outrages the Christians were there exposed. The Pope was so sensibly affected that he resolved to put an end to the insolence and insatiable rapacity of the Mahometans. He summoned the Christian Princes and Knights to a Council at Clermont in Auvergne (A.D. 1095), called upon them to engage in a military expedition against the Infidels, and excited their enthusiasm to such a pitch, that the whole Assembly spontaneously exclaimed, " God wills it! God wills it!" This cry re-echoed through the whole West, and shortly after, there stood ready a tremendous host of men armed at all points. They wore, as a badge of their engagement, a red cross on their right shoulder. whence originated the name of Crusaders and Crusade, Full of joy and courage, they marched to Palestine. After having endured inexpressible hardships, and fought many a hot battle, they at last took Jerusalem, and the brave hero, Godfrey of Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine, was proclaimed King A.D. 1099. Being presented with a golden crown, he refused to wear it, saying, that he would never consent to wear a crown of gold, where the Redeemer of the world had worn a crown of thorns; and he never gave himself any other title but that of Duke Godfrey. The new Kingdom, however, lasted only eighty-eight years. Owing to the treachery of the Greeks, and to the want of discipline and harmony among the Crusaders, it was unable to resist the superior forces of the Turks, although it repeatedly obtained auxiliaries from the West; and thus Jerusalem was taken by Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, in 1187.

What did the Pope do? What did he effect at the Council of Clermont ? In what year was the Council of Clermont held ? What ensued in the West ? What is the origin of the name of Crusade ? What can you relate of the first Crusade? In what year was Jerusalem taken? What can you relate of Godfrey of Bouillon? How long did the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem last? What caused its fall? When, and by whom was it conquered?

D

About the year 1300, fresh hordes of Turks, called the Ottomans, poured down from Tartary, subdued the Seljukians, and extended their conquests over Western Asia, Rumelia, Moldavia, Servia, Bulgaria, Greece, and the Morea; until at last, under that monster of brutality and voluptuousness, called Mahomet (II.) the Great, they rendered themselves masters of Constantinople, the Capital of the Greek Empire (A.D. 1453); which calamity God, no doubt, permitted in punishment for the grievous offences it had committed against Him. The further progress of the Turks, however, was checked by the ardent zeal and heroic valour of the Christian Princes Hunniades and Scanderbeg, of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (who from 1310 were called Knights of Rhodes, and from 1530, Knights of Malta), and of other Christian Orders of Chivalry, till they were at last completely overthrown by the united forces of the Pope, of Spain, and Venice, and by the evident help of the Glorious Mother of God, in the famous battle of Lepanto (A.D. 1571). The result of this victory was not only a check to the progress of the Ottomans, but also the beginning of the decline of their power; and thus Catholic Europe, and especially Germany, was saved from the imminent danger of being likewise overrun and subjugated by those ferocious Infidels.

41. In the Western countries of Europe, the Crusades everywhere roused the people to a more vigorous exertion of their mental powers and to a new spiritual life. During the destructive Migration of

About what year, and by what Turks were the Seljukians subdued, and how far did they extend their conquests? In what year, and by whom was Constantinople taken ? Who checked the further progress of the Turks? By whom were they at last completely overthrown? In what battle, and in what year ? What was the result of this victory?

41. What influence had the Crusades on Western Europe?

Nations (§ 38), the sciences had found an asylum in the Monasteries; but now they spread among the people, and were ardently cherished by them. Celebrated Schools and Universities were established, and men of wonderful erudition, as, St. Anselm (d. 1109), Albertus Magnus (d. 1280), St. Thomas of Aquino (d. 1274), and others, occupied the professorial chairs. Those times, generally called "The Middle Ages," are still more renowned for the lustre of Christian virtues, for the firmness of faith, for childlike simplicity, and for an ardent love of God and man. Even at the present time, we behold with surprise and wonder those ancient gigantic Cathedrals which were erected by the piety of our ancestors; and we are enraptured at the most tender devotion, expressed in the paintings and statues with which they adorned the buildings consecrated to God. Such great and charming works could only be produced by the Religion which filled their hearts and governed all their actions. This same Religion also poured out the greatest blessings over the earth through the holy Founders of Religious Orders, St. Romuald (d. 1027), St. Bruno (d. 1101), St. Norbert (d. 1134), St. Bernard (d. 1153), St. Dominic (d. 1221), St. Francis of Assisium, surnamed the Seraphic (d. 1226), and many other men of God. The numerous Monasteries which they built, not only produced many great Saints and enlightened Prelates, but they also cherished piety and religious zeal among the lower classes of the people. They relieved the wants of the poor, sheltered and nursed the sick, and

