in his adversity, and whose influence, had his life been much prolonged, might eventually have restored him to his dignity*.

The works that remain of St. Chrysostom are for the most part Sermons and Homilies, and are nearly a thousand in number. Their style is not recommended by that emulation of Attic purity which adorns the writings of Basilius, or Gregory Nazianzen; but it is elevated and unconstrained, pregnant with natural thoughts and easy expressions, enriched with metaphors and analogies, and dignified by boldness and grandeur. And, what is more important, the matter of his discourses, while it declines the affectation of subtlety, and avoids the barren fields of theological speculation, is directly addressed to the common feelings, and principles, and duties of mankind. The heart is penetrated, the latent vice is discovered, and exposed in the most frightful colours to the detestation of Christians. Such was the character of that eloquence which, by captivating the people and scandalizing the great, occasioned such tumultuous disorder in the metropolis of the East. Yet the historian finds much more to admire in the bold and impetuous enthusiasm of the orator, than to censure in his indiscretion. One object alone filled his mind and animated his efforts— and that the noblest object to which the genius of man can be directedto warm the religion, to purify the morals, and to advance the virtue and happiness of those whom he influenced.

At the same time, it is not asserted that St. Chrysostom was exempt from the errors and abuses of his day; he exalted the merit of celibacy; he strongly inculcated the duty of fasting, and the sanctity of a solitary and ascetic life; he encouraged the veneration for saints and martyrs; but the practical nature of his piety sometimes shone through the mists of his superstitious delusion. If any, for instance, engaged in a pilgrimage to the holy places, he assured them that their principal motive should be the relief of the poor-if any were bent on the offering up prayers for the dead, he exhorted them to give alms for the dead also†.

With respect to his doctrine, the three points which have been most warmly disputed are, his opinions on the Eucharist, on Grace and Original Sin, and on Confession. Regarding the first of these, his expressions are both vague and contradictory; since some of them would lead us to believe, that he very nearly approached, if he did not actually reach, the belief now held by the Roman Catholic Church; while in another passage, where he affirms the real presence, he also (and incidentally) asserts that the nature of the bread is not changed. Upon the whole, it is clear that he held very elevated notions respecting the Sacrament, and it is probable that his deliberate opinion was in favour of that which we call Consubstantiation. But regarding the nature of penitence, it is quite plain, in spite of some seeming inconsistencies which Roman Catholic writers have detected, or imagined, that his direct assertions inculcate the sufficiency of penitential

A letter from Chrysostom to Innocent, written in 406, is still extant, in which, with many expressions of gratitude, he exhorts that Pope to continue his exertions to succour him, without being discouraged by the want of success.

See Dupin, Nouv. Biblioth. Art. St. Jean Chrysostom. The latter part of the fourth century, and the beginning of the fifth, from the death of Julian, for instance, to the conquest of Africa by the Vandals, is a very important and a deeply interesting period of Christian history; and there is no method perhaps by which its peculiarities could be so distinctly painted, as by detailed accounts of St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, and St. Augustin-accounts, which should reject all that is fabulous and absurd in the records respecting those fathers, while they embraced the most characteristic and striking particulars of their private, as well as public, conversation, their writings and their doctrine.

confession to God in prayer, without any necessity for the mediation of his ministers. As to the second point, we shall perhaps refer to the probable opinion of this father, when we shall arrive at the description of the Pelagian controversy.

