th Ode, which is addressed to a young married lady on her conduct in that condition. His friend Basil would not have married himself, nor would he hav(» willingly sanctioned the marriage of a daughter, if we may judge from the general tenor of his writings. But one of the most beautiful of the compositions of Gregory of Nazianzum, is his Eulogium on his sister Gorgonia. She was married, and he thus describes her excellence in that state ' : " She so much excelled in modesty, and so much surjiassed all those about her who had the highest character for modesty, that she avoided the disadvantages to which the two conditions are liable, between which the life of all is distributed, I mean marriage and celibacy, and chose out and brought into one the excellencies of both : and since the one is loftier and more divine, but at the same time more difficult and perilous, and the other more humble and safer, she adopted the ' Oral, xi. }ib)(j)poaui't] ^ir ye roaovror CD'tnyKey, koi TOffovrov vireprjpE}' rac kut avriji' airuffaQ, (Zv 6 ttoXvq tnl (Twcjipoauv)} Xoyoc, ware eic dvo raiira Ci7]pi]fiit'OV Trtiffi rov ftiov, yri/ior Xiyto kuI uya- l^iuv, Kni rj/c A'**' ovarrft: 'v\pi]><)TipaQ te kuI Oeiurina^, tniTrovEa-i- finc (E Ktu fTioTfpui:, rov Ce TcnrEirioTEpov te k(u a(T0a\£OT£()«u, (t/((y)orq)wi' (jivyoiKTU tu utiCr.c, Imov KdWidTui' EfTTii' ir dfultoTtpou: kXEkatrOai, KUt eif tr uyayElv, Ti'ii; /itV ro viPotj, tuv tt -//c (t(T(/j(t- 184 • >-j loftiness of tlio one and the senn'ity of tlie otlier, and become modest withont ])ride, minglin^^ with marriaixe the honour of celibacy: and showin": that neither of these so absolutely binds either to Cod or to the Morld, or on the other liand se])arates from them, as that the one is in its own nature to be avoided by every one, and the other to be mag- nified in the abstract ; but that it is reason which rightly presides over both w'edlock and virginity, and that they, like some material, are arranged and fashioned to excellence by the artist reason. For it did not follow that because she was united to the flesh, therefore slie was se])arated from the spirit; or because she had a husband for her head, therefore she knew not the first Head : but having for a while sacrificed to the world and to nature, and to such an extent as the law of the flesh recpiired, or rather he who gave laws to the flesh, she consecrated her- self entirely to God. And, what is most honourable Xeiav, Kat yeyiaOai (Tw^pwr drvcjwc, rw ynf'M tTjij uyceyuatc ^viXoi' KEtnitTdtra' Kui ciii,aa(t I'lri /tvi:Toi' i^(iT(i rill' Iciity (jiiifTir, to a rtXtior ETraivtTui' uWa ivvc litiv (> k<(i ydfio) Ktn irutjOtiii^t K'aXair iniaraTLor, kih u)a\>it' t(T)^£ Toy iiycpa, cia tovto T))yTTnioriiy ue(l>u\i)y tiyvoijm' aW oXiyu XiiTovnyiiffUfTd /v'oiryuw Kui (jivrni, Kui oeroy o Tiji: (TC((it.'ot,' tjwu- Xeto yofxoc, {fiuXXoy ce o Ttj aupKi tuvt(i yojioOirliiruc,) Ofw to ~uy luvTiiy KfiOiinoxTty, '() ct KuXXicrroy k(u GifyiWuToy, oti kcu ~uy uyCfiu Traoi; tavTijij inoit'itTdTd, k'a'i oh (KTiTi'iT)iy (ironoy, (iW o/irIr«t/- Xoy dyttOiiy TrpoaeKTi'inuTu' ov funoi ce, liXXn kiu tov (tohiuhi. 18.> lie other, Unjj witli wing tliiit ir to (jiod rates from lire to bo be mag- son whicli r>initv, and no'od and ison. For ted to the the spirit; , therefore tor a while to such an , or rather crated lier- lionourabh' )(M iruvrux: h n-ttlTl tj>lVKTOf I yOVC LTTll' (I vXi] rir Tuv-d • »/y>'(Wjff£' u- ,) OfW TO ~U)' <)■, oVt K'ui roi' ', tiW 'ojiiicuii- 1 roTi rT(iMH( ;('<.' and creditable, she also bronght her hnsband to feel with her, and found him consequently, not an arbi- trary master, but a good fellow-servant. Not only this, but she also made f^e fruit of her body, her children and her children's children, the fruit of the Spirit; consecrating to God her whole family and all I»cr substance, in return for [her own] one soul, and rendering also wedlock a subject of praise through her admirable conduct in it, and the good fruit she produced from it." IIow much does this panegyric speak ! Does it not show clearly that one of the great reasons why marriage was not looked on as it ought to be, was that in fact there were so few instances in which it wao made to adorn the profession of the Gos])ei : that the state was not generally redeemed from the grossness into which pagajiism had ])lunged it ? But when we see the Gospel raise and sanctify that state, the natural consequence is that it obtains its ])roj)er honour. At the same time we may observe in this Father, fully as much as in the greatest ascetic, that a wrong estimate of the excellence of virginity was ])revalent ; for if it had been restricted to its proper use, it could not have been regarded as more |)erilous than matrimony. It is only when })crsons continue in it, who have no natural or acquired fitress aioTTO)', ri'i riKia \iyio kuX TtKiu TtKiiov, Ka[f!Tui' tou nyevfiarot: fiTiiii'i(TU-o' yti'Of oXoy kch o'tKhtt' o\t)f diri piuf \/'i'X'/'-' ^^V '>'"y- (lyrlrrarTd, kui nuiliirumt Kui ya'/ito)' iiraiiiTOV cin rz/f tV yufHf) thupe- (jrliatitx KUi T'li: KiiXiir hrfvOn' i;a()7r(j(j>iifuui;. N 18() {'or it, that danger attaches to it. But on the other hand again, it was no doubt the prevalent h>vv con- dition of marriage, tlie circumstance that in very few cases was there any idea of love iv the Christian sensr before marriage, and that ahnost every man was sen- sible that in marrying he had but legalised a jiassioii which he felt not to have been ])ure, that drove so many into celibacy as the only means of escaping im])urity. The admiration of celibacy, was therefore the fruit, rather than the cause of the low state of morals. And that is why we find that admiration so much more strongly felt by the heathen than by Christians, by the later Church than by the earlier. When the Church was persecuted, Chrii^tian families, no doubt, were more distinct from the heathen, and consequently the domestic relations were less liabli' to become tainted by intercourse' with tainted minds. But when the barrier was removed by prosj)erity, then intercourse became more unrestrained; and as a natural consequence, the high tone of feeling in the Church at large began to wear away. There became no doubt more professed Christians, and in all pro- bability the number of Cliristians indeed became enlarged : but the standard of feeling amongst the mass would become lower and lower ; the domestic relations would assimilate more to those of the heathen ; and as marriage became a polluted thing, so in the Church the admiration of celibacy would rise. And this accounts for the later fathers insisting so much on the honour of marriage. 187 whilst at the same time thoy ajJjK'ar to cast an indirect slur upon it. The Scripture rcf/idrcd thcni to acknowledge that it was honourable, and the v^xperience of too many persons told them that fhn/ at least had not made it pure. But in this age, viz. the post-Niccne, the tide, as I have said, in the east at least, appears to have taken a turn. So Amphilochius, the friend of the Gregory from whom I have just quoted, has languanfo in direct jmiise of marriage, although he himself a])pears for a considerable period to have led a soli- tary life. So in his third discourse he speaks thus ; ' " Now honourable marriage excels every earthly gift; as a fruitful tree; as a jtleasant plant; as the root of virginity; as the cultivator of intolii- gent and living brunches ; us the blessing of the increase of the world ; as the encourager of the sj)ecies ; as the fashioner of mankind ; as the painter of the divine image ; as having obtained the Lord's blessing; as having been privileged to sustain the whole world ; as being intimately connected with him who humbled himself to become man ; as being able to say boldly, behold me, and the children ' Oral. iii. 'O ce Tifxioc; yci/xoe virepKe'iTai ttu>'tuq cu)pov yifivov' loQ iyKup-Kov ^iy^pof' wg aart'iov (pvruy uic pi'^a rijc irapOtyiaij' wg yewpyoc twv XoyiKwy kch ej.ixpv^ioi' icXaCioV wf evXoyia ri/G roi) Koufiov av;//(T£ti»c" wc iraptiyopoQ rov yivovQ' wc ^rjfxwvpyoi: tTic u»'0pw7ror»jrjc' wc Ti)Q de'iKtjQ ihutog i^ioypuipog' wc Toy ^tair6Ti]y tvXoyovvra i;iKri)^Eiog' wg miyra tuv Kuerfioy tpeptiu ^f^OjUErac" wg iKdv<^ TroXiTtvof-uyog, oy Kai eyaydpwwiimu icvaMirrjaty' tjg Cvidfjteyog Xtytir /tero nappijffiag, "Icov eyw kui ret waicla a fxoi n2 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // // is. ^J * A y ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 [frilM IIM >- Ih IIIII2 2 t 1^ IIM 6" 11= U III 1.6 PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4 W3 ^s ? is, <=>, <° W^.x. J^ & ^ |l^ <^ 6^ 188 ■4 »3 -•1 whom God I:; ;.-.. :,Q ." ' 1 .^ - 1 uj 'n i; ►r" •-i i*« > ;5' >' 1-4, ^ iQ ■^' M" celibacy, that in his first chapter he thinks it bad policy to extol it excessively, for fear of rendering it suspected ; in the third, he confesses that he is a married man, and treats virginity not as meritorious or profitable in itself, but simply as a means to an end : and in the eighth chapter he expressly cautions his readers against supposing that he blamed mar- riage, and excuses his not setting forth its praises, on the ground that nature and pleasure are sufficient incitements to it; except perhaps for the sake of the impure, who break the laws of the Church. To read Mr. Taylor's pages, we might suppose that all tne Fathers were engaging in a conspiracy to eject marriage from the Church. Let us there- fore now turn to Ambrose, who is one of the strongest advocates for virginity and continence in all its shapes, and whose writings upon that and kindred subjects, amount to 300 pages out of 1200. In his commen- tary on St. Luke he thus writes : ' " Nor was it without an object that in the very beginning of Genesis, by the command of God, marriage is insti- tuted: but it was done that heresy might be de- stroyed. For God so approved marriage, that He united in wedlock ; He so rewarded it, that the divine goodness granted children to those, to whom ' Exjws. Ev. Luc, i. 30. Nee otiose in piiiicipio statim Gene- sis Dei jussu conjugium copulatur, nisi ut lla3re^is destruatur. Sic enim Deus conjugium probavit, ut jungeret ; sic remune- ratus est, ut quibus sterilitas filios denegasset, pietas divina con- ccderet. 