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diff --git a/old/13206-h/13206-h.htm b/old/13206-h/13206-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..48ee2f4 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13206-h/13206-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11264 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta name="generator" content= +"HTML Tidy for Windows (vers 1st February 2004), see www.w3.org"> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= +"text/html; charset=us-ascii"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Short History of Monks and +Monasteries, by Alfred Wesley Wishart.</title> + +<style type="text/css"> + <!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + blockquote {text-align: justify; + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%;} + IMG { + BORDER-RIGHT: 0px; + BORDER-TOP: 0px; + BORDER-LEFT: 0px; + BORDER-BOTTOM: 0px } + .loc { TEXT-ALIGN: right; + margin-left: 15%; + margin-right: 15%;} + .ctr { TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .rgt { float: right; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: -5%; + margin-right: 0%; + TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .lft { float: left; + margin-top: 0em; + margin-bottom: 0em; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 0%; + TEXT-ALIGN: center } + .indx {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .indx .letter {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .indx p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .indx p.i1 {margin-left: 1em;} + .indx p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .indx p.i3 {margin-left: 3em;} + .indx p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .indx p.i5 {margin-left: 5em;} + .indx p.i6 {margin-left: 6em;} + .indx p.i7 {margin-left: 7em;} + .indx p.i8 {margin-left: 8em;} + .indx p.i9 {margin-left: 9em;} + .indx p.i10 {margin-left: 10em;} + span.pagenum + {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt;} + + div.note { + border-style: dashed; + border-width: 1px; + border-color: #000000; + background-color: #ccffcc; + font-size: .8em; + margin: 10px; + } + + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; } + HR { width: 33%; } + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Short History of Monks and Monasteries +by Alfred Wesley Wishart + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: A Short History of Monks and Monasteries + +Author: Alfred Wesley Wishart + +Release Date: August 17, 2004 [EBook #13206] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF MONKS AND MONASTERIES *** + + + + +Produced by Christine Gehring, Charlie Kirschner and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + +<h2>A SHORT HISTORY OF</h2> +<h1>MONKS</h1> +<h2>AND MONASTERIES</h2> +<br> +<h3><i>By</i> ALFRED WESLEY WISHART</h3> +<h4>Sometime <i>Fellow</i> in <i>Church History</i> in <i>The +University of Chicago</i></h4> +<h5>ALBERT BRANDT, PUBLISHER<br> +TRENTON, NEW JERSEY MDCCCC</h5> +<h4>1900</h4> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> +<h2><a name="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2> +<br> +<p>The aim of this volume is to sketch the history of the monastic +institution from its origin to its overthrow in the Reformation +period, for although the institution is by no means now extinct, +its power was practically broken in the sixteenth century, and no +new orders of importance or new types have arisen since that +time.</p> +<p>A little reflection will enable one to understand the great +difficulties in the execution of so broad a purpose. It was +impracticable in the majority of instances to consult original +sources, although intermediate authorities have been studied as +widely as possible and the greatest caution has been exercised to +avoid those errors which naturally arise from the use of such +avenues of information. It was also deemed unadvisable to burden +the work with numerous notes and citations. Such notes as were +necessary to a true unfolding of the subject will be found in the +appendix.</p> +<p>A presentation of the salient features of the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> whole history was +essential to a proper conception of the orderly development of the +ascetic ideal. To understand the monastic institution one must not +only study the isolated anchorite seeking a victory over a sinful +self in the Egyptian desert or the monk in the secluded cloister, +but he must also trace the fortunes of ascetic organizations, +involving multitudes of men, vast aggregations of wealth, and +surviving the rise and fall of empires. Almost every phase of human +life is encountered in such an undertaking. Attention is divided +between hermits, beggars, diplomatists, statesmen, professors, +missionaries and pontiffs. It is hoped the critical or literary +student will appreciate the immense difficulties of an attempt to +paint so vast a scene on so small a canvas. No other claim is made +upon his benevolence.</p> +<p>There is a process of writing history which Trench describes as +"a moral whitewashing of such things as in men's sight were as +blackamoors before." Religious or temperamental prejudice often +obscures the vision and warps the judgment of even the most +scholarly minds. Conscious of this infirmity in the ablest writers +of history it <span class="pagenum"><a name="page7"></a>[pg +7]</span> would be absurd to claim complete exemption from the +power of personal bias. It is sincerely hoped, however, that the +strongest passion in the preparation of this work has been that +commendable predilection for truth and justice which should +characterize every historical narrative, and that, whatever other +shortcomings may be found herein, there is an absence of that +unreasonable suspicion, not to say hatred, of everything monastic, +which mars many otherwise valuable contributions to monastic +history.</p> +<p>The author's grateful acknowledgment is made, for kindly +services and critical suggestions, to Eri Baker Hulbert, D.D., +LL.D., Dean of the Divinity School, and Professor and Head of the +Department of Church History; Franklin Johnson, D.D., LL.D., +Professor of Church History and Homiletics; Benjamin S. Terry, +Ph.D., Professor of Medieval and English History; and Ralph C.H. +Catterall, Instructor in Modern History; all of The University of +Chicago. Also to James M. Whiton, Ph.D., of the Editorial Staff of +"The Outlook"; Ephraim Emerton, Ph.D., Winn Professor of +Ecclesiastical History in <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page8"></a>[pg 8]</span> Harvard University; S. Giffard Nelson, +L.H.D., of Brooklyn, New York; A.H. Newman, D.D., LL.D., Professor +of Church History in McMaster University of Toronto, Ontario; and +Paul Van Dyke, D.D., Professor of History in Princeton +University.</p> +<blockquote>A.W.W.<br> +Trenton, March, 1900.</blockquote> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> +<div class="indx"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p><a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE.</a></p> +<p><a href="#BIBLIOGRAPHY">BIBLIOGRAPHY.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#I">I</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#MONASTICISM_IN_THE_EAST">MONASTICISM IN THE +EAST.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Hermits_of_Egypt">The Hermits of +Egypt.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Pillar_Saint">The Pillar Saint.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Cenobites_of_the_East">The Cenobites of +the East.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#II">II</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#MONASTICISM_IN_THE_WEST">MONASTICISM IN THE WEST: +ANTE-BENEDICTINE MONKS</a> 340-480 A.D.</p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Monasticism_and_Women">Monasticism and +Women.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Spread_of_Monasticism_in_Europe">The +Spread of Monasticism in Europe.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Disorders_and_Oppositions">Disorders and +Oppositions.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#III">III</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#THE_BENEDICTINES">THE BENEDICTINES.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Rules_of_Benedict">The Rules of +Benedict.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Struggle_against_Barbarism">The +Struggle Against Barbarism.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Spread_of_the_Benedictine_Rule">The +Spread of the Benedictine Rule.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#IV">IV</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#REFORMED_AND_MILITARY_ORDERS">REFORMED AND MILITARY +ORDERS.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Military_Religious_Orders">The Military +Religious Orders.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#V">V</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#THE_MENDICANT_FRIARS">THE MENDICANT FRIARS</a>.</p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Francis_Bernardone">Francis Bernardone</a>, +1182-1226 A.D.</p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Franciscan_Orders">The Franciscan +Orders.</a></p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Dominic_de_Guzman">Dominic de +Guzman.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Dominican_Orders">The Dominican +Orders.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Success_of_the_Mendicant_Orders">The +Success of the Mendicant Orders.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Decline_of_the_Mendicants">The Decline +of the Mendicants.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#VI">VI</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#THE_SOCIETY_OF_JESUS">THE SOCIETY OF JESUS.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Ignatius_de_Loyola">Ignatius de Loyola</a>, +1491-1556 A.D.</p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#Constitution_and_Polity_of_the_Order">Constitution and Polity of +the Order.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Vow_of_Obedience">The Vow of +Obedience.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Casuistry_of_the_Jesuits">The Casuistry +of the Jesuits.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Mission_of_the_Jesuits">The Mission of +the Jesuits.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Retrospect">Retrospect.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#VII">VII</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#THE_FALL_OF_THE_MONASTERIES">THE FALL OF THE +MONASTERIES.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Character_of_Henry_VIII">The Character +of Henry VIII.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Events_Preceding_the_Suppression">Events +Preceding the Suppression.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Monks_and_the_Oath_of_Supremacy">The +Monks and the Oath of Supremacy.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Royal_Commissioners">The Royal +Commissioners and their Methods of Investigation.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Report_of_the_Commissioners">The Report +of the Commissioners.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Action_of_Parliament">The Action of +Parliament.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#The_Effect_of_the_Suppression_Upon_the_People">The Effect of the +Suppression Upon the People.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#Henry's_Disposal_of_Monastic_Revenues">Henry's Disposal of +Monastic Revenues.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Was_the_Suppression_Justifiable?">Was the +Suppression Justifiable?</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Results_of_the_Dissolution">Results of the +Dissolution.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#VIII">VIII</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#CAUSES_AND_IDEALS_OF_MONASTICISM">CAUSES AND IDEALS OF +MONASTICISM.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Causative_Motives_of_Monasticism">Causative +Motives of Monasticism.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#Beliefs_Affecting_the_Causative_Motives">Beliefs Affecting the +Causative Motives.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Causes_of_Variations_in_Monasticism">Causes +of Variations in Monasticism.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Fundamental_Monastic_Vows">The +Fundamental Monastic Vows.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p class="i5"><a href="#IX">IX</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page11"></a>[pg +11]</span> +<p><a href="#THE_EFFECTS_OF_MONASTICISM">THE EFFECTS OF +MONASTICISM.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#The_Effects_of_Self-Sacrifice_Upon_the_Individual">The Effects of +Self-Sacrifice Upon the Individual.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href= +"#The_Effects_of_Solitude_Upon_the_Individual">The Effects of +Solitude Upon the Individual.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Monks_as_Missionaries">The Monks as +Missionaries.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Monasticism_and_Civic_Duties">Monasticism +and Civic Duties.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Agricultural_Services_of_the_Monks">The +Agricultural Services of the Monks.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Monks_and_Secular_Learning">The Monks +and Secular Learning.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#The_Charity_of_the_Monks">The Charity of +the Monks.</a></p> +<p class="i1"><a href="#Monasticism_and_Religion">Monasticism and +Religion.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a href="#APPENDIX">APPENDIX.</a></p> +<p><a href="#INDEX">INDEX.</a></p> +</div> +</div> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<h2>LIST OF PORTRAITS</h2> +<blockquote>SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI, DYING, is CONVEYED TO THE<br> +CHURCH OF SAINTE MARIE DE PORTIUNCULE, . . . . <i>facing +title</i>.<br> +<br> +After the painting by J.J. Weerts. Originally published by<br> +Goupil & Co. of Paris, and here reproduced by their +permission.<br> +<br> +[Jean Joseph Weerts was born at Roubaix (Nord), on May 1, 1847. He +was a pupil of<br> +Cabanel, Mils and Pils. He was awarded the second-class medal in +1875, was made<br> +Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1884, received the silver medal +at the Universal<br> +Exposition of 1889, and was created an Officer of the Legion of +Honor in 1897. He is a<br> +member of the "Société des Artistes Français," +and is <i>hors concours</i>.]<br> +<br> +<a href="#image193.jpg">SAINT BERNARD</a><br> +<br> +After an engraving by Ambroise Tardieu, from a painting on +glass<br> +in the Convent of the R.P. Minimes, at Rheims.<br> +<br> +[Ambroise Tardieu was born in Paris, in 1790, and died in 1837. He +was an engraver<br> +of portraits, landscapes and architecture, and a clever manipulator +of the burin. For a<br> +time he held the position of "Geographical Engraver" to the +Departments of Marine,<br> +Fortifications and Forests. He was a member of the French +Geographical and Mathematical<br> +Societies.]--<i>Nagler</i>.<br> +<br> +<a href="#image232.jpg">SAINT DOMINIC</a><br> +<br> +From a photograph of Bozzani's painting, preserved in his cell +at<br> +Santa Sabina, Rome. Here reproduced from Augusta T. Drane's<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> "History +of St. Dominic," by courtesy of the author and the publishers,<br> +Longmans, Green & Co., of London and New York.<br> +<br> +["Although several so-called portraits (of St. Dominic) are +preserved, yet none of them<br> +can be regarded as the <i>vera effigies</i> of the saint, though +that preserved at Santa Sabina<br> +probably presents us with a kind of traditionary +likeness."]--<i>History of St. Dominic</i>.<br> +<br> +[In the "History of St. Dominic," on page 226, the author credits +the portrait shown<br> +to "Bozzani." We are unable to find any record of a painter by that +name. Nagler,<br> +however, tells of a painter of portraits and historical subjects, +Carlo Bozzoni by name,<br> +who was born in 1607 and died in 1657. He was a son of Luciano +Bozzoni, a Genoese<br> +painter and engraver. He is said to have done good work, but no +other mention is made<br> +of him.]<br> +<br> +<a href="#image263.jpg">IGNATIUS DE LOYOLA</a><br> +<br> +After the engraving by Greatbach, "from a scarce print by H.<br> +Wierz." Originally published by Richard Bentley, London, in +1842.<br> +<br> +[W. Greatbach was a London engraver in the first half of the +nineteenth century. He<br> +worked chiefly for the "calendars" and "annuals" of his time, and +did notable work<br> +for the general book trade of the better class.]<br> +<br> +[A search of the authorities does not reveal an engraver named "H. +Wierz." This<br> +is probably intended for Hieronymus Wierex (or Wierix, according to +Bryant), a famous<br> +engraver, born in 1552, and who is credited by Nagler, in his +"Künstler-Lexikon,"<br> +with having produced "a beautiful and rare plate" of "St. Ignaz von +Loyola." The<br> +error, if such it be, is easily explained by the fact that portrait +engravers seldom cut the<br> +lettering of a plate themselves, but have it engraved by others, +who have a special aptitude<br> +for making shapely letters.]</blockquote> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> +<h2><a name="BIBLIOGRAPHY"></a>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> +<blockquote>ADAMS, G.B.: Civilization during the Middle Ages.<br> +ARCHER, T.A., and KINGSFORD, CHARLES L.: The Crusaders.<br> +BARROWS, JOHN H., (Editor): The World's Parliment of Religions.<br> +BLUNT, I.J.: Sketches of the Reformation in England.<br> +BLUNT, JOHN HENRY: The Reformation of the Church of England, its +History, Principles and Results.<br> +BREWER, JOHN SHERREN: The Reign of Henry VIII.<br> +BRYCE, JAMES: The Holy Roman Empire.<br> +BURNET, GILBERT: History of the Reformation of the Church of +England.<br> +BUTLER, ALBAN: Lives of the Saints.<br> +CARLYLE, THOMAS: Past and Present: The Ancient Monk. Miscellaneous +Papers: Jesuitism.<br> +CAZENOVE, JOHN G.: St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Martin of +Tours.<br> +CHALIPPE, CANDIDE: The Life of St. Francis of Assisi.<br> +CHILD, GILBERT W.: Church and State Under the Tudors.<br> +CHURCH, R.W.: The Beginning of the Middle Ages.<br> +CLARK, WILLIAM: The Anglican Reformation.<br> +CLARKE, STEPHEN REYNOLDS: Vestigia Anglicana.<br> +CLARKE, JAMES FREEMAN: Events and Epochs in Religious History.<br> +COOK, KENINGALE: The Fathers of Jesus.<br> +COX, G.W.: The Crusaders.<br> +CUTTS, EDWARD LEWES: St. Jerome and St. Augustine.<br> +DILL, SAMUEL: Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western +Empire.<br> +DRAPER, JOHN WILLIAM: History of the Intellectual Development of +Europe.<br> +DRAKE, AUGUSTA T.: The History of St. Dominic.<br> +DUGDALE, Sir WILLIAM: Monasticum Anglicanum.<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> DURUY, +VICTOR: History of Rome.<br> +ECKENSTEIN, LINA: Woman Under Monasticism.<br> +EDERSHEIM, ALFRED: The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.<br> +ELIOT, SAMUEL: History of Liberty.<br> +FARRAR, FREDERICK W.: The Early Days of Christianity.<br> +FOSBROKE, J.D.: British Monachism.<br> +FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY: History of England.<br> +FROUDE, JAMES ANTHONY: Short Studies.<br> +GAIRDNER, JAMES, and SPEDDING, JAMES: Studies in English +History.<br> +GASQUET, FRANCIS A.: Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries.<br> +GASQUET, FRANCIS A.: The Eve of the Reformation.<br> +GIBBON, EDWARD: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.<br> +GIESELER, J.K.L.: Manual of Church History.<br> +GNEIST, RUDOLPH: History of the English Constitution.<br> +GNEIST, RUDOLPH: The English Parliament.<br> +GREEN, JOHN RICHARD: History of the English People.<br> +GUÉRANGER, PROSPER: Life of St. Cecilia.<br> +GUIZOT, F.P.G.: The History of France.<br> +GUIZOT, F.P.G.: The History of Civilization in Europe.<br> +HALLAM, HENRY: Europe During the Middle Ages.<br> +HALLAM, HENRY: Constitutional History of England.<br> +HALLAM, HENRY: Introduction to the Literature of Europe.<br> +HARDY, R. SPENCER: Eastern Monasticism.<br> +HARDWICK, CHARLES: History of the Christian Church in the Middle +Ages.<br> +HARNACK, ADOLF: Monasticism: Its Ideals and Its History: +<i>Christian Literature Magazine</i>, 1894-95.<br> +HILL, O'DELL T.: English Monasticism: Its Rise and Influence.<br> +HUGHES, T.: Loyola and the Educational System of the Jesuits.<br> +HUME, DAVID: The History of England.<br> +JAMESON, ANNA: Legends of the Monastic Orders.<br> +JESSOPP, AUGUSTUS: The Coming of the Friars.<br> +KINGSLEY, CHARLES: The Hermits.<br> +KINGSLEY, CHARLES: Hypatia.<br> +KINGSLEY, CHARLES: The Roman and the Teuton.<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> +LAPPENBERG, J.M.: A History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon +Kings.<br> +LARNED, J.N.: History for Ready Reference and Topical Reading.<br> +LEA HENRY C.: History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages.<br> +LEA, HENRY C.: Sacerdotal Celibacy in the Christian Church.<br> +LECKY, WILLIAM E.H.: History of Rationalism in Europe.<br> +LECKY, WILLIAM E.H.: History of European Morals.<br> +LEE F.G.: The Life of Cardinal Pole.<br> +LINGARD, JOHN: History of England.<br> +LINGARD, JOHN: History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon +Church.<br> +LORD, JOHN: Beacon-Lights of History.<br> +LORD, JOHN: The Old Roman World.<br> +LUDLOW, JAMES M.: The Age of the Crusades.<br> +MACKINTOSH, JAMES: History of England.<br> +MAITLAND, SAMUEL R.: The Dark Ages.<br> +MAITLAND, SAMUEL R.: Essays on the Reformation.<br> +MATHEWS, SHAILER: Social Teachings of Jesus.<br> +MILMAN, HENRY H.: The History of Latin Christianity.<br> +MILMAN, HENRY H.: The History of Christianity.<br> +MONTALEMBERT, C.F.R.: Monks of the West.<br> +MOSHIEM, J.L. VON: Institutes of Ecclesiastical History.<br> +NEANDER, AUGUSTUS: General History of the Christian Religion and +Church.<br> +OLIPHANT, MARY O.W.: Life of St. Francis of Assisi.<br> +PARKMAN, FRANCIS: The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth +Century.<br> +PIKE, LUKE OWEN: A History of Crime in England.<br> +PUTNAM, G.H.: Books and Their Makers in the Middle Ages.<br> +READE, CHARLES: The Cloister and the Hearth.<br> +RUFFNER, H.: The Fathers of the Desert.<br> +SABATIER, PAUL: Life of St. Francis of Assisi.<br> +SCHAFF, PHILIP: History of the Christian Church.<br> +SCHAFF, PHILIP, and WACE, HENRY, (Editors): The Nicene and<br> + Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. +(Lives and<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> + writings of Jerome, Athanasius, Cassian, St. +Martin of Tours,<br> + and other early supporters of the monastic +movement).<br> +SCOTT, WALTER: The Monastery.<br> +SCOTT, WALTER: The Abbot.<br> +SIENKIEWICZ, HENRY K.: The Knights of the Cross.<br> +SMITH, PHILIP: Student's Ecclesiastical History.<br> +SMITH, R.F.: St. Basil.<br> +STANLEY, ARTHUR P.: History of the Eastern Church.<br> +STILLÉ, CHARLES J.: Studies in Medieval History.<br> +STORRS, RICHARD S.: Bernard of Clairvaux.<br> +STRYPE, J.: Annals of the Reformation.<br> +STUBBS, WILLIAM: Lectures on the Study of Medieval History.<br> +TAUNTON, ETHELRED L.: The English Black Monks of St. Benedict.<br> +THOMPSON, R.W.: The Footprints of the Jesuits.<br> +THURSTON, H.: The Life of St. Hugh of Lincoln.<br> +TRAILL, H.D.: Social England.<br> +TRENCH, RICHARD C.: Lectures on Medieval Church History.<br> +TREVELYAN, GEORGE M.: England in the Age of Wycliffe.<br> +VAUGHAN, ROBERT: Revolutions in English History.<br> +VAUGHAN, ROBERT: Hours with the Mystics.<br> +WADDINGTON, GEORGE: History of the Church.<br> +WATERMAN, LUCIUS: The Post-Apostolic Age.<br> +WHITE, A.D.: A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology.<br> +WHITE, JAMES: The Eighteen Christian Centuries.<br> +WOODHOUSE, FREDERICK C.: The Military Religious Orders of the +Middle Ages.<br> +<br> +ENCYCLOPÆDIAS: McClintock and Strong, Schaff-Herzog, +Brittanica,<br> + English, and Johnson. (Articles on +"Monasticism,"<br> + "Benedict," "Francis," "Dominic," "Loyola," +etc.)<br> +<br> +Many other authorities were consulted by the author, but only<br> +those works that are easily accessible and likely to prove of +direct value<br> +to the student are cited above.</blockquote> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> +<h2>MONKS</h2> +<h2>AND MONASTERIES</h2> +<h2><a name="I"></a>I</h2> +<h2><i><a name="MONASTICISM_IN_THE_EAST"></a>MONASTICISM IN THE +EAST</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The monk is a type of religious character by no means peculiar +to Christianity. Every great religion in ancient and modern times +has expressed itself in some form of monastic life.</p> +<p>The origin of the institution is lost in antiquity. Its genesis +and gradual progress through the centuries are like the movement of +a mighty river springing from obscure sources, but gathering volume +by the contributions of a multitude of springs, brooks, and lesser +rivers, entering the main stream at various stages in its progress. +While the mysterious source of the monastic stream may not be +found, it is easy to discover many different <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> influences and causes +that tended to keep the mighty current flowing majestically on. It +is not so easy to determine which of these forces was the +greatest.</p> +<p>"Monasticism," says Schaff, "proceeds from religious +seriousness, enthusiasm and ambition; from a sense of the vanity of +the world, and an inclination of noble souls toward solitude, +contemplation, and freedom from the bonds of the flesh and the +temptations of the world." A strong ascetic tendency in human +nature, particularly active in the Orient, undoubtedly explains in +a general way the origin and growth of the institution. Various +forms of philosophy and religious belief fostered this monastic +inclination from time to time by imparting fresh impetus to the +desire for soul-purity or by deepening the sense of disgust with +the world.</p> +<p>India is thought by some to have been the birthplace of the +institution. In the sacred writings of the venerable Hindûs, +portions of which have been dated as far back as 2400 B.C., there +are numerous legends about holy monks and many ascetic rules. +Although based on opposite philosophical <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> principles, the +earlier Brahminism and the later system, Buddhism, each tended +toward ascetic practices, and they each boast to-day of long lines +of monks and nuns.</p> +<p>The Hindoo (Brahmin) ascetic, or naked philosopher, as the +Greeks called him, exhausted his imagination in devising schemes of +self-torture. He buried himself with his nose just above the +ground, or wore an iron collar, or suspended weights from his body. +He clenched his fists until the nails grew into his palms, or kept +his head turned in one direction until he was unable to turn it +back. He was a miracle-worker, an oracle of wisdom, and an honored +saint. He was bold, spiritually proud, capable of almost superhuman +endurance. We will meet him again in the person of his Christian +descendant on the banks of the Nile.</p> +<p>The Buddhist ascetic was, perhaps, less severe with himself, but +the general spirit and form of the institution was and is the same +as among the Brahmins. In each religion we observe the same selfish +individualism,--a desire to save one's own soul by slavish +obedience to ascetic rules,--the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> extinction of natural desires by +self-punishment. "A Brahmin who wishes to become an ascetic," says +Clarke, "must abandon his home and family and go live in the +forest. His food must be roots and fruit, his clothing a bark +garment or a skin, he must bathe morning and evening, and suffer +his hair to grow."</p> +<p>The fact to be remembered, however, is that in India, centuries +before the Christian Era, there existed both phases of Christian +monasticism, the hermit[<a href="#NOTE_A">A</a>] and the crowded +convent.</p> +<p>Dhaquit, a Chaldean ascetic, who is said to have lived about +2000 B.C., is reported to have earnestly rebuked those who tried to +preserve the body from decay by artificial resources. "Not by +natural means," he said, "can man preserve his body from corruption +and dissolution after death, but only through good deeds, religious +exercises and offering of sacrifices,--by invoking the gods by +their great and beautiful names, by prayers during the night, and +fasts during the day."</p> +<p>When Father Bury, a Portuguese missionary, first saw the Chinese +bonzes, tonsured and using <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> their rosaries, he cried out, "There is +not a single article of dress, or a sacerdotal function, or a +single ceremony of the Romish church, which the Devil has not +imitated in this country." I have not the courage to follow this +streamlet back into the devil's heart. The attempt would be too +daring. Who invented shaved heads and monkish gowns and habits, we +cannot tell, but this we know: long before Father Bury saw and +described those things in China, there existed in India the Grand +Lama or head monk, with monasteries under him, filled with monks +who kept the three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. They +had their routine of prayers, of fasts and of labors, like the +Christian monks of the middle ages.</p> +<p>Among the Greeks there were many philosophers who taught ascetic +principles. Pythagoras, born about 580 B.C., established a +religious brotherhood in which he sought to realize a high ideal of +friendship. His whole plan singularly suggests monasticism. His +rules provided for a rigid self-examination and unquestioning +submission to a master. Many authorities claim that the influence +of the Pythagorean philosophy was <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> strongly felt in Egypt and Palestine, +after the time of Christ. "Certain it is that more than two +thousand years before Ignatius Loyola assembled the nucleus of his +great society in his subterranean chapel in the city of Paris, +there was founded at Crotona, in Greece, an order of monks whose +principles, constitution, aims, method and final end entitle them +to be called 'The Pagan Jesuits[<a href="#NOTE_B">B</a>].'"</p> +<p>The teachings of Plato, no doubt, had a powerful monastic +influence, under certain social conditions, upon later thinkers and +upon those who yearned for victory over the flesh. Plato strongly +insisted on an ideal life in which higher pleasures are preferred +to lower. Earthly thoughts and ambitions are to yield before a holy +communion with the Divine. Some of his views "might seem like +broken visions of the future, when we think of the first disciples +who had all things in common, and, in later days, of the celibate +clergy, and the cloisteral life of the religious orders." The +effect of such philosophy in times of general corruption upon those +who wished to acquire exceptional moral <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> and intellectual +power, and who felt unable to cope with the temptations of social +life, may be easily imagined. It meant, in many cases, a retreat +from the world to a life of meditation and soul-conflict. In later +times it exercised a marked influence upon ascetic literature.</p> +<p>Coming closer to Christianity in time and in teaching, we find a +Jewish sect, called Essenes, living in the region of the Dead Sea, +which bore remarkable resemblances to Christian monasticism. The +origin and development of this band, which numbered four thousand +about the time of Christ, are unknown. Even the derivation of the +name is in doubt, there being at least twenty proposed +explanations. The sect is described by Philo, an Alexandrian-Jewish +philosopher, who was born about 25 B.C., and by Josephus, the +Jewish historian, who was born at Jerusalem A.D. 37. These writers +evidently took pains to secure the facts, and from their accounts, +upon which modern discussions of the subject are largely based, the +following facts are gleaned.</p> +<p>The Essenes were a sect outside the Jewish ecclesiastical body, +bound by strict vows and <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> professing an extraordinary purity. +While there were no vows of extreme penance, they avoided cities as +centers of immorality, and, with some exceptions, eschewed +marriage. They held aloof from traffic, oaths, slave-holding, and +weapons of offence. They were strict Sabbath observers, wore a +uniform robe, possessed all things in common, engaged in manual +labor, abstained from forbidden food, and probably rejected the +bloody sacrifices of the Temple, although continuing to send their +thank-offerings. Novitiates were kept on probation three years. The +strictest discipline was maintained, excommunication following +detection in heinous sins. Evidently the standard of character was +pure and lofty, since their emphasis on self-mastery did not end in +absurd extravagances. Their frugal food, simple habits, and love of +cleanliness; combined with a regard for ethical principles, +conduced to a high type of life. Edersheim remarks, "We can +scarcely wonder that such Jews as Josephus and Philo, and such +heathens as Pliny, were attracted by such an unworldly and lofty +sect."</p> +<p>Some writers maintain that they were also worshipers +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> of the +sun, and hence that their origin is to be traced to Persian +sources. Even if so, they seemed to have escaped that confused and +mystical philosophy which has robbed Oriental thought of much power +in the realm of practical life. Philo says, "Of philosophy, the +dialectical department, as being in no wise necessary for the +acquisition of virtue, they abandon to the word-catchers; and the +part which treats of the nature of things, as being beyond human +nature, they leave to speculative air-gazers, with the exception of +that part of it which deals with the subsistance of God and the +genesis of all things; but the ethical they right well work +out."</p> +<p>Pliny the elder, who lived A.D. 23-79, made the following +reference to the Essenes, which is especially interesting because +of the tone of sadness and weariness with the world suggested in +its praise of this Jewish sect. "On the western shore (of the Dead +Sea) but distant from the sea far enough to escape from its noxious +breezes, dwelt the Essenes. They are an eremite clan, one marvelous +beyond all others in the whole world; without any women, with +sexual intercourse entirely given up, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> without money, and +the associates of palm trees. Daily is the throng of those that +crowd about them renewed, men resorting to them in numbers, driven +through weariness of existence, and the surges of ill-fortune, to +their manner of life. Thus it is that through thousands of +ages--incredible to relate!--their society, in which no one is +born, lives on perennial. So fruitful to them is the irksomeness of +life experienced by other men."</p> +<p>Admission to the order was granted only to adults, yet children +were sometimes adopted for training in the principles of the sect. +Some believed in marriage as a means of perpetuating the order.</p> +<p>Since it would not throw light on our present inquiry, the +mooted question as to the connection of Essenism and the teachings +of Jesus may be passed by. The differences are as great as the +resemblances and the weight of opinion is against any vital +relation.</p> +<p>The character of this sect conclusively shows that some of the +elements of Christian monasticism existed in the time of Jesus, not +only in Palestine but in other countries. In an account of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> +Therapeutæ, or true devotees, an ascetic body similar to the +Essenes, Philo says, "There are many parts of the world in which +this class may be found.... They are, however, in greatest +abundance in Egypt."</p> +<p>During Apostolic times various teachings and practices were +current that may be characterized as ascetic. The Apostle Paul, in +his letter to the Colossians, doubtless had in mind a sect or +school which despised the body and abstained from meats and wine. A +false asceticism, gathering inspiration from pagan philosophy, was +rapidly spreading among Christians even at that early day. The +teachings of the Gnostics, a speculative sect of many schools, +became prominent in the closing days of the Apostolic age or very +soon thereafter. Many of these schools claimed a place in the +church, and professed a higher life and knowledge than ordinary +Christians possessed. The Gnostics believed in the complete +subjugation of the body by austere treatment.</p> +<p>The Montanists, so called after Montanus, their famous leader, +arose in Asia Minor during the second century, when Marcus Aurelius +was emperor. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page28"></a>[pg +28]</span> Schaff describes the movement as "a morbid exaggeration +of Christian ideas and demands." It was a powerful and frantic +protest against the growing laxity of the church. It despised +ornamental dress and prescribed numerous fasts and severities.</p> +<p>These facts and many others that might be mentioned throw light +on our inquiry in several ways. They show that asceticism was in +the air. The literature, philosophy and religion of the day drifted +toward an ascetic scheme of life and stimulated the tendency to +acquire holiness, even at the cost of innocent joys and natural +gratifications. They show that worldliness was advancing in the +church, which called for rebuke and a return to Apostolic +Christianity; that the church was failing to satisfy the highest +cravings of the soul. True, it was well-nigh impossible for the +church, in the midst of such a powerful and corrupt heathen +environment, to keep itself up to its standards.</p> +<p>It is a common tradition that in the first three centuries the +practices and spirit of the church were comparatively pure and +elevated. Harnack says, "This tradition is false. The church was +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> already +secularized to a great extent in the middle of the third century." +She was "no longer in a position to give peace to all sorts and +conditions of men." It was then that the great exodus of Christians +from the villages and cities to mountains and deserts began. +Although from the time of Christ on there were always some who +understood Christianity to demand complete separation from all +earthly pleasures, yet it was three hundred years and more before +large numbers began to adopt a hermit's life as the only method of +attaining salvation. "They fled not only from the world, but from +the world within the church. Nevertheless, they did not flee out of +the church."</p> +<p>We can now see why no definite cause for the monastic +institution can be given and no date assigned for its origin. It +did not commence at any fixed time and definite place. Various +philosophies and religious customs traveled for centuries from +country to country, resulting in singular resemblances and +differences between different ascetic or monastic sects. Christian +monasticism was slowly evolved, and gradually assumed definite +organization <span class="pagenum"><a name="page30"></a>[pg +30]</span> as a product of a curious medley of +Heathen-Jewish-Christian influences.</p> +<p>A few words should be said here concerning the influence of the +Bible upon monasticism. Naturally the Christian hermits and early +fathers appealed to the Bible in support of their teachings and +practices. It is not necessary, at this point, to discuss the +correctness of their interpretations. The simple fact is that many +passages of scripture were considered as commands to attain +perfection by extraordinary sacrifices, and certain Biblical +characters were reverenced as shining monastic models. In the light +of the difficulties of Biblical criticism it is easy to forgive +them if they were mistaken, a question to be discussed farther on. +They read of those Jewish prophets described in Hebrews: "They went +about in sheepskins, in goatskins; ... wandering in deserts and +mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth." They pointed to +Elijah and his school of prophets; to John the Baptist, with his +raiment of camel's hair and a leathern girdle about his loins, +whose meat was locusts and wild honey. They recalled the +commandment of Jesus to the rich <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> young man to sell all his possessions +and give to the poor. They quoted the words, "Take no thought for +the morrow what ye shall eat and what ye shall drink or wherewithal +ye shall be clothed." They construed following Christ to mean in +His own words, "forsaking father, mother, brethren, wife, children, +houses and lands." They pointed triumphantly to the Master himself, +unmarried and poor, who had not "where to lay his head." They +appealed to Paul's doctrine of marriage. They remembered that the +Church at Jerusalem was composed of those who sold their +possessions and had all things in common. Whatever these and +numerous other passages may truly mean, they interpreted them in +favor of a monastic mode of life; they understood them to teach +isolation, fastings, severities, and other forms of rigorous +self-denial. Accepting Scripture in this sense, they trampled upon +human affection and gave away their property, that they might +please God and save their souls.</p> +<p>Between the time of Christ and Paul of Thebes, who died in the +first half of the fourth century, and who is usually recognized as +the founder of monasticism, many Christian disciples voluntarily +abandoned <span class="pagenum"><a name="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> +their wealth, renounced marriage and adopted an ascetic mode of +life, while still living in or near the villages or cities. As the +corruption of society and the despair of men became more +widespread, these anxious Christians wandered farther and farther +away from fixed habitations until, in an excess of spiritual +fervor, they found themselves in the caves of the mountains, +desolate and dreary, where no sound of human voice broke in upon +the silence. The companions of wild beasts, they lived in rapt +contemplation on the eternal mysteries of this most strange +world.</p> +<p>My task now is to describe some of those recluses who still live +in the biographies of the saints and the traditions of the church. +Ducis, while reading of these hermits, wrote to a friend as +follows: "I am now reading the lives of the Fathers of the Desert. +I am dwelling with St. Pachomius, the founder of the monastery at +Tabenna. Truly there is a charm in transporting one's self to that +land of the angels--one could not wish ever to come out of it." +Whether the reader will call these strange characters angels, and +will wish he could have shared their beds of stone and midnight +vigils, I will not <span class="pagenum"><a name="page33"></a>[pg +33]</span> venture to say, but at all events his visit will be made +as pleasant as possible.</p> +<p>In writing the life of Mahomet, Carlyle said, "As there is no +danger of our becoming, any of us, Mahometans, I mean to say all +the good of Mahomet I justly can." So, without distorting the +picture that has come down to us, I mean to say all the good of +these Egyptian hermits that the facts will justify.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Hermits_of_Egypt"></a>The Hermits of +Egypt</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Egypt was the mother of Christian monasticism, as she has been +of many other wonders.</p> +<p>Vast solitudes; lonely mountains, honey-combed with dens and +caves; arid valleys and barren hills; dreary deserts that glistened +under the blinding glare of the sun that poured its heat upon them +steadily all the year; strange, grotesque rocks and peaks that +assumed all sorts of fantastic shapes to the overwrought fancy; in +many places no water, no verdure, and scarcely a thing in motion; +the crocodile and the bird lazily seeking their necessary food and +stirring only as compelled; unbounded expanse <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> in the wide star-lit +heavens; unbroken quiet on the lonely mountains--a fit home for the +hermit, a paradise to the lover of solitude and peace.</p> +<p>Of life under such conditions Kingsley has said: "They enjoyed +nature, not so much for her beauty as for her perfect peace. Day by +day the rocks remained the same. Silently out of the Eastern +desert, day by day, the rising sun threw aloft those arrows of +light which the old Greeks had named 'the rosy fingers of the +dawn.' Silently he passed in full blaze above their heads +throughout the day, and silently he dipped behind the Western +desert in a glory of crimson and orange, green and purple.... Day +after day, night after night, that gorgeous pageant passed over the +poor hermit's head without a sound, and though sun, moon and planet +might change their places as the years rolled round, the earth +beneath his feet seemed not to change." As for the companionless +men, who gazed for years upon this glorious scene, they too were of +unusual character, Waddington finely says: "The serious enthusiasm +of the natives of Egypt and Asia, that combination of indolence and +energy, of the calmest languor with the fiercest passions, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> ... +disposed them to embrace with eagerness the tranquil but exciting +duties of religious seclusion." Yes, here are the angels of Ducis +in real flesh and blood. They revel in the wildest eccentricities +with none to molest or make afraid, always excepting the black +demons from the spiritual world. One dwells in a cave in the bowels +of the earth; one lies on the sand beneath a blazing sun; one has +shut himself forever from the sight of man in a miserable hut among +the bleak rocks of yonder projecting peak; one rests with joy in +the marshes, breathing with gratitude the pestilential vapors.</p> +<p>Some of these saints became famous for piety and miraculous +power. Athanasius, fleeing from persecution, visited them, and +Jerome sought them out to learn from their own lips the stories of +their lives. To these men and to others we are indebted for much of +our knowledge concerning this chapter of man's history. Less than +fifty years after Paul of Thebes died, or about 375 A.D., Jerome +wrote the story of his life, which Schaff justly characterizes as +"a pious romance." From Jerome we gather the following account: +Paul was the real founder of the hermit life, although not the +first to bear the name. <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> During the Decian persecution, when +churches were laid waste and Christians were slain with barbarous +cruelty, Paul and his sister were bereaved of both their parents. +He was then a lad of sixteen, an inheritor of wealth and skilled +for one of his years in Greek and Egyptian learning. He was of a +gentle and loving disposition. On account of his riches he was +denounced as a Christian by an envious brother-in-law and compelled +to flee to the mountains in order to save his life. He took up his +abode in a cave shaded by a palm that afforded him food and +clothing. "And that no one may deem this impossible," affirms +Jerome, "I call to witness Jesus and his holy angels that I have +seen and still see in that part of the desert which lies between +Syria and the Saracens' country, monks of whom one was shut up for +thirty years and lived on barley bread and muddy water, while +another in an old cistern kept himself alive on five dried figs a +day."</p> +<p>It is impossible to determine how much of the story which +follows is historically true. Undoubtedly, it contains little +worthy of belief, but it gives us some faint idea of how these +hermits lived. Its chief value consists in the fact that it +preserves a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page37"></a>[pg +37]</span> fragment of the monastic literature of the times--a +story which was once accepted as a credible narrative. Imagine the +influence of such a tale, when believed to be true, upon a mind +inclined to embrace the doctrines of asceticism. Its power at that +time is not to be measured by its reliability now. Jerome himself +declares in the prologue that many incredible things were related +of Paul which he will not repeat. After reading the following +story, the reader may well inquire what more fanciful tale could be +produced even by a writer of fiction.</p> +<p>The blessed Paul was now one hundred and thirteen years old, and +Anthony, who dwelt in another place of solitude, was at the age of +ninety. In the stillness of the night it was revealed to Anthony +that deeper in the desert there was a better man than he, and that +he ought to see him. So, at the break of day, the venerable old +man, supporting and guiding his weak limbs with a staff, started +out, whither he knew not. At scorching noontide he beholds a +fellow-creature, half man, half horse, called by the poets +Hippo-centaur. After gnashing outlandish utterances, this monster, +in words broken, rather than spoken, through his bristling +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> lips, +points out the way with his right hand and swiftly vanishes from +the hermit's sight. Anthony, amazed, proceeds thoughtfully on his +way when a mannikin, with hooked snout, horned forehead and goat's +feet, stands before him and offers him food. Anthony asks who he +is. The beast thus replies: "I am a mortal being, and one of those +inhabitants of the desert, whom the Gentiles deluded by various +forms of error worship, under the name of Fauns and Satyrs." As he +utters these and other words, tears stream down the aged traveler's +face! He rejoices over the glory of God and the destruction of +Satan. Striking the ground with his staff, he exclaims, "Woe to +thee, Alexandria, who, instead of God, worshipest monsters! Woe to +thee, harlot city, into which have flowed together the demons of +the world! What will you say now? Beasts speak of Christ, and you, +instead of God, worship monsters." "Let none scruple to believe +this incident," says the chronicler, "for a man of this kind was +brought alive to Alexandria and the people saw him; when he died +his body was preserved in salt and brought to Antioch that the +Emperor might view him."</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> +<p>Anthony continues to traverse the wild region into which he had +entered. There is no trace of human beings. The darkness of the +second night wears away in prayer. At day-break he beholds far away +a she-wolf gasping with parched thirst and creeping into a cave. He +draws near and peers within. All is dark, but perfect love casteth +out fear. With halting step and bated breath, he enters. After a +while a light gleams in the distant midnight darkness. With +eagerness he presses forward, but his foot strikes against a stone +and arouses the echoes; whereupon the blessed Paul closes the door +and makes it fast. For hours Anthony lay at the door craving +admission. "I know I am not worthy," he humbly cries, "yet unless I +see you I will not turn away. You welcome beasts, why not a man? If +I fail, I will die here on your threshold."</p> +<blockquote>"Such was his constant cry; unmoved he stood,<br> +To whom the hero thus brief answer made."</blockquote> +<p>"Prayers like these do not mean threats, there is no trickery in +tears." So, with smiles, Paul gives him entrance and the two aged +hermits fall into each <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> other's embrace. Together they converse +of things human and divine, Paul, close to the dust of the grave, +asks, Are new houses springing up in ancient cities? What +government directs the world? Little did this recluse know of his +fellow-beings and how fared it with the children of men who dwelt +in those great cities around the blue Mediterranean. He was dead to +the world and knew it no more.</p> +<p>A raven brought the aged brothers bread to eat and the hours +glided swiftly away. Anthony returned to get a cloak which +Athanasius had given him in which to wrap the body of Paul. So +eager was he to behold again his newly-found friend that he set out +without even a morsel of bread, thirsting to see him. But when yet +three days' journey from the cave he saw Paul on high among the +angels. Weeping, he trudged on his way. On entering the cave he saw +the lifeless body kneeling, with head erect and hands uplifted. He +tenderly wrapped the body in the cloak and began to lament that he +had no implements to dig a grave. But Providence sent two lions +from the recesses of the mountain that came rushing with flying +manes. Roaring, as if they too mourned, they pawed the earth and +thus <span class="pagenum"><a name="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> the +grave was dug. Anthony, bending his aged shoulders beneath the +burden of the saint's body, laid it lovingly in the grave and +departed.</p> +<p>Jerome closes this account by challenging those who do not know +the extent of their possessions,--who adorn their homes with marble +and who string house to house,--to say what this old man in his +nakedness ever lacked. "Your drinking vessels are of precious +stones; he satisfied his thirst with the hollow of his hand. Your +tunics are wrought of gold; he had not the raiment of your meanest +slave. But on the other hand, poor as he was, Paradise is open to +him; you, with all your gold, will be received into Gehenna. He, +though naked, yet kept the robe of Christ; you, clad in your silks, +have lost the vesture of Christ. Paul lies covered with worthless +dust, but will rise again to glory; over you are raised costly +tombs, but both you and your wealth are doomed to burning. I +beseech you, reader, whoever you may be, to remember Jerome the +sinner. He, if God would give him his choice, would sooner take +Paul's tunics with his merits, than the purple of kings with their +punishment."</p> +<p>Such was the story circulated among rich and <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> poor, appealing with +wondrous force to the hearts of men in those wretched years.</p> +<p>What was the effect upon the mind of the thoughtful? If he +believed such teaching, weary of the wickedness of the age, and +moved by his noblest sentiments, he sold his tunics wrought of gold +and fled from his palaces of marble to the desert solitudes.</p> +<p>But the monastic story that most strongly impressed the age now +under consideration, was the biography of Anthony, "the patriarch +of monks" and virtual founder of Christian monasticism. It was said +to have been written by Athanasius, the famous defender of +orthodoxy and Archbishop of Alexandria; yet some authorities reject +his authorship. It exerted a power over the minds of men beyond all +human estimate. It scattered the seeds of asceticism wherever it +was read. Traces of its influence are found all over the Roman +empire, in Egypt, Asia Minor, Palestine, Italy and Gaul. Knowing +the character of Athanasius, we may rest assured that he sincerely +believed all he really recorded (it is much interpolated) of the +strange life of Anthony, and, true or false, thousands of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> others +believed in him and in his story. Augustine, the great theologian +of immortal fame, acknowledged that this book was one of the +influences that led to his conversion, and Jerome, whose life I +will review later, was mightily swayed by it.</p> +<p>Anthony was born about 251 A.D., in Upper Egypt, of wealthy and +noble parentage. He was a pious child, an obedient son, and a lover +of solitude and books. His parents died when he was about twenty +years old, leaving to his care their home and his little sister. +One day, as he entered the church, meditating on the poverty of +Christ, a theme much reflected upon in those days, he heard these +words read from the pulpit, "If thou wouldst be perfect, go and +sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and come, follow +me." As if the call came straight from heaven to his own soul, he +left the church at once and made over his farm to the people of the +village. He sold his personal possessions for a large sum, and +distributed the proceeds among the poor, reserving a little for his +sister. Still he was unsatisfied. Entering the church on another +occasion, he heard our Lord saying in the gospel, "Take no thought +for the morrow." The clouds <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> cleared away. His anxious search for +truth and duty was at an end. He went out and gave away the remnant +of his belongings. Placing his sister in a convent, the existence +of which is to be noted, he fled to the desert. Then follows a +striking statement, "For monasteries were not common in Egypt, nor +had any monk at all known the great desert; but every one who +wished to devote himself to his own spiritual welfare performed his +exercise alone, not far from the village."</p> +<p>Laboring with his hands, recalling texts of Scripture, praying +whole sleepless nights, fasting for several days at a time, +visiting his fellow saints, fighting demons, so passed the long +years away. He slept on a small rush mat, more often on the bare +ground. Forgetting past austerities, he was ever on the search for +some new torture and pressing forward to new and strange +experiences. He changed his habitation from time to time. Now he +lived in a tomb, in company with the silent dead; then for twenty +years in a deserted castle, full of reptiles, never going out and +rarely seeing any one. From each saint he learned some fresh mode +of spiritual training, observing his practice for future imitation +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> and +studying the charms of his Christian character that he might +reproduce them in his own life; thus he would return richly laden +to his cell.</p> +<p>But in all these struggles Anthony had one foe--the arch-enemy +of all good. He suggests impure thoughts, but the saint repels them +by prayer; he incites to passion, but the hero resists the fiend +with fastings and faith. Once the dragon, foiled in his attempt to +overcome Anthony, gnashed his teeth, and coming out of his body, +lay at his feet in the shape of a little black boy. But the hermit +was not beguiled into carelessness by this victory. He resolved to +chastise himself more severely. So he retired to the tombs of the +dead. One dark night a crowd of demons flogged the saint until he +fell to the ground speechless with torture. Some friends found him +the next day, and thinking that he was dead, carried him to the +village, where his kinsfolk gathered to mourn over his remains. But +at midnight he came to himself, and, seeing but one acquaintance +awake, he begged that he would carry him back to the tombs, which +was done. Unable to move, he prayed prostrate and sang, "If an host +be laid against me, yet shall not my heart be afraid." <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> The enraged devils +made at him again. There was a terrible crash; through the walls +the fiends came in shapes like beasts and reptiles. In a moment the +place was filled with lions roaring at him, bulls thrusting at him +with their horns, creeping serpents unable to reach him, wolves +held back in the act of springing. There, too, were bears and asps +and scorpions. Mid the frightful clamor of roars, growls and +hisses, rose the clear voice of the saint, as he triumphantly +mocked the demons in their rage. Suddenly the awful tumult ceased; +the wretched beings became invisible and a ray of light pierced the +roof to cheer the prostrate hero. His pains ceased. A voice came to +him saying, "Thou hast withstood and not yielded. I will always be +thy helper, and will make thy name famous everywhere." Hearing this +he rose up and prayed, and was stronger in body than ever +before.</p> +<p>This is but one of numerous stories chronicling Anthony's +struggles with the devil. Like conflicts were going on at that hour +in many another cave in those great and silent mountains.</p> +<p>There are also wondrous tales of his miraculous power. He often +predicted the coming of sufferers <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> and healed them when they came. His +fame for curing diseases and casting out devils became so extensive +that Egypt marveled at his gifts, and saints came even from Rome to +see his face and to hear his words. His freedom from pride and +arrogance was as marked as his fame was great. He yielded joyful +obedience to presbyters and bishops. His countenance was so full of +divine grace and heavenly beauty as to render him easily +distinguishable in a crowd of monks. Letters poured in upon him +from every part of the empire. Kings wrote for his advice, but it +neither amazed him nor filled his heart with pride. "Wonder not," +said he, "if a king writes to us, for he is but a man, but wonder +rather that God has written His law to man and spoken to us by His +Son." At his command princes laid aside their crowns, judges their +magisterial robes, while criminals forsook their lives of crime and +embraced with joy the life of the desert.</p> +<p>Once, at the earnest entreaty of some magistrates, he came down +from the mountain that they might see him. Urged to prolong his +stay he refused, saying, "Fishes, if they lie long on the dry land, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> die; so +monks who stay with you lose their strength. As the fishes, then, +hasten to the sea, so must we to the mountains."</p> +<p>At last the shadows lengthened and waning strength proclaimed +that his departure was nigh. Bidding farewell to his monks, he +retired to an inner mountain and laid himself down to die. His +countenance brightened as if he saw his friends coming to see him, +and thus his soul was gathered to his fathers. He is said to have +been mourned by fifteen thousand disciples.</p> +<p>This is the story which moved a dying empire. "Anthony," says +Athanasius, "became known not by worldly wisdom, nor by any art, but +solely by piety, and that this was the gift of God who can deny?" +The purpose of such a life was, so his biographer thought, to light +up the moral path for men, that they might imbibe a zeal for +virtue.</p> +<p>The "Life of St. Anthony" is even more remarkable for its +omissions than for its incredible tales. While I reserve a more +detailed criticism of its Christian ideals until a subsequent +chapter, it may be well to quote here a few words from Isaac +Taylor. After pointing out some of its defects he <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> continues: there is +"not a word of justification by faith; not a word of the gracious +influence of the Spirit in renewing and cleansing the heart; not a +word responding to any of those signal passages of Scripture which +make the Gospel 'Glad Tidings' to guilty men." This I must confess +to be true, even though I may and do heartily esteem the saint's +enthusiasm for righteousness.</p> +<p>So far I have described chiefly the spiritual experiences of +these men, but the details of their physical life are hardly less +interesting. There was a holy rivalry among them to excel in +self-torture. Their imaginations were constantly employed in +devising unique tests of holiness and courage. They lived in holes +in the ground or in dried up wells; they slept in thorn bushes or +passed days and weeks without sleep; they courted the company of +the wildest beasts and exposed their naked bodies to the broiling +sun. Macarius became angry because an insect bit him and in +penitence flung himself into a marsh where he lived for weeks. He +was so badly stung by gnats and flies that his friends hardly knew +him. Hilarion, at twenty years of age, was more like a spectre than +a living man. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page50"></a>[pg +50]</span> His cell was only five feet high, a little lower than +his stature. Some carried weights equal to eighty or one hundred +and fifty pounds suspended from their bodies. Others slept standing +against the rocks. For three years, as it is recorded, one of them +never reclined. In their zeal to obey the Scriptures, they +overlooked the fact that cleanliness is akin to godliness. It was +their boast that they never washed. One saint would not even use +water to drink, but quenched his thirst with the dew that fell on +the grass. St. Abraham never washed his face for fifty years. His +biographer, not in the least disturbed by the disagreeable +suggestions of this circumstance, proudly says, "His face reflected +the purity of his soul." If so, one is moved to think that the +inward light must indeed have been powerfully piercing, if it could +brighten a countenance unwashed for half a century. There is a +story about Abbot Theodosius who prayed for water that his monks +might drink. In response to his petition a stream burst from the +rocks, but the foolish monks, overcome by a pitiful weakness for +cleanliness, persuaded the abbot to erect a bath, when lo, the +stream dried. Supplications and repentance availed nothing. +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span> After a +year had passed, the monks, promising never again to insult Heaven +by wishing for a bath, were granted a second Mosaic miracle.</p> +<p>Thus, unwashed, clothed in rags, their hair uncut, their faces +unshaven, they lived for years. No wonder that to their disordered +fancy the desert was filled with devils, the animals spake and +Heaven sent angels to minister unto them.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Pillar_Saint"></a>The Pillar Saint</i></h2> +<br> +<p>But the strangest of all strange narratives yet remains. We turn +from Egypt to Asia Minor to make the acquaintance of that saint +whom Tennyson has immortalized,--the idol of monarchs and the pride +of the East,--Saint Simeon Stylites. Stories grow rank around him +like the luxuriant products of a tropical soil. How shall I briefly +tell of this man, whom Theodoret, in his zeal, declares all who +obey the Roman rule know--the man who may be compared with Moses +the Legislator, David the King and Micah the Prophet? He lived +between the years 390 and 459 A.D. He was a shepherd's son, but at +an early age entered a monastery. Here <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> he soon distinguished +himself by his excessive austerities. One day he went to the well, +removed the rope from the bucket and bound it tightly around his +body underneath his clothes. A few weeks later, the abbot, being +angry with him because of his extreme self-torture, bade his +companions strip him. What was his astonishment to find the rope +from the well sunk deeply into his flesh. "Whence," he cried, "has +this man come to us, wanting to destroy the rule of this monastery? +I pray thee depart hence."</p> +<p>With great trouble they unwound the rope and the flesh with it, +and taking care of him until he was well, they sent him forth to +commence a life of austerities that was to render him famous. He +adopted various styles of existence, but his miracles and piety +attracted such crowds that he determined to invent a mode of life +which would deliver him from the pressing multitudes. It is curious +that he did not hide himself altogether if he really wished to +escape notoriety; but, no, he would still be within the gaze of +admiring throngs. His holy and fanciful genius hit upon a scheme +that gave him his peculiar name. He took up his abode on the top +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> of a +column which was at first about twelve feet high, but was gradually +elevated until it measured sixty-four feet. Hence, he is called +Simeon Stylites, or Simeon the Pillar Saint.</p> +<p>On this lofty column, betwixt earth and heaven, the hermit +braved the heat and cold of thirty years. At its base, from morning +to night, prayed the admiring worshipers. Kings kneeled in crowds +of peasants to do him homage and ask his blessing. Theodoret says, +"The Ishmaelites, coming by tribes of two hundred and three hundred +at a time, and sometimes even a thousand, deny, with shouts, the +error of their fathers, and breaking in pieces before that great +illuminator, the images which they had worshiped, and renouncing +the orgies of Venus, they received the Divine sacrament." Rude +barbarians confessed their sins in tears. Persians, Greeks, Romans +and Saracens, forgetting their mutual hatred, united in praise and +prayer at the feet of this strange character.</p> +<p>Once a week the hero partook of food. Many times a day he bowed +his head to his feet; one man counted twelve hundred and forty-four +times and then stopped in sheer weariness from gazing at the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> miracle +of endurance aloft. Again, from the setting of the sun to its +appearance in the East, he would stand unsoothed by sleep with his +arms outstretched like a cross.</p> +<p>If genius can understand such a life as that and fancy the +thoughts of such a soul, Tennyson seems not only to have +comprehended the consciousness of the Pillar Saint, but also to +have succeeded in giving expression to his insight. He has laid +bare the soul of Simeon in its commingling of spiritual pride with +affected humility, and of a consciousness of meritorious sacrifice +with a sense of sin. The Saint spurns notoriety and the homage of +men, yet exults in his control over the multitudes.</p> +<p>The poet thus imagines Simeon to speak as the Saint is praying +God to take away his sin:</p> +<blockquote>"But yet<br> +Bethink thee, Lord, while thou and all the saints<br> +Enjoy themselves in heaven, and men on earth<br> +House in the shade of comfortable roofs,<br> +Sit with their wives by fires, eat wholesome food,<br> +And wear warm clothes, and even beasts have stalls,<br> +I, 'tween the spring and downfall of the light,<br> +Bow down one thousand and two hundred times,<br> +To Christ, the Virgin Mother, and the Saints;<br> +Or in the night, after a little sleep,<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> I wake: +the chill stars sparkle; I am wet<br> +With drenching dews, or stiff with crackling frost.<br> +I wear an undress'd goatskin on my back;<br> +A grazing iron collar grinds my neck;<br> +And in my weak, lean arms I lift the cross,<br> +And strive and wrestle with thee till I die:<br> +O mercy, mercy! wash away my sin.<br> +<br> +O Lord, thou knowest what a man I am;<br> +A sinful man, conceived and born in sin:<br> +'Tis their own doing; this is none of mine;<br> +Lay it not to me. Am I to blame for this,<br> +That here come those that worship me? Ha! ha!<br> +They think that I am somewhat. What am I?<br> +The silly people take me for a saint,<br> +And bring me offerings of fruit and flowers:<br> +And I, in truth (thou wilt bear witness here)<br> +Have all in all endured as much, and more<br> +Than many just and holy men, whose names<br> +Are register'd and calendared for saints.<br> +<br> +Good people, you do ill to kneel to me.<br> +What is it I can have done to merit this?<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<br> +<br> +Yet do not rise; for you may look on me,<br> +And in your looking you may kneel to God.<br> +Speak! is there any of you halt or maim'd?<br> +I think you know I have some power with Heaven<br> +From my long penance: let him speak his wish.<br> +<br> +Yes, I can heal him. Power goes forth from me.<br> +They say that they are heal'd. Ah, hark! they shout<br> +'St. Simeon Stylites.' Why, if so,<br> +God reaps a harvest in me. O my soul,<br> +God reaps a harvest in thee. If this be,<br> +Can I work miracles and not be saved?"</blockquote> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> +<p>Once, the devil, in shape like an angel, riding in a chariot of +fire, came to carry Simeon to the skies. He whispered to the weary +Saint, "Simeon, hear my words, which the Lord hath commanded thee. +He has sent me, his angel, that I may carry thee away as I carried +Elijah." Simeon was deceived, and lifted his foot to step out into +the chariot, when the angel vanished, and in punishment for his +presumption an ulcer appeared upon his thigh.</p> +<p>But time plays havoc with saints as well as sinners, and death +slays the strongest. Bowed in prayer, his weary heart ceased to +beat and the eyes that gazed aloft were closed forever. Anthony, +his beloved disciple, ascending the column, found that his master +was no more. Yet, it seemed as if Simeon was loath to leave the +spot, for his spirit appeared to his weeping follower and said, "I +will not leave this column, and this blessed mountain. For I have +gone to rest, as the Lord willed, but do thou not cease to minister +in this place and the Lord will repay thee in heaven."</p> +<p>His body was carried down the mountain to Antioch. Heading the +solemn procession were the patriarch, six bishops, twenty-one +counts and six <span class="pagenum"><a name="page57"></a>[pg +57]</span> thousand soldiers, "and Antioch," says Gibbon, "revered +his bones as her glorious ornament and impregnable defence."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Cenobites_of_the_East"></a>The Cenobites of the +East</i></h2> +<br> +<p>We cannot linger with these hermits. I pass now to the +cenobitic[<a href="#NOTE_C">C</a>] life. We go back in years and +return to Egypt. Man is a social animal, and the social instinct is +so strong that even hermits are swayed by its power and get tired +of living apart from one another. When Anthony died the deserts +were studded with hermitages, and those of exceptional fame were +surrounded by little clusters of huts and dens. Into these cells +crowded the hermits who wished to be near their master.</p> +<p>Thus, step by step, organized or cenobitic monasticism easily +and naturally came into existence. The anchorites crawled from +their dens every day to hear the words of their chief saint,--a +practice giving rise to stated meetings, with rules for worship. +Regulations as to meals, occupations, dress, penances, and prayers +naturally follow.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> +<p>The author of the first monastic rules is said to have been +Pachomius, who was born in Egypt about the year 292 A.D. He was +brought up in paganism but was converted in early life while in the +army. On his discharge he retired with a hermit to Tabenna, an +island in the Nile. It is said he never ate a full meal after his +conversion, and for fifteen years slept sitting on a stone. Natural +gifts fitted him to become a leader, and it was not long before he +was surrounded by a congregation of monks for whom he made his +rules.</p> +<p>The monks of Pachomius were divided into bands of tens and +hundreds, each tenth man being an under officer in turn subject to +the hundredth, and all subject to the superior or abbot of the +mother house. They lived three in a cell, and a congregation of +cells constituted a laura or monastery. There was a common room for +meals and worship. Each monk wore a close fitting tunic and a white +goatskin upper garment which was never laid aside at meals or in +bed, but only at the Eucharist. Their food usually consisted of +bread and water, but occasionally they enjoyed such luxuries as +oil, salt, fruits and vegetables. They ate in silence, which +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> was +sometimes broken by the solemn voice of a reader.</p> +<p>"No man," says Jerome, "dares look at his neighbor or clear his +throat. Silent tears roll down their cheeks, but not a sob escapes +their lips." Their labors consisted of some light handiwork or +tilling the fields. They grafted trees, made beehives, twisted +fish-lines, wove baskets and copied manuscripts. It was early +apparent that as man could not live alone so he could not live +without labor. We shall see this principle emphasized more clearly +by Benedict, but it is well to notice that at this remote day +provision was made for secular employments. Jerome enjoins +Rusticus, a young monk, always to have some work on hand that the +devil may find him busy. "Hoe your ground," says he, "set out +cabbages; convey water to them in conduits, that you may see with +your own eyes the lovely vision of the poet,--</p> +<blockquote>"Art draws fresh water from the hilltop near,<br> +Till the stream, flashing down among the rocks,<br> +Cools the parched meadows and allays their thirst."</blockquote> +<p>There were individual cases of excessive self-torture +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> even +among these congregations of monks but we may say that ordinarily, +organized monasticism was altogether less severe upon the +individual than anchoretic life. The fact that the monk was seeking +human fellowship is evidence that he was becoming more humane, and +this softening of his spirit betrayed itself in his treatment of +himself. The aspect of life became a little brighter and +happier.</p> +<p>Four objects were comprehended in these monastic +roles,--solitude, manual labor, fasting and prayer. We need not +pity these dwellers far from walled cities and the marts of trade. +Indeed, they claim no sympathy. Religious ideals can make strange +transformations in man's disposition and tastes. They loved their +hard lives.</p> +<p>The hermit Abraham said to John Cassian, "We know that in these, +our regions, there are some secret and pleasant places, where +fruits are abundant and the beauty and fertility of the gardens +would supply our necessities with the slightest toil. We prefer the +wilderness of this desolation before all that is fair and +attractive, admitting no comparison between the luxuriance of the +most exuberant <span class="pagenum"><a name="page61"></a>[pg +61]</span> soil and the bitterness of these sands." Jerome himself +exclaimed, "Others may think what they like and follow each his own +bent. But to me a town is a prison and solitude paradise."