iililliilliSfc 9 2 2 1 11 A CONCISE HISTORV THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, KROM ITS FIRS I KSTA.BLl.SH.MENT TO THE PRESENT TIME . OOSTAININO A GENER.\L VIEW OF MISSIONS ■XHIBITINO THE .ST.\TK 01" RKLIGION IX DIFFERKNl J'ARTR OF THS WORLD. COMPU'EU J'KOM THK WORKS OK PR. O. GREGORY, WlTn NTMKKOUS ADOITIO!** AND IMPK0V8MENT8. BY MARTIN RUTER, D. D. Kcw-Bork: FUBLl.SllKl) 1;Y CARLTON & PH11J.IP8, •JOU MCLIiTRIlT-STRF. F.T. *' P'r.tcreJ according to Act of (Congress, iu the year 18']4, by B. Wai)gh and T. Mason, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Soiuhci-n District of New-York." -S'c-Z PREFACE. The rise, progress, establishment, corruption, and reformation of the Church, are subjects of deep interest to mankind, and especially so to the friends of Christianity. But the voluminous works in which these subjects are exhibited, are to the great mass of community inac- cessible. The want of means to purchase, or of time to read them, has restricted their use to a comparatively small number of readers. Hence the spread of the gospel, and the condition of the Church in ¥- different ages since the establishment of (ilhristianity, are by many very *" imperfectly understood. ^ The object of this work in its original form, as prepared by Dr. Gre- oc gory» ^as to furnish a comprehensive abridgment of ecclesiastical 3 histoiy ; and thus to place this important branch of knowledge within the reach of multitudes that could not obtain it from larger works. ^ In revising and preparing it in its present form, the same object has been kept in view. The work might have been swelled to a size much ^ beyond its present limits ; but a general history of the Church in a 8 small compass was deemed preferable, especially in view of the use that may be made of it by the young and rising generation. The history by Dr. Gregory docs not extend to the close of the last Q century. Although this is compiled principally from that, it is extended SC to the present time ; has numerous additions and improvements, and is O enriched with a view of missions, and other subjects of moral cnter- m prise, e.\liibiting the present condition and prospects of the Christian li world. J In this compendious form it is ofi'ered to the public, with the hope that it may be found, in some degree, useful in advancing the great interesi.s of the lledecmer's kingdom. M. RUTKR. Pittsburgh, Pa., March 3, 1834. v> 45r,f^.8'3 HISTORY CHRISTIAN CHURCH. THE FIRST CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL VIEW OF THK HISTORY OF RELIGION PREVIOUS TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST. Two sy.stems of religion prevalent from the early ages — Origin of paganism — Mist&kea ooDcerning the ancient traditions — Worship of the heavenly bodies — Applying tlie titles of the gods to the early monarehs — Local deities — Idolatry — Nature of the Jewish religion — State of the world at the birth of Christ — Social genius of polytheism — Grecian phi- losophy — Epicurean — Peripatetics — Stoics — Platonics — Oriental philosophy— Religious state of Judea — Pharisees — Sadducees — Esscnes — Civil state — Herod — Profligacy of the nations. In the great chain of history, every event is so closely connected with that immediately preceding, and so much governed by the contin- gent circumstances of manners, lime, and place, that an account of any given period, with no retrospect whatever to past transactions, would afford a detail frequently unintelligible, and in general dry and uninte- resting. It appears necessary, therefore, on the present occasion, ti> lay before the reader a short statement of the progress of religion frora the first periods of society, in order to enable him to judge properly of the great importance of the Christian dispensation, and of the causes which impeded or accelerated its progress. The exuberance of human folly and superstition has branched out into innumerable ramilications ; but it would be neither useful nor convenient to pursue, with a minute attention, all the meanders of ab- surdity. Sncli a history would be little more than a catalogue of name>, or a dull recital of correspondent rites, and similar ceremonit^s. In thi~i short abstract of religious history I shall, therefore, consider the sub- ject uiir of which, in the Egyptian tongue, signified many 'ycd, from the sun's overlooking all that passes in the world ; the latter signified the ancient: Isis, moreover, was generally painted with horns, in allusion to the lunar crescent. When the traces of ancient tradition were become faint in successive generations, the human imagination sported in the wantonness of fiction. From the broken fragments of true history, the want of combination in hieroglyphic representations, and the mutilated remains of ancient records or language, iimumerable superstitions were fabricated, and re- ceived with all the avidity of popular credulity. The deluge proved a most fertile source of error. The venerable patriarch Noah, from being revered as the father of men, came at last to be worshipped, under different names, as their creator. He is evidently the Saturnus, the Janus, the Poseidon or Neptune, the Thoth, Hermes, Menes, Osiris, Zouth, Atlas, Prometheus, ITeucalion, and Proteus of all the ancient fables.* Not only the patriarch himself, but all the circum- stances of his history, have been strangely metamorphosed into divini- ties. The dove, the ark, even the raven and the olive branch, have all occupied different places in the mysteries of paganism, and with direct allusions to their derivation. [BryauCs Mythology, vol. ii.) In the same manner Men or Mmrs, one of the Egyptian divinities, (originally the patriarch Noah, ibid.,) was the same with the celebrated Minos of ('rete, upon which island there was a temple or tower to this divinity, called Mentor, or the tower of Menes. To this temple the Athenians were annually obliged to send some of their youth to be sacrificed, in the same manner as the people of Carthage sent their children as victims to Tyre. {Diod. Sic. 1. xx.) From these circum- stances arose the fable of the Minotaur ; and as there was a Men-tor in Crete, there was a Tor-men, now Taormina, in .Sicily, where the .same brutal rites were also performed, 'i'hcse towers were commonly situated on 'he seacoast ; they were peculiarly dreaded by mariners; V/hert^fore, the saui<; author suppos<;s, with nuich probability, that the tremendous Scylla was no olluir than one of those fat;d temples, where the shipwrecked stranger was inhospitably sacrificed. In the same temples the rites of fire were performed. Hence arose the celebrated fable of the Furies: as the term Furia is evidently derived from Phur, (fire,) the priestesses of which, being engaged in these iidmman and * See this decidedly ascrrtained in the second volume of Brjanl's Mythology. Cent. I.] iiistorv of the church. II inhospitable rites, were not improperly converted into the tormentors of the damned. The next grand deprivation of the human mind, with respect to reli- gion, proceeded from confounding the names and characters of the early monarchs with those of the gods. Perhaps the first legislators might be ambitious of asserting the Divine origin of their institutions ; perhaps they might assume to themselves a celestial character, and might find it no difficult matter to persuade their ignorant countrymen that the innnortals had condescended to visit the earth in a human form. Or, perhaps, with more probability, they might only appropriate to themselves the appellations of the deities ; and the mistakes of future ages may have fabricated a mythology from this confusion of names. The names of Isis and Osiris, which I have already noted as the first of the Egyptian divinities, were soon applied to the early monarchs of that mythologic region ; and thus the original applications of these titles were soon forgotten. The history of these divinities is no longer that of the two heavenly bodies which they originally denoted, but that of a succession of princes, who assumed those high denominations, and whom the unfaithful records of tradition have strangely converted into two celestial potentates, who continued to direct the afi'airs of men, but who formerly condescended to visit that favoured people in a human form. Where there is no exact register of time, facts or histories traditionally preserved will naturally recede, and the distance of time bo enormously increased. The tradition was, in the time of Herodo- tus, that no god in the form of man had reigned in Egypt for upward of 11,340 years — a period which the active genius of their priests had lakcii care to fill up with events suited to the capacity and the taste of their disciples. During that period of miracles, the sun had no less than four times altered his cour.sc ; twice rising where he now sets, and twice setting where he now rises. When, according to the same tradition, the gods reigned in Egypt, they reigned by turns, nor were ihi^y all at once upon earth. Orus, the son of Osiris, was the last who reiuned among them ; and this Orus was the Grecian Apollo. From these sources each nation, after the dispersion of mankind, came, in process of time, to have its peculiar gods ; for after such concessions, the eslablishment of national and local deities seems no very difficult efibrt of the mind ; and if a plurality of gods be once ad- mitted, it is an easy method of accounting for the suggestions of our own minds, to assign the difierent passions and emotions of their tute- lary deities ; hence a god of love, a god of war, &c. The social genius of polytheism admitted to a free participation of celestial honours the gods of all nations, whether inimical or friendly. Hence, at the period of our Lord's appearance, almost the whole civilized world acknowledged the same divinities, and tlu; religion of Greece and Kome composed a bulky system, which embraced all the false deities that huntan folly or mistake had ever invented. Idolatry was the natural concomitant of such a system as this. The gods of the ancients were only men ; their fabidous history was wholly fabricated from the transactions of men who had assumed the names and titles originally appropriated to the heavenly I)odirs : to exhibit them llierelore, in a human t'orm, or by an allegorical aitplication, in the form of that animal to whce nature their peculiar functions were 12 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I. supposed to bear the strictest analogy, was natural and easy. And if the idea of local deities be once generally admitted, it is no harsh sup- position to imagine, that the spiritual being might occasionally visit the shrine which was dedicated to his glory ; and thus adoration might easily be transferred from the Deity himself to his image or resem- blance. Whoever attentively and seriously considers the religion of the He- brews will lind it totally different in every circumstance from that .which has been described. By successive rcA'elations, the know- \ ledge of the one true God was carefully preserved among them. The abominations of paganism were frequently, indeed, introduced, but iheir progress was constantly retarded by some fresh interposition of miraculous power. The abstract and metaphysical notions of the Di- vine attributes, so repugnant to human reason in an uncultivated state, were always regarded with veneration by this singular people. He is represented as infinite, eternal, unchangeable, invisible ; as omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent — characters which agree with none of the heathen deities. This was indeed the first revelation made to man ; it was the foundation of the Jewish institutions, and appears to have been consistent with no other system of religion. There is no part of the Hebrew theology which can be traced from the perversions or misapprehensions of the human imagination. f^No part of their theology can be resolved into a mistaken history, a '\ corruption of names, or a puerile allegory. That at a period when the rest of the world was immersed in barba- rism and the grossest idolatry ; at a period when even the Jewish nation themselves appear to have made but little progress in human science, the most refined theological notions should prevail among them, united with a milder and more spiritualized system of morals* than was to be found in any other nation, can only be accounted for from a superior and more recent revelation. In such a state of civilization, or rather wf barbarism, the peculiar providence of God was indeed ever neces- sary to preserve them in the path of rectitude. The miraculous in- terpositions of the Deity were, therefore, frequent; and a number of inspired men appeared, from time to time, who served to recall the people to the knowledge of their God, and to invigorate the debilitated system with fresh portions of spiritual information. But not oidv the general scheme of the Hebrew theology and ethics differed from those of the heathen, and were superior to them ; but even those institutions which are accounted peculiar to the Israelites will admit of a rational and consistent intepretation. The rites and mys- reries of paganism were either corrupt and absurd allusions to the I patriarchal history,f or they were profligate and unmeaning. The religious institutions of the Hebrews may all of them be con- sistently explained upon two principles only. They had either a re- trospect to the past, or a reference to the future. They were intended either to preserve in the memories of the people the religion of their ancestors, and to fortify them against the contagion of idolatry ; or they bore so clear and decisive a reference to that great object of the whole ♦ See the decalogue, ihe lawK concerning slaver)', the treatment of other ani- mals, &c. t See that incomparabl" trpa<:}ry of ancient learning, Bryant's Mythology, pasaim. Ce.VT. 1.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 13 Mosaical dispensation, the coming of the Messiah, tliat a con.siderable part of the Jewish ceremonies have been ever regarded by the learned of that nation as a great and standing prophecy ; and the application of them to the circumstances of Jesus Christ, by himself and his apos- tles, was so striking and unanswerable, that it served to confound, to silence, and even to convert their most obstinate opponents. Much might be added upon this subject ; but it is more the business of the divine than of the historian. I shall, therefore, hasten to exhibit a short sketch of the state of the two prevailing systems of religion at the time of our Lord's appearance ; from which I doubt not but it will evidently appear, that the period described by the Hebrew prophets as the fulness of timr, was now arrived ; in other words, that such a reve- lation as that by Christ Jesus was then absolutely necessary ; and far- ther, that this was the only proper season which apparently had occurred since the patriarchal ages for the promulgation of such a dispensation. The victorious arms of Rome had, at the time of our Lord's descent upon earth, subjected to its sway a considerable part of the known world. Distant nations had either silently submitted to a power too mighty to withstand, or had been compelled to acknowledge the strength and the authority of their triumphant conquerors ; and governed either by Roman proconsuls, invested with temporary commissions, or indidged by the republic with the continuance of their own princes and laws, they were reduced to own its claims to supreme sovereignty, and all to enrol themselves in the numl)er of its sons and subjects. The power, indeed, of the Roman people was at this time much abridged. The senate retained little of authority but the name, while the empire was in reality governed by the victorious, the crafty, the accomplished Augustus. This extensive empire, so extremely favourable to the civilization of barbarous and remote nations, together with the general diJTusion of the Greek language, was particularly conducive to an easy propagation of the Gospel ; while a cessation from all the calamities of discord and war* tranquillized the mind, and prepared it for the reception of the mild and rational doctrines of Christ. United in error, those nations which acknowledged not the Roman power agreed with its professed subjects in idolatry and superstition. Every country, as was already intimated, had its peculiar gods ; every people their particular manner of worshipping and propitiating their respective deities ; and their religious homage, not confined to the natural world, to the memory of departed heroes, or the improvers of elegance or convenience, was extended to things inanimate, and to persons merely ideal. Mountains, groves, and rivers were the objects of religious adoration ; and even those vices, or those maladies, which are the most destructive of human happiness, were honoured with tem- ples, and served witli trembling awe and devout terror. To avoid the imputation of worshipping inanimate beings, many of the heathens j)r(!t«'nded, that th(> di-iiy represented by the statue was really resident in it: and that every part of the visible creation was the residence of some superior being: but the generality, naturally more impressed with sensible than with invisible objects, easily transferred to the symbol * Moslifiin iiiUmates l)is dissent from the opinion of general peace then prevailing m the world. The assiTiion of (.)rosius, that the tomplo of Janns was at this time shut, is confirnied l>y Horace in his Ist Ep. lib. u. 14 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I. that homage which should have been offered to the god. The know- ledge of" what were called mysteries was imparted only to a few. who, previous to their initiation, were compelled to exhibit undoubted proofs of their secrecy, fidelity, and patience, and to conceal, under no less a penalty than the probable deprivation even of life, every circumstance relating to those rites, which were generally subversive of good order, and even of external decorum. The teachers of error, and the base deluders of a wretched and ignorant multitude, the pontiffs or priests, represented the whole of religion as consisting in the performance of certain ceremonies, and the gods as superior to men only in their im- mortality and power. Thus their deities, so far from being laudable objects of imitation, were rather examples of enormous but successful crimes ; unjust, capricious, and partial, whose vengeance was in general appeased, or whose protection was ensured, by animal offerings, though some nations supposed these ends could only be attained by the horrible sacrifice of human victims. This absurd system of theology, unsupported by any decided belief of future rewards and punishments, their opinions of which were obscure, licentious, and often more calculated to administer indulgence to vice than incitements to virtue, was regarded by the more enlightened part of mankind as a subject of ridicule and contempt. Nor indeed could any, who were not totally bewildered in error, avoid dis- covering the absurdity of a religion which presented no discouragement to the most depraved propensities, and the perpetration of the most flagitious actions. To those who have observed that intolerant spirit, which for a trifling difference in religious belief has persecuted wise and good men, and visited the earth with the calamities of war, it will appear extraordinary, that so great a variety of religious systems, and of objects of religious worship, should produce neither dissensions nor war. This general moderation is not, however, to be ascribed to any superiority in the temper or character, but to a circumstance which has been already intimated, — to their considering the gods who presided over the earth as local deities, whose influence and jurisdiction extended only to certain countries, and their respective inhabitants ; who, it would have been absurd to expect, should leave their tutelary divinities for the worship of those whom they considered as affording them neither regard nor protection. The Romans extended their religious modera- tion so far, as not only to tolerate foreign superstitions, but even to naturalize the gods of every conquered nation : but though they granted to their citizens the right of privately adopting those religious tenets of other nations which were not inimical to their own interests and laws, yet they permitted no innovations to take place in the religion publicly professed, and gently insinuated their own peculiar rites and institutions into the religious worship of those whom they had subdued. Policy, no less than religion, prompted them to a st( p which added to mutual interest the strong tie of mutual faith. Thus their religion, with their conquests, extended over a considerable portion of the globe, and incorporated with the sacred rites of every vanquished nation. A ray of light faintly illumined this dark and dreary niglit of ignorance and error. The northern nations had so far emerged from their state of barbarism, as to have made some progress in curious inventions and Cent. I.] iiistorv oy the church. 15 useful arts ; but in the polished states of Greece and Rome, philosophy and learning were eagerly sought and pursued by all who aspired to elegance and refinement. The Roman youth, however distinguished , for his attainments in those arts which luxuriantly flourished in his own republic, could neither be esteemed an orator nor a rhetorician, without completing his studies in the Grecian schools, and imbibing, from the , purest sources, attic grace and elegance. Hence, the philosophy of Greece found easy access into the Roman republic. Oratory, which was publicly taught in all the great cities by those who styled themselves philosophers, was a successful vehicle for conveying the peculiar opi- nions of its professors into the youthful and credulous heart: those, there- fore, who visited Greece unbiased by the opinions of any philosophical sect, were not likely to continue insensible to arguments offered to them with every embellishment of eloquence, acuteness, and wit. The doctrines of the Epicureans and Academics appear to have been eagerly received at Rome. They were, indeed, peculiarly cal- culated for that great and luxurious people. 'I'he followers of Epicu- rus asserted the fortuitous origin of the world ; the inability and indif- ference of the gods respecting human affairs ; the mortality of the soul ; and that the life which was most conformable to nature consisted ia_ pleasure, of which they constituted sense the judge. While this sect offered to its votaries a license for the most illicit pursuits, the Acade-~ mics involved the most important doctrines in infidelity and skepticism, and questioned the existence of the gods, the immortality of the soul, and the superiority of virtue to vice. Far from having attained to unpolluted knowledge, those sects, which boasted a superior purity of morals, were yet greatly defective, and involved in error. The .Aristotelians represented the Supreme Being as indifferent to human aflairs, and happy in the contemplation of his own excellence. The Stoics described him, indeed, as governrj ing the world, and asserted, that the perfection of happiness consisted in the perfection of virtue : tliey jieopled the world with gods, genii, and demons,* and supposed that every man had a tutelary genius as- signed him, and that all virtue and happiness consisted in acting in concert with tliis genius, with reference to the will of the supreme director of the whole. But, however plausible and specious these doctrines may appear, several of their leading tenets were not less pernicious than erroneous. The Stoical belief, of the Deity being corporeal in his nature, was highly derogatory of his dignity, and destructive of their reverence ; while their opinions of the nutrtality of the soul removed the strongest incentive to virtue, and the most powerful restraint upon vice. The exalted genius and profound pene- tration of Plato had enabled him to discover whatever the mere light of nature could reveal. He tauglit to his followers the pure doctrine of the unity of God, who is pcrlect, self-existent, and self-suflicient ; that he is a being infuiitely good, and desirous of renderinsi all his creatures happy ; tliat the; perfection of morality consists in living con- • The agency of genii, i. c, angel.s antl dcmon.s, made an esscnli.il part of the Jewish popular creed ; and every thing in tlio administration ol" their pccuhar systoni, as woll as of the whole mundane system, is represented in the sacred writings, and by Jesus Christ- himself, as efltcted through tlie agency of such existences. It has often sur- prised ine that divines h.ive taken so little notice of this. 16 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I. formably to his will ; that the soul is immortal, and that there is to be a future state of retribution. These doctrines, however approaching to truth and perfection, were yet at a considerable distance. They were often obscurely expressed, and accompanied with some opinions calculated to cherish superstition, and others injurious to the omnipotence of God. The Platonists taught that the Deity was confined to a certain determinate portion of space, and that there was an invincible malignity and corruption of matter, which the Divine power had not been sufficient to reduce en- tirely to order. Having noticed the principal sects of the Greek philosophers, it is unnecessary to enlarge upon those who, though called by other names, were separated from them by slight, sometimes imaginary, partitions. The oriental philosophy, though termed gnosis, or science, that is, the way to the true knowledge of the Deity, was the offspring and the parent of error ; the source of those pernicious opinions which in the first three centuries perplexed and afflicted the Christian Church. Its doctrines were fantastic, ignorant, and obscure, founded indeed, in many instances, upon just principles, but its deductions from them were false and absurd. They afHrmed, that as the eternal mind must be inaccessible to evil, perfect and beneficent in its nature, therefore the origin of evil cannot reside in him, but must be without him ; and as there is nothing without or beyond the Deity but matter, matter must be the source of whatever is vicious or evil. They asserted the eternity of matter, which derived its present form not from the will of tEe Supreme God, but from the creating power of some inferior intelli- gence who formed the world ; alleging that it was incredible that a being perfectly good, and infinitely removed from all evil, should either create or modity matter which is essentially malignant or corrupt, or bestow upon it any portion of his riches or liberality. Divided into many sects, each of which contended for some favourite error, the Gnostics agreed in acknowledging the existence of an eternal nature, in whom dwelt the fulness of perfection ; and represented him as a pure and radiant light diffused through all space, which they termed plcroma, or ful- ness. The formation of celestial beings they accounted for by suppos- ing the Eternal, after having passed innumerable ages in solitude and happiness, to have produced from himself two minds of a different sex, perfectly resembling their Divine original, who peopled the plcroma with their celestial offspring. These they called yEons, or an eternal nature. They supposed the world to be created not by God, but by one of the inferior inhabitants of the pleroma, whom they described as being in many respects of an exalted character, but haughty and am- bitious ; and this being they named Demiurge, the governor of the world, from the ruling of which they would have the Deity utterly ex- cluded. They believed that man was composed of a soul, which is of celestial origin, and which would aspire to worship the true God, were it not that the other half of his nature, which is a corrupt body, super- sedes all its more virtuous desires, and attaches it to the pursuits of sensuality. That the Supreme Being employs various means for the deliverance of his creatures from their bondage to sin, but is opposed by the demiurge, who tempts men to disregard these merciful designs, and to serve him. That those who rise isuperior to his artifices, and Cent. I.] history of the church. 17 subdue those corrupt affections which sinful matter excites in them, shall at death ascend into the glorious plcroma, while the wicked shall pass from one body into another till they become purified. That thf world will at length be destroyed by God, who will overcome all evil, release those souls which have been confined in mortal prison.s, and dwell with them and happy spirits in glory and happiness to all eternity. If we advert to the state of the Jewish nation at this period, we shall find that they had introduced the most absurd superstition, and the grossest corruption into their worship. The whole of religion, accord- ing to their ideas, consisted in the rites appointed by their great law- giver, and the performance of some external acts of duty toward the Gentiles. Uncharitable upon system, they regarded the rest of man^\ kind as excluded from the hopes of eternal life, and treated them with 1 the utmost contempt, rigour, and inhumanity. To these corrupt and ) vicious principles were added several superstitious notions concerning the Divine nature, magic, invisible powers, Sec, which were cither derived from the example of neighbouring nations, or imbibed diuino- the Babylonish captivity. The inhabitants of Palestine, divided into Jewish and Samaritan, were rent by intestine commotions, and each regarded the opposite sect with aversion and abhorrence. Even the directors in religious concerns, whose superior knowledge should have exalted them above the ignorant multitude, contributed to their errors, by dividing into a great variety of sects ; which, though geni^rally agreed in the ceremonial part of the Jewish religion, were involved in continual disputes. The principal sects which arose among the Jews, between the time of their return from Babylon, and the advent of Christ, were the Phari- sees, the Sadducoes, and the Essenes. Of these, the most con.sider- able in number, learning, and influence, was that of she Pharisees.* They asserted the immortality of the body atid soul, and a state of future rctribiuion ; opinions which, however compounded with prejudice .ind error, must have tended in no inconsiderable degree to regulate their conduct and purify their minds. Yet were they far from having attained to pure and substantial virtue : they were ostentatious, not devout ; they were austere, not virtuous ; and concealed their inward pollution under the sjarb of austerity and devotion. To the written law thev added another, wliich had been received by oral trndition ; a com- pound of falsehood, superstition, and absurdity, which they regarded as giving elhcacy to the general precept, by pointing out its precise appli- cation and extent. The Sadducees were of opinion, that the rewards and punishments denounced by God were merely temporal ; and that thev neither wanted nor received any Divine assistance lor the performance of their duty. They denied the existence of angels and spirits, and asserted that there was no resurrection, no future slate, and tliat the whole man peri.shed at death. Opinions which were so little calculated to discou- rage vice, and promote virtue, were the certain and natural associates of immorality and corruption. Opinions so favourable to t(>mporal in- dulgences were likely to be adopted by most of those who were endued • St. Piml hoars thnii this honourable testimony: " .\cconling to the straitest (the exaciest) sect ot" our religion," savs l»c. '• I lived a Pharisee." 2 18 . HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. I wilh the means and opportunities of gratifying their licentious propen- sities ; and accordingly wc find that the Sadducoes enjoyed the favour and protection of the great, while the followers of the Pharisees, though more numerous, were generally in a subordinate rank. The Saddu- cees were the most violent persecutors and oppressors of the apostles, who in their preaching constantly insisted upon the doctrines of the resurrection, a day of judgment, and a state of retribution ; while the Pharisees were more inclined to protect and support them, and a con- siderable portion of the first Jewish converts to Christianity appears to have consisted of the latter sect.* Professedly devoted to contemplation and silence, the Essenes affected the utmost privacy and solitude, observed the most absurd austerities, and practised the most fantastical and superstitious obser\-- ances. In opposition to the Pharisees, who maintained that the rewards and punishments of the law extended both to the soul and body, and that their duration was prolonged in a future state ; and to the Saddu- cees, who assigned to them the same period that concludes this transitory existence ; the Essenes asserted, that future rewards extended alone to the soul, and that the body was a mass of malignant matter, and the prison of the immortal spirit. In process of time they subdivided into sects, each of which was remarkable for the absurdity and folly of its respective tenets ; and while by abstinence, mortification, and fanaticism, they affected to raise the soul to (iod, they regarded piety as incompa- tible with social affection, and dissolved, by this pernicious doctrine, those bonds which compose the strength and happiness of human life. Amidst this general corruption, however, both in doctrines and manners, the Jews were in general zealously attached to the law of Moses, and anxious to preserve that respect and veneration which were due to its Divine authority. A number of additional ceremonies had, indeed, by degrees, been introduced into their religious worship ;f but still they respected their original institutions. Public seminaries for the instruction of youth, both in religion and science, were erected in the most populous situations, over which men of professed abilities and learning presided. Equally miserable with their neighbours, the Samaritans, equally the victims of discord and faction, they were still not so totally sunk in corruption as the wor- ' shippers upon Mount Gerizim, who had interwoven the errors and idolatry of the pagans with the sacred doctrines of Judaism. Civil causes concurred with the errors and abuses of religion to com- plete the miseries of this infatuated people, to convince them of the necessity of a deliverer, and (had they not unhappily mistaken the nature of the Messiah's kingdom) to prepare them for the reception of the Gospel dispensation. Subject to a governor who was himself a * Jortin's Remarks, vol. i. j). 170, 2d edition. M.iiiy woi' acutely invcsti£jated by some learned men in the last century. Some have supposed it to originate from the baptizing of infants^. Cent. II.] historv of the ciiurc}!. 37 were however vain. Depres.sed by all the miseries of war and famine, they were, after a rebellion of four years, defeated by the imperial army. Incredible numbers perished by the sword, or were sold into captivity; their leader, who after his defeat was denominated Bar- chosbeas, [son of a lie,] was publicly put to death, and their ancient city razed to its foundations. The emperor, highly incensed by the repeated seditions of this turbulent people, determined to inflict upon the remaining Jews a severe and continued punishment. For thii purpose, after building a new city called /Elia Capitolina upon the' ruins of Jerusalem, he prohibited the Jews, under the severest penal- ties, from approaching its precincts. Many of them, however, still_ remained in Palestine, and it was not till after repeated revolts that they were reduced to subjection. In the succeeding reign of Antoninus Pius, the disciples of Christ were again involved in a partial persecution in consequence of an earthquake in Asia, which they were accused of having provoked by their neglect of the gods, and their impious refusal to deprecate their wrath. This persecution was, however, confined to some provinces ; and an apology by Justin Martyr for the Christian religion, which is still extant, being put into the hands of this excellent monarch, he had the good sense and justice to perceive their innocence, and to publish an imperial edict, prohibiting in future all severities toward them. Antoninus, it is well known, was succeeded by the celebrated Stoic, ..j'^Iarcus Aurelius. During the dawn of his reign the Christians enjoyed the beneficial influence of philosophy ; but it was soon clouded by his avowed dislike, and numbers of both sexes became the victims of a persecution which, though connived at and even encouraged by the most philosophic and accomplished of the Roman emperors, vied in cruelty with that of Nero. As the character of Trajan is sullied by the martyrdom of Ignatius, so the reign of Marcus is for ever disgraced by the sacrifice of the venerable Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, the friend and companion of St. John. A few days previous to his death he is said to have dreamed that his pillow was on fire. When urged by the proconsul ti) renounce^, Christ, he replied : '' Fourscore and six years have 1 served him, and ) he has never done me an injury. Can I blaspheme my King and my i Saviour ?" Several miracles are reported to have happened at his dcaihjj The flames, as if imwilling to injure his sacred person, are said to have arched over his head ; and it is added, that at length being despatched with a sword, a dove flew out of the wound ; and that from the pile proceeded a most fragrant smell. It is obvious that the arching of the flames might be an accidental eflect, which the enthusiastic veneration of his disciples might convert into a miracle ; and as to the story of the dove, cise time should be ascertained. Those who believe that God neither i bestows less than is necessary, nor more than is sufficient, will easily I conceive, that, when by supernatural means Christianity was widely diffused, and when, from various causes, mankind were disposed to receive the Gospel with less aversion, the powers which were no longer jiecessary were no longer given. Fraud, fanaticism, and credulity have continued miracles almost to the present time. It appears proba- ble, however, from the silence or the testimony of the ancient fathers, that miraculous gifts became gradually less frequent, and in a very early period entirely ceased. The same suspicions which have fallen upon the later miracles have justly been applied to the later pretensions to a prophetic spirit. It is, however, probable that the gift of prophecy was conferred, though perhaps in smaller portions, during the second century, as it is mentioned by Justin Martyr, in his dialogue with Trypho. To these causes for the progress of religion must be added the labours of several missionaries, who, warmed with pious zeal, journeyed into remote countries for the propagation of truth ; among whom was the learned Pantainus, who travelled as far as India. ♦ Quadratus, Aristides, Athenagoras, Melito, Justia Martyr, &c. Cent. II.] history of the cxiurch. 39 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINE, GOVERNMENT, RITES, AND CEREMONIES. Creed of the Church in this century — Corruptions — Simple structure of the apostolic Churches — Functions of the bishops — Metropolitans — Mode of administering the saca- ment — Baptism — Festival of Easter — Cliristmas — Fast — Marriage — Ecclesiastical cen- sures — Controversy concerning Easter. Confixing himself to those obvious rules of faith and practice which were appointed by Christ, and to the observance of tliose simple in- stitutions ordained by the apostles, the primitive believer pursued his way with imdcviating steps : and, although, as we have already seen, the liiquacious and controversial genius of the heathen philosophy had in the second century made some progress even in the body of the Christian Church, still the established creed remained in a great mea- sure undepraved and uncorrupted. In the invaluable remains of Ireuaius, the bishop of Lyons, we find a compendium of the Christian faith, as professed in his time. " The Church," says he, " which is dispersed through the whple world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their immediate disciples the belief in one God, the Father almighty, the maker of the heaven, the earth, and the sea, and all that in them is ; and in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made flesh for our salvation ; and in the Holy Ghost, who by the prophets revealed the dispensation and the coming of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ, his birth by a virgin, his passion, his resurrection, his ascension info heaven iu the ilesh, and his advent from heaven in the glory of the Father to the gathering together of all things, and the rais- ing up of the flesh of all mankind ; that in Christ Jesus our Lord, and God, and Savif)ur, and King, according to the good pleasure of the in- visible F'ather, every knee should bow of things in heaven, of things on earth, and of things under the earth, and that every tongue shoidd con- fess to him ; and in all things he will execute righteous judgment ; both the evil spirits and the angels who sinned and became apostates, and the impious, the imjust, the breakers of the law, and the blasphemers, among men, he will send into everlasting fire ; but to the just, and holy, and to those who keep his commandments, and remain in his love, whether from the beginning, or whether they have repented of their sins, he will give life, and incorruptibility, and glory for ever." (/?r- 7iieu.s; lib. i, c. 2, p. 50.) 'J'he reader will easily perceive that this early creed has served as the basis of that which is now termed the apostles' creed, and which was probably compiled and digested in the succeedin<: centurv. From llie writings of Justin, Clement, Theophilus, Iremrus, Tertul- lian, and others, we have abundant evidence that the doctrine of the trinity was strongly asserted by the Church in this century against the sectaries of every denomination. It is indeed in this age that the word (riniti/ appears to have been introduced. The fathers of this century in general arti e(pially strenuous in maintaining the other articles of faith, as specified in llie preceding extract. The moral principles of the (Miristian religion, however, in this cen- tury, appear to have sullered some iuAasion ; the text of the Scriptures 40 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, [CeNT. II. was attempted in some instances to be accommodated to the immoral practices of the heathens ; and the doctrines of difl'erent duties being requisite to difierent orders of Christians, and that it was lawful to deceive in order to advance the interests of religion, were propagated both in the discourses and writings of many of the early professors of Christianity. It is probable that, in the beginning of the second century, many of the immediate successors and disciples of the apostles continued to practise those few and simple rules relative to the government of the "X^hurch, which they had appointed or approved. The bishops and I gresbyters wefe still undistinguished by any superiority of station or i difference of apparel ; they were still chosen by the people, and sub- I sisted upon a proportion of the voluntary offerings which were paid by [every believer, according to the exigencies of the occasion or the mea- i.sure of his wealth and piety. The bishop, assisted by the presbyters and deacons, to each of whom he distributed their respective employ- ments, superintended and regulated the ecclesiastical concerns of the society. He was the steward of the Church : the pul)lic stock was intrusted to his care, without account or control : the presbyters were confined to their spiritual functions, and the deacons were- solely em- ployed under the bishop in the management and distribution of the ecclesiastical revenue. A decent portion of it was reserved for the maintenance of the bishop and his clergy, a sufficient sum was allotted for the expenses of public worship, and the whole remainder was appro- priated to the sick, the aged, the indigent, and the oppressed. Near the end of the second century the Churches of Greece and Asia established as a custom and a law, that the bishops of the Churches should meet in the capital of the province at the stated pe- riods of spring and autumn. Their deliberations at these meetings were assisted by the advice of a few distinguished presbyters, and the utility of them was so apparent that they were universally adopted by all the Christian Churches. The decrees which were enacted there were styled canons, and regarded and regulated every important con- troversy of faith and discipline. A regular correspondence was esta- blished between the provincial councils, which mutually communicated and approved their respective proceedings, and the Church by degrees assumed the form, and indeed acquired the strength, of a great federa- tive republic. It is not to be supposed, in this arrangement, either that the people foresaw the alienation of their rights, or that the clergy looked forward to that power which, in succeeding ages, was obtained by the ecclesias- tical order. The perfect equality of rank which had subsisted among the bibhops in these assemblies was diminished at first, perhaps, by the ascendancy that a strong mind naturally obtains over one which is weaker ; and this inferiority was afterward confirmed by the necessity which arose of exalting one to the office of perpetual president, for the preservation of order in the assembly. The time when this dignity was first conferred is not precisely ascertained, but it is probable not ^Till the middle or toward the close of the succeeding century. It was given to the bishop of the principal city in those provinces where the synods were held, who was honoured with the appellation of metro- politan Cent. II.] historv of the church. 41 Xhc-sacx3.aifiAt of the Lord's Supper, which was celebrated whenever the primitive ChurclTassemTDTed lor public worship, was administered not only to the meanest, but to the youngest of the congregation. Its species were common bread and wine, which were consecrated by the bishop or officiating minister. It was given to children under the species of wine, and the observance of it was conceived of such pecu- liar' importance that it was sent from the society to all the sick or absent members. Bapti.-5m was j)ul)licly performed twice a year. The candidates for this ordinance assembled in the church on the festivals of Easter and Whitsuntide ; and after a solemn declaration of their faith, and an assurance that they renounced the pomp and vanities of the world, and that they were determined to live conformably to the Gospel, they received the sacrament of baptism. This rite was admf^i nistered without the public assemblies, in places prepared for the purpose, and was performed by an immersion of the whole body in the baptismal font. (Moskeini'x Eccl. Hist.) It was also performed by aspersion or sprinkling. The sign of the cross was made use of in this rite, and a solemn prayer was uttered on consecrating the baptismal water. -^ Adult persons were prepared for baptism by abstinence, prayer, and other pious exercises. It was to answer for them that sponsors, or godfathers, were first instituted, though they were admitted afterward in the baptism of infants as well as adults. The earliest and most express records testify that infant baptism, was usual in the primitive Church. (Bingha/fi's Eccl. Antiq.) Parents were originally sponsors for their infant children, and one sponsor only was required. In case of adults, the sex of the sponsor was the same with that of the person baptized ; but in the baptism of infants no re- spect was paid to this circumstance.* * In reference to the proper subjects of baptism, it may be observed, — that while the generahty of Christians agree that adult believers are fit subjects of the ordi- nance, most of ihem admit, and contend, that infants, in conformity with the esta- blished order of the Church, are also equally entitled to the privilege. Though the infidcliiv and iniquity of parents may constitute a barrier to the Scriptural dedica- tion ol their children to (iod, yet the promise of the Gospel is evidently to children in conjunction with their parents. That the rights of infants were so considered in the primitive Church, we have indubitable evidence from several of the ancient fathers. Justin Martyr, of the second century, when speaking of some who were members of the Church, says, " A part of these were sixty or seventy years of age, who were made disciples of Christ from their mliincy."' Irenauii, who flourished also in the second century, was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John ; and he makes this declaration, viz. : " Christ came to save all |)crsons who by him are born again unto God ; infants and little ones, and children and youth, and elder persons." By being born again, he meant being baptized, as he has elsewhere clearly shown. Tortullian, who lived in the latter part of the second century, says, " The delay of baptism is more useful according to every person's condition and disposition, and even their age ; but especially with regard to little children." It n»ust bo recollected that Turtullion is here opposing the baptism of infants, because he had imbibed the errone- ous opinion, that the administration of this ordinance secured the remission of all sins previously committed. But this opposition to it shows that it was then in practice. Origen, who was born m the second century, and llourished in the third, says, " Infants are baptized for the remission of sins." He also says, "The. Church hath received the tradition from the apostles, that baptism ought to be administered to infants." Cy(irian, who was contemporary with Origen, informs us that sixty-six bishops, being convened in a council at Cartilage, having the question rclerred to them 42 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. II. It is not easy to determine the period when prayers for the dead began first to be offered up in the Christian Church. The first author who mentions this custom is TertuUian. It is probable tliat this ypractice, which was followed by the doctrine of purgatory, was not in- / stituted from a belief in that state, but from a conviction that all men V^re sinners ; to implore the Almighty to deal with them in mercy, not in justice ; to distinguish between the perfections of men ; and as a testimonial of their belief in the immortality of the soul, which, how- ever, they conceived to exist in but an imperfect state of happiness, or to have its consciousness suspended till the general resurrection. " whether infants might be baptized before they were eight days old," decided unani mously, " that no infant is to be prohibited from the benefit of baptism, although just born." Gregory Nazianzen, in the early part of the fourth century, says, '' The whole Church practises infant baptism ; it was not instituted by councils, but was always in use." Pelagius declares, " He had never heard even an impious heretic who asserted that infants are not to be baptized." He also asks, " Who can be so impious as to hinder the baptism of infants'!" Among the arguments in favour of infant baptism the following have been deemed conclusive : — 1. Baptism was evidently placed by Christ and his apostles in the room of circumci- sion, as an initiatory rite into the covenant of grace ; and as the infant children of be- lievers under the Old Testament were entitled to the covenant benefits of circumcision, the infant children of Christian believers are admitted into the covenant of grace by baptism. 2. Infants are declared by our Lord to be members of his Church. Thus Mark X, 14, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ; for of such is the kingdom of God." See also Luke ix, 47, 48. 3. It is said in the New Testament that the apostles baptized houses, or households, of them that believed. Unless all these cases had reference to families of adults, which would have been most extraordinary, they must have baptized infant children with their parents. This opinion receives additional strength from several declarations in the New Testament, particularly the words of St. Peter, Acts ii, 39, " For the promise is unto you, and to your children." As many of his hearers were Jews, and as Peter himself was a Jew, he must have been aware that they would understand him as offer- ing the same covenant privileges to parents and infant children. The Jews had been accustomed to receive infants by circumcision into their Church. This was done in view of the promise that the Almighty would be a God to Abraham and his seed. They had understood this promise to mean parents and their infant ofispring ; and this view had become familiar by the practice of many centuries. What other conclusion could they draw, than that baptism was offered to them and their infant children, when one of their own community said to them, " The promise is unto you, and to your children 1" And if Peter was aware that they would so understand him, it is manifest that he intended to be so understood, or he would have spoken in terms in- dicating restriction. This he did not do, and we may, therefore, fairly infer, that he recommended the baptism of parents and infants ; which was evidently pracgscd by this same apostle and his brethren when they baptized households, as well as on other occasions. 4. The antiquity of infant baptism, as proved by the foregoing quotations from the early fathers, furnishes evidence of its divine authority that cainiot be successfully con- troverted. If the infant children of believers were not baptized in the days of the apos- tles, when did the practice commence 1 If introduced after the apostolic age, it must have been a great innovation. Hut no mention is made by any writer of its introduc- tion into the Church, nor does it appear that there even was any controversy about it, until it was feebly started bv Peter Bruis, a Frenchman of the twelfth century. Ter- tuUian opposed it ; but his opposition docs not appear to have produced any contro- versy concerning its validity. Its validity he admitted ; but having embraced the opinion that baptism was attended with the remission of all sins previously committed, he recommended the delay of it in many cases, but more especially in relation to infants. As no mention is mailc of the introduction of infant ba|)lism into the Church at any time subsequent to the apostolic age, it evidently must have been in practice at that time. See Dwight's Theology, and Watson's Institutes. Cent. II.] history of the church. 43 It is highly probable that Easter was instituted as a festival at an early period in the Christian Church ; but the first observation of that season is very uncertain. The feast of Whitsuntide possibly took its rise in this century, as well as that of Christmas. During the first three or four centuries the nativity of Christ was celebrated on the sixth day, which is now called the f^piphany, in commemoration of the incar- nation ; and under this general name were understood both the nativity and baptism of our Lord, till the Church agreed to observe the nativity on the 25ih of December, when that and the Epiphany came to be consi- dered as distinct festivals. The wliole of the time between the cele- bration of Easter and Whitsuntide, which was fifty days, was observed as a festival. It appears, from the authority of a writer of this century, that before its close several fasts were observed by some Churches. The Lent consisted of only a few days before Easter, {Tcrtul. de Jcjun., c. 14,) but to this were added the fourth and sixth days of the week ; the former on account of the Jew.s' taking counsel together on that day to put Jesus to death, and the latter because on that day he actually suf- fered. The weekly fasts were conunonly observed till the ninth hour, or three in the afternoon, and differed in that respect from the fast be- fore Easter, which lasted the whole day: they were, however, inter- mitted during the season between Easter and Whitsuntide. The union between the primitive Christians was so intimate, that it is probable few transactions of importance in their private concerns would take place, without mutual communication. Thus much, however, is^ certain, that all who intended to marry acquainted the Church with \ their design before it was completed. {Ignat. Ep. ad Polycarp, n. 3.). These marriages were preceded by the espousal, which took place a considerable time before the marriage was solemnized, by various cere- monies, and the man presenting his future bride with a ring, a practice which was adopted from th(; Romans. At the appointed time the mar- riage was solemnized by the priest ; the right hands of the contracting parties were joined together ; and the bride, modestly veiled, after re- ceiving the nuptial benediction, was crowned with flowers. {Bing- hain's Ecc. Antiq. xx, 4.) Ecclesiastical ceuaines, which are so necessary for the honour, the order, and even the preservation of a regular society, were publicly denounced against the oflender who had relapsed into idolatry, or fallen into gross sin. Whatever his excuses, he was deprived of every part in the oblations, avoided by the whole Church, and excluded from the assemblies of the faithful. In vain he implored for re-admission into the society, till he was humbled by a public confession of his sins, and had given solemn assurances of his intentions to conform to the Chris- tian laws, and undeniabh; proofs of the sincerity of his repentance. Some of the Churches which alTected great austerity utterly excluded the atrocious sinner, the heretic, or the apostate from the hopes of a rc-adinission into their communion. By degrees, however, this severity universally relaxed, and the gates of reconciliation were again opened to the retwniing jx-uitent, who, by a severe and solemn form of discipline, had expiated his crime, and who exhibited a scene which might power- fully deter the si)ectator from an imitation of his guilt. The priest who had connniiled any notorious ofVencc was no more exempted 44 HISTORV OF THE CHURCH, [CeNT. II. from the discipline of the Church than the most obscure sinner. The arms of mercy might again be extended to him, but not till he had first performed the lowest acts of humiliation and abasement ; had complied with the appointed rules for all excommunicants, prostrated himself in sackcloth at the door of the assembly, humbly implored the pardon ^, of his offences, and made a public recantation of his sin. Nor even * then was he restored to the honours of which he had been deprived. He was re-admitted indeed as a member of the general society, but his claim to the honours of the ministry existed no more. Besides the observance of the first day of the v/eek, all Christians , agreed in celebrating the seventh, in conformity to the Jewish con- / verts. It was, however, observed very diflerently from the Christian ' Sabbath. An obserA^ance of the festivals of Easter and Whitsuntide was esteemed incumbent upon all Christians, though they differed materially in the respect they paid to the lesser rites : while some ab- stained from the flesh of beasts which had been strangled, and from blood, others ate with impunity ; while some solemnized the fourth day of the week, on which Christ was betrayed, others observed the sixth, on which he sufl'ered. Nor does it appear that those diflerent regula- tions occasioned any uneasiness or scandal in the Church. CHAPTER HI. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SECOND CENTURY. Gnostic Christians — Marcionites — Encratites — Carpocrates — Valentinian Heresy — Montanus — Praxeas — Jewish Christians — Na^arenes or Ebionites. He must be ignorant of the varying dispositions of mankind who can conceive that the different opinions which divided the professors of the Gospel, during the second century, into numerous sects, can possi- bly be ascribed to any defect in the doctrines of its Divine Teacher. Man is continually the dupe of prejudice and error ; and tlie various prejudices of Judaism, oriental philosophy, and paganism, may reason- ably be conceived to be almost necessarily blended with the religion of many of the first converts to Christianity. By far the greater part of the heretics of the second century were ..X'nostics, and derived their errors from the mixture of Christianity \with the oriental philosophy. Their tenets are represented as so many different modifications of that fanatical system. The followers of Saturninus and Basilides, who may be considered as heresiarchs, and as having reached almost the summit of absurdity, spread themselves over Syria and Egj'pt, and propagated the doctrine of a good and evil principle, which was also inculcated by Bardesanes, a Syrian of con- siderable abilities. Basilides asserted that two of the Eons, which were produced by the Supreme Being, were the parents of innumerable hosts of angels, the inhabitants of three hundred and sixty-five heavens, which were under the dominion of an omnipotent governor, named Abraxas. This word was used by his disciples as a mystical term, Cent. II,] historv of the church. 45 because it contained numeral letters to the amount of 365. This sectary admitted the validity of the New Testament, with such altera- tions as he conceived necessary. The condition he required from his . followers was a continual silence for five years ; a very proper method, ,' as is observed by Le Clerc, to make an experiment of their lolly. The fanciful Cerdon, a native also of the warm climate of Syria, and Marcion, son to the bishop of Pontus, erected on the foundation of the Gnostics a structure of considerable extent. They taught their doc- trines conjointly at Rome. To the two principles, already admitted by the Gnostics, they added a third, whom they conceived to be the Creator of the world, and the God of the Jews, and asserted that he . was in a state of continual hostility with the evil principle, but desi- rous of usurping the place of the Supreme Being. Mankind, they asserted, was governed despotically by the two former of these beings, but added that the Supreme had sent down his own Son for the deli- verance of all who, by self-denial and austerity, sought to obtain that happiness. The followers of Cerdon and .Marcion were distinguished by the name of the latter. They entirely rejected the Old Testament, and the whole of the New, except part of the Gospel of St. Luke, and ten epistles of St. Paul, which were greatly interpolated. This sect was diffused, not only through Rome and Italy, but extended itself over Palestine, Syria, and Egypt. The austerities of the Encratites, the disciples of the learned Tatian, greatly exceeded even those of the Marcionites. They held matter as the source of all evil, and therefore condemned the most innocent gratifications. They were indeed so abstemious as to give only water in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The creation of the world was considered by them as the work of a deity of an inferior nature to the Supreme Being, and the body of Christ as an appearance, not a reality. Carpocrates, though likewise a convert to the tenets of Gnos- ticism, was distinguished by manners exactly the reverse of the followers of Tatian. He asserted that good and evil were the mere result of opinion ; that faith and charity were alone essential to salvation ; and that the passions being implanted in man by the Supreme Being, obe- dience to their dictates was the duty of all mankind. These opinions, s>o well calculated to flatter the corrupt propensities of human nature, were extensively received. To these Carpocrates added a disbelief of the resurrection of the body, and many opinions which blended Chris- tianity with oriental philosophy. Perhaps this heretic is the first who asserted the simple humanity of Christ, who, he contended, was only distinguished from the rest of mankind by his superior virtue. Whether we consider the greatness of its reputation, the numbers of its votaries, or the regularity of its system, the Valentinian heresy holds the most distinguished rank among those which pervaded this century. Its founder, Valentine, incensed at having been refused the rank of bishop, rejected orthoslearncd, forcible, and manly. Succeeding ages have beheld with veneration the spirit, integrity, and inartificial eloquence of Justin Martyr. This eminent person was born at Sichem, in Palestine ; and after wandering in pursuit of truth through every known philosophical system, he at length embraced Christianity, and, without laying aside his philosopher's habit, taught the doctrines of the Gospel at Rome. His faith, as we have already seen, endured the severe test of persecution, and he received the crown of martyrdom at Rome. Of the venerable and excellent Polycarp we have also already spo- ken. There is an epistle of his to the Philippians inserted amono- those of the apostolic fathers. Its objects arc to enforce the moral duties, and to controvert the opinions of the Gnostics. It is generally allowed to be genuine. Iren;cus, the disciple of the illustrious Polycarp, suffered martyrdom about the y(?ar 202. This pious and diligent prelate composed several works, of wliich. however, few remain. Some of the performances of Clement of .Alexandria have reached posterity, from wliich we are jus- tified in believing that his erudition was very extensive, thounh he is fri'qnenlly obscure. Hegesippus is placed by Eusebius in the time of Adrian. lie was a Jewish convert, and wrote a continuation of the Acts of the .\postles. The Old Testament was translated from the Hebrew into Greek, during this century, l)y Aquila, a Jewish proselyte, by Theodotion, and by Symmachus, a native of Palestine, from whom the Nazarenes were fri'i|iit:iitly called Syminachians. Dionysius, Ijishop of Corinth, wrote several epistles to the dillerent Christian Churches; but they are no longer extant. The same fate attended the volimiinous works of Melito, bishop of Sardis. Three books against paganism, written l)y Theophilus, the seventh bishop of Antioch, and which appear to have been intended as an introduction to a largtT work, were mon^ fortunate. Apolinaris, bishop of Uierapolis. also wrote in defence of the Christian religion. 15ui a still more able 48 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. II. defender was Atlienagoras. an Athenian philosopher, whose presbia (or mission) in favour of Christianity, addressed to Marcus Antoninus, is still read and admired. The most voluminous Cliristian author at this period was Tertullian, ;who lived in the latter end of tlie second and the beginning of the third ;j;entur}'. He was by birth a Carthaginian, and possessed all the con- stitutional fervour natural to the sons of the warm climate of Africa. Disgusted witli some affronts he had met with from the ecclesiastics at Rome, and incited by his own vehement and rigid disposition, he em- braced the opinions of Montanus, and attacked his adversaries with rather more warmth of temper than strength of argument. He was, however, learned, acute, and ingenious ; but severe, enthusiastical, and rather credulous. Among the pagan writers of this century were Plutarch, Epictetus, Marcus Antoninus, and Lucian : the latter of whom, if he did not favour ""Christianity, was at least a skeptic with respect to the popular religion of his country. In this age many of the Sibylline verses were proba- bly forged. Cent. III.] history of the church. 49 THE THIRD CENTURY CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURT. Rapid succession of the Roman emperors — Slate of Christianity under Severus — Per- Bccution — Alfxander Sevcnis — Maxiniin — Philip and Dccius — Decian persecution — Gallus and Uallicnus — Valerian persecution. Among several causes favourable to the diffusion of Christianity, we are, perhaps, not a little indebted to the quick succession of the Roman emperors. The events attending their lives, their deaths, and the artifices of their successors to obtain the imperial purple, naturally engaged much of the public attention, and suspended the execution of those sanguinary edicts intended for the destruction of the Christians. Several among the masters of the Roman world were also entirclv unconnected with their predecessors, unbiased by their prejudices, and averse to their pursuits. In a race of princes, many of whom were accomplished, benevolent, and candid, there could scarcely fail to be some who wovdd respect the abilities and virtue even of the men whose religious opinions they did not approve. A considerable part of the reign of Severus proved so far favourable to the Christians tliat no additions were made to the severe edicts already in force against them. For this lenity they were proliably in- debted to Proculus, a Christian, who, in a ver>'' extraordinary manner, cured the emperor of a dangerous distemper by the application of oil. Hut this degree of peace, precarious as it was, and frequcntlv inter- rupted by the partial execution of severe laws, was terminated by an edict which prohibited every subject of the empire, under severe penal- lies, from embracing tlie Jewish or Christian faith, 'i'his law appears, upon a Hrst view, designed merely to impede the farther progress of Christianity ; but it incited the magistracy to enforce the laws of former emperors, which were still existing against the Christians, and during seven years they were exposed to a rigorous persecution in Palestine, Egypt, the rest of .\frica, Italy, Gaul, and other parts. In this perse- cution r.,eonides, the father of Origen, and Irena'us, bishop of Jjvons, sulfered martyrdom. C^n this occasion Tertullian composed his Apology. The violence of pagan intolerance was most severelv felt in Euvpt. and i)articnlarly at Alexandria ; and among many instances of suffering virtue in tliat city, Kusoliius relates one which is too extraordinary tp be passed over in silence. Pontamiirna, a woman not less distinguished for her cliastiiy than for ber beauty, which was exquisite, was condemned to sulfer for her religion. To induce her to abjiu'c her faitb she was threiitened with prostitution ; but was protected from the insults of the mol) by Basilides, soldier to whose custody she was committed : and impressed wiili 4 50 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. III. his kindness and humanity, she promised that after her death she would make intercession for his salvation. Pontamia^na sufTcred the most cruel tortures, and with her mother Marcella was burned to death, boil- ing pitch being poured over their naked bodies. After some time the soldier Basilides was apprehended for not taking the military oath, which was considered by the Christians as an act of idolatry ; and being questioned concerning the motives of his conversion, he replied that I'ontamiajna had appeared to him in a dream, and had assured him that her prayers for his salvation were crowned with success, and that he would soon be called to enjoy the reward of his virtue. [Euseb. Hist. lib. vi, c. 5.) The beauty and interest of this narrative are not destroyed, even if we believe the dream of Basilides not to have been miraculous. A still more shocking scene was acted in another part of Africa. Four young men and two women were apprehended as Christians, and condemned to die. One of the latter, Ubea Pcrpetua, a young widow of a good family, had a child at her breast ; and the other, Felicitas, was brought to bed in prison only three days before her execution. They were, as usual, thrown to the wild beasts ; and the two females in particular, after being tossed by a wild cow and horribly mangled, while the milk was flowing from their breasts, expired with the greatest resignation and the most heroic fortitude. The interval between the death of Severus and the time when Maxi- min assumed the imperial purple, was a season peculiarly favourable to the Christians. They publicly appeared at court, and composed a considerable part of the household and favourites of the amiable Alex- ander, being protected by Alammea, his mother. The severities they endured from his successor, Maximin, were probably to be ascribed more to his displeasure at their attachment to the former emperor, and their having been protected by him, than to their religious principles. From the reign of Maximin to that of Decius, the Christians enjoyed still more favour than they had ever before experienced. The Emperor Philip, stepping beyond the bounds observed by Alexander, who had paid J3ivine honours to Christ, and had placed his statue or picture along with those of Abraham and Orpheus, in his domestic chapel, was so strongly and openly attached to them as to have given occasion to the belief that he had fully conformed to the doctrines of the Gospel, and had consented to make an humble avowal of his former guilt, and secretly to implore permission to enter the threshold of the sanctuary. That these oi)inions were fallacious is in the highest degree proliable ; but thus much may reasonably be deduced from tlicm that the clemency of the emperor must have been extremely favourable to the reception of Cliristianity among his subjects, and that the doctriiu^s of the Gos- pel would probably be embraced by many timid but honest minds, whom tlie dread of a persecuting tyrant would have prevented from making an open profession of their faith in Christ. The accession of Decius to the imperial throne fatally terminated this state of security and peace ; and, during his short reign, the Christians were exposed to greater calamities than any they had hitherto suffered. Considerable numbers were publicly destroyed, several purchased safety by bribes, or secured it by flight ; and many deserted from the faith, and willingly consented to burn incense on the altars of the gods. The city of 4* Cent. III.] history of the church. 51 Alexandria, the great theatre of persecution, had even anticipated the edicts of the emperor, and had put to death a number of innocent per- sons, among whom were some women. The imperial edict for perse- cuting tlie Christians was published in the year 249 ; and shortly after Fabianus, bishop of Rome, with a number of his followers, was put to death. 'I'he venerable bishops of Jerusalem and Anlioch died in prison ; the most cruel tortures were employed, and the numbers that perished are by all parlies confessed to have been very considerable. Gallus, the successor of the inhuman Decius, continued, during his transient reign of not quite two years, the severities practised by his predecessor. In 253 Gallus was killed by his soldiers, and w^as succeeded for a short time by yEmilian, who was also soon massacred, and Valerian chosen in his room. The first years of Valerian were favourable to the Christians ; but the emperor was afterward made the dupe of Ma- crinus, a magician ; and in the year 257 issued severe edicts against the Christians, and numbers were sacrificed in diflerent modes — some were scourged to death, some burned, and many perished by the sword. In 260 Valerian was taken prisoner by the Persians, and from that period the tranquillity of the Church was scarcely interrupted during the remainder of the century. CHAPTER II. DOCTRINE, GOVERN.MENT, AND DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH DURING THE THIRD CENTURY. Doctrines — Creed of TertuUian — Platonic Christians — Monkery — St. Anthony — Opi- nions concerning the state of the soul — Pulilic edifices erected for the Christian worship — Encro.icUinents of the clercv — New orders of clersry — Copialae — Parabolani — .\coly- thists — Exorcists — Notaries — Catechumens — Baptism, confirmation, &c. — Penitential discipline — Fasts — Accoininodatioii of Christianity to the prejudices of the people — Mys- teries. In the history of tlie preceding century the cr eed of St. Irena;us, bisjiop of Lyons, which he affirms to have been the general creed 6T the Christian Church, was distinctly det ailed. The creed which Ter- tuUian gives as the system of belief in his time corresponds in most respects with that of Irenoius ; and it must have been composed at the farthest about the beginning of this century. " We believe," says liie father, "in one Cod, init under tliis dispen- sation, (which we call Oikonomian,) that to the one God there is a Son, his Word, who procecihMl frt)in iiim, by whom all tilings were made, and wilhoiil whom nothing was made. lie, sent by the Father to a virgin, and born of her, became man and (Jod, the Son of man, and the Son of God, and was named Jesus Christ. We believe that ho suffered, was drial throne. .lovian had scarcely assumed the purple before the religious commotions, which during the short reign of his predecessor had secretly heated the contending par- ties, burst forth with added impetuosity and strength. Every con- tender ho|)ed to find in the emperor a protector, who, while he elevated their opinions into notice by his own profession, niiglit blast and crush those of their opponents, lie embraced the cnuse of consul)siantiality, but without persecuting the Arians. His successor, Valentinian, pur- sued the same line of conduct, and was actuated by sentiments of liberality and toleration, never experienced by his brother Valens. who severely persecuted the consubstantialists in the eastern division 68 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV of the empire. They again obtained an ascendancy under Gratian, and Theodosius the Great ; the hitter of whom concei\ed the romantic project of heaUng all farther division, by a convention of all the jarring sects, in which the subtleties of these mysteries might be discussed, and the truths of religion defined and established. On a cursory review of the events of the fourth century, it might be conceived, that however it had been afflicted by the severe persecution under Diocletian, the general state of the Christian world must have been more prosperous and happy than at any preceding period. Openly professed by the emperors, established as the religion of the empire, and the interests of the Church by every possible means extended and enlarged, one would naturally expect that this would have been the golden period of the Christian Church ; and that its professors, too near the fountain-head of truth not to imbibe the pure and unpolluted stream, and {irmly secured in the possession of their Divine rights, would have enjoyed in tranquillity and innocence those blessings which their pro- genitors had looked for with anxious wishes and trembling hopes. But the unhappy disputes which had arisen concerning points diilicult to be understood involved them in domestic evils, scarcely less pernicious to their prosperity and peace than the edicts of the persecutor or the sword of the tyrant. The consubstantialist, who believes Christ to be of one or the same substance with the Father, beheld with haughty contempt, or indignant scorn, the person and the followers of the presbyter Arius, /While the Arian returned his disdain with implacable animosit}-. The (historian Sozomen draws a very favourable picture of the general con- Iduct of the clergy during this period. The bishops, he says, were men / of exemplary characters ; and the zeal and virtues of the presbyters j were such that they conciliated more and more the aflections of the Is^eople, and gained converts from paganism every day. As the Church however increased in numbers, we are authorized to believe that its native purity became in some degree contaminated. Calamity and opposition too are favourable to the promotion of virtue ; many of the professors of Christianity would naturally lose in ease and security a part of that integrity which distinguished them in the crisis of danger and of contest ; and the stock of piety would be little augmented by those converts, who now professed Christianity, not from a conviction of its truths, but cither from an indiflcrence to any religious system, or a fashionable compliance with tJie faith of the court. The Diocletian persecution was preceded by considerable depravation of manners ; and before that had abated, the Church was a sufferer from internal dissen- sion, from the cabals of ambitious members, and from schism even 'among the reputed orthodox. From the year 330 to that of 370, the Persian Christians underwent a series of great sufTerings, in which considerable numbers perished ; and their calamities were renewed toward the close of this century. Many l)ishops and other pious pcr- N^sons were sacrificed in this cruel persecution. The extraordinary pains taken by Constantino for the propagation of evangelical truth were ultt^nded with uncommon success. It cannot be doubted but a mullitwde of nominal professors, influenced by the example and authority of the emperor, would enter into the Church. But its limits w-ere extended to remote nations. The inhabitants both of tlie Greater and Lesser Armenia boasted the having received Cent. IV.] hlstory of the church. 69 Christianity soon after its promulgation ; but in this century the mo- narch Tiridates, with his court, pubUcly professed the truths of the Gospel, and established the Armenian Church. The Abyssinians, or Ethiopians, received the faith from Frumentius, a zealous Etryptian, who, after being consecrated by Athanasius at Alexandria, returned to Abyssinia, and officiated as the bishop of that country. Ibeira, or Georgia, received also in this century the Christian faith. Before its close a considerable number of the warlike Goths enrolled themselves under the peaceable banner of the Gospel ; and their progress in Chris- tianity was considerably increased by the zeal and abilities of their bishop, Ulfda, who translated the Scriptures into their language, after having previously formed an alphabet for their use, composed upon the model of the Latin and Greek characters. It is said, that in this trans- lation Ulfila omitted the Book of Kings, that he might not increase, by the account of tlicir achievements, the too prevalent passion for war in this fierce nation.* The benignant cflects of the mild and equitable doctrines of the Gos-l pel upon the hap|uness of mankind must have been strikingly evinced} during this century by the Christian world. That humane and equitable; dispensation, which provided for the happiness of all mankind, breathed; its spirit into the laws of Constantino. Many of the evils, and niuchv of the duration of slavery, were abolished by that monarch, who also | softened the rigour of punishments ; prohibited sanguinary and i'erocious \ spectacles to the people ; prevented oppression, and provided for the | necessities of the poor ; restrained the licentiousness of divorces, and \ the custom of exorbitant interest for money. Whatever were the cor- 1 ruptions which had l)cen introduced into Christianity, the prolessors of 5 the Gospel were still distinguished by their peculiar virtue, and in the famine under Maximin were remarkable for exertions of compassion and charity, unknown to the votaries of paganism. {Euseb. lib. ix, c. 8.) - ♦ But while the Church was thus triumjjhant over the pagan world, it cannot be concealed that its spiritual prosperity was diminished. The worldly grandeur in which it was arrayed under Constantine was ill calculated to promote the religion of the meek and lowlv Jesus ; and it may well be doubted, as it often has been, whether the admi- nistration of tiiis zealous emperor, with all its commendable features, was productive of more good than evil. That he was governed by an earnest wish to promote the inte rests of Christianity can scarcely be questioned. But the union of the Church with the state, the power bestowed on the clerg}-, and the encouragement given to monkcr)', were fniitful sources of many evils. It was in this century, and chiefly by these mea- sures, that a foundation was laid for the great apostacy so conspicuous during the dark ages m the rise and establishment of the papal power. 70 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. CHAPTER II. OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Ernppror declarrd head of the Church — Constantine assumes the title of bishop — Bi- shop of Rom^ — Of Constantinople — Power and revenues of bishops — Commotions at Rome on the election of a Ijishop — Popular elections discountenanced on account of their pernicious effects — Metropolitans — Bishops — Functions of tliese different orders — Reve- nues of the Church — f^cclcsiaslical councils — Council of Nice — Attempt to impose celi- bacy on the cleri;y — Heresy of Ariiis condemned — Disputes concerning the hypostatic union — Council of Constantinople — Provincial councils — Nicene creed — Corruptions and .superstitions — Increased veneration for saints and martyrs — Relics — Absurd fictions — Discovery of tlie real cross — Monks^ — St. Anthony — Their fanaticism extended to the female sex — Hilarion — Basil — Ambrose — Martin of Tours — Different orders — Coenobites — Eremites — Anchorites — Sabarites — Splendid churches — Laudable zeal of Constantine — Militai-y chaplains — Antiijuity of the right of patronage — Rights of sanctuary — Litur- gies — Discontinuance of the agapa? — Festivals in honour of the martyrs — Abuse of the sacraments — Abuse of abstinence — Penance — Confession — Anecdote concerning the cause of its abolition — Festival of Easter established — Release of prisoners at Easter — Manu mission of slaves. The Church, which had received so many advantages from the con- version and protection of Constantine, cheerfully submitted to acknow- ledge the emperor as its supreme head, who chose to unite the office of sovereign pontiff with the imperial dignity. In some cases he corrected its abuses, in others extended its powers. Whatever respected the possessions, the reputation, the rights and privileges of the clergy, he regulated himself. Every thing relating to religious controversies, to the forms of Divine worship, to the vices of the ecclesiastical orders, or the offices of the priests, was submitted to the bishops, or to the consideration of councils. Constantine assumed to himself the title of bishop, (Euscb. Vit. Constant, lib. iv, c.2'1,) and regulator of the exter- nal affitirs of the Church ; and he and his successors convened coun- cils in which they presided, and determined every affair relating to discipline. The limits of episcopal power were, however, never exactly defined between the emperor and the clergy, and in some instances were so much involved that each party frequently encroached upon the confines of the other. ^ The claims of superior antiquity had placed the bishop of Rome at the head of the clerical order, and he maintained his pretensions to superiority by immense splendour and magnificence. His authority had, however, before the close of the fourth century, a formidable rival in the bishop of Constantinople, who, in the coimcil convened at that city, was elevated to the second clerical rank in the empire. From . this period may be dated that contention and rancour which long ex- \ isted between these two contending rivals, and which at length ended ^ in a final separation between the Greek and Latin Churches. ' The extensive power and revenues of the bishops in the principal sees oflered too potent a temptation to ambition and avarice for clerical integrity always to resist. Hence arose considerable contests for the attainment of vacant sees ; and every artifice of flattery and dissimu- lation was occasionally practised to insure the approbation of the mul- titude, whose suffrages were taken in the election of their ministers. Cent. IV.] history of the church. 71 One melancholy instance of clerical depravity, which took place in thi.s century, may serve as a specimen of that departure from primitive virtue which marked the conduct of considerable numbers. In the year 336 the vacant see of Rome was, by the ^eater part of the clergy and people, conferred upon Damasus ; and this choice was con- firmed by his being regularly ordained by the bishops. The artful Ursicinus had, however, by various intrigues, obtained ordination to the see of Rome from some other bishops, and prepared to take posses- sion of what he chose to consider as his riglit. This gave rise to a furious contest, in which both parties proceeded to blows, and even to bloodshed and murder. The banishment of Ursicinus was not suffi- cient to appease this tumult. His adherents refused to communicate with Damasus, and were also banished ; but soon returned with their factious leader, and excited fresh commotions. The council of Aqui- leia solicited the emperor again to banish the turbulent prelate ; but it was not till after several years that Damasus obtained the peaceable possession of his see. The powers which had been possessed by the people in the election of their ministers became productive of great scandals in the Church, and were at length withdrawn. Those of the presbyters soon followed. They were not however lost : the bishops usurped many of the privi- leges with which the presbyters had been formerly invested, and the emperor and magistrates obtained many of the rights which had belonged to the religious community. The bishops of Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria, and some others, assumed powers superior to the other metropolitans, who were invested with the govern- ment of one province only ; and the jurisdiction of the bishops diflered according to the different extent of their respective sees. The mode of establishing the bishops in their functions and offices was one great object with the famous council of Nice. It was determined there that every bishop should be ordained or consecrated by three bishops of the province, and that his election should be confirmed by the metropolitan. \Soc. Hist., 1. i, c. 11.) In the reign of Constantino the government of the Church was as far as possible arranged conformably to the government of the state ; the bishops corresponded to those magistrates whose jurisdiction was con- fined to single cities ; the metropolitans to the proconsuls, or presi- dents of provinces ; the primates to the emperor's vicars, each of whom governed one of the imperial provinces. Canons and prebendaries of cathedral Churches took their rise from the societies of ecclesiastics, which Eusebius, l)ishop of Verceil, and after him Augustine, formed in their houses, and in wliicli these prelates were styled their fatliers and masters. {Priestley's Historij of the Corntptiuns of Clirisfianiti/, vol. ii, p. 242.) The revenues of the Church were secured by the edict of Milan. Whatever had been lost by the persecution of Diocletian was restored, and the esta!)lishment continued to be supported by voluntary oblations, long after Christianity became the religion of the emperor and the empire. Constantine, moreover, granted to his subjects the full and free permission of bequeathing their possessions to the Church ; and by this measure fatally encouraged a })ractice which, while it filled the ecclesiastical treasury, left the weeping widow and the defenceless 72 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV jorplian to penury and distress, to a dependance upon their kindred, or \jjpoii the ahns of the ecclesiastical body. But the riches of the cleri- cal profession were also considerably auoinented by the emperors themselves. Constantino bestowed upon the churches in every city a regular allowance of corn for the purposes of charity, and the no less grateful present of considerable allotments of land.* The insti- tution of tithes is also generally believed to have taken place in the fourth century. From the powers with which the ministers of religion were invested, it may naturally be inferred that difl'crent kinds of ecclesiastical coun- cils must necessarily be established. The first species of these con- sisted in an assembly of the bishops and presbyters of a particular city, or district ; and the regulation of the ecclesiastical affairs within their jurisdiction was the professed subject of deliberation. The second was composed of the bishops of several provinces, whose delibera- tions were directed to the concerns of the provincial churches, the ^ Torms of Divine service, and religious controversies. The cpcumeni- v cal, or general councils, were convened by the emperor alone ; in \ which the rulers of the Church in every part of the empire were re- quired to attend. The first general council was called by Constan- tine, A. D. 325, at Nice, in Bithynia ; in which three hundred and eighteen bishops are said to have complied with the imperial summons, and the whole number of attending ecclesiastics has been computed . at two thousand and forty-eight persons. During the meeting of this venerable synod, which lasted two months, the emperor frequently took a seat in the assembly, and even a part in the debates. In this council the doctrines of Arius were condemned. Jesus Christ was declared to be of the same essence with the Father. Arius was ba- nished to lUyria, and his followers compelled to assent to the confes- sion of faith composed by the synod. Several other regulations took place concerning the powers of the clergy, and the discipline of the Church. An attempt was made in this council to insist upon the per- petual celibacy of the clergy, which was opposed by Paphnutius, an Egyptian bishop, individually uninterested in the event, as he had always continued unmarried. The suggestions of this prelate were seconded by the decrees of the fathers of the Nicene council. The Homoousian faith, or the doctrine of consubstantiality, was accepted by all the members of the synod, except Eusebius of Cesarea, who yield- ed a reluctant and ambiguous compliance. The bishops also in general cheerfully submitted to the decrees of this council : the most eminent of its opposers was Eusebius of Nicomedia, who, after three months of wavering, was exiled and disgraced. Another council, which was held at Constantinople in the year 383, has, with but little propriety, obtained the name of a general council ; since the bishops of the eastern provinces alone presided in it, and .the Romish Church rejected their canons. Though their creed, •which added to that of the Nicene council more precise terms to ex- press the Divinity of the Holy Ghost, was accepted by the western ■clergy, still the bishop of Rome could ill digest the canon which as- • Far from aiding the Church, these measures were among the causes of tha: apos- tacy by which it was extensively and deeply injured. Cent. IV.] history of the church. 73 signed to his brother of Constantinople a degree of rank only inferior to his own, and wliich, with his peculiar advantages, might tend to raise him to an equality with himself. It would be an endless and a useless task to specify all the different local or provincial councils which were held in this century. They were commonly summoned as tbe different parties of orthodox or Arians happened to be predominant ; and had for their objects the de- posing of bishops or the censuring of obnoxious opinions. It has been already remarked that, during the fourth century, the doctrines of the orthodox were more fully investigated, and accurately defined, than they had been in the preceding period. All who assert- ed, with the schismatic Arius, that there was a time when the Son of God was not, that ho was created out of nothing, or that he was of a different substance from the Father, were solemnly anathematized by successive councils, and declared the enemies of God. The term con- substantialists was conferred upon the opposers of the Arian doctrines by the council of Nice, the object of whose assembling has been already specified. In this council the Homoousian doctrine, or con- substantiality of the three persons in the Godhead, was declared a funda- mental article of the Christian faith, and has been received as such by the Greek, the Latin, the oriental, and the Protestant Churches. Too fatally addicted, however, to verbal disputes, many of the orthodox party were for a considerable time divided concerning the term hy- postasis, which had been used in explaining the nature of the trinity ; and while some considered it as declaratory of one person, others con- tended for its signifying one nature in the Godhead. The use of this word was afterward restricted to person, and the distinction of two entire and perfect natures in Christ was fully proved and established. These doctrines concerning the nature of the trinity, which in prece- ding ages had escaped the vain curiosity of man, and had been left undefined by words, and undetermined by any particular set of ideas, excited considerable contests through the whole of this century. The semi-Arians violently attacked the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, which was in the general council of Constantinople discussed and defined, and the doctrine of three persons in one God established as the ortho- dox belief of the Church. The following may be considered as an exact summary of the orthodox faith at this period. It is a translation of the Niccne Creed, as it stands in the epistle of Eusebius to the Cesareans, in Athana- sius's epistle to Jovian, &c. : — " We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten ; begotten of the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father. God of God, Light of Light, true God of true (^od ; begotten, not made, consubstanfial with the Father, by whom all things were made, things in heaven, and things on earth ; wlio for us men, and for our salvation, came down, and was incarnate, and became man, suf- fered and rose again the third day, and ascended into the heavens, and comes to judge the (piick and the dead : and in the Holy Ghost. And the catholic and a[n)stulic Church doth anathematize those persons who say that tln^rc was a time when he the Son of God was nut ; that he was not before ho was born : that he was made of nothing, or of 74 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. another substance or being ; or that he is created, or ch?pgeable, or convertible." But whatever might be the advantages derivable from this preci- sion respecting doctrines, many of the practices encouraged by the Christians of the fourth century were far from conducing either to piety or good morals. Superstition assumed the venerable form of religion ; abstruse and fanatical explanations of Scripture bewildered the imaginations of the multitude ; and Christianity was defended, not by the invincible arm of simplicity and truth, but by the glittering and brittle weapons of sophistry and invective. An increasing vene- ration for saints and martyrs was greatly promoted, not only by the Christian emperors, who erected superb churches over their remains, but by the exhortations of the fathers of the Church, who inculcated the belief of extraordinary miracles performed by their relics ; and incited a degree of worship toward those departed saints, whom they represented as interceding with God in favour of those by whom they were invoked. About the year 386 the piety of considerable num- bers of the people consisted chiefly in the carriage and preservation of bones and relics ; and extraordinary revelations were pretended to have been made from heaven, for the discovery of the remains of cele- brated martyrs to the faith. Their bodies had commonly b«en secretly interred by the pious zeal of their followers in some obscure place ; whence, after the persecution ceased, they had been brought forth, and decently buried. This custom, in some measure, gave rise to the translation of relics, which was still farther advanced by a conformity to the practices of the pagans, who carried about the images of their gods with great solemnity. Constantine commanded the bodies of St. Andrew and St. Luke to be conveyed away from the sepulchres where they were deposited to the magnificent church at Constantinople, which he had dedicated to the twelve apostles. The remains of St. Stephen, after they had remained buried and unknown more than three centuries, were said to have been revealed by Gamaliel, the tutor of St. Paul, to the favoured Lucianus, a priest, and being discovered in the place to which he had directed the search, were removed with the ut- most solemnity to Jerusalem ; where they became so celebrated from the miracles they were said to have performed, that many devout visiters to Jerusalem enriched their native cities, on their return, with small portions of these surprising remains. An oratory, or chapel, was always erected over this sacred deposit, which was called a me- morial of the martyr whose relics it contained. The tomb of our Sa- viour, at Jerusalem, was held in great estimation, and was resorted to by crowds of pious visiters, who carried away with them large por- Tlions of holy earth, which was highly prized. One of the most extra- jordinary discoveries of this century was that of the cross on which /Christ had sufiered ; which was said to have been found by Helena, ( the mother of Constantine, on her visit to the holy sepulchre. What- ever may bo the real history of this transaction, whether any disco- very was made, or whether Helena was a dupe or an associate in find- ing out this treasure, thus nuich is certain, that pieces of this precious wood were distributed throughout the Christian world, and the cross, according to the testimony of St. Paulinus, containing a vital virtue, in an inanimate and insensible substance, yielded, and continued to Ce.VT. IV.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 75 yield almost daily, its precious wood to the desires of an infinite num- ber of persons, without sufTerinjr any diminution, or appearance of having been touched. {TiUcmont. Hint. Eccles., lib. vii, c. 5.) A de- gree of respect, not less superstitious than that paid to the wood of the cross, was demonstrated by Constanline toward the image of Christ, which he commanded to be made of the most precious materials, and to be placed in the most superb apartment of the imperial palace. ( Vit. Constant., lib. iii, c. 49.) The invocation of saints arose in this cen tury, and may probably have originated from apostrophes to the mar- tyrs to the faith, similar to those which occur in the funeral orations of the heathen poets and orators. The belief of a state of temporary punishment after this life, in some respects analogous to the notions of purgatory entertained by the mo- dern Catholics, had been inculcated by Origen in the preceding cen- tury, and was insisted upon in this by Gregory Nazianzen, Anibrose, and some others of the Christian teachers. Gregory conceived with Origen that the wicked, after remaining a siiflicicnt time in that place of sufTering to be purified from sin, would obtain mercy from God, while Ambrose contended for the eternity of {)unishments in certain cases. Another branch of superstition which daily increased was monkery, the actual establishment of which is to be dated from the fourth cen- tury. There were, indeed, several solitaries who, like Paul of Thebes, in, the preceding ages, had sequestered themselves from the employments of social life ; but the Egyptian Anthony, already mentioned, appears to have been the first who induced any considerable number to associate with him in the monastic state. Numbers, seized by a fanatical spirit, voluntarily inflicted upon themselves the severest sufferings, and were content to be deprived of every earthly good. In this solitary state, like their leader the illiterate Anthony, they rejected learning as useless, if not pernicious, and professed to be solely occupied in silence, meditation, and prayer. When, however, they were formed into regular societies, they employed some part of their time in study. Their melancholy modes of life prepared and qualified them for all the vagaries of a heated imagination : they had prophetic dreams, saw visions, con- versed with the diflercnt inhabitants of the invisible world, and many closed a life of madness in despair. The Emperor Constanline con- tributed greatly to the respect paid to this slate, by his attachment to those who devoted themselves to Divine philosophy, or monkery. Considerable numbers of the softer sex forsook their elegant abodes, and all the endearments of domestic life, to dwell in caves and deserts. Among these Paula, a matron, descended from one of the most illus- trious families of Rome, wilh her daughter Eulalia, rent asunder every delicate domestic tie, and, forsaking her home, her country, and her weeping ofl'spring, she visited Jerome in Palestine, accompanied him in his visit to Epiphanius at Cyprus, and went to Paulinus at Antioch. (Eusch. Vit. Constant., lib. iv, c. 28.) Egypt was the great theatre for monastic action ; and, at the close of the fourth century, it was computed that twenty-seven thousand monks and nuns were to be found in that country. As neither opulence nor talents were required from these solitary devotees, monkery ofl'ered an agreeable asylum to the indolent and illiterate, who, if their pretensions to austerity were sufficiently fervent, were at once elevated into stations oi peculiar 76 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. honour and respectability. The conduct of the monks was agreeable to the different motives of religion, fanaticism, or hypocrisy, from which they had entered into that state. Many of them were pious, modest, disinterested, and compassionate ; some gloomy, austere, and censo- rious ; and others artfully obtained a considerable part of that pro- perty, the renunciation of which it was their principal employment to inculcate. The fortunate Anthony had the happiness, in traversing the deserts, to discover the retreat of Paul, the hermit, whose eyes he piously closed, and resolved to imitate his holy example. His solitude was soon enlivened by numbers, for whose government he composed regu- lations, which were in a short time introduced, by his disciple Hilarion, into Syria and Palestine, and by others into Mesopotamia and Arme- nia. From the east it passed with celerity into the west. Basil intro- duced it into Greece, and Ambrose into Italy. Martin, the cele- brated bishop of Tours, propagated monkery so rapidly in Gaul, that his funeral is said to have been attended by no less than two thou- .sand monks. {Fleuri/, v. 30.) The numbers of these deluded people, and the veneration paid to them, were such as to induce them some- limes to conceive themselves superior to the laws, the execution of which they frequently suspended, and ventured, with impunity, to snatch criminals from the hands of justice while on their way to execution. {Sueur, A. D. 399.) The monks were divided into different orders, according to the different modes of life which they were disposed to adopt. The Coenobites were associated under a governor, and dwelt in fixed habitations. The Eremites solitarily resided in deserts, caves, or holes in the earth. The Anchorites wildly wandered in the most sequestered retreats, supporting life by the spontaneous productions of the earth, without any settled places of abode. The Sarabaites were the venders of pretended relics, and the performers of fictitious miracles. All these orders originally in- cluded, equally, both the laity and clergy, but the increasing respect paid to these pretensions of extraordinary sanctity occasioned some of the best ecclesiastical benefices to be offered to the monks, and in time the greater number of them were engaged in the immediate service of the Church. Under the auspices of an emperor who publicly professed the faith of the Church, we naturally expect to see its external respectability increase. Constantino not only greatly enlarged and improved the edifices already erected, but he constructed a considerable number of additional temples, which he dedicated to departed saints, and adorned them with pictures or images, and the most costly magnificence. A very superb structure was reared, by the orders of the emperor, over the sepulchre of Christ at Jerusalem. Constantinople was adorned by the emperor with a superb church, dedicated to the twelve apostles, which he proposed to make his own mausoleum ; not perhaps without a latent hope that his soul might be benefited by his dust being min- gled with the bones of those holy men which he had carefully en- deavoured to collect wherever they lay dispersed. Numberless churches, in different places, were erected over the tombs of the mar- tyrs, which were only used on particular occasions, and were distin- guished by the name of Martyria. The churches appointed for the Cent. IV.] history of the church. 77 constant performance of reli^otis worship obtained the name of Tituli, and were thus denominated from tlie presbyters who ofiiciated in them, and who received titles from them which fixed them to their particular situations. I'his regulation was well adapted for the decent and regu- lar performance of Divine worship. The attention of the Emperor Constantine appears to have been seriously directed to this object, and to have operated not merely in seasons of leisure and tranquillity, but even in tumult and war. When he marched against the enemy, a\ tent was erected for him in the form of a chapel, which accompanied \ him in his movements, and in which Divine service was performed \ by tlie attending priests and deacons. Hence arose the custom of 1 appointing a chaplain to every legion in the imperial army. Opulenty persons, who erected religious edifices, were invested with the right of appointing to them whatever ministers they chose to officiate. The Martyria and Tituli were equally decorated with every ornament which formerly embellished the temples of heathenism ; and Christian rites were solemnized with all the pomp of lights, lustrations, and of splendid garments, which had distinguished the pagan ceremonies. In all churches the seats of the women were separated from those of the men, who were not permitted to enter at the same door. The seats for females, however, diilered in different churches. In the churches of Anastatia and Sancta Sophia they were placed in porti- coes or galleries, while the men were seated below. In conformity to the practice both of the heathens and the Jews, the rights of sanctuary were claimed and allowed to the Christian temples; and, by the laws of the younger Theodosius, malefactors of various descriptions might claim protection from the Church against the civil power, within any of the precincts of consecrated grounds ; the respect for which had become so excessive that none were allowed to administer the sacra- ment beyond the places that were consecrated. The difference which had arisen in the compositions of the Christian preachers was not more remarkable than the manner in which these discourses were received. Those applauses which had formerly been confined to the theatres, or the forum, were now permitted in the Christian church. The preacher was repeatedly interrupted by the cry of " orthodox," and clapping of the hands and feet. Chrysostom was applauded in the great church at Constantinople, by the people's waving their garments, their plumes, and their handkerchiefs ; and by others laying their hands on their swords, and exclaiming, " Thou art worthy of the priesthood." Another mark of admiration consisted in moving the body like the waves of the sea slightly agitated by the wind. [Biiiirham, Ecc. Antiq. lib. xiv, c. 4.) In some places marks of still greater adulation were paid to the ministers of religion ; and the people sung hosannahs to the bishop, similar to the conduct of the multitude toward our Lord on his entrance into Jerusalem. {Ilieron. in Matt, xxi, tom. ix, p. 02.) The liturgies which were adopted in the diflerent churches were far from bi-ing composed in the same form. Provided the fundamental doctrines of religion were the same, it was conceived of small import- ance in what munner the ritual was observed. Thev diflercd there- fore materially in dillerent churches, according to the circumstances or dispositions of the members. 'Jlie same license which was given 78 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV to the litiirtriesovas accorded to the creeds, {Bingham, xi, 6,) which, though they agreed in doctrine, difiored materially in their construction. The pomp of worship was greatly augmented in several churches, by an alteration which took place in the singing, particularly in the church of Antioch, where the vocal performers were separated into two divisions, and sung the psalms of David alternately. Constantine commanded the first day of the week to be celebrated with peculiar solemnity ; and, in time, tliis practice extended over the whole Chris- tian world. The a^apit", which for the first three centuries were observed in the Church, owing to some abuses which had insinuated themselves into their celebration, began to be disesteemed, and in time gradually de- clined. There were, however, various other observances to compen- sate, as far as external rites could compensate, for their loss. In this century many new festivals were instituted in honour of the martyrs, and particular respect was paid to the places where they sufiered, or where their remains were interred. As baptism and the I^ord's Supi)cr were very commonly supposed to impart some spiritual grace, the former of these rites was frequently deferred till the evening of life, and even till the hour of death, that the believer might leave the world with the greater certainty of his sins being forgiven, and before any new guilt had been contracted. Baptism at this period was usually accompanied by the sign of the cross. Many "were so desirous of receiving this initiatory rite in the same place with Christ, that they delayed baptism till they could travel into Judea. The Emperor Constantine was among the number of those who fa- voured this species of popular superstition, and earnestly desired to receive the baptismal rite in the waters of Jordan. Among the powers which in the fourth century were granted to the bishops, they appear to have been iiivestpd with authority sufficient to appoint fasts in their own churches. {Bingham, xi, 6.) The absti- nence upon these occasions, though strictly observed by great num- bers, was yet by several commuted for bv refraining from animal food and tlie juice of the grape; so that, in fact, though the nominal fasts were, in conformity to the prevailing austerities, considerably multi- plied, abstinence was less observed by many than when they were less frequent. The use of penance still continued, but the offending clergy were exempted from pulilic humilintioii. and silently deposed from their ecclesiast.i(!al offices. After the Dccian persecution, it was ordained that penitents should maki^ their confession in private to a particular priest appointed for that purpose ; and that those parts of their misconduct which were unlit lor the public ear should be sup- pressed. This custom continued in practice till nearly the close of this century, when an unhappy accident, which arose in the Constan- tinopolitaa Church, occasioned the abolition of this order. An offend- ing female, during the appointed time in which she remained in the Church, to wipe off by fasting and prayer her former ofl"ences, had been seduced by one of the deacons to contract fresh guilt. From this period all confession, whether public or private, appears to have been discontinued by the Greek Church ; and it is affirmed that from this period the Greeks make their confessions only to God. {Pricstley^s Corruptions, vol. ii. p. 146.) Cent. IV.] history of the church. 79 The controversy concerning the celebration of Easter, which had perplexed and divided the Church during the preceding century, was decided by the council of Nice, in favour of the western churches ; and all Christians were commanded to commemorate this festival on the first Sunday which followed the fourteenth day of the first moon after the vernal equinox. The Emperor Constantiiie watched, in com- mon with the other Christians, on the vigil of this solemn season ; and, in addition to tlie lights which had been formerly kindled on this occa- sion, commanded not only the whole church, but also the whole city to be illuminated ; which, in consequence of this request, exhibited on that evening a scene of uncommon splendour. This season was ob- served by the generality of Christians with peculiar reverence and marked attention. Valentinian, in the year 367, released from prison, on the occasion of this festival, all such as were not notorious delin- quents ; and established a custom which was imitated by succeeding emperors. Private persons also embraced the occasion which this season afforded to evince their beneficence and charity, particularly by granting manumission to slaves, as a proper expression of that mercy, commemorated by this festival, which brought freedom to the captive and happiness to all mankind. {Bingham, lib. xx, c. 5.) CHAPTER IV. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Abuse of Mysticism — Eustathians and Messalians — Donatists — Disputes concerning the succfssion to the sec of Carthage — Donalus — Violence of the parties — Rogations— Arius — Principles of the Arians — Arias condemned and e.xilod — Council of Nice — Arian- ism condeinricd there — Arius recalled (rom banishment l)y Constantine — Death of Arius — Arianism protected liy Constantius — Semi- Arians — Eunomians — Contests between the diffcreril branches of Arians — Semi-Arians divided — Macedonians — Mcletians — Photinus — ;\pollinarians — Prise illianists — Antidicomaranites — Uollyridians — Luciferians — Au- deus — iEtius, itc. The doctrines of the Mystics, who assumed a degree of sanctity and perfection unknown to vulgar minds, and affected to elevate the soul I)y rt'jecting the gratifications of sense, were adopted by the most considerable part of the Christian world, as the dictates of pure reli- gion, inii)i!)ed from the fountain of truth. Among those who carried these doctrines to the greatest excess, the sects of the Eustathians and Messalians were ])cculiarly distinguished. The followers of Eusta- thiiis contended slroiigiy for the exercise of the greatest austerities, and not only prohibited the use of wine and flesh, but denounced the connultial state, and prescrilied innnediate divorce to all who had entered into a married life. This fanaticism was, however, inferior to that of the Messalians, who professed to believe that the soul, by spi- ritual exercises, was enabled to expel the demon by which lln\v con- ceived it to be inhabited, and might then be perfectly united with the Divine essence.* The Messalians afiected an air of uucommon * It is more than once necessary to caution the reader to receive all these accounts of the sectaries with irreat allowance. In all |)robability niany parts of their creed bor- dered upon absurdity ; but, as we have our accounts oidy from their adversaries, candour must itiducc us to believo them exaggerated. 80 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. deA'otion ; and maintained their ground in the eastern empire dnring a considerable time, in defiance of the decrees of councils, and the pro- scriptions of the emperor. Among the contests which disturbed the peace of the Churcli in the fourth century, the schism of the Donatists demands, if not the princi- pal, at least a distinguished place. The doctrines of this body were, however, strictly conformable to those of the (Church from which they separated. Cfficilianus, the archdeacon of Carthage, had, on the de- mise of the bishop, been consecrated to the vacant see by some of the African bishops, without waiting for the assent of the bishops of Nu- midia. These offended prelates cited Coscilianus to account to them for this omission ; and on his refusal to submit to their authority, a council was convened, consisting of seventy bishops, in which the refractory Csccilianus w-as deposed, and his deacon, Majorinus, de- clared his successor. This sentence, which divided into factions the Carthaginian Church, and, in fact, gave it two 'bishops at the same crisis, was occasioned by a variety of causes, independent of the irre- gularity attending the consecration of Ca'cilianus. There were several competitors for the vacant see, who eagerly seized the opportunity of removing their fortunate rival ; and all the influence of Lucilla, a rich and superstitious female, was exerted against Crccilianus, who had reprimanded her for her folly. Nor was this all. Felix, of Aptungus, the principal bishop who had assisted at his consecration, was accused of being a traitor, or one who, during the Diocletian persecution, had delivered up the sacred books to be burned ; and wlio therefore was supposed not competent to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit. To these it was added, that Csecilianus himself had, during the persecution, behaved toward the Christians with inhumanity. Constantino ap- pointed this controversy to be examined by the bishop of Rome, assisted by three others ; and the result of their deliberations was favourable to Cfficilianus. Felix of Aptungus was not less fortunate ; his cause was examined by the proconsul of Africa, and by his decision he was absolved. But the restoration of the degraded bishop was not calculated to sa- tisfy the minds of his adversaries, who, headed by Donatus, an African bishop, fomented fresh discontents, and occasioned the emperor to con- vene a council at Aries,* where they were again condemned. Their dissatisfaction still continued ; and two years afterward, Constantino, to whom the different parties had consented to refer their cause, ap- proved the consecration of Cfccilianus. The resentment and contumely Avith which the Donatists received this decision, added to their former behaviour, so much exasperated the emperor, that he deprived them of their churches, banished the seditious bishops, and even condemned to death some of the party. This violent, and perhaps imprudent resentment, was not calculated to produce peace. The Donatists asserted, that the apostolical succession had been interrupted ; that the whole ecclesias- tical body in Europe and Asia was infected with guilt and schism, since they held commtmion with the depraved African Church; that the pre- servation of the Catholic Church was confined to those African believers, * At this council two hundred bisliops attended, and among tiic rest Restitutus, bishop of London. {Pricstlcr/'s Chrislian Clinrch.) Cent. IV.] historv of the church. 81 who had preserved their faith and disciphne inviolate ; and that all communion with other churches ought to be avoided, lest they should be contaminated by their impurity. This rigid theory was accoinpanied by conduct equally austere. Every proselyte was carefully re-baptized, and re-ordained. All who had communicated with other churches were obliged to perform public j)enance previous to their admission into this immaculate Church. But it was not with the pen and the tongue only that the cause of Donalism was supported. The Circumcellians, a body of savage and fanatical persons, exasperated by the severe 3xe- cution of the laws of Constantino against the Donatists, collected in formidable bodies, assumed the titles of captains and saints, and riished out as avengers of those who had been the victims of the law, spread- ing terror and consternation throughout the African provinces. Ani- mated by implacable hatred against the opposite party, and a fanatical desire for obtaining the honour of fnartyrdom, they sought cieath with avidity, and even solicited their enemies to indict upon them those tem- poral miseries which .should introduce them to eternal glory. Constan- tine, hoping that time might be more conducive than force to calm these disturbances, abrogated the laws against the Donatists ; and his son Constans laboured earnestly to heal the divi.sions of the African Church. But these efTorts were in vain ; Donatus the Great, (who had succeeded Majorinus, and from whom the party derived its name,) with the other factious prelates, opposed every attempt toward a recon- ciliation. The whole party rose in arms, and were defeated by the imperial army : numbers lied, a considerable part were sent into banish- ment, and many were punished with extreme severity. The Donatists divided into many sects, among whom the Rogatians contended that the Church of Christ existed only in their community. The schism of the Donatists was an impetuous torrent, which inun- dated and desolated the adjacent country ; but its limits were prescribed, and its mischief confmcd to the African provinces. The trinitarian controversy was a deluge which overflowed the whole Christian world. Arius, a presbyter of llie Church of Alexandria, acute, eloquent, and subtle, contended, in opposition to his bishop, Alexander, in an assem- bly of the presbyters, " that the Son was essentially distinct from the Father : that he was a dependant spontaneous production, created by the will of the Father out of nothing : tliat he had been begotten before all worlds ; but that there had been a time when he was not : that the Father had impressed upon him the elTulgence of his glory, and trans- fused into him his ample Spirit : that he was the framer of the world, and governed the universe, in obedience to the will of his Father and Monarch." As every innovation will find some favourers, especially if supported by ingemiity, the party of Arius soon became very consi- derable, and was countenanced by two bishops, and by numbers dis- tinguislied both by rank and abilities. Alexander, together with the inferior ministers of the .\lexandrian Church, exhorted the apostate presbyter to renounce his errors, and return to their communion ; but finding this ineH'cctual, the zealous prelate asseml)li'd a coinicil of his brethren, composed of a hundred bishops, who, after hearing Arius persist in his opinions, pul)licly coiulemned them. Not discouraged, however, by this act of authority, .\rius retired into Palestine, where he was received into communion, and made considerable accessions to his 6 82 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. cause, notwithstandinjr the excommunications which were fuhninated by Alexander against both him and his schismatic foUowers. These disputes, in wliicli many wise and good men were engaged on both sides, and in which the angry combatants assailed each other with the utmost opprobrium and contumely, attracted the attention of Constantine, who, in order to quiet a disturbance so disgraceful to the Church, wrote both to the bishop and the presbyter, reprimanding them for their intemperance, and exhorting them to peace. liut the words of the emperor were not sufficiently powerful to extinguish a flame which had been too long permitted, and which, at that period, raged with the utmost violence. In the year 325, therefore, he convened the celebrated council at Nice in Bithynia, of which an ample account has already been given. Before this council Arius appeared, declared his opinions, and, with his friends, the bishops of Ptolemais and Marmorica, who refused to subscribe to the Nicen# faith, was condemned. 'J'he apos- tate presbyter was banished ; his writings were committed to the flames, and capital punishments were denounced against all in whose posses- sion they might be found. {Soc. Hist. 1. i, c. 9.) A party of the bishops, who had assisted at the Nicene council, and subscribed to its creed, secretly favoured the cause of Arius ; and Eusebius, bishop of Nico- niedia, and Theognis, bishop of Nice, afforded protection to the perse- cuted Arians, for which they were banished into Gaul. The faith of Constantine appears, in this instance, to have been rather uncertain and wavering ; he understood not this perplexed controversy, and acted, at different times, as he was influenced by the ecclesiastics of each party, who accused one another not only of heterodoxy, but of disaffection to the emperor. One of the followers of Arius, who, by the dying words of his sister Constantia, had been recommended to the emperor, had the address to persuade him that the sentence of Arius was unjust. The emperor on this, after an exile of three years, recalled the pres- byter, who presented his confession of faith, (which appeared orthodox to Constantine,) and sought to be received into connnunion in the Alex- andrian Church. Athanasius, who had succeeded Alexander in that see, rejected his application ; but this resistance was so little agreea- ble to the emperor, that the Arian bishops easily procured from him a decree for the banishment of the Alexandrian bishop. Arius and liis adherents were received into the communion of the Church at Jerusa- lem ; but were still rejected by that of Alexandria. The emperor, however, sent for him to Constantinople, and issued an absolute com- mand for his admission into the Constantinopolitan Church. This honour was prevented I)y the unexpected death of Arius, which his enemies ascribed to tlie judgments of God against him for his impieties: his frifnds, however, had but too much reason for believing that he had fallen tin; miserable victim of his implacable eneuiies. The Arians found in the successor of Constantine a protector and a friend. Their great patron, the bishop of Nicomedia, was promoted to the Constantinopolitan see ; and while the western emperors, steadily attached to the Nicene faith, were advancing its progress by all possible means, Conslantius was no less zealous in his opposition to that, and his attachment to the Arian cause. During the remainder of this century, except in the reign of Julian, the Nicene and the Arian parties were at different times protected by the different emperors, and the success- 6* CeN'T. IV.