191 ks it bad rendering lat he is a neritorious leans to an y cautions amed mar- its praises, ■e sufficient he sake of lurch. ht suppose conspiracy et us there- le strongest 11 its shapes, ed subjects, lis commen- Nor was it eginning of iage is insti- ight be de- ^e, that He it, that the se, to whom statim Gene- sis destruatur. ; sic remune- itaa (livina con- barrenness denied them." From another passage' we learn that the Church was so far from forbid- ding to marry, that whosoever publicly condemned marriage incurred the penalty of excommunication. He expressly declares that virginity ^ is not for the many but for the few, that it is above ' the generality of persons, and rather to be wished for than enjoined. He uses the same language which we have before met with, as to the various but not discordant merits of the various conditions of celibacy, widowhood, and marriage. * " The Church therefore is a farm rich in various products. Here you may behold the shoots of virginity teeming with blossoms ; then, as in the glades of a forest, widowhood excelling in the depth of its foliage ; in another quarter the corn field of the Church filling the granaries of the world with ' iv. 10, Vidit illibatum et illibataj castimoniae virum : suadet ut miptias damnet, que "iiciatur ab ecclesia, et studio castitatis a casto corpore separetur. ' De Virginibus, 1. v. 35. Non itaque dissuadeo nuptias, sed f'ructus sacrat.'B virginitatis enumero. Paucarum quippe hoc munus est, illud omnium. Nee potest esse virginitas, nisi habeat unde nascatur. ' § 23. Non enim imperari potest virginitas sed optari : nam quaj supra nos sunt, in voto mr ;is quam in niagisterio sunt. * De Firginilate, § 34. Est ergo Ecclesia ager diversis fce- cundus nopiis. Hie cernas germina virginitatis flore vernantia ; illic tanquam in campis silvae viduitatem gravitate pollentem ; alibi tanquam uberi fruge conjugii Ecclesiae segetem replentem mundi horrea, ac veluti maritatae vineaj foctibus torcularia Domini Jesu redundantia, in quibus fidelis conjugii fructus exu- berut. 192 ■■' 14, witii it by way of eiiliaiuMn^ tlio niorits of the latter, proved that he a('kiiowle(l<^e(l Its Intrinsic exct^lleiice: for " no one," ho says, " compares a bad thing with a good one." There are two or three other documents of this age which require our attention. The first is the Council of Valence in France, of the vear 374. One of its decrees concerns clergymen, and the other virgins. The first ' forbids those to be ordained for the future, who had been twice married or had married widows, but professedly refrains from inter- fering with digamists who had been previously ordained. It is clear from this that the rules spoken of by Jerome and Epiphanius were not universal ; for here we have not only clergy married, but even twice married. The second canon '^ shows that the severity of })unishing the marriage of consecrated virgins with penance, was extended to France : for it decrees tiis, quum illis virginitas antefertur. Nemo malum bono com- parat. ^ Can. i. Sedit igitiir, neminem post banc synodum, qua ejus- modi illicitis vel sero succurritur, de digamis aut internuptarum (iterum iiuptarum. Du Cange.) maritis ordinari clericum posse. Nee rcquirendum utrumno initiati sacramentis diviiiis, anne gen- tiles, liac se infelicis sortis necessitate macularint, cum divini pre- cepti casta sit forma. Sed quia fratrum nostrorum vel imperitiam vel simplicitatem vel etiam praesumptionem damnare non pos- sumus, nee per omnes ecclesias quae sunt jampridem male gesta corrigere, placuit etiam de eorum statu qui prius ordinati [sint] nihil revolvi, si nulla extrinsecus causa procedat, qua indigni niinistetio comprobentur. ' Can, ii. De puellis vcro quiju se Deo voverunt, si ad terrenas 197 the latter, 'xcflloiicc: tiling with iits of this first is tbc 374. Ono the other rdaincd for ied or had from inter- previously nies spoken universal ; d, but even severity of virgins with it decrees im bono com- 3um, qua ejus- internuptarum jlericum posse, iiiis, anne gen- um divini pre- vel imperitiani nare non pos- ;m male gesta ordinati [sint] t, qua indigni , si ad terrenas that they are not to bo adniitti'd to mnininnion again till after full penance. The Council of Haragossa in Spain, which was held the next year, is worthy of attention, both as showin;]^ that an ascetic mania bad spread into S[>ain, and that more as a fashion than from a real self-denial, and that tbere was that turn in the tide which f have before noticed. For its sixth canon ' decrees the excommunication of those clergymen who should forsake tbe active duties of their ))rofcssion to be- come solitaries; and the eighth- forbids virgins to take the veil, that is, to profess themselves so i)ub- licly, until they should be of tbe agr' of forty. When the veil came to be the distinction of the femjilc celibate we do not learn ; but that it was so at this period appears very evident from the writings of St. Ambrose. The general Council of Constantinople, which was held this year, made no decree on the subject of virginity or the celibacy of the clergy : so that, as nuptias sponte transierint, id custodicndum esse decroviimis, ut pojnitentia his nee statim d tur, ct cum data fuerit, nisi plene satisfccerint Deo in quantum ratio poposccrit, eaiundem com- munio difFi'ratur. ' Can. vi Si quis de clericis propter luxum vanitatcmque pra;- sumptam de officio sponte discesserit, ac velut observatorcm legis monachum videri voluerit magis quam clericuni, ita de ecclesia ropcUcndum, ut nisi rogando atque observando plurimis tempo- ril)us satisfocerit, non recipiatur. ^ Ibid. viii. Non vclandus esse virginos, qua; se Deo vovoriiil, nisi quadraginta annorum probata a>tate quam sacerdos conipro- baverit. 198 yet, whatever was done was matter of usage, or of rule in j)articular cliurches, but was not urity, was regarded as equally capable of purity in marriage as in celibacy. Indeed four of St. Augustine's letters {25'2 — 255.) are concerning a young lady, left in his guardian- ship as bishop, for whom he was looking out for a suitable opportunity of marrying The Councils of Carthage which took place in his day, one in a.d. 397, a second in 398, and a third in 401, and at which he, as bishop of Hippo, of course assisted, give us some insight into the l)ractical working of celibacy. It was found neces- sary in both the first to keep up the regulation against clergymen having strangers for their house- keepers or companions ^. It appears from one of ' De sancia rirginitate, 18. Unde sectatores et sectatrices perpetuse continentiae et sacrae virginitatis admoneo, ut bonum suum ita praeferant nuptiis, ne malum judicent nuptias. Qui ergo sine conjugio permanere volnerint, non tanquam foveam peccati nuptias fugiant ; sed tanquam collcm minoris boni transcendant, ut in majoris contincntias monte requiesoant. ' Sermo 341. § 5. Virginitas corporis in paucis ccdesiu.', vir- ginitas mentis in omnibus fidelibus esse debet. ^ Concil. iii. Can. xvii. Ut cum omnibus omnino clericis 200 oach ', that danger was apprehended from too fre- (pient inter(!ourse between the church virgins and widows, and the ministers of thv. church, and tliat the latter were not permitted to visit them unac- companied. It appears likewise that the church readers were now required ^ either to marry, or to make a vow of chastity, when they came to proper age ; but that it was left to their option which they should do : but bishops, priests, and deacons, if mar- ried, were now bound to live with their wives as with sisters ^ ■' 'j -^ X.: ;' (-4; extraneoe feminac non cohabitent, sed solae matrcs, aviae, mater- tcrae, amita?, sorores et filiie fratrum aut sororum, et quoecunque ox familia domestica necessitate etiam antequani oidinarentur jam cum eis habitabant ; vel si fitii eoriim jam ordinatis parentibus uxores acceperint ; aut, servis non habentibus in domo quas ducant, aliunde ducere nccessitas fuerit. Concil. iv. Can. xlvi. Clericus cum extraneis non habitet. ' Con. iii. Can. xxv. Ut clerici vel continentes ad viduas vel virgines, nisi jussu vel permissu episcoporum, non accedant. Et hoc non soli faciant, sed cum clericis vel cum his cum quibus cpiscopus jusserit vel presbyter : nee ipsi episcopi aut presbyteri soli habeant accessum ad hujusmodi feminas, nisi aut clerici pracsentes sint aut graves aliqui Christiani. Con, iv. Can. cii. Ad reatum episcopi pertinet vel presbyteri qui parochiae prasest, si sustentandae vita3 causa adolescentiorcs viduaa vel sanctimoniules clericorum subjiciantur. ' Con. iii. Can. xix. Placuit ut lectores, cum ad annos pubertatis venerint, cogantur aut uxores ducere aut continentiam profiteri. " Concil. V. Capit. iii. Practerea cum de quorundam clerico- rum, quamvis erga uxores proprias, incontinentia referretur, l)lacuit episcopos et presbyteros et diaconos, secundum propria 201 n too frc- irgins and I, and tliat icm unac- lie church arry, or to to proper which they ns, if mar- r wives as aviae, mater- it quocicunque linarentur jam itis parentibus 1 domo quas m habitet. ad viduas vel iccedant. Et s cum quibus aut presbyter! si aut clerici vel presbyteri idolescentiores iiitur. im ad annos continentiara indam clerico- tia referretur, ndum propria It would seem likewise that in Africa, it now began to be felt necessary to restrict he profession of virginity: for wo have a regulation that none shall be allowed to profess till they are of the age of twenty-five'. A particular habit ai)pears to have been established ^ : and although it was most usual for the virgins to live with their friends ^ there were establishments in which those who chose, or were destitute, might live in common, under the superin- tendence of the bishop. St. Paul's opinion concern- ing those church widows who married a second time was enforced by excommunication*. statuta, etiam ab uxoribus continere : quod nisi fecerint, ab ecclesiastico removcantur officio. Ceteros autem clericos ad hoc non cogi ; sed secundum uniuscuj usque ecclesiae consuetudincm observari debere. * Con. iii. Can. iv. Placuit ut ante 25 annos aetatis nee dia- coni ordinentur nee virgines consecrentur. ' Con. iv. Can. xi. Sanctimonialis virgo, cum ad consecra- tionem suo episcopo ofFertur, in talibus vestibus applicetur, quali- bus semper usura est, professioni et sanctimoniae aptis. See Can. civ. ' Con. iii. Can. xxxiii. Ut virgines sacrae, cum parentibus a quibus custodiebantur privatae fuerint, episcopi providentia, vel presbyteri ubi episcopus absens est, in monasterio virginum vel gravioribus feminis commendentur, et simul habitantes invicem se custodiant; ne passim vagantes ecclesiae laedent existimatio- nem. * Con. iv. Can. civ. Sicut bonum est castitatis praemium, ita et majori observantia et proeceptione custot!'