</p> +<p>The three vows of chastity, poverty and obedience were adopted +and became the foundation stones of the monastic institution, to be +found in every monastic order. There is a typical illustration in +Kingsley's Hypatia of what they meant by obedience. Philammon, a +young monk, was consigned to the care of Cyril, the Bishop of +Alexandria, and a factious, cruel man, with an imperious will. The +bishop received and read his letter of introduction and thus +addressed its bearer, "Philammon, a Greek. You are said to have +learned to obey. If so, you have also learned to rule. Your +father-abbot has transferred you to my tutelage. You are now to +obey me." "And I will," was the quick response. "Well said. Go to +that window and leap forth into the court." Philammon walked to it +and opened it. The pavement was fully twenty feet below, but his +business was to obey and not to take measurements. There was a +flower in a vase upon the sill. He quietly removed it, and in an +instant would have <span class="pagenum"><a name="page62"></a>[pg +62]</span> leaped for life or death, when Cyril's voice thundered, +"Stop!"</p> +<p>The Pachomian monks despised possessions of every kind. The +following pathetic incident shows the frightful extent to which +they carried this principle, and also illustrates the character of +that submission to which the novitiate voluntarily assented: +Cassian described how Mutius sold his possessions and with his +little child of eight asked admission to a monastery. The monks +received but disciplined him. "He had already forgotten that he was +rich, he must forget that he was a father." His child was taken, +clothed in rags, beaten and spurned. Obedience compelled the father +to look upon his child wasting with pain and grief, but such was +his love for Christ, says the narrator, that his heart was rigid +and immovable. He was then told to throw the boy into the river, +but was stopped in the act of obeying.</p> +<p>Yet men, women, and even children, coveted this life of +unnatural deprivations. "Posterity," says Gibbon, "might repeat the +saying which had formerly been applied to the sacred animals of the +same country, that in Egypt it was less difficult to <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> find a god than a +man." Though the hermit did not claim to be a god, yet there were +more monks in many monasteries than inhabitants in the neighboring +villages. Pachomius had fourteen hundred monks in his own monastery +and seven thousand under his rule. Jerome says fifty thousand monks +were sometimes assembled at Easter in the deserts of Nitria. It was +not uncommon for an abbot to command five thousand monks. St. +Serapion boasted of ten thousand. Altogether, so we are told, there +were in the fifth century more than one hundred thousand persons in +the monasteries, three-fourths of whom were men.</p> +<p>The rule of Pachomius spread over Egypt into Syria and +Palestine. It was carried by Athanasius into Italy and Gaul. It +existed in various modified forms until it was supplanted by the +Benedictine rule.</p> +<p>Leaving Egypt, again we cross the Mediterranean into Asia Minor. +Near the Black Sea, in a wild forest abounding in savage rocks and +gloomy ravines, there dwelt a young man of twenty-six. He had +traveled in Egypt, Syria and Palestine. He had visited the hermits +of the desert and studied <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> philosophy and eloquence in cultured +Athens. In virtue eminent, in learning profound, this poetic soul +sought to realize its ideal in a lonely and cherished retreat--in a +solitude of Pontus.</p> +<p>The young monk is the illustrious saint and genius,--Basil the +Great,--the Bishop of Cæsarea, and the virtual founder of the +monastic institution in the Greek church. The forest and glens +around his hut belonged to him, and on the other bank of the river +Iris his mother and sister were leading similar lives, having +abandoned earthly honors in pursuit of heaven. Hard crusts of bread +appeased his hunger. No fires, except those which burned within his +soul, protected him from the wintry blast. His years were few but +well spent. After a while his powerful intellect asserted itself +and he was led into a clearer view of the true spiritual life. His +practical mind revolted against the gross ignorance and meaningless +asceticism of Egypt. He determined to form an order that would +conform to the inner meaning of the Bible and to a more sensible +conception of the religious life. For his time he was a wise +legislator, a cunning workman and a daring thinker. The +modification of his ascetic <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> ideal was attended by painful +struggles. Many an hour he spent with his bosom friend, Gregory of +Nazianza, discussing the subject. The middle course which they +finally adopted is thus neatly described by Gregory:</p> +<blockquote>"Long was the inward strife, till ended thus:<br> +I saw, when men lived in the fretful world,<br> +They vantaged other men, but missed the while<br> +The calmness, and the pureness of their hearts.<br> +They who retired held an uprighter post,<br> +And raised their eyes with quiet strength toward heaven;<br> +Yet served self only, unfraternally.<br> +And so, 'twixt these and those, I struck my path,<br> +To meditate with the free solitary,<br> +Yet to live secular, and serve mankind."</blockquote> +<p>Monks in large numbers flocked to this mountain retreat of +Basil's. These he banded together in an organization, the remains +of which still live in the Greek church. So great is the influence +of his life and teachings, "that it is common though erroneous to +call all Oriental monks Basilians." His rules are drawn up in the +form of answers to two hundred and three questions. He added to the +three monastic vows a fourth, which many authorities claim now +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> appeared +for the first time,--namely, that of irrevocable vows--once a monk, +always a monk.</p> +<p>Basil did not condemn marriage, but he believed that it was +incompatible with the highest spiritual attainments. For the +Kingdom of God's sake it was necessary to forsake all. "Love not +the world, neither the things of the world," embraced to his mind +the married state. By avoiding the cares of marriage a man was sure +to escape, so he thought, the gross sensuality of the age. He +struck at the dangers which attend the possession of riches, by +enforcing poverty. An abbot was appointed over his cloisters to +whom absolute obedience was demanded. Everywhere men needed this +lesson of obedience. The discipline of the armies was relaxed. The +authority of religion was set at naught; laxity and disorder +prevailed even among the monks. They went roaming over the country +controlled only by their whims. Insubordination had to be checked +or the monastic institution was doomed. Hence, Basil was particular +to enforce a respect for law and order.</p> +<p>Altogether this was an honest and serious attempt <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> to introduce fresh +power into a corrupt age and to faithfully observe the Biblical +commands as Basil understood them. The floods of iniquity were +engulfing even the church. A new standard had to be raised and an +inner circle of pious and zealous believers gathered from the +multitude of half-pagan Christians, or all was lost.</p> +<p>The subsequent history of Greek monachism has little interest. +In Russia, at a late date, the Greek monks served some purpose in +keeping alive the national spirit under the Tartar yoke, but the +practical benefits to the East were few, in comparison with the +vigorous life of the Western monasticism.</p> +<p>Montalembert, the brilliant champion of Christian monasticism, +becomes an adverse critic of the system in the East, although it is +noteworthy he now speaks of monasticism as it appears in the Greek +church, which he holds to be heretical; yet his indictment is quite +true: "They yielded to all the deleterious impulses of that +declining society. They have saved nothing, regenerated nothing, +elevated nothing."</p> +<p>We have visited the hermit in the desert and in <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> the monastery +governed by its abbot and its rules. We must view the monk in one +other aspect, that of theological champion. Here the hermit and the +monk of the monastery meet on common ground. They were fighters, +not debaters; fighters, not disciplined soldiers; fighters, not +persuading Christians. They swarmed down from the mountains like +hungry wolves. They fought heretics, they fought bishops, they +fought Roman authorities, they fought soldiers, and fought one +another. Ignorant, fanatical and cruel, they incited riots, +disturbed the public peace and shed the blood of foes.</p> +<p>Theological discord was made a thousand times more bitter by +their participation in the controversies of the time. Furious monks +became the armed champions of Cyril, the Bishop of Alexandria. They +insulted the prefect, drove out the Jews and, to the everlasting +disgrace of the monks, Cyril and the church, they dragged the +lovely Hypatia from her lecture hall and slew her with all the +cruelty satanic ingenuity could devise. Against a background of +black and angry sky she stands forth, as a soul through whose +reason God made himself manifest. Her unblemished character, her +learning <span class="pagenum"><a name="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> +and her grace forever cry aloud against an orthodoxy bereft alike +of reason and of the spirit of the Nazarene.</p> +<p>The fighting monks crowded councils and forced decisions. They +deposed hostile bishops or kept their favorites in power by murder +and violence. Two black-cowled armies met in Constantinople, and +amid curses fought with sticks and stones a battle of creeds. Cries +of "Holy! Holy! Holy!" mingled with, "It's the day of martyrdom! +Down with the tyrant!" The whole East was kept in a feverish state. +The Imperial soldiers confessed their justifiable fears when they +said, "We would rather fight with barbarians than with these +monks."</p> +<p>No wonder our perplexity increases and it seems impossible to +determine what these men really did for the cause of truth. We have +been unable to distinguish the hermit from the beasts of the +fields. We hear his groans, see his tears, and watch him struggle +with demons. We are disgusted with his filth, amused at his +fancies, grieved at his superstition. We pity his agony and admire +his courage. We watch the progress of order and rule out of chaos. +We see monasteries grow up around damp <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> caves and dismal +huts. We behold Simeon praying among the birds of heaven, and look +into the face of the young and handsome Basil, in whom the monastic +institution of the East reaches the zenith of its power.</p> +<p>I am free to confess a profound reverence for many of these men +determined at all hazards to keep their souls unspotted from the +world. I bow before a passion for righteousness ready to part with +life itself if necessary. Yet the gross extravagances, the almost +incredible absurdities of their unnatural lives compel us to +withhold our judgment.</p> +<p>One thing is certain, the strange life of those far-off years is +an eloquent testimony to the indestructible craving of the human +soul for self-mastery and soul-purity.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> +<h2><a name="II"></a>II</h2> +<h3><i><a name="MONASTICISM_IN_THE_WEST"></a>MONASTICISM IN THE +WEST: ANTE-BENEDICTINE MONKS 340-480 A.D.</i></h3> +<br> +<p>We are now to follow the fortunes of the monastic system from +its introduction in Rome to the time of Benedict of Nursia, the +founder of the first great monastic order.</p> +<p>Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, who made +Christianity the predominant religion in the Roman Empire, died in +337 A.D. Three years later Rome heard, probably for the first time, +an authentic account of the Egyptian hermits. The story was carried +to the Eternal City by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, one of the +most remarkable characters in the early church, a man of surpassing +courage and perseverance, an intrepid foe of heresy, "heroic and +invincible," as Milton styled him. Twenty of the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> forty-six years of +his official life were spent in banishment.</p> +<p>Athanasius was an intimate friend of the hermit Anthony and a +persistent advocate of the ascetic ideal. When he fled to Rome, in +340, to escape the persecutions of the Arians, he took with him two +specimens of monastic virtue--Ammonius and Isidore. These hermits, +so filthy and savage in appearance, albeit, as I trust, clean in +heart, excited general disgust, and their story of the tortures and +holiness of their Egyptian brethren was received with derision. But +men who had faced and conquered the terrors of the desert were not +to be so easily repulsed. Aided by other ascetic travelers from the +East they persisted in their propaganda until contempt yielded to +admiration. The enthusiasm of the uncouth hermits became +contagious. The Christians in Rome now welcomed the story of the +recluses as a Divine call to abandon a dissolute society for the +peace and joy of a desert life.</p> +<p>But before this transformation of public opinion can be +appreciated, it is needful to know something of the social and +religious condition of Rome in <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> the days when Athanasius and his +hermits walked her streets.</p> +<p>After suffering frightful persecutions for three centuries, the +Church had at last nominally conquered the Roman Empire; nominally, +because although Christianity was to live, the Empire had to die. +"No medicine could have prevented the diseased old body from dying. +The time had come. When the wretched inebriate embraces a spiritual +religion with one foot in the grave, with a constitution completely +undermined, and the seeds of death planted, then no repentance or +lofty aspiration can prevent physical death. It was so in Rome." +The death-throes were long and lingering, as befits the end of a +mighty giant, but death was certain. There are many facts which +explain the inability of a conquering faith to save a tottering +empire, but it is impracticable for us to enter upon that wide +field. Some help may be gained from that which follows.</p> +<p>Of morals, Rome was destitute. She possessed the material +remains and superficial acquirements of a proud civilization, such +as great public highways, marble palaces, public baths, temples and +libraries. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page74"></a>[pg +74]</span> Elegance of manners and acquisitions of wealth indicate +specious outward refinement. But these things are not sufficient to +guarantee the permanence of institutions or the moral welfare of a +nation. In the souls of men there was a fatal degeneracy. There was +outward prosperity but inward corruption.</p> +<p>Professor Samuel Dill, in his highly instructive work on "Roman +Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire," points out the +fact that Rome's fall was due to economic and political causes as +well as to the deterioration of her morals. A close study of these +causes, however, will reveal the presence of moral influences. +Professor Dill says: "The general tendency of modern inquiry has to +discover in the fall of that august and magnificent organization, +not a cataclysm, precipitated by the impact of barbarous forces, +but a process slowly prepared and evolved by internal and economic +causes." Two of these causes were the dying out of municipal +liberty and self-government, and the separation of the upper class +from the masses by sharp distributions of wealth and privilege. It +is indeed true that these causes contributed to Rome's ruin; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> that the +central government was weak; that the civil service was oppressive +and corrupt; that the aristocratic class was selfish; and that the +small landed proprietors were steadily growing poorer and fewer, +while, on the contrary, the upper or senatorial class was +increasing in wealth and power. But after due emphasis has been +accorded to these destructive factors, it yet remains true that the +want of public spirit and the prevailing cultivated selfishness may +be traced to a decline of faith in those religious ideals that +serve to stimulate the moral life and thus preserve the national +integrity.</p> +<p>Society was divided into three classes. It is computed that +one-half the population were slaves. A large majority of the +remainder were paupers, living on public charity, and constituting +a festering sore that threatened the life of the social organism. +The rich, who were relatively few, squandered princely incomes in a +single night, and exhausted their imaginations devising new and +expensive forms of sensuous pleasure. The profligacy of the nobles +almost surpasses credibility, so that trustworthy descriptions read +like works of fiction. Farrar says: "A whole population might be +trembling lest they <span class="pagenum"><a name="page76"></a>[pg +76]</span> should be starved by the delay of an Alexandrian corn +ship, while the upper classes were squandering a fortune at a +single banquet, drinking out of myrrhine and jeweled vases worth +hundreds of pounds, and feasting on the brains of peacocks and the +tongues of nightingales." The frivolity of the social and political +leaders of Rome, the insane thirst for lust and luxury, the absence +of seriousness in the face of frightful, impending ruin, almost +justify the epigram of Silvianus, "Rome was laughing when she +died."</p> +<blockquote>"On that hard pagan world disgust<br> +And secret loathing fell;<br> +Deep weariness and sated lust<br> +Made human life a hell.<br> +In his cool hall, with haggard eyes,<br> +The Roman noble lay;<br> +He drove abroad in furious guise<br> +Along the Appian Way;<br> +He made a feast, drank fierce and fast,<br> +And crowned his hair with flowers<br> +No easier nor no guicker past<br> +The impracticable hours."</blockquote> +<p>Pagan mythology and Pagan philosophy were powerless to resist +this downward tendency. Although Christianity had become the state +religion, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> +it was itself in great danger of yielding to the decay that +prevailed. The Empire was, in fact, but nominally Christian. +Thousands of ecclesiastical adherents were half pagan in their +spirit and practice. Harnack declares, "They were too deeply +affected by Christianity to abandon it, but too little to be +Christians. Pure religious enthusiasm waned, ideals received a new +form, and the dependence and responsibility of individuals became +weaker." Even ordinary courage had everywhere declined and the +pleasures of the senses controlled the heart of Christian +society.</p> +<p>Many of the men who should have resisted this gross +secularization of the church, who ought to have set their faces +against the departure from apostolic ideals by exalting the +standards of the earlier Christianity; these men, the clergy of the +Christian church, had deserted their post of duty and surrendered +to the prevailing worldliness.</p> +<p>Jerome describes, with justifiable sarcasm, these moral +weaklings, charged with the solemn responsibility of preaching a +pure gospel to a dying empire. "Such men think of nothing but their +dress; they use perfumes freely, and see that there <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> are no creases in +their leather shoes. Their curling hair shows traces of the tongs; +their fingers glisten with rings; they walk on tiptoe across a damp +road, not to splash their feet. When you see men acting that way, +think of them rather as bridegrooms than as clergymen. If he sees a +pillow that takes his fancy, or an elegant table-cover, or, indeed, +any article of furniture, he praises it, looks admiringly at it, +takes it into his hand, and, complaining that he has nothing of the +kind, begs or rather extorts it from its owner." Such trifling +folly was fatal. The times demanded men of vigorous spirit, who +dared to face the general decline, and cry out in strong tones +against it. The age needed moral warriors, with the old Roman +courage and love of sacrifice; martyrs willing to rot in prison or +shed their blood in the street, not effeminate men, toying with +fancy table-covers and tiptoeing across a sprinkled road. "And as a +background," says Kingsley, "to all this seething heap of +corruption, misrule and misery, hung the black cloud of the +barbarians, the Teutonic tribes from whom we derive our best blood, +ever coming nearer and nearer, waxing stronger and stronger, to be +soon the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> +conquerors of the Cæsars and the masters of the world." But +there were many pure and sincere Christians--a saving remnant. The +joyous alacrity with which men and women responded to the monastic +call, and entered upon careers of self-torture for the sake of +deliverance from moral corruption, shows that the spirit of true +faith was not extinct. These seekers after righteousness may be +described as "a dismal and fanatical set of men, overlooking the +practical aims of life," but it is a fair question to ask, "if they +had not abandoned the world to its fate would they not have shared +that fate?" "The glory of that age," says Professor Dill, "is the +number of those who were capable of such self-surrender; and an age +should be judged by its ideals, not by the mediocrity of +conventional religion masking worldly self-indulgence. This we have +always with us; the other we have not always."</p> +<p>Yet the sad fact remains that the transforming power of +Christianity was practically helpless before the surging floods of +vice and superstition. The noble struggles of a few saints were as +straws in a hurricane. The church had all she could do to save +herself.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> +<p>"When Christianity itself was in such need of reform," says +Lord, "when Christians could scarcely be distinguished from pagans +in love of display, and in egotistical ends, how could it reform +the world? When it was a pageant, a ritualism, an arm of the state, +a vain philosophy, a superstition, a formula, how could it save, if +ever so dominant? The corruptions of the church in the fourth +century are as well authenticated as the purity and moral elevation +of Christians in the second century." Even in the early days of +Christianity the ruin of Rome was impending, but, at that time, the +adherents of the Christian religion were few and poor. They did not +possess enough power and influence to save the state. When +monasticism came to Rome, the lords of the church were getting +ready to sit upon the thrones of princes, but the dazzling victory +of the church was not a spiritual conquest of sin, so the last ray +of hope for the Empire was extinguished. Her fall was +inevitable.</p> +<p>With this outlined picture in mind, fancy Athanasius and his +monks at Rome. These men despise luxury and contemn riches. They +have come to make Rome ring with the old war cries,--although +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> they +wrestled not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual +wickedness in high places. Terror and despair are on every side, +but they are not afraid. They know what it means to face the demons +of the desert, to lie down at night with wild beasts for +companions. They have not yielded to the depravity of the human +heart and the temptations of a licentious age. They have conquered +sinful appetites by self-abnegation and fasting. They come to a +distracted society with a message of peace--a peace won by +courageous self-sacrifice. They call men to save their perishing +souls by surrendering their wills to God and enlisting in a +campaign against the powers of darkness. They appeal to the ancient +spirit of courage and love of hardship. They arouse the dormant +moral energies of the profligate nobles, proud of the past and sick +of the present. The story of Anthony admonished Rome that a life of +sensuous gratification was inglorious, unworthy of the true Roman, +and that the flesh could be mastered by heroic endeavor.</p> +<p>Women, who spent their hours in frivolous amusements, welcomed +with gratitude the discovery that they could be happy without +degradation, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page82"></a>[pg +82]</span> joyfully responded to the call of righteousness. +"Despising themselves," says Kingsley, "despising their husbands to +whom they had been wedded in loveless wedlock, they too fled from a +world which had sated and sickened them."</p> +<p>Woman's natural craving for lofty friendships and pure +aspirations found satisfaction in the monastic ideal. She fled from +the incessant broils of a corrupt court, from the courtesans that +usurped the place of the wife, from the insolence and selfishness +of men who scorned even the appearance of virtue and did not +hesitate to degrade even their wives and sisters. She would +disprove the biting sarcasm of Juvenal,--</p> +<blockquote>"Women, in judgment weak, in feeling strong,<br> +By every gust of passion borne along.<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<br> +<br> +A woman stops at nothing, when she wears<br> +Rich emeralds round her neck, and in her ears<br> +Pearls of enormous size; these justify<br> +Her faults, and make all lawful in her eye."</blockquote> +<p>Therefore did the women hear with tremulous eagerness the story +of the saintly inhabitants of the desert, and flinging away their +trinkets, they hastened to the solitude of the cell, there to mourn +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> their +folly and seek pardon and peace at the feet of the Most High.</p> +<p>Likewise, the men, born to nobler tasks than fawning upon +princes and squandering life and fortune in gluttony and +debauchery, blushed for shame, and abandoned forever the company of +sensualists and parasites. Potitianus, a young officer of rank, +read the life of Anthony, and cried to his fellow-soldier: "Tell +me, I pray thee, whither all our labors tend? What do we seek? For +whom do we carry arms? What can be our greatest hope in the palace +but to be friend to the Emperor? And how frail is that fortune! +What perils! When shall this be?" Inspired by the monastic story he +exchanged the friendship of the Emperor for the friendship of God, +and the military life lost all its attractiveness.</p> +<p>A philosopher and teacher hears the same narrative, and his +countenance becomes grave; he seizes the arm of Alypius, his +friend, and earnestly asks: "What, then, are we doing? How is this? +What hast thou been hearing? These ignorant men rise; they take +Heaven by force, and we, with our heartless sciences, behold us +wallowing in the flesh and <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> in our blood! Is it shameful to follow +them, and are we not rather disgraced by not following them?" So, +disgusted with his self-seeking career, his round of empty +pleasures, he, too, is moved by this higher call to abandon his +wickedness and devote his genius to the cause of righteousness.</p> +<p>Ambrose, Paulinus, Chrysostom, Basil, Gregory, and many others, +holding important official posts or candidates for the highest +honors, abandoned all their chances of political preferment in +order to preach the gospel of ascetic Christianity.</p> +<p>Yes, for good or evil, Rome is profoundly stirred. The pale +monk, in all his filth and poverty, is the master of the best +hearts in the capital. Every one in whom aspiration is still alive, +who longs for some new light, and all who vaguely grope after a +higher life, hear his voice and become pliant to his will.</p> +<p>"Great historic movements," says Grimke, "are born not in +whirlwinds, in earthquakes, and pomps of human splendor and power, +but in the agonies and enthusiasms of grand, heroic spirits." +Monastic history, like secular, centers in the biographies of such +great men as Anthony, Basil, Jerome, Benedict, Francis, Dominic and +Loyola. To understand the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> character of the powerful forces set in +motion by the coming of the monks to Rome, it is necessary to know +the leading spirits whose preeminent abilities and lofty +personalities made Western monasticism what it was.</p> +<p>The time is about 418 A.D.; the place, a monastery in Bethlehem, +near the cave of the Nativity. In a lonely cell, within these +monastic walls, we shall find the man we seek. He is so old and +feeble that he has to be raised in his bed by means of a cord +affixed to the ceiling. He spends his time chiefly in reciting +prayers. His voice, once clear and resonant, sinks now to a +whisper. His failing vision no longer follows the classic pages of +Virgil or dwells fondly on the Hebrew of the Old Testament. This is +Saint Jerome, the champion of asceticism, the biographer of +hermits, the lion of Christian polemics, the translator of the +Bible, and the worthy, brilliant, determined foe of a dissolute +society and a worldly church. Although he spent thirty-four years +of his life in Palestine, I shall consider Jerome in connection +with the monasticism of the West, for it was in Rome that he +exercised his greatest influence. His translation of the Scriptures +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> is the +Vulgate of the Roman church, and his name is enrolled in the +calendar of her saints. "He is," observes Schaff "the connecting +link between the Eastern and Western learning and religion."</p> +<p>By charming speech and eloquent tongue Jerome won over the men, +but principally the women, of Rome to the monastic life. So +powerful was his message when addressed to the feminine heart, that +mothers are said to have locked their daughters in their rooms lest +they should fall under the influence of his magnetic voice. It was +largely owing to his own labors that he could write in after years: +"Formerly, according to the testimony of the apostles, there were +few rich, few noble, few powerful among the Christians. Now, it is +no longer so. Not only among the Christians, but among the monks +are to be found a multitude of the wise, the noble and the +rich."</p> +<p>Near to the very year that Athanasius came to Rome, or about 340 +A.D., Jerome was born at Stridon, in Dalmatia, in what is now +called the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. His parents were modestly +wealthy and were slaveholders. His student days were spent in Rome, +where he divided <span class="pagenum"><a name="page87"></a>[pg +87]</span> his time between the study of books and the revels of +the streets. One day some young Christians induced him to visit the +catacombs with them. Here, before the graves of Christian martyrs, +a quiet and holy influence stole into his heart, that finally led +to his conversion and baptism. Embracing the monastic ideal, he +gathered around him a few congenial friends, who joined him in a +covenant of rigid abstinence and ascetic discipline. Then followed +a year of travel with these companions, through Asia Minor, ending +disastrously at Antioch. One of his friends returned home, two of +them died, and he himself became so sick with fever that his life +was despaired of. Undismayed by these evils, brought on by +excessive austerities, he determined to retire to a life of +solitude.</p> +<p>About fifty miles southeast from Antioch was a barren waste of +nature but a paradise for monks--the Desert of Chalcis. On its +western border were several monasteries. All about for miles, the +dreary solitudes were peopled with shaggy hermits. They saw visions +and dreamed dreams in caves infested by serpents and wild beasts. +They lay upon the sands, scorched in summer by the blazing sun, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> chilled +in winter by the winds that blew from snowcapped mountains. For +five years, Jerome dwelt among these demon-fighting recluses. Clad +in sackcloth stained by penitential tears, he toiled for his daily +bread, and struggled against visions of Roman dancing girls. He was +a most industrious reader of books and a great lover of debate. +Monks from far and near visited him, and together they discussed +questions of theology and philosophy.</p> +<p>But we may not follow this varied and eventful life in all its +details. After a year or two spent at Constantinople, and three +years at Rome, he returned to the East, visiting the hermits of +Egypt on his way, and finally settled at Bethlehem. His fame soon +drew around him a great company of monks. These he organized into +monasteries. He built a hospital, and established an inn for +travelers. Lacking the necessary funds to carry out his projects, +he dispatched his brother to the West with instructions to sell +what was left of his property, and the proceeds of this sale he +devoted to the cause. While in Bethlehem he wrote defences of +orthodoxy, eulogies of the dead, lives of saints and commentaries +on the Bible. He also completed his <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> translation of the Scriptures, and +wrote numerous letters to persons dwelling in various parts of the +empire.</p> +<p>Jerome rendered great service to monasticism by his literary +labors. He invested the dullest of lives with a halo of glory; +under the magic touch of his rhetoric the wilderness became a +gladsome place and the desert blossomed as the rose. His glowing +language transfigured the pale face and sunken eyes of the starved +hermit into features positively beautiful, while the rags that hung +loosely upon his emaciated frame became garments of lustrous white. +"Oh, that I could behold the desert," he cries, "lovelier than any +city! Oh, that I could see those lonely spots made into a paradise +by the saints that throng them!" Without detracting from the +bitterness of the prospect, he glorifies the courage that can face +the horrors of the desert, and the heart that can rejoice midst the +solitude of the seas. Hear him describe the home of Bonosus, a +hermit on an isle in the Adriatic:</p> +<p>"Bonosus, your friend, is now climbing the ladder foreshown in +Jacob's dream. He is bearing his cross, neither taking thought for +the morrow, nor <span class="pagenum"><a name="page90"></a>[pg +90]</span> looking back at what he has left. Here you have a youth, +educated with us in the refining accomplishments of the world, with +abundance of wealth and in rank inferior to none of his associates; +yet he forsakes his mother, his sister, and his dearly loved +brother, and settles like a new tiller of Eden on a dangerous +island, with the sea roaring round its reefs, while its rough +crags, bare rocks and desolate aspect make it more terrible +still.... He sees the glory of God which even the apostles saw not, +save in the desert. He beholds, it is true, no embattled towns, but +he has enrolled his name in the new city. Garments of sackcloth +disfigure his limbs, yet so he will the sooner be caught up to meet +Christ in the clouds. Round the entire island roars the frenzied +sea, while the beetling crags along its winding shores resound as +the billows beat against them. Precipitous cliffs surround his +dreadful abode as if it were a prison. He is careless, fearless, +armed from head to foot in the apostles' armor."</p> +<p>Listen to these trumpet tones as Jerome calls to a companion of +his youth in Rome: "O desert, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> enamelled with the flowers of Christ! O +retreat, which rejoicest in the friendship of God! What dost thou +in the world, my brother, with thy soul greater than the world? How +long wilt thou remain in the shadow of roofs, and in the smoky +dungeons of cities? Believe me, I see here more light."</p> +<p>To pass hastily over such appeals, coming from distant lands +across the sea to stir the minds of the thoughtful in Rome, is to +ignore one of the causes which produced the great exodus that +followed. He made men see that they were living in a moral Sodom, +and that if they would save their souls they must escape to the +desert. The power of personal influence, of inspiring private +letters, can hardly be overemphasized in studying the remarkable +progress of asceticism. Great awakenings in the moral, as in the +political or the social world, may be traced to the profound +influence of individuals, whose prophetic insight and moral +enthusiasm unfold the germ of the larger movements. There may be +widespread unrest, the ground may be prepared for the seed, but the +immediate cause of universal uprisings is the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> clarion call of +genius. Thus Luther's was the voice that cried in the wilderness, +inciting a vast host for whom centuries had been preparing.</p> +<p>But Jerome's fame as a man of learning, possessing a critical +taste and a classic style of rare beauty and simplicity, must not +blind us to the crowning glory of his brilliant career. He was +above all a spiritual force. His chief appeal was to the +conscience. He warmed the most torpid hearts by the fervor of his +love, and encouraged the most hopeless by his fiery zeal and heroic +faith. As a promoter of monasticism, he clashed with the interests +of an enfeebled clergy and a corrupt laity. Nothing could swerve +him from his course. False monks might draw terrible rebukes from +him, but the conviction that the soul could be delivered from +captivity to the body only by mortification remained unshaken. He +induced men to break the fetters of society that they might, under +the more favorable circumstances of solitude, wage war against +their unruly passions.</p> +<p>When parents objected to his monastic views, Jerome quoted the +saying of Jesus respecting the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> renunciation of father and mother, and +then said: "Though thy mother with flowing hair and rent garments, +should show thee the breasts which have nourished thee; though thy +father should lie upon the threshold; yet depart thou, treading +over thy father, and fly with dry eyes to the standard of the +cross. The love of God and the fear of hell easily rend the bonds +of the household asunder. The Holy Scripture indeed enjoins +obedience, but he who loves them more than Christ loses his +soul."</p> +<p>Jerome vividly portrays his own spiritual conflicts. The deserts +were crowded with saintly soldiers battling against similar +temptations, the nature of which is suggested by the following +excerpt from Jerome's writings: "How often," he says, "when I was +living in the desert, in the vast solitude which gives to hermits a +savage dwelling-place, parched by a burning sun, how often did I +fancy myself among the pleasures of Rome! I used to sit alone +because I was filled with bitterness. Sack-cloth disfigured my +unshapely limbs and my skin from long neglect had become black as +an Ethiopian's. Tears and groans were every day my portion; and if +drowsiness chanced to overcome <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> my struggles against it, my bare bones, +which hardly held together, clashed against the ground. Now +although in my fear of hell I had consigned myself to this prison +where I had no companions but scorpions and wild beasts, I often +found myself amid bevies of girls. Helpless, I cast myself at the +feet of Jesus, I watered them with my tears, and I subdued my +rebellious body with weeks of abstinence. I remember how I often +cried aloud all night till the break of day. I used to dread my +cell as if it knew my thoughts, and stern and angry with myself, I +used to make my way alone into the desert. Wherever I saw hollow +valleys, craggy mountains, steep cliffs, there I made my oratory; +there the house of correction for my unhappy flesh. There, also, +when I had shed copious tears and had strained my eyes to heaven, I +sometimes felt myself among angelic hosts and sang for joy and +gladness."</p> +<p>No doubt these men were warring against nature. Their yielding +to the temptation to obtain spiritual dominance by +self-flagellation and fasting may be criticized in the light of +modern Christianity. "Fanaticism defies nature," says F.W. +Robertson, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page95"></a>[pg +95]</span> "Christianity refines it and respects it. Christianity +does not denaturalize, but only sanctifies and refines according to +the laws of nature. Christianity does not destroy our natural +instincts, but gives them a higher and nobler direction." To all +this I must assent, but, at the same time, I cannot but reverence +that pure passion for holiness which led men, despairing of +acquiring virtue in a degenerate age, to flee from the world and +undergo such torments to attain their soul's ideal. The form, the +method of their conflict was transient, the spirit and purpose +eternal. All honor to them for their magnificent and terrible +struggle, which has forever exalted the spiritual ideal, and +commanded men everywhere to seek first "the Kingdom of God and its +righteousness."</p> +<p>Jerome was always fond of the classics, although pagan writers +were not in favor with the early Christians. One night he dreamed +he was called to the skies where he was soundly flogged for reading +certain pagan authors. This vision interrupted his classical +studies for a time. In later years he resumed his beloved Virgil; +and he vigorously defended himself against those who charged him +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> with +being a Pagan and an apostate on account of his love for Greek and +Roman literature. If his admiration for Virgil was the Devil's +work, I but give the Devil his due when I declare that much of the +charm of Jerome's literary productions is owing to the inspiration +of classic models.</p> +<p>Our attention must now be transferred from Jerome to the +high-born Roman matrons, who laid off their silks that they might +clothe themselves in the humble garb of the nun. As the narrative +proceeds I shall let Jerome speak as often as possible, that the +reader may become acquainted with the style of those biographies +and eulogies which were the talk of Rome, and which have been +admired so highly by succeeding generations.</p> +<p>Those who embraced monasticism in Rome did so in one of two +ways. Some sold their possessions, adopted coarse garments, and +subsisted on the plainest food, but they did not leave the city and +were still to be seen upon the streets. Jerome writes to +Pammachius: "Who would have believed that a last descendant of the +consuls, an ornament of the race of Camillus, could make up his +mind to traverse the city in the black robe of a monk, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> and should not blush +to appear thus clad in the midst of senators." Some of those who +remained at Rome established a sort of retreat for their ascetic +friends.</p> +<p>But another class left Rome altogether. Some took up their abode +on the rugged isles of the Adriatic or the Mediterranean. Large +numbers of them went to the East, principally to Palestine. Jerome +was practically the abbot of a Roman colony of monks and nuns. Two +motives, beside the general ruling desire to achieve holiness, +produced this exodus to the Holy Land, which culminated centuries +later in the crusades. One was a desire to see the deserts and +caves, the abode of hermits famous for piety and miracles. Jerome, +as I have shown, invested these lonely retreats and strange +characters with a sort of holy romance, and hence, faith, mingled +with curiosity, led men to the East. Another motive was the desire +to visit the land of the Saviour, to tread the soil consecrated by +his labors of love, to live a life of poverty in the land where He +had no home He could call his own.</p> +<p>St. Paula was one of the women who left Rome and went to +Palestine. The story of her life is <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> told in a letter designed to comfort +her daughter Eustochium at the time of Paula's death. The epistle +begins: "If all the members of my body were to be converted into +tongues, and if each of my limbs were to be gifted with a human +voice, I could still do no justice to the virtues of the holy and +venerable Paula. Of the stock of the Gracchi, descended from the +Scipios, she yet preferred Bethlehem to Rome, and left her palace +glittering with gold to dwell in a mud cabin." Her husband was of +royal blood and had died leaving her five children. At his death, +she gave herself to works of charity. The poor and sick she wrapped +in her own blankets. She began to tire of the receptions and other +social duties which her position entailed upon her. While in this +frame of mind, two Eastern bishops were entertained at her home +during a gathering of ecclesiastics. They seem to have imparted the +monastic impulse, perhaps by the rehearsal of monastic tales, for +we are informed that at this time she determined to leave servants, +property and children, in order to embrace the monastic life.</p> +<p>Let us stand with her children and kinsfolk on the shore of the +sea as they take their final farewell <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> of Paula. "The sails +were set and the strokes of the rowers carried the vessel into the +deep. On the shore little Toxotius stretched forth his hands in +entreaty, while Rufina, now grown up, with silent sobs besought her +mother to wait until she should be married. But still Paula's eyes +were dry as she turned them heavenwards, and she overcame her love +for her children by her love for God. She knew herself no more as a +mother that she might approve herself a handmaid of Christ. Yet her +heart was rent within her, and she wrestled with her grief as +though she were being forcibly separated from parts of herself. The +greatness of the affection she had to overcome made all admire her +victory the more. Though it is against the laws of nature, she +endured this trial with unabated faith."</p> +<p>So the vessel ploughed onward, carrying the mother who thought +she was honoring God and attaining the true end of being through +ruthless strangling of maternal love. She visited Syria and Egypt +and the islands of Ponta and Cyprus. At the feet of the hermit +fathers she begged their blessing and tried to emulate the virtues +she <span class="pagenum"><a name="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> +believed they possessed. At Jerusalem she fell upon her face and +kissed the stone before the sepulcher. "What tears, she shed, what +groans she uttered, what grief she poured out all Jerusalem +knows!"</p> +<p>She established two monasteries at Bethlehem, one of which was +for women. Here, with her daughter, she lived a life of rigid +abstinence. Her nuns had nothing they could call their own. If they +paid too much attention to dress Paula said, "A clean body and a +clean dress mean an unclean soul." To her credit, she was more +lenient with others than with herself. Jerome admits she went to +excess, and prudently observes: "Difficult as it is to avoid +extremes, the philosophers are quite right in their opinion that +virtue is a mean and vice an excess, or, as we may express it in +one short sentence, in nothing too much." Paula swept floors and +toiled in the kitchen. She slept on the ground, covered by a mat of +goat's hair. Her weeping was incessant. As she meditated over the +Scriptures, her tears fell so profusely that her sight was +endangered. Jerome warned her to spare her eyes, but she said: "I +must disfigure that face <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> which, contrary to God's commandment, +I have painted with rouge, white lead and antimony." If this be a +sin against the Almighty, bear witness, O ye daughters of Eve! Her +love for the poor continued to be the motive of her great +liberality. In fact, her giving knew no bounds. Fuller wisely +remarks that "liberality must have banks as well as a stream;" but +Paula said: "My prayer is that I may die a beggar, leaving not a +penny to my daughter and indebted to strangers for my winding +sheet." Her petition was literally granted, for she died leaving +her daughter not only without a penny but overwhelmed in a mass of +debts.</p> +<p>As Jerome approaches the description of Paula's death, he says: +"Hitherto the wind has all been in my favor and my keel has +smoothly ploughed through the heaving sea. But now my bark is +running upon the rocks, the billows are mountain high, and imminent +shipwreck awaits me." Yet Paula, like David, must go the way of all +the earth. Surrounded by her followers chanting psalms, she +breathed her last. An immense concourse of people attended her +funeral. Not a single monk lingered in his cell. Thus, the twenty +hard years <span class="pagenum"><a name="page102"></a>[pg +102]</span> of self-torture for this Roman lady of culture ended in +the rest of the grave.</p> +<p>Upon her tombstone was placed this significant inscription:</p> +<blockquote>"Within this tomb a child of Scipio lies,<br> +A daughter of the far-famed Pauline house,<br> +A scion of the Gracchi, of the stock<br> +Of Agamemnon's self, illustrious:<br> +Here rests the lady Paula, well beloved<br> +Of both her parents, with Eustochium<br> +For daughter; she the first of Roman dames<br> +Who hardship chose and Bethlehem for Christ."</blockquote> +<p>Another interesting character of that period was Marcella, a +beautiful woman of illustrious lineage, a descendant of consuls and +prefects. After a married life of seven years her husband died. She +determined not to embark on the matrimonial seas a second time, but +to devote herself to works of charity. Cerealis, an old man, but of +consular rank, offered her his fortune that he might consider her +less his wife than his daughter. "Had I a wish to marry," was her +noble reply, "I should look for a husband and not for an +inheritance." Disdaining all enticements to remain in society, she +began her <span class="pagenum"><a name="page103"></a>[pg +103]</span> monastic career with joy and turned her home into a +retreat for women who, like herself, wished to retire from the +world. It is not known just what rules governed their relations, +but they employed the time in moderate fasting, prayers and +alms-giving.</p> +<p>Marcella lavished her wealth upon the poor. Jerome praises her +philanthropic labors thus: "Our widow's clothing was meant to keep +out the cold and not to show her figure. She stored her money in +the stomachs of the poor rather than to keep it at her own +disposal." Seldom seen upon the streets, she remained at home, +surrounded by virgins and widows, obedient and loving to her +mother. Among the high-born women it was regarded as degrading to +assume the costume of the nun, but she bore the scorn of her social +equals with humility and grace.</p> +<p>This quiet and useful life was rudely and abruptly ended by a +dreadful catastrophe. Alaric the Goth had seized and sacked Rome. +The world stood aghast. The sad news reached Jerome in his cell at +Bethlehem, who expressed his sorrow in forceful language: "My voice +sticks in my throat; and as <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> I dictate, sobs choke my utterance. +The city which has taken the whole world is itself taken." Rude +barbarians invaded the sanctity of Marcella's retreat. They +demanded her gold, but she pointed to the coarse dress she wore to +show them she had no buried treasures. They did not believe her, +and cruelly beat her with cudgels. A few days after the saintly +heroine of righteousness went to her long home to enjoy +richly-merited rest and peace.</p> +<blockquote>"Who can describe the carnage of that night?<br> +What tears are equal to its agony?<br> +Of ancient date a sovran city falls;<br> +And lifeless in its streets and houses lie<br> +Unnumbered bodies of its citizens.<br> +In many a ghastly shape doth death appear."</blockquote> +<p>Marcella and her monastic home fell in the general ruin, but in +the words of Horace, she left "a monument more enduring than +brass." Her noble life, so full of kind words and loving deeds, +still stirs the hearts of her sisters who, while they may reject +her ascetic ideal, will, nevertheless, try to emulate her noble +spirit. As Jerome said of Paula: "By shunning glory she earned +glory; for glory follows virtue as its shadow; and deserting +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> those +who seek it, it seeks those who despise it."</p> +<p>Still another woman claims our attention,--Fabiola, the founder +of the first hospital. Lecky declares that "the first public +hospital and the charity planted by that woman's hand overspread +the world, and will alleviate to the end of time the darkest +anguish of humanity." She, too, was a widow who refused to marry +again, but broke up her home, sold her possessions, and with the +proceeds founded a hospital into which were gathered the sick from +the streets. She nursed the sufferers and washed their ulcers and +wounds. No task was beneath her, no sacrifice of personal comfort +too great for her love. Many helped her with their gold, but she +gave herself. She also aided in establishing a home for strangers +at Portus, which became one of the most famous inns of the time. +Travelers from all parts of the world found a welcome and a shelter +on landing at this port. When she died the roofs of Rome were +crowded with those who watched the funeral procession. Psalms were +chanted, and the gilded ceilings of the churches resounded to the +music in commendation of her loving life and labors.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> +<p>These and other characters of like zeal and fortitude exemplify +the spirit of the men and women who interested the West in +monasticism. Much as their errors and extravagances may be +deplored, there is no question that some of them were types of the +loftiest Christian virtues, inspired by the most laudable +motives.</p> +<p>Noble and true are Kingsley's words: "We may blame those ladies, +if we will, for neglecting their duties. We may sneer, if we will, +at their weaknesses, the aristocratic pride, the spiritual vanity, +we fancy we discover. We must confess that in these women the +spirit of the old Roman matrons, which seemed to have been dead so +long, flashed up for one splendid moment ere it sank into the +darkness of the middle ages."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Monasticism_and_Women"></a>Monasticism and +Women</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The origin of nunneries was coeval with that of monasteries, and +the history of female recluses runs parallel to that of the men. +Almost every male order had its counterpart in some sort of a +sisterhood. The general moral character of these female +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> +associations was higher than that of the male organizations. I have +confined my treatment in this work to the monks, but a few words +may be said at this point concerning female ascetics.</p> +<p>Hermit life was unsuited to women, but we know that at a very +early date many of them retired to the seclusion of convent life. +It will be recalled that in the biography of St. Anthony, before +going into the desert he placed his sister in the care of some +virgins who were living a life of abstinence, apart from society. +It is very doubtful if any uniform rule governed these first +religious houses, or if definitely organized societies appear much +before the time of Benedict. The variations in the monastic order +among the men were accompanied by similar changes in the +associations of women.</p> +<p>The history of these sisterhoods discloses three interesting and +noteworthy facts that merit brief mention:</p> +<p>First, the effect of a corrupt society upon women. As in the +case of men, women were moved to forsake their social duties +because they were weary of the sensual and aimless life of Rome. +Those <span class="pagenum"><a name="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> +were the days of elaborate toilettes, painted faces and blackened +eyelids, of intrigues and foolish babbling. Venial faults--it may +be thought--innocent displays of tender frailty; but woman's nature +demands loftier employments. A great soul craves occupations and +recognizes obligations more in harmony with the true nobility of +human nature. Rome had no monitor of the higher life until the +monks came with their stories of heroic self-abnegation and +unselfish toil. The women felt the force and truth of Jerome's +criticism of their trifling follies when he said: "Do not seek to +appear over-eloquent, nor trifle with verse, nor make yourself gay +with lyric songs. And do not, out of affectation, follow the sickly +taste of married ladies, who now pressing their teeth together, now +keeping their lips wide apart, speak with a lisp, and purposely +clip their words, because they fancy that to pronounce them +naturally is a mark of country breeding."</p> +<p>Professor Dill is inclined to discount the testimony of Jerome +respecting the morals of Roman society. He thinks Jerome +exaggerated the perils surrounding women. He says: "The truth is +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> Jerome +is not only a monk but an artist in words; and his horror of evil, +his vivid imagination, and his passion for literary effect, +occasionally carry him beyond the region of sober fact. There was +much to amend in the morals of the Roman world. But we must not +take the leader of a great moral reformation as a cool and +dispassionate observer." But this observation amounts to nothing +more than a cautionary word against mistaking evils common to all +times for special symptoms of excessive immorality. Professor Dill +practically concedes the truthfulness of contemporary witnesses, +including Jerome, when he says: "Yet, after all allowances, the +picture is not a pleasant one. We feel that we are far away from +the simple, unworldly devotion of the freedmen and obscure toilers +whose existence was hardly known to the great world before the age +of the Antonines, and who lived in the spirit of the Sermon on the +Mount and in constant expectation of the coming of their Lord. The +triumphant Church, which has brought Paganism to its knees, is very +different from the Church of the catacombs and the persecutions." +The picture which Jerome draws of the Roman women <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> is indeed +repulsive, and Professor Dill would gladly believe it to be +exaggerated, but, nevertheless, he thinks that "if the priesthood, +with its enormous influence, was so corrupt, it is only probable +that it debased the sex which is always most under clerical +influence."</p> +<p>But far graver charges cling to the memories of the Roman women. +Crime darkened every household. The Roman lady was cruel and +impure. She delighted in the blood of gladiators and in illicit +love. Roman law at this time permitted women to hold and to control +large estates, and it became a fad for these patrician ladies to +marry poor men, so that they might have their husbands within their +power. All sorts of alliances could then be formed, and if their +husbands remonstrated, they, holding the purse strings, were able +to say: "If you don't like it you can leave." A profligate himself, +the husband usually kept his counsel, and as a reward, dwelt in a +palace. "When the Roman matrons became the equal and voluntary +companions of their lords," says Gibbon, "a new jurisprudence was +introduced, that marriage, like other partnerships, might be +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> +dissolved by the abdication of one of the associates." I have but +touched the fringe of a veil I will not lift; but it is easy to +understand why those women who cherished noble sentiments welcomed +the monastic life as a pathway of escape from scenes and customs +from which their better natures recoiled in horror.</p> +<p>Secondly, the fine quality of mercy that distinguishes woman's +character deserves recognition. Even though she retired to a +convent, she could not become so forgetful of her fellow creatures +as her male companions. From the very beginning we observe that she +was more unselfish in her asceticism than they. It is true the monk +forsook all, and to that extent was self-sacrificing, but in his +desire for his own salvation, he was prone to neglect every one +else. The monk's ministrations were too often confined to those who +came to him, but the nun went forth to heal the diseased and to +bind up the broken-hearted. As soon as she embraced the monastic +life we read of hospitals. The desire for salvation drove man into +the desert; a Christ-like mercy and divine sympathy kept his sister +by the couch of pain.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> +<p>Lastly, a word remains to be said touching the question of +marriage. At first, the nun sometimes entered the marriage state, +and, of course, left the convent; but, beginning with Basil, this +practice was condemned, and irrevocable vows were exacted. In 407, +Innocent I. closed even the door of penitence and forgiveness to +those who broke their vows and married.</p> +<p>Widows and virgins alike assumed the veil. Marriage itself was +not despised, because the monastic life was only for those who +sought a higher type of piety than, it was supposed, could be +attained amid the ordinary conditions of life. But marriage, as +well as other so-called secular relations, was eschewed by those +who wished to make their salvation sure. Jerome says: "I praise +wedlock, I praise marriage, but it is because they give me virgins; +I gather the rose from the thorns, the gold from the earth, the +pearl from the shell." He therefore tolerated marriage among people +contented with ordinary religious attainments, but he thought it +incompatible with true holiness. Augustine admitted that the mother +and her daughter may be both in heaven, but one a bright +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> and the +other a dim star. Some writers, as Helvidius, opposed this view and +maintained that there was no special virtue in an unmarried life; +that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also the mother of other +children, and as such was an example of Christian virtue. Jerome +brought out his guns and poured hot shot into the enemies' camp. In +the course of his answer, which contained many intolerant and +acrimonious statements, he drew a comparison between the married +and the unmarried state. It is interesting because it reflects the +opinions of those who disparaged marriage, and reveals the +character of the principles which the early Fathers advocated. It +is very evident from this letter against Helvidius that Jerome +regarded all secular duties as interfering with the pursuit of the +highest virtue.</p> +<p>"Do you think," he says, "there is no difference between one who +spends her time in prayer and fasting, and one who must, at her +husband's approach, make up her countenance, walk with a mincing +gait, and feign a show of endearment? The virgin aims to appear +less comely; she will wrong herself so as to hide her natural +attractions. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page114"></a>[pg +114]</span> The married woman has the paint laid on before her +mirror, and, to the insult of her Maker, strives to acquire +something more than her natural beauty. Then come the prattling of +infants, the noisy household, children watching for her word and +waiting for her kiss, the reckoning up of expenses, the preparation +to meet the outlay. On one side you will see a company of cooks, +girded for the onslaught and attacking the meat; there you may hear +the hum of a multitude of weavers. Meanwhile a message is delivered +that her husband and his friends have arrived. The wife, like a +swallow, flies all over the house. She has to see to everything. Is +the sofa smooth? Is the pavement swept? Are the flowers in the cup? +Is dinner ready? Tell me, pray, amid all this, is there room for +the thought of God?"</p> +<p>Such was Roman married life as it appeared to Jerome. The very +duties and blessings that we consider the glory of the family he +despised. I will return to his views later, but it is interesting +to note the absence at this period, of the modern and true idea +that God may be served in the performance of household and other +secular duties. Women fled <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> from such occupations in those days +that they might be religious. The disagreeable fact of Peter's +marriage was overcome by the assertion that he must have washed +away the stain of his married life by the blood of his martyrdom. +Such extreme views arose partly as a reaction from and a protest +against the dominant corruption, a state of affairs in which happy +and holy marriages were rare.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Spread_of_Monasticism_in_Europe"></a>The Spread +of Monasticism in Europe</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Much more might be said of monastic life in Rome, were it not +now necessary to treat of the spread of monasticism in Europe. +There are many noble characters whom we ought to know, such as +Ambrose, one of Christendom's greatest bishops, who led a life of +poverty and strict abstinence, like his sister Marcella, whom we +have met. He it was, of whom the Emperor Theodosius said: "I have +met a man who has told me the truth." Well might he so declare, for +Ambrose refused him admission to the church at Milan, because his +hands were red with the blood of the murdered, and succeeded in +persuading him to submit to <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> discipline. To Ambrose may be applied +the words which Gibbon wrote of Gregory Nazianzen: "The title of +Saint has been added to his name, but the tenderness of his heart +and the elegance of his genius reflect a more pleasing luster on +his memory."</p> +<p>The story of John, surnamed Chrysostom, who was born at Antioch, +in 347, is exceedingly interesting. He was a young lawyer, who +entered the priesthood after his baptism. He at once set his heart +on the monastic life, but his mother took him to her chamber, and, +by the bed where she had given him birth, besought him in fear, not +to forsake her. "My son," she said in substance, "my only comfort +in the midst of the miseries of this earthly life is to see thee +constantly, and to behold in thy traits the faithful image of my +beloved husband, who is no more. When you have buried me and joined +my ashes with those of your father, nothing will then prevent you +from retiring into the monastic life. But so long as I breathe, +support me by your presence, and do not draw down upon you the +wrath of God by bringing such evils upon me who have given you no +offence." This <span class="pagenum"><a name="page117"></a>[pg +117]</span> singularly tender petition was granted, but Chrysostom +turned his home into a monastery, slept on the bare floor, ate +little and seldom, and prayed much by day and by night.</p> +<p>After his mother's death Chrysostom enjoyed the seclusion of a +monastic solitude for six years, but impairing his health by +excessive self-mortification he returned to Antioch in 380. He +rapidly rose to a position of commanding influence in the church. +His peerless oratorical and literary gifts were employed in +elevating the ascetic ideal and in unsparing denunciations of the +worldly religion of the imperial court. He incurred the furious +hatred of the young and beautiful Empress Eudoxia, who united her +influence with that of the ambitious Theophilus, patriarch of +Alexandria, and Chrysostom was banished from Constantinople, but +died on his way to the remote desert of Pityus. His powerful +sermons and valuable writings contributed in no small degree to the +spread of monasticism among the Christians of his time.</p> +<p>Then there was Augustine, the greatest thinker since Plato. "We +shall meet him," says Schaff, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> "alike on the broad highways and the +narrow foot-paths, on the giddy Alpine heights and in the awful +depths of speculation, wherever philosophical thinkers before him +or after him have trod." He, too, like all the other leaders of +thought in his time, was ascetic in his habits. Although he lived +and labored for thirty-eight years at Hippo, a Numidian city about +two hundred miles west of Carthage, in Africa, Augustine was +regarded as the intellectual head not only of North Africa but of +Western Christianity. He gathered his clergy into a college of +priests, with a community of goods, thus approaching as closely to +the regular monastic life as was possible to secular clergymen. He +established religious houses and wrote a set of rules, consisting +of twenty-four articles, for the government of monasteries. These +rules were superseded by those of Benedict, but they were +resuscitated under Charlemagne and reappeared in the famous Austin +Canons of the eleventh century. Little did Augustine think that a +thousand years later an Augustinian monk--Luther--would abandon his +order to become the founder of modern Protestantism.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> +<p>Augustine published a celebrated essay,--"On the Labor of +Monks,"--in which he pointed out the dangers of monachism, +condemned its abuses, and ended by sighing for the quiet life of +the monk who divided his day between labor, reading and prayer, +whilst he himself spent his years amid the noisy throng and the +perplexities of his episcopate.</p> +<p>These men, and many others, did much to further monasticism. But +we must now leave sunny Africa and journey northward through Gaul +into the land of the hardy Britons and Scots.</p> +<p>Athanasius, the same weary exile whom we have encountered in +Egypt and in Rome, had been banished by Constantine to Treves, in +336. In 346 and 349 he again visited Gaul. He told the same story +of Anthony and the Egyptian hermits with similar results.</p> +<p>The most renowned ecclesiastic of the Gallican church, whose +name is most intimately associated with the spread of monasticism +in Western Europe, before the days of Benedict, was Saint Martin of +Tours. He lived about the years 316-396 A.D. The chronicle of his +life is by no means trustworthy, but that is essential neither to +popularity <span class="pagenum"><a name="page120"></a>[pg +120]</span> nor saintship. Only let a Severus describe his life and +miracles in glowing rhetoric and fantastic legend and the people +will believe it, pronouncing him greatest among the great, the +mightiest miracle-worker of that miracle-working age.</p> +<p>Martin was a soldier three years, against his will, under +Constantine. One bleak winter day he cut his white military coat in +two with his sword and clothed a beggar with half of it. That night +he heard Jesus address the angels: "Martin, as yet only a +catechumen has clothed me with his garment." After leaving the army +he became a hermit, and, subsequently, bishop of Tours. He lived +for years just outside of Tours in a cell made of interlaced +branches. His monks dwelt around him in caves cut out of scarped +rocks, overlooking a beautiful stream. They were clad in camel's +hair and lived on a diet of brown bread, sleeping on a straw +couch.</p> +<p>But Martin's monks did not take altogether kindly to their mode +of life. Severus records an amusing story of their rebellion +against the meager allowance of food. The Egyptian could exist on a +few figs a day. But these rude Gauls, just emerging <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> out of barbarism, +were accustomed to devour great slices of roasted meat and to drink +deep draughts of beer. Such sturdy children of the northern forests +naturally disdained dainty morsels of barley bread and small +potations of wine. True, Athanasius had said, "Fasting is the food +of angels," but these ascetic novices, in their perplexity, could +only say: "We are accused of gluttony; but we are Gauls; it is +ridiculous and cruel to make us live like angels; we are not +angels; once more, we are only Gauls." Their complaint comes down +to us as a pathetic but humorous protest of common sense against +ascetic fanaticism; or, regarded in another light, it may be +considered as additional evidence of the depravity of the natural +man.</p> +<p>In spite of all complaints, however, Martin did not abate the +severity of his discipline. As a bishop he pushed his monastic +system into all the surrounding country. His zeal knew no bounds, +and his strength seemed inexhaustible. "No one ever saw him either +gloomy or merry," remarks his biographer. Amid many embarrassments +and difficulties he was ever the same, with a countenance +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> full of +heavenly serenity. He was a great miracle-worker--that is, if +everything recorded of him is true. He cast out demons, and healed +the sick; he had strange visions of angels and demons, and, +wonderful to relate, thrice he raised bodies from the dead.</p> +<p>But all conquerors are at last vanquished by the angel of death, +and Martin passed into the company of the heavenly host and the +category of saints. Two thousand monks attended his funeral. His +fame spread all over Europe. Tradition tells us he was the uncle of +Saint Patrick of Ireland. Churches were dedicated to him in France, +Germany, Scotland and England. The festival of his birth is +celebrated on the eleventh of November. In Scotland this day still +marks the winter term, which is called Martinmas. Saint Martin's +shrine was one of the most famous of the middle ages, and was noted +for its wonderful cures. No saint is held, even now, in higher +veneration by the French Catholic.</p> +<p>It is not known when the institution was planted in Spain, but +in 380 the council of Saragossa forbade priests to assume monkish +habits. Germany <span class="pagenum"><a name="page123"></a>[pg +123]</span> received the institution some time in the fifth +century. The introduction of Christianity as well as of monasticism +into the British Isles is shrouded in darkness. A few jewels of +fact may be gathered from the legendary rubbish. It is probable +that before the days of Benedict, Saint Patrick, independently of +Rome, established monasteries in Ireland and preached the gospel +there; and, without doubt, before the birth of Benedict of Nursia, +there were monks and monasteries in Great Britain. The monastery of +Bangor is said to have been founded about 450 A.D.</p> +<p>It is probable that Christianity was introduced into Britain +before the close of the second century, and that monasticism arose +some time in the fifth century. Tertullian, about the beginning of +the third century, boasts that Christianity had conquered places in +Britain where the Roman arms could not penetrate. Origen claimed +that the power of the Savior was manifest in Britain as well as in +Muritania. The earliest notice we have of a British church occurs +in the writings of the Venerable Bede (673-735 A.D.), a monk whose +numerous and valuable works on English history <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> entitle him to the +praise of being "the greatest literary benefactor this or any other +nation has produced." He informs us that a British +king--Lucius--embraced Christianity during the reign of the Emperor +Aurelius, and that missionaries were sent from Rome to Britain +about that time. Lingard says the story is suspicious, since "we +know not from what source Bede, at the distance of five centuries, +derived his information." It seems quite likely that there must +have been some Christians among the Roman soldiers or civil +officials who lived in Britain during the Roman occupation of the +country. The whole problem has been the theme of so much +controversy, however, that a fuller discussion is reserved for the +next chapter.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Disorders_and_Oppositions"></a>Disorders and +Oppositions</i></h2> +<br> +<p>But was there no protest against the progress of these ascetic +teachings? Did the monastic institution command the unanimous +approval of the church from the outset? There were many and strong +outcries against the monks, but they were <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> quickly silenced by +the counter-shouts of praise. Even when rebellion against the +system seemed formidable, it was popular nevertheless. The lifted +hand was quickly struck down, and voices of opposition suddenly +hushed. Like a mighty flood the movement swept on,--kings, when so +inclined, being powerless to stop it. As Paula was carried fainting +from the funeral procession of Blæsilla, her daughter, +whispers such as these were audible in the crowd: "Is not this what +we have often said? She weeps for her daughter, killed with +fasting. How long must we refrain from driving these detestable +monks out of Rome? Why do we not stone them or hurl them into the +Tiber? They have misled this unhappy mother; that she is not a nun +from choice is clear. No heathen mother ever wept for her children +as she does for Blæsilla." And this is Paula, who, choked +with grief, refused to weep when she sailed from her children for +the far East!</p> +<p>Unhappily, history is often too dignified to retail the +conversations of the dinner-table and the gossip of private life. +But this narrative indicates that in many a Roman family the monk +was feared, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page126"></a>[pg +126]</span> despised and hated. Sometimes everyday murmurs found +their way into literature and so passed to posterity. Rutilius, the +Pagan poet, as he sails before a hermit isle in the Mediterranean, +exclaims: "Behold, Capraria rises before us; that isle is full of +wretches, enemies of light. I detest these rocks scene of a recent +shipwreck." He then goes on to declare that a young and rich +friend, impelled by the furies, had fled from men and gods to a +living tomb, and was now decaying in that foul retreat. This was no +uncommon opinion. But contrast it with what Ambrose said of those +same isles: "It is there in these isles, thrown down by God like a +collar of pearls upon the sea, that those who would escape from the +charms of dissipation find refuge. Nothing here disturbs their +peace, all access is closed to the wild passions of the world. The +mysterious sound of waves mingles with the chant of hymns; and, +while the waters break upon the shores of these happy isles with a +gentle murmur, the peaceful accents of the choir of the elect +ascend toward Heaven from their bosom." No wonder the Milanese +ladies guarded their daughters against this theological poet.