devotion. The heads of families, striving to surpass each other in their zeal for the propagation and advancement of monkery, dedicated their children to God, by shutting them up in convents, and devoting them to a solitary life, which they looked upon as the highest felicity; nor did they fail to send with these innocent victims a rich dowry. Abandoned profligates, who had passed their days in the most enormous pursuits, and whose guilty consciences filled them with terror and remorse, were comforted with the delusive hopes of obtaining pardon, and making atonement for their crimes, by leaving the greatest part of their fortune to some monastic society. Multitudes, impelled by the unnatural dictates of a gloomy superstition, deprived their children of fertile lands and rich patrimonies, in favour of the monks, by whose prayers they hoped to render the Deity propitious. Several ecclesiastics laid down rules for the direction of the monastic orders. Those among the Latins, who undertook this pious task, were Fructuosus, Isidore, Johannes Gerundinensis, and Columba." The rule of discipline prescribed by St. Benedict, was not as yet so universally followed as to exclude all others.

The Greek

v. The writers of this age, who distinguished themselves by their genius or erudition, were very few in number. Among the Greeks, the first rank is due writers. to Maximus, a monk, who disputed with great obstinacy and warmth against the Monothelites, composed some illustrations upon the holy Scriptures, and was upon the whole a man of no mean capacity, though unhappy through the impatience and violence of his natural temper.

Isychius, bishop of Jerusalem, explained several books of Scripture; and left behind him several Homilies and some productions of less importance.

Dorotheus, abbot of Palestine, acquired a considerable name by his Ascetic Dissertations, in which he laid down a plan of monastic life and manners.

Antiochus, a monk of Seba in Palestine, and a monk of a very superstitious complexion, composed a Pandect of the holy Scriptures, i. e. a summary or system of the Christian doctrine, which is by no means worthy of the highest commendation.

o Gervais, Histoire de l'Abbe Suger, tom. i. p. 9-16.

p Luca Holstenii Codex Regular. tom. ii. p. 225.

q See Simon, Critique de la Bibliotheque des Auteurs Ecclesiastiques de M. Du Pin, tom. i. p. 261.

Sophronius, bishop of Jerusalem, was rendered illustrious, and attracted the veneration of succeeding ages, by the controversies he carried on against those who, at this time, were branded with the name of heretics; and particularly against the Monothelites, of whose doctrine he was the first opposer, and also the fomenter of the dispute which it occasioned."

There are yet extant several Homilies, attributed to Andrew, bishop of Crete, which are destitute of true piety and eloquence, and which are moreover considered by some writers as entirely spurious.

Gregory, surnamed Pisides, deacon of Constantinople, beside the History of Heraclius and the Avares, composed several poems, and other pieces of too little moment to deserve mention.

Theodore, abbot of Raithu, published a book, which is still extant, against those sects who seemed to introduce corrupt innovations into the Christian religion by their doctrine relating to the person of Christ.

writers.

VI. Among the Latin writers, a certain number were The Latin distinguished from the rest by their superior abilities. Ildefonse, archbishop of Toledo, was reputed for his learning; the Spaniards however attribute to him, without foundation, certain treatises concerning the Virgin Mary.'

We have yet extant two books of epistles, written by Desiderius, bishop of Cahors, and published by the learned Canisius.

Eligius, or Eloi, bishop of Limoges, left behind him several Homilies, and some other productions.

Marculf, a Gallic monk, composed two books of ecclesiastical forms, which are highly valuable, as they are extremely proper to give us a just idea of the deplorable state of religion and learning in this century.'

Aldhelm, an English prelate, composed several poems concerning the Christian life, which exhibit but indifferent marks of genius and fancy."

r See the Acta Sanctorum, tom. ii. Martii ad d. xi. p. 65.

s See the Acta Sanctorum, Januar. tom. ii. p. 535.

t Histoire Literaire de la France, tom. iii. p. 565.

Su This prelate certainly deserved a more honourable mention than is here made of him by Dr. Mosheim. His poetical talents were by no means the most distinguishing part of his character. He was profoundly versed in the Greek, Latin, and Saxon languages. He appeared also with dignity in the paschal controversy, that so long divided the Saxon and British churches. See Collier's Ecclesiastical Hist. vol. i. p. 121.

Julian Pomerius confuted the Jews, and acquired a name by several other productions, which are neither worthy of much applause nor of utter contempt. To all these we might add Cresconius, whose abridgment of the canons is well known; Fredegarius the historian, and a few others.

CHAPTER III.

CONCERNING THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH DURING THIS

CENTURY.

ble

deplora

I. In this barbarous age, religion lay expiring under a motley and enormous heap of superstitious inventions, and had neither the courage nor the force state of reto raise her head, or to display her native charms, ligion. to a darkened and deluded world. In the earlier periods of the church, the worship of Christians was confined to the one Supreme God, and his Son Jesus Christ; but the Christians of this century multiplied the objects of their devotion, and paid homage to the remains of the true cross, to the images of the saints, and to bones, whose real owners were extremely dubious." The primitive Christians, in order to excite men to a course of piety and virtue, set before them that heavenly state, and those mansions of misery, which the gospel has revealed as the different portions of the righteous and the wicked; while the Christians of this century talked of nothing else but a certain fire, which effaced the stains of vice, and purified souls from their corruption. The former taught that Christ, by his sufferings and death, had made atonement for the sins of mortals; the latter seemed, by their superstitious doctrine, to exclude from the kingdom of heaven, such as had

w It will not be amiss to quote here a remarkable passage out of The Life of St. Eligius, or Eloi, bishop of Noyon, which is to be found in Dacherius's Spicilegium veter. Scriptor. tom. ii. p. 92. This passage, which is very proper to give us a just idea of the piety of this age, is as follows: "Huic sanctissimo viro inter cetera virtutum suarum miracula id etiam a Domino concessum erat, ut sanctorum martyrum corpora, quæ per tot sæcula abdita populis hactenus habebantur, eo investigante ac nimio ardore fidei indagante, patefacta proderentur." It appears, by this passage, that St. Eloi was a zealous relic hunter, and if we may give credit to the writer of his life, he was very successful at this kind of game, for he smelt and unkennelled the carcasses of St. Quintin, St. Plato, St. Crispin, St. Crispinian, St. Lucian, and many more. The bishops of this age, who were either ambitiously desirous of popular applause, or intent upon accumulating riches, and filling their coffers with the oblations of a superstitious people, pretended to be endowed with a miraculous sagacity in discovering the bodies of saints and martyrs. VOL. I.

