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ON RELIGIOUS GUILDS.

THE dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII., is one of those facts in history, which, at the time, were enacted with little opposition, but which have incurred the censure of a calm and unprejudiced posterity. The power of the crown, then nearly absolute, the consent of the nobility, obtained by a large share of the spoil, the actual abuses in the prevailing system, and the circumstance of a moral and political revolution taking place at the same time throughout Europe, enabled the king to effect a very great change in the property of England, to throw much wealth and power into the hands of the aristocracy, and to aggrandize the few, at the expense of the many. But now that we can look upon the past, uninfluenced by the prejudices which in those days prevented a just and unbiassed opinion, this act must appear in our eyes one of simple spoliation,-a cruel and unwarranted robbery of the poor. Flagrant as the abuses in the monasteries no doubt were, and greatly as they had fallen from the first intention of their holy founders, they nevertheless still charged themselves with the maintenance of the whole poor of the realm, and by supplying work for the able-bodied, and sustenance for the infirm, successfully solved in practice, that difficult problem, which still remains a mystery to modern economists. These things are now pretty generally admitted, but while all who have inquired into the subject, admit the injustice done to the poor, by the dissolution of the religious societies, they do not always bear in mind that the same measures equally injured the middle classes. It is true, that that order in the state did not occupy the important position that it does now, but still, such as they were, and such as they were the germs of, they received a severe blow in the suppression of the religious guilds, in the reigns of King Henry VIII. and Edward VI.

Now the origin of these religious guilds is a matter of considerable obscurity. The sages of the middle age were deeply impressed with the truth of the axiom that union is power,-indeed the unhappy necessity of those times rendered a conformity with that principle the only means of reconstructing society, and restoring concord among the broken elements of the world. Accordingly, both the civil and ecclesiastical institutions of those days bear this deeply engraven on them. And the baron's hold, the priest's cloister, the citizen's corporation, and the tradesman's guild, were each alike the result of, and the protection against the insecurity of the age. It was a time therefore of combination. Societies, some secret, some public, some with a particular object, some for general purposes, some with a religious, some with a secular intention, sprung up all through Europe, affected all society then, and are not totally without their influences even now. Now the religious guilds to which I have alluded, were of this nature.-A guild generally was a corporate society of members, who contributed to a common fund, for a special purpose. It was either of a purely religious or purely secular nature, or it combined both purposes. In some cases it was like a benefit society, under the control of the Church. Generally, the purely civil guilds were of certain trades, such as cordwainers, masons, &c., who governed themselves by bye-laws, communicated to their members the new dis

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coveries in their crafts, and assisted their aged and infirm. These we have in fact now, though the change in time has made an alteration in the spirit. The great London companies are of this nature, and similar institutions exist in many of our country towns, while the secrets of the masons have become too much identified with the mysteries of Bacchus. But the most interesting institutions of this nature were the purely religious Men then cared for their souls with as much anxiety as for their earthly prosperity, and just as they united in the protection of their worldly fortunes, as citizens, so they joined together in similar institutions, for the furtherance of their spiritual condition, as Churchmen and Christians. They combined for the purpose of keeping alive Christian charity, and of furthering, by prayer and praise, the spiritual interests of "all the whole Church." Many seem to have aimed at both a religious and a secular intention, and respected the temporal as well as the spiritual state of their members. Prayer, alms deeds, mutual support, the commemoration of the faithful departed and the burial of the dead, appear to have been the chief objects, either singly or collectively, of these guilds. Some seem to have been devoted to the keeping alive of some one particular dogma of the Christian religion. At the Reformation, these societies were judged to be founded in superstition, and so suppressed.