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> +<p>Even among the Christians there were hostile as well as friendly +critics of monasticism; Jovinian, whom Neander compares to Luther, +is a type of the former. Although a monk himself, he disputed the +thesis that any merit lay in celibacy, fasting or poverty. He +opposed the worship of saints and relics, and believed that one +might retain possession of his property and make good use of it. He +assailed the dissolute monks and claimed that many of Rome's +noblest young men and women were withdrawn from a life of +usefulness into the desert. He held that there was really but one +class of Christians, namely, those who had faith in Christ, and +that a monk could be no more. But Jovinian was far in advance of +his age, and it was many years before the truth of his view gained +any considerable recognition. He was severely attacked by Jerome, +who called him a Christian Epicurean, and was condemned as a +heretic by a synod at Milan, in 390. Thus the reformers were +crushed for centuries. The Pagan Emperor, Julian, and the +Christian, Valens, alike tried in vain to resist the emigration +into the desert. Thousands fled, in times of peril to the state, +from <span class="pagenum"><a name="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> +their civil and military duties, but the emperors were powerless to +prevent the exodus.</p> +<p>That there were grounds for complaint against the monks we may +know from the charges made even by those who favored the system. +Jerome Ambrose, Augustine, and in fact almost every one of the +Fathers tried to correct the growing disorders. We learn from them +that many fled from society, not to become holy, but to escape +slavery and famine; and that many were lazy and immoral. Their +"shaven heads lied to God." Avarice, ambition, or cowardice ruled +hearts that should have been actuated by a love of poverty, +self-sacrifice or courage. "Quite recently," says Jerome, "we have +seen to our sorrow a fortune worthy of Croesus brought to light by +a monk's death, and a city's alms collected for the poor, left by +will to his sons and successors."</p> +<p>Many monks traveled from place to place selling sham relics. +Augustine wrote against "those hypocrites who, in the dress of +monks, wander about the provinces carrying pretended relics, +amulets, preservatives, and expecting alms to feed their lucrative +poverty and recompense their <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> pretended virtue." It is to the +credit of the Fathers of the church that they boldly and earnestly +rebuked the vices of the monks and tried to purge the monastic +system of its impurities.</p> +<p>But the church sanctioned the monastic movement. She could not +have done anything else. "It is one of the most striking +occurrences in history," says Harnack, "that the church, exactly at +the time when she was developing more and more into a legal +institution and a sacramental establishment, outlined a Christian +life-ideal which was incapable of realization within her bounds, +but only alongside of her. The more she affiliated herself with the +world, the higher and more superhuman did she make her ideal."</p> +<p>It is also noteworthy that this "life-ideal" seems to have led, +inevitably, to fanaticism and other excesses, so that even at this +early date there was much occasion for alarm. Gross immorality was +disclosed as well as luminous purity; indolence and laziness as +well as the love of sacrifice and toil. So we shall find it down +through the centuries. "The East had few great men," says Milman, +"many madmen; the West, madmen <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> enough, but still very many, many +great men." We have met some madmen and some great men. We shall +meet more of each type.</p> +<p>After 450 A.D., monasticism suffered an eclipse for over half a +century. It seemed as if the Western institution was destined to +end in that imbecility and failure which overtook the Eastern +system. But there came a man who infused new life into the monastic +body. He systematized its scattered principles and concentrated the +energies of the wandering and unorganized monks.</p> +<p>Our next visit will be to the mountain home of this renowned +character, fifty miles to the west of Rome. "A single monk," says +Montalembert, "is about to form there a center of spiritual virtue, +and to light it up with a splendor destined to shine over +regenerated Europe for ten centuries to come."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> +<h2><a name="III"></a>III</h2> +<h2><i><a name="THE_BENEDICTINES"></a>THE BENEDICTINES</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Saint Benedict, the founder of the famous monastic order that +bears his name, was born at Nursia, about 480 A.D. His parents, who +were wealthy, intended to give him a liberal education; but their +plans were defeated, for at fifteen years of age Benedict renounced +his family and fortune, and fled from his school life in Rome. The +vice of the city shocked and disgusted him. He would rather be +ignorant and holy, than educated and wicked. On his way into the +mountains, he met a monk named Romanus,--the spot is marked by the +chapel of Santa Crocella,--who gave him a haircloth shirt and a +monastic dress of skins. Continuing his journey with Romanus, the +youthful ascetic discovered a sunless cave in the desert of +Subiaco, about forty miles from Rome. Into this <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> cell he climbed, +and in it he lived three years. It was so inaccessible that Romanus +had to lower his food to him by a rope, to which was attached a +bell to call him from his devotions. Once the Devil threw a stone +at the rope and broke it.</p> +<p>But Benedict's bodily escape from the wickedness of Rome did not +secure his spiritual freedom. "There was a certain lady of thin, +airy shape, who was very active in this solemnity; her name was +Fancy." Time and again, he revisited his old haunts, borne on the +wings of his imagination. The face of a beautiful young girl of +previous acquaintance constantly appeared before him. He was about +to yield to the temptation and to return, when, summoning all his +strength, he made one mighty effort to dispel the illusion forever. +Divesting himself of his clothes, he rolled his naked body among +the thorn-bushes near his cave. It was drastic treatment, but it +seems to have rid his mind effectually of disturbing fancies. This +singular self-punishment was used by Godric, the Welsh saint, in +the twelfth century. "Failing to subdue his rebellious flesh by +this method, he buried a cask in the earthen floor of his cell, +filled it with water <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> and fitted it with a cover, and in +this receptacle he shut himself up whenever he felt the +titillations of desire. In this manner, varied by occasionally +passing the night up to his chin in a river, of which he had broken +the ice, he finally succeeded in mastering his fiery nature."</p> +<p>One day some peasants discovered Benedict at the entrance of his +cave. Deceived by his savage appearance, they mistook him for a +wild beast, but the supposed wolf proving to be a saint, they fell +down and reverenced him.</p> +<p>The fame of the young ascetic attracted throngs of hermits, who +took up their abodes near his cell. After a time monasteries were +established, and Benedict was persuaded to become an abbot in one +of them. His strictness provoked much opposition among the monks, +resulting in carefully-laid plots to compass the moral ruin of +their spiritual guide. An attempt to poison him was defeated by a +miraculous interposition, and Benedict escaped to a solitary +retreat.</p> +<p>Again the moral hero became an abbot, and again the severity of +his discipline was resented. This time a wicked and jealous priest +sought to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page134"></a>[pg +134]</span> entrap the saint by turning into a garden in which he +was accustomed to walk seven young girls of exquisite physical +charms. When Benedict encountered this temptation, he fled from the +scene and retired to a picturesque mountain--the renowned Monte +Cassino. Let Montalembert describe this celebrated spot among the +western Apennines: "At the foot of this rock Benedict found an +amphitheatre of the time of the Cæsars, amidst the ruins of +the town of Casinum, which the most learned and pious of Romans, +Varro, that pagan Benedictine, whose memory and knowledge the sons +of Benedict took pleasure in honoring, had rendered illustrious. +From the summit the prospect extended on one side towards Arpinum, +where the prince of Roman orators was born, and on the other +towards Aquinum, already celebrated as the birthplace of +Juvenal.... It was amidst those noble recollections, this solemn +nature, and upon that predestinated height, that the patriarch of +the monks of the West founded the capital of the monastic +order."</p> +<p>In the year 529 a great stronghold of Paganism in these wild +regions gave way to Benedict's faith. <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> Upon the ruins of a +temple to Apollo, and in a grove sacred to Venus, arose the model +of Western monasticism,--the cloister of Monte Cassino, which was +to shine resplendent for a thousand years. The limitations of my +purpose will prevent me from following in detail the fortunes of +this renowned retreat, but it may not be out of place to glance at +its subsequent history.</p> +<p>Monte Cassino is located three and a half miles to the northeast +of the town of Cassino, midway between Rome and Naples. About 589 +A.D. the Lombards destroyed the buildings, but the monks escaped to +Rome, in fulfilment, so it is claimed, of a prophecy uttered by +Benedict. It lay in ruins until restored by Gregory II. in 719, +only to be burned in 884 by the Saracens; seventy years later it +was again rebuilt. It afterwards passed through a variety of +calamities, and was consecrated, for the third time, by Benedict +XII., in 1729. Longfellow quotes a writer for the <i>London Daily +News</i> as saying: "There is scarcely a pope or emperor of +importance who has not been personally connected with its history. +From its mountain crag it has seen Goths, Lombards, Saracens, +Normans, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page136"></a>[pg +136]</span> Frenchmen, Spaniards, Germans, scour and devastate the +land which, through all modern history, has attracted every +invader."</p> +<p>It was enriched by popes, emperors and princes. In its palmy +days the abbot was the first baron in the realm, and commanded over +four hundred towns and villages. In 1866, it shared the fate of all +the monasteries of Italy. It still stands upon the summit of the +mountain, and can be seen by the traveler from the railway in the +valley. At present it serves as a Catholic seminary with about two +hundred students. It contains a spacious church, richly ornamented +with marble, mosaics and paintings. It has also a famous library +which, in spite of bad usage, is still immensely valuable. +Boccaccio made a visit to the place, and when he saw the precious +books so vilely mutilated, he departed in tears, exclaiming: "Now, +therefore, O scholar, rack thy brains in the making of books!" The +library contains about twenty thousand volumes, and about +thirty-five thousand popes' bulls, diplomas and charters. There are +also about a thousand manuscripts, some of which are of priceless +value, as they date from the sixth century downward, and consist +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> of +ancient Bibles and important medieval literature.</p> +<p>Benedict survived the founding of this monastery fourteen years. +His time was occupied in establishing other cloisters, perfecting +his rule, and preaching. Many stories are related of his power over +the hearts of the untamed barbarians. Galea the Goth, out on a +marauding expedition, demanded a peasant to give him his treasures. +The peasant, thinking to escape, said he had committed them to the +keeping of Benedict. Galea immediately ordered him to be bound on a +horse and conducted to the saint. Benedict was seated at the +gateway reading when Galea and his prisoner arrived. Looking up +from his book he fastened his eyes upon the poor peasant, who was +immediately loosed from his bonds. The astonished Galea, awed by +this miracle, fell at the feet of the abbot, and, instead of +demanding gold, supplicated his blessing. Once a boy was drowning, +and, at the command of Benedict, St. Maur, a wealthy young Roman, +who had turned monk, walked safely out upon the water and rescued +the lad. Gregory also tells us many stories of miraculous healing, +and of one resurrection from the dead.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> +<p>Benedict's last days were linked with a touching incident. His +sister, Scholastica, presided over a convent near his own. They met +once a year. On his last visit to her, Scholastica begged him to +remain and "speak of the joys of Heaven till the morning." But +Benedict would not listen; he must return. His sister then buried +her face in her hands weeping and praying. Suddenly the sky was +overcast with clouds, and a terrific storm burst upon the +mountains, which prevented her brother's return. Three days later +Benedict saw the soul of his sister entering heaven. On March 21, +543, a short time after his sister's death, two monks beheld a +shining pathway of stars over which the soul of Benedict passed +from Monte Cassino to heaven. Such, in brief, is the story +preserved for us in his biography by the celebrated patron of +monasticism, Pope Gregory I.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Rules_of_Benedict"></a>The Rules of +Benedict</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The rules, <i>regulae</i>, of St. Benedict, are worthy of +special consideration, since they constitute the real foundation of +his success and of his fame. <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> His order was by far the most +important monastic brotherhood until the thirteenth century. Nearly +all the other orders which sprang up during this interval were +based upon Benedictine rules, and were really attempts to reform +the monastic system on the basis of Benedict's original practice. +Other monks lived austere lives and worked miracles, and some of +them formulated rules, but it is to Benedict and his rules that we +must look for the code of Western monachism. "By a strange +parallelism," says Putnam, "almost in the very year in which the +great Emperor Justinian was codifying the results of seven +centuries of Roman secular legislation for the benefit of the +judges and the statesmen of the new Europe, Benedict, on his lonely +mountain-top, was composing his code for the regulation of the +daily life of the great civilizers of Europe for seven centuries to +come."</p> +<p>The rules consist of a preface and seventy-three chapters. The +prologue defines the classes of monks, and explains the aim of the +"school of divine servitude," as Benedict described his monastery. +The following is a partial list of the subjects considered: The +character of an abbot, silence, maxims <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> for good works, +humility, directions as to divine service, rules for dormitories, +penalties, duties of various monastic officers, poverty, care of +the sick daily rations of food and drink, hours for meals, fasting, +entertainment of guests, and dress. They close with the statement +that the Benedictine rule is not offered as an ideal of perfection, +or even as equal to the teaching of Cassian or Basil, but for mere +beginners in the spiritual life, who may thence proceed +further.</p> +<p>The Benedictine novitiate extended over one year, but was +subsequently increased to three. At the close of this period the +novice was given the opportunity to go back into the world. If he +still persisted in his choice, he swore before the bones of the +saints to remain forever cut off from the rest of his fellow +beings. If a monk left the monastery, or was expelled, he could +return twice, but if, after the third admission, he severed his +connection, the door was shut forever.</p> +<p>The monk passed his time in manual labor, copying manuscripts, +reading, fasting and prayer. He was forbidden to receive letters, +tokens or gifts, even from his nearest-relatives, without +permission <span class="pagenum"><a name="page141"></a>[pg +141]</span> from the abbot. His daily food allowance was usually a +pound of bread, a pint of wine, cider or ale, and sometimes fish, +eggs, fruit or cheese. He was dressed in a black cowl. His clothing +was to be suitable to the climate and to consist of two sets. He +was also furnished with a straw mattress, blanket, quilt, pillow, +knife, pen, needle, handkerchief and tablets. He was, in all +things, to submit patiently to his superior, to keep silence, and +to serve his turn in the kitchen. In the older days the monks +changed their clothes on the occasion of a bath, which used to be +taken four times a year. Later, bathing was allowed only twice a +year, and the monks changed their clothes when they wished.</p> +<p>Various punishments were employed to correct faults. Sometimes +the offender was whipped on the bare shoulders with a thick rod; +others had to lie prostrate in the doorway of the church at each +hour, so that the monks passed over his body on entering or going +out.</p> +<p>The monks formerly rose at two o'clock, and spent the day in +various occupations until eight at night, when they retired. The +following rules once governed St. Gregory's Monastery in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> +England: "3:45 A.M. Rise. 4 A.M. Matins and lauds, recited; +half-hour mental prayer; prime <i>sung</i>; prime B.V.M. recited. +6:30 A.M. Private study; masses; breakfast for those who had +permission. 8 A.M. Lectures and disputations. 10 A.M. Little hours +B.V.M., recited; tierce, mass, sext, <i>sung</i>. 11:30 A.M. +Dinner. 12 noon. None <i>sung</i>; vespers and compline B.V.M., +recited. 12:30 P.M. Siesta, 1 P.M. Hebrew or Greek lecture. 2 P.M. +Vespers <i>sung</i>. 2:30 P.M. Lectures and disputations. 4 P.M. +Private study. 6 P.M. Supper. 6:30 P.M. Recreation. 7:30 P.M. +Public spiritual reading; compline <i>sung</i>; matins and lauds +B.V.M., recited; half-hour mental prayer. 8:45 P.M. Retire[<a href= +"#NOTE_D">D</a>]."</p> +<p>Such a routine suggests a dreary life, but that would depend +upon the monk's temperament. Regularity of employment kept him +healthy, and if he did not take his sins too much to heart, he was +free from gloom. Hill very justly observes: "Whenever men obey that +injunction of labor, no matter what their station, there is in the +act the element of happiness, and whoever avoids that <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> injunction, there +is always the shadow of the unfulfilled curse darkening their +path." Thus, their ideal was "to subdue one's self and then to +devote one's self," which De Tocqueville pronounces "the secret of +strength." How well they succeeded in realizing their ideal by the +methods employed we shall see later.</p> +<p>The term "order," as applied to the Benedictines, is used in a +different sense from that which it has when used of later monastic +bodies. Each Benedictine house was practically independent of every +other, while the houses of the Dominicans, Franciscans or Jesuits +were bound together under one head. The family idea was peculiar to +the Benedictines. The abbot was the father, and the monastery was +the home where the Benedictine was content to dwell all his life. +In the later monastic societies the monks were constantly traveling +from place to place. Taunton says: "As God made society to rest on +the basis of the family, so St. Benedict saw that the spiritual +family is the surest basis for the sanctification of the souls of +his monks. The monastery therefore is to him what the 'home' is to +lay-folk.... From this <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> family idea comes another result: the +very fact that St. Benedict did not found an Order but only gave a +Rule, cuts away all possibility of that narrowing <i>esprit de +corps</i> which comes so easily to a widespread and +highly-organized body."</p> +<p>In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, however, it became +necessary for the general good of each family to secure some kind +of union. The Chapter then came into existence, which was a +representative body, composed of the heads of the different houses +and ordinary monks regularly appointed as delegates. To the Chapter +were committed various matters of jurisdiction, and also the power +of sending visitors to the different abbeys in the pope's name.</p> +<p>Each society was ruled by an abbot, who governed in Christ's +stead. Sometimes the members of the monastery were consulted, the +older ones ordinarily, the whole congregation; in important +matters. But implicit obedience to the abbot, as the representative +of God, was demanded by the vows.</p> +<p>The abbot was to be elected by the monks. At various periods +popes and princes usurped this power, but the monks always claimed +the right as an <span class="pagenum"><a name="page145"></a>[pg +145]</span> original privilege. Carlyle quotes Jocelin on Abbot +Samson, who says that the monks of St. Edmundsbury were compelled +to submit their choice to Henry II., who, looking at the committee +of monks somewhat sternly, said: "You present to me Samson; I do +not know him; had it been your prior, whom I do know, I should have +accepted him; however, I will now do as you wish. But have a care +of yourselves. By the true eyes of God, if you manage badly, I will +be upon you."</p> +<p>In Walter Scott's novel, "The Abbot," there is an interesting +contrast drawn between the ceremonies attending an abbot's +installation, when the monasteries were in their glory, and the +pitiable scenes in the days of their decline, when Mary Stuart was +a prisoner in Lochleven. In the monastery of Kennaquhair, which had +been despoiled by the fury of the times, a few monks were left to +mourn the mutilated statues and weep over the fragments of +richly-carved Gothic pillars. Having secretly elected an abbot, +they assembled in fear and trembling to invest him with the honors +of his office. "In former times," says Scott, "this was one of the +most splendid of the many pageants which the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> hierarchy of Rome +had devised to attract the veneration of the faithful. When the +folding doors on such solemn occasions were thrown open, and the +new abbot appeared on the threshold in full-blown dignity, with +ring and mitre and dalmatique and crosier, his hoary +standard-bearers and juvenile dispensers of incense preceding him, +and the venerable train of monks behind him, his appearance was the +signal for the magnificent jubilate to rise from the organ and the +music-loft and to be joined by the corresponding bursts of +'Alleluiah' from the whole assembled congregation.</p> +<p>"Now all was changed. Father Ambrose stood on the broken steps +of the high altar, barefooted, as was the rule, and holding in his +hand his pastoral staff, for the gemmed ring and jewelled mitre had +become secular spoils. No obedient vassals came, man after man, to +make their homage and to offer the tribute which should provide +their spiritual superior with palfrey and trappings. No bishop +assisted at the solemnity to receive into the higher ranks of the +church nobility a dignitary whose voice in the legislature was as +potent as his own."</p> +<p>We are enabled by this partially-quoted description <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> to imagine the +importance attached to the election of an abbot. He became, in +feudal times, a lord of the land, the richest man in the community, +and a tremendous power in political councils and parliaments. A +Benedictine abbot once confessed: "My vow of poverty has given me a +hundred thousand crowns a year; my vow of obedience has raised me +to the rank of a sovereign prince."</p> +<p>No new principle seems to be disclosed by the Benedictine rules. +The command to labor had been emphasized even in the monasteries of +Egypt. The Basilian code contained a provision enforcing manual +labor, but the work was light and insufficient to keep the mind +from brooding. The monastery that was to succeed in the West must +provide for men who not only could toil hard, but who must do so if +they were to be kept pure and true; it must welcome men accustomed +to the dangerous adventures of pioneer life in the vast forests of +the North. The Benedictine system met these conditions by a unique +combination and application of well-known monastic principles; by a +judicious subordination of minor matters to essential discipline; +by bringing into <span class="pagenum"><a name="page148"></a>[pg +148]</span> greater prominence the doctrine of labor; by tempering +the austerities of the cell to meet the necessities of a severe +climate; and lastly, by devising a scheme of life equally adaptable +to the monk of sunny Italy and the rude Goth of the northern +forests.</p> +<p>It was the splendid fruition of many years of experiment amid +varying results. "It shows," says Schaff, "a true knowledge of +human nature, the practical wisdom of Rome and adaptation to +Western customs; it combines simplicity with completeness, +strictness with gentleness, humility with courage and gives the +whole cloister life a fixed unity and compact organization, which, +like the episcopate, possessed an unlimited versatility and power +of expansion."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Struggle_against_Barbarism"></a>The Struggle +against Barbarism</i></h2> +<br> +<p>No institution has contributed as much to the amelioration of +human misery or struggled as patiently and persistently to +influence society for good as the Christian church. In spite of all +that may be said against the followers of the Cross, it still +remains true, that they have ever been foremost <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> in the +establishment of peace and justice among men.</p> +<p>The problem that confronted the church when Benedict began his +labors, was no less than that of reducing a demoralized and brutal +society to law and order. Chaos reigned, selfishness and lust ruled +the hearts of Rome's conquerors. The West was desolated by +barbarians; the East dismembered and worn out by theological +controversy. War had ruined the commerce of the cities and laid +waste the rural districts. Vast swamps and tracts of brush covered +fields once beautiful with the products of agricultural labor. The +minds of men were distracted by apprehensions of some frightful, +impending calamity. The cultured Roman, the untutored Goth and the +corrupted Christian were locked in the deadly embrace of despair. +"Constantly did society attempt to form itself," says Guizot, +"constantly was it destroyed by the act of man, by the absence of +the moral conditions under which alone it can exist."</p> +<p>But notwithstanding failures and discouragements, the work of +reconstructing society moved painfully on, and among the brave +master builders was Benedict of Nursia. "He found the world, +physical <span class="pagenum"><a name="page150"></a>[pg +150]</span> and social, in ruins," says Cardinal Newman, "and his +mission was to restore it in the way,--not of science, but of +nature; not as if setting about to do it; not professing to do it +by any set time, or by any series of strokes; but so quietly, +patiently, gradually, that often till the work was done, it was not +known to be doing. It was a restoration rather than a visitation, +correction or conversion. The new world he helped to create was a +growth rather than a structure."</p> +<p>But the chaos created by the irruption of the barbarous nations +at this period seriously affected the moral character and influence +of the clergy and the monks. The church seemed unequal to the +stupendous undertaking of converting the barbarians. The monks, as +a class, were lawless and vicious. Benedict himself testifies +against them, and declares that they were "always wandering and +never stable; that they obey their own appetites, whereunto they +are enslaved." Unable to control their own desires by any law +whatsoever, they were unfitted to the task before them. It was +imperative, then, that unity and order should be introduced among +the monasteries; that some sort of a uniform <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> rule, adapted to +the existing conditions, should be adopted, not only for the +preservation of the monastic institution, but for the preparation +of the monks for their work. Therefore, although the Christianity +of that time was far from ideal, it was, nevertheless, a religion +within the grasp of the reckless barbarians; and subsequent events +prove that it possessed a moral power capable of humanizing +manners, elevating the intellect, and checking the violent temper +of the age.</p> +<p>Excepting always the religious services of the Benedictine +monks, their greatest contribution to civilization was literary and +educational[<a href="#NOTE_E">E</a>]. The rules of Benedict +provided for two hours a day of reading, and it was doubtless this +wise regulation that stimulated literary tastes, and resulted in +the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> +collecting of books and the reproduction of manuscripts. "Wherever +a Benedictine house arose, or a monastery of any one of the Orders, +which were but offshoots from the Benedictine tree, books were +multiplied and a library came into existence, small indeed at +first, but increasing year by year, till the wealthier houses had +gathered together collections of books that would do credit to a +modern university." There was great danger that the remains of +classic literature might be destroyed in the general devastation of +Italy. The monasteries rescued the literary fragments that escaped, +and preserved them. "For a period of more than six centuries the +safety of the literary heritage of Europe,--one may say of the +world,--depended upon the scribes of a few dozen scattered +monasteries."</p> +<p>The literary services of the earlier monks did not consist in +original production, but in the reproduction and preservation of +the classics. This work was first begun as a part of the prescribed +routine of European monastic life in the monastery at Vivaria, or +Viviers, France, which was founded by Cassiodorus about 539. The +rules of this cloister were based on those of Cassian, who died in +the early part of the fifth century. Benedict, at Monte Cassino, +followed the example of Cassiodorus, and the Benedictine Order +carried the work on for the seven succeeding centuries.</p> +<p>Cassiodorus was a statesman of no mean ability, and for over +forty years was active in the political <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> circles of his +time, holding high official positions under five different Roman +rulers. He was also an exceptional scholar, devoting much of his +energy to the preservation of classic literature. His magnificent +collection of manuscripts, rescued from the ruins of Italian +libraries, "supplied material for the pens of thousands of monastic +scribes." If we leave out Jerome, it is to Cassiodorus that the +honor is due for joining learning and monasticism.</p> +<p>"Thus," remarks Schaff, "that very mode of life, which, in its +founder, Anthony, despised all learning, became in the course of +its development an asylum of culture in the rough and stormy times +of the migration and the crusades, and a conservator of the +literary treasures of antiquity for the use of modern times."</p> +<p>Cassiodorus, with a noble enthusiasm, inspired his monks to +their task. He even provided lamps of ingenious construction, that +seem to have been self-trimming, to aid them in their work. He +himself set an example of literary diligence, astonishing in one of +his age.</p> +<p>Putnam is justified in his praises of this remarkable character +when he declares: "It is not too <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> much to say that the continuity of +thought and civilization of the ancient world with that of the +middle ages was due, more than to any other one man, to the life +and labors of Cassiodorus."</p> +<p>But the monk was more than a scribe and a collector of books, he +became the chronicler and the school-teacher. "The records that +have come down to us of several centuries of medieval European +history are due almost exclusively to the labors of the monastic +chroniclers." A vast fund of information, the value of which is +impaired, it is true, by much useless stuff, concerning medieval +customs, laws and events, was collected by these unscientific +historians and is now accessible to the student.</p> +<p>At the end of the ninth century nearly all the monasteries of +Europe conducted schools open to the children of the neighborhood. +The character of the educational training of the times is not to be +judged by modern standards. A beginning had to be made, and that +too at a time "when neither local nor national governments had +assumed any responsibilities in connection with elementary +education, and when the municipalities were too ignorant, and +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> in many +cases too poor, to make provision for the education of the +children." It is therefore to the lasting credit of Benedict, +inspired no doubt by the example of Cassiodorus, that he commanded +his monks to read, encouraged literary work, and made provision for +the education of the young.</p> +<p>The Benedictines rendered a great social service in reclaiming +deserted regions and in clearing forests. "The monasteries," says +Maitland, "were, in those days of misrule and turbulence, beyond +all price, not only as places where (it may be imperfectly, but +better than elsewhere) God was worshipped,... but as central points +whence agriculture was to spread over bleak hills and barren downs +and marshy plains, and deal its bread to millions perishing with +hunger and its pestilential train." Roman taxation and barbarian +invasions had ruined the farmers, who left their lands and fled to +swell the numbers of the homeless. The monk repeopled these +abandoned but once fertile fields, and carried civilization still +deeper into the forests. Many a monastery with its surrounding +buildings became the nucleus of a modern city. The more awful the +darkness of the forest solitudes, the more the monks <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> loved it. They cut +down trees in the heart of the wilderness, and transformed a soil +bristling with woods and thickets into rich pastures and ploughed +fields. They stimulated the peasantry to labor, and taught them +many useful lessons in agriculture. Thus, they became an +industrial, as well as a spiritual, agency for good.</p> +<p>The habits of the monks brought them into close contact with +nature. Even the animals became their friends. Numerous stories +have been related of their wonderful power over wild beasts and +their conversations with the birds. "It is wonderful," says Bede, +"that he who faithfully and loyally obeys the Creator of the +universe, should, in his turn, see all the creatures obedient to +his orders and his wishes." They lived, so we are told, in the most +intimate relations with the animal creation. Squirrels leaped to +their hands or hid in the folds of their cowls. Stags came out of +the forests in Ireland and offered themselves to some monks who +were ploughing, to replace the oxen carried off by the hunters. +Wild animals stopped in their pursuit of game at the command of St. +Laumer. Birds ceased singing at the request of some monks +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> until +they had chanted their evening prayer, and at their word the +feathered songsters resumed their music. A swan was the daily +companion of St. Hugh of Lincoln, and manifested its miraculous +knowledge of his approaching death by the most profound melancholy. +While all the details of such stories are not to be accepted as +literally true, no doubt some of this poetry of monastic history +rests upon interesting and charming facts.</p> +<p>A fuller discussion of the permanent contributions which the +monk made to civilization is reserved for the last chapter. I have +somewhat anticipated a closer scrutiny of his achievements in order +to present a clearer view of his life and labors. His religious +duties were, perhaps, wearisome enough. We might tire of his +monotonous chanting and incessant vigils, but it is gratifying to +know that he also engaged in practical and useful employments. The +convent became the house of industry as well as the temple of +prayer. The forest glades echoed to the stroke of the axe as well +as to hymns of praise. Yes, as Carlyle writes of the twelfth +century, "these years were no chimerical vacuity and dreamland +peopled with mere vaporous phantasms, but a <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> green solid place, +that grew corn and several other things. The sun shone on it, the +vicissitudes of seasons and human fortunes. Cloth was woven and +worn; ditches were dug, furrowed fields ploughed and houses +built."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Spread_of_the_Benedictine_Rule"></a>The Spread +of the Benedictine Rule</i></h2> +<br> +<p>It is generally held that Benedict had no presentiment of the +vast historical importance of his system; and that he aspired to +nothing beyond the salvation of his own soul and those of his +brethren.</p> +<p>But the rule spread with wonderful rapidity. In every rich +valley arose a Benedictine abbey. Britain, Germany, Scandinavia, +France and Spain adopted his rule. Princes, moved by various +motives, hastened to bestow grants of land on the indefatigable +missionary who, undeterred by the wildness of the forest and the +fierceness of the barbarian, settled in the remotest regions. In +the various societies of the Benedictines there have been +thirty-seven thousand monasteries and one hundred and fifty +thousand abbots. For the space of two <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> hundred and +thirty-nine years the Benedictines governed the church by +forty-eight popes chosen from their order. They boast of two +hundred cardinals, seven thousand archbishops, fifteen thousand +bishops and four thousand saints. The astonishing assertion is also +made that no less than twenty emperors and forty-seven kings +resigned their crowns to become Benedictine monks. Their convents +claim ten empresses and fifty queens. Many of these earthly rulers +retired to the seclusion of the monastery because their hopes had +been crushed by political defeat, or their consciences smitten by +reason of crime or other sins. Some were powerfully attracted by +the heroic element of monastic life, and these therefore spurned +the luxuries and emoluments of royalty, in order by personal +sacrifice to achieve spiritual domination in this life, and to +render their future salvation certain. But whatever the motive that +drew queens and princes to the monastic order, the retirement of +such large numbers of the nobility indicates the influence of a +religious system which could cope so successfully with the +attractions of the palace and the natural passion for political +dominion.</p> +<p>Saint Gregory the Great, the biographer of <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span> Benedict, who was +born at Rome in 540 A.D. and so was nearly contemporaneous with +Benedict was a zealous promoter of the monastic ideal, and did as +much as any one to advance its ecclesiastical position and +influence. He founded seven monasteries with his paternal +inheritance, and became the abbot of one of them. He often +expressed a desire to escape the clamor of the world by retirement +to a lonely cell. Inspired by the loftiest estimates of his holy +office, he sought to reform the church in its spirit and life. Many +of his innovations in the church service bordered upon a dangerous +and glittering pomp; but the musical world will always revere his +memory for the famous chants that bear his name.</p> +<p>Gregory surrounded himself with monks, and did everything in his +power to promote their interests. He increased the novitiate to two +years, and exempted certain monasteries from the control of the +bishops. Other popes added to these exemptions, and thus widened +the breach which already existed between the secular clergy and the +monks. He also fixed a penalty of lifelong imprisonment for +abandonment of the monastic life.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> +<p>Under Gregory's direction many missionary enterprises were +carried on, notably that of Augustine to England. The story runs +that one day Gregory saw some men and beautiful children from +Britain put up for sale in the market-place. Deeply sighing, he +exclaimed: "Alas for grief! That the author of darkness possesses +men of so bright countenance, and that so great grace of aspect +bears a mind void of inward grace!" He then asked the children the +name of their nation. "Angles," was the reply. "It is well," he +said, "for they have <i>angelic</i> faces. What is the name of your +province?" It was answered, "Deira." "Truly," he said, +"<i>De-ira-ns,</i> drawn from anger, and called to the mercy of +Christ. How is your king called?" They answered, "Ælla, or +Ella." Then he cried "<i>Alleluia!</i> it behooves that the praise +of God the Creator should be sung in those parts." While it is hard +to accept this evidently fanciful story in its details, it seems +quite probable that the sale of some English slaves in a Roman +market drew the attention of Gregory to the needs of Britain.</p> +<p>Some years afterwards, in 596, Gregory commissioned <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> Augustine, prior of +the monastery of St. Andrew's on the Celian Hill, at Rome, with +forty companions, to preach the gospel in Britain. When this +celebrated missionary landed on the island of Thanet, he found +monasticism had preceded him. But what was the nature of this +British monasticism? On that question Rome and England are +divided.</p> +<p>The Romanist declares that no country received the Christian +faith more directly from the Church of Rome than did England; that +the most careful study of authentic records reveals no doctrinal +strife, no diversity of belief between the early British monks and +the Pope of Rome; that St. Patrick, of Ireland, and St. Columba, of +Scotland, were loyal sons of their Roman mother.</p> +<p>The Anglican, on the other hand, believes that Christianity was +introduced into Britain independently of Rome. As to the precise +means employed, he has his choice of ten legends. He may hold with +Lane that it is reasonable to suppose one of Paul's ardent +converts, burning with fervent zeal, led the Britons to the cross. +Or he may argue with others: "What is more natural than to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> imagine +that Joseph of Arimathea, driven from Palestine, sailed away to +Britain." In proof of this assumption, we are shown the chapel of +St. Joseph, the remains of the oldest Christian church, where the +holy-thorn blossoms earlier than in any other part of England. Many +Anglicans wisely regard all this as legendary. It is also held that +St. Patrick and St. Columba were not Romanists, but represented a +type of British Christianity, which, although temporarily subjected +to Rome, yet finally threw off the yoke under Henry VIII. and +reasserted its ancient independence. Still others declare that when +Augustine was made archbishop, the seat of ecclesiastical authority +was transferred from Rome to Canterbury, and the English church +became an independent branch of the universal church. It was +Catholic, but not Roman.</p> +<p>The difficulty of ascertaining when and by whom Christianity was +originally introduced into southern Britain must be apparent to +every student. But some things may be regarded as historically +certain. The whole country had been desolated by war when Augustine +arrived. For a hundred and fifty years the brutality and ignorance +of the barbarians had <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> reigned supreme. All traces of Roman +civilization had nearly disappeared with the conquest of the +heathen Anglo-Saxons. Whatever may be thought about the subsequent +effects of the triumph of Roman Christianity, it is due to Rome to +recognize the fact that with the coming of the Roman missionaries +religion and knowledge began a new life.</p> +<p>The Anglo-Saxons had destroyed the Christian churches and +monasteries, whose origin, as we have seen, is unknown. They drove +away or massacred the priests and monks. Christianity was +practically extirpated in those districts subject to the Germanic +yoke. But when Augustine landed British monks were still to be +found in various obscure parts of the country, principally in +Ireland and Wales. Judging from what is known of these monks, it is +safe to say that their habits and teachings were based on the +traditions of an earlier Christianity, and that originally British +Christianity was independent of Rome.</p> +<p>The monks in Britain at the time when Augustine landed differed +from the Roman monks in their tonsures, their liturgy, and the +observance of Easter, although no material difference in doctrine +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> can be +established. The clergy did not always observe the law of celibacy +nor perhaps the Roman rules of baptism. It is also admitted, even +by Catholic historians, that the British monks refused to +acknowledge Augustine their archbishop; that this question divided +the royal family; and that the old British church was not +completely subdued until Henry II. conquered Ireland and Wales. +These statements are practically supported by Ethelred L. Taunton, +an authoritative writer, whose sympathy with Roman monasticism is +very strong. He thinks that a few of the British monks submitted to +Augustine, but of the rest he says: "They would not heed the call +of Augustine, and on frivolous pretexts refused to acknowledge +him." A large body of British monks retired to the monastery of +Bangor, and when King Ethelfrid invaded the district of Wales, he +slew twelve hundred of them in the open field as they were upon +their knees praying for the success of the Britons. It was then +that the power of the last remnants of Celtic or British +Christianity was practically broken, and the Roman type henceforth +gradually acquired the mastery.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> +<p>Montalembert says: "In no other country has Catholicism been +persecuted with more sanguinary zeal; and, at the same time, none +has greater need of her care." While the latter observation is open +to dispute, it is certainly true that England has never remained +quiet under the dominion of Rome. Goldsmith's tribute to the +English character suggests a reasonable explanation of this +historic fact:</p> +<blockquote>"Stern o'er each bosom reason holds her state,<br> +Fierce in their native hardiness of soul,<br> +True to imagined right, above control,<br> +While even the peasant boasts those rights to scan,<br> +And learns to venerate himself as man."</blockquote> +<p>The fact to be remembered, as we emerge from these +ecclesiastical quarrels and the confusions of this perplexing +history, is that the monks were the intellectual and religious +leaders of those days. They exercised a profound influence upon +English society, and had much to do with the establishment of +English institutions.</p> +<p>But, on the other hand, the continent is indebted to England for +the gift of many noble monks who served France and Germany as +intellectual and moral guides, at a time when these countries were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> in a +state of extreme degradation. Boniface, the Apostle to the Germans, +who is regarded by Neander as the Father of the German church and +the real founder of the Christian civilization of Germany, was the +gift of the English cloisters, and a native of Devonshire. Alcuin, +the ecclesiastical prime minister of Charlemagne and the greatest +educator of his time, was born and trained in England. Nearly all +the leading schools of France were founded or improved by this +celebrated monk. It was largely due to Alcuin's unrivaled energy +and splendid talents that Charlemagne was able to make so many and +so glorious educational improvements in his empire.</p> +<p>Notable among the men who introduced the Benedictine rule into +England was St. Wilfred (634-709 A.D.), who had traveled +extensively in France and Italy, and on his return carried the +monastic rule into northern Britain. He also is credited with +establishing a course of musical training in the English +monasteries. He was the most active prelate of his age in the +founding of churches and monasteries, and in securing uniformity of +discipline and harmony with the Church of Rome.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> +<p>One of the most famous monastic retreats of those days was the +wild and lonely isle of Iona, the Mecca of monks and the monastic +capital of Scotland. It is a small island, three miles long and one +broad, lying west of Scotland. Many kings of Scotland were crowned +here on a stone which now forms a part of the British coronation +chair. Its great monastery enjoyed the distinction from the sixth +to the eighth century of being second to none in its widespread +influence in behalf of the intellectual life of Europe.</p> +<p>This monastery was originally founded in the middle of the sixth +century by Columba, the Apostle to Caledonia, an Irish saint +actively associated with a wonderful intellectual awakening. The +rule of the monastery is unknown, but it is probable that it could +not have been, at the first, of the Benedictine type. Columba's +followers traveled as missionaries and teachers to all parts of +Europe, and it is said, they dared to sail in their small boats +even as far as Iceland.</p> +<p>Dr. Johnson says in his "Tour to the Hebrides": "We are now +treading that illustrious island which was once the luminary of the +Caledonian regions, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page169"></a>[pg +169]</span> whence savage clans and roving barbarians derived the +benefits of knowledge and the blessing of religion. That man is +little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the +plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the +ruins of Iona." The monastery which Columba founded here was +doubtless of the same character as the establishments in Ireland. +Many of these Celtic buildings were made of the branches of trees +and supported by wooden props. It was some time before +properly-constructed wooden churches or monasteries became general +in these wild regions. In such rude huts small libraries were +collected and the monks trained to preach. Ireland was then the +center of knowledge in the North. Greek, Latin, music and such +science as the monks possessed were taught to eager pupils. Copies +of their manuscripts are still to be found all over Europe. Their +schools were open to the rich and poor alike. The monks went from +house to house teaching and distributing literature. As late as the +sixteenth century, students from various parts of the Continent +were to be found in these Irish schools.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> +<p>There is an interesting story related of Columba's literary +activities. It is said that on one occasion while visiting his +master, Finnian, he undertook to make a clandestine copy of the +abbot's Psalter. When the master learned of the fact, he +indignantly charged Columba with theft, and demanded the copy which +he had made, on the ground that a copy made without permission of +the author was the property of the original owner, because a +transcript is the offspring of the original work. Putnam, to whom I +am indebted for this story, says: "As far as I have been able to +ascertain, this is the first instance which occurs in the history +of European literature of a contention for a copyright." The +conflict for this copyright afterwards developed into a civil war. +The copy of the Latin Psalter "was enshrined in the base of a +portable altar as the national relic of the O'Donnell clan," and +was preserved by that family for thirteen hundred years. It was +placed on exhibition as late as 1867, in the museum of the Royal +Irish Academy.</p> +<p>Enough has now been said to enable the reader to understand +something of the spirit and labors of the monks in an age +characteristically <span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"></a>[pg +171]</span> barbaric. For five centuries, from the fifth to the +tenth, the condition of Europe was deplorable. "It may be doubted," +says an old writer, "whether the worst of the Cæsars exceeded +in dark malignity, or in capriciousness of vengeance, the +long-haired kings of France." The moral sense of even the most +saintly churchmen seems to have been blunted by familiarity with +atrocities and crimes. Brute force was the common method of +exercising control and administering justice. The barbarians were +bold and independent, but cruel and superstitious. Their furious +natures needed taming and their rude minds tutoring. Even though +during this period churches and monasteries were raised in amazing +numbers, yet the spirit of barbarism was so strong that the +Christians could scarcely escape its influence. The power of +Christianity was modified by the nature of the people, whose +characters it aimed to transform. The remarks of William Newton +Clarke respecting the Christians of the first and second centuries +are also appropriate to the period under review: "The people were +changed by the new faith, but the new faith was changed by the +people." Christianity "made a new people, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> better than it +found them, but they in turn made a new Christianity, with its +strong points illustrated and confirmed in their experience, but +with weakness brought in from their defects."</p> +<p>Yes, the work of civilizing the Germanic nations was a task of +herculean proportions and of tremendous significance. Out of these +tribes were to be constructed the nations of modern Europe. To this +important mission the monks addressed themselves with such courage, +patience, faith and zeal, as to entitle them to the veneration of +posterity. With singular wisdom and unflinching bravery they +carried on their missionary and educational enterprises, in the +face of discouragements and obstacles sufficient to dismay the +bravest souls. The tenacious strength of those wild forces that +clashed with the tenderer influences of the cloister should soften +our criticism of the inconsistencies which detract from the glory +of those early ministers of righteousness and exemplars of +gentleness and peace.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> +<h2><a name="IV"></a>IV</h2> +<h2><i><a name="REFORMED_AND_MILITARY_ORDERS"></a>REFORMED AND +MILITARY ORDERS</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The monastic institution was never entirely good or entirely +bad. In periods of general degradation there were beautiful +exceptions in monasteries ruled by pure and powerful abbots. From +the beginning various monasteries soon departed from their +discipline by sheltering iniquity and laziness, while other +establishments faithfully observed the rules. But during the +eighth, ninth and tenth centuries there was a widespread decline in +the spirit of devotion and a shameful relaxation of monastic +discipline. Malmesbury, King Alfred, Alcuin, in England, and many +continental writers, sorrowfully testified against the monks +because of their vices, their revelings, their vain and gorgeous +ornaments of dress and their waning zeal for virtue. The priests +hunted and fought, prayed, preached, swore <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> and drank as they +pleased. "We cannot wonder," says an anonymous historian, "that +they should commit the more reasonable offence of taking wives." +Disorders were common everywhere; the monastic vows were sadly +neglected. Political and religious ideals were lost sight of amid +the prevailing confusion and wild commotion of those dark days. "It +is true," says Carlyle, "all things have two faces, a light one and +a dark. It is true in three centuries much imperfection +accumulates; many an ideal, monastic or otherwise, shooting forth +into practice as it can, grows to a strange reality; and we have to +ask with amazement, Is this your ideal? For alas the ideal has to +grow into the real, and to seek out its bed and board there, often +in a sorry way."</p> +<p>This, then, may be accepted as the usual history of a monastery +or a monastic order. First, vows of poverty, obedience and chastity +zealously cherished and observed; as a result of loyalty to this +ideal, a spirit of devotion to righteousness is created, and a +pure, lofty type of Christian life is formed, which, if not the +highest and truest, is sufficiently exalted to win the reverence of +worldly men and an extra-ordinary <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> power over their lives and +affections. There naturally follow numerous and valuable gifts of +land and gold. The monks become rich as well as powerful. Then the +decline begins. Vast riches have always been a menace to true +spirituality. Perhaps they always will be. The wealthy monk falls a +prey to pride and arrogance; he becomes luxurious in his habits, +and lazy in the performance of duty. Vice creeps in and his moral +ruin is complete. The transformation in the character of the monk +is accompanied by a change in public opinion. The monk is now an +eyesore; his splendid buildings are viewed with envy by some, with +shame by others. Then arise the vehement cries for the destruction +of his palatial cloister, and the heroic efforts of the remnant +that abide faithful to reform the institution. This has been the +pathway over which every monastic order has traveled. As long as +there was sufficient vitality to give birth to reformatory +movements, new societies sprang up as off-shoots of the older +orders, some of which adopted the original rules, while others +altered them to suit the views of the reforming founder. "For +indeed," says <span class="pagenum"><a name="page176"></a>[pg +176]</span> Trench, "those orders, wonderful at their beginning, +and girt up so as to take heaven by storm, seemed destined to +travel in a mournful circle from which there was no escape." These +facts partly explain the reformatory movements which appear from +the ninth century on.</p> +<p>The first great saint to enter the lists against monastic +corruption was Benedict of Aniane (750-821 A.D.), a member of a +distinguished family in southern France. The Benedictine rule in +his opinion was formed for novices and invalids. He attributed the +prevailing laxity among the monks to the mild discipline. As abbot +of a monastery he undertook to reform its affairs by adopting a +system based on Basil of Asia Minor and Pachomius of Egypt. But he +leaned too far back for human nature in the West, and the +conclusion was forced upon him that Benedict of Nursia had +formulated a set of rules as strict as could be enforced among the +Western monks. Accordingly he directed his efforts to secure a +faithful observance of the original Benedictine rules, adding, +however, a number of rigid and burdensome regulations. Although at +first the monks doubted his sanity, kicked him <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> and spat on him, +yet he afterwards succeeded in gathering about three hundred of +them under his rule. Several colonies were sent out from his +monastery, which was built on his patrimonial estate near +Montpellier. His last establishment, which was located near +Aix-la-Chapelle, became famous as a center of learning and +sanctity.</p> +<p>One of the most celebrated reform monasteries was the convent of +Cluny, or Clugny, in Burgundy, about fifteen miles from Lyons, +which was founded by Duke William of Aquitaine in 910. It was +governed by a code based on the rule of St. Benedict. The monastery +began with twelve monks under Bruno, but became so illustrious that +under Hugo there were ten thousand monks in the various convents +under its rule. It was made immediately subject to the pope,--that +is, exempt from the jurisdiction of the bishop. Some idea of its +splendid equipment may be formed from the fact that it is said, +that in 1245, after the council of Lyons, it entertained Innocent +IV., two patriarchs, twelve cardinals, three archbishops, fifteen +bishops, many abbots, St. Louis, King of France, several princes +and princesses, each with a considerable <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> retinue, yet the +monks were not incommoded. It gave to the church three +popes,--Gregory VII., Urban II. and Paschal II.</p> +<p>From his cell at Cluny, Hildebrand, who became the famous +Gregory VII., looked out upon a world distracted by war and sunk in +vice. "In Hildebrand's time, while he was studying those annals in +Cluny," says Thomas Starr King, "a boy pope, twelve years old, was +master of the spiritual scepter, and was beginning to lead a life +so shameful, foul and execrable that a subsequent pope said, 'he +shuddered to describe it.'"</p> +<p>Connected with the monastery was the largest church in the +world, surpassed only a little, in later years, by St. Peter's at +Rome. Its construction was begun in 1089 by the abbot Hugo, and it +was consecrated in 1131, under the administration of Peter the +Venerable. It boasted of twenty-five altars and many costly works +of art.</p> +<p>So great was the fame and influence of this establishment that +numerous convents in France and Italy placed themselves under its +control, thus forming "The Congregation of Cluny."</p> +<p>After the administration of Peter the Venerable <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> (1122-1156), this +illustrious house began to succumb to the intoxication of success, +and it steadily declined in character and influence until its +property was confiscated by the Constituent Assembly, in 1799, and +the church sold for one hundred thousand francs. It is now in +ruin.</p> +<p>But in spite of every attempt at reform during the ninth and +tenth centuries the decline of the continental monasteries +continued. Many persons of royal blood, accustomed to the license +of palaces, entered the cloister and increased the disorders. The +monks naturally respected their blood and relaxed the discipline in +their favor. The result was costly robes, instead of the simple, +monastic garb, riotous living, and a general indifference to +spirituality. Spurious monasteries sprang up with rich lay-abbots +at their head, who made the office hereditary in their families. +Laymen were appointed to rich benefices simply that they might +enjoy the revenues. These lay-abbots even went so far as to live +with their families in their monasteries, and rollicking midnight +banquets were substituted for the asceticism demanded by the vows. +They traveled extensively attended by <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> splendid retinues. +Some of the monks seemed intent on nothing but obtaining charters +of privileges and exemptions from civil and military duties.</p> +<p>In England the state of affairs was even more distressing than +on the Continent. The evil effects of the Saxon invasion, the +demoralization that accompanied the influx of paganism, and the +almost complete destruction of the religious institutions of +British Christianity have already been noted. About the year 700, +the island was divided among fifteen petty chiefs, who waged war +against one another almost incessantly. Christianity, as introduced +by Augustine, had somewhat mitigated the ferocity of war, and +England had begun to make some approach toward a respect for law +and a veneration for the Christian religion, when the Danes came, +and with them another period of disgraceful atrocities and +blighting heathenism. The Danish invasion had almost extirpated the +monastic institution in the northern districts. Carnage and +devastation reigned everywhere. Celebrated monasteries fell in +ruins and the monks were slain or driven into exile. Hordes of +barbaric warriors roamed the country, burning and plundering.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> +<p>"At the close of this calamitous period," says Lingard, in his +"History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church," "the +Anglo-Saxon church presented a melancholy spectacle to the friends +of religion: 1. The laity had resumed the ferocious manners of +their pagan forefathers. 2. The clergy had grown indolent, +dissolute and illiterate. 3. The monastic order had been apparently +annihilated. It devolved on King Alfred, victorious over his +enemies, to devise and apply the remedies for these evils." The +good king endeavored to restore the monastic institution, but, +owing to the lack of candidates for the monastic habit, he was +compelled to import a colony of monks from Gaul.</p> +<p>The moral results of Alfred's reformatory measures, as well as +those of his immediate successors, were far from satisfactory, +although he did vastly stimulate the educational work of the +monastic schools. He devoted himself so faithfully to the gathering +of traditions, that he is said to be the father of English history. +The tide of immorality, however, was too strong to be stemmed in a +generation or two. It was a century and a half <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> before there was +even an approach to substantial victory over the disgraceful abuses +among the clergy and the monks.</p> +<p>The churchman who is credited with doing most to distinguish the +monks as a zealous and faithful body was Dunstan (924-988 A.D.), +first Abbot of Glastonbury, then Bishop of Winchester, and finally +Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the most conspicuous ecclesiastical +personage in the history of those dark days, but his character and +labors have given rise to bitter and extensive controversy.</p> +<p>It was Dunstan's chief aim to subjugate the Anglo-Saxon church +to the power of Rome, and to correct existing abuses by compelling +the clergy and the monks to obey the rule of celibacy. He was a +fervent believer in the efficacy of the Benedictine vows, and in +the value of clerical celibacy as a remedy for clerical +licentiousness. Naturally, Protestant writers, who hold that papal +supremacy never was a blessing in any country or in any age, and +who think that clerical celibacy has always been a fruitful source +of crime and sin, condemn the reforms of Dunstan in the most +unqualified terms. A statement of a few of the many and perplexing +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> facts +may assist us to form a fairly just judgment of the man and his +work.</p> +<p>The principle of sacerdotal celibacy appeared early in the +history of Christianity, and for many centuries it was the subject +of sharp contention. Roman Catholics themselves have been divided +upon it. In every Christian country, from the Apostolic period +onward, there were priests and teachers who opposed the imposition +of this rule upon the clergy, and, on the other hand, there were +those who practiced and advocated celibacy as the indispensable +guarantee of spiritual power and purity.</p> +<p>What the rule of celibacy was at this period, in England, seems +uncertain. Lingard maintains that marriage was always permitted to +the clergy in minor orders, who were employed in various +subordinate positions, but that those in higher orders, whose +office it was to minister at the altar and to offer the sacrifice, +were expressly bound to a life of the strictest continence. During +the invasion of the Danes, when confusion reigned, many priests in +the higher orders had not only forsaken their vows of chastity, but +had plunged into frightful immoralities; and <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> married clerks of +inferior orders were raised to the priesthood to fill the ranks +depleted by war. These promoted clerks were previously required to +separate from their wives, but apparently many of them did not do +so. Consequently, from several causes, the married priests became a +numerous body, and since the common opinion seems to have been that +a married priest was disgracing his office, this body was regarded +as a menace to the welfare of the church and the state.</p> +<p>Lea, in his elaborate "History of Sacerdotal Celibacy," holds +that the rule of celibacy was only binding on the regulars, or +monks, and that the secular priesthood was at liberty to marry. But +from several other passages in his work it seems that he also +recognizes the fact that, while marriage was common, it was in +defiance of an ancient canon. "It is evident," he says, "that the +memory of the ancient canons was not forgotten, and that their +observance was still urged by some ardent churchmen, but that the +customs of the period had rendered them virtually obsolete, and +that no sufficient means existed of enforcing obedience. If open +scandals and shameless bigamy <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> and concubinage could be restrained, +the ecclesiastical authorities were evidently content. Celibacy +could not be enjoined as a law, but was rendered attractive by +surrounding it with privileges and immunities denied to him who +yielded to the temptations of the flesh."</p> +<p>Throughout Western Christendom the law of celibacy was openly +and shamefully trampled upon, and every reformer seemed to think +that the very first step toward any improvement in clerical morals +was to be taken by enforcing this rule.</p> +<p>When Dunstan commenced his reforms, the clergy were guilty of +graver sins than that of living in marriage relations. Adultery, +bigamy, swearing, fighting and drinking were the order of the day. +The monasteries were occupied by secular priests with wives or +concubines. All the chroniclers of this period agree in charging +the monks and clergy with a variety of dissipations and +disorders.</p> +<p>It is quite clear, therefore, that in Dunstan's view he was +doing the only right thing in trying to correct the existing abuses +by compelling the priests to adopt that celibate life without which +it was popularly believed the highest holiness and the largest +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span> +usefulness could not be attained. In the light of this purpose and +this common opinion of his time, Dunstan and his mission should be +judged.</p> +<p>Dunstan was aided in his work by King Edgar the Pacific, who, by +the way, was himself compelled to go without his crown seven years +for violating the chastity of a nun. Oswald, the Bishop of +Worcester, and Ethelwold, the Bishop of Winchester, were also +zealously engaged in the task of reform.</p> +<p>A law was enacted providing that priests, deacons and +sub-deacons should live chastely or resign. As a result of this +law, many priests were ejected from the monasteries and from their +official positions. Strict monks were put in their places. A strong +opposition party was created, and the ejected clergy aroused such +discontent that a civil war was barely averted. This state of +things continued until the Norman invasion, when the monks and +secular clergy joined forces in the common defence of their +property and ecclesiastical rights.</p> +<p>It would seem that many writers, misled by legends for which +Dunstan must not be held responsible, and blinded by religious +prejudice, have unjustly charged him with hypocrisy and even crime. +All his methods <span class="pagenum"><a name="page187"></a>[pg +187]</span> may not be defensible when estimated in the light of +modern knowledge, and even his ideal may be rejected when judged by +modern standards of Christian character, but he must be considered +with the moral and intellectual life of his times in full view. He +was a champion of the oppressed, a friend of the poor, an +unflinching foe of sinful men in the pulpit or on the throne. His +will was inflexible, his independence noble and his energy +untiring. In trying to bring the Anglo-Saxon church into conformity +to Rome he was actuated by a higher motive than the merely selfish +desire for ecclesiastical authority. He regarded this harmony as +the only remedy for the prevailing disorders. He believed, like +many other churchmen of unquestioned purity and honesty, that it +was necessary to compel temporal authorities to recognize the power +of the church in order to overcome that defiance of moral law which +was the chief characteristic of the kings and princes in that +turbulent period.</p> +<p>What the Anglo-Saxon church might have been if the rule of +celibacy had not been forced upon her, and if she had not submitted +to Roman authority in other matters, is a theme for speculation +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> only. +The fact is that Dunstan found a church corrupt to the core and +left it, as a result of his purifying efforts, with some semblance, +to say the least, of moral influence and spiritual purity. Some +other kind of ecclesiastical polity than that advocated by Dunstan +might have achieved the same results as his, but the simple fact is +that none did. In so far as Dunstan succeeded in his monastic +measures, he laid the foundations of an ecclesiastical power which +afterwards became a serious menace to the political freedom of the +Anglo-Saxon race. The battle begun by him raged fiercely between +the popes, efficiently supported by the monks, and the kings of +England, with varying fortunes, for many centuries. But perhaps, +under the plans of that benign Providence who presides over the +destiny of nations, it was essentially in the interests of +civilization, that the lawlessness of rulers and the vices of the +people should be restrained by that ecclesiastical power, which, in +after years, and at the proper time, should be forced to recede to +its legitimate sphere and functions.</p> +<p>Another celebrated reformatory movement was begun by St. Bruno, +who founded the Carthusian <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> Order about the year 1086. Ruskin +says: "In their strength, from the foundation of the order at the +close of the eleventh century to the beginning of the fourteenth, +they reared in their mountain fastnesses and sent out to minister +to the world a succession of men of immense mental grasp and +serenely authoritative innocence, among whom our own Hugh of +Lincoln, in his relations with Henry II. and Coeur de Lion, is to +my mind the most beautiful sacerdotal figure known to me in +history."</p> +<p>Bruno, with six companions, established the famous Grand +Chartreuse in a rocky wilderness, near Grenoble, in France, +separated from the rest of the world by a chain of wild mountains, +which are covered with ice and snow for two-thirds of the year.</p> +<p>Until the time of Guigo (1137), the Grand Chartreuse was +governed by unwritten rules. Thirteen monks only were permitted to +live together, and sixteen converts in the huts at the foot of the +hill. The policy of this monastery was at first opposed to all +connection with other monasteries. But applications for admission +were so numerous that colonies were sent out in various directions, +all <span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> +subject to the mother house. The Carthusians differed in many +respects from other orders. The rules of Dom Guigo indicate that +the chief aim was to preclude the monks from intercourse with the +world, and largely with each other, for each monk had separate +apartments, cooked his own food, and so rarely met with his +brethren, that he was practically a hermit. The clothing consisted +of a rough hair shirt, worn next the skin, a white cassock over it, +and, when they went out, a black robe. Fasting was observed at +least three days a week, and meat was strictly forbidden. +Respecting contact with women Dom Guigo says: "Under no +circumstances whatever do we allow women to set foot within our +precincts, knowing as we do that neither wise man, nor prophet, nor +judge, nor the entertainer of God, nor the sons of God, nor the +first created of mankind, fashioned by God's own hands, could +escape the wiles and deceits of women."</p> +<p>Blistering and bleeding, as well as fasting, were employed to +control evil impulses. On the whole, the austerities were as severe +as human nature in that wild and cold region could endure. Yet the +prosperity that rewarded the piety and labors of the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> Carthusian monks +proved more than a match for their rigorous discipline, and in the +middle of the thirteenth century we read charges of laxity and +disorder.</p> +<p>The Carthusians settled in England in the twelfth century, and +had a famous monastery in London, since called the Charterhouse. +The order was in many respects the most successful attempt at +reform, but as has been said, "the whole order, and each individual +member, is like a petrifaction from the Middle Ages." Owing to its +extremely solitary ideal and its severe discipline, it was unfitted +to secure extensive control, or to gain a permanent influence upon +the rapidly-developing European nations. Its chief contributions to +modern civilization were made by the gift of noble men who passed +from the seclusion of the cell into the active life of the world, +thus practically proving that the monks' greatest usefulness was +attained when loyalty to their vows yielded to a broader ideal of +Christian character and service.</p> +<p>Thus the months passed into years and the years into centuries. +Man was slowly working out his salvation. Painfully, laboriously he +emerged out <span class="pagenum"><a name="page192"></a>[pg +192]</span> of barbarism into the lower forms of civilization; +wearily he trudged on his way toward the universal kingdom of +righteousness and peace.