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 83 ful pirtv invariably and brutally triumphed in the commission of every act of unkindness and severity that could disturb and distress their ad- versaries. But the hatred of the Arians was not confined to the con- substaiitialists. They divided amon{( themselves, and regarded each other witli implacable aversion. The Homoiousians, or semi-Arians, declired their belief, that the Son was of a similar substance with the Father. The Eunomians, who were the disciples of yEtius and Euno- mius, the latter a man of a restless and aspiring spirit, who had entered into aliiDst every profession of life, opposed their opinion, and contended that the Son was unlike or unequal to the Father. The Eunomians were condemned in the council of Ancyra, and in the two councils sumiuotieil by Constantius, one at Seleucia for tlie eastern Church, the other ai Ariminum for the western. The Eunomians were overpowered at Seleucia ; and the assembly at Ariininum, which was composed of about a fourth part Arians, subscribed to a creed wliich contained little more than the vague proposition, that the Son of God was not a creature like other creatures. The confession of Ariminum was sent through the empire, and all the bishops were required to subscribe it. But none were allowed to maintain Arianism, by asserting that the Son of God was of a nature unlike that of the Father, and to rank him in the number of creatures. These subtle and almost imperceptible dis- tinctions divided the Arians into a considerable number of sects, who mutually detested and anathematized each other. Toward the close of this century the Arians and Macedonians, a branch from the same stock, were compelled by the imperial laws to have no bisliops. This sect, however, flourished considerably for more than three centuries, and was not at length crushed without violence and persecution. Its tenets were received by the Goths, the Vandals, and the Burgundians, and long continued to be professed by those barbarous nations. The semi-Arians, as may be conceived from their name, adopted not all llie opinions of their Arian brethren ; but they rejected the doctrine of consubstantialily with equal zeal, though the greater part of them professed to believe tlie Divinity of the Logos, or Word ; (the Son of God;) I)ut many utterly denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. Like the Arians, the semi-Arians were divided into sects, the principal of which obtained the name of Macedonians, from their leader Macedonius ; who, while ho denied the consubstanliality of the Son, asserted his likeness to the Father; and affirmed that the third person in the trinity was a Divine energy diflused throughout the universe, and not a distinct per- son proceeding from the Father and the Son. Many of the semi-Arians gradually united themselves to the orthodox party, from whom their grounds of diirerence were, in some instances, scarcely perce|)tible, and signed the Nicene confession of faith. . On the pronuilgation of the law of toleration by the Emperor Gratian, nianv of the semi-Arian.''. again seceded from the Church; but their nu!nl)ers afterward, from a variety of causes, sensildy declined. It is dilReult to determine whether the Meletians should be consi- dered as a distinct sect, or as a society of .\rians. 'i'he schism was originally produced by the deposition of Melctius, l)ishop of Lvcopolis in EjiVjiI, wbo was accused of various ollences, and particularlv of sa crifuing to idols in a time of persecution. After his deposition bv the council of Alexandria, however, Meletius continued to assume the titles, 84 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. and exercise the functions of his office. He afterward united with Arius , but whether previous to the meeting of the council of Nice, or not, is not ascertained. At this council the affair of Meletius was com- promised, apparently to his satisfaction : for he was allowed to retain the title of bishop without the functions. The sect however continued till the fifth century, and professed the doctrines of Arius. Arianism, which engaged the attention of all ranks of the people during the whole of this century, did not so entirely engross them as to prevent the propagation and reception of other opinions which differed from those of the orthodox creed. Photinus, bishop of Sinnium, as- serted that Jesus Christ was born of the Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary, and endued with a Divine emanation, or heavenly ray, which he called the Word ; and that, on account of this union between the Di- vine Word and his human nature, Jesus was styled the Sou of God, and even God himself. He denied that the Holy Spirit was a distinct person, and aflirmed that he was a celestial virtue, proceeding from the Deity. This prelate was the disciple and friend of Marcellus, the bishop of Ancyra, who had been charged with adopting the errors of Sabellianism, or an attempt to confound the doctrine of three persons in the Godhead. Photinus occasioned his friendly tutor additional censure, whose impieties, according to the charitable spirit of the times, were considerably augmented by his refusal to condemn the errors of Photinus. Private friendship. Christian charity, or the know- ledge that others were ready to involve him in evils similar to those which threatened and surrounded his pupil, were conceived reasons too weak to deter him from an endeavour to punish the errors of his friend. The efforts of repeated councils, and the eflects of repeated banish- ments were, for a long time, insufTicient to destroy the errors of this sectary ; who, though excommunicated by the Church, defended him- self durihg seven years by the assistance of the people ; but at length died in exile. The ApoUinarians asserted, after ApoUiiiaris, bishop of Laodicea? that the Divinity, joined to the flesh, performed the offices of an intelli- gent soul in Jesus Christ, and received the impression which the soul of man receives. Many of the followers of Apollinaris refined upon this, and affirmed that one nature only existed in Jesus Christ, and that the flesh was of the same nature with the Divinity. Others af- firmed, that Jesus Christ had taken his body from heaven, and that it was impassive and immortal ; and his birth, j)assion, death, burial, and resurrection only illusive appearances. The council of Constantinople condemned these opinions, and many by whom they were professed were reunited to the communion of the C'hurch. The Priscillianists derived their denomination from Priscillian, a man of rank and fortune in Spain, who was afterward bishop of Abila. A considerable mixture of Gnosticism and IJnitariaiiism appears to have been united in this sect, with the tenets of both which, however, they were but imperfectly acquainted. They thought that the devil was not made by God, but arose from chaos and darkness ; {Leo, Opera, p. 167;) said that the bodies of men were made by the devil ; condemned mar- riage, and denied the resurrection of the body ; asserted that the soul was of a Divine substance, which, having oflcnded in heaven, was sent into the body as a place of punishment ; that men are subject to Cent. IV.] history of the church. 85 necessity, to sin, and to the power of the stars ; and our bodies com- pounded according to the order of the twelve signs of the zodiac. — {Aug. dc Hatrcs., cap. 70.) They agreed that the Son is inferior to the Father, and that there was a time when the Son was not. {Leo, Opera, c. i, ii, p. 168.) The rule of manners prescribed by this sect was re- markably austere. Priscillian, their leader, was accused by the other Spanish bishops, in consequence of the increase of his followers ; and he was banished by the Emperor Gratian from Spain. He was again, however, permitted to return ; but was once more accused by his im- placable enemies, and put to death at Treves, in the year 384, by the perfidious Maxinuis, at the instigation of Ithacius, bishop of Sossuba ; who, whatever might be the professed purity of his faith, was deficient in every amiable quality of the human heart. The opinions of the Priscillianists did not end with the death of their erroneous and unfor- tunate leader, but extended their influence, and continued during seve- ral succeeding centuries. {Sand ins, Hist., p. 127.) The recorder of folly, if he be possessed of humanity, can find little enjoyment in his task, and it is equally unnecessary and unpleasant to dwell upon the opinions and conduct of those sects who differed from the Church only in one or two points of perhaps little importance, or whose errors were received by few, and soon terminated. Among these smaller sects were the Antidicomaranites, who contended that after the birth of Christ the Virgin Mary did not continue in her imma- culate state, but associated with her husband Joseph ; and the Collyri- dians, who, falling into the opposite extreme, superstitiously worshipped the virgin, and made an offering to her, upon certain appointed days, of a particular kind of bread. These views were confined to a few; those of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari in Sardinia, were rather more dif- fused. This prelate had been a zealous opposer of Arianism ; he had separated himself not only from communion with all of that sect, but even from all who acknowledged as bishops those who had signed the Ariminum confession of faith, and had written against the Arians with great vehemence ; but the purity of his own faith did not continue un- corrupted, and he is accused of asserting that the soul was transfused from tlie parents to the children, and that it was of a fleshly substance. Amid the time of superstition which had almost overflowed the Church, many lamented its devastations, and some were so confident as to attempt to stop the torrent ; but their courage was not rewarded either with applause or success ; and, independent of the doctrinal errors into which they fell, they were, on account of their opposition to the corrupt and prevailing opinions of the age, loaded with calumny and regarded with abhorrence. One of the principal of these hardy champions for the truth was Audeus, a Syrian, of uncommon virtue, whose zeal against the profligacy of the clergy procured his excommu- nication from the Church. ITnmoved by the censures which he had in- curnul, .Vuilcus associated hinisilf with a society of Christians, who were distinguish(Ml not only by their abliorrenco of clerical depravity, but by their altaclnnent to the Jewish time of celebrating l^aster, and their belief that the resemblance between (lod and man consisted in the body, whence they have been charged with believing that the Supreme Ueiug was corporeal, lie was banished by the emperor into Scythia, where he continued to make several converts, and established several 66 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. monasteries. His zeal against superstition and depravity was seconded by yEtius, one of the leaders of the semi-Arians ; and Jovinian, an Italian monk. The principal point on which yl*^tius and his adherents differed from the other semi-Arians, appears to have been their belief that there was no distinction i'ounded in Scripture between a presbyter and a bishop. lie earnestly condemned prayers for the dead, and se- veral other rites, and atten)pted to restore the discipline of the Church to its primitive simplicity and excellence. Jovinian, though himself a monk, and continuing in a state of celibacy, took the utmost pains to expose the peculiar doctrines of monachism, though, unlike tlie other reformers of this time, he continued in the orthodox faith. His doc- trines were so obnoxious to the clergy that he was excommunicated by Siricius, the bishop of Rome, and was condemned by the Emperor Honorius to be whipped, and banished to the small and obscure island of Boa, in lUyricum. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FOURTH CENTURY. Constantine not eminent as a patron of literature — Eusebius — Pamphilus — Athana- sius — Basil — Gregory Nazianzen — Gregory of Nyssa — Ambrose, bishop of Milan — Lac- tantius — Jerome — Rufinus — St. Augustine — Chrysostom — .Marcellus — ^Eustathius — Vic- torinus — Hilary — Apollinaris — Ephraim of Edessa — Didymus — Diodorus of Tarsus — Epi- phanius — Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem. W^ERE we to estimate the learning and abilities of the writers of this century by their numbers or their zeal, our admiration of their talents would not be confined within ordinary limits. But intestine commotions and religious controv^ersies are circumstances not extremely favourable to the most admired blossoms of literature, which expand in the gay sunshine of tranquillitV, but close and fold their leaves in the inclement season of turbulence and distraction. The first emperor who professed Christianity had devoted little of his time to literature ; and what- ever favours he might be disposed to bestow upon monks and ecclesi- astics, he does not appear to have greatly signalized himself as a patron of learning. A desire to abolish paganism, which was supported by the "wit and talents of some of its professors, and to advance Christianity upon its ruins, rather than a love of literature, induced the emperor to encourage a taste for study, and to erect public libraries for the exten- sion of knowledge. But when honours and preferments were not annexed to excellence in learning, when science was not encouraged either by the favour of tlie prince or the approbation of the people, and confined to the investigation of obscure scholastic theology, we cannot be surprised to find a raj)id decay of the arts and sciences, numbers of the clergy unlearned, and the cell of the monk a fruitful hotbed for the cultivation of ignorance. Notwithstanding this, there were, among the number of ('hristian writers in the fourth century, some who may be justly distinguished for their learning and elegance. Eusebius, bishop of Ccsarea, in Palestine, claims a distinguished rank in the catalogue, both on account of his Cent. IV.] history of the church. 87 abilities and virtue. He was a native of Palestine, and obtained his bishopric in the year 314 ; but at a very early period was accused of favouring the Arians, and of continuin;^^ attached to tlic bishops of that sect ; and several of his expressions alFord some ground for the belief that the suspicion was not wholly unfounded. It is probable, however, that the candour and moderation of his temper, rather than any defec- tion from the orthodox failli, might occasion this imputation. In the council of Nice he abandoned the Arian party, but supported them in their endeavours to deprive Athauasius of the Alexandrian see. He composed an ecclesiastical history, from the commencement of the Church till the council of Nice ; a chronicle of the principal events from the beginning of the world till the twentieth year of Constantine ; four panegyrical books of the life of that emperor ; The Preparation and Demonstration of the Gospel, a discourse against the philosopher Hierocles, who compared Apollonius to Jesus Christ ; five books against Marcellus of Ancyra ; a commentary on the Psalms ; and five books of An Apology for Origen, which he wrote conjointly with his friend Pamphilus, the martyr, from his attachment to whom he received his name. To these he added a sixth book, after the death of his friend, and composed many treatises in divinity and criticism. The amiable- ness of his temper is apparent from no instance being adduced, by his enemies, of his having used any means of depressing others with the emperor, or of acquiring any advantages for himself. A suspicion, however, of a very serious nature has attacked the conduct of Eusebius, while under the apprehension of persecution; and he was thought to have purchased his retreat from the confinement of a prison by compli- ances which were dishonourable, if not base. The inviolable attach- ment of Eusebius to the amiable and accomplished Pamphilus, pres- byter at Cesarea, does honour to his feelings as a man. He assumed his name, (Eusebius Pamphilus,) and composed an account of his life. This martyr to the faith erected a school at Cesarea ; and, after sulTer- ing much during the Diocletian persecution, was at length cruelly put to death. Pew of his writings have reached posterity. However varying, or however doubtful, the character of Eusebius may aj)pcar to the world, that of Athauasius is fixed, decisive, and rev solute. A deacon of the Alexandrian Church, at the commencement of the Arian disputes he joined in opinion with his bishop, and accom- panied him to the council of Nice. On the demise of his diocesan he obtained the Alexandrian see, but he enjoyed not long in tranquillity his^ new situation : orthodox in his principles, decided in his opinions, and resolute in maintaining tliem, it is not surprising that he should soon become an 'bbjuct of detestation to the Arian party, whom lie vehe- mently opposed. A charge was exhibited against him by his enemies, of having exacted new duties from the peojile for the emolument of the Church. This charge was dismissed by the emperor, but two others succeeded ; that he had thrown down and broken a sacred chalice, overthrown the sacramental elements, destroyed the church of Mareotis, and that he had added murder to sacrilege, in killing Arsenius, bishop of Hy|)sele. To the first of these accusations he replied by proving that neither church, altar, nor chalice, existed in the place where he was said to have destroyed them, and effectually refuted the other by pro- ducing to the sight of his accusers the schismatic bishop, who had for 88 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CkXT. IV. a lime tliought proper to retire. The Ariaii party hail, however, pre- viouslv determined his disgrace ; and in the council of Tyre he was degraded, deposed, and exiU^d. lu vain the injured prehue hastily removed himself to Constantinople, and publicly pleaded his cause at the footstool of his prince. The charge of having threatened to pre- vent the exportation of corn from Alexandria to Constantinople had been urged against him to Constantine ; who, irritated at his supposed contumacy, dismissed him into exile to Treves. The accession of the sons of Constantine, which produced leave to the exiled bishops to return to their respective sees, restored Athanasius, by a decree of the younger Constantinus, (who continued in the ortho- dox faith,) to Alexandria. But the cabal and faction under Constan- tius again deposed him, ordained Gregory in his room, and ordered the prefect of Egypt to confirm the new archbishop in his office ; while Athanasius retired to Rome. In a council of fifty bishops of Italy, the innocence of the deposed bishop was unanimously declared ; and at ihe end of three years he received a summons to attend at Milan the Emperor Constans, who required his brother to call a council for deter- mining the case of Athanasius. In this council, held at Sardica, after a series of angry debates, Athanasius was declared innocent ; and Gregory very opportunely dying just at that period, he entered into the peaceable possession of his see. Tranquillity was not, however, the path in which Athanasius was destined to proceed ; death removed his princely and generous protector Constans ; and Constantius, in compli- ance with the reiterated persuasion of those who hated the zeal and abili- ties of the Alexandrian bishop, issued orders again for his expulsion. The bishops, who in the councils of Aries and Milan had opposed the degra- dation of Athanasius, were required to subscribe his sentence ; and a formulary of consent was transmitted to the absent bishops, who, upon their refusal to subscribe it, were immediately banished by the emperor. George, of Cappadocia, was then placed on the episcopal throne ; and the exiled archbishop was assaulted at midnight, by the troops of the empire, in the church of St. Theonas, while he was performing his devotions. He continued his employment during the time Avhen the doors of the sanctuary were assailed ; and, when they were at length burst open, with great intrepidity refused to consult his own safety till he had provided for that of his congregation. Six years he remained concealed among the monks of the deserts of Thebais, notwithstanding the vigilance of his pursuers, and the force of the most severe edicts against all who should protect or conceal tlie deserter. The accession of .lulian, who granted the exiled bishops leave to return, restored Athanasius to his see, which became vacant by the death* of George, the second usurper. As the zeal of Athanasius was not agreeable to the emperor, (who again issued orders for his exile and apprehension,) he was once more so fortunate as to escape to his former recess, where he continued till the reign of Jovian, and again assumed the govern- ment of his church. Under Valens he was banished once more, and remained confined for four months ; at the end of which he was again recalled, and enjoyed the tranquil possession of liis see fill the year 373, when his death put a period to a series of incessant exertions in the cause of the Church. The zeal of Athanasius in the orthodox cause occasioned his com- Cent. IV.] historv of the church. 89 posing a number of writings against the heresy of Arius and Apollina- ri.s ; several discourses and letters in justification of himself ; and also the life of St. Anthony. .Many of liis performances are lost, but suffi- cient remain to form a splendid edition of three folio volumes by the learned Montfaucon. Basil the Great, lii.shop of Cesarea, was one of the most amiable and accomplished characters of the fourth century. Eloquent, ingenious, and learned, he was surpassed, and even equalled, by few. He .stu- died in the schools of Cesarea and Constantinople, and then repaired to Athens to perfect himsell" in the sciences. In this situation he contract- ed a strict intimacy with the amia!)le Gregory Nazianzen, whose father was the bishop of that city. After some time employed in assisting his father in the duties of his office, Gregory again joined his friend, who had retired with a few select associates into the solitudes of Pontus, where, in mutual study and reciprocal esteem, they passed a considerable time. Gregory quitted his solitude once more to assist his father ; and after several vicissitudes was advanced by Theodosius to the bishopric of Constantinople, which, on account of the people objecting to his being a stranger, he soon resigned ; and, after some time spent in attending to clerical duties in his native city, retired to the country, where he died. During this time BasU had consented to leave his retreat, after having established the monastic state in Pontus and Cappa- docia, and accepted the see of Cesarea. His attachment to the Nicene faith was marked and sincere. He separated from communion with his bishop, Dranius, who had subscribed the confession at Ariminum, and steadily opposed the entreaties and threatenings of the Emperor Valens to embrace the opinions of Arius. The works of these friends are numerous. Basil composed several sermons ; a reply to the doc> trines of the Arian Eunomius ; a work upon the Divinity of the Holy\ Ghost ; several letters, some homilies, and a commentary upon the \ first sixteen chapters of Isaiah. Gregory Nazianzen composed manv) excellent discourses, letters, and some poems. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, the brother of Basil, far from imitating the examples of his brother and friend, had married, and was with great difficulty induced to forsake the profession of rhetoric for the ecclesiastical state. His promotion in the Church, however, very soon succeeded that of his brother, and, like him, he was distinguished by his steady attachment to the orthodox cause. lie composed commentaries upon Scripture ; dis- courses upon the mysteries and upon morality ; panegyrics upon saints ; a controversial tract against Eunomius, and several other works. The remarkable story of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, has an appear- acce ol" romance seldom found in real liie. This prelate was the pre- fect of Liguria and Emilia, and on entering the church of Milan in his civil capacity, to quell a riot between the Arian and orthodox parties, concerning the choice of a bishop, found himself called upon to assume the vacant office by the unanimous voice of the assembly, and was compelled to advance at once from the humble station of cate- chumen to the command of the Church. In this high situation, he firmly sustained the cause of orthodoxy against the Arians of his dio- cess, against the entreaties and threats of the Empress justina, the mother of Vnlentinian, and even of the Emperor Theodosius, whom be prevented from establishing a Jewish synagogue at Milan, and from 90 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. erecting an altar to Victory. His zeal did not rest here ; he rebuked the emperor for his slaughter at Thessalonica, and compelled him to atone for his guilt, by the performance of public penance. But Am- brose was loud in the praises of a monastic life, and uncharitable in his conduct toward those who differed from him in religious belief. With a credulity which bordered upon folly, or with a design to impose upon the credulity of mankind, (a practice not very uncommon in those times,) he pretended to the Arians to produce men possessed with devils ; who, upon the approach of certain relics, had been com- pelled to acknowledge the purity of the Nicene faith, and the impiety of that of Arius. Ambrose composed several treatises in praise of celibacy ; a discourse upon mysteries and penance ; several books concerning faith, and the Holy Ghost ; a discourse upon the incarna- tion ; and several other works, which have been published in two volumes folio. The eloquence of Lactanlius, and the beauty and purity of his style, raise him superior to every author of the fourth century, and place him upon an equality with some of the most accomplished writers of an- cient Rome. Intrusted with the education of Crispus, the unfortunate son of Constantine, whom the monarch afterward put to death, Lac- tantius, amid the splendours of a court, was distinguished only by his talents and his poverty. His principal work consists of a masterly refutation of paganism, and a learned comparison between it and (Christianity. It is to the indelible disgrace of the age, that while a ' number of fanatic rnonks and popular declaimers obtained the highest stations in the Church, a man who possessed the learning of Aristotle, with the eloquence of Cicero, and the wit of Horace — who united philosophy with religion, and an earnest piety with all the graces of a polished taste and enlightened understanding — should be permitted to Isjanguish without distinction or reward. It is, however, but too com- mon a case, that the service which is rendered to a party is rated higher than that which is rendered to mankind in general. The defence of a single dogma shall raise a man to eminence and fortune ; while the enlightening of thousands, the improving of the hearts, the morals, the judgments, and religious sentiments of a nation, shall frequently be passed over with scarcely the cold return of fruitless praise. The close of the fourth century, and the beginning of the fifth, was distinguished by the writings and example of the learned Jerome, a monk of Palestine ; and the celebrated Augustine, bishop of Hippo. Deeply versed in sacred literature, and entirely devoted to study, Je- rome consented to receive the order of priestliood. only upon condi- tion that he should not be compelled to perform any of its offices ; and for several years pursued, by turns, a sequestered and active life. After the death of his friend, Damasus, bishop of Rome, Jerome retired to a small cell in Betlilehein, where the reputation of his learning and sanctity attracted the notice, and procured him the visits, of the pious and distinguished ladies, Paula, Eustochium, and Melania ; and these were soon accompanied by numbers who were desirous of embracing a monastic life. Paula, in order to gratify this pious desire, so strongly encouraged by the example and precepts of Jerome, erected on the spot a church and four monasteries, the former for the men, and the latter for the women. The warmth and austerity of his tem- Cent. IV.] history of the church. 91 per, the mixture of enthusiasm and superstition in all his sentiments and conduct, and the contempt and invectives which he poured upon all who dilfered from him, are blemishes in the character of Jerome. In his retirement he composed a considerable number both of critical and theological writings ; several commentaries upon Scripture ; two Latin translations of the Bible, and a variety of other productions. — He was engaged in a controversy with Rufinus, a priest of Aquileia, concerning the works of Origen, the particular opinions of whom were warmly defended by Rufinus. In one instance, however, l)oth Je- rome and Rufinus agreed : the former encouraged the superstitious folly of Paula, who forsook, her family and country for the conversation of monks and ecclesiastics in distant regions ; and Rufinus himself accompanied Melania, another of these wandering saints, in her visits to the hermits of the Egyptian deserts, and remained during twenty- five years in her house at Jerusalem. The learning of Rufinus, though very considerable, was, however, inferior to that of Jerome. He translated several of the Greek authors into Latin ; composed two Looks of ecclesiastical history, in continuation of that of Eusebius ; commentaries upon several parts of Scripture, and a number of other works. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, adopted in early youth, with a warmth congenial to his native country, Africa, the opinions of the Manichaeans. His sentiments, however, began to waver in a conference he held with Faustus, a professor of that sect, when he was about twenty-nine years of age ; and the sermons of Ambrose, bishop of Milan, the con- version of two of his friends, and the perusal of St. Paul's epistles, fully convinced him of the errors of that sect. On his return to Africa, from which he had been absent some years, in difierent parts of Italy, he was ordained priest by Valerius, bishop of Hippo, founded a monas- tery for persons who renounced private property and lived in common, and was ordained coadjutor to Valerius in 395. He died at the age of seventy-six. His works, which arc more numerous than those of any other writer of this period, bear the marks of sincere piety, vivacity, and genius ; but are chargeable with ambiguity, and the impulse of a too warm imagination.* The opinions of Origen, who was claimed as an associate, at diiferent times, both by the orthodox and Arian par- ties, had a zealous patron in the bishop of Hippo, for, being a warm Platonist, he adopted every opinion of that philosopher which could be reconciled with Christianity. He composed commentaries upon Scripture ; sermons on a variety of subjects ; discourses on the doc- trines and discipline of the Church ; several books of controversy ; and an incredible number of other performances. One of the most considerable writers of this period is John, bishop of Constantinople, who fiourished toward the close of the fourth, or the begimiing of the lifth century. He was a native of Anlioch, and obtained, from his eloquence, the name of Chrysostom.f An assembly of bishops having resolved to enrol him in their body, he retired to the summit of a mountain in company with an old man ; and afterward entirely secluded himself in a drearv cav» from all converse with mankind ♦ Ho was a zealous advocate for the doctrine of predestination. t Golden- moulhe^l. 92 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IV. After remaining for some years in solitude, he returned to Antioch, where his reputation as a preacher became so great that he was, by general consent, elected patriarch of Constantinople. The ordination of Chrysostom was, however, secretly opposed by Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, who was deputed by the emperor to officiate in this ceremony, and whose fear of the monarch was too great to permit his refusal of the office. At this time the Constantinopolitan Arians were proliibited from holding their assemblies in the city, and departed from it every Saturday night or Sunday morning, reciting such hymns as were consonant to their doctrines. Chrysostom, sensible of the effect of such spectacles upon the minds of the common people, turned against them their own arts, and despatched singers through the streets, preceded by the cross and by lamps. In one of those proces- sions the different parties met, and blows and a considerable tumtilt ensued ; upon which the emperor required from the Arians, either their conversion to orthodoxy, or their exile from the city. They pre- ferred the latter. The enemies of Chrysostom, among whom was the Empress Eudoxia, who was offended at his censuring the corrupt manners of the ladies in general, or perhaps displeased at his admoni- tions having been personally, publicly, and rather roughly addressed to her, conjointly with Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, Avho was offended at his interference in a dispute between him and the Nitrian monks, soon afterward obtained his deposition ; but the sedition consequent upon his banishment was so great that the emperor was compelled to send him letters of recall. Ilis implacable enemy, the empress, again irritated by his preaching against the public games around her statue, once more effected his banishment. He was not suffered to remain in peace in the place to which he had repaired in his exile, but received orders from the emperor to transport himself to . the ungenial shores of the Euxine Sea. The place of his banishment, however, he never reached ; for he was seized with a violent fever on the road, which terminated his life in the sixtieth year of his age, in /407. Chrysostom is justly ranked among the most eminent Christian / orators ; his eloquence was manly, his genius was uncommon, and his j erudition extensive. He exhibited himself both as a moral and con- \ troversial writer ; wrote a great number of homilies ; and his works vare so extensive as to have been collected into eleven folio volumes. The religious controversies, which engaged in some measure the pens of the most accomplished writers of the fourth century, attracted the notice of men equally zealous, but not equally qualified, and produced several performances, differing in merit according to the abilities of their respective authors. Marcellus, bishop of Ancyra, and Eustathius, bishop of Antioch, though both of them intimate friends of Athanasius, were accused of Sabellianism, but wrote against the Arian cause. They were, however, both deposed, as their principles were judged, by the synods appointed to try them, to be not perfectly orthodox. Victorinus engaged in defence of the Church, and attacked both the Arians and Manicha;ans. Among the most strenuous opposers of heresy was Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, w\to, from being a heathen, had been converted to Christianity. He composed a very extensive work against the Arians, which he had the spirit to present in person to the Emperor Constantius ; and wrote several commentaries upon different parts ol Cent. IV.] history of the church. 93 the sacred writings. The compositions of the two Apollinarises, in defence of Christianity, were written in such a style of elegance that the Emperor Julian prohibited the reading of their books. The wri- tings of Ephraim of Edessa against heresy, as well as his moral per- formances, appear in his own time to have been much esteemed. The commentators of this century were many ; among whom was the blind but learned Didymus, whose commentaries are lost. Diodo- rus, bishop of Tarsus, wrote commentaries also, which are ranked among those of the judicious few who attempted to explain the literal sense of Scripture, without attending to the allegorical. The lives of the monks became so acceptable, from the estimation in which they were held, that a multitude of romances, under that denomination, were produced in the fourth century, pretending to be authentic records of these deluded devotees. Epiphanius published a history of heresies, in which, not content with exhibiting and exagge- rating erroneous opinions, he attempted to refute them, and to establish the doctrines of the Church. This writer is charged with inaccuracy and extreme credulity ; a credulity too of the worst sort, since it led him to believe every unfavourable account of those who dissented from his faith. A multitude of writers, whose compositions were fewer in number, or who did not obtain the same celebrity with those already enumerated, flourished during this century : among these was Cyril, bishop of Jeru- salem, who, in his youth, composed discourses for the catechumens and for those who were newly baptized. 94 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. V. THE FIFTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IX THIS CENTURY. PcrseciUiiig edict against heretics — Arc;i(Jius and Honorius — Incursions of the barba- rians — Alaric — Plunder of Rome — Destruction of literature — Kesjiect indicated by the barbarians for every form of Christianity — Progress of the barbiinans — Annihilation ot the western empire — Odoacer — Christianity received in Persia — Christians there involved by their Ovvn iinprudencp in persecvition — Complete conversion of the Goths — Conversion of Ireland — Of Clovis, king of the Franks — Title of Most Christian Kins — Corruptions of the clergy — Their arrogance — Encroachments of the bishop of Rome — Prostitution of holy orders — Inipiuus arrogance of the emperors — Council of Chalcedon — Tille of patriarchs — Rivalship between the bishops of Rome and Coiistanlinoiile — Th(ur intrusion into civil affairs — Resirained by an imperial edict — Virtues of some of the clergy. The calamities arising from an intolerant zeal in iriafters of religion, not less severe than the terrors of perst-ciition which had afflicted the Christians of the preceding century, contiimed in this to disturb the hap- piness of mardvind, and to induce the sincere proft^ssors of the Gospel to look !).K k almost with regret to a season which, however unfavoura- ble and perilous, foimd them united in one common cause, generally understood, instead of being divided into factions, disagreeing about points difficult to be conceived, and respecting which the difference frequently consisted, not in the circumstance itself, but in the terms used to define it. Alarmed at the ecclesiastical c(!nsures which assailed whoever presumed to differ in opinion, or even in expression, from the leaders of the Church, the timid Christian must have been afraid of conversing upon the sul)ject of his faith ; and the edict obtained from Honorius, liy four bishops, deputed from Carthage, in 410, which doomed to death whoever differed from the Catholic faith, must, though perhaps lUM^er executed, have closed in terror a?ul silence the trembling lips. Doiilitlcss a mistaken zeal for proinotiiig the cause of true religion Mistigated the generality to believe it riuht to enforce the truth, nil only by ecclesiastical censur(>s, but liy the; intrrl'erence of the civil power. Augustine acknowledged that there had been a time when he ' 'dicved it wrong to harass heretics, and tliat it would be more judicious to allure them by soft and gentle methods; but that his sentiments were changed, from observing that the laws enacted against heresy l)v I'le emperors had proved, to many, a happy occasion of con- version. {J-lpist. to Vincentius.) These detestable principles were carried to such excess that, in 443, Theodositis commanded that the books w'lirli were not conformable in doctriti(> to the eotuicils of Nice and Epht-'.is, and to the decisions of Cyril, bishop of .Alexandria, should be destroyed, and tlieir concealers be lialile to death. Under t':ie united reigns of the two sons of Theodosius, Arcadius and Hodni lus, who separately governed the eastern and western divi- sions of !ii '. Roman empire, a season of tranquillity took place, whic Cent. V.] history of the church. 95 was only interrupted by iheological commotions. The death of Arcadius, in the year 403, placed his son Theodosius, at eight years of age, upon the imperial throne, who governed the eastern division of the empire, while his unele Ilonorius reigned in the west. The timid emperor of the west, alarmed at the incursions of the barbarians, who poured down in swarms upon his dominions, and revelled in the delightful regions of Italy, had his retreat at Ravenna disturbed by the intelligence that Alaric. the Ciothic king, had besieged Rome ; nor was it long before the fierce coru|Ucror entered its gates, and plundered that city which for ages had been a repository for the plunder of the world. The remainder of Italy soon became a prey to the ravages of the victorious army. During this period, though the most ancient and valuable moiuniK'nts of art and learning were levelled with the ground, the churches of the Christians of every denomination were spared by this Arian invader; and not only life, but even liberty, was granted both to the pagans and Christians who took refuge in the churches of the apostles, or at the tombs of the martyrs. The sacred vessels which had been pillaged from the church of St. Peter were also restored by the conquerors. The subjects of Ilonorius, after a series of inefleciual contests against the desolating power of the barbarians, had the mortification to see him nearly stripped of his territory, and continuing the title without the power of royalty. The capital was taken by the Goths ; the Iluns were possessed of Pannonia ; tlie Alans, Suevi, and Vandals were established in Spain ; and the Hurgundians settled in Gaid. The feeble powers of Valentinian the Tliird, the successor of Honorius, were not calculated to restore to the Roman moiiurchs the empire they had lost. Eudocia, his widow, and the daughter of Theodosius, soon married Maximus ; and soon discovered that the present partner of her throne and bed was the brutal murderer of the last. Incensed at his perfidy, and resolved to revenge tlie death of Valentinian, and her own dis- honour, she implored assistance from Genseric, king of the Vandals in Africa, who entered Rome, and plundered the whole of the city excei)t three churches. After the rapid and turbulent reigns of severaLf of the emperors of the west, that part of thp empire was finally subju-^ gated in the year 476, by the abdication cf Augustulus. The name of emperor sunk with the ruin of the empire ; for the conquering Odoacer, gent-ral of tiu; Ilcruli, assumed only tlie title of king. — * Notwitlistaiiding the commotions wliich adlicted the empire and the Chur<;li, Cliristianitv still continued to extend her boundaries. The truths of the Gospel- were pr()i)agated through a considerable part of I't^rsia, in' Muruthas, a Mesopotamian, and Abdas, a Persian bishop, who alierward involved the Christians in a severe persecution, by his temeriiy in destroying a temple belonging to the magi, and his oI)stinacy HI not rebuilding it. This persecution continued for some time, and was not terminated without a war between the Persians and Romans. The most considerable accessions to the Christian body, during this century, aciruiid from the barbarous nations which poured with the impi'tuosity of a torrent over every part of the western empire. The Goths had indi-ed professed Christianity before their irruption ; but the greater part of these savage invaders did not relinquish the worship of their gods till they were established in the conquered countries, when Arianism was professed by the greater part of the western Christians 96 HISTORY OK THE CHURCH. [Cl'.NT. V. During the course of this contuiy Ireland was added to the coun- tries which had already embraced the truths of Chrislianity. The first missionary, Palladius, was not successful among this rude and uncultivated people ; but he might probably prepare them to receive favourably the documents of Succathus, or Patrick, a native of Cale- donia, a man of birth and abilities, who, after the laborious efforts of forty years for their conversion, founded the archl)ishopric of Armagh. One of the most remarkable conversions of the fifth century is that of I Clovis, king of the Franks, who is said to have embraced (,'hristianity, J in consequence of a vow to worship Christ as his God, provided he ren- ' dered him victorious in a battle which he v.-as preparing to engage in V^against the Alemanni. Probably his conversion might result at least as much from policy as superstition. By adopting the religious tenets of those whom he governed, he destroyed one capital cause of disunion. However this might have been, many miraculous circumstances were said to have attended this conversion of the conqueror, who founded the kingdom of the Franks in Gaul. On the occasion of his baptism at Rheims, it is said that a brilliant light filled the whole church ; and a voice was heard to say, Peace be vith you ; it is I : he not afraid : abide in my love. This prodigy was succeeded by a fragrant odour which perfumed the whole place, and a dove descended bearing a vial of chrism,* with which Clovis was anointed.f This monarch was the only one of the barbarian invaders of the Roman empire, who immediately professed the faith of the council of Nice ; and Irom this circumstance the appellation of the most Christian king, and eldest son of the Church, was, according to the opinion of the learned, conferred originally upon the sovereigns of France. Riches and independence, so little conducive to virtue in the hearts of men, were evidently pernicious to the clergy, who from the time when they became possessed of great revenues under the Christian emperors, were no longer distinguished by the humble virtues of the primitive Christians, but by ardent aspirations and mean artifices to obtain tem- yporal power. The episcopal oflices were, in several instances, per- , formed by delegates; while the bishop, who assumed the name, and received the emoluments annexed to that office, was left at leisure to attend to his secular concerns, and to dissipate in voluptuousness what had been frequently acquired by contention and chicane. The richer ecclesiastics not only vied in splendour with tlie prince ; they not only erected thrones in their churches, and ailected the state of courts in giving audience to the people ; but they frequently asserted a perfect equality with the monarch. Martin, bishop of Tours, contended, at a public entertainment, that the emperor was inferior in dignity to a pres- byter : and Anastasius, the emperor of the cast, met with frequent in- stances of similar arrogance. Symmachus had the assurance to tell him that the dignity of a Roman prelate, nay, even of a priest, was superior to that of the emperor, in proportion as the dignity of things spiritual was to that of things temporal. The ecclesiastics of every denomination united in invading the rights ♦ A composition of olive oil and balm ; opohalsaimnw. t This jjicce of lencrdi-maiii, which Baronius has dignified with the name of a mi- racle, was exhibited in favour of a monarcli who was ferocious, sanguinary, and ambi tious, and the murderer of several of his nearest relations. Cent. V.] history of the church. 97 of the people ; and in increasino(k') was orijrinally yivt-n to all bishops, and even somciimcs to the inferior clergy. {Bingham, book i, chap. 8.) 100 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. V Notwithstanding the depravity and corruption which pervaded the clerical body, the whole was not contaminated. Instances of disinte- rested virtue, which would have reflected splendour ui)on the most en- lightened periods of society, illuminated the dreary and dismal annals of the tifth century. We behold with veneration and with pleasure the liberal Deogratias, bishop of Carthage, selling the costly plate of the Churcli for the ransom of a number of captives, who had been brought by Gei- sericus, the Vandalic king, to the shores of Africa, where they were to be torn from every dear and social connection. We accon'pany him with delight to his church tilled with beds of straw for the accommodation of the wretched strangers ; and with transport behold this aged and infirm prelate daily comforting the sick, giving Ibod to the hungry, and medi- cines to the diseased. Nor was this a solitary instance of public and private virtue : it was even exceeded by Acacius, bishop of Amida, wh-.) ransomed seven thousand Persian captives perishing with hunger. History, among her disagreeable obligations to record so much of the vices of mankind — for vice, if it does not preponderate in the scale, is generally more apparent and obtrusive than virtue — has sometimes the delight of exhibiting characters which dignify and exalt human nature. The erudition, piety, and truly Christian charity of Atticus, bishop of Constantinople, who distributed liberally not only to the orthodox, but to the necessitous heretics — the still greater mildness of Proclus, his friend and disciple, toward the heretics, and his active as well as passive A'irtues — the piety, simplicity, and affability of Sicinius, a Constantino politan prelate — are instances of hinnan excellence which it is pleasant to record, and may serve as models worthy of imitation to more refined and succeeding ages. CHAPTER H. OF GOVERN.MENT, DOCTRI.NE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. Title and dignity of patriarch conferred on five of tlie principal sees — Increase of monks — Exempted from ecclesiastical jurisdiction — Their iinrneiise power — Crimes — Warlike aehievenients — New order of watchers — Alisurdities — Savage life — Synieon Stylites — Pillar saints — Fimaticisin of Baradatus and .lames of Syria — Platonism suc- ceeded liy the philosophy of Aristotle — Increasing respect for the Virgin Mary — Mira- cles supposed to be wrought by her — Images of the virgin and the saints — Superstitiou.s reverence for the sacrament — Change of public to private confession — Incense and tapers used in the church — Rage for accumulating relics — Seven sleepers — Miracle of the ortho- dox believers, who spoke after the loss of their tongues — Divination — Feast of the ascen sion — Origin of the pope's tiara. TiiotGH the bishops of Rome, partly by the force of an ancient pre judice in favour of that imperial city, and partly by the wealth and j)Ower of that church, had in the preceding century been enabled to assume a degree of superiority over the other metropolitan churches, and though the council of Constantinople had raised the bishop of that see to an equality of power and authority with the Roman prelate, yet the title of patriarch does not appear to have been regularly conferred upon them till the meeting of the council of Chalccdon, in 151 ; nor Ce.vt. v.] history of the church. 101 were the jurisdiction and difrnity of the patriarchal sees, before that period, properly established and defined. The patriarchal dignity was also obtained by the bishops of Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem ; hut these latter were held in an inferior light to those of Rome and Constantinople. The title of exarch was conferred upon those who had the inspection of the affairs of the Church in certain provinces. The principal transactions relating to these establishments were detailed in the preceding chapter. Few, if any, alterations took place during this century in the state of the clergy ; if we except the monks, who daily increased both in consequence and in fanaticism. Originally subject to the bishop of the diocess, they could not even chaose their own superior without his consent. This privilege was, however, toward the beginning of this century, obtained by most of the communities ; and it was soon fol- lowed by an exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. When indeed the popes acquired the power of granting these exemptions, they frerjuently gave or. sold them to the monks, whose power consequently increased with that of the Roman see, and whose attachment to its interest was by this means secured. In the fifth century the monastic orders did not all observe the same form of discipline ; but in one respect they nearly agreed, which was in a general defection from real virtue, and the prac- tice of such licentiousness as became proverbial. [SuJpit. Scvcrus, dial, i, c. 8.) The prelates at the council of Chalcedon, in 451, com- plained of Barsumas the monk, who had murdered Flavian, his bishop, that he had overturned all Syria, and brought against them a thousand monks. {Jorlin, vol. iv, p. 295.) In 452, Theodocius, a monk, on pretence of maintaining orthodoxy, incited the monks of Palestine to rise, filled Jerusalem with tumults, set fire to several houses, broke open jails, murdered a bishop, with some other persons, and caused himself to be elected bishop of Jerusalem. {Jort. iv, 296.) The approbation of monastic institutions was not only extensively difl'used, and numbers made unhappy from the defection of their rela- tions, and the consequent loss of their support, but the more judicious part of the community had the mortification to observe that, as the numbers who embraced the state of monachism sensibly increased, so also monastic folly increased in the same proportion. In the begin- ning of this century a new order of monks was instituted by a person of the name of Alexander, who oI)tained the name of watchers, from their method of performing Divine service without any intermission. They divided themselves into three classes, which relieved each other at stated hours ; and by that means continued, without any interval, a perpetual course of Divine service. Among the Mystics, many not only affected to reside with wild and savage beasts, but imitated their manners. With a ferocious aspect they traversed the gloomy desert, fed upon herbs and grass, or remained motionless in certain places for several years, exposed to the scorching heat of the mid-day sun, or the chilling blasts of the nocturnal air. All conversation with men was studiously avoided by these gloosnv fanatics, who frequentlv concluded their lives by an act of violent madness, or shut themselves up in nar- row and miserable dens, to howl out the remainder of their wretched existence. About the year 427, Symeon, a Syrian, introduced a refine- ment in mortification, by residing successively upon five pillars^ of six, 102 HISTORY or THE CHURCH. [CeNT. V. twelve, twenty-two, thirty-six, and lastly of forty cubits high. In this wretched state he continued during thirty-seven years of his life ; and his sublime piety was at his decease eagerly emulated by one Daniel, a monk, who resided upon the top of a pillar, and died in that situation at the advanced age of eighty. With a severity of sentiment consonant to the gloomy austerity of his life, Symeon angrily condemned the cle- mency and humanity of Theodosius, junior, who had commanded the Christians of Antioch to rebuild for the Jews a synagogue there, which they had insolently destroyed ; and his influence, arising from the reputation of his sanctity, was such that his arguments prevented its restoration. Such indeed was the reputation of Symeon that he was eagerly resorted to by a multitude oUpilgrims, Irom the remote countries of Spain, Gaul, and I3ritain. The pillar saints continued to preserve their celebrity in the east till the twelfth century ; but this practice, like all the other extremes of monkish fanaticism, was never so general in the west. Among the ingenious inventers of methods for destroying the happi- ness of mankind, Baradatus, a monk of Syria, and James, another of the same fraternity, have been highly distinguished for their piety and virtue. The former of these holy brethren, aspiring after a more perfect species of self-denial than he had for some time practised in a small and uncomfortable chamber, erected for himself upon the summit of a mountain a box so contrived as not to admit of his standing in a per- pendicular posture, and which, having no close cover, exposed him to all the inclemencies of the wind, the rain, and the sun. Wearied, per- haps, at length himself, or having exhausted the attention of others, by his continuance in this situation, he again attempted to excite it by fresh devices. For this purpose he contrived to be raised from his supine posture, and continually stood upright, covered with a garment of skin, with only a small aperture in his box sufficient to allow of his drawing his breath, and stretching out his hands to heaven. His contemporary, James, not less disposed to austerity, fed entirely upon lentils, and dragged about a load of heavy iron chains bound about his waist and neck, Irom which several others were suspended. During three days and nights, in which, in continued prostration, he offered up his prayers, this ad- mired maniac was so covered with the snow as to be scarcely discern- ible. False miracles were perpetually reported, to complete the triumph of fanaticism, and the total infatuation of the multitude ; and they were referred to, by some of the most eminent fathers of the Church, not only as examples of Christian perfection, but as infallible authorities for the validity of particular doctrines. The principles of Christianity, no longer distinguished by their sim- plicity, good sense, and sound philosophy, were in this century still more embarrassed by intricate disputes, subtle explanations, and rash decisions. The Platonic doctrines, aided by the approbation and opi- nions of Origen, continued still to be maintained by considerable nvun- bers ; but this system, at the time that Origenism was condemned, was deserted by mmibers, who were desirous of avoiding the imputation of those errors ; and the j)hilosophy of Aristotle was embraced in its place, and compounded in the same manner with the doctrines of revelation. The prevailing attachment to logical discussions, subtle distinctions, and captious sophisms, contributed to increase the fondness for the Aristoto- Cent. V.] history of the church. 103 lian philosophy, which was more calculated for these ends than even Platonism had been. Composed of artificial and learned jargon, of obscure, doubtful, and iindefined terms, it involved not only the igno- rant and illiterate, but the ingenious and inquisitive, in intricate disputes concerning unintelligible terms, and entangled them in an inextricable labyrinth of words. An increasing veneration for the Virgin iMary had taken place in the preceding century ; and, very early in this, an opinion was industriously propagated that she had manifested herself to several persons, and had wrought considerable miracles in support of the consubstantial parly. Her image, holding in her arms the infant Jesus, together with the images of those who during their residence on earth had acquired the reputation of superior sanctity* was honoured with a distinguished situation in the church, and in many places invoked with a peculiar species of worship, which was supposed to draw down into the images the propitious presence of the saints or celestial beings they represent- ed. A superstitious respect began also to take place for the bread con- secrated for the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Its efficacy was sup- posed to extend as well to the body as the soul ; and it was applied as a medicine in sickness, and as a preservative against every danger in travelling, whether by land or by sea. As it frequently happened that those who believed in the efficacy of the consecrated bread might not have provided themselves with a quantity sufficient for these emer- gencies, it became customary for the priests to reserve a portion to dis- tribute according to the necessities of their superstitious ilock. Several of the Christians interred a quantity of it in the sepulchres of their de- parted relations ; and although this practice was opposed in the council of Carthage, it still continued to be esteemed and practised not only in this but in succeeding centuries. The increasing respect which was paid to the eleinents of the sacrament was productive of a super- stitious fear of receiving them unworthily ; and the memorial of the death and sufferings of Jesus Christ, which had formerly been cele- brated I)y all Christians on every Lord's day, was now attended by very few of the numberless professors of Christianity. Among the alterations which took place in the discipline of the Church none was more remarkable than the suppression of all public confi'ssions of sin, by Leo the Great, in all the churches subject to his jurisdiction. These confessions, which had been formerly made by the trembling penitent before the assembled congregation, were now appointed to be made to a single priest ; a regidation which, though it artfully extended the power of the clergy over the consciences of men, considerably destroyed the rigour of ancient discipline. Penance was allowed to be performed in monasteries, or in the presence of a few individuals, and in a private place, at the discretion of the bishop. But if the external splendour pf the Church was in some degree less- ened by this alteration, the loss was amply supplied by additional cere- monies. The method of singing anthems, one part of which was performed by the clergy, and the other by the congregation, which had been introduced into the churches of Antioch, in the preceding cen- tury, was, in this, practised at Rome ; and in many churches it was the custom to pd that " the union of Christ's Divinity with his hu- manity is not a union of nature or of person, but only of will and affec- tion ; and that Christ was to be distinguished from God, who resided in him as in a temple." By those who possess a knowledge of human nature the real causes of deep and continued dissension will rarely be sought, and much sel- domer be Ibuud, in the avowed object of dispute. In dejiance of the contentious spirit of the times, Ncstorius might perhaps, in consideration of the zeal he had manifested against other heretics, have been indulged in his opinions, had not the differences between him and Cyril been inflamed by the reciprocal jealousies entertained by the bishops of the l)rincipal sees, and by the implacable temper of the Alexandrian bishop : mutual revilings, mutual accusations of riot and sedition, and mutual charges of bribery, in order to obtain a favouralde decision, were exhi- bited by the ditlerent combatants in this spiritual contention. Our com- passion tor the fate of Ncstorius is consirlorably abated by a knowledge of these circumstances, and still more bv his arrogant and persecuting temper ; his desire of engaging the emperor to unite with him in the 110 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. V. extirpation of heresy, by the promise of both tcmpor:il and spiritual re- wards ; his persecution of the Arians, Novatians, and other sects ; and his being forward on every occasion to promote the enacting of laws against heresy. His foUowers suffered from the prosecution of those councils which he had dictated. Theodosius enacted that the Nestorian ecclesiastics should be expelled from their churches, and, if laics, that they should be excommunicated ; and it was enjoined every Catholic to inform against them. Eutyches, an abbot of a convent of monks at Constantinople, was extremely active in opposing the doctrines of Nestorius, and in procuring his condemnation. Zeal however against his antagonist transported him into expressions which were thought to be a heresy of an opposite nature. Eutyches asserted that there was but one nature in Christ, which was the Divine; and though Cyril had thus expressed himself, and appealed, for his justification in it, to the authority of Athanasius, that happened to be heresy in a monk which was allowable in a bishop ; and Eutyches was accused of denying the existence of the human nature of Christ. In a council held at Constantinople, 448, he was exconmiunicated and deposed, but acquitted in another held at Ephe- sus, in the following year, which was conducted by Dioscorus, the successor of Cyril, and in which the animosities of the contending parties were carried to such a length that one of the accusers of Eu- tyches was publicly scourged, and banished to a city of Lydia, where he soon after died in consequence of the bruises he had received. The accusers of Eutyches were not, however, disposed to submit to the decision of this tumultuous assembly ; and, in concert with Leo, bishop of Rome, obtained an order for the fourth general council, which assembled at Chalcedon in 451. In this assembly the opinions of Eutyches were finally condemned, aud the Catholic doctrine asserted of two distinct natures in one person united in Christ, without any change, mixture, or confusion. The doctrines of Eutyches were, however, almost generally received in the patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria, though not so universally but that continued causes of uneasiness have occurred between the partisans of the different opinions respecting the nature of Christ. The unhappy contest which had arisen in consequence of the Eutychian and Nestorian disputes, induced the Emperor Zeno to publish, in 482, a decree of im'wn called the Henoticon, which was intended to reconcile the contending parties. But this decree, instead of producing the end for which it was designed, though it was subscribed by the bishops of Alexandria and Antioch. and by the more moderate and judicious of all parties, and approved by Accacius, bishop of Constantinople, yet gave great offence to the zeal- ous and contentious, by not particularly specifying, among the councils to whose decrees it referred, that of (chalcedon, the mention of which was s»ippr(;ssed by the emperor, in consequence of his understanding that the present oj)position arose, not from a dislike to the acts of the council, so much as to the council itself. A new division took place concerning the emperor's Henoticon ; and the wounded dignity of the council of Chalcedon was vindicated. with a rancour and fury which it was the express int<;iition of the edict to suppress. The Monophysites, who are generally esle(;med a sect of the Euty- chians, equally condemned the decisions of the council of Chalced. ., Cent. V.] history of the church. Ill and ihe opinions of Eutyches, that the human nature of Christ was absorbed by the Divine; and assorted that the Divinity and humanity of Christ were so united as to constitute only one nature without any change or confusion. The leaders of this were Mongus, bishop of Alexandria, and Peter, bishop of Antioch, who obtained the name of Fullo, from having carried on the business of a fuller in his monastic state. This man, who had usurped the see of Antioch, who was troublesome and contentious, and a warm opposer of the council of Chalcedon, was himself accused of endeavouring to intuduce a new sect, whose distinguishing tenet was, that the Gvdhcmi had sujfircd in and with Christ. His followers were from this peculiar opinion styled Theopaschites. The other party, which was supported by Mongus, being deprived of their leader by his submission, were on this account distinguished by the appellation of the Acephali, or Headless. This sect afterward branched out into three others, which were denominated Anthropomor- pliites, Barsanaphites, and Esaianites, who dilFered from each other only on account of some unintelligible subtleties, which are now de- servedly consigned to oblivion. CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNI.VO AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIFTH CENTtJRY. Cyril — Thcophilus, liishop of Alexandria — Isidore — Theodorus Arnobiiis — Antioclius, bishop of Ptolcniais — Aslcrius of Amasia — Peter of Ravenna — Gaudentius of Brescia— Sevcrian of Galmla — Leo ihe Great — Gre^eiitiiis — Evagrius — Basil — Pliilostorjiiiis — Phi lip Sedetes — Evoduis — Orosivis — Syajrrius — Gennadius — Voconius — Euclicriiis — Pros per — Diad<)ciili)s — Niius — Maximus of Turin — Cn.ssian — Palladius — I'rosper, bishop of Nola — Sidoiiiiis — Apollinaris — Salvian — Spurious productions — Socrates — Sozomen — Theodoret — Publication ofthe Talmud. It is not amid the gloomy shades of the fifth century that we must expect to discern the glorious light of science. Knowledge of every kind became obscured by monastic folly, and the incursions of the bar- biirians. who regarded no learning as necessary which did not increase iheir abilities for conquest or defence. The sun of science was not however entirely set, but shone with a faint and declining lustre. Phi- losophy was still professed and pretended to be taught in the great schools of the empire ; but it was no longer that solid rational know- ledge which strengthens and improves the mind, but a composition of absurdiiy, of subtle and complex sophistry, and of nice and fanciful dis- tinctions. The three most eminent writc^rs who illinnined the fourth century, Chrysostom, Jerome, and Augustine, continued their labours in this, and w(!re the principal opposers of the dillercnt heresies which from time to time arose ; tlicy are not however exempted from the charge of having substituted logictd subtlety in the room of plain sense, and issued the decrees of men for the commandments of God. Among the earliest writers of this century wo find Cyril, who, in the year 412, by the assistance of a military force, obtained the bishop- ric of .Mexandria. A connnencement so tunuiltuous did not indicate a season of great traiKjuillity to the Church over which he presided ; and 112 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. V these presages were confirmed by the viridence with which he deprived the Novatians of their church, and their bishop of his property. This tyrannical spirit soon exerted itself in the assumption of new authority. The Christians of Alexandria, perfidiously drawn from their own houses •in the night by an account that the principal church was on fire, were insulted by the Jews, and several of them were slain. In order to avenge this atrocious offence, Cyril took upon himself the ollice of the civil magistrate, plundered the Jews in return, both innocent and guilty, and exterminated them from the city. Orestes, the governor, incensed at this interference, resolved to de- press the assuming prelate, who, however, assisted by a body of five hundred monks, {Socrates, viii, 14,) repelled his attacks, assaulted him in his progress through the streets, and affected to worship, as a martyr, a sedulous monk who, upon this occasion, had been put to death by the governor, and was supposed to have been privy to the murder of the learned and accomplished Hypatia. This celebrated female, the daugh- ter of Theon the mathematician, was initiated in her father's studies ; her judicious conmients elucidated the works of the most famous geometricians ; and crowds of pupils resorted to her schools in Athens and Alexandria to be instructed in the philosophy of Plato and Aris- totle. This female philosopher was accused or suspected of favouring the caVise of Orestes, and preventing a reconciliation between him and Cyril. She' became consequently obnoxious to the fury of the savage band of Nitrian monks, and was rudely torn from her chariot, and murdered with every circumstance of aggravated cruelty. The black accusation, that Cyril was not unconcerned in this infamous transaction, has by some writers been controverted ; but as no eccle- siastical censure was passed upon it by the bishop, Avho was always sufficiently ready to fulminate the ecclesiastical thunder ; and as the murderers of Hypatia were headed by one Peter, J^Socratcs, viii, 15,) a reader in the Alexandrian Church, there is too much reason for the belief, that, if Cyril was not the immediate instigator of this dreadful action, the death of an opponent, however effected, was not disagreeable to him. The literary abilities of Cyril were far from excellent. Strongly attached to mysticism and allegory, he was a subtle and crafty disput- ant, but neither elegant, judicious, nor profound. His works (ot' which his books against Julian are the principal) are comprised in six folio volumes. His zeal against heterodoxy has atoned with many, not only for his imperfections as a writer, but for his faults as a man ; and, notwithstanding his rancour, his ambition, and his accomplishing the ruin of Nestorius, by such lavish bribery as impoverished the Alexandrian Church, his zeal and superstition have effected his exalta- tion into the calendar of the saints. Thcophilus, bishop of Alexandria, and celebrated for his opposition to Origenism and to Chrysostom, has been accused of every mean and perfidious artifice which disgraces and vilifies human nature. He ap- pears, indeed, to have been one of the numberless scourges which continually afflicted the Alexandrian Church. The resentment of this prelate against some Nitrian monks, by whom he had been in seve- ral instances offended, induced him to command their immediale surrender of all the wiitings of Origen, to which they were strongly Cent, v.] history of the church. 113 attached. The common fate of absurd requisitions is contempt and disobedience ; and the monks refused to comply. In consequence of this the arrogant prelate obtained, in the council of Alexandria, the condemnation of all the followers of Origen ; and an armed force was d^patched to disperse the monks of Nitria, who fled from their de- serts, and despatched three of their body to plead their cause before the emperor, at Constantinople, where they were favourably received by Chrysostom, who, however disposed to the doctrines of Origen, might also not be averse to protect those who were persecuted by his an- cient and implacable enemy. The proceedings of Theophilus against these monks, who were distinguished by the appellation of the three tall brothers, were declared calumnious by commissioners appointed by the emperor to investigate the dispute. The resentment of the bishop against the Byzantine patriarch knew no bounds ; it was uni- formly exerted throughout the life of the unfortunate prelate, and even manifested after his death, when his name, through the influence of Theophilus, was erased from the sacred diptychs, to which place it was not restored till after the decease of the Alexandrian prelate, and the lapse of several years. Few of the writings of Theophilus are now extant. While he governed the see of Alexandria, he ordained Syne- sius, a Platonic philosopher, and a disciple and panegyrist of the accomplished Hypatia, to the bishopric of Ptolemais. The sage, how- ever, appears to have been so far from soliciting this honour, that he pleaded against its acceptance his Platonic opinions, as well as his being married to an amiable wife, whom he would neither repudiate nor visit clandestinely. These objections were, however, overruled by Theo- philus ; and the reluctant Synesius proved, both by his practice and his writings, a considerable ornament to the Church. Isidore, a priest of Pelusium, at Damietta, an Egyptian city was, both by his manners and his writings, a severe censor of the corrupt manners of the ecclesiastics of the fifth century, and openly condemned the conduct of Cyril and Theophilus. His works consist of a con- siderable number of epistles, which abound in piety and erudition, and are composed upon select passages of Scripture, the doctrines of the Church, and the monastic state. One of the most learned prelates of this century was Theodorus, bishop of Mopsuestia, who has added to the character of a valuable writer that of an excellent man. After his decease his memory and his works were condemned on the charge of having imbibed the Pela- gian and Nestorian opinions. His commentaries on Scripture, which were peculiarly judicious, are said to be still in the hands of the Nes- torians, by whom they are greatly esteemed : the remainder of his works are either lost, or supposed to be extant only in the Syriac lan- guage, and in the hands of the Nestorians. The number of learned men who employed their abilities in the interpretation of the sacred Scriptures was not so considerable as in the preceding centuries, though several still undertook the task of ex- plaining particular parts and books of the Old and New Testament. Arnobius composed a very indifferent exposition of the Psalms ; Pela- gius wrote a commentary on St. Paul ; Cyril, and Victor of Antioch, also composed some commentaries upon Scripture ; and Gelasius, 8 114 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. V. bishop of Rome, earnestly endeavoured to distinguish the canonical from the apocryphal books. Of the greater part of the writers of the fifth century little more can be necessary than to mention their names and \vorks. Several ser- mons were published by Anliochus, bishop of Ptolcmais. Asterius,of Amasia, Peter of Ravenna, Gaudentius of Brescia, and Severian of Gabala, whose eloquence is said to have excited the jealousy of Chrysostom. Leo the Great, bishop of Rome, employed his abilities in efforts for the extension of his see, and in persecuting the Mani- chean. Pelagian, Nestorian, and Eutychian heretics; several of his letters and sermons still remain. Among the controversial writers we discover the names of Gregentius, Evagrius, and Basil, who defended Christianity against the Jews. The pagans were attacked by Philos- torgius, Philip Sedetes, Evodius, Evagrius, and Orosius, a Spanish priest, who, at the request of Augustine, selected a catalogue of the most remarkable events, from the time of Jesus Christ, to prove that the calamities which afflicted the Roman empire could not, as the pagans supposed, result from their neglect of the worship of the gods. The principal opposers of heresy, besides those already enimierated, were Syagrius, Gennadius, and Voconius. Lessons of morality were inculcated by Eucherius, bishop of I^yons, Prosper. Diadoculos, and Evagrius, few of whose fragments have reached posterity ; and by Nilus, the disciple of Chrysostom, who, after having been governor of Constantinople, renounced the world, and retired to the wilderness of Sinai. Several homilies of Basil, bishop of Seleucia, and of Maximus, bishop of Turin, still remain. Cassian composed several books of instruction for the monastic state, and some other performances ; and Palladius composed lives of the monks, which he has styled Historia Lmifiaca. Prosper, bishop of Nola, and Sidonius, bishop of Cler- mont, wrote several poems ; and the learned, the charitable, but self- austere Salvian published four books on alms, addressed to the Ca- tholic Church, and a treatise upon providence. A multitude of other authors of inferior celebrity may be seen in the catalogue of Genna- dius, a priest' of Marseilles, who has collected a very considerable number of the names of those ecclesiastical authors who either were his predecessors or contemporaries. Many spurious productions made their appearance during the fifth century, which were pretended to be the productions of the ancient fathers of the Church, and were exhi- bited to combat the doctrines which were to be overturned, or to support such as were to be established. Among these were the works which bear the name of Dionysius the Arcopagite : they were first quoted in the conference between the Severians and the Catholics, which was held at Constantinople in the year 533. ^^^ The three great contemporary ecclesiastical historians, Socrates, i Sozomen, and Theodoret, flourished in this century ; to whom may be added Philostorgius, who composed a history of the Church. The first of these authors received his education at Constantinople, and, after some time spent in study, professed the law, and pleaded at the bar, whence he obtained the appellation of Scholasticus, a name gene- rally given to advocates. His history is written with accuracy and judgment, though deficient in elegance, and with much plainness and 8* Cent. V.] history of the church. 115 simplicity of style.* As he entertained favourable opinions of the No- vatiitiis, he has been accused of having adopted their opinions, but without reason. {Valexius, Vit. Socrates.) It is probable that, as he was j)rudent and moderate, and a friend to civil and religious liberty, these liberal sentiments, in an uncharitable age, were the only grounds for the accusation of heterodoxy. liermias Sozomenus, who likewise flourished in the reign of the younger Theodosius, was also educated for the law : his extreme credulity respecting miracles excites the disgust of his readers, though his style is much superior to that of Socrates. From the great similarity between their respective performances there is some reason to believe that the one must have copied the other : if so, as the history of Socrates was first composed, Sozomen must have been the transcriber. [Valesius, Vit. Soc.) The liistorv of Theodoret appears to have been written posterior to these, and, in several instances, it has supplied their deficiencies. The talents and learning of this bishop appear to have been considerable, but his impartiality was not sufiicient for an historian. The writings of Theodoret were not confined to ecclesiastical history ; he wrote several discourses and commentaries upon Scripture, in which he abridged Chrysostom. He was dedicated, by his parents, to the ser- vice of the Church, even before his birth, and with the same view passed his youth in a monastery. In opposition to his own wisli^s, he was afterward ordained bishop of Gyre, and in this situation he boasted (and if true, in such an age, he might be permitted to boast,) that neither he nor any of his clergy had ever been at law, or had ever, by their conduct, deserved a prosecution ; and that he himself had not only dispensed the ecclesiastical revenues in improving the city, but had dispensed his patrimony to the necessities of the poor, {llieodor., ep. 31, et ep. 113, ad Leon.) His opinions relative to Cyril and the Nestorian controversy were so obnoxious to the prevailing party that, in that dispute, the emperor threatened to depose him from his see. This menace was not, however, executed ; and during the time when he had the utmost reason to expect it, the fears of the amiable bishop must have been considerably soothed by the apprehensions of others for his safety, and the attachment which was manifested toward him by the people of his diocess. In the fifth general council, in the year 553, his writings concerning Ncstorianism were vehemently condenmed. The close of this century or the beginning of the next, was remark-A able by the publication of the Talmud. [Basnagc, Hist, ilrs Juifs, j iii, G0().) This celebrated piece of Jewish literature, containing, as j the rai)l)ins pretend, the oral laws which God delivered to Moses, I consists of two parts, each of which is divided into several books. The ' first part, MIshna, contains the text ; the second is a kind of comment- ary up»)n that text, which is styled (iemara. This oral law or tradition of the Jews was collected after llie destruction of the temple, in the year 150, by Ual)bi Judah, and is preferred by that people even to the Scriptures. They suppose it was orally delivered by Moses to Israel, ■ and unlawful to be written. When Jerusalem, however, was destroyed, ♦ The kariicd reader will easily perceive tlie obliifalion which the compiler of this history \» under to the excellent and accurate Socrates. 116 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. V. I they were constrained to write in order to preserve it ; but wrote it in such a way that it could be understood by none but themselves. The I Mishna and Gemara complete the two Talmuds ; the first, that of Jerusalem, in 230 ; the second, that of Babylon, five hundred years » after Christ. The Talmuds, however intended, confirm in reality the I history of Jesus Christ. The existence and actions of a person of that I name are recorded in that of Babylon ; and many texts relative to the \ Messiah are confirmed and explained by these books. Cent. VI.] history of the church. 117 THE SIXTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCI{ IX THIS CENTURY. Evil effects of the decisions in the council of Chalcedon — Emperor Anastasius — In- trigues of the monks — Two of them appointed to the sees of Antioch and Constantinople — Tumults in Constantinople — Vitcliianus marches to attack Constantinople — Deceived by Anastasius — Emperor Justin — Eutj;chi:ins depressed — Justinian — Theodora — Riots between the factions — Condemnation of Orii^en — Of Theodore, Theodoret, Ibas, &c. — Opposition of the Roman pontiff ^"igili^^s — General council at Constantinople — Vigilius banished — Retracts, and is recalled — Disputes whether one of the trinity had suffered — Whether the body of Christ was corruptible or not — Justin II. favours the Eutychians — Bishops of Rome claim universal supremacy — Contests for the succession to that see — Rivalship between the bishops of Rome and Constantinople — Mutual persecutions be- tween the Arians and orthodox — Change of religion in barbarians — Title of Most Catho- lic King — England — Saxons converted by Augustine — Archbishopric of Canterbury founded — Spirit of the British clergy. The decisions of the council of Chalcedon, in the preceding century, had, as we before stated, increased instead of extinguished the fierce flame of ecclesiastical discord. Their effects, during the greater part of the sixth century, were not less destructive to the peace of the Christian world. Anastasius, the successor of Zeno, was a firm and strenuous supporter of the Henoticon, published by his predecessor ; and the crime of being a Eutychian was generally laid to his charge. The successive patriarchs of Constantinople, who, from professing themselves the steady opponents, had become the zealous advocates of the Chalcedonian decrees, were, by the intrigues of an Egyptian monk, and the authority of the emperor, punished for their temerity by the deprivation of their sees. The imperial interference was, however, less favourable to the tranquillity of the empire than to the ambition of the insidious monk Severus, who obtained the episcopal throne of Antioch, while that of Constantinople was filled by Timothy, another of the same fraternity. The innovations which the Constantinopolitan prelate at- tempted to introduce into public worship were extremely obnoxious to his turbulent subjects. They rose, furiously assaulted the Eutychian party, which was favoured by their bishop, and a tumult ensued be- tween the orthodox and heretical factions, in which several lives were sacriliced. The inferior clergy and people of Antioch were involved in similar disturbances. Many anathemas against the Chalcedonian decrees were fulminated by the patriarch of Antioch ; but his decisions were rejected and despised by several of the bishops within his own jurisdiction, who warmly refused to acknowledge the heterodox Seve- rus as their lawful superior. These disturbances were augmented by the inlluenc<> of Vilellianus, one of the emperor's generals, who avow- edly jKitronized the cause of orthodoxy, (and of Macedonius, the de- posed prelate of Constantinople,) and approached the imperial city at the 118 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI head of an army, which, though hastily levied, was formidable from its numbers and its chief. Vitellianus loudly threatened the deposition of the heretical emperor, if he dared to reject his propositions, which consisted in his consenting to the restoration of the banished bishops, and the convention of a fifth oecumenical council, again to consider the articles of faith. Anastasius at first refused to accede to the proposed terms ; but, little prepared to oppose so formidable a body, after having seen himself deprived of the government of Ma^sia and Thrace by his antagonist, he was compelled to promise a full compliance with his demands. But the faith of princes and politicians is almost prover- bially insecure. The emperor had, by his artful assurances, induced his honest but less politic rival to disband and dismiss his turbulent array, and to retire to his government in Thrace ; but no sooner had he obtained the accomplishment of these preliminary conditions than, in defiance of all the rules of equity and honour, of candour and humanity, he protected the Monophysite party, and treated his Catholic subjects with additional rancour and violence. The death of Anastasius proved the dawn of a brighter day to the /Catholic party. Justin, his successor, whose valour and address had / exalted him from the humble station of a shepherd's boy to the posses- Jl^ion of a throne, was little qualified to enter into the subtleties of theo- logical and metaphysical disquisitions, since in fact he could neither write nor read, and his character, previous to his being invested with the purple, naturally leads us to believe that his acuteness and pene- tration had been directed rather to the improvement of the soldier than the divine. The cause of the council of Chalcedon was, however, im- mediately and vigorously espoused by the orthodox emperor, who in- sisted on the strict performance of all its decrees. Severus was de- posed and exiled, the Catholic bishops obtained the restoration of their sees, and the sect of the Eutychians was persecuted and depressed. — The zeal of the emperor in the cause of orthodoxy was still farther manifested : the Arians appeared extremely obnoxious to him ; and, by a public edict, he commanded them to be deprived of their churches throughout the whole extent of his dominions. The decrees of synods and councils, and the deprivation of dignities, are insufficient at once to eradicate prejudices deeply rooted in the mind, and nourished to maturity by careful culture, and the invigorating sunshine of royal favour. The zeal of Justin, and the cares of Justin- ian, his associate and successor, were steadily but ineffectually employ- ed in the extirpation of heresy. On the decease of Justin, his nephew was gratefully regarded by the Catholic party as the firm supporter of their cause. The retrospect of his religious sentiments aflforded them the most glowing hopes of his future favour, and the certain establish- ment of what they regarded as religious truth. The first actions of his reign tended to realize these hopes. Speculations concerning the Divine nature, and theological discussions, were indeed the principal employ- ment of .Justinian ; and the residt was an absurd and cruel attempt to compel all his subjects to a perfect conformity of opinion with himself in all matters of religion, for which purpose severe edicts were issued against his heretical and infidel sul)jects. But religious factions in- vaded his palace, his bed, and his throne. His empress, Theodora, was an equally zealous and a more indexible friend to the Eutychian Cent. VI.] historv of the church. 119 parly than her husband to the Chalcedonians : and the subjects of the eastern empire, ranged under the banners of those great theological combatants, were alternately reviled and depressed. Nor was theirs a war merely of words ; riots and tumults were continually excited by the contending parties ; and the same factious spirit which had mani- fested its influence in the commencement of the century in the sedi- tions of the circus, concerning the blue and green factions, in which innumerable lives were sacrificed, was now employed in directing anathemas against all who differed from whatever was considered to be the true faith, or in pursuing the inextricable labyrinth of theological disquisition. The mysticism and obscurity of Origen were so congenial to the taste and spirit of the times, and particularly to the eastern monks, that all the decrees of councils, and all the anathemas of the clerg}', were ineffectual in obstructing his doctrines. The private disgust of an individual procured from the emperor a public disapprobation of these opinions. Pelagius, the Romish nuncio, envious of the distinc- tion shown by the emperor to Theodore, the bi.shop of Cesarea, a Eutychian, and a strenuous defender of Origenism, incited by his per- suasions and artifices the zealous Justinian to condemn the doctrines of Origen, and to command them to be entirely suppressed. This deci- sion was approved by the patriarch of Constantinople and the other bishops ; and Theodore received, in this indirect but certain mode, a severe blow, which was soon after followed by a determination of the emperor to condemn the sect of the Acephali, which was favoured by the bishop of Cesarea. This design was however counteracted by the artifices of the empress, and by Theodore himself, who had been con- sulted on the most effectual methods which could be taken for their ex- tirpation. The avowed ojiponent of the decrees of Chalcedon, in order to favour his own party, and to distress his adversaries, had the address to persuade the emperor that rescinding those passages in the edicts of the fourth general council, which had declared the orthodoxy of Theo- dore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyre, and Ibas of Edessa, and con- demning their writings, which were peculiarly obnoxious to the Euty- chians, would completely remove the objections of the Acephali, and unite them in entire connnunion with the Catholic Church. The censure of three persons of doubtful reputation was so small a conside- ration for the important acquisition of a number of orthodox believers, that Justinian readily consented to publish an edict in condemnation of these writings, which was celebrated by the name of the Three Chap- ters. This was followed by the convention of a council at Constanti- nople, in which the sentence of the Three Chapters was confirmed. In the acts of this council the utmost pains were employed by the members to preserve inviolate the dignity of the council of LMialcedon, by the denunciation of an anathema against all who contemned or refused to acknowledge its authority. But the propagation of edicts, which so evidently censured the decrees of the Chalcedonian council, was little correspondent to this apparent zeal ; and the opprobrium llirovvn upon that assembly, and upon the memory of wise and respect- able men who had died in counntmion with the Church, was warmly opposed by the western bishops, and by Vigilius, the pontifi'of Home. The contentious prelate soon afterward visited Constantinople, where, 120 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. either by the persuasive influence of royal entreaties, or the force of a temporary conviction, he was prevailed upon to acquiesce in the edict, and joined in the condemnation of the Three Chapters. His assent to these measures was however soon withdrawn. The refractory bishops of Africa immediately separated from his communion, and affected to consider him as an apostate from the faith. Wearied with this oppo- sition, Vigilius retracted his censure of these celebrated works, and once more professed his firm adherence to the decisions of Chalcedon. Destitute of real importance, as this controversy certainly was, it produced an uninterrupted succession of commotions and cabals. Jus- tinian enforced his former decree by the promulgation of a new edict ; and highly resented the wavering and contumacious conduct of Vigilius, who retired into the church of St. Peter, to screen himself from the effects of the emperor's resentment. Sacred as were the rights of sanc- tuary, such was the indignation of Justinian, that the pontiff would have been immediately torn from his asylum, had not the populace tu- multuously interfered, and by their means the bishop escaped. Mutual recrimination and mutual resentment continued during a considerable period to exasperate the minds of the emperor and the refractory bishop. Tired with these repeated oppositions in a concern which he had so much at heart, Justinian convoked, in the year 553, a general council at Constantinople ; at which Vigilius, though earnestly impor- tuned by a deputation from the assembly, of three patriarchs, and a number of the most respectable bishops, refused to attend. During the deliberations of this assembly, Vigilius, in his letters to the emperor, severely censured their condemnation of Theodore, Theodoret, and Ibas ; and arrogantly attempted by his apostohcal authority to prevent any decision contrary to his own. This had however no effect upon the council in which the versatility of the Roman bishop was exposed ; the decrees of the four preceding general councils were fully acknow- ledged, and to those who had been already condemned in these con- ventions were not only added the names and writings of Theodore, Theodoret, and Ibas, but anathemas were pronounced against all who should approve their errors. These decisions were warmly opposed by Vigilius, who by his obstinate resistance provoked the emperor to send him into banishmeut. His retreat from the busy world, which either afforded his passions an opportunity to subside, or else the operation of his natural versatility, produced another dereliction of the opinions to which he had so obstinately adhered ; and again he publicly condemned the Three Chapters. His death soon succeeded his recall. The religious speculations of the emperor were not confined to this troublesome controversy. He took an active part in that which was agitated concerning the question, whether it could with propriety be said that one of the trinity had suffered. The afiirmative was asserted by the monks of Scythia, and favoured by Justinian, but was opposed by the monks of Constantinople. The bishop of Rome, at the request of the emperor, published a decree in favour of the Scythian monks, and asserted the propriety of saying that one of the trinity had suf- fered ; since Jesus Christ, one of the persons in the glorious trinity, had suffered in the flesh. The opinions of the emperor were not, however, uniformly consonant to the faith of councils and the decrees of the fathers ; and his Catholicism in the evening of his life was Cent. VI.] history of the church. 121 obscured by a dark cloud. The tendency to religious disputation, so prevalent in all the subjects of the empire, was considerably increased by the approbation and example of the Aiperor ; and numberless were the unprofitable and unimportant controversies which were continually in progress. Among these, a dispute had arisen whether the body of Christ, during his residence upon earth, was corruptible or incorrupti- ble. The zealous emperor, who had so strenuously laboured for the orthodoxy of his subjects, and the extirpation of the pagans, Arians, with every other species of heretics, whether from the natural imbe- cility of age, the versatility of the human mind, the persuasions of the empress,* or the collected force of all these motives, professed himself a disciple of the incorruptibles, in the year 545. Thus, by publishing an edict declaratory of his belief, he at length enrolled his name among the hercsiarchs. These disputes, which were sustained by the con- troversial spirit of tlic emperor, continued to flame out with greater or less violence during his reign ; but, after his decease, gradually de- clined, and were soon extinguished. The Eutychian party acquired a steady and zealous protector in Justin II., the ncpliew and successor of Justinian. From the discou- ragements and persecutions they had met with from former emperors, their numbers had, however, considerably declined ; and their sect appeared to be rapidly expiring. The claims to supremacy, which had for preceding centuries been asserted by the bishops of Rome, were at first faintly urged, and pro- moted by artful and almost imperceptible means. They now, however, insisted upon superiority, as a Divine right attached to their see, which had been founded by St. Peter ; and this doctrine, which had appeared to influence the conduct of some of the Romish bishops of the preceding century, was no longer concealed, or cautiously promul- gated, by those who possessed the see during the present period. But, however extensive their authority, the bishops of the ancient capital still remained, both in civil and ecclesiastical afiairs, subject first to the jurisdiction of the Gothic kings, and, upon the retaking of Rome, to the Greek emperors ; who, in imitation of their barbarian prede- cessors, claimed additional rights. Such, however, was the extensive influence of the papul intrigues, that there were few among the poten- tates of the western empire who were not, before the close of the suc- ceeding century, subjected to the authority of the bishops of Rome. A station so elevated, which lay open to the ambition of such num- bers, who, lacking the advantages of birth, fortune, and even talents, could never have obtained any of the honourable oflices of civil life, was eagerly contested for, and frequently obtained by fraud, chicanery, and the practice of whatever was the most opposite to the conduct of a genuine believer in the Gospel of Christ. During the progress of the sixth century the peace of the Romish Church was tliricc invaded by * The persuasives of a beautiful woman may perhaps liavr some weight, even with tlic most intrepid theologian ; nor was Justinian insen-^iblc of feniale beauty. But the attractions of 'riu-odora were not confined to her jiersotial charms. \\'hen, in a popu- lar tuiiudt againsl tlie hfe of the emperor, ho would have abandoned the city, and endea- voured to esca[ie, with an intrepidity unusual to her sex, she persuaded the etnperor ratlur to resign his life than his oinpire ; and exclaimed, " that a kingdom was a glo- rious sepulchre." 122 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. the contests of rival pontiffs. Symmachus, a deacon of Rome, and Laurentius, who, upon the death of the bishop, Anastasius, had, by dif- ferent parties, been elevated (b the vacant see, continued for several years to assert their discordant pretensions. After repeated struggles, and the claim of a prior right, the party of Symmachus at length pre- vailed. They were materially assisted by the pen and abiUties of Ennodius, bishop of Pavia, who descended to employ the most abject flattery in the behalf of Symmachus, whom he addressed not with the common adulatory terms appropriated to royalty, but in those which approached to divinity ; asserted that he whs judge in the place of God, and vicegerent of the Most High. The Church was again divided by the reciprocal claims of Boniface and Dioscorus : the premature death of the latter terminated, however, this clerical war. But the century did not close without another similar disturbance in this un- happy church. The intrigues of Vigilius procured a secret order from the Empress Theodora to Belisarius, who was then at Rome, for the deposition of the reigning bishop, Silverus, and the investiture of Vi- gilius in all the rights of the deposed prelate. The unhappy Silverus was, in consequence of this command, deprived of his dignities, and banished ; but, upon the interference of Justinian, he returned to Italy, with the delusive expectation of regaining his rights. The good for- tune, however, or the superior artifices of Vigilius once more prevailed ; his antagonist was resigned to his power ; and was confined by him in the islands of Pontus and Pandataria, where, in penury and affliction, he terminated his wretched existence. Whether the testimonials which were produced to clear Pelagius, the successor of Vigilius, from the crime of having been accessory to the death of this insolent, versatile, and ambitious prelate, were sufficient to prove his innocence to man- kind, cannot easily be now ascertained. His judges, however, were satisfied ; and posterity will perhaps not disapprove the appearance of that retributive justice which seems to have punished Vigilius by the operation of the very same passions which had produced the misery and death of his predecessor. The advantages attendant upon the acquisition of such enormous power were alloyed by jealousies and apprehensions. The bishops of the Byzantine see, scarcely less arrogant and ambitious than their bre- thren of Rome, refused to acknowledge their pre-eminence, and laid claim to similar authority. The arrogant pretensions of these rival sees involved them in continual dissensions ; which were prodigiously increased by the conduct of John the Faster, a prelate distinguished for his austerity ; who, in a council held at Constantinople in the year 588, assumed the title of cecnmrnical or universal bishop ; which had been conferred by Leo and Justinian upon the patriarch of Constanti- nople, though unaccompanied by any accessions of power. This ap- pellation, which implied a pre-eminence difficult to be endured, was opposed by Pelagius the Second, who was tlion bishop of Rome ; and earnestly contested by his successor, Gregory the Great, who asserted in lofty terms the rights of the Romish see to an entire supremacy over the whole Christian world. The barbarian conquerors of the western parts of the empire had, as was before observed, in general adopted the heretical opinions of Arius ; and they continued with few exceptions, to be for some time Cent. VI.] history of the church. 123 hostile to the Catholic faith. Thrasiinund, king of the Vandals, more accomplished, but less tolerant, than many of his contemporary mo- narchs, offered the most liberal incentives to apostacy ; and deprived the African Catholics of their churches, which he commanded to be shut up, and two hundred and twenty bishops to be banished to Sardinia, [Ruinart, pp. 570, 571,) where they languished in exile during fifteen years. Their restoration to peace and freedom, under his successor, Hilderic, proved only a prelude to that state of authority and consequence which they obtained from the conquest of Africa by the victorious Belisarius, the great and successful general, but latterly the unfortunate victim, of Justinian. The resumption of their pristine rights was not accompanied with the mild virtues of the primitive Christian. Still smarting from the severities they had recently experienced, they resolved to inflict equal punishments upon their persecutors ; and the Arians were, in their turn, exposed to the sufferings they had inflicted upon the Catholics. The decline of Arianism, in every part of the western empire, was accelerated by hasty steps. Clovis laboured to establish Christianity wherever he carried his victorious arms ; and the Gauls, before the close of the sixth century, submitted to the government and to the reli- gion of the Franks. By the natural vicissitudes of humour to which all monarchical governments must be exposed, the inhabitants of Italy were placed alternately under the dominion of an orthodox or an here- tical monarch. Narses, the eunuch, the general of Justinian, and the rival of Belisarius, reduced the country under subjection to the empire ; from which the whole, except the cities of Rome and Ravenna, was again dismembered, and governed by a succession of petty kincrs. The professors of the Gospel in Italy groaned for several years under the dominion of their pagan conquerors, by whom they were cruelly oppressed ; but at length Christianity, according to the faith of Arius, was received and professed by Autharis, the third monarch of the Lombards. The faith of this ferocious people becoming gradually more refined and improved, Theodalinda, the relict of Autharis, was induced to profess the Nicene doctrines ;.and the Lombards gradually assumed, with their greater purity of faith, the more gentle virtues of Christians. The Visigoths of Spain continued their adherence to Arianism till the year 58G ; when, convinced by the powerful argu- ments, or influenced by the authority and example of their monarch, Recarcd, they abjured these errors, and entered within the pale of the Catholic Church. Recared was honoured, on his conversion to the orthodox faith, with the title of the most Catholic king. This mo- narch jjleaded to his Arian clergy the testimony of earth and heaven in support of the orthodox cause. The earth had so far submitted to profess the Catholic crefed that few of the Christian nations, except ilie Visigoths, continued to reject its truths ; and the testimony of heaven was ajjparent from the miracles continually performed by the clergy of the Catholic Church. These arguments were supp(Uted by the exam[)le of the Suevi, their neighbours, who were settled in Gal- licia, and who had previoysly rejected the Arian and adopted the Catholic creed. Whatever regards a coinury which early prejudices and deeply- rooted attachments have accustomed us strongly to revere, is pecu- 124 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. liarly interesting and important lo the human mind. England, which during this century was vanquished by the Saxons, at first experienced from her pagan conquerors a severe persecution. Toward the close of this century, however. Bertha, the believing wife of Ethelbert, one of the most considerable of the Anglo-Saxon princes, excited in her husband a favourable opinion of her own religious faith, which was greatly increased by the arrival of Augustine, the monk, who travelled on a mission into Britain, in the year 596. This monk, aided by the labours of his forty companions, whom Gregory the Great had asso- ciated with him in this mission, had the happiness to complete, in Ethelbert, the conversion which Bertha had begun. He preached, he persuaded, he threatened ; and his labours were so successful that Christianity reared her triumphant fabric upon the ruins of paganism. Heathen temples were converted into Christian churches ; Christ- church was formed into a cathedral ; and this monk, whom Gregory had invested with full spiritual power over all the British and Saxon clergy, assumed the title of Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon his arrival in Britain, Augustine found the Christians of Britain attached to the tradition of the eastern Churches respecting the time of cele- brating Easter, and differing also from the practices of the Church of Rome in the performance of some baptismal rites. This variation was warmly and haughtily condemned by the arrogant monk ; but he found not in the British clergy a mean and dastardly submission to his imperious decrees. They refused even to acknowledge him as their archbishop, and would not be prevailed upon to exchange their ancient ceremonies. During six hundred years the Britannic Church never acknowledged any subjection to the power of the Romish prelates ; and, for several ages after the mission of Augustine, were so far from conforming to the practices of that Church respecting the paschal con- troversy, that they observed Easter on a different day. CHAPTER n. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Evils of popular elections of the clergy — Bishop of Rome appointed by the Gothic princes— Different modes of appointing to clerical o.ffices in different countries — In France — In Spain — Increase of superstition — Donations to monasteries, &c., to obtain the inter- cession of the saints — Riches of the Church of Rome — Purgatory — Pictures and images venerated — Increasing respect for the Virgin Mary — Celibacy of the clergy much insisted 3n — A!)surdities concerning marriage — Spiritual kindred — Flagellation inflicted in certain female convents — St. Benedict and his order — Pillar monks — Simeon Stylites, jun. — Introduced into the west — Convents afford a refuge for literature — Conformity of liturgies to those of the metropolitan Churches — Rom;u) missal composed by Gregory the Great — Increased veneration for the sacramental elements — Holy water — Tonsure of priests — Controversy concerning the form of the tonsure — Incredible absurdities respecting relics — Festival of the purification. The form of church government, which had been established dur- ing the two preceding centuries, received in this little or no alteration. By the laws of Justinian the inferior ranks of the people were totally Cent. VI.] historv ok the church. 125 excluded from any share in the appointment of their ministers, the choice of whom was restricted to the optimates, or superior orders, and to the clergy. (Justin. IVovcl. cxxiii, c. 1.) The power, indeed, originally exercised by the people appears never to have so universally obtained that on certain occasions it couid not be restrained or varied according to different situations and circumstances. {Bingham Eccles. Antiq. b. iv, c. 2.) While it continued to be exercised it was fre- quently so grossly abused, and produced such disturbances in the Church, as to afford a very reasonable pretext for withdrawing it. The evils of a popular election were, as was formerly stated, prevented at Rome after Italy was subjugated by the Gothic princes, who them- selves appointed the bishop. In the different kinirdoms of the west- ern empire different modes were adopted for adjusting the appoint- ments to clerical offices. A custom prevailed in France for the mo- narch to dispose of ecclesiastical appointments by sale. [Fhitry, 354.) In .Spain a new regulation for this effect was passed in the council of Barcelona, in the year 599, which ordained that when a bishopric was vacant two or three candidates should be chosen, and elected by the consent of the clergy and people, who should formally present them to the metropolitan and his assistant bishops. This assembly, having pre- viously fasted, was to cast lots for the candidates, leaving the determi- nation to Christ the Lord. [Bing., h. iv, c. 1.) These regulations were far from being favourable to the interests of literature, or even of virtue. The Gothic princes appeared indeed desirous to nominate the worthi- est candidate to the pontificate ; but they were indifferent judges of learning, and not very likely to esteem in others those qualities which they did not possess themselves, and of which they could scarcely conceive the necessity. The sale of benefices was still more perni- cious ; and the method of choosing a spiritual guide by lot, even if fairly conducted, was injudicious. More lirady rooted each succeeding year, the noxious plants of superstition continued to throw out a immber of strong and vigorous branches, which were carefully encouraged and cultivated. They were indeed an mifailing source of profit to the corrupt ministers of the Church. The people were instructed that by their liberality to the clergy or to the monastery they conciliated the favour of Heaven, and obtained the intercession of departed saints. Some of the churches were possessed of very considerable estates ; but that of Rome, ac- cording to Theodorus Lector, in the year 520, chose not to keep anv immoveable possessions ; and, if it was presented witli such, immedi- ately sold them, and the purchase money was divided into three parts, one of which was appropriated to the use of the Church, the second to the bishop, and the third in appointed portions to the inferior clerg}'. Where the revenues were thus divided, the power of the bishop must have been very considerable. Several councils, indeed, appointed persons to be associated with him in the distril)ution of ecclesiastical property ; but even then tlie share which was allotted for the exigences of the Church vvouM bo distributed cliiefly by his direction, and in such a manner as to extend his influence, if it was not appropriated to the indulgence of a baser passion. The properly, wliicli hail been gradually aitjuiring by the clergy, had been considorably augmented by the laws of Constantino, (which encouraged bequests to the 126 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. Church,) and by an allowance from the public revenue. Constantine also instituted the Church successor to all martyrs or persecuted per- sons who died without heirs. Upon the demolition of the heathen tem- ples, the buildings, statues, and revenues were sometimes presented to the clergy ; and Honorius enacted that the property belonging to all heretics and conventicles should be appropriated to the same use.* The revenues of the Church continued to receive fresh augmentations from the zeal of Justinian, who confiscated to its use the estates and property of all the clergy or monks who forsook the Church or monas- tery to lead a secular life. The corrupted doctrines of religion received, if no improvement, no very considerable alterations, in the sixth century. The torments of an intermediate slate were indeed loudly insisted upon to the ignorant multitude at this time by the superstitious Gregory, whom the Romish Church has chosen to distinguish by the appellation of Great. This prelate is supposed, by some, to have laid the foundation of the modern doctrine of purgatory, which supposes a punishment to take place im- mediately after death, and previous to the station assigned as the eter- nal residence of the soul ; but his opinions differed very little from those of Augustine, who preceded him near a century ; and Gregory must be regarded as the promoter, not the instituter, of the doctrine. Various have been the opinions respecting the seat of purgatory. Vol- canoes, or the ocean, the torments of conflicting elements, or the violent convulsions of hope and fear, have, by the profound explorers of Divine truth, been at different times assigned to the departed soul of man ; and the ministers, who inflict punishment, have by some been believed to be angels, and by others demons. The wonderful efficacy of pictures and relics was loudly insisted upon ; and the utmost reverence incul- cated for the Virgin Mary, around whose head new honours were per- petually gathering. In the reign of Justinian it became common to join the Virgin Mary and the archangels Michael and Gabriel in solemn oaths. The esteem of celibacy so much increased that, though the Arian clergy of the western parts of the empire were in general married, the Latin bishops of the Catholic Church extended in some places the obligation of celibacy to sub-deacons. These regulations made it necessary to renew or enforce with vigour those laws which prohibited the clergy from entertaining in their houses any female who came not within the degrees of near consanguinity. From imposing restraints upon the marriages of the clergy, some marriages which had hitherto been regarded as lawful were discouraged and interdicted I'among the laity. In the reign of Justinian, in certain degrees of ; spiritual relationship persons were prohibited from contracting marriages ' with each other, particularly in that between a godfather and god- idaugliter, which was supposed to unite their souls in a divine manner, and to induce a paternal affection. Succeeding councils advanced upon these doctrines ; and the canon law extended the relationship to the baptizcr and baptized, the cafechist and catechumen, and ingeniously discovered several degrees of spiritual kindred. The primitive doctrines of the Gospel were so entirely obscured by superstition, and so imperfectly understood, that great numbers began to conceive that the profession of religion was all that was necessary * An admirable expedient for promoting unaimnitv. Cent. VI.] history of the church. 127 for acceptance with God. Provided they were enrolled among the sacred numbers who sought to procure hea^'en by the neglect of their duties on earth, or believed they performed a full expiation for the most atrocious offences by the infliction of voluntary personal punishment, or the institution of novel rites, or added pomp, in the worship of the monastery, they conceived their salvation most certainly attained. Early in this century, Sigismund, king of Burgundy, who, at the insti- gation of his mother, had cruelly murdered his own son, attempted to appease the vengeance of the Supreme Being, by liberal donations to the monastery of St. Maurice, in Vallais, (which he had founded in honour of the celebrated Theban Legion,) by the institution of a full chorus of perpetual psalmody, and by an assiduous practice of the most austere devotions of the monks. Several new orders were instituted, and exact rules prescribed for their conduct. Ccsarius, bishop of Aries, founded, in the year 507, a monastery for women, and distin- guished himself among the number of those who composed regulations lor the monastic life. In these, the otlending nun, who was insensible to the milder punishments of reprimands, or a separation from the social and religious exercises of the society, was condemned to the severe discipline of flagellation, in which, however, the punishment was mercifully confined to forty stripes, save one. Benedict, the founder of an order which through successive ages is still distinguished by his name, was a monk of Sublaquam, in the dio- cess of Tyber, where he erected in the adjacent wilderness twelve monasteries, each containing twelve monks ; one of which, from a va- riety of causes, increased so much in splendour and reputation as to be not only exempted from episcopal power, but to hold fourteen villages under its peculiar jurisdiction. The rules prescribed by this monk, for the regulation of his disciples, were milder with respect to discipline, and more reasonable in tlieir tendency, than those of any of his prede- cessors ; and his order acquired a degree of reputation so favourable to its increase, that it nearly absorbed all the other monastic institutions of the western empire. Some of them indeed were distinguished by the different appellations of Cistercians, Grandimontcnses, and several others ; but twenty-three monastic orders have been traced to this source. From the newly-peopled wilderness of Sublaquam, Bene- dict departed to Mount Cassian, where he employed liis time in the arrangement and perfecting of his rules, and where he died about the year 545. To expatiate upon the extravagances and absurdities practised by the different orders of monks, — either in the gloomy cloisters of their convents, or in their dreary retreats in the deserts, or to recount the artifices practised by them in their commerce with the world, — would afford a detail little edifying or agreeable. Pillar monkery continued to seduce its votaries, not only in the east, where Simeon Stylites, junior, in imitation of his fanatical predecessor, lived sixty-eiijht years upon different |)illars, but it extended to the west, which in general appears to have been more distinguished by the knavery than the fana- ticism of its monastic disciples. Vulfilaic, however, a monk of Loin- banly, ascended a pillar at Treves, where he endured the inclemencies of the winter ; and with apparent reluctance obeyed tlie connnands of the bishops, who represented to him that the cold climate of Germany 128 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. was not calculated for these devotional exertions. A number of the austere penitents, whose madness had probably occasioned their severi- ties, and whose fanaticism in return heightened their mental imbecility, obtained a safe retreat from the world, in a hospital established in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, for the reception of those monks who, in rashly attempting to pursue the lives of hermits, had sustained a depri- vation of reason, which they had afterward recovered.* Degraded by superstition and ignorance, as the cloistered reti-eats certainly were, they however became almost the only refuge to which learning and philosophy could retire from the tumults of war and the desolations of barbarism. The founders of many orders had extorted from their followers a solemn obligation to employ a certain portion of their time in the daily study of those treatises of celestial wisdom which were deposited in the rich mines of ancient theology. An accu- mulation of absurdity would, in an ignorant age, be necessarily admitted at the same time : but this obligation occasioned the reception of a fund of genuine knowledge into these gloomy repositories ; and perhaps prevented the very faculty of interchanging our ideas by writing, or of increasing our stores of knowledge by the perusal of books, from being once more sunk in oblivion. That a zeal for discipline was not totally extinguished among all the members of the Christian Church appears from the frequency of parti- cular councils for its enforcement during this century. The various abuses they endeavoured to rectify, and the restraints they attempted to impose, woidd, if no other monument existed, convince us that there were few crimes of which a minister of religion might not be supposed to be guilty. The arrogance and profligacy of the clergy have been already remarked ; their hospitality may in some degree be conceived by a canon of the council of Maccon, in the year 585, which enacts that bishops shall not keep mastiffs to worry beggars. Toward the close of the preceding, or the commencement of the sixth century, the bishops, who had hitherto exercised the power of forming their own liturgies, agreed to conform to that of the metropolitan Church. The national liturgies, in the western empire, commenced upon its being divided into different kingdoms. In these liturgies diflerent creeds were used, varying inexpressiojn, though agreeing in doctrine, previous to the formation of the Nicene creed. Creeds were not, for a consi- derable time, introduced into the daily worship of the Church. In the year 515, Timothy, the successor of Macedonius, bishop of Constanti- nople, to demonstrate his detestation of his predecessor, whom he con- sidered as an enemy to the Nicene faith, commanded the Nicene creed 10 be repeated every time Divine service was performed in the church. Previous to this time, it had only been recited on Maundy Thursday, when the bishop catechised those who were to be baptized at Easter ; and was repeated at Antioch whenever the sacrament was administered. Gregory the Great coniposed the Roman mass, or missal, distinguished by his name, which at first was intended ior the particular use of the Romish Church, but was afterward enlarged, improved, and admitted into other churches. Superstitious practices had crept even into the performances of the common devotions of the Church : and it was ♦ Tlie loss, says Dr. Jortin, is not to be questioned ; the recovery is more ques- tionable. Cent. ML] history of the church. 129 ordered by Vigilius, that those who celebrated mass should always direct their faces toward the east. The rite of baptism docs not appear to have been administered with any variations from the forms of the preceding century ; but material alterations in the celebration of the Lord's Supper took place during the pontificate of Gregory the Great, who introduced a number of cere- monies into almost every part of religious worship. Frequency of communion, from the superstitious opinions which prevailed respecting- this rite, had abated by degrees : it appeared, indeed, in some places, in danger of being wholly laid aside. In a council at Aries, in the year 506, the laity were commanded to communicate three times annually, on the three great festivals of Easter, Whitsuntide, and Christma.s. A reverence for the sacramental elements was strongly insisted upc«> by the clergy ; and as it was customary to consecrate a larger portion than was immediately necessary for the communicants, in order that it might be in readiness to be distributed to the sick, it was, in the year 567, enacted in the council at Tours, that it should no longer be deposited in a chest, but upon the altar, to excite the devotion of tlie people. The holy water, or a mixture of salt and water, which was made use of for sprinkling those who entered into or departed from the church, is first mentioned in an edict of Vigilius, in the year 538, but was probably introduced anterior to that period. The tonsure of the priests, among other ceremonial observances, was very generally enforced in this cen- tury, and became indeed an essential part of the ordination of the clergy. This practice occasioned in the Church nearly as violent disputes as those concerning the celebration of Easter. The question agitated was, whether the hair of the priest and monks should be shaven on the forepart of the head, from ear to ear, in the form of a semicircle ; or on the top of the head, in the form of a circle, as an emblem of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ. The sects usually shaved ac- cording to the former, and the Romish missionaries conformably to iht latter practice ; but the time when the custom was introduced is im- known. The early fathers of the Church had endeavoured, by their exhortations, to prevent the extremes of cutting the hair like the priests of isis and Scrapis, and that of wearing long hair in imita- tion of the luxurious manners of the barbarian .soldiery. Their fol- lowers had, however, in tliis, as in many other instances, no reluctance to the imitation of foreign superstition ; and that mark, which once distinguished the priests of the Egyptian deities, has since that period marked the heads of Christian prelates ; and has obtained tlie name of the Roman tonsure. Every superstitious practice of this period met with a steady and zealous patron in Gregory the Great, who encouraged the use of pic- tures and images in churches, and strongly insisted upon the efficacy of relics. (Jregory refused, however, to transport any part of the body of St. Paul to Conslantiiiople, since he asserted that this sacred relic was endueil witli powers so formidable that the temerity of those who dared to approacli it was punished by their being seized with terror, or perhaps visited with a frightful apparition. lie graciously sent to the empress, who had preferred this recjuest, a portion of the tilings of St. Paul's chain, to place in the church then building at Constantinople in honour of that apostle. The ingenuity of the relic-mongers favoured 9 ■ 130 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. them with a happy device for muUiplying the virtues of relics, without a niuhiplicaliou of the relics themselves. Instead of distributing the pious remains of a saint, they touched the body with a piece of cloth, called brandcum, which immediately received the wonderful power of healing diseases, and even sometimes of working still more extraordi- nary miracles. Some impious Greeks, having dared to doubt of the eflicacy of such relics, were convinced of their infidelity, by Leo, bishop of Rome, who took a pair of scissors, and cut the sacred cloth, from which drops of blood are said to have immediately gushed out. As pomp and splendour were affected in the performance of every religious rite, the churches vied with each other in magnificence. A curious altar was presented to the church of St. Sophia, by Justinian and Theodora, composed of every material which could be procured. Gold and silver, every kind of precious stone, wood, and metals, were blended together ; and the table composed of this mass was adorned with an inscription, in which the royal donors solemnly made an offer- ing of it to Christ, and entreated him, that tliey, together with the em- pire, might be preserved in the orthodox faith. Many festivals were, during this century, introduced into the Church, the most considerable of which was the feast of the purification of the blessed virgin. The lupercalia, or feast of Pan, which was constantly celebrated by the pagans, with burning tapers, was succeeded by the Christian festival of the purification. Like its predecessors, this feast was solemnized with a blaze of tapers ; and was called candlemas, from the lights used on that occasion. The day of consecrating a church was also in many places observed as an anniversary festival. CHAPTER IIL OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED I.\ THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of several sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocitae — Sevcrians — AgncBlou — Theodo- sians — Tritheists — Philoponitcs, isLc. — Damianists. National wars for the extension of dominion, and continual attempts to enforce obedience to spiritual autliority, were circumstances little favourable to the tranquillity of the Christians, during the sixth century. Fewer sects, however, arose during this than at any preceding period; and some of those divisions which had most successful!)' assailed the peace of the Christian world were nearly terminated. Donalism breathed her expiring sighs; and the doctrines of Arius, which were so extensively embraced, were forsaken by an immense number of those by whom they were professed, and have ever since been confined to comparatively a very inconsiderable number of Christians. Eutychianism, favoured by the imperial smiles, was, however, revived from the languor and obli- vion into which it had been visibly sinking. IJut it owed still more to the conduct of Jacob Baradaeus. By his activity and eloquence this drooping sect was restored to life and vigour; its votaries were numberless ; its difi'crent factions were reconciled ; and its credit and authority were exti^nded through Egypt, Al)yssinia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. The newly-revived sect assumed the name of their new 9* Cent. VI.] history of the church. 131 chief: tliey arc still distinguished by the appellation of Jacobites ; and to this day constitute the bulk of those Christians who reside within the jurisdiction of the bishops of Antioch and Alexandria. The doctrine concerning the incorruptibility of the body of Christ, though espoused by the emperor, was steadily opposed by the orthodo.x party, who bestowed upon their adversaries the names of Aphthartodo- cita;, Phantasiasts, and Manicheans, from some real or fanciful re- semblance to that sect. Among the most zealous of these defenders of the faith was Severus, bishop of Antioch, who asserted the corrupti- bility of tlie body of Christ. The adherents of Severus were, in con- sequence of this opinion, styled Corrupticolae, Phthartolatrae, and .Se- verians. Thcmislius, a deacon, and one of the Severian sect, pursuing still farther these frivolous speculations asserted tliat Jesus Christ, as man, might be ignorant of certain things. They who adopted this senliment were distinguished by the name of Agnueta;, or by that of their leader. The doctrines of Themistius were opposed by the Theo- dosians, the followers of the degraded patriarch of Alexandria. Tlie Eutychian controversy produced, toward the close of this cen- tury, a new sect, called the Tritheists. This sect, which taught that the Father, Son, and Spirit, were three coequal, distinct beings, who partook of one common, undivided nature, divided into the Philopo- nists, and Cononites, according to the names of their respective lead- ers, who agreed in the doctrine of the three persons in the Godhead, but diflered in some opinions concerning the resurrection of the body. Peter Damian, the patriarch of Alexandria, in attacking their errors, proceeded too far on the other side, and incurred the charge of Sabel- lianism. The Damianists distinguished the Divine essence froin the three persons, and denied that each person was God, when considered abstractedly from the other two ; but asserted that there was a common Divinity, by the joint participation of which each person was God. The Tritheists, together with the other sects of the Eutychians, fell into that of the Jacobites, a denomination which is common to them all ; although some, from the countries they inhabit, are distinguished by the names of Copts and Armenians. CHAPTER IV. OF I.EARNI.NO AND LE.\RNED MEN I,N THE SIXTH CENTURV. Decay of learning — Controvcrsi.il and party writers appropriate the rewards which ought to lie the portion only of useful leaniiiip and true genius — Ruin of Platonism — Succeeded liy the philosophy of Aristotle — Hocthius — Philoponus — Leontius of Neapolis — Isiiliire of Seville — John Seyntliopolis — Leontius — Zachar>' of Mvtilene — Kacundus — Fulgent lus — Maxentius — Kulo;'ius — Theodore — Cassiodorus — Basil of Cilicia — Evagrius — Gregory of 'I'ours — (Jildas — I'rocopius — A-iathias — Fortunatus — Arator — Oronlius — Co- lumhanus — .lustus — ,\viius — Friinasius Victor of Capua — I'rocopius of Gaza — Cassiodo- rus — Circgory the Great — Justinian — Tribonian — Code, Pandects, and Institutes of Jus- tinian. If, in traversing the obscure and mazy paths of superstition and ignorance, which distinguished this century, we take only a iurst)ry view of surrounding ol)iects, we shall probal)ly l)e cxcuseil by our fel- low-travellers, who will lind few rel'rcshing and cultivated shades to 132 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CkNT. VI. invite their stay, few blooming and elegant productions to arrest their attention. The dreary night of ignorance began to gloom ; and the road to truth, no longer pleasant and cheerful, was pursued through dismal and inextricable labyrinths. The interests of real learning and philosophy are so necessarily connected with truth, that in an age when duplicity and falsehood were so generally employed in the propagation of all opinions, we cannot be surprised to observe the dominion of real science nearly destroyed. The liberal rewards and honours which were offered by the emperors for the encouragement of learning, were counteracted by their attachment to theological disputation, which naturally contracts the faculties of the human mind. Those bounties which should have been directed to the reward of ingenious exertions were conferred upon the subtle disputant, and the nice investigation of absurd and "luniieaning terms. Nor were the schools erected under the jurisdic- tion of cathedrals and monasteries calculated for inculcating and disseminating knowledge, since their unskilful and illiterate teachers 1 considered philosophy and literature as not only unnecessary, but ipernicious. ^' The later Platonism, or that compound of Pythagorean, Platonic, and Chaldaic principles, which had been so popular among the pagan phi- losophers, received a severe blow from the exertions of Justinian against paganism, and his imposition of perpetual silence upon the Athenian schools. Seven philosophical teachers of the Grecian super- stition, with grief and indignation, agreed to depart from the empire, and to seek in a foreign land the freedom which was denied in their native country. They had heard, and they credulously believed, that the republic of Plato was realized in the despotic government of Per- sia ; but they were soon convinced of their mistake. The monarch, Chosroes, concealed the most savage dispositions under the disguise of philosophy; and they were extremely scandalized by the licentious practices of an eastern nation, so diflerent from the Christians, whose doctrines they affected to despise, but whose precepts they could not but approve. They made a precipitate retreat, but they returned not to their former reputation : their numbers had declined, and their fol- lowers disappeared. They terminated their lives in peace and ob- scurity ; and with them ended the long list of Grecian philosophers. To this sublime and ingenious, but in many respects fanciful system, that of Aristotle soon succeeded, which was introduced into the theo- logical disputes ; and, like its precursor, served to confound and per- plex the reasonings of the Christian world. Boethius, a senator of Rome, and an admirer of that wisdom which illuminated ancient Greece, was the most distinguished person who introduced the Aristotelian pliik)sophy into the explanation of the doc- trines of Christ. The abilities of IJocthius gave celebrity to every opinion he embraced ; and a few were disposed to dissent from the sen- timents of the first philosopher, orator, and theologian of the sixth century. His misfortunes were not less remarkable than his literary abilities. Born to the j)ossession of an ample fortime, and descended from one of the noblest families at Rome, Boethius prosecuted, in ease and independence, the most abstruse or the most elegant studies, and adorned all the duties of public and private life by his strict regard to Cent. VI.] hlstory of the church. 133 justice ; by las eloquence, which was always exerted in the cause of humanity and innocence ; and by his liberality to the distressed. Such conspicuous merit was felt and rewarded by the discerning Theodoric, who honoured this illustrious senator with the titles of consul and mas- ter of the offices ; and afterward gratified his paternal ambition, by creating his two sons consuls at the same time, and at an early age. " Prosperous in his fame and fortunes, in his public honours and private alliances, in the cultivation of science, and the consciousness of virtue, Boethius might have been styled happy, if that precarious epithet could be safely applied before the last term of the life of man. " A philosopher, lil)eral of his wealth and parsimonious of his time, niiTht be insensible to the common allurements of ambition, the thirst of gold and employment : and some credit may l)e due to the asseve- ration of Boethius, that he had reluctantly obeyed the divine Plato, who enjoins every virtuous citizen to rescue the state from the usurpa- tion of vice and ignorance. For the integrity of his public conduct he appeals to the memory of his country. lie had always pitied, and oiten relieved, the distress of the provincials, whose fortunes were ex- hausted by public and private rapine ; and Boethius alone had courage to oppose the tyranny of the barbarians, elated by conquest, excited by avarice, and, as he complains, encouraged by impunity. In these ho- nourable contests, his spirit soared above the consideration of danger, and perhaps of prudence. The disciple of Plato might exaggerate the infirmities of nature and the imperfections of society ; and the mildest form of a Gothic kingdom, even the weight of allegiance and gratitude, must be insupportable to the free spirit of a Roman patriot. But the favour and fidelity of Boethius declined in just proportion with the public happiness; and an unworthy colleague was imposed, to divide and control the power of the master of the offices. In the last gloomy season of Theodoric, he indignantly felt that he was a slave ; but as his master had power only over his life, he stood, without arms and without fear, against the face of an angry barbarian, who had been provoked to believe that the safety of the senate was incompatible with ins own. The senator Albinus was accused, and already convicted, of the presumption of hopimr, as it was said, the liberty of Rome. 'If Albinus be criminal,' exclaimed the orator, ' the senate and my- self are all guilty of the same crime. If we are innocent, Albinus is equally entitled to the protection of the laws.' These laws might not have punished the simple and barren wish of an unattainable blessing ; but ihov would have shown less indulgence to the rash confession of Boethius, that, had he known of a conspiracy, the tyrant never should. The advocate of Albinus was soon involved in the danger, and perhaps the guilt of his client: their signature (which they denied as a forijery) was affixed to the original address, inviting the emperor to deliver Italy from tlic (iotlis ; and tliree witnesses of honourable rank, perhaps of infamous reputation, attested the treasonable designs of the Roman patrician. Vet his innocence must be presumed, since he was de- prived by Theodoric of the means of justification, and rigorously con- fined in the tower of Pavia ; while the senate, at the distance of five hundred nnles, pronounced a sentence of confiscation and death against the most illustrious of its members. At the counnand of the barba- rians, the occult science of a philosopher was stigmatized with the 134 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI names of sacrilege and magic. A devout and dutiful attachment to the senate was condemned as criminal, by the trembling voices of the senators themselves ; and their ingratitude deserved the wish or pre- diction of Boethius, that after him none should be found guilty of the same offence. " While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment the sentence or the stroke of death, he composed, in the tower of Pavia, the Consolation of Philosophy ; a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of Plato or TuUy, but which claims incomparable merit, from the barbarism of the times, and the situation of the author. The celestial guide whom he had so long invoked at Rome and at Athens now condescended to illumine his dungeon, to revive his courage, and to pour into his wounds her salutary balm. She taught him to com- pare his long prosperity and his recent distress, and to conceive new hopes from the inconstancy of fortune. Reason had informed him of the precarious condition of her gifts ; experience had satisfied him of their real value ; he had enjoyed them without guilt ; he might resign them without a sigh ; and calmly disdain the impotent malice of his enemies, who had left him happiness, since they had left him virtue. From the earth, Boethius ascended to heaven, in search of the su- preme good; explored the metaphysical labyrinth of chance and destiny, of prescience and free-will, of time and eternity ; and attempted to re- concile the perfect attributes of the Deity with the apparent disorders of his moral and physical government. Such topics of consolation, so obvious, so vague, or so abstruse, are ineffectual to subdue the feelings of human nature. Yet the sense of misfortune may be diverted by the labour of thought ; and the sage who could artfully combine in the same work the various riches of philosophy, poetry, and eloquence, must already have possessed the intrepid calmness which he affected to seek. Suspense, one of the worst of evils, was at length determined by the ministers of death, who executed, and perhaps exceeded, the inhuman mandate of Theodoric. A strong cord was fastened round the head of Boethius, and forcibly tightened, till his eyes almost started from their sockets ; and some mercy may be discovered in the milder torture of beating him with clubs till he expired. But his genius survived, to diffuse a ray of knowledge over the darkest ages of the Latin world : the writings of the philosopher were translated by the most glorious of the English kings ; and the third emperor of the name of Otho removed to a more honourable tomb the bones of a Catholic saint, who, from his Arian persecutors, had acquired the honours of martyrdom, and the fame of nuracles." {Gibbon, iv, p. 36.) The crimes committed by this illustrious senator against the mo- narch of Rome were not confined to the treasonable wish of restoring the liberty of the people and the power of the senate ; Boethius had written in defence of the Catholic doctrine of the trinity, and, in his zeal for religion, had attacked, not only the Nestorians and Euty- chians, but even Arianism itself, though professed by Theodoric. A knowledge of all the arts and sciences was diffused by the indefati- gable pen of Boethius. In the celebrated work, Dc Consolalione Phi- losophic, he has exhausted every topic of consolation which the philo- sophy of the Grecian schools could suggest ; but has entirely omitted the firmer supports which are afforded by Christianity under the afflic- Cent. VI.] history of the church. • 135 tions of the present state. It has been conjectured, and probably the conjecture may be well founded, that Boethius intended to have per- fected his treatise by the addition of a sixth book, on the topic of Christian consolations. As it is evidently transmitted in an imperfect state, it is not reasonable to suppose, from the omission, that Boethius was more sensible to the consolations of a philosopher than to those of a Christian, or was a firmer believer in the doctrines of Stoicism than in those of the Gospel. The various controversies which engaged the attention of the Chris- tian world produced a multitude of writers, more considerable indeed from tlieir numbers than their abilities. The errors of the pagans were attacked by Philoponus, and those of the Jews by Leontius of Neapolis, and Isidore of Seville. The names of Anastasius, John Scynthopolis, Leontius, Zachary of Mytilene, Facundus, Gulgentius, Maxentius, and Eulogius, are distinguished among the controversial writers of this century. But the greater part of them, in detailing their own perplexed opinions, were little calculated to convert their readers ; and must, by the substitution of rancour and vehemence in the place of argument and reason, have induced disgust rather than conviction. Like the controversialists, the historical writers of this century are little distinguished for their excellence. A collection of the histories of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret, was compiled by Theodore, who continued the historical accounts to the reign of the elder Justin. A compilation of the same materials was made by Cassiodorus, to which he added a short chronicle. Basil, of Cilicia, wrote also an ecclesiastical history, which was continued by Evagrius, but greatly corrupted by fabulous accounts. The annals of France, by the fa- mous Gregory of Tours, are written in a style utterly devoid of sim- plicity and elegance ; and his eight books of the lives of the saints are replete with weakness, superstition, and credulity ; nor do the incon- sistent accounts in the work Concerning the Destruction of Britain, by our countryman, Gildas, deserve a much higher character. Those historians who were the most deserving of attention were Procopius and Agathias, the former of whom accompanied Belisarius in the Italian and African wars ; and acquired so considerable a share of reputation under the successive emperors that he was honoured with the ofhce of quajstor, and with the important station of pra^fect of Constantinople. He composed two books concerning the Persian war, two books of the Vandalic, and four of the Gothic. In these performances, wher- ever he has occasion to mention Justinian or Theodora, he always speaks of them in the most honourable terms ; and, in his account of the edifices of Justinian, extols the emperor for his devotion and libe- rality, his mildness and magnificence, and the empress for her piety and zeal. But the external professions of courtiers do not always accord with their real sentiments ; and Procojiius, if he be, as there is much reason to believe, the author of the Secret Anecdotes, has more than unsaid every thing he had advanced in favour of his bene- factors, and has left a perpetual record of their dishonour and of his own duplicity. The historical accounts of Procopius terminated in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Justinian ; but were continued by Agathias, who published his history in the year 593. Each of these 136 . HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI writers has been charged with pagaiiisiii ; and, however this accusa- tion may have been controverted in lavour of the former, against the latter it remains in full force. If the charge against both be true, they are distinguished by being the two last pagan historians who have written in Greek, and of whose works there are any considerable re- mains. Religious poetry was, during this century, cultivated for very different purposes : for that of giving popularity to the fabulous miracles of the saints ; and in the more laudable view of endeavouring to em- bellish the truths of the Gospel. Fortunatus composed in verse the Life of St. Martin ; and Aralor made a poetical translation of the Acts of the Apostles. Among the other religious poets of this century were Orontius, who w^-ote a \Varning to the Faithful; and Columbanus, the disciple of the British abbot, Congal, whose ardent zeal for monachism was attended with such success that his followers were dispersed through Ireland, Gaul, Germany, and Switzerland. Were we to judge of the excellence of the commentators of this pe- riod by the number of their expositions, we should form an exalted idea of their value. But they were, with few exceptions, an ill-disciplined band, little calculated for the performance of important actions. Com- mentaries upon Scripture were composed by Justus, who wrote upon the Song of Solomon ; by Avitus, upon the Apocalypse ; by Prima- sius, upon the Epistle to the Romans ; aiid by Victor, of Capua, who composed the Harmony of the Gospels. The most distinguished expositors of the sixth century were Procopius, of Gaza, upon the book of Isaiah ; Cassiodorus, who commented upon the Psahiis, the Canticles, and other parts of Scripture ; and Gregory the Great, who expounded the book of Kings, and the Song of Solomon. To the merit of being a firm consubstantialist, Cassiodorus added those vir- tues which recommended him to the most exalted approbation of the Arian monarchs under whom he lived, who rewarded his distinguished excellence by the gift of some of the most considerable offices in their disposal. After the enjoyment of several public honours, Cassiodorus, at the advanced period of one hundred years, closed his life in a mo- nastery, where, in tranquillity and retirement, he had long employed himself in the pursuits of literature, which were enlivened by his know- ledge of philosophy and mechanics. Gregory, whose birth, rank, advancement of the papal power, and whose literary abilities, acquired him, in this age of ignorance, the ap- pellation of Great, was descended from an illustrious patrician family. His rank and abilities, at a very early age, procured him the office of pra;foct of Rome ; but he relinquished all the pleasures and all the employments of a secular life, to devote himself to I'etirement in one of the monasteries which he had erected with his ami)le patrimony. His retreat was, however, distinguished by his reputed talents, and by the circumstances with which it was accompanied : and Gregory was soon summoned from his retirement, by his appointment as deacon of the Church, and his subsequent office of nuncio iVoin the apostolic see to the Bjzantine court. In this situation he boldly assumed, in the name of St. Peter, a tone of independent dignity which would have been criminal and dangerous in the most illustrious layman. He also en- gaged in a dispute with the patriarch of Constantinople, whether the bodies of the just, at the general resurrection, were to be really solid, Cent. VI.] hlstory of the church. 137 or thinner than air. He returned to Rome with increased reputation ; and on the death of Pelagius II., for whose recovery he had distin- guished himself by the frequency of his pubUc intercessions, he was dragged from the cloister to the papal throne, by the unanimous voice of the clergy, the senate, and the people. He resisted, however, or appeared to resist this elevation, and secretly conveyed himself to the neighbouring woods and mountains. This retirement might perhaps afford leisure for the abatement of his dread of the pontifical dignity; or, as security naturally renders men fearless, he might become less cautious in concealing his retreat : however this may be, the abode of Gregory was discovered, as it was reported, by a celestial light ; he was brought forth from his concealment, consecrated, and invested with the full possession of the Roman see. In this station, which he enjoyed more than thirteen years, his labours were invariably directed to what he conceived the benefit of religion, or to the aggrandizement of the Church of Rome. His inordinate ambition he endeavoured to conceal, perhaps from himself, under a mask of the most profound humility ; and condemned, in his rival, the patriarch of Constantinople, the title of universal bishop, which he was too haughty to concede, and too feeble to assume ; and which he contrasted and opposed, by styling himself scrvus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God. Super- stition received, in Gregory, a potent and zealous auxiliar}' ; his at- tachment to relics, to ceremonies, to a splendid variety and change of sacerdotal garments, and to pomp in public worship, was ex- treme. Till the last days of his life, he ofiiciated in the canon of the mass, which continued above three hours, and which was rendered more splendid by music, and by the introduction of solemn and pomp- ous rites in its celebration. The liberality and moderation of the Ro- man bishop were very conspicuous in his behaviour toward the Jews who resided within the limits of his jurisdiction ; but his pious hatred was strongly exerted against the Christian sectaries, who dared to question the validity of the doctrines of the Church. The numerous publications of Gregory rank him among the most voluminous authors of the sixth century : yet he decried human learning ; and, with some justice perhaps, showed his dislike of those who must have contemned him, by committing the works of a number of classical writers to the llames, among which was the historian Livy. He is charged with having still further evinced his zeal against every species of pagan excellence, by the demolition of several valuable monuments of ancient magnificence, lest those who visited Rome might be induced to pay more attention to triumphal arches, and profane productions, than to sacred things. Gregory was a rigid disciplinarian, and loudly insisted upon the perfect celibacy of the clergy, w hich he took the utmost pains to ascertain. The judgment he has shown, in some instances, in his literary performances, is debased by the most excessive credulity and weakness ; and his dialogues contain a multitude of absurd and ridicu- lous fables, which are dignified by the names of miracles, and the lives of the saints, and confirmed by the credulity or the craft of this pious pontifl", in order to advance the credit of his religion. Posterity has paid to the memory of Gregory a return of the same tribute which he liberally granted to the virtues of his own or the preceding generations ; and, after his death, those celestial honours, which at all times have 138 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. been freely bestowed by the authority of the popes, were paid to Gre- gory the Great ; who, however, is the last of that order whose name is inscribed in the calendar of saints. Among the patrons and enconragers of literature during this century must be enumerated the Emperor Justinian, to whom several luerary performances have been ascribed. At a very early period of his reign, this monarch projected a reformation of the Roman jurisprudence ; and, in conjunction with nine others of the most celebrated professors of the civil law, the learned Tribonian at length accomplished this arduous, but necessary task, which Justinian had prescribed. The new Code was perfected in fourteen months, and honoured by the name and signature of the emperor. A more arduous operation still remained ; to extract the spirit of jurisprudence from the decisions and conjec- tures, the questions and disputes, of the Roman civilians. Seven- teen lawyers, with Tribonian at their head, composed from these materials the Pandects, which were accomplished in three years. To these were added, by the command of the emperor, and the diligence of the imperial delegates, the Institutxs, which are divided into an ele- mentary treatise, comprised in four books ; and, like the Code and Pandects, to which they were designed as an introduction, are honoured with the name of the emperor. The Code made its appearance in the year 528, and the Institutes in 533, a month before the publication of the Pandects, which had howev^er been previously compiled. In 534, the emperor published a more accurate edition of the Code, which he enriched with several of his own laws, and some decisions in the most intricate and difficult points of jurisprudence ; and gave to this per- formance the title of Novels. In a ivescript of Justinian, dated in the year 541, no mention is made of the consuls ; and from this period the custom of counting years from the consulates, which had prevailed from the time of the Roman republic, entirely ceased ; and the year of the reigning emperor was introduced, and continued to be used ; though some ye.ars previous to this Dionysius Exiguus, in his Cyclus Pascha- lis, had introduced the mode of computation now generally used in the Christian world, from the birth of Christ. CcNT. VII.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 139 THE SEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN" THIS CEXTURY. Reigns of Justin, Tiberius, and iMaurice — Pliocas — Heraclius — Monothelite controversy — Vain attempts for reconciling iheolotiical ilifTerenoes — Constantine and Heracleon— Constans — Silence enjoined concerning theological speculations — Controversy continued, notwithstanding the imperial edict — Persecution of Pope Martin I. — Constanline Pogo- natus — Sixth general council — Condemnation of the Monolhelites — Attempt to raise a dead man as a proof in favour of Monotlielism — Roman poiitiffj — Boniface III. — .4gatho — Pope's claim to infallibility — Controversies in the west — InflexiMe rancour of the .lews — Conquest of Jerusalem by Chosroes — Generosity of Heraclius — Jews baptized — Persecu- tion of the Jews in Spain — Laudable and tolerant spirit of the Spanish clergy — Conver- sion of pagan nations — .Mohammed — His origin — Doctrines — Flight — Assumption of regal and sacerdotal power — Conquests — Causes of his success — Destruction of the Alexan- drian Library — Vices of the clergy — Superior clergy whip the inferior ministers — Assume temporal power — Confusions at Rome, occasioned by the election of a pope — Destruction of the patriarchates of Alexandria, &c., by the Mussulmen. The reigns of Justin, Tiberius, and Maurice, the immediate suc- cessors of Justinian, were distinguished by a rare but happy cahn in the ecclesiastical affairs of the east : nor did the imperial interference occasion any alteration during the reign of the ambitious Phocas, the murderer and successor of the amiable and unfortunate Maurice. On his ascension to the throne he made a solemn promise to the Byzan- tine patriarch to defend and to preserve inviolate the orthodox faith of the councils of Nice and Chalcedon ; and in this solitary instance the perfidious prince was firm to his engagement : nor did he concern himself more with the doctrfnes than with the practice of religion. The enormities of his conduct soon deprived him of a sceptre which he so unworthily retained. Exasperated by injuries, the people of Constan- tinople were easily induced to forget their allegiance to a cruel and insidious prince ; and Heraclius, the African praetor, had little dilhculty in obtaining possession of the imperial throne. The orthodox zeal of the new emperor did not permit him to be an indifferent spectator of religious affairs. He engaged with warmth in the nice decisions of theology ; and his ardour for religion was rewarded by I he gratitude of the people and clergy, who, in his war against the Persians, recruited his exhausted treasury with a considerable sum, derived from tlie sale of the magnificent gold and silver vessels which had been appropriated to the decoration or to the uses of the church. {(jibliiui, vol. V, p. .OlO.) On his victorious return from the Persian war, Heraclius entered into the theological question, which for some years had l)een much agitated, concerning the existence o( two rrtUs in Christ. The orthodox belief consisted in his possessing the wills and operations peculiar both to his divinity and humanity. The doctrine of one will was, however, strongly insisted upon by many of the clergy, 140 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VI. and was adopted by the emperor, who conceived that the profession of a doctrine, certainly harmless, and possibly not qnite without founda- tion, might reconcile the Jacobites of Egypt and Syria (whose opinions it approached) to the orthodox faith. Heraclius, therefore, indulged the laudable but impracticable design of effecting ecclesiastical union Zeal for religion might perhaps instigate him to this measure ; but pro- bably policy had some share in a design which was intended to pre- vent the defection of numbers, who, like the Nestorians, might secede, not only from the Church, but from the empire. Prompted by these motives, the imperial theologian, by the advice and concurrence of several of the Monophysite party, published an edict which asserted that after the union of the two natures in Jesus Christ there existed only one will and one operation. Athanasius, the Armenian bishop of the Monophysites, and Sergius, the Byzantine patriarch, who favoured that sect, had laboured to persuade the empe- ror that this declaration would induce the Monophysite party to receive the Chalcedonian decrees ; and, provided it were assented to by the orthodox, would terminate the controversy. Cyrus, bishop of Phasis^ a zealous Monothelite, or asserter of one will in Christ, was promoted by the emperor to the vacant see of Alexandria, and confirmed the favourite opinion of his benefactor by the decrees of a provincial coun- cil. This perplexed doctrine, illustrated and modified according to the opinions or ingenuity of its different adherents, was explained by them in terms which admitted of such various significations that it was accepted by considerable numbers who were restored to communion with the Church. But however acceptable this romantic project for the restoration of imion, among a people who delighted in controversial disquisitions, might be to many, still, although it was supported by the efforts of Honorius, the Roman pontiff, and of the Byzantine patriarch, it met with a violent opposition, and occasioned contests not less pernicious to the tranquillity of the Church than those which it was designed to prevent. The emperor and the heads of the eastern and western Churches were regarded as the betrayers of the orthodox faith ; and the heretical Monothelites, and the schismatical asserters of two wills, regarded each other with mutual distrust and implacable aversion. Disappointed in these endeavours for ecclesiastical harmony, Heraclius had recourse to another method, and published the Ecthesis, or Exposition of the Faith ; in which all controversies upon this subject were strictly prohi- bited. This exposition was the production of Sergius, bishop of Con- stantinople, and was approved by his successor, Pyrrhus, and several of the eastern bishops. But it met at Rome with a very different reception. On the decease of Honorius, the more orthodox Severian had obtained the pontificate, who continued warmly to condemn the Monothelite doctrine, and to oppose the Ecthesis ; and it was openly condemned in a council by his successor, John the Fourth, and by Theodore, who, in the year 642, succeeded to the papal see. The short and tumultuous reigns of Constantine and Heracleon admitted not of the imperial interference in religious disputes ; they still continued, however, to disturb the peace of the Christian world ; and Constans had scarcely assumed the purple before he published Cent. VII.] historv of thk church. 141 the Type, an edict of a similar nature to that of his grandfather Hera- clius, which enjoined profound sik^nce upon this long-disputed ques- tion. This proclamation might suppress, but could not extinguish, the heated passions of the theological disputants. Sophronius, bishop of Jerusalem, had been among the most zealous opposers of .Mono- thelism, and had condemned tliis heretical opinion in a provincial coun- cil. His labours in the cause of orthodoxy ended not with the subju- gation of his see by the Saracens, in the year 636 ; he still continued, by his writings and example, to animate the clergy and the monks. They detected a latent heresy in the language, and even in the silence of the Greeks ; they were joined by the Latin Churches ; the obedi- ence of Pope Ilonorius was retracted and censured ; and the execra- ble heresy of the Monothelites, which was said to have revived the errors of Manes, Apollinaris, and Eutyches, was formally condemned. As the representative of the western Church, Pope Martin I., in his Lateran synod, anathematized the perfidious and guilty silence of the Greeks. One hundred and five bishops, chiefly the inhabitants of those parts of the western empire which remained in subjection to Constans, presumed to reprobate his execrable Type, no less than the impious Ectltcsis of Ileraclius. Such an insult could not pass with impunity. .Martin was removed from Rome, and was afterward exiled to Naxos, a small island in the Archipelago ; and his oracle, Maximus, a seditious monk, of the same party, was banished to Bizyca. Whatever had been the perverseness and obstinacy of this pontiff and his associate, himianity must, notwithstanding, recoil at their suf- ferings. Martin was, after a series of expedients in order to escape punishment, taken prisoner by the exarch, Calliopas, and sent to his place of banishnicnt. Ilis voyage, which was imbittered by apprehen- sion, captivity, disease, and insult, was succeeded by a year's impri- sonment, in which he endured extraordinary hardships. Nor were his sullerings mitigated at the expiration of that period : on his return to the imperial court, he was exposed to the insults of the populace, by whom he was reviled and contemned as a rebel, and was confined in a common prison. After a captivity of more than three months, during which he was oj)pressed with a violent dysentery, and denied the com- forts of suitable food, he was summoned before the senate ; refused the indulgence of a seat, though from disease and weakness he was unable to stand ; and was charged with treason against the state. His asseverations of innocence, and the powerful plea he exhibited of the impossibility of his committing the crime, were ineffectual. The un- happy pontiff was divested of his sacerdotal garments, loaded with chains, was ordered to be led through the city, preceded by the exe- cutioner bearing a drawn sword, and at length to be cut in pieces. Immediate death was not, however, inflicted upon the miserable Martin : he was thrown into successive prisons, and sent into banishment on the inhospitable shores of the Tauric Chersonesus ; where a famine, and the inattention of his friends, who neglected, or who perhaps feared, to administer to his relief, added extreme penury to the overflowing cup of his sulferings, and he died amidst these calamities in 656. {Dov}(r\, under one God and one king, the invincible spirit and primitive virtues of the Arabs. Our more accurate inquiry will sug- gest that, instead of visiting the courts, the camps, the lem|»k's of the east., the two journeys of Mohammed into Syria were confnied to the fairs of Bosra and Damascus ; that he was onlv thirteen vears of 10 146 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH [CeNT. VII age when he accompanied "the caravan of his uncle ; and that his. duty compelled him to return as soon as he had disposed of the merchan- dise of Cadijah. In these hasty and superlicial excursions, the eye of genius might discern some objects invisible to his grosser companions ; some seeds of knowledge might be cast upon a i'ruitful soil : but his ignorance of the Syriac language must have checked his curiosity ; and it cannot be perceived, in the life or writings of Mohammed, that his prospect was far extended beyond the limits of the Arabian world. From every region of that solitary world, the pilgrims of Mecca were annually assembled, by the calls of devotion and commerce. In the free concourse of multitudes a simple citizen, in his native tongue, might study the political state and character of the tribes, the theory and practice of the Jews and Cliristians. Some useful strangers might be tempted, or forced, to implore the rites of hospitality : and the enemies of Mohanuncd have named the Jew, the Persian, and the Syrian monk, whom they accused of lending their secret aid to the composition of the Koran. Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius ; and the uniformity of a work de- notes the hand of a single artist. From his earliest youth, Mohammed was addicted to religious contemplation : each year, during the month of Ramadan, he withdrew from the world, and from the arms of Cadi- jah ; in the cave of Hera, three miles from Mecca, he consulted the spirit of fraud or enthusiasm, whose abode was not in the heavens, but "in the mind of the prophet. The faith which, under the name of Islam, he preached to his family and nation, is compounded of an eter- nal truth, and a necessary fiction : TJiat there is only one God, and that Muhanuncd is the apostle of God^ The doctrines of Mohammed were artfully adapted to the prejudices of the Jews, the several heresies of the eastern Church, and the pagan rites of the Arabs. To a large proportion of mankind they were ren- dered still more agreeable by the full permission of all sensual gratifi- cations, which were not only allowed to the faithful believer in this world, but his share of enjoyment, as well as his capacity for it, were promised to be increased in the groves and fountains of paradise, where seventy-two houris, of resplendent beauty, were allotted to the embraces of the sincere, though most insignificant believer. In order to prove that Jesus Christ was the prophet, not the Son of God, and endued only with powers a little superior to those of Moses, the impostor had recourse to the assertion that all texts to the contrary were interpolations in the sacred Scriptures, the validity of which, with these alterations, he fully allowed. In the retreats of Hera, Moham- med professed he had the felicity of communing with the angel Gabriel, who revealed to him those sentiments concerning the nature, the will, and the attributes of the Supreme Being, which compose the Koran. This system, which was slowly formed, and gradually pro- mulgated, was at first probably inspired by ianalicism, and was after- ward perfected by artifice. The first proselytes of Mohammed were his faithl'ul wife C^adijah, his servant Zeid, his pupil Ali, and his friend Abubeker. His religion slowly advanced within the walls of his native city, Mecca, during ten years. In this situation, the prophet was sur- rounded by enemies jealous of the power of his family, and incensed at his pretensions ; and his death, which was resolved upon by the 10* Cent. VII.] hlstory of the church. 147 princes of Mecca, was only prevented by a nocturnal and precipitate flight to Medina ; the memorable era of the Ilegira, which happened in the 622d year of tlie Christian era, and still discriminates the lunar years of the Mohammedan nations. The fame of Mohammed had preceded his flight ; and the profession of Islam had already been acknowledged at Medina, where the prophet was received with the loyal and devout acclamations of live hundred of the citizens. From the time of his establishment at Medina, Mo- hammed assumed the exercise of the regal and sacerdotal functions, and was invested with the prerogative of forming alliances, and of waging war. He urged the command of Heaven to propagate his religion by every possible means : thousands enlisted under his warlike banner, who were gratified with the distribution of the spoil, which was regu- lated by a Divine law ; a fifth was reserved by the prophet for pious and charitable uses, and the remainder was shared in adetjuate portions by the soldiers. These rewards, the eternal recompenses of paradiseT'^ and the persuasive tenets of fate and predestination, induced the cora-i panions of Mohammed to face danger, and to meet undauntedly thatj death which they believed it impossible to shun. Encouraged by the conquest of his own country, the victorious prophet carried his arms into the Roman territories, with invincible courage and astonishing success. In the sixty-third year of his age, the happiness of his faithful disciples was imbittered by the indisposi- tion of their master, who believed himself poisoned through the revenge of a Jewish female ; and, after a lingering disease, the prophet termi- nated his existence in the year 632. Of the issue of his twelve wives Fatima, the wife of Ali, alone remained ; and the sceptre of Arabia was transferred from the family of Mohammed into the hands of Abubeker who assumed the title of caliph, a name which equally implies a spi- ritual and a temporal command. The successors of the proj)het propa- gated his faith, and imitated his example ; and such was the rapidity of their progress tliat, in the space of a century, Persia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, ami Spain, had submitted to the victorious arms of the Arabian and Saracen conciuerors. That the Christian subjects of those countries should submit to the dominion of these barbari;iiis is not wonderful : they had little power to resist ; and the fori;es of the empire, attacked in various places, could afford little opposition to the incursions of these powerful invaders. — liut tliat their forced profession of the Mohammedan faith should soon become so generally acceptable to the professed believers in a Gospel of peace and purity, may excite more surprise. Let it, however, be romeml)ered, that Christianity no longer retained the same form it had assumed in the primitive CMuirch ; the substance had been lost in pur- suing the shadow. Weakened and divided by their absurd controver- sies, and no longer united by the virtues prescribed in the Gospel, the Christians of the stsventh century became an easy prey to the victorious followagation of religion, could not be very obnoxious to the feelings of thosi^ who had viewed, witliout abhorrence, the same means employed in the propagation of opinions they had themselves approved. Adapted as the doctrines of the great eastern impostor were to the jarring sectaries, the warmest contenders 148 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [Ce\T. YII in Christian tlioology were among the foremost of the apostates. Un- wiUing to relinquish any abstruse nicety, or unreasonable scruple, for the peace of the Church, they surrendered the whole of their religion at the mandate of their barbarian conquerors ; at least the whole which remained to them, — the profession and appellation of Christians. The Nestorians and Monophysites, abhorred and detested by their orthodox brethren, were eagerly received and protected by the saga- cious impostor; and repaid this service by bearing arms for the exten- sion of his power over their oppressors. Under the successors of Mohammed, the Christians, who were aversi; to his faith, suffered incredilde hardships, and devastation aiul blood- shed marked the footsteps of the professors of the failh of Islam. In the victorious progress of Amrou, a Saraeen general, Egypt was the fruit of his conquests ; and a circumstance which arose after the cap- lure of Alexandria is strongly expressive of the character of the first caliphs. Amrou had, in his leisure hours, amused and improved him- self by the conversation of John PMlopomis, a celebrated grainmarian of that city, and a polite scholar. Philoponus earnestly besought his patron to gratify him with the present of the Alexandrinn library ; but the request of a favourite was not sufficient to make the victorious ge- neral forgetful of the obedience which was due to the caliph. The request was therefore preferred to Omar, who replied with the spirit of "a. fanatic, " If these writings of the Greeks agree with the book of God, they are useless, and deserve not to be preserved ; if they disagree, they are pernicious, and ought to be destroyed." The sentence wa.s executed with blind obedience ; and such was the incredible number of the volumes, that, during six months, they supplied fuel for the baths, wdiich coniribi'.ted to the health and convenience of tlie [)opulous capital jof Egypt. The heretical opinions of those who had asserted that Jesus Christ was possessed of oidy one will and one operation, proved so much more obnoxious to the members of the Church, convened at the third general council of Constantinople, than the increasing immoralities of the clergy, that the synod was dismissed, if not without any person ad- verting to the necessit}^ of discipline, at least without having enacted a solitary canon for the regulation of clerical conduct. The enormities which were, however, committed, demanded instant regulation ; and scveial provincial conventions attempted to remedy the disorders which threatened the dissolution of Christianity itself. Almost every crime which disgraces humanity entered into the dark catalogue of clerical vices, which were augmented by the arrogance and cruelty of their conduct toward tlie inferior clergy. The council of Prague, in the year G75, passed a public censure upon those of the superior clergy who whipped, as slaves, the inferior ministers of the Church ; or who compelled their deacons to perform the menial office of carrying the bishop upon their shoulders. {FIntn/, viii, 680.) The authority exercised by the clergy extended as well to the superior as to the inferior classes of mankind ; and the twelfth council of Toledo, in the year 681, j)restimed to release the subjects of Wamba from their allegiance to their sovereign. In vain did the deposed monarch endea- vour to regain his kingdom, by the plea that the habit of a monk, with which he had !>een invested, had been put upon him, under the pretence CeXT. VII.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 149 of his being a penitent, at a time when his disorder had rendered him insensible. But the two characters of a monk and a king were deemed incompatible by his haughty and arrogant judges. Ervigc was declared to have a lawful claim to the allegiance of the people ; and the unfor- tunate Wamba was prohibited from the exercise of temporal jurisdic- tion, wliich was not adapted to the situation of a king who was con- demned to perform penance. At a time when the manners of the ecclesiastics were so extremely corrupt, we can scarcely be surprised at any instance of atrocity. The Romish see was a prize worthy of Mie utmost ambition and avarice, and it was eagerly aspired after by various contenders. The intrigues of Peter and Theodore for the pontificate had scarcely ceased, by the appointment of Conon to that see, when the early death of the Komish patriarch afforded a new opportunity for contention between Theodore (who seized upon the Lateran palace) and Paschal. Each contender being elected by his own party, the magistracy and the people were obliged to interfere ; in con-setpience of which, the election of Sergius to the unoccupied see destroyed the pretensions of the two competitors. The submission of Theodore soon followed ; but his rival, the Arch- deacon Paschal, was with great difficulty compelled to resign his pre- tension. An accusation of magic was, however, soon preferred against the turbulent priest, who was, in consequence of the charge, deposed from his station in the Church, and condemned to spend the remainder of his life in a monastery, forgotten, or remembered with abhorrence, by a credulous and superstitious people. The patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, which had already suffered repealed defalcations of power, were during this cen- tury abolished by the conquests of the victorious Saracens. Nominal bishops* were indeed appointed to those sees, which had been sub- jected to the power of the Mussulmen : but toleration was not the virtue of the followers of Mohammed ; and, however the Arabian caliphs might be disposed to favour those sects by whom their conquests had been originally advanced, the orthodox Christians were severely op- pressed, and the prelates strictly prohibited from the exercise of the episcopal function in their diocesses. CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRI.VE, RITES, AND CERE.MOXIES, IN THE SEVENTH CENTURY. Council asspmlilcd for the rfiforin^tion of the clcTjxy — Clprg>' prrniitted to rotitiii their wives — Superstitions otiservance in the cclchration of the Lonl's Supper — Kflicacy of masses a.sscrted — I'llsriinages — Divination — -Privilc^jcs of monks extended — Ronifucc IV. converts his house into a monastery — Lieenscd to perform every clerieal function — .al- teration in Nicene creed — Festival of the exaltation of the holy cross — Of the annnncia- lion — Deposition and nativity of the Mossed Virgin — Church of All Saints — Rights of sanctuary — Public penance. Is order to supply the omissions of the sixth gen; edict. The successful struggle of Leo for the demolition of idolatry in the imperial city did not, however, influence the conduct of his subjects in the other parts of the empire, nor render his measures acceptable to the Roman see. The horrors of civil discord raged in the islands of the Archipelago, in Asia, and in Italy. Gregory IL, who had opposed, with great vehemence, the attempts of the emperor, respecting image worship, endeavoured to soften his resentment, by claiming great merit from the measures he had taken in Italy, in restraining the growing power of the Lombards ; and wrote to Leo, earnestly entreating a re- vocation of the imperial edict. But the emperor, zealously attached to the cause he had espoused, and entirely convinced that Gregory had been actuated rather by motives of self-interest than a regard for the empire, was so far from acceding to this request, that he despatched private orders to the exarch of Ravenna, and to the governor of Rome, to apprehend the contentious prelate, and send him to Constantinople. The people of Rome were too little attached to the emperor, to suffer the execution of this order ; the bishop excommunicated the exarch ; and by letters exhorted the Venetians, with Luitprand, lung of the Loiubards, and all the cities of the empire, to continue steadfast in the Catholic faith. Not satisfied willithis mark of opposition, Gregory absolved the peo- ple of Rome from their allegiance to the emperor ; it is also reported that he occasioned the tribute, which had been annually paid from Rome and Italy into the imperial treasury, to be withheld. This step Avas the signal of revolt: the imperial officers were massacred or ban- ished ; the people of Rome refused to acknowledge the authority of the emperor, and chose new magistrates ; the inhabitants of Ravenna submitted to the dominion of Luitprand ; and the inhabitants of Naples Cf:.\T. V'lII.] HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. IGl murdered their duke, Exliiliratus, the imperial governor, together with his son, and one of his principal oflicers. Leo, exasperated by these proceedings, confiscated the revenues which had been paid from Sicily, Calabria, and Apulia, to the Roman pontifl", and subjected the clergy of those countries, and tlie various churches of Illyricum, to the spi- ritual jurisdiction of the Byzantine see. The emperor opposed the worship of images with reiterated fury ; and enforced his prohibition by threatening the guilty opposer of his. laws with severe and exemplary punishments. A favourite image of Christ, which was destrpyed, was the signal of another rebellion ; aod the adorers of images, who were called Iconolatraj, and their oj^o- nents, the Iconodastaj, mutually resisted, detested, and persecuted ea-oh other. • The death of Leo, and that of Gregory III., who died the same year, and whose attachment to image worship had not been less decisive than that of his predecessor, did not restore tranquillity to the Church and the empire. Leo was succeeded by his son Constanlinc Copro- nymus, who renewed his father's edict, and spoke in equally pointed terms against the practice of idolatry. IIo chose, however, to enforce his opinions upon the people by the milder and universally acknowledged authority of a general council, rather than by the mandates of an impe- rial law. In 754, he convened at Constantinople a council, con^ting" of 338 bishops, in which not only the worship but the use of images was unanimously condemned. A considerable destruction of the ob- jects of idolatrous worship ensued. The decrees of the assembly, which the Greeks regarded as the seventh general council, were re- ceived by great immbers, though not universally, even in the eastern churches, but were utterly rejected at Rome. The opposition made by this rational but too zealous emperor to the reigning superstition was not confined to the worship of images : he opposed the invocation of saints, and the adoration of relics ; and evinced his confirmed ab- horrence of the monks, whom he regarded as the great supporters of superstition. An edict was published at Constantinople, and in all the cities of the empire, forbidding any person to embrace a monastic life, under severe penalties. [Tlicoph. ad Ann. Const. 19, <^c., ad Ann.~^ Const. 19, 23.) At Constantinople most of the religious nouses were suppressed ; and the monks compelled not only to marry, but to lead their brides in public procession through the streets. Leo III., who succeeded Constantine in 775, was not more favourable to the cause of idolatry than his progenitors : he openly declared his abhorrence of imago worship ; and punished with severity those who had presumed to pay any kind of adoration to the saints, to the Virgin Mary, or to their images. The zeal of Leo fov the! propagation of religion was gratified by the conver.sion of Llrich, monarch of the Bulgarians, who, impelled by an irresistible desire to embrace Christianity, resigned his crown, anv( ly demonstration of afiection and esteem ; and, after he had rciceivc'd the sacrament of baptism, was created a patrician, and nuirricd to a relation of the empress. 'I'he infant son of Leo, who was but ten years of age, was the nomi- nal successor of his father ; but the reins of governnunt were assume 1 l)y the ambitious Irene, who transacted all the ailairs of the empire . 11 162 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VIII. and not only resisted the efforts, which at a more mature age were made by her son to throw off her yoke, with intrepidity and success, but with her own hands chastised him for liis temerity. This weak prince, who appears to have continued, with the exception of a few intervals, under the supreme government of this artful and profligate woman, oc- casioned great contests among the clergy by divorcing himself from his first wife Mary, and, at the instigation of Irene, espousing another. The flagitious empress was not however contented with rendering him odious in the eyes of the people : by her orders he was at length seized, and tormented with the most shocking cruelty ; and by his death, and that of the brothers of her late husband, she seated herself without a rival upon the imperial throne. The atrocious conduct of Irene was justified, in the eyes of the friends of image worship, by her zeal in their defence ; many eulogiums were composed to the honor of this princess, who was afterward converted into a saint, and as such stands recorded in the Greek calendar. Under the administration of Irene, the Iconolatra) enjoyed not only a respite from their sufferings, but the utmost protection and favour. — New images decorated the walls which had lately been deprived of their ornaments ; and she adopted the popular measure of annulling the edicts of former emperors against the worship of idols. In 786, in concert with Adrian, bishop of Rome, a council was convened by the Emperor Constantine at Constantinople ; but, being disturbed by the officers of the army and the soldiery, it was in the following year trans- ferred to Nice in Bithynia, where the impiety of the image breakers was severely condemned, the adoration of images and of the cross re- established, and severe piinisliments were denounced against the daring transgressors of the established rites. The .superstitious dogmas of this assembly were supported by false records and spurious manuscripts, and confirmed by a chain of such arguments as admirably suited the wisdom of the cause. The assembled fathers expressed their abhor- rence of images made to represent the Deity ; but gave a full sanction to the crucifix, which they commanded to be solemnly dedicated, and placed upon the walls of churches or private houses, and upon the fpublic roads. Images of our Lord were also to be made, as well as of jthe Virgin Mary, (who was called the i7nmaculatc mother of God,) of • the venerable angels, and of all the saints. This species of worship was so passionately admired bj'the Greeks, that they esteemed the second Nicene council as a signal blessing de- rived to them from the interposition of Heaven ; and, in commemora tion of it, instituted an anniversary festival, called the feast of ortho- do.xy. In this council the legate of the bishop of Rome attempted, in the name of his master, to explain the worship due to the saints as an inferior kind of homage, which he called (btlia ; the adoration due to j the Supreme Being was said to be of a more exalted nature, and was /..called lalria. The versatile bishops, who under the former reigns had professed their dislike to the worship of the saints, scrupled not to make their peace with Irene, and to secure their continuance in their possessions by a recantation of those opinions which were deemed heretical by the second council of Nice. Deplorable was the state of the eastern empire during the eighth century : government was weak- ened by perpetual revolutions for electing or deposing different empe- 11* Cent. VIII.] history of the church. 163 rors. Military discipline decayed ; learning was neglected or despised ; every species of atrocity was practised under the mask of religious zeal ; and the empire was repeatedly invaded. In Syria and Pales- tine, several cities were destroyed by dreadful earthquakes ; an extra- ordinary darkness, which lasted from the beginning of Augu.'st to Octo- ber, and occasioned little distinction between night and day, overspread that country ; and this was followed bj' the plague, which broke out in Calabria, soon spread over Sicily, Greece, and the islands in the JEgoan sea, and at length reached to Constantinople, where it raged furiously during a space of three years. The incursions of the Saracens were grievously felt both in the eastern and western provinces. In the reign of Philippicus these fierce barbarians invaded Thrace, took the city of Pergamus, and committed (Ircadi'ul ravages in various parts of the empire : they even marched up to the gates of the imperial city ; and during thirteen months, in which they besieged Constantinople, war, famine, and the pestilence .succes- sively prevailed. To add to the affliction of the eastern Christians, the Caliph Omar, exasperated at the courage and resolution of those patriots, who compelled him to abandon the design of taking the capital of the east, vented his chagrin against his Christian subjects, by first prohibiting them the exercise of their religion, and soon afterward by commanding the renunciation of their faith, and the profession of ^NIo- hammedanism, upon pain of death. So circumstanced, it is not won- derful that the weak, the indilTerent, or the timid, should yield to the will of their intolerant masters. Christianity was in some places en- tirely extirpated ; but a few still maintained, with unshaken constancy, ilie religion of Christ at the hazard of their lives. In 714, the Sara- cens invaded Spain, and destroyed the empire of the Visigoths in that country, which had been established for upward of three hundred years. Their conquests e.Ktended to the maritime coasts of Gaul, and to the islands of Sicily and Sardinia : wherever they settled, these ferocious l)arbarians attempted to propagate the doctrines of Mohammed, and to abolish a religion so opposite to all their favourite principles. In Spain and Sardinia the (christians sufiered the most severe oppressions from the rigid laws which were enacted by their barbarous conquerors. The irruption and settlement of the Saracens in the south, the tierce and bloody coridicts of barbarous and pagan nations in the north, and the universal corru|)lion of religion, and decay of learning, exhibit a gloomy ])icture of tlic state of Europe during the eiglith century. — Amidst this wreck of virtue and excellence, the papal power attained during this century to an unexpected height ; and that alliance was formed between superstition and despotism, which many for succeeding ages proved the scourge of mankind. To trace these great events to their source it will hv necessary to direct our attention more particu- hfrly to the state of Italy, and to its connections with foreign powers. Ravenna, which, together with several other cities in Italy, was not in the power of the Lombards, but governed by an oflicer of the em- jjcror, who had the title of exarch, had, in the revolt against the edict mporal prosperity and eternal happiness, but by denunciations of inevitable damnation if he refused to comply. He preached not in vain. Pepin, whose ambition had made him regardless of the rights of his sovereign, was from the same prin- ciple obedient and grateful to that power which had secured the crown CeN'T. VIII.] HISTORy OF THE CHURCH. 165 to his posterity. He entered Italy with his army ; and, after several encounters, compelled the Lombard king to surrender the possession of all those territories whi(;h the Greek emperors had possessed in Italy, into the hands of the bishop of Rome. The grant of twenty-two cities" was the liberal demonstration of Pepin's gratitude to the pontifi', or it was the expiation by which he attempted to compensate for his perfidy . and treason. Pepin by this liberal grant secured a temporal princi- / pality to the successors of the poor and humble Peter. The alliance between the kiyg of the Franks and the pontiff of Rome was confirmed by mutual necessities, and strengthened by mutual obli- gations. In the pontificate of Adrian I. the restless and enterprising Lombards invaded the provinces which had been granted by Pepin to the pope. His son Charlemagne did not, however, permit them to resume their authority ; he asserted the rights of the Roman see ; and, cntcrmg with a j)owerful army into Italy, subdued the Lombards, as- sumed to himself the title of their king, and was crowned at Rome in the year 774. Additional donations to the pope, and a confirmation of the grants bestowed by his father, were the fruits of this additional extent of dominion to Charlemagne. Several cities and provinces were ceded by him to the Roman sec, under the specious pretext of atoning for his sins by tnunificence to the Church. But to the policy rather than to the piety of the monarch must his liberality be ascribed. Such indeed was his thirst of dominion that he is believed to have despatched an embassy to Constantinople, to propose a matrimonial union between himself and the ambitious Irene. This proposal, which might have accomplished the reunion of the eastern and western empires was coun- teracted by the intrigues of a favourite eunuch, and the spirit of the Grecian nobles : the infamous princess was confined first in a monas- tery, and afterward banished to the island of Lesbos, where the anguish of disappointed ambition shortened a life which was long since forfeited to justice by repeated crimes. Disappointed therefore in this project, Charlemagne secretly aspired after the title of emperor of the west ; and his magniiicent donations were intended to conciliate the affection of the pontiff, and to engage him in the promotion of his designs. Among the other gratifications to the pope, Charlemagne granted an injunction for introducing the Gregorian ofilce and mode of singing into the churches of France and Germany, in conformity with that of Rome. — Leo was not ungrateful for these favours: on Christmas day, in the year 800, he conferred upon his munificent and obedient patron the object of his ardent aspirations, and saluted him with the title of em- peror, in the church of St. Peter, at Rome, amid the acclamations of the Roman people. Leo was rewarded for his assistance by the grant of jurisdiction over the city of Rome and the adjacent territories, which were however subordinate to the supreme dominion of the west- ern emperor. Lntire agreement between Charlemagne and the Roman puntilV, in matters of failli, was not the bond bv which thev were united ; theirs was the political connection of mutual interest, not of religion. Charle- magne, by the advice; of tlie French prelates, who were no friends to the second council of Nice, had ordered a judicious divine to compose Four Buo/is coiicrniing /magrs, which refuted the absurd decrees of the Nicene assembly with judgment and with spirit. These books ho 166 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VIII. sent in 790 to the Roman pontiff, Adrian, who attempted to answer and refute the objections of Charlemagne. The prince, however, in 794, assembled a council, composed of three hundred bishops, at Frankfort, in which the important question concerning the worship due to images was agitated and examined. In this council, the opinions supported in the Four Books, of the lawfulness and expediency of placing pic- tures in churches, either as ornaments to the building, or as useful in refreshing the memory, was allowed, but the worship of them absolutely forbidden ; and, according to the testimony of Roger Hovedon, and other English writers, the British churches assented to this decision. The first idea of transubstantiation appears to have arisen during this century, though it was long before it was generally adopted, or be- fore it assumed the name. The Constantinopolitan fathers, in 754, among other things against images, having said that Christ had no otherwise left us an image of himself than in the eucharist : the Nicene .=K fathers, in 787, alleged in opposition that this was not the image of Christ, but his very body and blood ; which first assertion of this mon- strous absurdity, as well as many others, was made by the Iconolatrce , or worshippers of images. The investigation of the important question respecting images was not the sole difficulty by which the consciences of the Christians were distracted during this century. The Greeks reproached the Latin Church with having added the word Jilioquc to the Byzantine creed, and asserted that the Divine Spirit proceeded only from the Father ; while the Latins, on their part, affirmed that the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and the Son. In a council held in France, in 776, at which the ambassadors of the emperor assisted, the controversy was examined and agitated ; and the conduct of the Spanish and Gallic clergy, who had interpolated the word JiUoqiie into the creed of Con- stantinople, was severely arraigned. But the conference terminated in the usual mode. Each party continued inflexibly attached to the opinions they had embraced, and no alteration was obtained on either side. Many additional causes occurred to increase the mutual dislike of the contending patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople : nor was either party averse to any opportunity of exhibiting their respective pretensions and reciprocal antipatliy. Either convinced by the arguments, or obedient to the commands of their sovereign, the bishops of Constantinople had steadily opposed the decision of the Roman see respecting the worship of images ; their power and riches had been extended by the measures taken by the emperor to humble the haughty successors of St. Peter ; and the question respecting the procession of the Holy Spirit was a new source of rancour and contention between those rival brethren. Instances of the most flagitious conduct are to be found in the cha- racters of these respective bishops. Anastasius, the Byzantine patri- arch, who, upon the deposition of Germanus, and the manifestation of his attachment to tVic opinions of the Iconoclasts, had been raised to the vacant see, had the audacious villany, in the ensuing reign, in order to support the claims of a usurper to the throne, to calumniate the emperor as a believer in the simple lumiaiiity of Christ, and to confirm his testimony by swearing on the wood of the cross which he held in his hand. This atrocious conduct was resented by the emperor ; he Cent. VIII.] history of the church. 167 ordered the prelate to be publicly scourged, and to be carried through the city mounted upon an ass, with his face to the tail; but he added not to his ignominy the deserved mortification of a deprivation from the see. {Theoph. ad Ann. Const. 1.) The conduct of Zachary, in relation to Pepin's claim to the kingdom of France, was scarcely less atrocious than that of Anastasius. Indeed, whatever vices have disgraced the annals of mankind, are to be found among these degenerate and cor- rupted ecclesiastics. Compulsion and artifice were continually em- ployed to procure the possession of the see of Rome. In 767, Con- stantine, of a noble family, obtained possession of the papacy ; and, after his accession to the pontificate, was ordained sub-deacon, deacon, and bishop, in order to enable him to retain the seat he had usurped. Great commotions were the consequences of this attempt ; an armed force from the king of the Lombards subdued Constantine, and com- pelled him to retire ; and he received afterward, from his successor, the reward of his violence, by a cruel and premature death. ^ The name of Charlemagne, whose ambition and policy so consi-\ derably augmented the revenues of the Church, makes a conspicuous figure in the annals of ecclesiastical history. Nor were these acces- sions the only advantages derived to the Christian world from the zeal of this monarch. No less from the political motive of subduing them under his power, than from the desire of propagating religion, he abo- lished the idolatrous worship of the Saxons, destroyed the temples of their gods, and, more indeed by compulsion than by argument, induced them to a nominal profession of Christianity. His aversion to superstition was ardent and sincere, though it was sometimes sacrificed to motives of policy ; and his veneration for the sacred writings was unafTocted. Every encouragement was extended by him for the promotion of literature, and of that branch in particular ■which relates to the illustration of Scripture. In his capitularies he imposed several salutary restraints on the monastic orders ; he reformed the ritual of the Latin Church, and ordered it to be received in all the churches of his dominions. That his attempts to restore the know- ledge of true religion, and to animate his subjects to the vigorous ex- ertions of genius, should not be successful, will not excite our asto- nishment, if we consider the state of society at that period. It is greatly to his honour to have made the attempt, and by apparently the most judicious means. Schools contiguous to the principal churches and monasteries were erected by his command, for the instruction of youth in religion and learning. Every encouragement was offered, both by the example and munificence of the emperor, to the exertions of ge- nius ; and no measure was left unessayed to civilize the savage man- ners of the age, to restore Christianity, and to revive the decayed in- terests of literature. 168 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VIII. CHAPTER II. OF GOVERNMENT, DOCTRINE, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. ' Nature and limits of the papal authority — National councils — Increase of monkery — Rites and customs of paganism transferred to Christianity — Reverence paid to tiie bishop of Rome; — Military bishops — Images and donations — New rites_of communion — Rites re- s;pectiiig the tonsure of children — Marriage. From the review of the councils held tluring the eighth century, one might, on a cursory view, be tempted to conceive that the remedies ap- plied to the increasing evils had been efficacious, and that additional restraints WQre altogether unnecessary. Corruption and profligacy, however, had so far invaded all ranks of society that few were either qualified or disposed to stem the torrent of iniquity and folly. The eastern emperors, and the clergy of the whole Christian world, were occupied by the contest concerning images. In France, Charles Mar- tel applied the revenues of the Church to the support of the state ; and Spain, oppressed by the victorious arms of the Saracens, was not in a condition to offer her assistance. Some canons, for the better regula- tion of the church and the reformation of the clergy, were made in the great council of Nice, and in the lesser councils of Italy, France, and England. These assemblies were all under the supreme dominion of the emperors or kings. The eastern potentates, as long as they re- tained their Italian dominions, regularly confirmed the election of the Roman pontift'; they assumed the right not only of interfering, but of deciding in controversies of a merely religious nature, which was a privilege unclaimed by the emperor of the west. The power of the Roman bishop was still however confined within prescribed limits. He could determine nothing material by his sole authority ; the bishops of proAdnces under his jurisdiction frequently voted in direct opposition to him. The emperor claimed the sole right of convening and presiding in councils ; he occasionally inspected all the afl'airs of the Church, and enacted regulations respecting the morals and conduct of the clergy ; and from the monasteries and churches he derived a revenue propor- tioned to their possessions. Under the Gothic princes of Spain the national councils were com- posed of the bishops and the principal abbots, who, while they agitated the important questions of ecclesiastical discipline and doctrine, ex- cluded tlie laity from their debates. This business concluded, the great men of the kingdom were admitted into their assemblies, and their de- crees were ratified by the consent of the people. Under the dominion of the kings of the second race in France, and in some parts of Eng- land, practices somewhat similar prevailed. The nobles took their place in the assembly along with the clergy ; civil as well as ecclesi- astical business engaged the attention of the assembly ; the bishops composed articles for the internal policy of the Church, and the nobles for the prosperity of the state, which were ratified by the sovereign, and obtained the names of chapters or capitularies. Accessions of power and opulence were not confined to the rapa- Cent. VIII.] historv of the church. . 169 cious see of Rome, but immense riches flowed in various channels into the treasuries of the monasteries and of the churches. A num- ber of convents were founiled, and richly endowed ; and the revenues" of tlie secular clergy were augmented by the superstitious opinion that the punishments annexed by God to the commission of sin were to be averted by liberal donations to the Church. This opinion, whichjj^ during succeeding ages, drew continual supplies of wealth into the ecclesiastical cofl'ers, aflbrded in tliis century a pretext for the liberality of princes to the Church. Provinces, cities, and fortresses were added to its possessions ; and the monks and superior clergy were invested with the appendages and prerogative of sovereign princes. In the granting of these investitures we must however, look beyond the avowed motive. Policy was thought to require the attachment of a body of men whose influence was acknowledged by all ; whose sa- cred characters, and spiritual powers were found of the utmost efficacy in restraining the rebellions and turbulent spirit of the nobles ; and whose gratitude and services might be secured by ample and liberal donations. The influence of the clergy was indeed rendered enormous by the authority which was attributed to their censures. The thun- ders of excommunication rolled over the head of the impious ofl'ender against the authority of the Church ; and all ranks and degrees trem- bled at the execution of a sentence which deprived tliem not only of their privileges as citizens, but of their rights as men. The powers of the Romish Church, in particular, were extended by the success of the missionaries of Germany, who bent tlie necks of that fierce and barbarous people to their spiritual yoke. The hereditary prejudices of the barbarians were, indeed, a fruitful source of the power acquired by the Roman see ; and it is to their influence we must ascribe the superior advantages obtained by the western clergy over their brethren of the east. The priests of paganism had obtained an entire ascendency over the minds of an ignorant and superstitious people ; every civil and military transaction was regulated by their counsels and authority ; and even the domestic transactions of these barbarians were directed by the advice of tlie ministers of religion. By a very natural and easy transition the powers which had been enjoyed by the pagan priesthood were acknowledged in the ministers of Christ ; the haughty barba- rians, who had spurned at and subverted the civil authority, fell pros- trate at the feet of either their vanquished or concjuering enemies who were dignified with the episcopal character ; and, on the other hand, it must be confessed that the Romish clergy were not at all averse to receiving every advantage which might be derived from the superstition and ignorance of this people. They readily accepted the honours paid them by the barbarous nations ; and the Roman bisliop founded his claim as successor to the sovereign pontiff, and to the high priest of the druids, upon pretended authorities drawn from the sacred oracles of God. The reverence with which the bishops of the Roman see were occasionally addressed, exceeded the measure of adulation commonly ^ paid even to royalty. The custom of kissing the feet of the pope, upon(^ his accession to the papacy, was quite established in the eighth century, though for some succeeding ages it was practised upon that occasion only. This custom was derived, in connnon with various other honours, from the sovereign pontifl", to whose privileges the bishop of 170 HISTORY OF THE CHURCU. [CeNT. VIII. Rome had succeeded. Tt li;id l)een introduced by the emperor and ^ pontid" Caligula; prohaldv in part to obtain one mark of adoration which had never been j)aid to his predecessors ; and partly through the absurd vanity of exhibiting his niagnilicent slipper of gold, enriched with precious stones. The introduction of the clergy into military offices was a circum- stance not very favourable to their piety or virtue. John, the deacon of the great church at Constantinople, was created admiral of the im- perial fleet against the Saracens ; and lost his life in a mutiny, the effect of his imprudent severity against the refractory mariners. The troops of Naples were commanded by a sub-deacon ; and the different func- tions of bishop and soldier were executed by Gevilieb, bishop of nVIentz. This exemplary churchman directed a challenge in the most violent terms to another warlike bishop, whom he accused of killing his father ; nor was the death of his antagonist considered as the smallest impediment to the discharge of his sacred function. *" In the second council of Nice regulations were adopted for prevent- ing in some degree the increasing ignorance of the clergy, by the canon which commanded an examination of the candidate for a bishop- ric, by interrogating him concerning his acquaintance with the liturgy, the gospels, and epistles, and the decrees of councils ; and some re- straint was put upon their private avarice, by a prohibition to the bishops or abbots to dispose of the goods of their churches or mo- nasteries. Ignorance is the true and genuine parent of vice ; and in an age so imfavourable to knowledge and virtue, we must not expect to find even the clergy exempt from that depravity which contaminated all classes of society. Luxury pervaded the sacerdotal order ; and the flagitious conduct of the priests and monks called for repeated restrictions. In the council of Frankfort, abbots were prohibited from inflicting severe punishments on the offending monks ; and from the shocking cruelty of putting out the eyes, or cutting off the limbs, of their inferior bre- thren, whatever might be their offence. The reformation of the clergy, from the deplorable errors and misconduct by which they were dis- graced, was an object with several of the bishops, who were shocked at the licentiousness and vice of some of that order. For this purpose, Chrodegandus, bishop of Metz, established the institution of canons, or ecclesiastics, who, without adopting the monastic habits or method of life, should dwell together, and eat at one common table ; and should assemble at appointed hours for the celebration of Divine service. — This order was intended to prevent the vices of the clergy, by remov- ing them from mean and temporal pursuits ; they were, however, dis- tinguished from the monks by not being confined, in the performance of their ecclesiastical functions, to the walls of their monasteries, but were allowed to discharge the clerical duties in diflerent churches committed to their care. The western nations adopted this new order with celerity : and numerous monasteries were erected for this purpose in Italy, Germany, and Franco. The worship of images, and the efficacy of donations to the church for the remission of sins, were the reigning tenets of the present age. They had been inculcated at a previous period, and had been increasing for some time in their extent and reputation. False as the foundations for those opinions were, they Cent. VIII.] history of the church. 171 were not farther removed from the truth than many other doctrines which disgrace and disfigure the annals of this centur)'. Religion was inter- mixed with absurdity, and truth and falsehood so blended that it re- quired more than common abilities to separate the useful and excellent from the mass of error. In the course of the preceding pages, several instances of attempts to regulate and improve the discipline and ceremonies of the Church have been occasionally noticed. In the administration of the Lord's Supper new riles were introduced, and new regulations took place. A superstitious regard for the elements had lessened the number of com- municants in this peculiarly Christian ordinance ; but the oblations were too important to sufler the clergy quietly to acquiesce in this de- fection. They contrived therefore a means for continuing these, but without improving in any degree the sentiments of tlie people, whom they persuaded that, provided they continued the oblations, the service would still be useful to them. Instead of a real communion with the bread and wine, they were therefore presented with a substitute of a much less awful nature, bread over which solemn prayer had been made, and to which they gave the name of hallowed bread. Those who, after partaking of the regenerating waters of baptism, had relapsed into sin, were persuaded that they might regain the purity they had forfeited by their iniquities, by the assumption of the monastic habit, which contained all the virtues of a second baptism. In conse- quence of this belief, and the increasing veneration for monastic institu- tions, several monarchs assumed the habits of monks; and, in the short period of little more than two centuries, thirty English kings or queens resigned the splendours of royalty for the retirement of a cloister. The sfuperstitious and indolent Christian committed the welfare of his own soul, and that of his departed friends, to the care of an avaricious monk or priest, who performed, or who affected to perform, in private, those prayers which were to relieve the sufl'erings of souls detained in purga- tory, and to ensure other blessings to his liberal employer. During the long dominion of heathenism, superstition had entirely exhausted her talents for invention ; so that, when the same spirit pervaded Chris- tianity, its professors were necessarily compelled to adopt the practices of their predecessors, and to imitate their idolatry. Among the other superstitious observances derived from this source, were the ceremonies made use of in cutting the hair of children. It had been usual not to cut the hair of a child till it had attained a cer- tain age ; and the person to whom the hair was sent was considered as acquiring, by that means, a near degree of relationship to the child. — 'I'lie pagans usually appropriated the first cuttings of the hair of their mfanls as an oiVering to some of their divinities. This pagan rite was, with numberless others, adopted by the Christians ; and the Ordo Ro- riianus contains several prayers which were anciently repeated upon that occasion, and are called Oral tones ad tonsurandum pucrum. It has already been observed that marriages were solenmized by the clergy, at a very early period, in the Christian world, 'i'he imperial laws declared, howt'vcr, the legality of those matrimonial contracts which were not solenuHzed by the benediction of the clergy ; and, from various reasons, the primitive mode of marrying was considcrablv ncLilected. JSome of the zealous emperors, who were disposed to reform the abuses which 172 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VIII had been practised ia the Church, considered this as a culpable devia- tion from the primitive mode. In the year 780, it was enacted by Charlemagne that no marriage should be celebrated in any other way than by a benediction, with sacerdotal prayers and oblations. About the year 900, Leo the philosopher, the eastern emperor, revived the same practice in the churches within his jurisdiction, which has con- tinued ever since that period. CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. Albancnses — Etlinophrones — Opinions concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. The great controversy respecting images so fully occupied the at- tention of the Christian world, as to afford little leisure, whatever might have been their inclination, to attend to many other speculations. The sectaries of this period were even fewer than those of the preceding century, and continued but for a short time to interrupt the unity of the Church. The Albancnses, who derived their appellation from the residence of their founder, are said to have revived the Gnostic and Manichean doctrine of two principles. They denied not only the Divinity, but even the humanity of Jesus Christ ; and asserted that he neither suffered, rose from the grave, nor ascended into heaven. This sect entirely rejected the doctrine of the resurrection ; affirmed that the general judgment was already accomplished, that the torments of the damned consisted only in the evils of the present state, that free-will was not given to man, and that there was no such thing as original sin. To these tenets they added the practice of administering baptism only to adults ; and affirmed farther the unlawfulness of oaths, and that a man can impart to himself a portion of the Holy Spirit. The Ethnophrones (Paganizers) professed Christianity, but at the same time associated every practice of the heathen world with the pro- fession of opinions diametrically opposite to them. In conformity to this absurd system, they practised judicial astrology, every species of divination, and carefully observed all the feasts and ceremonies of paganism. Toward the close of this century some opinions were propagated in Spain, which occasioned considerable disturbance. Felix, bishop of Urgel in Catalonia, was consulted by Elipand, the archbishop of Toledo, concerning the sense in which Jesus Christ was to be called the Son of God ; and whether as a man he ought to be considered as the adopted or natural Son of the Father. The reply given by Felix was accepta- ble to the archI)i.shop — that Jesus Christ, according to his human nature could only hi; considered as the Son of God by adoption, and a nominal son. This decision, which was propagated by the two Spanish prelates, was extremely offensive to the greater part of the Church. — The censures of .several councils induced the timid Felix to make a retractation of his opinions, which however he never sincerely abjured. Cent. VIII.] historv of the church. 173 but closed his life with a firm conviction of their truth. The dominion of the Saracens proved more favourable to Elipand, who with impu- nity enjoyed under their jurisdiction the profession of his religious sen- timents. CHAPTER IV OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE EIGHTH CENTURY. Universal ignnrancc — John Detnascenus — Tlieodulphus — Bartholomew — Ethcrius — Paulinus — Expositors of Scripture — Alcuin — Ambrose Authcrt — Homilies — Paul the dea- con — The Venerable Bede — Byzantine historians — Excellence of the British fathers and missionaries — Boniface — Vigilius, &c. Persecuted, and almost expelled, by the tumults and desolations of the eastern empire, annoyed by the factions and contentions of the west, in every part opposed by increasing superstition and ignorance, the only refuge which was left for oppressed science was in the retreats of monasteries, whence she seldom dawned upon a beniglited world. Even the controversies which agitated the passions, and darkened the understandings of the Christians of this period, were discussed in wri- ting by few, if their compositions are compared with the bulky volumes of preceding ages. Those of the Greeks, who were engaged in the great controversy concerning images, obscured and weakened their arguments by logical subtleties : nor were the Latins more successful in the dispute concerning the person of Christ. The veneration for images was strenuously supported ; and the sectaries in general were vigorously attacked by John Demascenus, the most distinguished Greek author of this ccnlury, who withdrew from the secular and honourable station of counsellor of state, to the retirement of a cloister ; and whose adoption of the Aristotelian subtleties, and elucidation of the doc- trines of its great master, considerably increased the reputation of that ])hilosophy. Under the title of Four Books concerning the Orthodox Faith, John Demascenus exhibited a complete sununary of the doctrines of the Church, which obtained the highest reputation among the Greeks. The doctrine of the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, was insisted upon by Tlieodulphus, bishop of Orleans, who farther distinguished himself as the author of a treatise upon baptism, and several poems. A refutation of the Koran was writtcMi by Bartho- lomew, a monk of Rdcssa, in Syria ; and the errors of Feli.x of Urgel, and of tlie .\r(;hbisliop Elipand, were attacked by Etherius, a Spanish priest, and by Paulinus, bishop of Aquileia. Among the expositors of the sacred writings, we shall discover few marks of genius or originality. The prevalent opinions, concerning the faithfuhiess and excellence of the ancient conunentators, were unfavourable to the exertions of reason and criticism ; since the divines of tills age, in consequence of this sentiment, conceived they perfectly fullilK'd their duly in retailing the observations made by their pre- decessors. The erudition and ingenuity of John Demascenus were not suHicient to elevate him above this prejudice; he satisfied himself with exhibiting a commentary on St. Paul's epistles, extracted from the works of Chrysoslom. The en^couragement aflorded by Charlentagne 174 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. VIIL to the elucidation of the sacred writings was not so favourable to tbeiii as it might have been, had not the ignorance of the age induced both the monarch and his expositors to fanciful and useless inferences, rather than to solid and practical illustrations. The Anglo-Saxon his- torian styled by way of eminence Venerable Bede, is among the most celebrated expositors of Scripture in this century. Alcuin also, an Englishman, the preceptor and friend of Charlemagne, wrote a com- mentary on St. John ; and Ambrose Authert, who attempted an expla- nation of the Revelations, obtained a distinguished rank among the sacred critics of this period. Homilies upon the epistles and gospels were compiled by the command of Charlemagne, which the priests were required to commit to memory, and to recite to the people. Alcuin, and Paul the deacon, had the principal share in these performances : others, however, produced similar compilations, the taste for which greatly increased toward the conclusion of this century. The moral writers of this period are iow in number, and very defect- ive in excellence. Virtue was indeed recommended by the powerful argument of example ; but it was the example of preceding ages, the piety and morality of departed saints, which was exhibited as a model to their descendants. It must indeed be confessed, that their actions were sometimes rather the result of fanaticism than of piety ; and their example, in some respects, much more calculated to incite men to ab- surdity than to real excellence. Paul the deacon, hi his History of the Lombards, must be distinguished in a rank superior to the historians and biographers of the saints. Nor must the labours of Bede be for- gotten : both civil and ecclesiastical affairs occupied his time and atten- tion ; and the venerable abbot of Farrow has given to the world an Ecclesiastical History, which, though in some res-pects chargeable with great credulity, is esteemed a faithful account of the transactions which took place during the period in which he wrote. The chronology of Bede is regidated by the Hebrew Bible ; and he is distinguished as the first writer who rejected the chronology of the Septuagint. The au- thors of the Byzantine histories, George Syncella and Theophanes, are deserving of attention. If in this season of ignorance science might be said to exist, her principal residence must be certainly placed in Great Britain or Ireland. The preceptor of Charlemagne was a Briton ; and his court derived its most distinguished literary ornaments from this source. Their supe- rior desire for the promotion of knowledge was proportioned to their superior attainments ; and France, Italy, and Germany bear witness to their accomplishments, and to their zeal in the cultivation of scholastic theoloiry. Many British missionaries, fraught with religious knowledge, and influenced by a pious desire of imparting to their pagan neighbours the advantages they possessed, despising the difficulties of their way, and the dangers which awaited their arrival, crossed the ocean, and penetrated into the gloomy recesses of the (icrman forests, for the in- struction of that fierce and uncivilized people. One of the most eminent missionaries of the eighth century was Wilfrid, a Benedictine monk, who was descended from an illustrious British family, and whose vigorous and successful labours entitled him to the appellation of the apostle of the (-lermans. That Wilfrid endea- voured to accomplish the object of his mission by violence and strata- Cent. VIII.] history of thk church. 175 gem ; that he consulted the canons of the Romish Church rather than th'e dictates of the Gospel ; and that ho was more solicitous to advance the interests of the papacy than the knowledge of true religion, cannot be denied. The German apostle was subtle, insinuating, and haughty ; but liis contempt of danger, his zeal, and his abilities, have justly en- titled him to the notice of posterity. Repulsed in his lirst attempt to influence the minds of that furious and ignorant people, he redoubled his efforts to propagate the faith. With unwearied zeal, and j)erse- vering diligence, he addressed his arguments both to the reason and to the passions of his auditors. His zeal for the authority of the pope, (whose supremacy was by his means afterward lirst acknowledged in a council, convened by his archiepiscopal authority, at Mentz,) was honoured by the highest approbation of the Roman ponti fi", who conse- crated him a bishop, and gave him the name of Boniface ; he was dis- tinguished also by the patronage and assistance of Charles Martel. Monasteries and churches were erected, by the assiduity of Boniface and his pious associates, on the ruins of the heathen temples, and con- secrated groves of paganism. In the course of his ministerial labours he was engaged in a warm dispute with his disciple Vigilius, upon the validity of baptism which had been performed by a priest, who, ignorant of the Latin language, (which Boniface had introduced into the ritual of the German Church,) had made a small mistake in the words of that ordinance. The Roman pontiff espoused the cause of the validity, and of Vigilius ; and Boniface was determined upon revenge. This he effected by attacking the opinions of his disciple, who had heretically asserted the globular figure of the earth, and the existence of antipodes. The apostle, who, unlike his predecessor, was far from being possessed of all knowledge, could not comprehend this new system ; and con- cluded that Vigilius, by his strange assertions, could only mean that a world existed under this, inhabited by other men, and illuminated by other planets. In consequence of this idea, he accused Vigilius of the heresy of asserting a plurality of worlds ; and Zachary, the pontiff, who conceived the proposition equivalent to a declaration that all men were not descended from Adam, nor involved in his guilt, and conse- • luently that Christ had not died for all, was extremely alarmed at a doctrine which he regarded as totally repugnant to Scripture; he there- fore ordered Boniface to convene a council, in which, if the heretic refused to abjure his errors, he was to be degraded and lopped off, as a rotten member, from the body of the faithful. The event of these inqui- ries is uncertain ; but as Vigilius was afterward preferred to the see of Salzburgh, and is honoured as a saint, it is probable that he exculpated himself from the suspicion of heresy. [Bon-cr\s History of the Popes, iii, '.]'3S.) Favoured by princes and by popes, Boniface, in addition to the archiepiscopal see of Mentz, received the farther honour of being cr(!ated primate of Belgium and Germany. A tranquil death was not, however, tlie termination of a life devoted to the most active, though frequiMUly injudiciims exertions in the cause of Christianity. After forty ytiars spent in his laborious mission, the apostle of (Germany, with fifty ecclesiastics, his companions and friends, were, on their re- turn into I'ViesIand, inhumanly murdered by the inhabitants of that barbarous country. Besides his Lives of the Saints, Boniface composed some sermons and letters. 176 HISTORY OF THE CHUKCH. [CeNT. IX. THE NINTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Conversion of Jutland — Of part of Sweden — Of Sclavoni.i — Of Russia — Mr. Gibbon's sentiments conccrnini these conversions — Saracens conquer Sicily, &c. — Incursions of northern barbarians — State of the Cliurch and clergj" — Injudicious distribution of pre- ferments — Manner of electing popes — Pope Joan — Donations of Lewis the Meek — Dissensions in the Carlovingian family — 'Increase of the papal power from this and other circumstances — Forgery of the Decretals, &c. — Increase of Monkcrj- — Revival of the Iconoclastic controversy — Council at Constantinople — Progress of image worship iu tlie west — Final schism between the Greek and Latin Churches. The spirit of Christianity is but little consonant witli the warlike spirit of the ninth century; however, therefore, we may commend the intentions of the illustrious son of Pepin, the means which he employed cannot meet our approbation. A large portion of his life was dedicated to the glorious purpose of establishing the religion of Jesus among the Huns, the Saxons, Frieslanders, and other unenlightened nations : but his piety was blended with violence, and his spiritual conquests \verc gene- rally achieved by the force of arms. His son Lewis, undeservedly surnamed the Meek, inherited the defects of his father without his vir- tues ; and was his equal in violence and cruelty, but greatly his inferior in all valuable accomplishments. Under his reign a very favourable opportunity was ofl'ered of propagating the Gospel among tlie northern ■nations, and particularly among the inhabitants of Sweden and Den- mark. A petty king of Jutland, named Harald Klack, being expelled from both his kingdom and country in the year 826, by Rcgncr Lod- brock, threw himself at the emperor's feet, and implored his succour against the usurper. Lewis granted his request ; and promised the exiled prince his protection and assistance, on condition that he would embrace Christianity, and admit the ministers of that religion to preach in his dominions. Harald submitted to these conditions ; was baptized with his brother at Mentz, in 826 : and returned into his country at- tended by two eminent divines, Ansgar or Anschaire, and Authbert ; the former a monk of Corbey, in Westphalia, and the latter belonging to a monastery of the same name in France. These venerable mis- sionaries preached the Gospel with remarka!)le success, during the space of two years, to the inhabitants of Cimbria and Jutland. After the death of his learned and i)ious companion Authbert, the zealous and indefatigable Ansgar made a voyage to Sweden, in 828, where his ministerial labours were crowned with distinguished success. On his return into Germany, in 831, he was decorated by Lewis the Meek with ecclesiastical honours ; he was createtJ archbishop of the Cent. IX.] history of the church. 177 new church at Hamburgh, and of the whole north, to which dignit}- the superintendence of the church of Bremen was afterward annexed in the year 844. {Mosheim.) Under the rei ecclesiastical forms and civil jurisdiction of the Greeks. This prCT- posal was received with admiration and joy; and was answered hy a. suitable ardour and zeal for the conversion of a people which soemed so iufjenuously disposed to embrace the truth: a competent ramb&r of Grecian divines was accordingly deputed to instruct them irii the knowledge of the Gospel, and to admit them by baptism into the Chris- tian Church. (MosJiri/n.) 'i'he warlike nation of the Russians, liaving entered into a treaty of peace with Basilius, were engaged,, by various presents and ])romises, to profess the truths of Chrisliaitity ; in conse- quence of which they not only received the ministoi-s who- v/ere ap- pointed to instruct them, but an archbishop, whom the Grecian patri- arch, Ignatius, had sent among them, to perfect their conversion and establish their church. [Constanfinus Porph. Vita Basilii Macedotiis, s. 96, p. 157.) Such was the commencement of Christianity among the Russians, who were irdiabitants of the Ukraine ; and who, a short time before- their conversion, fitted out a formidable fleet, and, sotting sail from Kiovia for Constantinople, spread terror and disirvay throughout the whole empire. " Truth and candour,"' says an author, (^Ti>\ GiMon,) by no means too favourably disposed to Christianity, " nnist acksowlcdge that the conversion of the north imparled many temporal Ixniefris both to thej old and new Christians. The rage of war, inherent to the human spe- cies, could not be healed by the evangelic precepts of charity and peace ; and the ambition of Catholic princes has i^enewed in every age the calamities of hostile contention. But the admission of the barba- rians into the pale of civil and ecclesiastical society delivered Europe from the depredations, by sea and land, of the Normans, the Hunga- rians, and the Russians, wlio learned to spare their brethren, and culti vate their possessions. The establishment of law and order was pro- moted by the inlluence of the clergy ; and the r\idimcn[s of art and science were introduced into the savage countries of the globo. 'J'he liberal piety of tlie Rus-;ian princes engaged in their service the mast skilful of the Greeks, to decorate their cities, and instruct the inhabj!- ants : the dome and the )>ajntings of 8t. Sophia were rudely copied in the churches of Kiow and Xovogorml ; the writings of the fatliers were translated into tlio Sclavonic idiom ; and three hundred noble youths were invited or compelled to attend the lessons of the college of JarosIaUH." The Saracen:? had extended their usurpiitions with amaxing success. Lords of .Asia, a few provinces excepted, their e(»ni|;:ests reached to the extremities of India, and the greater part of Africa. Kver disposeil to enterprise, and allured hy the fertility of the opposite shores, they willingly listened to the invitation of Count Julian, who, di-;j)lcased with his sovereign, olTered to introduce the Saracens into the heart of 12 178 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IX. Spain ; and tliis counlry, which during two hundred years resisted the arms of Rome, was in a few months subdued by the followers of Mo- hammed. Oete, Sardinia, and Corsica, were added to their con- quests, and in 827 Sicily submitted to the faith and jurisdiction of her Arabian conquerors. These conquests were the precursors of an attempt upon Rome : the barbarians penetrated to the walls of the city, and their divisions (Gibbon, chap. 52,) alone preserved from sub- jugation the ancient mistress of the west. The distress of the Ro- mans was increased by the death of their pontiff, Sergius II. In liis successor they, however, found a chief titled for the employments both of the cabinet and ihe field ; and, under Leo IV., the Saracens were repulsed from the shores of the Tiber. It may be easily conceived that the unprecedented prosperity of a nation accustomed to bloodshed and rapine, and which beheld the Christians with the utmost aversion, must have been extremely injurious to the progress of the Gospel, and to the tranquillity of the Church. In the east a prodigious number of Christian families embraced the religion of their conquerors, that they might be suffered to continue in the peaceful enjoyment of their pos- sessions. Many, indeed, refused a compliance so criminal, and with pious magnanimity adhered to their principles in the face of persecu- tion : such were, however, gradually reduced to extreme . misery, and not only despoiled of their possessions and advantages, but ir. time were so entirely debased by the yoke of oppression, as to sink by de- grees into the grossest ignorance, and to lose every vestige of Chris- tianity except the mere name, and a few external rites and ceremonies. The European Saracens, particularly those who were settled in Spain, were less intolerant, and seemed to have lost the greater part of their native ferocity. It must, however, be confessed, that this mild and tolerating conduct of the Saracens was not without several exceptions of cruelty. The European Christians experienced the most severe sufferings from the insatiable fury of the barbarous hordes which issued from the northern provinces. The Normans, under which general term are comprehended the Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes, whose habitations lay along the coasts of the Baltic Sea, were a people accustomed to carnage and rapine. Their petty kings and chiefs, who subsisted by piracy and plunder, had, during the reign of Charlemagne, infested with their fleets the coasts of the German Ocean ; but were restrained by the opposition th(>y met with from the vigilance and activity of that prince. In this century, however, they became more bold and enter- prising ; made frequent irruptions into Germany, Britain, Friesland, and Gaul ; and carried along with them, wherever they went, fire and sword, desolation and horror. The impetuous fury of these barba- rians not only spread desolation through the Spanish provinces, but even penetrated into the heart of Italy. In the year 857, they sacked and pillaged several cities of that region. The ancient records of the Franks abound with the most dismal accounts of their horrid exploits. The first intention of these invaders extended only to plunder : but, charmed at length with the beauty and fertility of the provinces which they were so cruelly depopulating, they began to form settlements in them. Too feeble, or too much occupied bv other views, the Euro- 12* Cent. IX.] historv of the church. 179 pean princes were not in a condition to oppose their usurpations : on the contrary, Charles the Bald was obliged, in the year 850, to resign a considerable part of his dominions to this powerful banditti ; and a few years after, under the reign of Charles the Gross, emperor and king of France, the famous Norman chief, Godofred, entered with an army into Friesland, and obstinately refused to sheath his sword before lie was master of the whole province. Such, however, of the Normans as settled among the Christians, contracted a gentler turn of mind, and gradiiallv departed from their primitive ferocity. Their marriages with the Christians contributed, no doubt, to their civilization, and engaged them to abandon the superstition of their ancestors with more facility, and to embrace the Gospel with more readiness. Thus the haujjhty conqueror of Friesland was induced to profess the Christian religion, after he had received in marriage, from Charles the Gross, Gisela, the daufjhter of the younger Lothaire. The hcentiousness of the clerg)' increased at this period, and parti- cularly in those parts where the people still retained any share in the elections. In the east, tunnilt, discord, conspiracies, and treasons reigned uncontrolled, and all things were carried by violence. In the western provinces, the bishops and clergy were become extremely vo- hiptuous and efleminate. The ignorance of the sacerdotal order was in many places so deplorable that few of them could write or even read, and still fewer were capable of expressing their erroneous opi- nions in religion with any degree of method or perspicuity : hence it happened that when any aflair of consequence was to be committed to writing, they had commonly recourse to some person who was sup- po'^ed to be endowed with superior abilities. jMany other circumstances concurred, particularly in the European nations, to produce and augment these evils. Among these we may account the calamities of the times, the sanguinary and perpetual wars which wore carried on between Lewis the Meek and his family, the incursions and conquests of the barbarous nations, the gross and incre- dible ignorance of the nobility, and the affluence and riches that from every quarter flowed in upon the churches and relif!;ious seminaries. Nor were other motives wanted to dishonour the Church by introducing into it a corrupt ministry. \ nobleman, who, from a deliciency of ta- lents, activit}-, or courage, was rendered incapable of appearing with dignity in the cabinet, or with honour in the field, immediately directed liis views toward the Church, aimed at a distinguished place among its chiefs and rulers, and became, in consequence, a contagious example of stupidity and vice to the inferior clergy. Those patrons of churches, who possessed the right of election, unwilling to submit their disor- derly conduct to the keen censure of zealous and upright pastors, com- monly committed to the most abj(>et. ignorant, and worthless ecclesi- astics the cnre of souls. Besides all this, it frequently happened that princes, to satisfy the rapacity of their soldiers and domestics, boldly invaded tlie possessions of the Church, whieh they distributed amont' their armies ; and in consequence of this the priests and monks, in order to avoid perishing through hunger, abandoned themselves to the practice of violeuee, fraud, and every species of crime, which they considered as the only means that remained of procuring themselven !i Hubsistence. 180 HISTOKV OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. IX. The Roman pontiffs were raised to that high dignity Iiy the suffrages of the sacerdotal order, accoinpanied with the voice of tlie people ; but, after their election, the approbation of the emperor was necessary to their, consecration. There is, indeed, yet extant an edict supposed to have been published in the year 817, by Lewis the INIeek, in which he abolishes this imperial right, and grants to tlie Romans not only the power of electing their pontiff, but also the privilege of instaUing and consecrating him when elected, without waiting for the emperor's con- sent. But this grant will deceive none who examine the affair witli any degree of attention and diligence, since several of the learned have proved it s])urious by the most irresistible arguments. It must, however, be confessed that, after the time of Charles the Uald, a nev,- scene was exhibited, and the important change above mentioned was really introduced. That prince having obtained the imperial dignity by the good offices of the bishop of Rome, returned this eminent ser- vice by exonerating the succeeding pontiffs from the obligation of waiting for the consent of the emperors, in order to their being in- stalled in office. Thus, from the time of Eugenius III., who was raised to the pontificate in 884, the election was carried on without the least regard to law, order, or even decency, and was generally at- tended with civil tumults and dissensions, until the reign of Otho the Great, who put a stop to these disorderly proceedings. The principle of aggrandizing the Roman see, which had almost in- variably governed the conduct of the popes, was not likely to be dimi- nished at a period when they tasted the sweets of uncontrolled power. To render it the more permanent, they attempted to discard the au- thority of the king of France, from whom so large a portion of their temporal power was derived. Notwithstanding their increased domi- nion, the pontiffs of this century were, however, little distinguished by any eminent qualities ; and to attempt to detail their history would be ^o amuse the reader with a catalogue of names. Between the reigns [of Leo IV. and Benedict 111., a female pope has been introduced. This extraordinary or imaginary person is still characterized by the popular I name of Pope Joan, but the papal title which is assigned to her is that [of John VIII. Slic is reported to have been a native of Germany, and early to have conceived a strong attachment to literature and sci- ence. With a view of gratifying without restraint this favourite pro- pensity, she is said to have assumed the hal)it of a man, and to have .' studied at Athens. From Athens she proceeded to Rome, where her ^v eloquence, learning, and popular manners, commanded the admiration \ of all who heard lier in the public disputations of the schools. By ' derived its origin, because it is not at all credible, from anv principles of moral evidence, thai an event should be believed and related in the --ame manner by a multitude of hisionans, during tive centuries immediately succeeding its supposed date, if that event had been destitute of all foundation." {Ecd. Hist, new edition, in two volumes, vol. i, page 215.) ^" 182 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. IX. with a favourable opportunity of assuming to themselves the right of nominating to the imperial throne, and of excluding from all part in this election the nations who had formerly the right of suflrage ; and if the opportunity was favourable, it was seized with avidity, and im- proved with the utmost dexterity and zeal. Their favour and interest were earnestly solicited by Charles the Bald, whose entreaties were rendered effectual by rich presents, prodigious sums of money, and most pompous promises ; in consequence of which he was proclaimed emperor in 87G, by the pontiff, John VIII., and by the Italian princes assembled at Pavia. Carloman, and Charles the Gross, who succeeded him in the kingdom of Italy and in the Roman empire, were also elected by the Roman pontiff and the Italian princes. After the reign of these princes, the empire was torn in pieces ; the most deplorable tumults and commotions arose in Italy. France, and Germany, which were governed, or rather subdued and usurped, by various chiefs ; and in this confused scene, the highest bidder was, by the assistance of the avaricious pontiffs, generally raised to the government of Italy, and to the imperial throne. Thus the power and influence of the popes, in civil affairs, arose in a short time to an enormous height, through the favour and protection of the princes in whose cause they had employed the influence which superstition had given them over the minds of the people. The in- crease of their authority in religious matters was not less rapid nor less considerable ; and it arose from the same causes. The European princes suffered themselves to be divested of the supreme authorhy in religious affairs, which they had derived from Charlemagne ; the power of the bishops was greatly diminished ; and even the authority of both provincial and general councils began to decline. The Roman pontifls, elated with this dangerous prosperity, were eagerly bent upon persuad- ing all, and they had indeed the good fortune to persuade many, that the bishop of Rome was constituted and appointed by Jesus Christ ^^--supreme legislator and judge of ihe universal Church ; and that there- fore the bishops derived all their authority from the Roman pontiff, nor could the councils determine any thing without his permission and consent. (Moshcim.) In order to gain credit to this new^ ecclesiastical system, so different from the ancient rules of Churcli government, and to support the haughty pretensions of the pontiffs to supremacy and independence, it was ne- cessary to have recourse to the authority of ancient deeds. Some of . the most ingenious and zealous partisans of the court of Rome were ,^ therefore employed in forging conventions, acts of councils, epistles, :^.and similar records, by which it miglit appear that, in the first ages of ' the Church, the Roman pontiffs were clothed with the same spiritual majesty and supreme authority which they now assumed. Among the.so fictitious supports of the papal dignity, the famous decretal epistles, as they are called, said to have been written by the pontiffs of the primitive times, deserve chiefly to be stigmatized. — They were the jjroductions of an obscure writer, who fraudulently pre- fixed to them the name of Isidore, bishop of Seville. Some of them had appeared in the eighth century ; but they were now entirely drawn from their obscurity, and produced, with an air of ostentation and triumph, to demonstrate the supremacy of the Roman pontiffs. The decisions Cent. IX.] history of thh chirch. 183 of a certain Roman council, which is said to have been held during the pontificate of Silvester, were alleged in behalf of the same cause : but this council had never been so much as heard of before the present century ; and the accounts now given of it proceeded from the same source with the decretals, and were equally authentic. The monastic life was now universally in the highest esteem ; and nothing could ecjual the veneration that was paid to such as devoted themselves to the gloom and indolence of a convent. The Greeks and orientals had been long accustomed to regard the monkish orders and discipline with the greatest admiration ; but it was only since tlie be- ginning of the last century that this passion was indulged among the Latins to such an extravagant length. In the present age its bound- aries were still farther extended : kings, dukes, and counts forgot their true dignity, even the fulfilling with zeal the duties of their high sta- tions ; and affected that contempt of the world and its grandeur which they mistook for magnanimity and real devotion. After the banishment of Irene, the controversy concerning images was renewed among the Greeks ; and was carried on by the contend- ing parlies, during the half of this century, with various and uncertain success. The Emperor Nicephorus, though he did not abrogate the decrees of the council of Nice, nor order the images to be taken out of the churches, yet deprived the patrons of image worship of all power to molest or injure their adversaries, and seems upon the whole to have been un enemy to that idolatrous service. But his successor, Michael Curopalates, surnamed Khangabe, pursued very different measures. Feeble and timorous, and dreading the rage of the priests and monks who maintained the cause of images, he favoured that cause during his short reign, and persecuted its adversaries with the greatest rancour and cruelty. The scene again changed upon the accession of Leo the Armenian to the empire, who abolished the decrees of the Nicene council relating to the use and worship of images, in a council assembled at Constantinople in 814 ; without however enact- ing any penal laws against their idolatrous worshippers. This mode- ration, far from satisfying the Patriarch Nicephorus, and the other partisans of image worship, only served to encourage their obstinacy, and to increase their insolence ; upon whicli the emperor removed the haughty prelate from his olVice, and chastised the furv of several of his adherents with jjunishment. His successor, Michael, surnamed Halbus, or \\\o Stammerer, was compelled to observe the same conduct, and to depart from the clemency and indulgence which in the beginning (jf his reign he had discuvered toward the worshippers of images, whose idolatry however he was far from approving: the monks in particular excitiMl his indignation by their fanatical rage, and forced him to treat tluMu with particular severity. But the zeal of his son and successor, Theophilus, in discouraging idolatry, was still more vehement; for he opposed the worshippers of images with great violence, and went so far as to condenm to death some of the more obstinate supporters of that impetuous faction. Upon the death of Theophilus, which hap- pened in the year 812, the regency was intrusted with the Empress Theodora, during her son's minority This superstitious princess, fatigued with the importunate solicitations of tlie monks, deluded by their forged miracles, and not a little influenced by their insolent threats 184 HISTORY OF THE CJU:RCH. [CeNT. IX. assembled in tlie same year a council at Constantinople, in which the decrees of the second Nicene council were reinstated in their lost authority, and the Greeks were indulged in their corrupt propensity to image worship, by a decisive law. Thus, after a controversy which had been protracted during the space of a hundred and ten years, the cause of idolatry triumphed over the dictates of reason and Christianity ; the whole cast, the Armenians excepted, bowed down before the vic- torious images ; nor did any of the succeeding emperors attempt to re- cover the Greeks from this superstitious phrensy, or to restrain them in the perfurmance of this puerile worship. The council which was held at Constantinople under Photius, in the year 879, and which is reckoned by the Greeks the eighth general council, added force and vigour to idolatry, by maintaining the sanctity of images, and approving, conlirm- ing, and renewing the Nicene decrees. The same council expunged the word Jllioque from the creed. The triumph of images, notwithstanding the zealous efforts of Roman pontiffs in their favour, was obtained with much more difficulty among the Latins than it had been among the Greeks : for the former still continued to maintain that invaluable, and indeed inalienable, privilege of judging for themselves in religious matters ; and were far from being disposed to submit their reason implicitly to tlie decisions of the pontiff, or to consider any thing as infallible and true which had human authority only for its foundation. Most of the European Christians steered a middle course between the idolaters and the Iconoclasts ; between those who were zealous for the worship of images, on the one hand, and those who were totally averse to the use of them, on the other. They were of opinion, as was already stated, that images might be suflered as the means of aiding the memory of the faithful, and of call- ing to their remembrance the pious and virtuous actions of the persons they represented ; but they detested all thoughts of paying them the smallest degree of religious hoinage or adoration. Michael Balbus, when he sent, in the year 824, a solemn embassy to Lewis the Meek, to renew and confirm the treaties of friendship and peace which had been- concluded between his predecessors in the empire and Charle- magne, charged liis ministers, in a particular manner, to conciliate the king of the Franks to the party of the Iconoclasts, tliat they might gradually suppress, by their united influence, the worship of images, and thus restore concord and trancjuillity to the Church. Lewis, upon this occasion, assembled a council at l^iris in 82 1, to examine the ])foposnl of the Grecian emperor; in which it was resolved to adhere to the decrees of the council of Frankfort, which allowed the use of images in the churclies ; but severely to prohibit treating them with the , smallest marks of religious worship. In time, however, the European Christians departed gradually from the observance of this injunction, - and fell imperceptibly into a blind submission to the decisions of the Iloman pontiff, whose influence and authority grew daily more formi- - dable. Toward the conclusion therefore of this century, the Galilean \ clergy began to pay a certain degree of religious homage to the sacred images ; and their example was followed i)y the (u^ruians, and other nations. Notwithstanding this a])ostacv, the Iconoclasts were not destitute of adherents among the Latins. The most eminent of these was Clau- Cent. IX.] historv of the ciicrch. 