58

not contributed, by their offerings, to augment the riches of the clergy, or the church. The former were only studious to attain to a virtuous simplicity of life and manners, and employed their principal zeal and diligence in the culture of true and genuine piety; while the latter placed the whole of religion in external rites and bodily exercises. The methods also of solving the difficulties, and dissipating the doubts, that often arose in inquisitive minds, were of a piece with the rest of the superstitious system that now prevailed. The two great and irresistible arguments against all doubts, were the authority of the church, and the working of miracles; and the production of these prodigies required no extraordinary degree of dexterity in an age of such gross and universal ignorance.

The

II. Few either of the Greeks or Latins applied themselves to the interpretation of the holy Scriptures tors of the holy during this century. There are yet extant some Scriptures. commentaries of Isychius, bishop of Jerusalem, upon certain books of the Old Testament, and upon the Epistle to the Hebrews. Maximus published a solution of sixty-five questions relating to the holy Scriptures, and other productions of the same nature. Julian Pomerius attempted, but without success, to reconcile the seeming contradictions that are to be found in the sacred writings, and to explain the prophecy of Nahum. All these writers were manifestly inferior to the meanest expositors of modern times. The Grecian doctors, particularly those who pretended to be initiated in the most mysterious depths of theology, were continually hunting after fantastic allegories, as is evident from the questions of Maximus already mentioned. The Latins, on the contrary, were so diffident of their abilities, that they did not dare to enter these allegori

x St. Eligius, or Eloi, expresses himself upon this matter in the following manner : "Bonus Christianus est, qui ad ecclesiam frequenter venit, et oblationem, quæ in altari Deo offeratur, exhibet: qui de fructibus suis non gustat, nisi prius Deo aliquid offerat; qui, quoties sanctæ solemnitates adveniunt, ante dies plures castitatem etiam cum propria uxore custodit, ut secura conscientia Domini altare accedere possit; qui postremo symbolum vel orationem Dominicam memoriter tenet. dum habetis in potestate remedia; oblationes et decimas ecclesiis offerte, luminaria Redimite animas vestras de pœna, sanctis locis, juxta quod habetis, exhibite; ad ecclesiam quoque frequentius convenite, sanctorum patrocinia humiliter expetite; quod si observaveritis, securi in die judicii ante tribunal æterni judicis venientis dicetis; Da, Domine, quia dedimus." We see here a large and ample description of the character of a good Christian, in which there is not the least mention of the love of God, resignation to his will, obedience to his laws, or of justice, benevolence, and charity toward men; and in which the whole of religion is made to consist in coming often to the church, bringing offerings to the altar, lighting candles in Fonsecrated places, and such like vain services.

cal labyrinths, but contented themselves with what flowers they could pluck out of the rich collections of Gregory and Augustin. Of this we see a manifest example in Paterius's Exposition of the Old and New Testament, which is entirely compiled from the writings of Gregory the Great." Among the interpreters of this century, we must not forget Thomas, bishop of Heraclea, who gave a second Syriac version of all the books of the New Testament."

III. While philosophy and theology had scarcely any remains of life, any marks of existence among the Tidactic theLatins, the Greeks were wholly occupied withology. controversies about certain particular branches of religion, and never once thought of reducing all the doctrines of Christianity into one regular and rational system. It is true, Antiochus, a monk of Palestine, composed a short summary of the Christian doctrine, which he entitled The Pandect of the holy Scriptures. It is, however, easy to perceive what sort of an author he was, how void of dignity and true judgment, from many circumstances, and particularly from that rueful poem which is subjoined to his work, in which he deplores, in lamentable strains, the loss of that precious fragment of the true cross, which is said to have been carried away by the Persians among other spoils. The most elegant and judicious summary of theology that appeared among the Latins in this century, was the treatise of Ildefonse, De cognitione baptismi, which was saved by Balusius from the ruins of time; a work indeed which is not extremely necessary, since the ignoble frauds of superstition have been so fully brought to light, though it contains remarkable proofs that many of the corrupt additions and inventions, which disfigure Christianity in the popish churches, were not contrived till after this period." The dry and insipid body of divinity, composed by Taio, or Tago, bishop of Saragossa, under the title of Five

y This useless production has been usually published with the works of Gregory the Great: in consequence of which, the Benedictine monks have inserted it in their splendid edition of the works of that pontiff, tom. iv. part ii.

z Jos. Sim. Assemanni Biblioth. Orient. Vatican. tom. ii. p. 93, 94.

a See Baluzii Miscellanea. tom. vi. p. 1. From the work of Ildefonsus it appears evident, that the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation was absolutely unknown to the Latins in this century, see C. 137, p. 99; that the Holy Scriptures were in the hands of all Christians, and were perused by them without the least molestation or restraint, C. 80, p. 59. Ildefonsus, it is true, is zealous in banishing reason and philosophy from religious matters, he, however, establishes the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the ancient doctors as the supreme tribunals before which all theological opinions are to be tried, P. 14, 92.