</p> +<p>There were many other attempts at reform which may not even be +mentioned, but one character deserves brief consideration,--Bernard +of Clairvaux,--the fairest flower of those corrupt days. The order +to which he belonged was the Cistercians, so named because their +mother house was at Citeaux (Latin, <i>Cistercium</i>), in France. +Its members are sometimes called the "White Monks," because of +their white tunics. Their buildings, with their bare walls and low +rafters, were a rebuke to the splendid edifices of the richer +orders. Austere simplicity characterized their churches, liturgy +and habits. Gorgeousness in decoration and ostentation in public +services were carefully avoided. They used no pictures, stained +glass or images. Once a week they flogged their sinful bodies. Only +four hours' sleep was allowed. Seeking out the wildest spots and +most rugged peaks they built their retreats, beautiful in their +simplicity and furnishing some of the finest examples of monastic +architecture. The order spread into England, where the first +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> +Cistercians were characterized by devoutness and poverty. After a +while the hand of fate wrote of them as it had of so many, "none +were more greedy in adding farm to farm; none less scrupulous in +obtaining grants of land from wealthy patrons." In general, the +order was no better and no worse than the rest, but its chief glory +is derived from the luster that was shed upon it by Bernard.</p> +<br> +<a name="image193.jpg"></a> +<p class="ctr"><a href="images/image193.jpg"><img src= +"images/image193.jpg" width="45%" alt=""></a><br> +<b>Saint Bernard.</b></p> +<br> +<p>This illustrious counselor of kings and Catholic saint was born +in Burgundy in 1091. When about twenty years of age he entered the +monastery at Citeaux with five of his brothers. His genius might +have secured ecclesiastical preferment, but he chose to dig +ditches, plant fields and govern a monastery. He entered the +cloister at Citeaux because the monks were few and poor, and when +it became crowded because of his fame, and its rule became lax +because of the crowds, he left the cloister to found a home of his +own. The abbot selected twelve monks, following the number of +apostles, and at their head placed young Bernard. He led the twelve +to the valley of Wormwood, and there, in a cheerless forest, he +established the monastery of Clairvaux, or Clear Valley. His rule +was fiercely <span class="pagenum"><a name="page194"></a>[pg +194]</span> severe because he himself loved hardships and rough +fare. "It in no way befits religion," he writes, "to seek remedies +for the body, nor is it good for health either. You may now and +then take some cheap herb,--such as poor men may,--and this is done +sometimes. But to buy drugs, to hunt up doctors, to take doses, is +unbecoming to religion and hostile to purity." His success in +winning men to the monastic life was almost phenomenal. It was said +that "mothers hid their sons, wives their husbands, and companions +their friends, lest they be persuaded by his eloquent message to +enter the cloister." "He was avoided like a plague," says one.</p> +<p>Bernard's monks changed the whole face of the country by felling +trees and tilling the ground. Their spiritual power rid the valley +of Wormwood of its robbers, and the district grew rich and +prosperous. Thus Bernard became the most famous man of his time. He +was the arbiter in papal elections, the judge in temporal quarrels, +the healer of schisms and a powerful preacher of the crusades. He +was the embodiment of all that was best in the thought of his age. +His weaknesses and faults may largely be explained by the fact that +no man can rise <span class="pagenum"><a name="page195"></a>[pg +195]</span> entirely above the spirit of his times and absolutely +free himself from all pernicious tendencies. "As an advocate for +the rights of the church, for the immunities of the clergy, no less +than for the great interests of morality, he was fierce, +intractable, unforgiving, haughty and tyrannical." There was, +however, no note of insincerity in his work or writings, and no +tinge of hypocrisy in fervent zeal. He was brave, honest and pure; +controlled always by a consuming passion for the moral welfare of +the people.</p> +<p>Our chief interest in Bernard relates to his monastic work which +shed undying luster on his name. Vaughan, in his "Hours with the +Mystics," says of him: "His incessant cry for Europe is, Better +monasteries, and more of them. Let these ecclesiastical castles +multiply; let them cover and command the land, well garrisoned with +men of God, and then, despite all heresy and schism, theocracy will +flourish, the earth shall yield her increase, and all people praise +the Lord.... Bernard had the satisfaction of improving and +extending monasticism to the utmost; of sewing together, with +tolerable success, the rended vesture of the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> papacy; of +suppressing a more popular and more scriptural Christianity for the +benefit of his despotic order; of quenching for a time, by the +extinction of Abelard, the spirit of free inquiry, and of seeing +his ascetic and superhuman ideal of religion everywhere accepted as +the genuine type of Christianity."</p> +<p>But in spite of Dunstans, Brunos and Bernards, the monastic +institution keeps on crumbling. The edifice will not stand much +more propping and tinkering. While we admire this display of moral +force, this commendable struggle of fresh courage and new hope +against disintegrating forces, the conviction gains ground that +something is radically wrong with the institution. There is +something in it which fosters greed and desperate ambition. "Is it +not a shame," we feel compelled to ask, "that so much splendid, +chivalrous courage and magnificent energy should be expended in +trying to prevent a structure from falling, which, it seems, could +not possibly have been saved?" But while the decay could not be +stayed, we must admire the noble aims and pious enthusiasm of the +reformers who sought to preserve an institution which to them +seemed the only hope of a sinful world.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> +<p>Dr. Storrs, in his life of Bernard, says: "His soon-canonized +name has shone starlike in history ever since he was buried; and it +will not hereafter decline from its height or lose its luster, +while men continue to recognize with honor the temper of devoted +Christian consecration, a character compact of noble forces, and +infused with self-forgetful love for God and man."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Military_Religious_Orders"></a>The Military +Religious Orders</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The life of Bernard forms an appropriate introduction to a +consideration of the Military Religious Orders. Although weary with +labor and the weight of years, he traveled over Europe preaching +the second crusade. "To kill or to be killed for Christ's sake is +alike righteous and alike safe," this was his message to the world. +In spite of the opposition of court advisers, Bernard induced Louis +VII. and Conrad of Germany to take the crusader's vow. He gave the +Knights Templars a new rule and kindled afresh a zeal for the +knighthood. Although the members of the Military Orders were not +monks in the strict sense of the word, yet they <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> were soldier-monks, +and as such deserve to be mentioned here.</p> +<p>At the basis of all monastic orders, as has been pointed out, +were the three vows of obedience, celibacy and poverty. Certain +orders, by adding to these rules other obligations, or by laying +special stress on one of the three ancient vows, produced new and +distinct types of monastic character and life.</p> +<p>The Knights of the Hospital assumed as their peculiar work the +care of the sick. The Begging Friars, as will be seen later, were +distinguished by the importance which they attached to the rule of +poverty; the Jesuits, by exalting the law of unquestioning +obedience. In view of the warlike character of the Middle Ages it +is strange the soldier-monk did not appear earlier than he did. The +abbots, in many cases, were feudal lords with immense possessions +which needed protection like secular property, but as this could +not be secured by the arts of peace, we find traces of the union of +the soldier and the monk before the distinct orders professing that +character. The immediate cause of such organizations was the +crusades. There were numerous <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> societies of this character, some of +them so far removed from the monastic type as scarcely to be ranked +with monastic institutions. One list mentions two hundred and seven +of these Orders of Knighthood, comprising many varieties in theory +and practice. The most important were three,--the Knights of the +Hospital, or the Knights of St. John; the Knights Templars; and the +Teutonic Knights. The Hospitallers wore black mantles with white +crosses, the Templars white mantles with red crosses, and the +Teutonic Knights white mantles with black crosses. The mantles were +in fact the robe of the monk adorned with a cross. The whole system +was really a marriage of monasticism and chivalry, as Gibbon says: +"The firmest bulwark of Jerusalem was founded in the Knights of the +Hospital and of the Temple, that strange association of monastic +and military life. The flower of the nobility of Europe aspired to +wear the cross and profess the vows of these orders; their spirit +and discipline were immortal."</p> +<p>A passage in the Alexiad quoted in Walter Scott's "Robert of +Paris" reads: "As for the multitude of those who advanced toward +the great city let it <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> be enough to say, that they were as +the stars in the heaven or as the sand of the seashore. They were +in the words of Homer, as many as the leaves and flowers of +spring." This figurative description is almost literally true. +Europe poured her men and her wealth into the East. No one but an +eye-witness can conceive of the vast amount of suffering endured by +those fanatical multitudes as they roamed the streets of Jerusalem +looking for shelter, or lay starving by the roadside on a bed of +grass.</p> +<p>The term Hospitallers was applied to certain brotherhoods of +monks and laymen. While professing some monastic rule, the members +of these societies devoted themselves solely to caring for the sick +and the poor, the hospitals in those days being connected with the +monasteries.</p> +<p>About the year 1050 some Italian merchants secured permission to +build a convent in Jerusalem to shelter Latin pilgrims. The hotels +which sprang up after this were gradually transformed into +hospitals for the care of the sick and presided over by Benedictine +monks. The sick were carefully nursed and shelter granted to as +many as could be accommodated. Nobles abandoned the profession of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> arms +and, becoming monks, devoted themselves to caring for the +unfortunate crusaders in these inns. The work rapidly increased in +extent and importance. In the year 1099, Godfrey de Bouillon +endowed the original hospital, which had been dedicated to St. +John. He also established many other monasteries on this holy soil. +The monks, most of whom were also knights, formed an organization +which received confirmation from Rome, as "The Knights of St. John +of Jerusalem." The order rapidly assumed a distinctly military +character, for, to do its work completely, it must not only care +for the sick in Jerusalem, but defend the pilgrim on his way to the +Holy City. This ended in an undertaking to defend Christendom +against Mohammedan invasion and in fighting for the recovery of the +Holy Sepulcher.</p> +<p>After visiting some of these Palestinian monasteries, a king of +Hungary thus describes his impressions: "Lodging in their houses, I +have seen them feed every day innumerable multitudes of poor, the +sick laid on good beds and treated with great care. In a word, the +Knights of St. John are employed sometimes like Martha, in action, +and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> +sometimes like Mary, in contemplation, and this noble militia +consecrate their days either in their infirmaries or else in +engagements against the enemies of the cross."</p> +<p>The Knights Templars were far more militant than the Knights of +St. John, but they also were actuated by the monastic spirit. +Bernard tried to inspire this order with a strong Christian zeal so +that, as he said, "War should become something of which God could +approve." The success which attended its operations led as usual to +its corruption and decline. Beginning with a few crusaders leagued +together for service and living on the site of the ancient Temple +at Jerusalem, it soon widened the scope of its services and became +a powerful branch of the crusading army. It was charged by Philip +IV. of France, in 1307, with the most fearful crimes, to sustain or +to deny which accusations many volumes have been composed. Five +years later the order was suppressed and its vast accumulations +transferred to the Knights of St. John. "The horrible fate of the +Templars," says Allen, "was taken by many as a beginning and omen +of the destruction that would soon pass upon <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> all the hated +religious orders. And so this final burst of enthusiasm and +splendor in the religious life was among the prognostics of a state +of things in which monasticism must fade quite away."</p> +<p>Wondrous changes have taken place in those dark and troubled +years since Benedict began his labors at Monte Cassino, in 529. The +monk has prayed alone in the mountains, and converted the barbarian +in the forest. He has preached the crusades in magnificent +cathedrals, and crossed stormy seas in his frail bark. He has made +the schools famous by his literary achievements, and taught +children the alphabet in the woodland cell. He has been good and +bad, proud and humble, rich and poor, arrogant and gentle. He has +met the shock of lances on his prancing steed, and trudged barefoot +from town to town. He has copied manuscripts in the lonely Scottish +isle, and bathed the fevered brow of the pilgrim in the hospital at +Jerusalem. He has dug ditches, and governed the world as the pope +of the Church. He has held the plow in the furrow, and thwarted the +devices of the king. He has befriended the poor, and imposed +penance upon princes. He has imitated the poverty and purity of +Jesus, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"></a>[pg +204]</span> aped the pomp and vice of kings. He has dwelt solitary +on cold mountains, subsisting on bread, roots and water, and he has +surrounded himself with menials ready to gratify every luxurious +wish, amid the splendor of palatial cloisters. Still there are new +types and phases of monasticism yet to appear. The monk has other +tasks to undertake, for the world is not yet sufficiently wearied +of his presence to destroy his cloister and banish him from the +land.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> +<h2><a name="V"></a>V</h2> +<h2><i><a name="THE_MENDICANT_FRIARS"></a>THE MENDICANT +FRIARS</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Abraham Lincoln only applied a general principle to a specific +case when he said, "This nation cannot long endure half slave and +half free." Glaring inconsistencies between faith and practice will +eventually destroy any institution, however lofty its ideal or +noble its foundation. God suffers long and is kind, but His +forbearance is not limitless. Monasticism, as has been shown, was +never free from serious inconsistency, from moral dualism. But the +power of reform prolonged its existence. It was constantly +producing fresh models of its ancient ideals. It had a hidden +reserve-force from which it supplied shining examples of a living +faith and a self-denying love, just at the time when it seemed as +if the system was about to perish forever. When these fresh +exhibitions of monastic fidelity likewise <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> became tarnished, +when men had tired of them and predicted the speedy collapse of the +institution, forth from the cloister came another body of monkish +recruits, to convince the world that monasticism was not dead; that +it did not intend to die; that it was mightier than all its +enemies. The day came, however, when the world lost its confidence +in an institution which required such constant reforming to keep it +pure, which demanded so much cleansing to keep it clean. Ideals +that could so quickly lose their influence for good came to be +looked upon with suspicion.</p> +<p>At the beginning of the thirteenth century we are confronted by +the anomaly of a church grossly corrupt but widely obeyed. She is +nearing the pinnacle of her power and the zenith of her glory, +although the parochial clergy have sunk into vice and incapacity, +and the monks, as a class, are lazy, ignorant and notoriously +corrupt. Two things, especially, command the attention,--first, the +immorality and laxity of the monks; and second, the growth of +heresies and the tendency toward open schism. The necessity of +reform was clearly apprehended by the church as well as by the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> +heretical parties, but, since the church had such a hold upon +society, those who sought to reform the monasteries by returning to +old beliefs and ancient customs were much more in favor than those +who left the church and opposed her from the outside. The +impossibility of substantial, internal reform had not yet come to +be generally recognized. As time passed the conviction that it was +of no use to attempt reforms from the inside gained ground; then +the separatists multiplied, and the shedding of blood commenced. +The world had to learn anew that it was futile to put new wine into +old bottles or to patch new cloth on an old garment.</p> +<p>"It is the privilege of genius," says Trench, "to evoke a new +creation, where to common eyes all appears barren and worn out." +Francis and Dominic evoked this new creation; but although the monk +now will appear in a new garb, he will prove himself to be about +the same old character whom the world has known a great many years; +when this discovery is made monasticism is doomed. Perplexed Europe +will anxiously seek some means of destruction, but God will have +Luther ready to aid in the solution of the problem.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> +<h2><i><a name="Francis_Bernardone"></a>Francis Bernardone</i>, +1182-1226 <i>A.D.</i>.</h2> +<br> +<p>Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order, was born at +Assisi, a walled town of Umbria, in Italy. His father, Peter +Bernardone, or Bernardo, was in France on business when his son was +born and named. On his return, or, as some say, at a later time, he +changed his son's name from John to Francis. His wealth enabled him +to supply Francis with the funds necessary to maintain his +leadership among gay companions. Catholic writers are fond of +describing the early years of their saints as marked by vice in +order to portray them as miracles of grace. It is therefore +uncertain whether Francis was anything worse than a happy, joyous +lad, who loved fine clothes, midnight songs and parties of +pleasure. He was certainly a very popular and courteous lad, very +much in love with the world. During a short service in the army he +was taken prisoner. After his release he fell sick, and experienced +a temporary disgust with his past life. With his renewed health his +love of festivities and dress returned.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> +<p>Walking out one day, dressed in a handsome new suit, he met a +poor and ill-clad soldier; moved to pity, he exchanged his fine +clothes for the rags of the stranger. That night Francis dreamed of +a splendid castle, with gorgeous banners flying from its ramparts, +and suits of armor adorned with the cross. "These," said a voice, +"are for you and for your soldiers." We are told that this was +intended to be taken spiritually and was prophetic of the Begging +Friars, but Francis misunderstood the dream, taking it as a token +of military achievements. The next day he set off mounted on a fine +horse, saying as he left, "I shall be a great prince." But his weak +frame could not endure such rough usage and he was taken sick at +Spoleto. Again he dreamed. This time the vision revealed his +misinterpretation of the former message, and so, on his recovery, +he returned somewhat crestfallen to Assisi, where he gave his +friends a farewell feast. Thus at the threshold of his career we +note two important facts,--disease and dreams. All through his life +he had these fits of sickness, attended by dreams; and throughout +his life he was guided by these visions. Neander remarks: "It would +be a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> +matter of some importance if we could be more exactly informed with +regard to the nature of his disease and the way in which it +affected his physical and mental constitution. Perhaps it might +assist us to a more satisfactory explanation of the eccentric vein +in his life, that singular mixture of religious enthusiasm +bordering insanity; but we are left wholly in the dark."</p> +<p>Francis now devoted himself to his father's business, but dreams +and visions continued to distress him. His spiritual fervor +increased daily. He grieved for the poor and gave himself to the +care of the sick, especially the lepers. During a visit to Rome he +became so sad at the sight of desperate poverty that he impetuously +flung his bag of gold upon the altar with such force as to startle +the worshipers. He went out from the church, exchanged his clothes +for a beggar's rags, and stood for hours asking alms among a crowd +of filthy beggars.</p> +<p>But though Francis longed to associate himself in some way with +the lowest classes, he could obtain no certain light upon his duty. +While prostrated before the crucifix, in the dilapidated church of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span> St. +Damian, in Assisi, he heard a voice saying, "Francis, seest thou +not that my house is in ruins? Go and restore it for me." Again it +is said that this pointed to his great life-work of restoring +spiritual power to the church, but he again accepted the message in +a literal sense. Delighted to receive a command so specific, the +kneeling Francis fervently responded, "With good will, Lord," and +gladly entered upon the task of repairing the church of St. Damian. +"Having fortified himself by the sign of the cross," he took a +horse and a valuable bundle of goods belonging to his father and +sold both at Falingo. Instead of turning the proceeds over to his +father, Francis offered them to the priest of St. Damian, who, +fearing the father's displeasure, refused to accept the stolen +funds. The young zealot, "who had utter contempt for money," threw +the gold on one of the windows of the church. Such is the story as +gleaned from Catholic sources. The heretics, who have criticised +Francis for this conduct, are answered by the following ingenious +but dangerous sophistry: "It is certainly quite contrary to the +ordinary law of justice for one man to take for himself the +property of another; but if <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page212"></a>[pg 212]</span> Almighty God, to whom all things +belong, and for whom we are only stewards, is pleased to dispense +with this His own law in a particular case, and to bestow what He +has hitherto given to one upon another, He confers at the same time +a valid title to the gift, and it is no robbery in him who has +received it to act upon that title."</p> +<p>Fearing his father's wrath, Francis hid himself in the priest's +room, and contemporary authors assure us that when the irate parent +entered, Francis was miraculously let into the wall. Wading (1731 +A.D.) says the hollow place may still be seen in the wall.</p> +<p>After a month, the young hero, confident of his courage to face +his father, came forth pale and weak, only to be stoned as a madman +by the people. His father locked him up in the house, but the +tenderer compassion of his mother released him from his bonds, and +he found refuge with the priest. When his father demanded his +return, Francis tore off his clothes and, as he flung the last rag +at the feet of his astounded parent, he exclaimed: "Peter +Bernardone was my father; I have but one father, He that is in +Heaven." The crowd was deeply <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page213"></a>[pg 213]</span> moved, especially when they saw +before them the hair shirt which Francis had secretly worn under +his garments. Gathering up all that was left to him of his son, the +father sadly departed, leaving the young enthusiast to fight his +own way through the world. Many times after that, the parents, who +tenderly watched over the lad in sickness and prayed for his +recovery, saw their beloved son leading his barefooted beggars +through the streets of his native town. But he will never more sing +his gay songs underneath their roof or sally forth with his merry +companions in search of pleasure. Francis was given a laborer's +cloak, upon which he made the sign of a cross with some mortar, +"thus manifesting what he wished to be, a half-naked poor one, and +a crucified man." Such was the saint, in 1206, in his twenty-fifth +year.</p> +<p>Francis now went forth, singing sacred songs, begging his food, +and helping the sick and the poor. He was employed "in the vilest +affairs of the scullery" in a neighboring monastery. At this time +he clothed himself in the monk's dress, a short tunic, a leathern +girdle, shoes and a staff. He waited upon lepers and kissed their +disgusting <span class="pagenum"><a name="page214"></a>[pg +214]</span> ulcers. Yet more, he instantly cured a dreadfully +cancerous face by kissing it. He ate the most revolting messes, +reproaching himself for recoiling in nausea. Thus the pauper of +Jesus Christ conquered his pride and luxurious tastes.</p> +<p>Francis finally returned to repair the church of St. Damian. The +people derided, even stoned him, but he had learned to rejoice in +abuse. They did not know of what stern stuff their fellow-townsman +was made. He bore all their insults meekly, and persevered in his +work, carrying stones with his own hands and promising the blessing +of God on all who helped him in his joyful task. His kindness and +smiles melted hatred; derision turned to admiration. "Many were +moved to tears," says his biographers, "while Francis worked on +with cheerful simplicity, begging his materials, stone by stone, +and singing psalms about the streets."</p> +<p>Two years after his conversion, or in 1208, while kneeling in +the church of Sta. Maria dei Angeli, he heard the words of Christ: +"Provide neither gold nor silver nor brass in your purses, neither +two coats nor shoes nor staff, but go and preach." Afterwards, when +the meaning of these words was <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page215"></a>[pg 215]</span> explained to him, he exclaimed: "This +is what I seek for!" He threw away his wallet, took off his shoes, +and replaced his leather girdle by a cord. His hermit's tunic +appearing too delicate, he put on a coarse, gray robe, reaching to +his feet, with sleeves that came down over his fingers; to this he +added a hood, covering his head and face. Clothing of this +character he wore to the end of his life. This was in 1208, which +is regarded as the first year of the Order of St. Francis. The next +year Francis gave this habit to those who had joined him.</p> +<p>So the first and chief of Franciscan friars, unattended by +mortal companions, went humbly forth to proclaim the grandeur and +goodness of a God, who, according to monastic teaching, demands +penance and poverty of his creatures as the price of his highest +favor and richest blessings. Nearly seven hundred long years have +passed since that eventful day, but the begging Brothers of Francis +still traverse those Italian highways over which the saint now +journeyed with meek and joyous spirit.</p> +<blockquote>"He was not yet far distant from his rising<br> +Before he had begun to make the earth<br> +Some comfort from his mighty virtue feel.<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> For he +in youth his father's wrath incurred<br> +For certain Dame, to whom, as unto death,<br> +The gate of pleasure no one doth unlock;<br> +And was before his spiritual court<br> +<i>Et coram patre</i> unto her united;<br> +Then day by day more fervently he loved her.<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<br> +<br> +But that too darkly I may not proceed,<br> +Francis and Poverty for these two lovers<br> +Take thou henceforward in my speech diffuse."<br> +<br> +--<i>Dante</i>.</blockquote> +<p>In 1210, with eleven companions, his entire band, Francis went +to Rome to secure papal sanction. Pope Innocent III. was walking in +a garden of the Lateran Palace when a beggar, dusty and pale, +confronted him. Provoked at being disturbed in his thoughts, he +drove him away. That night it was the pope's turn to dream. He saw +a falling church supported by a poor and miserable man. Of course, +that man was Francis. Four or five years later the pope will dream +the same thing again. Then the poor man will be Dominic. In the +morning he sent for the monk whom he had driven from him as a +madman the day before. Standing before his holiness and the college +of cardinals, Francis pleaded his cause in a touching and eloquent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page217"></a>[pg 217]</span> +parable. His quiet, earnest manner and clear blue eyes impressed +every one. The pope did not give him formal sanction however--this +was left for Honorius III., November 29, 1223--but he verbally +permitted him to establish his order and to continue his +preaching.</p> +<p>Several times Francis set out to preach to the Mohammedans, but +failed to reach his destination. He finally visited Egypt during +the siege of Damietta, and at the risk of his life he went forth to +preach to the sultan encamped on the Nile. He is described by an +eye-witness "as an ignorant and simple man, beloved of God and +men." His courage and personal magnetism won the Mohammedan's +sympathy but not his soul. Although Francis courted martyrdom, and +offered to walk through fire to prove the truth of his message, the +Oriental took it all too good-naturedly to put him to the test, and +dismissed him with kindness.</p> +<p>Francis was a great lover of birds. The swallows he called his +sisters. A bird in the cage excited his deepest sympathy. It is +said he sometimes preached to the feathered songsters. <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page218"></a>[pg 218]</span> Longfellow has cast +one of these homilies into poetic form:</p> +<blockquote>"O brother birds, St. Francis said,<br> +Ye come to me and ask for bread,<br> +But not with bread alone to-day<br> +Shall ye be fed and sent away.<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 25%;"> +<br> +<br> +Oh, doubly are ye bound to praise<br> +The great Creator in your lays;<br> +He giveth you your plumes of down,<br> +Your crimson hoods, your cloaks of brown.<br> +<br> +He giveth you your wings to fly<br> +And breathe a purer air on high,<br> +And careth for you everywhere,<br> +Who for yourselves so little care."</blockquote> +<p>Like all ascetics, Francis was tempted in visions. One cold +night he fancied he was in a home of his own, with his wife and +children around him. Rushing out of his cell he heaped up seven +hills of snow to represent a wife, four sons and daughters, and two +servants. "Make haste," he cried, "provide clothing for them lest +they perish with the cold," and falling upon the imaginary group, +he dispelled the vision of domestic bliss in the cold embrace of +the winter's snow. Mrs. Oliphant points out the fact that, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> unlike +most of the hermits and monks, Francis dreams not of dancing girls, +but of the pure love of a wife and the modest joys of a home and +children. She beautifully says: "Had he, for one sweet, miserable +moment, gone back to some old imagination and seen the unborn faces +shine beside the never-lighted fire? But Francis does not say a +word of any such trial going on in his heart. He dissipates the +dream by the chill touch of the snow, by still nature hushing the +fiery thoughts, by sudden action, so violent as to stir the blood +in his veins; and then the curtain of prayer and silence falls over +him, and the convent walls close black around."</p> +<p>The experience of the saint on Mount Alverno deserves special +consideration, not merely on account of its singularity, but also +because it affords a striking illustration of the difficulties one +encounters in trying to get at the truth in monastic narratives. +Francis had retired to Mount Alverno, a wild and rugged solitude, +to meditate upon the Lord's passion. For days he had been almost +distracted with grief and holy sympathy. Suddenly a seraph with six +wings stood before <span class="pagenum"><a name="page220"></a>[pg +220]</span> him. When the heavenly being departed, the marks of the +Crucified One appeared upon the saint's body. St. Bonaventure says: +"His feet and hands were seen to be perforated by nails in their +middle; the heads of the nails, round and black, were on the inside +of the hands, and on the upper parts of the feet; the points, which +were rather long, and which came out on the opposite sides, were +turned and raised above the flesh, from which they came out." There +also appeared on his right side a red wound, which often oozed a +sacred blood that stained his tunic.</p> +<p>This remarkable story has provoked considerable discussion. +One's conclusions respecting its credibility will quite likely be +determined by his general view of numerous similar narratives, and +by the degree of his confidence in the value of human testimony +touching such matters. The incongruities and palpable impostures +that seriously impair the general reliability of monkish historians +render it difficult to distinguish between the truths and errors in +their writings.</p> +<p>Some authorities hold that the marks did not appear on St. +Francis, and that the story is without <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page221"></a>[pg 221]</span> foundation. But +Roman writers bring forward the three early biographers of Francis +who claim that the marks did appear. Pope Alexander IV. publicly +averred that he saw the wounds, and pronounced it heresy to doubt +the report. Popes Benedict XI., Sixtus IV., and Sixtus V. +consecrated and canonized the impressions by instituting a +particular festival in their honor. Numerous persons are said to +have seen the marks and to have kissed the nails, after the death +of the saint. Singularly enough, the Dominicans were inclined to +regard the story as a piece of imposture designed to exalt Francis +above Dominic.</p> +<p>But, if it be admitted that the marks did appear, as it is not +improbable, how shall the phenomenon be explained? At least four +theories are held: 1. Fraud; 2. The irresponsible self-infliction +of the wounds; 3. Physical effects due to mental suggestion or some +other psychic cause; 4. Miracle.</p> +<p>1. The temptation is strong to claim a fraud, especially because +the same witnesses who testify to the truth of the tale, also +relate such monstrous, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page222"></a>[pg 222]</span> incredible stories, that one is +almost forced to doubt either their integrity or their sanity. But +there is no evidence in support of so serious an indictment. After +showing that signs and portents attend every crisis in history, +Mrs. Oliphant says: "Every great spiritual awakening has been +accompanied by phenomena quite incomprehensible, which none but the +vulgar mind can attribute to trickery and imposture;" but still she +herself remains in doubt about the whole story.</p> +<p>2. Although Mosheim uses the term "fraud," it would seem that he +means rather the irresponsible self-infliction of the wounds. He +says: "As he [Francis] was a most superstitious and fanatical +mortal, it is undoubtedly evident that he imprinted on himself the +holy wounds. Paul's words, 'I bear in my body the marks of the Lord +Jesus,' may have suggested the idea of the fraud." The notion +certainly prevailed that Francis was a sort of second Christ, and a +book was circulated showing how he might be compared to Christ in +forty particulars. There are many things in his biography which, if +true, indicate that Francis yearned to imitate literally the +experiences of his Lord.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page223"></a>[pg 223]</span> +<p>3. Numerous experiments, conducted by scientific men, have +established the fact that red marks, swellings, blisters, bleeding +and wounds have been produced by mental suggestion. +Björnstrom, in his work on "Hypnotism," after recounting +various experiments showing the effect of the imagination on the +body, says, respecting the <i>stigmata</i> of the Middle Ages: +"Such marks can be produced by hypnotism without deceit and without +the miracles of the higher powers." Prof. Fisher declares: "There +is no room for the suspicion of deceit. The idea of a strange +physical effect of an abnormal state is more plausible." Trench +thinks this is a reasonable view in the case of a man like Francis, +"with a temperament so irrepressible, of an organization so +delicate, permeated through and through with the anguish of the +Lord's sufferings, passionately and continually dwelling on the one +circumstance of his crucifixion." But others, despairing of any +rational solution, cut the Gordian knot and declare that "the +kindest thing to think about Francis is that he was crazy."</p> +<p>4. Roman Catholics naturally reject all explanations +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page224"></a>[pg 224]</span> that +exclude the supernatural, for, as Father Candide Chalippe affirms: +"Catholics ought to be cautious in adopting anything coming from +heretics; their opinions are almost always contagious." He +therefore holds fast to the miracles in the lives of the saints, +not only because he accepts the evidence, but because he believes +these wonderful stories "add great resplendency to the merits of +the saints, and, consequently, give great weight to the example +they afford us."</p> +<p>It is altogether probable that each one will continue to view +the whole affair as his predispositions and religious convictions +direct; some unconvinced by traditionary evidence and undismayed by +charges of heresy; others devoutly accepting every monkish miracle +and marveling at the obstinacy of unbelief.</p> +<p>Two years after the event just described Francis was carried on +a cot outside the walls of Assisi, where, lifting his hands he +blessed his native city. Some few days later, on October 4, 1226, +he passed away, exclaiming, "Welcome, Sister Death!"</p> +<p>Whatever we may think of the legends that <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> cluster about his +life, Francis himself must not be held responsible for all that has +been written about him. He himself was no phantom or mythical +being, but a real, earnest man who, according to his light, tried +to serve his generation. As he himself said: "A man is just so much +and no more as he is in the sight of God." "Francis appears to me," +says Forsyth, "a genuine, original hero, independent, magnanimous, +incorruptible. His powers seemed designed to regenerate society; +but taking a wrong direction, they sank men into beggars." Through +the mist of tradition the holy beggar and saintly hero shines forth +as a loving, gentle soul, unkind to none but himself. However his +biography may be regarded, his life illustrates the beauty and +power of voluntary renunciation,--the fountain not only of religion +but of all true nobility of character. He may have been ignorant, +perhaps grossly so, as Mosheim thinks, but nevertheless he merits +our highest praise for striving honestly to keep his vow of poverty +in the days when worldly monks disgraced their sacred profession by +greed, ambition, and lustful indulgence.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> +<h2><i><a name="The_Franciscan_Orders"></a>The Franciscan +Orders</i></h2> +<br> +<br> +<p>The orders which Francis founded were of three classes:</p> +<p>1. Franciscan Friars or Order of Friars Minor, called also Gray +or Begging Friars. The year in which Francis took the habit, 1208, +is reckoned the first year of the order, but the Rule was not given +until 1210.</p> +<p>This Rule, which has not been preserved, was very simple, and +doubtless consisted of a group of gospel passages, bearing on the +vow of poverty, together with a few precepts about the occupations +of the brethren. The pope was not asked to sanction the Rule but +only to give his approbation to the missions of the little band. +Some of the cardinals expressed their doubts about the mode of life +provided for in the rules. "But," replied Giovanni di San Paolo, +"if we hold that to observe gospel perfection and make profession +of it is an irrational and impossible innovation, are we not +convicted of blasphemy against Christ, the Author of the +Gospel?"</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span> +<p>There was also the Rule of 1221, which makes an intermediate +stage between the first Rule and that which was approved by the +pope November 29, 1223. The Rule of 1210 was thoroughly Franciscan. +It was the expression of the passionate, fervent soul of Francis. +It was the cry of the human heart for God and purity. The Rule of +1223 shows that the church had begun to direct the movement. +Sabatier says of these two rules: "At the bottom of it all is the +antinome of law and love. Under the reign of law we are the +mercenaries of God, bound down to an irksome task, but paid a +hundred-fold, and with an indisputable right to our wages." Such +was the conception underlying the Rule of 1223. That of 1210 is +thus described: "Under the rule of love we are the sons of God, and +co-workers with Him; we give ourselves to Him without bargaining +and without expectation; we follow Jesus, not because this is well, +but because we cannot do otherwise, because we feel that He has +loved us and we love Him in our turn."</p> +<p>Francis would not allow his monks to be called Friars; he +preferred Friars Minor or Little Brothers as a more humble +designation[<a href="#NOTE_F">F</a>].</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span> +<p>Ten years after the founding of the order, it is claimed, over +five thousand friars assembled in Rome for the general chapter. The +monks lodged in huts made of matting and hence this convention has +been called the "Chapter of Mats." The order was strongest +numerically about fifty years after the death of Francis, when it +numbered eight thousand convents and two hundred thousand monks. +Many of its members were highly distinguished, such as St. +Bonaventura, Duns Scotus, Roger Bacon and Cardinal Ximenes.</p> +<p>2. Nuns of St. Clara or Poor Claras, dates from 1212, but it did +not receive its rule from Francis until 1224. The order was founded +in the following manner: Clara, a daughter of a noble family, was +distinguished for her beauty and by her love for the poor. Francis +often met her, and, in the language of his biographer, "exhorted +her to a contempt of the world and poured into her ears the +sweetness of Christ." Guided, no doubt, by his counsel, she stole +one night from her home to a neighboring church where Francis and +his beggars were assembled. Her long and beautiful hair was cut +off, while a coarse woolen gown was <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page229"></a>[pg 229]</span> substituted for her own rich +garments. Standing in the midst of the ragged monks, she renounced +the dregs of Babylon and a wicked world, pledging her future to the +monastic institution. Out from this little church into the darkness +of the night, Francis led this beautiful girl of seventeen years +and committed her to a Benedictine nunnery. Later on Clara became +the abbess of a Franciscan convent at St. Damian, and the +Sisterhood of St. Clara was established. It was an order of sadness +and penitential tears. It is said that Clara never but once (when +she received the blessing of the pope) lifted her eyelids so that +the color of her eyes might be discerned.</p> +<p>3. The Third Order, called also "Brotherhood of Penitence," was +composed of lay men and women. So many husbands and wives were +desirous of leaving their homes in order to enter the monastic +state, that Francis, not wishing to break up happy marriages, so it +is said, was compelled to give these enthusiasts some sort of a +rule by which they might compromise between their established life +and the monastic career. This state of things led to the formation, +in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> +1221, of the Third Order of St. Francis, or the Order of +Tertiaries, in relation to the Friars Minor and the Poor Claras. +Sabatier says this generally-accepted date is wrong; that it is +impossible to fix any date, for that which came to be known as the +Third Order was born of the enthusiasm excited by the preaching of +Francis soon after his return from Rome in 1210. Candidates for +admission into this order were required to make profession of all +the orthodox truths, special care being employed to guard against +the intrusion of heretics. Days of fasting and abstinence were +enjoined, and members were urged to avoid profanity, the theater, +dancing and law-suits. The order met with astonishing success, +cardinals, bishops, emperors, empresses, kings and queens, gladly +enrolling themselves among the followers of St. Francis.</p> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Dominic_de_Guzman"></a>Dominic de Guzman, 1170-1221 +A.D.</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Half-way between Osma and Aranda in Old Castile, Spain, is a +little village known as "the fortunate Calahorra." Here was the +castle of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page231"></a>[pg +231]</span> Guzmans, where Dominic was born. His family was of high +rank and character, a noble house of warriors, statesmen and +saints. If we accept the legends, his greatness was foreshadowed. +Before his birth, his mother dreamed she saw her son under the +figure of a black-and-white dog, with a torch in his mouth. "A true +dream," says Milman, "for he will scent out heresy and apply the +torch to the faggots;" but, as will be seen later, this observation +does not rest on undisputed evidence.</p> +<br> +<a name="image232.jpg"></a> +<p class="ctr"><a href="images/image232.jpg"><img src= +"images/image232.jpg" width="45%" alt=""></a><br> +<b>Saint Dominic.</b><br> +From a photograph of the painting preserved<br> +in his cell in the convent of Santa Sabina, at Rome<br> +Trenton: Albert Brandt, Publisher, 1900]</p> +<br> +<p>In the year 1191, when Spain was desolated by a terrible famine, +Dominic was just finishing his theological studies. He gave away +his money and sold his clothes, his furniture and even his precious +manuscripts, that he might relieve distress. When his companions +expressed astonishment that he should sell his books, Dominic +replied: "Would you have me study off these dead skins, when men +are dying of hunger?" This noble utterance is cherished by his +admirers as the first saying from his lips that has passed to +posterity.</p> +<p>Dominic was educated in the schools of Palencia, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> afterwards a +university, where he devoted six years to the arts and four to +theology. In 1194, when twenty-five years of age, Dominic became a +canon regular, at Osma, under the rule of St. Augustine. Nine years +after he accompanied his bishop, Don Diego, on an embassy for the +king of Castile. When they crossed the Pyrenees they found +themselves in an atmosphere of heresy. The country was filled with +preachers of strange doctrines, who had little respect for Dominic, +his bishop, or their Roman pontiff. The experiences of this journey +inspired in Dominic a desire to aid in the extermination of heresy. +He was also deeply impressed by an important and significant +observation. Many of these heretical preachers were not ignorant +fanatics, but well-trained and cultured men. Entire communities +seemed to be possessed by a desire for knowledge and for +righteousness. Dominic clearly perceived that only preachers of a +high order, capable of advancing reasonable argument, could +overthrow the Albigensian heresy.</p> +<p>It would be impossible, in a few words, to tell the whole story +of this Albigensian movement. <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> Undoubtedly the term stood for a +variety of theological opinions, all of which were in opposition to +the teachings of Rome. "From the very invectives of their enemies," +says Hallam, "and the acts of the Inquisition, it is manifest that +almost every shade of heterodoxy was found among these dissidents, +till it vanished in a simple protestation against the wealth and +tyranny of the clergy." Many of the tenets of these enthusiasts +were undoubtedly borrowed from the ancient Manicheism, and would be +pronounced heretical by every modern evangelical denomination. But +associated with those holding such doctrines were numerous +reformers, whose chief offense consisted in their incipient +Protestantism. However heretical any of these sects may have been, +it is impossible to make them out enemies to the social order, +except as all opponents of established religious traditions create +disturbance. "What these bodies held in common," says Hardwick, +"and what made them equally the prey of the inquisitor, was their +unwavering belief in the corruption of the medieval church, +especially as governed by the Roman pontiffs."</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> +<p>In 1208 Dominic visited Languedoc a second time, and on his way +he encountered the papal legates returning in pomp to Rome, foiled +in their attempt to crush this growing schism. To them he +administered his famous rebuke: "It is not the display of power and +pomp, cavalcades of retainers, and richly-houseled palfreys, or by +gorgeous apparel, that the heretics win proselytes; it is by +zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, +it is true, but by seeming holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, +humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching +falsehood by preaching truth." It is extremely unfortunate for the +reputation of Dominic that he ever departed from the spirit of +these noble words, which so clearly state the conditions of true +religious progress.</p> +<p>Dominic now gathered about him a few men of like spirit and +began his task of preaching down heresy. But "the enticing words of +man's wisdom" failed to win the Albigensians from what they +believed to be the words of God. So, unmindful of his admonition to +the papal legates, Dominic obtained permission of Innocent III. to +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span> hold +courts, before which he might summon all persons suspected of +heresy. When eloquence and courts failed, the pope let loose the +"dogs of war." Then followed twenty years of frightful carnage, +during which hundreds of thousands of heretics were slain, and many +cities were laid waste by fire and sword. "This was to punish a +fanaticism," says Hallam, "ten thousand times more innocent than +their own, and errors which, according to the worst imputations, +left the laws of humanity and the peace of social life unimpaired." +Peace was concluded in 1229, but the persecution of heretics went +on.</p> +<p>What part Dominic personally had in these bloody proceedings is +litigated history. His admirers strive to rescue his memory from +the charge that he was "a cruel and bloody man." It is argued that +while the pope and temporal princes carried on the sanguinary war +against the heretics, Dominic confined himself to pleading with +them in a spirit of true Christian love. He was a minister of +mercy, not an avenging angel, sword in hand. It has to be conceded +that the constant tradition of the Dominican <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> order that Dominic +was the first Inquisitor, whether he bore the title or not, rests +upon good authority. But what was the nature of the office as held +by the saint? As far as Dominic was concerned, it is argued by his +friends that the office "was limited to the <i>reconciliation</i> +of heretics and had nothing to do with their <i>punishment</i>." It +is also claimed that while Dominic did impose penances, in some +cases public flagellation, no evidence can be produced showing that +he ever delivered one heretic to the flames. Those who were burned +were condemned by secular courts, and on the ground that they were +not only heretics but enemies of the public peace and perpetrators +of enormous crimes.</p> +<p>But while it may not be proved that Dominic himself passed the +sentence of death or applied the torch to the faggots with his own +hand, he is by no means absolved from all complicity in those +frightful slaughters, or from all responsibility for the subsequent +establishment of the Holy Inquisition. The principles governing the +Inquisition were practically those upon which Dominic proceeded; +the germs of the later atrocities are <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span> to be found in his +aims and methods. By what a narrow margin does Dominic escape the +charge of cruelty when it is boasted "that he resolutely insisted +on no sentence being carried out until all means had been tried by +which the conversion of a prisoner could be effected." Another +statement also contains an inkling of a significant fact, namely, +that secular judges and princes were constantly under the influence +of the monks and other ecclesiastical persons, who incited them to +wage war, and to massacre, in the Albigensian war as in other +crusades against heresy. No word from Dominic can be produced +indicating that he remonstrated with the pope, or that he tried to +stop the crusade. In a few instances he seems to have interceded +with the crazed soldiery for the lives of women and children. But +he did not oppose the bloody crusade itself. He was constantly +either with the army or following in its wake. He often sat on the +bench at the trial of dissenters. He remained the life-long friend +of Simon de Montfort, the cruel agent of the papacy, and he blessed +the marriage of his sons and baptized his daughter. Special courts +for trying heretics were established, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> previous to the +more complete organization of the Inquisition, and in these he held +a commission.</p> +<p>The Holy Office of the Inquisition was made a permanent tribunal +by Gregory IX., in 1233, twelve years after the death of Dominic, +and curiously enough, in the same year in which he was canonized. +The Catholic Bollandists claim that although the <i>title</i> of +Inquisitor was of later date than Dominic, yet the <i>office</i> +was in existence, and that the splendor of the Holy Inquisition +owes its beginning to that saint. Certain it is that the +administration of the Inquisition was mainly in the hands of +Dominican monks.</p> +<p>In view of all these facts, Professor Allen is justified in his +conclusions respecting Dominic and his share in the persecution of +heretics: "Whatever his own sweet and heavenly spirit according to +Catholic eulogists, his name is a synonym of bleak and intolerant +fanaticism. It is fatally associated with the blackest horrors of +the crusade against the Albigenses, as well as with the infernal +skill and deadly machinery of the Inquisition."</p> +<p>In 1214, Dominic established himself, with six followers, in the +house of Peter Cellani, a rich <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> resident of Toulouse. Eleven years of +active and public life had passed since the Subprior of Osma had +forsaken the quietude of the monastery. He now resumed his life of +retirement and subjected himself and his companions to the monastic +rules of prayer and penance. But the restless spirit of the man +could not long remain content with the seclusion and inactivity of +a monk's life. The scheme of establishing an order of Preaching +Friars began to assume definite shape in his mind. He dreamed of +seven stars enlightening the world, which represented himself and +his six friends. The final result of his deliberations was the +organization of his order, and the appearance of Dominic in the +city of Rome, in 1215, to secure the approval of the pope, Innocent +III. Although some describe his reception as "most cordial and +flattering," yet it required supernatural interference to induce +the pope to grant even his approval of the new order. It was not +formally confirmed until 1216 by Honorius III.</p> +<p>Dominic now made his headquarters at Rome, although he traveled +extensively in the interests of his growing brotherhood of monks. +He was made <span class="pagenum"><a name="page240"></a>[pg +240]</span> Master of the Sacred Palace, an important official +post, including among its functions the censorship of the press. It +has ever since been occupied by members of the Dominican order.</p> +<p>Throughout his life Dominic is said to have zealously practiced +rigorous self-denial. He wore a hair shirt, and an iron chain +around his loins, which he never laid aside, even in sleep. He +abstained from meat and observed stated fasts and periods of +silence. He selected the worst accommodations and the meanest +clothes, and never allowed himself the luxury of a bed. When +traveling, he beguiled the journey with spiritual instruction and +prayers. As soon as he passed the limits of towns and villages, he +took off his shoes, and, however sharp the stones or thorns, he +trudged on his way barefooted. Rain and other discomforts elicited +from his lips nothing but praises to God.</p> +<p>Death came at the age of fifty-one and found him exhausted with +the austerities and labors of his eventful career. He had reached +the convent of St. Nicholas, at Bologna, weary and sick with a +fever. He refused the repose of a bed and bade the monks lay him on +some sacking stretched upon <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page241"></a>[pg 241]</span> the ground. The brief time that +remained to him was spent in exhorting his followers to have +charity, to guard their humility, and to make their treasure out of +poverty. Lying in ashes upon the floor he passed away at noon, on +the sixth of August, 1221. He was canonized by Gregory IX., in +1234.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Dominican_Orders"></a>The Dominican +Orders</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The origin of the Order of the Preaching Friars has already been +described. It is not necessary to dwell upon the constitution of +this order, because in all essential respects it was like that of +the Franciscans. The order is ruled by a general and is divided +into provinces, governed by provincials. The head of each house is +called a prior. Dominic adopted the rules laid down by St. +Augustine, because the pope ordered him to follow some one of the +older monastic codes, but he also added regulations of his own.</p> +<p>Soon after the founding of the order, bands of monks were sent +out to Paris, to Rome, to Spain and to England, for the purpose of +planting colonies in the chief seats of learning. The order +produced <span class="pagenum"><a name="page242"></a>[pg +242]</span> many eminent scholars, some of whom were Thomas +Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, Echard, Tauler and Savonarola.</p> +<p>As among the Franciscans, there was also an Order of Nuns, +founded in 1206, and a Third Order, called the Militia of Jesus +Christ, which was organized in 1218.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Success_of_the_Mendicant_Orders"></a>The +Success of the Mendicant Orders</i></h2> +<br> +<p>In 1215, Innocent III. being pope, the Lateran council passed +the following law: "Whereas the excessive diversity of these +[monastic] institutions begets confusion, no new foundations of +this sort must be formed for the future; but whoever wishes to +become a monk must attach himself to some of the already existing +rules." This same pope approved the two Mendicant orders, urging +them, it is true, to unite themselves to one of the older orders; +but, nevertheless, they became distinct organizations, eclipsing +all previous societies in their achievements. The reason for this +disregard of the Lateran decree is doubtless to be found in the +alarming condition of religious affairs at that time, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> and in the hope +held out to Rome by the Mendicants, of reforming the monasteries +and crushing the heretics.</p> +<p>The failure of the numerous and varied efforts to reform the +monastic institution and the danger to the church arising from the +unwonted stress laid upon poverty by different schismatic religious +societies, necessitated the adoption of radical measures by the +church to preserve its influence. At this juncture the Mendicant +friars appeared. The conditions demanded a modification of the +monastic principle which had hitherto exalted a life of retirement. +Seclusion in the cloister was no longer possible in the view of the +remarkable changes in religious thought and practice.</p> +<p>Innocent III. was wise enough to perceive the immediate utility +of the new societies based upon claims to extraordinary humility +and poverty. The Mendicant orders were, in themselves, not only a +rebuke to the luxurious indolence and shameful laxity of the older +orders, but when sanctioned by the church, the existence of the new +societies attested Rome's desire to maintain the highest and the +purest standards of monastic life. Hence, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span> the Preaching +Friars were permitted to reproach the clergy and the monks for +their vices and corruptions.</p> +<p>"The effect of such a band of missionaries," says John Stuart +Mill, "must have been great in rousing and feeding dormant +devotional feelings. They were not less influential in regulating +those feelings, and turning into the established Catholic channels +those vagaries of private enthusiasm which might well endanger the +church, since they already threatened society itself."</p> +<p>Two novel monastic features, therefore, now appear for the first +time: 1. The substitution of itineracy for the seclusion of the +cloister; and 2. The abolition of endowments.</p> +<p>1. The older orders had their traveling missionaries, but the +general practice was to remain shut up within the monastic walls. +The Mendicants at the start had no particular abiding place, but +were bound to travel everywhere, preaching and teaching. It was +distinctly the mission of these monks to visit the camps, the +towns, cities and villages, the market places, the universities, +the homes and the churches, to preach and to minister to the sick +and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> the +poor. They neither loved the seclusion of the cell nor sought it. +Theirs to tramp the dusty roads, with their capacious bags, begging +and teaching. Only by this itinerant method could the people be +reached and the preachers of heresy be encountered.</p> +<p>2. One of the chief sources of strength in the heretical sects +was the justness of their attack upon the Catholic monastic orders, +whose immense riches belied their vows of poverty. The heretics +practiced austerities and adopted a simplicity of life that won the +hearts of the people, by reason of its contrast to the loose habits +of the monks and clergy. Since it was impossible to reform the +older orders, it became absolutely essential to the success of the +Mendicants that they should rigorously respect the neglected +discipline. As the abuse of the vow of poverty was particularly +common, the Mendicants naturally emphasized this vow.</p> +<p>While it is true that a begging monk was by no means unknown, +yet now, for the first time, was the practice of mendicity formally +adopted by entire orders. Owing to the excessive multiplication of +mendicant societies, Pope Gregory X., at a general <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> council held at +Lyons in 1272, attempted to check the growing evil. The number of +Mendicant orders was confined to four, viz., the Dominicans, the +Franciscans, the Carmelites and the Augustinians or Hermits of +Augustine. The Council of Trent confined mendicity to the +Observantines and Capuchins, since the other societies had +practically abandoned their original interpretation of their vow of +poverty and had acquired permanent property.</p> +<p>When Francis tried to enforce the rule of poverty, his rigor +gave rise to most serious dissensions, which began in his own +lifetime and ended after his death in open schism. Some of his +followers were not pleased with his views on that subject. They +resisted his extreme strictness, and after his death they continued +to advocate the holding of property. The popes tried to settle the +quarrel, but ever and anon it broke out afresh with volcanic +fierceness. They finally interpreted the rule of poverty to mean +that the friars could not hold property in their own names, but +they might enjoy its use. Under this interpretation of the rule, +the beggars soon became very rich. Matthew of Paris said: "The +friars who have been founded hardly forty years have built even +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> in the +present day in England residences as lofty as the palaces of our +kings." But the better element among the Franciscans refused to +consent to such a palpable evasion of the rule. A portion of this +class separated themselves from the Franciscans, rejected their +authority, and formed a new sect called the <i>Fratricelli</i>, or +Little Brothers. It is very important to keep the history of this +name clearly in mind, for it frequently appears in the Reformation +period and has been the cause of much misunderstanding. The word +"Fratricelli" came to be a term of derision applied to any one +affecting the dress or the habits of the monks. When heretical +sects arose, it was applied to them as a stigma, but it was used +first by a sect of rigid Franciscans who deserted their order, +adopted this name as their own, and exulted in its use. The quarrel +among the monks led to a variety of complications and is +intricately interwoven with the political and religious history of +the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. "These +rebellious Franciscans," says Mosheim, "though fanatical and +superstitious in some respects, deserve an eminent rank among those +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> who +prepared the way for the Reformation in Europe, and who excited in +the minds of the people a just aversion to Rome."</p> +<p>The Mendicants were especially active in educational work. This +is to be attributed to several causes. Unquestionably the general +and increasing interest in theological doctrines and the craving +for knowledge affected the monastic orders. Europe was just +arousing from her medieval slumbers. The faint rays of the +Reformation dawn were streaking the horizon. The intellect as well +as the conscience was touched by the Spirit of God. The revolt +against moral iniquity was often accompanied by skepticism +concerning the authority and dogmas of the church. Questions were +being asked that ignorant monks could not answer. Too long had the +church ignored these symptoms of the approach of a new order of +things. The church was forced to meet the heretics on their own +ground, to offset the example of their simplicity and purity of +life by exalting the neglected standards of self-denial, and to +silence them, if possible, by exposing their errors. Then came the +Franciscans, with their austere simplicity and their insistence +upon poverty. Then also appeared the Dominicans, or as they were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> called, +"The Watch-dogs of the Church," who not only barked the church +awake, but tried to devour the heretics.</p> +<p>Francis halted for some time before giving encouragement to +educational enterprises. A life of devotion and prayer attracted +him, because, as he said, "Prayer purifies the affections, +strengthens us in virtue, and unites us to the sovereign good." +But, he went on, "Preaching renders the feet of the spiritual man +dusty; it is an employment which dissipates and distracts, and +which causes regular discipline to be relaxed." After consulting +Brother Sylvester and Sister Clara, he decided to adopt their +counsel and entered upon a ministry of preaching. The example and +success of the Dominicans probably inspired the Franciscans to give +themselves more and more to intellectual work.</p> +<p>Both orders received appointments in all the leading +universities, but they did not gain this ascendency without a +severe conflict. The regular professors and the clergy were jealous +of them for various causes, and resisted them at every point. The +quarrel between the Dominicans and the University of Paris is the +most famous of these <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> struggles. It began in 1228 and did +not end until 1259. The Dominicans claimed the right to two +theological professorships. One had been taken from them, and a law +was passed that no religious order should have what these friars +demanded. The Dominicans rebelled and the University passed +sentences of expulsion. Innocent IV., wishing to become master of +Italy, sided with the University, but the next month he was +dead,--in answer to their prayers, said the Dominicans, but rumor +hinted an even blacker cause. The thirty-one years of the struggle +dragged wearily on, disturbed by papal bulls, appeals, pamphlets +and university slogans. At last Alexander IV., in 1255, decided +that the Dominicans might have the second professorship and also +any other they thought proper. The noise of conflict now grew +louder and boded ill for the peace of the church. The pulpits +flashed forth fiery utterances. The monks were assailed in every +quarter. William of Amour published his essay on "The Perils of the +Last Times," in which he claimed that the perilous times predicted +by the Apostle Paul were now fulfilled by these begging friars. He +exposed their iniquities and bitterly <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> complained of their +arrogance and vice. His book was burned and its author banished. +Although meaning to be a friend of Rome, he unconsciously +contributed his share to the coming reform. In 1259, Rome thundered +so loud that all Europe was terrified and the University was awed +into submission.</p> +<p>Another interesting feature in the history of their educational +enterprises is the entrance of the Mendicants into England, where +they acted a leading part in the educational and political history +of the country. The Dominicans settled first at Oxford, in 1221. +The Franciscans, after a short stay at Canterbury, went to Oxford +in 1224. The story of how the two Gray friars journeyed from +Canterbury to Oxford runs as follows: "These two forerunners of a +famous brotherhood, being not far from Oxford, lost their way and +came to a farmhouse of the Benedictines. It was nearly night and +raining. They gently knocked, and asked admittance for God's sake. +The porter gazed on their patched robes and beggarly aspect and +supposed them to be mimics or despised persons. The prior, pleased +with the tidings, invited them in. But instead of <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> sportively +performing, these two friars insisted, with sedate countenances, +that they were men of God. Whereat the Benedictines in jealousy, +and displeased to be cheated out of their expected fun, kicked and +buffeted the two poor monks and turned them out of doors. One young +monk pitied them and smuggled them into a hay-loft where we trust +they slept soundly and safe from the cold and rain." The two friars +finally reached Oxford and were well received by their Dominican +brothers. Such was the simple beginning of a brilliant career that +was profoundly to affect the course of English history. Both at +Cambridge and Oxford the monastic orders exercised a remarkable +influence. Traces of their labors and power may still be seen in +the names of the colleges, and in the religious portions of the +university discipline. They built fine edifices and manned their +schools with the best teachers, so that they became great rivals of +the regular colleges which did not have the funds necessary to +compete with these wealthy beggars. Another cause of their rapid +progress was the exodus of students from Paris to England. During +the quarrel at Paris, Henry III. of England offered many +inducements to the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page253"></a>[pg +253]</span> students, who left for England in large numbers. Many +of them were prejudiced in favor of the friars, and they naturally +drifted to the monastic college. The secular clergy charged the +friars with inducing the college students to enter the monasteries +or to turn begging monks. The pope, the king, and the parliament +became involved in the struggle, which grew more bitter as the +years passed. After a while Wyclif appeared, and when he began his +mighty attack upon the friars the joy with which the professors +viewed the struggle can be appreciated.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Decline_of_the_Mendicants"></a>The Decline of +the Mendicants</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The Mendicant friars won their fame by faithful and earnest +labors. Men admired them because they identified themselves with +the lowest of mankind and heroically devoted themselves to the poor +and sick. These "sturdy beggars," as Francis called his companions, +were contrasted with the lazy, rich, and, too often, licentious +monks of the other orders. Everywhere the friars were received with +veneration and joy. The people sought burial in <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> their rags, +believing that, clothed in the garments of these holy beggars, they +would enter paradise more speedily.</p> +<p>Instead of seeking the seclusion of the convent to save his own +soul, the friar displayed remarkable zeal trying to save mankind. +He became the arbiter in the quarrels of princes, the prime mover +in treaties between nations, and the indispensable counselor in +political complications. The pope employed him as his authorized +agent in the most difficult matters touching the welfare of the +church. His influence upon the common people is thus described by +the historian Green: "The theory of government wrought out in the +cell and lecture-room was carried over the length and breadth of +the land by the Mendicant brother begging his way from town to +town, chatting with the farmer or housewife at the cottage door and +setting up his portable pulpit in village green or market-place. +The rudest countryman learned the tale of a king's oppression or a +patriot's hope as he listened to the rambling, passionate, humorous +discourse of the beggar friar."</p> +<p>By these methods the Mendicants were enabled <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> to render most +efficient service to their patrons at Rome in their efforts to +establish their temporal power. They were, in fact, before the +Reformation, just what the Jesuits afterwards became, "the very +soul of the hierarchy." Yes, they were immensely, prodigiously +successful. The popes hastened to do them honor. Because the friars +were such enthusiastic supporters of the church, the popes poured +gold and privileges into their capacious coffers. Thankful peasants +threw in their mites and the admiring noble bestowed his +estates.</p> +<p>The secular clergy, with envy and chagrin, awoke to the alarming +fact that the beggars had won the hearts of the people; their +hatred was increased by the fact that when the Roman pontiffs +enriched these indefatigable toilers and valiant foes of heresy, +they did so at the expense of the bishops and clergy, which, +perhaps, was robbing Paul to pay Peter.</p> +<p>Baluzii says: "No religious order had the distribution of so +many and such ample indulgences as the Franciscans. In place of +fixed revenues, lucrative indulgences were placed in their hands." +So ill-judged was the distribution of these favors that discipline +was overturned. Many churchmen, feeling <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span> that their rights +were being encroached upon, complained bitterly, and resolved on +retaliation. It is just here that a potent cause of the Mendicant's +fall is to be found. He helped to dig his own grave.</p> +<p>Having elevated monasticism to the zenith of its power, the +Mendicant orders, like all the other monastic brotherhoods, entered +upon their shameful decline. The unexampled prosperity, so +inconsistent with the original intentions of the founders of the +orders, was attended by corruptions and excesses. The decrees of +councils, the denunciations of popes and high ecclesiastical +dignitaries, the satires of literature, the testimony of +chroniclers and the formation of reformatory orders, constitute a +body of irrefragable evidence proving that the lowest level of +sensuality, superstition and ignorance had been reached. The monks +and friars lost whatever vigor and piety they ever possessed.</p> +<p>It is again evident that a monk cannot serve God and mammon. +Success ruins him. Wealth and popular favor change his character. +The people slowly realize the fact that the fat and lazy medieval +monk is not dead, after all, but <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> has simply changed his name to that +of Begging Friar. As Allen neatly observes: "Their gray gown and +knotted cord wrapped a spiritual pride and capacity of bigotry, +fully equal to the rest."</p> +<p>Here, then, are the "sturdy beggars" of Francis, dwelling in +palatial convents, arrogant and proud, trampling their ideal into +the dust. Thus it came to pass in accordance with the principle +stated at the beginning of this chapter, that when the ideal became +a cloak to cover up sham, decay had set in, and ruin, even though +delayed for years, was sure to come. The poor, sad-faced, honest, +faithful friar everybody praised, loved and reverenced. The +insolent, contemptuous, rich monk all men loathed. So a change of +character in the friar transformed the songs of praise into shouts +of condemnation. Those golden rays from the morning sun of the +Reformation are ascending toward the highest heaven, and daybreak +is near.