Irenæus himself. Such a notion, however, is scarcely consistent with the high terms of commendation in which he is introduced, as the bearer of the letter, to the brethren in Asia; nor does it rest upon any other authority than conjecture. It has been doubted, indeed, whether the letter was sent by his hands, or whether it was not eventually despatched through a different channel. The martyrs, however, had also written another letter to the Asiatic Churches on the subject of the Montanist heresy; and as this was likewise intended for the brethren at Rome, it is probable that Irenæus,-who had been elected to succeed Pothinus in the See of Lyons, and would find it convenient, perhaps, to go to Rome in order to his consecration,—took the epistles with him. Jerome's account of the matter has been understood to favour this hypothesis; but upon what grounds it is difficult to perceive.* With respect to the date of these letters, which some critics affix to the year 167, it should be stated, that Eusebius, in his History, expressly assigns them to the seventeenth year of the reign of Antoninus; so that the date in his Chronicle must relate to the commencement of the persecution which gave rise to them, rather than to the letters themselves. Admitting, however, an inconsistency in Eusebius, the later period, A. D. 177, is generally received upon the more credible authority of his Hist. Eccl.; and in this year the death of Pothinus took place. Irenæus had no sooner been invested with the episcopal dignity, than he diligently applied himself to settle the disordered state of the Church, which the recent persecutions had induced. His anxiety extended itself over Gaul. He sent missionaries into the distant provinces, with a view of making converts to the faith, and confirming those who had already embraced the Gospel. Hence he is called by Theodoret, Lumen Gallorum Occidentalium. The prevailing heresies also, which had now become an object of considerable alarm, and by which the women seem to have been particularly influenced, occupied a considerable portion of his attention. The defection of his friend Florinus, who had studied with him under Polycarp, very sensibly affected him; and he addressed a letter to him, in the hopes of reclaiming him from the errors into which he had fallen. A fragment of this letter, in which he discussed the monarchy, or unity of God, and proved that he was not the author of evil, is preserved by Eusebius. (Hist. Eccl. V. 20.) He also wrote a work against Heresies, in five books, of which it will be necessary to speak hereafter. The Easter controversy, which had been hitherto conducted without any breach of Christian charity and goodwill between the contending parties, was at length assuming the character of a bitter and malevolent dispute. Victor, Bishop of Rome, had even excommunicated the Asiatic Churches; and, though the other Bishops exclaimed loudly against this stretch of unauthorized power, and endeavoured to persuade him to adopt a milder course, he obstinately persisted in * Jerom. Vir. Ill. 35. Irenæus presbyter Pothini Episcopi, qui Lugdunensem in Gallia regebat Ecclesiam, a martyribus ejusdem loci ob quasdam Ecclesiæ quæstiones legatus Romam missus honorificas super nomine suo perfert literas. Postea, jam Pothino prope nonagenario ob Christum martyrio coronato in locum ejus substituitur. his resolution. Irenæus, who recollected the cordiality and friendship with which Polycarp and Anicetus had lived and acted together, notwithstanding their difference of opinion on this subject, was peculiarly earnest in his endeavours to bring back peace and unanimity to the Church. He wrote a letter to Victor, in the name of the Christians of Gaul, urging him to desist from violent measures, and to bear with those who conscientiously differed from him, on a point of no essential importance to their common Christianity. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. IV. 14. V. 24. Socr. Eccl. Hist. V. 22.) His interference had the desired effect; and it has been well remarked, that the part which he took in this unhappy discord proved him to have been, in truth, what his name denotes, "A lover of peace." Scarcely had these internal dissensions ceased to harass the Church, when it was assailed from without with a revival of the horrors of persecution. In the 10th year of Severus, A. D. 202, the city of Lyons was laid waste by a general massacre; and, according to the Roman martyrologists, Irenæus was among the number of those who sealed their witness of a "good confession" with their blood. Gregory of Tours asserts that miracles were wrought at his tomb; and the 23rd day of August is devoted in the calendar to his memory. But the authority upon which his martyrdom rests is extremely questionable. Neither Eusebius nor Tertullian