>.^ndum est: ut si quae viduae, quantumlibet adhuc in minoribus annis positae et matura aetate a viro relictae, se devoverunt Domino, et veste O Q02 < One of these councils thinks it necessary that a bishop, previously to his consecration, should expressly declare that he did not condemn mar- riage The ]H'ogress of austerity towards the clergy and those who professed celibacy in the west, further appears from the council of Toledo in Spain, which was contemporaneous with the last of these African councils. It appears that up to that time, married clergymen were not prohibited from cohabiting with their wives : but that from this time the regulation was to be strictly enforced, that no such person could rise to a higher rank than he then occupied ^ The widov of a bishop, priest, or deacon, could not - t-4. V*. laicali abjecta sub testimonio episcopi et ecclesiae religioso habitu apparuerint, postea vero ad nuptias saeculares transierint, secun- dum Ajjostolum damnationem habebunt, quoniam fidem castitatis quam Domino voverunt irritam facere ausfe sint. Tales ergo personne sine Christianorum communione maneant, quae etiam nee in convivio cum Christianis communicent. ' Con. iv. Capit. i. Qui episcopus ordinandus est Quaerendum etiam ab eo si nuptias non improbet, si secunda matrimonia non damnet, si carnium perceptionera non culpet, &c. 2 Capit. i. Placuit, ut diacones, si vel integri vel casti sint, et continentis vitae, etiamsi uxores babeant, in ministerio consti- tuantur : ita tamen, ut si qui etiam ante interdictum, quod per Lusitanos episcopos constitutum est, incontinenter cum uxoribus suis vixerint, presbytcrii bonorc non cumulentur ; siquis vero ex presbyteris ante interdictum fib'os susceperit, de presbyterio ad episcopatum non permittatur. x| mariti viviur menti devotJ raaterl Pater I vero poenit petier nionel 203 (ssary tliat )ii, slioiild lemii niar- clorgy and }st, fiu'tlicr )ain, which ese African ne. married ihiting with regulation )crson coukl )ied^ Tlic coukl not eligioso habitu nsierint, seani- fidem castitatis it. Tales ergo Hit, quae etiam s est on improbet, si rceptionem non ri vel casti sint, inisterio consti- ictum, quod per r cum uxoribus ur ; siquis vero e presbyterio ad marry again ', nor the daughter of a bishoj), priest, or deacon, who had professed, marry at all, without incurring the penalty of excommunication, not to be relaxed till the death-bed ''. It does not, however, appear what penalty, if any, existed against the marriage of other widows and virgins. We now come to St. John Chrysostom, who like all of his age wrote in favour of virginity, and espe- cially thought it his duty to stand up in defence of the ascetic life. I have already remarked a dispo- sition to austerity in the writers of the western church, which was not sanctioned bv the eastern ; and St. Chrysostom confirms my observation. The great dirtinction is, that it does not appear that as yet there was any punishment consequent on the marriage of those who had taken the vow in the eastern church, and that some of the eastern fathers even recommended it in certain cases; amongst whom was the father of whom we are now speaking. ' xviii. Si qua vidua episcopi sive presbyteri aut diaconi maritum acceperit, nuUus clericus, nulla religiosa, cum ea con- vivium sumat, nunquam communicet ; morienti tantum ei sacra- mentum subveniat. " xix. Episcopi sive presbyteri sive diaconi filia, si Deo devota fuerit, et peccaverit et maritum duxerit, si earn pater vel mater in aflfectum receperint, a communioire babeantur alieni. Pater vero causas in concilio se noverit praestaturum ; mulier vero non admittatur ad communionem, nisi marito defuncto egerit poenitentiam. Si autem vivente eo secesserit et poenituerit vel petierit communionem, in ultimo vitae deficiens accipiat commu- nionem. o2 '204 < ■ , '-J .■-' t- -'■ X. ■ ^ This we see in his remonstrance ' against the prac- tice which we have already seen the Church trou- bled to repress, viz. that of professed virgins living in the same house with unmarried men ; in whieli he absolutely recommends those to marry who wished for the society of men : and declares that such a marriage was neither condemned by God nor censured by men. He likewise acknowledges that many quitted the monasteries to marry ^. So again in the treatise on virginity, in opposition to those who spoke ill of marriage, he says ^ " Marriage is good, because it preserves a man in modesty, &e. Therefore censure it not, for it has great advantage." And he affirms with regard to celibacy, that St. Paul * " has not condemned those who have not the power to observe it, but to those who have the power he has pointed out a great and lofty enter- ' Hepi Tov fifi KavoviKac^ avvoiKtlv avlpaaiv. Et yap avcpuQ ktriQv^Ciq f^\ttv avvmKovvTaq, ovk 'tSei Trapdii'lay tXitrdai, aW etti tov ycijiov iXQtiv' TroWy ydft (3i\Tiov yafitiv eKeivo)g, j*/ napdsvevEiv ovrwc* lov fxey yap toiovtov ydfiov ovre u 0£OG KaTuEiKa^lei, ovte avdpw/roi Eia(id\\oven' rifiiov yop kari TO Trpd/fjia, ov^iva aBiKovv ov^e ttXTittov. ' Adversus Vitce Monasticce Oppugnalores, iii. 14. Ovre yop roaovToi irpog tov ydfjov and tu>v fiovaoTripiwv eKfiaivovtriv, oaoi irpoQ TropvoQ dno rJ/C tvvifg dviirTavTui tQv yvvaiKu>v. ' De Firginltate, 25. KaXoi' 6 ya'^of, oti ev (Tiixppoffvvri tov dvlpa SiaTr)pEl k, t. X. M>) roivvv auroj/ ^«a,(3d\f/c' ttoXu yap £)(£l TO tcipEoQ. * 2, Tovg fiev fi^ ^vvajjiEvovg ob KUTEKpivE, tSiv hi SwafjiEvuv noXvv Kal inripoyKov tov dyijjva dvE^Ei^E, ber, iifilv ydfio VUTE t^05 prize." But he draws a most lamentable picture of the state of society in Constantinople in his time. I say of the state of society generally, for although no doubt his subject leads him to specify the sins of the professed virgins \ yet there are indications of much general dcj)ravity. Thus in his treatise in favour of the monastic life, granting to his oppo- nents that the vow was not always kept, and that many monks quitted the monasteries in order to marry, he affirms '^ that there were fewer who did so, than of those in ordinary life who quitted the embraces of a wife for those of a harlot. When society in general was thus polluted, was it sur- prising that those who lived in the world, as the consecrated virgins did hitherto, should become occasionally polluted with the atmosphere that sur- rounded them ? But on the other hand, we must bear in mind that he is not speaking of the Chris- tian world at large, but of the population of a cor- rupt capital. Let the condition therefore of the church virgins have been as deplorable as it might be there, and at Rome, is it right to conclude with- out explicit evidence, as Mr. Taylor does, that it was equally so elsewhere ? Jerome, let us remem- ber, was a clergyman of Rome, Chrysostom patriarch ' De Virginitatc, 8. Ovtoq yctf) ^£i»r£(joe, fxaWov Se koi rpirog vfuy noXvafiuiv Kui iiKadapcrlaQ tTTiveyotirai rpuirog' (vOt ai roy ydfiov utQ evaytj (pivyovaai ourjJ tout^ rw ipevytiv Travriov yf.yo- vart ivaytaTipai, ira^A)wiav e'upvvaai nopVEtaQ juiopwrfpar. * Sec note ', p. "204. 'iOG of Constantinople, both capitals, and both inheriting, in all their dreadful rankness, the deeply dyed vices of heathenism. And Christianity was no longer persecuted, but honoured : so that the world thronged into the Church, with much of the spirit of heathenism along wit]i it. Is it reasonable then to attribute the decrease of piety in the Church to the influence of the practice of celibacy, or to attri- bute the deterioration of all classes of Christians to that one general caur", which operated equally upon all ? < CHAPTER V. H VINO now carried on the chain of evidence to Chi^sostom, I imagine most of my readers will be satisfied that I have gone far enough for the purpose of exhibiting the doctrine of the Primitive Church. Those who are acquainted with the state of things after this period will feel that, except in the preser- vation of purity of doctrine on the great fundamen- tals of Christianity, the Church as a body had lamen- tably little in common with the Churches of the subapostolical age. The rides of discipline enacted, indeed, were more minute and more stringent than was thought necessary in earlier times, but that very •207 minuteness and stringency proves the growing cor- ruption. Not, 1 imagine, that there were numeri- cally fewer pious persons in th( Church than for- merly, but that they were so outnumbered by the multitude*! who now ;irofessed the Gospel, without attempting to reduce it to practice. And even in Chrysostom's time, that was the case to a great extent. It began with the cessation of persecution, and had gone on increasing ever since. But I am desirous of carrying on the investigation in a somewhat slighter and more perfunctory man- ner to a much later period, for the purpose of show- ing to what extent the Church, as a body, was committed at any 'period to restricting marriage, either amongst clei.;y, or amongst laity. I shall therefore advance to the council of Chalcedon, in the middle of the fifth century, which sat upon the Eutychian controversy. But before I quote its canons, it will be necessary to cite the remarks of JVI. Dupin, the Roman Catholic historian, upon them. He says, " As for myself, I much doubt wliether this collection of canons were made in any session of the council, but do rather believe that they were composed since, and taken out of the several actions. 