185 dius, bishop of Turin, by birlli a Spaniard, and a disciple of Felix, bishop of Urgel. This zealous prelate no sooner obtained the epis- copal dignity through the favour of Lewis the Meek, than he began the duties of his function in the year 823, by ordering all images, and even the cross itself, to be cast out of the churches, and committed to the llames. The year following he composed a treatise, in which he not only defended these vehement proceedings, and declared against the use, as well as the worship of images ; but also broached several other opinions that were contrary to the notions of the multitude, and to the prejudices of the times. He denied, among other things, in opposition to the Greeks, that the cross was to be honoured with any kind of worship ; he treated relics with the utmost contempt, as absolutely destitute of the virtues which were attributed to them ; and censured with much freedom and severity the frequent pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and the oflerings at the tombs of saints, which produced such immense emoluments to considerable bodies of ecclesiastics. It is not to be supposed that such a stand in defence of liberty and common sense should pass without opposition. Theodomin, bishop of Turin, Jonas, bishop of Orleans, and some others, attempted to refute him in volu- minous answers, and probably not without success in the apprehension of no small portion of their readers. But of all the controversies which this age produced the most inter- esting is that which ended in the total disunion of the Greek and Latin Churches. A vindictive and jealous spirit of animosity and contention had for a long time j)revailed between the !)ishops of Rome and Con- stantinople, and had sometimes manifested itself in positive acts of violi'nce. In this century it arose to an enormous height ; and broke forth into a most violent flame in the year 858, when the learned Pho- tius was chosen patriarch of Constantinople, by the Emperor Michal, in the place of Ignatius, whom that prince expelled from his see, and forced into exile. This violent proceeding, though it was justified and applauded by a council assembled at Constantinople, in the year 861, was far from being attended with general approhati(m. Ignatius ap- pealed from this council to the Roman pontiff, Nicholas I., who espoused his interests ; and in a council assembled at Rome, in 862, excomnumicated Photius, as unlawfully elected ; as well as his abetters, for having been concerned in so unrighteous a cause. The new patri- arch, however, was so far from being terrified or dejected bv this ex- communication, that he returned the compliment to the Roman pontiff; and, in a council assembled at Constantinople, in the year 866, declared Nicholas unworthy both of the place he held in the Church, and also of being admitted to the communion of Christians. The Roman pontiff alleged a sjjccious pretext for appearing in this contest with so much violence, and exciting such unhappv commotions in the (yhunh. This pretext was the innocence of Ignatius, whom, upon an accusation of treason, whether true or false, the emperor had degraded from his patriarchal dignity. This, however, was no more than a pretext ; ambition and interest were the true though secret springs which directed the conduct of Nicholas, who would have borne with patience, and even have beheld with indifference, the unjust suf- ferings of Ignatius, could he but have recovered from the Greeks the provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, Epirus, Achaia, Thessaly, and 186 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IX Sicily, which the emperor and Photius had removed from the jurisdic- tion of the Roman see. Before he engaged in the cause of Ignatius, he sent a solemn embassy to Constantinople, to demand the restitution of these provinces ; but his demand was rejected with contempt ; hence, under pretence of avenging the injuries committed against Ignatius, he indulged without restraint his own private resentment ; and thus covered with the mask of justice the fury of disappointed ambition and avarice. While affairs were in this distracted state, and the flame of contro- versy was daily becoming more violent, Basilius the Macedonian, who, by the murder of his predecessor, had enabled himself to seize the imperial throne, calmed at once these tumults, and restored peace to the Church, by recalling Ignatius from exile to the high station from which he had been degraded, and by confining Photius in a monastery. This imperial act of authority was solemnly approved and confirmed by a council assembled at Constantinople in the year 869, in which the legates of the Roman pontiff, Adrian II., had considerable influ- ence, and were treated with the highest marks of distinction. The Latins acknowledge this assembly as the eighth cecumenical council ; and in it the religious disputes between them and the Greeks were con- cluded, or silenced and suspended at least. But the controversy con- cerning the authority of the Roman pontiffs, the limits of their spiritual empire, and particularly their jurisdiction in Bulgaria, still subsi.stcd ; nor coidd all the efforts of papal ambition engage either Ignatius or the emperor to resign Bulgaria, or any other province, to the see of Rome. Upon the death of Ignatius, which happened in the year 878, the emperor took Photius into favour, and placed him again at the head of the Greek Church, in the patriarchal dignity whence he had fallen. This restoration of the degraded patriarch was agreed to by the Roman pontiff, John VIII., upon condition, however, that Photius would per- mit the Bulgarians to come under the jurisdiction of the Roman see. The latter promised to satisfy in this the demands of the pontiff", to which the emperor also appeared to concede ; {Mich. Lc Qiiicn, Oriens Christkmui; torn, i, p. 103 ;) hence it was that John VIII. sent legates to the council held at Constantinople in 879, by whom he declared his approbation of the acts of that assembly, and acknow- ledged Photius as his brother in Christ. The promises, however, of the emperor and the patriarch were far from being accomplished ; for, after this council, the former, probably by the advice, or, at least, with the consent, of Photius, refused to transfer the province of Bulgaria to the Roman pontiff; and it must be confessed that this refusal was founded upon weighty and important reasons. The pontiff, notwith- standing, was highly irritated at this disappointment, and sent lATarinus to Constantinople in the character of legate, to declare that he had changed his mind concerning Photius, and that he entirely approved of the sentence of excommunication which had formerly been issued against him. The legate, upon delivering this disagreeable message, was cast into prison by the emperor, but was afterward set free ; and being raised to the j)ontificate upon the death of John A^III. recalled the remembrance of this injurious treatment, and levelled a new sen- tence of condemnation against Photius. Cent. IX.] historv of the church. 187 This sentence was treated with contempt by the haughty patriarch. But, about six years after this period, he experienced again the fra- gility of subhmary grandeur and elevation, by a fall which concluded his prosperous days : for in the year 886, Leo, suniamed the Philo- sopher, the son and successor of Basilius, deposed him from the patri- archal see, and confined him in an Armenian monastery, where he died in the year 891. The death of Photius, who was the only author of ^ the schisms that divided the Greeks and Latins, might have been an occasion of removing these unhappy contests, and of restoring peace and concord in the Church, if the Roman pontiffs had not been regard- less of the demands of equit)', as well as of the duty of Christian mode- ration. But they indulged their passions at the expense of sound policy, and would be satisfied with nothing less than the degradation of all the priests and bishops who had been ordained by Photius. The Greeks, on the other hand, were shocked at the arrogance of these unjust pretensions, and refused to submit to them on any conditions. Hence resentment and irritation renewed the spirit of dispute which had been happily declining ; religious as well as civil contests were again set on foot ; new controversies were added to the old ; until the fatal schism took place, which produced a lasting and total sepa- / ration between the Greek and Latin Churches.* / * The distinguishing tenets of the Greek Church are as follow : \ 1. They disown the authority of the pope, and deny that tiie Church of Rome is the true Catholic Church. 2. They do not baptize their children till they arc three, four, five, six, ten, nay sometiines eighteen years of age. 3. They insist that the sacrament of tlic Lord's Supper ought to be administered in both kinds ; and tiiey give the sacrament to children immediately after baptism. 4. Tiiey deny that there is any such place as purgatory, notwithstanding they pray for the dead that God would have mercy on them at the general judgment. 5. They exclude confirmation, extreme unction, and matrimony out of the seven sacraments. 6. They deny auricular confession to be a Divine precept, and say it is only a posi- tive injunction of the Church. 7. They pay no religious homage to the eucharist. S. They admini.ster the communion in both kinds to the laitv, both in sickness and in hrallh, thouiili thcv have never applied themselves to their confessors ; because they are jicrsuaded that a lively faith is all which is requisite for the worthy receiving of the Lord's Supper. 9. Tiiey maintain that the Holv Ghost proceeds only from the Father, and not from the Son. 10. They admit of no images in relief, or embossed work ; but use paintings, and sculptures in copper or silver. 11. They approve of the marriage of priests, provided thoy enter into that state bo- fore liicir admission into holy orders. 12. They condemn all fourth marriages. 13. They observe a number of holv davs ; and keep four fasts in the vear moro solemn than the rest, of wliich the fast in Lent, before Easier, is the chief 188 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. CeNT. IX.] CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Worship of saints — Multi[)lication of the celestial advocates — Forgeries of legends — Raiic for relics — Ajiology for this passion — New doctrines concerning the presence of Christ in the eucharist — Controversies on this subject — Abolition of choro-cpiscopi — New orders of monks — Festivals in honour of saints — All Saints' day — St. Michael — The cross carried before the pope. The ignorance and corruption that dishonoured the Christian Church in this century were great beyond measure ; and, were there no other examples of their enormity upon record than the single "instance of that stupid veneration which was paid to the bones and ^arcasses of departed saints, this would be sufficient to convince us of me deplorable progress of superstition. This idolatrous devotion was now considered as the most sacred and momentous branch of religion ; nor did any dare to entertain the smallest hopes of finding the Deity propitious before they had assured themselves of the pro- tection and intercession of some of this sacred order. Hence every church, and, indeed, every private Christian, had their particular patron among the saints, from an apprehension, perhaps, that their spiritual interests would be but indiflerently conducted by those who were already employed respecting the souls of others. This notion rendered it necessary to multiply prodigiously the number of saints, and to create daily new patrons for the deluded people ; and this was indeed performed with sufficient zeal. The priests and monks em- ployed their whole time and invention, and peopled at discretion the invisible world with imaginary protectors. They dispelled the thick darkness which covered the pretended spiritual exploits of many holy men ; and they invented both names and histories of saints who never had an existence, in order that they might not be at a loss to furnish the credulous multitude with objects proper to perpetuate their supersti- 'tion, and to nourish their contidence. Many chose their own guides, and committed their spiritual interests either to phantoms of their own cre- ation, or to distracted fanatics, whom they esteemed as saints, for no other reason than because they had lived like madmen. The ecclesiastical councils found it necessary, at length, to set limits to the licentious superstition of the ignorant populace, who, with a view to have still more friends in the celestial regions, (for such were their gross notions,) were daily adding new saints to the list of their imaginary mediators. They accordingly declared, by a solemn decree, that no departed Christian should be considered as a member of the order of saints, before the bishop, in a provincial coun- cil, and in presence of the people, had pronounced him worthy of that distinguished honour. {Mabillon, Act(r Sancti Ordinis ISencdicU, Soic. v.) This remedy, feeble and illusory as it was, contributed in some measure to restrain the fanatical temerity of the saint makers ; but, in its consequences, it was the occasion of a new accession of power to the see of Rome. Even so early as this century, many were of opinion that it was proper and expedient, though not absolutely necessary, that the decisions of bishops and councils shoidd be con- firmed by the consent and authority of the Roman pontifi', whom they Cent. IX.] history of tmi: church. 189 considered as the supreme and universal bishop ; nor will this appear surprising to those who reflect upon the enormous strides which the bishops of Rome made toward unbounded dominion in the preceding ages of barbarism, the corruption and darkness of which were pecu- liarly favourable to their ambitious pretensions. We have, however, no e.vample of any person soloinrdy canonized by the bishop of Rome alone, before the tenth century, when Uldraic, bishop of Augsburg, received this dignity in a formal manner from John XV. It is however certain that previous to that period the Roman pontiffs were consulted on similar cases, and their judgment respected in the choice of celes- tial mediators. This preposterous multiplication of saints became a new source of abuses and frauds. It was thought necessary to write the lives of these celestial patrons, in order to procure for them the veneration and confidence of a deluded multitude ; and all the resources of forgery and fable were consequently exhausted to celebrate exploits which had never existed. There is yet extant a prodigious quantity of these trifling legends, the greater part of which were undoubtedly forged, after the time of Charlemagne, by the monastic writers. The same impostors who peopled the celestial regions with fictitious saints, em- ployed also their fruitful inventions in embellishing, with false miracles and other impertinent forgeries, the history of those who had been really martyrs or confessors in the cause of Christ. These fictions, however, did not pass with impunity ; but were severely censured by some of the most eminent writers, even of the times in which they were iuiposed upon the credulity of the public. Various were the motives which engaged difTerent persons to propagate or countenance these impostures. Some were incited to it by the seductions of a false devotion, which induced them to imagine that departed saints were highly delighted with the applauses and veneration of mortals ; and never failed to reward with peculiar marks of their favour and protec- tion such as were zealous in lionouring their memories, and in cele- brating their actions. The prospect of gain, and the ambitious desire of being reverenced by the nuiltitude, engaged others to multiply the number, and to maintain the credit of the legends,* or registers of the saints. The churches, which were dedicated to the saints, were per- petually crowded with supplicants, who flocked to them with rich pre- sents, in order to obtain assistance under the alfliclions they suflered, or deliverance froin the dangers which they had reason to apprehend. It was esteemed also a high honour to be tlic more immediate ministers of these tutelary mediators, who, it is proper to observe, were esteemed in proportion to their anti(]uily, and to the number and importance of the pretended miracles which had rendered their lives illustrious. This latter circumstance oflered a strong temptation to such as were em- ployed by the various churches in writing the lives of their tutelary .saints, to supply by invention the defects of truth, and to embellish their legends with fictitious prodigies ; and they were not only templed to this imposture, l)ut were even obliged to employ it, in order to in- crease the reputation of their respective patrons. All this was, however, insufllcient to satisfy the demands of super- •tition. The regard for relics, which had been for some centuries * Eviilcnlly from hj^enditm, the gcnind of lego, to read. 190 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. CeNT. IX.] increasing, in this appeared to absorb the whole attention of mankind. Perhaps, however, we are inclined to treat the follies of past ag6s with too much severity ; and though a zeal for religion will constitute no part of the character of the nineteenth century, perhaps our absurdities and fashions will not make a more respectable appearance in the eyes of posterity. To accumulate relics was the rage of the times ; and even those who were less inclined to superstition in other respects, miglit be unreflectingly impelled along the tide of prevailing custom, and might be animated as we are to the imitation of the follies of our superiors. Many persons travelled during this age into the eastern provinces, and frequented the places which Christ and his disciples had honoured with their presence ; in hopes that, with the bones and other sacred remains of the first heralds of the Gospel, they might be enabled to extend comfort to dejected minds, to calm trembling con- sciences, to save sinking states, and defend their inhabitants from every species of calamity. These pious travellers did not indeed return home empty ; the craft, dexterity, and knavery of the Greeks found a rich prey in th.j absurd credulity of the Latins, and made a profitable commerce of this new devotion. The latter paid considerable sums for legs and arms, skulls, and jaw-bones, (several of which were pagan, and some not human,) with other things, supposed to have belonged to the primitive worthies of the Christian Church ; and thus the Latin churches came to the possession of those celebrated relics of St. Mark, St. James, St. Bartholomew, Cyprian, Pantalion, and others, which even at this day are occasionally exhibited with much ostentation. But though the veneration for the remains of celebrated persons, when carried to such an extreme as to be converted into a species of religious worship, is certainly culpable; and, though the miracles which were attributed to these remains must be considered either as the delusions of fancy, or the forgeries of priestcraft ; still we are not to suppose the passion itself without a foundation in the principles of human nature. It is impossible to confine the human aflections in their operation ; it is impossible not to connect with the objects of our regard and admira- tio n every thing which was originally coimected with them. A doctrine entirely new, concerning the manner in which the body and blood of Christ were present in the encharist, made its appearance \^in the course of this century. It had been hitherto the unanimous opinion of the Church, that the body and blood of Christ were adminis- ter.ed to those who received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and that they were consequently present at that holy institution ; but the sentiments of Christians concerning the nature and manner of this presence were various and contradictory ; nor had any council deter- mined with precision that important point, or prescribed the manner in which this pretended presence was to be understood. Both reason and folly were hitherto left free in this matter; nor had any imperious mode of faith suspended the exercise of the one, or restrained the ex- travagance of the other. But in this age Pascasius Radbert, a monk, End afterward abbot, of Corbey, undertook to explain with precision, and to determine with certainty, the doctrine of the Church on this point; for which purpose he composed, in the year 831, a Treatise concerning the Sacramcmt of the Body and Blood of Christ. The doctrine of Pascasius amounted in general to the two following propo- Cent. IX.] . history of the church. 191 silions : first, that, after the consecration of the bread and wine in the Ijord's Supper, nothing remained of these symbols but the outward figure, under which the body and blood of Christ wore really and locally present ; and secondly, that the body of Christ thus present in the eucharist was the same body which was born of the virgin, which suf- fered upon the cross, and was raised from the dead. This new doc-J trine, and especially the second proposition, excited, as might well be expected, the astonishment of many. It was opposed by Rai)anus, Maurus, Heribald, and othens ; though they did not all refute it in the same manner, nor upon the same principles. Charles the Bald, upon this occasion, ordered the famous Ratramn and Johannes Scotus to draw up a clear and rational explication of that important doctrine, which Radbert seemed to have so egregiously corrupted. These learned divines executed with zeal and diligence the order of the em- peror. The treatise of Scotus perished in the ruins of time ; but that of Ratramn is still extant, and furnished ample matter of dispute both in the last and present century. It is remarkable that, in this con- troversy, each of the contending parties were almost as much divided among themselves as they were at variance with their adversaries. — Radbert, who began the dispute, contradicts himself in many places, departs from his own principles, and maintains, in one part of his book, conclusions which he had disavowed in another. His principal adver- sary, Bcrtramn, or Ratramn, seems in some respects liable to the same charge : he appears to follow in general the doctrine of those who deny that the body and blood of Christ are really present in the holy sacra- ment ; and to affirm, on the contrary, that they are only represented by the bread and wine, as their signs or symbols. Johannes Scotus Erigena, whose philosophical genius rendered him more accurate, and spread tlirough his writings that logical precision so much wanted and so highly desirable in polemical productions, was the only disputant in this contest who expressed his sentiments with perspicuity, method, and consistency ; and declared plainly that the bread and wine 'were the signs and symbols pf the absent body and blood of Christ. The toher divines of this age fluctuate in their opinions, express themselves with ambiguity, and embrace and reject the same tenets at different times, as if they had no fixed or permanent ))rinciples. Scarcely any alterations took place in the form of church govern- ment during this century : the only event of this kind, indeed, worthy of notice, was the abolition of the choro-episcopi, or rural bishops, in the western Church ; who, being discovered not to be true bishops, were deprived of their sees, and the order discontinued by the pope's decree. To remedy this deliciency, a number of new convents were erected, and some new orders of regulars established ; in particular the order of canons regular of St. James la Spada, which was instituted in b.JO by Don Ramirus, king of Leon. It would 1)0 endless to enter into an exact enumeration of the various rites and ceremonies which were now introduced, and of which some were adopted by the whole body of Christians, and others only by certain cliurches. It will be necessary, therefore, to dismiss this sub- ject with a general statement onlv, and point out the sources from which the curious reader may derive a more particular knowledge of the absurd- ities of this superstitious age.. The bodies of the saints, transported 192 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. • [CkNT. IX from foreign countries, or discovered at home by the iruhistry and dih- gence of pious or designing priests, not onlv obliged the rulers of the Church to augment the number of f(!stivals or holydays already esta- blished, but also to diversif}' the cereinonies in such a nKiinifr, that each saint might have his peculiar worship. As the authority also and credit of tlie clergy depended much upon the high opinion which was entertained of the virtue and merit of the saints they had canonized and presented to the multitude as objects of religious veneration, it was necessary to amuse and surprise them l)y a variety of pompous and striking ceremonies, by images, processions, and similar inventions. Among other novelties, the feast of All Saints was added in 835, by Gregory IV., to the Latin calendar; and the festival of St. Michael, which had been long observed with the greatest marks of devotion by the orientals and Italians, began now lo be respected more zealously and universally among tlie Latin Christians. It is also supposed that the custom of carrying the cross before the pope commenced in this century. CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Predestinariiins — Abrahamians — Persecution of the Paulicians. The spirit of innovation will generally be found to accompany the spirit of inquiry. But from the seventh to the twelfth or thirteenth century the Church was involved in dark and misty stillness. The notions also which were entertained of the infallibility of councils and of patriarchs sufficiently repressed the enterprising spirit of those who indulged speculation in less distinguished situations : that portion of the history, therefore, which is appropriated to controversies and to sects has been gradually contracting ; and in ihis and the succeeding century an almost perfect unanimity, in ignorance at least, seems to have pervaded each of the two great bodies of eastern and western Christians. Those disputes, however, which have so frequently divided and per- plexed the Christian world, those concerning the predestination of man- kind and the Divine grace, were revived in this century by a French monk of the name of Godeschald. {Fonnry, cent, ix.) This unchari- table innovator maintained that God predestined to eternal death a certain number of men, for whom .Tesus Christ would not die ; and at the same time predestined others to salvation by an effect of his good pleasure. The first who condemned this doctrine was Archlnshop Raban, in a council held at .Mentz, in 818. IJut Hincmar. archliishop of Rheims, not content with confirming this sentence, in another synod, in the following year, sul)jert(>(l the unfortunate (lodeschald to a severe flagellation, and ordered him afterward to be imprisoned. — Several writers also attacked this heretic ; among whom were Pandu- lus, bishop of Tjondon, and Jolin Erigena, called Scotus. Some also, who were distinguished both by rank and abilities, appeared in his de- fence. Of these were Amelon, archbishop of Lyons, Romi, his successor. Cent. IX.] history of the chvrcu. 193 Florus, the deacon, and the whole Church of LyonS ; Prudence, bishop of Troyc'S, Loup, abbot of Farieres in France, and the learned monk, iiatranuius. Tliis doctrine was also approved by several coun- cils ; by that of Valence in 855, and by those of Langres and Tulle in 859. It has been asserted that some new opinions made their appear- ance among the sect of Paulicians ; and, in particular, that a party of them distinguished themselves by the name of Abrahamians, not from the Hebrew patriarch, but from their founder, an obscure person of that name. The particular opinions of this sect, however, if it maintained any such, are lost in the general oblivion to which the flames of persecution consigned almost every thing appertaining to the Paulicians, whose sulTcrings in general can never be suHiciently regretted. CHAPTER IV. OF LEAR.VI.XG AND LEARNED MEN IN THE NINTH CE.N'TURY. Photius — Greek commentators — Moses Barcejilia — Munificence of Charlemagne — Christian Druthinar — Bertharius — Raljamis Maurus — Walafrid Strabo — Claudius of Tu- rin — Hincmar — Rcmigius of Auxorre — Agobard — Thcodorus Almcara — Controversy with the Mohammedans — Eginhard — Theganus of Treves — Anastasius — Alfred the Great — Reform of the laws of Justinian — Basilican code. The most illustrious character of this century among the Greeks was Photius, whose eventful history has already occupied some pages, as connected with the general state of the Cnristian world. " Greece, so fertile in genius," says the learned Cave, " has never produced a person of more universal abilities, of sounder judgment, of deeper penetration, of more unbounded reading, or more unwearied diligence." He has made e.Mracts from upward of three hundred ancient authors, all of whom he must have diligently studied and digested ; and while he was thus indefatigable in study, let it be remembered that he was ■ engaged in the most active duties of a statesman, and involved in the> most perplexing consequences of controversy. ^ He composed, among other works, a book of questions relating to the sense of difi'erent passages of Scripture, and an exposition of the epis- tles of St. Paul. The other Greek writers who attempted to explain the Holy Scrip- tures did little more than compile and accumulate various passages from the commentators of the preceding ages ; and this metliod was the origin of those catrnw, or chains of commentaries, so much in use among the Greeks during this century, of which a considerable number have descended to our time, and which consisted entirely in a collec- tion of (he explications of Scripture that were scattered through tlie ancient divines. The greater part of the theological writers, linding themselves incapable of more arduous undertakings, confined their labours to this species of compilation. The Latin commentators were superior in number to those among the Greeks, owing to the zeal and munificence of Charlemagne, who, both by his liberality and by his example, had excited and encouraged the 13 194 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. IX. doctors of the preceding age to the study of the Scriptures. Of these expositors there are two, at least, who are worthy of esteem ; Chris- tian Druihmar, whose commentary on St. Matthew has been transmitted to posterity ; and the Abbot Bertharius, whose two books concerning fundamentals are also said to be still extant. The rest seem une- qual to the important office of sacred critics, and may be divided into two classes ; the class of those who merely collected and reduced into a mass the opinions and explications of the ancients ; and that of a fantastical set of expositors, who were constantly labouring to deduce a variety of abstruse and hidden significations from every passage of Scripture, which they in general performed in a very absurd .and un- couth manner. At the head of the first class was Rabanus Maurus, who acknowledged that he borrowed from the ancient doctors the ma- terials he made use of in illustrating the gospel of St. Matthew, and the epistles of St. Paul ; Walafrid Strabo, who adopted his explications chiefly from Rabanus ; Claudius of Turin, who trod in the footsteps of Augustine and Origen ; Ilincniar, whose exposition of the book of Kings, compiled from the fathers, is yet extant ; Remigius of Auxerre, who derived from the same source his illustrations of the Psalms, and other books of sacred writ ; Sedulius, who explained in the same man- ner the epistles of St. Paul ; Florus ; Haymo, bishop of Halberstadt ; and others, of whom the limits of this work will not admit an extended character. The defence of Christianity against the Jews and pagans was greatly neglected in this century. Agobard, however, as well as Amnio and Rabanas Maurus, chastised the insolence and malignity of the Jews, and exposed their various absurdities and errors ; while the Emperor Leo, Theodorus Abucara, and other writers^ whose performances are lost, employed their polemic labours against the progress of the Sara- cens, and refuted their impious and extravagant system. It is to be la- mented that, on some occasions, truth has been sacrificed to religious zeal by these vehement polemics ; and that they have condescended to report such circumstances of Mohammed and his disciples, as are not only unsupported by authentic testimony, but even contrary to proba- bility itself. The famous Eginhard, secretary to Charlemagne, who wrote the life of his benefactor, is the most ancient of the German historians : he is supposed to have had an intrigue with the emperor's daughter, whom he afterward married.* He founded the monastery of Selgenstadt, in the diocess of Mentz. Theganus, bishop of Treves, also wrote a his- tory of Lewis the Meek. Anastasius the abbot, and librarian to the pope, is a learned and valuable historian ; he was sent by the emperor, Lewis IL, to Basil, the eastern emperor, and was present at the eighth general council, where he proved of infinite service to the pope's le- gates, from his extensive knowledge of both the Greek and Latin lan- guages. He translated the acts of that council, those of the seventh, and many other acts and monuments of the Greek Church, as well as the Tripartite History, which contains the chronicles of Nicephorus,of George, and of Theophanes, from the creation to the reign of Leo the Armenian. He is also generally considered as the author of the Lives of the Popes * A pleasant account of this intrigue is related in the Spectator. 13* Cent. IX.] history of the church. 195 which are falsely inscribed with the name of the Roman pontiff, Da- masus. The English Alfred deserves the most respectful mention in the an- nals of this age, not only as a great monarch, but as a great scholar, considering the age in which he lived, and the few advantages which he enjoyed. He translated the General History of Orosius into Saxon, and composed several other works ; and so great was his admiration of learning, that it is asserted that no unlearned person was permitted ; to exercise any public office or function during the course of his reign_^ The Justinian code of l»ws underwent some improvement about this period. The Pandects, the Institutes, the Digests, and the Code were reduced, by the command of the Emperor Leo, to one body of laws, which was divided into six parts and sixty books : they were called Basilica, either from the emperor's father Basil, who began the work, or because they were imperial constitutions. This is the code of civil law which the Greeks continued to use till the destruction of their empire ; and was written in Greek, as that of Justinian was in Latin {Fleury, xi, 499.) 196 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. X. THE TENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Success of the Nestorians in propagating the Gospel — Conversion of Norway, of the Poles, the Russians, the Hungarians, the Danes, the Swedes, and the Normans — Luxury of the clergy — History of the popes from Leo V. to Sylvester IL — Iniquitous distribution of preferments — Monastic institutions — Order of Clugni. The night of ignorance had now almost completely obscured the pure light of evangelical truth ; and morality, not less than religion, ap- peared to be subverted. The system of the Gospel, however, increased in name at least, if not in substance. The Nestorians in Chaldea ex- tended their spiritual conquests beyond Mount Imaus, and introduced the Christian religion into Tartary, properly so called, whose inhabitants had hitherto lived in their natural state of ignorance and ferocity, un- civilized and savage. The same successful missionaries spread, by degrees, the knowledge of the Gospel among that powerful nation of the Turks, or Tartars, which were distinguished by the name of Karit, and whose territory bordered on Kathay, or on the northern part of China. The laborious industry of this sect, and their zeal for the ex- tension of the Christian faith, deserve the highest encomiums ; but the historians of the Church have, in general, been more disposed to record the errors than the virtues of those who differed from the ortho- dox creed. If we contemplate the western world we shall find the Gospel pro- ceeding with more or less rapidity through the most rude and unci- vilized nations. The dukes of Poland and Russia were induced to profess the Christain faith ; the Hungarians also enrolled themselves among the believers in the Gospel ; and the zeal of Adeldagus and Poppo produced similar effects in the countries of Denmark and Swe- den. The celebrated arch-pirate, Rollo, son of the Norwegian count, being banished from his native land, had, in the preceding century, put himself at the head of a resolute band of Normans, and seized upon one of the maritime provinces of France, whence he infested the whole adjacent country with perpetual incursions and depredations. In the year 912, this valiant chief embraced, with his whole army, the Chris- tian faith ; but convenience, not conviction, must be confessed to have been his motive. Charles the Simple, who was equally destitute both of courage and ability to expel this warlike invader from his dominions, was obliged to have recourse to negotiation, and accordingly offered to assign over to him a considerable part of his territories, upon con- dition that he would consent to a peace, espouse his daughter Gisela, and embrace Christianity. These terms were accepted by Rollo without hesitation ; and his army, conformably to this example, were soon induced to profess a religion of which they were in fact totally Cent. X.] history of the church. 197 ignorant. {Boulay, Hist. Acad. Paris, torn, i, p. 29G ; Daniel, Hist, de France, torn, ii, p. 587.) Their conversion was, indeed, almost entirely nominal for a consi- derable time, and their conduct such as to excite complaints from the archbishop of Rheims to the pope, to whom he represented the Nor- mans as violating their baptismal oath by sacrificing to idols, eating of meats which had been offered to their ancient divinities, and as cruelly destroying the Christian priests. The luxury and ignorance of the clergy were equally conspicuous during the tenth century. Some opinion of the conduct of the Grecian patriarchs may be formed from that of Theophylact. This prelate, who sold every ecclesiastical benefice as soon as it became vacant, had* in .his stables above two thousand hunting horses, which he fed with pignuts, pistachios, dates, dried grapes, figs steeped in the most exquisite wines, to all which he added the richest perfumes. One Holy Thursday, as he was celebrating high mass, his groom brought him the joyful news that one of his favourite mares had foaled ; upon which he threw down the liturgy, left the church, and ran in raptures to the stable : whence, after having expressed his joy at this important event, he returned to the altar to finish the solemn service which had remained interrupted during his absence. {Sec Fleury, Hist. Ecclesi. livre Iv, 97, edit. Bruxelle.) The history of the Roman pontiffs, in this centur}-, exhibits, with some instances of piety and ability, a series of disgusting and compli- cated crimes. The source of these disorders must be sought for prin- cipally in the calamities which afflicted the greater part of Europe, and particularly Italy, after the extinction of the race of Charlemagne. Upon the death of the pontiff Benedict IV., \vhich happened in the year 903, Leo Y. was raised to the pontificate ; but this prelate enjoyed his elevation only forty days, and was dethroned and imprisoned by Christoj)her, one of his domestics. The usurper was, however, in his turn, deprived of the pontifical dignity in the following year, by Sergius III., a Roman presl)ytcr. This pontiff owed his elevation to the protection of Adalbert, a powerful Tuscan prince, whose influence over ever)' aflair transacted at Rome was unlimited ; but the short period of his reign was only remarkable for the ambition and licentiousness of the prelate. The pontificates of Anastasius III. and Lando, who, after the death of Sergius, were successively raised to the papal chair, were too transient to be very fruitful in events. After the death of Lando, in the year 914, Albert, marquis or count of Tuscany, obtained the pontificate for John X., archbishop of Ra- venna, in compliance with the solicitation of 'i'heodora, his mother- in-law, whose lewdness is recorded to have been the principle which interested her in this promotion. John X., though in other respects a scandalous example of iniquity and licentiousness, acquirinl a certain degree of reputation by his glorious campaign against the Saracens, whom he expelled from their settlements upon tlie banks of the Gari- gliano. He did not, however, long enjoy his elevation ; the enmity of Marozia, daughter of Theodora, and wife of Albert, proved fatal to liim. 'J'hat intriguing woman having espoused VVido, or Guy, mar- quis of Tuscany, after the death of her first consort, engaged him to 198 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. X. seize the wanton pontiff, who was her mother's lover, and to put him to death in the prison where he lay confined. The unfortunate and licen- tious John was succeeded by Leo VI., who presided but seven months in the apostolic chair, which was filled after him by Stephen VII. The death of the latter, which happened in the year 931, presented to the ambition of Marozia an object worthy of its grasp ; and accordingly she raised to the papal d'gnity John XL, who was the fruit of her lawless amours with one of the pretended successors of St. Peter, Sergius III., whose adulterous commerce with that infamous woman gave an infallible guide to the Roman Church. John XL, who was placed at the head of the Church by the credit and influence of his mother, was precipitated from this summit of spi- ritual grandeur, A. D. 933, by Alberic, his half-brother, who hadtcon- ceived the utmost aversion against him. Upon the death- of Wido, the splendid offers of the infamous Marozia had allured Hugo, king of Italy, to accept her hand. But the unfortunate monarch did not long enjoy the promised honour of being made the master of Rome. Alberic, his son-in-law, stimulated by an afi'ront which he had received fron\ him, excited the Romans to revolt, and expelled from the city not only the offending king, but his mother Marozia and her son, the reigning pontiff, all of whom he confined in prison, where John ended his days in the year 936. The four pontiffs, who in their turns succeeded and filled the papal chair till the year 956, were Leo VII., Stephen VIIL, Marianus IL, and Agapet, whose characters were greatly supe- rior to those of their immediate predecessors, and whose govern- ment, at least, was not attended with those tumults and revolutions which had so frequently shaken the pontifical throne, and banished from Rome the inestimable blessings of peace. Upon the death of Agapet, which happened in the year 956, Alberic IL, who to the dig- nuy of Roman consul joined a degree of authority and opulence which nothing could resist, raised to the pontificate his son Octavian, wlio Avas yet in the early bloom of youth, and destitute of every quality requisite to discharge the duties of that important office. This unwor- thy pontiff took the name of John XII., and thus introduced the cus- tom, which has since been adopted by all his successors in the see of Rome, of assuming a new appellation upon their accession to the pontificate. The fate of John XII. was as unhappy as his promotion had been scandalous. Unable to bear the oppressive yoke of Berenger 1 1., king of Italy, he sent ambassadors, in the year 960, to Otho the Great, entreating him to march into Italy, at the head of a powerful army, to deliver the Church and the people from the tyranny with which they were oppressed. To these entreaties the perplexed pontiff added a solemn promise that if the German monarch came to his assistance he would array him with the purple, and the other ensigns of sovereignty, and proclaim him emperor of the Romans. Otho received the embassy with pleasure, marched into Italy at the head of a large body of troops, and was accordingly saluted by John with the promised title. The pontiff, however, soon perceiving that he had acted w'ith too much pre- cipitation, repented of the step he had taken ; and, though he had so solemnly sworn allegiance to the emperor as his lawful sovereign, vio- lated his oath, and joined Adelbert, the son of Berenger, against Otho. Cent. X.] history of the church. 199 This revolt was not left unpunished. The emperor returned to Rome in the year 961, called a council, before which he accused and convicted the pontiff of the most atrocious crimes ; and after having iwnominiously degraded him from his oflice, appointed Leo VIII. to fill his place. Upon Olho's departure from Rome, John returned to that city, and in a council, which he assembled in the year 964, condemned the pontifT whom the emperor had elected. He soon after died in con- sequence of a violent blow on the temples, inflicted by the hand of a gentleman whose wife he had seduced. After his death the Romans chose Benedict V. bishop of Rome, in opposition to Leo ; but the emperor annulled this election, restored Leo to the papal chair, and carried Benedict to Hamburg, where he died in exile. From this gloomy picture of depravity and vice we turn with some degree of pleasure, to consider those pontiffs who governed the see of Rome from Leo VHL, who died A. D. 965, to Gerbert, or Silvester IL, who was raised to the pontificate toward the conclusion of this century. Their pontificates were indeed unadorned by the display of profound erudition, or of any splendid qualities ; but the conduct of most of them was decent, and their administration respectable. John XIII. , who was elevated to the papal chair in the year 965, by the authority of Otho the Great, was expelled from Rome in the beginning of his ad- ministration ; but the year following, upon the emperor's return to Italy, he was restored to his dignity, in the calm possession of which he ended his days, A. 1). 972. His successor, Benedict VI., was not so happy: cast into prison by Crecentius, son of the famous Theodora, in consequence of the hatred which the Romans had conceived both against his person and government, he was loaded with every species of ignominy, and was strangled, in the year 974, in the apartment where he lay confined. Unfortunately for him, Otho the Great, wh(»sc power and severity kept the Romans in awe, died in the year 973, and with him expired that order and discipline which he had restored in Rome by salutary laws, executed with impartiality and vigour. The face of affairs was indeed entirely changed by that event ; licentious- ness and disorder, seditions and assassinations, resumed their former sway, and diffused their horrors through that miserable city. After the death of Benedict, the papal chair was filled by Franco, who assumed the name of Boniface VII. This prelate, who is strongly suspected of having by his insinuations occasioned the murder of his predecessor, did not long enjoy his dignity. One month had scarcely elapsed after his promotion, before he was deposed from his olhcc and expelled from the city. He was succeeded by Donus II., who is known by no other circumstance than his name. Upon his death, which happened in the year 975, Benedict VII. was created pontiff; and, during the space of nine years, ruled the Church without nuich opposition, and ended his days in peace. This singular prosperity was, without doubt, princi- pally owing to the opulence and credit of the family to which he belonged; li^r he was nearly related to the celebrated Alberic, wliose power, or rather despotism, had been unlimited in Rome. His successor, John XIV., who from the bishopric of Pavia was raised to the pontificate, derived no support from his birth, which was obscure, nor did he continue to enjoy the protection of Otho HI., to whom he owed his promotion. Hence the calamities which distm-bed 200 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. X. his crovernment, and the misery that concluded his transitory grandeur for Boniface VII., who had usurped the papal throne in the year 974, and in a little time after had been banished Rome, returned from Con stantinople, whither he had fled for refuge ; and, by employing the money he had obtained by the sale of several costly ornaments which he had fraudulently carried from Rome, in largesses to the populace, he obtained such authority as enabled him to seize and imprisoi\ the unfortunate pontilF, and afterward to put him to death. By these means Boniface resumed the government of the Church ; but his reign was also transitory, for he died about six months after his restoration.* He was succeeded by John XV., whom some writers call John XVI., alleging that another John ruled the Church during the space of four months, whom they consequently call John XV. Whatever opinion may be formed on this subject, it is only necessary to observe that he possessed the papal dignity from the year 985 to 996, that his ad- ministration was as happy as the troubled state of the Roman affairs ■would permit, and that the tranquillity he enjoyed was not so much owing to his wisdom and prudence, as to his noble and illustrious an- cestors, and to his being by birth a Roman. Thus much is also cer- tain, that his successor, Gregory V., who was a German, and who was elected pontifl" by the order of Otho III. in the year 99G, experienced very different treatment ; and was expelled from Rome by Crescens, the Roman Consul, who conferred his dignity upon John XVI., for- merly known by the name of Philagathus. But this revolution was not permanent in its effects. Otho III. alarmed by the disturbances at Rome, marched into Italy, in 998, at the head of a powerful army, and casting into prison the new pontiff, whom the soldiers, in the first moment of their fury, had barbarously maimed and abused, reinstated Gregory in his former honours, and placed him again at the head of the Church. Upon the death of this latter pontiff, whicli happened soon after his restoration, the same emperor raised to the papal dignity his preceptor and friend, the famous and learned Gerbert, or Silvester II.. ■whose promotion was attended with the universal approbation of the Roman people. Of the manners of this age it is difTicult to form a competent idea. They were a compound of the most inconsistent qualities of superstition and licentiousness, of chivalry and devotion. The priests and the ladies divided the empire of the world ; but they divided it, not as rivals, hut as allies. The pr'^fitable share fell into the lap of the Church, while the female sex received the no less grateful tribute of adulation and respect. The accession of power and dignity which the superior orders of ecclesiastics received at this period balHcs all computation. Many of the bishops and abbots obtained a complete immunity from the jurisdiction of the counts and other magistrates, as well as from all taxes, services, and imposts whatever. The ambition of others aspired at no less than the highest temporal dignities, and received the titles and honours of dukes, man(uises, and counts of the empire. The views and motives were various which induced the sovereigns of Europe to comply with these presumptuous claims. The spiritual rulers were the happiest agents which tyranny could employ for the sul)jeclion of the people. In many cases these agents were the sons or brothers of the * Fleury says eleven months. Cent. X.] history of the church. 201 temporal lords. Unbounded use was also made of the power which the clergy had acquired over the consciences of the great as well as over those of the people ; the keys of purgatory at least, if not of hell, were deposited in their hands ; the dying profligate considered no price too dear for the redemption of his soul : and in a word, to use the ex- pression of a witty author, " having found what Archimedes wanted',, another world to rest on, they moved this world as they pleased."* Power is however not necessarily the concomitant of high intellectual attainments ; for, in truth, the clergy were so ignorant in this age, that it is said many among them were even incapable of repeating the apos- tles' creed. 'I'his indeed was a necessary consequence of the iniqui- tous and injudicious distribution of ecclesiastical preferments. The election of bishops and abbots was no longer conducted according to the laws of the Church ; but kings and princes, or their ministers and favourites, eitlier conferred these ecclesiastical dignities upoiv their friend's and creatures, or sold them without shame to the highest bidder. Hence it happened, as it ever will where the same measures are adopted, that the most meritorious were depressed or neglected, while the most illiterate and flagitious were frequently advanced to the highest stations in the Church ; and upon several occasions, that even soldiers, civil magistrates, counts, and persons of a similar description, were, by a strange metamorphosis, converted into bishops and abbots. The first flagrant abuse of pluralities is recorded as occurring in 936, when Ma- nesseh, bishop of Aries, obtained from Hugh, king of Italy, his relation, several other bishoprics ; he is said to have been possessed of not less than four or five at one time. Gregory YII., however, endeavoured in the following century to put a stop to these increasing evils. While the monastic orders, among the Greeks and orientals, main- tained still an external appearance of religion and decency, the Latin monks, toward the commencement of tliis century, had so entirely ne- glected all subordination and discipline, that the greatest part of them knew not even by name the rule of St. Benedict, which they were obliged to observe. A noble Frank, whoso name was Odo, a man as learned and pious as the ignorance and superstition of the times would permit, endeavoured to remedy this disorder ; nor were his attempts totally unsuccessful. This zealous ecclesiastic being created, in the year 927, abbot of Clugni, in the province of Burgundy, upon the death of Berno, not only obliged the monks to live in a rigorous observance of their rules, but also added to their discipline a new set of rites and ceremonies. This institute of discipline was in a short lime adopted in all the European convents. Thus it was that the urdcr of Cliigm arrived to that high deuree of eminence and authority, opulence and dignity, which it exhibited to the Christian world in the following cen- tury. * Tlic crrtlit of this witticism Mr. Hume has chcsen to take to hiin--olf, but [l is really stolen from Dndcn. See his Don Sebastian. 202 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. X. CHAPTER II. OF THE DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, OF THE CHURCH DURING THE TENTH CENTURY. Ardour for accumuluting relics — Purgatoiy — The day of jndjrment supposed to be at hand — Mode of creating saints — Solemn excommunication — Controversy concerning mar- riage. The state of religion in this century was such as might be expected in a season of prevailing ignorance and corruption. Both Greeks and Latins placed the essence and life of religion in the worship of images and departed saints, in searching after with zeal, and preserving with a devout care and veneration, the sacred relics of holy men and women, and in accumulating riches upon the priests and monks, whose opu- lence increased with the progress of superstition. Scarcely iid the humble Christian dare to approach the throne of a merciful God, with- out first rendering the saints and images propitious, by a solemn round of expiatory rites and lustrations. The ardour also with which relics were sought surpasses almost all credibility ; it had seized all ranks and orders of the people, and was grown into a sort of fanaticism and phrensy ; nor was it conceived to be any diminution of the dignity of the Supreme Being to interpose in these discoveries, which, according to the monkish legends, were generally made in consequence of some miraculous communications to one of the holy fraternit}', or to some superannuated female, who was directed to the place where the bones or remains of the saints lay dispersed or interred. The fears of pur- gatory were now carried to the greatest extent, and even exceeded the apprehensions of infernal torments. It was believed, that all must ne- cessarily endure the pains of the former, but that the latter might be easily avoided, provided the deceased was enriched with the prayers of the clergy, or shielded by the merits and mediations of the saints. Among the numerous opinions, however, which disgraced the Latin Church, and produced, from time to time, such violent agitations, none occasioned such a universal panic, nor such dreadful impressions of terror or dismay, as a notion that prevailed during this century of the immediate approach of the day of judgment. Hence prodigious num- bers of people abandoned all their civil and parental connections, and, assigning over to tne churches or monasteries all their lands, treasures, and worldly efiects, repaired, with the utmost precipitation, to Palestine, where they imagined that Christ would descend from heaven to judge the world. Others devoted themselves, by a solemn and voluntary oath, to the service of the churches, convents, and priesthood, whose slaves they became, in the most rigorous sense, joyfully performing their diurnal tasks, from a notion that the Supreme Judge would dimi- nish the severity of their sentence, and look upon them with a more favourable and propitious eye, on account of their having made them- selves the devotees of his ministers. When an eclipse of the sun or moon happened to be visible, the cities were deserted, and their mise- rable inhabitants fled for refuge to hollow caverns, and hid themselves among the craggy rocks, and in the cavities of mountains. The opu- lent attempted to bribe the Ueity and his saints, by rich donations con- Cent. X.] history of the church. 203 ferred upon the sacerdotal and monabtic orders, who were considered as the immediate vicegerents of Heaven. In many places, temples, palaces, and noble edifices, both public and private, were suffered to decay, and were even deliberately pulled down, from an opinion that they were no longer of any use, since the dissolution of all things was at hand. This general delusion was, indeed, opposed and combated by the discerning few, who endeavoured to dispel these groundless terrors, and to efface the notion they arose from, in the minds of the people. The number of the saints, who were looked upon as ministers of the kingdom of heaven, and whose patronage was esteemed such an un- speakable blessing, was now every where multiplied, and the celestial courts were filled with new legions of this species of beings, some of which had no existence but in the imagination of their deluded clients and wor- shippers. This multitude of saints may be easily accounted for, when we consider that superstition, the source of fear, was grown to such an enormous height in this age, as rendered the creation of new patrons necessary, to calm the anxiety of trembling mortals. The corruption and impiety also which now reigned with unbounded sway, and the licentiousness and dissolution that had so generally infected all ranks and orders of men, rendered the reputation of sanctity very easy to be acquired ; for amid such a perverse generation, it demanded no great efforts of virtue to be esteemed holy, and this doubtless contributed to increase considerably the number of the celestial advocates. The Roman pontiff, who before this period had pretended to the right of creating saiiUs by his sole authority, afforded, in this century, the first specimen of this ghostly power ; for, in the preceding ages, there is no example of his having exercised this privilege alone. This specimen was given in the year 993, by John XV., who, with all the formalities of a solemn canonization, enrolled Udalric, bishop of Augs- burg, in the number of the saints, and thus conferred upon him a title to the worship and veneration of Christians. The number of ceremonies increased in proportion to that of the saints, which multiplied from day to day ; for each new saintly patron had appropriated to his service a new festival, a new form of worship, a new round of religious rites ; and the clergy discovered, in the crea- tion of new ceremonies, a wonderful fertility of invention, attended with the utmost dexterity and artifice. It is observable that a great part of these new rites derived their origin from the various errors which the barl)arous nations had received trom their ancestors, and still retained, even after their conversion to Christianity. The clergy, instead of extirpating those errors, gave them a Christian aspect, either by inventing certain religious rites to cover tlieir deformity, or by ex- plaining them in a forced, allegorical manner ; and thus they were per- petuated in the Church, and devoutly transmitted from age to age. Between the seventh and the tenth century, great solemnities were added to the sentence of excommunication. The most important was the extinction of lamps or candles, by throwing them to the ground, with a solemn imprecation, that the person against whom tbe excom- munication was pronounced might be extinguished or destroyed by the vengeance of God. The people were summoned to attend this cere- mony by the sound of a bell, and the curses accompanying the cere- 204 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. X. mony were pronounced out of a book by the minister, standing in a balcony. Hence originated the phrase of cursing by bell, book, and candle light. The controversies between the Greek and Latin Churches were carried on with less impetuosity than in the preceding century, on ac- count of the troubles and calamities of the times ; yet they were not entirely reduced to silence. The writers, therefore, who affirm that this unhappy schism was healed, and that the contending parties were reallv reconciled to each other for a certain space of time, have been grossly mistaken ; though it be, indeed, true that the tumults of the times sometimes produced a cessation of these contests, and occasion- ed several truces, which insidiously concealed the bitterest enmity, and served often as a cover to the most treacherous designs. The Greeks were much divided among themselves, and disputed with great warmth concerning the lawfulness of repeated marriages, to which violent contest the case of Leo, surnamed the Pliilosophcr, gave rise. This emperor, having buried successively three wives without having had by them any male issue, espoused a fourth, whose name was Zoe Carbinopsina, and who was born in the obscurity of a mean condition. As marriages repeated for the fourth time were held to be impure and unlawful by the Greek canons, Nicholas, the patriarch of Constantino- ple, suspended the emperor, upon this occasion, from the comnnmion of the Church. Leo, incensed at this rigorous proceeding, deprived Nicholas of the patriarchal dignity, and raised Euthymius to that office ; who, though he readmitted the emperor to the bosom of the Church, yet opposed the decree which he had resolved to enact, in order to render fourth marriages lawful. Upon this a schism, attended with the bitterest animosities, divided the clergy, one part of whom declared for Nicholas, the other for Euthymius. Some lime after this Leo died, and was succeeded in the empire by Alexander, who deposed Euthy- mius, and restored Nicholas to his former rank in the Church. No sooner was the incensed patriarch reinstated in his office, than he be- gan to load the memory of the late emperor with the bitterest execra- tions, and the most opprobrious invectives, and to maintain the unlaw- fulness of fourth marriages with the utmost obstinacy. In order to appease these tunndts, which portended numberless calamities to the state, Constantine Porphyrogcnitus, the son of liCO, convened an assembly of the clergy of Constantinople, in the year 920, in which fourth marriages were absolutely prohibited, and marriages for the third time were permitted only on certain conditions. By those means public tranquillity was restored to the eastern Church, the respectability of which was sensibly declining during this century, which produced few ecclesiastics of the Greek communion, who deserve to bo cele- brated either for their virtue or ability. 1 Cent. X.] history of the church. 205 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED I.N THE TENTH CEXTURY. Prevalence of Manicheisra — Sect of the Anthropomorphites. A PERIOD which is barren in intellect and science is commonly bar- ren in fact. Where no spirit of inquiry is excited, there will be few departures from established forms. Of the sectaries, too, who existed during the middle ages, the accounts must necessarily be imperfect. — The Church was then nearly in the plenitude of its power, and little ceremony was observed in the extermination of those who disturbed its tranquillity ; the inquiries which were made concerning the faith of those whom they persecuted, we may well conceive, were but superfi- cial ; nor were the historians of orthodoxy, at this unpropitious crisis, extremely well qualified for transmitting their annals to posterity. Among the Catholic writers of this century, we find many indistinct complaints of the prevalence of Manicheism, and of the disrespect of individuals toward the Romish faith. Few instances of any deviation from established opinions and practices have, however, been recorded by the ecclesiastical writers of that period, except the Anthropomor- phites. This sect, which arose in Egypt during the fourth century, and occasioned many disturbances in the Egyptian Church, was re- newed in this, and found a few adherents among a superstitious people, who, accustomed to worship the Deity under a human form, were easily induced to embrace the opinion of this sect, which, taking the Scripture in a literal sense, believed, from the text that " God made man in his own image," that the Supreme Being existed in a human form. This opinion, however, extended no farther than Italy, where it was chiefly adopted by some of the ecclesiastical order CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN I.V THE TENTH CENTURY. Dearth of literature in the tenth century — Leo, Constantine Porjjhyrogenitus, and Ger- bert — Simeon, Motaphrastes, Eutychius, and Barcepha — Luitprand and Roswida. The labour of the historian must vary with his materials. Where nothing has been performed, nothing remains to be recorded. From the end of the ninth to the latter periods of the tenth centurj-, there were few who read, and scarcely any who wrote, within the pale of the Christian Church. If the throne of the oast was adorned by a Leo and a Constantine ; if the papal tiara was honoured by encirchng the learned brow of a Gerbert ; these were singular examples, and are rather perhaps to be classed among the admirers than the professors of literature. The works of Constantine PorpluTogenitus deserve rather the name of compilations than of compositions : and of Gerbert it has been well remarked, that his genius was too extensive to admit of restraint. By endeavouring to embrace every science in an age 206 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT, X. when the means of information were scanty, he was an adept in none ; {Fleury ;) and even his mathematics, which constituted his favourite study, if compared with those of modern times, though easy and per- spicuous, were rather elementarj' and superficial. (Mosheim, cent, x.) At the court of Constantinople about this period, there were found some, voluminous, but injudicious and fabulous writers ; among these was Simeon, surnamed Metaphrastes, because he is said to have improved the style of the voluminous History of the Lives of the Saints. He was also the compiler of twenty-four moral discourses, extracted from the works of St. Basil, and of some other collections from St. Maca- rius. Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria, composed an historical chronicle, extending from the creation to 937 ; and Moses Barcepha, a bishop in Syria, wrote a mystical treatise of Paradise, in three books. {Du Pin.) The writers of the west chiefly confined their compositions to ab- surd relations of the miracles performed by the saints. Among those who celebrated their praises, was Roswida, a nun, who composed se- veral poems to their honour, and who has been distinguished for her style, and her knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. CXNT. XI.] HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. 207 THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN' THIS CENTURY. L^onversion of barbarous nations — Kingdom of Sicily established — Power of the clergy —Benedict VIII.— John XIX.— Benedict IX.— Sylvester III.— Gregory VI.— Clement II. — Nictiol:i.s II. — New mode of electing popes — Alex;inder II. — Honorius II. — Gregory VIII. — His riaims upon England resisted — Sanguiniiry contest wilh the cmpcroi — Cle- ment III. — Victor III. — Urban II. — Crusades — Paschal II. It has already been remarked, in the history of the preceding cen- tury, that some imperfect notions of the Christian religion had been received among the Hungarians, Danes, Poles, and Russians ; but the rude spirit of these nations, together with their extreme ignorance, and their strong attachment to the superstitions of their ancestors, rendered their total conversion to Christianity a work of considerable difficulty. The ardour, however, with which it was conducted, reflects much credit upon the piety of the princes and governors of these unpo- lished countries. In Tartary and the adjacent regions, the zeal and diligence of the Nestorians gained multitudes daily to the profession of Christianity. It nppears also evident, from a number of unexception- able testimonies, that metropolitan prelates, with a great number of inferior bishops under their jurisdiction, were established at this time in the provinces of Casgar, Nuacheta, Tjjrkestan, Genda, and 'i'angut. Among the European nations, still immersed in their native darkness and superstition, were the Sclavonians, the Obotriti, the Yenedi, and the Prussians, whose conversion had been attempted, but with little or no success, by several missionaries, whose piety and earnestness were far from producing adequate etl'ects. Toward the conclusion of the preceding century, Adalbert, bishop of Prague, had endeavoured to infuse into the minds of the ferocious and uncivilized Prussians, the doctrines of the Gospel ; but his attempt was unsuccessful, and the avenging lance of Siggo, a pagan priest, terminated his conflict with this race of barbarians. Boleslaus, king of Poland, revenged the death of this |)ious apostle, by entering into a sanguinary war wilh the Prussians, and he obtained by the force of penal laws, and of a victo- rious army, what Adalbert could not elfect by exhortation and argu- ment. This violent method of conversion, so little consistent with the doctrines it was intended to promote, was, however, accompanied by others of a gentler kind, and the attendants of Poleslaus seconded the military arguments of their prince, by the more persuasive intlii- ence of admonition and instruction. An ecclesiastic of illustrious birth, whose name was Boniiace, and who was one of the disciples of St. Romauld, undertook to instruct the Prussians in the doctrines of Christianity, and was succeeded in this pious enterprise by Bruno, who, accompanied by eighleen of his friends, and authorized by tho 208 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. pope, John XVII., departed from Germany in order to prosecute this laudable design. The arguments of Adalbert and Boniface appear, however, to have had very transient eilects upon tlieir auditors ; for the zealous Bruno and his associates were all barbarously massacred by the rude and indexible Prussians, whom neither the vigorous efforts of Boleslaus, nor those of the succeeding kings of Poland, could per- suade to abandon totally the idolatry of their ancestors. {Ant. Pagi Critica in Baronium, torn, iv, ad anninii 1008, p. 97 ; Hartnoch's Ecclcs. Hist, of Prussia., b. 1, ch. i. p. 12.) Sicily had remained under the dominion of the Saracens since the ninth century. In the year 1059, Robert Guiscard, who had formed a settlement in Italy at the head of a Norman colony, and was after- ward created duke of Apulia, stimulated by the exhortations of Pope Nicholas II., and seconded by the assistance of his brother Roger, attacked with the greatest vigour and intrepidity the Mussulmans in Sicily ; nor diJ the latter sheathe his victorious sword before he had rendered himself master of that island, and cleared it absolutely of its former tyrants. This enterprise was no sooner achieved, than Roger restored the Christian religion to the splendour it had formerly en- joyed. Bishoprics were established, monasteries founded, and magni- ficent churches erected throughout the island. The clergy were endowed by him with those immense revenues, and those distinguished honours, which they still enjoy. {See Burigni, Hist. Gcneralc dc la Sicile, torn, i, p. 38G.) In the privileges conferred on this valiant chief, we find the origin of that supreme authority in matters of religion which is still vested in the kings of Sicily, within the limits of their own territories, and which is known by the name of the Sicilian monarch 1/ ; for Urban II. is recorded to have granted, in 1097, by a special diploma to Roger and his successors the title, authority, and prerogatives of hereditary legates of the apostolic see. The court of Rome denies, however, the authenticity of this diploma, and, in conse- quence of the pretensions to supremacy advanced by the popes, many violent contentions have arisen between the pontilTs of Rome and the kings of Sicily. The successors of Roger governed that island, under the title| of dukes, until the twelfth century, when it was erected into a kingdom. [Sec Baronii Liber dc Monarchia Silicim, tom. xi, Annul., as also Dii Piii, Traite dc la Monarchic Sicilicnnc.) The power, opulence, and splendour of the Church had in this century nearly attained their zenith. The western bishops were ele- vated to the rank of dnkes, counts, and nobles, and enriched with ample territories ; the terrors of excommunication were denounced against the offender who should impiously offer violence to one of these spi- ritual rulers. Many of the inferior clergy attained to considerable opulence, and the canons published against that order prove, at least, that their licentiousness kept pace with their increasing wealth. The Grecian clergy were perhaps rather less disorderly, from the calamities with which their country was oppressed, and which imposed a restraint upon their passions. Yet, notwithstanding these salutary checks, there were few examples of exalted piety to be found among them. The Roman pontifl's were in this century generally and permanently decorated with tlie pompous titles of the masters of the world, and popes, or universal fathers : they presided every where in the councils Cent. XI.] historv of the church. 20D by their legates ; and assumed the auihority of supreme arbiters in all controversies which arose concerning religion or Church discipline. Not satisfied, however, with the character of supreme legislators in the Church, they assumed that of lords of the universe, arbiters of the fate of kingdoms and empires, and supreme rulers of the kings and princes of the earth. The example of this usurpation was first afforded by Leo« IX., who granted to the Xormans the lands and territories which they had seized in Italy, or were endeavouring to force out of the hand.s of the Greeks and Saracens. {Mushcim.) The ambition, however, of the aspiring popes was opposed by the emperors, the kings of France, by William the Conqueror, and by several other princes, as well as by some of the bishops in France and Germany. Benedict VIII., who was raised to the pontificate in the year 1012, through the interest of his father, the count of Frescati, experienced )io less than some of his predecessors the turbulent spiiit of the times. Several of the Roman people, disapproving his election, chose in opposition to him a person of the name of Gregory-, by whom ho was compelled to leave Rome. Thus situated, Benedict lied into Germany, and implored the assistance of Henry II., by whom he was reinstated in the apostolic chair, which he possessed in peace until the vear 1021. He was succeeded by his brother, who, tho«gh not at that time in orders, obtained the papal chair by the same infiucnce to which Benedict had owed his promotion. {Jortiiis Remarks, 5, \. 25, 3\.) The death of Jolin XIX. introduced to the pontificate his nephew, Be- nedict IX.. an abandoned profligate, who also was chosen by bribery, and whose flagitious conduct incurred the just resentment of the Ro- mans, who in the year 1038 degraded him from his oflTice. He was afterward, indeed, restored by the Emperor Conrad to the papal chair ; but adversity had so little produced its usual effects, circumspection and prudence, that, irritated by his repeated crimes, the populace de- posed him a second time ii» 1044, and elected in his place John, bishop of Sabina, who assumed the name of Sylvester III. The newly-elected pontiff had, however, a very transitory enjoyment of his dignity : in about three months after his elevation, the powerful family of Fres- cati again rose in arms, assembled their adherents, drove Sylvester out of the city, and restored the degraded Benedict to his forfeited honours ; but, perceiving the impossibility of appeasing the resentment of the Romans, he sold the pontificate to John Gratian, archpresbyter of Rome, who took the name of Gregory VL, and carried his mar- tial rage so far, that he acquired the additional epithet of Bloody. (Jurtins Rcinarlis, 5, v. 34.) Thus the Church had, at the same"^, time, three chiefs, Benedict, Sylvester, and Gregory ; but the contest^, was terminated in the year 1010, in the council held at Sulri, by the emperor, Henry 111., who ordered that the rival pontifls shoiild all be declared unwortliy cf the papal chair ; and Suidgar, bishoj) of Bamberg, was raised to that dignity, which he enjoyed for a short time under the title of Clement II. The refractory Benedict continued for several years to disturb the tranquillity of his successors in the popedom ; nor did his d(^ccase terminate the efforts of the lurbulent house of Frescati. Among the seven popes who succeeded Clement 11., the last only, Nicholas IT., is entitled to notice. This pontiff assembleil a council Rl Rome, in 1059, in which, among many salutary laws designed to 14 210 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. heal the inveterate disorders which had afflicted the Church, one re- markable decree was passed for changing the ancient form of electing the Roman pontiff. Nearly about the same time he received the ho- mage of the Norrpans, and solemnly created Robert Guiscard duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, on condition that he should observe, as a faithful vassal, an inviolable allegiance to the Roman Church, and pay an annual tribute in acknowledgment of his subjection to the apostolic see. Reforc the pontificate of Nicholas II. the popes were chosen not only by the suffrages of the cardinals, but also by those of the whole Roman clergy, the nobility, the burgesses, and the assemblj'' of the people. An election in which such a confused and jarring multitude was concerned could not fail to produce continual factions, animosities, and tumults. To prevent these, as far as was possible, tbis provident pontiff passed a law, by which the cardinals, as well presbyters as bishops, were empowered, upon a vacancy in the see of Rome, to elect a new pope, without any prejudices to the ancient privileges of the Roman emperors in this important matter. It does not, however, appear that the rest of the clergy, with the burgesses and people, were utterly excluded from all part in this election, since their consent was solemnly demanded, And even esteemed of much weight ; but that, in consequence of this new regulation, the cardinals acted the principal part in the creation of the new pontiff; though they suffered for a long time much opposition both from the sacerdotal orders and the Roman citizens, who were constantly either reclaiming their ancient rights, or abusing the privilege they yet retained of confirming the election of every new pope by their approbation and consent. In the following century these disputes were terminated by Alexander III., who com- pleted what Nicholas had only begim, and transferred and confined to the college of cardinals the right of electing to the apostolic sec, to the exclusion of the nobility, the people, and the rest of the clergy. The decree of Nicholas comprehends the seven Roman bishops, who were considered as the sifffra^aiis, and of whom the bishop of Ostia was (he chief, together with the eight-and-twenty ministers, who had in- spection over the principal Roman Churches : to these were afterward added, under Alexander III., and other pontiffs, new members, in order to appease the resentment of those who considered themselves as injured i)y the edict of Nicholas, and also to answer the other purposes of ecclesiastical policy. Though Nicholas II. had expressly acknowledged and confirmed in his edict the right of the emperor to ratify by his consent the election of the pontiff, his eyes were no .sooner closed than the Romans, at the instigation of Ilildebrand, archdeacon, and afterward bishop of RouK!, violated tbis im[)erial privilege. They not only elected to the pontificate .Vnselm, bishop of Lucca, who assumed the name of Alex- ander II., but also solemnly installed him in his office without consulting the emperor, Henry IV., or giving him tlie least information of the mat- ter. Agnes, the mother of the yotmg emperor, no sooner received an account of this irregular transaction Iiy the bishops of Lombardy, to whom the election of Anselm was extremely unacceptable, than she as- sembhd a council at Basil, and, in order to maintain the autliority of her son, who was yet a minor, caused Cadolaus, bishop of Parma, to 14* Cent. XI.] history of the church. 211 be elected pope, under the title uf Hoiioriu.s II. Hence arose a long and furious contest between the two rival poniifl's, who maintained their respective pretensions by the force of arms. In this violent contention Alexander triumphed, though he could never engage his ubstinate ad- versary to desist from his pretensions. This contest, however, appears of little consequence when viewed in comparison with the dreadful commotions which Hildebrand, who succeeded Alexander, and assumed the name of Gregory VII., excited^ both in Church and state. This vehement pontiff', who was a Tuscan of obscure birth, rose, by degrees, from the obscure station of a monk of Clugni, to the rank, of archdeacon in the Roman Church ; and, from the time of Leo IX., who treated him with peculiar marks of distinc- tion, was accustomed to govern the Roman pontiffs by his counsels. In tiie year 1073, and on the same day in whicli Alexander was interred, he was raised to the pontificate by the unanimous .suffrages of the car- dinals, bishops, abbots, monks, and people, and consequently without any regard being paid to the edict of Nicholas II., and his election was conHrmed by the approbation and consent of Henry IV., king of the Romans, to whom ambassadors had been sent for that purpose. Hildebrand was a man of uncommon genius, whose ambition in form- ing the most arduous projects was equalled by his dexterity in re- ducing them to execution. Sagacious, crafty, and intrepid, nothing could escape his penetration, defeat his stratagems, or daunt his cou- rage : haughty and arrogant beyond all measure, obstinate, impe- tuous, and intractable, he is suspected even of aspiring to the summit of universal empire ; and indeed he appears to have laboured up the steep ascent with uninterrupted ardour and invincible perseverance. i\o sooner did he find himself in the papal chair, than he displayed to the world the most odious marks of his tyrannical ambition. Not con- tent to enlarge the jurisdiction, and to augment the opulence, of the see of Rome, he laboured indefatigably to render the universal Church subject to the despotic govenunent and the arbitrary power of the pon- tiff alone, to dissolve the jurisdiction which kings and emperors had hitherto exercised over the various orders of the clergy, and to exclude them from all part in the management or di.stribution of the revenues of the (Jhurch ; and, unsatislied even with this object, he proceeded to submit to his jurisdiction llie emperors, kings, and princes, and to render their dominions tribiitaiy to the Roman see. The state of Europe during this period was peculiarly favourable to the projects of the aspiring ponlilF. The empire of Germany was weak ; France was governed by a young and dissipated monarch, little (jualified, and little disposed, to conduct affairs of state ; a great j)art of Sj)ain was uiuler the dominion of the Moors; the kingdoms of the north were newly converted ; Italy governed by a number of petty princes ; and England recently conquered by the Normans. In such a juncture, Hildebrand met with little opposition to his ambitious de- signs ; and that such were his designs is undoubtedly evident, both from his own epistles, and from other authentic records of antiquity. The nature of the oath which he drew up for the king or emperor of the Romans, from whom he demanded a profession of .subjection and allegiance, abundantly displays the arrogance of his pretensions. But his conduct toward the kingdom of France demands particular atter 212 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. tion. It is an undisputed fact, that whatever dignity and dominion the popes enjoyed was originally derived from that kingdom, or, which is the same thing, from the princes of that nation ; and yet Ilildebrand, or, (according to his papal appellation,) Gregory VII., pretended that the kingdom of France was tributary to the see of Rome, and commanded liis legates to demand yearly, in the most solemn manner, the pay- ment of that tribute. Their demands, however, were treated with contempt, and the tribute was never either acknowledged or oflered. Nothing, indeed, escaped the ambition of the aspiring pontiff. Saxony was claimed by him as a feudal tenure htdd in sul^jection to the seo of Rome, to which it had been formerly yielded by Charlemagne, as a pious offering to St. Peter. He extended also his pretensions to th(i kingdom of Spain, maintaining in one of his letters that it was the pro- perty of the apostolic see from the earliest times of the Church ; yet, with the usual inconsistency of falsehood, he acknowledged in another that the transaction by which the successors of St. Peter had accjuircd this property had been lost among other ancient records. The despotic views of this pontiff met in England with a degree of opposition to which they had been little accustomed in other countries of Europe. William the Conqueror was a prince of great spirit and resolution, extremely jealous of his rights, and tenacious of the prerogatives h« enjoyed as an independent sovereign. Policy, however, demanded some concessions to the authority of the pontiff, and the prudent mo- narch determined upon a line of conduct which might evince his sub- mission without diminishing his authority. The claims of Gregory to the arrears of Petcr-pcnce were therefore readily acceded to ; but his demand of homage from the kingdom of England, which he asserted was a fief of the apostolic see, was obstinately refused by the haughty Norman, who intrepidly declared that he held his kingdom of God only l^and his own sword. [Collier's Ecc. Hist., iv, 1713.) Demetrius Suinimer, duke of Croatia and Dalmatia, was raised to the rank and prerogatives of royalty by this pontiff, in the year 1076, and solemnlv proclaimed king by his legate, at Salona, upon condition thai he should pay an annual tribute of two hundred pieces of gold to St. Peter at every Easter festival. The kingdom of Poland became also the object of Gregory's aspir- ing views, and a favourable occasion was offered for the accomplish- ment of his designs; for Basilaus II. having a6s:^s^sillated Stanislaus, liishop of Cracow, the pontiff (excommunicated and dethroned the mo- narch, dissolved the oath of allegiance which his subjects had taken, and, bv an express and imperious edict, prohibited the noldes ai\d clergy of ]*oland from electing a new king without the consent of tho apostolic see. (See Dlngossi Hist. Polon., tom. i, p. 295.) , The plan which Gregory had formed for raising the Church above /all human authority encountered the most insurmountable oppositior ; in the two reigning vices of concuhinagc and simony, which had in \fected the whole body of the European clergy. The Roman pontiffs from the time of Stephen IX,, had combated with zeal and vehemenct these monstrous enormities, but without success. Gregory, however not discouraged, exerted himself with much more vigour than his predecessors. He assembled a council at Rome in 1074, in which all tho laws of the former pontiffs against simony were renewed and Cent. XI.] history of tul church. 213 confirmed, and the purcliase and sale of ecclesiastical benefices prolu- bited in the strictest and severest rnaiiner. This decree, which in itselt' was prudent and just, was unfortunately connected with anotjier, obli- ging the priests to abstain from marriage, which was absurdly deemed inconsistent with the sanctity of their office. This absiird regulation no sooner made its appearance than it was opposed by a considerable number of the clergy, who were either connected by legal lies, or who lived in a state of concubinage, and the most alarming tumults were excited in the greatest part of the European provinces. This^- vehement contest was gradually calmed through length of time, and by the perseverance of the obstinate pontiff; nor did any of the European kings and princes concern themselves so much about the marriages of the clergy as to maintain their cause, or prolong the con- troversy. But the troubles which arose from the law that regarded the extirpation of siinunij were not so easily appeased ; the tumults it occa- sioned were daily increased ; the methods of reconciliation more diffi- cult ; and in many countries it involved both state and church, during several years, in the deepest calamities, and the most complicated scenes of confusion. Henry IV. received, indeed, graciously the le- gates of Gregory, and applauded his zeal for the extirpation of simo- ny ; but neither this prince nor the German bishops would permit these legates to assemble a council in Germany, or to proceed judi- cially against those who had been charged with simoniacal j)ractices. The pontiif, exasperated at this restraint in the execution of his de- signs, convened another council at Rome in the year 1075, in which he pursued his adventurous project with greater impetuosity and vehe- mence than before, and not only excluded from the communion of the Church several German and Italian bishops, and several favourites of Henry, whose counsels that prince was said to make use of in the traffic of ecclesiastical dignities, but also pronounced, in a formal edict- anathema against irhoevcr received the investiture of a bishopric, or ab-\ haci/,from the hands of a layman, as also against those by who?n the in-j vcstiturc should be performed. — The severe law which had been enacted against inrcstitures, by the influence and attention of Gregory, made very little impression upon Henry. He acknowledged himself wrong in exposing ecclesiastical benefices to sab;, and he promised amendment in that respect; but remained inllexil)le against all atteinpis which were made to persuade him to resign his power of creating bishops nnd abbots, and the right of invesltture which was intimately connected with this important privilege. Had the emperor been assisted by the German princes, he might have maintained this refusal witli dignity and success, but unhappily he was not ; a considerable number of these princes, and among others the states of Saxony, were the secret or declared enemies of Henry; and this furnished Gregory with a favourable opportunity of extending his authority and executing his ambitious projects. This opportunity was by no means neglect<'d ; the pope todk occasion, from those discords that divided the empire, to insult and depress its chief; he sent by his legates an insolent message to the emperor at (Joslar, ordering him to repair immediately to Rome, and exculpate himself before a council, there to be assembled, of the various crimes that were laid to his charge. The emperor, whose high spirit could ill brook such arrogant treatment, 214 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. was filled with indignation at the sight of that insolent mandate, and, in the vehemence of just resentment, summoned without delay a council of German bishops at Worms, where Gregory was charged with seve- ral flagitious practices, deposed from the pontificate, of which he was declared unworthy, and an order issued for the election of a new pontiflT. Gregory opposed violence to violence ; no sooner had he received, by the letters and ambassadors of Henry, an account of the sentence which had been pronounced against him, than he began to thunder his ana- themas at the head of that prince, and excluded him both from the communion of the Church and from the throne of his ancestors. Thus the civil and ecclesiastical powers were divided into great factions, of which one maintained the rights of the emperor, while the other sup- ported the views of the pontiff. At the commencement of the war, the Swabian chiefs, with Duke Rodolph at their head, revolted against Henry ; and the Saxon princes, whose former quarrels with the emperor had been lately terminated by their defeat and submission, followed their example. These united powers being solicited by the pope to elect a new emperor, provided Henry persisted in his obstinate disobedience to the orders of the Church, met at Tribur in the year 1076, to consult concerning a matter of such high importance. When affairs were arrived at this desperate extremity, and the faction which was formed against this unfortunate prince grew daily more formidable, his friends advised him to proceed to Italy, and implore in person the clemency of the pontiff. The em- peror yielded to this ignominious counsel, without, however, obtaining from his voyage the advantages he expected. He passed the Alps amid the rigour of a severe winter, arrived in the month of February, 1077, at the fortress of Canusium, where the pope resided at that time with the young Matilda, countess of Tuscany, the most powerful patroness of the Church, and the most affectionate of the spiritual daughters of Gregory.* Here the suppliant prince, unmindful of his dignity, stood, during three days, in the open air, at the entrance of the fortress, with his feet bare, his head uncovered, and with no other rai- ment than a piece of coarse woollen cloth thrown over his body. The fourth day he was admitted to the presence of the pontiff, who, not without difliculty, granted him the absolution he demanded ; but with respect to his restoration to the throne, he refused to determine that point before the approaching congress, at which he made Henry promise to appear, forbidding him, at the same time, to assume, during this interval, the title of king, or to exercise the functicms of royalty. This opprobrious convention however excited, and that justly, the in- dignation of the princes and bishoj)s of Italy, who would undoubtedly have deposed Henry, had he not diminislied their resentment by vio- lating the convention into which he had been forced to enter with the imperious pontiff, and resuming the title, and other marks of royalty, which he had been obliged to lay down. On the other hand, the con- federate princes of Swabia and Saxony were no sooner informed of this unexpected change in the conduct of Henry, than they assembled * The enemies of the pojie accused him of a criminal correspondence with this lady. Lambertus, the historian, says it was a mere calumny, and gives this admirable proof, "that Gregory wrought many miracles, and therefore could not be a fornicator." (Jortinb, v. 41.) CkNT. XI.] HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. 215 at Forcheim in the month of March, 1077, and unanimously elected Rodolph, duke of Swabia, emperor in his room. This rash collision rekindled the flames of war in Germany and Italy, and involved, for a long period, those unhappy regions in every varietv of misery. In Italy, the Normans, who were masters of the lower parts of that country, and the armies of the powerful and valiant Ma- tilda, maintained successfully the cause of Gregory against the Lom- bards, who espoused the interests of Henry ; while this unfortunate prince, with all the forces he could assemble, carried on the war in Germany against Rodolph and the confederate princes. Gregory, con- sidering the events of war as extremely doubtful, was at first afraid to declare for either party, and therefore observed, for some time, an ap- pearance of neutrality; but, encouraged by the battle of Fludenheim, in which Henry was defeated by the Saxons, 1086, he again excommu- nicated that vanquished prince, and. sending a crown to the victor Ro- dolph, declared him lawful king of the Germans. The injured emperor did not permit this new insult to pass unpunished ; seconded by the suffrages of several of the Italian and German bishops, he deposed Gregory a second time in the council which met at Mentz, and, in a synod soon after assembled at Brixen, in the province of Tyrol, raised to the pontificate Guibert, archbishop of Ravenna, who assumed the title of Clement III., when consecrated at Rome, 1084, four years after his election. This election was followed by a dreadful battle fought upon the banks of the river Ebster, in which Rodolph received a mortal wound, and died a short time after at Mersburgh. The emperor, being now relieved from this formidable enemy, marched directly into Italy ; the following year (1081") he made several campaigns, with diflerent suc- cess, against the valiant troops of Matilda ; and, after having twice raised the siege of Rome, he resumed a third time that bold enterprise, and became at length master of the greater part of that city, in the year 1084. The first step of Henry, after this success, was to place Guil)ert in the papal chair ; after which he received the imperial crown from the hands of the new pontiiT, was saluted emperor by the Roman people, and laid close siege to the castle of St. Angelo, whither his mortal enemy Gregory had fled for safety. He was, however, forced to raise this siege, by the valour of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia and Calabria, who brought Gregory in triumph to Rome ; but, not supposing him safe there, conducted him afterward to Salernum. In this plac(^ the turbulent and celebrated Gregory ended his days in the following year, 1085, and left Europe involved in those calamities which were the fatal effects of his boundless ambition. '"'^ The death of Gregory neither restored peace to the Church, nor tranquillity to tlje state ; the tumidts and divisions which he had excited still continued, and they were constantly augmented by the same pas- sions to which they owed tlieir origin. Clement III., who was the emperor's pontiff, was master of tlie city of Rome, and was acknow- ledged as pope by a great part of Italy. Henry carried on the war in Germany against the confederate princes. The faction of Gregory, supported by the .Normans, chose for his successor, in the year 1086, Dideriek, al)bot of Mount Cassian, who adopted the title of Victor HI., and was reluctaiitlv consecrated in the church of St. Peter, in the •JIG insTORV OF Till: curiicH. [Cf.nt. XI. year 1087, when that, part of the city was recovered by the Normans for iho new pontiiT. The character of Victor was a p(;rfcct contrast to that of his predecessor Gregory. He was modest and timorous ; and rinding the papal chair beset with factions, and the city of Rome nnder the dominion of his competitor, he retired to liis monastery, where, soon after, he ended his days in peace. Before his abdication, how- ever, he hehl a council at Benevento, where he confirmed and re- newed the laws which Gregory had enacted for the abolition of i7ivcs- /i lures. Otho, bishop of Ostia, a and monk of Clugni, was, by Victor's recom- mendation, chosen to succeed him, and assumed the name of Urban 11. Inferior to Gregory in fortitude and resolution, he was his equal in arro- gance and pride, and surpassed him greatly in imprudence and temerity. The commencement of his pontificate had a fair aspect, and success seemed to smile upon his undertakings ; but upon the emperor's return 10 Italy in the year 1090, victory again crowned the arms of that prince, who, by redoubled efforts of valour, defeated at length Guelph, duke of Bavaria, and the celebrated Matilda, who were the formidable heads of the papal faction. The abominable treachery of his son Con- rad, who, yielding to the seduction of his father's enemies, revolted against him, and, by the advice and assistance of Th-b;in and Matilda, usurped the kingdom of Italy, revived the drooping spirits of that fac- tion, who hoped to see the laurels of the emperor blasted by this odious and unnatural rebellion. The consequences, however, of this event were less fatal to Henry than his enemies expected. In the mean- time, the troubles of Italy still continued, nor could Urban, with all his efforts, reduce the city of Rome under his yoke. But the views not only of Urban, but of all Christendom, were now diverted to another enterprise. The popes, from the time of Silvester ]!., had been forming plans for extending the limits of the Church in Asia, and especially for expelling the Mohammedans from Palestine ; but tlic troubles in which Europe had been so long involved prevented •^he execution of these arduous designs. Gregory VII., the most enter- prising pontiff that ever filled the apostolic chair, animated and inflamed by the complaints which the Asiatic Christians made of the cruelty of the Saracens, resolved to undertake in person a holy war for the de- liverance of the Church, and upward of fifty thousand men were already mustered to follow him in this bold expedition. [Gregorii W\. Epist. lib. ii, 3, in Ilurduini Conciliis, torn, vi, parti, p. 1285.) But his quar- rel with the emperor, and other unforeseen occurrences, obliged him to lay aside his intended invasion of the Holy Land. The project, /however, was renewed, toward the conclusion of this century, by the enthusiastic zeal of an inhabitant of Amiens, who was known by the name of Peter the Hermit, and who suggested to Pope Urban II sthe means of accomplishing what had been unfortunately suspended. The ancestors of Peter had ranked as gentlemen, and his military service was under the neighbouring counts of Boulogne, the heroes of the first crusade. But he soon relinquished the sword and the world. In a journey which he made thnnigh Palestine, 1093, he ob- served with inexpressible anguish the vexations and persecutions which the Christians, who visited the holy places, sulTercd from the barbarous and tyrannic Saracens. Inflamed, therefore, with indig- I Cent. XI.] historv of tiii: church. 217 nation and zeal, which he considered as the effect of a Divine impulse, he implored the assistance of Simeon, patriarch of Constanlhiople, and Urban II., but without success. Far from being discouraged by this, he renewed his efforts, and went through all the countries of Europe, exhorting all CJhristian princes to draw the sword against the tyrants of Palestine. His diet was abstemious, his prayers long and fervent, and the alms whicli he received with one hand he distributed with the other ; his head was bare, his feet naked, his meagre body was wrapped in a coarse garment ; be bore and displayed a weighty cru- cifix ; and the ass on which he rode was sanctified in the public eye by the service of the man of God. He preached to innumerable crowds in the churches, the streets, and the highways: the herraitj entered wiUt equal couJidence the ])alace and the cottage ; and thei people were impetuously moved by his call to repentance and arms. — ' When he painted the sufferings of the natives and pilgrims of Palestine, every heart was melted to compassion ; every breast glowed with in- 1 (lignalion, when he challenged the warriors of the age to defend their' brethren and rescue their Saviour : his ignorance of art and language was compensated by sighs, and tears, and ejaculations ; and Peter supplied the deficiency of reason by loud and frequent appeals to Christ and his mother, to the saints and angels of paradise. It would have been to his honour to have used no other artifices ; but it is said that,,' with a view to engage the superstitious and ignorant multitude in his cause, he carried about with him a letter, which he affirmed was written ) in heaven, and addressed to all true Christians to animate their zeal for the deliverance of their brethren, who groaned under the burdeni of a Mohammedan yoke. The minds of the people being tlms prepared by the exhortations of the hermit, a grand and numerous council was assembled by Urban at Placentia, A. U. 1095, and the pontiff recommended warmly, for the first time, the sacred expedition against the infidel Saracens. But this arduous enterprise was far from being approved by the greater part of this numerous assembly, notwithstanding the presence of the emperor's legates. In this council the decrees of Gregory were confirmed ; and the conduct of Urban, with respect to the investitures, was rather calculated to exasperate than to appease. Though disappointed at Placentia, Urban renewed his proposal for a holy war, in a council which was afterward assembled at Clermont, where he himself was present. The pompous and pathetic speech, which he delivered upon the occasion, made a deep and powerful im- pression upon the minds of the French? whose natural character renders them much superior to the Italians in encountering difficulties, facing danger, and attempting the execution of the most perilous designs. The warriors of this nation were not, however, the only auditors who were impressed by the eloquence of Urban. An incredible multitude, among whom were many of rank, devoted themselves to the service of the cross, which was made the symbol of the expedition, and which, workf'd in red worsted, was worn on the breasts or slioulders of the adventurers.* Every exertion was used by the court of Rome to in- crease the numbers. A plenary indulgence was proclaimed in the • Honce the name crusade. 218 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. council of Clermont to those who should enlist under the cross, and a full absolution of all their sins. The 15th of August, 1096, had been fixed in the council of Clermont for the departure of the pilgrims : but the day was anticipated by a thoughtless and needy crowd of plebeians. Early in the spring, from the confines of France and Lorraine, about sixty thousand of the popu- lace of both sexes flocked around the first missionary of the crusade, and pressed him, with clamorous importunity, to lead them to the holy ^■' sepulchre. The hermit, assuming the character, without the talents or authority of a general, impelled or obeyed the forward impulse of his votaries along the banks of the Rhine and Danube. Their wants and numbers soon compelled them to separate, and his lieutenant, Walter the Pennyless, a valiant though needy soldier, conducted « vanguard of pilgrims, whose condition may be determined from the proportion of eight horsemen to fifteen thousand foot. The example and footsteps of Peter were closely pursued by another fanatic, the monk Godeschald, whose sermons had swept away fifteen or twenty thousand peasants from the villages of Germany. Their rear was again pressed by a herd of two hundred thousand, the most stupid and savage refuse of the people, who mingled with their devotion a brutal license of rapine and drunken- ness. Some counts and gentlemen, at the head of three thousand horse, attended the motions of the multitude to partake in the spoil ; but their genuine leaders (may we credit such folly ?) were a goose and ^^v a goat, who were carried in the front, and to whom these worthy Chris- ^ tians ascribed an infusion of the Divine Spirit. "^ Of this rabble more than two-thirds were consumed by the Hunga- rians, &c., during their journey. The remainder escaped to Constan- tinople, where their ingratitude to the Emperor Alexius, and their tumultuous conduct, induced that monarch to allure them to the other side of the Bosphorus ; but their blind impetuosity soon urged them to desert this station, and to rush headlong against the Turks, who oc- cupied the road to Jerusalem. In the plain of Nice they were over- whelmed by the Turkish arrows ; and from the beginning to the end V^of this expedition 300,000 perished before a single city was rescued from the infidels, and before their graver and more noble brethren had completed their preparations. The armies which were conducted by illustrious commanders, dis- tinguished by their birth and their military endowments, arrived more happily at the capital of the Grecian empire. That which was com- manded by Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of Lorraine, who deserves a place among the greatest heroe^, whether of ancicnit or modern times, and by his brother Baldwin, was composed of eighty thousand well- chosen troops, horse and foot, and directed its march through Germany and Hungary. Another, which was headed by Raimond, earl of Tou- louse, passed through the Sclavonian territories. Robert, earl of Flanders, Robert, duke of Normandy, Hugo, brother to Philip I., king of France, embarked their respective forces in a fleet which was as- sembled at Brundisi and 'I'arento, whence they were transported to Durazzo, anciently Dyrrachium. These armies were followed by Boemond, duke of Apulia and Calabria, at the head of a chosen and numerous body of valiant Normans. /This army was one of the greatest, and, in outward appearance, one CeVT. XI.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 219 cf the most formidable that had been known in the memory of man^ and though, before its arrival at Constantinople, it was diminished con- siderably by the dilTiculties and oppositions it had met with on the way, yet, such as it was, it made the Grecian emperor tremble, and filled his mind with the most anxious and alarming apprehensions of some secret design against his dominions. His fears, however, were dispelled, when he saw these legions pass the straits of Gallipolis, and direct their march toward Bithynia. The first successful enterprise which was formed against the infidels v/as the siege of Nice, the capital of Bithynia. This city was taken in the year 1097, and the victorious army proceeded thence into Syria, and, in the following year, subdued Antioch, which, with its fertile ter- ritory, was granted by the assembled chiefs to Boemond, duke of Apulia. Edessa fell next into the hands of the victors, and became the property of Baldwin, brother to Godfrey of Bouillon. The conquest" of Jerusalem, which, after a siege of five weeks, submitted to their arms in the year 1099, seemed to crown their expedition with the desired success. In this city were laid the foundations of a new kingdom, at the head of which was placed the famous Godfrey, whom the army saluted king of Jerusalem with a unanimous voice. But this illustrious hero, whose other eminent qualities were adorned with the most per- fect modesty, refused that high title, though he governed Jerusalem with a degree of valour, equity, and prudence, which places him higher in the records of virtue than most founders of empires. Having chosen a small army to support him in his new dignity, he permitted the rest of the troops to return to Europe. He did not, however, enjoy long the fruits of a victory in whic+i his heroic valour had been so gloriously displayed, but died about a year after the conquest of Jerusalem, leaving his dominions to his brother Baldwin, prince of Edessa, who assumed the title of king without the smallest hesitation. Splendid as were these holy wars in appearance, they, however, were\ not less prejudicial to the cause of religion, and the true interests of the j Christian Church, than they were to the temporal concerns of men. — i One of the first and most pernicious effects, was the most enormous augmentation of the iniluence and authority of the Roman pontifls ; they also contributed, in various ways, to enrich the churches and monasteries with daily accessions of wealth, and to open new sources of opulence to all the sacerdotal orders. For they who assumed the cross disposed of their property, as if they were at the point of death, and left a considerable part of their possessions to the priests and monks, with a view of obtaining l)y these pious legacies the favour and protection of the Almighty in ttieir new undertaking. Such of them also as had been engaged in suits of law with the priests or monks renounced their pretensions, and submissively resigned whatever had been the subject of debate. And others, who had seized upon any of the possessions of tht; churches, or convents, or heard of anv injury which had been connnitted against the clergy, by the remotest of their ancestors, made the most liberal restitution, or the most ample satis- faction for the real or protemled injuries they had connnilted against the Cluircii, by ricli and costly donations. (/)« Fn'snr, I. c, p. 52.) Nor were these the only unhappy etlects of the holy expeditions. — For while whole legions of bishops and abbots girded the sword upon 220 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. their thigh, and proceeded as generals, volunteers, or chaplains, into Palestine, the priests and monks, who had lived under their jurisdiction, and were awed by their authority, felt themselves released from re- straint, and lived without order or discipline. The list of pretended saints was greatly augmented ; and the greatest impositions arose from the importation of an immense quantity of relics by the adventurers in the crusade. y^ It is, however, some compensation for these evils that something /^ was eventually gained in science, and something in freedom, by these ' warlike pilgrimages. The arts and manufactures of the east were in- troduced into Europe, and a spirit of enterprise, which probably led to the cultivation of commerce, was excited. Before the era of the cru- sades, " the larger portion of the inhabitants of Europe," says Mr. Gibbon, " was chained to the soil, without freedom, or property, or knowledge; and the two orders of ecclesiastics and nobles whose num- bers were comparatively small, alone deserved the name of citizen* and men. This oppressive system was supported by the arts of the clergy and the swords of the barons. The authority of the priests operated indeed in the darker ages as a salutary antidote ; they pre- vented the total extinction of letters, mitigated the fierceness of the times, sheltered the poor and defenceless, and preserved or revived the peace and order of civil society. But the independence, rapine, and .\ discord of the feudal lords were unmixed with any semblance of good ; '' and every hope of industry and improvement was crushed by the iron weight of the martial aristocracy. Among the causes that undermined that Gothic edifice, a conspicuous place must be allowed to the crusades. ■i.j The estates of tlie barons were dissipav^d, and their race was often i^j extinguished, in these costly and perilous expeditions. Their poverty \ extorted from their pride those charters of freedom which unlocked the v^ fetters of the slave, secured the farm of the peasant and the shop of V' the artificer, and gradually restored a substance and a soul to the most I numerous and useful part of the conuiiunity. The conflagration which <;2^ destroyed the tall and barren trees of the forest gave air and scope to the vegetation of the smaller and nutritive plants of the soil." [Gibbon's CDecUne and Fall, vol. 4.) After his expedition to Clermont, Urban returned into Italy, where he made himself master of the castle of St. Angelo, and soon after ended his days in the year 1099. His antagonist, Clement III., sur- vived him but a short time. He died the following year, and left at the close of this century Raynier, a benedictine monk, who assumed the name of Paschal II., sole possessor of the papal chair. CbNT. XI.] HISTORY OP THE CHURCH. 221 CHAPTER II. OF MA.\NERS, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Mtracles — Flajjellation for sin — Contests concerning Roman and Gothic Rituals — Car- tluiMJan Order — Cistercians. In a period of superstition and credulity, it can excite little surprise that the cralty and designing should procure advantages to themselves by the assistance of deception and fraud. A number of miracles were accordingly invented, and false prophets appeared. One Lieutard in particular, a poor and ignorant man, who pretended to inspiration, se- duced a number of persons in the diocess of Chalons in France. While asleep in the field, he imagined that a swarm of bees entered his body, which, after tormenting and stinging him ibr some time, at last spoke to him and commissioned him to preach. The poor fanatic at length put an end to his own life, by throwing himself into a well. (Jorti?i's Remarks, 5, v. 20.) A number of new relics were also discovered in the course of this century : among the rest the head of John the Bap- list was .said to be found at the monastery of St. John of Angeli, at Saintonge. This relic is, however, not singular, since there was scarcely a country in Europe or Asia which was not honoured with the head of the; Baptist. Notwithstanding the apparent unity of the Catholic Church at this period, it does not appear that even the papal doctrines were imiversally received. A Saxon homily still extant, written in the reign of Ethel- red II., demonstrates lii.it the English Church had not embraced the doctrine of transubstantiation. In relating the historical events of this century, several instances of excommunication have occurred ; indeed, this sentence was so fre- quently issued as to become almost contemptible. The penalties at- tending this censure of the Church, extended not only to the oflcnding sinner, but to whoever conversed or kept up any correspondence with him to the fourth generation. Public penance was however much less frequently enjoined, and its pains were commuted for by pilgrimages, redemptions, and absolutions granled by the lioly see. The introduc- tion of the disciplining whip for the private punishment of sin contri- buted to the abolition of public penance, which sunk into additional neglect, from the practice which was introduced at this period of ob- taining a remission of sins by the scourgings and other voluntary pains which, for a stipulated price, the monks undertook to sutler for them. How far these holy men fullilled their numerous contracts of this nature, it is impo.ssil)le to ascertain. Still less iniiversal than the doctrines were the Romish forms of worship. .Many of the western churches still retained their ancient ceremonies. The S[)aniards had long distinguished themselves above all other nations by the noble and resolute resistance they made to the Ro- mish ritual. Alexander II. had indeed proceeded so far, in the year 1068, as to persuade the inhabitants of Arragon into his measures, {Peter dc Marca, Histoirc de Beam, liv. ii, cap. ix,) and to conquer 222 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XI. the aversion of the Catalonians. But the honour of finishing this dif- ficult work, and bringing it to.j)crfcction, was reserved for Gregory VII., who, without interruption, exhorted, threatened, admonished, and eu treated Sancius and Alphonso, the kings of Arragon and Castile, until, fatigued with the importunity of this restless poniifF, they consented to abolish the Gothic service in their churches, and to introduce the Ro- man in its place. Sancius was the first who complied with the request of the pontiff, and, in the year 1080, his example was followed by Al- phonso. The methods which the nobles of Castile employed to decide the matter were extraordinary. First, two champions were selected, who were to determine the controversy by single combat, the one fight- ing for the Roman liturgy, the other for the Gothic. On the first trial the Gothic hero proved victorious. The fiery trial was next made use of to terminate the dispute ; the Roman and Gothic liturgies were com- mitted to the flames, which, as the legend informs us, consumed the former, while the latter remained unblemished and entire. Thus were the Gothic rites crowned with a double victory, which, however, was not sufficient to maintain them against the authority of the pope, and the influence of the queen Constantia, who determined Alphonso in favour of the Roman service. It was, however, opposed by several of the Spanish churches, who still continue the use of their ancient mis- sal. The desire of Gregory for the reception of the Latin ritual ex- tended to every Christian country, and by the orders of Alexander II., and this pontiff, Divine service was prohibited to be read in any other language than Greek and Latin. The opposition made by the Greek Church against the modes of worship practised by the Latin, produced an irreconcilable enmity be- tween those two societies of Christians. A controversy on this point had arisen between them toward the close of the preceding century, and a schism had in consequence of it been produced. The indiscreet zeal of Michael, the patriarch of Constantinople, augmented this dif- ference. In 1053 he published a letter, in which he attacked in severe terms the custom of the western church of using unleavened bread in the sacrament, of eating blood and things strangled, and of fasting on Saturdays during lent ; while he denounced them for not singing hal- lelujah during the time appointed for that fast. The indiflerence of modern times may induce a smile at the frivolous nature of these ob- jections to communion ; but they were considered in a very serious light by Leo IX. and the western clergy, whose wrath was increased by the intelligence that Michael had deprived of their churches and monasteries all the Latin Christians who refused to relinquish these rites. The emperor, Constantino Monomachus, was too much inter- ested in retaining the favour of the pope, by whose influence alone he could hope to secure the possessions which still remained to him in the west, not to unite with Leo against the Constantinopolitan patriarch. The controversy between this prelate and the envoys of the pope, was prosecuted both by personal disputes and in writing. Michael, how- ever, still continued unconvinced, and his refractory conduct was pun- ished by a solemn excommunication and the deprivation of his see. On the decease of the emperor, the deposed patriarch was restored to his former honours, and in his turn solemnly excommunicated the pope. The number of monastic institutions which had for several centuries Cent. XI.] history of the church. 223 been gradually increasing, was in this considerably augmented. The order of Clugni, which was instituted in the preceding century, had, from the superiority of its discipline, attained such a degree of reputa- tion that a number of new monasteries were erected, and the order was enriched by costly donations and splendid endownients. But in pro- portion as the wealth of the society increased, the severity of its dis- cipline relaxed, and the monks were immersed in secular affairs. This defection induced those whose wish for a seclusion from the world arose from sincere though mistaken motives, to institute or enforce more austere regulations. Upon this principle Romauld, an Italian monk, withdrew from the society to which he belonged, and instituted several others which professed to adopt the regulations of St. Benedict. The institution, however, which professed and observed the greatest austerity was that of the Carthusians, founded in the year 1084 by the fanatic Bruno, a canon of Rheims ; who, with six companions, retired to the solitude of Chartreux in Dauphine. The Carthusians wear sackcloth next their skins, generally eat alone in their cells, and fast on Fridays, when they only allow themselves a small portion of bread and water. They are enjoined perpetual silence, and are never suffered to go out of their convent, and no women are permitted to enter their pre- cincts. The order, though instituted in France, extended to England, and appears to have degenerated less than any other of the monastic institutions. Two gentlemen of Vienne, whose benevolent exertions were devoted to tlie cure of those who were afflicted with the disorder called St. Anthony's fire, and who came to that city to implore the intercession of the saint in the church where his body was deposited, founded the order of St. Anthony, which order professed to follow the rules of St. Augustine. The order of Cistercians was founded toward the close of this century, to which period the full establishment of regular canons must be referred. CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Bcrcnger — Rasccliii — Persocution of the Jews — Jlaricheiins — Bulgarians and Ca- tharists. Had the spirit of inquiry been more widely diffused, and the influ encc of superstition and a blind attachment to received opinions been less predominant, the commotions which, from various causes, existed during a great part of this century in the western empire, might have left a consiilerablo part of the Christian world little at leisure to exa- mine the niceties of speculative theology. These causes, co-operating with those which were detailed in the preceding century, conline the account of any differences in religious opinion within a veiy contract- ed compass, and of those there were few who actually seceded irom conununion with the church. Yet the ('aiholic writers of iliis period have transmitted to us the names of a few individuals, whose depart- 224 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. [CkNT. XI. ure from the established faith iiu-urrcMl the censures of repeated coun- cils. 'I'he most, celebrated of these was Bereny their incursions or their revolt, drew upon them the weight of his victorious arm. The establishment of Christianity among the Livonians was attended with much difficulty, and with horrible scenes of cruelty and bloodshed. The first missionary who attempted the conversion of that savage peo- ple was Mainard, a regular canon of St. Augustine, in the monastery of Sigeberg. Toward the conclusion of this century, he travelled to Li- vonia, with a company of merchants of Bremen who traded there, and he improved this opportunity of ditriising the light of the Gospel in that barbarous region of superstition and darkness. The instructions and exhortations, however, of this zealous apostle were received with in- difference or reluctance, and produced but little effect. The misguided missionary, in the true spirit of the times, therefore addressed himself to the Roman pontiff, Urban 111., who consecrated him bishop of the Livonians, and, at the same lime, declared a hoJi/ war against that ob- stinate p(!ople. The war, which at first was carried on against the inhal)itaiits of the province of Esthonia, was continued with still greater vigour, and rendered more universal, by Bcrthold, abbot of Lucca, who forsook his monastery to share the labours and laurels of Mainard, whom he accordingly succeeded in the see of Livonia. This zealous champion of popery was again succeeded by Albert, canon of Bremen, who entered Livonia in 1198, and instituted ther^ Cr.ST. XII-I HISTORY OF TFiE CHURCH. 227 the military order of the knights sword bearers. New legions were sent from Germany to second the efibrls and add clFicacy to the mis- sion of these miUtary apostles. This wretched people, exhausted at length, and unable to stand any longer firm against the arm of perse- cution, abandoned the statues of their pagan deities, and substituted in their place the images of the saints. But while they received what was termed the Gospel, they were at the same time deprived of all earthly comforts ; for their lands and possessions wfere taken from them with the most odious circumstances of cruelty and violence, and the knights and bishops divided the spoil.* From a line of conduct so contemptible and atrocious, we turn with pleasure to the pious Vicellinus, a native of Hamelin, a man of extra- ordinary merit, who, after having presided many years in the society of the regular canons of St. Augustine at Flanders, was at length con- secrated bishop of Oldenliurg. 