retains, and by which not only the people, but also the Roman Clergy, are excluded entirely from all share in the honor of conferring that important dignity. 2dly. A spiritual war was declared against heretics, whose numbers increasing considerably about this time, created much disturbance in the Church in general, and infested, in a more particular manner, several provinces in France, which groaned under the fatal dissensions that accompanied the propagation of their opinions. 3dly. The right of recommending and nominating to the saintly order 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 Pontiff alone. The Canons of this Council were of a harmless nature, except that which was issued against the Albigensian and Waldensian Christians; for such all were denominated who were enemies to the Roman Pontiff. After enumerating the titles by which these heretics were called, the twenty-seventh canon subjects to a "curse both themselves, their protectors, or harborers, and all persons who admit them into their houses, or lands." "That their houses and goods should be confiscated, and themselves reduced to slavery by their Princes." "Further, we take off two years' penance from such of the faithful as shall, by the counsel of their Bishops, take up arms against them, for the purpose of subduing them."

To all this we must not forget to add, that the power of erecting new kingdoms, which had been claimed by the Pontiffs from the time of Gregory VII., was not only assumed, but also exercised by Alexander in a remarkable instance; for, in the year 1179, he conferred the title of King, with the ensigns of royalty, upon Alphonso I., Duke of Portugal, who, under the Pontificate of Lucius II., had rendered his province tributary to the Roman See.

CHAPTER XI.

OF THE WALDENSES.

THE Decree against heretics, issued by the Lateran Council, was evidently aimed, under a general designation, to affect the interests more particularly of the Waldensian Churches; of which Claudius, of Turin, has been styled the founder, though some historians have traced their origin to a period still more remote. Of these Christians, the following account may not be uninteresting:-Leger begins his history of the Churches of the Vaudois, by a declaration that they never required any reformation. For the first four or five centuries, the whole of what is termed the north of Italy, of which the Waldenses formed a part, remained comparatively pure. Though not altogether free from error and superstition in succeeding ages, yet, being a pastoral, simple, and unambitious people, whose situation kept them at a distance from the controversies and customs of those degenerate ages, they remained comparatively little infected by the abounding evils in the Church. The most ancient historian of the persecutions to which they were subjected, affirms, that "Toulouse had been scarcely ever exempt, even from its first foundation, from that pest of heresy which the fathers transmitted to their children;" and that "their opinions had been transmitted in Gaul, from generation to generation, almost from the origin of Christianity." A noble testimony to the antiquity of these evangelical Churches, which, from the first planting of religion in Gaul, had, as far as their opportunities would allow, resisted the usurpations and corruptions of the Church of Rome. Alexander III., in a Synod held at Tours, in 1167, declared, that the doctrine of the Vaudois was a damnable heresy of long continuance. And their adversary, Reiner, an Italian inquisitor of the middle of the thirteenth century, whose business it was to report the opinions of the heretics of Lyons, gives the following singular testimony:-"The heresy of the Vaudois, or poor people of Lyons, is of great antiquity. Among

all the sects that either are, or have been, there is none more dangerous to the Church, and that for three reasons: 1. Because it is the sect of the longest standing of any; for some say that it hath been continued down ever since the time of Pope Sylvester, (in the fourth century:) and others, ever since that of the Apostles. 2. Because it is the most general of all sects; for scarcely is there a country to be found where this sect hath not spread itself. And, 3. Because it has the greatest appearance of piety; for, in the sight of all, these men are just and honest in their transactions, believe of God what ought to be believed, receive all the articles of the Apostles' Creed, and only profess to hate the Church of

Rome."

Though these eminent witnesses for the truth are now termed generally Waldenses and Albigenses, yet they were formerly known by a variety of names,- -some derived from. their teachers, some from their manner of life, some from the places where they resided, some from the fate they suffered, and some from the malice of their enemies. The valleys of Piedmont, situated between Mount Viso and the Col de Sestrieres, first gave them the name of Vallenses, Waldenses, or Vaudois, a name which has since been employed to distinguish them as a primitive Church. Those in the south of France were termed Albigenses, or poor men of Lyons, from their residence in or about Albi and Lyons.