'Tis easy to find the places." Now, after this remark, we must see how very doubtful it must be w hetlier any of the canons, which we cannot trace to something more authentic than the "collection" of them, can be reuarded as canons of the universal Church. 208 ► --4 < M '■it Its first ca.ion ' confirms tlie rules of all the synods hitherto, which Bishop Bcveridge interprets of those of Nice, Ancyra, Ncocaisarea, Gangni, Antioch, and Laodicea. It therefore decrees, that virgins who violate their profession, should be subjected to the same penance as those who married a second time ^ and that if a priest marries after ordination, he shall be degraded ' ? With regard, however, to the confir- mation of these canons by this council, there must be some doubt, from i^^ere being a canon, profes- sedly of Chalcedon ^ declaring that it is not lawful for a professed virgin, or a monk, to marry, ai)point- ing excommunication as the j)enalty, but still leaving them to the clemency of their respective bishops. The meaning probably is, that if either of these should marry, they should bo excluded from the Holy Communion until they had performed such penance as the Bishop migiit appoint. It is how- ever declared, unequivocally, if we accept this as one of the undoubted decrees of this council, that i« ' Kay. a, Tovg irapd rdv hyluiv Traripuv /ca6' tKdffrrjv avvolov a^pi Tov vvv EKTEdifTaQ Kavoyac Kparilf iSiKaiwaafitp. There is something very loose anil undeflncd in this. If it is to include any other than the general councils, how is it to be shown which were included ? ^ Concil. Ancyr. Can. 19. ' Concil. Neocaesar. Can. 1. ^ Can. 16. Uapdivov dpudilirav kavrriv rif Atairorri Oe^, Coaav' rwc Kcii ixofd^ovTat;, fj.}) tS,uvai yufif npoaofiiKtlv' tt ci ye t'vpibtitv rnuTO TTOtouiTfCj iarwaav dKoivutvrfToi, 'ilpiaafitv Ct tytiv r))y uvdti'Teini' r^c tn avTole (juXavdputniaQ ruv vara ruiroy initrKOTroy, '209 the Hynods s of those tioch, and rgins ^vho ed to the nd time ^, n, he shall lie confir- ;hore must 111, profes- not lawful y, appoint- till leaving 'e bishops. r of these from the rmed such It is how- fpt this as icil, that L 'arrju avvolov his. If it is ! is it to be ri Gt^, Coaav- i yt tvpeUtlev Se t\tiv ri)y is not lawful for t^>oso who have vowed celibacy to break their vow. But after all, what is this but declaring what we must all feel to be true? The error was, as I have said, in urging persons to take the vow, or in accepting it jaiblicly : but on this point the council only takes matters as it found them, without defining either one way or another ; although it must be allowed t'lat it gives the prac- tice a sanction by regulating it. If, however, the council of Chalcedon did actually ratify the first carion of Neocajsarea, it was not considered universally binding in the Church : for (a. d. 459) we find a letter of Lupus, bishop of Troyes, and Euphronius, bishop of Autun, to Thalas- sius, bishop of Anjou, in which they say, that it is better for the clergy to abstain from marriage, dut iti this they must follow the custom of the Churches. To show more strongly, that the professed canons of the council of Chalcedon *'»*o to be received with a degree of doubt, we will go on to the supplement to the sixth general council of Constantinople, (some- times called Quini-sext,) which indeed is not recog- nized by Roman Catholics as a general council, for reasons *vhich will appear very obviously, when we come to cite its canons. The second canon acknowledges the authority of the eighty-five canons, commonly called apostolical : it recognizes them as apostolical, and consequently shows that they must at that time have possessed considerable antiquity ; although many things in 210 them iK'tray an ago considerably sabsecjuent to that of the Apostles. Now tl . canon ' of this col- lection expressly enacts, that ir any bishop, priest, or deacon, should under p'*etence of religion put away his wife, he should be debarred from the Holy Com- munion, and if ho ])ersevered, should be deposed. There appears, indeed, a sort of contradiction to this, in the twelfth canon of the Quini-sext, or Trullan council -, which ordains that a l/t.shop on his conse- cration should separate from his wife. But the council declares, that the enactment was made, not to oppose the apostolical canon, but to avoid scan- dal ; and the next canon ^ expressly declares that, " For as much as it 1ms come to our knowledge, that it has been enacted in the Church of the Romans, * Kaj'. t. '^iriuKOTTOQ y TrpEff/Jiirfpoc *i BiUKoyoc ri/v tavrov yvvulna fxrj eKl^aWtTto 7rf)V(j)dffei ti/Xa/it/ac' tuy ce £\/3a'\X»/ U(jioi)ii^iaO' iTrijjiiyoJv Be KaOaipiicrdw, ^ liny, ij^, Kat tovto ^e etc yyiocTiy ijnertpay 7i\dty, )y in OOKUflfXa TOl.oi, Kal TO fit) (prjtTi yap 6 :ayw XpiaTOv. TuUt Ktll'OVflC that those wlio arc about to be ordained deacons or priests, should jiromise to have no furtiier matrimo- nial intercourse with their wives, ice, followtNfj tin: ancient rule of aposUdieul .strictness and order, de- that the lawful st.s shall anions oj priests snail remain from heneefitnvard established, by no means looscn- injj the tie which binds them to their wives, or depriving them of intercourse with each other at suitable times ; wherefore if any one should be found worthy of ordination as subdeacon, deacon or priest, let him by no means be hindered from adeancement to that degree, though cohabiting with his laivful uiife, so that we may not from henceforth be com- pelled to insult marriage, which was instituted by God, and blessed by his presence We know, indeed, as the members of the Synod at Carthage irupahtlwaQai iUyiWfitv, roue fiiWoyraij hanovov Ti Trpeajivripov XtipoToyiac u^iovadai, KadofioXvytly wc ovKtri Tu'ig avTwy avtuw- Turrai yajuercttc* ///iflc tu a^jj^uiw i^UKoXovOuiiyrti; Kayovi r»/c uiro' arvXiKijc uKpifttiac khI ras£wc, rU rioy ItpHy ayCpCjy kuto. y6^(WQ avvoiKtaiu ku\ uiro tuv rvv t()(>G)aQui jhvXofxtdn, f.ir]^a^u)g avrwy Tt)y Trpoc y«/i£rac avyd(j>eiav SiuXvovtec, y dTrurrrtpovyTcc uvroi/t: TTJQ TTpitQ uXXi'iXovQ Kara mipoy tuv irpoai'iKoyTii o/^uXmc* wtrrt, tine di,iO(; tvptdtir} npug x^iporoyiay vwohai^oyov »*/ huKorov »*/ irpeajivTipov, ovTog f-iri^cifiMg KwXviaBco Im ToiovToy (iaOnoy ififtiftu^eadai, yafXETt} (TvioiKiiy vof-ti'iJo)' f^n'iTS fxt)y iy tm rj/t xtiporovia : Kuip^ airaircladti) ofioXoye'iy, cue uTro(iT)'iiTiiTai aTro rf/c vofiifiov Trpig Tijy ointiay y«^£- Ti/y ufiiXiag' 'tya /u») iyTevOty Tuy Ik Qeoii iojuo0£r>;0£'v7a kuI tvXo- yr)8iyTa Trj avTov Trapovffiif, yujxoy Kadvjipiiiuy tKfiiaadw^tev' Tfjg TOV EvayytXiov (pm'fjg ^oionrjg, "A o e£OG k, t. X, Kal tov tnroaTuXov BiSutTKoyToc, Tifiioy Toy yitjMy Kal Ti}y KoiTi]V ufiiayToy, Kal, Aiceaai yvvaiKi, ^i) 'Cnru Xvmv. "\(Tf.iey ?£, uxTnep kuI oi iy KapOayiyn fTvrtXfUn'reg, Tfjg iy ftif fnfiy6Tr}Tog Twy XeiTovpywi Tii)if.itvoi 7rp6- •212 1 J suid, providing for tlio (loconiiii of tlio life of tlioso who ininistor, tlmt accor(lin«( to their peculiar rules subdojicons who hantUc the holy mynteries, an«l deacons and priests, refrain from tlieir wives. Hut tliat we also may equally guard what has been handed down from the Apostles, and sanctioned by anti(juity itself, knowing that there is a time for every thing, especially for fasting and j)raycr : (for it behoves those who wait at the altar, during the time of tlieir taking in hand the holy things, to deny themselves in every thing, that they may attain what they ask from God in singleness of mind :) if, tlmrc- fwc, (my one nhnuld dare, eontrary to the apostoUcnl canons, to deprive any of those in holy orders, (that is, priests m' deacons, or suhdeacons,) of their union and communion with their lawful wires, let him be deposed : and, likewise, if any priest or deacon shall put away his wife, U7ider pretence of relirjion, let him be cd'communicated ; and if he persists, let him be deposed.^'' t'oiuv, tv hyitov ixeTa\Etp}'iaeii)g cy- Kpan'tg clvai tv TraffU', oVwc dvrr]dil)(iiv o irapa rov Qtov awXiog ahovtTiv kniTv^iiv'^ £t Tig ovv ToXf-n'iaot, irapa rniig ano(TTo\ii;ovg Kai'dyag Kivuv/jieyog, Tivhg TiJjy liptj^ivwv, TTfjcflr/Jurtpwi^ (pafxev ») tiUKoywy y inroSdiKoywy, cnrotTTtpi'iy Tfjg vpog rrjy vvjxifxoy yvya'tKa avya^dag re Kal KOiywriug, KaOaiptiado)' waavTutg Kai e'i Tig irpiff- fivTtpog >/ SuiKoyog rrjy lavTov yvyulKa nptxpatTti ti/Xafteiug tKlidWit, a(j>opii^iadii>* iirifiiywv li, Kadatptiadu). 213 of tlioso iar rules 'rii'H, iiiid vos. Jiut has boon tionod by timo tor or : (for it r tho time I, to deny ttain what :) if, thcrc- apostoUcnl (Icr.s, (that their uninti Id him be leacon shall !, let him be be deposed.