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page258"></a>[pg 258]</span> +<h2><a name="VI"></a>VI</h2> +<h2><i><a name="THE_SOCIETY_OF_JESUS"></a>THE SOCIETY OF +JESUS</i></h2> +<br> +<p>In many respects it would be perfectly proper to consider the +Mendicant orders as the last stage in the evolution of the monastic +institution. Although the Jesuitical system rests upon the three +vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience, yet the ascetic principle +is reduced to a minimum in that society. Father Thomas E. Sherman, +the son of the famous general, and a Jesuit of distinguished +ability, has declared: "We are not, as some seem to think, a +semi-military band of men, like the Templars of the Middle Ages. We +are not a monastic order, seeking happiness in lonely withdrawal +from our fellows. Our enemies within and without the church would +like to make us monks, for then we would be comparatively useless, +since that is not our end or aim.... We are regulars in the army of +Christ; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page259"></a>[pg 259]</span> +that is, men vowed to poverty, chastity and obedience; we are a +collegiate body with the right to teach granted by the Catholic +church[<a href="#NOTE_G"></a>G]."</p> +<p>The early religious orders were based upon the idea of +retirement from the world for the purpose of acquiring holiness. +But as has already been shown, the constant tendency of the +religious communities was toward participation in the world's +affairs. This tendency became very marked among the friars, who +traveled from place to place, and occupied important university +positions, and it reaches its culmination in the Society of Jesus. +Retirement among the Jesuits is employed merely as a preparation +for active life. Constant intercourse with society was provided for +in the constitution of the order. Bishop John J. Keane, a Roman +Catholic authority, says: "The clerks regular, instituted +principally since the sixteenth century, were neither monks nor +friars, but priests living in common and busied with the work of +the ministry. The Society of Jesus is one of the orders of clerks +regular."</p> +<p>Other differences between the monastic communities <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> and the Jesuits are +to be observed. The Jesuit discards the monastic gown, and is +decidedly averse to the old monastic asceticism, with its rigorous +and painful treatment of the body. While the older religious +societies were essentially democratic in spirit and government, the +monks sharing in the control of the monastic property and +participating in the election of superiors, the Jesuitical system +is intensely monarchical, a despotism pure and simple. In the older +orders, the welfare of the individual was jealously guarded and his +sanctification was sought. Among the Jesuits the individual is +nothing, the corporate body everything. Admission to the monastic +orders was encouraged and easily obtained. The novitiate of the +Jesuits is long and difficult. Access to the highest grades of the +order is granted only to those who have served the society many +weary years.</p> +<br> +<a name="image263.jpg"></a> +<p class="ctr"><a href="images/image263.jpg"><img src= +"images/image263.jpg" width="45%" alt=""></a><br> +<b>Ignatius de Loyola.</b><br> +<br> +After Greatbach's Engraving From The Wierz Print<br> +Trenton: Albert Brandt, Publisher, 1900</p> +<p>But in spite of such variations from the old monastic type, the +Society of Jesus would doubtless never have appeared, had not the +way for its existence been paved by previous monastic societies. +Its aims and its methods were the natural sequence of monastic +history. They were merely a development <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page261"></a>[pg 261]</span> of past +experiences, for the objects of the society were practically the +objects of the Mendicants; the vows were the same with a change of +emphasis. The abandonment of austerities as a means of salvation or +spiritual power was the natural fruit of past experiments that had +proved the uselessness of asceticism merely for the sake of +acquiring a spirit of self-denial. The extirpation of heresy +undertaken by Ignatius had already been attempted by the friars, +while the education of the young had long been carried on with +considerable success by the Benedictine and Dominican monks. The +spirit of its founder, however, gave the Society of Jesus a unique +character, and monasticism now passed out from the cell forever. +The Jesuit may fairly be regarded as a monk, unlike any of his +predecessors but nevertheless the legitimate fruit of centuries of +monastic experience.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Ignatius_de_Loyola"></a>Ignatius de Loyola, +1491-1556 A.D.</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Inigo Lopez de Recalde, or Loyola, as he is commonly known, was +born at Guipuzcoa, in Spain, in 1491. He was educated as a page in +the court <span class="pagenum"><a name="page262"></a>[pg +262]</span> of Ferdinand the Catholic. He afterwards became a +soldier and led a very wild life until his twenty-ninth year. +During the siege of Pamplona, in 1521, he was severely wounded, and +while convalescing he was given lives of Christ and of the saints +to read. His perusal of these stories of spiritual combat inspired +a determination to imitate the glorious achievements of the saints. +For a while the thirst for military renown and an attraction toward +a lady of the court, restrained his spiritual impulses. But +overcoming these obstacles, he resolutely entered upon his new +career.</p> +<p>Sometime after he visited the sanctuary of Montserrat, where he +hung his shield and sword upon the altar of the Virgin Mary and +gave his oath of fealty to the service of God. A tablet, erected by +the abbot of the monastery in commemoration of this event, reads as +follows: "Here, blessed Ignatius of Loyola, with many prayers and +tears, devoted himself to God and the Virgin. Here, as with +spiritual arms, he fortified himself in sackcloth, and spent the +vigil of the night. Hence he went forth to found the Society of +Jesus, in the year MDXXII."</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span> +<p>After spending ten months in Manresa, Loyola went on a +pilgrimage to the Holy Land, intending to remain there, but he was +sent home by the Eastern monks, and reached Italy in 1524.</p> +<p>Now began his struggle for an education. At the age of +thirty-three he took his seat on the school-bench at Barcelona. In +1526 he entered the University at Alcala. He was here looked upon +as a dangerous innovator, and was imprisoned six weeks, by order of +the Inquisition, for preaching without authority, since he was not +in holy orders. After his release he attended the University of +Salamanca, but he finally took his degree of Master of Arts at the +University of Paris, in 1533.</p> +<p>During this period he was several times imprisoned as a +dangerous fanatic, but each time he succeeded in securing a verdict +in his favor. The hostility to Ignatius and his work forms a +strange parallel to the bitter antagonism which his society has +always encountered.</p> +<p>Nine men, among whom was Francis Xavier, afterwards widely +renowned, had been chosen with great care, as the companions of +Ignatius. He called them together in July, 1534, and on August +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page264"></a>[pg 264]</span> 15th of +the same year he selected six of them and bade them follow him to +the Church of the Blessed Virgin, at Montmartre, in Paris. There +and then they bound themselves to renounce all their goods, and to +make a voyage to Jerusalem, in order to convert the Eastern +infidels; if that scheme proved impracticable, they agreed to offer +themselves to the sovereign pontiff for any service he might +require of them. War prevented the journey to the Holy Land, and +so, after passing through a variety of experiences, Ignatius and +his companions met at Rome, to secure the sanction of Pope Paul +III. for the new society. After a year and a half of deliberation +and discussion a favorable decision was reached, which was, no +doubt, partly facilitated by the growth of the Reformation. The new +society was chartered on September 27, 1540, for the "defence and +advance of the faith."</p> +<p>Ignatius was elected as the general of the order and entered +upon his duties, April 17, 1541. He soon prepared a constitution +which was not adopted until after his death, and then in an amended +form. Loyola ended his remarkable and stormy career, July 31, +1556.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> +<h2><i><a name= +"Constitution_and_Polity_of_the_Order"></a>Constitution and Polity +of the Order</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The <i>Institutum</i>, which contains the governing laws of the +society, is a complex document consisting of papal bulls and +decrees, a list of the privileges which have been granted to the +order, ten chapters of rules, decrees of the general congregations, +the plan of studies (<i>ratio studiorum</i>), and three ascetic +writings, of which the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius constitute +the chief part.</p> +<p>The society is distributed into six grades: novices, +scholastics, temporal coadjutors, spiritual coadjutors, professed +of the three vows, and professed of the four vows.</p> +<p>The professed form only a small percentage of the entire body, +and constitute a sort of religious aristocracy, from which the +officers of the society are selected. Only the professed of the +fourth vow, who add to the three vows a pledge of unconditional +obedience to the pope, possess the full rights of membership. This +final grade cannot be reached until the age of forty-five, so that +if the candidate enters the order at the earliest age <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page266"></a>[pg 266]</span> permissible, +fourteen, he has been on probation thirty-one years when he reaches +the final grade.</p> +<p>The society is ruled by a general, to whom unconditional +obedience is required. The provinces, into which the order is +divided, are governed by provincials, who must report monthly to +the general. The heads of all houses and colleges must report +weekly to their provincials. An elaborate system of checks and +espionage is employed to ensure the perfect working of this complex +ecclesiastical machinery. Fraud or evasion is carefully guarded +against, and every possible means is employed to enable the general +to keep himself fully informed concerning the minutest details of +the society's affairs.</p> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Vow_of_Obedience"></a>The Vow of +Obedience</i></h2> +<p>That which has imparted a peculiar character to the Jesuit and +contributed more than any other force to his success, is the +insistence upon unquestioning submission to the will of the +superior. This emphasis on the vow of obedience deserves, +therefore, special consideration. Loyola, in his <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page267"></a>[pg 267]</span> "Spiritual +Exercises," commanded the novice to preserve his freedom of mind, +but it is difficult for the fairest critic to conceive of such a +possibility in the light of Loyola's rule of obedience, which +reads: "I ought not to be my own, but His who created me, and his +too by whose means God governs me, yielding myself to be moulded in +his hands like so much wax.... I ought to be like a corpse, which +has neither will nor understanding, or like a small crucifix, which +is turned about at the will of him who holds it, or like a staff in +the hands of an old man, who uses it as may best assist or please +him."</p> +<p>As an example of the kind of obedience demanded of the Jesuit, +Loyola cited the obedience of Abraham, who, when he believed that +Jehovah commanded him to commit the crime of infanticide, was ready +to obey. The thirteenth of the rules appended to the Spiritual +Exercises says: "If the Church shall have defined that to be black +which to our eyes appears white, we ought to pronounce the thing in +question black."</p> +<p>Loyola is reported as having said to his secretary that "in +those who offer themselves he looked less <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> to purely natural +goodness than to firmness of character and ability for business." +But that he did not mean <i>independent</i> firmness of character +is clearly seen in the obvious attempt of the order to destroy that +noble and true independence which is the crowning glory of a lofty +character. The discipline is marvelously contrived to "scoop the +will" out of the individual. Count Paul von Hoensbroech, who +recently seceded from the society, has set forth his reasons for so +doing in two articles which appeared in the "Preussische +Jahrbücher." A most interesting discussion of these articles, +in the "New World," for December, 1894, places the opinions of the +Count at our disposal. It is quite evident that he is no +passionate, blind foe of the society. His tone is temperate and his +praises cordially given. While recognizing the genius shown in the +machinery of the society and the nobility of the real aims of the +Jesuitical discipline, and while protesting against the unfounded +charges of impurity, and other gross calumnies against the order, +Count Paul nevertheless maintains that it "rests on so unworthy a +depreciation of individuality, and so exaggerated an apprehension +of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> +virtue of obedience, as to render it unfit for its higher ends." +The uniform of the Jesuit is not an external garb, but such freedom +is insignificant in the light of the "veritable strait-jacket," +which is placed upon the inward man. The unformed and pliable +novice, usually between the ages of sixteen and twenty, is +subjected to "a skillful, energetic and unremitting assault upon +personal independence." Every device that a shrewd and powerful +intellect could conceive of is employed to break up the personal +will. "The Jesuit scheme prescribes the gait, the way to hold the +hands, to incline the head, to direct the eyes, to hold and move +the person."</p> +<p>Every novice must go through the "Spiritual Exercises" in +complete solitude, twice in his life. They occupy thirty days. The +"Account of the Conscience" is of the very essence of Jesuitism. +The ordinary confession, familiar to every Catholic, is as nothing +compared with this marvelous inquiry into the secrets of the human +heart and mind. Every fault, sin, virtue, wish, design, act and +thought,--good, bad or indifferent,--must be disclosed, and this +revelation of the inner life may be used against him who makes it, +"for the good of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page270"></a>[pg +270]</span> the order." Thus, after fifteen years of such ingenious +and detailed discipline, the young man's intellectual and moral +faculties are moulded into Jesuitical forms. He is no longer his +own. He is a pliable and obedient, even though it may be a virtuous +and brilliant, tool of a spiritual master-mechanic who will use him +according to his own purposes, in the interest of the society.</p> +<p>The Jesuits have signally failed to convince the world that the +type of character produced by their system is worthy of admiration. +The "sacrifice of the intellect"--a familiar watchword of the +Jesuit--is far too high a price to pay for whatever benefits the +discipline may confer. It is contrary to human nature, and hence to +the divine intention, to keep a human soul in a state of +subordination to another human will. As Von Hoensbroech says of the +society: "Who gave it a right to break down that most precious +possession of the individual being, which God gave, and which man +has no authority to take away?"</p> +<p>It is true that no human organization has so magnificently +brought to perfection a unity of purpose and oneness of will. It is +also true that a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page271"></a>[pg +271]</span> spirit of defiance toward human authority is often +accompanied by a disobedience of divine law. But the remedy for the +abuses of human freedom is neither in the annihilation of the will +itself, nor in its mere subjection to some other will irrespective +of its moral character. Carlyle may have been too vehement in some +of his censures of Jesuitism, but he certainly exposed the +fallaciousness of Loyola's views concerning the value of mere +obedience, at the same time justly rebuking the too ardent admirers +of the perverted principle: "I hear much also of 'obedience,' how +that and kindred virtues are prescribed and exemplified by +Jesuitism; the truth of which, and the merit of which, far be it +from me to deny.... Obedience is good and indispensable: but if it +be obedience to what is wrong and false, good heavens, there is no +name for such a depth of human cowardice and calamity, spurned +everlastingly by the gods. Loyalty? Will you be loyal to Beelzebub? +Will you 'make a covenant with Death and Hell'? I will not be loyal +to Beelzebub; I will become a nomadic Choctaw rather, ... anything +and everything is venial to that."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page272"></a>[pg 272]</span> +<h2><i><a name="The_Casuistry_of_the_Jesuits"></a>The Casuistry of +the Jesuits</i></h2> +<br> +<p>It is often asserted, even by authoritative writers, that a +Jesuit is bound by his vows to commit either venial or mortal sin +at the command of his superior; and that the maxim, "The end +justifies the means," has not only been the principle upon which +the society has prosecuted its work but is also explicitly taught +in the rules of the order. There is nothing in the constitution of +the society to justify these two serious charges, which are not to +be regarded as malicious calumnies, however, because the slovenly +Latin in one of the rules on obedience has misled such competent +scholars as John Addington Symonds and the historian Ranke. +Furthermore, judging from the doctrines of the society as set forth +by many of their theologians and the political conduct of its +representatives, the conclusion seems inevitable that while the +society may not teach in its rules that its members are bound to +obedience even to the point of sin, yet practically many of its +leaders have so held and its emissaries have rendered that kind of +obedience.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> +<p>Bishop Keane admits that one of the causes for the decline and +overthrow of the society was its marked tendency toward lax moral +teaching. There can be but little doubt that the Jesuits have ever +been indulgent toward many forms of sin and even crime, when +committed under certain circumstances and for the good of the order +or "the greater glory of God."</p> +<p>To enable the reader to form some sort of an independent +judgment on this question, it is necessary to say a few words on +the subject of casuistry and the doctrine of probabilism.</p> +<p>Casuistry is the application of general moral rules to given +cases, especially to doubtful ones. The medieval churchmen were +much given to inventing fanciful moral distinctions and to +prescribing rules to govern supposable problems of conscience. They +were not willing to trust the individual conscience or to encourage +personal responsibility. The individual was taught to lean his +whole weight on his spiritual adviser, in other words, to make the +conscience of the church his own. As a result there grew up a +confused mass of precepts to guide the perplexed conscience. The +Jesuits carried this <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> system to its farthest extreme. As +Charles C. Starbuck says: "They have heaped possibility upon +possibility in their endeavors to make out how far there can be +subjective innocence in objective error, until they have, in more +than one fundamental point, hopelessly confused their own +perceptions of both[<a href="#NOTE_H">H</a>]."</p> +<p>The doctrine of probabilism is founded upon the distinctions +between opinions that are sure, less sure, or more sure. There are +several schools of probabilists, but the doctrine itself +practically amounts to this: Since uncertainty attaches to many of +our decisions in moral affairs, one must follow the more probable +rule, but not always, cases often arising when it is permissible to +follow a rule contrary to the more probable one. Furthermore, as +the Jesuits made war upon individual authority, which was the +key-note of the Reformation, and contended for the authority of the +church, the teaching naturally followed, that the opinion of "a +grave doctor" may be looked upon "as possessing a fair amount of +probability, and may, therefore, be safely followed, even though +one's conscience insist <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page275"></a>[pg 275]</span> upon the opposite course." It is easy +to see that this opens a convenient door to those who are seeking +justification for conduct which their consciences condemn. No doubt +one can find plausible excuses for the basest crimes, if he stills +the voice of conscience and trusts himself to confusing sophistry. +The glory of God, the gravity of circumstances, necessity, the good +of the church or of the order, and numerous other practical reasons +can be urged to remove scruples and make a bad act seem to be a +good one. But crime, even "for the glory of God," is crime +still.</p> +<p>This disagreeable subject will not be pursued further. To say +less than has been said would be to ignore one of the most +prominent causes of the Jesuits' ruin. To say more than this, even +though the facts might warrant it, would incur the liability of +being classed among those malicious fomentors of religious strife, +for whom the writer has mingled feelings of pity and contempt. The +Society of Jesus is not the Roman Catholic Church, which has +suffered much from the burden of Jesuitism--wounds that are +scarcely atoned for by the meritorious and self-sacrificing +services on her behalf in <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> other directions. The Protestant foes +have never equaled the Catholic opponents of Jesuitism, either in +their fierce hatred of the system or in their ability to expose its +essential weakness. A writer in the "Quarterly Review," September, +1848, says: "Admiration and detestation of the Jesuits divide, as +far as feeling is concerned, the Roman Catholic world, with a +schism deeper and more implacable than any which arrays Protestant +against Protestant."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Mission_of_the_Jesuits"></a>The Mission of the +Jesuits</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The Society of Jesus has been described as "a naked sword, whose +hilt is at Rome, and whose point is everywhere." It is an +undisputed historical fact that Loyola's consuming passion was to +accomplish the ruin of Protestantism, which had twenty years the +start of him and was threatening the very existence of the Roman +hierarchy. It has already been shown that the destruction of heresy +was the chief aim of the Dominicans. What the friars failed to +attain, Loyola attempted. The principal object of the Jesuits was +the maintenance of papal authority. Even to-day the Jesuit does +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page277"></a>[pg 277]</span> not +hesitate to declare that his mission is to overthrow Protestantism. +The Reformation was inspired by a new conception of individual +freedom. The authority of tradition and of the church was set at +naught. Loyola planted his system upon the doctrine of absolute +submission to authority. The partial success of the Jesuits, for +they did beat back the Reformation, is no doubt attributable to +their fidelity, virtue and learning. Their devotion to the cause +they loved, their willingness to sacrifice life itself, their +marvelous and instantaneous obedience to the slightest command of +their leaders, made them a compact and powerful papal army. Their +methods, in many particulars, were not beyond question, and, +whatever their character, the order certainly incurred the fiercest +hostility of every nation in Europe, and even of the church +itself.</p> +<p>Professor Anton Gindely, in his "History of the Thirty Years' +War," shows that Maximilian, of Bavaria, and Ferdinand, of Austria, +the leaders on the Catholic side, were educated by Jesuits. He also +fixes the responsibility for that war partly upon them in the +plainest terms: "In a word, they had the consciences of Roman +Catholic sovereigns and <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page278"></a>[pg 278]</span> their ministers in their hands as +educators, and in their keeping as confessors. They led them in the +direction of war, so that it was at the time, and has since been +called the Jesuits' War."</p> +<p>The strictures of Carlyle, Macaulay, Thackeray, and Lytton have +been repeatedly denounced by the Jesuits, but even their shrewd, +sophistical defences of their order afford ample justification for +the attitude of their foes. For example, in a masterful oration, +previously quoted from, in which the virtues of the Jesuits are +extolled and defended, Father Sherman says: "We are expelled and +driven from pillar to post because we teach men to love God." He +describes Loyola as "the knightly, the loyal, the true, the father +of heroes, and the maker of saints, the lover of the all-good and +the all-beautiful, crowned with the honor of sainthood, the +best-loved and the best-hated man in all the world, save only his +Master and ours." "'Twas he that conceived the daring plan of +forging the weapon to beat back the Reformation." No one but a +Jesuit could reconcile the aim of "preaching the love of God" with +"beating back the Reformation," especially in view of the methods +employed.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page279"></a>[pg 279]</span> +<p>Numerous gross calumnies have been circulated against the +Society of Jesus. The dread of a return to that deplorable +intellectual and moral slavery of the pre-Reformation days is so +intense, that a calm, dispassionate consideration of Jesuit history +is almost impossible. But after all just concessions have been +made, two indisputable facts confront the student: first, the +universal antagonism to the order, of the church that gave birth to +it, as well as of the states that have suffered from its meddling +in political affairs; and second, the complete failure of the +order's most cherished schemes. France, Germany, Switzerland, +Spain, Great Britain and other nations, have been compelled in +sheer self-defence to expel it from their territories. Such a +significant fact needs some other explanation than that the Jesuit +has incurred the enmity of the world merely for preaching the love +of God.</p> +<p>Clement XIV., when solemnly pronouncing the dissolution of the +order, at the time his celebrated bull, entitled "<i>Dominus ac +Redemptor Noster</i>" which was signed July 21, 1773, was made +public, justified his action in the following terms: "Recognizing +that the members of this society have not a <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span> little troubled the +Christian commonwealth, and that for the welfare of Christendom it +were better that the order should disappear," etc. When Rome thus +delivers her <i>ex cathedra</i> opinion concerning her own order, +an institution which she knows better than any one else, one cannot +fairly be charged with prejudice and sectarianism in speaking evil +of it.</p> +<p>But while there is much to be detested in the methods of the +order, history does not furnish another example of such +self-abnegation and intense zeal as the Jesuits have shown in the +prosecution of their aims. They planted missions in Japan, China, +Africa, Ceylon, Madagascar, North and South America.</p> +<p>In Europe the Mendicant friars by their coarseness had disgusted +the upper classes; the affable and cultured Jesuit won their +hearts. The Jesuits became chaplains in noble families, learned the +secrets of every government in Europe, and became the best +schoolmasters in the age. They were to be found in various +disguises in every castle of note and in every palace. "There was +no region of the globe," says Macaulay, "no walk of speculative or +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span> active +life in which Jesuits were not to be found." That they were devoted +to their cause no one can deny. They were careless of life and, as +one facetiously adds, of truth also. They educated, heard +confessions, plotted crimes and revolutions, and published whole +libraries. Worn out by fatigue, the Jesuits still toiled on with +marvelous zeal. Though hated and opposed, they wore serene and +cheerful countenances. In a word, they had learned to control every +faculty and every passion, and to merge every human aspiration and +personal ambition into the one supreme purpose of conquering an +opposing faith and exalting the power of priestly authority. They +hold up before the subjects of the King of Heaven a wonderful +example of loving and untiring service, which should be emulated by +every servant of Christ who too often yields an indifferent +obedience to Him whom he professes to love and to serve.</p> +<p>Francis Parkman, in his brilliant narrative of "The Jesuits in +North America," presents the following interesting contrast between +the Puritan and the Jesuit: "To the mind of the Puritan, heaven was +God's throne; but no less was the earth His <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> footstool; and each +in its degree and its kind had its demands on man. He held it a +duty to labor and to multiply; and, building on the Old Testament +quite as much as on the New, thought that a reward on earth as well +as in heaven awaited those who were faithful to the law. Doubtless, +such a belief is widely open to abuse, and it would be folly to +pretend that it escaped abuse in New England; but there was in it +an element manly, healthful and invigorating. On the other hand, +those who shaped the character, and in a great measure the destiny, +of New France had always on their lips the nothingness and the +vanity of life. For them, time was nothing but a preparation for +eternity, and the highest virtue consisted in a renunciation of all +the cares, toils and interests of earth. That such a doctrine has +often been joined to an intense worldliness, all history proclaims; +but with this we have at present nothing to do. If all mankind +acted on it in good faith, the world would sink into decrepitude. +It is the monastic idea carried into the wide field of active life, +and is like the error of those who, in their zeal to cultivate +their higher nature, suffer the neglected body to dwindle and pine, +till <span class="pagenum"><a name="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span> +body and mind alike lapse into feebleness and disease."</p> +<p>Notwithstanding the success of the Jesuits in stopping the +progress of the Reformation, it may be truthfully said that they +have failed. The principles of the Reformation dominate the world +and are slowly modifying the Roman church in America. "In truth," +says Macaulay, "if society continued to hold together, if life and +property enjoyed any security, it was because common sense and +common humanity restrained men from doing what the order of Jesus +assured them they might with a safe conscience do." Our hope for +the future progress of society lies in the guiding power of this +same common sense and common humanity.</p> +<p>The restoration of the order by Pius VII., August 7th, 1814, +while it renewed the papal favor, did not allay the hostility of +the civil powers. Various states have expelled them since that +time, and wherever they labor, they are still the objects of open +attack or ill-disguised suspicion. Although the order still shows +"some quivering in fingers and toes," as Carlyle expresses it, the +principles of the Reformation are too widely believed, and its +benefits <span class="pagenum"><a name="page284"></a>[pg +284]</span> too deeply appreciated, to justify any hope or fear of +the ultimate triumph of Jesuitism.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Retrospect"></a>Retrospect</i></h2> +<br> +<p>So the Christian monk has greatly changed since he first +appeared in the deserts of Nitria, in Egypt. He has come from his +den in the mountains to take his seat in parliaments, and find his +home in palaces. He is no longer filthy in appearance, but elegant +in dress and courtly in manner. He has exchanged his rags for +jewels and silks. He is no longer the recluse of the lonely cliffs, +chatting with the animals and gazing at the stars. He is a man of +the world, with schemes of conquest filling his brain and a love of +dominion ruling his heart. He is no longer a ditch-digger and a +ploughman, but the proud master of councils or the cultured +professor of the university. He still swears to the three vows of +celibacy, poverty and obedience, but they do not mean the same +thing to him that they did to the more ignorant, less cultured, but +more genuinely frank monk of the desert. Yes, he has all but +completely lost sight of his ancient monastic ideal. <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page285"></a>[pg 285]</span> He professes the +poverty of Christ, but he cannot follow even so simple a man as his +Saint Francis.</p> +<p>It is a long way from Jerome to Ignatius, but the end of the +journey is nigh. Loyola is the last type of monastic life, or +changing the figure, the last great leader in the conquered +monastic army. The good within the system will survive, its truest +exponents will still fire the courage and win the sympathy of the +devout, but best of all, man will recover from its poison.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> +<h2><a name="VII"></a>VII</h2> +<h2><i><a name="THE_FALL_OF_THE_MONASTERIES"></a>THE FALL OF THE +MONASTERIES</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The rise of Protestantism accelerated the decline and final ruin +of the monasteries. The enthusiasm of the Mendicants and the +culture of the Jesuits failed to convince the governments of Europe +that monasticism was worthy to survive the destruction awaiting so +many medieval institutions. The spread of reformatory opinions +resulted in a determined and largely successful attack upon the +monasteries, which were rightly believed to constitute the bulwark +of papal power. So imperative were the popular demands for a +change, that popes and councils hastened to urge the members of +religious orders to abolish existing abuses by enforcing primitive +rules. But while Rome practically failed in her attempted +reformations, the Protestant reformers in church and state were +widely successful in either <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page287"></a>[pg 287]</span> curtailing the privileges and +revenues of the monks or in annihilating the monasteries.</p> +<p>Since the sixteenth century the leading governments of Europe, +even including those in Catholic countries, have given tangible +expression to popular and political antagonism to monasticism, by +the abolition of convents, or the withdrawal of immunities and +favors, for a long time a source of monastic revenue and power. The +results of this hostility have been so disastrous, that monasticism +has never regained its former prestige and influence. Several of +the older orders have risen from the ruins, and a few new +communities have appeared, some of which are distinguished by their +most laudable ministrations to the poor and the sick, or by their +educational services. Yet notwithstanding the modifications of the +system to suit the exigencies of modern times, it seems altogether +improbable that the monks will ever again wield the power they +possessed before the Reformation,</p> +<p>In the present chapter attention will be confined to the +dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII., in England. The +suppression in that country was occasioned partly by peculiar, +local conditions, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page288"></a>[pg +288]</span> and was more radical and permanent than the reforms in +other lands, yet it is entirely consistent with our general purpose +to restrict this narrative to English history. Penetrating beneath +the varying externalities attending the ruin of the monasteries in +Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, and other countries, it +will be found that the underlying cause of the destruction of the +monasteries was that the monastic ideal conflicted with the spirit +of the modern era. A conspicuous and dramatic example of this +struggle between medievalism, as embodied in the monastic +institution, and modern political, social and religious ideals, is +to be found in the dissolution of the English monasteries. The +narrative of the suppression in England also conveys some idea of +the struggle that was carried on throughout Europe, with varying +intensity and results.</p> +<p>There is no more striking illustration of the power of the +personal equation in the interpretation of history than that +afforded by the conflicting opinions respecting the overthrow of +monasticism in England. Those who mourn the loss of the monasteries +cannot find words strong enough with which to condemn Henry VIII., +whom they regard <span class="pagenum"><a name="page289"></a>[pg +289]</span> as "unquestionably the most unconstitutional, the most +vicious king that ever wore the English crown." Forgetting the +inevitable cost of human freedom, and lightly passing over the +iniquities of the monastic system, they fondly dwell upon the +departed glory of the ancient abbeys. They recall with sadness the +days when the monks chanted their songs of praise in the chapels, +or reverently bent over their books of parchment, bound in purple +and gold, not that they might "winnow the treasures of knowledge, +but that they might elicit love, compunction and devotion." The +charming simplicity and loving service of the cloister life, in the +days of its unbroken vows, appeal to such defenders of the monks +with singular potency.</p> +<p>Truly, the fair-minded should attempt to appreciate the sorrow, +the indignation and the love of these friends of a ruined +institution. Passionless logic will never enable one to do justice +to the sentiments of those who cannot restrain their tears as they +stand uncovered before the majestic remains of a Melrose Abbey, or +properly to estimate the motives and methods of those who laid the +mighty monastic institution in the dust.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> +<h2><i><a name="The_Character_of_Henry_VIII"></a>The Character of +Henry VIII</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Before considering the actual work of suppression, it may be +interesting to glance at the royal destroyer and his times. The +character of Henry VIII. is utterly inexplicable to many persons, +chiefly because they do not reflect that even the inconsistencies +of a great man may be understood when seen in the light of his +times. A masterly and comprehensive summary of the virtues and +vices of the Tudor monarch, who has been described as "the king, +the whole king, and nothing but the king," may be found in "A +History of Crime in England," by Luke Owen Pike. The distinguished +author shows that in his brutality, his love of letters, his +opposition to Luther, his vacillation in religious opinions, King +Henry reflects with remarkable fidelity the age in which he lived, +both in its contrasts and its inconsistencies. "It is only the +previous history of England which can explain all the +contradictions exhibited in his conduct,--which can explain how he +could be rapacious yet sometimes generous, the Defender of the +Faith yet <span class="pagenum"><a name="page291"></a>[pg +291]</span> under sentence of excommunication, a burner of heretics +yet a heretic himself, the pope's advocate yet the pope's greatest +enemy, a bloodthirsty tyrant yet the best friend to liberty of +thought in religion, an enthusiast yet a turncoat, a libertine and +yet all but a Puritan. He was sensual because his forefathers had +been sensual from time immemorial, rough in speech and action +because there had been but few men in Britain who had been +otherwise since the Romans abandoned the island. He was +superstitious and credulous because few were philosophical or +gifted with intellectual courage. Yet he had, what was possessed by +his contemporaries, a faint and intermittent thirst for knowledge, +of which he himself hardly knew the meaning." Henry was shrewd, +tenacious of purpose, capricious and versatile. In spite of his +unrestrained indulgences and his monstrous claims of power, which, +be it remembered, he was able to enforce, and notwithstanding any +other vices or faults that may be truthfully charged against him, +he was, on the whole, a popular king. Few monarchs have ever had to +bear such a strain as was placed upon his abilities and character. +Rare have been the periods that have <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> witnessed such confusion of +principles, social, political and religious. Those were the days +when liberty was at work, "but in a hundred fantastical and +repulsive shapes, confused and convulsive, multiform, deformed." +Blind violence and half-way reforms characterized the age because +the principles that were to govern modern times were not yet +formulated.</p> +<p>Judged apart from his times Henry appears as an arrogant, cruel +and fickle ruler, whose virtues fail to atone for his vices. But +still, with all his faults, he compares favorably with preceding +monarchs and even with his contemporaries. If he had possessed less +intelligence, courage and ambition, he would not now be so +conspicuous for his vices, but the history of human liberty and +free institutions, especially in England, would have been vastly +different. His praiseworthy traits were not sufficiently strong to +enable him to control his inherited passions, but they were too +regnant to permit him to submit without a struggle to the hierarchy +which had dominated his country so many centuries. Such was</p> +<blockquote> + "the +majestic lord,<br> +That broke the bonds of Rome."</blockquote> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page293"></a>[pg 293]</span> +<h2><i><a name="Events_Preceding_the_Suppression"></a>Events +Preceding the Suppression</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Many causes and incidents contributed to the progress of the +reformation in England, and to the demolition of the monasteries. +Only a few of them can be given here, and they must be stated with +a brevity that conveys no adequate conception of their profound +significance.</p> +<p>Henry VIII. ascended the throne, in the year 1509, when eighteen +years of age. In 1517, Luther took his stand against Rome. Four +years later Henry wrote a treatise in defence of the Seven +Sacraments and in opposition to the German reformer. For this +princely service to the church the king received the title +"Defender of the Faith" from Pope Leo X.</p> +<p>About 1527 it became known that Henry was questioning the +validity of his marriage with Catharine of Aragon, whom he had +married when he was twelve years old. She was the widow of his +brother Arthur. The king professed conscientious scruples about his +marriage, but undoubtedly his desire for male offspring, and later, +his passion <span class="pagenum"><a name="page294"></a>[pg +294]</span> for Anne Boleyn, prompted him to seek release from his +queen. In 1529, Henry and Catharine stood before a papal tribunal, +presided over by Cardinal Wolsey, the king's prime minister, and +Cardinal Campeggio, from Rome, for the purpose of determining the +validity of the royal marriage. The trial was a farce. The enraged +king laid the blame upon Wolsey, and retired him from office. The +great cardinal was afterwards charged with treason, but died +broken-hearted, on his way to the Tower, November 29, 1530.</p> +<p>The breach between Henry and Rome, complicated by numerous +international intrigues, widened rapidly. Henry began to assume an +attitude of bold defiance toward the pope, which aroused the +animosity of the Catholic princes of Europe.</p> +<p>Notwithstanding the desire of a large body of the English people +to remain faithful to Rome, the dangers which menaced their country +from abroad and the ecclesiastical abuses at home, which had been a +fruitful cause for complaint for many years, tended to lessen the +ancient horror of heresy and schism, and inclined them to support +their king. Another factor that assisted in preparing the English +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> people +for the destruction of the monasteries was Lollardism. As an +organized sect, the Lollards had ceased to exist, but the spirit +and the doctrines of Wyclif did not die. A real and a vital +connection existed between the Lollards of the fourteenth, and the +reformers of the sixteenth, centuries. In Henry's time, many +Englishmen held practically the same views of Rome and of the monks +that had been taught by Wyclif[<a href="#NOTE_I">I</a>].</p> +<p>A considerable number of Henry's subjects, however, while +ostensibly loyal to him, were inwardly full of hot rebellion. The +king was surrounded with perils. The princes of the Continent were +eagerly awaiting the bull for his excommunication. Henry's throne +and his kingdom might at any moment be given over by the pope to +invasion by the continental sovereigns.</p> +<p>Reginald Pole, afterwards cardinal, a cousin of the king, and a +strong Catholic, stood ready to betray the interests of his country +to Rome. Writing to the king, he said: "Man is against you; God is +against you; the universe is against you; what can you look for but +destruction?" "Dream not, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page296"></a>[pg 296]</span> Caesar," he encouragingly declared to +Emperor Charles V., "that all generous hearts are quenched in +England; that faith and piety are dead. In you is their trust, in +your noble nature, and in your zeal for God--they hold their land +till you shall come." Thus, on the testimony of a Roman Catholic, +there were traitors in England waiting only for the call of Charles +V., "To arms!" Pole was in full sympathy with all the factions +opposed to the king, and stood ready to aid them in their +resistance. He publicly denounced the king in several continental +countries.</p> +<p>The monks were especially enraged against Henry. They did all +they could to inflame the people by preaching against him and the +reformers. Friar Peyto, preaching before the king, had the +assurance to say to him: "Many lying prophets have deceived you, +but I, as a true Micah, warn you that the dogs will lick your blood +as they did Ahab's." While the courage of this friar is +unquestioned, his defiant attitude illustrates the position +occupied by the monks toward those who favored separation from +Rome. The whole country was at white heat. The friends of Rome +looked upon <span class="pagenum"><a name="page297"></a>[pg +297]</span> Henry as an incarnate fiend, a servant of the devil and +an enemy of all religion. Many of them opposed him with the purest +and best motives, believing that the king was really undermining +the church of God and throwing society into chaos.</p> +<p>In 1531, the English clergy were coerced into declaring that +Henry was "the protector and the supreme head of the church and of +the clergy of England," which absurd claim was slightly modified by +the words, "in so far as is permitted by the law of Christ." +Chapuys, in one of his despatches informing Charles V. of this +action of convocation, said that it practically declared Henry the +Pope of England. "It is true," he wrote, "that the clergy have +added to the declaration that they did so only so far as permitted +by the law of God. But that is all the same, as far as the king is +concerned, as if they had made no reservation, for no one will now +be so bold as to contest with his lord the importance of the +reservation." Later on, Chapuys says that the king told the pope's +nuncio that "if the pope would not show him more consideration, he +would show the world that the pope had no greater authority than +Moses, and that every claim <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> not grounded on Scripture was mere +usurpation; that the great concourse of people present had come +solely and exclusively to request him to bastinado the clergy, who +were hated by both nobles and the people." ("Spanish Despatches," +number 460.)</p> +<p>Parliament, in 1534, conferred on Henry the title "Supreme Head +of the Church of England," and empowered him "to visit, and +repress, redress, reform, order, correct, restrain, or amend all +errors, heresies, abuses, offences, contempts, and enormities, +which fell under any spiritual authority or jurisdiction." The "Act +of Succession" was also passed by Parliament, cutting off Princess +Mary and requiring all subjects to take an oath of allegiance to +Elizabeth.</p> +<p>It was now an act of treason to deny the king's supremacy. All +persons suspected of disloyalty were required to sign an oath of +allegiance to Henry, and to Elizabeth as his successor, and to +acknowledge the supremacy of the king in church and state. This +resulted in the death of some prominent men in the realm, among +them Sir Thomas More. In the preamble of the oath prescribed by +law, the legality of the king's marriage <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> with Anne was +asserted, thus implying that his former marriage with Catharine was +unlawful. More was willing to declare his allegiance to the infant +Elizabeth, as the king's successor, but his conscience would not +permit him to affirm that Catharine's marriage was unlawful.</p> +<p>The life of the brilliant and lovable More is another +illustration of the mental confusions and inconsistencies of that +age. As an apostle of culture he favored the new learning, and yet +he viewed the gathering momentum of reformatory principles with +alarm, and cast in his lot with the ultra-conservatives. Four years +of his young manhood were spent in a monastery. He devoted his +splendid talents to a criticism of English society, and recommended +freedom of conscience, yet he became an ardent foe of reform and +even a persecutor of heretics, of whom he said: "I do so detest +that class of men that, unless they repent, I am the worst enemy +they have." When a man, whom even Protestant historians hasten to +pronounce "the glory of his age," so magnificent were his talents +and so blameless his character, was tainted with superstition, and +sanctioned the persecution of liberal thinkers, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span> is it remarkable +that inferior intellects should have been swayed by the brutality +and tyranny of the times?</p> +<p>The unparalleled claims of Henry and his attitude toward the +pope made the breach between England and Rome complete, but many +years of painful internal strife and bloodshed were to elapse +before the whole nation submitted to the new order of things, and +before that subjective freedom from fear and superstition without +which formal freedom has little value, was secured.</p> +<p>The breach with Rome was essential to the attainment of that +religious and political freedom that England now enjoys. But the +first step toward making that separation an accomplished fact, +acquiesced in by the people as a whole, was to break the power of +the monastic orders. It may possibly be true that the same ends +would have been eventually attained by trusting to the slower +processes of social evolution, but the history of the Latin nations +of Europe would seem to prove the contrary. As the facts stand it +would appear that peace and progress were impossible with thousands +of monks sowing seeds of discord, and employing every measure, fair +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span> or +foul, to win the country back to Rome. Gairdner and others argue +that Henry was far too powerful a king to have been successfully +resisted by the pope, unless the pope was backed by a union of the +Christian princes, which was then impracticable. That fact may make +the execution of More, Fisher and the Charterhouse monks +inexcusable, but it by no means proves that Henry would have been +strong enough to maintain his position if the monasteries had been +permitted to exist as centers of organized opposition to his will. +Many of the monks, when pressed by the king's agents, took the oath +of allegiance. Threats, bribes and violence were used to overcome +the opposition of the unwilling.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Monks_and_the_Oath_of_Supremacy"></a>The Monks +and the Oath of Supremacy</i></h2> +<br> +<p>It is quite evident that the king's purpose to destroy the whole +monastic institution was partly the result of the determined +resistance which the monks offered to his authority. The contest +between the king and the monks was exceedingly fierce and bloody. +Many good men lost their lives and many innocent persons suffered +grievously. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page302"></a>[pg +302]</span> Perhaps the most pathetic incident in the sanguinary +struggle between the king and the monks was the tragic fall of the +Charterhouse of London. The facts are given at length by Froude, in +his "History of England," who bases his account on the narrative of +Maurice Channey, one of the monks who escaped death by yielding to +the king. The unhappy monk confesses that he was a Judas among the +apostles, and in a touching account of the ruin that came upon his +monastic retreat he praises the boldness and fidelity of his +companions, who preferred death to what seemed to them +dishonor.</p> +<p>The pages of Channey are filled with the most improbable stories +of miracles, but his charming picture of the cloister life of the +Carthusians is doubtless true to reality. The Carthusian fathers +were the best fruit of monasticism in England. To a higher degree +than any of the other monastic orders they maintained a good +discipline and preserved the spirit of their founders. "A thousand +years of the world's history had rolled by," says Froude, "and +these lonely islands of prayer had remained still anchored in the +stream; the strands of the ropes which held them, wearing now to a +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page303"></a>[pg 303]</span> thread, +and very near their last parting, but still unbroken." In view of +the undisputed purity and fearlessness of these noble monks, a +recital of their woes will place the case for the monastic +institution in the most favorable light.</p> +<p>Channey says the year 1533 was ushered in with signs,--the end +of the world was nigh. Yes, the monk's world was drawing to a +close; the moon, for him, was turning into blood, and the stars +falling from heaven.</p> +<p>More and Fisher were in the Tower. The former's splendid talents +and noble character still swayed the people. It was no time for +trifling; the Carthusian fathers must take the oath of allegiance +or perish. So one morning the royal commissioners appeared before +the monastery door of the Charterhouse to demand submission. Prior +Houghton answered them: "I know nothing of the matter mentioned; I +am unacquainted with the world without; my office is to minister to +God, and to save poor souls from Satan." He was committed to the +Tower for one month. Then Dr. Bonner persuaded the prior to sign +with "certain reservations." He was released and went back to his +cloister-cell to weep. <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page304"></a>[pg 304]</span> Calling his monks together he said he +was sorry; it looked like deceit, but he desired to save his +brethren and their order. The commissioners returned; the monks +were under suspicion; the reservations were disliked, and they must +sign without conditions. In great consternation the prior assembled +the monks. All present cried out: "Let us die together in our +integrity, and heaven and earth shall witness for us how unjustly +we are cut off." Prior Houghton conceived a generous idea. "If it +depends on me alone; if my oath will suffice for the house, I will +throw myself on the mercy of God; I will make myself anathema, and +to preserve you from these dangers, I will consent to the king's +will." Thus did the noble old man consent to go into heaven with a +lie on his conscience, hoping to escape by the mercy of God, +because he sought to save the lives of his brethren. But all this +was of no avail; Cromwell had determined that this monastery must +fall, and fall it did. The monks prepared for their end calmly and +nobly; beginning with the oldest brother, they knelt before each +other and begged forgiveness for all unkindness and offence. "Not +less deserving," says Froude, "the everlasting remembrances +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page305"></a>[pg 305]</span> of +mankind, than those three hundred, who, in the summer morning, sate +combing their golden hair in the passes of Thermopylæ." But +rebellion was blazing in Ireland, and the enemies of the king were +praying and plotting for his ruin. These monks, with More and +Fisher, were an inspiration to the enemies of liberty and the +kingdom. Catholic Europe crouched like a tiger ready to spring on +her prostrate foe. It is sad, but these recluses, praying for the +pope, instilling a love for the papacy in the confessional, these +honest and conscientious but dangerous men must be shorn of their +power to encourage rebels. There was a farce of a trial. Houghton +was brought to the scaffold and died protesting his innocence. His +arm was cut off and hung over the archway of the Charterhouse, as +other arms and heads were hideously hanging over many a monastic +gate in Merry England. Nine of the monks died of prison fever, and +others were banished. The king's court went into mourning, and +Henry knotted his beard and henceforth would be no more +shaven--eloquent evidence to the world that whatever motive +dominated the king's heart, these bloody deeds were unpleasantly +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page306"></a>[pg 306]</span> +disturbing. Certainly such a spectacle as that of a monk's arm +nailed to a monastery was never seen by Englishmen before.</p> +<p>The Charterhouse fell, let it be carefully noted, because the +monks could not and would not acknowledge the king's supremacy, and +not because the monks were immoral. Some spies in Cromwell's +service offered to, bring in evidence against six of these monks of +"laziness and immorality." Cromwell indignantly refused the +proposal, saying, "He would not hear the accusation; that it was +false, wilfully so."</p> +<p>The news of these proceedings, and of the beheading of More and +Fisher, awakened the most violent rage throughout Catholic Europe. +Henry was denounced as the Nero of his times. Paul III. immediately +excommunicated the king, dissolved all leagues between Henry and +the Catholic princes, and gave his kingdom to any invader. All +Catholic subjects were ordered to take up arms against him. +Although these censures were passed, the pope decided to defer +their publication, hoping for a peaceful settlement. But Henry +knew, and the Catholic princes of Europe <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page307"></a>[pg 307]</span> knew, that the blow +might fall at any time. He had to make up his mind to go further or +to yield unconditionally to the pope. The world soon discovered the +temper of the enraged and stubborn monarch. He might vacillate on +speculative questions, but there were no tokens of feeble hesitancy +in his dealings with Rome. The hour of doom for the monasteries had +struck.</p> +<p>Having thus glanced at the character of Henry VIII., the prime +mover in the attack upon the monasteries, and having surveyed some +of the events leading up to their fall, we are now prepared to +consider the actual work of suppression, which will be described +under the following heads: First, The royal commissioners and their +methods of investigation; Second, The commissioners' report on the +condition of affairs; Third, The action of Parliament; Fourth, The +effect of the suppression upon the people; and Fifth, The use Henry +made of the monastic possessions. These matters having been set +forth, it will then be in order to inquire into the justification, +real or alleged, of the suppression.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page308"></a>[pg 308]</span> +<h2><i><a name="The_Royal_Commissioners"></a>The Royal +Commissioners and Their Methods of Investigation</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The fall of Sir Thomas More left Thomas Cromwell the chief power +under the king, and for seven years he devoted his great +administrative abilities to making his royal patron absolute ruler +in church and state.</p> +<p>Cromwell, Earl of Essex, was of lowly origin, but his energy and +shrewdness, together with the experience acquired by extensive +travels, commanded the attention of Cardinal Wolsey, who took him +into his service. He was successively merchant, scrivener, +money-lender, lawyer, member of parliament, master of jewels, +chancellor, master of rolls, secretary of state, vicar-general in +ecclesiastical affairs, lord privy seal, dean of Wells and high +chamberlain.</p> +<p>Close intimacy with Wolsey enabled Cromwell to grasp the full +significance of Henry's ambition, and his desire to please his +royal master, coupled with his own love of power, prompted him to +throw himself with characteristic energy into the <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page309"></a>[pg 309]</span> work of +centralizing all authority in the hands of the king and of his +prime minister. In secular affairs, this had already been +accomplished. The task before him was to subdue the church to the +throne, to execute which he became the protector of Protestantism +and the foe of Rome. Green says: "He had an absolute faith in the +end he was pursuing, and he simply hews his way to it, as a woodman +hews his way through the forest, axe in hand." Froude says: "To him +ever belonged the rare privilege of genius to see what other men +could not see, and therefore he was condemned to rule a generation +which hated him, to do the will of God and to perish in his +success. He pursued an object, the excellence of which, as his mind +saw it, transcended all other considerations, the freedom of +England and the destruction of idolatry, and those who, from any +motive, noble or base, pious or impious, crossed his path, he +crushed and passed on over their bodies."</p> +<p>There seems to be a general agreement that Cromwell was not a +Protestant. His struggle against the temporal power of the pope +fostered <span class="pagenum"><a name="page310"></a>[pg +310]</span> the reformatory movement, but that did not make +Cromwell a Protestant any more than it did his master, Henry VIII. +Foxe describes Cromwell "as a valiant soldier and captain of +Christ," but Maitland retorts "that Foxe forgot, if he ever knew, +who was the father of lies."</p> +<p>Without doubt Cromwell ruled with an iron hand. He was guilty of +accepting bribes, and, as some maintain, "was the great patron of +ribaldry, and the protector of the low jester and the filthy." But, +sadly enough, that is no serious charge against one in his times. +It is said that Henry used to say, when a knave was dealt to him in +a game of cards, "Ah, I have a Cromwell!" Francis Aidan Gasquet, a +Benedictine monk, in his valuable work on "Henry VIII. and the +English Monasteries," says of Cromwell: "No single minister in +England ever exercised such extensive authority, none ever rose so +rapidly, and no one has ever left behind him a name covered with +greater infamy and disgrace."</p> +<p>In 1535, Henry, as supreme head of the church, appointed +Cromwell as his "Vicegerent, Vicar-General and Principal Commissary +in causes <span class="pagenum"><a name="page311"></a>[pg +311]</span> ecclesiastical." His immediate duty was to enforce +recognition of the king's supremacy. The monks and the clergy were +now to be coerced into submission. A royal commission, consisting +of Legh, Layton, Ap Rice, London and various subordinates, was +appointed to visit the monasteries and to report on their +condition.</p> +<p>Henry Griffin says in his chronicle: "I was well acquainted with +all the commissioners; indeed I knew them well; they were very +smart men, who understood the value of money, for they had tasted +of adversity. I think the priests were the worst of the whole +party, although they had a good reputation at the time, but they +were wicked, deceitful men. I am sorry to speak thus of my own +order, but I speak God's truth." "It is a dreadful undertaking," +said Lord Clinton. "Ah! but I have great faith in the tact and +judgment of the men I am about to select," retorted Cromwell.</p> +<p>Dr. John London was a base tool of Cromwell, and a miserable +exponent of the reform movement. He joined Gardiner in burning +heretics, was convicted of adultery at Oxford, was pilloried for +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page312"></a>[pg 312]</span> perjury +and died in jail. The other royal agents were also questionable +characters. Dean Layton wrote the most disgusting letters to +Cromwell. Once he informed his patron that he prayed regularly for +him, prefacing this information with the remark, "I will now tell +you something to make you laugh."</p> +<p>Father Gasquet sums up his view of the commissioners in the +words of Edmund Burke: "It is not with much credulity that I listen +to any when they speak ill of those whom they are going to plunder. +I rather suspect that vices are feigned, or exaggerated, when +profit is looked for in the punishment--an enemy is a bad witness; +a robber worse." Burke indignantly declares: "The inquiry into the +moral character of the religious houses was a mere pretext, a +complete delusion, an insidious and predetermined foray of +wholesale and heartless plunder."</p> +<p>Such are the protests from the defenders of the monasteries even +before a hearing is granted. "What," say they, "believe such +perjurers, adulterers and gamblers; men forsworn to bring in a bad +report; men who were selected because they <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page313"></a>[pg 313]</span> were worthless +characters who could be relied on to return false charges against +an institution loved by the people?"</p> +<p>The commissioners began their work at Oxford, in September, +1535. The work was vigorously pushed. On reaching the door of a +monastery, they demanded admittance; if it was not granted, they +entered by breaking down the gate with an axe. They then summoned +the monks before them, and plied them with questions. An inventory +was taken of everything; nothing escaped their searching eyes. When +the king decided to suppress the lesser monasteries, and ordered a +new visitation of the larger ones, they seized and sold all they +could lay their hands on; "stained glass, ironwork, bells, +altar-cloths, candles, books, beads, images, capes, brewing-tubs, +brass bolts, spits for cooking, kitchen utensils, plates, basins, +all were turned into money." Many valuable books were destroyed; +jewels and gold and silver clasps were torn from old volumes, and +the paper sold as waste; parchment manuscripts were used to scour +tubs and grease boots. Out of the wreck about a hundred and thirty +thousand manuscripts <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page314"></a>[pg 314]</span> have been saved. It must be admitted +that the commissioners were not delicate in their labors; that they +insulted many nuns, robbed the monks, violated the laws of decency +and humanity, and needlessly excited the rage of the people and +outraged the religious sentiments of the Catholics. They even used +sacred altar-cloths for blankets on their horses, and rode across +the country decorated in priestly and monkish garments. There seems +to be some ground for the statement that Henry was ignorant, or at +least not fully informed, of their unwarranted violence and gross +sacrilege. The abbey of Glastonbury was one of the oldest and +finest cloisters in England. It was a majestic pile of buildings in +the midst of gardens and groves covering sixty acres; its aisles +were vocal with the chanting of monks, who marched in gorgeous +processions among the tall, gray pillars. The exterior of the +buildings was profusely decorated with sculpture; monarchs, temple +knights, mitered abbots, martyrs and apostles stood for centuries +in their niches of stone while princes came and passed away, while +kingdoms rose and fell. The nobles and bishops of the realm were +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page315"></a>[pg 315]</span> laid to +rest beneath the altars around which many generations of monks had +assembled to praise and to pray. The royal commissioners one day +appeared before the walls. The abbot, Richard Whiting, who was then +eighty-four years of age, was at Sharphorn, another residence of +the community. He was brought back and questioned. At night when he +was in bed, they searched his study for letters and books, and they +claimed to have found a manuscript of Whiting's arguments against +the divorce of the king and Queen Catharine; it had never been +published; they did not know whether the venerable abbot had such +intent or not. Stephen declares the spies themselves brought the +book into the library. However, the abbot was chained to a cart and +taken to London. The abbey had immense wealth; every Wednesday and +Friday it fed and lodged three hundred boys; it was esteemed very +highly in the neighborhood and received large donations from the +knights in the vicinity. The abbot was accused of treason for +concealing the sacred vessels; he was old, deaf, and sick, but was +allowed no counsel. He asked permission to <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page316"></a>[pg 316]</span> take leave of his +monks, and many little orphans; Russell and Layton only laughed. +The people heard of his captivity and determined "to deliver or +avenge" their favorite, but Russell hanged half a dozen of them and +declared that "law, order and loyalty were vindicated." Whiting's +body was quartered, and the pieces sent to Wells, Bath, Chester and +Bridgewater, while his head, adorned with his gray hairs clotted by +blood, was hung over the abbey gate.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Report_of_the_Commissioners"></a>The Report of +the Commissioners</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The original report of the commissioners does not exist. Burnet +declares that he saw an extract from it, concerning one hundred and +forty-four houses, which contained the most revolting revelations. +Many of the commissioners' letters and various documents touching +the suppression have been collected and published by the Camden +Society. Waiving, for the present, the inquiry into the truth of +the report, it was in substance as follows:</p> +<p>The commissioners reported about one-third of <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page317"></a>[pg 317]</span> the houses to be +fairly well conducted, some of them models of excellent management +and pure living; but the other two-thirds were charged with +looseness beyond description. The number of inmates in some +cloisters was kept below the required number, that there might be +more money to divide among the monks. The number of servants +sometimes exceeded that of the monks. Abbots bought and sold land +in a fraudulent manner; gifts for hospitality were misapplied; +licentiousness, gaming and drinking prevailed extensively. Crime +and absolution for gold went hand in hand. One friar was said to +have been the proud father of an illegitimate family of children, +but he had in his possession a forged license from the pope, who +permitted his wandering, "considering his frailty." Froude, in +commenting upon the report, says: "If I were to tell the truth, I +should have first to warn all modest eyes to close the book and +read no farther."</p> +<p>All sorts of pious frauds were revealed. At Hales the monks +claimed to have the blood of Christ brought from Jerusalem, and not +visible to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page318"></a>[pg +318]</span> anyone in mortal sin until he had performed good works, +or, in other words, paid enough for his absolution. Two monks took +the blood of a duck, which they renewed every week; this they put +into a phial, one side of which consisted of a thin, transparent +crystal; the other thick and opaque; the dark side was shown until +the sinner's gold was exhausted, when, presto! change, the blood +appeared by turning the other side of the phial. Innumerable +toe-parings, bones, pieces of skin, three heads of St. Ursula, and +other anatomical relics of departed saints, were said to cure every +disease known to man. They had relics that could drive away +plagues, give rain, hinder weeds, and in fact, render the natural +world the plaything of decaying bones and shreds of dried skin. The +monks of Reading had an angel with one wing, who had preserved the +spear with which our Lord was pierced. Abbots were found to have +concubines in or near the monasteries; midnight revels and drunken +feasts were pleasant pastimes for monks weary with prayers and +fasting. While it would be unjust to argue that the existence of +"pious frauds" affords a justification for the suppression of the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page319"></a>[pg 319]</span> +monasteries, it must be remembered that they constituted one +element in that condition of ecclesiastical life that was becoming +repugnant to the English people. For several generations there had +been a marked growth in the hostility toward various forms of +superstition. True, neither Henry nor Cromwell can be accredited +with the lofty intention of exterminating superstition, but the +attitude of many people toward "pious frauds" helped to reconcile +them to the destruction of the monasteries.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Action_of_Parliament"></a>The Action of +Parliament</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The report of the commissioners was laid before Parliament in +1536. As it declared that the smaller monasteries were more corrupt +than the larger ones, Parliament ordered the suppression of all +those houses whose revenues were less than two hundred pounds per +annum. By this act, three hundred and seventy-six houses were +suppressed, whose aggregate revenue was thirty-two thousand pounds +yearly. Movable property valued at about one hundred thousand +pounds was also handed over to the "Court of Augmentations +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page320"></a>[pg 320]</span> of the +King's Revenue," which was established to take care of the estates, +revenues and other possessions of the monasteries. It is claimed +that ten thousand monks and nuns were turned out into the world, to +find bed and board as best they could. In 1538, two years later, +the greater monasteries met a similar fate, which was no doubt +hastened by the rebellions that followed the abolition of the +smaller houses. Many of the abbots and monks were suspected of +aiding in the rebellion against the king's authority by inciting +the people to take up arms against him. Apprehending the coming +doom, many abbots resigned; others were overcome by threats and +yielded without a struggle. In many instances such monks received +pensions varying from fifty-three shillings and four pence to four +pounds a year. The investigations were constantly carried on, and +all the foul stories that could be gathered were given to the +people, to secure their approval of the king's action. With +remorseless zeal the king and his commissioners, supported by +various acts of parliament, persevered in their work of +destruction, until even the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page321"></a>[pg 321]</span> monastic hospitals, chantries, free +chapels and collegiate churches, fell into the king's hands. By the +year 1545, the ruin was complete. The monastic institution of +England was no more. The total number of monasteries suppressed is +variously estimated, but the following figures are approximately +correct: monasteries, 616; colleges, 90; free chapels, 2,374; and +hospitals, 110. The annual income was about one hundred and fifty +thousand pounds, which was a smaller sum than was then believed to +be in the control of the monks. Nearly fifty thousand persons were +driven from the houses, to foment the discontent and to arouse the +pity of the people. Such, in brief, was the extent of the +suppression, but a little reflection will show that these +statements of cold facts convey no conception of the confusion and +sorrow that must have accompanied this terrific and wholesale +assault upon an institution that had been accumulating its +possessions for eight hundred years. At this distance from those +tragic events, it is impossible to realize the dismay of those who +stood aghast at this ruthless destruction of such venerable +establishments.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page322"></a>[pg 322]</span> +<h2><i><a name= +"The_Effect_of_the_Suppression_Upon_the_People"></a>The Effect of +the Suppression Upon the People</i></h2> +<br> +<p>For months the country had seen what was coming; letters from +abbots and priors poured in upon the king and parliament, begging +them to spare the ancient strongholds of religion. The churchmen +argued: "If he plunders the monasteries, will not his next step be +to plunder the churches?" They recalled what Sir Thomas More had +said of their sovereign: "It is true, his majesty is very gracious +with me, but if only my head would give him another castle in +France, it would not be long before it disappeared." Sympathy for +the monks, an inborn conservatism, a natural love for ancient +institutions, a religious dread of trampling upon that which was +held sacred by the church, a secret antipathy to reform, all these +and other forces were against the suppression. But the report of +the visitors was appalling, and the fear of the king's displeasure +was widespread; so the bill was passed amid mingled feelings of +joy, sympathy, hatred, fear, anxiety and uncertainty. The bishops +were sullen; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page323"></a>[pg +323]</span> Latimer was disappointed, for he wanted the church to +have the proceeds.