'i'his excellent prelate employed the last thirty years of his life,t amid numberless vexations, dangers, and difficulties, in instructing the Sclavonians, and exhorting them to com- ply with the invitations of the Gospel of Christ : and as his pious labours were directed by wisdom, and executed with the most indefatigable in- dustry and zeal, they were attended with proportionate success. To his zeal and perseverance as a missionary, Vicellinus added the milder virtues of a saint, and every event of his protracted life entitles him to the esteem and veneration of successive ages. '-^ The new kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been erected .by the i holy waniors toward the conclusion of the preceding century, appeared at first to flourish considerably, and to rest upon firm and st)lid founda- tions. This prosperous scene was, however, but transitory, and was soon succeeded by the most terrible calamities and desolations. Many of the first (vhristian conquerors returned to Europe, when they con- ceived they had accomplished their vow ; and those who remained were, immediately on the death of Godfrey, divided into factions. The Mohannnedan powers, therefore, who had at first been thrown into consternation by the numbers, valour, and success of the soldiers of the cross, now recovered from their surprise, and collecting troops, and .soliciting succours from all quarters, harassed and exhausted the Ghris- tians by incessant invasions and wars. The fortitude of the faithful forsook them not in this exigence : the country they had acquired by valour they defended with perseverance, till Atabec Zenghi, after a long siege, conquered the city of Edcssa, and menaced Antioch with a similar fate. In this situation the Christians became timid and diffi dent. They implored in the most desponding strain the assistance of the European princes, and requested a fresh army to support their j tottering empire in the Holy Land. A new expedition was not, however, resolved upon with sucli una- nimity and precipitation as the former had been ; it was the sul)ject of long deliberation, and its expediency was strenuously debated botli in the cabinets of princes, and in the assemblies of the clergy and the people. Bernard, the celebrated abbot of Clairval,a man of the boldest resolution and of the greatest authority, terminated these disputes under * Sec the Origincs Livonie, seu Chronicon veins Livonicum, published in folio, at Fnnkfort, in the year 1740, by Jo. Daniel Ciruberus. t I'hat 18, from the year 1 1'^ to the year 1 154, in which he died. 228 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. XII. the pontificate of Eugenius III., who had been his disciple, and who was wholly governed by his counsels. This eloquent and zealous ecclesiastic preached the cross with much ardour and success ; and in jthe grand parliament assembled at Vezelai, 1 146, at which Lewis VIL, ^jiving of France, with his queen, and a prodigious concourse of the nobility, were present, Bernard recommended this holj- expedition with such persuasive powers, and declared with such assurance that he had a divine commission to foretel its glorious success, that the king, the queen, and all the nobles immediately put on the military cross, and prepared themselves for the voyage to Palestine. The orator next directed his exhortations to Conrad IH., emperor of Germany, who foi some time resisted his fervent solicitations. He at length complied ; and such was the pathetic vehemence of the tone and gestures of the indefatigable Bernard, that a phlegmatic people, who were ignorant of his lanouao-e, were induced to follow their sovereign to the fields of Palestine. The nobles of France and Germany were animated by the ^ example and presence of their sovereigns, and Lewis YII. and Conrad ~\ were followed by armies which might have claimed the conquest of v'^ /"Asia. Their united cavalry was composed of seventy thousand knights, and their attendants ; and the whole number, including women and children, is computed to have amounted to at least four hundred ihou- Vsand souls. As it was impossible to procure necessaries for such numbers in the countries through which they were to pass, each army pursued a difterent road. But before their arrival in the Holy Land, the greater part of their forces was melted away, and perished mise- rably by famine, by the sword of the Mohammedans, by shipwreck, or by the perfidious cruelty of the Greeks, who regarded these rude and .intrepid intruders with peculiar acrimony and dread. Their numbers and their manners were formidable, and their designs a tacit reproach to the pusillanimous Greeks, whose enmity was inflamed by religious / discord ; and the schismatical and heretical Christians of the west were \ more the objects of abhorrence to the members of the oriental Church, Vjthan the idolatrous pagan, or the followers of Mohammed. Such in- deed was their abhorrence of the rites of their western brethren, that the Greek clergy washed and purified the altar which had been defiled by the sacrifice of a French priest. Lewis VIL, who had left his king- dom in 1147, in the month of March of the following year arrived at Antioch, with the wretched remains of his army, exhausted and dejected by the hardships they had endured. Conrad departed also in the year 1147, in the month of May ; and in November following he arrived at Nice, where he joined the French army, after having lost the greater part of his own by a succession of calamities. From Nice the two princes proceeded to .ferusalem, 1148, whence they led back into Europe, the following year, the miserable renmant oi' troops which had survived the disasters they had met with in this exjji'dition. Stich was the unhappy issue of the second crusade, which was rendered inef- fectual by a variety of causes, but more particularly by the jealousies -'and divisions which distracted the Christians in Palestine. Nor was it more inefi'ectual in Palestine than it was detrimental to Europe, by draining the wealth of its fairest provinces, and destroying immense numbers of its inhabitants. The unfortunate event of this second expedition was not however Cent. XII.] history of the church. 229 sufficient, when considered alone, to render the aflUirs of the Christians in I'alestine entirely desperate. Had tlieir chiefs and princes laid aside their animosities and contentions, had they attacked the common enemy witli tlieir united force, they would probably have repaired their losses, and recovered their glory. But a contrary conduct was pursued. — By intestine quarrels, jealousies, and discords, they weakened their efforts against the enemies who surrounded ihem, and consumed their strength by unhappily dividing it. Saladin, viceroy, or rather sultan, of Egypt and Syria, and the most valiant chief whom the Mohammedan annals can boast, took advantage of these lamentable divisions. He look prisoner Guy of Lusignan, king of Jerusalem, in a fatal battle fought near Tiberias, 1187 ; and, in three months afterward, appeared in arms before the gates of Jerusalem. The rapid efforts of fourteen days enabled the victor to make a breach in the walls, upon which he erected twelve banners of the prophet : he soon afterward entered the city, tore down the cross from the principal church, and compelled all the Franks and Latins to evacuate the place. The carnage and deso- lation which accompanied this dreadful campaign threw the affairs of the Christians in the east into tlie most desperate condition, and afforded no glimpse of hope, but what arose from the expected assistance of the European jirinces. This assistance was obtained for them by the Roman pontiH's with nnich difficulty, and in consequence of repeated solicitations and entreaties. But the event was by no m^ns answer- able to the deep schemes which were concerted, and the pains which were employed, for the support of the tottering kingdom of Jerusalem. The third expedition was undertaken 1189, by Frederick I., sur- ., ^. named Barbarossa, emperor of Germany; who, with a prodigious army^/^ ^ marched through several Grecian provinces, where he had innumerable difficulties and obstacles to overcome, into the Lesser Asia, whence, after having defeated the sultan of Iconium, he penetrated into Syria. His valour and conduct promised successful and glorious campaigns to the army he commanded, when, by an unhappy accident, he lost his life in the river Saleph, which runs through Seleucia. The manner of his death is not known with any degree of certainty ; and the loss of this intrepid veteran dejected the spirits of his troops, and in consequence of it consideralile numbers of them returned to Europe. Those that remained continued the war under the command of Frederick, son of the deceased emi)eror ; but the greater part of them perished miserably by a pestilential disorder, which raged with fatal violence in the camp, and swept off vast numbers every day. The new general died of this terril)le disease in 1191 ; those who escaped its fury were dispersed, and few returned to their own country. 'I'hc example of Frederick Barbarossa was followed, in the year, 1 1 90, by Philip Augustus, king of France, and Richard I., king of Eng- \ .^^^r land.* These two monarchs proceeded from their respective dominions ^ with a considerable number of ships of war and transports, arrived at Palestine in the year 1191, each at the head of a separate army, and were successful in their first encounters with the infidels. After the reduction of the stnuiif city of Acre, or Ptolemais, which had been de- fended by the .Mussulmans with the most obstinate valour, the French •Called, by way of oiniiiencp, Riciiard Caitr de Lum. 230 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XII monarch returned into Europe in the month of July, 1191, leaving, however, behind him a considerable part of the army which he had con- ducted into Palestine. Notwithstanding his departure, the king' of Eng- land pursued the war, exhibited daily marks of heroic intrepidity and military skill, and not only defeated Saladin in several engagements, but made himself master of Yafl'a (more commonly known by the name of Joppa) and Cesarea. Deserted however by the French and Italians, and influenced by other motives and considerations of essential import- ance, he concluded, in 1192, with Saladin, a truce of three years, three months, and as many days, and soon evacuated Palestine with his whole army. Such was the issue of the third expedition against the infidels, which exhausted England, France, and Germany, both of men and money, without producing any solid advantage, or giving even a favourable turn to the aflairs of the Christians in the Holy Land The contests which arose between the Christians and Mohammed- ans gave rise to the three celebrated military orders. ^' The order of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, which at first /was merely a charitable society, then a military association, and at last ( a sovereign power, traces back its origin to the middle of the eleventh \ century, when some merchants of Amalsi, piously desirous that the dcToul pilgrims from various parts of the Christian world should have access to the sepulchre of their Saviour, obtained permission from the Egyptian c^iph, who at that time possessed Jerusalem, to erect a house there for the reception of the Latin pilgrims. Invested with powers for that purpose, they soon built a chapel, which was dedicated to St. Mary ad Latonis, in order to distinguish it from those churches which belonged to the Greeks, whose ritual was extremely different, and who, on that account, had treated the Latin Christians with great rancour and contumely. Two houses of entertainment, for the recep- tion of pilgrims of both sexes, were at first erected near this chapel, where service was performed by some Benedictine monks. These pious fathers, devoted to the interests of religion and charity, received with holy hospitality all those who visited the sacred sepulchre ; carefully attended them when sick, and liberally supplied their wants out of the alms which were collected for them in Italy by the charitable merchants of Amalsi. An institution which had for its object the good of religion, without any respect to personal enjoyment or interest, rose daily in the esteem of all ranks in the Christian world ; and great numbers of pilgrims de- voting themselves to the service of mankind remained in Palestine, and incorporated themselves into this pious society, which, without the distinction of Latin or of Greek, of sex, of age, or of country, hospita- bly received all who desired admission within its walls. Even the Mohammedan found in this fraternity that his claims as a man would be attended with the most important services, though his religious faith was the object of horror and detestation. Daily did the house of St. John increase in reputation and esteem ; several very important dona- tions were given in different parts of Europe to increase its funds ; and upon the conquest of Jesusalem, Godfrey of lioulognc, who was in- vested with the government of the Christians in those parts, augmented the riches of these hospitallers by somn very extensive grants, which were imitated by the other noblemen who had joined in the crusade. Cent. XII. ] history of tiif. church. 231 The fraternity and sisterhood of St. John assumed a regular habit, and continued, under the Christian kings of Jerusalem, to practise those virtues by which they were first distinguished : nor were their cares confined to the safety and accommodation of the Christians who were already at Jerusalem ; a considerable part of their revenues were ap- propriated to the erection of similar institutions in the principal maritime provinces of Europe, where the pilgrims were received and entertained, and directed to the means of providing every necessary for their embarkation Though the Christians had obtained, by their victories, possession of the capital of Palestine, and of some other cities, yet the greatest part of the country still remained in the hands of the infidels, who assassinated great numbers of those who resorted to the holy sepulchre, and sometimes fell in large bodies upon the Christian towns which were not fortified, and put the inhabitants to the sword. In order to check these alarming outrages, the superior of the hospitallers proposed the extraordinary scheme of taking a certain portion of the monks of St. John, who were distinguished by birth, and had formerly served in the holy wars, to bear arms against these infidels, at the same time that they were to continue their former charitable offices in the society. To this proposal the patriarch of Jerusalem agreed ; Godfrey joyfully acceded to the wishes of his old associates in the field, and the monks were transported with a scheme which animated the latent spark of glory, without wholly drawing them from the employments to which they had dedicated their days, and in pursuit of whicii they united the virtues of a Christian with the spirit and enthusiasm of a soldier. Upon the first institution of this military order, which arose early in the twelfth century, those who were appointed to bear arms were but one of three classes into which the superior of the convent had divided the order. The second class consisted of the priests and chaplains, who, besides their customary attendance upon the church, or the sick and poor, were obliged to serve by turns as chaplains in the camp Those of the third class were such as were neither distinguished by birth, nor had become ecclesiastic ; and these obtained the name of serving brothers, from the inferior offices which they were obliged to perform. These degrees were, however, at first merely nominal, and each of the monks of St. John was an equal participator in the privi- leges and immunities of the order ; but, in a short time, the soldiers of the knights obtained some distinctions in their dress, both in the con- vent and the field, and in time were admitted to dignities to which the serving brothers had no pretensions. The order, increasing daily in splendour and reputation, received new accessions of numbers from every part of the Christian world, who were desirous of enrolling themselves under its baimer. In conse- quence of this inllux into the order, a new distinction was found neces- sary, which was dividing il into seven classes, according to the diffi^r- cnt nations and countries to which these difl'erent emigrants belonged. These divisions were called languages or tongues, and were those of Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Arragon, Cermany, and England; and the connnamleries and emoluments belonging to the order in those countries were annexed to the language or order of knights belonging to these respective nations. The English, since the reign of Henry 232 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XII. VIII., have forfeited the advantages of being admitted into the order ; and the honours and emohinients of that nation, of which the order was not deprived, are now divided into the other nations, to which have been added the hinguages of Castile and Portugal. During the wars which succeeded the commencement of this re- markable institution, the knights of St. John were distinguished by their military enthusiasm and heroic achievements ; but the most determined valour and the most spirited exertions could not for ever render them successful against the attacks of an enemy whose forces were infinitely more numerous than their own, and whose conquests were accelerated by the intestine divisions which had long prevailed in the order. The knights, compelled at length by the victorious arms of the Mohammedans, to resign to them, after many struggles, the Holy Land, retired to Candia, which, upon finding themselves ill- treated by the king of that island, they afterward forsook, and, after much difficulty, and a war, continued with various success during four years, at length obtained possession of the island of Rhodes, and exchanged their ancient title to that of the knights of Rhodes. This delightful situation, which they acquired in 1310, they enjoyed for near two hundred and twenty years ; but, at the expiration of that time, were again compelled to desert a residence which they had rendered very deUghtful, and to resign the island, with all its dependencies, to Soly- man the Second. After several affecting vicissitudes of fortune, the order at length obtained, from the emperor Charles V., an asylum for their scattered forces, and in 1530 took possession of Tripoli, and of the islands of Malta and Gozzo. In these islands the order still exists ; and very soon after obtaining the grant exchanged the title of the knights of Rhodes to that of the knights of Malta, by which they are still distinguished. . Another order, which was entirely of a military nature, was that of ; the Knights Templars, who received this denomination from a palace ^•adjoining to the temple of Jerusalem, which was appropriated to their use for a certain time by Baldwin II. The foundations of this order were laid at Jerusalem, in the year 1118, by Hugues des Pagens, Geoffry of St. Aldemar, or St. Omer, and seven other persons, whose names are unknown ; but it was not before the year 1228 that it , acquired a proper degree of stability, liy being confirmed solenmly in the council of Troyes, and subjected to a rule of discipline, drawn up by St. Bernard. These warlike Templars were engaged to defend and support the cause of Christianity by force of arms, to inspect the public roads, and to protect the pilgrims, who visited Jerusalem, against, the insults and barbarity of the Mohammedans. The order flourished for some time, and acquired immense riches, and an eminent degree of military reputation : but, as their prosperity increased, their vices were multiplied, and their arrogance, luxury,* and cruelty became so obnoxious, that their privileges were revoked, and their order suppressed by a decree of the pope, and of the council of Vienne, in Uauphiny, about the year 1311. There is good reason to suspect that the immense wealth of this fraternity afforded no inconsiderable temptation to the potentates of Chris- tendom to exert themselves for its suppression. * Bibere templanorum more, was a common proverb. Cent. XII.] history of the church. 233 The third order resembled the first in this respect, that though it /Was a military institution, the care of the poor, and the relief of the- /sick were not excluded from the services it prescribed. Its members! / were distinguished by the title of Teutonic Knights of St. Mary of \ \Jerusalcm ; but we cannot, with any degree of certainty, trace its ori:v'' gin farther back than the year 1190, during the siege of Acre or Ptole- mais. In this protracted siege, several pious and benevolent merchants of Bremen and Lubec, aflecled with the sight. of the miseries which the besiegers sudercd, devoted themselves entirely to the service of the sick and wounded soldiers, and erected a kind of hospital or tent, where they gave constant attendance to every unhappy object who solicited tlieir charity. This pious undertaking was so agreeable to the German princes, who were prosecuting the siege, that they insti- tuted a fraternity of German knights to bring it to a greater degree of perfection. Their resolution was approved by Pope Cclestine III., who confirmed the new order by a bull issued on the twenty-third of February, 1192. This order was entirely appropriated to the Ger- mans, and even of them none were admitted as members, but such as were of illustrious birth. The support of Christianity, the defence of the Holy Land, and the relief of the poor and needy, were the im- portant duties and service to which the Teutonic knights devoted themselves by a solemn vow. Austerity and frugality were the first characteristics of this rising order, and the equestrian garment,* with bread and water, were the only reward which the knights derived from their generous labours. But this austerity proved of short duration, and diminished in proportion as the revenues and possessions of the order augmented. The Teutonic knights, after their retreat from Pa- lestine, made themselves masters of Prussia, Livonia, Courland, and Semigalen; but their victorious arms afterward received several checks; and when the light of the Reformation arose upon Germany, they were deprived of the richest provinces which thev possessed in that country; though they still retained a certain portion of their ancient territories. The internal state of Christendom, during the eleventh century, continued to be divided by perpetual contentions between the empire and the papacy, or by violent struggles between the popes and anti- popes. Pascal II., who had been raised to the pontilicate about the conclusion of the preceding age, appeared firmly seated in the apos- tolic chair, without the least apprehension from the imperial faction. After the death of Guibert, in 1100, this faction indeed chose in his place a person named Albert; but he was seized and imprisoned on the day of his election. Theodoric and .Magnulf were successively chosen after Albert, who could not long support their claim to the pon- tificate. (See Fteury, Hist. Ecclcs. livre xv, vol. xiv, p. 10, Bnissels edition in 8vo.) No sooner did Pascal observe his deliverance from his domestic enemies, than he determined not to suffer the present season of tran- quillity to pass unimproved. He assembled a council at Rome in the year 1 102, in which th(! decrees of his predecessors against investitures, and the excommunications they had fulminated against Henry IV., * This garment was a wliito mantle with a black cross 234 HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XII. were renewed, and the most vigorous efforts were employed by the ambitious pontiff to excite new enemies against the unfortunate em- peror. Henry opposed, however, with much constancy and resolution the efforts of this violent pontiff, and eluded with much dexterity and vigilance his perfidious stratagems. But his heart, wounded in the tenderest part, lost all its firmness and courage, when, in the year 11 04, an unnatural son, under the impious pretext of religion, took up arms against his person and his cause. Henry V. (so was this monster after- ward named) seized his father in a treacherous manner, and obliged him to abdicate the empire; after which the unhappy prince retired to Liege, where, deserted by all his adherents, he was released from his misery by death, in the year 1106. The revolution which this odious rebellion occasioned in the empire, was, however, less favourable to the views of Pascal than he expect- ed. Henry V. could by no means be persuaded to renounce his right of investing the bishops and abbots, though he was willing to grant the right of election to the canons and monks, as was usual before his lime. Upon this the exasperated pontiff renewed, in the councils of Guastallo and Troyes, the decrees which had so frequently been issued against investitures ; and the flame broke out with new force. It was, indeed, suspended during a few years by the wars in which Henry V. was engaged, and which prevented his bringing the dispute to a con- clusion. But no sooner had he made peace with his ofiemies, and composed the tumults which interrupted the tranquillity of the empire, than he departed for Italy with a formidable army in 1110, to put an end to the long and unhappy contest. He advanced toward Rome by slow marches, while the trembling pontiff, reduced to the lowest and most defenceless condition, proposed to him the following condi- tions of peace : — That he, on the one hand, should renoimce the right of investing, with the ring and the crosier ; and that the bishops and abbots should, on the other, resign to the emperor all the grants they had received from Charlemagne, of those rights and privileges which belong to royalty ; such as the power of raising tribute, coining money, and possessing independent lands and territories, with other immunities of a similar nature. These conditions were agreeable to Henry, and he accordingly ratified them by a formal consent in the year 1111; but they proved extremely displeasing to the Italian and German bishops, who expressed their dissent in the strongest terms. A fatal tumult arose in the church of St. Peter, where the contending parties were assembled with their respective foUow^ers, upon which Henry ordered the pope, and several of the refractory cardinals to be seized, and to be confined in the castle of Viterbo. After remaining a prisoner for some time, the captive pontiff was engaged, by the unhappy circum- stances of his present condition, to enter into a new convention, by which he solemnly receded from the article of the former treaty which regarded invcslitnrrs, confirmed to tlie emperor the privilege of inaugu- rating the bishops and abbots with the ring and crosier, and anathema- tized all who might oppose this concession. 'I'hus was peace con- cluded, in consequence of which the vanquished pontiff arrayed Henry with the imperial diadem. This transitory ])eace, the fruit of violence and necessity, was followed by greater tumults and more dreadful wars, than had yet Cent. XII.] history of the church. 235 afflicted the Church. Immediately after the conclusion of this treaty, Rome was filled with the most vehement commotions, and a universal clamour was excited against the pontiff, who was accused of having violated, in a scandalous manner, the duties and dignity of his station, and of having prostituted the majesty of the Church by his ignomi- nious compliance with the demands of the emperor. To appease these commotions, Pascal, in defiance of his anathema, assembled in the year 1112 a council in the church of Lateran ; and there not only confessed, with the deepest contrition, the crime he had committed in concluding such a convention with the emperor, but submitted the decision of the affair to the determination of the council, who accord- ingly took the treaty into consideration, and solemnly annulled it. — This step was followed by many events which gave, for a long time, an unfavourable aspect to the affairs of the emperor. He was excom- municated in many synods and councils both in France and Germany; he was even placed in the black list of heretics, a denomination which exposed those who bore it to the greatest dangers in these superstitious and barbarous times; and, to complete his anxiety, he saw the German princes revolting from his authority in several places, and taking up arms in the cause of the Church. To terminate the calamities which thus alHicted tlie empire on all sides, Henry set out a second time for Italy, with a numerous army, in the year 1116, and arrived the year following at Rome, where he assembled the consuls, senators, and nobles, while the fugitive pontiff retired to Bcnevento. Pascal, how- ever, during this forced absence, engaged the Normans to march to his assistance, and, encouraged by the prospect of inmiediate succour, prepared for a vigorous war against the emperor, and attempted to make himself master of Rome. But in the midst of these warlike prepara- tions, which drew the attention of Europe, the military pontiff con- cluded his days, in the year 1118. John Cajctan was appointed his successor, but ended his turbulent pontificate in the beginning of the following year. He was succeeded by Calistus II., who renewed the dispute concerning investitures. Each party, however, wearied by unceasing contention, became desirous of the blessings of peace ; con- ditions were therefore proposed which derogated neither from the majesty of the empire nor the rights of the Church, and temporary tranquillity was once more restored. In the pontificates of liis suc- cessors, till the elevation of Alexander III., i&w remarkable events occurred, except the struggles of contending popes, and their dis]iutes with Roger, king of Sicily, who haughtily refused to acknowledge his dominions as dependencies upon the holy see. The dormant struggles for power between the popes and emperors were revived during the pontificate of Alexander HI., who attained the papal chair in 1 159. The elevation of this prelate was warmly opposed by several of the cardinals, who, in opposition to him, elected anotlier of their body under the name of Victor III., and their opposition was stren^ftheneil by obtaining as an auxiliary the emperor, Frederick I. — The lirrilied ponlifi* (led precipitately into Sicily, whence lu^ procured a passage into France, where he was received by the kings of England and France, and was conducted on horseback along the road by these submissive princes, each of whom on foot held the reins of the horse's bridle. After a series of conteniions during eighteen years, tranquillity 236 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XU was once more restored by the submission of the emperor, who conde scended to prostrate himself at the feet of the hauahty pontilf in the great church of St. Mark at Venice, and to receive from him the kiss of peace. Too extended in his views to be solely occupied with the events in which he was personally concerned, the vicissitudes to which Alexander was exposed did not prevent him from steadily regarding every cir- cumstance which affected the privileges and dignity of the holy see. — In the reign of Henry II., of England, the celebrated council of Cla- rendon was held, in which several laws were enacted, for the salutary purpose of restraining the abuses of the ecclesiastical tribunals, and reducing the cognizance of all civil crimes and misdemeanors under ^he authority of the king and his judges. To these laws Thomas : Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, refused obedience, considering them ; as prejudicial to the Divine rights of the Church in general, and parti- ^-iularly to the prerogatives of the court of Rome. A violent debate succeeded between the resolute monarch and the rebellious prelate, and the latter was obliged to retire into France, where the exiled pontift'at that time resided. This prelate and the king of France interposed their good offices to compose these differences, and they succeeded so far, after much trouble and difficult}^ as to encourage Becket to return to England, where he was reinstated in his forfeited dignity. But the generous and indulgent proceedings of his sovereign were not sufficient to conquer his obstinacy in maintaining what he called the privileges of the Church ; nor could ho be induced by any means to comply with the views and measures of Henry. The consequences of this inflexible resistance were fatal to the haughty prelate. After re- peated aflronts, the king one day, in an unguarded moment when par- ticularly exasperated, unfortunately expressed himself to this purpose: y^Xm I not unhappy, that, among the numbers who are attached to my interests and employed in my service, there is none possessed of spirit enough to resent the aflronts which 1 am constantly receiving from a s^miserable priest? These words were indeed not pronounced in vain. Four gentlemen of the court, whose names were Fitz-Urse, Tracy, Britton, and Morville, murdered Becket in his chapel, as he was en- gaged in performing the evening service. Henry however suspecting the design of the four gentlemen, from some menacing expressions they had made use of, despatched a messenger after them, charging them to attempt nothing against the person of the primate. But these orders arrived too late. {Hume's History of England, vol. i, p. 394.) .Such an event was calculated to produce warm debates between the king of England and the Roman pontiff; and the latter was at length suc- cessful enough in the contest to force the suppliant monarch to undergo a severe course of penance, in order to expiate a crime of which he was considered as the principal promoter ; while the murdered prelate was solemnly enrolled in the highest rank of saints and martyrs, and innumerable miracles were reported to have been wrought by his sacred bones. To his successes in the field, and the exercise of the spiritual weapons already possessed l)y the Church, Alexander added still more permanent advantages by enacting laws peculiarly calculated to extend llie prero- gatives of the Romish see. In the third council of the Lateran, held , Cent. XII.] historv of the church. 237 at Rome in 1179, the following decrees, among many others upon dif- ferent subjects, were passed b)' his advice and authority : 1st. That, in order to terminate the confusion and dissensions which so commonly accompanied the election of a pope, the right of election should not only be vested in the cardinals alone, but also, that the person in whos favour two-thirds of the college of cardinals voted, should be considered as the lawful and duly elected pope. This law is still in force ; it wa^ therefore from tlie lime of Alexander that the election acquired that form which it still retains, by which not only the people, but also the Roman clergy, are excluded entirely from all share in the honour of conferring that important dignity. 2dly. A spiritual war was declared against heretics, whose numbers, increasing rapidly about this period, creat(;d much disturbance in the Church in general, and more particu- larly in several provinces of France. 3dly. The right of recommend- ing and nominating to the order of saints was also taken away from councils and bishops, and canonization was ranked among the greater and more important causes, the cognizance of which belonged to the pope alone. To all this we must not forget to add, that the p)wer of creating new kingdoms, wliich had been claimed by the pontifls from the time of Gregory VIL, was not only assumed but exercised by Alexander in a remarkable instance ; for, in the year 1 1 79, lie coift ferred tin; title of king, with the ensigns of royalty, upon Alphonso I.,^ duke of Portugal, who, under the pontificate of Lucius II., liad ren^j dered his province tributary to the Roman see. {Baronius, Annul, ad A^ 1179. Innocent III. EpistoJen considered as including not only mental contrition but bodily suffering. The primitive Church imposed ecclesiastical censures and penances, as temporal punishments, on offenders : and in times of ignorance this penance was considered in a more exten- sive view, and as relating rather to our future than our earthly state. In the year 12G0, at Penesini, in Italy, a kind of penitential procession was celebrated, in which the self-convicted criminals marched solemnly through the city, flagellating themselves with the utmost severity, and imploring, with the most distressful clamour, the mercy of Cod. The procession was preceded by priests, who carried a crucifix, aiul it consisted of men of every rank and order ; the females inflicted a similar discipline upcm themselves at home. {Du Pin, cent, xiii, chap. 9.) The enthusiasm, however, was soon not confined to one class of devotees — men, women, and children, of every rank, adopted the practice : all business, public and private, was suspended ; the public anuisements deserted ; and in the most inclement weather, and in the darkest nights, the streets were crowded with wretches, 262 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XIII. torturing themselves, and imploring the Divine forgiveness. Tlie con- tagion was in a short time no longer confined to a single place, but spread from city to city, (Hist. Flag, per Christ. Sc/iol. Boilrau Ilis- toirc dcs Flagdlans, c. xx, Murat. t. vi ; Monach. Patav. an. 1260.) and even extended over all Italy, and a considerable part of Germany. As the passion increased, they formed a regular society, and instituted rules for the admission of associates. The sect continued till the suc- ceeding century, when, among other absurdities, one of the flagellants pretended that he had been presented, by an angel, with a whip, and a letter from heaven, which assured those who would endure this disci- pline for thirty-four days successively a complete pardon for all their sins. The extravagances and excesses of the fraternity accelerated its suppression. Several of the princes and prelates of the empire exerted themselves to reduce the populace to reason ; and at length Clement VI. formally condemned the fanaticism of the Flagellants, as ain an impious and pernicious heresy. [Du Pin.) CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING .\ND LEARNED MEN IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURV. Destruction of classical authors — Calamities of Greece prevent the cultivation of letters in the east — Scholastic divinity prevalent in the west — Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aqui- nas, Bonavenlura, &c. — Roger Bacon, Matthew Paris, &c. The difficulty of recalling the attention of mankind to the cultiva- tion of true science and literature may in some measure be estimated from the well-known fact, that in these ages it was a common prac- tice to erase the writing of the most valuable parchment manuscripts, and to inscribe ecclesiastical treatises upon them. Polybius, Die, Diodorus Siculus, Livy, and many which are entirely lost, were meta- morphosed into missals and homilies. {Monffaucon, Mem. de VAcad. ix, 325.) The few remains of classical literature, which were left by the more barbarous ages, were destroyed by the unlettered bigotry of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in which it appears that the graphical knowledge of the monks was no less detrimental to the republic of let- ters than the total ignorance of their ancestors. Few of the Greek writers of this age have descended to posterity. The calamities of tlieir nation engrossed too much of their attention to allow them to cultivate literature witli much success.- Their principal productions were controversial, on points in dispute with the Latin Church, or histories and annals relating to tlie state of the empire. The scholastic divinity, and the philosophy and logic of Aristotle, pervaded all the schools of the west. Atnong those who may be placed at the head of these sciences were Alliertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventura. These were all of them men of genius and penetration, and possessed uncommon dexterity in discussing subtle and didicult points ; they had a strong love of wisdom, but that quality was depraved by their attachment to logical refinements, and their genius and ability were all made subservient to the Church of Rome, Cent. Xlll.] history of tiik church. 2G3 to her persecuting spirit and unbounded ambition. The first of these doctors \va.s a German of the Dominican order ; his works are very voluminous. Thomas Aquinas was, by way of eminence, called the angelical, and Bonavcntura the seraphic doctor. Aquinas was de- scended from the ancient kings of Sicily ; he had a considoraljle por- tion of enthusiasm in his character, as, notwithstanding his attachment to the Church of Rome, he is said to have refused the archbishopric of Naples. Bonaventura was however more a man of the world, and ac- cepted a cardinal's hat as the reward of his labours in the service of the Church. Piobert of Sorbonne founded at Paris, in this century, the celebrated university which has since been distinguished by his name. Alexander Hales and William Perrault were among the scholastic divines of this century. {Du Pin.) The whole of the learning of this age was not however confined to these studies, but there existed in Europe men who applied themselves to true philosophy. The well-earned reputation of the celebrated\ Roger Bacon, is notorious to most readers. He may be termed the^ father of experimental philosophy, and even in the present advancea state of physical science, his works contain matter not undeserving attention. Arnoldus Villanovanus, a Frenchman, and Petrus de Abano, an Italian, were also celebrated for their knowledge in physic, chemistry, and poetry. " F3ut the rewards which these excellent persons received for their abilities and usefid industry, were to be called magicians and heretics by an ignorant world, and with great difficulty to escape fire and fagot. Bacon languished many years in a jail ; and the bodies of the other two, after their decease, were condemned to the flames of the inquisitors." This century had the honour also of producing that valuable historian, Matthew Paris, whose only blemish is admitting, what he could scarcely have rejected in this age of superstition, some improbable tales of vi- sions and miracles. Several authors wrote particular chronicles of their own churches and monasteries ; others detail the history of the cru- sades ; and several accounts of travels into Palestine about this time appeared. The Jews, though persecuted and oppressed, were not des- titute of good writers during this century, among whom were R. Meir, R. Ascher, R. Bechai, R. Levi Ben Gersen, and R. Schem Tof. 264 HISTORY OF THE CHVRCH. CeNT. XIV THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY, CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Renewal of the holy war — Conversion of Lithuania — Success against the infidels in Spain — Efforts for the conversion of China — Decline of the papal power — Contest between Boniface Vllf, and Philip the Fair, king of France — Benedict IX. — Clement V. — Gre- gory XI. — Urban VI. — Great western schism. The unfortunate zeal for crusades was once more attempted to be revived by the rulers of the Church, though they had been so lately disgraced by the prostitution of the term in the case of the Albigenses. The succession of pontiffs who resided at Avignon were particularly zealous for the renovation of the holy war, and left no artifice, no methods of persuasion, unemployed, which could have the least ten- dency to engage the kings of England and France in an expedition to Judea. Their success however was not answerable to their zeal ; and, notwithstanding the powerful influence of their exhortations and remon- strances, something continually occurred to prevent their effect. In the year 1307 and 1308, Clement V. urged the renewal of this holy war with the greatest ardour, and set apart an immense sum of money for prosecuting it with alacrity and vigour. {Buhizii Vit(P Pontif. Avenio7i, torn, i, pp. 15, 594 ; torn, ii, pp. 55, 57, 374, 391, &c. ; Ant. Matthoii Analccta Vetcris JEvi,. torn, ii, 577.) John XXII. ordered a fleet of ten ships to be fitted out in the year 1319, to transport an army of pious adventurers into Palestine, and had recourse to the power of su- perstition, that is, to the influence of indulgences, for raising the funds necessary to the support of this enterprise. These indulgences he libe- rally oflered to such as contributed generou.sly to the carrying on of the war, and appointed legates to administer them in all the countries in Eu- rope which were subject to his ecclesiastical jiu-isdiction. Tuder the pontificate of Benedict XII. a formidable army was raised in the year 1330, by Philip de Yalois, king of P'rance, with the professed view of attempting the deliverance of the Christians in Palestine ; but when he was just ready to embark his troops, the apprehensicm of an invasion from England obliged him to lay aside this important enterprise. In the year 1345, Clement V., at the request of the Venetians, engaged by the persuasive power of indulgences, a prodigious number of adventurers to embark for Smyrna, where they composed a numerous army under the command of Guido, or Guy, dauphin of Vieime ; but the want of provi- sion obliged this army to return with their general into Europe in a short time after their departure. [Fragmcnta llistor. Roman, in Muratorii Antiq. Ital. Mcdii Jl-lvi, tom. ii, p. 368.) This disappointment did not, however, repress the ardour of the restless pontifl's ; for another formi- dable army was assembled in the year 13G3, in consequence of the zeal- ous exhortations of Urban V., which was to be employed in a new Cent. XIV.] historv of the church. 265 expedition against the infidels, with John, king of France, at its head ; but the unexpected death of tliat prince blasted the hopes whrch many had entertained from this jfrand project, and occasioned the dispersion of thai numerous body which had repaired to his standard. {Baluzii Vita; Pontif. Avcnion. tom. i, pp. 3GG, 372, 386, 401.) Had the truths of Christianity, instead of the empty name, formed the governing principle of those by whom it w^as professed, the histo- rian might record with peculiar delight the names of those nations wliicli were by any means induced to profess a belief in the Gospel of Christ. As it is, he must regard these nominal conversions with con- cern, which is however softened by the consideration that the minds of men open slowly to truths which revolt against deeply-rooted preju- dices, and that outward professions were the first dawn of that light which afterward dillused real religion into the minds of men. ProI)ably, too, the success of the Christian missicmaries of these periods would have been less, had the doctrines of the Church been more conforina- ble to primitive Christianity. Those whose perverted minds would luive found great difficulty in adopting the idea of a purely spiritual Beinir as the only object of adoration, were easily induced to transfer their worship from the idols of their ancestors to the statues of the saints. The conversion of the northern nations had been conducted with so much success, that in the fourteenth century few European princes were unconverted to Christianity. Jageilo, duke of Lithuania, however, continued in the darkness of paganism, and worshipped the gods of his idolatrous ancestors, till the year 1386, when he embraced the Chris- tian failh, received in baptism the name of Vladislaus. and persuaded his subjects to open their eyes upon the truths of the Gospel. As it is an unsafe undertaking to scrutinize the motives of men, it may sufiice to say that this ])rince was not without some temporal allurements to renounce the reli<;ion of his ancestors. Upon the death of Lewis, king of Poland, which happened in the year 1382, Jageilo was named among the competitors who aspired to the vacant^ throne ; and as he was a rich and powerful prince, the Poles beheld his pretensions and efibrls with a favourable eye. Ilis relinion was the only obstacle to the accom- plishment of his views. Hedwige, the youngest daughter of the de- ceased monarch, who, by a decree of the senate, was declared heiress of the kingdom, was as little disposed to espouse, as the Poles were to obey, a pagan, and hence Jageilo was obliged to make superstition yield to royalty. On the other hand the Teutonic knights and crusa- ders extirpated by fire and sword any remains of paganism which were yet to be found in Prussia and Livonia, and eficcted by force what per- suasion alone ouglit to have produced. Some faint efi'orts were made to propagate the religion of Christ in the empire of China, and among the Tartars ; and in 1308, an arch- bishop of Pekin was appointed by Clement Y. with other suflragan bishops undtT his jurisdiction. Their efforts were at first attended with some success, (Forma/ s Ecclcs. Hist, i, p. 234,) but the illiterate .state of the Chinese nation, owing apparently to the want of alphabetical writing, must always form a considerable impediment to the reception of truth and wisdom. The dominion of the llomish Church appeared at this time to be rapidly on the decline. This important change may be dated from the 266 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XIV. conlention which arose between Boniface VIII., who filled the papal {throne about the beginning of this century, and Philip the Fair, king of 'France. This prince, who was endowed with a bold and enterprising spirit, soon convinced Europe that it was possible to set bounds to the arrogance of the bishop of Rome, notwithstanding many crowned heads had attempted it' in vain. In the haughty letters of Boniface, he as- serted that the king of France, with all other kings and princes, was obliged, by a Divine command, to submit to the authority of the popes, as well in all political and civil matters as in those of a religious nature. The king answered him with great spirit, and in terms expressive of the utmost contempt. The pope rejoined with additional arrogance : and in the celebrated bull Unam Sanctam, which he published about /this time, asserted that Jesus Christ had granted a two-fold power to his Church ; or, in other words, the spiritual and temporal sword : that he had subjected the whole human race to the authority of the Roman I pontiff; and that whoever dared to disbelieve it, was to be deemed a heretic, and stood excluded from all possibility of salvation. The king, on the other hand, in an assembly of the peers of his kingdom, held in the year 1303, ordered WiUiam de Nogaret, a celebrated lawyer, to draw up an accusation against the pope, in which he publicly charged him with heresies, simony, and many other vices, demanding at the same time an oecuinenical council to depose one who had so much disgraced his order. The pope in his turn passed a sentence ef excommunica- tion, that very year, against the king and all his adherents. Philip, shortly after the arrival of his sentence, held an assembly of the states of the kingdom, where he again employed persons of the highest rank and reputation to sit in judgment upon the pope, and ap- pealed to the decisions of a general council. After this he sent William de Nogaret, with some others, into Italy, to excite a sedition, to seize the pope's person, and to convey him to Lyons, where the king was determined the general council should be held. Nogaret was resolute and active, and soon obtained the assistance of the powerful family of the Colonnas, then at variance with the pope ; he levied a small army, seized Boniface, who resided in perfect security at Anagni, and as soon as he had him in his power, treated him in the most indignant manner, carrying his resentment so far as to wound him on the head by a blow with his iron gauntlet. The inhabitants of Anagni rescued their pope from the hands of this fierce and inveterate enemy, and conducted him Lto Rome, where he died soon after of an illness occasioned by the rage and anguish into which these insults had precipitated him.* Benedict XL, his successor, had the good sense to profit by this fatal example. He voluntarily repealed the sentence of excomnumication which his predecessor luid issued against the king of France and his dominions ; but never could be prevailed upon to absolve Nogaret of his treason against the majesty of the pontificate. The intrepid Nogaret was, however, very little solicitous to obtain the papal abso- lution, and prosecuted with his usual vigour and intrepidity in the Roman court, the accusation which he had formerly brought against Boniface ; and, in the name of his royal master, insisted that the mem- ory of that pontiff should be publicly branded with infamy. During * It has been said of him and his pontificate, " that he entered upon it like a fox, governed like a lion, and died like a dog." {Formey's Eccles. Hist, i, p. 283.) Cent. XIV.] historv of the church. 267 these transactions Benedict died, 1304 ; upon which Philip, hy his in- trigues in the conchive, obtained the see of Rome for a French prelate, Bertrand de Got, archbishop of Bourdeaux, who was accordingly elect- ed on the fifth of Junanciscans, who assumed the title of bre- thren of the convention. The austere fanatics refused, however, to submit to his decisions, and cheerfully preferred chains and imprison- ment to an alteration in the forms of their garments. A contest of more importance to the future faith of the Church arose during the pontificate of John. This respected the beatific vision, which the pope asserted was not enjoyed by the righteous, after death, till the day of judgment. This opinion was warmly controverted by the university of Paris, who contended that the soids of the saints were, at their death, immediately admitted into the presence of the Deity. It is necessary at the present period to confine the reader to a gene- ral and superficial view of the alterations which were introduced into the ritual of the Church, since they appear to be of little importance in the history of Christianity, and are too minute to admit of detail. In the year 1350, Clement VI., in compliance with the request of the people of Rome, enacted that the jubilee, which Boniface VIII. had| ordered to be held every hundredth year, should be celebrated twice in every centurv- But I'rban VI. and Sixtus VI. appointed, as was already intimated, a more frequent celebration of this salutary and pro- fitable institution. Innocent V. instituted festivals sacred to the memory of the lance with which our Saviour's side was pierced, the nails that fastened him to the cross, and the crown of thorns which he wore at his death.* This precious relic had been deposited in the imperial chapel at Con- stantinople, but, in the convulsions of that city, had passed into the iiands of the Venetians, and from them it was transferred to the king of France. f The French court advanced to Troyes in Champagne, • See .lo. Hcnr. A Scclon, Di.-is. do Fcsto Lanccae et Clavorum Christi. Baluzii Vit. Poiitif. .\venion toin. i, p. 32.S. Miscellan. toin. i, p. 417. t So it was roportfd, and the inruorant multitude believed it, as thoy did numerous other Ic'Tpndarv talcs, wliicli were not only destitute of any evidence of their tniih, but were inanilostlv l'uLrs was much more numerous. They were, however, chiefly polemics, and were engaged on the topics which at that period ilivided the Greek and LtUiii Churches. Among these we recognise the name of l>:irlaam, who at first appeared a zealous advocate for the Greek (,'liureh. difend- od her tenets eoncerning the procession of the llolv ('ho.st, and attacked the i)ope"s supremacy ; but afterward. assuinin<; a more mo- 18 274 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XIV. derate tone, he appeared as an advocate for a union of the Churches. Among the disputants who appeared in this controversy, Palamas, Acyndinus, Planudes, Philothcus, patriarch of Constantinople, and the two Cabasilas, distinguished themselves. Some of the Greeks in this controversy defended ably the tenets of the Latin Church. Church history was also much cultivated at this period ir. Greece. Nicephorus Calistius, a monk of Constantinople, compiled a consi- derable work upon that subject. Theophanes, archbishop of Nice, appeared as an able defender of the truth of Christianity. Planudes translated the fifteen books of St. Augustine on the trinity into Greek. Nilus, metropolitan of Rhodes, and iMaltlievv Blastares, laboured on the history of the councils and canons of the Church. The scholastic divinity, which had been cultivated with so much success in the preceding century, under Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, and Alexander Hales, usurped almost the whole common- wealth of literature in the west. The most illustrious of these doc- tors, in the fourteenth century, was the famous Duns Scotus, founder of the sect of Scotists, distinguished by their opposition to the Thom- ists, (or the followers of Aquinas,) and by their earnest support of the doctrines of the immaculate conception. The real name of Sco- tus was John Duns, and he obtained the appellation of Scotus, from the opinion that he was originally from Scotland ; though it is by no means certain whether, that country, England, or Ireland, is, in reality, entitled to the honour of his birth. He died at an early period of life, about forty years of age, of an epilepsy or apoplexy, probably produced by his studious habits. He left behind him a great variety of trea- tises, philosophical and theological, most of them written in opposition to the Thomists. The British nation indeed produced more than one ornament of the scholastic system. William Ockam, so named from a village in Surry, where he was born, appeared also at the head of another sect of scholastics, who were entitled Nominalists ; and as Scotus obtained the name of the Subtle Doctor, so Ockam was known by that of the Singular Doctor. He distinguished himself by writing in defence of Philip the Fair in his dispute with the popes. Thomas Bradwardinc, chancellor of Oxford, and afterward archbishop of Can- terbury, was a divine of rather a superior order, but much devoted to the scholastic divinity, and especially to the doctrines of Aquinas. — His treatise, Du Causa Dei, against Pelaginus, is in some repute. The author of most consequence, after these, appears to be Durand. de St. Pourgain, bishop of Meaux ; but the catalogue is endless of those who, in the numerous seminaries of literature, endeavoured to render themselves illustrious by an assiduous application to these fashionable but fruitless studies. Few in this age applied themselves to the rational explication of Scripture. The most eminent in this branch of learning was Nicholas de Lyra, a convert from Judaism to Christianity, who gave public lec- tures, at Paris, for several years, on the sacred Scriptures, and has left some commentaries, in which he was nmch assisted by his rabbini- cal learning, and which are by no means destitute of merit or utility, {T)u Pin, t. iii ; Former/, vol. i, p. 245.) The Bible was, in this cen- tury, translated into French by Nicholas Oresmus, a Norman, and nreceptor to Charles V. of France. (Du Pin.) 18* Cent. XIV.] iiistory of the church. 275 Several books of devotion also made their appearance in this centurj'. Among the writers most celebrated in this department are St. Bridget, a Swedish princess, and St. Catharine of Sienna, both of whom pre- tended to extraordinary revelations ; and, in an ignorant and supersti- tious age, it may well be conceived they were not without disciples. {Formey, vol. i, p. 245.) The politer studies were not, however, without their votaries in this period, and especially in Italy. The elegant productions of Dante and Petrarch, and the wit and pleasantry of IJoccacio, reflect a permanent lustre on the literary annals of the fourteenth century. The corruptions of the papal court were not sullercd to escape the severe investigation of this illustrious triumvirate, and especially of Petrarch, who scruples not to apply the most flagrant terms of reproach. Among the learned of this century should be mentioned Richard of Bury, who provided the first grammatical treatises of the Greek and Hebrew languages for the use of his countrymen ; rescued the works of many ancient authors from oblivion, and formed one of the most valuable libraries the age could boast of. (See Memoires pour la Vie de Petrarque, torn, i, p. 164, &c.) 276 HISTORY or tiik church. Cent. XV.] THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY Expulsion of the Moors from Spain — Discoverj' of America — Extension of the Mus- sulman empire in Asia — Overthrow of the Grecian empire — Taking of Constantinople liy Mohammed II. — Continuance of the western schism — Council of Pisa — Three popes at one time — Council of Constance — Retrenchment of the papal power — Election of iVIartiu V'. — Persecution of heretics — John Huss, and Jerome of Prague — Their persecution and death — Council of Basil — Eugenius IV. — Wishes to remove the council to Italy — Con- test between the pojie and the council — Eugcni\is summons a council at Ferrara — Depo- sition of Eugenius — Felix V. — Nicholas V. — Alexander VI. In the year 1492, Ferdinand, surnamcd the Catholic, by the conquest of Granada completely subverted the dominion of the Moors, or Sara- cens, in Spain. With a degree of moderation, which is honourable to the memory of this monarch, he at first made a solemn declaration, that none of the numerous adherents of Mohammedanism, who still remained, should be disturbed in the full enj()3-ment of their religious opinions. Ferdinand indeed flattered himself that the exhortations and instructions of the clergy, together with the imperceptible eflects of time, would produce the conversion of the Moors ; but the experi- ence of seven years only proved the fallacy of his hopes. Perceiving the incflicacy of these measures, the zealous king was persuaded by Cardinal Ximenes, his prime minister, to have recourse to severity; and the prevailing arguments of the inquisition induced two hundred thousand of the wretched Mussulmans to profess themselves believers in Christ. Many however still pertinaciously adhered to their former opinions ; and the numerous victims, who were ofl'ered upon the san- guinary altar of the inquisition, sufficiently testify how far we may rely upon the sincerity of the conversion which the greater number originally professed. The zeal of Ferdinand for the extension of Christianity was not confined to the disciples of the prophet of Mecca. His Jewish sub- jects were involved in a similar persecution, and were commanded either to unite with their Catholic brethren, or to depart from the king- dom. Banishment, to which the confiscation of their proj)erty would in all probability be annexed, was a sentence so rigorous, that great numbers were impelled to dissemble their opinions, and to fuign an assent to the doctrines of Christianity. A still more considerable numl)cr, allured by the encouragement afforded them by .John II., king of Portugal, took refuge in that country, where they hoped to fiiul either a safe asylum, or the means of transporting themselves and their eflects to .some happier situation. Their hopes were, however, fatally blasted, their property was confiscated to the state, and their persons were sold into slavery. Emanuel, the successor of .John, on his ascension to the tlu-onc, made some reparation for this injustice, by an emancipation Cent. XV.] history of the church. 277 from slavery, and the restoration of their effects. This clemency was, however, transient: Emanuel deprived them of their children, and would once more have reduced them to a state of bondage, had not their remembrance of past sulVcrings, and the apprehension of farther cruelty, induced them to submit to the initiatory rite of baptism, and to communion with tlieir orthodox brethren. Three hundred thousand were baptized ; but the sincerity of this conviction may be collected from the dark records of the abominable inquisition. The light of evangelical truth was diffused in this century among the Samogetae, and the neighbouring nations, but without producing its full effect. Toward the conclusion of this age the Portuguese, who cultivated with ardour and success the art of navigation, had penetrated as far as Ethiopia and the Indies; and, in the year 1492, Christopher Columbus, by discovering the islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, and Ja- maica, opened a passage to America; and after him Americus \ es- pucius, a citizen of Florence, landed on the continent of that vast region. Some of the new Argonauts, who discovered these nations, ■which had been hitherto unknown to the inhabitants of Europe, judged it their duty to enlighten them with the knowledge of the truth. The first attempt of this nature was made by the Portuguese among the Africans who inhabit the kingdom of Congo, and who, together with their monarch, were suddenly converted to the Roman faith in the year 1491. After this religious revolution in Africa, Alexander VI. afforded a singular specimen of papal presumption, in dividing America between the Portuguese and Spaniards ; but at the same time demon- strated his zeal for the propagation of the gospel, b}' the ardour with which he recommended to tliese two nations the instruction and con- version of the Americans, both in the isles and on the continent of that immense region ; and, in consequence of this exhortation, a number of Franciscans and Dominicans were despatched into these countries. Interest, not religion, was, unfortunately, the governing spring of action with the first American settlers ; the cruelties, therefore, in- flicted upon the unhappy natives were infinitely more calculated to alienate them from the reception of Christianity, than to invite them to it ; and the antichristian practice of slavery was in every respect ill calculated to promote the objects of piety. Instead, therefore, of gaining converts, these detestable ravagers exterminated whole nations. A few scattered Christians on tke coasts of Africa and India remain as testimonies of the industry of the Portuguese missionaries ; but in both these continents the faith of Mohammed has been more extensive ihan that of Christ. In that vast territory of the east which once acknowledged the Ro- man sway, Christianity lost ground with unparalleled rapidity, and the Mohammedans, whether Turks or Tartars, united their barbarous efi'orts to extinguish it.^ liright and salutary lustre. Asiatic Tartary, Mogul, Tangut, anil the adjacent provinces, where the religion of Jesus had long flourished, were now become the gloomy abodes of superstition, which reigned among them under the most o|)pressive forms. The dominions of the Byzantine Cesars had been gradually dimi- nished by the encroachments of the Mussulman ; a^id toward the conclusion of the preceding century the imperial jiuisdirtion was con- tracted to a corner of Tlirace, about fifty miles in length and thirty in 278 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XV, breadth : even this narrow space was denied b)^ the enterprising Ba- jazet, who, in an insolent tone, demanded the })ossession of Constanti- nople itself. He was prevented from taking by force what coiiJd not by treaty be granted, only by the intervention of a savage stronger than himself : and the victorious arms of Tamerlane afforded a short respite to thd! devoted city. Under the reign of Amurath the Second, the grandson of Bajazet, the capital of the east sustained a severe siege ; and, after his retreat, it was indulged in a servile and precarious respite of thirty years, sub- ■ ject, however, to an exorbitant tribute. The year 1453 was distin- guished by the final overthrow of the Grecian empire. Mohammed the Second had long beheld, with a wishing eye, the venerable city of Constantine, and resolved, by one great eflbrt, to make it his own, or perish in the attempt. On the 29th of May, after a siege of fifty- three days, Constantinople was taken by storm. The last of the Ce- "Y^sars, Constantine Paleologus, bravely fighting for his country and religion, fell, worthy of his name and imperial dignity, buried under a mountain of the slain. [Gibboii^s Decline and Fall, vol. vi.) With the empire of the Greeks their religious establishment was anni- hilated ; and though a partial toleration was at first permitted, the religious despotism of their conquerors soon contracted it within more confined limits, and reduced the Christian religion and its professors to the miserable state in which they at present exist under the yoke of the Ottomans. At the commencement of this century we have already seen that the Latin Church was divided into two great factions, and was governed by two contending pontifl's, Boniface IX., who remained at Rome, and Benedict XIII., who resided at Avigiion. Upon the death of the former, the cardinals of his party raised to the pontificate, in the year 1404, Cosmat de Meliorati, who assumed the name of Innocent VII., and held that high dignity during the short space of two years only. After his decease, Angeli Carrario, a Venetian cardinal, was chosen in his room, and ruled the Roman faction under the title of Gregory XII. A plan of reconciliation was, hov/ever, formed ; and the contending pontiffs bound themselves, each by an oath, to make a voluntary renun- ciation of ihe papal chair, if that step should be adjudged necessar\- to promote the peace and welfare of the Church ; but they both violated this solemn obligation. Benedict XJII., besieged in Avignon by the king of France, in the year 1408, saved himself by flight, retiring first into Catalonia, his native country, and afterward to Perpignan. Hence eight or nine of the cardinals, who adhered to his cause, finding them- selves deserted by their pope, changed their party • and, joining pub- licly with the cardinals of Gregory XII., they agreed together to assemble a council at Pisa, on the 25th of March, 1409, in order to heal the divisions and factions which had so long rent the papal em- pire. This council, however, which was designed to close the woimds of the Church, had an effect (piite contrary to that which was univer- sally expected, and only served to open 'a new breach, and to excite new divisions. Its proceedings were, indeed, vigorous, and its mea- sures were ac(?oinpanicd with a just severity. A heavy sentence of condemnation was pronounced on the fifth day of June against the con- tending pontifTs, who were both declared guilh- of licrcsy, perjury, and Cent. XV.] histouv of the church. 279 contumacy, unworthy of the smallest tokens of honour or respect, and consequently separated from the communion of the Church. This step was followed by the election of one pontiff in their place. The election was made on the twenty-fifth of June, and fell upon Peter of Candia, known in the papal annals by the name of Alexander V., but all the decrees and proceedings of this famous council were treated with contempt by the condemned pontiffs, who continued to enjoy the privileges and to perform the functions of the papacy, as if no attempts liad been made to remove them from that dignity. Benedict assembled a council at Perpignan ; and Gregory another, near Aquileia, in the district of Friuli. The latter, however, apprehending the resentment of tlie Venetians, made his escape in a clandestine manner, from the territory of Aquileia, arrived at Gaeta, where he threw himself upon the protection of Ladislaus, king of Naples ; and, in the year 1112, he fled to Rimini. Thus was the government of the Christian Church violently assumed by three contending chiefs, who loaded each other with reciprocal maledictions, calumnies, and excommunications. Alexander V., who liad been elected pontiff" at the council of Pisa, died at Bologna in the year 1410 ; and the sixteen cardinals, who attended him in that city, immediately filled up the vacancy by choosing, as his successor, Bal- thasar Cossa, a Neapolitan, who was destitute of all principles, both of religion and probity, and who assumed the title of John XXIII.* The dispositions and habits of the warlike pontiff' were little calculated for producing the reunion of the Church. His first efforts were directed against Ladislaus, king of Naples ; but his insolence was severely punished by that monarch, who compelled him to leave Rome, whence he fled to Bononia. The duration of the schism in the papacy was a source of many calamities, and became daily more detri- mental both to the civil and religious interests of those nations who were infested with the spirit of the contending parties. Hence the Emperor Sigismund, the king of France, and several other European princes, employed all their zeal and activity, and spared neither labour 7ior expense, in restoring the tranquillity of the Church, and uniting it again under one spiritual head. The pontiffs could not, however, be persuaded by any means to prefer the peace of the Church to the gratification of their ambition ; so that no other possible method of accommodating this unfortunate contest remained than that of assem- bling a general council, in which the controversy might be examined and terminated by the judgment and decision of the universal Church. This council was accordingly sununoned to meet at Constance, in the) year 1111, by John XXIIL, who was engaged in this mea-isurc by the/ ♦ In a council held at Rome by tliis pope, at the first session, happened the adven- ture of the owl. After the ma.ss of the Holy Ghost, all bcin^ seated, and John sitting on his tlirone, suddenly a frijjlitful owl came screaminir out of his hole, and placed him- self just before the pope, starinif earnestlv upon him. The arrival of this nocturnal bird in the day time, caused many speculalio'is ; some took it for an ill omen, and were terrified. Aa to tho ])ope, he blushed, and wa.-; in a sweat, and arose, and broke up ihe assembly. But at the next session, liie owl look his place aijain, fixiuii his eyes upon John, who was more dismayed than before, and ordered them to drive away tho bird. .\ pleasinir L^ight it was, to behold the prelates occupied in huniinii him ; for ho would not decam|). At last they killed liim, as an incorrigible heretic, by flinging I'aeir canos at him. 280 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XV. entreaties of Sigismund, and the expectation that the decrees of the assembly would be favourable to his interests. He appeared in per- son, attended by a grfeat number of cardinals and bishops, at this cele- brated council, which was also honoured with the presence of the Em- peror Sigismund, and of a great number of German princes, and with that of the ambassadors of all the European states, whose monarchs or regents could not be personally present at the decision. As a pre- liminary to the deliberations of the council, John, conjointly with the other pretenders to the papacy, was required to engage that he would relinquish the pontifical chair, if such a measure should be found neces- sary to the extirpation of the schism. The wary pope endeavoured to evade this agreement by studied delays, and by expressing his assent in ambiguous terms. He was at length, however, persuaded to com- ply with this requisition, and this promise was confirmed by a solemn oath ; but he seized the first o])portunity to withdraw from the city, in the full expectation that his absence would prevent the deliberations of the council. In this hope he was disappointed. The great purpose indeed of the convocation was to heal the schism which had so long rent the papacy ; and this purpose was happily accomplished. It was solemnly declared, in the fourth and fifth ses- sions of this council, by two decrees, that the Roman pontiff was in- ferior and subject to a general assembly of the universal Church ; and the authority of the councils was effectually vindicated and maintained at the same time. This vigorous proceeding prepared the way for the degradation of John XXIII., who, during the twelfth session, was unanimously deposed from the pontificate, and Martin V. elected in his stead. It is to be regretted that the proceedings of this council were not all equally directed to the promotion of peace and good order. But the persecution of the heretics which succeeded, disgraced the rational and prudent measures which were adopted for the regulation of the pope- dom. Before the meeting of this council, considerable commotions had been raised in several parts of Europe, and particularly in Bohemia, concerning religious opinions. A principal party in these disputes was John Huss, so called from Hussinetz in Bohemia, the place of his nativity. In the university of Prague, where he studied, Huss was early distinguished, and was honoured, while a very young man, with a letter from the celebrated WicklilT. {Jo. Amos Comcnii Hist. Frat. Boh.) After taking his degree he continued to reside at Prague, and enjoyed a very higli reputation, both on account of the sanctity of his manners and the purity of his doctrine. He was distinguished by his uncommon erudition and eloquence, and was chosen to fill the import- ant functions of professor of divinity in the university, as well as those of pastor in the church of that city. This eminent ecclesiastic de- claimed with vehemence against the vices which had corrupted all the different ranks and orders of the clergy ; he even went farther ; and, from the year 1408, used his most assiduous endeavours to withdraw the university of Prague from the jurisdiction of Gregory XII., whom the kingdom of Bohemia had hitherto acknowledged as the lawful head of the Church. Such an open defiance of the established hierarchy could scarcely escape the notice of those who were interested in its support ; the archbishop of Prague, therefore, and the clergy in generalj Cent. XV. 1 history of the cutiuii. 281 who were warmly attached to the interests of Gregor}-, became naturally- exasperated at these proceedings. A violent dispute arose between the incensed prelate and the zealous reformer, which the latter greatly inflamed and augmented by his pathetic exclamations against the court of Rome, and the corruptions prevalent among the sacerdotal orders ; he even proceeded to recommend openly the writings and opinions of Wicliliff'. (See Laiir. Byzinii Diariinn Brlli Hussitici, in Ludwig's Re- liquiiz Manuscriptorum, torn, vi, p. 127.) Hence an accusation was brought against him, in the year 1410, before the tribunal of John XXIII., by whom he was solemn!)' expelled from the communion of the Church. He treated, it is true, this excommunication with con- tempt ; and the fortitude and zeal, which he discovered on this occa- sion, were almost universally applauded. This eminent man, whose piety was truly fervent and sincere, though his zeal was perhaps rather too violent, and his prudence not always equally circumspect, was summoned to appear before the council of Constance. He was obedient to this order, and thought himself se- cured from the rage of his enemies, by the safe conduct which had been granted him by the Emperor Sigisnumd,* for his journey to Constance, his residence in that place, and his return to his own country. Huss was accompanied on this occasion by his faithful and intimate friend, Jerome of Prague, who voluntarily came to the council with the gene- rous design of supporting and seconding his fellow-labourer. Jerome had early imliibed in England the doctrines of Wickliff, and had brought home to his native country the books of that reformer. When Huss appeared before the council, ho declaimed, with extraordinary vehe- mence, against the ainiscs of the Church ; but this freedom was not considered as unlawful in the council of Constance, where the tyranny of the court of Home, and the corruption of the sacerdotal and nmnas- tic orders, were censured with unreserved severity. Personal enmitj- was however supposed to co-operate with ecclesiastical tyranny in the persecution of the Bohemian reformer. His active and malignant adversaries coloured the accusation brought against him with such artifice and success that he was cast into prison, declared a heretic, because he refused to obey the order of the council, commanding him to j)lcad guilty against the dictates o*' his. conscience, and was burnt alive, the 6ih of July, 1415. The courage which he had manifested in the pulpit did not forsake him at the stake ; he endured with unparal- leled magnanimity and resignation the dreadful punishment, expressing in his last moments the noblest sentiments of love to God, and the most triumphant hope of the accomplishment of those promises with which the Gospel arms the true Christian at the approach of eternity. The same unhappy fate was endured by Jerome. Territied however by the near jirospect of a cruel death, Jerome at first appeared willing to submit to the orders of the council, and to abandon the tenets and opinions which he had aflirmed in his writings. But this submission was not attended with the advantages he expected from it, nor did it * Sigismuiul liiiscly surrendered Huss, on this occasion, to his encmiics ; and when the intrepid reformer fixed his eyes steadily upon him, he was observed to bhisli. It is said that Charles V., heiii;,' importuned by Eccius to arrest Luther, notwithstanding the safe conduct grarueil liiin, replied, " I will not blush with my predecessor Sigismund." {L' Enfant.) 4 2^ HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XV. deliver him from the close and severe confineinent in which he was retained. He therefore resnrned his fortitude, professed anew, with an heroic constancy, the opinions which the sudden impression of fear had caused -him to desert, and maintained them in the flames, in which he expired on the 30th of May, 1416. ■**■ Before sentence had been pronounced against John IIuss and Jerome of Prague, the famous Wicklifl", whose opinions they were supposed to adopt, and who was long since dead, was called from his rest before this tribunal, and his memory was solemnly branded with infamy by a decree of the council. On the 4th of May, in the year 1415, a long '*^ist of propositions, selected from his writings, was examined and con- demned ; and an order was issued to commit all his works, together \with his bones, to the flames. On the 14th of June following, the as- sembled fathers passed the celebrated decree, which took the cup from the laity in the celebration of the eucharist, ordered that the Lord's Supper should be received by them only in one kind, i. e. the bread, and rigorously prohibited the communion in both kinds. This decree was occasioned by complaints which had been exhibited of the conduct of Jacobellus de Misa, curate of the parish of St. Michael at Prague, who, about a year before this, had been persuaded by Peter of Dresden to administer the Lord's Supper in both kinds, and was followed in this ^ by several churches. {Bi/zinii Diarinm Hussiticum., p. 124.) The ^ council, being informed of tliis circumstance by one of the Bohemian V bishops, thought proper to oppose with vigour the progress of this heresy; and therefore they enacted the statute, which ordered the communion to be administered to the laity in one kind only, and which i /obtained the authority of a law in the Church of Rome. After these y.. and some other acts, more zealous than useful to the Church, and much less to the real interests of Christianity, this famous council was dissolved on the 22d of April, 1418, having continued sitting for the extended space of three years and six months. Previous to the dissolution of the assembly a decree was enacted in favour of the frequent assembling of general councils, for the pre- servation of good order in the Church. Two were accordingly ap- pointed, the first at the expiration of five years, which was to be suc- ceeded by another three years Ifterward. A longer period than five years had however elapsed before a council was convened ; but the remonstrances of those, whose zeal for the reformation of the Church interested them in this event, prevailed at length over the stratagems which were repeatedly employed to defer it ; and Martin V. summoned a council to meet at Pavia, whence it was removed to Sienna, and thence to Basil. The pope did not live to be a witness of the pro- ceedings of this assembly, being carried off by a sudden denth, on the 21st day of February, in the year 1431, about the time when the council was to meet. He was immediately succeeded by Gabriel Condolme- rus, a native of Venice, and bishop of Sienna, who is known by the title of P^igenius IV. This pontifl' approved of all the measures which had been entered into by his predecessor in relation to the assembling of the council at Basil, which was accordingly opened the 2'Ul of July, 1431, under the superintendence of Cardinal Julian Cesarini, who per- formed the functions of president in the absence of Eugenius. On the first meeting of this council, it appeared, by its method of Cent. XV.]- history of the church. 283 proceeding, and by the decrees wliich it enacted, that the assembled fathers were firmly resolved to eflect the great purpose of their assem- bling. Eugenius IV. became alarmed at the prospect of a reformation, and, beholding with terror the zeal and designs of these spiritual phy- sicians, attempted twice the dissolution of the council. His repeated . attempts were vigorously and successfully opposed by the assembled fathers, who proved by the decrees of the council of Constance, and by other arguments equally conclusive, that the council was superior, in point of authority, to the pope. This controversy, which was the first that had arisen between a council and the pope, was terminated in the month of November, 1133, by the silence and concessions of the latter, who, the month following, wrote a letter from Kome, con- taining his approbation of the council, and his acknowledgment of its authority. These preliminary measures being concluded, the council proceeded with zeal and activity to the accom])lisliment of the important purposes for which it was assembled. The pope's legates were admitted as members of the council, but not before they had declared upon oath that they would submit to the decrees which should be enacted in it, and more particularly that they would adhere to the laws which had been framed in the council of Constance in relation to the supremacy of general coun-^'ils, and the subordination of the pontiffs to their autho- rity and jurisdiction. Nay, these very laws, which the popes beheld with such aversion and horror, were solemnly renewed by the council, the 26th of June, in the year 1434 ; and, on the 9th of the same month, in the following year, the annates, as they were called, were publicly abolished, notwithstanding the opposition which was made to this mea- sure by the legates of the Roman see. On the 2.5th of March, 1436, a confession of faith was read, which every pontiff was to subscribe on the day of his election ; the number of cardinals was reduced to twenty- four, and the papal impositions, called expectatives, reservations and provisions, were entirely annulled. These measures, with others of a similar nature, provoked Eugenius in the highest degree, and induced him to form a design either for removing tliis troublesome and enter- prising council into Italy, or erecting a new council in opposition to it, which might fix bounds to its zeal for the reformation of the Church. On the 7th of May, in the year 1 137, the assembled fathers having, on account of the Greeks, come to the resolution of holding a council at Basle, Avignon, or some city in the duchy of Savoy, the inlractalile pontifl" opposed this motion, and maintained that it should be transferred hito Italy. Each of the contending parties persevered with the utmost obstinacy in the resolution they had taken, and a warm and violent con- test ensued between the pope and the council. The latter summoned Eugenius to appear before them at ]}asil, the 26th day of July, 1437, in order to give an account of his conduct ; but the pontifl', instead of complying with this summons, issued a decree, by which he pretended to dissolve the council, and to assemble another at Ferrara. The decree was, indeed, troated with contempt by the council, which, with the consent of the emi)eror. the king of France, and several other princes, continued its deliijcrations at Basil, and, on the 2Slh of September in the same year, pronotiiued a sentence of contmnacy against the rebel- lious ponlilV for having refused to obey their order. 284 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ' [CeNT. XV. In the year 1438, Eugenius in person opened the council which he had summoned to meet at Ferrara, and at the second session pubhshed an excommunication against the fathers asscmbk^d at Basil. On the other hand, the council of Basil, exasperated by the imperious proceed- ings of Eugenius, deposed him from the papacy on the 25th of June, in the year 1439; but this vigorous measure was not approved by the European potentates. It may be easily conceived what an impression this step made upon the affronted pontiff; his patience became wholly exhausted ; and he devoted, for the second time, to damnation the mem- bers of the council of Basle, by a solemn and most severe edict, in which also he declared all their acts null, and all their proceedings unlawful. This new peal of papal thunder was held in derision by the council of Basle, who, persisting in their purpose, elected another pontiff, and raised to that important dignity Amadeus, duke of Savoy, who at that time resided in the most profound solitude at a delicious retreat called Ripaille, upon the borders of the Leman lake. This pontiff is known in the papal annals by the name of Felix V. The council which at first assembled at Ferrara was transferred to Florence, and the. deliberations of its members were chiefly directed to effecting a reconciliation between the Greek and the Latin Churches. At this council the Greek emperor, John Paleologus, personally attended, accompanied by his brother Demetrius Joseph, patriarch of Constanti- nople, Marcus Eugenius, bishop of Ephesus, and other considerable persons. As the subjects in dispute were intricate, it was judged expe- dient to commit the decision to a few persons selected from both par- ties. At the head of the Greek arbitrators was the learned Besarion, who was devoted to the Latins, and indeed was afterwaVd made a car- dinal in the Romish Church. By the influence chiefly of this great man, and the emperor's earnest solicitude to obtain succours against the Turks, the dispute was terminated, and the submissive Greeks agreed to observe as articles of faith the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son as well as the Father ; the doctrine of purgatory ; the use of unleavened bread ; and the supremacy of the pope. Marcus, bishop of Ephesus, was the only protester on this occasion, and no bribes could induce him to make the slightest concession of his principles. Such a league, however, which had no cement but that of artifice and momentary interest, could not long continue. The deputies, on their return to Constantinople, complained that they had been grossly deceived, and disavowed the whole of what they had apparently transacted. Eugenius, who had been the occasion of the new schism in the see of Rome, died in the month of February, 1447, and was succeeded, in a few weeks, by Thomas de Sarzano, bishop of Bologna, who filled the pontificate under the denomination of Nicholas V. This eminent prelate had, in point of merit, the best pretensions possible to the papal throne. Under his pontificate, the European princes, particularly the king of France, exerted their utmost endeavours to restore tranquillity and union in the Latin Church, and their efforts were crowned with the desired success. In the year 1449, Felix V. resigned the papal chair and returned to his delightful hermitage at Ripaille, while the fathers of the council of Basle assembled at Lausanne, ratified his voluntary abdication, and, by a solemn decree, ordered the universal Church to Cent. XV.] historv of the church. 285 submit to the jurisdiction of Nicholas as their lawful pontiff. Nicholas proclaimed this treaty of peace with great pomp on the 18th of June, in the same year, and set the seal of his approbation and authority to the acts and decrees of the council of Basle. In the series of pontiffs who governed the Church during this century, the last, in order of time, was Alexander VI., a Spaniard by birth, originally of the name of Roderick Borgia. That some monsters should have existed among so extended a succession as the possessors of the papal throne, who were raised to that dignity through unworthv motives and interests, is surely not to be wondered at ; and among these none are branded with stronger marks of infamy than the house of Borgia. CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Rich donations to the saints — -Festival of the transfiguration — Indulgences granted U all who should devoutly, celebrate the inimaculalc conception. Few alterations appear to have taken place in the established religion of this century. The reputation of Christian knowledge and piety was easily acquired ; and was lavished upon those who professed a profound veneration for the sacred order, who studied to render th« saints propitious by frequent and rich donations, who were exact and regular in the observance of the stated ceremonies of the Church,, and who had sullicient wealth to pay the lines wliich the papal questc;-s had annexed to the commission of all the different degrees of transgression, or, in other words, to purchase indidgcnccs. Such were the ingredients of ordinary piety ; but such as added to these a certain degree of auste- rity and bodily mortification were placed in the highest order of devotees, and considered as the peculiar favourites of Heaven. Though the more rational and judicious of the Roman pontiffs com- plained of the increased multitude of ceremonies, festivals, and temples, and did not seem unwilling to have this enormous mass somewhat diminished, each of them distinguished his own pontificate by some new institution, and thought it a duty to i)erpetuate his fame by some new edict of this nature. Thus Calixtus III., to immortalize the i-emem- brance of the deliverance of Belgrade from the victorious arms of Mo- hammed II., who had been obliged to raise the siege of that city, ordered, in the year 1456, the festival in honour of the transfiguration of Christ (whicli had been celebrated in some places by priv.ite au- thority before this period) to be religiously observed throughout all the western world. Sixlus IV., also, in the year 1476, granted indulgences, by an express and particidar edict, to all those who should devoutlv celebrate an annual festival in honour of the innnaculate conception of the blessed virgin, with respect to which none of the popes before him liad thought proper to make any express declaration, or any positive appointment. The other additions to the Roman ritual, relating to the worship of the Virgin Mary, public and private prayers, and the traffic 286 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. CeNT. XV.] of indulgences, are of too little importance to deserve an exact enumera- tion. We need not such a particular detail to convince us, that in this century religion was reduced to mere show, a show composed of pom- pous absurdities and splendid trifles.* CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Wickliffites — Waldenses — Savanarola — Bohemian trouliles from the disciples of Huss. Persecution-, though it might stifle, could not wholly extinguish the latent sparks of reformation which were diffused through most parts of Christendom. In England and Scotland, the disciples of Wickliff, whom the multitude had stigmatized with the title of Lollards, continued to inveigh against the despotic laws of the pontiffs, and the licentious manners of the clergy. (See Wilkins, Magncs Britann. et Hibern. torn, iv ; Wood Antiq., Oxo7i., tom. i, pp. 202, 204.) The Waldenses, though oppressed on all sides and from every quarter, raised their voices, even in the remote valleys and lurking places whither they were driven by the violence of their enemies, and excited the attention of all reflecting persons to the expiring cause of religion and virtue. — Even in Italy many, and among others the famous Savanarola, had the courage to declare that Rome was become the image of Babylon ; and this opinion was soon adopted by multitudes of all ranks and conditions. But the greater part of the clergy and monks, persuaded that their honours, influence, and riches, would diminish in proportion to the increase of knov/ledge among the people, and receive inexpressible detriment from the downfall of superstition, opposed every thing that bore the remotest aspect of a reformation, and imposed silence upon these importunate censors, by the formidable authority of fire and sword. The religious dissensions which had been excited in Bohemia by the ministry of John Huss and his disciple Jacobellus de Misa, were greatly inflamed by the deplorable fate of Huss and Jerome of Prague, and broke out into an open war, which was carried on with the most savage and unparalleled barbarity. The followers of Huss, who pleaded for the administration of the cup to the laity in tlie holy sacrament, and the other dissidents, being persecuted and oppressed in every possible manner by the emissaries and ministers of the court of Rome, retired to a steep and high mountain in the district of Bcchin, in which they held their religious meetings, and administered the sacrament of the Lord's supper in both kinds. This mountain they called Tliabor, from the tents which they at lirst erected there for their habitation ; and afterward they raised a strong fortification for its defence, and * So little was the ecclesiastical canon which forbids priests to bear arms regarded, that a bishop newly elected at Hildeshun, inqiiirinif after the library of his predecessor, was conducted to an arsenal full of all military weapons. These arc the tjooks, said they, of which your predecessors made use, and which you must use to dc>fend your church against the usurpations of your neighbours. {L' Enfant.) Cent. XV.] history of the church. 287 adorned it with a well-built and regular city. The inhabitants of Tha- bor consisted of .several sects, whose only bond of union was their opposition to the court ol' Rome. The first and most numerous class of dissidents were called CaUxtins, from calix, a cup ; and these differed from the Catholics only in insisting on the sacrament being adminis- tered in both kinds. Another party was termed Zealots, because they contended for a complete reformation of the Church. The Picards, also, who, in the course of this century, revived some of the tenets of the Adamites, and several of the Waldenses, repaired to this seat of liberty as to a city of refuge. John Zisca, a Bohemian knight, was at the head of this new esta- blishment. From, perhaps, a too literal application of the prophecies, his immediate followers concluded that the temporal reign of the Mes- siah was at hand, that he would immediately extirpate the enemies of the faith, and that it was consequently lawful to employ violent measures for the promotion of the truth. The war was sustained with great suiN. cess by the Thaborites till the death of Zisca, after which the peoplej chose a general of the name of Procopius, a man of considerable abilitv^ After defeating the Catholics in several engagements, Procopius, with several of his clergy, consented to attend the council of Basil. After this they appear to have been deserted by the Calixtins, to whom the council conceded their demand ; and, their force being broken, the Emperor Sigismund opposed them with considerable success. In a fatal battle, their general, Procopius, was killed ; and though they still maintained themselves in Thabor, they continued to diminish both in num!)er and in consequence, till the succeeding century, when they, with the rest of the Bohemian brethren, were among the first who joined Luther and the fathers of the Reformation CHAPTER IV. OF LEARMNif -VNO I,E.\RNED .MEV I\ THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Superiority of Greek literature — Cultivated by Petrarch and Boccacio — Greek profcs sorshipcstaljlislicd at Florcnoc — Cardinal Hasiarion — Ardour of the Latins — Nicholas V. — Cosmo do Mcdicis — Discovery of printinir — Nicholas Clemenfjis — Laurcntius Valia — Arelin and Pog^io — Knglisli writers — John Wessclus — Jerome S.ivanarola — ..Eneas Sil viiis — Thomas a Kempis — Pica delta .Mirandola. Notwithstanding the strenuous, and in some degree successful efibrts which took place in the ages immediately preceding, still the 1 true era of the revival of letters is the lit'leenth century. In the short/ sketches which have been occasionally exhibited in this history of the; state of literature, the superiority of the Creeks to the Latins must bo obvious to every reader. " In their lowest servitude and depression," says a modern historian, " the subjects of the Byzantine throne were still possessed of a golden key that could imlock the treasures of antiquity; of a musical and prolific language, that gives a soul to the objects of sense, and a body to the abstractions of philosophy."' {Gib- bon, vi, 414.) In this calamitous period, however, the tew Byzantine writers which 288 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XV. appeared were chiefly employed upon the controversies between the eastern and western Churches. But if they performed little in their own country, still, after their dispersion, it must be confessed that they did more to the enlightenintr of Europe with true science than perhaps the most excellent compositions could have efTected. In the preceding century some sparks of Grecian taste had been caught by the inquisitive Tuscans; and the learned Barlaam, in his fruitless visits to Italy, formed an intimate connection with the famous Petrarch, and produced in the first of Latin scholars an enthusiastic, admiration of the language of Homer and of Plato. The progress of Petrarch, however, does not appear to have reached beyond mere ad- miration ; his avocations were too many for the attainment of a difficult language at an advanced period of life ; and the necessary absence of Barlaam deprived him of that assistance on which he perhaps rested his hopes of success. Boccacio, the friend of Petrarch, and the father of Tuscan prose, was more fortunate ; and by his influence a Greek professorship was instituted at Florence, and Leo Pilatus, the master of Boccacio, was chosen the first professor. The feeble rudiments, however, of Greek learning, which Petrarch had encouraged, and Boccacio had fostered, soon declined and expired ; and it was not till the calamities of Constantinople had dispersed through Europe a crowd of learned and indigent Greeks, that the study of tliat language may be said to have prospered in the west. Manuel Chrysoloras, who came on a begging embassy from the eastern empire to the courts of Europe, was converted from an envoy into a professor, and Florence had again the honour of this second preferment. The celebrated Cardinal Bessarion was at once the patron and promoter of liis native studies ; and his zeal was seconded by the successful la- bours of Theodore Gaza, George of Trcbizond, .John Argyropulus and Demetrius Chalcocondyles, who explained the classics of Greece in the schools of Florence and of Rome. The ardour of the Latins was, however, not confined to a single branch of science ; but it became the ambition of princes and of repub- lics to vie with each other in the encouragement and reward of litera- ture. " The iajP-Q of^ Nicholas V.," says Mr. Gibbon, "has not been adequate to his merits. From a plebeian origin, he raised himself by his virtue and learning ; the character of the man prevailed over the interest of the pope; and he sharpened those weapons which were soon pointed against the Roman Church. He had been the friend of the most eminent scholars of the age : he became their patron ; and such was the humility of his manners, that the change was scarcely discernible cither to them or to himself. If he pressed the acceptance of a liberal gift, it was not as the measure of desert, but as the proof of benevolence ; and when modest merit declined his bounty, ' accept it,' he would say, with a consciousness of his own worth, ' vou will not /always have a Nicholas among yc' " The influence of the holy see ' pervaded Christendom ; and he exerted that influence in the search, \pot of benefices, but of books. From the ruins of the Byzantine libra- ries, from the darkest monasteries of Germany and Britain, he col- lected the dusty manuscripts of the writers of antiquity ; and wherever the original could not be removed, a faithful copy was transcribed and tr;insmitted for his use. The Vatican, the old repository for bulls and CkNT. XV.] HI.STOKV OF THE CHtlRCH. 289 legends, for superstition and forger>', was daily replenished with more precious furniture ; and such was the industry of Nicholas that, in a\ reign of eight years, he formed a library of five thousand volumes.—^ To his uuniificence the Latin world was indebted for the versions of Xenophon, Diodorus, Polybius, 'I'hucydides, Herodotus, and Appian: of Strabo's Geograpliy, of the Iliad, of the most valuable works of Plato and Aristotle, of Ptolemy and Theophrastus, and of the fathers of the Greek Church." The example of this pontiff was emulated by a Florentine merchant, Cosmo of Modicis, the father of a line of princes whose name and age arc almost synonymous with the restoration of learning. He traded with the remotest (piarters of the globe, and a cargo of Indian spices and of Greek books was frequently imported in the same vessel. The rest of Italy was animated by a similar spirit, and the progress of the nation repaid the liberality of her princes. {Gibbon, vi, p. 430.) But the almost accidental discovery of the art of printing, betweefi\ the years 1440 and 1443, conduced more than any other cause to thai cultivation of learning and science in the west. It is an unpleasin^ reflection, that the authors of the most useful discoveries generally wear their honours by a dubious or disputed thle. Thus the invention of printing was originally claimed by a multitude of contemporaries, and even still the honour seems to be divided between Mentol of Strasburgh, Guttenburgh and Faust of Mentz, and Coster of Haar- lem. It is not credible that an art, which had escaped the observation of ages, should be discovered at once by a number of persons; it is more probable that, on the first rumour of the invention, ingenious men would appl)' their imaginations to discover the means by which it was efTected; and thus a number of claimants would appear before the real inventor could well estnblish his title to the fruits of his industry, or his good fortune, 'i'hc tide of evidence seems at present however to run in favour of Faust, who is said to have received Guttenburgh as a partner, though there are not wanting advocates in favour of the latter as the father of printing. (See Boivycr's Origin of Printing.) This useful invention was at first regarded as an effect of magic, and was retained as a singular mystery by the first profes.sors of the art. It was, however, conveyed into England as early as the year 1464, by the influence of Bourchic r, archbishop of Canterbury, who prevailed upon Henry VI. to despatch Robert Tournour, one of the gentlemen of the wardrobe, to Haarlem, with a view of making the English mas- ters of the invention. Tournour, with a purse of one thousand marks, of which three hundred proceeded from the treasury of the jirchbisliop, embarked for Holland, and, to conceal more completely his intention, took with him one Caxton a merchant, pretending to be himself of the same jirofession. With these precautions, and having altired his name, lie proceeded first to Amsterdam, and thence to Haarlem, where, alter some time, he was successful enough to persuade Corselli, one of the compositors of Guttenburgh, to carrv off a set of letters, and em- l)ark with him lor London. On their arrival, the archbishop, consider- ing Oxford as a more convenient situation than London, sent CorseiliX thither. Thus the art of printing appeared at that university ten years \ .sooner than at any other place in Europ(\ Haarlem and Mentz excepted/ ( IVood's Hist, of Oxf. Univ. 1. i, p. 226.) 19 290 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XV. By this invention a knowledge not only of the Scriptures, but of all profane sciences, was more extensively diffused than it could otherwise have been: it became a means of perpetuating those valuable remains of antiquity, which the industry of the learned was daily drawing out of obscurity, and was a powerful instrument in the hand of Providence for the promotion of the important reformation which took place in the century succeeding. Under these favourable circumstances the crowd of authors who sprung up far exceeds the limits of this publication. Nicholas Cle- mengis, a French divine, is accounted by Du Pin the most eloquent author of the age: his writings were chiefly controversial; but there are some fragments among them critical and historical. Laurentius Valla, canon of the Lateran, is also of some note as a critic ; and the celebrated Aretin and Poggio were among the first who cultivated what may truly be called polite literature. The controversy concerning the tenets of the Hussites produced a variety of authors ; and the sanguine and imsettled temper of the English distinguished them in this century as the opponents of the Church. As early as the year 1404, Paul Langlais composed his treatise entitled "The Looking-glass of the Pope and his Court;" and Richard Ullerston wrote much on the subject of reformation. These topics were not indeed neglected in other countries. John Wesselus, a native of Groningen, for his acuteness and penetration, was entitled the light of the world; and Jerome Savanarola, originally a Domini- can of Ferrara, was, in 1498, committed to the flames at Florence, for the boldness with which he impeached the papal vices. {Mosh. cent. XV.) iEneas Silvius, afterward Pope Pius II., was a man of abilities and address. He employed his genius entirely for his own advancement, in other words, in promoting the designs of the court of Rome ; and, as he was not suspected of much principle, he was possessed of a most convenient versatility in his opinions. "As jEneas Silvius," said he, "I was a damnable heretic, but as Pope Pius II., I am an orthodox pontiff." {Baylc's Die. ; Mosh. cent, xv.) The divine, however, of this /century who is most generally known at present, was Thomas a Kem- / pis, a native of Cologne. He composed many devotional treatises; but his title to the popular book on the Imitation of Jesus Christ is disputed. In this age lived the much celebrated Pica, prince of Mirandola, whose attainments were so extraordinary, that at the age of twenty- three he is said to have published theses upon almost every science, and to have imdertaken to maintain them in all the schools. He was suspected of heresy, but obtained an absolution from Alexander VI. To his great learning, he added the more estimable praise of fervent piety, and even renounced his sovereignty, and distributed all his pro- perty to the poor. (Du Pin, cent, xv.) Du Pin is candid enough to say of his writings, that they "are full of force and elegance, and teach the most exalted morality." Among the greater part of the interpreters of Scripture who lived in this century, we find none worthy of applause. Such of them as aiiucd at something higher than the character of bare compilers, and ven- tured to draw their explication from their own sense of things, did little 19* Cent. XV.] history of the church. 291 more ihaii amuse, or rather delude, their readers, with mystical and allegorical fancies. At the head of this class of writers is Alphonsus Toslatus, bishop of Avila, whose voluminous commentaries upon the sacred writings exhibit nothing remarkable but their enormous bulk. Laurentius Valla is entitled to a more fa,vourable judgment, and his small collection of critical and grammatical annotations upon the New Testament is far from being destitute of merit, since it pointed out to succeeding authors the true method of removing the difficulties that sometimes present themselves to such as study with attention the Divine oracles. It is proper to observe here, that these sacred books were, in almost all the kingdoms and states of Europe, translated into the language of each respective people, particularly in Germany, Italy, France, and Britain. This circumstance naturally excited the expecta- tions of a considerable change in the state of religion, and induced the thinking few to hope that the increase of knowledge would be at least in some degree attended by its proper consequence, the increase of virtue, and by the dissolution of that dreadful tyranny, which, under the pretence of a Divine authority, had so long been exercised by some of the most depraved of the human race over the minds, the bodies, and the fortunes of men. 292 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH PREVIOU.S TO THE REFORMATION. General tranquillity of the Church — Pins III. — Julius II. — Warlike spirit of the pope — Dispute with Lewis XII. — Leo X. — Popes from Leo X. to Clement VIII. The situation of the Roman pontiffs was singular at the commence- ment of this century. The)^ had not, according to the apparent state of things, the smallest reason to apprehend any opposition to their pre- tensions or rebellion against their authority ; since those alarming commotions, which had been excited in the preceding ages by the Waldcnses and Albigenses, and lately by the Bohemians, were entirely suppressed, and had yielded to the united powers of the council and the sword. Such of the Waldenses as yet remained lived contented under the difficulties of extreme poverty in the valleys of Piedmont, and proposed to theinselves no higher earthly felicity than that of leaving to their descendants that wretched and obscure corner of Eu- rope which separates the Alps from the Pyrenian mountaiiis ; while the handful of Bohemians, who survived the ruin of their faction, and still persevered in their opposition to the Roman yoke, had neither strength nor knowledge adequate to any new attempt, and, therefore, instead of inspiring terror became objects of contempt. Alexander YI. was succeeded in the pontificate by Pius III., who, in less than a month after his election, was deprived by death of his new dignity; and the vacant chair was obtained, by fraud and bribery, by Julius II. To the other odious vices with which this man disho- noured the pontificate, may be added the most savage ferocity, the most despotic vehemence of temper, and the most extravagant and frenetic passion for war. He began his military enterprises by enter- ing into a war with the Venetians, after having strengthened his cause by an alliance with the emperor and the king of France.* lie then laid siege to Ferrara ; and, at length, turned his arms against his former ally, the French monarch, in conjunction with the Venetians, Span- iards, and Swiss, whom he had drawn into this war, and engaged in ''his cause by an offensive league. His whole pontificate, indeed, was one continued scene of military tumult, nor during his life did he suffer Europe to enjoy one moment's tranquillity. From this dreadful cloud which was suspended over Europe some rays of light, however, seemed to break forth, which promised a better state of things, and gave some reason to expect a reformation in the ("hurch. Lewis XII., king of France, provoked by the insults he had received * See Du Bos, Histoirc dc la Ligue de Cambray, published at the Hague in two vol- cmes, 8vo., in the year 1710. Ce.VT. XVI.] HISTORY OF TIIK CHURCH. 293 from this violent pontiff, meditated revenge, and even caused a medal t.o be struck, with a menacing inscription, expressing his resolution to overturn the power of Rome, which was represented by the title of Babylon on this coin. Several cardinals also, encouraged by the pro- tection of this monarch, and the Emperor Maximilian I., assembled, in the year 1.511, a council at Pisa, with an intention to set bounds to the tyranny of Julius, and to correct and reform the errors and cor- ruptions of a superstitious Church. The pope, on the contrary, relying on his o\VTi strength, and on the power of his allies, beheld these threatening appearances without the least concern, and even treated them with mockery and contempt. He did not, however, neglect the ►proper methods of rendering ineffectual the efforts of his enemies, and therefore gave orders for a council to meet in the palace of the Late- ran, in the year 1512, in which the decrees of the council of Pisa were condemned and annulled in the most injurious and insulting terms. This comlenmation would, undoubtedly, have been followed with the most formidable anathemas against Lewis and other princes, had not death snatched away the wicked pontiff, in 1512, in the mids^' of his ambitious and vindictive projects. He was succeeded, in the year 1513, by Leo. X., of the family of Medicis. This pontiff was a protector of men of learning, and was himself learned. He was a lover and a patron of the arts. His time was divided between conversation with men of letters and pleasure. He had an invincible aversion to whatever was accompanied with soli- citude and care, and discovered the utmost impatience under events of that nature. He did not, however, neglect the grand object which the generality of his predecessors had so much at heart, the promoting and advancing the opulence and grandeur of the Roman see. He was carel'ul that nothing should be transacted in the council of the Lateran, which Julius had assembled and left sitting, that had the least tend- ency to favour the reformation of the Church. He went still farther ; and, in a conference with Francis L, king of France, at Bologna, engaged that monarch to abrogate the Pragmatic Sanction, so long odious to the popes of Rome, and to substitute in its place another body of laws, more advantageous to the papacy, which were imposed upon his subjects under the title of the Concordate, and received with the utmost indignation and reluctance. The principal transactions of the six immediate successors of Leo will be found in a succeeding chapter, which treats of the reformation. Let it suffice, for the present, to remark, that they were the melancholy witnesses of the dismemberment of the papal dominion, for the main- tenance of which they, however, contended with zeal, at legist, if not with policy. Of the popes who followed the establishment of the reformed religion, Pius V., a nian of a severe and melancholy disposi-^ tion, rendered himself remarkable by a bull, which he publislied against 1 Elizabeth, t|uecn of England, degrading her from her dignity, and/' exhorling lusr subjects to revolt against her; and Grcffory XHl5\ opeidy commanded the massacre of the Protestants in France. Sixtu.s V. was the son of a poor peasant on the borders of Ancona, but was possessed of a most ambitious mind, and proved a severe master and a troublesome neighbour. His best quality was a love of letters. H caused the version ol the Bible called the Vulgato, as corrected by tb 294 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. council of Trent, to be printed in 1589, as the only authentic version of the sacred Scriptures. The three succeeding popes enjoyed their dignity only a few weeks; and, on the 26th of February, 1592, Cle- ment VIII. was elected, whose pontificate was distinguished by a famous dispute concerning grace ; which for some time divided and harassed the Church of Rome. CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, CEREMONIES, ETC., IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Splendid but trifling ceremonies — Scholastic subtleties — Sermons — Strange acceptation of the term good works — Increase of monkery — Institution of the Jesuits — Their consti- tution and policy — Capuchins — RecoUets — Regular clerks or Theatins — Priests of the oratory — Bare-footed Carmelites. The public worship of the Romish Church consisted, in this age, of only a pompous round of external ceremonies, the greater part of which were insignificant and senseless, and much more adapted to dazzle the eyes than to affect the heart. The number of those who were at all qualified to administer public instruction to the people was not very considerable ; and their discourses, which contained little more than fictitious reports of miracles and prodigies, insipid fables, wretched quibbles, and illiterate jargon, deceived instead of instructed the multi- tude. Several of these sermons are yet extant, which it is impossible to read without indignation and contempt. Those declaimers, who, on ac- count of their gravity of manners, or their supposed superiority in wisdom and knowledge, held the most distinguished rank, had a common place set of subjects allotted to them, on which they were constantly exercising the power of their eloquence. These subjects were the authority of the Church, and the obligations of obedience to her decisions ; the virtues and merits of the saints, and their credit at the tribunal of heaven ; the dignity, glory, and love of the blessed virgin ; the efficacy of relics ; the duty of adorning churches, and endowing monasteries ; the necessity of these good works (as that phrase was then understood) to salvation ; the intolerable ffames of purgatory, and the utility of indulgences. — Such were the subjects which employed the zeal and labours of the most eminent doctors of this century. Nor was the restoration of letters sufficient to revive in mankind a sense of their own dignity, or to recover them from the miserable bondage to which through igno- rance they had imperceptibly subjected themselves, and in which tliey were now partly retained by the extended arm of persecution. The prodigious swarms of monks that overspread Europe in the course of this century occasioned universal murmurs and complaints. Such, however, was the genius of the age, that they would have remained undisturbed had they taken the smallest pains to preserve any remains even of that external decency and religion which distinguished them in former times. But the Benedictine and other monkish frater- nities, who were invested with the privilege of possessing certain lands Cent. XVI.] historv of the church. 295 and revenues, broke through all restraint, made the worst possible use of their opulence ; and, forgetful of the gravity of their character, and of the la\v.s of their order, rushed headlong into the shameless practice of every vice. The mendicant orders, and particularly those who fol- lowed the rules of St. Dominic and St. Francis, though perhaps not borne away by the general torrent of licentiousness, lost their credit in a different manner ; for their rusticity, their superstitions, their ignorance, and cruelty, alienated from them the minds of the people, and etfectu- ally diminished their reputation. They had the most barbarous aversion to the arts and sciences, and expressed an abhorrence of those eminent and learned men who endeavoured to open the paths of science to the pursuits of the studious youth, who recommended the culture of the mind, and attacked the barbarism of the age in their writings and conversation. In the course of this century the internal government of the Church of Rome underwent some not unimportant alterations, a considerable part of which may be ascribed to the influence of the reformation by Luther. One of the most remarkable of these events was the establish- ment of the order of Jesuits, a body whose influence on ecclesiastical , as well as civil aflairs has been more considerable than that of any reli- ) gious order that ever appeared within the pale of the Christian Churchy When men take a view of the rapid progress of this society toward wealth and power ; when they contemplate the admirable prudence with which it has been governed ; when they attend to the persevering and systematic spirit with which its schemes have been carried on ; they are apt to ascribe such a singular institution to the superior wisdom of its founder, and to suppose that he had formed and digested his plan with profound policy. But the Jesuits, as well as the other monastic orders, are indebted for the existence of their order, not to the wisdonj of their founder, but to his enthusiasm. Ignatius Loyola was a fanaticj\ distinguished by extravagances in sentiment and conduct, no less in- compatible with the maxims of reason than repugnant to the spirit of religion. The wild adventures and visionary schemes in which his enthusiasm engaged him equal any thing recorded in the legends of the Romish saints, but are unworthy of notice in history. Prompted by this fanatical spirit, or incited by the love of power and distinction, from which such pretenders to superior sanctity are not exempt, Loyola was ambitious of becoming the founder of a religious community. The plan which he formed of its constitution and laws was suggested, as he gave out, by the immediate inspiration of Heaven. lUit, notwithstanding this high pretension, his design met at iirst with violent opposition. The pope, to whom Loyola had applied for the sanction of his authority to confirm the institution, referred his petition to a committee of cardinals. They represented the establishment to be unnecessary as well as dangerous, and Paul refused to grant his appro- l)ation. At last Loyola removed all his scruples by an ofler which it was impossible for any pope to resist. He proposed, that besides the< three vows of poverty, of chastity, and of monastic obedience, which are ] common to all the orders of regulars, the members of his society should lake a fourth vow of obedience to the pope, binding themselves to go whithersoever he should command for the service of religion, and\ without requiring any thing from the holy see for their support. At a, 296 HISTORY OF THK CIIITRCII. [CeNT. XVI time when the papal authority had received such a shock by the revolt of so many nations from the Romish Gluirch ; at a time when every part of the popish system was attacked with so much violence and suc- cess, the acquisition of a body of men thus peculiarly devoted to the see of Rome, and whom it might set in opposition to all its enemies, was an object of the highest consequence. Paul, instantly perceiving this, confirmed the institution of the Jesuits by his bull ; granted the most ample privileges to the members of the society, and appointed Loyola to be the first general of the order. The constitution and laws of the society were perfected by Laynez and Aquaviva, the two generals who succeeded Loyola, men far supe- rior to their master in abilities, and in the science of government. The professed object of almost all the monastic orders is to separate men from the world, and from any concern in its affairs. On the con- trary, the Jesuits were taught to consider themselves as formed for action. They were chosen soldiers, bound to exert themselves conti- nually in the service of God, and of the pope, his vicar upon earth. That they might have full leisure for this active service, they were totally exempted from those functions, the performance of which is the chief business of other monks. They appeared in no procession ; they practised no rigorous austerities ; they did not consume one half of their time in the repetition of tedious offices. But they were re- quired to attend to all the transactions of the world, on account of the influence which these may have upon religion ; they were directed to study the dispositions of persons in high rank, and to cultivate their friendship ; and by the very constitution, as well as genius of the order, a spirit of action and intrigue was infused into all its members. As the object of the society of Jesuits differed from that of the other monastic orders, the diversity was no less in the form of its govern- ment. The other orders are to be considered as voluntary associations, in which whatever affects the whole body is regulated by the common suffrage of all its members. The executive power is vested in the persons placed at the head of each convent, or of the whole society ; the legislative authority resides in the community. Affairs of moment, relating to particular convents, are determined in conventual chapters ; such as respect the whole order are considered in general congregations. But Loj-ola, full of the ideas of implicit obedience which lie had de- rived from his military profession, appointed that the government of his order should be purely monarchical. A general, chosen for life by deputies from the several provinces, possessed power that was supreme and independent, extending to every person and to every case. He by his sole authority nominated provincials, rectors, and every other officer employed in the government of the society, and could remove them at pleasure. In him was vested the sovereign administration of the revenues and funds of the order. Every member belonging to it was at his disposal ; and by his uncontrollable mandate he could im- pose on them any task, or employ them in any service. To his com- mands they were r<>qnircd not only to yield outward obedience, but to resign to him the inclinations of their wills, and the sentiments of their minds. There is not in the annals of mankind any example of such absolute despotism, exercised not over monks confined in the cells of a ♦•onvent, but over men dispersed among all the nations of the earth. Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 297 As the constitutions of the order vested in the general such absolute dominion over all its members, tlu-y carefully provided for his being perfectly informed with respect to the character and abilities of his .sub- jects. Every novice who offered himself as a candidate for entering into the order was obliged to manifest his conscience to the superior, or to a person appointed by him; and in doing this was required to confess not only his sins and defects, but to discover the inclinations, the passions, and the bent of his soul. This manifestation was to be renewed every si.v moiuhs.* The society, not satisfied with penetrating in this manner into the innermost recesses of the heart, directed each member to observe the words and actions of the novices ; and he was bound to disclose every thing of importance concerning them to the su- jjcrior. In order that this scnuiny into their character might be as complete as possible, a long noviciate was to expire, during which they passed through the .'several gradations of ranks in the society, and they must have attained the full age of thirty-three years before they could be admitted to take the final vows, by which they became professed members.! In order that the general, who was the soul that animated and moved the whole society, might have under his eye every thing necessary to inform or direct him, the provincials and heads of the several houses were obliged to transmit to him regular and frequent re- ports concerning the members under tlieir inspection. In these they descended into minute details with respect to the character of each person, his abilities, natural en- acquired, his temper, his experience in affairs, and the particular department for which he was best fitted. These reports, when digested and arranged, were entered into registers kept on purpose, that the general might, at one comprehensive view, survey the stale of the society in every corner of the earth ; observe the qualifications and talents of its members*; and thus choose, with per- fect information, the instruments which his absolute power could em- ploy in any service for which he thought proper to destine them.