We have so very little knowledge of the rules of these interesting societies, that it is hardly possible to give much account of their internal arrangement. The word guild seems connected with geldan, to pay. (the same word we find in gelt and gold.) Each member seems to have paid a certain terminal subscription, to have said in private certain guild prayers, to have attended church with his brethren on certain occasions, to have met for occasional festive purposes, to have worn some distinguishing dress or badge, to have been under the direction of a warden, and the patronage of a particular saint, to have assisted at funerals of brethren, and diligently commemorated the souls of the departed. The guild seems to have been entirely under the control of the Church, and to have possessed property, in many cases, lands. And yet, little as we know of them, it does not require any great stretch of the imagination, to fancy them in operation. We may picture to ourselves a town of the olden time, with its black and white wooden houses, standing gable-endwise to the narrow street. The great Guild hall is not far from the handsome market cross. The broad gates are flung open, and forth comes the holy guild. See how all ranks in society, high and low, rich and poor, join in the solemn procession, all bound together by the gentle tie of heavenly charity. See how they wend their way, two and two, in grave, yet splendid dresses, with tapers in their hands, and many a cross and banner born before them, to the parish church. There they have an altar of their own, rich with their devotions, and priests and almoners, to dispense the Word of GOD, and the benevolence of man. Behold them enter the great western gate, the last has now disappeared, the doors are closed, the organ peals, the service begins, and clouds of incense rise, fit emblem of the prayer of the faithful. And this is their public solemnity; there is an interior existence even to the guild. See the almoner pursuing his way through the miserable lanes, to dispense comfort and consolation to the poor, and the dying. Behold the pious

brother on his knees, devoutly pouring out his heart in the guild prayer, for all mankind, especially his spiritual relations. Witness the bed of death surrounded by kind friends, and sage counsellors. They were not without their good, those guilds, even though they were superstitious. And indeed, admitting all that may be said against them, it cannot but be felt that some such society as a guild is even now a desideratum in our towns in England, especially in those country towns which an unhappy series of misfortunes have made poor vicarages. There are hundreds of towns in England, varying from 3,000 to 10,000 inhabitants, whose only spiritual guide is an ill-paid vicar. In such, of course, the Church feeling is very weak, and consequently (we say it advisedly) morality and religion at a low ebb. Let us consider the position of a clergyman set down in such a place as I have described. He finds himself at first working alone, unsupported by any duly organized body of lay members. Perhaps he has a visiting society, or some of the ladies of his congregation may be a great assistance to him. Where he is a man of moral influence, he may greatly increase this and be the cause of much good. Still it all depends upon himself; and, as things are at present, there is no grounds for the perpetuity, not to say the efficiency of any one individual's labour in a town or parish, except in the case of the incumbent himself.

Again as things are at present, in towns where there is a want of work, it is totally out of the power of the Church, as represented by the clergyman and those who make him their almoner, to administer aid to an extent that can be really of use. It may save a few families from starvation, but it cannot tell upon the masses-upon the quantity of destitution which the present system of manufactures is sure to create at one blow during the periodical distresses in this country. A thousand hands may be thrown out of work in one day, and what can the Church at present do in such a case? Even in the country, in many cases, the income devoted to charity is too small to keep out of the workhouse even the two or three decent but unemployed families who may be in winter out of work, and who are just the people to be deteriorated by "the house."

Besides, a very material obstacle to the appearance of a better state of things in the country is the want of motive of attachment to the Church in the very important class that are just above the poor. As soon as a man begins to better himself he is very apt to become a dissenter. The fact is obvious, whatever the reasor may be-possibly it is from a want of something to bind him to his Church in his prosperity-the absence of a personal interest in the well-being of his Spiritual Mother.

Connected with this, is the sad evil that is eating into the very core of old England-I mean the separation of the different ranks in society-a misfortune that is gradually deadening the real sympathy that should exist between them, and making people forget, that, as Christians and Churchmen, they are "one body." Even the Church itself has hitherto by its iniquitous system of pues for the rich and benches for the poor, connived at the separation.

And in a still more intimate degree connected with what has gone before-even where the Church has had fair play with her subjects

even where she has in a measure done her duty in educating those entrusted to her charge for the first thirteen or fourteen years of their lives, how completely is the vantage then gained lost by the total want of hold she has upon her members even before confirmation. They leave school-they have nothing sensible to attach them to the Church, and the time of Church and school is looked back upon as a period of forced prayer and loveless obedience from which they are now happily freed.