</p> +<p>Outside of Parliament there was much discontent among the nobles +and gentry of Roman tendencies. Even the indifferent felt bitter +against the king, because it seemed unjust that the monks, who had +been sheltered, honored and enriched by the people, should be so +rudely and so suddenly turned out of their possessions. A +dangerously large portion of the people felt themselves insulted +and outraged. At first, however, there were few who dared to voice +their protests. "As the royal policy disclosed itself," says Green, +"as the monarchy trampled under foot the tradition and reverence of +ages gone by, as its figure rose, bare and terrible, out of the +wreck of old institutions, England simply held her breath. It is +only through the stray depositions of royal spies that we catch a +glimpse of the wrath and hate which lay seething under the silence +of the people." That silence was a silence of terror. To use the +figure by which Erasmus describes the time, men felt "as if a +scorpion lay sleeping under every stone." They stopped writing, +gossiping, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page324"></a>[pg +324]</span> going to confession, and sending presents for the most +thoughtless word or deed might be tortured into treason against the +king by the command of Cromwell.</p> +<p>The rebellion which followed the first attack upon the +monasteries was not caused wholly by religious sentiments. The +nobles regarded Cromwell as a base-born usurper and yearned for his +fall, while the clergy felt outraged by his monstrous claims of +authority in ecclesiastical affairs. In a sense the conflict that +ensued was but a continuation of the long-standing struggle between +the king, the barons, and the clergy for the supreme power. From +the reign of Edward I., the people had commenced to assert their +rights and the struggle had become a four-sided one.</p> +<p>These four factions were constantly shifting their allegiance, +according to the varying conditions, and guided by their changing +interests. At this time, the clergy, the nobles and the people in +northern England, particularly, combined against the king, although +the alliance was not formidable enough to overcome the forces +supporting the king.</p> +<p>The secular clergy felt that they were disgraced <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page325"></a>[pg 325]</span> and coerced into +submission. They felt their revenues, their honors, their powers, +their glory, slipping away from them; they joined their mutterings +and discontent with that of the monks, and then the fires of the +rebellion blazed forth in the north, where the monasteries were +more popular than in any other part of England.</p> +<p>The first outbreak occurred in Lincolnshire, in the autumn of +1536. It was easily and quickly suppressed. But another uprising in +Yorkshire, in northern England, followed immediately, and for a +time threatened serious consequences. Some of the best families in +that part of the country joined the revolt, although it is +noteworthy that these same families were afterwards Protestant and +Puritan; the rebel army numbered about forty thousand men, well +equipped for service. Many prominent abbots and sixteen hundred +monks were in the ranks. The masses were bound by oath "to stand +together for the love which they bore to Almighty God, His faith, +the Holy Church, and the maintenance thereof; to the preservation +of the king's person and his issue; to the purifying of the +nobility, and to expel <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page326"></a>[pg 326]</span> all villein blood and evil +counsellors from the king's presence; not from any private profit, +nor to do his pleasure to any private person, nor to slay or murder +through envy, but for the restitution of the Church, and the +suppression of heretics and their opinions." It is clear, from the +language of the oath, that the rebels aimed their blows at +Cromwell. The secular clergy hated him because he had shorn them of +their power; the monks hated him because he had turned them out of +their cloisters, and clergy and people loathed him as a maintainer +of heresy, a low-born foe of the Church. The insurgents carried +banners on which was printed a crucifix, a chalice and host, and +the five wounds, hence they called themselves "Pilgrims of Grace." +The revolt was headed by Robert Aske, a barrister.</p> +<p>Cromwell acted most cautiously; he selected the strongest men to +take the field. Richard Cromwell said of one of them, Sir John +Russell, "for my lord admiral, he is so earnest in the matter that +I dare say he could eat the Pilgrims without salt." The Duke of +Norfolk was entrusted with the command of the king's forces.</p> +<p>Henry preferred negotiation to battle, in accepting <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page327"></a>[pg 327]</span> which the rebels +were doomed. To wait was to fail. Their demands reduced to paper +were: 1. The religious houses should be restored. 2. England should +be reunited with Rome. 3. The first fruits and tenths should not be +paid to the crown. 4. Heretics, meaning Cranmer, Latimer and +others, should cease to be bishops. 5. Catharine's daughter Mary +should be restored as heiress to the crown. These and other +demands, the granting of which would have meant the death of the +Reformation, were firmly refused by the king, who marveled that +ignorant churls, "brutes and inexpert folk" should talk of +theological and political subjects to him and to his council.</p> +<p>After several ineffectual attempts to meet the royal army in +battle, partly due to storms and lack of subsistence, the rebels +were induced to disperse and a general amnesty was declared. But +new insurrections broke out in various quarters, and the enraged +king determined to stamp out the smoldering fires of sedition. +About seventy-five persons were hanged, and many prominent men were +imprisoned and afterwards executed. This effectually suppressed the +rebellion.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page328"></a>[pg 328]</span> +<p>The revolt showed the strength of the opponents to the king's +will, but it also proved conclusively that the monarchy was the +strongest power in the realm; that the star of ecclesiastical +domination had set forever in England; that henceforth English +kings and not Italian popes were to govern the English people. +True, the king was carrying things with a high hand, but one reform +at a time; the yoke of papal power must first be lifted, even if at +the same time the king becomes despotic in the exercise of his +increased power. Once free from Rome, constitutional rights may be +asserted and the power of an absolute monarchy judiciously +restricted.</p> +<p>Following the Pilgrimage of Grace came the complete overthrow of +the monastic system by the dissolution of the larger +monasteries.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Henry's_Disposal_of_Monastic_Revenues"></a>Henry's +Disposal of Monastic Revenues</i></h2> +<br> +<p>What use did Henry make of the revenues that fell into his +hands? As soon as the vast estates of the monks were under the +king's control, he was besieged by nobles, "praying for an estate." +They <span class="pagenum"><a name="page329"></a>[pg 329]</span> +kneeled before him and specified what lands they wanted. They +bribed Cromwell, who sold many of the estates at the rate of a +twenty years' purchase, and in some instances presented valuable +possessions to the king's followers. Many families, powerful in +England at the present time, date the beginning of their wealth and +position to the day when their ancestors received their share of +the king's plunder.</p> +<p>The following interesting passage from Sir Edward Coke's +Institutes, shows that Henry sought to quiet the fears of the +people by making the most captivating promises concerning the +decrease of taxes, and other magnificent schemes for the general +welfare: "On the king's behalf, the members of both houses were +informed in Parliament that no king or kingdom was safe but where +the king had three abilities: 1. To live of his own and able to +defend his kingdom upon any sudden invasion or insurrection. 2. To +aid his confederates, otherwise they would never assist him. 3. To +reward his well-deserving servants. Now the project was, that if +Parliament would give unto him all the abbeys, priories, friaries, +nunneries, and other <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page330"></a>[pg 330]</span> monasteries, that forever in time +then to come he would take order that the same should not be +converted to private uses, but first, that his exchequer, for the +purpose aforesaid, should be enriched; secondly, the kingdom should +be strengthened by a continual maintenance of forty thousand +well-trained soldiers; thirdly, for the benefit and ease of the +subject, who never afterwards (as was projected), in any time to +come, should be charged with subsidies, fifteenths, loans or other +common aids; fourthly, lest the honor of the realm should receive +any diminution of honor by the dissolution of the said monasteries, +there being twenty-nine lords of Parliament of the abbots and +priors, ... that the king would create a number of nobles."</p> +<p>The king was granted the revenues of the monasteries. About half +the money was expended in coast defences and a new navy; and much +of it was lavished upon his courtiers. With the exception of small +pensions to the monks and the establishment of a few benefices, +very little of the splendid revenue was ever devoted to religious +or educational purposes. Small sums were set apart for Cambridge, +Oxford and new grammar schools. Not-withstanding <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page331"></a>[pg 331]</span> the pensions, there +was much suffering; it is said many of the outcast monks and nuns +starved and froze to death by the roadside. Latimer and others +wanted the king to employ the revenues for religious purposes, but +Henry evidently thought the church had enough and refused. He did, +however, intend to allot eighteen thousand pounds a year for +eighteen new bishoprics, but once the gold was in his possession, +his pious intentions suffered a decline, and he established only +six, with inferior endowments, five of which exist to-day.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Was_the_Suppression_Justifiable?"></a>Was the +Suppression Justifiable?</i></h2> +<br> +<p>It is quite common to restrict this inquiry to a consideration +of the report made by the commissioners against the monks, and to +the methods employed by them in their investigations. The +implication is that if the accusations against the monasteries can +be discredited, or if it can be shown that the motives of the +destroyers were selfish and their methods cruel, then it follows +that the overthrow of the monasteries was a most iniquitous and +unwarrantable proceeding. Reflection will show <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page332"></a>[pg 332]</span> that the question +cannot be so restricted. It may be found that the monastic +institution should have been destroyed, even though the charges +against the monks were grossly exaggerated, the motives of the king +unworthy, and the means he employed despicable.</p> +<p>At the outset a few facts deserve mention. It is usual for +Protestants to recall with pride the glorious heroism of Protestant +martyrs, but it should be remembered that Roman Catholicism also +has had its martyrs. Protestant powers have not been free from +tyranny and bloodshed. That noble spirit of self-sacrifice which +has glorified many a character in history is not to be despised in +one who dies for what we may pronounce to be false.</p> +<p>It must also be granted that the action of the king was not +dictated by a pure passion for religious reform. Indeed it is a +fair question whether Henry may be claimed by the Protestants at +all. Aside from his rejection of the pope's authority, he was +thoroughly Catholic in conviction and in practice. His impatience +with the pope's position respecting his divorce, his need of money, +his love of power, and many other personal considerations +determined his attitude toward the papacy.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page333"></a>[pg 333]</span> +<p>It should also be freely conceded that the royal commissioners +were far from exemplary characters, and that they were often +insolent and cruel in the prosecution of their work.</p> +<p>"Our posterity," says John Bale, "may well curse this wicked +fact of our age; this unreasonable spoil of England's most noble +antiquities." "On the whole," says Blunt, "it may be said that we +must ever look back on that destruction as a series of transactions +in which the sorrow, the waste, the impiety that were wrought, were +enough to make the angels weep. It may be true that the monastic +system had worn itself out for practical good; or at least, that it +was unfitted for those coming ages which were to be so different +from the ages that were past. But slaughter, desecration and wanton +destruction, were no remedies for its sins, or its failings; nor +was covetous rapacity the spirit of reformation."</p> +<p>Hume observes that "during times of faction, especially of a +religious kind, no equity is to be expected from adversaries; and +as it was known that the king's intention in this visitation was to +find a pretext for abolishing the monasteries, we <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page334"></a>[pg 334]</span> may naturally +conclude that the reports of the commissioners are very little to +be relied upon." Hallam declares that "it is impossible to feel too +much indignation at the spirit in which the proceedings were +conducted."</p> +<p>But these and other just and honorable concessions in the +interests of truth, which are to be found on the pages of eminent +Protestant historians, are made to prove too much. It must be said +that writers favorable to monasticism take an unfair advantage of +these admissions, which simply testify to a spirit of candor and a +love of truth, but do not contain the final conclusions of these +historians. Employing these witnesses to confirm their opinions, +the defenders of monasticism proceed with fervid, glowing rhetoric, +breathing devotion and love on every page, to paint the sorrows and +ruin of the Carthusian Fathers, and the abbots of Glastonbury and +Reading. They ask, "Is this your boasted freedom, to slay these men +in cold blood, not for immorality, but because they honestly did +not acknowledge what no Protestant of to-day admits, viz.: that +King Henry was the Supreme Head of the Church?" Having pointed out +the exaggerations <span class="pagenum"><a name="page335"></a>[pg +335]</span> in the charges against the monks and having made us +weep for the aged fathers of the Charterhouse, they skillfully lead +the unwary to the conclusion that the suppression should never have +taken place. This conclusion is illogical. The case is still +open.</p> +<p>Furthermore, if one cared to indulge in historical +reminiscences, he might justly express astonishment that Rome +should object to an investigation conducted by men whose minds were +already made up, or that she should complain because force was +employed to carry out a needed reform. Did the commissioners take a +few altar-cloths and decorate their horses? Did Rome never adorn +men in garments of shame and parade them through streets to be +mocked by the populace, and finally burned at the stake? Were the +altar-cloths dear to Catholic hearts? Were not the Bibles burned in +France, in Germany, in Spain, in Holland, in England, dear to the +hearts of the reformers? But however justifiable such a line of +argument may be, there is little to be gained by charging the sins +of the past against the men of to-day. Nevertheless, if these facts +and many like them were remembered, less would <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page336"></a>[pg 336]</span> be said about the +cruelties that accompanied the suppression of the monasteries.</p> +<p>Were the charges against the monks true? It seems impossible to +doubt that in the main they were, although it should be admitted +that many monasteries were beyond reproach. Eliminating gross +exaggerations, lies and calumnies, there still remains a body of +evidence that compels the verdict of guilt. The legislation of the +church councils, the decrees of popes, the records of the courts, +the reports of investigating committees appointed by various popes, +the testimony of the orders against each other, the chronicles, +letters and other extant literature, abound in such detailed, +specific charges of monastic corruption that it is simply +preposterous to reject the testimony. All the efforts at +reformation, and they were many, had failed. Many bishops confessed +their inability to cope with the growing disorders. It is beyond +question that lay robbers were encouraged to perpetrate acts of +sacrilege because the monks were frequently guilty of forgery and +violence. Commenting upon the impression which monkish lawlessness +must have made upon the minds of such men as Wyclif, Pike says: +"They <span class="pagenum"><a name="page337"></a>[pg 337]</span> +saw with their own eyes those wild and lawless scenes, the faint +reflection of which in contemporaneous documents may excite the +wonder of modern lawyers and modern moralists." The legislation of +church and state for a century before Henry VIII. shows that the +monks were guilty of brawling, frequenting taverns, indulging in +licentious pleasures and upholding unlawful games.</p> +<p>Bonaventura, the General of the Franciscan Order in its earliest +days, and its palmiest, for the first years of a monastic order +were always its best years--this mendicant, their pride and their +glory, tells us that within fifty years of the death of its founder +there were many mendicants roaming around in disorderly fashion, +brazen and shameless beggars of scandalous fame. This unenviable +record was kept up down to the days of Wyclif, who charged the +begging friars with representing themselves as holy and needy, +while they were robust of body, rich in possessions, and dwelt in +splendid houses, where they gave sumptuous banquets. What shall one +say of the hysterical ravings against Henry of the "Holy Maid of +Kent," whose fits and predictions were palmed off by five +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page338"></a>[pg 338]</span> +ecclesiastics, high in authority, as supernatural manifestations? +What must have been the state of monasteries in which such +meretricious schemes were hatched, to deceive silly people, thwart +the king and stop the movements for reform?</p> +<p>Moreover, the various attempts to reform or to suppress the +monasteries prior to Henry's time show he was simply carrying out +what, in a small way, had been attempted before. King John, Edward +I. and Edward III., had confiscated "alien priories." Richard II. +and Henry IV. had made similar raids. In 1410, the House of Commons +proposed the confiscation of all the temporalities held by bishops, +abbots and priors, that the money might be used for a standing +army, and to increase the income of the nobles and secular clergy. +It was not done, but the attempt shows the trend of public opinion +on the question of abolishing the monasteries. In 1416, Parliament +dissolved the alien priories and vested their estates in the crown. +There is extant a letter of Cardinal Morton, Legate of the +Apostolic See, and Archbishop of Canterbury, to the abbot of St. +Albans, one of the mightiest abbeys in all England. It was written +as the result <span class="pagenum"><a name="page339"></a>[pg +339]</span> of an investigation started by Innocent VIII., in 1489. +In this communication the abbot and his monks were charged with the +grossest licentiousness, waste and thieving. Lina Eckenstein, in +her interesting work on "Woman Under Monasticism," says: "It were +idle to deny that the state of discipline in many houses was bad, +but the circumstances under which Morton's letter was penned argue +that the charges made in it should be accepted with some +reservation." In 1523, Cardinal Wolsey obtained bulls from the pope +authorizing the suppression of forty small monasteries, and the +application of their revenues to educational institutions, on the +ground that the houses were homes neither of religion nor of +learning.</p> +<p>What Henry did, every country in Europe has felt called upon to +do in one way or another. Germany, Italy, Spain, France have all +suppressed monasteries, and despite the suffering which attended +the dissolution in England, the step was taken with less loss of +life and less injury to the industrial welfare of the people than +anywhere else in Europe[<a href="#NOTE_J">J</a>]. Hooper, who was +made a bishop in the reign of <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page340"></a>[pg 340]</span> Edward VI., expressed the Protestant +view of Henry's reforms in a letter written about the year 1546. +"Our king," he says, "has destroyed the pope, but not popery.... +The impious mass, the most shameful celibacy of the clergy, the +invocation of saints, auricular confession, superstitious +abstinence from meats, and purgatory, were never before held by the +people in greater esteem than at the present moment." In other +words, the independence of the Church of England was secured by +those who, if they were not Roman Catholics, were certainly closer +in faith to Rome than they were to Protestantism. The Protestant +doctrines did not become the doctrines of the Church of England +until the reign of Edward VI., and it was many years after that +before the separation from Rome was complete in doctrine as well as +respects the authority of the pope.</p> +<p>These facts indicate that there must have been other causes for +the success of the English Reformation than the greed or ambition +of the monarch. Those causes are easily discovered. One of them was +the hostility of the people to the alien priories. The origin of +the alien priories dates back to the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page341"></a>[pg 341]</span> Norman conquest. The Normans shared +the spoils of their victory with their continental friends. English +monasteries and churches were given to foreigners, who collected +the rents and other kinds of income. These foreign prelates had no +other interest in England than to derive all the profit they could +from their possessions. They appointed whom they pleased to live in +their houses, and the monks, being far away from their superiors, +became a source of constant annoyance to the English people. The +struggle against these alien priories had been carried on for many +years, and so many of them had been abolished that the people +became accustomed to the seizure of monasteries.</p> +<p>Large sums of money were annually paid to the pope, and the +English people were loudly complaining of the constant drain on +their resources. It was a common saying in the reign of Henry III., +that "England is the pope's farm." The "Good Parliament," in 1376, +affirmed "that the taxes paid to the church of Rome amounted to +five times as much as those levied for the king; ... that the +brokers of the sinful city of Rome promoted for money unlearned and +unworthy caitiffs to benefices <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page342"></a>[pg 342]</span> of the value of a thousand marks, +while the poor and learned hardly obtain one of twenty." Various +laws, heartily supported by the clergy as well as by the civil +authorities, were enacted from time to time, aimed at the abuses of +papal power. So steadfast and strong was the opposition to the +interference of foreigners in English affairs, it would be possible +to show that there was an evolution in the struggle against Rome +that was certain to culminate in the separation, whether Henry had +accomplished it or not. What might have occurred if the monks had +reformed and the pope withdrawn his claims it is impossible to +know. The fact is that the monks grew worse instead of better, and +the arrogance of foreigners became more unendurable. "The +corruption of the church establishment, in fact," says Lea, "had +reached a point which the dawning enlightenment of the age could +not much longer endure.... Intoxicated with centuries of +domination, the muttered thunders of growing popular discontent +were unheeded, and its claims to spiritual and temporal authority +were asserted with increasing vehemence, while its corruptions were +daily displayed before the people with more careless <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page343"></a>[pg 343]</span> cynicism." In view +of this condition of affairs, the existence of which even the +adherents of modern Rome must acknowledge, one cannot but wonder +that the ruin of the monasteries should be attributed to Henry's +desire "to overthrow the rights of women, to degrade matrimony and +to practice concubinage." Such an explanation is too superficial; +it ignores a multitude of historical facts.</p> +<p>The monasteries had to fall if England was to be saved from the +horrors of civil war, if the hand of the pope was to remain +uplifted from her, if the insecure gains of the Reformation were to +become established and glorious achievements; if, in fact, all +those benefits accompanying human progress were to become the +heritage of succeeding ages.</p> +<p>Whatever benefits the monks had conferred upon mankind, and +these were neither few nor slight, they had become fetters on the +advancement of freedom, education and true religion. They were the +standing army of the pope, occupying the last and strongest +citadel. They were the unyielding advocates of an ideal that was +passing away. It was sad to see the Carthusian house fall, but in +spite of the high character of its inmates, it was a part of +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page344"></a>[pg 344]</span> an +institution that stood for the right of foreigners to rule England. +It was unfortunate they had thrown themselves down before the car +of progress but there they were; they would not get up; the car +must roll on, for so God himself had decreed, and hence they were +crushed in its advance. Their martyrdom was truly a poor return for +their virtues, but there never has been a moral or political +revolution that has furthered the general well-being of humanity, +in which just and good men have not suffered. It would be +delightful if freedom and progress could be secured, and effete +institutions destroyed or reformed, without the accompaniment of +disaster and death, but it is not so.</p> +<p>The monks stood for opposition to reform, and therefore came +into direct conflict with the king, who was blindly groping his way +toward the future, and who was, in fact, the unconscious agent of +many reform forces that concentrated in him. He did not comprehend +the significance of his proceedings. He did not take up the cause +of the English people with the pure and intelligent motive of +encouraging free thought and free religion. He did not realize that +he was leading the mighty army of Protestant <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page345"></a>[pg 345]</span> reformers. He +little dreamed that the people whose cause he championed would in +turn assert their rights and make it impossible for an English +sovereign to enjoy the absolute authority which he wielded. Truly +"there is a power, not ourselves," making for freedom, progress and +truth.</p> +<p>Thus a number of causes brought on the ruin of the monasteries. +Henry's need of money; the refusal of the monks to sign the acts of +supremacy and succession; the general drift of reform, and the +iniquity of the monks. They fell from natural causes and through +the operation of laws which God alone controls. As Hill neatly puts +it, "Monasticism was healthy, active and vigorous; it became idle, +listless and extravagant; it engendered its own corruption, and out +of that corruption came death."</p> +<p>Richard Bagot, a Catholic, in a recent article on the question, +"Will England become Catholic?" which was published in the "Nuova +Antologia," says: "Though it is impossible not to blame the +so-called Reformers for the acts of sacrilege and barbarism through +which they obtained the religious and political liberty so +necessary to the intellectual and social progress of the race, it +cannot be denied <span class="pagenum"><a name="page346"></a>[pg +346]</span> that no sooner had the power of the papacy come to an +end in England than the English nation entered upon that free +development which has at last brought it to its present position +among the other nations of the world." Mr. Bagot also admits that +"the political intrigues and insatiable ambition of the papacy +during the succeeding centuries constituted a perpetual menace to +England."</p> +<p>The true view, therefore, is that two types of religious and +political life, two epochs of human history, met in Henry's reign. +The king and the pope were the exponents of conflicting ideals. The +fall of the monasteries was an incident in the struggle. "The +Catholics," says Froude, "had chosen the alternative, either to +crush the free thought which was bursting from the soil, or to be +crushed by it; and the future of the world could not be sacrificed +to preserve the exotic graces of medieval saints."</p> +<p>The problem is reduced to this, Was the Reformation desirable? +Is Protestantism a curse or a blessing? Would England and the world +be better off under the sway of medieval religion than under the +influence of modern Protestantism? If <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page347"></a>[pg 347]</span> monasticisrn were a +fetter on human liberty and industry, if the monasteries were "so +many seminaries of superstition and of folly," there was but one +thing to do--to break the fetters and to destroy the monasteries. +To have succeeded in so radical a reform as that begun by King +Henry, with forty thousand monks preaching treason, would have been +an impossibility. Henry cannot be blamed because the monks chose to +entangle themselves with politics and to side with Rome as against +the English nation.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Results_of_the_Dissolution"></a>Results of the +Dissolution</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Many important results followed the fall of the monasteries. The +majority of the House of Lords was now transferred from the abbots +to the lay peers. The secular clergy, who had been fighting the +monks for centuries, were at last accorded their proper standing in +the church. Numerous unjust ecclesiastical privileges were swept +aside, and in many respects the whole church was strengthened and +purified. Credulity and superstition began to decline. +Ecclesiastical criminals were no longer able <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page348"></a>[pg 348]</span> to escape the just +penalty for their crimes. Naturally all these beneficent ends were +not attained immediately. For a while there was great disorder and +distress. Society was disturbed not only by the stoppage of +monastic alms-giving, but the wandering monks, unaccustomed to toil +and without a trade, increased the confusion.</p> +<p>In this connection it is well to point out that some writers +make very much of the poverty relieved by the monks, and claim that +the nobles, into whose hands the monastic lands fell, did almost +nothing to mitigate the distresses of the unfortunate. But they +ignore the fact that a blind and undiscriminating charity was the +cause, and not the cure, of much of the miserable wretchedness of +the poor. Modern society has learned that the monastic method is +wholly wrong; that fraud and laziness are fostered by a wholesale +distribution of doles. The true way to help the poor is to enable +the poor to assist themselves; to teach them trades and give them +work. The sociological methods of to-day are thoroughly +anti-monastic.</p> +<p>On the other hand, the infidel Zosimus, quoted by Gibbon, was +not far wrong when he said "the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page349"></a>[pg 349]</span> monks robbed an empire to help a few +beggars." The fact that the religious houses did distribute alms +and entertain strangers is not disputed; indeed it is pleasant to +reflect upon this noble charity of the monks; it is a bright spot +in their history. But it is in no sense true that they deserve all +the credit for relieving distress. They received the money for alms +in the shape of rents, gifts and other kinds of income. Hallam +says, "There can be no doubt that many of the impotent poor derived +support from their charity. But the blind eleemosynary spirit +inculcated by the Romish church is notoriously the cause, not the +cure, of beggary and wickedness. The monastic foundations, +scattered in different countries, could never answer the ends of +local and limited succor. Their gates might, indeed, be open to +those who knocked at them for alms.... Nothing could have a +stronger tendency to promote that vagabond mendicity which severe +statutes were enacted to repress."</p> +<p>It seems almost ungracious to quote such an observation, because +it may be distorted into a criticism of charity itself, or made to +serve the purposes of certain anti-Romanists who cannot even spare +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page350"></a>[pg 350]</span> those +noble women who minister to the sick in the home or hospital from +their bigoted criticisms. Small indeed must be the soul of that man +who permits his religious opinions to blind his eyes to the +inestimable services of those heroic and self-sacrificing women. +But even Roman Catholic students of social problems must recognize +the folly of indiscriminate alms-giving. "In proportion as justice +between man and man has declined, that form of charity which +consists in giving money has been more quickened." The promotion of +industry, the repression of injustice, the encouragement of +self-reliance and thrift, are needed far more than the temporary +relief of those who suffer from oppression or from their own +wrong-doing.</p> +<p>Some of those who deplore the fall of the monasteries make much +of the fact that the modern world is menaced by materialism. "With +very rare exceptions," cries Maitre, a French Catholic, "the most +undisguised materialism has everywhere replaced the lessons and +recollections of the spiritual life. The shrill voice of machinery, +the grinding of the saw or the monotonous clank of the piston, is +heard now, where once were heard chants and <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page351"></a>[pg 351]</span> prayers and +confessions. Once the monk freely undid the door to let the +stranger in, and now we see a sign, 'no admittance,' lest a greedy +rival purloin the tricks of trade." Montalembert, referring to the +ruin of the cloisters in France, grieves thus: "Sometimes the +spinning-wheel is installed under the ancient sanctuary. Instead of +echoing night and day the praises of God, these dishonored arches +too often repeat only the blasphemies of obscene cries." The +element of truth in these laments gives them their sting, but one +should beware of the fervid rhetoric of the worshipers of +medievalism. This century is nobler, purer, truer, manlier, and +more humane than any of the centuries that saw the greatest +triumphs of the monks. They, too, had their blasphemies, often +under the cloak of piety; they, too, had their obscene cries. Their +superstitions and frauds concealed beneath those "dishonored +arches" were infinitely worse than the noise of machinery weaving +garments for the poor, or producing household comforts to increase +the happiness of the humblest man.</p> +<p>There is much that is out of joint, much to justify doleful +prophecies, in the social and religious <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page352"></a>[pg 352]</span> conditions of the +present age, but the signs of the times are not all ominous. At all +events, nothing would be gained by a return to the monkish ideals +of the past. The hope of the world lies in the further development +and completer realization of those great principles of human +freedom that distinguish this century from the past. The history of +monasticism clearly shows that the monasteries could not minister +to that development of liberty, truth and justice, which constitute +the indispensable condition of human happiness and human progress. +Unable to adjust themselves to the new age, unwilling to welcome +the new light, rejecting the doctrine of individual freedom, the +monks were forced to retire from the field.</p> +<p>So fell in England that institution which, for twelve centuries, +had exercised marvelous dominion over the spiritual and temporal +interests of the continent, and for eight hundred years had +suffered or thrived on English soil. "The day came, and that a +drear winter day, when its last mass was sung, its last censer +waved, its last congregation bent in rapt and lovely adoration +before the altar." Its <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page353"></a>[pg 353]</span> majestic and solemn ruins proclaim +its departed grandeur. Its deeds of mercy, its conflicts with kings +and bishops, its prayers and chants and penances, its virtues and +its vices, its trials and its victories, its wealth and its +poverty, all are gone. Silence and death keep united watch over +cloister and tomb. We should be ungrateful if we forgot its +blessings; we should be untrue if, ignoring its evils, we sought to +bring back to life that which God has laid in the sepulcher of the +dead.</p> +<blockquote>"Where pleasant was the spot for men to dwell,<br> +Amid its fair broad lands the abbey lay,<br> +Sheltering dark orgies that were shame to tell,<br> +And cowled and barefoot beggars swarmed the way,<br> +All in their convent weeds of black, and white, and gray.<br> +<br> +From many a proud monastic pile, o'erthrown,<br> +Fear-struck, the brooded inmates rushed and fled;<br> +The web, that for a thousand years had grown<br> +O'er prostrate Europe, in that day of dread<br> +Crumbled and fell, as fire dissolves the flaxen thread."<br> +<br> +--<i>Bryant</i>.</blockquote> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page354"></a>[pg 354]</span> +<h2><a name="VIII"></a>VIII</h2> +<h2><i><a name="CAUSES_AND_IDEALS_OF_MONASTICISM"></a>CAUSES AND +IDEALS OF MONASTICISM</i></h2> +<br> +<p>All forms of religious character and conduct are grounded in +certain cravings of the soul, which, in seeking satisfaction, are +influenced by theoretical opinions. The longings of the human heart +constitute the impulse, or the energy, of religion. The +intellectual convictions act as guiding forces. As a religious +type, therefore, the monk was produced by the action of certain +desires, influenced by specific opinions respecting God, the soul, +the body, the world and their relations.</p> +<p>The existence of monasticism in non-Christian religions implies +that whatever impetus the ascetic impulses in human nature received +from Christian teaching, there is some broader basis for monastic +life than the tenets of any creed. Biblical history and Christian +theology furnish some explanation <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page355"></a>[pg 355]</span> of the rise of Christian monasticism, +but they do not account for the monks of ancient India. The +teachings of Jesus exerted a profound influence upon the Christian +monks, but they cannot explain the Oriental asceticism that +flourished before the Christ of the New Testament was born. There +must have been some motive, or motives, operating on human nature +as such, a knowledge of which will help to account for the monks of +Indian antiquity as well as the begging friars of modern times. It +will therefore be in order to begin the present inquiry by seeking +those causes which gave rise to monasticism in general.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Causative_Motives_of_Monasticism"></a>Causative +Motives of Monasticism</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Whatever the origin of religion itself, it is certain that it is +man's inalienable concern. He is, as Sabatier says, "incurably +religious." Of all the motives ministering to this ruling passion, +the longing for righteousness and for the favor of God is supreme. +The savage only partially grasps the significance of his spiritual +aspirations, and dimly understands the nature of the God he adores +or fears. His worship <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page356"></a>[pg 356]</span> may be confined to frantic efforts to +ward off the vengeful assaults of an angry deity, but however gross +his religious conceptions, there is at the heart of his religion a +desire to live in peaceful relations with the Supreme Being.</p> +<p>As religion advances, the ethical character of God and the +nature of true righteousness are more clearly apprehended. But the +idea that moral purity and fellowship with God are in some way +associated with self-denial has always been held by the religious +world. But what does such a conception involve? What must one do to +deny self? The answer to that question will vastly influence the +form of religious conduct. Thus while all religious men may unite +in a craving for holiness by a participation in the Divine nature, +they will differ widely in their opinions as to the nature of this +desirable righteousness and as to the means by which it may be +attained. Roman Catholicism, by the voice of the monk, whom it +regards as the highest type of Christian living, gives one answer +to these questions; Protestantism, protesting against asceticism, +gives a different reply.</p> +<p>The desire for salvation was, therefore, the primary +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page357"></a>[pg 357]</span> cause +of all monasticism. Many quotations might be given from the sacred +writings of India, establishing beyond dispute, that underlying the +confusing variety of philosophical ideas and ascetic practices of +the non-Christian monks, was a consuming desire for the redemption +of the soul from sin. Buddha said on seeing a mendicant, "The life +of a devotee has always been praised by the wise. It will be my +refuge and the refuge of other creatures, it will lead us to a real +life, to happiness and immortality."</p> +<p>Dharmapala, in expounding the teachings of the Buddha, at the +World's Parliament of Religions, in Chicago, clearly showed that +the aim of the Buddhist is "the entire obliteration of all that is +evil," and "the complete purification of the mind." That this is +the purpose of the asceticism of India is seen by the following +quotation from Dharmapala's address: "The advanced student of the +religion of Buddha when he has faith in him thinks: 'Full of +hindrances is household life, a path defiled by passions; free as +the air is the life of him who has renounced all worldly things. +How difficult is it for the man who dwells at home to live the +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page358"></a>[pg 358]</span> higher +life in all its fullness, in all its purity, in all its perfection! +Let me then cut off my hair and beard, let me clothe myself in +orange-colored robes and let me go forth from a household life into +the homeless state!'"</p> +<p>In the same parliament, Mozoomdar, the brilliant and attractive +representative of the Brahmo Somaj, in describing "Asia's Service +to Religion," thus stated the motives and spirit of Oriental +asceticism: "What lesson do the hermitages, the monasteries, the +cave temples, the discipline and austerities of the religious East +teach the world? Renunciation. The Asiatic apostle will ever remain +an ascetic, a celibate, a homeless Akinchana, a Fakeer. We +Orientals are all the descendants of John the Baptist. Any one who +has taken pains at spiritual culture must admit that the great +enemy to a devout concentration of mind is the force of bodily and +worldly desire. Communion with God is impossible, so long as the +flesh and its lusts are not subdued.... It is not mere temperance, +but positive asceticism; not mere self-restraint, but +self-mortification; not mere self-sacrifice, but self-extinction; +not mere morality, but absolute holiness." And <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page359"></a>[pg 359]</span> further on in his +address, Mozoomdar claimed that this asceticism is practically the +essential principle in Christianity and the meaning of the cross of +Christ: "This great law of self-effacement, poverty, suffering, +death, is symbolized in the mystic cross so dear to you and dear to +me. Christians, will you ever repudiate Calvary? Oneness of will +and character is the sublimest and most difficult unity with God." +The chief value of these quotations from Mozoomdar lies in the fact +that they show forth the underlying motive of all asceticism. It +would be unjust to the distinguished scholar to imply that he +defends those extreme forms of monasticism which have appeared in +India or in Christian countries. On the contrary, while he +maintains, in his charming work, "The Oriental Christ," that "the +height of self-denial may fitly be called asceticism," he is at the +same time fully alive to its dangerous exaggerations. "Pride," he +says, "creeps into the holiest and humblest exercises of +self-discipline. It is the supremest natures only that escape. The +practice of asceticism therefore is always attended with great +danger." The language of Mozoomdar, however, like that of many +Christian monastic writers, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page360"></a>[pg 360]</span> opens the door to many grave +excesses. It is another evidence of the necessity for defining what +one means by "self-mortification" and "self-extinction."</p> +<p>Turning now to Christian monasticism, it will be found that, as +in the case of Oriental monasticism the yearning for victory over +self was uppermost in the minds of the best Christian monks. A few +words from a letter written by Jerome to Rusticus, a young monk, +illustrates the truth of this observation: "Let your garments be +squalid," he says, "to show that your mind is white, and your tunic +coarse, to show that you despise the world. But give not way to +pride, lest your dress and your language be found at variance. +Baths stimulate the senses, and are therefore to be avoided."</p> +<p>To keep the mind white, to despise the world, to overcome pride, +to stop the craving of the senses for gratification,--these were +the objects of the monks, in order to accomplish which they +macerated and starved their bodies, avoided baths, wore rags, +affected humble language and fled from the scenes of pleasure. The +goal was highly commendable, even if the means employed were +inadequate to produce the desired results.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page361"></a>[pg 361]</span> +<p>All down through the Middle Ages, the idea continued to prevail +that the monastic life was the highest and purest expression of the +Christian religion, and that the monks' chances of heaven were much +better than those of any other class of men. The laity believed +them to be a little nearer God than even the clergy, and so they +paid them gold for their prayers. It will readily be understood +that in degenerate times, so profitable a doctrine would be +earnestly encouraged by the monks. The knight, whose conscience +revolted against his conduct but who could not bring himself to a +complete renunciation of the world, believed that heaven would +condone his faults or crimes if in some way he could make friends +with the dwellers in the cloister. To this end, he founded abbeys +and sustained monasteries by liberal gifts of gold and land. Such a +donation was made in the following language: "I, Gervais, who +belong to the chivalry of the age, caring for the salvation of my +soul, and considering that I shall never reach God by my own +prayers and fastings, have resolved to recommend myself in some +other way to those who, night and day, serve God by these +practices, so that, thanks <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page362"></a>[pg 362]</span> to their intercession, I may be able +to obtain that salvation which I of myself am unable to merit." +Another endowment was made by Peter, Knight of Maull, in these +quaint terms: "I, Peter, profiting by this lesson, and desirous, +though a sinner and unworthy, to provide for my future destiny, I +have desired that the bees of God may come to gather their honey in +my orchards, so that when their fair hives shall be full of rich +combs, they may be able to remember him by whom the hive was +given."</p> +<p>The people believed that the prayers of the monks lifted their +souls into heaven; that their curses doomed them to the bottomless +pit. A monastery was the safe and sure road to heaven. The +observation of Gibbon respecting the early monks is applicable to +all of them: "Each proselyte who entered the gates of a monastery +was persuaded that he trod the steep and thorny path of eternal +happiness."</p> +<p>The second cause for monasticism in general was a natural love +of solitude, which became almost irresistible when reinforced by a +despair of the world's redemption. The poet voiced the feelings of +almost every soul, at some period in life, when he wrote:</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page363"></a>[pg 363]</span> +<blockquote>"O for a lodge in some vast wilderness,<br> +Some boundless contiguity of shade,<br> +Where rumor of oppression or deceit,<br> +Of unsuccessful or successful war,<br> +Might never reach me more."</blockquote> +<p>The longing for solitude accompanied the desire for salvation. +An unconquerable weariness of the world, with its strife and +passion, overcame the seeker after God. A yearning to escape the +duties of social life, which were believed to interfere with one's +duty to God, possessed his soul. The flight from the world was +merely the method adopted to satisfy his soul-longings. If such +times of degeneracy and rampant iniquity ever return, if humanity +is again compelled to stagger under the moral burdens that crushed +the Roman Empire, without doubt the love of solitude, which is now +held in check by the satisfactions of a comparatively pure and +peaceful social life, will again arise in its old-time strength and +impel men to seek in waste and lonely places the virtues they +cannot acquire in a decaying civilization.</p> +<p>Even amid the delights of human fellowship, and surrounded by so +much that ministers to restfulness of soul, it is often hard to +repress a longing to <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page364"></a>[pg 364]</span> shatter the fetters of custom, to +flee from the noise and confusion of this hurrying, fretful world, +and to pass one's days in a coveted retirement, far from the +maddening strife and tumult. Montalembert's profound appreciation +of monastic life was never more aptly illustrated than in the +following declaration: "In the depths of human nature there exists +without doubt, a tendency instinctive, though confused and +evanescent, toward retirement and solitude. What man, unless +completely depraved by vice or weighed down by care and cupidity, +has not experienced once, at least, before his death, the +attraction of solitude?"</p> +<p>While the motives just described were unquestionably preeminent +among the causative factors in monasticism, it should not be taken +for granted that there were no others, or that either or both of +these motives controlled every monk. The personal considerations +tending to keep up the flight from the world were numerous and +active. It would be a mistake to credit all the monks, and at some +periods even a majority of them, with pure and lofty purposes. +Oftentimes criminals were pardoned <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page365"></a>[pg 365]</span> through the intercession of abbots on +condition that they would retire to a monastery. The jilted lover +and the commercial bankrupt, the deserted or bereaved wife, the +pauper and the invalid, the social outcast and the shirker of civic +duties, the lazy and the fickle were all to be found in the ranks +of the monastic orders. Ceasing to feel any interest in the joys of +society, they had turned to the cloister as a welcome asylum in the +hour of their sorrow or disappointment. To some it was an easy way +out of the struggle for existence, to others it meant an end to +taxes and to military service, to still others it was a haven of +rest for a weary body or a disappointed spirit. Thus many specific, +individual considerations acted with the general desires for +salvation and solitude to strengthen and to perpetuate the +institution.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name= +"Beliefs_Affecting_the_Causative_Motives"></a>Beliefs Affecting the +Causative Motives</i></h2> +<br> +<p>In the first chapter it was shown that a variety of views +respecting the relation of the body and the soul influenced the +origin and development of Christian monasticism. It will not now be +necessary <span class="pagenum"><a name="page366"></a>[pg +366]</span> to repeat what was there said. The essential teaching +of all these false opinions was that the body was in itself evil, +that the gratification of natural appetites was inherently wrong, +and that true holiness consisted in the complete subjection of the +body by self-denial and torture. Jerome distinctly taught that what +was natural was opposed to God. The Gnostics and many of the early +Christians believed that this world was ruled by the devil. The +Gnostics held that this opposition of the kingdom of matter to God +was fundamental and eternal. The Christians, however, maintained +that the antagonism was temporary, the Lord having given the world +over to evil spirits for a time. The prevailing opinion among +almost all schools was that a union with God was only possible to +those who had extinguished bodily desires.</p> +<p>The ascetic theory undoubtedly derived much support from the +views held concerning the teachings of the Bible. The Oriental +monks frequently quoted from their sacred books to justify their +habits and ideals. In like manner, the Christian monks believed +that they, and they alone, were literally obeying the commands of +Christ and his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page367"></a>[pg +367]</span> apostles. This phase of the subject will receive +attention when the three vows of monasticism are considered.</p> +<p>In the West, two conditions, one political and social, the other +religious, set in motion all these spiritual desires and ascetic +beliefs tending toward monasticism. One was the corrupted state, of +Roman society and the approaching overthrow of the Roman Empire. +The other was the secularization of the church.</p> +<p>Men naturally cling to society as long as there exists any +well-founded hope for its regeneration, but when every expectation +for the survival of righteousness yields to a conviction that doom +is inevitable, then the flight from the world begins. This was +precisely the situation in the declining days of Rome and +Alexandria, when Christian monasticism came into being. The monks +believed that the end of the world was nigh, that all things +temporal and earthly were doomed, and that God's hand was against +the empire. "That they were correct in their judgment of the world +about them," says Kingsley, "contemporary history proves +abundantly. That they were correct, likewise, in believing that +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page368"></a>[pg 368]</span> some +fearful judgment was about to fall on man, is proved by the fact +that it did fall."</p> +<p>So they fled to escape being caught in the ruins of society's +tottering structure,--fled to make friends with the angels and with +God. If one cannot live purely in the midst of corruption, by all +means let him live purely away from corruption, but let him never +forget that his piety is of a lower order than that which abides +uncorrupted in the midst of degenerate society. There is much truth +in the observation of Charles Reade in "The Cloister and the +Hearth": "So long as Satan walks the whole earth, tempting men, and +so long as the sons of Belial do never lock themselves in caves but +run like ants, to and fro corrupting others, the good man that +sulks apart, plays the Devil's game, or at least gives him the +odds."</p> +<p>But the early Christian monks believed that their safety was +only in flight. It was not altogether an unworthy motive; at least +it is easy to sympathize with these men struggling against odds, of +the magnitude of which the modern Christian has only the faintest +conception.</p> +<p>The conviction that the only true and certain <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page369"></a>[pg 369]</span> way to secure +salvation is by flight from the world, continued to prevail during +the succeeding centuries of monastic history, and it can hardly be +said to have entirely disappeared even at the present time. Anselm +of Canterbury, in the twelfth century, wrote to a young friend +reminding him that the glory of this world was perishing. True, not +monks only are saved, "but," says he, "who attains to salvation in +the most certain, who in the most noble way, the man who seeks to +love God alone, or he who seeks to unite the love of God with the +love of the world?... Is it rational when danger is on every side, +to remain where it is the greatest?"</p> +<p>The Christian church set up an ideal of life which it was +impossible to realize within her borders, and one which differed in +many respects from the teachings of Jesus. Her demands involved a +renunciation of the world, a superiority to all the enticements of +bodily appetites, a lofty scorn of secular bonds and social +concerns. A vigorous religious faith had conquered a mighty empire, +but corruption attended its victory. The standard of Christian +morals was lowered, or had at least degenerated <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page370"></a>[pg 370]</span> into a cold, formal +ideal that no one was expected to realize; hence none strove to +attain it but the monks. When Roman society with its selfishness, +lust and worldliness, swept in through the open doors of the church +and took possession of the sanctuary, those who had cherished the +ascetic ideal gave up the fight against the world, and the flight +from the world-church began. They could not tolerate this union of +the church with a pagan state and an effete civilization. In some +respects, as a few writers maintain, many of these hermits were +like the old Jewish prophets, fighting single-handed against +corruption in church and state, refusing to yield themselves as +slaves to the authority of institutions that had forsaken the +ideals of the past.</p> +<p>Thus the conviction that the end of human society was nigh, and +that the church could no longer serve as an asylum for the lovers +of righteousness, with certain philosophical ideas respecting the +body, the world and God, united to produce the assumption that +salvation was more readily attainable in the deserts; and Christian +monasticism, in its hermit form, began its long and eventful +history.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page371"></a>[pg 371]</span> +<h2><i><a name="Causes_of_Variations_in_Monasticism"></a>Causes of +Variations in Monasticism</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Prominent among the causes producing variations in the monastic +type was the influence of climatic conditions and race +characteristics.</p> +<p>The monasticism as well as the religion of the East has always +differed from the monasticism and the religion of the West. The +Eastern mind is mystical, dreamy, contemplative; the Western mind +loves activity, is intensely practical. Representatives of the +Eastern faiths in the recent Parliament of Religions accused the +West of materialism, of loving the body more than the soul. They +affected to despise all material prosperity, and gloried in their +assumed superiority, on account of their love for religious +contemplation. This radical difference between the races of the +East and West is clearly seen in the monastic institution. Benedict +embodied in his rules the spirit and active life of the West, and +hence, the monastic system, then in danger of dying, or stagnating, +revived and spread all over Europe. Again, the hermit life was +ill-adapted to the West. Men could not live out of doors in +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page372"></a>[pg 372]</span> Europe +and subsist on small quantities of food as in Egypt. The rigors of +the climate in Europe demanded an adaptation to new conditions.</p> +<p>But aside from the differences between Eastern and Western +monasticism, the Christian institution passed through a variety of +changes. The growth of monasticism from the hermit stage to the +cloistral life has already been described. To what shall the +development of the community system be attributed? No religious +institution can remain stationary, unaffected by the changing +conditions of the society in which it exists. The progress of the +intellect, and the development of social, political and industrial +conditions, effect great transformations in religious +organizations.</p> +<p>The monastic institution grew up amid the radical changes of +European society. In its early days it witnessed the invasion of +the barbarians, which swept away old political divisions and +destroyed many of the heritages of an ancient civilization. Then +the process of reconstruction slowly began. New states were +forming; nations were crystallizing. The barbarian was to lay the +foundations of great cities and organize powerful <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page373"></a>[pg 373]</span> commonwealths out +of wild but victorious tribes. The monk could not remain in hiding. +He was brother to the roving warrior. The blood in his veins was +too active to permit him to stand still amid the mighty whirl of +events. Without entirely abandoning his cloistral life, he became a +zealous missionary of the church among the barbarians, a patron of +letters and of agriculture, in short a stirring participant in the +work of civilization.</p> +<p>Next came the crusades. Jerusalem was to be captured for Christ +and the church. The monk then appeared as a crusade-preacher, a +warrior on the battle-field, or a nurse in the military +hospital.</p> +<p>The rise of feudalism likewise wrought a change in the spirit +and position of the monks. The feudal lord was master of his +vassals. "The genius of feudalism," says Allen, "was a spirit of +uncontrolled independence." So the abbot became a feudal lord with +immense possessions and powers. He was no longer the obscure, +spiritual father of a little family of monks, but a temporal lord +also, an aristocrat, ruling wide territories, and dwelling in a +monastery little different from the castle of the knight and often +exceeding it in splendor. With <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page374"></a>[pg 374]</span> wealth came ease, and hard upon the +heels of ease came laziness, arrogance, corruption.</p> +<p>Then followed the marvelous intellectual awakening, the moral +revival, the discoveries and inventions of the fifteenth and +sixteenth centuries. The human mind at last had aroused itself from +a long repose, or turned from a profitless activity into broad and +fruitful fields. The corruption of the monasteries meant the laxity +of vows, the cessation of ministration to the poor and the sick. +Then arose the tender and loving Francis, with his call to poverty +and to service. The independent exercise of the intellect gave +birth to heresies, but the Dominicans appeared to preach them +down.</p> +<p>The growth of the secular spirit and the progress of the new +learning were too much for the old monasticism. The monk had to +adapt himself to a new age, an age that is impatient of mere +contemplation, that spurns the rags of the begging friar and rebels +against the fierce intolerance of the Dominican preaching. So, +lastly, came the suave, determined, practical, cultured Jesuit, +ready to comply, at least outwardly, with all the requirements of +modern times. Does the new age reject monastic <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page375"></a>[pg 375]</span> seclusion? Very +well, the Jesuit throws off his monastic garb and forsakes his +cloister, to take his place among men. Are the ignorance and the +filth of the begging friars offensive? The Jesuit is cultured, +affable and spotlessly clean. Does the new age demand liberty? +"Liberty," cries the Jesuit, "is the divine prerogative, colossal +in proportion, springing straight from the broad basin of the +soul's essence!"</p> +<p>Such in its merest outlines is the story of the development of +the monastic type and its causes.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Fundamental_Monastic_Vows"></a>The Fundamental +Monastic Vows</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The ultimate monastic ideal was the purification of the soul, +but when translated into definite, concrete terms, the immediate +aim of the monk was to live a life of poverty, celibacy and +obedience. Riches, marriage and self-will were regarded as forms of +sinful gratification, which every holy man should abandon. The true +Christian, according to monasticism, is poor, celibate and +obedient. The three fundamental monastic vows should therefore +receive special consideration.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page376"></a>[pg 376]</span> +<p>1. The Vow of Poverty. The monks of all countries held the +possession of riches to be a barrier to high spiritual attainments. +In view of the fact that an inordinate love of wealth has proved +disastrous to many nations, and that it is extremely difficult for +a rich man to escape the hardening, enervating and corrupting +influences of affluence, the position of the monks on this question +is easily understood. The Christian monks based their vow of +poverty upon the Bible, and especially upon the teachings of +Christ, who, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor. He +said to the rich young man, "Sell all that thou hast and give to +the poor." In commissioning the disciples to preach the gospel He +said: "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses; +nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes." In the +discourse on counting the cost of discipleship, He said: "So +therefore, whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he +hath, he cannot be my disciple." He promised rewards to "every one +that left houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or +children, or lands for my name's sake." "It is easier," He once +said, "for a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page377"></a>[pg +377]</span> camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man +to enter the kingdom of heaven." He portrayed the pauper Lazarus as +participating in the joys of heaven, while the rich Dives endured +the torments of the lost. As reported in Luke, He said, "Blessed +are ye poor." He Himself was without a place to lay His head, a +houseless wanderer upon the earth.</p> +<p>The apostle James cries to the men of wealth: "Go to now, ye +rich men, weep and howl, for your miseries that shall come upon +you." John said: "Love not the world, neither the things that are +in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is +not in him."</p> +<p>Whatever these passages, and many others of like import, may +signify, it is not at all strange that Christians, living in times +when wealth was abused, and when critical Biblical scholarship was +unknown, should have understood Christ to command a life of poverty +as an indispensable condition of true holiness.</p> +<p>There are three ways of interpreting Christ's doctrine of +wealth. First, it may be held that Jesus intended His teachings to +be literally obeyed, not <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page378"></a>[pg 378]</span> only by His first disciples but by +all His followers in subsequent years, and that such literal +obedience is practicable, reasonable and conducive to the highest +well-being of society. Secondly, it has been said that Jesus was a +gentle and honest visionary, who erroneously believed that the +possession of riches rendered religious progress impossible, but +that strict compliance with His commands would be destructive of +civilization. Laveleye declares that "if Christianity were taught +and understood conformably to the spirit of its Founder, the +existing social organism could not last a day." Thirdly, neither of +these views seems to do justice to the spirit of Christ, for they +fail to give proper recognition to many other injunctions of the +Master and to many significant incidents in his public ministry. +Exhaustive treatment of this subject is, of course, impossible +here. Briefly it may be remarked, that Jesus looked upon wealth as +tending oftentimes to foster an unsocial spirit. Rich men are +liable to become enemies of the brotherhood Jesus sought to +establish, by reason of their covetousness and contracted +sympathies. The rich man is in danger of erecting false standards +of manhood, of ignoring the highest <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page379"></a>[pg 379]</span> interests of the soul by an undue +emphasis on the material. Wealth, in itself, is not an evil, but it +is only a good when it is used to advance the real welfare of +humanity. Jesus was not intent upon teaching economics. His purpose +was to develop the man. It was the moral value and spiritual +influence of material things that concerned him. Professor Shailer +Mathews admirably states the true attitude of Jesus towards rich +men: "Jesus was a friend neither of the working man nor the rich +man as such. He calls the poor man to sacrifice as well as the rich +man. He was the Son of Man, not the son of a class of men. But His +denunciation is unsparing of those men who make wealth at the +expense of souls; who find in capital no incentive to further +fraternity; who endeavor so to use wealth as to make themselves +independent of social obligations, and to grow fat with that which +should be shared with society;--for those men who are gaining the +world but are letting their neighbors fall among thieves and +Lazarus rot among their dogs."</p> +<p>Jesus was therefore not a foe to rich men as such, but to that +antisocial, abnormal regard for wealth and its procurements, which +leads to the creation <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page380"></a>[pg 380]</span> of class distinctions and impedes the +full and free development of our common humanity along the lines of +brotherly love and coöperation. A Christian may consistently +be a rich man, provided he uses his wealth in furthering the true +interests of society, and realizes, as respects his own person, +that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things +which he possesseth." The error of monasticism consists in making +poverty a virtue and an essential condition of the highest +holiness. It is true that some callings preclude the prospect of +fortune. The average clergyman cannot hope to amass wealth. The +resident of a social settlement may possess capacities that would +win success in business, but he must forego financial prospects if +he expects to live and labor among the poor. In so far as the monks +deliberately turned their backs on the material rewards of human +endeavors that they might be free to devote themselves to the +service of humanity, their vow of poverty was creditable and +reasonable. But they erred when they exalted poverty as of itself +commending them in a peculiar degree to the mercy of God.</p> +<p>2. The Vow of Celibacy. "The moral merit <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page381"></a>[pg 381]</span> of celibacy," says +Allen, "was harder to make out of the Scripture, doubtless, since +family life is both at the foundation of civil society and the +source of all the common virtues." The monks held that Christ and +Paul both taught and practiced celibacy. In the early and middle +ages celibacy was looked upon by all churchmen as in itself a +virtue. The prevailing modern idea is that marriage is a holy +institution, in no sense inferior in sacredness to any +ecclesiastical order of life. He who antagonizes it plays into the +hands of the foes to social purity and individual virtue.</p> +<p>The ideas of Jerome, Ambrose, and all the early Fathers, +respecting marriage, are still held by many ecclesiastics. One of +them, in defending the celibacy of existing religious orders, says: +"Celibacy is enjoined on these religious orders as a means to +greater sanctification, greater usefulness, greater absorption in +things spiritual, and to facilitate readier withdrawal from things +earthly." He gives two reasons for the celibacy of the priesthood, +which are all the more interesting because they substantially +represent the opinions held by the Christian monks in all ages: +First, "That the service of the priest <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page382"></a>[pg 382]</span> to God may be +undivided and unrestrained." In support of this, he quotes I. Cor., +7: 32, 33, which reads: "But I would have you free from cares. He +that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lord, how he may +please the Lord: but he that is married is careful for the things +of the world, how he may please his wife." And secondly, +"Celibacy," according to Trent, "is more blessed than marriage." He +also quotes the words of Christ that there are "eunuchs for the +kingdom of heaven's sake." He then adds: "It is desirable that +those called to the ministry of the altar espouse a life of +continence because holier and more angelic."</p> +<p>It is generally admitted that the vow of celibacy was not +demanded of the clergy in primitive Christian times. It was only +after many years of bitter debate and in response to the growing +influence of the monastic ideal, that celibacy finally came to be +looked upon as the highest form of Christian virtue, and was +enforced upon the clergy. As in the case of the vow of poverty, +there certainly can be no reasonable objection to the individual +adoption of celibacy, if one is either disinclined to marriage or +feels that he can do better work unmarried. But <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page383"></a>[pg 383]</span> neither Scripture +nor reason justifies the imposition of celibacy upon any man, nor +the view that a life of continence is holier than marriage. It may +be reverently said that God would be making an unreasonable demand +upon mankind, if the holiness He requires conflicted with the +proper satisfaction of those impulses He himself has deeply +implanted in human nature.</p> +<p>3. The Vow of Obedience. The monks were required to render +absolute obedience to the will of their superiors, as the +representatives of God. Dom Guigo, in his rules for the Carthusian +Order, declares: "Moreover, if the Prior commands one of his +religious to take more food, or to sleep for a longer time, in +fact, whatever command may be given us by our Superior, we are not +allowed to disobey, lest we should disobey God also, who commands +us by the mouth of our Superior. All our practices of mortification +and devotion would be fruitless and of no value, without this one +virtue of obedience, which alone can make them acceptable to +God."</p> +<p>Thus a strict and uncomplaining obedience, not to the laws of +God as interpreted by the individual <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page384"></a>[pg 384]</span> conscience, but to the judgment and +will of a brother man, was demanded of the monks.</p> +<blockquote>"Theirs not to reason why,<br> +Theirs not to make reply,<br> +Theirs but to do and die."</blockquote> +<p>They were often severely beaten or imprisoned and sometimes +mutilated for acts of disobedience. While the monks, especially the +Friars and Jesuits, carried this principle of obedience to great +extremes, yet in the barbarous ages its enforcement was sadly +needed. Law and order were words which the untamed Goth could not +comprehend. He had to be taught habits of obedience, a respect for +the rights of others, and a proper appreciation of his duty to +society for the common good. But while, at the beginning, the +monastic vow of obedience helped to inculcate these desirable +lessons, and vastly modified the ferocity of unchecked +individualism, it tended, in the course of time, to generate a +servile humility fatal to the largest and freest personal +development. In the interests of passive obedience, it suppressed +freedom of thought and action. Obedience became mechanical and +unreasoning. The consequence was that the passion for individual +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page385"></a>[pg 385]</span> liberty +was unduly restrained, and the extravagant claims of political and +ecclesiastical tyrants were greatly strengthened.</p> +<p>Such was the monastic ideal and such were some of the means +employed to realize it. The ascetic spirit manifests itself in a +great variety of ways, but all these visible and changing externals +have one common source. "To cherish the religious principle," says +William E. Channing," some have warred against their social +affections, and have led solitary lives; some against their senses, +and have abjured all pleasure in asceticism; some against reason, +and have superstitiously feared to think; some against imagination, +and have foolishly dreaded to read poetry or books of fiction; some +against the political and patriotic principles, and have shrunk +from public affairs,--all apprehending that if they were to give +free range to their natural emotions their religious life would be +chilled or extinguished."