But

5. St. Jerome was born at the city of Strigna or Stridona, on the confines of Pannonia and Dalmatia, about the year 345. His family was honourable, his fortune abundant, and his youthful studies, under the celebrated Donatus*, had improved and fortified his literary taste. the deep religious feelingt, which took early possession of his soul, led him to consecrate his labours and his learning to that which he deemed the service of Christ. An excessive admiration of monastic excellence, and ardour for the habits which conferred it, constituted the ruling principle of his life; and whether it was, that the solitudes of Europe were not yet sufficiently sanctified to satisfy his passion for holy seclusion, or that the celebrity attending on ascetic privations was still chiefly confined to the Eastern world, he bade adieu to his native hills, to his hereditary property, to pontifical Rome herself, and transferred his library, his diligence, and his enthusiasm, to a convent at Bethlehem. In a retreat so well qualified to nourish religious emotion even in the most torpid heart, the zeal of Jerome did not slumber, but rather seemed to catch fresh fire from the objects and the recollections which surrounded him. From that wild and awful abode he poured forth the torrent of his lawless eloquence, and thundered with indiscriminate wrath against the enemies and the reformers of his religion. And if in that peaceful, and perhaps sinless solitude, it was excusable that he should exaggerate the merits of mortification, and fasting, and celibacy, and pilgrimage, and disparage the substantial virtues, which he could rarely witness, and which he could never practise; on the other hand it was some aggravation of his intemperance, that in the birth-place of Christ, at the very fountain of humility and peace, he vented, even against his Christian adversaries, a malignant and calumnious rancour. Rufinus, Jovinian and Vigilantius, successively sustained the fullness of his indignation; and lastly, towards the close of his life, the opinions of Pelagius again excited that violence, which even old age had been unable to moderate§.

But while we censure both the superstitious and contentious spirit of St. Jerome, we must also recollect how great a compensation he made for evils thus occasioned, by his great work, the Latin translation of the Old Testament. And we must add, that a considerable knowledge of Hebrew, much general learning, and long application, qualified him, far

The commentator on Virgil and Terence.

In his twenty-second letter, in order to divert his correspondent (Eustochium) from the study of profane authors, St. Jerome recounts, that formerly, during the access of a violent fever, he had been dragged in spirit to the tribunal of Jesus Christ, where, after receiving severe chastisement for his attachment to those authors (Cicero and Plautus are specified), he had been forbidden to read them more. Moreover, he assures Eustochium, that that story is no dream, and invokes the heavenly tribunal before which he had appeared, to attest his veracity. See Dupin, Nouv. Bibl., vie S. Jerome.

St. Jerome died in the year 420.

In the mean time St. Jerome was not himself exempt from error, and such too as called for the reprehension even of St. Augustin. The former somewhere expresses an opinion, that the difference between St. Paul and St. Peter, described in the Acts, was not real, but only feigned—for pious purposes; an opinion which the Bishop of Hippo most justly condemns as of very dangerous consequence. St. Jerome also ventured a prophecy respecting the Millennium-but this indeed was a safer field of speculation, since his prediction was not the object of conclusive reasoning; and thus it continued in honour for about six hundred years, until the patience of time at length falsified it.

above any contemporary, for the most important undertaking hitherto accomplished by any father of the Roman church.

And here let us pause, to observe for one moment the immediate effect of his various labours. His theological philippics were hailed by the body of the Church with triumphant acclamation; his exhortatious to seclusion and celibacy peopled the desert places with monks and hermits; but his translation of the Bible was ill received by the Church; it was considered as a rash and dangerous innovation*;' even St. Augustin disapproved, and held that it was more prudent to abide by the text of the Septuagint, than to risk the confusion and scandal which a new version might create. This senseless clamour was sufficient, even in those days, to prevent the immediate diffusion of the work; and almost two hundred years afterwards, we learn, that it only divided with its rival the diligence of St. Gregory; in later times it spread into wider circulation, and finally obtained very general possession of the Latin church.

As the name of Athanasius more properly belongs to the Arian controversy, so that of Augustin is closely connected with the history of the Donatists and Pelagians, and that of Basil with the rise of Monasticism. Those who may desire more extensive information respecting the lives and countless writings of the fathers here mentioned, and of the more numerous and obscure associates whom we have no space to notice, may apply, though with different degrees of confidence, to the compilations of Lardner, Dupin, Cave, and Tillemont.

CHAPTER X.

From the Death of Justinian to that of Charlemagne.

567 to 814.

