round for the means of communicating those blessings, the first and the only one which presented itself was the agency of the clergy. All that was influential among his subjects was contained in the two orders, military and ecclesiastical; and the wild turbulence of the former pointed them out rather as objects than instruments of reformation. The little of literary taste or acquirement which his kingdom contained was confined to the clergy; and there he laboured to encourage its increase, and to distribute it, through the only channel that was open, for the moral improvement of his subjects. It was chiefly with this view that he augmented the power and revenues of the Church, and raised its ministers to a more exalted rank and influence-influence which they subsequently studied to improve by methods not always honourable, but which, as circumstances then existed, it was pardonable if not commendable, it was magnanimous if it was not also politic, in Charlemagne to bestow.

Reformation of the Clergy.

But we shall readily admit, that that monarch's munificence would have been very dangerously bestowed, had he not taken vigorous measures to reform, at the same time that he enriched, the ecclesiastical body; and some of those measures, though we had proposed to defer the particulars of his legislation till a subsequent Chapter, may be mentioned with no less propriety in the present. In the year 789, at an assembly at Aix-laChapelle, Charlemagne published a Capitulary in eighty articles, chiefly with a view to restore the ancient discipline of the Church*. It was addressed to all ecclesiastics, and carried by the officers of the monarch into all the Provinces. The instructions which most nearly affected the peculiar abuses of the age were those, perhaps, which exhorted the Bishops to select their clergy from free men rather than from slaves; and which forbade bishops and abbots and abbesses to possess dogs, or hawks, or buffoons, or jugglers. By the celebrated Council of Francfort (sur le Mein) held in 794, it was enacted, among many other wholesome regulations, that Bishops should not be translated from city to city; that the Bishop should never be absent from his Church for more than three weeks; that he should so diligently instruct his clergy, that a worthy successor might ever be found among them; and that after his death his heirs should only succeed to such portion of his property as he possessed before his ordination-all acquisitions subsequently made were to return to his Church. Other articles regulated the discipline of the inferior clergy. We shall conclude with one additional and very singular instance. Towards the close of the year 803 the Emperor held a parliament at Worms, when a petition was presented to him by all the people of his States, of which the following was the substance- We pray your Majesty that henceforward Bishops may not be constrained to join the army, as they have been hitherto. But when we march with you against the enemy, let them

the former, however, does not appear greatly to have influenced his moral practices; and as to his proficiency in the latter, we may at least venture to prefer to him his own master and preceptor Alcuin, an Englishman, the most celebrated divine of the day; and since we are assured that Charlemagne did not learn to write till late in life, doubtless we might make other exceptions. Alcuin is regarded as the restorer of letters in France, or at least the principal instrument of Charles in that work. In a letter to that Prince he avers that it rested with those two alone to raise up in France a Christian Athens. And his own writings attest his industry in restoring almost every branch of study. (Fleury, Hist. Eccl., liv. 45, sect. xviii.) The devotion of Charlemagne to the services of religion is not disputed; through his whole life he was a regular attendant on the offices, even the nocturnal ceremonies, of the Church, and his last days were passed in correcting the text of the Gospel with the assistance of certain Greeks and Syrians. Fleury, H. E. 1. 45, s. viii. * Fleury, H. E. liv. 44, sect. 46, and liv. 45, sect. 26.

remain in their dioceses, occupied with their holy ministry, and praying for you and your army, singing masses, and making processions, and almsgiving. For we have beheld some among them wounded and killed in battle, God is our witness with how much terror! and these accidents cause many to fly before the enemy. So that you will have more combatants if they remain in their dioceses, since many are employed in guarding them; and they will aid you more effectually by their prayers, raising their hands to heaven, after the manner of Moses. We make the same petition with respect to the priests, that they come not to the army, unless by the choice of their Bishops, and that those be such in learning and morals that we may place full confidence in them, &c.' Charlemagne replied as follows' In our desire both to reform ourselves, and to leave an example to our successors, we ordain that no ecclesiastic shall join the army, except two or three Bishops chosen by the others, to give the benediction, preach and conciliate, and with them some chosen priests to impose penance, celebrate mass, take care of the sick, and give the unction of holy oil and the viaticum, But these shall carry no arms, neither shall they go to battle nor shed any blood, but shall be contented to carry relics and holy vessels, and to pray for the combatants. The other Bishops who remain at their churches shall send their vassals well armed with us or at our disposal, and shall pray for us and our army. For the people and the kings who have permitted their priests to fight along with them have not gained the advantage in their wars, as we know from what has happened in Gaul, in Spain, and in Lombardy. In adopting the contrary practice we hope to obtain victory over the pagans, and finally everlasting life.'