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page386"></a>[pg 386]</span> +<h2><a name="IX"></a>IX</h2> +<h2><i><a name="THE_EFFECTS_OF_MONASTICISM"></a>THE EFFECTS OF +MONASTICISM</i></h2> +<br> +<p>"We read history," said Wendell Phillips, "not through our eyes +but through our prejudices." Yet if it were possible entirely to +lay aside one's prepossessions respecting monastic history, it +would still be no easy task to estimate the influences of the monks +upon human life.</p> +<p>In every field of thought and activity monasticism wrought good +and evil. Education, industry, government and religion have been +both furthered and hindered by the monks. What Francis Parkman said +of the Roman Catholic Church is true of the monastic institution: +"Clearly she is of earth, not of heaven; and her transcendently +dramatic life is a type of the good and ill, the baseness and +nobleness, the foulness and purity, the love and hate, the pride, +passion, truth, falsehood, fierceness, and <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page387"></a>[pg 387]</span> tenderness, that +battle in the restless heart of man."</p> +<p>A careful and sympathetic survey of monastic history compels the +conclusion that monasticism, while not uniformly a blessing to the +world, was not an unmitigated evil. The system presents one long +series of perplexities and contradictions. One historian shuts his +eyes to its pernicious effects, or at least pardons its +transgressions, on the ground that perfection in man or in +institutions is unattainable. Another condemns the whole system, +believing that the sum of its evils far outweighs whatever benefits +it may have conferred upon mankind. Schaff cuts the Gordian knot, +maintaining that the contradiction is easily solved on the theory +that it was not monasticism, as such, which has proved a blessing +to the Church and the world. "It was Christianity in monasticism," +he says, "which has done all the good, and used this abnormal mode +of life as a means of carrying forward its mission of love and +peace."</p> +<p>To illustrate the diversities of opinion on this subject, and +incidentally to show how difficult it is to present a +well-balanced, symmetrically fair and just estimate of the monastic +institution as a whole, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page388"></a>[pg 388]</span> contrast the opinions of four +celebrated men. Pius IX. refers to the, monks as "those chosen +phalanxes of the army of Christ which have always been the bulwark +and ornament of the Christian republic as well as of civil +society." But then he was the Pope of Rome, the Arch-prelate of the +Church. "Monk," fiercely demands Voltaire, "Monk, what is that +profession of thine? It is that of having none, of engaging one's +self by an inviolable oath to be a fool and a slave, and to live at +the expense of others." But he was the philosophical skeptic of +Paris. "Where is the town," cries Montalembert, "which has not been +founded or enriched or protected by some religious community? Where +is the church which owes not to them a patron, a relic, a pious and +popular tradition? Wherever there is a luxuriant forest, a pure +stream, a majestic hill, we may be sure that religion has left +there her stamp by the hand of the monk." But this was +Montalembert, the Roman Catholic historian, and the avowed champion +of the monks. "A cruel, unfeeling temper," writes Gibbon, "has +distinguished the monks of every age and country; their stern +indifference, which is seldom mollified by personal <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page389"></a>[pg 389]</span> friendship, is +inflamed by religious hatred; and their merciless zeal has +strenuously administered the holy office of the Inquisition." But +this was Gibbon, the hater of everything monastic. Between these +extreme views lies a wide field upon which many a deathless duel +has been fought by the writers of monastic history.</p> +<p>The variety of judgments respecting the nature and effects of +monasticism is partly due to the diversity in the facts of its +history. Monasticism was the friend and the foe of true religion. +It was the inspiration of virtue and the encouragement of vice. It +was the patron of industry and the promoter of idleness. It was a +pioneer in education and the teacher of superstition. It was the +disburser of alms and a many-handed robber. It was the friend of +human liberty and the abettor of tyranny. It was the champion of +the common people and the defender of class privileges. It was, in +short, everything that man was and is, so varied were its +operations, so complex was its influence, so comprehensive was its +life.</p> +<p>Of some things we may be certain. Any religious institution or +ideal of life that has survived the <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page390"></a>[pg 390]</span> changes of twelve centuries, and that +has enlisted the enthusiastic services and warmest sympathies of +numerous men and women who have been honorably distinguished for +their intellectual attainments and moral character, must have +possessed elements of truth and moral worth. A contemptuous +treatment of monasticism implies either an ignorance of its real +history or a wilful disregard of the deep significance of its +commendable features.</p> +<p>It is also certain that while the methods of monasticism, judged +by their effects upon the individual and upon society, may be +justly censured, it is beyond question that many monks, groping +their way toward the light in an age of ignorance and superstition, +were inspired by the purest motives. "Conscience," observes +Waddington, "however misguided, cannot be despised by a reflecting +mind. When it leads one to self-sacrifice and moral fortitude we +cannot but admire his spirit, while we condemn his sagacity and +method."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name= +"The_Effects_of_Self-Sacrifice_Upon_the_Individual"></a>The Effects +of Self-Sacrifice Upon the Individual</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Christianity requires some sort of self-denial as the condition +of true Christian discipleship. Self-love <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page391"></a>[pg 391]</span> is to yield to a +love of others. In some sense, the Christian is to become dead to +the world and its demoralizing pleasures. But this primal demand +upon the soul needs to be interpreted. What is it to love the +world? What is it to keep the body in subjection? What are harmful +indulgences? To give wrong answers to these questions is to set up +a false ideal; the more strenuously such false ideal is followed, +the more disastrous are the consequences. One's struggle for moral +purity may end in failure, and one's efficiency for good may be +seriously impaired by a perversion of the principle of +self-abnegation. Unnatural severity and excessive abstinence often +produce the opposite effect from that intended. Instead of a +peaceful mind there is delirium, and instead of freedom from +temptation there are a thousand horrible fiends hovering in the air +and ready, at any moment, to pounce upon their prey. "The history +of ascetics," says Martensen, "teaches us that by such overdone +fasting the fancy is often excited to an amazing degree, and in its +airy domain affords the very things that one thought to have +buried, by means of mortification, a magical resurrection." In +attempting to subdue the body, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page392"></a>[pg 392]</span> many necessary requirements of the +physical organism were totally ignored. The body rebelled against +such unnatural treatment, and the mind, so closely related to it, +in its distraction, gave birth to the wildest fancies. Men, who +would have possessed an ordinarily pure mind in some useful +occupation of life, became the prey of the most lewd and obnoxious +imaginations. Then they fancied themselves vile above their +fellows, and laid on more stripes, put more thorns upon their +pillows, and fasted more hours, only to find that instead of +fleeing, the devils became blacker and more numerous.</p> +<p>Self-forgetfulness is the key to happiness. The monk thought +otherwise, and slew himself in his vain attempt to fight against +nature. He never lifted his eyes from his own soul. He was always +feeling his spiritual pulse, staring at his lean spiritual visage, +and tearfully watching his growth in grace. An interest in others +and a strong mind in a strong body are the best antidotes to +religious despair and the temptations of the soul. Life in the +monastery was generally less severe than in the desert's solitude. +There was more and better food, shelter, and comfort, but there +were many unnecessary and unnatural <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page393"></a>[pg 393]</span> restrictions, even in the best days +of monasticism. There were too many hours of prayer, too many +needless regulations for silence, fasting and penance, to produce a +healthy, vigorous type of religious life.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name= +"The_Effects_of_Solitude_Upon_the_Individual"></a>The Effects of +Solitude Upon the Individual</i>.</h2> +<br> +<p>It has already been shown that some solitude is essential to our +richest culture. Our higher nature demands time for reflection and +meditation. But the monks carried this principle to an extreme, and +they overestimated its benefits. "Ambition, avarice, irresolution, +fear, and inordinate desires," says Montaigne, "do not leave us +because we forsake our native country, they often follow us even to +cloisters and philosophical schools; nor deserts, nor caves, nor +hair shirts, nor fasts, can disengage us from them."</p> +<p>Besides these passions, which the monks carried with them, their +solitary life tended to foster spiritual pride, contract sympathy, +and engender an inhumane spirit. True, there were exceptions; but +the sublime characters which survive in monastic history are by no +means typical of its usual <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page394"></a>[pg 394]</span> effects. Seclusion did not benefit +the average monk. Indeed there is something wanting in even the +loftiest monastic characters. "The heroes of monasticism," says +Allen, "are not the heroes of modern life. All put together, they +would not furnish out one such soul as William of Orange, or +Gustavus, or Milton. Independence of thought and liberty of +conscience, they renounced once for all, in taking upon them the +monastic vow. All the larger enterprises, all the broad humanities, +which to our mind make a greater career, were rigidly shut off by a +barrier that could not be crossed. All the warmth and wealth of +social and domestic life was a field of forbidden fruit, to be +entered only through the gate of unpardonable sin."</p> +<p>Thus self-excluded from a normal life in society, often the +subject of self-inflicted pain, it is no wonder that the monk +impaired all the nobler and manlier feelings of the soul, that he +became strangely indifferent to human affection, that bigotry and +pride often sat as joint rulers on the throne of his heart. He who +had trampled on all filial relations would scarcely recognize the +bonds of human brotherhood. He who heard not the prayer of his own +mother <span class="pagenum"><a name="page395"></a>[pg 395]</span> +would not be likely to listen to the cry of the tortured heretic +for mercy. Man as man was not reverenced. It was the monk in man +who was esteemed. As Milman puts it, "Bigotry has always found its +readiest and sternest executioners among those who have never known +the charities of life."</p> +<p>Nor is it a matter of surprise that the monk was spiritually +proud. He was supposed to stand in the inner circle, a little +nearer the throne of God than his fellow-mortals. When dead, he was +worshiped as a saint and regarded as an intercessor between God and +his lower fellow-creatures. His hatred of the base world easily +passed over into a sense of superiority and ignoble pride.</p> +<p>"True social life," says Martensen, "leads to solitude." This +truth the monks emphasized to the exclusion of the converse, "true +life in solitude leads back to society." John Tauler, the mystic +monk, realized this truth when he said: "If God calls me to a sick +person, or to the service of preaching, or to any other service of +love, I must follow, although I am in the state of highest +contemplation." The hermits of the desert, and too often the monks +of the cloister, escaped from all such services, <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page396"></a>[pg 396]</span> and selfishly gave +themselves up to saving their own souls by contemplation and +prayer. Ministration to the needy is the external side of the inner +religious life. It is the fruit of faith and prayer. The monk +sought solitude, not for the purpose of fitting himself for a place +in society, but for selfish, personal ends. Saint Bruno, in a +letter to his friend Ralph le Verd, eulogizes the solitude of the +monastic cell, and among other sentiments he gives expression to +the following: "I am speaking here of the contemplative life; and +although its sons are less numerous than those of active life, yet, +like Joseph and Benjamin, they are infinitely dearer to their +Father.... O my brother, fear not then to fly from the turmoil and +the misery of the world; leave the storms that rage without, to +shelter yourself in this safe haven."</p> +<p>Thus sinful and sorrowing humanity, needing the guidance and +comfort that holy men can furnish, was forgotten in the desire for +personal peace and future salvation.</p> +<p>Another baneful result of isolation was the strangulation of +filial love. When the monk abandoned the softening, refining +influence of women and children, <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page397"></a>[pg 397]</span> one side of his nature suffered a +serious contraction. An Egyptian mother stood at the hut of two +hermits, her sons. Weeping bitterly, she begged to see their faces. +To her piteous entreaties, they said: "Why do you, who are already +stricken with age, pour forth such cries and lamentations?" "It is +because I long to see you," she replied. "Am I not your mother? I +am now an old and wrinkled woman, and my heart is troubled at the +sound of your voices." But even a mother's love could not cope with +their fearful fanaticism., and she went away with their cold +promise that they would meet in heaven. St. John of Calama visited +his sister in disguise, and a chronicler, telling the story +afterwards, said, "By the mercy of Jesus Christ he had not been +recognized, and they never met again." Many hermits received their +parents or brothers and sisters with their eyes shut. When the +father of Simeon Stylites died, his widowed mother prayed for +entrance into her son's cell. For three days and nights she stood +without, and then the blessed Simeon prayed the Lord for her, and +she immediately gave up the ghost.</p> +<p>These as well as numerous other stories of a similar +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page398"></a>[pg 398]</span> +character that might be quoted illustrate the hardening influence +of solitude. Instead of cherishing a love of kindred, as a gift of +heaven and a spring of virtue, the monk spurned it and trampled it +beneath his feet as an obstacle to his spiritual progress. "The +monks," says Milman, "seem almost unconscious of the softening, +humanizing effect of the natural affections, the beauty of parental +tenderness and filial love."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Monks_as_Missionaries"></a>The Monks as +Missionaries</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The conversion of the barbarians was an indispensable condition +of modern civilization. Every step forward had to be taken in the +face of barbaric ignorance and cruelty. In this stupendous +undertaking the monks led the way, displaying in their labors +remarkable generalship and undaunted courage. Whatever may be +thought of later monasticism, the Benedictine monks are entitled to +the lasting gratitude of mankind for their splendid services in +reducing barbaric Europe to some sort of order and civilization. +But again the mixture of good and evil is strangely illustrated. It +seems <span class="pagenum"><a name="page399"></a>[pg 399]</span> +impossible to accord the monks unqualified praise. The potency of +the evil tendencies within their system vitiated every noble +achievement. Their methods and practical ideals were so at variance +with the true order of nature that every commendable victory +involved a corresponding obstacle to real social and religious +progress. The justice of these observations will be more apparent +as this inquiry proceeds.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Monasticism_and_Civic_Duties"></a>Monasticism and +Civic Duties</i></h2> +<br> +<p>The withdrawal of a considerable number of men of character and +talent from the exercise of civic duties is injurious to the state. +The burdens upon those who remain become heavier, while society is +deprived of the moral influence of those who forsake their civic +responsibilities. When the monk, from the outside as it were, +attempted to exert an influence for good, he largely failed. His +ideals of life were not formulated in a real world, but in an +artificial, antisocial environment. He was unable to appreciate the +political needs of men. He could not enter sympathetically into +their serious employments <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page400"></a>[pg 400]</span> or innocent delights. Controlled by +superstition, and exalting a servile obedience to human authority, +he became a very unsafe guide in political affairs. He could not +consistently labor for secular progress, because he had forsaken a +world in which secular interests were prominent.</p> +<p>It may be true that in the early days of monasticism the monks +pursued the proper course in refusing to become Roman patriots. No +human power could have averted the ruin which overtook that corrupt +world. Perhaps their non-combatant attitude gave them more +influence with the conquerors of Rome, who were to become the +founders of modern nations.</p> +<p>In later years, the abbots of the principal monasteries occupied +seats in the legislative assemblies of Germany, Hungary, Spain, +England, Italy, and France. In many instances they stood between +the violence of the nobles and the unprotected vassal. Political +monks, inspired by a natural breadth of vision and a love of +humanity, secured the passage of wise and humane regulations. +Palgrave says: "The mitre has resisted many blows which would have +broken the helmet, and the crosier has kept <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page401"></a>[pg 401]</span> more foes in awe +than the lance. It is, then, to these prelates that we chiefly owe +the maintenance of the form and spirit of free government, secured +to us, not by force, but by law; and the altar has thus been the +corner-stone of our ancient constitution."</p> +<p>Although there is much truth in the foregoing observation, yet +on the other hand, when the influence of the monastic ideal upon +civilization is studied in its deeper aspects, it cannot be justly +maintained that the final effects of monasticism minister to the +development of a normal civilization. Industrial, mental and moral +progress depend upon a certain breadth of mind and energy of soul. +Asceticism saps the vitality of human nature and confines the +activity of the mind within artificial limits. "Hence the dreary, +sterile torpor," says Lecky, "that characterized those ages in +which the ascetic principle has been supreme, while the +civilizations which have attained the highest perfection have been +those of ancient Greece and modern Europe, which were most opposed +to it."</p> +<p>The monks did not hesitate to become embroiled in military +quarrels, or to incite the fiercer passions of men when it suited +their purpose. Their opposition <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page402"></a>[pg 402]</span> to kings and princes was often not +based on a love of popular freedom, but on an indisposition to +share power with secular rulers. The legislative enactments against +heretics, many of which they inspired, clearly show that they +neither desired nor tolerated liberty of speech or conduct. They +were the Almighty's vicars on earth, before whom it was the duty of +king and subject to bow down. Vaughan writes of the period just +prior to the Reformation: "The great want was freedom from +ecclesiastical domination; and from the feeling of the hour, +scarcely any price would be deemed too great to be paid for that +object." The history of modern Jesuitism, against which the +legislation of almost every civilized nation has been directed, +affords abundant testimony to the inherent hostility of the +monastic system, even in its modified modern form, to every species +of government which in any way guarantees freedom of thought to its +people. This stern fact confronts the student, however much he may +be inclined to yield homage to the early monks. It must be held in +mind when one reads this pleasing sentence from Macaulay: "Surely a +system which, however deformed by superstition, introduced strong +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page403"></a>[pg 403]</span> moral +restraints into communities previously governed only by vigor of +muscle and by audacity of spirit, a system which taught the +fiercest and mightiest ruler that he was, like his meanest bondman, +a responsible being, might have seemed to deserve a more respectful +mention from philosophers and philanthropists."</p> +<p>The general effect of monasticism on the state is, therefore, +not to be determined by fixing the gaze on any one century of its +history, or by holding up some humane and patriotic monk as a +representative product of the system.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Agricultural_Services_of_the_Monks"></a>The +Agricultural Services of the Monks</i></h2> +<br> +<p>Europe must ever be indebted to Benedict and his immediate +followers for their services in reclaiming waste lands, and in +removing the stigma which a corrupt civilization had placed upon +labor. Benedict came before the world saying: "No person is ever +more usefully employed than when working with his hands or +following the plough, providing food for the use of man." Care was +taken that councils should not be called when ploughing was to be +done <span class="pagenum"><a name="page404"></a>[pg 404]</span> or +wheat to be threshed. Benedict bent himself to the task of teaching +the rich and the proud, the poor and the lazy the alphabet of +prosperity and happiness. Agriculture was at its lowest ebb. +Marshes covered once fertile fields, and the men who should have +tilled the land spurned the plough as degrading, or were too +indolent to undertake the tasks of the farm. The monks left their +cells and their prayers to dig ditches and plough fields. The +effect was magical. Men once more turned back to a noble but +despised industry. Peace and plenty supplanted war and poverty. +"The Benedictines," says Guizot, "have been the great clearers of +land in Europe. A colony, a little swarm of monks, settled in +places nearly uncultivated, often in the midst of a pagan +population--in Germany, for example, or in Brittany; there, at once +missionaries and laborers, they accomplish their double service, +through peril and fatigue."</p> +<p>It is to be regretted that history throws a shadow across this +pleasing scene. When labor came to be recognized as honorable and +useful, along came the begging friars, creating, both by precept +and example, a prejudice against labor and wealth. Rags and +laziness <span class="pagenum"><a name="page405"></a>[pg +405]</span> came to be associated with holiness, and a beggar monk +was held up as an ideal and sacred personage. "The spirit that +makes men devote themselves in vast numbers," says Lecky, "to a +monotonous life of asceticism and poverty is so essentially opposed +to the spirit that creates the energy and enthusiasm of industry, +that their continued coexistence may be regarded as impossible." +But such a fatal mistake could not long captivate the mind, or +cause men to forget Benedict and his industrial ideal. The +blessings of wealth rightly administered, and the dignity of labor +without which wealth is impossible, came to be recognized as +necessary factors in the true progress of man.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Monks_and_Secular_Learning"></a>The Monks and +Secular Learning</i></h2> +<br> +<p>For many centuries, as has been previously shown, the monks were +the schoolmasters of Europe. They also preserved the manuscripts of +the classics, produced numerous theological works, transmitted many +pious traditions, and wrote some interesting and some worthless +chronicles. They laid the foundations of several great +universities, including those <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page406"></a>[pg 406]</span> of Paris, Oxford and Cambridge. For +these, and other valuable services, the monks merit the praise of +posterity. It is, however, too much to affirm, as Montalembert +does, that "without the monks, we should have been as ignorant of +our history as children." It is altogether improbable that the +human mind would have been unproductive in the field of historical +writing had monasticism not existed during the middle ages. While, +also, the monks should be thanked for preserving the classics, it +should not be supposed that all knowledge of Latin and Greek +literature would have perished but for them.</p> +<p>It is surprising that the literary men of the medieval period +should have written so little of interest to the modern mind, or +that helps us to an understanding of the momentous events amid +which they lived. Unfortunately the monkish mind was concentrated +upon a theology, the premises of which have been largely set aside +by modern science. Their writings are so permeated by grotesque +superstitions that they are practically worthless to-day. Their +hostility to secular affairs blinded them to the tremendous +significance of the mighty political and social movements of the +age.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page407"></a>[pg 407]</span> +<p>It is undeniable that the monks never encouraged a love of +secular learning. They did not try to impart a love of the classics +which they preserved. The spirit of monasticism was ever at war +with true intellectual progress. The monks imprisoned Roger Bacon +fourteen years, and tried to blast his fair name by calling him a +magician, merely because he stepped beyond the narrow limits of +monkish inquiry. Many suffered indignities, privations or death for +questioning tradition or for conducting scientific researches.</p> +<p>So while it is true that the monks rendered many services to the +cause of education, it is also true that their monastic theories +tended to narrow the scope of intellectual activity. "This," says +Guizot, "is the foundation of their instruction; all was turned +into commentary of the Scriptures, historical, philosophical, +allegorical, moral commentary. They desired only to form priests; +all studies, whatsoever their nature, were directed to this +result." There was no disinterested love of learning; no desire to +become acquainted with God's world. In fact, the old hostility to +everything natural characterizes all monastic history. Europe did +not enter upon that broad and noble intellectual development +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page408"></a>[pg 408]</span> which +is the glory of our era, until the right arm of monasticism was +struck down, the dread of heresy banished from the human mind, and +secular learning welcomed as a legitimate and elevated field for +mental activity.</p> +<p>Hamilton W. Mabie, in his delightful essay on "Some Old +Scholars," describes this step from the gloom of the cloister to +the light of God's world: "Petrarch really escaped from a sepulcher +when he stepped out of the cloister of medievalism, with its +crucifix, its pictures of unhealthy saints, its cords of +self-flagellation, and found the heavens clear, beautiful, and well +worth living under, and the world full of good things which one +might desire and yet not be given over to evil. He ventured to look +at life for himself and found it full of wonderful dignity and +power. He opened his Virgil, brushed aside the cobwebs which +monkish brains had spun over the beautiful lines, and met the old +poet as one man meets another; and lo! there arose before him a +new, untrodden and wholly human world, free from priestcraft and +pedantry, near to nature and unspeakably alluring and +satisfying."</p> +<p>The Dominicans and Jesuits set their faces like <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page409"></a>[pg 409]</span> flint against all +education tending to liberalize the mind. Here is a passage from a +document published by the Jesuits at their first centenary: "It is +undeniable that we have undertaken a great and uninterrupted war in +the interests of the Catholic church against heresy. Heresy need +never hope that the society will make terms with it, or remain +quiescent ... No peace need be expected, for the seed of hatred is +born within us. What Hamilcar was to Hannibal, Ignatius is to us. +At his instigation, we have sworn upon the altars eternal war." +When this proclamation is read in the light of history, its meaning +stands forth with startling clearness. Almost every truth in +science and philosophy, no matter how valuable it was destined to +become as an agent in enhancing the well-being of the race, has had +to wear the stigma of heresy.</p> +<p>It is an interesting speculation to imagine what the +intellectual development of Europe would have been, had secular +learning been commended by the monks, and the common people +encouraged to exercise their minds without fear of excommunication +or death. It is sad to reflect how many great thoughts must have +perished still-born in the student's cloister <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page410"></a>[pg 410]</span> cell, and to +picture the silent grief with which many a brilliant soul must have +repressed his eager imagination.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="The_Charity_of_the_Monks"></a>The Charity of the +Monks</i></h2> +<br> +<p>In the eleventh century, a monk named Thieffroy wrote the +following: "It matters little that our churches rise to heaven, +that the capitals of their pillars are sculptured and gilded, that +our parchment is tinted purple, that gold is melted to form the +letters of our manuscripts, and that their bindings are set with +precious stones, if we have little or no care for the members of +Christ, and if Christ himself lies naked and dying before our +doors." This spirit, so charmingly expressed, was never quite +absent from the monkish orders. The monasteries were asylums for +the hungry during famines, and the sick during plagues. They served +as hotels where the traveler found a cordial welcome, comfortable +shelter and plain food. If he needed medical aid, his wants were +supplied. During the black plague, while many monks fled with the +multitude, others stayed at their posts and were to be found +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page411"></a>[pg 411]</span> daily +in the homes of the stricken, ministering to their bodily and +spiritual needs. Many of them perished in their heroic and +self-sacrificing labors.</p> +<p>Alms-giving was universally enjoined as a sure passport to +heaven. The most glittering rewards were held out to those who +enriched the monks with legacies to be used in relief of the poor. +It was, no doubt, the unselfish activities of the monks that caused +them to be held in such high esteem; the result was their coffers +were filled with more gold than they could easily give away. Thus +abuses grew up. Bernard said: "Piety gave birth to wealth, and the +daughter devoured the mother." Jacob of Vitry complained that +money, "by various and deceptive tricks," was exacted from the +people by the monks, most of which adhered "to their unfaithful +fingers." While Lecky eloquently praises the monks for their +beautiful deeds of charity, "following all the windings of the poor +man's grief," still he condones in the strongest terms the action +of Henry VIII. in transferring the monastic funds to his own +treasury: "No misapplication of this property by private persons +could produce as much evil as an unrestrained monasticism."</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page412"></a>[pg 412]</span> +<p>It would be unjust, however, to censure the monks for not +recognizing the evil social effects of indiscriminate alms-giving. +While their system was imperfect, it was the only one possible in +an age when the social sciences were unknown. It is difficult, even +to-day, to restrain that good-natured, but baneful, benevolence +which takes no account of circumstances and consequences, and often +fosters the growth of pauperism. The monks kept alive that sweet +spirit of philanthropy which is so essential to all the higher +forms of civilization. It is easier to discover the proper methods +for the exercise of generous sentiments, than to create those +feelings or to arouse them when dormant.</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2><i><a name="Monasticism_and_Religion"></a>Monasticism and +Religion</i></h2> +<br> +<p>No doctrine in theology, or practice of religion, has been free +from monastic influences. An adequate treatment of this theme would +require volumes instead of paragraphs. A few points, however, may +be touched upon by way of suggestion to those who may wish to +pursue the subject further.</p> +<p>The effect of the monastic ideal was to emphasize <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page413"></a>[pg 413]</span> the sinfulness of +man and his need of redemption. To get rid of sin--that is the +problem of humanity. A quaint formula of monastic confession reads: +"I confess all the sins of my body, of my flesh, of my bones and +sinews, of my veins and cartilages, of my tongue and lips, of my +ears, teeth and hair, of my marrow and any other part whatsoever, +whether it be soft or hard, wet or dry." This emphasis on man's +sinfulness and the need of redemption was sadly needed in Rome and +all down the ages. "It was a protest," says Clarke, "against +pleasure as the end of life ... It proved the reality of the +religious sentiment to a skeptical age.... If this long period of +self-torture has left us no other gain, let us value it as a proof +that in man religious aspiration is innate, unconquerable, and able +to triumph over all that the world hopes and over all that it +fears."</p> +<p>Thus the monks helped to keep alive the enthusiasm of religion. +There was a fervor, a devotion, a spirit of sacrifice, in the +system, which acted as a corrective to the selfish materialism of +the early and middle ages. Christian history furnishes many sad +spectacles of brutality and licentiousness, of insolent +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page414"></a>[pg 414]</span> pride +and uncontrolled greed, masked in the garb of religion. +Monasticism, by its constant insistence upon poverty and obedience, +fostered a spirit of loyalty to Christ and the cross, which served +as a protest, not only against the general laxity of morals, but +also against the faithlessness of corrupt monks. Harnack says: "It +was always monasticism that rescued the church when sinking, freed +her when secularized, defended her when attacked. It warmed hearts +that were growing cold, restrained unruly spirits, won back the +people when alienated from the church." It may have been in harmony +with divine plans, that religion was to have been kept alive and +vigorous by excessive austerities, even as in later days it needed +the stern and unyielding Puritan spirit, now regarded as too grim +and severe, to cope successfully with the forces of tyranny and +sin.</p> +<p>If it be true, as some are inclined to believe, that this age is +losing a definite consciousness of sin, that in the reaction from +the asceticism of the monks and the gloom of the Puritans we are in +danger of minimizing the doctrine of personal accountability to +God, then we cannot afford to ignore the underlying ideal of +monasticism. In so far as monasticism contributed <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page415"></a>[pg 415]</span> to a normal +consciousness of human freedom and personal guilt, and maintained a +grip upon the conscience of the sinner, it has rendered the cause +of true religion a genuine and permanent service.</p> +<p>But the mistake of the monks was twofold. They exaggerated sin, +and they employed unhealthy methods to get rid of it. Excessive +introspection, instead of exercising a purifying influence, tends +to distort one's religious conceptions, and creates an unwholesome +type of piety. Man is a sinner, but he also has potential and +actual goodness. The monks failed to define sin in accordance with +facts. Many innocent pleasures and legitimate satisfactions were +erroneously thought to be sinful. Honorable and useful aspirations +that, under wise control, minister to man's highest development +were selected for eradication. "Every instinct of human nature," +says W.E. Channing, "has its destined purpose in life, and the +perfect man is to be found in the proportionate cultivation of each +element of his character, not in the exaggerated development of +those faculties which are deemed primarily good, nor in the +repression of those which are evil only when their prominence +destroys the balance of the whole."</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page416"></a>[pg 416]</span> +<p>But the methods employed by the monks to get rid of sin afford +another illustration of the fact that noble sentiments and holy +aspirations need to be wisely directed. It is not enough for a +mother to love her child; she must know how to give that love +proper expression. In her attempt to guide and train her loved one +she may fatally mislead him. The modern emphasis upon method +deserves wider recognition than it has received.</p> +<p>The applause of the church that sounded so sweet in the ears of +the monk, as he laid the stripes upon his body, proclaims the high +esteem in which penance was held. But the monk cruelly deceived +himself. His self-inflicted tortures developed within his soul an +unnatural piety, "a piety," says White, "that became visionary and +introspective, a theology of black clouds and lightning and +thunder, a superstitious religion based on dreams and saint's +bones." True penitence consists in high and holy purposes, in pure +and unselfish living, and not in disfigurements and in misery. +Dreariness and fear are not the proper manifestations of that +perfect love which casteth out fear.</p> +<p>The influence of monasticism upon the doctrine <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page417"></a>[pg 417]</span> of atonement for +sin was, in many respects, prejudicial to the best interests of +religion. The monks are largely responsible for the theory that sin +can be atoned for by pecuniary gifts. It may be said that they did +not ignore true feelings of repentance, of which the gold was +merely a tangible expression, but the notion widely prevailed that +the prayers of the monks, purchased by temporal gifts, secured the +forgiveness of the transgressor. The worship of saints, pilgrimages +to shrines, and reverence for bones and other relics, were +assiduously encouraged.</p> +<p>Thus the monkish conception of salvation and of the means by +which it is to be obtained were at variance with any reasonable +interpretation of the Scriptures and the dictates of human reason. +"It measured virtue," says Schaff, "by the quantity of outward +exercises, instead of the quality of the inward disposition, and +disseminated self-righteousness and an anxious, legal, and +mechanical religion[<a href="#NOTE_K">K</a>]."</p> +<p>The doctrine of future punishment reached its most repulsive and +abnormal developments in the hands of the monks. A vast literature +was produced by them, portraying, with vivid minuteness, +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page418"></a>[pg 418]</span> the +pangs of hell. Volcanoes were said to be the portals of the lower +world, that heaved and sighed as human souls were plunged into the +awful depths. God was held up as a fearful judge, and the saving +mercy of Christ himself paled before the rescuing power of his +mother. These fearful caricatures of God, these detailed, revolting +descriptions of pain and anguish, could not but have a hardening +effect upon the minds of men. "To those," says Lecky, "who do not +regard these teachings as true, it must appear without exception, +the most odious in the religious history of the world, subversive +of the very foundations of Christianity."</p> +<p>Finally, the greatest error of monastic teaching was in its +false and baneful distinction between the secular and the +religious. Unquestionably the Christian ideal is founded on some +form of world-renunciation. The teachings and example of Jesus, the +lives of the Apostles, and the characters of the early Christians, +exhibit in varying phases the ideal of self-crucifixion. The +doctrine of the cross, with all that it signifies, is the most +powerful force in the spread of Christianity. The spiritual nature +of man needs to be trained and disciplined. But does <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page419"></a>[pg 419]</span> this truth lead the +Christian to the monastic method? Was the self-renunciation of +Jesus like that of the ascetics, with their ecstasies and +self-punishments? Is God more pleased with the recluse who turns +from a needy world to shut himself up to prayer and meditation, +than He is with him who cultivates holy emotions and heavenly +aspirations, while pursuing some honorable and useful calling? The +answer to these questions discloses the chief fallacy in the +monastic ideal, the effect of which was the creation of an +artificial piety. There is no special virtue in silence, celibacy, +and abstinence from the enjoyment of God's gifts to mankind.</p> +<p>The crying need of Christianity to-day is a willingness on the +part of Christ's followers to live for others instead of self. Men +and women are needed who, like many of the monks and nuns, will +identify themselves with the toiling multitudes, and who will +forego the pleasures of the world and the prospects of material +gain or social preferment, for the sake of ministering to a needy +humanity. The essence of Christianity is a love to God and man that +expresses itself in terms of social service and self-sacrifice. +Monasticism helped to preserve that noble <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page420"></a>[pg 420]</span> essence of all true +religion. But a revival of the apostolic spirit in these times +would not mean a triumph for monasticism. Stripped of its rigid +vows of celibacy, poverty and obedience, monasticism is dead.</p> +<p>The spirit of social service, the insistence upon soul-purity, +and the craving for participation in the divine nature, are the +fruits of Christianity, not of monasticism, which merely sought to +carry out the Christian ideal. But it is not necessary, in order to +realize this ideal, to wage war on human nature. True Christianity +is perfectly compatible with wealth, health and social joys. The +realms of industry, politics and home-life are a part of God's +world. A religious ideal based on a distorted view of social life, +that involves a renunciation of human joy and the extinction of +natural desires, and that prohibits the free exercise of beneficent +faculties, as conditions of its realization, can never establish +its right to permanent and universal dominion. The faithful +discharge of unromantic, secular duties, the keeping of one's heart +pure in the midst of temptation, and the unheralded altruism of +private life, must ever be as welcome in the sight of God as the +prayers of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page421"></a>[pg +421]</span> the recluse, who scorns the world of secular +affairs.</p> +<p>True religion, the highest religion, is possible beyond the +walls of churches and convents. The so-called secular employments +of business and politics, of home and school, may be conducted in a +spirit of lofty consecration to the Eternal, and so carried on, +may, in their way, minister to the highest welfare of humanity. The +old distinction, therefore, between the secular and the sacred is +pernicious and false. There are some other sacred things besides +monasteries and prayers. Human life itself is holy; so are the +commonplace duties of the untitled household and factory +saints.</p> +<blockquote>"God is in all that liberates and lifts,<br> +In all that humbles, sweetens, and consoles."</blockquote> +<p>Modern monasticism has forsaken the column of St. Simeon +Stylites and the rags of St. Francis. It has given up the ancient +and fantastic feats of asceticism, and the spiritual extravagances +of the early monks. The old monasticism never could have arisen +under a religious system controlled by natural and healthful +spiritual ideas. It has no attractions for minds unclouded by +superstition. It has lost <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page422"></a>[pg 422]</span> its hold upon the modern man because +the ancient ideas of God and his world, upon which it thrived, have +passed away.</p> +<p>Such are some of the effects of the monastic institution. Its +history is at once a warning and an inspiration. Its dreamy +asceticism, its gloomy cells, are gone. Its unworldly motives, its +stern allegiance to duty, its protest against self-indulgence, its +courage and sincerity, will ever constitute the potent energy of +true religion. Its ministrations to the broken-hearted, and its +loving care of the poor, must ever remain as a shining example of +practical Christianity. In the simplicity of the monk's life, in +the idea of "brotherhood," in the common life for common ends, a +Christian democracy will always find food for reflection. As the +social experiments of modern times reveal the hidden laws of social +and religious progress, it will be found that in spite of its +glaring deficiencies, monasticism was a magnificent attempt to +realize the ideal of Christ in individual and social life. As such +it merits neither ridicule nor obloquy. It was a <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page423"></a>[pg 423]</span> heroic struggle +with inveterate ignorance and sin, the history of which flashes +many a welcome light upon the problems of modern democracy and +religion.</p> +<p>Monastic forms and vows may pass away with other systems that +will have their day, but its fervor of faith, and its warfare +against human passion and human greed, its child-like love of the +heavenly kingdom will never die. The revolt against its +superstitions and excesses is justifiable only in a society that +seeks to actualize its underlying religious ideal of personal +purity and social service.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page424"></a>[pg 424]</span><br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page425"></a>[pg 425]</span> +<h2><a name="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX</h2> +<h3><a name="NOTE_A"></a>NOTE A</h3> +<br> +<p>The derivation and meaning of a few monastic terms may be of +interest to the reader.</p> +<p>Abbot, from [Greek: abba], literally, father. A title originally +given to any monk, but afterwards restricted to the head or +superior of a monastery.</p> +<p>Anchoret, anchorite, from the Greek, [Greek: +anachorêtês], a recluse, literally, one retired. In the +classification of religious ascetics, the anchorets were those who +were most excessive in their austerities, not only choosing +solitude but subjecting themselves to the greatest privations.</p> +<p>Ascetic, [Greek: askêtês], one who exercises, an +athlete. The term was first applied to those practicing self-denial +for athletic purposes. In its ecclesiastical sense, it denotes +those who seek holiness through self-mortification.</p> +<p>Canon Regular. About A.D. 755, Chrodegangus, Bishop of Metz, +gave a cloister-life law to his clergy, who came to be called +canons, from [Greek: kanôn], rule. The canons were originally +priests living in a community like monks, and acting as assistants +to the bishops. They gradually formed separate and independent +bodies. Benedict XII. (1399) tried to secure a general adoption of +the rule of Augustine for these canons, which gave rise to the +distinction between canons regular (i.e., those who follow that +rule), and canons secular (those who do not).</p> +<p>Cenobite, from the Greek, [Greek: koinos], common, and [Greek: +bios], life; applied to those living in monasteries.</p> +<p>Clerks Regular. This is a title given to certain religious +orders founded in the sixteenth century. The principal societies +are: the Theatines, founded by Cajetan of Thiene, subsequently Pope +Paul <span class="pagenum"><a name="page426"></a>[pg 426]</span> +IV.; and Priests of the Oratory, instituted by Philip Neri, of +Florence. These two orders have been held in high repute, numbering +among their members many men of rank and intellect.</p> +<p>Cloister, from the Latin, <i>Claustra</i>, that which closes or +shuts, an inclosure; hence, a place of religious retirement, a +monastery.</p> +<p>Hermit, or eremite, from the Greek, [Greek: herêmos], +desolate, solitary. One who dwells alone apart from society, or +with but few companions. Not used of those who dwell in +cloisters.</p> +<p>Monastery, comes from the same source as monk. Commonly applied +to a house used exclusively by monks. The term, however, strictly +includes the abbey, the priory, the nunnery, the friary, and in +this broad sense is synonymous with convent, which is from the +Latin, <i>convenire</i>, to meet together.</p> +<p>Monk, from the Greek, [Greek: mhonos], alone, single. +Originally, a man who retired from the world for religious +meditation. In later use, a member of a community. It is used +indiscriminately to denote all persons in monastic orders, in or +out of the monasteries.</p> +<p>Nun, from <i>nouna</i>, i.e., chaste, holy. "The word is +probably of Coptic origin, and occurs as early as in Jerome." +(Schaff).</p> +<p>Regulars. Until the tenth century it was not customary to regard +the monks as a part of the clerical order. Before that time they +were known as <i>religiosi</i> or <i>regulares</i>. Afterwards a +distinction was made between parish priests, or secular clergy, and +the monks, or regular clergy.</p> +<p>For more detailed information on these and other monastic words, +see The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, and McClintock and +Strong's Encyclopedia.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_B"></a>NOTE B</h3> +<p>The Pythagoreans are likened to the Jesuits probably on account +of their submission to Pythagoras as Master, their love of learning +and their austerities. Like the Jesuits, the Pythagorean league +entangled itself with politics and became the object of hatred and +violence. Its <span class="pagenum"><a name="page427"></a>[pg +427]</span> meeting-houses were everywhere sacked and burned. As a +philosophical school Pythagoreanism became extinct about the middle +of the fourth century.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_C"></a>NOTE C</h3> +<p>The Encyclopædia Brittanica divides the monastic +institutions into five classes:</p> +<p>1. Monks. 2. Canons Regular. 3. Military Orders. 4. Friars. 5. +Clerks Regular. All of these have communities of women, either +actually affiliated to them, or formed on similar lines.</p> +<p>Saint Benedict distinguishes four sorts of monks: 1. Coenobites, +living under an abbot in a monastery. 2. Anchorites, who retire +into the desert. 3. Sarabaites, dwelling two or three in the same +cell. 4. Gyrovagi, who wander from monastery to monastery. The last +two kinds he condemns. The Gyrovagi or wandering monks were the +pest of convents and the disgrace of monasticism. They evaded all +responsibilities and spent their time tramping from place to place, +living like parasites, and spreading vice and disorder wherever +they went.</p> +<p>There were really four distinct stages in the development of the +monastic institution:</p> +<p>1. Asceticism. Clergy and laymen practiced various forms of +self-denial without becoming actual monks.</p> +<p>2. The hermit life, which was asceticism pushed to an external +separation from the world. Here are to be found anchorites, and +stylites or pillar-saints.</p> +<p>3. Coenobitism, or monastic life proper, consisting of +associations of monks under one roof, and ruled by an abbot.</p> +<p>4. Monastic orders, or unions of cloisters, the various abbots +being under the authority of one supreme head, who was, at first, +generally the founder of the brotherhood.</p> +<p>Under this last division are to be classed the Mendicant Friars, +the Military Monks, the Jesuits and other modern organizations. The +members of these orders commenced their monastic life in +monasteries, and were therefore coenobites, but many of them passed +out of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page428"></a>[pg +428]</span> cloister to become teachers, preachers or missionary +workers in various fields.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_D"></a>NOTE D</h3> +<p>Matins. One of the canonical hours appointed in the early +church, and still observed in the Roman Catholic Church, especially +in monastic orders. It properly begins at midnight. The name is +also applied to the service itself, which includes the Lord's +Prayer, the Angelic Salutation, the Creed and several psalms.</p> +<p>Lauds, a religious service in connection with matins; so called +from the reiterated ascriptions of praise to God in the psalms.</p> +<p>Prime. The first hour or period of the day; follows after matins +and lauds; originally intended to be said at the first hour after +sunrise.</p> +<p>Tierce, terce. The third hour; half-way between sunrise and +noon.</p> +<p>Sext. The sixth hour, originally and properly said at +midday.</p> +<p>None, noon. The ninth hour from sunrise, or the middle hour +between midday and sunset--that is, about 3 o'clock.</p> +<p>Vespers, the next to the last of the canonical hours--the +even-song.</p> +<p>Compline. The last of the seven canonical hours, originally said +after the evening meal and before retiring to sleep, but in later +medieval and modern usage following immediately on vespers.</p> +<p>B.V.M.--Blessed Virgin Mary.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_E"></a>NOTE E</h3> +<p>The literary and educational services of the monks are described +in many histories, but the reader will find the best treatment of +this subject in the scholarly yet popular work of George Haven +Putnam, "Books and Their Makers During the Middle Ages," to which +we are largely indebted for the facts given in this volume.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_F"></a>NOTE F</h3> +<p>In many interesting particulars St. Francis may be compared with +General Booth of the Salvation Army. In their intense religious +fervor, in their insistence upon obedience, humility, and +self-denial, in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page429"></a>[pg +429]</span> their services for the welfare of the poor, in their +love of the "submerged tenth," they are alike. True, there are no +monkish vows in the Salvation Army and its doctrines bear a general +resemblance to those of other Protestant communions, but like the +old Franciscan order, it is dominated by a powerful missionary +spirit, and its members are actuated by an unsurpassed devotion to +the common people. In the autocratic, military features of the +Army, it more nearly approaches the ideal of Loyola. It is quite +possible that the differences between Francis and Booth are due +more to the altered historical environment than to any radical +diversities in the characters of the two men.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_G"></a>NOTE G</h3> +<p>The quotations from Father Sherman are taken from an address +delivered by him in Central Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois, on +Monday, February 5, 1894, in which he extolled the virtues of +Loyola and defended the aims and character of the Society of +Jesus.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_H"></a>NOTE H</h3> +<p>Those who may wish to study the casuistry of the Jesuits, as it +appears in their own works, are referred to two of the most +important and comparatively late authorities: Liguori's +"<i>Theologia Moralis</i>," and Gury's "<i>Compendium Theologioe +Moralis</i>" and "<i>Casus Conscientiæ</i>." Gury was +Professor of Moral Theology in the College Romain, the Jesuits' +College in Rome. His works have passed through several editions. +They were translated from the Latin into French by Paul Bert, +member of the Chamber of Deputies. An English translation of the +French rendering was published by B.F. Bradbury, of Boston, +Massachusetts. The reader is also referred to Pascal's "Provincial +Letters" and to Migne's "<i>Dictionnaire de cas de +Conscience</i>."</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_I"></a>NOTE I</h3> +<p>The student may profitably study the life and teachings of +Wyclif in their bearing upon the destruction of the monasteries. +Wyclif was <span class="pagenum"><a name="page430"></a>[pg +430]</span> designated as the "Gospel Doctor" because he maintained +that "the law of Jesus Christ infinitely exceeds all other laws." +He held to the right of private judgment in the interpretation of +Scripture, and denied the infallibility claimed by the pontiffs. He +opposed pilgrimages, held loosely to image-worship and rejected the +system of tithing as it was then carried on. Wyclif was also a +persistent and public foe of the mendicant friars. The views of +this eminent reformer were courageously advocated by his followers, +and for nearly two generations they continued to agitate the +English people. It is easy to understand, therefore, how Wyclif's +opinions assisted in preparing the nation for the Reformation of +the sixteenth century, although it seemed that Lollardy had been +everywhere crushed by persecution. The Lollards condemned, among +other things, pilgrimages to the tombs of the saints, papal +authority and the mass. Their revolt against Rome led in some +instances to grave excesses.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_J"></a>NOTE J</h3> +<p>In France, the religious houses suppressed by the laws of +February 13, 1790, and August 18, 1792, amounted (without reckoning +various minor establishments) to 820 abbeys of men and 255 of +women, with aggregate revenues of 95,000,000 livres.</p> +<p>The Thirty Years' War in Germany wrought much mischief to the +monasteries. On the death of Maria Theresa, in 1780, Joseph II., +her son, dissolved the Mendicant Orders and suppressed the greater +number of monasteries and convents in his dominions.</p> +<p>Although Pope Alexander VII. secured the suppression of many +small cloisters in Italy, he was in favor of a still wider +abolition on account of the superfluity of religious institutes, +and the general degeneration of the monks. Various minor +suppressions had taken place in Italy, but it was not until the +unification of the kingdom that the religious houses were declared +national property. The total number of monasteries suppressed in +Italy, down to 1882, was 2,255, involving an enormous displacement +of property and dispersion of inmates.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page431"></a>[pg 431]</span> +<p>The fall of the religious houses in Spain dates from the law of +June 21, 1835, which suppressed nine hundred monasteries at a blow. +The remainder were dissolved on October 11th, in the same year.</p> +<p>No European country had so many religious houses in proportion +to its population and area as Portugal. In 1834 the number +suppressed exceeded 500.</p> +<br> +<h3><a name="NOTE_K"></a>NOTE K</h3> +<p>The criticism of Schaff is just in its estimate of the general +influence of the monastic ideal, but there were individual monks +whose views of sin and salvation were singularly pure and +elevating. Saint Hugh, of Lincoln, said to several men of the world +who were praising the lives of the Carthusian monks: "Do not +imagine that the kingdom of Heaven is only for monks and hermits. +When God will judge each one of us, he will not reproach the lost +for not having been monks or solitaries, but for not having been +true Christians. Now, to be a true Christian, three things are +necessary; and if one of these three things is wanting to us, we +are Christians only in name, and our sentence will be all the more +severe, the more we have made profession of perfection. The three +things are: <i>Charity in the heart, truth on the lips, and purity +of life</i>; if we are wanting in these, we are unworthy of the +name of Christian."</p> +<br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<h2>THE END</h2> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page432"></a>[pg 432]</span><br> +<br> +<hr style="width: 35%;"> +<br> +<br> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page433"></a>[pg 433]</span> +<h2><a name="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> +<div class="indx"> +<div class="letter"> +<p>A</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Abbey, <i>see</i> <a href="#Monastery">Monastery.</a></p> +<p>Abbot, meaning of word, <a href='#page425'>425</a>; as father of +family of monks, <a href='#page143'>143</a>; election of, <a href= +'#page144'>144</a>; description of installation of, <a href= +'#page145'>145</a>; wealth and political influence of, <a href= +'#page147'>147</a>; disorders among lay, <a href= +'#page179'>179</a>; as a feudal lord, <a href='#page373'>373</a>; +in legislative assemblies, <a href='#page400'>400</a>.</p> +<p>Abelard opposed by Bernard, <a href='#page196'>196</a>.</p> +<p>Abraham, St., the hermit, <a href='#page50'>50</a>; quoted, +<a href='#page60'>60</a>.</p> +<p>Abstinence, no virtue in false, <a href='#page419'>419</a>.</p> +<p>Accountability, personal, sense of maintained by monks, <a href= +'#page414'>414</a>.</p> +<p>Act of Succession, <a href='#page298'>298</a>.</p> +<p>Agriculture, monasteries centers of, <a href='#page155'>155</a>; +and the Cistercian monks, <a href='#page192'>192</a>; fostered by +monks, <a href='#page403'>403</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Benedict">Benedict</a>, Order of St.</p> +<p>Alaric the Goth sacks Rome, <a href='#page103'>103</a>.</p> +<p>Albans, St., Abbey of, Morton on its vices, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<p>Albertus Magnus, a Dominican, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Albigensians, Hallam on doctrines of, <a href= +'#page232'>232</a>; Hardwick on same, <a href='#page233'>233</a>; +Dominic preaches against, <a href='#page234'>234</a>; Dominic's +part in crusade against, <a href='#page235'>235</a>.</p> +<p>Alcuin, on corruptions of monks, <a href='#page173'>173</a>; +education and, <a href='#page167'>167</a>.</p> +<p>Alexander IV., Pope, on the stigmata of St. Francis, <a href= +'#page221'>221</a>; and the University of Paris quarrel, <a href= +'#page250'>250</a>.</p> +<p>Alfred, King, the Great, complains of monks, <a href= +'#page173'>173</a>; his reformatory measures, <a href= +'#page181'>181</a>.</p> +<p>Alien Priories, confiscated, <a href='#page338'>338</a>; origin +of, <a href='#page340'>340</a>.</p> +<p>Allen, on the fate of the Templars, <a href='#page202'>202</a>; +on Dominic and the Albigensian crusade, <a href='#page238'>238</a>; +on spiritual pride of the Mendicants, <a href='#page257'>257</a>; +on the genius of feudalism, <a href='#page373'>373</a>; on the +deficiencies of monastic characters, <a href= +'#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Alms-giving, <i>see</i> <a href="#Charity">Charity.</a></p> +<p>Alverno, Mount, and the stigmata of St. Francis, <a href= +'#page219'>219</a>.</p> +<p>Ambrose, embraces ascetic Christianity, <a href= +'#page84'>84</a>; Theodosius on, <a href='#page115'>115</a>; saying +of Gibbon applied to, <a href='#page116'>116</a>; describes +Capraria, <a href='#page126'>126</a>; his influence on Milanese +women, <a href='#page126'>126</a>.</p> +<p>Ammonius, the hermit, visits Rome, <a href='#page72'>72</a>.</p> +<p>Anglicans, claims of, respecting the early British Church, +<a href='#page162'>162</a>.</p> +<p>Anglo-Saxons and British Christianity, <a href= +'#page164'>164</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Anglo-Saxon_Church"></a>Anglo-Saxon Church, effect of +Danish invasion on, <a href='#page181'>181</a>; <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page434"></a>[pg 434]</span> effect of Dunstan's +work on, <a href='#page187'>187</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Britain">Britain.</a></p> +<p>Anslem, of Canterbury, on flight from the world, <a href= +'#page369'>369</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Anthony"></a>Anthony, St., visits Paul of Thebes, +<a href='#page37'>37</a>; his strange experiences, <a href= +'#page38'>38</a>; buries Paul, <a href='#page41'>41</a>; birth and +early life of, <a href='#page43'>43</a>; his austerities, <a href= +'#page44'>44</a>, <a href='#page45'>45</a>; miracles of, <a href= +'#page46'>46</a>; his fame and influence, <a href='#page47'>47</a>; +his death, <a href='#page48'>48</a>; Taylor on biography of, +<a href='#page48'>48</a>.</p> +<p>Ap Rice, a Royal Commissioner, <a href='#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Aquinas, Thomas, a Dominican, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Ascetic"></a>Ascetic, The, his morbid introspection, +<a href='#page392'>392</a>; meaning of word, <a href= +'#page425'>425</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Monks">Monks</a> and +<a href="#Hermits">Hermits.</a></p> +<p><a name="Asceticism"></a>Asceticism, in India, <a href= +'#page18'>18</a>-20, <a href='#page357'>357</a>; among Chaldeans, +<a href='#page20'>20</a>; in China, <a href='#page20'>20</a>; among +the Greeks, <a href='#page21'>21</a>, <a href='#page22'>22</a>; the +Essenes, <a href='#page23'>23</a>; in apostolic times, <a href= +'#page27'>27</a>; the Gnostics, <a href='#page27'>27</a>; and the +Bible, <a href='#page30'>30</a>, <a href='#page366'>366</a>; in +post-apostolic times, <a href='#page31'>31</a>; modifications of, +under Basil, <a href='#page64'>64</a>; protests against, in early +Rome, <a href='#page124'>124</a>; various forms of, <a href= +'#page385'>385</a>; effects of, <a href='#page391'>391</a>, +<a href='#page401'>401</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Monasticism">Monasticism.</a></p> +<p>Aske, Robert, heads revolt against Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page326'>326</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Athanasius"></a>Athanasius, St., visits hermits, +<a href='#page35'>35</a>; his life of Anthony, <a href= +'#page42'>42</a>; influence of same on Rome, <a href= +'#page80'>80</a>, <a href='#page83'>83</a>; spreads Pachomian rule, +<a href='#page63'>63</a>; visits Rome, <a href='#page71'>71</a>, +and effect of, <a href='#page80'>80</a>; visits Gaul, <a href= +'#page119'>119</a>; his saying on fasting, <a href= +'#page121'>121</a>.</p> +<p>Atonement, for sin, the monk's influence on doctrine of, +<a href='#page417'>417</a>.</p> +<p>Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, his life, and services to +monasticism, <a href='#page117'>117</a>, <a href= +'#page119'>119</a>; influenced by biography of Anthony, <a href= +'#page43'>43</a>; on marriage and celibacy, <a href= +'#page112'>112</a>; charges monks with fraud, <a href= +'#page128'>128</a>.</p> +<p>Augustine, Rule of, adopted by Dominic, <a href= +'#page232'>232</a>, <a href='#page241'>241</a>.</p> +<p>Augustine, the monk, his mission to England, <a href= +'#page161'>161</a>.</p> +<p>Augustinians, <a href='#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p>Aurelius, Emperor, Christianity during reign of, <a href= +'#page124'>124</a>.</p> +<p>Austerities, Robertson on, <a href='#page94'>94</a>. <i>See</i> +<a href="#Asceticism">Asceticism</a> and <a href= +"#Self-denial">Self-denial</a></p> +<p>Austin Canons, <a href='#page118'>118</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>B</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Bacon, Roger, a Franciscan, <a href='#page228'>228</a>; +imprisonment of, <a href='#page407'>407</a>.</p> +<p>Bagot, Richard, on the English reformation, <a href= +'#page345'>345</a>.</p> +<p>Bale, John, on the fall of the monasteries, <a href= +'#page333'>333</a>.</p> +<p>Baluzii, on the prosperity of the Franciscans, <a href= +'#page255'>255</a>.</p> +<p>Bangor, Monastery of, founded, <a href='#page123'>123</a>; +slaughter of its monks, <a href='#page165'>165</a>.</p> +<p>Barbarians, the struggle of the monks with, <a href= +'#page148'>148</a>, <a href='#page149'>149</a>, <a href= +'#page170'>170</a>; conversion of, <a href='#page398'>398</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Basil"></a>Basil the Great, <a href='#page63'>63</a>; +revolts against excessive austerities, <a href='#page64'>64</a>; +founder of Greek monasticism, <a href='#page64'>64</a>, <a href= +'#page65'>65</a>; his rules, <a href='#page65'>65</a>; adopts +irrevocable vows, <a href='#page65'>65</a>; on marriage, <a href= +'#page66'>66</a>; enforces strict obedience, <a href= +'#page66'>66</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page435"></a>[pg 435]</span> +<p>Bede, The Venerable, on the British Church, <a href= +'#page123'>123</a>; on monks and animals, <a href= +'#page156'>156</a>.</p> +<p>Begging Friars, <i>see</i> <a href="#Mendicant">Mendicants</a>, +<a href="#Franciscans">Franciscans</a> and <a href= +"#Dominicans">Dominicans</a>.</p> +<p>Benedict, Pope, XI., <a href='#page221'>221</a>; XII., +consecrates Monte Cassino, <a href='#page135'>135</a>; on the +stigmata of St. Francis, <a href='#page221'>221</a>.</p> +<p>Benedict of Aniane, his attempted reform, <a href= +'#page176'>176</a>.</p> +<p>Benedict, of Nursia, birth and early life, <a href= +'#page131'>131</a>; his trials, <a href='#page132'>132</a>; his +fame attracts followers, <a href='#page133'>133</a>; his strictness +provokes opposition, <a href='#page133'>133</a>; retires to Monte +Cassino, <a href='#page134'>134</a>; conquers Paganism, <a href= +'#page135'>135</a>; his miracles and power over barbarians, +<a href='#page137'>137</a>; his last days, <a href= +'#page138'>138</a>; his rules, <a href='#page138'>138</a>; Schaff +on same, <a href='#page148'>148</a>; Cardinal Newman on mission of, +<a href='#page149'>149</a>; saying of, on manual labor, <a href= +'#page403'>403</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Benedict"></a>Benedict, Order of St., <a href= +'#page131'>131</a>; rules of, <a href='#page138'>138</a>; the +novitiate, <a href='#page140'>140</a>; daily life of monks, +<a href='#page140'>140</a>; meaning of term "order," <a href= +'#page143'>143</a>; abbots of, <a href='#page144'>144</a>; manual +labor, <a href='#page147'>147</a>, <a href='#page403'>403</a>; +Schaff on rules of, <a href='#page148'>148</a>; its dealings with +barbarians, <a href='#page148'>148</a>, <a href='#page398'>398</a>; +its literary and educational services, <a href='#page151'>151</a>; +its agricultural work, <a href='#page155'>155</a>, <a href= +'#page404'>404</a>; spread of, <a href='#page158'>158</a>; its +followers among the royalty, <a href='#page159'>159</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Bernard"></a>Bernard, of Clairvaux, his birth and +monastic services, <a href='#page193'>193</a>; character of his +monastery, <a href='#page192'>192</a>; on drugs and doctors, +<a href='#page194'>194</a>; his reforms, <a href= +'#page195'>195</a>; Vaughan on, <a href='#page195'>195</a>; Storrs +on, <a href='#page197'>197</a>; the Crusades, <a href= +'#page197'>197</a>; on the abuses of charity, <a href= +'#page411'>411</a>.</p> +<p>Bernardone, Peter, father of Francis, <a href= +'#page208'>208</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Francis">Francis.</a></p> +<p>Bethlehem, Jerome's monasteries at, <a href='#page85'>85</a>, +<a href='#page88'>88</a>; Paula establishes monasteries at, +<a href='#page100'>100</a>.</p> +<p>Bible, The, and monasticism, <a href='#page30'>30</a>, <a href= +'#page376'>376</a>.</p> +<p>Bigotry, of monks, <a href='#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Biography, monastic history centers in, <a href= +'#page84'>84</a>.</p> +<p>Björnstrom, on the stigmata, <a href= +'#page223'>223</a>.</p> +<p>Blæsilla, murmurs against monks at her funeral, <a href= +'#page125'>125</a>.</p> +<p>Blunt, on the: fall of the monasteries, <a href= +'#page333'>333</a>.</p> +<p>Boccaccio, comments on his visit to Monte Cassino, <a href= +'#page136'>136</a>.</p> +<p>Boleyn, Anne, and Henry VIII., <a href='#page294'>294</a>.</p> +<p>Bollandists, Catholic, on Dominic and the Inquisition, <a href= +'#page238'>238</a>.</p> +<p>Bonaventura, on the stigmata of Francis, <a href= +'#page220'>220</a>; a Franciscan, <a href='#page228'>228</a>; on +vices of the monks, <a href='#page337'>337</a>.</p> +<p>Boniface, the apostle to the Germans, <a href= +'#page167'>167</a>.</p> +<p>Bonner, Bishop, persuades Prior Houghton to sign oath of +supremacy, <a href='#page303'>303</a>.</p> +<p>Brahminism, asceticism under, <a href='#page19'>19</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Britain"></a>Britain, Tertullian, Origen, and Bede, on +Christianity in, <a href='#page123'>123</a>;. relation of early +church in, to Rome, <a href='#page162'>162</a>; monasticism in, +<a href='#page162'>162</a>, <a href='#page168'>168</a>.</p> +<p>Brotherhood of Penitence, <a href='#page229'>229</a>.</p> +<p>Bruno, the abbot of Cluny, <a href='#page177'>177</a>.</p> +<p>Bruno, founder of Carthusian order, <a href='#page188'>188</a>; +Ruskin on the order, <a href='#page189'>189</a>; <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page436"></a>[pg 436]</span> the monastery of +the Chartreuse, <a href='#page189'>189</a>; his eulogy of solitude, +<a href='#page396'>396</a>.</p> +<p>Bryant, poem of, on fall of monasteries, <a href= +'#page353'>353</a>.</p> +<p>Buddha, on the ascetic life, <a href='#page357'>357</a>.</p> +<p>Buddhism, asceticism under, <a href='#page19'>19</a>.</p> +<p>Burke, Edmund, quoted by Gasquet on fall of monasteries, +<a href='#page312'>312</a>.</p> +<p>Burnet, on report of Royal Commissioners, <a href= +'#page316'>316</a>.</p> +<p>Bury, Father, on Chinese monks, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>C</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Cambridge, University of, the friars at, <a href= +'#page252'>252</a>, <a href='#page405'>405</a>.</p> +<p>Campeggio, Cardinal, the divorce proceedings of Henry VIII. and, +<a href='#page294'>294</a>.</p> +<p>Capraria, Rutilius and Ambrose on island of, <a href= +'#page126'>126</a>.</p> +<p>Capuchins, <a href='#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p>Carlyle, Thomas, on Mahomet, <a href='#page33'>33</a>; quotes +Jocelin on Abbot Samson's election, <a href='#page145'>145</a>; on +the twelfth century, <a href='#page157'>157</a>; on the monastic +ideal, <a href='#page174'>174</a>; on Jesuitical obedience, +<a href='#page271'>271</a>; views of, criticised, <a href= +'#page278'>278</a>.</p> +<p>Carmelites, <a href='#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Carthusians"></a>Carthusians, The, establishment of, +<a href='#page188'>188</a>; famous monastery of, <a href= +'#page189'>189</a>; rules of, <a href='#page189'>189</a>; in +England, <a href='#page191'>191</a>, <a href='#page334'>334</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Charterhouse">Charterhouse.</a></p> +<p>Cassiodorus, the literary labors of, <a href= +'#page152'>152</a>.</p> +<p>Casuistry, of the Jesuits, <a href='#page272'>272</a>; <a href= +'#page429'>429</a>.</p> +<p>Catacombs, visited by Jerome, <a href='#page87'>87</a>.</p> +<p>Catharine, of Aragon, Henry's divorce from, <a href= +'#page293'>293</a>.</p> +<p>Catholic, Roman, <i>see</i> <a href="#Rome,_Church_of">Rome, +Church of.</a></p> +<p><a name="Celibacy"></a>Celibacy, praised by Jerome and +Augustine, <a href='#page112'>112</a>; views of Helvidius on, +opposed by Jerome, <a href='#page113'>113</a>; the struggle to +establish sacerdotal, <a href='#page183'>183</a>; Lingard on, +<a href='#page183'>183</a>; Lea on, <a href='#page184'>184</a>; vow +of, <a href='#page380'>380</a>; and Scripture teaching, <a href= +'#page381'>381</a>; early Fathers on, <a href='#page381'>381</a>; a +modern ecclesiastic's reasons for, <a href='#page381'>381</a>; how +vow of, came to be imposed, <a href='#page382'>382</a>; no special +virtue in, <a href='#page419'>419</a>.</p> +<p>Cellani, Peter, Dominic retires to house of, <a href= +'#page238'>238</a>;</p> +<p>Celtic Church, <i>see</i> <a href="#Britain">Britain.</a></p> +<p>Cenobites, meaning of term, <a href='#page425'>425</a>; origin +of, in the East, <a href='#page57'>57</a>; habits of early, +<a href='#page58'>58</a>; aims of, <a href='#page60'>60</a>.</p> +<p>Chalcis, desert of, <a href='#page87'>87</a>.</p> +<p>Chaldea, asceticism in, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Chalippe, Father Candide, on miracles of saints, <a href= +'#page224'>224</a>.</p> +<p>Channey, Maurice, on fall of the Charterhouse, <a href= +'#page302'>302</a>.</p> +<p>Channing, William E., on various manifestations of the ascetic +spirit, <a href='#page385'>385</a>; on exaggerations of +monasticism, <a href='#page415'>415</a>.</p> +<p>Chapter, The, defined, <a href='#page144'>144</a>; of Mats, +<a href='#page228'>228</a>.</p> +<p>Chapuys, despatches of, to Charles V., <a href= +'#page297'>297</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Charity"></a>Charity, of monks, <a href= +'#page348'>348</a>, <a href='#page410'>410</a>; true and false, +<a href='#page348'>348</a>, <a href='#page412'>412</a>; Bernard, +Jacob of Vitry and Lecky on abuses of, <a href='#page411'>411</a>; +as a passport to Heaven, <a href='#page411'>411</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page437"></a>[pg 437]</span> +<p>Charlemagne, <a href='#page118'>118</a>.