| (Jnhappily for mankind, the vast influence which the order of Jesuits acquired was often exerted with the most pernicious effect. Such was the tendency of that discipline observed by the society in forming its members, and such the fundamental maxims in its constitution, that every Jesuit was taught to regard the interest of the society as the\ capital object, to which every consideration was to be sacrificed. This,/^ spirit of attachment to their order, the most ardent, perhaps, that ever influenced any body of men,'^ is the characteristic principle of the Jesuits, and serves as a key to the genius of their policy, as well as to the peculiarities in their sentiments and conduct. The other monastic orders underwent some changes in their con- stitution. .Matthew de Bassi, a native of Italy, and a Franciscan of the more rigid class, persuaded himself, in the year 1521, that he was divinely inspired for the purpose of restoring the primitive discipline of his order. He became the father of the Capuchins, who are a branch of the Franciscans, and derive their name from the sharp-pointed capuche or cowl, which they added to the ordinary Franciscan habit. * Coinple par M. de Monclar. p. 121, &.c. t ('oini)te ]);irM. de Moiu-1. 1\^i, 241. Sur la Destcr. dos Jcs. par .M. d'.Vleinh. p. 39. X Coinpte par M. de Moncl. pp. 215, 439. Coiniite par M. de Clialolais, pp. 52, 222. J Coinpte par .\l. dc .Moncl. p. 285. 298 HISTORV OF THE CUL'UCH. [CeXT. XVi They diifer from the others only in this, and in the profession of a higher degree of sanctity and severity. Another branch of the Fran- ciscan order received the denomination of RecoUets* in France, re- formed Franciscans in Italy, and hare-footed Franciscaiis in Spain. In 1532 they were furnished with a separate rule by Clement VII., and are cdWad. friars minors of the strict observance. The first society of regular clerks was formed in 1539, and called Theatins, from their founder, .John Peter Carassa, bishop of Theate in Naples, and afterward pope, under the title of Paul IV. The distin- guishing profession of this order is extreme poverty without even the resource of begging. In this age, so fertile in these noxious produc- tions, the society o( priests of the oratory also sprung up. They derive their name from the oratory or cabinet of devotion, which Philip Neri, their founder, built at Florence, for himself and the companions of his studies. It is but justice to remark, that this order has been adorned by Baronius, Raynaldus, Laderchius, and many others respectable for their literary worth. The zeal for reformation was not in this century confined to the male sex. St. Theresa, a Spanish lady of illustrious birth, in conjunction with Johannes Santa Crusa, made some, zealous efforts for the improve- ment of the Carmelites. Her self-denying discipline not being how- ever equally relished by the rest of the order, proved only a perpetual source of discord and uneasiness. The more austere part of the society was therefore separated from the others in 1580, and formed into a distinct order, under the name of the hare-footed Carmelites. * So called from the faculty of recollection, by which they pretended to revive the rule of St. Francis. (^Formcy.) Cent. XVI.] historv of the church. 299 CHAPTER III. OF THE REFORMATION* IN GERMANY. SECTION I. Indigence of the papal treasury — Sale of indulgences — Tetzel — Luther — Opposes Tetzel in the jmblication of indulgences — Supported by the Augustine monks, and the elector of Saxony — Contest with Eccius, &c. — At first disregarded by Leo — Aflurwurd summoned to Rome — Appears before Cardinal Cajetan — Appeals to a general council — Zuinglius be- gins the Reformation in Switzerland — Luthnr excommunicated — Burns the papal i)ull — Views of the emperor with regard to Lulhor — Luther summoned to the diet at Worms — Edict against him — Seized and concealed at Warlburdi — Controversy with the university of Paris .and Henry VIII., of England — Translates the Bible — Character of Adrian Vi. — List of grievances presented by the diet of Nuremberg — Clement VII. — Marriage of Lu- ther — Reformation in Prussia — Danger of persecution — Contest between the pope and the emperor — Friends of reformation distinguished by the name of Protestants — Confession of Augsburg — League of Smalkalde — Negotiations of the Protestants with France and Eng- land — Treaty with the emperor at Nuremberg — Death of the elector of Saxony. To overturn a system of religious belief founded on ancient and deep-rooted prejudices, supported by power, and defended with no le.ss art than industry, — to eslablisli in its room doctrines of the most con- trary genius and tendency, — .and to accomplish all this, not by external violence or the force of arms, are operations which historians the least prone to credulity and superstition ascribe to that Divine Pro- vidence which, with infinite ease, can effect designs that to human sagacity appear impossible. The interposition of Heaven in favour of the Christian religion at its first publication, was manifested by miracles and prophecies wrought and uttered in confirmation of it. — Though none of the reformers possessed, or pretended to possess, these supernatural gifts, yet that wonderful preparation of circumstances which disposed the minds of men for receiving their doctrines, that singular combination of causes which secured their success, and en- abled men destitute of power and of pohcy to triumph over those who employed against them extraordinary efforts of both, may be considered as no slight proof that the same Hand which planted the Christian religion protected the reformed faith, and reared it, from beginnings extremely feeble, to an amazing degree of strength and maturity. It was from causes seemingly fortuitous, and from a source very inconsideral)le, that all the miglitv effects of the Ueformatiun flowed. Leo X., when raised to the papal throne, found the revenues of ihe"^ Church exhausted by the vast ])rojects of his two ambitious predoces-/' sors. His own temper, naturally liberal and enterprising, renderett him incapable of severe and patient economv, and his schemes foi aggrandizing the family of Medicis, his love of splendour, and his munificence in rewarding men of genius, involved him daily in new expenses ; in order to provide a fund for which, he tried every device 300 HISTORY OF TiiK ciiuRcir. [Cent. XYI that the fertile invention of priests had fallen upon, to dram the credu- lous multitude of their wealth. Among others, he had recourse to a sale of indulgences.* The right of promulgating these indulgences in Germany, together with a share in the profits arising from the sale of them, was granted ito Albert, elector of Mcntz and archbishop of Magdeburg, who, as his chief agent for retailing them in Saxony, employed Tetzel, a Domini- * Tlie Romish Church believe that pious persons may do works of supererogation, that is to say, more good works tlian are necessary for their own salvation. All such works, according to their doctrine, are deposited together with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ in one inexhaustible treasury. The keys of this were committed to St. Peter, and to his successors the popes, who may open it at pleasure ; and by transferring a portion of this superabundant merit to any particular person for a sum of money, may convey to him either pardon for his own sins, or a release, for any one for whom he feels an interest, from t!ic pains of purgatory. Such indulgences were olfrrcd as a re- (^ompense for those who engaged in the war of the crusades against the infidels. Since tliosc times the power of granting indulgences has been greatly abused in the Church of Rome. Pope Leo X., finding that the sale of indulgences was likely to be lucrative, granted to Albert, elector of Mentz, and archt)ishop of Magdeburg, the benefit of the indulgences of Saxony, and the neighbouring parts, and farmed out those of other countries to the highest bidders ; who, to make the best of their bargain, procured the ablest ])reachers to cry up the value of their commodity. The form of these indulgences was as follows : — " May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they may have been incurred ; then from all thy sins, transgressions, and ex- cesses, how enormous soever they may be ; even from such as arc reserved for the cog- nizance of the holy see, and as far as the keys of the holy Church extend. I remit to YOU all punishment which you deserve in purgatory on their account ; and I restore you to the holy sacraments of the Church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which you possessed at baptism ; so that when you die, the gates of punish- ment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened ; and if you shall not die at present, this grace .shall remain in full force when you are at the point of death. Li the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.'' According to a liook, called the Tax of the sacred Roman Chancery, in which are the exSct sums to be levied for the pardon of each particular sin, some of the fees are thus stated : — For simony IO5. Gd. — for sacrilege. IO.5 6d. — for taking a false oath, 9s. — for robbing, 12s. — for burning a neighbour's house, 12s. — for defiling a virgin, 9s. — for murdering a layman, 7s. 6d. — for keeping a concubine, lOs. Gi/. — for laying violent hands on a cler- gyman, 10.$. M. The terms in Vv'hich the retailers of these abominable licenses described their advan- tages to the purchasers, and the arguments with which they urced the necessity of ob- taining them, were so extravagant that they appear almost incredible. If any man, said they, purchase letters of indulgence, his soul may rest secure with respect to its salva- tion. The souls confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money is- paid, instantly escape from that place of torment, and ascend into heaven. That the efficacy of indulgences was so great, that the most heinous sins v,rould be remitted and cxpiat;:d bv them, and the person be freed both from punishment and guilt. That this was the unspeakable gift of God, in order to reconcile man to himself That the cross creeled by the ])reachcrs of indulgences was equally effica- cious with the cross of Christ. " Lo," said they, "the heavens are open ; if you enter not now, when will you enter! For twelve pence you may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory ; and are you so ungratefiil that you will not rescue the soul of your parent from torment] If you had but one coat, you ought to strij) yourself of that instantly, and sell it in order to purchase such benefit, "&c. It was against these preachers of licentiousness, and their diabolical conduct, that Luther begun first to de- claim. Since the Reformation, the popes have iieen more sparing in tiie exercise of this pretended power ; altiiough it is said they still cany on a trade with them to the Indies, where they are readily purchased. It is likewise slated, that indulgences may still be obtained at Rome, but it is presumable that the purchases are less frequent. (See /Suck's Theo. Dlclionary ; also, Mosheivi's Eccl. Hist.) Cent. XVI.] histokv of the church. 301 can friar, of licentious morals, but of an active .spirit, and remarkable for hi.s noisy and popuhir eloquence. He, assisted by the monks of his order, executed the commission with great zeal and success, but with little discretion or decency ; and though, by magnifying excessively the benelit of their indulgences, and by disposing of them at a very low price, they carried on for some time an extensive and lucrative traffic among tlic gredulous and the ignorant ; the extravagance of their assertions, as well as the irregularities in their conduct, cam*' at last to give general offence. The princes and nobles were irritated at seeing their vassals drained of so much wealth, in order to replenish the treasury of a profuse pontiff; and men of piety regretted the delu- sion of the people. Even the most unthinking were shocked at the scandalous behaviour of Tetzel and his associates, who often squan- dered in drunkenness, gaming, and low debauchery, those sums which were piously bestowed in hopes of eternal happiness ; and all began to wish that some check was given to this commerce, no less detri- mental to society than destructive to religion. Such was the favourable juncture when Martin Luther first began/ to question the efficacy of indulgences, and to declaim against the vicious lives and false doctrines of the persons employed in promul- gating them. Luther was a native of Eisleben, in Saxony, and tlioujjh born of poor parents, had received a learned education, during the progress of which he gave many indications of uncommon vigour and acuteness of genius. As his mind was naturally susceptible of serious impressions, and tinctured with somewhat of that religious melancholy which delights in the solitude and devolion of a mon:^tic life, he retired into a conv(mt of Augustine friars, and assumed the habit of that order. He soon acquired great reputation for his picly, his love of knowledge, and his unwearied application to study. Me had been taught the scholastic philosophy and theology which were then ii; vogue, and wanted not penetration to comprehend all the niceties and distinctions with which they abound ; but his understanding, naturally sound, soon became disgusted with those subtle and uninstructive sciences, and sought for some more solid foundation of knowledge and of piety in the Holy Scriptures. Having found a copy of the Bible, which lay neglected in the library of his monastery, he devoted him- self to the study of it with such eagerness and assiduity as astonished the monks, who were little accustomed to derive their theological notions from that source. The great progress which he made in this uncom- mon course of study augmented so much the fame both of his sanctity and of his learnin?, that Frederick, elector of Saxony, having founded a university at Wittemberg, on the Fdbe, the place of his residence, JjUther was chosen first to teach philosophy, and afterv.ard thcolo;rv, there; and was deemed the chief ornament of that society. While f.uther was at the lieight of his r«"putation ai;d authority, Tetzel i)egan to jniblish indulgences in the neiirhl'ourhood of Wittem- berg. As Sa.vony was not more enlightened ilian the other provinces of Germany, Tetzel met with prodigious success. It was with the utmost concern lint Luther beheld (he artillees of those who sold, and the simplicity of those \vlu> bought indulgences. His warm and im- petuous temper did not snller him long to conceal his opinions, «)r to continue a silent spcctali>r of the delusion of his countrymen. From 302 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI Vhe pulpit in the great chinch at Wittemberg he inveighed bitterly against the irregularities and vices of the monks who published indul- gences ; he ventured to examine the doctrines which they taught, and pointed out to the people the danger of relying for salvation upon any other means than those appointed by God in his word. The boldness and novelty of these opinions drew great attention, and being recom- mended by the authority of Luther's personal character, and delivered with a popular and persuasive eloquence, they made a deep impression on his hearers. Encouraged by the favourable reception of Ins doc- \trines, he wrote to Albert, elector of Mentz and archbishop of Magde- burg, to whose jurisdiction that part of Saxony Avas subject, and remonstrated warmly against the false opinions, as well as wicked lives of the preachers of indulgences ; but he found that prelate too deeply interested in their success to correct their abuses. His next attempt was to gain the suffrage of men of learning. For this ', purpose he published ninety-five theses, containing his sentiments with regard to indulgences. These he proposed, not as points fully esta- blished, or of undoubted certainty, but as subjects of inquiry and dis- putation. He appointed a day, on which the learned were invited to impugn them, either in person or by writing : to the whole he subjoined solemn protestations of his high respect for the apostolic see, and of his implicit submission to its authority. No opponent appeared at the time prefixed : the theses spread over Germany with astonishing rapi- dity ; they were read with the greatest eagerness, and all admired the boldness of the man, who had ventured, not only to call in question the plenitude of papal pou'er, but to attack the Dominicans, armed with all the terrors of inquisitorial authority.* The friars of St. Augustine, Luther's own order, gave no check to the publication of these uncommon opinions. Luther had, by his piety and learning, acquired extraordinary authority among his brethren ; he professed the highest regard for the authority of the pope ; his profes- sions were at that time sincere ; and as a secret enmity subsists among all the monastic orders of the Romish Church, the Augustines were highly pleased with his invectives against the Dominicans, and hoped to see them exposed to the hatred and scorn of the people. His sove- reign, the elector of Saxony, the wisest prince at that time in Germany, secretly encouraged his attempts, a)id flattered himself that this dispute among the ecclesiastics themselves might give some check to the exactions of the court of Rome, which the secular princes had long, though without success, been endeavouring to oppose. Several theses appeared in opposition to the ninety-five published by Luther, and the arguments produced for his confutation were the sentiments of schoolmen, the conclusions of the canon law, and the decrees of popes ; [F. Paul, p. 6 ; Seckcnd. p. 40 ; Palavic. p. 8.) The decisions of judges so partial and interested did not satisfy the people, who began to call in question the authority even of these venerable guides, when they found them .standing in direct opposition to the dictates of reason, and the determinations of the Divine law. {Seckend. p. 30.) Meanwhile these novelties in lAither's doctrines, which interested * Lutheri Opera, Jena?, 1612, vol. i, prajfat. 3, pp. 2, 66; Hist, of Counc. of Trent, by F. Paul, p. 4; Seckend. Com. Apol. p. 16. Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 303 all Germany, excited little attention and no alarm in the court of Rome. Leo, fond of elegant and refined pleasures, intent upon great schemes of policy, a stranger to tlieological controversies, and apt to despise them, regarded wilh the utmost indifference the operations of aii obscure friar, who, in the heart of Germany, carried on a scholastic disputation in a barbarous style. Leo imputed the whole to monastic enmity and emulation, and seemed inclined not to interpose in the contest, but to allow the Augustines and Dominicans to wrangle about the matter with their usual animosity. The solicitations however of Luther's adversaries, together with the surprising progress which his opinions made in different parts of Ger- many, roused at last the attention of the court of Rome, and obliged Leo to take measures for the security of the Church against an attack that now appeared too serious to be despised. For this end he sum- moned liUtlier to appear at Rome, within sixty days, before the auditor of the chamber, and the inquisitor-general, Prierias, who had written against him, whom he empowered jointly to examine liis doctrines, and to decide concerning them. He wrote, at the same time, to the elector of Saxony, beseeching him not to protect a man whose heretical and profane tenets were so shocking- to pious ears ; and enjoined the pro- vincial of the Augustines to check by his authority the rashness of an arrogant monk, which brought disgrace upon the order of St. Augustine, and save offence and disturbance to the whole Church. From the strain of these letters, as well as from the nomination of a judge so prejudiced and partial as Prierias, Luther easily saw what sentence he might expect at Rome. He discovered, for that reason, the utmost solicitude to have his cause tried in Germany, and before a less suspected tribunal. The professors in the university of Wittem- l)erg, anxious for his safety, wrote to the pope, and, after employing several pretexts to excuse Luther from appearing at Rome, entreated Leo to commit the examination of his doctrines to some persons of learning and authority in Germany. The elector requested the same thing of the pope's legate at the diet of Augsburg ; and as Luther him- self, who at that time did not even entertain the smallest suspicion concerning the Divine original of papal authority, had written to Leo a submissive letter, promising an unreserved compliance with his will, the pope gratified him so far as to empower his legate in Germany, Cardinal Cajetan, a Dominican, eminent for scholastic learning, and pas- sionately devoted to the Roman see, to hear and determine the cause. Luther, having obtained the emperors safe conduct, immediately repaired to Augsburg. The cardinal received him with decent respect, and endeavoured at first to gain upon him by gentle treatment; but, think- ing it beneath tlie dignity of his station to enter into any formal dispute wilh a person of such inferior rank, he required him, by virtue of the apostolic powers with which he was clothed, to retract his errors with regard to indulgences and the nature of faith ; and to abstain, for the future, from the publication of new and dangerous opinions. Luther, fully persuaded of tlie truth of his own tenets, and confirmed in the belief of them l)y the approbation which they had mot with among per- Kons conspicuous liolh lor learning and piety, was surjirised at this abrupt mention of a recantation, before any endeavours were used to convince him tliat ho was nustaken. He had flattered Inmsolf that, m 304 HI6T0RV OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. XVI a coiiicicnce concerning the points in Jisputc, with a prelate of such distinguished abilities, he should be able to remove many of those im- putatians with which the ignorance or malice of his antagonists had loaded him ; but the high lone of authority that the cardinal assumed extinguished at once all hopes of this kind, and cut off every prospect of advantage from the interview. His native intrepiditj' of mind, how- ever, did not desert him. He declared, with the utmost firmness, that he could not, with a safe conscience, renounce opinions which he believed to be true ; nor should any consideration ever induce him to do what would be so base in itself, and so offensive to God. At the same time he continued to express no less reverence than formerly for the authority of the apostolic see; (Lufh. Oper. vol. i, p. 164;) be signified his willingness to submit the whole controversy to certain universities which he named ; and promised neither to write nor to preach concerning indulgences for the future, provided his adversaries were likewise enjoined to be silent with respect to them. [Ltith. Oper. vol. i, p. 169.) All these offers Cajetan disregarded or rejected, and still insisted peremptorily on a simple recantation, threatening him with ecclesiastical censures, and forbidding him to appear again in his presence, unless he resolved instantly to comply with what he had required." This hauglity and violent proceeding, as well as other cir- cumstances, gave Luther's friends such strong reasons to suspect thai even the imperial safe conduct would not be able to protect him from the legate's power and resentment, that they prevailed on him to with- draw secretly from Augsburg, and to return to his own country. But before his departure he prepared a solemn appeal from the legate to the pope, who indeed ought not to have committed a cause of this importance to an inferior agent. {Slcid. Hist, of Reform, p. 7; Scckend. p. 45 ; Luth. Oper. i, 163.) Cajetan, enraged at Luther's abrupt retreat, and at the publication of his appeal, wrote to the elector of Saxony, complaining of both ; and requiring him, as he regarded the peace of the Church, or the authority of its head, either to send that seditious monk a prisoner to Rome, or to banish him out of his territories. It was not from theological con- siderations that Frederick had hitherto countenanced liUther. His proLection flowed almost entirely from political motives, and was afforded with great secrecy and caution. He had neither heard any of Luther's discourses, nor read any of his books; and, though all Ger- many resounded with his fame, he had never once admitted him into his presence. [Scckend. p. 27 ; Sleid. Hist. p. 12.) But upon this demand which the cardinal made, it became necessary to throw off somewhat of his former reserve. He had been at great expense, and had bestowed much attention on founding a new university, an object of considerable inij)ortance to every German prince ; and fore- seeing how fatal a blow the removal of Luther would be to its repu- tation, (^Seckctid. p. 59,) he, under various pretexts, and with many professions of esteem for the cardinal, as well as of reverence for the pope, not only declined complying wilh either of his requests, but openly discovered great concern for Luther's safety. {Skid. Hist. p. 10; Luth. Oper. i, 172.) The inflexible rigour with which ( 'ajctan in,sisted on a snnple re- cantation, gave great offence to Luther's followers in that age. But it Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 30j was impossible for the legate to act another part. The judges before whom Lutlicr had been required to appear at Rome, without waiting for the expiration of the sixty days allowed him in the citation, had already condemned him as a heretic. {Lrtth. Oper. i, 161.) Leo had, in several of his briefs and letters, stigmatized him as a child of iniquity, and a man given up to a reprobate sense. Nothing less, therefore, than a recanta- tion could save the honour of the Church, whose maxim it is never to abandon the smallest point it has established, and which is even preclud- ed, by its pretensions to infallibility, from having it in its power so to do. In this situation, Luther discovered no symptoms of timidity or remiss- ness, but continued to vindicate his own conduct and opinions, and to inveigh against those of his adversaries with more vehemence than ever. {Scckend, p. 59.) As every step, however, which was taken by the court of Rome con-- vinccd Lutlier that Leo would soon proceed to the most violent mea- sures against him, he had recourse to the only expedient in his power ii> order to prevent the effect of the papal censures. lie appealed to a gene-- ral council, which he affirmed to be the representative of the Catholie Church, and superior in power to the pope, who, being a fallible n>an-, might err, as St. Peter, the most perfect of his predecessors, had er^d {Slcid. Jlist. 12; Lut/i. Opnr.i, 179.) It soon appeared that Luther had not formed rash conjectures eon- cerning the intentions of the Komish Church. A bull, ol' a date pno? to Jiis appeal, was issued by the pope, in which he magnified the virtue and efficacy of indulgences ; he required all Christians to assent N> what he delivered as the doctrine of the Catliolic Church ; and sub- jected those who should hold or teach any, contrary opinion »o- the heaviest ecclesiastical censures. Among Luther's followers, this bull, which they considered as an unjustifiable cffovt of the pope in order to preserve that rich branch of his revenue which arose from indulgences, produced little elTecJ. But among the rest of his countrymen, such a clear decision of the sove- reign pontiff against him, and enforced by such dreadful penalties, must have been attended with consequences very fatal to his cause, jf thest* had not been prevented, in a great measure, by tlie death of the- Empe- ror Maximilian, whom both his principles and liis interest prompted to support the authority of the holy see. In consequence of thi.s event, the vicarial of that part of Germany which is governed by the Saxon laws devolved to the elector of Saxony ; and under the shelter of his I'riendly administration, Luther not oidy enjoyed tranquillity, but his opinions were sulfered, during the interregnum which preceded the election, to lake root in different place.^t, and to grow up to some degree of strength and firmness. At the same time, as the election of an emperor was a point more interesting to Leo than a theological con- troversy which he did not understand, and of which he could not foresee the consetpiences, he was so extremely solicitous not to irritate a prince of such considerable influence in the electoral college as Frederick, that he discovered a great unwillingness to pronounce the sentence of excomininiication against liUther, which his adversaries demanded with the most clamorous importunity. To these political views of the pope, as well as to his natural aver- sion to severe measures, was owing the suspension of any farlhei 20 306 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT XVI. proceedings against Luther for eighteen months. Perpetual negotia- tions, however, in order to bring the matter to some amicable issue, were carried on during that space. The manner in whicli these were conducted having given Luther many opportunities of observing the corruption of the court of Rome, he began to utter some doubts with /regard to the Divine original of the papal authority. A pubhc disputa- tion was held upon this important question at Leipsic, between Luther and Eccius, one of his most learned and formidable antagonists ; but it was as fruitless and indecisive as such scholastic combats usually prove. {Luth. Opcr. i, 199.) Nor did this spirit of opposition to the doctrines and usurpations of the Romish Church break out in Saxony alone ; an attack no less violent, and occasioned by the same causes, was made upon them about this time in Switzerland. The Franciscans, being entrusted with the promulgation of indulgences in that country, executed their commission with the same indiscretion and rapaciousness which had rendered the Dominicans so odious in Germany. They proceeded nevertheless with uninterrupted success till they arrived at Zurich. — There Zuinglius, a man not inferior to Luther in zeal and intrepidity, ventured to oppose them : and being animated with a republican bold- ness, he advanced with more daring and rapid steps to overturn the whole fabric of the established religion. {Slcid. Hist. 22 ; Seckcinl. 59.) The appearance of such a vigorous auxiliary, and the progress which he made, was at first matter of great joy to Luther. On the other hand, the decrees of the universities of Cologne and Louvain, which pro- nounced his opinions to be erroneous, aflbrded great cause of triumph to his adversaries. But the undaunted spirit of Luther acquired additional fortitude from every instance of opposition ; and he began to shake the tlrmest lound- ations on which the wealth and power of the Church were established. Leo came at last to be convinced, that all hopes of reclaiming him by forbearance were vain : several prelates of great wisdom exclaimed, no less than Luther's personal adversaries, against the pope's unprece- dented lenity ; the dignity of the papal see rendered the most vigorous proceedings necessary ; the new emperor, it was hoped, would snpport its authority ; nor did it seem probable that the elector of Saxony would so far forget his usual, caution, as to sot himself in opposition to their united power. The college of cardinals was often assembled in order to prepare the sentence with due deliberation, and the ablest canonists were consulted how it might be expressed with unexcep- tionable formality. At last, on the 15th of June, 1520, the bull, so fatal /to the Church of Rome, was issued. Forly-one propositions, extracted out of Luther's works, are therein condenmcd as heretical, scandalous, and ofl'ensive to pious ears ; all persons are forbidden to read his wri- tings, upon pain of excommunication ; such as had any of them in their custody are commanded to commit them to the flames ; he himself, if he did not within sixty days publicly recant his errors, and burn his books, is pronounced an obstinate heretic ; is excommunicated, and delivered unto Satan for the destruction of his flesh ; and all secular princes are required, imder pain of incurring the same censure, to .seize his person, that he might be puiushed as his crimes deserved. — [Palavic, 27 ; Luth. Oper. i, 423.) 20* Cent. XVI.] history of the cuurcji. 307 The publication of this bull in Germany excited various passions in •lifforent places. Luther's adversaries exulted; his followers read Leo's anathemas with more indignation than terror. In some cities, the peo- ple violently obstructed the promulgation of the bull; in others, the per- sons who attempted to publish it were insulted, and the bull itself torn in pieces, and trodden under foot. {Scckcnd. p. 116.) This sentence, which he had for some time expected, did not dis- concert or intimidate Lutlicr. After renewing his appeal to the gene- ral council, he published remarks upon the bull of excommunication; and, being now persuaded that Leo had been guilty both of impiety and injustice in his proceedings against him, he boldly declared the pope/" to be that man of sin, or antichrist, whose appearance is foretold in the'^ New Testament; he declaimed against his tyranny and usurpations with greater violence than ever; he exhorted all Christian princes to shake off such an ignominious yoke; and boasted of his own happi- ness in being marked out as the object of ecclesiastical indignation, because he had ventured to assert the liberty of mankind. Nor did he! confine his expressions of contemj^t for the papal power to words alone; Leo having, in execution of the bull, appointed Luther's books to be ' burned at Rome, he, by way of retaliation, assembled all the professors' and students in the university of Wittemberg, and with great pomp, in presence of a vast multitude of spectators, cast the volumes of the canon law, together with the bull of excommunication, into the flames; and his example was imitated in several cities in Germany. The ■ manner in which he justified this action was still more offensive than the action itself. Having collected from the canon law some of the most extravagant propositions with regard to the plenitude and omnipo- tence of the papal power, as well as the subordination of all secular jurisdiction to the authority of the holy see, he published these with a commentary, pointed out the impiety of such tenets, and their evident tendency to subvert all civil government. {Litt/i. Opcr. ii, 316.) After the death of .Maximilian I., his grandson, Charles V., king of Spain, succeeded him in the empire, in the year 1519. Leo X. seized this occasion of putting the emperor in mind of his character as advo- cate and defender of the Church, and demanding the exemplary pun- ishment of Luther, who had rebelled against its sacred laws. The vast and dangerous schemes which Francis I., king of France, was forming against Charles, made it necessary for him to secure the friendship of. the pope, and determined him to treat Luther with great severity, as the most effectual method of soothing Leo into a concur- rence with his measures. His eagerness to accomplish this rendered him not unwilling to gratify the papal legates in Geriuanv, who insisted that, without any delay or formal deliberation, tlie diet, wliich was assembled at Worms, ought to condemn a man whom the pope had already excommunicated as an incorrigible heretic. Such an abrupt manner of proceeding, however, being deemed unprecedented and unjust by tin; members of the diet, they made a point of Lutlier's appearing in person, and declaring whether he adhered or nui to those opinions which had drawn upon him the censures of the Church. — (/'. Mart. ep. 722.) Not only the emperor, but all the princes ihnnigh whose territories he had to pass, granted him a safe cuiiiluct; and Charles wrote to him at the same time, requiring his immediate attend- 308 HIbTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. ance on the diet, and renewing his promises of protection from any injury or violence. [Luth. Opcr. ii, 411.) Luther did not hesitate one jnoment about yielding obedience, and set out for Worms, attended by the herald who had brought the emperor's letter and safe conduct. — While on his journey, many of his friends, whom the fate of IIuss under similar circumstances, and notwithstanding tlie same security of an imperial safe conduct, filled with solicitude, advised and entreated him not to rush wantonly into the midst of danger. But Luther, superior to such terrors, silenced them with this reply, "I am lawfully called,"i f said he, "to appear in that city, and thither will I go in the name of ' the Lord, though as many devils as there are tiles on the houses were there combined against me." {Luth. Oper. ii, 412.) The reception he met with at Worms was such as he might have reckoned a full reward of all his labours, if vanity and the love of ap- plause had been the principles by which he was influenced. Greater crowds assembled to behold him than had appeared at the emperor's public entry ; his apartments were daily iilled with princes and person- ages of the highest rank, {Seckcnd. 156; Lnth Oper. ii, 414,) and lie was treated with all the respect paid to those who possess the power of directing the understanding and sentiments of other men ; a homage more sincere, as well as more flattering, than any which pre-eminence in birth or condition can command. At his appearance before the diet, he behaved with great decency and firmness. He readily ac- knowledged an excess of vehemence and acrimony in his controversial writings, but refused to retract his opinions, unless he were convinced of their falsehood; or to consent to their being tried by any other rule V than the word of God. When neither threats nor entreaties could pre- vail on him to depart from this resolution, some of the ecclesiastics proposed to imitate the example of the council of Constance, and, by punishing the author of this pestilent heresy, who was now in their power, to deliver the Church at once from such an evil. This was opposed both bv the members of the diet and by the emperor, and fjUther was permitted to depart in safety. {F. Paul. Hist, of Counc. p. 13 ; Seckeml. 160.) A few days after he left the city, a severe edict ^was published in the emperor's name, and by authority of the diet, de- priving him, as an obstinate and excommunicated criminal, of all the privileges which he enjoyed as a subject of the empire, furlndding any })rince to harbour or protect him, and requiring all to coijcnr in seizing }iis person, as soon as the term specified in his safe conduct was ex- pired. {Gold. Const. Imperial, ii, 408.) But this rigorous decree had no considerable cfTect, the execution of it being prevented, partly by the multiplicity of occupations which the commotions in Spain, together with the wars in Italy and the Low Coun- tries, created to the emperor; and partly by a prudent precaution employ- ed by the elector of Saxony. As Luther, on his return from Worms, was passing near Altenstein in Thuringia, a number of horsemen in masks rushed sudderdy out of a wood, wliere the elector had appointed them to lie in wait for him, and, surrounding his company, carried him, after dismissing all his attendants, to Wartburg, a strong castle not far distant. There the elector ordered him to be supplit^d with every thing necessary or agreeable, but the place of his retreat was carefully con- cealed, until the fury of the present storm against him began to abate. CeN'T. XVI.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 309 In this solitude he remained nine months, and exerted his usual vigour and industry in defence of his doctrines, or in confutation of his adver- saries, publishing several treatises, which revived the drooping spirits of his followers. During his confinement, his opinions continued to gain ground in every city in Saxony ; and the Augustines of Wittemberg, with the approbation of the university, and the connivance of the elector, ven- tured upon the first step toward an alteration in the establislied forms of public worship, by abolishing the celebration of private masses, and by giving the cup as well as the bread to the laity in administering the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. During his retirement in Warlburir, Luther received the intelligence^ that a solemn decree condemning his opinions had been published by \ the university of Paris, and that Henry VIII. of England had written/ a treatise on the seven sacraments, in confutation of his opinions. — ' Luther, who was not overawed, either by the authority of the university. or the dignity of the monarch, soon published his animadversions on both, in a style no less vehement and severe than he would have used in confuting his meanest antagonist. A controversy, managed by disputants so illustrious, drew more general attention ; and the doc- trines of the reformers, in spite both of the civil and ecclesiastical powers combined against them, daily gained converts both in France and in England. Luther was drawn from his retreat by the imprudence of Carlosta- dius, one of his disciples, who, animated with the same zeal, but pos- sessed of less moderation, propagated wild and dangerous opinions, chiefly among the lower people. Encouraged by his exhortations, they rose in several villages of Saxony, broke into the churches with tumult- uary violence, and destroyed the images with which they were adorned. These irregular and outrageous proceedings were so repugnant to all the elector's cautious maxims, that, if they had not received a timely check, ihoy could hardly have failed of alienating from the reformers a prince, no less jealous of his own authority than afraid of giving offence to the emperor, and other patrons of the ancient 0])inions. — Luther, sensible of the danger, without -waiting for Frederick's permis- sion, returned to Wittemberg. Happily for the Reformation, the vene- ration for his person and authority was still so great that his appearance y alone suppressed that spirit of extravagance which began to seize hisf party. Carlosfadius and his fanatical followers, struck dumb by his rebukes, submitted at once, ;ind declared that they heard the voice of an angel, not of a man. {SIcid. Hist. 51 ; Srckrnd. 195.) }3eforc Lutl>er left his retreat, he had begun to translate the Bible into the (German tongue, an undertaking for which he was well quali- fied : he had a competent knowledge in the original languages, a thorough acquaintMuce with the style and sentiuicnts of the inspired writers; and though his eompositions in Latin were rude and barbarous, he was reck- oned a great master of the purity of his mother tonirue. By his own\ assiduous application, t«)g(>ther with the assistance of Melanrthon, and / several other of his disciples, he finished part of the New Testament in the year 1522. It was read with wonderful avidity iind attention by persons of every rank. They were astonished at distovering how contrary the precepts of the Author of our religion are to the inventions 310 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. XVI. of those priests who pretended to be his vicegerents ; and having now in their hand the ruk^ of faith, they thought themselves quaUfied, by- applying it, to Judge of the established opinions, and to pronounce when they were conformable to the standard, or when they departed from it. Tlie great advantages arising from Luther's translation of the Bible encouraged the advocates for reformation in the other countries of Europe to imitate his example, and to publish versions of the Scrip- \tures in their respective languages. About this time, Nuremberg, Frankfort, Hamburgh, and several other cities in Germany, of the first rank, openly embraced the reformed reli- gion, and by the authority of their magistrates abolished the mass, and the other superstitious rites of popery. [Scckr.nd. 211 ; Chytrcei Contin. Krantzii, 203.) The dukes of Brunswick and Lunenburgh, the prince of Anhah. and other distinguished personages, became avowed patrons of Luther's opinions, and countenanced the preaching of them among their subjects. Leo X. had been succeeded in the pontificate by x\drian VI., a native of Utrecht, and a man of some probity and candour. He could not, however, behold this growing defection without concern ; and his first care, after his arrival in Italy, had been to deliberate with the car- dinals concerning the proper means of putting a stop to it. He was profoundly skilled in scholastic theology, and having been early noticed on that account, he still retained such an excessive admiration of the science to which he was first indebted for his reputation and success in life, that he considered Luther's invectives against the schoolmen, par- ticularly Thomas Aquinas, as little less than blasphemy. At the same time his own manners being extremely simple, and uninfected with any of the vices which reigned in the court of Rome, he was as sensible of its corruptions as the reformers themselves, and viewed them with no less indignation. The brief which he addressed to the diet of the empire ^assembled at Nuremberg, November, I. 522, and the instructions which he gave to Cheregato, the nuncio whom he sent thither, were framed agreeably to these views. On the one hand, he condemned Luther's opinions with more asperity than Leo had ever used ; he severely censured the princes of Germany for suffering him to spread his pernicious tenets, by their neglecting to execute the edict of the diet at Worms, and required them, if Luther did not instantly retract his errors, to destroy him with fire as a gangrened and incurable member. {Fascic. Rer. expct. and fug lend. p. 342.) On the other hand, he, with great candour, acknow^ledged the corruptions of the Roman court to be the source from which had flowed most of the evils the Church now felt or dreaded ; he promised to exert all his authority toward reforming these abuses ; and he requested of them to give him their advice with regard to the most effectual means of suppressing that new heresy which had sprung up among them. [Fascic. Rrr. cxpcL and fitgicnd. p. 315.) The members of the diet, after praising the pope's pious and lauda- ble intentions, excused themselves for not executing the edict of Worms, by alleging that the prodigious increase of Luther's followers, as well as the aversion to the court of Rome among their other subjects, on account of its innumerable exactions, rendered such an attempt not only dangerous, but impossible. They affirmed that the grievances of Germany, which arose from impositions no less real than intolerable. Cent. XVI.] history of tiiv. church. 311 called now for some new and efficacious remedy ; and, in their opinion, the only remedy which afforded them any hopes of seeing the Church restored to soundness and vigour was a general council. Such a council, therefore, they advised him, after obtaining the emperor's con- sent, to assemble without delay ia one of the great cities of Germany. {Fascic. Rer. cxpct. and fugicnd. p. 346.) The nuncio, more artful than his master, was startled at the propo- sition of a council ; and easily foresaw how dangerous such an assembly might prove, at a time when many openly denied the papal authority, and the reverence and submission yielded to it visibly declined amonj: all. For that reason he applied his utmost address, in order to prevail on the members of the diet to proceed themselves with greater severity against the Lutheran heresy, and to relinquish their pr(jj)0sal concern- ing a general council to be held in Germany. They, perceiving the nuncio to bo more solicitous about the interests of the Roman court than the tranquillity of the empire, or purity of the Church, remained inflexible, and continued to prepare the catalogue of their grievances to be presented to the pope. (Fascic. Rer. cxprt. and fugicnd. p. 349.) The nuncio, that he might not be the bearer of a remonstrance so dis- agreeable to his court, left Nuremberg abruptly, without taking leave of the diet. [Ibid. 376.) The secular princes accordingly drew up the list (so famous in the German annals) of a hundred grievances, which the empire imputed to ] the iniquitous dominion of the papal see. They complained of the sums exacted for dispensations, absolutions, and indulgences ; of the expense arising from the lawsuits carried by appeal to Rome ; of the innumerable abuses occasioned by reservations, commendams, and annats ; of the exemption from civil jurisdiction which the clergv had obtained ; of the arts by which they brought all secular causes under the cognizance of the ecclesiastical judges ; of the indecent and profli- gate lives which not a few of the clergy led ; and of various other par- ticulars. In the end they concluded that, if the holy see did not speed- ily deliver them from those intolerable burdens, they would employ the power and authority with which God had entrusted them in order to procure relief. Instead of such severities against Lutlur and his followers as the nuncio had recommended, the recess or edict of the diet contained only a general injunction to all ranks of men to wait with patience for the determinations of the council which was to be assembled, and in the meantime not to publish any new opinions contrary to the established doctrines of the Church ; together with an admonition to all preachers to abstain from matters of controversy in their discourses to the people, and conline themselves to the plain and instructive truths of religion. While these aflairs were in agitation. Pope Adrian died, and was succeeded, on the 23d of November, 1.523. Iiy the Cardinal do Medicis, who assumed the name of (Mement VII. This pontifl" excelled Adrian as much in liie arts of government as he was inferior to him in purity of life and iipriglitness of intention. Having gained his election by very uncanonical means, he was afraid of an assembly that miuht sub- ject, it to a scrutiny which it could not stand, and determined therefore to elude the demands oi' the Germans, both with respect to the calling of a council, and reforming abuses in the papal court. For this pur- 312 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. XVI. pose he made choice of Cardinal Campeggio, an artful man, as his nuncio to the diet of the empire, assembled again at Nuremberg. Campeggio, without taking notice of what had passed in the last meeting, exhorted the diet to execute the edict of Worms with vigour, as the only eflcctual means of suppressing Luther's doctrines. The diet, in return, desired to know the pope's intentions concerning the council and the redress of the hundred grievances. The former the nuncio endeavored to elude by general declarations of the pope's reso- lution to pursue such measures as would be for the greatest good of the Church. With regard to the latter, as Adrian was dead before the catalogue of grievances reached Rome, and as, of consecjuence, it had been regularly laid before the present pope, Campeggio declined making any definitive answer to them in Clement's name; thougli, at the same time, he observed that their catalogue of grievances contained many particulars extremely indecent and undutiful, and that the publish- ing it by their own authority was highly disrespectful to the Roman see. In the end he renewed his demand of their proceeding with vigour against Luther and his adherents. But though an ambassador from the emperor, who was at that lime very solicitous to gain the pope, warmly seconded the nuncio, with many professions of his master's zeal for the honour and dignity of the papal see, the recess of the diet was conceived in terms of almost the same import with the former, without enjoining any additional severhy against Luther and his party. Before he left Germany, Campeggio, in order to soothe the people, published certain articles for the amendment of some disorders and abuses which prevailed among the inferior clergy ; but this partial reformation, which fell so far short of the expectations of the Lutherans, gave no satisfaction, and produced little effect. (Scckrnd. 292.) / The marriage of Luther, in the year 1526, with Catharine Boria, a nun of a noble family, who had fled from the cloister, was far from meet- ing with general approbation. Luther himself was sensible of the impression which it had made to his disadvantage ; but being satisfied with his own conduct, he bore the censure of his friends, and the reproaches of his adversaries, with his usual fortitude. {Sec/cc7id. lib. ii., p. 15.) This year the Reformation lost its first protector, Frederick, elector of Saxony ; but the blow was the less sensibly felt, as he was suc- ceeded by his brother John, a more avowed and zealous, though a less able patron of Luther and his doctrines. Another event happened about the same time, which occasioned a considerable change in the state of Germany. The Teutonic order, being driven from their settlements in the east, had been obliged to return to their native country. Their zeal and valour were too impetu- ous to remain long inactive. They invaded, as was already intimated, the province of Prussia, the inhabitants of which were still idolaters ; and having completed the conquest of it, held it many years as a fief depending on the crown of Poland. Fierce contests arose during this j)eriod between the grand masters of the order and the kings of Poland. Albert, a prince of the house of Brandenburgh, who was elected grand master in the year one thousand five hundred and eleven, en- gaging keenly in this quarrel, maintained a long war with Sigismund, Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 313 king of Poland ; but having become an early convert to Luther's doc- trines, tliis gradualh lessened his zeal for the interests of his fraternity, .so that he took the opportunity of tlie confusions in tlie empire, and the absence of the emperor, to conclude a treaty with Sii^ismund, greatly to his own private emolument. By it, that part of Prussia which belonged to the Teutonic order was erected into a secular and heredi- tary duchy, and the investiture of it granted to Albert, who, in return, bound himself to do homage for it to the kings of Poland as their vassal. Immediately after this, he made public profession of the re- formed religion, and married a princess of Denmark. In this state of affairs, the patrons of popery projected a war against the Lutherans, who in their turn prepared for defence. In the mean- time the diet, assembled at Spire in the year 1526, at which Ferdinand, the emperor's brother, presided, ended in a manner more favourable to the friends of the Reformation than they could naturally expect. The emperor's ambassadors at this diet were ordered to use their most earnest endeavours for the suppression of all farther disputes concerning religion, and to insi.st upon the rigorous execution of the sentence which had been pronounced at Worms against Luther and his followers. The greater part of the German princes resolutely opposed this motion, de- claring that they could not execute that sentence, nor come to any deter- mination with respect to the doctrines by which it had been occasioned, before the whole matter was submitted to the cognizance of a general council lawfully assembled; alleging that the decisions of controversies of this nature belonged properly to such a council, and to it alone. This opinion, after long and warm debates, was adopted by a great majority, and at length consented to by the wliole assembly ; when it was unani- mously agreed to present a solemn address to the emperor, beseeching him to assemble, without delay, a free and general council ; and it was also agreed, that in the meantime, the princes and states of the empire .should, in their respective dominions, be at liberty to manage ecclesi- astical matters in the manner they should think the most expedient ; yet so as to be able to give to God and to the emperor an account of them. Nothing could be more favourable to those who had the cause of pure and genuine Christianity at heart, than a resolution of this nature. The emperor was, at this time, so entirely engaged in regulating the troubled state of his dominions in France, Spain, and Italy, as ren- dered it impossible for him to turn his attention to the affairs of Germany in general, and still less to the state of religion in particular. He was besides little disposed to favour the pope, who, after the defeat of Francis I. at the battle of Pavia, tilled with uneasy apprehensions of the growing power of the emperor in Italy, had entered into a confe- deracy with the French and the Venetians against Charles V. This imprudent measure, therefore, inflamed the resentment and indisination of Charles to such a degree, that he al)olished the papal authority in his Spanish dominions, made war upon the pope in Italy, laid siege to Rome in the year 1527, l)locked up Clement in the castle of St. Angelo, and exjjosed him to the most severe and contumelious treatment. — These critical events, togetlier with tlie liberty granted by the diet at Spire, were prudently and industriously improved by the friends of the Reformation to the advantage of their cause, and to the augmentation of their number. Several princes, being delivered now from their 314 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI restraint, renounced publicly the superstition of Rome, and introduced among their subjects the same forms of religious worship, and the same system of doctrine, which had been received in Saxony. Others, though placed in such circumstances as discouraged them from acting in an open manner against the interests of the Roman pontiff, were, however, far from discovering the smallest opposition to those who withdrew the people from his despotic yoke. In the meantime Luther and his fellow-labourers, particularly those who were with him at Wit- temberg, by their writings, their instructions, their admonitions and counsels, inspired the timorous with fortitude, dispelled the doubts of the ignorant, fixed the principles and resolution of the floating and in- constant, and animated all the friends of genuine Christianity with a spirit suitable to the grandeur of their undertaking. But this tranquillity was not of long duration. It was interrupted by a new diet, assembled in the year 1529, in the same place, by the emperor, after he had appeased the commotions and troubles which had employed his attention in several parts of Europe, and concluded a treaty of peace with Clement VII. The power which had been granted by the former diet to the princes, of managing ecclesiastical matters as they thought proper, unt^l the meeting of a general council, was now /revoked by a majority of votes ; and every change was declared I unlawful which should be introduced into the doctrine, discipline, or j worship of the established religion, before the determination of the ' approaching council was known. The elector of Saxony, the marquis of Brandenburg, the landgrave of Hesse, the dukes of Lunenburg, the prince of Anhalt, together with the deputies of fourteen imperial or free cities, entered a solemn / protest against this decree, as unjust and impious. On that account ' they were distinguished by the name of Protestants, an appellation which has since been applied indiscriminately to all the sects, of what- ever denomination, which have revolted from the Roman see. The Protestants next sent ambassadors into Italy, to lay their grievances before the emperor, from whom they met with the most discouraging reception. Charles was at that time in close union with the pope, and solicitous to attach him inviolably to his interest. The emperor set out for Germany, having already appointed a diet of the empire to be held at Augsburg. In his journey toward that city he had many opportunities of observing the disposition of the Ger- mans with regard to the points in controversy, and found their minds everywhere so much irritated and inflamed as convinced him that nothing tending to severity or rigour ought to be attemped, until all other measures proved inefTcclual. lie made his public entry into Augs- burg with extraordinary pomp ; and found there such a full assembly of the members of the diet, as was suitalde both to the importance of the affairs which were to come und(;r their consideration, and to the honour of an emperor, who, after a long absence, returned to them crowned with reputation and success. His presence seems to have communicated to all parties an unusual s|)irit of moderation and desire of peace. The elector of Saxony would not permit Luther to accom- pany him to the diet, lest he should nflVnd the emperor l)y bringing into his presence a person excommunicated by the pope, and who had been the author of all those dissensions which it now appeared so Cent. XVI.] mistorv of the church. 315 dilTicult to compose. At the emperor's desire, all the Protestant princes forbade the divines who accompanied them to preach in public during their residence at Augsburg. For the same reason they employed the gentle and pacific Melancthon to draw up a confession of their faith, expressed in terms as little offensive to the Roman Catholics as a regard for truth would permit. Melancthon executed a task so agree-i able to his natural disposition, with great moderation and address. Thci creed which he composed, known by the name of the Confession of\ Augsburg, from the place where it was presented, was read publicly\ in the diet. A controversy ensued between the reformed and popisli divines; but, notwithstanding the interference of the emperor to recon- cile the contending parties, such insuperable barriers existed between the two churches, that all hopes of bringing about a coalition seemed utterly desperate. The endeavours of Charles among the princes were equally unproductive of success. Such was the excess of their zeal,^ that it overcame all attachment to their political interest, which is com- / monly the predominant motive among princes. The chiefs of the Pro- testants, though solicited separately by the emperor, and allured by the promise or prospect of those advantages which it was known they were most solicitous to obtain, refused, with a fortitude highly worthy of imi- tation, to abandon what they deemed the cause of God for the sake ofv any earthly acquisition. Every scheme, in order to gain or disunite the Protestant party, prov- ing abortive, nothing now remained for the emperor but to take some vigorous measures toward asserting the doctrines and authority of the established Churck To effect this, a severe decree against the Pro- testants was enacted in the diet; and the utmost danger to the reformers arose on every side Luther, by his exhortations and writings, revived the desponding hopes of his associates, and his exhortations made the deeper impression upon them, as they were greatly alarmed at that time by the account of a combination among the popish princes of the empire for the maintenance of the established religion, to which Charles himself had acceded. Convinced that their own safety, as well as the success of their cause, depended upon union, they assembled at Smal- kalde, where they concluded a league of mutual defence against all aggressors, by which they formed tlie Protestant states of the empire into one regular body, and beginning already to consider themselves as such, they resolved to apply to the kings of France and England, and to implore them to patronize and assist their new confederacy. Francis, the king of France, and avowed rival of the emperor, without seeming to countenance their religious opinions, dettrmined secretly to cherish those sparks of political discord ; and the king of England, highly incensed against Charles, in complaisance to whom the pope had long retarded, and now openly opposed his long-solicited divorce from liis queen, Catharine of Arragon, was ecjually disposed to strengthen a league which might be renden-d so formidable to the emperor. But his favourite project of the divorce led him into such a labyrinth of schemes and negotiations, and he was, at the same time, so intiiil on abolishing the papal jurisdiction in England, that he had no leisure for foreign allairs. This obliged him to rest satisfied with giving general\ promises, together with a small supplv of money, to the confederates of Smalkaldo. {Ihrbert, 152, 154.) 316 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. Meanwhile, many circumstances convinced Charles that this was not a juncture when the extirpation of heresy was to be attempted by vio- lence and rigour ; and that, in compliance with the pope's inclinations, he had already proceeded with imprudent precipitation. Negotiations were, therefore, carried on, by his direction, with the elector of Saxony and his associates ; and, after many delays, terms of pacification were agreed upon at Nuremberg, and ratified solemnly in the diet at Ratis- bon. In this treaty it was stipulated that universal peace be establish- ed in Germany, until the meeting of a general council, the convocation of which, within six months, the emperor shall endeavour to procure ; that no person shall be molested on account of religion ; that a stop shall be put to all processes begun by the imperial chamber against Protestants, and the sentences already to their detriment shall be de- clared void. On their part, the Protestants engaged to assist the em- peror with all their forces in resisting the invasion of the Turks. (Du Mont, Corps Diplomatique, torn, iv, part ii, 87, 89.) Thus, by their firmness, by their unanimity, and by their dexterity in availing them- selves of the emperor's situation, the Protestants obtained terms which amounted almost to a toleration of their religion ; and the Protestants of Germany, who had hitherto been viewed only as a religious sect, came henceforth to be considered as a political body of no small conse- quence. (Sleid. 149, &c. ; Seek, in, 19.) About the beginning of August in this year, 1532, the elector of Saxony died, and was succeeded by his son, John Frederic; the Re- formation, however, rather gained than lost by that event. CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, ETC. SECTION II. (Jradual spread of Luther's doctrines — In Sweden — In Denmark — France — Calvin — Reformation established in all Saxony — Council of Trent — Death and character of Lu- ther — Decrees of the Council of Trent — The pope excommunicates the archliishop of Co- logne — Diet at Ratisbon — War declared against the emperor — Perfidy of Maurice — Seizes the elector's dominions — Elector of Cologne resigns— Elector of Saxony and landgrave made prisoners — Publication of the Interim — Obnoxious to lioth parties — ^'iolence of the emperor — Death of Paul III., and elevation of Julius III. — Defection of Maurice — Peace of religion. During those important transactions in Germany which have been just related, the glorious dawn of Reformation gradually arose upon 'Other nations. Some of the most considerable provinces of Europe had .already broken their chains, and openly withdrawn themselves from the discipline of Rome and the jurisdiction of its pontifi'. The '^reformed religion was propagated in Sweden soon after Luther's rup- ture with Rome, by one of his disciples. The zealous etTorts of this missionary were powerfully seconded by that valiant and public-spirited Cent. XVI.] hi.>>torv of the church. 317 prince, Guslavus Vasa Ericson. But as the religious opinions of the Swedes were in a fluctuating state, and their minds divided between their ancient superstitions and the doctrine of Luther, Gustavus wisely avoided all vehemence and preciphution in spreading the new doctrine, and proceeded in this important undertaking in a manner suitable to the principles of the Reformation, which he regarded as diametrically opposite to compulsion and violence. The first object of his allenlion was the instruction of his jjoople in the sacred doctrines of the Scrip- tures, and he spread abroad through the kingdom the Swedish transla- tion of the Bible, which had been made by Olaus Petri. After having token every proper measure to efl'ect his design, Gustavus, in the assembly of the states at Westeraas, recommended the doctrine of the reformers with such zeal, wisdom, and piety, that it was unanimously resolved, that the plan of reformation proposed by Luther should have free admission among the Swedes. This resolution was principally owing to the Hrmness and magnanimity of (xustavus, who declared publicly that he would lay down his sceptre and retire from his king- dom rather than rule a people enslaved to the orders and authority of the pope, and more controlled by the tyranny of their bishops than by the laws of the kingdom. From this lime the papal empire in Sweden was entirely overturned, and Gustavus was declared the head of the Church. The Reformation was also received in Denmark, as early as the year.-' 1521, in consequence of the ardent desire discovered by Christian or Chrisliern IL, of having his subjects instructed in the principles and doctrine of Luther. The kingdom of France was not inaccessible to\ the Reformation. Margaret, queen of Navarre, and sister of Francis L, the implacable enemy and perpetual rival of Charles V., was ex- tremely favourable to the new doctrine. The auspicious patronage of this iliustrious princess encouraged several pious and learned men to propagate the principles of the Reformation in France, and even to erect several Protestant chjnrches in that kingdom. It is manifest from the most authentic records, that, so early as the year 1523, there were in several of the provinces of that country multitudes of persons who had conceived the u'most aversion both against the doctrine and tyranny of Rome, and, among these, many persons of rank and dignity, and even some of the episcopal order. As their numbers increased from day to day, and troubles and conunotions were excited in several places on account of religious dilferences, the authority of the monarch and '.he cruelty of his ollicers intervened to support the doctrine of Rome by the edge of the sword and the terrors of the gibbet ; and on this occasion many persons, eminent for their piety and virtue, wore \nn to death with the most unrelenting barbarity.* This cruelty, however, instead of retarding, rather accelerated the progress of the Reformation. About this time the famous Calvin began to draw the attention ol iho public, but more especially of the queen of Navarre. He was born at Noyon, in Picardy, on the 10th of July, 1509, and was bred to the law, in which, as well as in all the other branches of literature I hen known, his studies were attended with the most rapid success. • See Uezo, llistoirc den Kgli.ses Reformecs de France, torn, i, livr. i, p f). Benoil, Histoirc do I'Kit do Nanlos, Uvr. i, p. 6. Clirist. .\ug. Salig. Hislor. Avigust. Con- I'eMiioii, vol. li, p. 190. 318 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. XVI Having acquired the knowledge of religion, by a diligent perusal of the Holy Scriptures, he began early to perceive the necessity of re- lorming the established system of doctrine and worship. His zeal exposed him to various perils, and the connections he had formed with the friends of the Reformation, whom Francis I. was daily committing to the flames, placed him more than once in imminent danger, from which he was delivered by the good offices of the excellent queen of Navarre. To escape, however, the impending storm, he retired to Basil, where he published his Christian Institutions ; and prefixed to them that famous dedication to F'rancis I. which has attracted the admiration of many in succeeding ages, and which was designed to soften the unrelenting fury of that prince against the Protestants. The doctrine of Luther made a considerable, though perhaps a secret progress in Spain, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and the Nether- lands, and had in all these countries many friends, of whom several repaired to Wittemberg to improve their knowledge and enlarge their views under such an eminent master. In the year 1539, George, duke of Saxony, died ; and his death was an event of great advantage to the reformers. From the first dawn of the Reformation he had been its enemy as avowedly as the electoral princes were its protectors. But by his death without issue, his suc- cession fell to his brother Henry, whose attachment to the Protestant religion surpassed, if possible, that of his predecessor to popery. — Henry no sooner took possession of his new dominions than he invited some Protestant divines, and among them Luther himself, to Leipsic ; and, by their advice and assistance, he overturned in a few weeks the whole systetB of ancient rites, establishing the full exercise of the reformed religion, with the universal applause of his subjects, who had long wished for this change, which the authority of their duke alone had hitherto prevented. After a long succession of negotiations and delays, a general council /\"was convoked at Trent, in the year L'345, which appeared extremely hostile to the Protestant cause. As soon as the confederates of Smal- kalde received information of the opening of the council, they published a long manifesto, cont;iining a protest against its meetings, together with the reasons which induced them to decline its jurisdiction. The pope and emperor, on their part, were so little solicitous to quicken or add vigour to its operations, as plainly discovered that some object of greater importance occupied and interested them. The Protestants were not inattentive spectators of the motions of the sovereign pontiff and of Charles V. ; and a variety of information, corroborating all which their own jealousy or observation led them to apprehend, left little reason to doubt of the emperor's hostile intentions. Under this impression the deputies of the confederates of Smalkalde assembled at Frankfort, and, by communicating their intelligence and sentiments to each oilier, reciprocally heightened their sense of the impending danger. But their union was not such as their situation required, or the preparation of their enemies rendered necessary. To calm the apprehensions of the Protestants, Charles had recourse to duplicity ; and the military preparations he had already made were represented by Granvelle. the imperial minister, as designed only as a defence against the attacks of the English and French. But the em Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 319 peror's actions did not correspond with these professions. For, instead of appointing men of known moderation and a pacific temper to appear in diifeucc of tlie Catholic doctrines, at a conference which had been agreed on he made choice of fierce bigots attached to their own sys- tem with a bhnd obstinacy, which rendered all hope of a reconciliation desperate. Malvenda, a iSpanish divine, who took upon him the con- duct of the debate on the part of the Catholics, managed it with all the subtle dexterity of a scholastic metaphysician, more studious to per- plex his adversaries than to convince them, and more intent on pallia- ting error than on discovering truth. The Protestants, filled with in- dignation, as well at his sophistry as at some regulations which the emperor endeavoured to impose on the disputants, broke oiY the con- ference abruptly, being now fully convinced that, in all his late measures, the emperor could have no other view than to amuse them, and to gain time for ripening his own schemes. (Slcid. 358 ; Seek. 1. iii, 620.) While appearances of danger daily increased, and the tempest which had been so long gathering was ready to break forth in all its violence against the Protestant Church, Luther was saved, by a seasonable death, from feeling or beholding its destructive rage. Having gone, though in a declining state of health and during a rigorous season, to his native city of Eisleben, in order to compose, by his authority, a dissension among the counts of Mansfcld, he was seized with a violent inflammation in his stomach, which in a few days put an end^ to his life, February 18th, 154G, in the sixty-third year of his age.-^X As he was raised up by Providence to be the instrument of one of the greatest and most interesting revolutions recorded in history, there is not any person perhaps whose character has been drawn with such opposite colours. It is, however, his own conduct, not the undistin- guishing censure or the exaggerated praise of his contemporaries, which ought to regulate the opinions of the present age concerning him. Zeal for what he regarded as truth, undaunted intrepidity to maintain his own system, abilities, both natural and acquired, to defend his principles, and unwearied industry in propagating them, are virtues which shine so conspicuously in every part of his behaviour, that even his enemies must allow him to have possessed them in an eminent degree. To these may be added, with equal justice, such purity, and even austerity of manners, as became one who assumed the character of a reformer; such sanctity of life as suited the doctrine which he delivered; and ^uch perfect disinterestedness as affords no slight presumption of his .sincerity. Superior to all selfish considerations, a stranger to the ele- gances of life, and despising its pleasures, he left the honours and emolu- ments of the Church to his disciplps, remaining satisficil himself in his original state of professor in the university, and pastor of the town of Witteinherg, with the moderate appointments anncxi'd to these offices. His extraordinary qualities were alloyed with no inconsiderable mix- ture of human frailly and human passions. These, however, were of such a nature that they cannot be imputed to malevolence or cor- ruption of heart, but seem to have taken their rise from the same source with mai\y of his good qualities. His mind, forcible and vehe- ment in all its operations, roused by great objects, or agitateil by vio- lent jiassions, broke out, on many occasions, with an impetuosity ■which astonishes men of feebler .spirits, or such as are placed in a 320 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. XVI. more tranquil situation. By carrying some praiseworthy dispositions to excess, he bordered sometimes on what was culpable, and was often betrayed into actions which exposed him to censure. Toward the close of Luther's life, though without any perceptible diminution of his zeal or abilities, the infirmities of his temper increased upon him, so that he grew more impatient of contradiction. Having lived to be a witness of his own amazing success; to see a great part of Europe embrace his doctrines ; and to shake the foundation of the papal throne, before which the mightiest monarchs had trembled, he discovered, on some occasions, symptoms of vanity. He must have been, indeed, more than man, if, upon contemplating all that he actually accompli.sh('d, he had never felt any sentiment of this kind. But he was, in word and deed, a Christian. Some time before his death he felt his strength declining, his con- stitution being worn out by a prodigious multiplicity of business, added to the labour of discharging his ministerial function with unremitting diligence, to the fatigue of constant study, besides the composition of works as voluminous as if he had enjoyed uninterrupted leisure and retirement. His natural intrepidity did not forsake him at the approach of death; his last conversation with his friends was concerning the happiness reserved for good men in a future life, of which he spoke with the fervour and delight natural to one who expected and wished to enter soon upon the enjoyment of it. {Sleid. 362 ; Seek. lib. iii, 632, &:c.) His tuneral was celebrated, by order of the elector of Saxony, with extraordinary pomp. He left several children by his wife Catha- rine Boria, who survived him. Toward the end of the last century, there were in Saxony some of his descendants in decent and honour- able stations. {Seek. 1. iii, 651.) The emperor, meanwhile, pursued the plan of dissimulation with which he had set out ; but such events soon occurred as staggered the credit which the Protestants had given to his declarations. The council of Trent, though still composed of a small number of Italian and Spanish prelates, without a single deputy from many of the king- , doms which it assumed a right of binding by its decrees, being ashamed of its long inactivity, proceeded now to settle articles of the greatest importance. Having begun with examining the first and chief point i in controversy between the Church of Rome and the reformers, con- cerning the rule which should be held as supri'inc and decisive in matters of faith, the council, by its infallible authority, determined, " that the books, to which the designation of apocryphal hath been given, are of equal authority with those which were received by the .lews and primitive Christians into the sacred canon; that the traditions handed down from the aj)ostolic age, and preserved in the Cliurch, are entitled to as mucli rc^gard as the doctrines and precepts which the inspired authors have connnitted to writing ; that the Jvalin translation of the Scriptures, made or revised by St. Jerome, and known by the name of the F^/^'-a/stranslation, should be read in churches, and ap- pealed to in the schools, as authentic and canonical :" and against all , who disclaimed the truth of these tenets, anathemas were denounced in the name and by the authority of the Holy Ghost. Several circumstances conspired to convince the Protestants that the council was ready to condemn their opinions, and the pope to punish Cent. XVI.] history or the church. 321 all who embraced ihcm; and that Charles had determined upon their extirpation. In this situation they expostulated with the emperor, and proposed several projects for settling the matter in dispute ; but their memorial was received by him with a contemptuous smile. llavin«; already taken his final resolution, and perceiving that nothing but force could compel them to acquiesce in it, he despatched the cardinal of." Trent to Rome, to conclude an alliance with the pope, the terms oP which were already agreed on ; he commanded a body of troops, levied on purpose in tlie Low Countries, to advance toward Germany; he gave commissions for raising men in different parts of the empire ; he warned John and Albert of Brandenburg, that now \yas the proper time of ex- erting themselves, in order to rescue their ally, Henry of Brunswick, from captivity. (Slcid. 374 ; Seek, iii, 658.) The Protestants, in this disagreeable situation, had recourse to ne- gotiations. The powers to which they addressed themselves were the state of Venice, the Helvetic body, the kings of France and England; but in all these applications they were successively disappointed. — Notwithstanding, however, their ill success in their negotiations with foreign courts, the confederates found no difficulty at homo in bring- ing a sufficient force into the field. By a concurrence of causes, they were enabled to assemble in a few weeks an army composed of seventy thousand foot and fifteen thousand horse, provided with a train of one hundred and twenty cannon, eight hundred ammunition wagons, eight thousand beasts of burden, and six thousand pioneers. ( Thita?i. 1. i, GOl ; Ludovici ad Avila, and Zuniga Commentariorum dc Bel. Germ. lib. duo., Antw. 1550, 12mo. p. 13, a.) The number of their troops, as well as the amazing rapidity with which they had assembled them, astonished the emperor, and filled him with the most discjuifUing apprehensions. He was, indeed, in no con- dition to resist such a miglity force. Shut up in Ratisbon, a town of no great strength, whose inhabitants, being mostly Lutherai»s, would have been more ready to betray than to assist him, with only three thousand Spanish foot, and about five thousand Germans who had joined him from diflerent parts of the empire, he must have been over- whelmed by the approach of such a formidable army, which he could not fight, nor could he even hope to retreat from it in safety. The pope's troops, though in full march to his relief, had hardly reached the frontiers of Germany ; the forces which he expected from the Low Countries had not yet begun to move, and were even far from being complete. His situation, however, called for more immediate succour, nor did it seem practicable for him to wait for such distant auxiliaries, with whom his junction was so precarious. But it happened, fortunately for Charles, that the confederates did not avail tliemsi-lves of the advantage which lay so full in their view They addressed themselves to him by manifestoes, when they should have assailed him with arms. On the other hand, Charles, thouoh in such a perilous situation as might have inspired him with moderate Henlimenis, appeared as infiexibh^ and h;uiglity as if his affairs had been in the most ])rosperous state. His only reply was to publish the ban of the empire against the elector of Saxony and landgrave of Hesse, their loaders, and against all who should dare to assist him. A few days after the ban of the empire was published, the confode- 21 322 HISTORY OK THE CHURCH. [Cent. XVI. rates, according to the custom of that age, sent a herald to the impe- rial camp with a solemn declaration of war against Charles, to whom they no longer gave any other title than that of pretended emperor, and renounced all allegiance, homage, or duty which he might claim, or which they had hitherto yielded to him. The war was carried on with various success for the greaier part of (Cjhe campaign, when the perfidy of Prince Maurice of Saxony gave a decided turn in favour of the em[)eror. His view was manifestly from the first the increase of his dominions, which were too small for his aspiring mind. With this view he had repaired to Ratisbon in the month of Maj', under pretext of attending the diet ; and with the most mysterious secrecy concluded a treaty, in which he engaged to assist the emperor as a faithful subject; and Charles, in return, stipulated to bestow on him all the spoils of the elector of Saxony, his dignities as well as territories. {Harm Annal. Bi-ahaiit, vol. i, 638 ; Slruvii Corp. 1048; Thuan. 84.) History hardly records any treaty that can be considered as a more manifest violation of the most powerful principles which ought to influence human actions. Maurice, a professed Pro- testant, at a time when the belief of religion, as well as zeal for its interests, took strong possession of eA'ery mind, binds himself to contri- bute his assistance toward carrying on a war which had manifestly no other object than the extirpation of the Protestant doctrines. He en- gages to take arms against his father-in-law, and to strip his nearest relation of his honours and dominions. He joins a dubious friend against a known benefactor, to whom his obligations were both great and recent. Nor was the prince who ventured upon all this one of those audacious politicians, who, provided they can accomplish their ends, and seciu'e their interest, avowedly disregard the most sacred obligations, and glory in contemning whatever is honourable or decent. Maurice's conduct, if the whole must be ascribed to policy, was both artful and masterly ; he executed his plan in all its parts, and yet en- deavoured to preserve, in every step which he took, the appearance of what was fair, and virtuous, and laudable. It is probable, from his subsequent behaviour, that, with regard to the Protestant religion at least, his intentiofis were upright, that he fondly trusted to the empe- ror's promises for its security, but that, according to the fate of all who refine too much in policy, in attempting to deceive others he himself was in some degree deceived. His first care, however, was to keep the engagements into which he had entered- with the emperor, closely concealed : and so perfect a master was he in the art of dissimulation, that the confederates, not- v/ithstanding his declining all connections with them, and his remarkable assiduity in paying court to the emperor, seemed to liave entertained no suspicion of his designs. Even the elector of Saxony, when he marched at the beginning of the campaign to join his associates, com- mitted his dominions to Maurice's protection, which he, with an insidious appearance of friendship, readily undertook. {Stmvii. Corp. 1046.) But scarcely had the elector taken the field, when Maurice began to consult privately with the king of the Romans hov.- to invade those very territories, with the defence of which he was intrusted. — Soon after, the emperor sent him a copy of the imperial ban denounced against the elector and landgrave. As he was next heir to the former, 21* Cent. XVI.] history of the chtrch. 323 and particularly interested in preventing strangers from getting his dominions into their possession, Charles required him, not onlv for his own sake, but upon the allegiance and duty which he owed to the head of the empire, instantly to seize and detain in his hands the forfeited estates of the elector ; warning him, at the same time, that if he neglected to obey these commands, he shoidd be held as accessary to the crimes of Ills kinsman, and be liable to the same punishment. This artificOj which it was probable Maurice himself suggested, afforded him a flimsy pretext for seizing the dominions of his friend and benefactor, which, with some sacrifices to appearance, he presently put in practice. In the fatal battle of .Mulhausen, the 24th of April, 1547, the elector\ of Saxony was taken prisoner. He was treated by the emperor witlj/ the utmost insolence ; and contrary to the laws of the empire and the faith of treaties, was brought to a mock trial, not before the states of the empire, but before a court martial composed of Spanish and Italian ofllcors. lie was condemned to die by this unjust tribunal, and received the sentence with a magnanimity which can only be exhibited by those who are actuated by the principles of true religion. It was his earnest desire to submit to his fate, and preserve his dominions untouched for his posterity ; but the tears and entreaties of his wife and familv pre- vailed over this resolve, and he resigned his electoral dignity, to which was annexed the severe condition of remaining the emperors prisoner for life. The perfidious Maurice was put in possession of his electoral dominions ; though this sacrifice was not made without reluctance by the ambitious emperor. The unfortunate landgrave, terrified by the fate of tlie elector, was induced to commit himself to the emperor's clemency ; but he too found that, after the most ignominious submission, he was detained a prisoner contrary to the faith of the emperor, expressly pledged ; and he and the degraded elector of Saxony were exhibited to the populace in all the journeys of the emperor, the melancholy witnesses and ornaments of his insolent triumph. The unbounded ambition of the emperor, and the jealousy and resentment of the pope operated at this dangerous crisis for the pre- servation of the rcl'onned religion in Cermany. While both agreed that all religious disputes should be submitted to the general council, it was warmly debated where this council should sit, at Trent where it was originally convened, or at Bologna. When Charles found himself imable to overcome the obstinacy of the pope, he published that system of faith which is known bv the name of the Interim, because it pro- fessed to contain only temporary retjulations, till a free sjeneral council should be hold ; and he had influence enough with the diet, which was silting at Augsburg, to o!)tain a kind of extorted or tacit consent that it should be received and enforced as a general system of faith throiiohout the German empire. This system, which contained almost every article of the popish tenets expressed with studied ambiguity, proved equally disirustinEf to Papists and Protestants. While the Lutheran divines fiercely attacked it on the one hand, the general of the Dominicans with no less vehe- mence impugned it on the other. But at Rome, as soon as the con- 324 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI tents of the Interim came to be known, the indignation of the courtiers and ecclesiastics rose to the greatest height. The pope, however, whose judgment was improved by longer expe- rience in great transactions, as well as by a more extensive observa- tion of human affairs, was astonished that a prince of such superior sagacity as the emperor should be so intoxicated with a single victory as to imagine that he might give law to mankind, and decide even in those matters with regard to which they are most impatient of dominion. The emperor, on the other hand, fond of his own plan, adhered to his resolution of carrying it into full execution. But though the Elector Palatine, the Elector Brandenburg, and Maurice, seemed ready to yield implicit obedience to whatever he should enjoin, he met not every where with a like obsequious submission. John, marquis of Branden- burg Anspach, although he had taken part with great zeal in the war against the confederates of Smalkalde, refused to renounce doctrines which he held to be sacred ; and, reminding the emperor of the repeated promises which he had given his Protestant allies, of allowing them the free exercise of their religion, he claimed, in consequence of these, to be exempted from receiving the Interim. Some other princes also ventured to mention the same scruples, and to plead the "same indul- gence. But on this, as on other trying occasions, the firmness of the elector of Saxony was most distinguished, and merited the highest praise. Charles, well knowing the authority of his example with all the Protestant party, laboured with the utmost earnestness to gain his approbation of the Interim, and attempted alternately to work upon his hopes and his fears. But he was alike regardless of both. After having declared his fixed belief in the doctrines of the Reformation, he refused to abandon the principles for which he had so long contended. By this magnanimous resolution, he set his countrymen a pattern of conduct, so very different from that which the emperor wished him to have exhi- bited to them, that it drew upon him fresh marks of his displeasure, and he was deprived of every consolation which could mitigate the rigours of a close and tedious confinement. {Sleid. 462.) The landgrave of Hesse, his companion in misfortune, did not maintain the same con- stancy, but wrote to the emperor, offering not only to approve of the Interim, but to yield an unreserved submission to his will in every other particular. Charles, however, who knew that whatever course the landgrave might hold, neither his example nor authority would pre- vail on his children or subjects to receive the Interim, paid no regard to his offers. He was kept confined as strictly as ever ; and while lie suffered the cruel mortification of having his conduct set in con- trast with that of the elector, he derived not the smallest benefit from the mean step which exposed him to such deserved censure. (Sleid. 462.) But it was from the free cities that Charles experienced the most violent opposition. He therefore proceeded, contrary to the laws of the German empire, to seize them by force, and to new model their con- stitutions. While these affairs were transacting, Paul HI. expired at Rome, in 1549, and the Cardinal di Monte, who had been the confi- dential minister of Paul, was elected in his stead, and assumed the title of Julius HI. With some difficulty tliis pontiff was prevailed upon by Charles to reassemble the council at Trent. But a different scene Cent. XVI.] history ok the church. 325 now opened to the eyes of Europe. Maurice, who had formerly sacri- ficed so much to his inordinate ambition, became secretlj' jealous of the growing tyranny of the emperor ; and, desirous of retaining the power which he himself had obtained, his first measure was to protest in the warmest terms against the council to be called at Trent, unless the subjects already examined there were redebaled, and the Protest- ants allowed a deciding voice in the council. His next was to con- clude a secret treaty with Henry II., of France, for the purpose of reducing the emperor; and, in the beginning of March, 1552, he declared war against that monarch, in support of the Protestant religion. Charles was soon ignoininiously expelled from Germany ; the council of Trent dissolved itself with consternation, and was not able to re- assemble for the space of ten years. After these events, so glorious to the Protestant cause, the peace of religion was concluded at Passau, on the 2d of August, 1552. By this treaty the landgrave was restored to liberty; the Interim was declared null and void; and both Protestants and Catholics were secured in the free exercise of their religion, until the meeting of a diet, which was to be summoned within six months, to determine amicably the present disputes. Maurice did not long survive to enjoy the fruits either of his newly acquired glory, or of his former treachery and usurpation. He was killed in the battle of Sieverhausen, fighting against Albert of Bran- denburg, (who had not acceded to the peace of Passau.) on the 9th of June, 1553, in the 32d year of his age, and in the sixth after his at- taining the electoral dignity. It is to be regretted that the degraded elector derived no advantage from this event. The states of Saxony, with that ingratitude and inconsistency which distinguishes the pro- ceedings of every mob, preferred the claim of Augustus, the brother of Maurice, by the descendants of whom the electorate is still possessed. It was nearly throe years before the troubles of Germany would per- mit a diet to be assembled. In the year 1555, however, this famous and eagerly expected diet met at Augsburg, and was opened by Fer- dinand, in the emperor's name ; and after many debates and intrigues, a recess was at length framed and passed on the 25th of September, which completely confirmed the peace of religion. The following are the chief articles which this act of legislature contained : — That such princes and cities as have declared their approbation of the confession of Augsburg, shall be permitted to profess the doctrine and exercise the worship which it authorixes, without interruption or molestation from any power or person whatsoever ; that the Protestants, on their part, shall give no disquiet to the princes and states who adhere to the tenets and rites of the Church of Rome ; that, for the future, no attempt shall be made toward terminating religious diflerences, but by the gentle and pacific metliods of porsuasiun and conference ; that the popish eccle- siastics sliall claim no spiritual jurisdiction in such states as receive the confession of Augsburg ; that such as had seized the benefices or revenues of the Church previous to the treaty of Passau, shall retain possession of them, and be liable to no prosecution in the imperial chamber on that account ; that the supreme civil power in even.' state shall have a riglil to establish what form of doctrine and worship it shall deem proper, and, if any of its siibjects refuse to conform to these, shall permit them to remove with all their efiVcts whither- 326 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. soever tliey shall please ; that if any prelate or ecclesiastic shall here- after abandon the Romish religion, he shall instantly relinquish his dio- cess or benefice, and it shall be lawful for those in whom the right of nomination is vested, to proceed immediately to an election, as if the office were A^acant by death or translation, and to appoint a successor of undoubted attachment to the ancient system. {Slcid. 620 ; F. Paul, 368; Pallav. 11, 161.) CHAPTER IV. REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. Unexpectedly favoured by Heniy VTII. — Wolsey favours the king's project for obtaining a divorce — The pope embarrassed between the English and Spanish factions — Cardinal Campeggio despatched to England — Cranmer's project — His elevation and the fall of. Wolsey — Decisions in favour of the divorce — Henry forbids his subjects to receive bulls from Rome — Marries Anna Bullen — Proceedings of the parliament and convocation — The marriage with Catharine annulled — Displeasure of the cuipcror — The pope asserts the validity of Catharine's marriage — Heniy resolves to reject the papal yoke, but treats the reformers with severity — Reformation favoured by the queen, Cranmer, and Cromwell — Translation of the Bible — Death of the queen — Entire suppression of the monasteries — Downfall and death of Cromwell — Opposition to the new translation of the Bible — Trans- lation of the prayers — Death of Henry — Edward VI., with the protector, favours the Refor- mation — Opposed by Bonner, Gardiner, and the Princess Mar>' — Marriages of the clergj- declared legal— Liturgy confirmed — Death of Edward VI. — Mary opposes the Reformation — Restoration of the "ancient rites — Degradation of Cranmer — Treaty between Maiy and the pope — Marriage of Mary with the prince of Spain — Proceedings against the reformers — Death of Latinier, Ridley, and Cramner — Death of Marj- — Completion of the Reforma- tion under Elizabeth. While the Reformation in Germany was evidently conducted by the aid of Heaven, the glorious flame was kindled in England and extended under the same Divine influence. For though the commencement of it has been referred to the measures of Henry VIII., yet it certainly never obtained his full concurrence, and a persecution of the reformed opinions marked almost every period of his reign. Educated by his father, Henry VII., with uncommon care, the literary attainments of this monarch exceeded those of the generality of princes ; and the scholastic divinity, so congenial to his vain and contentious temper, was prosecuted by him with unremitting industry. Thomas Aquinas became his favourite author, and the contempt with which Luther treated the dogmas of this writer, excited in Henry the Avarmcst indig- nation and abhorrence. Impelled by resentment, he published a treatise upon the scvc7i sacraments, in reply to the book concerning the Baby- lonish captivity, written by Luther.* This work was admired by the multitude, extolled by the courtiers, and spoken of by the pope in full consistory, in terms only suited to the productions of inuncdiate inspi- ration ; and the zc;il of the monarch was rewarded by the descendant of St. Peter, with the title (still enjoyed by his successors) of Defender of the Faith. ♦This work was published in Henry's name, but it ie now believed with confidenco to have been written /or him, by another liand. Cent. XVI.] historv of the church. 327 A perfect agreement among the most formidable opponents of Luther was however prevented by various circumstances. Both pub- lic and private interest induced Henry to oppose the designs of the emperor, Charles V. ; and the offence he had given to his favourite, Cardinal Wolsey, in opposing his views to the papacy, contributed to the declaration of the monarch in favour of the antagonists of Charles. It is probable that the hatred and resentment of the cardinal toward the house of Spain contributed, in no inconsiderable degree, to his ready concurrence in the real or fictitious scruples of Henry, against farther cohabitation with his wife, Catharine of Arragon, the widow of his de- ceased brother. The greater part of the bishops obediently acquiesced , in the project of the king and his favourite for obtaining a divorce, and all, except the bishop of Rochester, declared their opinions against the legality of the marriage, though it had received the sanction of a papal dispensation. Wolsey flattered the king with speedily obtaining a fa- vourable decision from the court of Rome; and, had no other interest intervened, it is probable, from the facility with which all dispensations from that court were procured, that Henry would not have been disap- pointed. But the pope, though under obligations to Henry, was in the power of the emperor. The reiterated entreaties and presents of Wol- sey at length obtained the appointment of Cardinal Campeggio as legate, who was invested with powers to examine and afterward to annul the marriage ; and to this commission was added the authority for indulging Cardinal Wolsey in his long-meditated scheme of appropriating the revenues of several monasteries to the support of colleges, bishoprics, and cathedral churches. Previous to the arrival of the legate, the queen had engaged the as- sistance of the einperor, her nephew, in her cause. Tlie English and imperial factions at Rome sedulously endeavoured to obtain a decision favourable to the views of their respective courts ; and the embarrassed pontiff, to avoid giving positive offence to either party, despatched orders to Campeggio to protract the decision. The legate secretly favoured the parly of the emperor, and contrived delays little adapted to the desires of the king, who was violently enamoured with the beautiful and accomplished Anna Bullcn, whom he ardently wished to espouse. Every artifice and intrigue whicli could be suggested by policy were employed to procure a decretal bull annulling the marriage ; but the pope was inflexible, and it was not till after repeated delays that the legate began the process in England. The unhappy Catharine refused to defend her cause in a court in which she was certainly pre- judged, and appealed to the pope, who, by the influence of the emperor, cited Henry to appear at Rome : but this suiinnons the monarch abso- lutely refu?(:d. Extremely irritated by the protraction of his suit, Henry became disgusted witli Cardinal Wolsey for not having accomplished the busi- nes.s of the >livorce. In this situntion of affairs, a project was proposed by Dr. Craiimer, fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, that t!ie king should engage the principal Euro|)eaii divines, and the universities, to examine thi^ legality of his marriage ; and if they, from the evidence of Scripture, pronounced it unlawful, that he shoidd then declare the marriage null, as the dispensation of the pope could not be suflicient to abrogate the law of God. This measure introduced Cranmcr into the 328 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI confidence of the king, and his elevation kept pace with the falling fortunes of Wolsey. The decisions of those to whom the cause of the king was referred were in favour of a divorce : but the pope refused a ratification of their sentence ; and Henry, disgusted with his conduct, prohibited any person within his dominions from publishing a bull con- trary to his own authority. The decision of the divines was confirmed by the parliament and the convocation ; and every thing foreboded a rupture with Rome. A protracted courtship had not abated the afTections of the king, and he married Anna Bullen. He was again cited to appear at Rome, but his agents protested against the jurisdiction of the pope. In 1533, the parliament again met, and an act passed by which it was determined that no appeal should be made to the court of Rome, nor any respect paid to its censures. The convocation proceeded concerning the king's union with Catharine, which was declared unlawful ; and Cranmer, who had, though contrary to his wish, been appointed archbishop of (Canterbury,* pronounced a divorce which annulled the marriage of Henry with his former queen. Anna Bullen was immediately invested with the crown, and made a public procession through the city. The emperor was extremely incensed by these measures ; and the king of France, though he had previously engaged to mediate with the pope in favour of Henry, and even to institute a patriarch in France in opposi- tion to the see of Rome, yet appeared little disposed to involve himself in disputes with that court. The pope, however, alarmed at the proba- bility of losing England, promised Henry that upon his return to spiritual obedience he would still decide in his favour. Henry readily acceded to the terms, and despatched an envoy to Rome, who, from the delays he encountered in his journey, did not arrive there in the appointed time, and the imperial faction represented his non-appear- ance as contumacy on the part of Henry, who was punished by a papal decree which ratified the decision of the consistory, that the marriage between the king and Catharine was perfectly valid, and he was re- quired to live with her as his lawful wife. This determined Henry to shake off the papal yoke. The arguments concerning the supremacy were fully discussed, and it was determined, both by the parliament and convocation, that the pope possessed no power in England, and that the authority of the king extended to the regulation not only of civil, but of ecclesiastical concerns. The succession to the throne was settled upon the issue of his present marriage, or, in default of that, on the king's right heirs for ever, and sworn to by nearly all the clergy, regidar and secular. In the ensuing session of 1534 an act passed, declaring the king the supreme head, on earth, of the Church of England, and all heresies and abuses in the spiritual jurisdiction were referred to him and his heirs, to be openly tried. The revenues formerly exacted by the popes were assigned to the crown. The preachers of reformation had been little molested during the ministry of Wolsey. The German reformers had despatched to them a considerable number of books, which exposed the errors and absurd- ities of the Romish Church, and were secretly but extensively circu- * The papal hulls confirming this appointment amounted to eleven, each of which had a certain jirice affixed ; one of the common stratagems for filling the pontifical coffers. Cent. XVI.] ulstory of the church. 329 lated. The principal performance they received was a translation of the Bible. On the appointment of Sir Thomas More to the chancel- lorship, the king was however persuaded to treat the reformers with severity, as the most infallible method to conciliate the favour of the Romish see. The laws against them were accordingly rigorously en- forced, and numbers were burned at the stake. These persecutions were however checked by an act which regulated the proceedings against heretics, and by the necessity in which the king was involved, in order to embarrass the operations of the emperor, and to prevent his directing his arms against England. A convocation was held in 1536, in wliich, after several vehement disputes, Cranmer obtained permission from the king to have the Bible translated into the vulgar tongue, and within a short time the impression was completed. This brilliant dawn preceded however a tempestuous day. The versatile Henry had again changed the object of his affections, whose influence over his mind had probably occa- sioned the readiness with which he entered into schemes calculated to produce eflects to which he was in reality adverse : and the enemies of the Reformation took advantage of the change in the king's mind, to ruin Anna Bullen, whose unhappy death considerably retarded the progress of the reformed doctrines. The translation of the Bible Was completed in 1537, and Cromwell had the address to obtain an order from the king that it should be per- mitted to be read by all his subjects. There was however no abate- ment of zeal against the heretics in the mind of Henry, and his hatred toward them was increased by the exhortations of the bigoted Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, who represented that severity aguinst them was not oidy in itself proper and salutary, but extremely well adapted to conciliate the good opinion of the people. The influence of Cranmer with the king had for some time been declining ; but Cromwell, who still preserved his place in the confidence of Henry, and who was equally solicitious in the cause of reformation, determined to engage the monarch in such an alliance with the princes of Germany, as should secure the promotion of their views. In 1539 the total dissolution of the monasteries was effected; but Cromwell's activity in their suppression, and his ardour for the doctrines of reformation, had rendered him extremely unpopular ; and his eleva- tion from the station of an obscure individual to the enjoyment of the highest honours of the state made him extremely obnoxious to the nobility. The attachment of the king to Catharine Howard afforded the duke of Norfolk, her uncle, an opportunity of effecting the ruin of a man whose birth he despised, whose sentiments he abhorred, and whose elevation he envied. The clergy had suffered too much from the exposure and censures of Cromwell, not to concur in any measure which might accelerate his fall. He was accordingly attainted of high treason, and lost his life on the block. The death of Cromwell tor some time impeded the progress of the doctrines of the Reformation, and the king was engaged in a renewal of severities against the reformed party. The full use of the translation of the Bible was not yet allowed, and in the year 1543, an act passed, which prohibited the inferior orders of the people from possessing a Bible. The spirits of the reformers 330 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI were revived in the ensuing year by an onlcr from the king, for trans- lating into English the prayers, processions, and litanies, which they flattered themselves would be succeeded by a full translation of all the difTerent liturgies. Henry however lived not farther to prosecute the work of reformation, or any other work ; but died on the 27th of Jan- uary, in the year 1547. He left all parties dissatisfied with his conduct. His system of reformation was not calculated to satisfy the minds of either. He had proceeded too far not to offend the one, but stopped very short of what would have gratified the other ; and to both he was equall)^ the object of distrust and of fear. The first step respecting the Reformation which was publicly taken after the accession of Edward VI., his son and successor, was in con- sequence of the marked disapprobation which was frequently shown to images. Several were forcibly taken down from the churches ; and Seymour, duke of Somerset, who had been invested with the title of protector during the minority of the king, justified the measure, but pru- dently censured the violent and disorderly mode in which it had been performed. The deceased monarch, by the suppression of the monaste- ries, had without reluctance deprived the dead of the masses which had already been paid for, and which were supposed to eflect their deliverance from purgatorial pains ; but this was during the enjoyment of health, and in the prospect of an isxtended life. That superstition which has been early implanted in the mind is, however, apt to recur whenever the mind, from any cause, becomes weakened ; and Henry conferred a rich endowment upon the church of Windsor for the re- citing of masses upon his account. This splendid donation was not however, without efiects, of the benefit of which the reformers largely partook : it introduced an inquiry into the utility of soul masses and obits, which was extremely favourable to the cause of reformation. In the first parliament of Edward an act passed for receiving the communion in both kinds ; and the convocation which sat at the same time determined in favour of the legality of marriages contracted by any of the sacerdotal order. In the year 1 548 an order was issued for the suppression of several ceremonies, and to this an injunction en- sued for the removal of all images from the churches ; and all shrines, together with the plate, were appropriated to the use of the king. In the year 1549 an act passed, legalizing the marriages of the clergy, and another confirming the liturgy. Cranmer, having obtained these concessions, endeav^ourcd still farther to extend the reformed opinions respecting the nature of the Lord's Supper. In 1550 a new- form of ordination was prepared, and confirmed under the great seal ; the prayers to the saints were erased from the ancient rituals, and the clergy ceased to oppose the progress of alteration. From the diflerent changes which had arisen in ecclesiastical promotions, the bishops were in general extremely well afl'ected to the Reformation : and it was therefore agreed to proceed to a settloment of the articles of religion. The brilliancy of the prospect they had now attained was, however, soon obscured, and the premature death of the virtuous young king impeded the establishment of the Reformation. Mary, the daughter of Henry Vlll., and of Catharine of Arragon, ascended the throne with a fixed determination to introduce popery, and would precipitately have abolished every vestige of the Reforma- Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 331 tion, had not the persuasions and advice of her counsellors, and princi- pally of Gardiner, whom she had promoted to the office of chancellor, induced her to efiect her measures by gradual means. Bonner, whose violeuce had occasioned his exjndsion from the bishoj)ric of London during the former reign, was soon reinstated in his see ; but some oblique reflections against the memory of the deceased monarch, thrown out in a sermon, by Bourn, one of the bishop's chaplains, occasioned a violent ferment among the populace. This lumult aflforded a pretext for new measures, and a prohibition was issued to prevent the preaching of any but such as could obtain a license from the bigoted chancellor. Images and the ancient rights began soon to reappear ; the Roman Catholics were encouraged and promoted, and the reformers, as much as possible, excluded from all oflices.of power and trust. These measures were too unjust and violent not to excite the indignation of Cranmer, who, with the benevolent and virtuous \ Latimer, bishop of Worcester, and several others, was imprisoned '\XiJ the Tower. A parliament was speedily summoned, from which many of the friends of reformation were either artfully or violently excluded, and an act passed for repealing all the laws relative to reli- gion enacted during the former reign. Cranmer was degraded from the see of Canterbury, and attainted of high treason. These events, so distressing to the reformers, were succeeded by the intelligence, which soon began to transpire, of the treaty between Mary and the pope. On her accession to the throne a messenger had been secretly despatched to her from his holiness, to persuade her to a reconciliation with the apostolic see. Mary was perfectly disposed to the measure, and assured him of her firm intention to return to the obedience required ; but was too sensible of the obstruction which might arise to her affairs by the premature declaration of such an inten- tion, not to oblige the messenger to secrecy. The submission of the queen was gratefully received by the court of Rome. A public re- joicing of three days succeeded the intelligence, during which the pope officiated at the mass in person, and made a liberal distribution of indulgences to the people. Cardinal Pole was appointed in the quality of legate to negotiate the afl:"air in England ; but his journey was deferred at the express desire of the queen, who found that the resto- ration of the papal power, and the union with the prince of Spain, which was then negotiating, were steps too adventurous to be under- taken at the same time. The marriage of Mary with the prince of Spain was a measure so extremely unpopular that insurrections took place in several parts of the kingdom. They were, however, soon quelled ; but produced the general eHecls of an ill-concerted opposition to a weak government : the friends of the queen were elated and her enemies depressed. Nor was this the only advantage they produced : a pretext was bv this means allbrded for the removal of suspected or disaflected persons, and the reformed party were charged, though without any suflicient proof, of being the authors of the revolt. Injunctions were issued to the bi3hoj)s to enforce the ecclesiastical laws which existed during the reign of Henry VHl. They were farther required to suppress all heresy and heretics, and to dismiss all married clergymen from their appointments. This was succeeded by an order for the expulsion of 332 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. seven of the reformed bishops, under the pretext either of their mar- riage, or their opposition to the universal Church. Several others of the bishops fled ; the remainder had too ardent aspirations for prefer- ment to oppose the views of the court ; and the introduction of six- teen new bishops, to replace those who had voluntarily or forcibly been expelled from their sees, composed a bench little disposed to counteract the designs of the queen. A cruel persecution soon after took place, and several eminent per- sons were condemned to the stake. These cruel executions had their customary eff'ects ; they united the interests of the persecuted party, and excited the censures of the moderate. Gardiner, alarmed for the consequences, resigned the management of these affairs to the fierce and sanguinary Bonner. Every circumstance of aggravated cruelty was inflicted upon the unhappy victims, and humanit)' recoils from the relation of their sufferings. The zealous queen restored to the clergy all the lands of which they had been deprived by her predecessors, and animated Bonner in his efforts for the extirpation of heresy. The bigotry and austerity of Mary had been increased by her adoption of Spanish counsels, and her natural peevishness was increased by her losing all hopes of producing a successor to the crown, and by the desertion of her husband, the unworthy Philip. The only alleviation of which her melancholy appeared susceptible, arose from the destruc- tion of the reformed party, and the restoration of several of the reli- gious houses. Sixty-seven of the reformers suffered in the year 1555, at the stake, among whom was the virtuous Ridley, and the aged La- timer, whose primitive simplicity of character was a tacit reproach upon the luxury and false refinements of the Romish clergy. . - The ruin of the chief of the reformed party in England had been ^ previously resolved, yet the life of the illustrious Cranmer was spared till the year 1556. The utmost ingenuity of malice was employed to ridicule and increase the sufferings under which he laboured ; and the credit in which he stood with the reformed party both at home and abroad made his opponents extremely desirous to procure a change in his opinions. For this purpose every effort was employed to produce a recantation of his sentiments ; and, unfortunately for the peace of that short portion of life which remained to him, Cranmer, in a fit of weakness or of terror, signed his abjuration of the new opinions. The inhuman queen had, however, determined upon his destruction, but the knowledge of her intentions was concealed from the destined victim. Cranmer, however, immediately repented, with great anguish of mind, of the compliance into which he had been betrayed, and composed a confession of faith according to the real dictates of his conscience. He was condemned to the stake ; and when taken from his prison to the church, previous to his execution, he discovered the utmost agita- tion, and expressed extreme remorse for having in a weak and un- guarded moment been tempted to relinquish those principles for which he was willing to sacrifice his life. He was desirous to proceed in his exhortations to the people ; but he was hurried to the stake, where he endured his severe sufferings with unshaken constancy, and appear- ed particularly desirous to expiate his fault by voluntarily exposing j his right hand to the flames till it dropped off, repeatedly exclaiming, L "This unworthy hand!" Cent. XVI.] historv ok the church. 333 Thus perished the distinguished leader of the English reformation, whose virtues and talents would have conferred dignity on a less im- portant cause. His death was the prelude to several others. Seventy- nine unhappy sufferers expiated the crime of heresy at the stake in 1557, and several more in the following year; great numbens died in prison ; and the collective number of those who perished for the faith during these unhappy transactions amounted to above six hundred persons, of whom five were bishops, and twenty-one ministers. The graves were even summoned to surrender the guilty dead. Martin Bucer, and Fagius, two German divines who had been invited into England by Edward VI., were cited to appear and give an account of their faith ; but as they had been interred some years before, they did not appear, and this contumacy was punished by their bodies being taken up, hanged, and then consumed to ashes ! The death of Mary, in 1558, was received with despondence by the papal party, and with equal joy by the friends to reformation. The opinions of Elizabeth, her successor, respecting religion were well known : her legitimacy, and consequently her claim to the throne de- pended upon the invalidit)' of her father's marriage with Catharine of Arragon ; she was therefore both from political and religious motives an enemy to the papal power, and attached to the Reformation. One of the first measures taken by Elizabeth was to notify her accession to the foreign courts, and among others to that of Rome. The pope, however, received her ambassadors with great haughtiness, and refused to acknowledge her title to the throne upon any other terms than a submission to the apostolic see. To that authority the queen was on every account determined not to submit, and it was resolved by her council that she should take the advice of parliament concerning the measures which might be most efficacious for opposing his influence against her in foreign courts. Every measure pursued by the new queen predicted the destruction of the papal party. Public disputations on the controverted points were once more commanded, and probably were terminated in their usual way, leaving each party rather confirmed than altered in their onginal opinion. The book of Common Prayer was again revised, and introduced into the churches; and the abbey lands, restored by Mary, were again resumed by the crown. The oath respecting the queen's supremacy was, however, rejected by many of the bishops ; but the greater part of them remained quietly in England after the de- privation of their sees; and the character of Elizabeth derives one of its brightest rays from the policy or the clemency with which she per- mitted the unmolested departure of all who desired leave to retire into other countries, and the moderation with which all abuses were sup- pressed, and all alterations introduced. The Bible underwent another translation, which was completed in three years: and the doctrines of the Relormation were declared those of the English Church. The reformed party in Scotland, France, and the Netherlands, were power- fully assisted by Elizabeth, who was left at sufficient leisure to attend to their concerns by the submission with which the English Catholics received all the iimovations she introduced. Her lenity, though in tact only the dictate of justice, yet, coi\trasted with the violence of her predecessor, demanded their gratitude. 'I'ho monks who had been 334 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. XVI. dispossessed of their rtionastcrics had been assigned pensions, which were to be paid by the possessors of the forfeited lands. These pay- ments were, however, neglected; and this nnhappy fraternity, who had been educated in solitude airl ignorance, were starving in old age, dis- reoarded by the i^rotestants, and too numerous to find relief from those of their own persuasion. In this exigency their wants were relieved by Elizabeth : she commanded that their pensions should be paid with punctuality and justice, and satisfaction be made for all arrears unjustly detained. The dependence of so considerable a country as England upon the see of Rome was a circumstance too flattering to the vanity, and too gratifying to the avarice of that court, to be easily relinquished. Pius IV., therefore, no sooner ascended the papal chair, than, condemning the arrogance of his predecessor, he made several overtures for a re- conciliation with Elizabeth, and proposed to concede to the English the ritual the^^ approved, and the use of the communion in both kinds, on condition that the queen should acknowledge her subjection to the Roman see. This she refused. His successor, Pius V., was much less moderate, and is accused of having instigated several attempts against the hfe of EUzabeth. These, and the designs of the king of Spain to invade her dominions, together with the endeavours made use of by the Catholic priests to seduce her subjects from their allegiance, form some excuse for the departure of the queen from those sentiments of moderation which had distinguished and illumined the commence- ^-fnent of her reign. It is with regret that posterity will view this change ■ from mildness to severity toward her opponents in religion. Though induced to it by strong provocations, her course in several instances can ^ never be justified. CHAPTER V. REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND, IRELAND, THE LOW COUNTRIES, ETC. Doctrines received in the reign of James V. persecuted — Hamilton, Seton, and Forest — Cardinal Beaton — Court of inquisition — Persecution — J\Iurdor of the cardinal — John Knox — Regent surrenders his power — First Covenant — Duplicity of the quern dowager — Refonnatiou established at Perlli — Second Covenant — Pcrfifly of the queen dowager — Hostilities — Third Covenant — Contests with the queen dowager — Expulsion of the regent — Pcrplexilies — Fourth Covenaut— Death of the queen dowager — Peace pro- claimed—Completion of the Reformation — Stale of Ireland, Holland, Italy, Spain, and France. The opinions which had been propagated by Luther in Germany, Avere soon extended to Scotland, which in common with the other na- tions in Europe had long groaned under the papal yoke. The Reformation doctrines were received by considerable numbers in that country during the reign of James V., and political causes contributed to their exten- sion. This monarch wished to humble the nobility, and for this pur- pose sought the support of the clergy; and the nobles, who envied the power of the sacerdotal order, were, in opposition to the crown, addi- tionally disposed to give their weight to the people. The new opinions were therefore favourably rcceiv a name asaumod by the Scotch Protcstnnts. 