have the remotest allusion to it: and though Jerome is cited in its favour, the passage (Comment. in Isa. Ixiv.) is generally supposed to be spurious. Pseudo-Justin, in the Quæstiones ad Orthodoxos (Resp. 115.), is the earliest writer who sanctions the opinion, which may therefore be fairly considered as a fiction of the fifth century. The time of his death is unknown. Besides the work against Heresies, and the Letters to Florinus and Victor, already mentioned, Irenæus was the author of various tracts and dissertations. (Euseb. Hist. Eccl. V. 26.) Among these were an Essay on Knowledge, addressed to the Gentiles; and another on Apostolical Preaching, addressed to Marcianus. He wrote to Blastus, a heretic, on the guilt of Schism; and a Treatise, Tepì dydoádos, in relation to the Eons of Valentinus, is also attributed to him. The conclusion of this last is still in existence; and it affords a curious proof of the practice which then prevailed to a very alarming extent, of corrupting the early Christian writings for the purpose of giving a colour to heretical opinions. It is to the following effect, as cited by Nicephorus, and in Euseb. Hist. Eccl. V. 20. Ορχίζω σε, τὸν μεταγραψόμενον τὸ βίβλιον τοῦτο, κατὰ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ κατὰ τῆς ἐνδόξου παρουσίας αὐτοῦ, ἧς ἔρχεται κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς, ἵνα ἀντιβάλῃς ὃ μετεγράψω, καὶ κατορθώσῃς αὐτὸ πρὸς ἀντίγραφον τοῦτο, ὅθεν μετεγράψω, ἐπιμελῶς· καὶ τὸν ὅρκον τοῦτον ὁμοίως μεταγράψῃς, καὶ θήσεις ἐν τῷ ἀντιγράφῳ. Gregory of Tours has a similar adjuration; as also Rufinus, in the Preface to his Translation of Origen's Treatise тερì ȧрxv. FORM OF PRAYER, Recommended by the BISHOP of BARBADOS, to be used every morning on a Plantation. O LORD our heavenly Father, who givest life and health, and all things, we offer Thee our most humble and hearty thanks, for that we laid us down and slept, and through Thy goodness have risen this morning to see another day. We thank Thee for our health and strength, for our food and clothing, and for all the comforts of this life, which by Thy great mercy we enjoy: But, above all, we bless Thee for Thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace and the hope of glory. Thou, O God, hast made us, and not we ourselves despise not then the work of Thine own hands; keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul. Thou, O God, of Thy tender love towards mankind, hast redeemed us by the blood of thy dear Son. Thou hast promised that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Lord, increase our faith more and more, that we may believe in Him, and trust in His blood, thus graciously shed, for the pardon of our sins, and daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of His most holy life. We have sinned and done amiss. Yet hear us, Lord, for Thy mercy is great, and after the multitude of Thy mercies look upon us, and, for Christ's sake, forgive us. Thou, O God, didst in our Baptism pour Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, and receive us into the number of Thy children by adoption and grace. Grant, that we may continue Thine for ever, and so increase in us Thy Holy Spirit more and more, that all our doings may be ordered by Thy governance to do always that is righteous in Thy sight. In the midst of life we are in death; and after death cometh the Judgment. Grant, Lord, that these thoughts may make us careful how we live, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, and be accepted of Thee in the last day, for our Redeemer's sake. Of ourselves we can do nothing; but in Thee, Lord, is our hope. Look mercifully, we beseech Thee, upon our infirmities: enable us to serve Thee, our God, in all holiness and righteousness; and our earthly master in all honesty, faithfulness, and diligence, with good will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men. So fill us with a sense of our duty one to another, that, putting away all anger, lying, hatred, and evil-speaking, we may speak the truth every man with his neighbour, and be kind one to another; tender hearted, forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any, even as Thou, Lord, for Christ's sake, hast promised to forgive us; that thus bringing forth the fruit of good works in this life, we may of Thee be plenteously rewarded in that which is to come, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Saviour.