These heretics, as they were called by their enemies, were accused of holding the most detestable opinions; and many of them were put to death in the most cruel form, by the supporters of the Romish hierarchy. That the reader may perceive, however, what these opinions were, the following account of them is given by Evervinus, of Stainfield, in Germany, one of their avowed adversaries, who cannot be supposed to speak any thing in their favor.

"There have been lately some heretics discovered among us near Cologne," says Evervinus, in a letter to Bernard, Abbot of Clairval, dated about the year 1140, "though several of them have, with satisfaction, returned to the Church again.

"Their heresy is this; they say that the Church is only

among themselves, because they alone, of all men, follow the steps of Christ, and imitate the Apostles, not seeking secular gains. "We,' they say, 'the poor of Christ, who have no certain abode, fleeing from one city to another, like sheep in the midst of wolves, do endure persecution with the Apostles and Martyrs, though our lives are strict, laborious, devout, and holy, and though we seek only what is necessary for the support of the body, and live as men who are not of the world. But the apostolical dignity is corrupted, by engaging itself in secular affairs, while it sits in the chair of Peter.' They do not hold the baptism of infants to be a duty, alleging that passage of the Gospel, 'Whosoever shall believe and be baptized, shall be saved.' They put no confidence in the intercession of Saints; and all things observed in the Church, which have not been established by Christ himself, or his Apostles, they call superstitions. They do not admit of any purgatory after death, but affirm, that as soon as the soul departs out of the bodies, they enter into rest or punishment, proving their assertion from that passage of Solomon's, 'Which way soever the tree falls, whether to the south or north, there it lies;" whence they make void all the prayers and oblations of believers for the deceased.'

This letter roused the indignation of Bernard against the Cathari, and he lost no time in endeavouring to expose their "heresies and hypocrisy," to the world. After throwing out innumerable invectives and false statements against a people, of whose manners he acknowledges he knew but little, with a strange inconsistency he adds: "If you ask them of their faith, nothing can be more Christian; if you observe their conversation, nothing can be more blameless; and what they speak they prove by deeds. You may see a man, for the testimony of his faith, frequent the church, honour the elders, offer his gift, make his confession, receive the sacrament; what more like a Christian? As to life and manners, he circumvents no He fasts much, and eats not the bread of idleness, but works with his hands for his support. The whole body, indeed, are rustic and illiterate, and all whom I have known of this set are very ignorant."

man.

Egbert, too, a Monk, and afterwards Abbot of Schonauge, tells us, that he had often disputed with these heretics, and that they maintained their sentiments, by the authority of Scriptures. "They are armed," says he, "with all those passages in Holy Scripture, which in any degree seem to favor their sentiments.

"Concerning the souls of the dead, they hold this opinion, that the very instant of their departure out of the body, they go to eternal bliss or endless misery; for they do not admit the belief of the Universal Church, that there are some purgatory punishments, with which the souls of some of the elect are tried for a time, on account of those sins from which they have not been purified, by a plenary satisfaction in this life. On which account, they think it superfluous and vain, to give alms for the dead, and to celebrate masses; and they scoff at our ringing of bells, which nevertheless, for pious reasons, are used in our churches, to give others warning that they may pray for the dead, and to put them in mind of their own death. As for masses, they altogether despise them, regarding them as of no value; for they maintain that the sacerdotal order has entirely ceased in the church of Rome, and all other Catholic churches, and that true Priests are only to be found in their sect."

About the year 1160, Peter Waldo, a rich merchant of Lyons, attached himself to the Waldenses, at a period, happily, when the Papal Hierarchy began to put its threats in execution, against all who questioned its infallibility. The extensive mercantile engagements of this great and good man, gave ample opportunities of conversation with strangers, on the idolatries of the Romish Church; and his influence and riches enabled him with more boldness to take a decided part in opposing its usurped authority. Having clearly seen, from a careful perusal of the Scriptures, the only way of salvation, through faith in the righteousness of Christ, he was exceedingly desirous of communicating the same knowledge of divine truths to others. For this purpose he abandoned his mercantile pursuits, distributed his wealth among the poor; and, while they flocked to him to partake of his alms, he laboured to impress upon their minds the paramount importance of eternal concerns. But the