^'' itpo fivari'ipia irct rove UiuvQ al TO ^la rCJi' KpaTJ}div Kai iit'oi TTp^y^a- OVC '■y 6l'0'l«(T- ax£«p/;ff€wc ty- )V Oeov awXwQ ; anoiTTo\ii;ovQ 'ipit>v (pafiiv f/ jfiifiuv yv^'alKa :ai t'i Tii irpta- Since, therefore, it is ho abundantly clear from this canon, that the whole Eastern ('lunrh strenuously insisted (m puttinfj nn restrietiou on the infrreotfrse of the married clenjii luith their wires ; and (i/)/)e(drd to antif/uifi/ as sanetionint/ their resol/tfion, the con- clusion to which we naturally come, is, that the regulation rospoctin' fivvovg aVay>'W(Trac kuI \l/ii\Tag yafiiiv' Koi iifiiii; tovto irupav\dTToiTEQ, opiiiontf uiru Tov vvi' fitjEufjitJic vTTohui^ovov *! SiOKOvoy *i TrptffliuTEpoy, fAini Ti^v iir avrjJ ^^etpororlav, 'f)(^Eiv dceiay eavr^ avviar^v avroiKt- aiov' £( hi TOVTO ToXfii'itroi Ttoifjirai, i^aOaiptiaOu), EJ Ce jiov- XniTO Tig TtSv tig KXrjpov wpoEpyo^ivaiv ydfxov vufio) avydiTTEffdai yvyaiKi, irpo Ttjg tov viroSiuKvyov Ti SiciKuyov »*; TrpEaf^VTEpov \Eipo- Toyiag tovto Trparre'rw. 214 ; , ...3 "C recognizing the so-called apostolical canons, it or- dains that only readers and singers shall marry after ordination ; we must distinctly understand that there was no religious reason for the regulation, but rea- sons of discipline alone. The thirtieth canon ' of this council is not very intelligible. It was not intended as a rule for the whole Church, but for Churches in uncivilized coun- tries. It ordains, that if the priests of those Churches choose by mutual consent to abstain from matrimo- nial intercourse with their wives, they shall entirely cease to live with them : and it makes this a con- cession to their w^eakness and unsettled habits. But whatever be the object of it, as it was jirofessedly made to suit peculiar localities, it cannot be regarded as a rule generally binding, and for that reason may safely be passed without further notice. From this time the history of the discipline of the Church, on the subject of celibacy, may be given in few words. The canon of the Trullan council still I I ' Ko>'. \'. Ila'rra Trpog ott^olonijv Tijc eKtcXtjaias ftovXojXEvot SiaTrpdrreadai, (cat tovq iy rauj fjapftupiKalc tKi;\r]t)Ka^i.v. "Utrre £i tuv dnoaroXiKoy KariU'a, riv ■Ktpi Tov irpo(j)UiT£i £t/Xa/3£t'ae Tt)v oiKEinv yayuED/r yu»; Ek/jctWE'/', VTriparulDaivEiv dioyrm ^ur, Kal nepa Tuiv opiaQivTbyv irouh'' Ik rovTov TE jLitrct tu)V oltCElojy (TVfxcpioyovi'TEQ avf-iltiwy, Trig npor; uWt'iXovQ ofiiXiuQ diriypvTaC op/^o/itti' tovtovc ^rjKETi tuvthii: (TVPoike'ii' (koQ' o'loi'tt'iTiyci rponov' wq at> iifilv evtevQev evteXii r»/r VKoa')^E(TEioq irapE^oiEV Ti/v d-!r()dEiu,ii'. IIpoc tovto Ee avro'ig av Bi dXXu ri, II Std Tt]v tTi<: yywfxyjc fHKpoy\/v)(iav kai to twv yOdy diTE^EyijJUEyoy kat aVaycf, iyEEitJKafxEV, 21; )ns, it or- iiarry after that there 11, but rea- s not very Ic for the ized coun- Churches 1 matrimo- lU entirely this a coii- ibits. But ])rofesse(11y je regarded reason may pline of the be given in jouncil still tg ftuvXofiEvoi XjjffmtG hpiiuj w K'ai'dra, rov 'T(l}V TTOu'll'' tK (i)i^, r»)c Trpoc /iJJKtVt TUVTCllt: dey evTeXy rijc ) M avTo'iQ oh .1 TO rwf yOwv I literally rules the Eastern Chureli, Imt the spirit of it has gradually departed : for although no bishoj) can be a married man, and consequently the mem- bers of that order are universally chosen from the monastic order, celibacy is so far from being encou- raged amongst the parochial clergy, that it is in practice absolutely forbidden ; every j)arish ]iriest being required to be married before he can be or- dained. So that if any clergyman wishes to con- tinue unmarried, his only course is to enter a convent. In the Western Church, as it came more and more under the influence of Rome, the marriage of the clergy, and the monks and virgins, was more and more restrained. Opinion condemned the marriage of the latter, and at length it was generally visited with excommunication, until the parties sei)arated. With regard to the former, they continued more or less at liberty, until at length, in 1074, Pope Hildebrand was able to procure a general obedience to the rule, that all married clergymen should sepa- rate from their wives, and that all thenceforth to bo ordained should make a vow of celibacy. But long before this time it had been a rule in the greater part of the West, always excepting England, that no priest should cohabit with his wife, as we learn from the complaints made by Ratramnus in the ninth century, and by Leo IX., that the Greeks not only permitted a married clergy to wait at their altars, but also put no restraint upon them in regard to their intercourse with their wives. CHAPTER VI. < ■4. I HAVE now I think carried this investigation down to a point, from which wc can with advantage look back, and fulfil those objects with which I set out upon my present undertaking. The two first points I trust I sufficiently cleared up, in the two former parts of these papers ; namely, that no corruption of doctrine in regard to celibacy, and no abuse of practice but such as any divine gift is liable to, can be traced in the Church in the age subsequent to the Apostles ; and secondly, that, (whatever is the real application of the test " semper, ubique, et ab omnibus ") Mr. Taylor's attack upon it on this ground is perfectly futile and groundless. The details into which I have entered, will have sufficiently established my third position, that what- ever corruptions came in (and different minds will appreciate differently their extent and importance) were introduced gradtialli/, and that gross misconduct on the part of those who professed celibacy only appeared in localities where the church at large had already attained a high pitch of corruption. I will now direct the attention of my readers more parti- cularly to my fourth object, namely, to prove that there was nothing in the teaching of the post-Nicene age on the subject of celibacy, to justify the awful charge of apostacy, which he brings against it. 3 217 vestigation advantage ,vliicli I set itly cleared s; namely, to celibacy, divine gift in the age ndly, that, it " semper, ack upon it groundless. , will have that wliat- minds will importance) misconduct ilibacy only it large had on. I will more parti- prove that post-Nicene y the awful ist it. The ground which is taken is as follows : St. Paul, (1 Tim. iv. 1 — 3) foretells that " in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils forbid- ding to marry :" the Church as a body, did, in the Nicene age, forbid to marry : therefore the Nicene Church apostatized from the faith. 1 Now here the answer simply is : Negatur mhmr. It is not true that the Nicene Church, or the Church of any age forbad to marry. We have seen the nature of the regulations of the Church in that age. We have seen that for a long series of years, be- ginning at some indefinite time before the council of Nice, it had been a rule pretty generally ob- served, that no priest or bishop should marry after his ordination. We have seen likewise that after the council of Nice, it became a rule that Church virgins, and afterwards that those who entered ascetic communities, should not marry. So that the whole extent of the sin of the Nicene Church (supj)osing it to be a sin) is, that it forbad marriage to three classes of persons, who from the nature of the case must be a minority of the community, every individual of whom had a pi'evioHs choice in entering those classes or not. How then can forbidding those to marry mIio had the choice whether they would put themselves under the prohibition or not, be construed into for- bidding to marry ? It is true that in thus arguing, 1 exonerate ^he Roman Church from the charge which has been brought against it of having this 2\b mark of apostacy : l)iit this I do rtyoicini^ly. For it would be a very painful thing to think that so large a portion of the Christian world, Avas actually apos- tate ; and equally painful to reflect that the Church of England had for so many centuries, even since the Reformation, been holding such a degree of com- munion with an a])ostate church, as to recognize her sacraments, her confirmation and her ordination. But fiH-ther than this. The Church never actuaWy forlictd the clergy to marry. It simply decreed that those who did so, should not rise to any higher degree. These considerations might be sufficient to exone- rate the Nicene Church from so grave a charge. But who can have failed to observe the perpetual anxiety of writers and councils to show that in advocating virginity, they had no intention of for- bidding marriage ? Do we not remark that even its most ardent patrons take express care to rebut the charge as it were by anticipation ? We find this in the whole chain of fathers. With what colour of reason then can any one charge them with for- bidding marriage? Does not even Ambrose go out «.f his way to speak in favour of marriage? But what if there was from time to time in the Church or out of it, a sect of persons who did actually declaim against marriage m all casrs, and dissuade men nniversallij from it, as a device of the enemy of mankind ? What if those same men did likewise command to abstain from flesh as the pro- duction of the same evil being? What if the I tri -Jh) y. For it it so large lally apos- he Church 3ven since ee of com- ognize her ition. But ally forbad that those degree, t to exone- a charge. perpetual )\v that in ;ion of for- that even re to rebut Ve find this at colour of 1 with for- h'osc go out ? time in the ns who did I cases, and evice of the me men did as the pro- /"hat if the ' Church at various times condeniTicd these doctrines, and excommunicated those who held thorn ? What if these things are evident ujjon the face of the documents which every one must consult who wishes to ascertain the state of the Nicene Church? What then becomes of the judgment or competency to reason from facts of the person who talks of the " ascetic apostacy of tlie Nicene Church ?" And yet these are all facts. Some of the Gnostics, the Bogo- mili, and the Eustathians, forbad to ma'ry, and conunanded to abstain from meats, as esteeming both abominations. The Council of Gangra (a.d. 370) condemned these doctrines; and the fifty-first of the A})ostolical Canons, which were authority at all events in the post-Nicene Church, whatever they may have been before that j)eriod, expressly deposes and excomnuniicatcs those who abetted them'. I trust I have sufliciently refuted the figment of the " ascetic apostacy." CHAPTER VII. I NOW come to the last portion of my undertaking, and that which I feel to be the most difficult. In that which has gone before, all that has been requisite, was to have a sincere desire to ascertain truth, ' See likewise pages 491, 202, 212. 