</p> +<p>Charles V., Emperor, Pole writes to, <a href='#page296'>296</a>; +Chapuy's despatches to, <a href='#page297'>297</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Charterhouse"></a>Charterhouse, of London, <a href= +'#page191'>191</a>; execution of monks of, <a href= +'#page301'>301</a>, <a href='#page334'>334</a>; and the progress of +England, <a href='#page343'>343</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Carthusians">Carthusians.</a></p> +<p>Chartreuse, Grand, monastery, <a href='#page189'>189</a>.</p> +<p>Chastity, vow of, in Pachomian rule, <a href='#page61'>61</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Celibacy">Celibacy.</a></p> +<p>China, asceticism in, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Chinese monks, Father Bury on, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Christ, <i>see</i> <a href="#Jesus_Christ">Jesus Christ.</a></p> +<p>Christian clergy, character of, in the fourth century, <a href= +'#page77'>77</a>.</p> +<p>Christian ideal, tending toward fanaticism, <a href= +'#page129'>129</a>.</p> +<p>Christian discipleship, nature of true, <a href= +'#page390'>390</a>.</p> +<p>Christianity, asceticism and apostolic, <a href= +'#page27'>27</a>, <a href='#page28'>28</a>, <a href= +'#page31'>31</a>; conquers Roman empire, <a href='#page71'>71</a>, +<a href='#page76'>76</a>; endangered by success, <a href= +'#page77'>77</a>; in Rome in the fourth century, <a href= +'#page79'>79</a>; Lord on same, <a href='#page80'>80</a>; is +opposed to fanaticism, <a href='#page94'>94</a>; in ancient +Britain, <a href='#page123'>123</a>, <a href='#page161'>161</a>, +<a href='#page162'>162</a>; Clarke on, <a href='#page171'>171</a>; +Mozoomdar on essential principle of, <a href='#page359'>359</a>; +requires some sort of self-denial, <a href='#page390'>390</a>, +<a href='#page418'>418</a>, <a href='#page419'>419</a>; monasticism +and, compared, <a href='#page420'>420</a>; monasticism furnishes +example of, <a href='#page422'>422</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Britain">Britain</a> and <a href="#Church">Church.</a></p> +<p>Chrysostom, becomes an ascetic, <a href='#page84'>84</a>; brief +account of life of, <a href='#page116'>116</a>; monastic cause +furthered by, <a href='#page117'>117</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Church"></a>Church, Christian, the triumphant, compared +with church in age of persecution, <a href='#page109'>109</a>; +ideal of, furthers monasticism, <a href='#page129'>129</a>; and the +barbarians, <a href='#page149'>149</a>; of the thirteenth century, +<a href='#page206'>206</a>; its life-ideal, <a href= +'#page369'>369</a>; its union with paganism, <a href= +'#page370'>370</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Anglo-Saxon_Church">Anglo-Saxon Church</a>, <a href= +"#Britain">Britain</a>, and <a href="#England,_Church_of">England, +Church of.</a></p> +<p>Cistercian Order, the monks and rule of, <a href= +'#page192'>192</a>; decline of, <a href='#page193'>193</a>.</p> +<p>Citeaux, Monastery at, <a href='#page192'>192</a>.</p> +<p>Civic duties and monasticism, <a href='#page399'>399</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Monasticism">Monasticism.</a></p> +<p>Clairvaux, Bernard of, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Bernard">Bernard</a>; Monastery of, <a href= +'#page193'>193</a>.</p> +<p>Clara, St., Nuns of, founded, <a href='#page228'>228</a>.</p> +<p>Clarke, William Newton, on Christianity of first and second +centuries, <a href='#page171'>171</a>.</p> +<p>Clarke, James Freeman, on Brahmin ascetics, <a href= +'#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Classics, Jerome's fondness for the, <a href='#page95'>95</a>; +the monks and the, <a href='#page405'>405</a>.</p> +<p>Clement XIV., Pope, dissolves the Society of Jesus, <a href= +'#page279'>279</a>.</p> +<p>Clergy of the Christian Church, <a href='#page77'>77</a>.</p> +<p>Clinton, Lord, on the work of suppression, <a href= +'#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Cloister, <a href='#page426'>426</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Monastery">Monastery.</a></p> +<p>Cluny, Monastery at, <a href='#page177'>177</a>; the +congregation of, <a href='#page178'>178</a>.</p> +<p>Coke, Sir Edward, quoted, <a href='#page329'>329</a>.</p> +<p>Columba, St., his church relations, <a href= +'#page162'>162</a>.</p> +<p>Commissioners, The Royal, appointed to visit monasteries of +England, their methods, <a href='#page308'>308</a>, <a href= +'#page333'>333</a>; character of, <a href='#page311'>311</a>; begin +their work, <a href='#page313'>313</a>; their report, <a href= +'#page316'>316</a>; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page438"></a>[pg +438]</span> Parliament acts on same, <a href= +'#page319'>319</a>.</p> +<p>Confession, among the Jesuits, <a href='#page269'>269</a>.</p> +<p>Conscience, liberty of, renounced by monks, <a href= +'#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Constantine the Great, <a href='#page71'>71</a>.</p> +<p>Contemplation, John Tauler on, <a href='#page395'>395</a>; Bruno +on, <a href='#page396'>396</a>.</p> +Convents. <i>See</i> <a href="#Monasteries">Monasteries.</a> +<p>Copyright, first instance of quarrel for, <a href= +'#page170'>170</a>.</p> +<p>Council, of Saragossa, <a href='#page122'>122</a>; of Trent, +<a href='#page382'>382</a>; Lateran, <a href= +'#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Court of Augmentation, <a href='#page319'>319</a>.</p> +<p>Crocella, Santa, chapel of, <a href='#page131'>131</a>; Romanus +the monk, <a href='#page131'>131</a>.</p> +<p>Cromwell, Richard, on Sir John Russell, <a href= +'#page326'>326</a>.</p> +<p>Cromwell, Thomas, his life and aims, <a href='#page308'>308</a>; +Green and Froude on, <a href='#page309'>309</a>; his religious +views, <a href='#page309'>309</a>; Foxe and Gasquet on character +of, <a href='#page310'>310</a>; becomes Vicegerent, <a href= +'#page310'>310</a>; inspires terror and hatred, <a href= +'#page324'>324</a>; his removal demanded, <a href= +'#page326'>326</a>; overcomes the Pilgrims of Grace, <a href= +'#page326'>326</a>; bribed for estates, <a href= +'#page329'>329</a>.</p> +<p>Cross, loyalty to the, fostered by monks, <a href= +'#page414'>414</a>; power of the doctrine of, <a href= +'#page418'>418</a>.</p> +<p>Crusades, effect of, on monastic types, <a href= +'#page373'>373</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Military-religious_orders">Military Orders</a> and <a href= +"#Bernard">Bernard.</a></p> +<p>Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, <a href='#page61'>61</a>; and +murder of Hypatia, <a href='#page68'>68</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>D</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Damian, Church of St., repaired by Francis, <a href= +'#page211'>211</a>, <a href='#page214'>214</a>.</p> +<p>Danish invasion of England, its consequences, <a href= +'#page180'>180</a>.</p> +<p>Dante, on Francis and poverty, <a href='#page215'>215</a>.</p> +<p>Democracy, Christian, and monasticism, <a href= +'#page422'>422</a>.</p> +<p>Desert, Jerome on attractions of, <a href='#page89'>89</a>.</p> +<p>De Tocqueville, on self-subjection, <a href= +'#page143'>143</a>.</p> +<p>Dhaquit, the Chaldean, quoted, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Dharmapala, on the ascetic ideal in India, <a href= +'#page357'>357</a>.</p> +<p>Dill, Samuel, on Rome's fall and the Christian Church, <a href= +'#page74'>74</a>, <a href='#page79'>79</a>, <a href= +'#page108'>108</a>, <a href='#page109'>109</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Domestic_life"></a>Domestic life, a field of forbidden +fruit, <a href='#page394'>394</a>, <a href='#page398'>398</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Family-ideal">Family-ideal</a> and <a href= +"#Jerome">Jerome.</a></p> +<p><a name="Dominic"></a>Dominic, St., Innocent III. dreams of, +<a href='#page216'>216</a>; early life of, <a href= +'#page230'>230</a>; his mother's dream, <a href='#page231'>231</a>; +visits Languedoc, <a href='#page232'>232</a>; rebukes papal +legates, <a href='#page234'>234</a>; his crusade against +Albigensians, <a href='#page234'>234</a>; his relation to the Holy +Inquisition, <a href='#page235'>235</a>; establishes his order, +<a href='#page239'>239</a>; at Rome, <a href='#page239'>239</a>; +his self-denial and death, <a href='#page240'>240</a>; canonized, +<a href='#page241'>241</a>.</p> +<p>Dominic, St., Nuns of, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Dominicans"></a>Dominicans, The, the Inquisition and, +<a href='#page238'>238</a>; order of, founded, <a href= +'#page239'>239</a>; constitution of the order of, <a href= +'#page241'>241</a>; spread of, <a href='#page241'>241</a>; eminent +members, <a href='#page242'>242</a>; three classes of, <a href= +'#page242'>242</a>; the preaching of, <a href='#page249'>249</a>; +quarrel with the Franciscans, <a href='#page249'>249</a>; enter +England, <a href='#page251'>251</a>; fatal success and decline of, +<a href='#page253'>253</a>, <a href='#page256'>256</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page439"></a>[pg 439]</span> on the +stigmata of Francis, <a href='#page221'>221</a>; liberal education +and, <a href='#page408'>408</a>.</p> +<p>Ducis, on the Hermits, <a href='#page32'>32</a>.</p> +<p>Duns Scotus, a Franciscan, <a href='#page228'>228</a>.</p> +<p>Dunstan, reforms of, <a href='#page182'>182</a>; his character +and life-work, <a href='#page186'>186</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>E</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>East, monasticism in the, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Monasticism">Monasticism</a> and <a href="#Monks">Monks.</a></p> +<p>Echard, a Dominican, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Eckenstein, Lina, on Morton's letter, <a href= +'#page339'>339</a>.</p> +<p>Edersheim, on the Essenes, <a href='#page24'>24</a>.</p> +<p>Edgar, King, aids Dunstan in reform, <a href= +'#page186'>186</a>.</p> +<p>Education, The Mendicants and, <a href='#page248'>248</a>; the +monks further, in England, <a href='#page253'>253</a>; the effect +of monasticism on, <a href='#page407'>407</a>.</p> +<p>Edward I. and III., confiscate alien priories, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<p>Egypt, The hermits of, <a href='#page33'>33</a>; Kingsley and +Waddington on same, <a href='#page34'>34</a>.</p> +<p>Elijah, and asceticism, <a href='#page30'>30</a>.</p> +<p>Elizabeth, Princess, and the Act of Succession, <a href= +'#page298'>298</a>.</p> +<p>Endowments of monasteries, abolished by first Mendicants, +<a href='#page244'>244</a>; reason for some, <a href= +'#page361'>361</a>.</p> +<p><a name="England,_Church_of"></a>England, Church of, separates +from Rome, <a href='#page328'>328</a>; causes of, and by whom +separation secured, <a href='#page340'>340</a>, <a href= +'#page342'>342</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Britain">Britain.</a></p> +<p>Essenes, asceticism of, <a href='#page23'>23</a>.</p> +<p>Ethelwold, aids Dunstan, <a href='#page186'>186</a>.</p> +<p>Eudoxia, Empress, banishes Chrysostom, <a href= +'#page117'>117</a>.</p> +<p>Eustochium, <i>see</i> <a href="#Paula">Paula.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>F</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Fabiola, St., Lecky on her charities, <a href= +'#page105'>105</a>; her care for sick, <a href='#page105'>105</a>; +her death, <a href='#page105'>105</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Family-ideal"></a>Family-ideal, of monastery, Taunton +on, <a href='#page143'>143</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Domestic_life">Domestic Life.</a></p> +<p>Fanaticism, Christianity hostile to, <a href='#page94'>94</a>; +tendency toward, among early Christians, <a href= +'#page129'>129</a>.</p> +<p>Farrar, on the luxury of Rome, <a href='#page75'>75</a>.</p> +<p>Fasting, amusing instance of rebellion of monks against, +<a href='#page120'>120</a>; Athanasius on, <a href= +'#page121'>121</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Self-denial">Self-denial</a>, <a href="#Ascetic">Ascetic</a> and +<a href="#Asceticism">Asceticism.</a></p> +<p>Ferdinand, of Austria, educated by Jesuits, <a href= +'#page277'>277</a>.</p> +<p>Feudalism, monasticism affected by, <a href= +'#page373'>373</a>.</p> +<p>Finnian, the monk, quarrels with Columba, <a href= +'#page170'>170</a>.</p> +<p>Fisher, G.P., on the stigmata of Francis, <a href= +'#page223'>223</a>.</p> +<p>Fisher, execution of, by Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page301'>301</a>, <a href='#page306'>306</a>.</p> +<p>Filial love, strangulation of, by monks, <a href= +'#page397'>397</a>.</p> +<p>Forsyth, on St. Francis, <a href='#page225'>225</a>.</p> +<p>Foxe, on Thomas Cromwell, <a href='#page310'>310</a>.</p> +<p>France, New, and the Jesuits, <a href='#page282'>282</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Francis"></a>Francis, St., his birth and early years, +<a href='#page208'>208</a>; his dreams and sickness, <a href= +'#page209'>209</a>; visits Rome, <a href='#page210'>210</a>; +seeking light on his duty, <a href='#page210'>210</a>, <a href= +'#page211'>211</a>; sells his father's merchandise and keeps +proceeds, <a href='#page211'>211</a>; renounces his father, +<a href='#page212'>212</a>; assumes monkish habit, <a href= +'#page213'>213</a>; repairs Church of St. Damian, <a href= +'#page214'>214</a>; Dante on poverty and, <a href= +'#page215'>215</a>; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page440"></a>[pg +440]</span> visits Innocent III., <a href='#page216'>216</a>; +visits Mohammedans, <a href='#page217'>217</a>; a lover of birds, +<a href='#page217'>217</a>; Longfellow's poem on a homily of, +<a href='#page218'>218</a>; his temptations, <a href= +'#page218'>218</a>; the stigmata, <a href='#page219'>219</a>; death +of, <a href='#page224'>224</a>; his character, <a href= +'#page225'>225</a>; his rule, <a href='#page226'>226</a>; on prayer +and preaching, <a href='#page249'>249</a>; method of, forsaken, +<a href='#page421'>421</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Franciscans"></a>Franciscans, The, first year of, +<a href='#page215'>215</a>; order of, sanctioned, <a href= +'#page216'>216</a>, <a href='#page217'>217</a>; three classes of, +<a href='#page226'>226</a>; the rule of, <a href= +'#page226'>226</a>; Sabatier on rule of, <a href= +'#page227'>227</a>; the title "Friars Minor," <a href= +'#page227'>227</a>; number of, <a href='#page228'>228</a>; St. Clara +and, <a href='#page228'>228</a>; The Third Order of, <a href= +'#page229'>229</a>; quarrel over the vow of poverty, <a href= +'#page246'>246</a>; prosperity of, <a href='#page246'>246</a>; +educational work of, <a href='#page248'>248</a>; quarrel with +Dominicans, <a href='#page249'>249</a>; settle in England, <a href= +'#page251'>251</a>; Baluzii on success of, <a href= +'#page255'>255</a>; fatal success of, <a href= +'#page253'>253</a>.</p> +<p>Fratricelli, sketch of the, <a href='#page247'>247</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Freedom"></a>Freedom, religious, want of, <a href= +'#page402'>402</a>.</p> +<p>Friars, Begging, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Franciscans">Franciscans</a>, <a href= +"#Dominicans">Dominicans</a> and <a href= +"#Mendicant">Mendicants</a>.</p> +<p>Friars Minor, <a href='#page227'>227</a>.</p> +<p>Froude, on the Charterhouse monks, <a href='#page302'>302</a>, +<a href='#page304'>304</a>; on Thomas Cromwell, <a href= +'#page309'>309</a>; on the report of the Royal Commissioners, +<a href='#page317'>317</a>; on the Catholics and the Reformation, +<a href='#page346'>346</a>.</p> +<p>Future punishment, the monks and the doctrine of, <a href= +'#page417'>417</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>G</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Gairdner, on Henry's breach with Rome, <a href= +'#page301'>301</a>.</p> +<p>Galea, the Goth, awed by St. Benedict, <a href= +'#page137'>137</a>.</p> +<p>Gardiner, burns heretics, <a href='#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Gasquet, on Thomas Cromwell, <a href='#page310'>310</a>; quotes +Burke on the suppression, <a href='#page312'>312</a>.</p> +<p>Gauls, monastic, complain to St. Martin, <a href= +'#page120'>120</a>.</p> +<p>Germany, monasticism enters, <a href='#page122'>122</a>.</p> +<p>Gervais, reason for his donations, <a href= +'#page361'>361</a>.</p> +<p>Gibbon, on bones of Simeon, <a href='#page57'>57</a>; on +Egyptian monks, <a href='#page62'>62</a>; on Roman marriages, +<a href='#page110'>110</a>; saying of, applied to Ambrose, <a href= +'#page116'>116</a>; on military orders, <a href='#page199'>199</a>; +quotes Zosimus, <a href='#page348'>348</a>; on the monastic aim, +<a href='#page362'>362</a>; on the character of the monks, <a href= +'#page388'>388</a>.</p> +<p>Gindeley, on the Jesuits and the Thirty Years' War, <a href= +'#page277'>277</a>.</p> +<p>Giovanni di San Paolo, on gospel perfection, <a href= +'#page226'>226</a>.</p> +<p>Glastonbury, fall of Abbey of, <a href='#page314'>314</a>.</p> +<p>Gnostics, and asceticism, <a href='#page27'>27</a>, <a href= +'#page366'>366</a>.</p> +<p>Godfrey de Bouillon, endows Hospital of St. John, <a href= +'#page201'>201</a>.</p> +<p>Godric, his unique austerities, <a href='#page132'>132</a>.</p> +<p>Goldsmith, on the English character, <a href= +'#page166'>166</a>.</p> +<p>Grand Chartreuse, monastery, <a href='#page189'>189</a>.</p> +<p>Greece, asceticism in, <a href='#page20'>20</a>.</p> +<p>Greeks, ancient, asceticism among the, <a href= +'#page21'>21</a>.</p> +<p>Greek Church, monasticism of the, <a href='#page64'>64</a>, +<a href='#page67'>67</a>.</p> +<p>Green, J.R., on the preaching friars, <a href= +'#page254'>254</a>; on Thomas Cromwell, <a href='#page309'>309</a>; +on the suppression, <a href='#page323'>323</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page441"></a>[pg 441]</span> +<p>Gregory of Nazianza, on ascetic moderation, <a href= +'#page65'>65</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Gregory"></a>Gregory, Pope, I., <a href= +'#page138'>138</a>; II., <a href='#page135'>135</a>; VII., <a href= +'#page160'>160</a>, <a href='#page178'>178</a>; IX., <a href= +'#page241'>241</a>; X., <a href='#page245'>245</a>.</p> +<p>Gregory, St., Monastery of, rules of, <a href= +'#page141'>141</a>.</p> +<p>Griffin, Henry, on the Royal Commissioners, <a href= +'#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Grimke, on historic movements, <a href='#page84'>84</a>.</p> +<p>Guigo, rules of, <a href='#page190'>190</a>; on vow of +obedience, <a href='#page383'>383</a>.</p> +<p>Guizot, on state of early Europe, <a href='#page149'>149</a>; on +the Benedictines, <a href='#page404'>404</a>; on monastic +education, <a href='#page407'>407</a>.</p> +<p>Gustavus, contrasted to monks, <a href='#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Guzman, <i>see</i> <a href="#Dominic">Dominic.</a></p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>H</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Hallam, on the Albigensians, <a href='#page233'>233</a>, +<a href='#page235'>235</a>; on the suppression, <a href= +'#page334'>334</a>; on charity of the monks, <a href= +'#page349'>349</a>.</p> +<p>Happiness, the key to, <a href='#page392'>392</a>.</p> +<p>Hardwick, on the Albigensian doctrines, <a href= +'#page233'>233</a>.</p> +<p>Harnack, on early ascetics, <a href='#page28'>28</a>; on nominal +Christianity of Rome, <a href='#page77'>77</a>; on life-ideal in +the early church, <a href='#page129'>129</a>; on monasticism and +the church, <a href='#page414'>414</a>.</p> +<p>Hell, the monks' teachings about, <a href= +'#page417'>417</a>.</p> +<p>Helvidius, on celibacy, <a href='#page113'>113</a>.</p> +<p>Henry, King, II., and the British church, <a href= +'#page165'>165</a>; III., invites students to England, <a href= +'#page252'>252</a>; IV., confiscates alien priories, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Henry_VIII."></a>Henry VIII., and the independence of +English church, <a href='#page163'>163</a>; and the fall of the +monasteries, <a href='#page286'>286</a>; opinions respecting his +character, <a href='#page288'>288</a>, <a href='#page290'>290</a>; +inconsistencies of, <a href='#page291'>291</a>; "Defender of the +Faith," <a href='#page293'>293</a>; his divorce from Catharine, +<a href='#page293'>293</a>; breach with Rome, <a href= +'#page294'>294</a>, <a href='#page300'>300</a>; dangers to his +throne, <a href='#page295'>295</a>; monks enraged at, <a href= +'#page296'>296</a>; as "Head of the Church," <a href= +'#page297'>297</a>, <a href='#page298'>298</a>; Act of Succession, +<a href='#page298'>298</a>; Oath of Supremacy, <a href= +'#page298'>298</a>, <a href='#page301'>301</a>; excommunicated, +<a href='#page306'>306</a>; the struggle for power, <a href= +'#page324'>324</a>; suppresses "Pilgrims of Grace," <a href= +'#page326'>326</a>; his use of monastic revenues, <a href= +'#page328'>328</a>, <a href='#page330'>330</a>; Coke on his +promises to Parliament, <a href='#page329'>329</a>; his motives for +the suppression, <a href='#page332'>332</a>; Hooper on reforms of, +<a href='#page339'>339</a>; an unconscious agent of new forces, +<a href='#page344'>344</a>; two epochs met in reign of, <a href= +'#page346'>346</a>; Lecky on his use of monastic funds, <a href= +'#page411'>411</a>.</p> +<p>Heresy, growth of, in thirteenth century, <a href= +'#page206'>206</a>; monks attempt extirpation of, <a href= +'#page261'>261</a>, <a href='#page402'>402</a>; Jesuits and, +<a href='#page276'>276</a>, <a href='#page409'>409</a>.</p> +<p>Heretical sects, attack vices of monks, <a href= +'#page245'>245</a>.</p> +<p>Hermit life, founder of, <a href='#page35'>35</a>; unsuited to +women, <a href='#page107'>107</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Hermits"></a>Hermits, The, of India, <a href= +'#page20'>20</a>; of Egypt, <a href='#page33'>33</a>; their mode of +life, <a href='#page49'>49</a>; visit Rome, <a href= +'#page71'>71</a>; effect of story of, in Rome, <a href= +'#page71'>71</a>, <a href='#page80'>80</a>, <a href= +'#page84'>84</a>; of Augustine, <a href='#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p>Hilarion, the hermit, <a href='#page49'>49</a>.</p> +<p>Hildebrand, <i>see</i> <a href="#Gregory">Gregory VII.</a></p> +<p>Hill, on manual labor, <a href='#page142'>142</a>; on fall of +monasticism, <a href='#page345'>345</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page442"></a>[pg 442]</span> +<p>History, monastic contributions to, <a href= +'#page406'>406</a>.</p> +<p>Hoensbroech, Count Paul von, on Jesuitical discipline, <a href= +'#page268'>268</a>.</p> +<p>Holiness, false views of, <a href='#page421'>421</a>. <i>See</i> +<a href="#Soul-purity">Soul-purity</a> and <a href= +"#Salvation">Salvation.</a></p> +<p>Holy Land, motives for exodus to, <a href='#page97'>97</a>.</p> +<p>Holy Maid of Kent, <a href='#page337'>337</a>.</p> +<p>Home-life, not to be despised, <a href='#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>Honorius, III., Pope, sanctions Franciscan Order, <a href= +'#page217'>217</a>; confirms Dominican Order, <a href= +'#page239'>239</a>.</p> +<p>Hooper, Bishop, on Henry's reforms, <a href= +'#page339'>339</a>.</p> +<p>Hospital, Knights of, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Knights">Knights.</a></p> +<p>Hospitals, founded by Fabiola, <a href='#page105'>105</a>; Lecky +on, <a href='#page105'>105</a>; result of woman's sympathy, +<a href='#page111'>111</a>.</p> +<p>Houghton, Prior, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Charterhouse">Charterhouse.</a></p> +<p>Household duties, Jerome on, <a href='#page114'>114</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Domestic_life">Domestic Life.</a></p> +<p>House of Lords, majority in the, changed, <a href= +'#page347'>347</a>.</p> +<p>Houses, Religious, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Monasteries">Monasteries.</a></p> +<p>Hugh, St., of Lincoln, and the swan, <a href='#page157'>157</a>; +Ruskin on, <a href='#page189'>189</a>.</p> +<p>Human affection, monks indifferent to, <a href= +'#page394'>394</a>, <a href='#page397'>397</a>.</p> +<p>Hume, on the suppression, <a href='#page333'>333</a>.</p> +<p>Hypatia, Kingsley's, quoted, <a href='#page61'>61</a>; death of, +<a href='#page48'>48</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>I</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Ideal, monastie, <a href='#page354'>354</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Monasticism">Monasticism.</a></p> +<p>Ignatius, St., <i>see</i> <a href="#Loyola">Loyola.</a></p> +<p><a name="Independence"></a>Independence, Jesuitism and personal, +<a href='#page270'>270</a>; of thought, renounced by monks, +<a href='#page394'>394</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Freedom">Freedom</a>, <a href="#Liberty">Liberty.</a></p> +<p>India, asceticism in, <a href='#page18'>18</a>, <a href= +'#page357'>357</a>.</p> +<p>India, monasticism in, <a href='#page18'>18</a>, <a href= +'#page357'>357</a>, <a href='#page358'>358</a>; causes of same, +<a href='#page355'>355</a>.</p> +<p>Individual, influence of the, <a href='#page91'>91</a>; effect +of self-sacrifice upon the, <a href='#page390'>390</a>; effect of +solitude upon the, <a href='#page393'>393</a>.</p> +<p>Industry, modern, not to be despised, <a href= +'#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>Innocent, Pope, III., <a href='#page216'>216</a>, <a href= +'#page234'>234</a>, <a href='#page239'>239</a>, <a href= +'#page242'>242</a>; IV., <a href='#page250'>250</a>; VIII., +<a href='#page339'>339</a>.</p> +<p>Inquisition, The Holy, the Albigensian crusade and, <a href= +'#page233'>233</a>; relation of Dominicans toward, <a href= +'#page235'>235</a>; its establishment and management, <a href= +'#page238'>238</a>.</p> +<p>Intellectual progress, monasticism opposed to true, <a href= +'#page407'>407</a>; in Europe, <a href='#page409'>409</a>.</p> +<p>Introspection, evil effects of morbid, <a href= +'#page392'>392</a>.</p> +<p>Iona, Monastery of, <a href='#page168'>168</a>.</p> +<p>Ireland, St. Patrick labors in, <a href='#page123'>123</a>; +monasteries of, as centers of culture, <a href= +'#page169'>169</a>.</p> +<p>Isidore, the hermit, visits Rome, <a href='#page72'>72</a>.</p> +<p>Itineracy, substituted for seclusion in cloister, <a href= +'#page244'>244</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>J</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Jacob of Vitry, on abuses of charity, <a href= +'#page411'>411</a>.</p> +<p>James, the Apostle, quoted on rich men, <a href= +'#page377'>377</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Jerome"></a>Jerome, St., his life of Paul of Thebes, +<a href='#page35'>35</a>; on Pachomian monks, <a href= +'#page59'>59</a>; his letter to Rusticus, <a href='#page59'>59</a>; +on solitude, <a href='#page61'>61</a>; <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page443"></a>[pg 443]</span> on number of +Egyptian monks, <a href='#page63'>63</a>; on clergy of the fourth +and fifth centuries, <a href='#page77'>77</a>; in his cell, +<a href='#page85'>85</a>; Schaff on, <a href='#page86'>86</a>; his +birth and early life, <a href='#page86'>86</a>; his travels, and +austerities, <a href='#page87'>87</a>, <a href='#page92'>92</a>; +organizes monastic brotherhood, <a href='#page88'>88</a>; his +literary labors, <a href='#page88'>88</a>; glorifies desert life, +<a href='#page89'>89</a>; influences Rome, <a href= +'#page91'>91</a>; his temptations, <a href='#page93'>93</a>; his +fondness for the classics, <a href='#page95'>95</a>; his +biographies of Roman nuns, <a href='#page96'>96</a>; his life of +St. Paula, <a href='#page97'>97</a>, and of Marcella, <a href= +'#page102'>102</a>; on folly of Roman women, <a href= +'#page108'>108</a>; on marriage and celibacy, <a href= +'#page112'>112</a>; on household duties, <a href= +'#page113'>113</a>; attacks the foes of monks, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>; on vices of monks, <a href='#page128'>128</a>; +on monastic aim, <a href='#page360'>360</a>; on the natural, +<a href='#page366'>366</a>.</p> +<p>Jesuits, <i>see</i> <a href="#Jesus,_The_Society_of">Jesus, The +Society of.</a></p> +<p>Jesuits, The Pagan, <a href='#page22'>22</a>, <a href= +'#page426'>426</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Jesus_Christ"></a>Jesus Christ, the Essenes and, +<a href='#page26'>26</a>; quoted by early ascetics, <a href= +'#page31'>31</a>, and by Jerome, <a href='#page92'>92</a>; +teachings of, used by monks, <a href='#page366'>366</a>, <a href= +'#page376'>376</a>; his doctrine of wealth, <a href= +'#page377'>377</a>; his attitude toward rich men, <a href= +'#page379'>379</a>; the doctrine of the cross and, <a href= +'#page418'>418</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Jesus,_The_Society_of"></a>Jesus, The Society of, +Sherman on nature of, <a href='#page258'>258</a>; rejects +seclusion, <a href='#page258'>258</a>; Bishop Keane on, <a href= +'#page259'>259</a>, <a href='#page273'>273</a>; how differs from +other monastic communities, <a href='#page259'>259</a>; founded by +Loyola, <a href='#page264'>264</a>; constitution and polity of, +<a href='#page265'>265</a>; grades of members of, <a href= +'#page265'>265</a>; vow of obedience in, <a href= +'#page266'>266</a>; von Hoensbroech on, <a href='#page268'>268</a>; +confession in, <a href='#page269'>269</a>; Carlyle on obedience in, +<a href='#page271'>271</a>; casuistry of, <a href= +'#page272'>272</a>, <a href='#page429'>429</a>; its doctrine of +probabilism, <a href='#page274'>274</a>; the Roman Church and, +<a href='#page275'>275</a>; Roman foes of, <a href= +'#page276'>276</a>; mission of, <a href='#page276'>276</a>; its +attitude toward Reformation, <a href='#page277'>277</a>; the Thirty +Years' War and, <a href='#page277'>277</a>; calumnies against, +<a href='#page279'>279</a>; Clement XIV. dissolves, <a href= +'#page279'>279</a>; expulsion of, from Europe, <a href= +'#page279'>279</a>; missionary labors of, <a href= +'#page280'>280</a>; Parkman contrasts, with Puritans, <a href= +'#page281'>281</a>; failure of, <a href='#page283'>283</a>; +restoration of, <a href='#page283'>283</a>; causes for rise of, +<a href='#page374'>374</a>; hostility of, to free government, +<a href='#page402'>402</a>; liberal education opposed by, <a href= +'#page409'>409</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Loyola">Loyola.</a></p> +<p>Jewish asceticism, <a href='#page23'>23</a>.</p> +<p>Jocelin, quoted by Carlyle, <a href='#page145'>145</a>.</p> +<p>John, King, confiscates alien priories, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<p>John, St., Knights of, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Knights">Knights.</a></p> +<p>John, St., of Calama, visits his sister in disguise, <a href= +'#page397'>397</a>.</p> +<p>John, the Apostle, on love of the world, <a href= +'#page377'>377</a>.</p> +<p>John the Baptist, and asceticism, 30.</p> +<p>Johnson, on Monastery of Iona, 168.</p> +<p>Joseph, St., Church of, in England, 163.</p> +<p>Josephus on the Essenes, <a href='#page23'>23</a>.</p> +<p>Jovinian, hostility of, toward monks, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>; compared by Neander to Luther, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>.</p> +<p>Julian, Emperor, the exodus of monks and the, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>.</p> +<p>Juvenal, satire of, on Roman women, <a href= +'#page82'>82</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page444"></a>[pg +444]</span> +<p>K</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Keane, Bishop, on the Jesuits, <a href='#page259'>259</a>, +<a href='#page273'>273</a>.</p> +<p>Kennaquhair, installation of abbot of, <a href= +'#page145'>145</a>.</p> +<p>King, on Hildebrand, <a href='#page178'>178</a>.</p> +<p>Kingsley, on Egypt and the hermits, <a href='#page34'>34</a>; on +Roman women, <a href='#page82'>82</a>, <a href='#page106'>106</a>; +on fall of Rome, <a href='#page78'>78</a>, <a href= +'#page367'>367</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Knights"></a>Knights of St. John, their origin and +mission, <a href='#page200'>200</a>.</p> +<p>Knights of the Hospital, sketch of the, <a href= +'#page198'>198</a>.</p> +<p>Knights Templars, rule of the, <a href='#page197'>197</a>; rise +and fall of, <a href='#page202'>202</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>L</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Labor, manual, Jerome on, <a href='#page59'>59</a>; in Pachomian +rule, <a href='#page60'>60</a>; Hill on benefits of, <a href= +'#page142'>142</a>; among the Benedictines, <a href= +'#page147'>147</a>, <a href='#page404'>404</a>; Benedict on, +<a href='#page403'>403</a>; effect of Mendicants on, <a href= +'#page404'>404</a>; not to be despised, <a href= +'#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>Lama, Grand, in India, <a href='#page21'>21</a>.</p> +<p>Lateran Council, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Latimer, Bishop, and the monastic funds, <a href= +'#page323'>323</a>.</p> +<p>Laumer, St., and wild animals, <a href='#page156'>156</a>.</p> +<p>Laveleye on Christianity, <a href='#page378'>378</a>.</p> +<p>Lay abbots, disorders among the, <a href='#page179'>179</a>.</p> +<p>Layton, a Royal Commissioner, <a href='#page311'>311</a>, +<a href='#page312'>312</a>.</p> +<p>Lea, on celibacy, <a href='#page184'>184</a>; on the +Reformation, <a href='#page342'>342</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Learning"></a>Learning, influence of Alcuin and Wilfred +on, <a href='#page167'>167</a>; Irish monasteries as centers of, +<a href='#page169'>169</a>; monks further, in England, <a href= +'#page252'>252</a>; the monks and secular, <a href= +'#page406'>406</a>; effects of monasticism on the course of, +<a href='#page407'>407</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Literary_services">Literary services.</a></p> +<p>Lecky, on Fabiola's hospitals, <a href='#page105'>105</a>; on +asceticism and civilization, <a href='#page401'>401</a>; on +industry and the monastic ideal, <a href='#page405'>405</a>; on +abuses of alms-giving, <a href='#page411'>411</a>; on the monastic +doctrines of hell, <a href='#page418'>418</a>.</p> +<p>Legh, a Royal Commissioner, <a href='#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Leo X., Pope, <a href='#page293'>293</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Liberty"></a>Liberty, the Jesuits on, <a href= +'#page375'>375</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Freedom">Freedom</a> and +<a href="#Independence">Independence.</a></p> +<p>Libraries, monastic, <a href='#page152'>152</a>.</p> +<p>Lincoln, Abraham, quoted, <a href='#page205'>205</a>.</p> +<p>Lingard, on Bede and the conversion of King Lucius, <a href= +'#page124'>124</a>; on the Anglo-Saxon Church, <a href= +'#page181'>181</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Literary_services"></a>Literary services of monks, +<a href='#page153'>153</a>, <a href='#page406'>406</a>. <i>See</i> +<a href="#Learning">Learning.</a></p> +<p>Lollardism, way paved for destruction of cloisters by, <a href= +'#page294'>294</a>. <i>See</i> <a href='#page429'>429</a>.</p> +<p>Lombards destroy Monte Cassino, <a href='#page135'>135</a>.</p> +<p>London, John, a Royal Commissioner, <a href= +'#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Longfellow, poem of, on Francis, <a href='#page218'>218</a>; on +Monte Cassino, <a href='#page135'>135</a></p> +<p>Lord, John, on needed religious reforms, <a href= +'#page80'>80</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Loyola"></a>Loyola, St. Ignatius, his birth, <a href= +'#page261'>261</a>; enters upon religious work, <a href= +'#page262'>262</a>; his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, <a href= +'#page263'>263</a>; his education, <a href='#page263'>263</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page445"></a>[pg 445]</span> +imprisonments, <a href='#page263'>263</a>; founds Society of Jesus, +<a href='#page264'>264</a>; his "Spiritual Exercises," <a href= +'#page265'>265</a>, <a href='#page267'>267</a>; on obedience, +<a href='#page267'>267</a>; his mission, <a href= +'#page276'>276</a>; Sherman on, <a href='#page278'>278</a>; +compared with Hamilcar, <a href='#page409'>409</a>. <i>See</i> +<a href="#Jesus,_The_Society_of">Society of Jesus.</a></p> +<p>Lucius, a British king, embraces Christianity, <a href= +'#page124'>124</a>.</p> +<p>Luther, influence of, in history, <a href='#page92'>92</a>; an +Augustinian monk, <a href='#page118'>118</a>; Henry VIII. attacks, +<a href='#page293'>293</a>.</p> +<p>Lytton, his views of Jesuits denounced, <a href= +'#page278'>278</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>M</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Macarius, the hermit, <a href='#page49'>49</a>.</p> +<p>Macaulay, his views of Jesuits opposed, <a href= +'#page278'>278</a>; on the aims of Jesuits, <a href= +'#page283'>283</a>; on the Roman Church, <a href= +'#page402'>402</a>.</p> +Mabie, H.W., on the monks and the classics, <a href= +'#page408'>408</a>. +<p>Mahomet, Carlyle on, <a href='#page33'>33</a>.</p> +<p>Maitland, on Benedictine monasteries, <a href= +'#page155'>155</a>.</p> +<p>Maitre, on desecration of cloisters, <a href= +'#page350'>350</a>.</p> +<p>Malmesbury, his charges against the monks, <a href= +'#page173'>173</a>.</p> +<p>Manicheism, relation of, to Albigensians, <a href= +'#page233'>233</a>.</p> +<p>Marcella, St., Jerome on life of, <a href='#page102'>102</a>; +her austerities and charity, <a href='#page103'>103</a>.</p> +<p>Maria dei Angeli, Sta., Francis hears call in church of, +<a href='#page214'>214</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Marriage"></a>Marriage, Basil on, <a href= +'#page66'>66</a>; how esteemed in Rome, <a href='#page110'>110</a>; +Gibbon on, in Rome, <a href='#page110'>110</a>; Jerome and +Augustine on, <a href='#page112'>112</a>; vow of celibacy and, +<a href='#page381'>381</a>.</p> +<p>Married life in Rome, Jerome on, <a href='#page114'>114</a>.</p> +<p>Martensen, on ascetics, <a href='#page391'>391</a>; on solitude +and society, <a href='#page395'>395</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Martin,_St."></a>Martin, St., of Tours, credibility of +biography of, <a href='#page119'>119</a>; sketch of his life, +<a href='#page120'>120</a>; his death, <a href='#page122'>122</a>; +churches and shrines in honor of, <a href='#page122'>122</a>.</p> +<p>Martinmas, <a href='#page122'>122</a>.</p> +<p>Materialism, monasticism and, <a href='#page350'>350</a>, +<a href='#page413'>413</a>; of the West, <a href= +'#page371'>371</a>.</p> +<p>Mathews, Shailer, on Christ and riches, <a href= +'#page379'>379</a>.</p> +<p>Matthew of Paris, on prosperity of friars, <a href= +'#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p>Maur, St., walks on water, <a href='#page137'>137</a>.</p> +<p>Maximilian, of Bavaria, educated by Jesuits, <a href= +'#page277'>277</a>.</p> +<p>Melrose Abbey, <a href='#page289'>289</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Mendicant"></a>Mendicant Friars, The, <a href= +'#page205'>205</a>; success of, <a href='#page242'>242</a>, +<a href='#page255'>255</a>; their value to Rome, <a href= +'#page243'>243</a>; confined to four societies, <a href= +'#page246'>246</a>; quarrels among, <a href='#page246'>246</a>; +their educational work, <a href='#page248'>248</a>; in England, +<a href='#page251'>251</a>; decline of, <a href='#page253'>253</a>; +as preachers, <a href='#page244'>244</a>; <a href= +'#page254'>254</a>; effects of prosperity on, <a href= +'#page256'>256</a>.</p> +<p>Mendicity of monks, <a href='#page245'>245</a>.</p> +<p>Milan, church of, Emperor refused entrance to the, <a href= +'#page115'>115</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Military-religious_orders"></a>Military-religious +orders, their origin, labors and decline, <a href= +'#page197'>197</a>.</p> +<p>Militia of Jesus Christ, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Mill, John Stuart, on preaching friars, <a href= +'#page244'>244</a>.</p> +<p>Milman, on the early church leaders, <a href='#page129'>129</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page446"></a>[pg 446]</span> on +dream of Dominic's mother, <a href='#page231'>231</a>; on bigotry +of monks, <a href='#page395'>395</a>; on monks and natural +affections, <a href='#page398'>398</a>.</p> +<p>Milton, contrasted to monks, <a href='#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Miracles, <a href='#page224'>224</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Anthony">Anthony</a>, Stylites, <a href="#Martin,_St.">St. +Martin</a>, etc.</p> +<p>Missionary labors, of monks, <a href='#page148'>148</a>, +<a href='#page171'>171</a>, <a href='#page398'>398</a>; of the +Jesuits, <a href='#page280'>280</a>, <a href= +'#page281'>281</a>.</p> +<p>Modern life and thought, monasticism rejected by, <a href= +'#page421'>421</a>.</p> +<p>Mohammedans, mission of Francis to, <a href= +'#page217'>217</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Monastery"></a>Monastery, of Pachomius, <a href= +'#page58'>58</a>; Monte Cassino, <a href='#page134'>134</a>; St. +Gregory's, rules of, <a href='#page141'>141</a>; Kennaquhair, +<a href='#page145'>145</a>; Vivaria, <a href='#page152'>152</a>; +Bangor, <a href='#page165'>165</a>; Iona, <a href= +'#page168'>168</a>; Cluny, <a href='#page177'>177</a>; Grand +Chartreuse, <a href='#page189'>189</a>; Charterhouse, <a href= +'#page191'>191</a>, <a href='#page301'>301</a>, <a href= +'#page334'>334</a>, <a href='#page343'>343</a>; Citeaux, <a href= +'#page192'>192</a>; Clairvaux, <a href='#page193'>193</a>; St. +Nicholas, <a href='#page240'>240</a>; Melrose, <a href= +'#page289'>289</a>; Glastonbury, <a href='#page314'>314</a>.</p> +<p>Monasteries, in Egypt, <a href='#page44'>44</a>; of Jerome, +<a href='#page88'>88</a>; of Paula, <a href='#page100'>100</a>; in +early Britain, <a href='#page123'>123</a>; as literary centers, +<a href='#page151'>151</a>; decline of, in Middle Ages, <a href= +'#page173'>173</a>; destruction of, by Danes, <a href= +'#page180'>180</a>; corruptions of, in Dunstan's time, <a href= +'#page185'>185</a>; abandonment of endowments, <a href= +'#page244'>244</a>; fall of, in England, <a href= +'#page286'>286</a>; fall of, in various countries, <a href= +'#page288'>288</a>, <a href='#page430'>430</a>; obstacles to +progress, <a href='#page343'>343</a>; new uses of, <a href= +'#page350'>350</a>; life in, <a href='#page392'>392</a>; charity +of, <a href='#page410'>410</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Monasteries"></a>Monasteries, The Fall of, in England, +<a href='#page286'>286</a>; various views of, <a href= +'#page288'>288</a>; necessity for dispassionate judgment, <a href= +'#page289'>289</a>; events preceding, <a href='#page293'>293</a>; +progress and, <a href='#page300'>300</a>; the Charterhouse, +<a href='#page302'>302</a>; the Royal Commissioners and their +methods, <a href='#page308'>308</a>, <a href='#page313'>313</a>; +Glastonbury, <a href='#page314'>314</a>; report of commissioners, +<a href='#page313'>313</a>, <a href='#page314'>314</a>; action of +Parliament, <a href='#page319'>319</a>; the lesser houses, <a href= +'#page319'>319</a>; the larger houses, <a href='#page320'>320</a>; +total number and the revenues of, <a href='#page321'>321</a>; +effect of, upon the people, <a href='#page322'>322</a>; Green on +same, <a href='#page323'>323</a>; uprisings and rebellions, +<a href='#page325'>325</a>; use of funds, <a href= +'#page328'>328</a>; justification for, <a href='#page331'>331</a>; +Bale, Blunt and Hume on justification for, <a href= +'#page333'>333</a>; Hallam on, <a href='#page334'>334</a>; charges +against monks true, <a href='#page336'>336</a>; Bonaventura and +Wyclif on vices of monks, <a href='#page337'>337</a>; confiscation +of alien priories, <a href='#page338'>338</a>; compared with +suppression in other countries, <a href='#page339'>339</a>, +<a href='#page430'>430</a>; alienation of England from Rome, +<a href='#page342'>342</a>; superficial explanation of, <a href= +'#page343'>343</a>; true view of, <a href='#page344'>344</a>; monks +and reform, <a href='#page344'>344</a>; causes of, enumerated, +<a href='#page345'>345</a>; results of, <a href='#page345'>345</a>, +<a href='#page347'>347</a>; general review of, <a href= +'#page352'>352</a>; Bryant on, <a href='#page353'>353</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Monasticism"></a>Monasticism, Eastern, origin of, +<a href='#page17'>17</a>, <a href='#page29'>29</a>; philosophy and, +<a href='#page18'>18</a>; Christian, <a href='#page29'>29</a>; the +Scriptures and, <a href='#page30'>30</a>; in Egypt, <a href= +'#page33'>33</a>; virtual founder of, <a href='#page42'>42</a>; +under Pachomius, <a href='#page58'>58</a>, <a href= +'#page63'>63</a>; under Basil, <a href='#page63'>63</a>; character +of, in Greek church, <a href='#page67'>67</a>; perplexing character +of, <a href='#page69'>69</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Jerome">Jerome</a>, <a href="#Basil">Basil</a> and <a href= +"#Athanasius">Athanasius.</a></p> +<p>Monasticism, Western, <a href='#page71'>71</a>; introduction in +Rome, <a href='#page71'>71</a>; <span class="pagenum"><a name= +"page447"></a>[pg 447]</span> effect upon Rome, <a href= +'#page80'>80</a>; women and, <a href='#page96'>96</a>, <a href= +'#page106'>106</a>; Gregory the Great and, <a href= +'#page160'>160</a>; in England, <a href='#page162'>162</a>; spread +of, <a href='#page115'>115</a>; in Germany, <a href= +'#page122'>122</a>; in Spain, <a href='#page122'>122</a>; in early +Britain, <a href='#page123'>123</a>, <a href='#page168'>168</a>; +disorders and oppositions, <a href='#page124'>124</a>; enemies of, +<a href='#page127'>127</a>; its eclipse, <a href= +'#page130'>130</a>; code of, <a href='#page139'>139</a>; reforms +of, and military types, <a href='#page173'>173</a>, <a href= +'#page197'>197</a>; decline of, in the Middle Ages, <a href= +'#page173'>173</a>, <a href='#page179'>179</a>; Benedict of Aniane +tries to reform, <a href='#page176'>176</a>; in England, in Middle +Ages, <a href='#page180'>180</a>; failure of reforms, <a href= +'#page196'>196</a>, <a href='#page207'>207</a>; its moral dualism, +<a href='#page205'>205</a>; its recuperative power, <a href= +'#page205'>205</a>; in the thirteenth century, <a href= +'#page206'>206</a>; new features of, <a href='#page244'>244</a>; +popes demand reforms in, <a href='#page286'>286</a>; attacked by +governments, <a href='#page287'>287</a>; Hill on fall of, in +England, <a href='#page345'>345</a>; a fetter on progress, <a href= +'#page347'>347</a>; alms-giving and, <a href='#page348'>348</a>; +age of, compared to modern times, <a href='#page351'>351</a>.</p> +<p>Monasticism, Causes and Ideals of, <a href='#page354'>354</a>; +causative motives, <a href='#page355'>355</a>; the desire for +salvation, <a href='#page356'>356</a>; quotations on the ideal, +<a href='#page129'>129</a>, <a href='#page173'>173</a>, <a href= +'#page174'>174</a>, <a href='#page357'>357</a>, <a href= +'#page358'>358</a>, <a href='#page360'>360</a>; nothing gained by +return to ideal, <a href='#page352'>352</a>; motive for endowments, +<a href='#page361'>361</a>; the love of solitude, <a href= +'#page362'>362</a>; various motives, <a href='#page364'>364</a>; +beliefs affecting the causative motives, <a href= +'#page365'>365</a>; Gnostic teachings, <a href='#page366'>366</a>; +effect of the social condition of Roman Empire, <a href= +'#page367'>367</a>; the flight from the world, <a href= +'#page368'>368</a>; causes of variations in types, <a href= +'#page371'>371</a>; East and West compared, <a href= +'#page371'>371</a>; effect of political changes, <a href= +'#page372'>372</a>; the Crusades, <a href='#page373'>373</a>; +effect of feudalism, <a href='#page373'>373</a>; effect of the +intellectual awakening, <a href='#page374'>374</a>; the Modern Age +and the Jesuits, <a href='#page374'>374</a>; the fundamental vows, +<a href='#page375'>375</a>.</p> +<p>Monasticism, Effects of, <a href='#page386'>386</a>; the good +and evil of, <a href='#page387'>387</a>; variety of opinions +respecting, <a href='#page387'>387</a>; the diversity of facts, +<a href='#page389'>389</a>; elements of truth and worth, <a href= +'#page390'>390</a>; effects of self-sacrifice, <a href= +'#page390'>390</a>, of solitude, <a href='#page393'>393</a>; the +monks as missionaries, <a href='#page398'>398</a>; civic duties, +<a href='#page399'>399</a>; upon civilization, <a href= +'#page401'>401</a>; upon agriculture, <a href='#page403'>403</a>; +upon secular learning, <a href='#page405'>405</a>; the charity of +monks, <a href='#page410'>410</a>; upon religion, <a href= +'#page412'>412</a>, <a href='#page413'>413</a>; the sense of sin, +<a href='#page414'>414</a>; the atonement for sin, <a href= +'#page417'>417</a>; the distinction between the secular and the +religious, <a href='#page418'>418</a>; monasticism and +Christianity, <a href='#page420'>420</a>; old monastic methods +forsaken, <a href='#page421'>421</a>; summary of effects, <a href= +'#page423'>423</a>.</p> +<p>Monastic Orders, the usual history of, <a href= +'#page174'>174</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Benedict">Benedict</a>, +Order of St., <a href="#Franciscans">Franciscans</a>, etc.</p> +<p><a name="Monks"></a>Monks, not peculiar to Christianity, +<a href='#page17'>17</a>; Jerome on habits of, <a href= +'#page36'>36</a>; in Egypt, <a href='#page44'>44</a>; Pachomian, +<a href='#page58'>58</a>; number of Eastern, <a href= +'#page63'>63</a>; under Basil, <a href='#page63'>63</a>; character +of Eastern, <a href='#page67'>67</a>, <a href='#page69'>69</a>; as +theological fighters, <a href='#page68'>68</a>; Hypatia and the, +<a href='#page68'>68</a>; in the desert of Chalcis, <a href= +'#page87'>87</a>; in early Rome, <a href='#page96'>96</a>; motives +of early, <a href='#page106'>106</a>, <a href='#page128'>128</a>; +of Augustine, <a href='#page118'>118</a>; <span class= +"pagenum"><a name="page448"></a>[pg 448]</span> under Martin of +Tours, <a href='#page120'>120</a>; opposition to Roman, <a href= +'#page125'>125</a>, <a href='#page147'>147</a>; disorders among the +early, <a href='#page128'>128</a>, <a href='#page150'>150</a>; +literary services of, <a href='#page151'>151</a>, <a href= +'#page153'>153</a>, <a href='#page167'>167</a>, <a href= +'#page169'>169</a>, <a href='#page248'>248</a>, <a href= +'#page253'>253</a>, <a href='#page405'>405</a>, <a href= +'#page406'>406</a>; agricultural services of, <a href= +'#page155'>155</a>, <a href='#page192'>192</a>, <a href= +'#page403'>403</a>; wild animals and the, <a href= +'#page156'>156</a>; early British, <a href='#page162'>162</a>, +<a href='#page168'>168</a>; influence of the, in England, <a href= +'#page166'>166</a>; the barbarians and the, <a href= +'#page148'>148</a>, <a href='#page171'>171</a>, <a href= +'#page398'>398</a>; military, <a href='#page173'>173</a>, <a href= +'#page197'>197</a>; corruptions of, <a href='#page124'>124</a>, +<a href='#page173'>173</a>, <a href='#page175'>175</a>, <a href= +'#page179'>179</a>, <a href='#page196'>196</a>, <a href= +'#page206'>206</a>, <a href='#page336'>336</a>; the celibacy of, +<a href='#page183'>183</a>; changes in the character of, <a href= +'#page284'>284</a>; rebel against Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page296'>296</a>; as obstacles to progress, <a href= +'#page300'>300</a>, <a href='#page343'>343</a>; required to take +the Oath of Supremacy, <a href='#page301'>301</a>; pious frauds of, +in England, <a href='#page318'>318</a>; receive pensions, <a href= +'#page320'>320</a>; oppose reforms in England, <a href= +'#page344'>344</a>; privileges and powers of the, affected by the +suppression, <a href='#page347'>347</a>; charity of the, <a href= +'#page348'>348</a>, <a href='#page410'>410</a>, <a href= +'#page411'>411</a>; objects of the, <a href='#page360'>360</a>; +once held in high esteem, <a href='#page361'>361</a>; their flight +from Rome, <a href='#page368'>368</a>; diversity of opinions +respecting the, <a href='#page388'>388</a>; effect of austerities +on the, <a href='#page390'>390</a>; effect of solitude on the, +<a href='#page393'>393</a>; deficiencies in the best, <a href= +'#page394'>394</a>; as missionaries, <a href='#page398'>398</a>; +civic duties and the, <a href='#page399'>399</a>; military quarrels +incited by the, <a href='#page401'>401</a>; enthusiasm for religion +kept alive by the, <a href='#page413'>413</a>; their sense of sin, +exaggeration in their views and methods, <a href= +'#page413'>413</a>; their doctrine of hell, <a href= +'#page417'>417</a>; the doctrine of the cross and the, <a href= +'#page418'>418</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Mendicant">Mendicants</a>, +<a href="#Benedict">Benedict</a>, Order of St., etc.</p> +<p>Montaigne, on the temptations of solitude, <a href= +'#page393'>393</a>.</p> +<p>Montalembert, on Eastern monachism, <a href='#page67'>67</a>; on +Benedict, <a href='#page130'>130</a>; on the ruin of French +cloisters, <a href='#page351'>351</a>; on the attractions of +solitude, <a href='#page364'>364</a>; on the value of the monks, +<a href='#page388'>388</a>, <a href='#page406'>406</a>.</p> +<p>Montanists, The, and asceticism, <a href='#page27'>27</a>.</p> +<p>Monte Cassino, Monastery at, Montalembert on, <a href= +'#page134'>134</a>; sketch of its history, <a href= +'#page134'>134</a>.</p> +<p>Montserrat, tablet on Ignatius in church at, <a href= +'#page262'>262</a>.</p> +<p>More, Sir Thomas, causes of his death, <a href= +'#page298'>298</a>; his character, <a href='#page299'>299</a>; +influence of, in prison, <a href='#page303'>303</a>, <a href= +'#page305'>305</a>; on Henry's ambition, <a href= +'#page322'>322</a>.</p> +<p>Morton, Cardinal, on the vices of the monks, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<p>Mosheim, on Francis, <a href='#page225'>225</a>; on the quarrel +of the Franciscans, <a href='#page247'>247</a>.</p> +<p>Mozoomdar, on the motives and spirit of Oriental asceticism, +<a href='#page358'>358</a>.</p> +<p>Mutius, taught renunciation, <a href='#page62'>62</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>N</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Neander, compares Jovinian to Luther, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>; on the dreams of Francis, <a href= +'#page209'>209</a>.</p> +<p>Newman, Cardinal, on Benedict's mission, <a href= +'#page149'>149</a>.</p> +<p>Nicholas, St., Monastery of, <a href='#page240'>240</a>.</p> +<p>Normans, The, and the alien priories, <a href= +'#page341'>341</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page449"></a>[pg 449]</span> +<p>Novitiate, Benedictine, extended by Gregory, <a href= +'#page160'>160</a>; of the Jesuits, <a href='#page260'>260</a>, +<a href='#page269'>269</a>. <i>See</i> various orders.</p> +<p>Nun, <i>see</i> <a href="#Women">Women.</a></p> +<p>Nunneries, origin of, <a href='#page106'>106</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>O</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p><a name="Obedience"></a>Obedience, vow of, in Pachomian rule, +<a href='#page61'>61</a>; enforced by Basil, <a href= +'#page66'>66</a>; among the Jesuits, <a href='#page266'>266</a>; +Loyola on, <a href='#page267'>267</a>; Dom Guigo on, <a href= +'#page383'>383</a>; its value and its abuses, <a href= +'#page384'>384</a>.</p> +<p>Observantines, <a href='#page246'>246</a>.</p> +<p>Oliphant, Mrs., on the temptations of Francis, <a href= +'#page218'>218</a>; on the stigmata, <a href= +'#page222'>222</a>.</p> +<p>Origen, on Christianity in Britain, <a href= +'#page123'>123</a>.</p> +<p>Oswald, aids Dunstan in reforms, <a href='#page186'>186</a>.</p> +<p>Oxford University, friars enter, <a href='#page251'>251</a>; +founded by monks, <a href='#page406'>406</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>P</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Pachomius, St., <a href='#page32'>32</a>; birth and early life +of, <a href='#page58'>58</a>.</p> +<p>Pachomian Monks, rules of, <a href='#page58'>58</a>; vows, +<a href='#page61'>61</a>; their number and spread, <a href= +'#page63'>63</a>.</p> +<p>Pagan philosophy powerless to save Rome, <a href= +'#page76'>76</a>.</p> +<p>Palgrave on the miter, <a href='#page400'>400</a>.</p> +<p>Pamplona, Ignatius wounded at siege of, <a href= +'#page262'>262</a>.</p> +<p>Parkman, Francis, on the Puritans and the Jesuits, <a href= +'#page281'>281</a>; on the Roman Church, <a href= +'#page386'>386</a>.</p> +<p>Parliament of Religions, World's Fair, views of asceticism at +the, <a href='#page357'>357</a>, <a href='#page358'>358</a>.</p> +<p>Paris, University of, <a href='#page249'>249</a>, <a href= +'#page406'>406</a>.</p> +<p>Paschal II., Pope, the gift of Cluny, <a href= +'#page178'>178</a>.</p> +<p>Patrick, St., <a href='#page122'>122</a>; labors in Ireland, +<a href='#page123'>123</a>; was he a Romanist? <a href= +'#page162'>162</a>.</p> +<p>Paul, The Apostle, on asceticism, <a href='#page27'>27</a>.</p> +<p>Paul III., Pope, excommunicates Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page306'>306</a>.</p> +<p>Paul of Thebes, Jerome's life of, <a href='#page35'>35</a>; his +early life, <a href='#page36'>36</a>; visited by Anthony, <a href= +'#page37'>37</a>; his death, <a href='#page40'>40</a>; effect of +his biography on the times, <a href='#page42'>42</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Paula"></a>Paula, St., Jerome on death of, <a href= +'#page98'>98</a>, <a href='#page101'>101</a>; her austerities and +charities, <a href='#page98'>98</a>, <a href='#page100'>100</a>; +separates from her children, <a href='#page98'>98</a>; her +monasteries at Bethlehem, <a href='#page100'>100</a>; inscription +on her tombstone, <a href='#page102'>102</a>; faints at her +daughter's funeral, <a href='#page125'>125</a>.</p> +<p>Paulinus, embraces ascetic Christianity, <a href= +'#page84'>84</a>.</p> +<p>Peter, The Apostle, marriage of, <a href='#page115'>115</a>.</p> +<p>Peter the Venerable, <a href='#page178'>178</a>.</p> +<p>Petrarch, Mabie on, and the classics, <a href= +'#page408'>408</a>.</p> +<p>Peyto, Friar, denounces Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page296'>296</a>:</p> +<p>Philanthropy, spirit of, kept alive by monks, <a href= +'#page412'>412</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Charity">Charity.</a></p> +<p>Philip IV., King, of France, his charges against the Knights, +<a href='#page202'>202</a>.</p> +<p>Phillips, Wendell, on the reading of history, <a href= +'#page386'>386</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page450"></a>[pg 450]</span> +<p>Philo, on the Essenes, <a href='#page23'>23</a>; on the +Therapeutæ, <a href='#page27'>27</a>.</p> +<p>Philosophy, ascetic influence of Greek, <a href= +'#page21'>21</a>; Gnostic, <a href='#page27'>27</a>; Pagan, and +fall of Rome, <a href='#page76'>76</a>.</p> +<p>Pike, Luke Owen, on the character of Henry VIII., <a href= +'#page290'>290</a>; on the lawlessness of monks, <a href= +'#page336'>336</a>.</p> +<p>Pilgrims of Grace, <a href='#page326'>326</a>; their demands and +overthrowal, <a href='#page327'>327</a>.</p> +<p>Pillar Saints, <a href='#page51'>51</a>.</p> +<p>Plague, Black, and the monks, <a href='#page410'>410</a>.</p> +<p>Plato, ascetic teachings of, <a href='#page22'>22</a>.</p> +<p>Pliny, on the Essenes, <a href='#page25'>25</a>.</p> +<p>Pole, Reginald, on Henry VIII. and Rome, <a href= +'#page295'>295</a>.</p> +<p>Politics, not to be despised, <a href='#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>Portus, inn at, <a href='#page105'>105</a>.</p> +<p>Potitianus, affected by Anthony's biography, <a href= +'#page83'>83</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Poverty"></a>Poverty, vow of, in Pachomian rule, +<a href='#page61'>61</a>; Franciscans quarrel over, <a href= +'#page246'>246</a>; and the Scriptures, <a href= +'#page376'>376</a>.</p> +<p>Preaching Friars, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Dominicans">Dominicans</a>, <a href= +"#Franciscans">Franciscans</a> and <a href= +"#Mendicant">Mendicants</a>.</p> +<p>Pride, spiritual, of monks, <a href='#page395'>395</a>.</p> +<p>Probabilism, doctrine of, <a href='#page274'>274</a>.</p> +<p>Protestantism, effect of, upon monasticism, <a href= +'#page286'>286</a>; guilty of persecution, <a href= +'#page332'>332</a>; and the Church of England, <a href= +'#page340'>340</a>; its real value to England, <a href= +'#page346'>346</a>; its religious ideal, <a href= +'#page356'>356</a>.</p> +<p>Putnam, on the rule of St. Benedict, <a href='#page139'>139</a>; +on Cassiodorus, <a href='#page153'>153</a>; on the first quarrel +over copyright, <a href='#page170'>170</a>.</p> +<p>Pythagoras, asceticism of, <a href='#page21'>21</a>, <a href= +'#page426'>426</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>R</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Reade, Charles, on the monk's flight from the world, <a href= +'#page368'>368</a>.</p> +<p>Reading, the monks of, their pious frauds, <a href= +'#page318'>318</a>.</p> +<p>Recluses, <i>see</i> <a href="#Hermits">Hermits.</a></p> +<p>Reformed Orders, <a href='#page173'>173</a>.</p> +<p>Reform, monastic, <a href='#page173'>173</a>, <a href= +'#page205'>205</a>; fails to stop decline of monasteries, <a href= +'#page196'>196</a>, <a href='#page207'>207</a>, <a href= +'#page286'>286</a>; demanded by popes, <a href='#page286'>286</a>; +failure of, <a href='#page336'>336</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Monasticism">Monasticism.</a></p> +<p>Reformation, The Protestant, furthered by certain Franciscans, +<a href='#page247'>247</a>; relation of Mendicants to, <a href= +'#page248'>248</a>; the Jesuits and, <a href='#page277'>277</a>; +<a href='#page278'>278</a>, <a href='#page283'>283</a>; in England, +its character, and results, <a href='#page345'>345</a>, <a href= +'#page346'>346</a>; and the monastic life, <a href= +'#page374'>374</a>.</p> +<p>Relics, fraudulent, <a href='#page128'>128</a>, <a href= +'#page318'>318</a>.</p> +<p>Religion, monasticism and, <a href='#page18'>18</a>, <a href= +'#page412'>412</a>; influence of feelings and opinions, <a href= +'#page354'>354</a>; enthusiasm for, fostered by monks, <a href= +'#page413'>413</a>; the sense of sin, <a href='#page414'>414</a>; +salvation, <a href='#page417'>417</a>; the distinction between the +secular and the religious, <a href='#page418'>418</a>, <a href= +'#page420'>420</a>; the doctrine of the cross, <a href= +'#page418'>418</a>; essence of, <a href='#page419'>419</a>; true, +possible outside of convents, <a href='#page421'>421</a>.</p> +<p>Religious houses, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Monasteries">Monasteries.</a></p> +<p>Renunciation of the world, <a href='#page358'>358</a>, <a href= +'#page369'>369</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Self-denial">Self-denial.</a></p> +<p>Rice, Ap, a Royal Commissioner, <a href='#page311'>311</a>.</p> +<p>Riches, <i>see</i> <a href="#Wealth">Wealth.</a></p> +<p>Richard II., confiscates alien priories, <a href= +'#page338'>338</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page451"></a>[pg 451]</span> +<p>Robertson, F.W., on excessive austerities, <a href= +'#page94'>94</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Rome,_Church_of"></a>Rome, Church of, her claims +respecting the early British Church, <a href='#page162'>162</a>; +writers of, on the stigmata, <a href='#page223'>223</a>; her +relation to the Jesuits, <a href='#page275'>275</a>, and the +English people, <a href='#page294'>294</a>, <a href= +'#page341'>341</a>; martyrs of, <a href='#page332'>332</a>; writers +of, on the fall of monasteries, <a href='#page334'>334</a>, +<a href='#page335'>335</a>; England separates from, <a href= +'#page342'>342</a>; her religious ideal, <a href= +'#page356'>356</a>; Parkman on, <a href='#page386'>386</a>; +Macaulay on, <a href='#page403'>403</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Henry_VIII.">Henry VIII.</a></p> +<p>Rome, Monasticism introduced in, <a href='#page71'>71</a>; +social and religious state of, in the fourth century, <a href= +'#page72'>72</a>, <a href='#page74'>74</a>; Dill on causes of the +fall of, <a href='#page74'>74</a>; classes of society in, <a href= +'#page75'>75</a>; Farrar on luxury of, <a href='#page75'>75</a>; +epigram of Silvianus, <a href='#page76'>76</a>; Kingsley on ruin +of, <a href='#page78'>78</a>; Jerome on sack of, by Alaric, +<a href='#page103'>103</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Jerome">Jerome.</a></p> +<p>Roman Empire, nominally Christian, <a href='#page73'>73</a>;. +its impending doom, <a href='#page73'>73</a>, <a href= +'#page367'>367</a>.</p> +<p>Romanus, a monk, <a href='#page131'>131</a>.</p> +<p>Royalty, affected by monasticism, <a href= +'#page179'>179</a>.</p> +<p>Rules, monastic, the first, <a href='#page58'>58</a>; before +Benedict, <a href='#page107'>107</a>; of Augustine, <a href= +'#page118'>118</a>; of St. Benedict, <a href='#page138'>138</a>, +<a href='#page139'>139</a>, <a href='#page147'>147</a>, <a href= +'#page151'>151</a>, <a href='#page158'>158</a>; of Dom Guigo, +<a href='#page189'>189</a>; of St. Francis, <a href= +'#page226'>226</a>. <i>See</i> <a href="#Celibacy">Celibacy</a>, +<a href="#Poverty">Poverty</a>, <a href= +"#Obedience">Obedience.</a></p> +<p>Ruskin, on St. Hugh of Lincoln, <a href='#page189'>189</a>.</p> +<p>Rusticus, a monk, <a href='#page59'>59</a>.</p> +<p>Rutilius, on the monks, <a href='#page126'>126</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>S</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Sabatier, on rule of St. Francis, <a href= +'#page227'>227</a>.</p> +<p>Saint, Paul of Thebes, <a href='#page35'>35</a>; Anthony, +<a href='#page37'>37</a>; Athanasius, <a href='#page42'>42</a>; +Abraham, <a href='#page50'>50</a>, <a href='#page60'>60</a>; +Macarius, <a href='#page49'>49</a>; Hilarion, <a href= +'#page49'>49</a>; Simeon Stylites, <a href='#page51'>51</a>; +Pachomius, <a href='#page58'>58</a>; Basil, <a href= +'#page63'>63</a>; Gregory of Nazianza, <a href='#page65'>65</a>; +Jerome, <a href='#page85'>85</a>; Paula, <a href='#page97'>97</a>; +Marcella, <a href='#page102'>102</a>; Fabiola, <a href= +'#page105'>105</a>; Ambrose, <a href='#page115'>115</a>; +Chrysostom, <a href='#page116'>116</a>; Augustine, <a href= +'#page117'>117</a>; Martin of Tours, <a href='#page119'>119</a>; +Maur, <a href='#page137'>137</a>; Patrick, <a href= +'#page123'>123</a>, <a href='#page162'>162</a>; Benedict of Nursia, +<a href='#page131'>131</a>; Hugh of Lincoln, <a href= +'#page157'>157</a>, <a href='#page189'>189</a>; Gregory the Great, +<a href='#page159'>159</a>; Columba, <a href='#page162'>162</a>, +<a href='#page168'>168</a>, <a href='#page170'>170</a>; Boniface, +<a href='#page167'>167</a>; Wilfred, <a href='#page167'>167</a>; +Benedict of Aniane, <a href='#page176'>176</a>; Dunstan, <a href= +'#page182'>182</a>; Bruno, <a href='#page188'>188</a>; Bernard, +<a href='#page192'>192</a>; Francis, <a href='#page208'>208</a>; +Clara, <a href='#page228'>228</a>; Dominic, <a href= +'#page230'>230</a>; Loyola, <a href='#page261'>261</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Salvation"></a>Salvation, the desire for, <a href= +'#page70'>70</a>, <a href='#page111'>111</a>, <a href= +'#page355'>355</a>, <a href='#page396'>396</a>; the struggle for, +<a href='#page95'>95</a>; monastic views of, <a href= +'#page417'>417</a>.</p> +<p>Samson, Abbot, election of, <a href='#page145'>145</a>.</p> +<p>Santa Crocella, chapel of, <a href='#page131'>131</a>.</p> +<p>Saracens burn Monte Cassino monastery, <a href= +'#page135'>135</a>.</p> +<p>Saragossa, Council of, forbids priests to assume monks' robes, +<a href='#page122'>122</a>.</p> +<p>Savonarola, a Dominican, <a href='#page242'>242</a>.</p> +<p>Saxons invade England, <a href='#page180'>180</a>.</p> +<p>Schaff, Philip, on origin of monasticism, <a href= +'#page18'>18</a>; on Montanists, <a href='#page28'>28</a>; +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page452"></a>[pg 452]</span> on the +biography of the hermit Paul, <a href='#page35'>35</a>; on St. +Jerome, <a href='#page86'>86</a>; on Augustine, <a href= +'#page117'>117</a>; on Benedictine rule, <a href= +'#page148'>148</a>; on monasteries as centers of learning, <a href= +'#page153'>153</a>; on effects of monasticism, <a href= +'#page387'>387</a>.</p> +<p>Scholastica, story about, <a href='#page138'>138</a>.</p> +<p>Schools, monastic, <a href='#page154'>154</a>, <a href= +'#page167'>167</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Learning">Learning.</a></p> +<p>Scott, Walter, on installation of an abbot, <a href= +'#page145'>145</a>; on the crusaders, <a href= +'#page199'>199</a>.</p> +<p>Seclusion, <a href='#page244'>244</a>, <a href= +'#page259'>259</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Solitude">Solitude.</a></p> +<p>Secular life, duties of, <a href='#page113'>113</a>; the monks +and, <a href='#page399'>399</a>; distinction between religion and +the, <a href='#page418'>418</a>; true view of, <a href= +'#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>Self-crucifixion, <a href='#page418'>418</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Self-denial"></a>Self-denial, its nature, <a href= +'#page356'>356</a>; Mozoomdar on, <a href='#page358'>358</a>.</p> +<p>Selfishness, engendered by monasticism, <a href= +'#page396'>396</a>.</p> +<p>Self-forgetfulness, the key to happiness, <a href= +'#page392'>392</a>.</p> +<p>Self-mastery, the craving for, <a href='#page70'>70</a>.</p> +<p>Self-sacrifice, effect of, upon the individual, <a href= +'#page390'>390</a>; meaning of true, <a href='#page419'>419</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Asceticism">Asceticism.</a></p> +<p>Serapion, monks of, <a href='#page63'>63</a>.</p> +<p>Severus, his life of St. Martin, <a href='#page119'>119</a>.</p> +<p>Sherman, Father Thomas E., on the Society of Jesus, <a href= +'#page258'>258</a>; on Loyola, <a href='#page278'>278</a>.</p> +<p>Sick, ministered to by women, <a href='#page350'>350</a>. +<i>See</i> <a href="#Charity">Charity.</a></p> +<p>Silvianus, epigram of, on dying Rome, <a href= +'#page76'>76</a>.</p> +<p>Simon de Montfort, <a href='#page237'>237</a>.</p> +<p>Simeon Stylites, birth and early life of, <a href= +'#page51'>51</a>; austerities of, <a href='#page52'>52</a>; his +fame, <a href='#page52'>52</a>; lives on a pillar, <a href= +'#page53'>53</a>; Tennyson on, <a href='#page54'>54</a>; death of, +<a href='#page56'>56</a>; refuses to see his mother, <a href= +'#page397'>397</a>; method of, forsaken, <a href= +'#page421'>421</a>.</p> +<p>Sin, monastic confessions of, <a href='#page413'>413</a>; +consciousness of, preserved by monks, <a href='#page414'>414</a>; +exaggerated views of, <a href='#page415'>415</a>; false methods to +get rid of, <a href='#page416'>416</a>; monastic influence on +doctrine of atonement for, <a href='#page417'>417</a>.</p> +<p>Sisterhoods, <i>see</i> <a href="#Women">Women.</a></p> +<p>Sixtus IV. and V., Popes, on the stigmata, <a href= +'#page221'>221</a>.</p> +<p>Social service, spirit of, <a href='#page419'>419</a>, <a href= +'#page423'>423</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Solitude"></a>Solitude, of Egypt, <a href= +'#page33'>33</a>; provided for in Pachomian rules, <a href= +'#page60'>60</a>; Jerome on, <a href='#page61'>61</a>; the love of, +as a cause of monasticism, <a href='#page362'>362</a>, <a href= +'#page363'>363</a>; effects of, upon the individual, <a href= +'#page393'>393</a>; Montaigne on temptations of, <a href= +'#page393'>393</a>; society and, <a href='#page395'>395</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Soul-purity"></a>Soul-purity, struggles for, <a href= +'#page95'>95</a>. <i>See</i> <a href= +"#Salvation">Salvation.</a></p> +<p>Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius, <a href='#page265'>265</a>.</p> +<p>Spain, monasticism enters, <a href='#page122'>122</a>.</p> +<p>Starbuck, Charles C., on the casuistry of the Jesuits, <a href= +'#page274'>274</a>.</p> +<p>Stigmata, of St. Francis, <a href='#page219'>219</a>.</p> +<p>Storrs, on Bernard, <a href='#page197'>197</a>.</p> +<p>Subiaco, desert of, <a href='#page131'>131</a>.</p> +<p>Superstitions, monastic, when revolt against is justifiable, +<a href='#page423'>423</a>.</p> +<p>Suppression of monasteries, <i>see</i> <a href= +"#Monasteries">Monasteries</a>, The Fall of.</p> +<p>Supremacy, the monks required to take the oath of, <a href= +'#page301'>301</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page453"></a>[pg +453]</span> +<p>T</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Tabenna, Monastery at, <a href='#page32'>32</a>, <a href= +'#page58'>58</a>.</p> +<p>Tauler, John, a Dominican, <a href='#page242'>242</a>; on +service and contemplation, <a href='#page395'>395</a>.</p> +<p>Taunton, E.L., on the family-idea of monasteries, <a href= +'#page143'>143</a>; on Augustine and British monks, <a href= +'#page165'>165</a>.</p> +<p>Taylor, Isaac, on the biography of Anthony, <a href= +'#page48'>48</a>.</p> +<p>Templars, <i>see</i> <a href="#Knights">Knights.</a></p> +<p>Tennyson, on Stylites, <a href='#page54'>54</a>.</p> +<p>Tertullian, on Christianity in Britain, <a href= +'#page123'>123</a>.</p> +<p>Thackeray, views of, on Jesuits opposed, <a href= +'#page278'>278</a>.</p> +<p>Theodoret, on Stylites, <a href='#page51'>51</a>, <a href= +'#page53'>53</a>.</p> +<p>Theodosius, Abbot, <a href='#page50'>50</a>.</p> +<p>Theology, the monks and, <a href='#page406'>406</a>; White on +same, <a href='#page416'>416</a>.</p> +<p>Theophilus, joins Eudoxia against Chrysostom, <a href= +'#page117'>117</a>.</p> +<p>Therapeutæ, Philo on the, <a href='#page27'>27</a>.</p> +<p>Thieffroy, on charity of monks, <a href='#page410'>410</a>.</p> +<p>Third Order, <i>see</i> <a href="#Franciscans">Franciscans</a> +and <a href="#Dominicans">Dominicans.</a></p> +<p>Thirty Years' War, the Jesuits and the, <a href= +'#page277'>277</a>.</p> +<p>Trench, on monastic history, <a href='#page175'>175</a>; on +genius in creation, <a href='#page207'>207</a>; on the stigmata, +<a href='#page223'>223</a>.</p> +<p>Trent, Council of, restricts Mendicants, <a href= +'#page246'>246</a>; on marriage, <a href='#page382'>382</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>U</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Universities, foundations of, laid by monks, <a href= +'#page405'>405</a>.</p> +<p>Urban II., Pope, the gift of Cluny monastery, <a href= +'#page178'>178</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>V</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Valens, Emperor, fails to stop flight from Rome, <a href= +'#page127'>127</a>.</p> +<p>Vaughan, on Bernard's reforms, <a href='#page195'>195</a>; on +the need of reformation, <a href='#page402'>402</a>.</p> +<p>Virgins, <i>see</i> <a href="#Marriage">Marriage.</a></p> +<p>Virgil, Jerome's fondness for, <a href='#page95'>95</a>; Mabie +on reading of, <a href='#page408'>408</a>.</p> +<p>Vivaria, literary work in monastery at, <a href= +'#page152'>152</a>.</p> +<p>Voltaire, on the monks, <a href='#page388'>388</a>.</p> +<p>Vows, monastic, <a href='#page61'>61</a>; irrevocable, <a href= +'#page66'>66</a>, <a href='#page112'>112</a>; usual history of, +<a href='#page174'>174</a>; of the military orders, <a href= +'#page198'>198</a>; the fundamental, <a href='#page375'>375</a>; +the passing away of, <a href='#page423'>423</a>. <i>See</i> +<a href="#Poverty">Poverty</a>, <a href="#Celibacy">Celibacy</a> +and <a href="#Obedience">Obedience.</a></p> +<p>Vulgate, Jerome, <a href='#page85'>85</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>W</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Waddington, on the hermits, <a href='#page34'>34</a>; on +conscience and method of monks, <a href='#page390'>390</a>.</p> +<p>War, monks incite to, <a href='#page401'>401</a>.</p> +<p>Watch-dogs of the Church, a term applied to the Dominicans, +<a href='#page249'>249</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Wealth"></a>Wealth, Christ's doctrine of, <a href= +'#page377'>377</a>; not in itself an evil, <a href= +'#page379'>379</a>; its true value, <a href='#page405'>405</a>; +compatible with Christianity, <a href='#page420'>420</a>.</p> +<p>White, on the theology of the monks, <a href= +'#page416'>416</a>.</p> +<p>Whiting, Richard, Abbot of Glastonbury, <a href= +'#page315'>315</a>.</p> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="page454"></a>[pg 454]</span> +<p>Widows, <i>see</i> <a href="#Women">Women</a> and <a href= +"#Marriage">Marriage.</a></p> +<p>Wilfred, St., his monastic labors, <a href= +'#page167'>167</a>.</p> +<p>William of Aquitaine, <a href='#page177'>177</a>.</p> +<p>William of Amour, <a href='#page250'>250</a>.</p> +<p>William of Orange, <a href='#page394'>394</a>.</p> +<p>Wolsey, Cardinal, <a href='#page294'>294</a>, <a href= +'#page308'>308</a>.</p> +<p><a name="Women"></a>Women, welcome call of monks, <a href= +'#page81'>81</a>; Kingsley on same, <a href='#page82'>82</a>; +Juvenal on Roman women, <a href='#page82'>82</a>; Jerome's +influence on, <a href='#page86'>86</a>, <a href='#page96'>96</a>; +monasticism and, <a href='#page106'>106</a>; hermit life unsuited +to, <a href='#page107'>107</a>; effect of corrupt society on, +<a href='#page107'>107</a>, no; distinguished by mercy, in, +<a href='#page350'>350</a>; compared with monks, <a href= +'#page111'>111</a>; married life of, in Rome, <a href= +'#page112'>112</a>; influence of Ambrose upon, <a href= +'#page126'>126</a>; regulation of Guigo concerning monks and, +<a href='#page190'>190</a>.</p> +<p>Wyclif, attacks the friars, <a href='#page253'>253</a>, <a href= +'#page337'>337</a>; spirit of, affects monasticism, <a href= +'#page295'>295</a>, <a href='#page429'>429</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>X</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Ximenes, Cardinal, a Franciscan, <a href='#page228'>228</a>.</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"></div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Z</p> +</div> +<div class="letter"> +<p>Zosimus, on charity of monks, <a href='#page348'>348</a>.</p> +</div> +</div> +<br> +<br> +<p><i>Printed at</i> THE BRANDT PRESS, <i>Trenton, N.J., +U.S.A</i>.</p> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Short History of Monks and +Monasteries, by Alfred Wesley Wishart + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF MONKS AND MONASTERIES *** + +***** This file should be named 13206-h.htm or 13206-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/2/0/13206/ + +Produced by Christine Gehring, Charlie Kirschner and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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