I. The External fortunes of Christianity-its Restoration in England by St. Austin-its progress in Germany-among the Tartars-Its reverses-Mahomet and his successors-their conquests in Asia -in Egypt-facilitated by Christian dissensions-in Africa-Carthage-in Spain-in Francetheir defeat by Charles Martel-Treatment of Christian subjects by the Saracens-Charlemagneforcible conversion of the Saxons and Pannonians.-II. The internal condition of Christianitymethod of this History-Pope Gregory the Great-his character and conduct-worship of Images-Purgatory-Relics-Ceremonies-the Gregorian Canon-Gregory the creator of the Papal system-Title of Ecumenic Bishop-Power of the Keys-Apocrisiarii and Defensores-Changes in the seventh and eighth centuries-Orders of the Clergy-The Tonsure-Unity of the ChurchCouncils-Metropolitans-Increase and abuse of Episcopal power-Pope Zachary consulted as to the deposition of Childeric-his conduct how far blameable-the Lombards-the Donation of Pepin -confirmed by Charlemagne-His liberality to the Church, and the motives of it-His endeavours to reform the Church.

CHRISTIANITY had obtained early and perhaps general reception in Britain, when it was suddenly swept away, with the language itself, by the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons in 452, and almost entirely obliterated. Towards the end of the sixth century some circumstances occurred favourable to its restitution. Ethelbert, King of Kent, the most considerable of the AngloSaxon princes, married Bertha, daughter of the King of Paris, a Christian. Some clergy appear to have followed her to England, and to have softened the pagan prejudices of the King. Gregory the Great, who was then Bishop *Dupin, Nouv. Biblioth., loc. cit.

Of all the works of St. Jerome, his 'Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers' is that which is now most frequently referred to.

of Rome, availed himself of this circumstance, and in the year 596, he sent over forty Benedictine monks, under the conduct of Augustin (commonly called St. Austin), prior of a monastery of that order. The King was converted, and most of the inhabitants of Kent followed his example; the missionary then received episcopal ordination from the primate of Arles, and was invested, as Archbishop of Canterbury, with power over the British Church. The religion, thus established, spread with great rapidity; six other Anglo-Saxon Kings embraced the faith of Augustin and Ethelbert; and it was very generally propagated throughout the whole island before the conclusion of the seventh century.

The miraculous assistance by which this work was accomplished is acknowledged in a letter addressed by the Pope himself to his missionary. 'I know that God has performed through you great miracles among that people; but let us remember that, when the disciples said with joy to their divine master, "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name," he answered them-" Rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." While God thus employs your agency without, remember, my dear brother, to judge yourself severely within, and to know well what you are. If you have offended God in word or deed, preserve those offences in your thoughts, to repress the vain glory of your heart, and consider, that the gift of miracles is not granted to you for yourself, but for those whose salvation you are labouring to procure.' An increased acquaintance with the character of Gregory, which we shall presently acquire, will diminish the weight of his testimony on this matter; which many indeed will be strongly predisposed to doubt, from the circumstance, that the apostle of England was never supernaturally gifted with any knowledge of the language of the country, but was obliged, in addressing the people, to avail himself of the imperfect service of an interpreter. But (little as those stories may be entitled to credit) it is certain, that God vouchsafed one heavenly blessing on the mission of St. Austin, though displayed in a manner less popular with Roman Catholic historians-the work of conversion was accomplished without violence or compulsion; the sword of the spirit was found sufficient for the holy purpose, and the ruins of our Saxon idolatry were not stained by the blood of one martyr.

It is not pretended, that the religion thus hastily introduced was a pure form of Christianity, or even that it differed very widely, in its first appearance or operation, from the superstition which it succeeded. There even exists an Epistle from Gregory in which he permits the ceremonies of the former worship to be associated with the profession of the Gospel; nor is it possible, even for the most perfect law at once to change the habits and correct the morals of a savage people. But the consent of history assures us, that, during the century following, the nation gradually emerged from the rudest barbarism into a condition of comparative civilization, and that the principles and motives of Christianity extended their salutary influence over the succeeding generations.