1' 2 2'2i) . -J ^4 sufficient 'Hligencc to seek for it, leisure and oppor- tunity of consulting books, and ordinary cai)acities of reflection and arrangement. In that jiortion M'liich remains it will be requisite to view other times in part with the eye of one living amongst the actors in them, in part with that of a person acquainted with the real condition of things in our own age ; so that we may have no misunderstanding of the real nature of things then, and may know what we are doing when we draw comparisons between both. In order to understand the real state of any particular question as connected with the ancient Church, it will be necessary to have some idea of the general condition of it, at its particular ])eriods. Now it is obvious that so long as apostles and inspired men, and such as had associated familiarly with the apostles, remained in the Church, one great instrument by which the true spirit of the Gospel was kept up and transmitted, would be personal sympathy. Persons would have seen and dwelt with those who were, as far as human frailty admits, perfect specimens of the spirit and temper of Christ, and thus they would have imbibed the same spirit, each in the degree in which he was capable of it, by imitation and the contagion of a good example. The characters of such men would have an authority about them, which nothing subsequent could have. Ignatius, for instance, who had conversed with several apostles, Polycarp, the disciple of St. John, and Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp, must have had dt ti^ 221 1(1 oppor- meitios of oil Mliich times in ;he actors cquaiiited n age ; so f the real at we are both. e of any e ancient le idea of ar ])eriods. ostles and familiarly , one gr(?at the Gospel ? personal md dwelt Ity admits, of Christ, ame spirit, le of it, by nple. The I authority ould have. srsed with St. John, ;t have had a more vivid idea and feeling of what the spirit of a disciple of Christ ought to be, than their successors a hundred years afterwards : for, in addition to all the helps those successors had, they possessed living ex- amples, who had derived their spirit from the fountain head. I will not pretend to determine how long that influence might continue : but it is evident that in a generation or two it would be extinct, and that all Christians would be left to gather the spirit of the Gospel from the Scriptures, and by the ordinary means of grace, and the conduct of ordinary Chris- tians, just as we have to do at present ; with the additional disadvantages of not having the Scriptures so constantly in their hands as we may, and of being surrounded with a grossness, in the heathen amongst whom they lived, of which we have no conception. Whatever therefore was not matter of necessary doctrine, or embodied in positive institutions, would be in great danger of becoming corrupted, and of course the Christian spirit could rarely be seen in its perfection. The efforts of what has been called 7iatural piety would have to be regulated by the Scrip- ture ; and independently of the working of the Divine Spirit, the true Christian temper could only be kept up by an intimate and constant acquaintance with the Scripture : whilst the aid of the Divine Spirit would have to be sought in the use of the ordinances of religion, and in the exercises of private devotion. And only in proportion as the true Chris- tian temper was kept up, would true principles pre- 22-2 a; ;3 ■ 14, 23. >< vail in the Church, or voluntary institutions of any kind rest upon a proper basis. These remarks will, T think, be seen to have an application in the case of religious celibacy. It has been in all ages, and with whatever abuses, either really or professedly an exertion or working of natural piety. In the commencement of it, and in those persons who kej)t up the credit of it, it would be really so : in subsequent times, and in others, only professedly. But, like fasting, it was never made the subject of a divine command; it was only regulated, and the true notion and spirit of it indicated by the gos])el ; i. e. to m by the New Testament. It is remarkable therefore that, down to the time of the Council of Nice, we hear of no appeal whatever to tradition on the subject of celibacy, and even then only to this extent, that the priesthood were expected not to marry after ordi- nation. And as the account we have of this council, in which this matter is mentioned, is not earlier than a d. 423, that is a century after the council itself, there are considerable doubts whether we have the exact words of the S])eaker; whether, in fact, the refraining from marriage after entering the priesthood was at the time of the Council of Nice an ancient tradition, or merely an established cus- tom. But whatever be the case in regard to this point, Ave never find the advocacy of celibacy in the early writers made to rest u])on tradition, })ut always upon Scripture. All Tertuliian's notions on the 223 IS of any ) liavo an .'ley. It r abuses, workiiiij^ )f it, and of it, it s, and in !"•, it Mas inland ; it and spirit /.v 1)V the fore tiiat, ?, wc hoar 8ul)jcct of t, that the after ordi- 3 of this led, is not after the ;s whether ; wlietlier, r entering L'il of Nice lished cus- ird to this )acy in the l)ut always 18 on the subject rest upon Scripture, or his deductions and M reasonings from Scripture. It is from Scripture tliat he draws his notion of the angelical nature li of a single life; it was from Scripture that he reasoned to the comparative imi)urity of marriage. It was from Scripture again that others, and finally the Church at large, settled that it was heretical to attach the term im])urity to marriage. We have found one of the interlocutors in Methodius taking this ground, and Ambrose and Augustine, who of j all the Church writers, are most full and most syste- matic on the subject, rest all their statements u])on Scripture. The angelical excellence of virginity, its superiority to marriage in the abstract, its excellence as a means of detaching ourselves from the world, and training ourselves for heaven, the regarding marriage as a state of comparative imi>erfection and weakness and worldiy-mindedness, the propriety of married persons refraining from matrimonial inter- course, and esj)ecially if the husband happened to be a clergyman, the bindingness of the vow of celi- bacy, and the sin and impurity of marrying after having taken it, are all deductions from Scripture, and deductions so natural from the passages aj)pealed to, (independently of inference from others, or of experience,) that it can never be wonderful that any set of persons should have drawn them ; and it is only wonderful that no Protestant sect should have arisen, taking them for their ground. Indeed, once grant the j)roj)riety of the vow of virginity, and the '224 ;:3 •" 't .J- propriety of makin<^ that vow to the Church, and all the rest naturally follows. The celibacy of the clergy is only another form of the vow : for no one is compelled to be a clergyman. It is true that the considerations I have pointed out in the first part of these papers, would lead to the conclusion that to take such a vow was i)lacing one's self under an unnecessary snare ; but how have tvc learnt to reason in this way ? Is it in any other way than hy experience f Has not the experience of the evils of compulsory celibacy, as it once existed, led us to search out and discover wherein lay the error of former reasonings from Scrijiturc ? I3ut that experience the ancients do not appear to have had, at least generally. In here and there a jdace some mischief arose ; but an abuse does not j)rove the evil of the thing abused. Besides they saw great and remarkable good arising from the practice of professed celibacy : and, if we may judge from the language of the early writers, good, for many gene- rations, far surpassing the occasional evil. What then should lead them to question the propriety of the vow? They knew that God had encouraged vows under the Old Testament ; witness the Naza- rites' vow, and the Rechabites' vow. It may perhaps be asked, why the reserved and cautious language of St. Paul did not teach the fathers more caution. But that very language sup- plied them with an argument to neutralize any such hint, even when they felt it. " He refrains," they 225 lurch, and icy of the or no one iro pointed d lead to ^as ] (lacing how have any other lerience of 30 existed, in lay the J3ut that > have had, place some j)rove the saw great practice of ) from the nany gene- •il. What )ropriety of encouraged the Naza- served and teach the guage sup- e any such ains," they say, " from ])res8ing celibacy, because of the wenk- ness of the new converts: but if he hud lived in our times, when faith had been longer cstablisliod, and was become stronger, he would have felt no such scruples ; but would have encouraged it to the utmost. He showed his wishes; he points out his difliculty. We have not the same difliculty now. Many voluntarily undertake it; aiul what evil arises? Is there any but what every good thing is attended with ? Are there some who do not keep their vow? And so may not any vow be broken? Nay are there not fewer who