CHAPTER XI.

On the Dissensions of the Church from the Age of Constantine to that of Charlemagne.

Division of the subject:-I. Schism of the Donatists-its real origin-progress-Circumcellionsconduct of Constantine-and his successor-of Julian-conference of Carthage-St. Augustinthe Vandals-Saracens-real extent of the offences of the Donatists: some account of St. Augustin. -II. Priscillian-his persecution and death-probable opinions-the first Martyr to religious dissent-how truly so-Ithakius-Martin of Tours-effect of Priscillian's death on his followers. III. Jovinian-his opinions-by whom chiefly opposed-Edict of Honorius-Vigilautius-his character-abuses opposed by him-St. Jerome.-IV. Pelagian Controversy-its importanceand perplexity-Pelagius and Celestius-opposition of St. Augustin-Councils of Jerusalem and Diospolis-reference to Zosimus, Bishop of Rome-perseverance of St. Augustin-and his success-the sum of the Pelagian opinions-opposite doctrine of Fatalism-Semi-Pelagianism-Doctrine of the East-indifference of Greek Church to this Controversy.-V, Controversy respecting the Incarnation-early origin-Apollinaris-his doctrine-Nestorius-his rash assertion-Cyril of Alexandria-Council of Ephesus-condemnation and banishment of Nestorius-progress of his opinions what they really amounted to-Eutyches-the Monophysite heresy-Dioscorus of Alexandria-second Council of Ephesus-interference of Pope Leo-Council of Chalcedoncondemnation and subsequent conduct of the Eutychians-Henoticon of Zeno-its object-effectHeraclius and the Monothelites-Council of Constantinople-general remarks on this Controversy -apology for those engaged in it-some of its consequences.-VI. Worship of Images-its specious origin-its progress in East and West-Leo the Isaurian-effects of his Edict-Constantine Copronymus-Synod of Constantinople---the Empress Irene-second Council of Nice, or Seventh General Council-Remarks on the Seven General Councils-Leo the Armenian-Michel-his Epistle to Louis le Débonnaire-The Empress Theodora-Feast of Orthodoxy-general remarks --John Damascenus-miracles-conduct of secular clergy-of monastic orders of the common people of Papal See-contrast between the Italian and French clergy.

THE Controversies which occasioned the widest divisions in the Church during the five centuries following its establishment, were on two subjects

-the Incarnation of our blessed Saviour, and the Worship of Images. Indeed, if we except the Pelagian opinions, there were none other than these which left any lasting consequences behind them. Still we are not justified in confining our notice entirely to those three, but we must extend it, though more concisely, to some other dissensions, of less importance and earlier date, which animated the passions of Churchmen during the interval between the Arian and the Incarnation controversies. We shall mention them in the following order :-1. The schism of the Donatists; 2. the heresy of the Priscillianists; 3. the opinions of the reformers, Jovinian and Vigilantius; and shall then proceed to the doctrines of Pelagius and Celestius. To these we shall limit our curiosity; for the various disputes, created directly or indirectly, by the writings of Origen, and the many real (or supposed) ramifications of the Manichæan heresy, are not such as to claim a place in this work.