22 338 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. queen regent violated the articles of the treaty, and seized the town of Perth. The earl of Argyle and Lord James Sluart, who had nego- tiated the treaty under the authority of the queen, wilhJicvv their alle- giance and joined the Protestant party. The nund.s of the people were inllamcd still farther by the exhortations of the preachers, and particu- larly of Knox. Wherever he addressed the populace, they were ani- mated with extreme fury, the monuments of idolatry were demolished, and the preacher, boldly obtaining the possession of the pulpit of St Andrews, exhorted his disciples to action against the enemies of the Church of (Jhrist ; the churches were instantly divested of their gran- deur, and the monasteries levelled with the ground. Each party immediately prepared for action, but intimidated by the formidable appearance of the congregation troops and the apprehension of a mutiny among the soldiers, the queen instructed the duke of Cha- lelherault, who led the Scottish soldiers, to treat for a peace. The con- gregation, allured by the promises of the queen, again agreed to a truce, and were again deluded. They retook Perth, burned the abbey and palace of Scone, and ravaged Stirling. The congregation next proceeded to Edinburgh, whence the regent precipitately retreated to Dunbar. After repeated negotiations she returned; the congregation then retreated in their turn, and a treaty was concluded, in which it was stipulated that her palace and the instru- ments of coinage should be restored, and that the Protestants should abstain from violence, and the regent agreed to suffer the free profession of the reformed religion among all her subjects, and that no Scotch or French mercenaries should be stationed in the town. Still, however, \doubtful of the faith of the regent, they entered into a still closer agree- ment, which they denominated the Third Covenant. Their union was indeed a measure of much importance ; the most pertinacious obstinacy was shown by the regent for the cause of the Romish Church ; and the appearance of a considerable body of French troops, which had been sent by Francis and Mary, who had ascended the French throne, to her assistance, excited a general alarm. The duke of Chatelherault and the earl of Arran, his son, joined the congregation. Mutual mani- festoes were cn-culated, and the congregation again marched to lldin- burgh : the regent returned to the protection of the French troops sta- tioned at Leith, which she had fortified, and the nobles of the reformed [)arly expostulated with her upon tliis Ibrtilication, and her unconstitu- tional introduction of foreign troo]):;. The queen refused to destroy the fortiiications, or to disband the troops, and commanded the lords to leave Edinburgh. This insult toward the natural coun.sellors and legislators of the realm produced an edict from the nobility, barons, and burgesses, which removed the regent from the administration of government. The confederated nobles now attempted to enter l^eith, but were repulsed; and their affairs, from the intrigues of the queen dowager and the want of money, fell into much perplexity. They besought aid from England, but the sum required fell into the hands of the queen's party. They were harassed by the French troops, many silently with- drew, others fled witli precipitation, and the associated nobles in a panic abandoned the capital and fled to Stirling. They were animated to hope by the exhortations of Knox, and it was determined to solicit the 22* Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 339 aid of Elizabeth of England, who, exasperated on many accounts against the court of France, promised her assistance. Upon the dispersion of the confederated lords, the queen dowager took possession of Edinburgh, and restored there the service of the Church of Rome. She solicited fresh assistance from the court of France, and determined to destroy the congregation before tlio arrival of the Enghsh succours. Her first attempts were successful, but the progress of her troops was impeded by the intrepidity and sagacity of Lord James Stuart, though with a very inferior army. He was at length compelled to retire ; the French army proceeded to St. Andrews, but in the moment of elation were surprised with the arrival of the English troops. The French precipitately retired to Leith. The queen dowager was still more bitterly disappointed by the failure of her ex- pectations from France ; her party dwindled, and those of the Scottish nobles who afl'ected neutrality meditated a union with the Protestants. The Scots were called upon to assemble in arms, and expel the French. The English troops joined the congregation. Tiie queen dowager m this extremity retired to Edinburgh castle, accompanied by a few domestics. There she received a letter from the congregation, expres- sive of their respect, justifying their measures, and requiring the queen once more to dismiss the mercenary troops with their officers and cap- tains. The queen evaded a direct answer. The congregation pro- ceeded to Leith, and several full on both sides without a decisive victory. The grand object for which the congregation contended was, '' brought more fully into the public view by the Fourth Covenant, which> was entered into by the whole party with peculiar solemnity. They agreed to expel from the realm all foreigners as oppressors of public liberty, and professed their desire to live under due obedience to their king and queen, and be ruled by the laws of their country, and by offi- cers born and educated among them. The queen dowager received the intelligence of this association with extreme sorrow, which was augmented by the continual distresses which attended her troops at Leith ; and, wasted by grief and disease, she expired in the castle of Edinburgh. The situation of France required an exemption iVom foreign wars, but Francis and Mary conceived it derogatory to their dignity to treat with the congregation, and applied to p]|izabcth to ellect a reconcilia- tion with the confederated lord.s. The commissioners to Elizabeth were empowered, conjointlv with the commissioners of that queen, to hear and to relieve the complaints of the congregation. The congre- gation, on their part, appointed commissioners to state tiieir grievances and specify their demands. The English and French plenipotentiaries drew up a deed, in which several points relating to civil liberty were gained to the people, and it was determined to establish a full act of oblivion. The subject of the Reformation was referred to the ensuing meeting of parliament. Peace was proclaimed, and preachers appointed to teach regularly in the principal towns of tlie kingdom. Upon the meeting of parlnunent, the Protestants j)resented their con- fession of faith, which was publicly read, arul the Romish divines were commanded to state their objections. None were made, and the par- liament examined and ratified the confession which liad bi-en presented. An act against llie mass soon ensued ; the authority of the pope was 340 HISTORY 01' THE CHURCH. [CeXT XVI annulled ; and notliing remained to the Protestant party but to obtain the ratification of these transactions from Francis and INIary. This was however refused, but the parliament protected its own acts, and popery was completely destroyed in Scotland. . The death of Francis removed the most formidable enemy to their measures, and the Scottish Church soon assumed a regular and permanent form. The cause of the Reformation underwent in Ireland the same vicis- situdes and revolutions which had attended it in England. When] Henry YIII., after the abolition of the papal authority, was declared supreme head, upon earth, of the Church of England, George Brown, a native of England, and a monk of the Augustine order, whom that monarch had created, in the year 1535, archbishop of DubUn, began to act with the utmost vigour in consequence of this change in the hierarchy. He purged the churches of his diocess from superstition in all its various forms, pulled down images, destroyed relics, abohshed absurd and idolatrous rites, and by the influence as well as authority which he possessed in Ireland, caused the king's supremacy to be ac- knowledged in that nation. Henry demonstrated, soon after, that this supremacy was not a vain title ; for he banished the monks out of that kingdom, confiscated their revenues, and destroyed their convents. — In the reign of Edward VI., still farther progress was made in the removal of popish superstitions, by the zealous labours of Archbishop Brown, and the auspicious encouragement he granted to all who exerted themselves in the cause of the Reformation. But the death of this ex- cellent Prince, and the accession of his sister to the throne, changed the face of things in Ireland, as it had already done in England. The reign of Elizal>eth, however, gave a new and deadly blow to popery, which was again recovering its force, and arming itself once more with the authority of the throne ; and the Irish were obliged again to submit to the form of worship and discipline established in England. The reformation had not long been established in Britain, when the Belgic provinces, united by a respectable confederacy, which still sub- sists, withdrew their sjiiritual allegiance to the pope. Philip II., king of Spain, apprehending the danger to which the religion of Rome was exposed from that spirit of liberty and independence which prevailed among the inhabitants of the Low Countries, adopted the most violent measures to dispel it. For this purpose he augmented the number of the bishops, enacted the most severe laws against all innovations in matters of religion, and erected that diabolical tribunal of the inquisi- tion. But his measures, in this respect, were as unsuccessful as they were absurd ; his furious and intemperate zeal for the superstitions of Rome accelerated their destruction, and the papal authority, which had only been in a critical state, was reduced to desperation, by the very steps which were designed to support it. The nobility formed them- selves into an association, in the year 156G, with a view to procure the repeal of these tyrannical and barbarous edicts ; but their solicitations and requests being treated with contempt, they resolved to obtain by force what they hoped to have gained from clemency and justice. — 'I'hey addressed themselves to a free and an oppressed people, spurned his abused authority, and, with an impetuosity and vehemence which were perhaps excessive, trampled upon whatever was held sacred or respectable by the Church of Rome. To quell these tumults, a power- Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 341 ful army was sent from Spain, untli?r the command of the duke of Alva, whose unprecedented and sanguinary procccdinifs kindled that long and bloody war from which the powerful repuhlic of the United Pro- vinces derived its origin, consistence, and grandeur. It was the heroic condnct of William of Nassau, prince of Orange, seconded by the as- sistance of England and France, which delivered this state from the Spanish yoke ; and no sooner was this deliverance obtained, than the reformed religion, as it was professed in Switzerland, was established in the United Provinces;* and, at the same time, a universal toleration was granted to those whose religious sentiments were of a different nature, whether they retained the faith of Rome, or embraced the re- formation in another form, provided still they made no attempts against the authority of the government, or the tranquillity of the public. The Reformation made a considerable progress in Italy and Spain soon after the rupture between Luther and the pope. In all the pro- vinces of Italy, but more especially in the territories of Venice, Tuscany, and Naples, the religion of Rome lost ground, and great numbers of per- sons of all ranks and orders expressed an aversion to the papal dominion. Violent and dangerous commotions were consequently excited in the kingdom of Naples, in the year 1546, of which the principal authors were Bernard Ochino and Peter Martyr, who, in their public dis- courses from the pulpit, exhausted all the force of their eloquence in exposing the enormity of the reigning superstition. These tumults were appeased with much dilliculty by the united efforts of Charles V., and liis viceroy, Don Pedro di Toledo. In several places the popes put a stop to the progress of the Reformation, by letting loose the inquisitors upon the pretended heretics, who spread the marks of their usual cruelty through the greater part of Italy. But the horrors of the inqui- sition, which had terrified back into the profession of popery several Protestants in other parts of Italy, could not penetrate info the kingdom of Naples, nor could either the authority or entreaties of the pope en- gage the Neapolitans to admit within their territories either a court of inquisition, or even visiting inquisitors. But the inquisition, which could not gain any footnig in the kingdom of Naples, reigned triumphant in Spain ; and by racks, gibbets, and^ stakes, and other such formidable instruments of persuasion, soon ter- rified the people back into po])ery; (See Gcddes, his; Spanish Marlyr- ology, ill his Xliscrlhiaroiis Tiacls, tom. i, p. 145;) and that kinijdom still deplores the gloomy reign of ignorance and superstition, with the total extinction of civil and religious liberty. But it was in France that the reformed religion underwent the most\ cruel vicissitudes, and felt most severely the arm of civil power. The' religion of Francis I., if an abandoned profiigatc can be said to possess any religion, was of the most bigoted species ; and by his zeal for the Romish (Muirch, he perhaps fiattered himself that he could in some degree compensate for the shameless inunorality of his life. The ilames of persecution were lighted up, during his unquiet reign, through every province of France ; and though the zeal of the monarch was some- times tempered by the gentle interference of his amiable sister, the queen of Navarre, and the exigencies of the times, still it occasionally recurred ♦ In the year 1673. 342 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. with fresh vigour, as caprice, or the dictates of his spiritual guide, the cardinal de Tournou, directed ; and innumerable martyrs, eminent for virtue and learning, were daily exposed to tortures and to death. In the mountains of Languedoc and Provence there still existed some remains of the Yaudois, or Waldenses, the miserable remnants of the memorable crusade which had been too successfully excited against them. These simple and virtuous people had, in 1532, formed u kind of union with the reformed Churches in Switzerland ; but in 1545 they were selected as the victims of superstitious fury. Whole villages, particularly Merindol and Cabrieres, were exterminated by the Catholics ; and so dreadful was the slaughter, that it is even said to have afflicted Francis on his death bed with the most poignant remorse. The successor of Francis, Henry II., while motives of policy induced him to take arms in defence of the Protestants of Germany, still pur- sued in his own dominions the persecuting system of his father. Not- withstanding this, the progress of the Protestant doctrines was rapid. Several bishops of the Galilean Church were strongly disposed in their favour ; and they were openly embraced by Anthony of Bourbon, king of Navarre, Lewis, prince of Conde, his brother. Admiral Coligny, the duke de Rohan, and some others of the nobility. During the feeble minority of the son of Henry, Francis II., the nation fell under the arbitrary government of two inflexible bigots, the dukes of Guise, uncles to the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, who was wife to Francis II. Their conduct, however, proved so oppressive and obnoxious, that the famous league or conspiracy of Amboise was formed by the Protestant nobles for the purpose of wresting the power out of the hands of this arrogant and intolerant family ; but the plan being unfortunately discovered, the leaders barely escaped with their lives. Charles IX. succeeded Francis ; and during his reign, the jealousy of the two parties, which had hitherto been restrained within moderate bounds, broke out into a flame. The first act of violence was the mas- sacre of sixty persons of the reformed Church, at Vassy in Champagne, during the time of Divine service, by the duke of Guise and his army. A violent civil war ensued, in the course of which the duke of Guise lost his life "by the hands of an assassin, and dying, advised the queen mother to agree to the peace which soon followed, and granted to the reformed the free exercise of their religion. An ill-compacted peace served but to smother for a season the zeal of the contending parties. A scries of wars and persecutions succeeded, which would be tedious to detail. They were concluded at length by the fallacious treaty of 1570, which served only to cover the diabolical project which Charles and the Catholic party hud formed for the extermination of the new opinions. J A marriage being concluded, in 1572, between the young king of I Navarre (afterward the famous Henry IV.) and Margaret, the sister I of Charles IX., the Hugonots* were invited from all parts of the king- , dom to the celebration of the nuptials. On the bloody festival of St. Bartholomew, a signal was given to a party of desperate assassins, * The reformed or Froiich Protestants began to be di.sliiifTiiishcd by this appellation about 15G1. The term is derived, accordiii;^ to some, from n i^ate in Tours called Hugon, where it is said they first assembled ; and, according to others, from the first words of their original protest, or confession of faith. Hue nos venimus, &.c. Cent. XVI.] iiistorv of thk church. 313 headed by the house of Guise, and they furiously attacked the houses of Hugonots in every quarter of the city. The first victim was the Admiral Coligny. The king of Navarre and the prince of Conde escaped with difficulty by a pretended abjuration of their religion. The same tragedy was acted, by secret orders from the king, in all the' principal cities of France, and upward of 30,000 martyrs were sacri- ' ficed to superstition and intolerance. The Hugonots, though disheartened, were not destroyed by this unhappy transaction. They recovered their strength and their vigour before the succeeding campaign, and carried on the war with such spirit, that they forced the bigoted monarch to grant them terms still more favourable than they had obtained by any former treaty. On the death of Charles IX., his brother Henry III. succeeded, and the ne- cessity of his affairs obliged him to grant terms very favourable to the Hugonots. At the instigation of the pope, the Catholics now formed, in contempt of the royal authority, the celebrated association called the League, the professed object of which was the extirpation of heresy. This combination, however, had a farther aim, and was, in reality, founded on the ambition of the house of Guise to raise itself to the throne of France. So dangerous a combination therefore demanded some exertion on the part of the king ; and it is only to be lamented, that he did not oppose it by more justifiable measures. He caused the two heads of the league, Henry duke of Guise, and the cardinal his brother, to be assassinated at the states of Blois ; and soon after, in 1589, he himself experienced the same fate : as he was approaching to lay siege to Paris, which was retained by the Catholic party, he was stabbed in his tent by an emissary of the leaguers. The family of Valois ceased in Henry 111., and the right of succes- sion centred in Henry of Bourbon, king of Navarre, who assumed the title of Henry IV. The obstinacy of the Catholic party, who still maintained the league, withheld this great statesman and able com- mander for upward of four years from the possession of his hereditary dignities. Henry at length, however, made a final sacrifice of con- science to ambition. He publicly abjured the reformed religion in 1593, and by that step gained possession of the throne. By the famous edict of Nantz, which was termed a perpetual and inviolable edict, he however secured to his old friends, the Hugonots, the undisturbed exercise of their religion, and perfect liberty of conscience. And thus ended these religious disturbances, which had divided the kingdom of France for a considerable part of the sixteenth century. (Fonnri/. cent, xvi, art. 5.) Though the great body of Protestants proceeded with unanimity in the principal object of abolishing the superstition and tyranny of the Church of Rome, there did not exist among them that perfect harmony and consistency, with respect to doctrinal points, which might be expected from persons actuated by the love of truth, and professing to derive their information from tlie same source. Between the fathers/' (if the lleformation, Luther and '/uinglius, there existed almost froni theS first a considerable diflcrence of sentiment concerning the nature of the holy sacrament. L\ither rejected the popish doctrine of transubstan- tiation ; but, unfortunately, not able to free himself at once Iront all the fullers of prejudice, instead of wholly discarding the absurdity, he 314 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. attempted to new-model it. Though he rejected the opinion of the entire change of the elements by consecration, he held, nevertheless, that the body and blood of Christ are stiW mater i all 1/ preseat in the consecrated elements ; and this union of the body and blood of Christ with the bread and wine, is, by the Lutheran Church, expressed by the intermediate term consubstantiation. Carlostadius, who was originally the coadjutor of Luther in the university of Wittemberg, and Zuinglius, the celebrated Swiss reformer, began their mission under more favour- able circumstances than Luther, and they adopted a system, which, in their opinion, was more consistent both with Scripture and reason They considered the consecrated elements merely as ligures or symbols of the absent body of Christ, and regarded the rite itself as intended chiefly to preserve in our minds a pious remembrance of the sufl'erings of Christ, and a sense of our obligations to fulfil the Gospel covenant. A real, though spiritual presence was acknowledged by Calvin, and his doctrine, on this point, seems at length to have prevailed in several of the reformed churches. Other disputes arose between the followers of Luther and Calvin, concerning the nature of the Divine decrees respecting man's salvation. The latter, it is well known, maintain, with the utiaiost rigour, the doc- trines of unconditional election and predestination. CHAPTER VL OF THE OTHER SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN' THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Causes for variety of opinion among the reformers — Anaoaptists, or Menonites — Anti- nomians — Unitarians — Servetus — Socinians — Budneians — Farvonians — Stancarians — Zuinglians — Schwenkfeldtians — Brownists — Illuniinati — Familists — Amsdorfians — Osi- andrians — Molinists — Synergists. In the dark catalogue of heresies recorded by historians of the Ro- mish communion, the opinions of Luther, Calvin, and Zuinglius, main- tain a distinguished situation. Connected as they were willi political events, they have already been sufficiently discussed. During the ardour of speculation which these religious contests occasioned, it would have been extraordinary, if, considering the different interests, views, prejudices, and passions, by which mankind are usually actuated, a perfect uniformity in point of doctrine and discipline had pervaded all who were desirous of being emancipated from tlie yoke of Rome. In the course of this century the Scriptures were translated into almost all the difierent languages of Europe. They would necessarily be read bv men of different tempers, and of different attainments ; and conse- quently (without even calling in the aid of that principle which impels mankind to render themselves eminent or distinguished) there are many motives which might create a difference of sentiment in the most impartial inquirers. Religious opinions, however distant from our own, are always objects of respect and veneration. It is not, therefore, with a design of casting a reflection upon the authors or professors of these opinions, but for the sake of order and perspicuity, that u distinction is observed in this history between those doctrines Cent. XVI.] history of tiie church. 345 which became the established religion of different countries, and those which are professed only by small or subordinate societies. It was observed that, in a very early period of the Reformation, cer- tain of the disciples of Luther, and particularly one of the name of Muncer, adopted opinions in some instances apparently replete with enthusiasm, and on some occasions proceeded to the disturbance of the public tranquillity. From these reformers proceeded the sect of the Anabaptists. They first made their appearance in the provinces of Upper Germany, where the severity of the maijistrates kept them under control. But in the N<;lhorlands and W^estphalia they obtained admit- tance into several towns, and spread their principles. The most re- markable of their religious tenets related to the sacrament of baptism, which, as they contended, ought to bo administered only to persons grown up to years of understanding, and should be performed, not by sprinkling them with water, but by dipping them in it: for this reason they condemned the baptism of infants; and rebaptizing all whom they admitted into their society, the sect came to be distinguished by the name of Anabaptists. To this peculiar notion concerning baptism, they added other principles of a most enthusiastic as well as dangerous nature. They maintained that among Christians, who had the precepts of the Gospel to direct, and the Spirit of God to guide them, the office of magistracy was not only unnecessary, but an unlawful encroach- ment on their spiritual liberty; that the distinctions occasioned by birth, or rank, or wealth, being contrary to the spirit of the Gospel, whiclt considers all men as equal, should be entirely abolished; that all Christians, throwing their possessions into one common stock, should live together in that state of equality wliich becomes members of the same family; that, as neither the laws of nature, nor the precepts of the New Testament, had imposed any restraints upon men with regard to the number of wives which they might marry, they should use that liberty which CJod himself had granted to the patriarchs. Such opinions, propagated and maintained with enthusiastic zeal • and boldness, were not long without j)roducing the violent effects j natural to them. Two Anabaptist prophets, John Matthias, a baker ( of Haarlem, and John Boccold, or Beukels, a journeyman tailor of Leyden, possessed with the rage of making proselytes, fixed their/ residence at Munster, an imperial city of Westphalia, of the first rankj under the sovereignty of its bishop, but governed by its own senate and consuls. As neither of these fanatics wanted the talents requisite in desperate enterprises, great resolution, the appearance of sanctity, bold pretensions to inspiration, and a confident and plausible manner of discoursing, they soon gained many converts. Among these were lljithinan, who had first preached the Protestant doctrine in Munster, and Knipperdoling, a citizen of considerable eminence. P^nboldonod by the countenance of such disciples, they openly taught their opin- ions ; and, not satisfied with that liberty, they made several attempts, though witliout success, to become niasters of the town, in order to get their tenets established by pulilic authority. At last, havinsr secret- ly called in their associates from the nt-ii^hbouring rountrv. thev sud- denly took possession of the arsenal and sonate house in the nii^ht. and •running through the streets with drawn swords, and horrible bowlings, cried out alternately, " Repent and be baptized," and, " Depart, ye 346 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVL ungodly." The senators, the canons, the nobility, together with the more sober citizens, whether papists or Protestants, terrified at their threats and outcries, fled in confusion, and left the city under the domi- nion of a frantic multitude, consisting chiefly of strangers. Nothing now remaining to overawe or control them, they set about modelling the government according to their own wild ideas ; and though at first they showed so much reverence for the ancient constitution as to elect senators of their own sect, and to appoint Knippcrdoling and another proselyte consuls, this was nothing more than form ; for all their pro- ceedings were directed by Matthias, who, in the style, and with the authority of a prophet, uttered his commands, which it was instant death to disobey. Having begun with encouraging the multitude to pillage the churches, and deface their ornaments, he enjoined them to destroy all books except the Bible, as useless or impious ; he ordered the estates of such as fled to be confiscated, and sold to the inhabitants of the adjacent country ; he commanded every man to bring forth his gold, silver, and other precious effects, and to lay them at his feet : the wealth amassed by these means he deposited in a public treasury, and named deacons to dispense it for the common use of all. The mem- bers of this commonwealth being thus brought to a perfect equality, he commanded all of them to eat at tables prepared in public, and even prescribed the dishes which were to be served up each day. Having finished his plan of reformation, his next care was to provide for the defence of the city ; and he took measures for that purpose with a pru- dence which betrayed nothing of fanaticism. He collected large magazines of every Jiind ; he repaired and extended the fortifications, obliging every person, without distinction, to work in his turn ; he formed such as were capable of bearing arms into regular bodies, and endeavoured to add the stability of discipline to the impetuosity of enthusiasm. He sent emissaries to the Anabaptists in the Low Coun- tries, inviting them to assemble at Munster, which he dignified with the name of Mount Sion, that they might set out to reduce all the nations of the earth under their dominion. He himself was unwearied in attending to every thing necessary for the security or increase of the sect ; animating his disciples by his own example to decline no labour, as well as to submit to every hardship ; and their enthusiastic passions being kept from subsiding by a perpetual succession of exhort- ations, revelations, and prophecies, they seemed ready to undertake or to suflcr any thing in maintenance of their opinions. While they were thus employed, the bishop of Mimstcr, having as- sembled a considerable army, advanced to besiege the town. On his approach, -Matthias sallied out at the head of some chosen troops, attacked one quarter of his camp, forced it, and after great slaughter returned to the city loaded with glory and with spoil. Intoxicated with this success, he appeared next day brandishing a spear, and declared, that, in imitation of (lideon, he would go forth with a handful of men, and smite the host of the ungodly. Thirty persons, whom he named, followed him without hesitation in this wild enterprise, and, rushing on the enemy with a frantic courage, were cut ofl' to a man. The death of their prophet occasioned at first great consternation among his dis- ciples ; but Boccold, by the same gifts and pretcnsion-s which had gained Matthias credit, soon revived their spirits and hopes to such a Cent. XVI.] historv of the church. 317 degree, that he succeeded the deceased prophet in the same absolute direction of all their affairs. As ho did not possess that enterprising courage which distinguished his predecessor, he satisfied himself with carrying on a defensive war ; and without attempting to annoy the enemy by sallies, he waited for the succours he expected from the Low Countries, the arrival of which was often foretold and promised by their prophets. But though less daring in action than .\Iatthias, he was a wilder enthusiast, and of more unbounded ambition. Soon after the death of his predecessor, having, by obscure visions and prophe- cies, prepared the multitude for some extraordinary event, he marched through the streets and proclaimed with a loud voice, " That the king- dom of Sion was at hand ; that whatever was highest on earth should be brought low, and whatever was lowest should be exalted." In order to fulfil this, he commanded the churches, as the most lofty buildings in the city, to be levelled with the ground ; he degraded the senators chosen by Matthias, and depriving Knipperdoling of the consulship, the highest office of the commonwealth, appointed him to execute the low- est and most infamous, that of common hangman, to which strange transition the other agreed, not only without murmuring, but with the utmost joy ; and such was the despotic rigour of Boccold's adminis- tration, that he was called almost every day to perform some duty or other of his wretched function. In place of the deposed senators, he named twelve judges, according to the number of tribes in Israel, to preside in all afl'airs ; retainuig to himself the same authority which Moses anciently possessed as legislator of tliat people. Not satisfied, however, with power or titles which were not supreme, a prophet, whom he had gained and tutored, having called the multitude together, declared it to be the will of God, that John Boccold should be king of Sion, and sit on the throne of David. John, kneeling down, accepted of the call, which he solemnly protested had been revealed likewise to himself, and was immediately acknowledged as monarch by the deluded multitude. From that moment he assumed all the state and pomp of royalty. He wore a crown of gold, and was clad in the richest and most sumptuous garments. A Bible was carried on his one hand, a naked sword on the other. A great body of guards accompanied him when he appeared in public. He coined money stamped with his own image, and appointed the great officers of his household and kingdom, among whom Knipperdoling was nominated governor of the city, as a reward for his former submission. Having now attained ihe height of power, Boccold began to dis- cover passions which he had hitherto restrained, or indulged only in secret. As the excesses of enthusiasm have been observed in everv age to lead to sensual gratifications, the same constitution that is sus- ceptible of tlie former i)eing remarkably prone to the latter, he inslnuled the prophets and teachers to harangue the people for several days concerning the lawfulness and even necessity of taking more wives than one, which they asserted to be one of the privileges granted by (Jod to the saints. When their ears were once accustomed to this licentious doctrine, and their passions inflamed with the prospect of such unbounded indulgence, he himself set them an example of using what he called their Christian liberty, by marrying at once three wives, among whom the widow of Matthias, a woman of singular beauty, was 348 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. one. As he was allured by beauty, or the love of variety, he gradually added to the number of his wives until they amounted to fourteen, though the widow of Matthias was the only one dignified with the title of queen, or who shared with him the splendour and ornaments of royalty. After the example of their prophet, the multitude gave them- selves up to the most licentious and uncontrolled gratification of their desires. No man remained satisfied with a single wife. Not to use their Christian liberty was deemed a crime. Persons were appointed to search the houses for young women grown up to maturity, whom they instantly compelled to marry. Together with polygamy, freedom of divorce, its inseparable attendant, was introduced, and became a new source of corruption. Every excess was committed, of which the passions of men are capable, when restrained neither by the authority of laws nor the sense of decency ; and by a monstrous and almost incredible conjunction, voluptuousness was engrafted on religion, and dissolute riot accompanied the austerities of fanatical devotion. Meanwhile the German princes were highly offended at the insult offered to their dignity by Boccold's presumptuous usurpation of royal honours ; and the profligate manners of his followers, which were a reproach to the Christian name, filled men of all professions with horror. Luther, who had testified against this fanatical spirit on its first appearance, now deeply lamented its progress, and having exposed the delusion with great strength of argument, as well as acrimony of style, called loudly on all the states of Germany to put a stop to a phrensy no less pernicious to society than fatal to religion. The em- peror, occupied with other cares and projects, had not leisure to attend to such a distant object ; but the princes of the empire, assembled by the king of the Romans, voted a supply of men and money to the bishop of Munster, who, being unable to keep a suflicient army on foot, had converted the siege of the town into a blockade. The forces raised in consequence of this resolution were put under the command of an officer of experience, who approaching the town toward the end of spring, in the year 1535, pressed it more closely than formerly; but found the fortifications so strong, and so diligently guarded, that he durst not attempt an assault. It was now above fifteen months since the Anabaptists had established their dominion in Munster : they had during that time undergone prodigious fatigue in working on the forti- fications, and performing military duty. Notwithstanding the prudent attention of their king to provide for their subsistence, and his frugal as well as regular economy in their public meals, they began to feel the approach of famine. Several small bodies of their brethren, who were advancing to their assistance from the Low Countries, had been intercepted and cut to pieces ; and, while all Germany was ready to combine against them, they had no prospect of succour. But «uch was the ascendency which Boccold had acquired over the multitude, and so powerful the fascination of enthusiasm, that their hopes were as sanguine as ever, and they hearkened with implicit credulity to the visions and predictions of their prophets, who assured them that the Almighty would speedily interpose, in order to deliver the city. The faith, however, of some f(!W, shaken by the violence and length of their sufferings, began to fail ; but being suspected of an inclination to Cent. XVI.] historv ok run church. 349 surrender to the enemy, they were punished with immediate death, as guilty of impiety iu distrusting^ the power of God. By this time the besieged endured the utmost rigour of famine ; but they chose rather to suffer liardships, the recital of which is .shocking to humanity, than to listen to the terms of capitulation offered them by the bishop. At last, a deserter, whom they had taken into their service, being either less intoxicated with the fumes of enthusiasm, or unable any longer to bear such distress, made his escape to the enemy. He informed their general of a weak part in the fortitications which he had observed, and assuring hiiti that the besieged, exhausted with hunger and fatigue, kept watch there with little care, he offered to lead a party thither in the night. The proposal was accepted, and a chosen body of troops appointed for the service ; who, scaling the walls unperceived, seized one of the gates, and admitted the rest of the army. The Ana- baptists, though surprised, defended themselves in the market place with valour, heightened by despair ; but being overpowered by numbers, and surrounded on every hand, most of them were slain, and the re- mainder taken prisoners. Among the last were the king and Knipper- doling. The king, loaded with chains, was carried from city to city as a spectacle to gratify the curiosity of the people, and was exposed to all their insults. His spirit, however, was not broken or humbled by this sad reverse of his condition ; and he adhered with unshaken firm- ness to the distinguishing tenets of his sect. After this, he was brought back to Munster, the scene of his royalty and crimes, and put to death with tortures, which he bore with astonishing fortitude. This extraor- dinary man, who had been able to acquire such amazing dominion over the minds of his followers, and to excite commotions so dangerous to society, was only twenty-six years of age. Together with its monarch, the kingdom of the Anabaptists came to an end. Their principles on certain points of doctrine having taken deep root in the Low Countries, the party still subsists there, though somewhat divided and scattered. Numbers of them united under a celebrated leader by the name of Mennon Siinonis, and arc hence de- nominated Mennonites. By a singular revolution they have become not only pacific in their habits, but hold it unlawful to wage war, and even refuse to accept of civil offices. At present, neither the Mennonites nor any others who have sprung from the Anabaptists appear to retain any of those licentious and extravagant views which prevailed at Munster. Though they still entertained sentiments which distinguish them from other religious societies, they are generally respected for their morality and rectitude of conduct. Nor is it just to charge all the insurrections of those times, whether at Munster or other places, where the Anabap- tists had societies, to that class of people. The first insurgents groaned under severe oppression, and took up arms in defence of their civil rights. The Anabaptists appear rather to have seized the occasion t.ian to have been the prime movers. That a large proportion were Anabaptists seems indisputable ; at the same time it appears from history that great numbers of them were Roman Catholics, and many others without any settled religious principles. The name Anabaptist was given to signify, that persons l)aplized in infancy ought to bo baptized anrir. But those wlio believe in nnmer- sion as the only evangelical mode of baptism do not admit that it is 350 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. applicable to them ; because the persons whom they baptize they con- sider as having never been baptized before, though they may have re- ceived the application of water, either by sprinkling or pouring. Hence the great body of those who agree in this view of baptism are now called, not Anabaptists, but Baptists, of whom a more full account will be given in the concluding part of this work. The Antinomians arose about the same period. Their founder was .lohn Agricola, a native of Eislcben, originally also a disciple of Luther. The supporters of the popish doctrines deducing a considerable portion of the arguments on which they rested their defence from the doctrines of the old law, this over-zealous reformer was encouraged by the suc- cess of his master to attack the very foundation of their arguments, and to deny that any part of the Old Testament was intended as a rule of fiith or of practice to the disciples of Christ. Thus he not only rejected tlie moral authority of even the ten conwnandments ; but he and his followers, conceiving some of the expressions in the writings of the apostles in too literal a sense, produced a system which appears in many respects scarcely consistent with the moral attributes of the Deity. ~' The principal doctrines which at present bear this appellation are said tp be as follow : — 1st. That the law ought not to be proposed to the people as a rule of manners, nor used in the Church as a means of instruction ; and that the Gospel alone is to be inculcated and explained, both in the churches and in the schools of learning. 2d. That the justification of sinners is an iumianent and eternal act of God, not only preceding all acts of sin, but the existence of the sinner himself.* — 3d. That justification by faith is no more than a manifestation to us of what was done before we had a being. 4th. That men ought not to doubt of their faith, or question whether they believe in Christ. — y 5th. That God sees no sin in believers, and they are not bound to \ confess sin, mourn for it, or pray that it may be forgiven. Gth. That A 7th. That by God's laying our iniquities upon Christ, he became as ^completely sinful as we, and we as completely righteous as Christ. — '"^ 8th. That believers need not fear either their own sins or the sins of others, since neither can do them any injury. 9th. That the new '■>. covenant is not made properly with us, but with Christ for us ; and V;^ that this covenant is all oi it a promise, having no conditions for us to s,^ -i;* perform; for faith, repentance, and obedience are not conditions on our NK part, but Christ's ; and that he repented, believed, and obeyed for us. '^ 10th. That sanctification is not a proper evidence of justification.! - It is not extraordinary that, while all the diderent doctrines of the Church were destined to undergo so severe an examination, some of the opinions of Arius and the other opponents of the doctrine of the trinity should be revived. The first of the reformers who distinguished himself on this side of the question was John (3ampanus, who, before the Confession of Augsburg was presented, began to publish his opi- nions. About th(! same period, Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician, * This is the opinion of most who are styled Antinomians, though some suppose, with Dr. Crisp, that tho elect wore justified at the time of Christ's death. t Mosheim's Ecdcs. Hist., vol. iv, j). 33. Clark's Lives, p. 142. Ursinus's Body of Divinity, p. 020. Spiritual Mag., vol. ii, p. 171. Crisp's Sermons, vol. i, pp. 29, 136, 143, 282, 298, 330 ; vol. ii, pp. 144, 155. CeN'T. XVI.] HISTORY OK THK CHL.RCH. 351 appeared on the same side, and with much vehemence opposed the orthodox behef. Servetiis was bom at Villa Nueva, in ihe kingdom of Anagon, and after a variety of adventures settled at Vienne, in Dau- phiny, under the patronage of the mild and liberal prelate of that see, and there applied himself successfully to the practice of his profession The enlhusiasui of reformation, however, invaded his tranquillity in this situation, and lie was engaged by some means or other to cuter into a controversy with Calvin, in which there is reason to believe that the | latter indulged in hostile and vindictive feelings against him. ( Cal. ad Farct. Epist.) In 1553 Servetus printed his most famous work, enti- tled (Jliristianismi Restituto. The book was not publislied in France, but printed secretly without the author's name, and conveyed out of the kingdom. But some of his Protestant enemies, who ought to have been better employed, succeeded in exciting tlie inquisition against him ; and he was thrown into prison by the authority of the tribunal. Here, however, he was sufi'ercd clandestinely to escape, and only burned in effigy. In attempting to pass into Italy over the lake of Geneva, hej was recognised by Calvin, who requested one of the syndics to arrest and imprison him.* Servetus was arrested, put into prison, and after- ward brought before the council as a heretic. Forty heretical errors were proved against him, but he refused to renounce them. One of- the charges was that of blasphemy. The result of his trial was, that he was condenmed to be burned alive. On the 27th of October, 1553, he was committed to the fire ; but as the wind blew the flames from hiin, two hours elapsed before he was freed from his sufl'erings. (See Ltrnpricrcs Universal Biography, article Servetus.) Concerning the part which Calvin took in tliis cruel and most unfor- tunate afl'air, Dr. Hawics, in his History of the Church, when speak- ing of the sufferings of Cruet, Holsac, Caslalio, Ochinus, and particu- larly of Servetus, has the following paragraph : — " Far from justifying these severities, I esteem this as the foulest blot in Calvin's otherwise fair escutcheon ; nor do I think the spirit of the times any exculpation for violating the plainest dictates of the word of God and common sense, ' that liberty of conscience and private judgment are every man's birth- right ;' and where nothing inmioral or tending by some overt act to disturb the peace of societies apjicars, there all punishment for matters of opinion must be utterly unchristian and unjustifiable." {^Ilawies's History of the Church, American edition, vol. 2, p. 191.) The opinions of Servetus seem to have approached nearer to Sabel- lianisni than to those of either Arius or the modern Socinians. He held that Christ might properly be called the Gon, since the eternal Spirit uf the (iodhead was united to the man Christ Jesus. He held also that anotliir portion of the same Spirit was diffused through all nature, and directed the course of things, and actuated the minds of men agree- al)ly to the counsels and designs of the Father. He also rejected tho use of infant baptism. The origin of Socinianism appears to have been some years prece- dent to the apjjcaranco of those persons from whom the st'ct has derived its name. At a very early period of the Reformation there were among the Anabaptists, and other sects of reformers, several persons who rejected or who doubted of the doctruie of the trinity as pro- * Cal. ad Faril. Epist. Also Waterman's life of Calvin. 352 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeXT. XVI fessed at that period. The opinions which were cherished by these persons were eqnall)' obnoxious to the Catholics, the Lutherans, and Calvinists ; and opposition from a foreign enemy is generally productive of union in the party which is opposed. To avoid the evils which they might experience in Germany or Italy, numbers of them retired into Poland, which, either from its remoteness, or from the laxity of the government, seemed to promise a more secure retreat. When arrived at the land of freedom, they found themselves involvcxl in the utmost perplexity of doctrines. Some had embraced the Arian system ; some the doctrines of Paul of Samosata; and some of them opinions which till then probably never had an existence. Al)out the same period, a soci- ety was formed in the neighbourhood of Venice, which consisted of about forty men of letters, who held regular assemblies, in which they discussed all the points of religion, and particularly those relating to the trinity, with the utmost freedom. The society however being dis- covered, the members were dispersed different ways, and several of them suflered by the hand of the executioner. [Formcy, cent, xvi, art. 16.) One of the most eminent of this society, La^lius Socinus or Sozzini, escaped into Poland in 1551, and by his influence the jarring opinions of the Unitarian sectaries began to assume the appearance of a regular system. His visits to Poland were indeed but short ; but what he left undone was perfected by his disciples. Under the protection of J. Sienieriius, palatine of Podolia, who built purposely for their use the city of Kacow in the district of Sendomir, the Unitarians of Poland almost assumed the consequence of an established religion ; and, in the year 1574, they published a summary of their principles, under the title of the Catechism or Confession of the Unitarians. {Mosh. cent, xvi.) The abilities of Faustus Socinus, who professed to deduce his reli- gious system from the papers of his uncle Lfelius, imparted fresh vigour to the society. He new-modelled the articles of their faith. The ancient catechism, which was no more than a rude and incoherent sketch, was altered and improved by Socinus and the other Unitarian doctors, and was published under the title of the Catechism of Kacow. In this station they enjoyed an undisturbed series of prosperity for several years, till, in the beginning of the succeeding century, some Socinian students at Racow were so imprudent as in a paroxysm of enthusiasm to break in pieces a crucifix with stones. Such an act of violence excited the attention of the senate of Poland, who caused their academy to be levelled to the ground, their church to be shut up, and their printing presses to be destroyed ; and from that period the cause of Socinianism had sensibly declined in that part of Europe where it first assumed an aspect of prosperity. From Poland, the Socinian doc- trines made their way into Tran.sylvania about 15G3, and were chiefly indebted for their success to the address and industry of George Blan- dratus, physician to Sigismund, the reigning prince. The Socinian faith was embraced by the prince, and by many of the principal noliility ; and though the Batori, who were afterward chosen dukes of 'J'ransyl- vania, were by no means well affected to the Unitarian cause, yet the sect had acquired so deep a root, that it has never been entirely eradi- cated from that province. {Mosh. cent, xvi.) Cent. XVI.] history of the church. 353 The followers of Socinus asserted, — 1st. That all our knowledge off divinity must be derived from the Scriptures, but that our natural reason is the proper interpreter of them. 2dly. They allowed consider- able latitude in the accommodation of Scripture to human reason, asserting that great allowances must be made for the strong figurative language and oriental idioms with which these writings abound. 3dly. They denied the plenary inspiration of the sacred writers, and insinu- ated that mistakes had crept into their writings. 4thly. Having pro- ceeded thus far, they endeavoured to strip revealed religion of every circumstance not clearly intelligible by human reason. With respect therefore to the grand point on which they differed from other Chris- tians, they altogether denied the Divinity of Christ, or equality with the Father, but admitted him to have been an extraordinary persoa miraculously produced, and commissioned as a Divine teacher, ia whom the prophecies relating to the Messiah were completely though not literally fulfilled. They admitted also the whole history of the ascension and glorification of Christ in its literal acceptation. — Sthly. They held the phrase Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be merely a figurative mode of expression to denote the power or energy of God. (Mosh. cent, xvi.) Though these are the general outlines of the doctrines professed by the followers of Socinus, yet this sect was subdivided into several parties, who differed materially from each other with respect to certain articles of faith. The Budneians are said to have denied the miracu- lous conception of Jesus Christ. The Farvonians on the contrary asserted that he had been engendered or produced out of nothing before the creation of the world. And the Stancarians allowed the mediatorial character of Jesus Christ, which the others seem to have denied. (Mosh. cent, xvi.) Some sects were distinguished in this age merely by carrying their abhorrence of popish errors farther than their great leaders, Luther and Calvin. Such were the followers of Zuinglius. of whom respectful mention has been already made. Tlie Brownists in Fngland differed from the established Church chielly in respect to Church government, which they asserted ought to be democratical. The lUuminati in France and Spain scorn only to have been distinguished by their monkish devotion, and I)clief that the whole of religion consisted in prayer and contemplation.* The Familists, or family of love, in Holland, considered the dispensation by Christ as imperfect, and expected a fuller revelation to be made to themselves. The Amsdorfians and Osiandrians contended that salva- tion was wrought by faith alone, and not by good works ; while tlie Molinists and Synergists were of opinion that the will of man co-ope- rated with the grace of God in effecting his eternal happiness. • The French Ilhitninali of the 18th century were a secret -socictv of inlidels, nnitcd ageiinst rehgioii, and against civil government; and entirely ditTerent from those of itwit name in the 16th centurv. 23 354 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVI. CHAPTER YII. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. Multiplication of books — Controversial theology — Luther — Calvin— Melancthon — The- odore Beza — Erasmus— Sir Thomas Moore — George Buchanan — Castalio— Reuchlin— Ludovicus Vivos — Budous— Lipsius — Polj-dore Virgil— Scaliger — Reformation in phi- losophy—Copernicus and Tycho Brahe— The Stephens. The invention of printing produced altogether a new era in litera- ture ; and such was the rapid multiplication of books after that period, that merely to specify the authors in the departments of theology and sacred criticism would, for each century, require a separate volume. It is necessary therefore to confine our views within a very limited compass, and to content ourselves with a brief character of only the most eminent authors. From the complexion of the times, and from the important contro- versies which were agitated during this period, it will be evident that controversial theology engaged the attention of by far the greater num ber, and the most eminent of the authors of this century. The works both of Luther and Calvin are voluminous, and replete with learning, and strong and profound argument. But the most elegant scholar, and perhaps the most amiable character among the reformers, was Philip ^Melancthon. He was an early convert to the doctrines of Luther, and continued his steady friend to the conclusion of his life. The charac- ter of this excellent person was tinctured with a degree of timidity which v.'ould have utterly incapacitated him for a leader in these tumult- uous scenes ; but his extensive learning, his candid arid impartial spirit, united to his correct judgment, and the classical elegance of his style, qualified him for the part of an excellent auxiliary. Theodore *(Beza is well known as a translator and commentator upon the Holy Scriptures. For his learning and abilities he was placed at the head of the university of Geneva on its first institution. Though not publicly connected with the reformers, or openly pro- fessing their doctrines, no man in this age contributed more indirectly to the removal of error than the celebrated Erasmus ; since there was scarcely an opuiion or practice of the Romish Church assailed by Luther which had not previously been animadverted on and ridicided by this acute and satirical author. {Robertson'' s Charles V., v. ii, p. 157.) truth. The labours of the Stephenses will be remembered with gratitude by every admirer of luicient literature. * He may perhaps be considered as the reviver of Mclirew learning. 356 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CkNT. XVII. THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. State of Europe with respect to religion — Several of the popes — Labours of the Jesuits — Disputes between the different orders of monks — Efforts to reduce the Protestants with- in the pale of the Church — Conference of charity, &c. — Persecution in Austria, &c. — War :n Germany — Massacre of Valteline — Vaudois — France — Revocation of the edict of Nantz — England— Gunpowder plot — Civil war — Scotland — Irish massacre — Protestant Churches in America — Revolution in England — Schemes for a union of Churches — Change of leli gion in German Protestants. In the history of the preceding century we have seen the ancient fabric of the Romish Church, which had been the work of ages, and erected from the spoils of both the civil and religious rights of men, in the course of a few years dismembered, and indeed shaken to its founda- tions. The first object, therefore, which attracts our attention in this century, is the rise and progress of several different and independent Churches, raised successively upon the ruins of that of Rome, under the general and comprehensive term of Protestant Churches. } Under two great classes the majority of the Protestants of Europe were comprehended. The first assumed the title of the Lutheran Church, in honour of its great founder, the tenets of which have been already noticed ; the second included a number of small societies, dif- fering in a few points of doctrine, and was termed the reformed Church. Toward the beginning of this century, however, the majority of the reformed Churches had adopted the opinions of Calvin. ^— At the conclusion of the last century the doctrines of Luther were embraced in several parts of Germany, in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They had penetrated the Upper Hungary, Transylvania, and Poland, and were at least tolerated in those countries. Calvinism became the established religion of all the Swiss Protestants, as well as of the thirteen United Provinces, who had revolted from their Aus- trian masters, and who afterward constituted the Dutch republic. The majority of the French Protestants were of the Calvinistic persua- sion ; and as the JjUtherans had settled in the Upper, the disciples of Calvin had established themselves in the Lower Hungary. {Du Pin, cent. 16.) The Church of Scotland was much inclined to Calvinism; while England and Ireland professed that qualified system of doctrine and discipline which still continues the established religion of those kingdoms. The authority of the pope still extended over a considerable part of Europe, and though somewhat impaired, still retained a portion of vigour and stability. Of Clement VI 11. and Leo XL, who governed the Romish Church at the commencement of this century, little occurs which is worth recording. The pontificate of the latter lasted only Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 357 twenty-six days, and he was succeeded on the 16th of May, 1605, by Camillus Borghcse, who is known in the papal annals under the name of Paul V. Arrogance and ill temper were the distinguishing charac- teristics of this pontiff; and he seemed born either to restore the lost authority of Rome, or to annihilate the power which it still retained in the different countries of Europe. The imprudence of Paul had nearly alienated the republic of Venice from the popish communion. The dispute originated in two decrees, which the senate of Venice had enacted in the year 1605, for preventing the unnecessar}* erection of religious houses, and for prohibiting the subjects of the republic from alienating their property for the use of religious fraternities without the sanction of the senate. About the same period it happened that two ecclesiastics, accused of enormous crimes, were imprisoned by the orders of the senate, while it was an established maxim at Rome, that ecclesiastical persons were only amenable to the tribunal of the Church. Against the edicts prohibiting the endowments of religious houses, the pope vehemently protested by his nuncio at Venice, and at the same time demanded that the prisoners should be delivered into his hands, to be tried for their crimes by ecclesiastical judges. To^ these haughty demands the senate returned a negative, and the pope laid the duminions of the republic under an interdict. The Jesuits, and the other ecclesiastics who presumed to publish the bull of excom- munication against the republic, were banished the state, and prepara- tions for war were making on both sides, when an accommodation was effected by the mediation of Henry IV. of France. The pope, on this occasion, relinquished much of his pretensions. The prisoners were delivered up to the French ambassador ; and, on the other hand, all the exiled ecclesiastics were permitted to return to Venice, except the Jesuits, against whom the senate enacted a severe decree. (Du Pin, cent. 17.) Paul V. was succeeded by Gregory XV., a man of milder disposi- tion ; and in 1623, Urban VIII., of the Barberini family, ascended the papal throne. Urban was a man of learning, and a protector of literature. He was a judicious orator, and an elegant poet, but an inflexible enemy to civil and religious liberty. The pontificate of Urban was distinguished by the memorable revolution of Portugal, when that nation liberated themselves from the yoke of Spain, and, in the year 1640, placed John, duke of Braganza, the lawful heir, upon the throne. As soon as the new monarch of Portugal supposed himself lirndy established in his authority, he despatched an embassy to the sovereign pontifl", requesting his sanction and confirmation. But, added to his own despotic notions, Urban was in some degree apprehensive of the Spanisli power ; he was therefore deaf to the entreaties of the suppliant monarch, nor could he ever be persuaded to acknowledge him as the lawful sovereign. The successor of Urban, Innocent X., was equally inflexible, nor could the Portuguese obtain a sanction from the pojie till the conclusion of the century, when, on the acconnnodation with Spain, the reigning pontiff condescended to approve the authority of the Braganza family, and to confirm the bisliops who had been appointed to the vacant sees, but had hitherto been withheld from their episcopal functions. Innocent X. to the\ most profound ignorance united the most shameless profligacy, and' 358 HISTORY OY THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII, was the dupe of an abandoned woman, with whom he hved in the most infamous commerce, and who, to complete the scandal, was the widow of his brother. (Moshehn.) During the pontificate of Alexander "VII., the successor of Innocent, a dispute unhappily commenced with the court of France, which is said to have originated from the ill treatment of the French ambassador and his lady by the pope's Corsican guards, who attacked his house, and committed several acts of violence, as was generally supposed, at the instigation of the nephews of Alexander. The pope was, on this occa- sion, compelled to yield to the spirit of Lewis XIV., notwithstanding his pretended zeal for the Church could occasionally make it bend to his interest. Alexander was compelled to send his nephew to Paris, in the character of a suppliant ; the Corsican guards were branded with infamy ; and a pillar was erected at Rome in memory of the monarch's triumph over the head of the Church. The reigns of the two Clements, IX. and X., in 1668 and 1669, were too short to be distinguished by any remarkable transactions. They were succeeded by Innocent XL, a man of uncommon abilities, and apparently of great integrity. This pontiff was also engaged in a warm dispute with Lewis XIV. of France, the subject of which was the right, which is termed the regale, by which the French monarch, upon the death of a bishop, claims the revenues of the see till a new bishop be elected. Lewis asserted that every church in his dominions was subject to the regale, while Innocent pleaded for their exemption from what he considered an usurped claim. To determine a dispute which had already extended to considerable lengths, the king, in the year 1682, summoned the famous convocation of bishops, which met in Paris, in order to define the rights of the Galilean Church. In this assembly it was determined, " That the power of the pope was merely spiritual, and did not at all extend to temporalities ; that a general coun- cil was superior to the pope; that the power of the pope was also limited by the canons ; and that his decisions are not infallible without the consent of the Church." {Formey, vol. ii, p. 161.) Before this dispute was completely adjusted, a fresh cause of debate arose between the contending sovereigns, concerning the right of asylum, which was claimed by ambassadors while they resided at Rome. This right of asylum proved frequently a sanctuary for rapine and injustice, and extended much farther than the immediate residence of the ambas- sador, comprehending a considerable extent of ground, which was termed a quarter. This shameful abuse the resolute poutill' was deter- mined to remedy, but without violating the real privileges or actual residence of the ambassadors. To the new regulations, however, the marquis de Lavardin refused, in the name of Lewis, to submit, while the other princes of Europe were easily prevailed on to relinquish so pernicious and so useless a privilege. In this state matters continued till the death of Innocent. His immediate successors, Alexander VIII. and Innocent XII. , maintained the same pretensions. Time, however, which generally meliorates the perverse dispositions of men, produced at length a suspension of the contest. On the one hand, the right of asylum was suppressed with the consent of the king ; and on the other, the regale was admitted with some modifications, and the propositions respecting the rights of the Galilean Church were softened Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 359 and explained in private letters addressed to the pontiff. Innocent XII., who succeeded to the papal chair in 1691, was a man of uncommon merit, and, like his predecessor of the same name, strenuously bent his mind to the reform of every abuse in his power. The pontiff whose reign concluded this century was Clement XI. His learning and liberality rendered him useful to the Church, which he desired to govern with justice and moderation. Whatever was laudable in the zeal of the Romish Church during the course of this century, must be confined to the labours of the Jesuits in China, Japan, and other Indian nations. If the account of their conversions be not magnified, they had at one period obtained a considerable footing in those countries. In the year 1692, the\ emperor of China published a remarkable edict, by which he declared 1 that the Christian religion was in no respect detrimental to the interests I of the monarch, as its enemies pretended, and permitted to his subjects/ an uncontrolled license to embrace the Gospel. In a few years after- ward, the same emperor ordered a magnificent church to be built for the Jesuits within the precincts of the imperial palace. This flattering prospect was soon overcast ; and it is to be feared that the change must principally be attributed to the ill conduct of the missionaries themselves. It is not in the nature of man to bear with moderation the severe trial of prosperity. Instead of acting as became the humble preachers of a religion, the basis of which is temperance and self-denial, the Jesuits imitated the pomp and luxury of nobles, or even of monarchs themselves ; and accustomed at home to take an active part in the politics of the nations where they were stationed, their im- prudent interference with a government uncommonly despotic probably contributed to that diminution of influence which they soon experienced. The downfall of the Christian religion in Japan was attended with still more fatal consequences ; a severe persecution was excited in the year 1615 against the missionaries and professors of that religion. The Jesuits and their disciples, by the fortitude with which they suffered the most excruciating torments, expiated in some degree the errors which they had committed in the course of their ministry. The perse^\ cution is generally ascribed to the villany and avarice of the Dutch, i who persuaded the emperor of Japan that the design of the Jesuits was , to overturn his government ; and to this cause are attributed the pecu- liar privileges which are allowed to the states of Holland, who are the only Christian power now permitted to trade in that country. The conduct of the Jesuits in these missions has not escaped cen- sure in other respects. It was asserted by the Dominicans and other adversaries of the enterprising order, that they extended their ideas of, toleration to a culpable extreme, and permitted the unnatural union of ) the absunUiies of paganism willi the religion of the Gospel. A long ^ contest was supported upon this subject by the two contending orders ; and successive popes, as their interest or caprice dictated, approved or condemned the lenity which the Jesuits liad shown to the Cliiuese superstitions. This was not the only controversy which existed between the Domi- nicans and thi' order of the Jesuits. A tediDUs dispute on the indoter- min.il)le questions of grace and free will was carried on for some years with sufficient acrimony on both sides. The Dominicans, indeed. 360 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. during tliis century, waged the war of words with considerable vehe- mence, and with ditierent adversaries. The nonsensical debate with the Franciscans concerning the immaculate conception was revived principally in Spain. The controversies with the Jansenists and Mo- linist heretics are reserved for another chapter. While the Catholics were anxiously employed in the propagation of their faith among pagan nations, they were not inattentive to the great object of recalling within the pale of the Church those who in the pre- ceding century had separated from it. To this end every means, law- ful and unlawful, was employed. Amicable conferences were held at different periods, but all with the same success. Two were held at Ratisbon, in 1601, one at Dourlach, in 1612, and one at Neubourg, in 1615. But the most famous was that which was called the Conference /of Charity, and which was held at Thorn, in Polish Prussia, in 1645, by order of Uladislaus, king of Poland. This conference was intended ito effect a complete union between the Romish, Lutheran, and reformed Churches ; but so many insuperable impediments were found that the eminent persons who assisted at the conference departed completely ' dissatisfied with the vain attempt. [Fortncy, Mosheim, &c.) Unhappily for the peace of Europe, the misguided zeal of the Catho- lic party condescended to employ other means, as inconsistent with the spirit of Christianity as charity and persuasion were agreeable to it. — The bigotry of the house of Austria was considered as a proper instru- ment for the execution of these unjustifiable designs, and Germany was once more destined to be the seat of a religious war. Violent persecutions were excited in the Austrian dominions, whence all those of the reformed religion who had the good fortune to escape the sword or the flames were completely expelled. The Bohemian Protestants acted with more spirit, but with equally ill success. The kingdom of Bohemia had been possessed peaceably by the lineal descendants of Ferdinand, the brother and successor of Charles V., till the latter years of the Emperor Matthias, who governed that kingdom in con- junction with Hungary. It has been already stated that, by the treaty of Passau, liberty of conscience was extended to all the Protestants of Germany without exception, but at that period the term was gene- rally supposed to apply to those who adhered to the confession of Augs- burg. In the beginning of this century, therefore, the Catholics began to insist that those of the Calvinistic persuasions were not included in the treaty ; they caressed the old Protestants, and in particular the house of Saxony, between whom and the palatinate some seeds of jealousy were supposed to exist. The Calvinistic princes and states, on the other hand, who saw more clearly than the Lutherans the deep designs of the Church of Rome, and apprehended rightly that they were only the first of the Protestants who were destined to the slaughter, formed among themselves a league which they termed the Evangelical Union, and which was immediately followed by a Catholic league, at the head of which was the duke of Bavaria, the professed rival of the elector palatine. In this state of things the impatience of the Bohemians, who felt in some instances their religious liberties invaded, accelerated a crisis, which by prudent counsels might at least have been d(^ferred. Previous to the death of the Emperor Matthias, some popular tumults had broken Cent. XVII.] historv of the church. 361 out in that kingdom ; and immediately upon this decease, in 1618, they declared his nephew Ferdinand (who also succeeded him in the empire) unworthy of the crown, and proceeded to elect Frederick, the elector palatine, king of Bohemia. Supported only by a divided and inconstant people, and by faithless allies, this young prince, allured by the splen- dour of a crown, too hastily acceded to the rash proposal. The first events of the war afforded a favourable prospect ; but he was soon de- serted by the prince of Transylvania, who had with apparent earnestness embarked in his cause ; and the dastardly and worthless James I. of England was too timid and too selfish to afford assistance to his unfor- tunate son-in-law. In the fatal battle of Prague, Frederick not only lost his new acquisitions, but even his hereditary dominions. Ferdinand recovered Bohemia, .Moravia, and Silesia. The duke of Bavaria suc- ceeded to the palatinate, and the electoral dignity ; and the elector of Saxony, who had condescended in this war to become an instrument of the popish faction, received for his reward Lusatia, as a fief of the kingdom of Bohemia. [Puffcndorfs Introduction.) The unfortunate prince was reduced to the state of a fugitive and a suppliant at foreign courts; the Protestants of Bohemia, JNIoravia, and Hungar}',* were; plundered of their property, and banishment was the smallest of personal* evils to which the wretched sufferers were exposed. The edict of restitution, issued by the emperor, which enjoined the Protestants throughout the empire to restore implicitly to the Church ■ill the property of which it had been deprived since the treaty of Pas- sau, justly alarmed the reformed princes and states ; and a league was formed in 1629, at the head of which appeared the celebrated Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. This accomplished general soon restored the affairs of the Protestants ; and completely defeated the imperial army in the memorable battle of Leipsic. In the year 1632 Gustavus" lost his life in the battle of Lutzen, though his army was victorius. — He had however laid such a foundation of power and unanimity previous to his death, that the affairs of the Protestants suffered less from this irreparable loss than might have been expected. The war was carried on with various success, for a series of years, and at length, in 1648, was concluded by the peace of Westphalia, which established the Pro- testant religion in those states of Germany where it is now professed, and defined the power of the emperor and other members of the Ger-i manic body. (Piijferuhrf, Moshcim, &c.) During this unhappy period Germany was not the only country which experienced the miseries of religious contests. In the small province of Valteline, in the country of the Grisons, the Reformation had made consideral)le progress; and no expedient presented itself to the Romish clergy so likely to reduce this canton inider the spiritual dominion of the pope, as that of inviting the Spaniards, who were tlien in possession of the duchy of .Milan, to assume the temporal authority. In the at- tainment of this object a most dreadful massacre of the Protestants was perpetrated ; upward of five hundred persons suffered in this small ' territory, and all the stores of cruelty were exhausted in the invention i of tortures. The mouths of some were filled with gunpowder, which was immediately exploded; infants were murdered at their mothers'' ♦ In lf>71 a partial prrsocution was again excited in Hungary, and ilic remaining Pro- testants wcreqiiite e.\tir])at(!d. 362 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT XVII. , breasts ; and so complete was the slaughter, that the Protestant religion (was for over extirpated. [Formey.) 1.- The unfortunate Vaudois had been the victims of persecution during every religious war from the thirteenth century. In 1 655 they were compelled by the duke of Savoy to emigrate, in the midst of a severe winter, from their native country, and their lands were assigned to the Irish soldiers that had been banished by Cromwell. Before the un- armed multitude, however, had time to retreat, the inhuman tyrant let loose upon them the " dogs of war," and numbers were butchered in 'every form of cruelty. The capricious monarch in three years revoked ihis edict, and permitted the remnant to return. {Formey.) " It is well known that in the year 1610, the celebrated Henry IV. of France, who with innumerable blemishes was certainly possessed of a great mind, fell a victim to the fanaticism of a ruffian named Ravaillac, who stabbed him in his coach, as he passed along the streets amidst the acclamations of his people. During the feeble minority of his son, Lewis XIII., the Catholic party gained the ascendency; and during the corrupt administrations of Richelieu and Mazarin, the Hugonots were uniformly oppressed. They were successively deprived of all the strong places which they held ; the reduction of Rochelle by famine in ] 628, in the seige of which above two thirds of the citizens perished, after languishing without bread for thirteen weeks, proved the termina- tion of their power. In a word, the sacred and irrevocable edict of Nantz was at length revoked by the impolitic perfidy of Lewis XIV. ; the Protestant Churches were destroyed throughout the kingdom ; the soldiery committed the most scandalous excesses ; and after the loss of innumerable lives, fifty thousand of the most valuable and industrious citizens of France were forced into exile. {Formey, &c.) In England the efforts of the Catholic party were less successful, though not less strenuous. They had to contend with a wise and well- compacted establishment, and with a high-spirited and powerful people. As therefore open force and persecution could not be employed, arti- fice and conspiracy were the only engines which could be wielded for the extirpation of Protestantism. Elizabeth was succeeded, in 1602, by James I., the son of the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, who, for her attachment to popery and arbitrary power, and her licentious con- duct, was expelled the kingdom by her exasperated subjects, and was afterward beheaded in England. Born of a popish mother, but edu- cated by rigid Calvinisls, the hopes of all parties were elevated on the accession of James to the throne of England ; but the papists and Calvinists were equally disappointed, and James appeared a strenuous supporter of the English hierarchy. In this desperate state of things the only project that presented itself to the bigots of the Catholic party was the removal of a prince and a nobility who appeared so unfavour- ably disposed to the re-establishment of their tenets. From the period of his coronation, indeed, it is said that designs had been formed for deposing James, and altering the succession in such a manner that the Romish religion might become once more predominant : but by the unanimity of the people these designs were disconcerted. (See Rapines Hist, of Eng. vol. 9, 8vo. ed. ; Puffcndorf, &c.) Depressed but not disarmed, thq papists, in the year 1605, determined by one bold stroke to attempt the recovery of their lost authority ; and this w as no less Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 363 than the destruction of the king, prince of Wales, and the whole parlia- ment, by springing a mine under the house where they were assembled. The vaults which were under the houses of parliament were hired by some of the leaders of the popish party ; an immense quantity of gun- powder was cautiously deposited, and a person of the name of Guy Fawk.es cheerfully devoted himself as the instrument of destruction. The tenderness or friendship of some of the party to an individual disconcerted the scheme. An anonymous letter discovered tliu whole proceedings to the Lord Mounteagl,e ; the vaults were searched, the powder was found, with the devoted bigot, who waited with a lantern and candle, to set fire to the train which in a few hours was to consign himself, along with the enemies of his faith, to the judgment of eternity. The troubles which succeeded in the reign of Charles I., when religious disputes were unaccountably blended with civil contentions, sufficiently revenged the Catholics upon the Church of England. — When the papal authority was abolished in England and other countries of Europe, the abuses of the Roman hierarchy led many well-disposed persons to condemn every establishment which retained the remotest resemblance to that form of ecclesiastical government. The Brown- ists, a considerable sect, openly avowed these sentiments in the pre- ceding century; and at the beginning of this the principles of Calvinism, and their ideas of Church government, had been propagated with great rapidity in England as well as in Scotland. The unhappy disputes which took place between Charles and his parliament concerning the right of raising money on the people, proved the signal for the sectaries to exclaim loudlv for a change in the government of the Church. The trifling attention of Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, (sec Macaulay''s Hist, of England,) to petty forms and unmeaning ceremonies, together with his intolerance, lent a semblance of probability to the popular clamour which was excited concerning the king's intention of intro- ducing popery ; and his marriage with a popish princess, Henrietta of France, increased the suspicion. When therefore the parliament proved victorious over the monarch, even those who had been previously well affected to the Church blended in the same condemnation both Charles and his religion, and patiently submitted to the annihilation of the English hierarchy. The corrupt views of the usurper Cromwell, who assumed the government under the title of Protector, led him to dis- countenance every power but that of the military, which might endea- vour to establish itself in the state. The tenets of the independent party were warmly embraced by Cromwell; and the ecclesiastical state of England was soon divided among a number of discordant Churches, who vied with each other in their extravagance and intolerance. The restoration of Charles II. re-established the form of Churcli government which had been overthrown at the death of his father ; but a liberal toleration was still permitted to all dissenters who chose peaceably to submit to the civil government. The Church in Scotland underwent a similar revolution. Indeed that kingdom was first excited to arms by the inclination of the monarch to impose upon it episcopal authority. During the connnonwealth, the Presbyterian form was established in Scotland ; and on the return of Charles II., the kingdom was completely subjected tw the episcopal form of government. 364 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. The Catholics were not tame spectators of these transactions ; and as Ireland was the only part of the British dominions which seemed to promise any degree of success to their machinations, a number of Jesuit missionaries were despatched thither as soon as the contest between Charles and his parliament rendered the crisis favourable to their designs. The artful ministers of persecution were not unsuccessful in reviving the ancient prejudices of the Irish. A dreadful rebellion and massacre was excited throughout the kingdom. In a few months upward of 200,000 were sacrificed. The province of Ulster, which was princi- pally inhabited by Protestants, was entirely depopulated by the loss of 140,000 of its inhabitants. The tortures employed on the occasion would surpass all credibility were they not attested by the most authen- tic testimonies. New-born infants were committed to the flames, and some even unborn were torn from their mothers and burned : many expired upon tenter hooks in lingering torments ; and other inventions of cruelty, too shocking to be named, were publicly exhibited for the sport of the rabble. (See Sir John Templets Hist, of the Irish Rebellion.) The army of Cromwell reduced the whole kingdom within the space of one year, (1648,) and gave to the papal authority a blow which in that island it has never been able to recover. Among the circumstances .favourable to the Protestant religion which resulted from the troubles in England was the colonization of several large districts of North America. As the different sides were pre- dominant, such of the oppressed party as were peaceably disposed emigrated at different times to this distant continent, and planted a number of Protestant Churches, which have almost uniformly to the present time persevered in their opposition to popery. The death of Charles II. once more revived the hopes of the Catholic I party in the British dominions ; James II., an inflexible bigot, left no , stratagem unpractised for the introduction of popery. On this occasion the utility and excellence of the English hierarchy was felt and admitted by all. A fallacious proclamation was issued by James, under the \ pretence of extending toleration ; but its true object was to place all the offices of trust in the hands of papists. The Protestant dissenters 1 were universally imposed upon by this specious pretence ; but the temperate sagacity of the bishops justly apprehended the intended con- ■ sequences ; they strenuously contended and petitioned against the proclamation ; they alarmed the fears of the Protestants throughout the kingdom. The bigoted James was expelled from the throne in the year 1688, and his son-in-law, William, prince of Orange, was elected . by the free voice of tlie people, and both the civil and ecclesiastical constitution was placed upon a better and more liberal foundation. — (See Achcrlifs Britannic Constitution.) Agreeably to the general petition of the Scottish nation, the Presby- terian form of Church government was established in that country by William III., and the same was afterward confirmed by the act which effected the union of the two countries in 1706. Some faint liopes were entertained in the beginning of this century, while the famous Cyrillus Lucar was at the head of the Greek Church, of a union between that and the reformed Churches of Europe. But this eminent patriarch being seized and strangled by the machinations of the Jesuits, these hopes were presently dissipated. (Formct/, cent. Cent. XVII.] historv of the church. 365 xvii, art. 7.) Several well-meant efforts were also made to unite under one form of worship all the Protestant churches. The most remarkable of the conferences which were held on this subject was that at Leipsic in 1631. Several of the Protestant princes and most eminent Protest- ant divines assisted at this conference, but without any success. A few changes took place in the religion of certain states of Ger- many toward the commencement of this centurj', which it may not be improper to notice. In the landgraviate of Hesse, the Lutherans, and the Reformed, or Calvinists, had hitherto mingled in one comnmnion ; some differences, however, arising between the divines, the Landgrave Maurice puhlicly professed the reformed religion; and in 160o it was introduced into the university of Warburg, and became the prevailing religion of the state. In 1614 also, John Sigismund, elector of Branden- burgh, renounced the Lutheran and embraced the reformed religion. The tenets of Calvinism were, however, not admitted by the elector in their full extent ; those in particular which related to predestination and Divine grace he utterly rejected. {Formey^ Mosheim, &c.) CHAPTER n. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Few alterations in the established doctrines of the Romish Church — New societies and orders— Congregation and Seminar}- for propagating the Faith — Visitation of the Blessed Virgin— Virgins of Love— Fathers of the Oratory— Priests of Missions— Abl.ey of La Trappe — Doctrines of Protestants — Lutherans — Calvinists — Church of England. At a period when the Romish Church was involved in contests which destroyed its claim to universality, and almost endangered its very exist- ence, tliere was scarcely leisure to attempt cither improvement or alter- ation in the established doctrines or ceremonies of the Church. — Fanaticism is, however, an active principle, and where it cannot exert itself ill great undertakings, it will frequently apply with soUcitude to lesser objects. Where it cannot institute a religion, it will found a convent ; if it dares not extend its sacrilegious hand to touch the essen- tials of an established form of worship, it will condescend to tlie reform- ation of the monkish habit, or add a new penance to the tedious ritual of the monaster}'. Several new societies and orders were instituted in this century ; but the most conspicuous was that which was formed by Gregory XV., in 1622, and termed " The Congregation for the Propagation of Faith." It consists of thirteen cardinals, two priests, one monk, and a sorrrtarv Its possessions were greatly augmented by Urban Vlll., and by the liberality of innumerable donors. Under the patronage of this Miciety, an incredible nmnber of missionaries have been appointed to all parts of the world ; books of various descriptions are published at its expense, and seminaries are supported for the education of missionaries, 3C6 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII, as well as for the instruction of pagan youths, who are sent to study at Rome. To this famous establishment another was added, in 1627, by Urban VIII., under the denomination of " The College for the Propagation of Faith ;" and this seminary is entirely appropriated to the education of missionaries to be sent among distant nations. The munificence of a Spanish nobleman, John Baptist Viles, furnished this institution with an ample support, by bequeathing to it his whole possessions, and his house, a noble and beautiful structure, for the immediate use of the college. It is under the government of the Congregation for the Pro- pagation of the Faith. A similar seminary was instituted • at Paris in 1663. {Moshcim.) Another association of a benevolent character was the society which was instituted in 1610, by St. Francis of Sales, under the uncouth name of " The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin." The peculiar office of this congregation is the relief and support of the sick poor. Louisa the Fat, a lady of distinction, formed a society of " Virgins of Love," or " Daughters of Charity," for the same purpose. {Formcy.) The misfortune of all charitable institutions is, that the selfish con- duct of those who are entrusted with the management seldom permits them to answer the intentions of the founders. But however the soci- eties which we have just enumerated may deserve commendation, the increase of monkery, that is, of indolence, of pretended celibctcy, and all the vices which they bring along with them, can never excite approba- tion. The Fathers of the Oratory of the Holy Jesus originated in 1613, with Cardinal Berule ;* and in 1632 " The Priests of Missions" were formed into a regular order, with a professed view both of superintend- ing the seminaries for missionaries, and also occasionally instructing the peasantry in the Christian religion. But the most singular and most famous order is that of the reformed Bernardins, whose institution may be attributed to Boulhelier de Rand, afterward abbot of La Trappe. This extraordinary person was emi- nent almost from his infancy for his uncommon attainments ; and at the age of twelve or thirteen he published an edition of Anacreon, with learned annotations. The early part of his life, it is said, was tinc- tured with licentiousness ; and his conversion is attributed to the fol- lowing accident: — x\mongother profligate connections, he had one with a young lady of uncommon beauty, whom he j)assionately loved. After six weeks' absence in the country, he returned one evening, and enter- ing by a back stair, proceeded directly to the lady's apartment, without having the patience to inquire concerning her health or situation. On entering the chamber he found it illuminated with tapers and hung with black. On his approaching the bed, he beheld his mistress in her shroud, dead of the small pox, — all her l)eauty extinguished by the ravages of that fatal distemper. From that moment he retired to the gloomy solitude of La Trappe, and spent the last forty years of his life in the most austere piety. The monks of La Trappe are among the most rigid of the Romish orders. {Moshcim.) Few alterations took place either in the creed or ceremonies of the established Protestant Churches in this century. At diflerent assem- ♦ Those monks do not rolinqnish their possessions on ciitcring into the order, but are excluded from taking any ecclesiastical benefice. (Moshcim.) ■ Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 367 blies and synods their doctrines were accurately ascertained and defined. It may, therefore, not be improper in this place to exhibit a short sketch of these different systems, in addition to what was stated concerning them in the history of the preceding century. The Protestant Churches in general agreed in rejecting the Romish doctrines relating to the pope's supremacy, the traditions of the Church, transub.stantiatioii, purgatory, penance, auricular confession, image worship, invocation of saints, masses for the dead, monastic vows, and in admitting no more sacraments in the Church than two. The leading doctrines of the Lutheran Church are as follow : — I. That the Holy Scriptures are the only source whence we are to draw our religious sentiments, whether they relate to faith or practice. II. That justification is the effect of faith, exclusive of good works, and that faith ought to produce good works, purely in obedience to God, and not in order to our justification. III. That no man is able to make satisfaction for his sins. The Lutheran Church is strictly episcopal in two kingdoms of Europe, Denmark and Sweden, only ; in other parts the supreme rulers of the Church are termed superintendents. • The distinguishing tenets of the Calvinists are comprehended in five articles : — I. That God has chosen a certain number in Christ to everlasting glory, before the foundation of the world, according to his immutable purpose, and of his free grace and love, without the least foresight of faith, good works, or any conditions performed by the creature : and that the rest of mankind he was pleased to pass by, and ordain them la dishonour and wrath for their sins, to the praise of his vindic- tive justice. II. That Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, made an atone- ment only for the sins of the elect. HI. That mankind are totally depraved in consequence of the fall; and l)y virtue of Adam's being their public head, the guilt of his sin was imputed, and a corrupt nature conveyed to all his posterity; from which proceed all actual transgressions : and that by sin we are made subject to death, and all miseries, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. IV. That all whom God has predestinated to life he is pleased, in his appointed time, effectually to call, by his word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. V. That those whom God has effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit shall never finally fall from a state of grace.* In tlio Westminster Confession of Faith, which is generally adopted by the Presbyterians, the doctrines of eternal decrees, imconditional election, and particular redemption, are expressed in the following words: — I. God from all eternity did, i)y the most wise and holy counsel oi his own will, fn^ely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass : yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is vio- ♦ Mosh. Eccl. Hist., vol iii, p. 3r)2 ; vol iv, p. 70; Calvin's Institutions, p. 127; Charnock's Works, pp 135.3, 1354; Twisso's Works, p. 220; Buck's Theol. Diet. article Calvinism. 368 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. lence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contin- gency of second causes taken away, but rather estabHshcd. II. Although God knows whatsoever may, or can come to pass upon all supposed conditions ; yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions. III. By tlie decree of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life, and others foreordained to everlasting death. IV. These angels and men, thus predestinated and foreordained, are particularly and unchangeably designed ; and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished. V. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to his eternal and im- mutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will, hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of his mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith or good works, or perse- verance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as condi- tions, or causes moving him thereunto ; and all to the praise of his glorious grace. • VI. As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath he, by the eternal and most free purpose of his will, foreordained all the means thereunto. Wherefore they who are elected, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed by Christ, are effectually called by faith in Christ, by his Spirit working in due season ; are justified, adopted, sanctified, and kept by his power through faith unto salvation. Neither arc any other redeemed by Christ, effectually called, justified, adopted, sanctified, and saved, but the elect only. VII. The rest of mankind, God was pleased, according to the un searchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by, and ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice. VIII. The doctrine of this high mystery of predestination is to be handled with special prudence and care ; that men attending the will of God revealed in his word, and yielding obedience thereunto, may, from the certainty of their effectual vocation, be assured of their eternal election. So shall this doctrine afford matter of praise, reverence, and admiration of God ; and of humility, diligence, and abundant consola- tion to all that sincerely obey the Gospel. (See the Westminstrr Con- fessidii of Faith, chap. 3.) The established Calvinists adopt the Presbyterian form of govern- ment ; but many societies, such as Independents, Anabaptists, &c., who generally profess the Calvinistic doctrines, have a form and disci- pline peculiar to tlieinselves. The national Church of England, in its form of government, is epis- copal, having the order of bishop, priest, and deacon. The members of this Church are called Episcopalians, and the following articles of religion contain their doctrines, as established both in Britain and America : — \ I. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body, parts, or passions ; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the Cr;NT. XVII.] HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 369 Maker and Preserver of all things both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. II. The Son, which is the Word of the Father, begotten from ever- lasting of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took, man's nature in the womb of the blessed virgin, of tier substance : .so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in one person, never 10 be divided ; whereof is one Christ, very God and very man ; who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his Father .o us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. III. As Christ died for us, and was buried; so al^o is it to be • believed that he went down into hell. IV. Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sittelh, until.he return to judge ail men at the last day. V. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is- of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the' Son ;. verj- and eternal God. VI. The Holy Scripture containcth all things necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not read therein, or may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority there was never any doubt in the Church. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri, Deuteronomiura, Joshue, Judges, Rutli, the first book of Samuel, the second book of Samuel, the first book of Kings, the second book of Kings, the first book of Chronicles, the second book of Chronicles, the first book of Esdras, the second book of Esdras, the book of Hester, the book of Job, the Psalms, the Proverl)S, Ecclcsiastes. or Preacher, Cantica, or Songs of^ Solomon, four Prophets the greater, twelve Prophets the less. And the olhor books (as Hicromc saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners ; but yet doth it not apply them to establisli any doctrine. Such are these following: — The third book of Esdras, the fourth book of Esdras, the book of Tobias, the book of Judith, the rest of the book of Hester, the book of Wisdom, Jesus the son of Sirach, Baruch the Prophet, the Song oi the Three Children, the Story of Susaiuiah, of Hell and the Dragon, the Prayer of .Manasses, the first book of Maccabees, the second book of Maccabees. All the !)ooks of the New Testaiuent, as they are commonly received, we do receive, and account them canonical. VII. The Cid Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is oflered to mankind by Christ, who is tlie only Mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore, thev arc not to be heard, which I'eign that the old fath<>rs did look only for transitory promises. Althcnigh tlie laws given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, do not 21 370 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. bind Christian men, nor the civil precepts thereof ought of necesity to be received in any commonweahh ; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian man whatsoever is free from the obediejice of the commandments which are called moral. VIII. The Nicene Creed, and that which is commonly called the Apostles' Creed, ought thoroughly to be received and beheved ; for they may be proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture. IX. Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, (as the Pe- lagians do vainly talk,) but it is the fault and corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil ; so that the flesh lusteth always con- trary to the Spirit ; and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation. And this infection of nature iloth remain, yea, in them that are regenerated ; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek Phroncma sarkos, which some do expound the wisdom, some sensuality, some the afiection, some the desire of the flesh, is not subject to the law of God. And although there is no con- demnation for them that believe and are baptized, yet the apostle doth confess that concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin. X. The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith and calling upon God : wherefore, we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and work- ing with us, when we have that good will. XL We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith ; and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and veryfuU of comfort, as more largely is expressed in the Homily of Justification. XII. Albeit, that good works, which are the fruits of faith, and fol- low after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgments ; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith ; inso- much that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit. XIII. Works done before the grace of Christ, and the inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant to God, forasmuch as they spring not of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they make men meet to receive grace, or (as the school authors say) deserve grace of congruity ; yea, rather, for that they are not done as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we doubt not but they have the nature of sin. XIV. Voluntary works, besides over and above God's command- ments, which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required : whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that is com- manded to you, say. We are unprofitable servants. XV. Christ in the truth of our nature, was made like unto us in all things, sin only except, from which he was clearly void, both hi his 24* Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 371 flesh and in his .spirit. He came to be a Lamb without spot, who by sacrifice of himself once made, should take away the sins of the world ; and sin (as St. John saith) was not in him. I3ut all we the rest (al- though baptized and bom again in Christ) yet oflend in many things ; and if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not iti us. XVI. Not every deadly sin, willingly committed after baptism, is sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after baptism. After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God (we may) arise again, and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned, which say, they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent. XVII. Predestination to life is the everlasting purjtose of God, whereby (before the foundations of the world were laid) he hath con- stantly decreed, by his counsel, secret to us, to dtdiver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation, as vessels made to hon- our. Wherefore they, which be endued with so excellent a benefit of God, be called according to God's purpose by his Spirit working in due season : they, through grace, obey the calling : they be justified free- ly : they be made sons of God by adoption : they be made like the image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ : they walk religiously in good works : and at length by God's mercy they attain to everlasting felicity. As the godly consideration of predestination, and our election in Clirist is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly per- .sons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the Spirit of Christ, mortifying the works of the flesh and their eartlily members, and draw- ing up tlieir mind to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly estal)lish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation, to be en- joyed through Christ, as because it dotli fervently kindle their love toward God : so, for curious and carnal 'persons, lacking the .Spirit of Christ, to have continually before their eyes the sentence of God's predestination, is a most dangerous downfall, whereby the devil doth thrust them either into desperation, or into wretchlessness of most unclean living, no less perilous than desperation. Farthermore, we must receive God's promises in such wise as they be generally set forth to us in Holy Scripture : and in our doings, that will of C;od is to be followed which we have expressly declared unto us in the word of God. XVIII. They also are to be had accursed, that presume to say. that every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us onlv the name of Jesus (clirist, whereby men must be saved. XIX. The visible Chunth of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure word of God is preached, and thi* sacra- ments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. As the Church of Ilierusalcm, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred 372 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. SO also the Church of Rot7ic hath erred, not only in their living and manner ot" ceremonies, but also in matters of faith. XX. The Church hath power to decree rites or ceremonies, and authority in controversies of faith : and yet it is not lawful for the Church to ordain any thing that is contrary to God's word written ; neither may it so expound one place of Scripture that it be repugnant to another. Wherelbre, although the Church be a witness and a keep- er of holy writ, yet as it ought not to decree any tiling against the same, so besides the same ought not to enforce any thing to be believed ibr necessity of salvation. XXI. Of the authority of general councils. XXII. The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardons, wor.ship- ])ing, and adoration, as well of images as of reliques, and also invoca- tion of saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the word of God. XXIII. It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the oflice of public preaching, or ministering the sacraments in the congregation, before he be lawfully called, and .sent to execute the same. And those wc ought to judge lawfully called and sent, which be chosen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the congregation, to call and send ministers into the Lord's vineyard. XXIV. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the custom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the Church, or to minister the sacraments in a tongue not understanded of the people. XXV. Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens to Christian men's profession ; but rather they be certain sure wit- nesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him. There are two sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gos- pel, that is to say, baptism, and the supper of the Lord. Those five connnonly called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown, partly of the corrupt following of the apostles, partly are states of life allowed by the Scriptures ; but yet have not like nature of sacraments with baptism ;aid the' Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or cere- mony ordained of God. The sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about, but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome efTect or opera- tion ; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves damnation, as St. Paul saiih. XXVI. Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority in the ministra- tion of the word and sacraments ; yet, forasmuch as th(!y do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his com- mission and authority, we may use their ministry both in hearing the word of God, and in receiving the sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such, as by faith, and rightly, do receive Cent. XVII.] history of t}ie church. 373 the sacraments ministered unto them, which be effectual, because of Christ's institution and promi:5e, aUhough they be ministered by evil men. Nevertheless, it appertainelh to the discipline of the Church, that inquiry be made of evil ministers, and that they be accused by those that have knowledge of their offences ; and finally being found guilty, by just judgment, be deposed. XXVII. Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of differ- ence whereby Christian men are discerned from others that be not chris- tened ; but it is also a sign of regeneration, or new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted mto the Church : the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed : faith is confirmed, and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God. The baptism of young children is in any wise to be retained in the Church as most agreeable with the institution of Christ. XXVIII. The supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among tlicmselves one to another ; but rather it is sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death ; insomuch that to suoh as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking, of the blood of Christ. Transubstantiation (or the change of the substance of bread and wine) in the supper of the Lord, cannot be proved by holy writ ; but it is re- pugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the supper is faith. The sacrament of the Lord's supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. XXIX. The wicked, and such as be void of a lively faith, although they do carnally and visibly press with their teeth (as St. Augustine saith) the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ ; yet in no wise are they partakers of Christ ; but rather to their condemnation do eat and drink the sign or sacrament of so great a thing. XXX.. The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people . for both the parts of the Lord's sacrament by Christ's ordinance and commandment ought to be ministered to all Christian men alike. XXXI. The ollcring of Christ once made, is that perfect redemp- tion, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual ; and there is none other satisfaction for sin. but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in which it was commonly said, that the priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits. XXXII. Bishops, priests, and deacons, are not commanded by God's law. either to vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage ; therefore it is lawful for them, as lor all other (Christian men, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve better to godliness. XXXI II. That person which by optni denunciation of the Church is rightly cut oif fron'i the luiity of the Church, and excommunicated, 371 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII, ought to be tuken of the whole multitude of the faithful as a heathen and publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a judge that hath authority thereunto. XXXIV. It is not necessary that traditions and ceremonies be in all places one, or utterly like ; for at all times they have been divers, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's word. Who- soever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the traditions and ceremonies of the Church, which be not repugnant to the word of God, and be ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly (that others may fear to do the like) as he that offendeth against the common order of the Church, and hurteth the authority of the magistrate, and woundeth the consciences of the weak brethren. Every particular or national church hath authority to ordain, change and abolish ceremonies or rites of the Church, ordained only by man's authority, so that all things be done to edifying. XXXV. The second book of homilies, the several titles whereof we have joined, under this article, doth contain a godly and wholesome doctrine, and necessary for these times, as doth the former book of homilies, which were set forth in the time of Edward the Sixth ; and therefore we judge them to be read in churches by the ministers dili- gently and distinctly, that they may be understanded of the people. 1. Of the right use of the Church. — 2. Against peril of idolatry. — 3. Of repairing and keeping clean of churches. — 4. Of good works : first of fasting. — 5. Against gluttony and drunkenness. — 6. Against excess of apparel. — 7. Of prayer. — 8. Of the place and time of prayer. — 9. That common prayers and sacraments ought to be ministered in a known tongue. — 10. Of the reverent estimation of God's word. — 11. Of alms doing. — 12. Of the nativity of Christ. — 13. Of the passion of Christ. — 14. Of the resurrection of Christ. — 15. Of the worthy receiv- ing of the sacrament of the body and blood of Christ. — 16. Of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. — 17. For the rogation days. — 18. Of the state of matrimony. — 19. Of repentance. — 20. Against idleness. — 21. Against rebellion. XXXVI. The book of consecration of bishops, and ordering of priests and deacons, as set forth by the general convention of this Church, in 1772, doth contain all things necessary to such consecra- tion and ordering ; neither hath it any thing that of itself is supersti- tious and ungodly ; and, therefore, whosoever are consecrated or ordered according to said form, we decree all such to be rightly, orderly, and lawfully consecrated and ordered. XXXVII. The power of the civil magistrate extendeth to all men, as well clergy as laity, in all things temporal ; but hath no autliority in things purely spiritual. And we hold it to be the duty of all men who are professors of the Gospel, to pay respectful obedience to the civil authority, regularly and legitimately constituted. XX.XV1II. The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as certain Ana- baptists do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every man ought of such things as he possesseth liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability. Cent. XVTT.] history or the church. 375 XXXIX. As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ, and James, his apostle : so we judge that the Christian religion doth not prohibit but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the prophets' teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.* CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Jansenists — Quietists — Cartesians or Cocccians — Sublapsarians and Supralapsarians — Arminians — Pietists — Jaco!) Behmen — Puritan.s — Independents — Seekers — Ranters — Fifth Monarchy Men — Quakers — Sabbatarians — Hattemists — Mugglctonians, &c. The sect which attracted the most general attention during the course of this century was that of the Jansenists, the founder of which was Cornelius Jansen, originally professor of divinity in the university of Louvain, and afterward bishop of Ypres, in Flanders. This eminent and learned person became early attached to the writings of St. Au- gustine, and had imbibed all that father's opinions concerning the nature of human liberty and Divine grace. The chief labour of his life was exhausted on the digesting of these opinions into a regular, treatise, which, in honour of his master, he entitled Augustinus. He left the work complete at his death, in 1638, and submitted it, by his last will, to the holy see. The publication might possibly have passed with little notice, or, at the most, like many other speculations, might have enjoyed only a temporary celebrity, had not the imprudence of the Jesuits, who were alarmed by an imaginary attack upon their infallibility, selected it as an object on which they might display their unbounded influence. The famous Cardinal Richelieu was not favour- ably disposed to the memory of its author, who in a former work had condemned the politics of France ; and uniting therefore with the Jesuits, he procured the condemnation of the work of Jansen by suc- cessive bulls. Persecution generally produces opposition, and per haps the unpopularity of the Jesuits might tend considerably to increase the disciples of Jansen. His doctrines were embraced by a considera- ble party both in France and the Netherlands, and had the honour to rank among their defenders James Boonen, archbishop of Malines, Libertus Fromond, Anthony Aniaidd, Blaise Pascal, Peter Nicholas, Pasquier du Quesnel, and many others of scarcely inferior reputation. The utuiost vigilance of the Church could not preveiu the spirit of Jansenism from j)enetrating the convents themselves ; but none was so distinguished as the female convent of Port Royal, in the neighbour- hood of Paris. These nuns observed the strict rules of the Cister- cians ; the vale in which the convent was situated soon became the retreat of the Jansenist penitents, and a number of little huts were pre- sently erected within its precincts. After various vicissitudes of per- * The thirtv-niiic articles as inserted above are received by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United Stateii, and do not materially differ from those established m Eng- land. 376 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. secution, in 1709, the nuns refusing to subscribe the declaration of Alexander VII., the weak and intolerant Lewis XIV. ordered the whole building to be utterly demolished. The principal tenets of the Jansenists are as follow : — 1st. That ihere arc Divine precepts which good men, notwitlistanding their desire to observe them, are nevertheless absolutely unable to obey; nor has God given them that measure of grace which is essentially necessary to render them capable of such obedience. 2d. That no person in this corrupt state of nature can resist the influence of Divine grace when it operates upon the mind. 3d. That in order to render human actions meritorious it is not requisite that they be exempt from necessity, but that they be free from constraint. 4th. That the Semi- Pelagians err greatly in maintaining that the human will is endowed with the power of either receiving or resisting the aids and influences of preventing grace. 5th. That whoever affirms that Jesus (Christ made expiation, by his sufferings and death, for the sins of all mankind, isa Semi-Pelagian. [Mosh. Ecclcs. Hist. vol. iv, pp. 373, 379.) The severity with which the Quietists were treated was still more unpardonable in the Church of Rome. This sect was indebted for its origin, or at least its revival,* to Michael de Molinos, a Spanish priest, Avho, in 1675, published a treatise under the title of the Spiritual Guide, in which he asserted that the perfect state of a Christian con- sists in the repose of the soul, which is only to be obtained in a passive ■ state ; so that he has no will or desire that is properly his own ; that he resigns himself entirely to God and his influence, to produce in him whatever he pleases. By this the Christian arrives at a pure love of God, exempt from all private interests ; he thinks of neither re- wards nor punishments ; he troubles himself neither about his salvation nor damnation ; on the contrary, he beholds all objects with a perfect indiflerence ; and in this state he cannot sin, he stands in no need of any exterior Divine worship, and whatever he does is in itself indifferent. True policy would have left this innocent branch of enthusiasm to have been quietly embraced by the very ie\f who could sufliciently wean themselves from all the natural propensities to conform to so rigid a principle ; but no consideration of this kind, nor even the friendship of Innocent XL, could save the unfortunate priest from persecution. — He was apprehended in 1685; his doctrine was condemned in sixty- ■ eight propositions ; he was sentenced to a public penance, and to per- petual confinement in the prison of the inquisition, where he died in ylG96, full of years and of sorrow. The persecution was extended to all the disciples of Molinos. The elegant and pious Madame Guyon was persecuted and driven from city to city, and more than once com- iTiittcd to prison : in the benevolent Fenelon she foimd an advocate, but not even his credit coidd support the cause.f The philosophy of Des Cartes, as explained and inculcated by John Cocceius, a celebrated divine of Leyden, produced in this century a controversy and a sect. Cocceius represented the whole history of the * In most of their tenets the Quietists exactly agreed with some ot' the ancient secta- ries. + 8ee the life of Fenelon, prefixed to a splendid edition in quarto of Ilavvksworth's Telcniachus, published by Kcarsley. Cent. XVIL] history of the church. 377 Old Testament as a mirror, which hcUl forth an accurate view of the transactions and events that were to happen in the Church under the dispensation of the New Testament, and to the end of the world. He maintained that by far the greater part of the ancient prophecies fore- told Christ's ministry and mediation, and the rise, progress, and revolu- tions of the Church, not only under the figure of persons and transac- tions, but in a literal manner, and by the very sense of the words used in these predictions ; and laid it down as a fundamental rule of inter- pretation, that the words and phrases of Scripture are to be understood in every sense of which they are susceptible ; or, in other words, that they signify in eHecl every thing that they can possibly signify. The refinements of Calvinism gained an ascendency in most of the reformed Churches during this age of speculation ; but the love of disputation would not permit these minute inquiries to be perfectly in unison with each other. Hence arose the distinction between the Sublapsarians and the Supralapsarians : the former asserted that " God had only permitted tlie first man to fall into transgression, without ab- solutely predetermining his fall ;" while the latter maintained that " God had decreed from all eternity the transgression of Adam, in such a manner that our first parents could not possibly avoid this fatal event." The bold and unexpected attack of Arminius produced between the jarring parties that union which probably might otherwise have been far distant. This ardent champion for the free will of man, who had / been the disciple of Beza, and was latterly professor of divinity at\' Leyden, attacked without reserve the favourite doctrines of the Cal- vinists concerning predestination and election, which were again de- fended with some warmth by Francis Gomar, one of his colleagues.* The death of Arminius did not bring the controversy to a conclusion ; on the contrary, after many attempts, by the moderate party among the clergy and the magistrates, to restore tranquillity, the only expedient that seemed likely to terminate the dispute was the assembling of a general synod, which met at Dort in IGlS.f At this assembly a num- ber of eminent divines attended from difTerent parts of Germany, * In l.^SS Arminius was ordained a niinislcr at Amsterdam, and so great was liis popularity, and so powerful liis cloqutnce, that he was everj'wherc followed l>y adniir- infj auditors, and the enemies of his doctrine and of his success were silenced by the solidity of his arguments, by the perseverance of his mind, and the integrity of his heart. In liieological controversy ho preserved his high reputation, and never misapplied his rcasomng powers or his learning in indecent invectives. As professor of divinity at Leyden, to which office he was ca41cd in 1(503, he distinguished himself by three valu- able orations, on the object of theology — on the .\uthor and end ot it — and on the cer- tainty of it ; and he afterward wrote an ex])lanaiion of the Prophet Jonah. In his public and private life Arminius has been admired for his moderation ; and thouglj many gross msinuations have been thrown against him, yet his incmorv' has been fully vindicated by the ablest ])ens ; and he seemed cntitkd to the motto which he assumed, — " A good conscience is a paradise." A life of perpetual labo\ir, and vexation of mind, at last brought on a sickness of which he died, October 1!>, 1()19. His writings were all on controversial and theological subjects, and were published m one volume, 4to., Frank- fort, 1631. Among the Arininian writers we may name Episcopius, Uitenbogart, Grotius, Cur- cclleus, Limborch, Lc Clerc, Wetstein, Goodwin, Whitby, Wesley, Fletcher, Tomlinc, (Sec. (See Lcinprirrc's (Imrersal Bwiryaphi/.) t The proceedings of this synod, whose intolerance has disgraced the Protestant name, are detailed iji .Mr. Watson's Hiblical and Theological Dictionary, article Synods ; to which the reader is particularly referred for information. 