break the vow of celibacy, than there are who break the vow of marriage? Are there some who kee]) it hypocritically? But is not every virtue liable to false j)retenders ? Are there some who make virginity every thing ? But is not that an abuse to M'hich every virtue is liable? People naturally value themselves upon that in which they excel others, until they have foui.d out the evil of spiritual pride." And supposing any one of us had lived then, Mith our present notions, but without our experience, what could we have said? Should we lave said, " You put a mere corporeal abstinence, no where commanded, in the jdace of real holiness ?" " Nay," they would have replied, " we only regard it as a means to an end. We do not deny that holiness may be attained in matrimony; but we think it may be more easily attained, or that a higher degree of it may be attained in celibacy. You must allow that 2-20 4' St. Paul oxprossly points out that worMIy niindod- nc'MH is fi|)t to adliorc to inarria^j^o, and wliatcvcr clu'rislu's worldly uiindcduoss, must of courso clicck holiness of spirit. Besidos what critorion of a sys- tem can you |)roposo bettor than the fruits of it? And on the whole, are not the celibates the most exem|)lary of the Christian body ?" Supposing wo urged St. l^aul's clioicc of marria^ but somehow or other your religion does not ap])ear B < to us Scriptural." But they might have replied. beei in ■) " AV^e do not know how this is : but can you show us advc ■.4 '1 any set of persons who study the Scriptures more J sinc< ^1 *««' than we do, or who bring forth better fruits of autl piety?" 1 of re If we replied again : " But you are too formal, (altl u. not sufficiently spiritual, building up a righteousness una^ N of your own, without sufficient dependence on God ;" it u] they might still answer, " Our aim in retiring from and the w^orld has been to avoid temptations to pride, doul and to cultivate a nearer and closer communion have with God." But I have the less wish to dwell upon volu • this branch of the subject, because in referring to choi the life of St. Antony in Mr. Newman's " Church of fessi the Fathers," I am sure I shall give a high treat to this every dispassionate person, to every one who wishes take to see what may be said on the opposite side of the by h question to that which Mr. Taylor has taken ; to - virgi the world ? •e similarly cncoiirage- y to secure rcli at Jcrii- the Church D we know," )e the means now appears at large ? " ds very well, not apjiear ave replied, you show us ptures more er fruits of too formal, ighteousness ce on God ;" retiring from ns to pride, communion 3 dwell upon referring to " Church of high treat to ) who wishes ; side of the ,s taken ; to 229 every one who wishes to see the ancient Church viewed hi a sj)irit of love and sympathy for it;-' good points, instead of one of cavil and exaggeration of all its bad and doubtful ones. That jNIr. Newman is impartial I do not pretend to say ; because at his time of life and with his decided principles, im])ar- tiality is impossible ; but that he lias chosen to look the difficulties of Antony's history in the face, and give us the reflections of a sincere, and thoughtful, and highly gifted mind upon them, is no light matter. But, although without experience, we might have been unable to make any great imj)ression upon the advocates of asceticism, the experience of centuries since that time, enables us to speak with much more authority. The first evil which arose in the practice of religious celibacy was the imblk'ity of the profession (although without any vow) coupled with the honour unavoidably attached to it. This led persons to take it up from a love of distinction, and from vain-glory ; and these, of course, could not adhere to it. No doubt in this state of things, many were supposed to have taken up celibacy from religious motives, and voluntarily, M'itli whom it was scarcely a matter of choice : and thus scandal m ould attach to the pro- fession which' did not properly belong to it. But this alone did noc continue to be the case : a vow taken before the bislioj), and a solemn consecration by him, succeeded ; and from that time the Church virgins became a class, the individual members of 230 < -I- "14 wliich wero asoortai liable, and capable of being brought under Church censures for any impropriety of conduct. Accordingly, it was made a fault, punishable by penance, to associate familiarly with persons of the other sex, or even to live in the same house with unmarried men. But marriage was not forbidden ; and thus they might, if they chose, es- cape penance by marrying. But opinion rose on the subject of the marriage of consecrated virgins. It was considered that the vow was made to God and the Church : marriage was a breach of the vow ; therefore marriage itself was spiritually an adultery, and was to be punished. This caused the former evils to increase, rather than diminish. Every shift was tried to indulge passion, and yet to escape cen- sure. For this state of things two remedies were attempted; one, not to peimit persons to dedicate themselves till a somewhat mature age, the other, to confine them in convents. The former, however, does not seem to have prevailed at all extensively, at least not in the west ; but the latter was tried in all the various degrees of rigour, of which the case was capable, until the nuns were debarred from ever leaving the walls of the convent, or ever speaking to a person of the other sex, excepting their religious adviser. Whether this was effectual or not, would of course depend upon the strictness or easiness of the governing i)erson, and upon the general wish to preserve the vow. But experience has shown that, when either the superior was lax or unprincipled, or I 231 ) of being impropriety :le a fault, liliarly with in the same ige was not sy chose, es- ion rose on ated virgins, lade to God of the vow ; an adultery, [ the former Every shift escape cen- medies were to dedicate the other, to or, however, I extensively, was tried in hich the case ed from ever r speaking to heir religious •r not, would or easiness of neral wish to siiown that, principled, or whore any considerable number of the nuns became tired of their vow, any breaches of it whatever were possible ; and the most frightful profligacy might bo carried on, and the most awful crimes committed, under the profession of superior sanctity. In the Eastern Church the history of virgin celi- bacy is not so clear : but the impossibility of enforc- ing it seems at length to have led to the cessation of all efforts for the purpose, or the profession itself fell into desuetude : so that, if I mistake not, female convents, or professed virgins, are in that portion of the Church now unknown. They are now so far in the same condition as ourselves ; not exactly as the primitive Church ; for in that virgins had a distinct and useful function, viz. that of deaconesses. But as that institution, from change of manners, is alto- gether become obsolete, so all experience shows the wisdom of leaving virginity to the voluntary choice of individuals, bound by no vow, unshackled by any profession ; at liberty to marry whenever it may appear desirable, but honoured in celibacy, if their works show that they devote their state to God. The history of the celibacy of men is somewhat different. It does not appear to have taken any definite shape in the time of Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian ; nor were those who practised it known by any definite tokens. Towards the time of the coiuicil of Nice, however, they appear to have adopted something like a regular habit, and to have united with celibacy religious retirement, discipline, *r < r;3 ■••14; 232 und voluntary poverty. To all this there could bo no objection, further than to the si)irit of fanaticism, or of Pharisaism mingled with it. But, as amongst the ignorant and zealous, there will always bs fanati- cism, so it was better to have some outlet for it in connexion with the Church, than to drive it to form schisms. Not to say that the ascetic virtues were always a lesson to the mass of the Church, to teach them visibly that the world can be forsaken, that riches are not coveted by all men, that there is some- thin fj more exalted than a refined self-indulo^ence. For many of the recluses were men of substance, who had forsaken all literally for Christ's sake. Many of them were men of refined minds and polished manners, who showed that these qualifications may be united with poverty and solitude. At the time of the council of Nice, things were in a state of transition from the eremitical to the monastic state ; and in the time of Basil, and under his patronage and of the other great lights of the Church, monkery was ripened into a perfect system ; the direct vow was added, and the breach of that vow was made penal. Still there were many who merely professed a single life with relio'ious ends ; and of this class were those whom St. John Chrysostom so sarcastically describes as busied in female toils, like the race of Frencli abbes before the revolution. This latter class has never become totally extinct, though much dis- couraged after the rise of the conventual system, which was no doubt in some respects an improve- 233 3 could be fanaticism, as amongst s be fanati- !t for it in it to form irtues were L'b, to teach saken, that 3re is some- -indulgence. ►stance, who ike. Many nd polished cations may it the time a state of lastic state; s patronage ch, monkery ect vow was made penal. 