I. On the death of Mensurius, Bishop of Carthage, in 311, the clergy and people of that city and district elected in his place

the Archdeacon Cæcilianus, and proceeded to his conse- The Donatists. cration without waiting, as it would seem, for the con

sent of the Bishops of Numidia, a contiguous and subordinate province. Probably custom or courtesy was violated by this neglect; but the Numidians considered it also as an infringement of their right, and hastened to resent it as such. This was no doubt the real foundation of the schism-an objection taken against the character of one Felix, a Bishop who had been prominent in the consecration of Cæcilianus, though it was repeatedly brought forward in the course of the controversy, was obviously a vain and contemptible pretext. The dissentients, headed by a certain Donatus, assembled a Council of their own, condemned Cæcilianus, and appointed his deacon, Majorinus, for his successor. Both parties then proceeded to great extremities, and as there appeared no other prospect of reconciliation, they agreed to bring the dispute before the Emperor Constantine, who had just then proclaimed the establishment of Christianity. Constantine inquired into the affair, first by means of a Synod at Rome, consisting of three Gaulish and fifteen Italian prelatest, at which the Bishop of the capital presided; and presently afterwards, by an inquiry into the truth of the charges against Felix, before the civil magistrate Ælian, proconsul of Africa, assisted by several lay, and for the most part military assessors: the decision, on both investigations, was unfavourable to the Donatists. They were discontented; seventy venerable Numidian prelates, assembled in council in the heart and light of Africa, had rejected the authority of Cæcilianus-could so solemn an act be superseded by a commission of a small number of obscure Bishops meeting in a different province, and perhaps ignorant of the leading circumstances? They submitted the matter to the Emperor's reconsideration. His patience was not yet exhausted; he immediately summoned a much more numerous synod at Arles, in Gaul, and here again, after much serious debate, the Donatists lost their cause. Still dissatisfied, they had recourse to the final expedient, an appeal to the personal justice of Constantine. The Emperor again consented to their request; but on this occasion the motive of his indulgence may be liable to some suspicion, since the very application admitted the power of the Emperor to reverse the decision of an ecclesiastical council-a right which he might very naturally

* He was accused of being a Traditor; i. e. of having delivered up copies of the Scrip tures during Diocletian's persecution.

† Fleury, lib. x., sect. 11., records the names of most of them; and the order of precedence.

choose to assert at that moment-at least it is certain that, in the year 316, he condescended to investigate the affair at Milan, in the presence of the contending parties. He deliberately confirmed the former decisions; and then, as these repeated condemnations had no other effect than to increase the perversity of the schismatics, he applied the secular power to their correction*. This measure led to some violent disturbances; many joined, as persecuted, those whom they loved not as schismatics, and the confusion thus generally occasioned gave license to a number of lawless ruffians, the refuse of Africa, of no sect, and probably of no faith, to range their weapons and their crimes on the side of the contumacious. These men, the soldiers of the Donatists, were called Circumcellions; and their savage excesses went very far to convert the schism into a rebellion. When the quarrel arrived at this point, it is well worthy of notice, that Constantine, instead of proceeding to extinguish the malcontents by the sword, attended to the advice of the governors of Africa, so as to repeal the laws which had been enacted against them-and to allow the people full liberty to adhere to the party which they might prefert.

Not so his successor Constans : during his reign we read of the defeat of the Donatists at the battle of Bagnia, and of thirteen years of tumult and bloodshed, and uninterrupted persecution. These severe measures, which the fury of the Circumcellions could scarcely justify, destroyed many, and dispersed into other countries a still greater number of the perverse schismatics-but converted probably none.

The moment of reaction was not far distant; the numerous and revengeful exiles were restored to their home by the suspicious justice of Julian ‡; and the sect appears to have sprung up, during the few following years, to the highest eminence which it at any time attained. Towards the conclusion of the fourth century Africa was covered with its churches, and its spiritual interests were guarded by a body of four hundred Bishops.

Let us observe the consequence of this prosperity-a violent division grew up among them, respecting some very insignificant person or thing, and opened a breach in their fortress to the persevering assaults of the Catholics. Besides which, the method of assault was now somewhat changed and refined; the weapons of reason and disputation were now again admitted into the service of the Church; and they were not without effect, since they were directed and sharpened by the genius of Augustin. The Bishop of Hippo attacked the Donatists in his writings, in his public discourses, in his private conversation; and so vigorously exposed their dangerous and seditious spirit, as to lessen their popularity in Africa, and to destroy any sympathy which their former sufferings might have created in the rest of Christendom.

*He certainly exiled some, and is said to have deprived them of their churches, and even to have shed some blood. See Mosh., cent. iv., p. ii., ch. v.