Many historians affirm, that St. Austin neglected the lessons of humility which he had received from his master, and proceeded to assert with great insolence the spiritual supremacy of Rome, not only over his own converts, but also over that faithful portion who still maintained among the Cambrian mountains the doctrine and practice transmitted from their forefathers. It appears indeed that those simple believers having been long severed from the body of Christendom, ignorantly preserved the original oriental rite in the celebration of Easter, which had been so long proclaimed

schismatic; they were still involved in the error of the Quartadecimans; and they continued to persevere both in that and in the rejection of papal authority, even after they had been enlightened by the exhortations of St. Austin. It is recorded, and is probable, that they were deterred by the imperious conduct of that prelate from uniting with his Church; and thus far we need not hesitate to condemn him; but some more serious charges which have been brought against him stand on very slight foundation*.

It is next our duty to record and celebrate the labours of Succathus, a Scotsman, to whom is usually given the glory of having converted the Irish, and established among them the Episcopal Church; and also of Columban, an Irish monk and missionary, who diffused the religion among the Gauls and various Teutonic tribes, about the end of the sixth century. It is not easy, at this distance of time, to calculate the precise effect of mere individual exertion in so difficult an enterprise, or to separate what is fabulous in such records from that which may reasonably be received. But the progress of St. Austin is much more intelligible— since he was aided by the immediate support of Pope Gregory, and since one of the earliest among his proselytes was a King.

It appears probable, that at the beginning of the eighth century Christianity had made very little progress in Germany; at least its reception had been confined to provinces immediately bordering on the Roman empiret. In the year 715, Winfridt, a noble Englishman, who was afterwards known by the name of Boniface, undertook the labours of a mis. sionary. His first attempt was fruitless; but presently returning, under the auspices and by the authority of Pope Gregory II., he preached among the Frieselanders and Hessians with considerable success§. In 723 he was consecrated a Bishop, and being joined by many pious Christians, from France as well as England, he established numerous churches throughout the country. His immediate recompense was advancement to the archiepiscopa! See of Mayence, and to the Primacy of Germany and Belgium. To posterity he is more generally and more gloriously known as the Apostle of the Germans. And the additional title of Saint was

*Jortin (Eccl. Hist., vol. iv., p. 417) says, 'The Christianity which this pretended apostle and sanctified ruffian taught us, seemed to consist principally in two things, in keeping Easter upon a proper day, and to be slaves to our Sovereign Lord God, the Pope, and to Austin, his deputy and vicegerent. Such were the boasted blessings and benefits which we received from the mission and ministry of this most audacious and insolent monk.' This is passionate and unjust abuse. St. Austin was indeed the missionary of a Pope-but his conversion of the mass of the inhabitants of this island was perfectly independent of his endeavours to bring over to the Church of Rome the few and obscure schismatics of Wales; and let us recollect that his exertions, in both cases, were directed only to persuade. The evidence respecting the massacre of the twelve hundred monks of Bangor is very fairly stated by Fuller; and it seems upon the whole probable, that the event took place after the death of St. Austin. But at any rate the crime was committed in the heat of battle, apparently without design or premeditation-so that it is absurd to charge it upon a person, who, even if he was living, was certainly not present at the scene.

+ Fleury (1. xxxviii., sect. lviii.) mentions three monasteries as having been founded at Tournay and Ghent about the middle of the seventh century.

We are not to confound this missionary with St. Wilfrid, another Englishman, who also gained some reputation both in France and at Rome, from about 660 to 710. The vast quantity of relics which he brought home from his first expedition to the Continent is mentioned by Fleury, liv. xxx., sect. xxxv.

Mosheim, Cent. viii, p. i., c. i. Milner takes great pains to exculpate Boniface from the various charges of violence, arrogance, fraud, &c., which Mosheim very liberally heaps upon him, and to prove him, from his own correspondence, to have been a mere pious, unambitious missionary. There is some reason in the defence; and Mosheim may very probably have been prejudiced against Boniface by that absolute devotion to the Holy See which he professed, and by which he profited. See also Fleury, end of liv. xli., &c,