These are all serious evils, and anything that would overcome them, would be a real service to the country. Earnestly believing that a real Church system is the true means of securing prosperity in its highest sense to a country, we feel that anything that can strengthen the hands of the Church, must in the present day be good. Now, it appears to us that some modification of the ancient guild system would be eminently advantageous. We do not here allude to the increase of temporal and eternal prosperity that would result from regularly organized societies for prayer and intercession: we cannot estimate such, though we do not underrate it; but merely looking at the exterior effects of such combinations, it cannot be probable that they could have anything but an admirable effect. First of all, they would in a measure meet every one of the deficiencies in our system that we have already alluded to. They would supply a perpetually existing body in every town, charged with the relief of the poor, organized by wise and stringent laws, and exempt from sectarian or personal feeling. They would, by the power that combination gives, be able to meet sudden and violent cases of manufacturing misfortune, and by the self-sustaining principle of monthly deposits be able to do their usual work with very few appeals to the occasional charity of the brethren. They would give to all classes in society a direct personal interest in the success of the Church, and thus afford the very strongest protection to her-even an identification with the fortunes of her children. They would connect all the orders of the people into a harmonious society, and sow the elements of peace and domestic tranquillity. They would retain the young and the thoughtless, and supply motives, not the highest, indeed, but still justifiable ones, for the cultivation of sobriety, temperance, and propriety.

But secondly, they would have another very important influence upon individual members of the Church. An institution such as these would afford organization and direction to that quantity of benevolence and zeal that lurks in every town, but which, for want systematic encouragement and sympathizing guidance, is often diverted from the Church. In many cases at present these qualities, excellent in themselves, may be the cause of downright evil; and as a general rule the denominations often reap the fruit of an enthusiasm which the Church has not engines to guide or objects to employ it on. A system such as this would be a much safer expedient than lay readers, and a kinder one than anti-mendicity visitors. It would also by its outward ceremonial consult the feelings of a class too little regarded among us: viz., those whose natures take kindly to the aesthetic part of religion, and who delight in Church-music, and Church-ritual. It has been the custom to esteem such a disposition as the sign of a feeble understanding, and therefore,

to despise it; but a true Christian view will estimate every living soul by a different value than that of mere intellect, and a wise one will consult for a frame of mind which no one will deny to be very prevalent.

Many other reasons might be adduced for the revival of religious guilds, and as many difficulties no doubt might be suggested against them. To give life to an obsolete system, and to adapt it to the wants of the present age, is the work of genius; but a man with a power of combination, gifted with that great quality, conduct, and benevolent withal, may find some hints in this paper that may some day be of use. It would be easy to give a paper constitution of such a society, but a modification of practice would be required in the different sorts of parishes where it was attempted. For instance, the same rules would not apply to an agricultural town like Hungerford, and a manufacturing one like Bradford. Possibly at some future time we may draw out a scheme which may afford hints to any one disposed to try the experiment-an experiment, we once more repeat, that we are confident if successfully tried would be of lasting benefit both to the Church and to the country.

REVIEWS AND NOTICES.

The Fitness of Holy Scripture for unfolding the Spiritual Life of Men. Being the Hulsean Lectures for the year 1845, by Richard Chenevix Trench, M.A., Vicar of Itchen, Hants, and Examining Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of Oxford. Cambridge: Macmillan. London: Parker. 8vo. pp. 168. We augur a very considerable degree of popularity for this volume. The title is not very expressive: but the Lectures themselves are far above the average of discourses delivered from the pulpit of the Great S. Mary's. They are fragrant with pious thoughts culled from the writings of the Fathers; and a high Christian tone runs throughout. His aim (the writer tells us) is "to discover what he may of the inner structure of that Book which is so essential a factor in the spiritual life of men-humbly to trace where he can the wisdom with which it is laid out to be the nourisher and teacher of all men, in all ages and in all parts of their complex being; also to show where it has approved itself as such."

The philosophy of Mr. Trench, we are free to confess, does not appear to us of a very solid kind. He is led away by his fancy at times to make divisions, and analogies, and contrasts, more specious than real. Thus he imagines a distinction between the Patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the Christian dispensations, as being the representation respectively of the Family, the State, and the Church; whereas in real truth, the family of Abraham and the Jewish Commonwealth were as truly and really the Church in their day as are we in the present. Moreover, Mr. Trench is essentially an Eclectic. He would rank Luther at least on an equality with S. Athanasius; and we apprehend that it is only on the principles of Eclecticism that he is a favourer in so far as he does favour it, of Catholic Theology. He has sagacity enough to see the weak points in the common Protestant theories; and his taste leads him to appreciate the high-toned sentiments of the early ecclesiastical writers. For this we may be thankful. It is the homage of genius to truth. At the same time, it should never be forgotten, that the genuine authorized teaching of the Church is, as a whole, above the reach of private judgments: that it is not for men to pick and choose as they please, and (to use a common expression) to split the difference between the Church and the heretic who may happen to be disputing with her.

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