This change in his policy seems to have taken place in 321-after five years experience of the opposite system.

The horrors which they committed on their restoration are very vividly and seriously related by Fleury, (1. xv., s. 32.) 'They expelled the Catholic people, violated the women, and murdered the children. They threw the Eucharist to the dogs, but the dogs became mad, and turning against their masters tore them in pieces. One of them threw out of the window a phial of the holy ointment, which fell among the stones without breaking, &c. They exorcised the faithful in order to baptize them anew; they washed the walls of the Churches, and broke the altars and burnt them-for most of those in Africa were then of wood-they broke the consecrated chalices and melted them down, to convert them to other purposes-in a word they held as profane all that the Catholic Bishops had consecrated, &c.'

§ He seems first to have taken the field while a simple presbyter, in the year 394.

From this period they fell gradually into dishonour; somewhat they still endured from the unjust application of the laws against heresy, of which no one has ever accused them; but a dangerous wound was inflicted by the celebrated conference held at Carthage in 411. The tribune Marcellinus was sent into Africa by the Emperor Honorius, with full power to terminate the controversy; he convoked an assembly of the heads of both parties, and two hundred and eighty-six Catholic, and about two hundred and seventy-nine Donatist, bishops presented themselves in defence of their respective opinions. The most solemn preparations were made to give weight and dignity to this meeting, and its deliberations were watched with profound anxiety by the people of Africa*. For three days the Tribune listened with respectful attention to the arguments advanced by both parties, and then proceeded to confirm the decisions of the former century, by pronouncing in favour of the Catholics. Augustin has deserved the glory of this spiritual triumph-and, that no means might be wanting to make it decisive, it was vigorously pursued by the myrmidons of civil authority, who inflicted almost every punishment on the contumacious, excepting the lastf.

The survivors took breath under the government of the Vandals, who conquered that part of Africa from the Romans about the year 427; and when it was recovered by Belisarius, more than a hundred years afterwards, the sect of the Donatists was still found to exist there as a separate communion. It was again exposed to the jealousy of the Catholics, and particularly attracted the hostility of Gregory the Great; but we do not learn that it suffered further persecution. We are told that it dwindled into insignificance about the end of the sixth century; but it is not improbable, that the Saracen invaders of Numidia found them, some few years later, the remnant of a sect not ill-disposed to favour any invader, nor unmindful of the sufferings of their ancestors.

The Donatists have never been charged, with the slightest show of truth, with any error of doctrine, or any defect in Church government or discipline, or any depravity of moral practice; they agreed in every respect with their adversaries, except in one-they did not acknowledge as legitimate the ministry of the African Church, but considered their own body to be the true, uncorrupted, universal Church. It is quite clear, that they pushed their schism to very great extremities-even to that of rejecting the communion of all who were in communion with the Church which they called false; but this was the extent of their spiritual offence, even from the assertion of their enemies. The excesses of the Circumcellions lost them much of the sympathy which would otherwise have been bestowed on their misfortunes; but the outrages and association of those outlaws were generally disclaimed

* Let the Bishops (says Marcellinus in a previous proclamation) signify to the people in their sermons to keep themselves quiet and silent. I will publish my sentence and expose it to the judgment of all the people of Carthage.' St. Augustin himself addressed an epistle or tract on this controversy, to the Donatist laity. The particulars of the conference are detailed at great length by Fleury in his twenty-second book.

An exception little more than nominal; for though the infliction of death, as the direct punishment of schism, is not enjoined by the Edict of Honorius, it necessarily followed, as the punishment of contumacy and rebellion. The edict, however, even without that penalty, was so severe, and threatened to drive the Donatists to such extremities, that the civil magistrate, Dulcitius, hesitated to enforce it, until he should have taken counsel of Augustin. That prelate exhorted him to proceed-' since it was much better (he said) that some should perish by their own fires, than that the whole body should burn in the everlasting flames of Gehenna, through the desert of their impious dissension.' Epist. 61, (alias 204). Honorius' Edict appears in the Theodosian Code, and a very sufficient specimen of it may be found in Jortin, H. E. ad ann. 414,