378 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. Switzerland, England, and Scotland. The Arminians were declared corrupters of true religion, schismatics, &c. The Supralapsarian doc- tors were desirous of imposing their own tenets on the synod, but the moderation of the British divines prevented their establishment. As usual in those times of controversy, a sharp persecution followed the decision. The stadtholder, Prince Maurice, immediately imprisoned three of the magistrates, who were the principal supporters of the Arminian party ; John Olden Barnevelt, a person highly respectable both from his age and the services he had rendered to his country, Hugo Grotius, and Rumbold Hogerbeets. Barnevelt lost his head on a scaffold, and the other two were condemned to perpetual imprison- ment ; from which however Grotius afterward escaped, and took refuge in France. The Arminians were expelled from all their euiployments. Some years afterward, the brother and successor of Maurice, Frederick Henry, allowed them a partial toleration ; and Episcopius was even permitted to open a seminary at Amsterdam, which from lime to time has produced excellent scholars. They have however been since exposed to occasional persecutions, but are still numerous and power- ful in Holland. Their principal doctrines are comprehended in five articles: — 1st. That the Deity has not fixed the future state of man- kind, by an absolute unconditional decree ; but determined from all eternity to bestow salvation on those who he foresaw would persevere to the end in their faith in Jesus Christ ; and to inflict everlasting punishments on those who should continue in their unbelief, and resist to the end his Divine assistance. 2d. That Jesus Christ, by his suf- ferings and death, made an atonement for the sins of all mankind in general, and of every individual in particular : that, however, none but those who believe in him can be partakers of this Divine benefit. 3d. That true faith cannot proceed from the exercise of our natural faculties and powers, nor from the force and operation of free will; since man, in consequence of his natural corruption, is incapable either of thinking or doing any good thing ; and therel''ore it is necessary, in order to his sal- vation, that he be regenerated and renewed by the operation of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. 4th. That this Divine grace, or energy of the Holy Ghost, begins and perfects every thing that can be called good in man, and consequently all good works are to be attributed to God alone ; that, nevertheless, this grace is offered to all, and does not force them to act against their inclina- tions, but maybe resisted and rendered ineffectual by the perverse wills of impenitent sinners.* 5th. That those who are united to Christ by faith may fall from their faith, and forfeit finally their slate of grace. The learned Spencer was the father of Pietism. He formed socie- ties at Frankfort, for the promotion of what he esteemed vital religion : his principles consisted chiefly in enforcing a rigid and austere practice of piety and virtue. One of the most singular characters which appeared in this century was Jacob Boehm or Behmen, who indulged in a variety of specula- tions on the most abstruse and intricate subjects. He mingled che- j mical philosophy with the mysteries of religion. His first work was* * On tlic subject of these articles of the Arminian creed, see Mosheim's Eccl. Hist., cent, xvii ; the Works of Arminiiis translated into Enghsli, by Mr. Nichols ; also Wat- son's Biblical and Theological Dictionary, article Arminians. Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 379 entitled Aurora, or the rising of the sun ; which being censured by the magistrates, he remained silent about seven years, and then resuming his pen, in the course of about five years published nearly twenty volumes. Among other abstruse doctrines, Behmen taught that the Divine grace operates by the same rules, and follows the same methods, that the Divine providence observes in the natural world ; and that the minds of men are purged from their vices and corruptions in the same manner as metals are purified from their dross. The name of Puritans was given, at a very early period in England, to those persons, both of clergy and laity, who disapproved of certain rites and ceremonies in the Church, such as the use of the surplice and other garments, which their aversion to popery induced them to consider evidently in a serious light. Well affected, however, to the principal doctrines of the Church, they were content to remain within its pale, till a considerable body of these disaffected members were drawn off in 1586, by the preaching of Robert Brown, who attacked the hierarchy itself; on which account these sectaries separated from the rest, and were denominated Brownists, as was remarked in the history of the preceding century. With the doctrines of the Church founded by Calvin at Geneva, a considerable respect for its discipline was also imported ; and soon after the separation of the Brownists, a large body of the Puritans openly testified their approbation of the form and conduct of the Presbyterian Church. But the ardour of innovation when once excited is not easily con- fined ; the Puritans, therefore, soon divided into a variety of sects. — To a considerable number even the Presbyterian form of government did not appear sufficiently democratical ; they discovered that the Church at Corinth had an entire judicature within itself, 1 Cor. v, 12 ; and upon this ground they determined that every particular con- gregation of Christians had a complete power of regulating all its own concerns, independent of bishops, synods, or presbyteries ; and agree- ably to these principles, they assumed th§ name of Independents. — This sect dates its origin from 1616. The Seekers derive their name from their maintaining that the true Church, ministry. Scripture, and ordinances were lost, for which they were seeking. They taught that the Scriptures were uncertain ; that present miracles were necessary to faith ; that our ministry is without authority ; and our worship and ordinances unnecessary or vain. — i^Calaiiufs Abridg. of Baxter s History, vol. i, p. 110.) The Ranters, who arose about the same period, were nearly similar in all their opinions. The Fifth Monarchy Men were another branch from the same stock, and were so denominated from maintaining that there will be a fifth universal monarchy under the personal reign of King Jesus upon earth. In consequence of this tenet, they aimed at the subversion of all human government. {Moshclm.) The society of Quakers was instituted about the year 1650, by George Fo.\, of Nottingham. If the intemperate zeal of this itinerant preacher, which led him frequently to intrude himself into other reli- gious societies, and to declaim against their abominalions, seemed to invite some opposition, it must be confessed, on the other hand, that the spirit of the times did not suffer him to be disappointed. He was 380 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVII. ill treated by all parties ; and even Cromwell, the great patron of sec- taries, laboured for the extinction of the Quakers. After the restora- tion, the two celebrated converts, William Penn and Robert Barclay, gave to the Quaker principles the form of a regular system. The society acquired the name of Quakers from the agitation and trembling witli which they spoke in public ; but the appellation of Friends, or Friends of Truth, is that by which they desire to be distinguished. — The principal points maintained by the Quakers are: — 1st. That God has given to all men sufficient light, which will work out their salva- tion unless resisted ; that this light is not less universal than the seed of sin, and saves those who have not the outward means of salvation ; and that this light is a Divine principle, in which God, as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, dwells ; which the Scriptures call " Christ within, the hope of glory." 2d. That the Scriptures are not to be esteemed the principal ground of all truth and knowledge, nor yet the primary rule of faith and manners ; nevertheless, because they give a true and faithful testimony of the first foundation, they are and may be esteemed a secondary rule subordinate to the Spirit, from whom they derive their excellence. 3d. That immediate revelation is not ceased, a measure of the Spirit being given to every one. 4th. That as by the light or gift of God all spiritual knowledge is received, those who have this gift ought to preach, though without human commission or literature ; and as they have freely received this sacred gift, so ought they freely to give it : and that any person of a sober life, without distinction of sex, is allowed to preach when moved by the Spirit. 5th. That all true and acceptable worship to God is offered by the inward and immediate moving of his Spirit. 6th. That water baptism and the Lord's Supper were only commanded for a time. The moral doctrines of the Quakers are chiefly comprehended in the I'ollowing precepts: — 1. That it is not lawful to give to men such flattering titles as, your grace, your lordship, your honour, &c., or to use those flattering words commonly called compliments, or even to make use of the plural yoj* instead of the singular tlipc, which was ori- ginally done out of flattery. 2. That it is not lawful for Christians to kneel or prostrate themselves to any man, or to bow the body, or to uncover the head to men. 3. That it is not lawful for a Christian to use such superfluities in apparel as are of no use except for ornament and vanity. 4. That it is not lawful to use games, sports, or plays among Christians, under the' notion of recreations, which do not agree with Christian gravity and sobriety ; for laughing, sporting, gaming, mocking, jesting, vain talking, &c., are not Christian liberty nor harm- less mirth. 5. That it is not lawful for Christians to swear at all under the Gospel, not only vainly, and in their common discourse, which was also forbidden under the law, but not even in judgment before the magistrate. 6. That it is not lawful ior Christians to resist evil, or to war, or fight in any case whatever. The Sabbatarians are a branch of the Anabaptists, who only difler in consecrating the Jewish Sabbath, or Saturday, as well as Sunday, They are called Israelites on the continent. The Muggl(>tonians, Hattemites, Uckewallists, Labbadists, Verschorists, &c., who derive their name from their respective founders, were mere ephemeral pro- ductions, and differed but little from those sects already described. Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 381 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Golden age of European literature — Bellarminc — Bossuct — Baronius — Richelieu — Sirmond — Mariana — Tillcmont — Father Paul — Pascal — Fciielon — Claude — Drelinrourt — Cappel — Bochart — The Buxtorfs — Episcopius — Grotius — Laud — The memorable John Hales — Usher — H.iU — Taylor — StillinKfleel — Cudworth — Wilkins — More — VVhitcock — Smith — Patrick' — TiUolson — Pocock — Cumberland — Barrow — South — Burnet — Castell — Pearson — Bcveridjre — Calamy — Baxter — Poole — Bacon — Galileo — Des Cartes — Gas- scndi — Newton — Boyle — Shakspeare — Milton, &c. That natural progress to maturity or perfection, and from perfection to decay, which is instanced in ahnost every object of the natural world, has by many been supposed to exist with respect to the literary world; and to science and learning the terms infancy and decline have been commonly applied. Should these speculations be any more than a visionary theory, founded upon a fanciful and erroneous analogy, the seventeenth century must, on the fairest estimate, be distinguished as the golden age of European literature. For the reasons, however, which were stated in the last chapter of the pjeceding century, many names which are higlily deserving of the most respectful mention must be wholly omitted ; and with respect to those which are noticed, the limits of this work will admit of only cursory remarks. During these declining periods of the Romish Church, there were not wanting able defenders of her doctrine and authority, the moat illus- trious of whom was Robert Bellarminc, who, from an obscure Italian Jesuit, was raised to the dignity of cardinal, and the celebrated Bos- suet, bishop of Meaux. The exposition of the Roman Catholic faith by Bossuet, is the most subtle and ingenious apology that perhaps was ever published in favour of a system of error and usurpation. It was not, however, relished by the rigid adherents of popery ; it was con- denmed by the university of Louvain as " scandalous and pernicious," and was disavowed by the Sorbonnc ; though I believe it is now, in these modern times, very generally acknowledged as orthodox by the Catholic ("hurch. Bossuet was the author of several other works, and is among the most admired of the French preachers. Cardinal Baronius was also indebted for his advancement to his lite- rary abilities. Ilis great work is termed Ecclesiastical Annals. After the death of Clement VIII. he had thirty votes for the pontificate, but was excepted against by the king of Spain, on account of a treatise which he had composed concerning the Sicilian monarchy. The cel- ebrated (Cardinal de Richelieu must also be numbered among the defeiidtTs of the liomish hierarchy ; though an insinuation has escaped I)u Pin, that the controversial writings which pass under his name are not really his. (Dii Pin, cent. 17.) The Jesuits, Sirmond and .Mari- ana, were distingmshed in the same cause. The inHimous work of the latter, De Rege, ttc, is said to have prompted Ravaillac to the assassi- nation of Henry IV. It was burned at Paris by order of parliament. Tillemont, though extremely partial to the Church of Rome, deserves a high place among ecclesiastical historians. 382 HISTORY OF THE CHITRCH. [CeNT. XVII, The authors of the Romish communion did not all, however, devote themselves implicitly to the support of the Romish doctrines. The name of Father Paul of Venice will be illustrious as long as any zeal for truth and liberty continues to exist. This truly uncommon charac- ter took upon him very early in life the habit of the Servites, nor could the most splendid offers of court favour and emolument allure him from his convent and his studies. His liberality of sentiment exposed him to a severe persecution, and he was at length wounded and left for dead by five ruffians, who retired to the palace of the pope's nuncio, at Venice, whence they escaped to Ferrara. He, however, recovered of his wounds, and lived to complete his incomparable history of the council of Trent, which has been already noticed. A posthumous work on the government of Venice, attributed to him, has been lately published in London, by a foreign nobleman, eminent for his love of literature. If, however, the work be really his, there is much reason to suspect it of great interpolation, as it evidently contains sentiments altogether unwor- thy of this excellent person. The celebrated Pascal was also no less remarkable for his liberality than for his piety. His Provincial Letters were the first efiective blow which was ever aimed against the credit and authority of the Jesuits.* It would be highly culpable not to mention with the greatest respect the name of Fenelon, archbishop of Cambray, whose writings have contributed perhaps as much to the promotion of real virtue as those of any other author of this century. His admiration and pity for the unfor- tunate Madame Guyon involved him in a series of persecutions, as a favourer of the doctrines of Quietism ; and his book concerning the Maxims of the Saints and the internal life was condemned at Rome on the 12th of March, 1699.t The study of ancient literature was greatly facilitated by the splendid and valuable editions of the fathers by the Benedictine monks ; and still more by the useful labours of the society of Port Royah The principal of these authors were Robert and Anthony Arnaud, Anthony and Isaac Le Maitre, Olaud Launcelot, Claud de St. Martha, and Tille- mont. Most of these eminent persons had been men of the world, and had shone in the different departments of the state or the law, and retired to Port Royal in the evening of life, for the purpose of cultiva- ting literature and virtue. The divines of the reformed Church were not inferior. The elo- quence of Claude and Drelincourt was surpassed by no preachers of this century ; and the profound and extensive erudition of Bochart, Cappel, the Buxtorfs, and others, exerted in the noblest and most use- ful branch of literature, the illustration of Scripture, will be always admired. Among the favourers of Arminianism, Episcopius and Grotius were highly eminent for their extensive erudition. The commentaries of Grotius on the Holy Scripture, and his work in defence of the Chris- tian religion, are invaluable. His treatise of War and Peace is less liberal than might have been expected from so enlightened a mind ; * The comedies of Molicre (say.s Voltaire) have not more wit than the first Provin- cial Letters. t Life of Fenelon, prefixed to Kearsley's edition of Havvksworlh's Telemachus. Cent. XVII.] history of the church. 3S3 but it was probably a sacrifice either to gratitude or interest, and there- fore, in a great measure, accommodated to the prejudices of Lewis XIV. The mere catalogue of English writers who excelled in the depart- ment of theology, during the seventeenth century, would exceed the limits of this chapter. From the reign of Henry VIII. to that of Wil- liam III. every branch of literature, and the study of the Greek language in particular, was cultivated in England with unremitting assiduity. The unfortunate and mistaken Laud was possessed of one quality which almost atones for his many errors ; he was a warm and active patron of learning and genius : such, indeed, was his respect for talents, that even John Hales, whose principles were, in many respects, diametrically opposite to his own, was not exempted from his patronage. The names of Usher and of Hall are familiar to most readers. The former was primate of Ireland during the dreadful rebellion in that country, and was obliged to save his life by flight. He is generally esteemed as a man of equal integrity and candour ; and his fame for erudition was such that after his retirement from the Church, the uni- versity of Leyden made him an honorary professor, and Cardinal Riche- lieu sent him his picture, with liberal offers and free toleration, if he would make France the place of his residence. Besides his Annals, and other treatises, he made a collection of the epistles of the primi- tive fathers. Bishop Hall was a man of learning, moderation, and piety ; his character was so high among the members of the reformed Churches, that he was appointed, in 1618, to preach a Latin sermon before the synod of Dort, and was presented by the states with a gold medal. But the most elegant scholar, and the most useful writer of this period was Dr. Jeremy Taylor. He was the son of a barber at Cambridge, and was introduced to public notice by Archbishop Laud. During the depression of the royal party, he was reduced to great indigence and distress; but, at the restoration, was rewarded with. the bishopric of Downe and Connor. His writings consist, for the most part, of practi- cal treatises of piety ; and while they interest and entertain the learned by tlie keenness of remark, the general knowledge of the human heart, and the classical allusions with which they abound, they are still more extensively useful in affording comfort and instruction to the plain and unlettered Christian. The style is easy and harmonious, and every sentence contains some striking sentiment or observation. The late Dr. Jolmst)n frequently made a present of his " Holy Living and Dying," even to young persons ; and whoever will compare the ser- mons which he has written with Bishop Taylor's will scarcely fail to perceive that Dr. Johnson has made him his model, at least in that department of literature. These eminent divines were succeeded by a series of men in the Church of extensive erudition. The works of Stillingfleet, bishop of Worcester, abomid in deep research, and evince the most perfect know- ledge of ancient literature ; yet he is even exceeded by Cud worth, whose Intellectual System contains all the wisdom of the ancient metaphysics. Wilkins, bishop of Cliester, was a man of singular genius. No writer 384 HISTORY OF- THE CHLRCH. [CeNT. XVII ever inclulged himself in bolder projects, and none has adventured in them with equal ingenuity. Whether he forms a scheme for a Philo- sophical Language, or writes a treatise on the Art of Flying, he is always plausible, always ingenious, always persuasive. The work which is at present of most general utility is his Ecclesiastes, or Gift of Preaching, which contains useful instructions to young preachers. Dr. Henry More, Dr. Benjamin Wkichcot, and the celebrated John Smith of Cambridge, were among the English Platonists, and were ex- celled by few in learning, sense, and virtue. From the same school proceeded Patrick and Tillotson ; the former of whom was a good commentator on the Scriptures, the latter is too well known to need commendation in this place. The Polyglot was published at this period by Dr. Bryan Walton. But the first oriental scholar of Europe was confessedly Dr. Edward Pocock. Such indeed was the zeal with which every branch of learning which could reflect light upon the sacred Scriptures was cultivated in England, during this century, that Bishop Cumberland (author of the excellent treatise on the Laws of Nature) at the age of eighty-three applied himself to the study of the Coptic, and made himself master of that intricate language. The sermons of Dr. Barrow exhibit a view of almost every topic of faith and practice, and are models of a plain and chaste style. The witty and sarcastical South has left some volumes of valuable dis- courses. Dr. Burnet, bishop of Sarum, is better known by his historical than by his theological writings. His defence of the articles of the Church of England, however, and his Pastoral Care are works of merit. Dr. Castell was the author of a valuable work, entitled Lexicon Hep- taglotton, in the compilation of which he was assiduously engaged for seventeen years. Pearson and Beveridge were both able divines, and Hammond and Whitby excellent expositors of the New Testament. Among the non- conformist ministers also several appeared of great eminence. Both Calamy and Baxter were complimented with the ofl'er of bishoprics on the restoration ; the latter indeed was no less distinguished by his piety and moderation, than by his learning and talents. The Critical Synop- sis of Poole, a work of incredible labour, entitles him justly to a most "espectablc place among the Biblical commentators. The philosophy of nature was cultivated in this century with unex- ampled success. Bacon, Galileo, Des Cartes, and Gassendi, were the precursors of the incomparable Newton.* The name of Boyle must also be mentioned with respect. To complete the triumph of English literature, it is onlv necessary to mention that the names of Shakspeare, Milton, and Butler, occur in the annals of the seventeenth century. * In natural philosophy, Newton stands without a rival. In religion he w;is a sin- cere and exemplary Christian. He wrote a coinniontary on the i)r()phccios of Daniel and St. John. His philosophical writings have been of immense value to the literary world. Cent XVIII.] historv of the church. 3S5 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Toleration — Succession of popes — Character of Ganganelli — Pius VJ. — Suppression ot the Jesuits — In Portugal — In Spain — In France — Revolution in America — Revolution in France — Infidelity — Revival of religion. During the course of the eighteenth century, the spirit of toleration prevailed to a considerable extent, and the flames of persecution were measurably extinguished. The great ones of the earth were too much engaged in temporal affairs to devote their time to the concerns of re- ligion, and in many instances people were permitted to enjoy the liberty of thinking and acting for themselves. This age had, nevertheless, its persecutions, and has also been distinguished by some events of im- portance to the Christian Church. In the year 1700 Clement XI. succeeded to the papal throne, and is chiefly remarkable for having published the famous bull, which from its initial letters is entitled Unigrnitus. It was issued in opposition to the Jansenists, and delines and settles the articles of the Komish faith. He was succeeded by Innocent XIII. Benedict XI II., who succeeded Innocent, was a man of eminent piety and virtue. For the purpose of reforming the errors of the Church, he assembled the famous coimcil which met in the palace of the Lateran in 1725, the acts and decrees of which were made public, but have proved utterly ineftcctual to the ends which were proposed from them. This pontifl" was succeeded by Clement XII. and Benedict XI \'., the latter of whom was a man of learning as well as piotv. When he was cardinal, he published a treatise on the Canonization of Saints, with some other works. Clement XIII., who succeeded to the pontifi- cate on the 6th of July, 1758, was a man of a very dillcrent character. He was a bigot to every petty ceremony ; and indeed the celebrated Ganganelli seems to have perfectly characterized his two predecessors in a few words, when he said Benedict had written, and Clement had prayed much. The haughtiness of the Venetian character displayed itself in ( ■lement, in the dispute in which he involved himself on ac- count of llu^ Jesuits with all the I)ranches of the house of Bourbon, who threatened to withdraw their dominions from thi> spiritual jurisJictioH of Rome. He left the papal dignity in a critical situation, from which all the prudence and moderation of his successor could scarcely emanci- pate it. Laurenzo Clanganelli. the son of a physician at St. Archangolo, and the only r(>gular in the sacred college at the time of his election, (being of the order of minor conventuals,) was chosen on the 19th of May, 25 386 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. 1709, and assumed the title of Clement XIV. After completing hia studies, Ganganelli had obtained the regency of his college, and was afterward promoted to the oflice of consultor to the holy office. This employment, which included that of pope's minister in all inquisitorial concerns, introduced hiiu to considerable notice ; and in a contest between the cardinals, Torrigiani and Carlo Rezzonico to fill a vacancy in the cardinalate for their respective friends, the pusillanimous pope terminated the struggle by advancing to the cardinal's hat father Gan- ganelli, in preference to either of the candidates already recommended. These progressive steps of his advancement were, as he professed himself, unexpected and unsought for ; yet Ganganelli has been charged with having always extended his views, and with having adopted a regular system of conduct for obtaining the papacy, from the time that he became one of that body from which are selected the sovereigns of Rome. By his artifices, Ganganelli obtained the friendship and confidence of Don Emanuel de Rada, the Spanish minister at the court of Rome. He obtained also the intimacy of the Portuguese and French ministers; and, in contradiction to the practice of the cardinals, who, on account of the pretensions of the papacy to the duchies of Parma and Placeiiza, always avoid addressing the duke of Parma on any occasion which must oblige them to consider him as the lawful possessor of those ter ritories, Ganganelli seized every occasion of congratulation or condo- lence to write to the duke. An occurrence whicli took place in the management of the corn soon afforded Ganganelli an opportunity of acquiring great popularity among every rank. By the devices of Tor- rigiani, the secretary of state, an artificial famine was raised in Rome and the adjacent country: great numbers perished miserably, and many of those who survived Hocked to Rome, in order, by processions and supplications, to avert their calamities and obtain some redress. In this extremity, commissioners were despatched to procure corn at four limes the price at which it had been exported : much of the concealed orain appeared by degrees, but so much injured, that it produced very alarming diseases among the people ; a great mortality ensued, and u plague was apprehended. Inadequate as this relief was, it must be paid for, and there was no money in the treasury. It was determined to have recourse to five millions of money, which Sixtus V. had de- posited in the castle of St. Angelo, with the express proviso that it nmst only be employed in cases of extreme urgency, and not without the consent of the consistory of cardinals. Ganganelli boldly opposed the squandering of that treasure, which was left for the benefit of the stale, and must be refunded by a tax upon the people, who were alrc^ady nearly exhausted. He noticed the atrocity by which so dreadful a ca- lamity had been produced, and insisted upon an investigation of the business, the restitution of the money which had been so scandalously acquired, and the punishment of the criminals. If this was the dictate of public spirit, Ganganelli was disaj)pointed : the money was ajjplicd to pay for the wickedness of the monopolizers; but the cardinal became the darling of the people, who anxiously desired his succession to the papal throne. The resistance of Ganganelli on this occasion to the views of the tonsistory has by his enemies been ascribed to his desire of appearing 25* • Cent. XVIII.] hlstory of the church. 387 in opposition to the pope, and by this means indirectly obtaining the patronage of the forcing courts,* to whom the indecision of the reign- ing pontiff concerning the suppression of the Jesuits had been very offensive. On the decease of Clement XIII. the interest of these courts was united in favour of Ganganelli, who however deferred for some time 10 gratify the general expectation of the abolition of the Jesuits. His popularity was preserved by his diminishing several taxes which were very oppressive to the poor, and the Clementine museum was enriched by his liberality and taste. Whether the humility professed by the pontiff may be depended upon or not, thus much is certain, that no man, after the attainment of dignity, conducted more agreeably to such a profession. lie was modest and unaffected. When lie first removed to the Vatican, he found his chamber hung with crimson damask, which he immediately ordered to be removed, and observed that bare walls were sufficient for a plain monk. lie was temperate in the extreme, and performed every office about his own person as long as he was able, because he conceived he had no right to incommode even his attendants. Whatever savings accrued from the frugal regulations which he adopted in his domestic economy he put to the best of uses, by distributing them to the necessitous poor, in the relieving of whom he indulged himself as a favourite amusement. By his wisdom and address he reconciled offended monarchs, and made several regula- tions in the monastic orders much to the advantage of religion and virtue. Ganganelli, who died 22d Sept., 1774, was succeeded on the loth of February, 1775, by Pius VI., who was generally esteemed as a pontiff of elegant manners, and of a respectable private character. His abili- ties, tliougli not splendid, were useful. He was strongly rittached to the Romish faith, and took a peculiar pleasure in performing the various offices and ceremonies of religion. Some dissensions arose between this pontiff and the king of the two Sicilies, with respect to the rights of patronage, which had not apparently I)een accurately defined in that kingdom : the dispute, however, was at last adjusted. 'i'lie overthrow of the Jesuits was completed in this century. The first effectual step toward their suppression was taken by the court of Portugal ; but their misfortunes indubitably originated in their own wicked policy and misconduct. The active genius of this order, which penetrated the remotest coun- tries of Asia, at a very early period of the preceding century, directed their attention to the extensive continent of America, as a proper object of their missions. Conducted by their usual spirit of enterprise, they formed a considerable settlement in the province of Paraguay, and made a rapid progress in instructing the Indians in aits, religion, and the more simple manufactures, and accustoming them to the blessings of security and order. A few Jesuits presided over many tliousand Indians : they soon, however, altered their views, and ilirocted them * The courts of Spain, Portugal, ami Naples lidvo been thus termed from their always takinsf an active part in the election of a ])ope. There is another parly on this occasion ilenomiiiated the Roman party, to which has sometimes been added a Uiird, called il partita de Zelanti, the zealous party, which is sometimes termed i! partito Volante, the Hying party. 388 HISTORY OF THK CHURCH. [CeNT. XA'iU. altogether to the increase of the opulence and power of their order. — Immense (luantities of gold were annually transmitted to Europe ; and in the design of securing to themselves an independent empire in these regions, they industriously cut off all communication with both the Spaniards and Portuguese in the adjacent provinces, and inspired the Indians with the most determined detestation to those nations. Such was the state of affairs when, in the year 1750, a treaty was concluded between the courts of Lisbon and Madrid, which ascertained the limits of their respective dominions in South America. Such a treaty was death to the projects of the Jesuits, and the consequence was a violent contest between the united forces of the two European powers, and the Indians of Paraguay incited by the .fesuits. The crafty and vin- dictive marquis of Pombal, who had raised himself from performing the duties of a common soldier, in tlie character of a cadet, to be abso- lute minister of the kingdom of Portugal, could not easily forgive this refractory conduct ; and perhaps he might apprehend the downfal of his own authoriiy, unless some decisive check wore given to the grow- ing influence of this dangerous society. Whether there was a founda- tion or not for the report of the conspiracy against the life of the king, or whether the discontented Jesuits were really concerned with the unfortunate nobleman who suffered on that account, is difficult to deter- mine. It was sufficient that it afforded a specious pretence for this expert but unprincipled statesman to rid himself of enemies whom he could not regard in any other than a formidable light. In the beginning of the year 1759, therefore, the Jesuits of all descriptions were banished the kingdom of Portugal, on the plea that certain of their order were concerned in the attempt upon the life of the king in September, 1758, and their efiects were confiscated. The hostilities which commenced, not long after, between Portugal and Spain, served a little to protract the existence of the Jesuits in the latter kingdom : the jealousy however which their conduct had excited in the court of Madrid lay dormant only for a while, and, when a fit opportunity presented, no nation of Europe was more clamorous for their abolition. The disgrace of the Jesuits in France proceeded from different and more remote causes. Among the opposers of Jansenism, none dis- tinguished themselves equally with the Jesuits. Ijy their influence the bull Unigenitus, which condemned so §trongly the principles of the Jansenists, was generally supposed to have been obiained. The bull was opposed by the parliament and archbishop of Paris, by fifteen other prelates, and by many of the most respectable among the inferior clergy, as an infringement on the rights of the Galilean Church : the unprin- cipled Lewis XIV. was however entirely under the government of the .(esuits, and enforced the acceptance of the bull throughout the whole kingdom. To the year 1750, the bidl, though generally disliked, occasioned no public disturljance. At that period, the refusal of the sacrament to the Jansenists served to rekindle the dormant flame. This unlawful usurpation was wariidy opposed by the different parliaments, which ended in the banishment of the members by Lewis XV., the reigTiIng sovereign. After various intrigues, in consequence of which the par- liament 'of Paris was twice banished, and twice recalled, some other events occurred which accelerated the downfal of the Jesuits. Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 389 As the constitution of tlie society did not prevent the order from engajring deeply in temporal concerns, no opporlmiity of enriching their treasury was permitted to escape them. They engaged largely in trade, particularly with the island of Martinico ; but certain losses falling heavily upon them, the Jesuit who was the ostensible person in the transactions, ajfcctcd to become a bankrupt, and to shift the pay- ment of the debts he had incurred from the collective body. As a monk, it was evident he could possess no distinct property, and he had been always considered in the light of an agent for the society. The affair was therefore litigated before tlie parliament of Paris, who were not over favourably disposed to tliese holy lathers. In the course of the proceedings, it was necessary to produce the institute or rules of their order, when it was found to contain dangerous maxims, subver- sive equally of morals and of government ; and other political motives concurring at" the same time, the order was abolished in France by a royal edict, in the year 1762, and their colleges and possessions alienated and sold. The bigotry of Clement XIII. long withstood the solicitations of these united Catholic powers ; but the sagacious Ganganelli, whose views were more extensive, and whose religious sentiments were more moderate, made a proper sacrifice of the society to political wisdom and the spirit of the times, and on the 21st of July, 1773, signed a brief for their final suppression. The ten houses and colleges pos- sessed by the order in Rome were seized upon at the same instant. — The brief of suppression was read in each society, the general was conveyed to the English college, and confined to a small gallery at the top of the building, where his examination commenced, and with that of several others of the fraternity was completed at the castle of St. Angelo, in which place the general was afterward confined. Another event which occurred will not be without its influence upon the religious as well as the political world. I speak of the American revolution, which terminated in the separation of the United States from the British government, the formation of our federal republic, and the establishment of a most extensive plan of religious toleration. — The constitution of the United States provides for no national esta- blishment of religion, gives no one denomination of Christians a pre- ference over others, but securer the rights of conscience more fully and indiscriminately to all than any other government upon earth. — And when we consider the advantages of this republic, in reference to soil, climate, and extent of territory, taking into view at the same time the mildness, and, we trust, permanency of the government, we cannot but indulge tlu; hope that Heaven has designed it as an asylum for civil and religious freedom ; where millions of true worshippers shall live in the exercise of vital holiness, worsliipping God according to the dictates of tlieir consciences. The American revolution was followed i)y a most bloody one ia France, the effects of which were far from being favourable to civil or religious libttrty. Of the state of religion in France subsequent to the revolution, little can l)e said. The Romish C'hurch was re-e.stablished, infidi-lily had many atlvocates, and IVolcstants made but feel)le ctlorts. Tlie infhicnce of French infidelity was manilest in England and other parts of Europe, and even in America. The superstition, intole- 390 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. ranee, and profligacy of the Romish Church, were considered as form- ing a proper foundation on which to build arguments against Chris- tianity ; and as the licentious are always ready to seize upon any pretext for evading the restraints of religion, the new philosophy, as it was sometimes called, was embraced by multitudes. Its eflects, however, were gradually developed, and many of its deluded votaries learned, too late, that they were to look for the precepts and examples of true religion, not in the errors and profligacy of a fallen, corrupted Church, guilty of the blackest enormities under the name of Christianity, but in the Holy Scriptures, and in the lives of those who have faithfully kept them. This century has been distinguished likewise by an extensive revival of religion, which commenced under the labours of Messrs. John and Charles Wesley, and Mr. George Whitefield, and spread through dif- ferent parts of Great Britain, in the United vStates, also in the West Indies, and some other places. Notwithstanding the efibrts of modern infidelity, the great licentiousness of the times, and the supineness that had spread among the professors of religion, the Gospel was made effectual, and the might}' power of redeeming grace was displayed in turning many thousands from darkness to the light of life. As is usual in times of reformation, this work was attended with opposition and considerable persecution ; but the fruits of it are still visible, and its effects are likely to be of long continuance. In considering the sects which have appeared in the eighteenth century, we shall have occasion to speak more fully on this subject. CHAPTER II. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Moravians — Methodists — Hutchinsonians — Sandemanians — Dunkers — Swedenborgians — Modem Socinians or Unitarians — Universalists — Shakers. As no important alterations in the established Churches appear to have taken place in the course of this century, we shall here give some account of the principal denominations which have arisen within this period, and speak of their distinguishing principles. The first denomination we shall notice is that of the Moravians, established by Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf. This nobleman settled, in 1721, at Bartholdorf, in Upper Lusatia, and soon afterward commenced teaching some Moravian families, of whom he made pro- selytes, and engaged them to leave their places of residence and settle in his neighbourhood. They built a house in the forest which was adjoining to the village of Bartholdorf, where in 1722 they had their first meeting. The society increased so rapidly, that in a few years they were possessed of an orphan house and other public buildings ; and they gave their habitation the name of llcrenhuth, from which they have been sometimes called Ilcrenhmters. The society them- selves, however, date their existence from a much earlier period ; and assert that they are descended from the Moravian and Boliemian bre- thren, who existed as a distinct sect many years prior to the Reforma- Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 391 tion. They are a sober, inofTensive, and pious people ; are considera- bly numerous in some parts of Germany and America, but have not increased much in other places, excepting those in which they have missions. This people, like many otliers, have been misrepresented, and things laid to their charge of which they never were guilty. It is admitted that some of their converts, having previously imbibed extra- vagant notions, propagated them with great zeal in a phraseology very reprehensible ; and that Count Zinzendorf himself sometimes adopted the very improper language of those fanatics whom he wished to reclaim from their errors to the soberness of truth. ]Much of the extravagance which has been attributed to the count, ought not to be charged to him, but to those persons who, writing his ettemporaneoua discourses in short hand, printed and published them without his know- ledge or consent. This eminent benefactor to the United Brethren died in 1760, and it is with reason that they honour his memory-, as having been the instrument by which God restored and built up their Church. But they do not regard him as their head, nor take his writings as the standard of their doctrines, which they profess to derive from the word of God. Their Church government is of the episcopal form ; but they allow no pre-eminence to their bishops, their Church having, from its first establishment, been governed by synods, consist- ing of deputies from all the congregations, and by other bodies which are called conferences. The principal doctrines which distinguish the Moravians are con- tained in the following articles of faith: — 1. That creation and sancti- fication ought not to be ascribed to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; but belong principally to the Saviour: and, to avoid idolatry, people ought to be abstracted from the Father and Holy Ghost, and be first directed singly to Jesus, who is the appointed channel of the Deity. 2. That Christ has not conquered as God, but as man, with precisely the same power as we have to that purpose. 3. That the law ought not to be preached under the Gospel dispensation. 4. That the chil- dren of God have not to combat with their own sins, but with the kingdom of corruption in the world. The Moravians assert that faith consists in a joyful persuasion of our interest in Christ, and our title to his purchased salvation. They deny the Calvinistical doctrines of particular redemption and final perseverance. They have established among themselves a discipline which closely unites them together, preserves great regularity, keeps them entirely dependant on their superiors, confines them to certaui exercises of devotion, and to the observance of difl'erent rules. The Church at Ilerenhuth is so divided, that first the husbands, then the wives, then the widows, then the maids, then the young men, then the boys, then the girls, and lastly the little children, are in so many dis- tinct classes ; each of which is daily visited, tlie married men by a married man, the wives by a wife, and so of the rest. Kacli class has its director, chosen by its members, iind frequent meetings are held in each class, and general ones by the whole society. The members of each class are subdivided into still smaller bodies, and proper assist- ance is given to e;ich of these subdivisions ; but more particular care is taken of such as are believed to be spiritually dead. The elders superintend all these classes. A great part of their worship consist* 392 HisTonv of the church. [Cent. XVIII. in singing ; and their songs are always a connected repetition of the things which have been preached immediately before. At all hours, ■whether day or night, some persons of both sexes are appointed by rotation to pray lor the society. Among other means for preserving among them the spirit' and power of godliness, they celebrate love- feasts. In questions of importance, or of which the consequences cannot be foreseen, they do not trust the judgment of a majority of votes, nor even to the unanimous agreement of all who may be present ; but in such cases recourse is had to the lot. For adopting this mode of deciding ecclesiastical affairs, they allege as reasons the practices of the ancient ?jews and apostles ; the insufficiency of human under- standing, amid the best and purest intentions, to decide for itself in what concerns the administration of Christ's kingdom ; and their firm "reliance on the promises that the Lord will approve himself the head and ruler of his Church. The lot is never used but after mature deli- beration and fervent prayer ; nor is any thing submitted to its decision which does not, after being thoroughly weighed, appear to the assem- bly eligible in itself. In missionary labours the Moravians have done, in proportion to their numbers, more than any other denomination, especially in reference to foreign missions. When any among them are disposed to serve God among the heathen, they communicate their wishes and views to the committee appointed by the synods of the brethren to superintend the missions. If, on particular inquiry into their circum- stances and connections, no objection is found, they are considered as candidates. As to mental qualifications, much erudition is not re- quired. To be well versed in the sacred Scriptures, and to have an experienced knowledge of the truths they contain, are qualifications which are judged indispensably necessary. In our account of mis- sions, in the concluding part of this work, we shall have occasion to speak again concerning the labours of this people, so distinguished in evangelizing the heathen.* The Methodists had their origin in the University of Oxford, in England, and were, at the time of their first establishment, all mem- bers of that institution. As the rise of this denomination has been attended with an extraordinary revival of religion both in Great Bri- tain and the United States, we shall give a more extended and particular account of it. During many years after the dawn of the Reformation, religion and religious principles had spread with rapidity and with great success. Every part of Europe had felt the force of truth, and the Gospel, taking the wings of the morning, was beginning to spread into different parts of the world. But these days of Zion's prosperity were followed by a decline of genuine piety. In Great Britain, though the forms of religion were strenuously supported, the power of it was little known, and both the clergy and laity were shamefully ignorant of Christian experience. * According to the account given by some of the Moravians, this spct had its origin from tho Greek Church in the ninth century ; but, being persecuted, some of theni joined the Waldcnses, and many others were compelled to unite w'th thp Church of Rome. Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 393 The rising prosperity of the nation, with increasing wealth and com- merce, tended to increase the corruption of the kingdom ; and morals, though rigidly inculcated, were but little regarded. Between conte.sts for power, thirst for riches, and lore of pleasure, the nation gradually sunk into corruption, and the established Church presented but a feeble barrier against the abounding wickedness of the day. It was in this state of departure from vital godliness, that a few young men at Oxford, in 1729, feeling the deplorable ignorance and depravity around them, and conscious that something ought to be done to revive a sense of religion in principle and practice, formed themselves into a society. John Wesley, fellow of Lincoln College, and his brother Charles Wesley, then a student, were the first and mosAlistinguished leaders in tliis revival of evangelical truth. With these a number of other students associated, having similar views. They all entered into solemn engagements with each other, to lead a stricter life of liolincss and self-denial than they had ever yet done, and to separate themselves from every thing imbecoming their cha- racter as Christians or ministers. They assembled frequently for the purpose of reading the Scriptures, and for prayer : their meetings be- came very interesting, and several others joined them. The account of this society, as given in Moore's Life of Mr. Wesley, is as follows :' — " In Nov. 1729, four young gentlemen of Oxford, Mr. John Wesley, fellow of Lincoln College ; Mr. Charles Wesley, student of Christ's Church ; Mr. Morgan, commoner of Christ's Church ; and Mr. Kirk- ham of Merton College, began to spend some evenings in a week together, in reading chiefly the Greek Testament. The i\ext year, two or three of Mr. John Wesley's pupils desired the liberty of meeting with them ; and afterward one of .Mr. Charles Wesley's pupils. It was in 1732 that Mr. Ingham of Queen's College, and Mr. IJroughton of Exeter, were added to their number. To these, in April, was joined Mr. Clayton of Brazen-Nose, with two or three of his pupils. About the same time, Mr. James Ilervey was permitted to meet with them, and afterward Mr. Whitefield." They kept stated times of fasting ; received the holy sacrament every Sabbath ; visited the prisons and the sick ; they sought out and relieved the distressed ; and instructed and admonished the ignorant. By these and other peculiarities, at- tended by uncommon sobriety of deportment, they became very notorious in the university, and acquired the name of Methodists. As they all set out professing strict adherence to the Church of England, thcj- strongly enforced the doctrines of her articles and honii- 'ies ; and as this was very dilfcrent from the preaching that then pre- vailed, they attracted numerous crowds of hearers. 'I'heir lively man- ner of address, as well as the matter of their discourses, exceedingly struck the audiences with their novelty, and produced very salutary effects. Their preaching became still more pojndar after their return from Georgia, whither their zeal for the Gospel had carried them. Jjaying aside the inii verbal habit of reading sermons from a book, without zeal or animation, and speaking extemporaneously to the con- gregations, attracted almost universal attention in all places in which they laboured. Dr. Hawies, when speaking of these times, savs, '> that by the labours of these indefatigable men, a flood of Gospel light broke upon 394 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CenT. XVIII. the nation." According to the same author, the churches soon became unable to contain the crowds which flocked to hear their discourses, and being in many places excluded from the churclies, they preached in the fields. This circumstance had a tendency to swell still more the congregations, which were now immense ; sometimes indeed riot- ous and insulting, but in general solemn and attentive, and many were added to the Church of such as should be saved. For a considerable time Mr. John Wesley, his brother Charles, and Mr. Whitefield, though labouring independently of each other, were united in spirit and in fellowship ; but as Mr. Whitefield adopted the Calvinistical doctrines of predestination, election, and reprobation, which Mr. J.^Vesley and his brother rejected, a separation took place, which, however, did not retard their labours nor the progress of the work. They all agreed in the total depravity of human nature, in jus- tification by faith alone, and the necessity of a Divine change of heart, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Unable to supply the numerous congregations collected by their labours with regularly ofdained ministers, they associated with them- selves lay preachers, so called ; that is to say, unordained preachers, who had not gone through a course of study in divinity preparatory for the oflice, according to the custom of the English Church. They employed those whom they found best qualified, and their societies increased by thousands, in diflerent parts of the kingdom. This immense body of Methodists, from the diflerence of doctrine each maintained concerning predestination, free will, &c., necessarily divided into two separate communions, the Calvinistic and Arminian : but the latter, who are also called Wesleyan Methodists, became much the more numerous. Both of them possessed attachment to the Epis- copal Church, but necessitated, from the situation in which they were placed, to preserve the congregations which they had collected, both Mr. Wesley and Mr. Whitefield appointed local and itinerant preachers to confirm and edify them, and to increase their numbers ; they them- selves continuing to labour as itinerant evangelists, visiting in rotation the Churches which they had formed, and continually forming others. " They repeatedly travelled over a space," says Dr. Hawies, " more than the circumference of the globe ; wherever they moved, they were as a flame of fire, and left a train of evangelical light behind them. They were in preaching unwearied, two, three, and sometimes four times a day ; and this often in places many miles distant from each other ; and notice having been previously given of their coming, thou- sands awaited and welcomed them, heard them with reverence, and received tlium as angels of God." (See Hawic.s^ Church History, vol. 2d, pp. 401, 402.) At the time when the Methodists arose, all the various denominations of dissenters from the established Church in England had suflered a great decline from experimental godliness ; and some much more than others, particularly the English Presbyterians. But the revival which now took place extended its influence among them, as well as in the established Church, and their stated pastors were roused to greater zeal and activity in the performance of their duties. Thus the dissenters of all denominations evidently profited by the flame that was kindled through the labours of ministers bred in the Church. From their iiino- Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 395 rant and faithful helpers, decaying congregations revived, and invited pastors to settle over them ; and a multitude of congregations and Churches were formed where there had been none before. Besides the two distinct bodies of Methodists which arose under the superintendence of Mr. John Wesley and Mr. George Whitctield, a third society was established under the patronage of Lady Huntingdon. Her mind had been turned to religious subjects during a severe illness, and on her recovery she became confirmed that the great revival now in j)rogress was the work of God. She, therefore, sent a kind message to the Messrs. Wesleys, who were at that time preaching in the neigh- bourhood, that she was one with them in heart, cordially wishing them success in their labours, and assuring them of her determined purpose to give herself to the service of the great Redeemer. During the whole of her subsequent life, she devoted her time and substance in promoting the cause of religion — building chapels, supporting and encouraging a number of itinerant labourers, and providing for the education of others. The followers of both Mr. Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon received the same Calvinistical articles, and conducted their ecclesiastical eco- nomy upon nearly the same plan. They both had considerable success, and established large and respectable societies in diflferent parts of Great Britain. In America also the labours of Mr. Whitefield were great, and attended with the same effects as in Europe. Immense congregations followed him, many were awakened, and much good was done. Seven times Mr. Whitefield is said to have visited the American continent in the performance of his ministerial functions. He founded an orphan house in Georgia, by means of charitable collections which he made in different places for that purpose, and his time and talents were spent in promoting by all possible means the prosperity of Christ's kingdom. But instead of forming permanent societies in America, he left his adherents to unite with the diflerent Churches already established in various parts of the country ; and many of them became members of the Presl)yterian, Congregational, and Baptist denominations. Mr. John Wesley, having a remarkable talent for Church govern- ment, formed his societies upon a plan, and under rules of discipline well calculated to secure their prosperity, preserve their union, and render them permanent. The first societies were formed in England in 1739, and in the United States in 1766. " Such a society," says the Methodist Discipline, " is no other than a company of men having the form and seeking the power of godliness, united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their sal- vaticni." The societies having become numerous by tlie additions of thousands, Mr. Wesley, assisted by his brother C^harlcs and others belonging to his connection, pursued the itinerant plan in supplying them with preach- ing. His tiifie was spent in one continued journey, visiting reguhirly every society in the kingdom, and preaching once, twice, or three times, and in many instanct-s oftcner, in a day. It is computed that during the long course of his ministry, he preached above forty thousand ser- mons. Scotland and Ireland shared his labours, and in Ireland his 396 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. preaching produced astonishing ellects ; but his time was employed chiefly in England. As he did not desire that the Methodists in Eng- land should separate, during his life, entirely from the established Church, he recommended that they should attend its services, when not supplied by their own preachers ; and this they did for many years. After Mr. Wesley's death, their connection with the Church, though not formally dissolved, was gradually weakened, and they were finally considered as forming a distinct denomination. During Mr. Wesley's lifetime, he exercised the authority of a general superintendent over the Methodist connection in England, Scotland, and Ireland. He appointed the times for the sitting of the conference, proposed preachers for admission, and appointed the preachers to their stations. After his decease, these prerogatives were placed chiefly in a stationing com- mittee appointed for the purpose, in conformity with a plan which he himself had before suggested ; and this useful connection still continued its operations, enlarging its influence at home, sending missionaries abroad, and in various ways contributing greatly toward the extension of evangelical religion. The first conference of preachers in connection with Mr. Wesley was held in London in June, 1744. It consisted of six clergymen and a few lay preachers. Its meetings were held annually, and large addi- tions were continually made to the connection, both of preachers and members. The conference which was held in Bristol in 1790, being in number the forty-seventh, was the last that Mr. Wesley attended. At that time there were under his superintendence, in various parts of the British dominions, one hundred and nineteen circuits, three hundred and fourteen preachers ; and almost eighty thousand communicants. At the same date there were in the United States ninety-seven cir- cuits and stations, about two hundred preachers, and more than forty thousand communicants ; making an aggregate amount of two hundred and sixteen circuits and stations, above five hundred preachers, and one hundred and twenty-two thousand communicants ; besides numer- ous and constant hearers. The first Methodist societies in the United States were formed in 1766, one in New-York, and one in Frederick county, Maryland. — Societies having been afterward formed in other places, some preach- ers were obtained from England, and others were raised up in America ; all of whom laboured with success. Revivals of religion became fre- quent, the work spread extensively, and the inl'ant Church increased with great rapidity. At the close of the American revolution, which separated the United States from Great Britain, the preachers belonging to the American connection applied to Mr. Wesley for advice and assistance, in refer- ence to the plan they ought to adopt in becoming an independent Church. This was but a few years prior to Mr. Wesley's death ; and he evidently foresaw that the societies under his care both in Europe and America would in time be entirely independent of the Engli.sh hierar- chy, both for ordination and ordinances. Under this (fonviclion he acted ; and the course he pursued, as well as his views in relation to it, will appear from his own words, contained in the following commu- nication directed to his brethren in the United States : — " By a very uncommon train of providences, many of the provinces Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 397 of North America are totally disjoined from the mother country, and erected into independent .stales. The English government has no authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the states of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the congress, partly by the provincial assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation, some thousands of the inhabitants of these states desire my advice ; and in compliance with their desire, I have drawrn up a little sketch. " Lord King's account of the primitive Church convinced me, many years ago, that bishops and presbyters are the same order, and con- sequently have tlie same right to ordain. For many years I have been importuned, from time to time, to exercise this right, by ordaining part of our travelling preachers ; but I have still refused, not only for peace' sake, but because I was determined, as little as possible, to violate the established order of the national Church to which I belonged. " But the case is widely diflerent between Ensjlaiul and North America. Here there are bishops who have a legal jurisdiction. In America there are none, neither any parish ministers. So that for some hundred miles together, there is none either to baptize or ad- minister the Lord's Supper. Here, therefore, my scruples are at an end ; and I conceive myself at full libertj^, as I violate no order, and invade no man's right, by appointing and sending labourers into the harvest. " I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury to be joint superintendents over our brethren in North America, as also Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey, to act as elders among them, by baptizing and administering the Lord's Supper. And I have pre- pared a liturgy, little dilforing from that of the Church of England, (I think the best constituted national Church in the world,) which I advise all travelling preachers to use on the Lord's day, in all the congregations, reading the litany on Wednesdays and Fridays, and praying extempore on all other days. I also advise the elders to •idministcr the suj)per of the Lord on every Lord's day. " l( anv one will point out a n)orc rational and Scriptural way of feeding and guiding those poor sheep in the wilderness, I will gladly embrace it. At present I cannot see any better method than that I have taken. " It has, indeed, been proposed to desire the English bishops to ordain part of our preachers for America. But to this I object, — I. I desired the bishop of London to ordain only one, but could not prevail : 2. If they consented, we know the slowness of their proceedings ; but the matter admits of no delay: ?,. If they would ordain them now, they would likewise expect to govern them. And how grievously would this ent:ingle us ? 4. As our American brethren are now totally disentangled l)()th from the state and from the English hierarchy, wo dare not entangle them again either with the one or the oilur. They are now at full li!)eriy simply to follow the Scriptures and the primitive Church. And we judge it best that they should stand fist in that liberty wherewith (Jod has so strangely made them free." Thus it will be seen, that two persons were appointed as superin- tendents or bishops, and two as elders, with power to administer the 398 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. ' [CeNT. XVIII. sacraments. The General Conference which met in December, 1784, in Bultimore, unanimously conlirmed what Mr. Wesley had done. — Mr. Asbury was received and ordained as joint superintendent with Dr. Coke ; the travelling preachers who were deemed eligible were also ordained ; and in this manner was constituted the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States.* In doctrine the Wesleyan Methodists, both in Europe and America, are one. The following are the articles of religion, as published in the " Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church." 1. There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness ; the maker and preserver of all things visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godliead, there are three persons of one substance, power, and eternity ; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 2. The Son, who is the word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed virgin ; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and manhood, were joined together in one person, * This organization of the Methodist Church in an episcopal form has been made a subject of considerable animadversion. While the Romish Church denounces the episcopacy of the Church of England as spurious, some of the English and American Episcopalians seem to entertain similar views of episcopacy among the Methodists. On this subject, the following statements will show that the Methodists have adopted certain principles, in conformity with which they will be found to have uniformly proceeded : — 1. They deny that the validity of the Christian ministry depends upon a succession, from the apostles, of an order of bishops. If such a principle were admitted, the validity of ordination in the Church of England would depend upon a succession through a line of popes, many of whom were among the most profligate and wicked of mankind ; and among whom, according to most Protestant commentators, we are to look for the " man of sin," antichrist, the "apostacy of the latter times," and many other abominations foretold in the Scriptures. If there be any virtue or honour to be derived from such a succession, provided it existed, it i.? an honour which the Methodists have no vvish to share. They freely relinquish it to any, and all, who may wish to monopolize its advantages or pretensions. While the Methodists admit the validity of ordination in the Church of England, believing it to be Scriptural ; they contend that it derives no part of its value from any such source as uninterrupted succession, which Mr. Wesley has openly declared, "Ac kneio to be a fable;'''' but that the validity of it depends entirely upon the evangelical organization of that Church. 2. While the Methodists believe in the episcopal form, as being consistent with apostolical usage, they contend that no form of Church government has been unalterably fi.xcd by the Scriptures; but that the Church of Christ has a discretionary power to establish and exercise such form, from time to time, consistent with certain principles laid down in the word of God, as the state of society may render expedient. 3. It is believed that a body of elders or presbyters possess the power of ordination, and the right of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, so far as relates to the Church committed to ihcir care ; and can, if they deem it expedient, delegate for life that power or any portion of it, to any one of their number, by the imposition of their hands and prayer ; reserving to tlicinselvcs the right of government, and of making such modifications as the affairs of the Church may require. 4. They contend that the ordination of Dr. Coke, to the office of superintendent, by Mr. Wesley and the presbyters with him, was a lawful and judicious exercise of the power and authority possessed by such a body of [iresbytcrs, under such circumstances ; and has received not only the sanction of the Methodist General Conference, but the approbation and abundant blessing of Almighty God. Those who may wi.sh to investigate this subject will find it thoroughly and ably discussed in " .\ Defence of our Father.^, and the Original Organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church," &c., by Rev. Dr. Emory, now bishop of said Church; also, in a work on "Methodist Episcopacy," by Rev. Dr. Bangs. Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 399 never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile his* Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. 3. Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and look again his body, with all the things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day. 4. The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory, with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. 5. The Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation : so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scriptures, we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. Here follow the names of the canonical hooks of the Scriptures. 6. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New ; for both in the Old and New Testament, everlasting life is offered to nrankind by Christ, who is the only mediator between God and man, being both God and man. Wherefore they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses, as touching ceremonies and rites, doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth ; yet, notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral. 7. Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pela- gians do vainly talk) but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of liis own nature in- clined to evil, and that continually. 8. The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he can- not turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God ; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us when we have that good will. 9. We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings. Wherefore, that we are justified by faith only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort. 10. .Mtliuugh good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justilication, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgments : y(!t are they j)lcasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its fruit. 11. Voluntary works, beside over and above God's comniandnionts, which arc called works of supererogation, cannot bo taught without 400 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly, When ye have done all that is commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants. 12. Not every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification : after we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and by the grace of God rise again and amend our lives. And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here, or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent. 13. The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly ad- ministered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. 14. The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worship- ping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no war- rant of Scripture, but repugnant to the word of God. 15. It is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the cus- tom of the primitive Church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the sacraments in a tongue not understood by the people. 16. Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession : but rather they are certain signs of grace and God's good will toward us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in hiiti. There are two sacrarnents ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, baptism and the supper of the Lord. Those five commonly called sacraments ; that is to say, confirma- tion, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have partly grown out of the corrupt following of the apostles : and partly are slates of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of baptism and the Lord's Supper, because they have not any visible sign or cere- mony ordained of God. The sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about ; but that wc should duly use them. .And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome eficct or opera- tion : but they that receive them unworthily purchase to themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith, 1 Cor. xi, 29. 17. Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and mark of difi^crence, whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized : but it is also a sign of regeneration, or the new birth. The baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church. 18. The supper of the Lord is not only a sign that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death : insomuch, that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 401 a partaking of the body of Christ ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ. Transubstantialiou, or the change of the .substance of bread and wine in the supper of our Lord cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repug- nant to the pluia words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions. The body of Christ is given, taken, and eaten in the supper, only after a heavenly and Scriptural manner. And the means whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in the supper is faith. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshipped. 19. The cup of the Lord is not to Ije denied to the lay people ; for both the parts of the Lord's Supper, by Christ's ordinance and com- mandment, ouijht to be administered to all Christians alike. 20. The ofl'ering of Christ once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual : and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in the which it is commonly said, that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable, and dangerous deceit. 21. The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God's law either 10 vow the estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage ; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to godliness. 22. It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all places be the same, or exactly alike, for they have been always diflerent, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's word. — Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and ceremonies of the Church to which he belongs, which are not repugnant to the word of God, and are ordained and approved by common nuthority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like, as one that ofTendeth against the com- mon order of the Church, and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren. Every particular Church may ordain, change, and abolish rites and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification. 23. The president, the congress, the general assemblies, the go- vernors, and the councils of state, as the dclcgatrs of the people, are the rulers of the United States of America, according to the division of power made to them by the constitution of the United State's, and by the constitutions of their respective stales. And the said states are. a sovereign and independent nation, and ought not to be subject to aiiv foreign jurisdiclion.* 21. The riches and goods of Christians are not common, as touch- ing the right, title, and possession of the same, as some do falsely * .\s far as ii respects civil affair.s, \vc boliovc it llic duty of Christians, niul especially all Christian niiiiislf^rs, to he suhjcrt to the siipreiiu' anthoritv of the coiiriirv where they iDay re.siiir, niid to use all Iniiilaliir means to enjoin obedienre to the ■powers tha! he ; .iiul therefore it is expected that ail our preachers and people, who mav be under the British, or any other government, will behave themselves as peaceable and orderly s'lbicrts" 26 402 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. boast. Notwilhstanding every man ouglit, of such things as he pos- sesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor according to his ability. 25. As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Chris- tian men by our Lord Jesus Christ and James his apostle ; so we judge that the Christian religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charily, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.* In closing this sketch of the rise of the Methodists, it will be proper to give some account of the two most conspicuous leaders in this great revival of evangelical religion. Mr. John Wesley, according to Dr. Hawies, was of inferior size, his visage marked with intelligence ; singularly neat and plain in his dress ; upright, graceful, and remarkably active. His understanding, naturally excellent and acute, was highly stored with the attainments of literature. He conversed fluently in Latin, was highly skilled in Greek and Hebrew, and was familiar with several modern languages. In general learning his acquirements were very extensive, and as a logician he stood pre-eminent. He possessed a fund of anecdote and history, that rendered his company exceedingly interesting and in- structive. His manner of address in public was chaste and solemn, attended with a divine simplicity and venerableness, which command- ed attention and never forsook him in his latest years. His health was remarkably preserved amidst a scene of labour and perpetual exertions of body and mind, to which few would have been equal. — Never did a man possess greater personal influence over the people connected with him. Nor was it easy to direct so vast a machine, vvliere, amidst so many hundred wheels in motion, some moved eccen- trically, hardly yielding to the impulse of the main spring. It is unne- cessary to speak of his piety and pious examples. Too many eyes were upon him to admit of his halting ; nor could Ids influence have been maintained a moment longer than the fullest con-viction impressed the people ttiat he was an eminent servant of God, distinguished for his holy walk, as well as for his vast abilities, indefatigable labour, and singular usefulness. His enemies reviled him, and would, if possible, rob him of the meed of well deserved honour, by imputing to him objects below the prize he had in view. Never was a more disinterested character. But he was a man, and he must indeed have been more than a man, if with the consciousness of his own devotedness, the Divine blessing on his labours, and the high admiration in which he was held, he had been entirely above errors. He must have been insensible to the emotions of a generous nature, says Mr. Watson, if he had not felt an honest satisfaction that he had lived down calunmies ; and that, where mobs formerly awaited him, he met with the kind and cheering attentions of the most respectable persons of all religious persuasions, in every part of the country. • For a full and detailed account of the rise of the Weslcyan Methodists, the reader may consult Moore's Life of Wesley, Watson's Life of Wesley, Crowthe's Portraiture of Methodism, that part of Mr Wesley's Works which contains his Journal, Asbury's Journal, and the life of Dr. Coke. For a partial account see Soiithey's Lilt of Wesley. 26" Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 403 On attaining his eighty-fifth year he made the following reflections : — " I this day enter on rny eighty-fifth year. And what cause have I to praise God, as for a thousand spiritual blessings, so for bodily bless- ings also ! How little have I sufiered yet by ' the rush of numerous years!' It is true, I am not so agile as 1 was in times past: I do not walk so fast as I did. My sight is a little decayed. My left eye is grown dim, and hardly serves me to read. I have daily some pain in the ball of my right eye, as also in my right temple, (occasioned by a blow received some time since,) and in my right shoulder and arm, which I impute partly to a sprain, and partly to the rheumatism. I find like- wise some decay in my memory, with regard to names and things lately past : but not at all with regard to what I have read or heard, twenty, forty, or sixty years ago. Neither do I find any decay in my hearing, smell, taste, or appetite, (though I want but a third part of the food I once did,) nor do I feel any such thing as weariness, either in travelling or preaching. And I am not conscious of any decay in writ- ing sermons, which I do as readily, and I believe as correctly, as ever. " To what cause can I impute this, that I am as 1 am ? First, doubt- less, to the power of God, fitting mo for the work to which I am called, as long as he pleases to continue me therein : and next, subordinately to this, to the prayers of his children. May we not impute it, as infe- rior means: 1. To my constant exercise and change of air? 2. To my never having lost a night's sleep, sick or well, at land or sea, since I was born ? 3. To my having sleep at command, so that whenever I feel myself almost worn out, I call it, and it comes, day or night? 4. To my having constantly, for above sixty years, risen at four in the morning ? 5. To my constant preaching at five in the morning, for above fifty years ? 6. To my having had so little pain in my life, and so little sorrow or anxious care ? Even now, though I find pain daily in my eye, temple, or arm, yet it is never violent, and seldom lasts many minutes at a time. " Whether or not this is sent to give me warning that I am shortly to quit this tabernacle, I do not know ; but be it one way or the other, I have only to say, — ' My remnant of days I spend to his praise \Vho died thu whole world to redeem: Be they many or few. My days arc his due, And they all arc devoted to him I'" Mr. Wesley's liberality to the poor knew no bounds but an emptv pocket. He gave away, not merely a certain part of his income, but all that he had : his own wants provided for, he devoted all the rest to the necessities of others. Ho entered upon this good work at a very early period. We arc told that when he had thirty pounds for his year's expenses, he lived on twenty-eight, and gave away fortv shil- lings. Tlie next year receiving sixty pounds, lie still live*! on twenty- eight, and gave away two and thirty. The third year he received ninety pounds, and gave away sixtv-two. The fourth vear he received one hundred and twenty pounds. Still he lived on iwonty-tMght, and gave to the poor ninety-two. In this ratio he procoi.'dod during the rest of his life ; and in the course of fifty years, it has been supposed, 404 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. he gave away between twenty and thirty thousand pounds, gathered chiefly from the constant and extensive sale of his numerous writings. The following remarks concerning his general character appeared after his death in Woodfall's Diary : — " His indefatigable zeal in the discharge of his duty has been long witnessed by the world ; but, as mankind are not always inclined to put a i/enerous construction on the exertions of singular talents, his motives were imputed to the love of popularity, ambition, and lucre It now appears that he was actuated by a disinterested regard to the immortal interests of mankind. He laboured, and studied, and preached, and wrote, to propagate what he believed to be the Gospel of Christ. The intervals of these engagements were employed in governing and regulating the concerns of his numerous societies ; assisting the necessities, solving the difficulties, and soothing the afflictions of his liearers. He observed so rigid a temperance, and allowed himself so little repose, that he seemed to be above the infirmities of nature, and to act independently of the earthly tenement he occupied. The rechal of the occurrences of every day of his life would be the greatest encomium. " Had he loved wealth, he might have accumulated it without bounds. Had he been fond of power, his influence would have been worth courting by any party. I do not say he was without ambition ; he had that which Christianity need not blush at, and which virtue is proud to confess. I do not mean that which is gratified by splendour and large possessions ; but that which commands the hearts and affec- tions, the homage and gratitude of thousands. For him they felt senti- ments of veneration only inferior to those which they paid to Heaven : to him they looked as their father, their benefactor, their guide to glory and immortality ; for him they fell prostrate before God, with prayers and tears, to spare his doom, and prolong his sta)^ Such a recompense as this is sufficient to pay the toils of the longest life. Short of this, greatness is contemptible impotence. Before this lofty prelates bow, and princes hide their diminished heads. " His zeal was not a transient blaze, but a steady and constant flame. The ardour of his spirit was ncilhcr damped by difficulty nor subdued by age. This was ascribed by himself to the power of Divine grace ; by the world, to enthusiasm. Be it what it will, it is what philo- sophers must envy, and infidels respect; it is that which gives energy to the soul, and without which there can be no greatness or heroism. " Why should we condenm that in religion which we applaud in every other profession and pursuit ? He had a vigour and elevation of mind, which nothing but the belief of the Divine favour and presence could inspire. This threw a lustre around his infirmities, changed his bed of sickness into a triumphal car, and made his exit resemble an apotheosis rather than a dissolution."* In connection with Mr. Wesley, besides his brother, Charles Wes- ley, were Mr. Fletcher and Dr. Coke, together with Mr. Asbury, Mr. Nelson, and others, whose piety, labours, sufferings, and usefulness, can never be fully appreciated by the Cliurch militant. Mr. George Whitefield was serious and religiously inclined from his * See Hawies' Church History, Bourn's Life of Wesley, and Watson's Life of Wesley. Cent. XVIIL] history of the church. 405 early youth, and carried with him a deep sense of piety to the univer- sity of Oxford. Bishop Benson was so pleased with his early zeal in practical religion that he ordained him at the age of twenty-one. His person was manly, and his voice remarkably musical. His manner was often highly graceful and eloquent. Perhaps no one ever pos- sessed a greater command of the human passions, or better knew the way to the consciences of his hearers. His literary attainments, says Dr. Hawies, were moderate, though not defective in the learned langu:ige$ ; but he possessed a thorough acquaintance with the Scriptures, and a peculiar art of introducing and illustrating any subject which he .-selected. His labours in both hemispheres were immense. His courage was undaunted, his zeal seemed unquenchable, and he fell a martyr to the work in which he was so zealously engaged. The violence of his exertions often shook his constitution, and he frequently extended his exercises beyond the bounds of prudence. The crowds which attended his preaching were astonishing, and he was instrumental in the con- version of thousands. They who wore with him knew how faithfully he attended to his duties, and how unblameably lie had his conversation in the world. — Indeed, he was so taken up with his unwearied labours in the ministry, in preaching, religious exercises, and advice to those who were daily applying to him, that he had scarcely time for rest. After passing through evil and good report during more than thirty years of incessant labour, he ended his days in America. Notwithstanding the diflerence of opinion between him and Mr. Wesley, in reference to certain doc- trines, the most sincere friendship and Christian fellowship subsisted between them, and it was Mr. Whitefield's request, that Mr. Wesley should preach his funeral sermon in England. Though not strictly the founder of a sect, since he was a declared enemy to all separation from the English Church, the name of John Hutchinson has excited too much attention to be entirely omitted in this history. He was born in 1674, and in the early part of his life was steward to the duke of Somerset. He was undoubtedly a man of uncommon abilities, and of extensive knowledge. He applied himself, among other pursuits, assiduously to the study of nature, and is; said to have collected in the course of his travels that selection of fossils which was bequeathed by Dr. Woodward to the university of Cambridge. In 1724 he published the first part of his Moses's Principia, in which he ridiculed Dr. Woodward's Theory of the Earth, and attacked the doctrine of gravitation, and other parts of the Principia of Newton. About three years afterward he published a second volume, explaining the nature of the Scripture philosophy, and the system of Moses. The Hebrew language and the Holy Scriptures he esteemed as the source of all knowledge, human and divine ; and wrote treatises fancifully illustrative of that language. But he was no admirer of classiial litera- ture. After Origen and other commentators, he asserted that tlie Scrip- tures were not to be understood in a literal, but in an allegorical sense ; that even the historical parts, and particularly those relating to the Jewish ceremonies, and Levitical law, were to be considered in this light. And he asserted, that, according to this mode of interpretation, the Hebrew Scriptures would be found to testify amply concerning the nature and person of Christ. 406 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. XVIII. The follower.s of Mr. Hutchinson have never been formed into a disthict Church or society ; but his doctrines have been embraced by considerable numbers both of the clergy and laity in England, who, on that account, are distinguished by the appellation of Hutchinsonians. The Sandemanians, or Glassites, as they are termed in Scotland, derive their name from two popular preachers in North Britain, Mr. John Glass, and Mr. Robert Sandeman. Their doctrine and discipline are said to be : 1. That justifying faith is no more than a simple belief of the truth, or the Divine testimony passively received. 2. That this Divine testimony carries in itself sufficient ground of hope and occasion of joy to every one who believes it, without any thing wrought in us, or done by us, to give it a particular direction to ourselves. 3. They constantly communicate together in the Lord's .supper every Sabbath ; for they consider the Christian Sabbath as designed for the celebration of Divine ordinances, which are summarily comprised, Acts ii, 42-44. In the interval between the morning and afternoon services, they have their love-feasts ; of which every member partakes by dining at the houses of such of their brethren as live sufficiently near, and whose habitations are convenient for that purpose. Their principal design in these feasts is, to cultivate mutual knowledge and friendship ; to testify that they are all brethren of one family, and that the poor may be aided by the wealthy. At these love-feasts, and on the admission of a new member, they use the kiss of charity, or the saluting each other with a holy kiss, which they believe to be a duty enjoined in Rom. xvi, 16, and in 1 Cor. xvi, 20. They also practise washing each other's feet, for which they allege John xiii, 14, 15. They hold to a community of goods, so far, that every one among them is to consider his property liable to the calls of the poor and of the Church. With excommunicated persons they hold it unlawful to eat or drink. Mr. Sandeman came to New-England, and established a society at Boston, and a few other places. He died at Danbury in 1771. Some singular sects have arisen in America within the course of this century. Of this class are the Dunkers, who formed themselves into a kind of comnionweath, mostly in a small town called Ephrata, in Pennsylvania, where they live by their industry in a quiet and peace- able manner. Their habits and mode of life are somewhat remarkable. The men wear their beards, dress generally in long garments, with a girdle round their waist, and a cap somewhat like the Dominican friars. — The men and women have separate habitations, and distinct govern- ments. For this purpose they have two large buildings ; one of which is occupied by the brethren, the other by the sisters of the society: and HI each of them there is a banqueting room, and an apartment for public worship. The brethren and sisters do not meet together even at their devotions. They live chiefly on vegetable food, the rules of their society not allowing them the use of flesh, except upon particular occasions, when they hold whnt is called a love-feast, at which time they use some flesh. No member of the society is allowed a bed, but in case of sickness. They have in their rooms benches on which to rest themselves, and blocks ®f wood for pillows. The Dunkers allow of no intercourse between the brethren and sisters, not even by mar- riage. They seem to have obtained their name from their manner of • Cent. XVIII.] history of the church. 407 baptizing their new converts, which is by immersion. The principal tenet of the Diinkers appears to be this : that future happiness is only to be obtained by ponance and outward mortification in this life ; and that, as Jesus Christ by his meritorious sufTerings became the Redeemer of mankind in general, so each individual of the human race, by a life of abstinence and restraint, may work out his own salvation. Nay, they go so far as to admit of works of supererogation ; and declare that a man may do much more than he is in justice or equity obliged to do, and that his superabundant works may therefore be applied to the salvation of others. They deny the eternity of future punishments, and believe that the souls of the just are employed to preach the Gospel to those who have had no revelation in this life. They suppose the Jewish Sabbath, sabbatical year, and year of jubilee, are typical of cer- tain periods after the general judgment, in which the souls of those who are so far humbled as lo acknowledge God and Christ, are received to felicity ; while those who continue obstinate are reserved in torments until the grand period typified by the jubilee arrives, in which all shall be made eventually happy. They also deny the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity ; and as they believe in the final salvation of all men, it is proper to consider them as Universalists. They disclaim vio- lence, even in self-defence, and suffer themselves to be defrauded or wronged rather than go to law ; on which account they have been sometimes called tlie harmless Dunkers. The Swedenborgians owe their origin as a sect to one of the most extraordinary men of modern times, the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg. He was the son of Jasper Swedenborg, bishop of west Gotha. He ap- pears to have had a complete educaticm, his learning being extensive in almost every branch. At an early period of life he became remark- able for his abilities at the court of Sweden. His first and favourite pursuit was natural science, on which he published several valuable treatises. He was intimate with Charles XII., king of Sweden, who appointed him to the office of assessor to the metallic college ; in 1719 he was ennobled by Queen Ulrica Eleanora, and named Baron Swe- denborg. In 1713 he professed to have been favoured witli a particular reve- lation, and a sight of the invisible world. From that period he devoted himself to theological studies, and composed a large number of books upon those subjects in good Latin, (but witliout any ornaments of stvle,) which he wrote witli facility, and it is said that he seldom blotted or corrected a line. He lived and died in the Lutheran communion, but always spake favounil)ly of the Church of England, and exercised liberal principles toward others. The theology he professed was abstruse and mystical. He carried his respect for the person and Divinity of Christ to the highest degree of veneration, considering him as God manifested in the ilcsh. With resj)ect to the sacred trinity, he admitted three distinct essences, prin- ciples, or characters, existing in it, and constituting the Divine Being. The virtue and efficacy of the atonement, by tlie passion and deatli of the man Christ Jesus, is considered by Baron Swedenborg as not lon- sisting in the chanije of disposition in God toward man from wrath to love and men-y, because that ever must be unchangeably the samo ; but in changing the state of man, by removing from him the powers of 403 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CexT. XVIII- hell and darkness, wherewith he was infested in consequence of trans- «rression ; and by bringing near to him the Divine and heavenly powers oi' goodness and truth, in the person and Spirit of Jesus Christ, the manifested God and Saviour, whereby the infirmities and corruptions of human nature might be wrought upon, and every penitent believer might enjoy Divine favour. He asserted that the Holy Scriptures con- tained an interiuil and spiritual sense, to which the outward and literal sense serves as a basis or receptacle. Hence many of his illustrations are founded upon this figurative sense. He was a strong asserter of the free agency of man ; the practical morals which he recommended were of a pure kind, and we have reason to believe he practised them himself. But the most extraordinary circumstance respecting this singular character, is the correspondence which he asserted he maintained with the world of spirits. Several parts of his writings are replete with narratives of scenes which he professes to have witnessed in the in visible regions. These he describes by expressions borrowed from the things of this world, which he asserts are only to be understood in a figtjralive sense, and as corresponding in some degree with those which he describes. These narratives have generally been ascribed to a par- tial derangement of his mental powers, but his followers believe them to be genuine revelations. The societies of Swedenborg are numerous in Sweden and Ger- many, and have some establishments in England and America. Though they form independent societies in the United States, and have made attempts to do it in Europe, the admirers of the baron disapprove of separating from the Lutheran Church ; because he was an enemy to any such separation, and was, as they assert, desirous only of establish- ing an invisible Church, or dominion of faith and virtue in the hearts of men, which they contend is the true interpretation of all that he has said concerning the New Jerusalem, or new Church of Christ. Not only did the baron insist that he himself had a familiar corres- pondence with the invisible world, but it is contended by his followers, both from his writings and from the Scriptures, that every man is in continual association with angels and spirits, and that without such as- sociation ho could not think, or exert any living faculty. It is insisted, farther, that man, according to his life in this world, takes up his eter- nal abode either with angels of light or with spirits of darkness ; with the former, if his life shall have been righteous before God, or with the latter, if through folly and wickedness he shdl be found to have rejected the counsels of the Most High. Tlic tenets of the Socinians made some progress during this century, especially among the dissenters in England. Under the name of Uni- tarians, (a name now generally preferred to that of Socinians,) consi- derable numbers united in maintaining the unity of the Deity, the inferiority of Christ to the Father, and his entire humanity, as having been a merely human being, though possessing in a high degree the Spirit and power of God. The Unitarians believe the Scriptures to be faithful records of past transactions, but some of them arc said to deny that the authors of the different books were divinely inspired. They agree with all Christians that Jesus of Nazareth was a divinely commissioned teacher of truth Cknt. XVIII.] history of the church. 409 and rigliteousness ; and that, having been crucified by his enemies, he was raised from the dead on the third day. They regard it as a duty to beUeve whatever he is commissioned to teach. They beheve in the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust ; and a subse- quent state of retribution according to the deeds done in the body; but they reject the doctrine of eternal punishment. They beUeve Jesus Christ to have been a man, for the same reasons for which they believe the proper humanity of Moses and the prophets. And, according to their system of doctrine, not only the Divinity of Christ, but the distinct personal existence of the Holy Ghost, the doctrines of original sin and of the atonement fall to the ground. According to Dr. Priestley, the pardon of sin is dispensed solely on account of men's personal virtues, such as a penitent upright heart, and a reformed exemplary life ; and without regard to the sufferings or merit of any being whatever. The Unitarians also reject the doctrine of an extraordinary Divine influence upon the mind for moral and religious purposes ; but they admit the beneficial efficacy of Divine truth in regulating the affections and governing the life of every true Christian. Dr. Priestley says, that, while he was yet an Arian, he became persuaded that the doctrine of the atonement was erroneous, and that there has been no supernatural influence, except for the purpose of miracles. Some of the Unitarians deny the agency of the devil, and the doc- trine of an intermediate state between death and the general resurrec- tion. But they urge the importance of morality as necessary for the happiness and well being of mankind in this life, and in that which is to come. They teach that Christianity requires the renunciation of every vice, and the practice of every virtue. Love is with them the fulfilment of tlie law, and the habitual practice of virtue from a principle of love to God, is, according to some of their best authors, the sum of true religion. They reject every thing in human creeds that has the character of mystery, or that surpasses the limits of our comprehension, as being irrational and not warranted by the Scriptures. The doctrine which was supported by Origen and some of the fathers concerning the final salvation of all men, in opposition to the prevailing beUef in the eternity of future punishments, has also been revived with much zeal, and with some success, both in England and the United States. Those who advocate this doctrine suppose that, as Christ died for all, so, before he shall have delivered up his mediatorial kingdom to the Father, ho will bring all to participate in the benefits of his death. They teach that the wicked will receive a punishment in proportion to their crimes : that punishment itself is a kind of mediatorial work, founded ujwn mercy, designed to humble the impenitent under a sense of their guilt, and reconcile them to God. They suppose that the words eternal, everlasting, &c., as they are in some places applied to things which have ended, cannot be intended to mean endless when applied to futun; misery. It is contended by them, that this doctrine is most consonant with the perfections of the Deity, most worthy of the cha- racter of ("hrist, and that the Scriptures cannot in any other way be so easily reconciled. The Shakers, who oriyinated in England about the year 177-1, are a people of groat singularity. Anna Lee, whom they styled the elect lady, was a conspicuous leader of this party. She was received and 410 HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. [CeNT. ^VIII. acknowledged among them as their first mother, or spiritual parent, in the female line, and the second heir in the covenant of life according to the present display of the Gospel. In 1774 she and a number of her followers sailed from Liverpool for New- York ; and, being joined by others after their arrival, they settled near Albany, where they have spread their opinions and increased to a considerable nimiber. The leading practical tenet is the abolition of marriage, and the entire separation of the sexes. They believe in human depravity, in the effu- sions of the Spirit, and assert that the day of judgment is past. They consider their testimony as anew dispensation, which they call Christ's second appearance. In their worship they practise a regular dance, to a hynm sung by the elders. They practise a community of goods, and hold that nothing short of this union in all things, both spiritual and temporal, can constitute a true Church. On account of great exertions in dancing, their nerves sometimes becoine affected, and they have fits of shuddering or shaking, and hence have been called Shakers, and also Shaking Quakers. CHAPTER III. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURy. The gigantic efforts of literary genius which so highly distinguished the seventeenth century were not without their influence in this, and science continued to spread her rays rapidly and extensively over lands which had been long covered with the darkness and superstition of popery. From the constant advances of literature, the facility of mul- tiplying books, and from other causes, the number of authors was greatly augmented. Our view of them must necessarily be brief and imperfect. Among English writers, no one of his day wrote with greater beauty or with more taste than Joseph Addison. His works, which are chiefly of the miscellaneous kind, will ever be read with interest, and liis cha racter as a Christian reflects much honour on the cause of true religion His sentiments were excellent, his style highly finished, his talents as a poet were much admired, and deservedly celebrated. Sir Richard Steele possessed a versatility of talents, extensive infor- mation, a deep acquaintance with polite literature, and was an author of no ordinary raid<. Several of his miscellaneous productions were highly applauded, his celebrity as a writer was very considerable, and probably would have been more so, if he had not been connected with so fine a writer as Addison. James Saurin was an eloquent Frcncli theologian, and an ov(^ table, that the population of the Methivlist and Baptist denominations, and of some others, is estimated according to the ratio of ii\>r hearers to une communicant. By this ratio, the Presbyterian population would be 1,167,'KK),— that of the Con.^reij.-iiional denomination would be 775,0(H) ;— luit this would probalily l)e rt-ibicinu the numbers in those two denominations lower than they are; and 1 a medium lietwi en the two extremes is most likely to be correct. I 1 This estimate suppo.s die title of bishop — Bishop of Rome — Of Constantinople — Power and revenues of bishops — Commotions at Rome on the election of a bishop — Popular elections discountenanced on account of tiieir pernicious effects — Metropolitans — Bishops — Functions of these different order.i — Revenues of the Church — Ecclesiastical councils — Council of Nice — Attempt to impose celibacy on the clergy — Heresy of Arius condemned — Dispute; rcnceniinT Uk' hypostatic union — Council of Constantinople — Provincial councils — Nicene creed — Corruptions and superstitions — Increased veneration for saints and martyr': — Relicri — Absurd fictions — Discovery of the real cross — Monks — gt. Anthony — Their fanaticism extended to the female sex — Hilarion — Basil — Ambrose — Martin of Tours — Different orders — Coenobites — Eremites — Anchorites — Sabaritcs — Splendid ch'.irches — Laudi- We zeal of Constantine — Military chaplains — Antiquity of the ri^ht of patronage — Rij.'hts of sanctuary — Litiir;xies — Discontinuance of the ajjapa? — Festivals in honour o4 the martyrs — Abuse of the sacraments — Abuse of abstinence — Penance — Confession — Anecdote concerning the cause of its abolition — Festival of Easter established — R<4eat.<> of prisoners at Easter — Manumission of slaves 7t) CHAPTER III. OF THE 5JECTS WHICH APPEARED IN TUT FOURTH Cr.NTURY. Abuse of Mysticism — Eustathians and Mcssalians — Donati-its — Disputes concemiivfj the succession to the see of Carthage — Donatus — Violonce of the parties — Rogntion-« — Arius — Principles of the Arians — Arius condemned and eiilod — Council of Nice Arianism condemned there — Arius recalled from banishment by Con.stantine — Di-.ilhof .\rius — Arianisrn protected by Constatitius — Scmi-Ariins — Eunotnians — Contest-s between the different branches of .\rians — Semi-Arians divided — Macedonians — Mdc- fians — Photinus — Apollinarinns — Pri>cillianists — Antidicornaranite!-- — Collvridi;>ii» — I.ucifcrians — Audeus — .Etius, A:c 7^ CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LKARNED MEN IN THE FOURTH CENTUItV. Constantino not rmint-nt as a pniron of liter»turo — Eiisebius — Pamphiivis — Ahop of Milar — • Lactam ius — Jiroini^ — Ruhnut — .St. Augustine — Chrysostom — .Marccllus — Eu»t»lhiucj — Victoruuis — Hil«rv — .\|X)MinHris — Epbraim of Ede«sa — Didv.-nus — Diodunis of Tur- iu»— Epiphanius — Cyril, bL — Sime- on Stylites, jun. — Introduced into the west — Convents afford a refuge for literature — Conformity of liturgies to those of the metropolitan churches — Roman missal composed by Gregory the Great — Increased veneration for the sacramental elements — Holy water — Tonsure of priests — Controversy concerning the form of tlie tonsure — Incredible absurdities respecting relics — Festival of the purification 124 CHAPTER m. OF TilE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of several sects — Jacobites — Aphthartodocitac — Severians — AtTnoetaf — The- odo«ans — Tritheists — Philoponites, «Sic. — Damianists 130 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. Decay of learning — Controversial and party writers appropriate rhe rewards which ought to be the portion only of useful learning, and true genius — Ruin of Platonism — Succeeded by the philosophy of Aristotle — Bocthius— Plnloponu." — F,eontius of Nca- polis — Isidore of Sevilk — John Scynthopohs — Leontius — Zacharv of Mvtilf ne — Fa- cnndus — Fulgentius — Maxentius — Eulogius — Tiuodore — Casaiodoni^ — Basil of Cilicia — Evagrius — ( Jrogory of Tours — (iildas — Procopius — .Vgrthia'. — ForHinatus — Arator — Oroiilnis — Columbanus — JuhIus — .V.vitu<« — Priinasi;] Victor, of Capua Procopius of Gaza — Cassiodorus — ' — Injudicious distribution of pre- ferments — manner of electing popes — Vo\)c Joan — Donations of I.ewi-j the Meek — DisseiisioiiN ill the ( 'ailovin^ian family — Increase of iho papal powtT Iroin this ;.i)d other circmnst.mcis — I'orgerv of the decretals, A-c. — Iiicrens.> of inonlccry — Revival of the Iconoclastic controversy — Couin-il at t'on^t.intinoplc — Progress of image worship in the west — Final schism between the Grecu and Latin Churches IVfi 438 CONTENTS TO HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. CHAPTER 11. OF DOCTRIXES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Worship of saints — Multiplication of the celestial advocates — Forgeries of legends — Rage for relics — Apology for this passion — New doctrines concerning the presence of Christ in the eucharist — Controversies on this subject — Abolition of choro-episcopi — New orders of monks — Festivals in honour of saints — All Saints day — St. Michael — The cross carried before the pope Page 188 CHAPTER HI. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Predestinarians — Abrahamians — Persecution of the Paulicians 192 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Photius — Greek commentators — Moses Barcepha — Munificence of Charlemagne — Christian Drulhmar — Bertharius — Rabanus Maurus — Walafrid Strabo — Claudius of Turin — Hinchmar — Remigius of Auxerre — Agobard — Theodorus Abucara — Contro- versy with the Mohammedans — Eginhard — Theganus of Treves — Anastasius — Alfred the Great — Reform of the laws of Justinian — Basilican code 193 THE TENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Success of the Nestorians in propagating the Gospel — Conversion of Nonvay, of the Poles, the Russians, the Hungarians, the Danes, the Swedes, and the Normans — Lux- ury of the clergy — History of the popes from Leo V. to Sylvester II. — Iniquitous dis- tribution of preferments — Monastic institutions — Order of Clugni 196 CHAPTER n. OF THE DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Ardour for accumulating relics — Purgatory — The day of judgment supposed to be at hand — Mode of creating saints — Solemn t'xcomnmnication — Controversy concerning niarria^e 202 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Prevalence of Manicheism — Sect of the Anthropomorphites 205 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE TENTH CENTLTxY. Death of literature in the tenth century — Loo, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and Gerbcrt — Simeon, Metaphrastes, Eutychius, and Barcepha— Luitprand and Roswida 205 CONTENTS TO HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 439 THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Conversion of barbarous nations — Kingdom of Sicily established — Power of the clergy— Benedict VIII — John XIX.— Benedict IX.— Sylvester III —Grf-Kory VI.— Cle- ment II. — Nicholas II. — New mode of electing popes — Alexander II. — Honorius II. — Gregory VIII. — His claims upon England ' resisted — Sanguinary conte!>t with the emperor — Clement III.— Victor III.— Urban II. — Crusades — Paschal II. .. Page 207 CHAPTER II. OF MANNERS, DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Miracles — Flagellation for sin — Contests concerning Roman and Gothic Rituals — Carthusian Order — Cistercians 221 CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS V'HICH APPEARED IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Berenger — Roscclin — Persecution of the Jews — Manicheons — Bulgarians ami Calbarists 223 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Revival of Letters — Leo the grammarian, Theophylact, Cedrenus, Michael Pscllus Fulbert, Damianus, Anselm, Lambertus 234 THE TWELFTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. Conversion of Pomcrania — Livonia — Calamitous ^t;itp of Judca — Second cru.sade Saladin — Third cnisade under Frederic Barbarossa — Richard Coeur de Lion — Kni<'liti< of Malta and Templars — Teutonic knights — Popes, Pasclial II. — Alexander III. — Lu- cius III. — Innocent III. 2nG CHAPTER H. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CERE.MONIES. School divinity — Protended revelations — Origin and progress of indulgences. . . 238 CHAPTER III. CONCERNING THH SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. Waldenses — Their tenets — Opposition to the Churcii of Rome — Albigcnscs. . . 239 440 CONTKXTS TO HISTORY OF THE CHCRCH- CHAPTER IV. OK LEARNING AND LLARNKD MEN IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY. literature of the Greeks — Anna Comnena — Eustathius, «Scc. — In the west, St. Boniard — Abelard — Ansclm — William of Tyre, &c Page 242 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Success of the Nestorians in China, &.c. — Fourth crusade — Conquest of Constanti- nople by the crusaders — Fifth crusade under Frederick II. — Sixth crusade under Lewifs IX. of France — Recovery of Spain by the Christians — Power of the popes increased — Pragmatic Sanction — Innocent III. — Contest with the Emperor Otho — Johh, king of England — Ilonorius III. — Gregory IX. — Constantino IV. — Innocent IV. — Celestine v.— Boniface VIII .' 244 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, CERE.HONIES, ETC. Transubstantiation — Auricular confession — Rise of the Dominicans— Of the Francis- cans — Anecdote relating to their wealth — Religious exhibitions — Festival of the holy sacrament — Carrying the host — Jubilee 254 CHAPTER III. CONCERNING THE SECTS WHICH EXISTED IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Catharists — Waldenses — Petrobrusians — Persecution of heretics — Inquisition — Crusade against the Albigcnses — Flagellantes 257 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. Destruction of classical authors — Calamities of Greece prevent the cultivation of letters in the east — Scholastic divinity prevalent in the west — Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Bonavcntura, &c. — Roger Bacon, Matthew Paris, &c 262 THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Renewal of holy war — Conversion of Lithuania — Success against the infidels in Spain — Efforts for the conversion of China — Decline of the pap.il power — Contest be- tween Bonificc VIII., and Philij) the Fair, king of France — Benedict IX. — Clement V. — Gregory XI. — Urban VI. — Great western sciuBm 264 CONTENTS TO HISTORY OF TFJK CHt'RCR. 441 CHAPTER IL OP DOCTRINES, RITES, CERKMOMES, ETC., IN THE FOURTEENTH CLNTURY. Alteration respecting the jubilee— Extraordinary festivals — Origin of Annates — FaQ of the Templars— -Strange faction concerning certain relics .. . . Page 2^ CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WillCH .APPEARED IN" THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. Quietists — Dancers— Alji-Fraters — Begj/ards — Lollards — Absurdities of the mendi- cant orders 271 01I.\.PTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARN1:D MEN IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. Greek literature — E apcrors — Elder Andronicus — John Cantachuzene — Manuel P«leologus — Barla&m, &c. — Nicephorus Calistus— Theophanes — Planudes, &c.— Scho- lajitic diTinity — Duns Sco'.uy^ — William Ockam, &c. — Nicholas de Lyra — Translation of the Bible into French — ^St. Bridge: and .St. Catharine — Dante — Petrarch. A:c.. .273 THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. Expulsions of the Moors from Spain — Discovery of America — Extension of lh« Musselmen empire in Asia — Ovcrlhrow of the Grecian empire — Taking of Constanti- nople by Mohammed II. — Continuance of the western schism — Council of Pisa — Three popes at one time — Council of Constance — Retrenchment of the papal power — Election of .Martin V. — Pciscculion of heretics — Jolui Huss, aisd Jerome of Prague — Their pcr- Mccution aiid death — Council of Basil — Eugenius IV. — Wishes to remove the council to Italy — Contest between the pope and the council — E;.igonius summons a council at Ferrari — Deposition of Eugenius — Felix V. — Nicholas V. — Alo.\aiid«r VI 276 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, KnK3, AND CERE.MONIES, IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, Rich donations to the saints — Festival of the transfiguration — Indulgences T.-a:ited to all who should devoutly cclchrate tlie immaculate conception 28o CHAPTER III. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE FIFTEENTH Cr.NTL'KV. Wickliffitos — Waldenses — .Savanarola — Bolicmian tro\ibl<>^ from the diwipies o' Huss 28ti 412 CONTiJNTS TO HISTORY OK THE CHURCH. CHAPTER IV. OV LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Superiority of Greek literature — Cultivated by Petrarch and Boccacio — Greek pro- fessorship established at Florence — Cardinal Basiarion — Ardour of the Latins — Nicho- las V. — Cosmo de Medicis — Discovery of printing — Nicholas Clemengis — Laurentius Valla — Aretin and Poggio — English writers — John Wesselus — Jerome Savanarola — /Kneas Silvius — Thomas a Kempis — Pica della Mirandola Page 287 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH PREVIOUS TO THE REFORMATION. General tranquillity of the Church — Pius III. — Julius II. — Warlike epirit of the pope — Dispute with Lewis XII. — Leo X. — Popes from Leo X. to Clement VIII. 292 CHAPTER II. OP DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, ETC., IN THE SIXTEENTH' CENTURY. Splendid but trifling ceremonies — Scholastic subleties — Sermons — Strange accepta- tion of the term good works — Increase of monkery — Institution of the Jesuits — Their constitution and policy — Capuchins — Recollets — Regular clerks or theatins — Priests of the oratory — Barefooted Carmelites 294 CHAPTER HI. OF THE REFORMATION I.V GER.MANV. SECTION 1. Indigence of the papal treasury — Sale of indulgences — Tetzel — Luther — Opposes Tetzel in the publication of indulgences — Supported by the Augustine monks, and the elector of Saxony — Contest with Eccius, &;c. — At first disregarded by Leo — Afterward summoned to Rome — Appears before Cardinal Cajetan — Appeals to a general council — Zuinglius begins the reformation in Switzerland — Luther excommunicated — Bums the papal bull — Views of the emperor with regard to Luther — lAithcr suninioncd to tiie diet at Worms — Edict against him — Seized and concoaltd at Warthurgh — ( -Dntroversy with tlic university of Paris and Henry VIII., of England — Translates the Bible — Character of Adrian VI.— List of grievances presented by the diet of Nuremberg — Clement VII. — Marriage of Luther — Reformation in Prussia — Danger of persecution — Contest between the pope and the emperor — Friends of reformation distinguished by the name of Protcstantjs — Confession of Augsburg — League of Smalkalde — Negotia- tions of the Protestants with Franco and England — Treaty with the emperor at Nureni- (jorg — Death of the elector of Saxonv 299 CONTENTS TO HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. 443 CHAPTER IlL HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY, ETC. SKCTIOM II. Gradual spread of Luther's doctrines — In Sweden — In Denmark — Francf — Calvin's Reformation established in all Saxony — Council of Trent — Death and cha- racter of Luther — Decrees of the Council of Trent — Pope excommuaicates the archbishop of Cologne— Diet at Ratisbon — War declared against the emperor — Perfidy of Maurice — Seiiesthe elector's dominions — Elector of Cologne resigns — Elector of Saxony and Landgrave made prisoners — Publication of the Intcrfm — Obnoxious to both parties — Violence of the emperor — Death of Paul III. and elc- vation of Julius HI. — Defection of Maurice — Peace of religion Page 316 CHAPTER IV. REFOR.M.VTION IN ENGLAND. Unexpectedly favoured by Henry VIII. — Woolsey favours the king's project for obtaining a divorce — The pope embarrassed between the English and Spanish factions — Cardinal Campeggio despatched to England — Cranmcr's project — His elevation and the fall of Wooib'cy — Decisions in favour of the divorce — Henry for- bids his subjects to receive bulls from Rome — Marries Anna Boleyn — Proceedings of the parliament and convocation — The marriage of Catharine annulled — Dis- pleasure of the emperor — The pope asserta the validity of Catharine'? marriage — Henry resolves to reject the papal yoke, but treats the reformers with severity — Reformation favoured by the queen, Cranmer, and Cromwell — Translation of the Bible — Death of the queen — Entire suppression of the monasteries — Downfall and death of Cromwell — Opposition to the new translation of the Bible — Translation of the prayers — Death of Henry — Edward VI., with the protector, favours the Re- formation — Opposed by Bonner, Gardiner, and the Princess Mary — Marriages of the clergy declared legal — Liturgy confirmed — Death of Edward VI. — Mary op. poses the Reformation — Restoration of the ancient rite.- — Degradation of Cran- mer — Treaty between Mary and the pope — Marriage of Mary with the prince of Spain — Proceedings against the reformers — Death of Latimer, Ridley, and Cran- mer — Death of Mary — Completion of the Reformation under Elizabeth 326 CHAPTER V. REFORMATION IN SCOTLAND, IRELAND, THE LOW COUNTRIES, ETC. Doctrines received in the reign of James V. persecuted — Hamilton, Seton, and Forest — Cardinal Beaton — Court of inquisition — Persecution — Murder of tlie cardinal — John Knox — Regent surrenders his power — First covenant — Duplicity of the queen dowager — Reformation established at Perth — Second Covenant — Perfidy of the queen dowager — Hostilities — Third Covenant — Contests with the queen dowager — Expulsion of the regent — Perplexities — Fourth Covenant — Death of the queen dowager — Peace proclaimed — Comiiletion of the Refunna. lion — State of Ireland, Holland, Italy, Spain, and France 331 CHAPTER VL OF THE OTHER SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SIXTF.FNTH CENTURY. Causes for variety of opinion among the rtfornicrs — Analiaptista, or ^Icnonitcs — Antinomiana- — I'liitarians — Sorvetus — -Socinians — -Budneians — Farvonianp — - Stancarians — Zuinglians — Schwtnkfeldlians — Brownists — Ilhiniinati Familist.* — .\msdorfiaiis — OHiandrians — Molinisis — Sy nery ista 3 Jl 444 CONTENTS TO HISTORV OF THE CHURCH. CHAPTER VII OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURT. Multiplication of books — Controversial theology — Duther — Calvin — Melanc- thon — Theodore Beza — Erasmus — Sir Thomas More — George Buchanan — Cas- talio—Reuchlin— Ludovicus Vivos — Budeus — ^Lipsius— Polydore Virgil— Scaliger— Reformation in Philosophy — Copernicus and Tycho Brahe — The Stephens' Page 354 THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY." CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURY. StAte of Europe with respect to religion — Several of the popes — Labours of the Jesuits — Disputes between the different orders of monks — Efforts to reduce the Protestants within the pale of the Church — Conference of charity, &c. — Persecu- tion in Austria, &.c. — War in Germany — Massacre of Valteline — Vaudois — France — Revocation of the edict of Nantz — England — Gunpowder plot — Civil war — Scotland — Irish massacre — Protestant Churches in America — Revolution in England — Schemes for a union of Churches — Change of religion in German Pro- testants 356 CHAPTER II. OF DOCTRINES, RITES, AND CEREMONIES, IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Few alterat.ons in the established doctrines of the Romish Church — New soci- eties and orders — Congregation and Seminary for Propagating the Faith — Visita- tion of the Blessed Virgin — Virgins of love — Fathers of the oratory — Priests of Missions — Abbey of La Trappe — Doctrines of Protestants — Lutherans — Calvinists — Church of England 3^0 CHAPTER 111. OF THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURV. Janscnists — Quietists — Cartesians or Cocceians — Sublapsnrians and Supralap. sarians — Arniinians — Pietists — Jacob Behmen — Puritans — Independents — Seek- er-- — Ranters — The Fifth-Monarchy Men — Quakers — Sabbatarians — Hattemistfl — Muggletonians, &c 375 CHAPTER IV. OF LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. Golden age of European literature — Bellarmine — Bossuet — Baronius — Richc- 11, u — Sirmond — Mariana — Tillemont — FatlicrPaiil — Pascal — Fenelon — Claude— — Drelincourt — Cappfl — Bochart — The Buxtorfs — I^piscopius — Grotius — Laud — The memorable .Tolin IIalc^■ — Ui-lier — Hall — Taylor — Stillingfleef — rudworth — Wilkins — More — Whichcot — Smith — Patri<'k — TiUnL'^on, Pocock — Ciiml)or I;tnd — Barrow — South — Burnet — Castcll — Pearson — Beveridgc — .rajjimy — Bax- ter — Poole — Baron — Galileo — Des Cart(!P — Gassendi — Newton — Boyle — Sliak. Bpciirc — Milton, Sec 381 CONTENTS TO HISTORY' OP THE CHURCH. 4f THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURV. CHAPTER I. GENERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THiS CENTURY. Toleration — Succession of popes — Character of Ganganelli — Pius VI. — Supprt^s-iion of the Jesuits — In Portugal — In Spain — In France — Revolution in America — Revolu- tion in France — Infidelity — Revival of religion Page 385 CHAPTER IL or THE SECTS WHICH APPEARED IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY. Moravians — Methodists — llutchinsonians — Sandemanians — Dunkers Swedcnbor- gians — Modern Socinians or Unitarians — Universalists — Shakers 390 CHAPTER III. OK LEARNING AND LEARNED MEN IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURT. 410 THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. CHAPTER I. Or.VERAL STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THIS CENTURr. Decline of tlie papal power — Revival of religion — State of the national Churches in Europe — DitTicultics arising from a union of Churches with the civil power New revolutiim in France — Stale of dissenting Churches in Europe — Condition of Churches in tlic I'rMtrd Slates — Religious liberty — Flourishing state of relitrion — Prevailin