Where had the sciences found a asylum during the invasions by the barbarians, and among whom were they now spread? What learned men of those times can you name? What do we call those times, and what are they particularly remarkable for? What monuments give, even at the present time, evidence of the piety of our ancestors? What enabled them to produce such stupendous works? Through whom in particular did the Catholic Religion pour out its blessings at that time? What fruits did the numerous Monasteries bring forth?

redeemed those who had been made prisoners and slaves; they sent Missionaries into all parts of the world, and obtained, by their devout prayers, abundant graces from Heaven on countries and nations.

42. In the mean time, there appeared also an exuberant growth of cockle among the wheat in the field of God (Matt. 13). There were pernicious feuds and wars, various acts of injustice and violence, and many scandals. In several places, and particularly in Germany, the custom had been introduced by temporal Princes, of putting the newly elected Bishops and Abbots in possession of their benefices, by giving them the Ring and the Crosier, the symbols of Pastoral authority; which ceremony was called Investiture, and seemed to imply the conferring of spiritual jurisdiction. Not content with this, the Emperor Henry IV. used to bestow Bishoprics and Abbeys upon the most unworthy candidates, and even on such as offered him the largest sums of money. Pope Gregory VII. courageously inveighed against those crying abuses, and hence ensued, about 1076, a long and tedious contest, called The Contest of Investiture, out of which the Church indeed came forth victorious, but not till after many hard trials. After that, there arose Heretics, who kindled the fire of revolt first against the Ecclesiastical, and then against the Secular authorities; as, in France the Albigenses, in Upper Italy the Waldenses, in England the Wickliffites or Lollards, in Bohemia the Hussites. Peace, it is true, was restored

42. Was there in those times no cockle in the field of God? What kind of cockle wa it? What custom had been introduced in some places by the temporal Princes? What is symbolized by the Ring and Crosier? What was this ceremony called, and what did it seem to imply? What did the Emperor Henry IV. use to do? Who opposed him? What is this contest called, and when did it take place? How did the Church get out of it? What evil came afterwards on the West of Europe? Which were the most notorious Heretics of that time ?

to the Church, and men, mighty in words and deeds, as, St. Vincent Ferrer (d. 1419), and St. John Capistran (d. 1456), went through the countries of Europe, preaching penance to Princes and people. Nevertheless, an unholy fire lay hidden under the ashes: feelings of disrespect and hostility to the Church, and a fondness for innovations, had gained ground, and were increased by many other attendant evils. Nothing was wanted for the fatal eruption of this volcano of wickedness and rebellion, but an opportunity; and this presented itself in the beginning of the sixteenth century in Germany. Like a contagious disease, this lamentable evil spread abroad: thousands and thousands abandoned the Catholic Church; bloody wars, revolts, and corruption of morals, ensued; the most splendid establishments, founded by the piety of former ages, were destroyed, and unspeakable misery was prepared both for time and eternity.

III. From the Rise of Protestantism to Pope Pius IX.

43. Martin Luther, an Augustinian Monk and a Professor in the University of Wittenberg, a man of an irritable and turbulent disposition, began in 1517 by exclaiming against the abuses, which are said to have been practised in the publication of the Indulgences granted by Pope Leo X. to those who should contribute to the rebuilding of St. Peter's Church in Rome. But soon after he arbitrarily set himself up as a reformer of the Church, inveighed against the Ecclesiastical authorities, especially against the Pope, whose supreme power he denounced as usurpation and tyranny, and which he said he would bring to a mise

Whom did God send to preach penance to them? Was the evil then entirely suppressed? How, and when did the slumbering fire break out into a flame? What was the consequence of this? 43. Who was the author of Protestantism? What sort of a man was he? When, and how did he begin his conflict with the Church? Did he stop there? How did he behave towards the Pope ?