5sed a single I were those ly describes of French 3r class has much dis- tual system, an improve- ment upon the eremitical and solitary, as it bound men to a certain discipline : but it exists to this day in the East. The conventual system has branched out into various rules, according to the will of vari- ous founders : but all experience has shown that no rules, nothing in short but voluntary zeal and piety can ever keep a body of men pure and useful ; and consequently that binding men to continue in a body, the institutions and habits of which go to deny them lawful indulgences, must lead and always will lead to the vilest enormities in men of one character, and to mere indolent uselessness in those of another. The exf ri.ice of ages then goes to confirm the positions with which I set out; viz. that both in men and in women celibacy should always be left entirely voluntary; that those only should be en- couraged to adopt it, who are disposed to devote themselves to the service of God in some work of piety ; that, in case of any person mistaking his voca- tion, he should be allowed to reth*e without reproach or remark, and endeavour to serve God in the lower, but easier and safer path of wedlock: easier 'nd safer, I mean, as far as actual gross sin is concerned, but, as a road to perfection, more arduous and more difficult. Nor is the case altered in respect to the clergy. In the history of the Niccne Church we find, co- existent with clerical celibacy, rules against allowing any females but near relations to live with a clergy- man ; and what does this show but that evil was at Q 234 ■■: J least feared? And indeed docs not Jerome's lan- guage show that, even at that time it was fre- quently realized. It took many ages, however, before it was thoiiglit necessary for a clergyman, after ordi- nation, to abstain from matrimonial indulgence ; and still more before absolute celibacy was enforced. The ground taken for the former was, that, as it was the duty of the clergy to preach abstinence from carnal indulgence, they should set an example of what they preached. It is to be remarked moreover that there is no one period we can fix on, when complete abstinence was binding throughout the Church. For a long time it was not enforced in the East. When it appears to have been enforced there, it was not established in all parts of the West, especially here in England. And w i again it was established here, the eastern Churches I'ad gone back, and ceased to enforce it on the clergy at large. Moreover the absolute celibacy of the clergy, viz. that they should not be married at all, has never been the rule or practice of the universal Church, but only of those Churches which are under obedience to Rome. But the enforcement of it in these Churches has led to excesses and positive vice on the part of the clergy which are unknown elsewhere. All through Spain and in considerable portions of Italy, Switzer- land, and Germany, it is extremely common to find that clergymen, although not suffered to marry, habi- tually keep concubines. And although in countries where Protestantism j)revails, nothing ho openly gross 235 •ome's lan- ■j was fre- >ver, before after ordi- jence ; and I enforced, that, as it iience from 3xaniple of [I moreover : on, when iffhout the jnforced in m enforced f the West, gain it was l?ad gone gy at large, clergy, viz. never been jh, but only jedience to ie Churches } part of the A.11 through ly, Switzer- mon to find iiarry, habi- in countries )penly gross is seen, yet, to those who have had an opportunity of looking below the surface, there can be but little doubt that the obligation to celibacy renders the clergy unsafe to the morals of the female portion of their congregations. The obligation is not one of God's appointment; it is never even hinted at in Scrij)ture : and the attempt to enforce it must always produce great evils. The utmost we can do is to take away discourage- ments to it, to encourage those who are willing to remain in that state, to point out the evils likely to arise from clergymen of confined incomes entering upon the married state, and the advantage to the Church for peculiar purposes of having some of her ministers bound bv no worldly ties; to give the honour which is rightfully due to those who choose, for the sake of other men's souls, or to avoid worldliness of mind, to forego the comforts and enjoyments of the married state. But beyond this we caimot go. No slur ought to be cast upon those who choose to marry prudently. No attempt ought to be made to affix a distinction on the unmarried, simply as such. No encouragement, but rather posi- tive discouragement, should be given to vows of celibacy. They are a snare upon the conscience, and nothing more. Every sufficient end of them is answered by a continued voluntary endeavour to adhere to a well considered resolution ; which we are better able to keep, in such a case, without a vow than with one. Q 2 23G But although all experience shows that vows or i. '4 4< public declarations, or professions of porjietual celi- bacy, are dangerous, there aj)pear8i.o sufficient reason why those who choose to remain in celibacy, whether clergymen or others, should not associate themselves together in communities. There can be but little doubt that many persons of a social turn of mind are driven or beguiled into marriage, mIio have to repent of it all their lives after, by no other circum- stance than the want of suita])le society. A j)erson of refined and studious mind cast into the midst of a community of tradesmen will find nothing congenial to his habits amongst the men ; and however duty may lead him to associate with them, ho will seek for solace and repose from the other sex. But if such a person were a member of a society, whose professional habits were the same as his own, with the individual members of which he might find the same refinement and love of study as in himself, to whom he might unbend and feel at home, he would at all events be able to look at marriage vvitli a more unprejudiced eye, and, if ho did ultinuitely marry, wait for a congenial com})anion and suitable outward circumstances. There need be no vow in such communities ; all that would be necessary would be that the members of the society should be unmar- ried, as fellows of colleges are, so long as they con- tinued to belong to it. There is another cause of diflTiculty with some of the clergy, besides the want of congenial society; 237 [it vows or ictual CL'li- ient reason y, whether themselves but little n of niiiid 10 liavo to ler circum- A ])erson midst of a ^ congenial vvever duty 3 will seek ,'X. But if ety, whose own, with ^ht find the in himself, home, he rria^e with ultimately lid suitable no vow in :isary would [ be unmar- as they con- itli some of ial society; f and that is the insufficiency of their incomes, especially in populous and increasing i)laces, where churches are rapidly raised without the possibility of providing any adequate provision for the clergy- man to whose pastoral care and teaching the people are to be committed. Now societies of clergymen, living in one common dwelling and eating at one common table, appear best calculated to remedy this deficiency. The very existence of boarding-houses and club-houses, shows that the combination of small incomes can produce comfort for all the in- mates, which none of them could enjoy without such combination. There is another advantage attached to club- houses which might be attached to societies of clergymen, I mean that of libraries and the ordinary vehicles of ephemeral information. A society can provide for its united members a library far surpass- ing what any of them could obtain separately. And when such a society existed, I know not what objection there could be to allowing any unattached clergyman to join it. lie would be kept in the society which was most fit for ii'm, out of the way of the ordinary temptations which deteriorate the characters of men without definite employment. A facility of reference to books would foster or engender a love of reading. He would be ready to render occasional assistance to his brethren ; and he would be at hand to occupy any new station for which a settled pastor had not been provided, or could 13 238 < V not V.e i)rovi(led. (Itlier inmates may at some future O-.y be found in the under masters of training and gramm.ir schools. Tliese are mere hints of the probable utility of such societies. And that the obligation of celibacy fio Inufi as persons continued members of them would be productive of no serious injury, the example of our colleges sufficiently shows : for whatever instances of immorality may at any time have been found amongst the fellows, the same or greater might have been found in ordinary society. I return to notice other deductions from this whole discussion. How remarkable is it that all the errors of the ancient church on this subject have arisen, not from any following of primitive tradition, but from the exercise of private judgment in the interpretation of Scrij)ture ! With regard to the celibacy of the laity there does not exist, I believe, a single trace of any endeavour on the part of ancient writers to build it upon tradition. The exaggerated ideas which successively arose, are one and all built upon and supported by indi- vidual reasoning upon texts of Scripture. The Church indeed, in one instance ' appeals to the combined authority of Scripture and tradition ; on another ^ to tradition alone : but it is remarkable > mg ' At the council of Gangra. See p. 151, 2. ' At the Tmllaii council. See p. 210. 'i30 [)ine future aiuing auil 3 utility of of celibacy ^Itern would e example whatever have been or greater from this rors of the [1, not from t from the ;erpretation bacy of the ^le trace of writers to ively arose, 3(1 by indi- ture. The als to the idition ; on remarkable I i that ill both cases it is in favour of moderate i ■J - j: THE END. Oii.BK.RT & IliviNGTON, Printers, St. John's Square, London. :m(lition at o, niul the tioii tlioro- tliis. But vliicli thoro ico : where it lias been London.