-Amen. THE TRUCE OF GOD. (From "Notes on a Pedestrian Tour in Switzerland.") THERE are few scenes so captivating, and none more picturesque, than the road from Vevey to Lausanne; though the burning rays of an early autumnal sun rendered it any thing but a path of pleasantness to us. During our sojourn in the latter of these towns a fellowtraveller busied himself with making inquiries into the earlier history of Lausanne and as borrowing (under permission) is no robbery, I shall take this opportunity of profiting by an erstling of his spoils. St. Protasius was the first to preach the Gospel in this quarter. He had been driven out of his own country by the relentless persecutions which dyed the plains of Italy with gore, and fled into Switzerland towards the middle of the fifth century. Marius, Bishop of Aventicum, afterwards removed his See to Lausanne, and its prosperity has ever since continued on the increase. But a period of crime and darkness was, ere long, to spread over the whole face of Europe, and the horrors of war, both external and intestine, threatened its people with extinction, so far as the kingdoms of the West were concerned. Hugh, Bishop of Lausanne, at this time made a noble attempt to arrest the career of destruction, by bringing his ghostly influence to bear upon the superstitious minds of his fellow countrymen and cotemporaries. By his persuasions, the Archbishops of Besançon, Arles, and Vienne, assembled in Romont, at the head of their Suffragans, and formed a council, in which the celebrated "Truce of God" was ordained. This salutary pact forbad the faithful to bear arms against each other between Wednesday evening and Tuesday morning, from the 3d of December to the 26th of January in each year; or from the 29th of January to the close of the Easterweek. Such as transgressed against this wholesome ordinance became liable to the penalties of excommunication, and any Bishop who neglected to announce it with due solemnity was rendered subject to deposition from his office. In this way, two-thirds of the year were abstracted from the ghastly records of human passion, murder, and revenge; and an anathema, which the temper of the age invested with supernatural horrors, suspended its bolt over the heads of the guilty, whether they were of high or of low estate. A single instance will serve to shew how imperatively some such interposition as the Truce of God was called for. The predatory expeditions which the nobles of that age sent forth for the purpose of pillaging their neighbours, or committing highway robberies, were styled "pervasions." In the tenth century the diocese of Lausanne had become the theatre of such unbridled licentiousness, that every terror the law could hold out recoiled powerless before it. No alternative remained but to call forth the thunders of the Church. In the year 1000, therefore, Henry, Bishop of Lausanne, appeared on a certain day in the vestibule of his cathedral, arrayed in his pontifical habiliments, and surrounded by the whole of his clergy, with torches in their hands; and then, in the presence of the assembled multitude, he fulminated sentence of excommunication against every living soul who should be guilty of "pervasion." A translation of this anathema will supply the place of further comment."From the moment when your eyes shall open upon depraved lusts, may they be smitten with darkness! From the moment when your hands shall imbrue themselves in robbery, may they wither like whited walls! May ye weary yourselves without repose; may ye find no rest for body or soul, and the harvest of your labours be wrested from your grasp! May fear and trembling smite you when you face your adversary, and may they consume your days! May the curse of Judas, when he betrayed the Saviour, be never removed from your heads, and may it stand written on your brows whenever ye persist in the sin of pervasion! So be it unto you! Amen." The chronicle does not record the effect which this denunciation produced; but it does record that it embroiled the courageous prelate with several barons in his diocese, and had nearly been followed by his expulsion from Lausanne. D. THE EXTRAORDINARY BLACK-BOOK, AND THE REVENUES MR. EDITOR,-The following estimate of "the revenues of the Established Clergy of England and Wales," is delivered in the Extraordinary Black-Book, p. 48: This estimate, in substance or in detail, by means of the press, and the declamatory harangues of itinerant demagogues, has obtained considerable circulation, and excited a corresponding interest. It has been published in Bell's Life in London, together with a classified List of the livings under 150l. per annum; and of the Benefices held (or supposed to be held) by pluralists, extracted from the same Black-Book: to which the Editor of the journal adds this piquant remark :— We like to state and reiterate these facts. The election at Cambridge shews that the Church of England is still faithful to its character-of the most inveterate and implacable enemy to the people's rights; and if the people, when they obtain the ascendancy, do not "count and reckon" with the Church for its misdeeds, their weakness and infidelity will richly merit contempt. |