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thuania, in his diploma says, "Desiring in the days of the peregrination of my life to treasure up for myself the unfailing treasure of the heavenly country, while as yet He calls, and means by the divine mercy are afforded of sacrificing voluntary holocausts to the Author of all good-voluntaria sacrificandi holocausta Authori omnium bonorum *," &c.

The construction of a monastery was so excellent a work, in the general estimation, that parties before divided would unite in effecting it. The origin of the convent of Altenberg, in the time of the Emperor Frederick I., is an instance. When, during the reign of the Emperor Arnulph, the Huns from Scythia invaded Europe, the terrified population fortified this mountain, which was then wild and desert and wooded. After these invasions the mountain ceased to be occupied as a place of defence, and was given up to the feeding of cattle. Again it grew wild, and no one lived upon it. In process of time, however, the two neighbouring towns of Biehl and Dalheim began to contend about its possession; and as this contest became very serious, a certain priest, named Godefried, who was greatly revered for the sanctity of his life and the force of his preaching, happened to pass by, and by the unanimous consent of the two towns he was chosen arbitrator between them. He, having examined the mountain, and seen that it was of little value, desired them to give it for the site of a monastery, which he undertook to construct; to which proposition they consented, and giving up the ground to him, the convent of Præmonstratensians of Altenberg was the result. In fact, it was society, and not any particular man or order that was benefited by such donations; for things which are consecrated, having become religious or sacred, are the property of no one-res nullius.

Again, we find proof, on consulting the ancient archives, that, in founding monasteries, men professed that they were actuated by a love of Jesus Christ, and a desire of honouring God. Gratitude for personal favours entered sometimes into this motive, as when monasteries were founded after escape from great dangers. Thus, the Cistercian monastery called New Abbey, at East Smithfield and Tower-hill, was founded by King Edward III., in 1359, in fulfilment of a vow made in a tempest on the sea, and peril of drowning, if God would grant him grace to come safe to land. Henry II., duc de Longueville, playing at tennis, in the 20th year of his age, strained one of his shoulders so that it remained higher than the other. All surgical skill had failed in attempts to restore it to its proper place. His afflicted mother, Catherine de Gonzagues, addressed herself to sister Mary of the Incarnation. This holy Carmelite prayed before the blessed sacraThuringia Saera, 296.

*Hist. Cassinens. xii. 787.

ment, and the next day the young duke recovered his shape. Through gratitude, the mother and son founded the convent of the Rue Chapon, endowing it with 10,000 silver crowns, and 2000 pounds a year*. Frequently, however, without any reference to a personal and temporal benefit, the motive for such foundations is expressed as a love of the Saviour, and from a consideration of his goodness in the redemption of the world. Mark the words of Duke Robert, and his wife Sikelgaita, and his son Roger, in the charter to Monte Cassino: "Believing that we shall receive recompense from God, the Creator of all, if we extend care and solicitude to holy and venerable places, and that what we ask from those worshipping in the same holy places, to the best of our ability we should fulfil, being moved by the fear and love of Him, qui filium suum pro nobis fecit carnem sumere et patibulum crucis subire, et mortem gustare ut nos morte sua perque cooperationem spiritus sancti a morte perpetua liberaret nobisque vitam tribueret sempiternam, we grant to the monastery of St. Benedict, of Monte Cassino," &c. † Again, in 1268, Alphonso, son of the king of France, count of Poictiers and of Tholouse, begins his letters of privilege to the order of the Trinity with these words: "This nobility lays down, that what it gives spontaneously it thinks it owes of obligation, and it esteems nothing that it does in the way of benefits as great, especially in the offerings which it makes to the churches, in which the best measure is immensity-optima mensura est immensitas. But when Christ sees offerings to be made to the glory of his name, He gives so much the more abundantly as He beholds the dignity of religion to be augmented. Therefore," &c. ‡ Similarly it is to obey Christ that Bareson, king `of Sardinia, grants his charter to Monte Cassino; for his words are, “To those laden with the burden of sins it is found a principal remedy that they should hasten to give their temporal substance to the poor of Christ, the Lord Himself saying, 'Date eleemosynam, et ecce, omnia munda sunt vobis ;' and again, 'Facite vobis amicos de Mammona iniquitatis ut cum defeceritis recipiant vos in æterna tabernacula.' Therefore, hearing this voice, I, Bareson, following as far as I can the pious footsteps of my father, my wife Algaburga consenting, give and grant," &c. § Here is another, of the date of 1341: "We, Adenulf de Blasius, judge and notary, make known that, in our presence, Raynaldus, the son of Garofanus, for the remission of his sins, and proposing to serve God with a true heart and mind, and to make temporal subservient to spiritual things, since the divine page

* Cousin, Mdme. de Longueville, p. i. c. 1.
Hist. Cass. i. 183.

Baron, Annales Ord. SS. Trin. 237.
§ D. Gatt. Hist. Abb. Cassinens. 266.

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testifies, ‘Omnia sunt transitoria, præter amare et diligere Deum ac Virginem Mariam,' with a free and spontaneous will, gives purely, simply, and irrevocably to the monastery," &c.* So also Gerard, canon of Reims, son of the great knight Arnulph de Ruminiac, founded the monastery of Florins, where the chil dren of Sion should rejoice in their King, and praise his name in the choir, while their sacred relics rest under the altars; "for monasteries," adds the diploma, are towers erected in Sion, where the wonders of God may be declared, and his name adored from generation to generation +." Duke Robert Guiscard and his wife Sicelgaita speak as follows in the beginning of his donation to the infirmary of the monks: "If in a due order we attend to the divine worship, and to the honour and utility of the holy Church, we ought with all devotion to extend the greatest care and consolation to the holy Church of God, that the supernal piety may so much the more graciously protect us as we more fervently endeavour to exalt as far as we can, and protect his Church. Therefore, through the love of Almighty God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of his holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and of blessed Benedict, and for the salvation of our soul, and of the souls of all our relations, and also through the intervention of our beloved wife, we grant," &c. In accordance with such motives, the foundation on which monasteries are placed expressly by the charter of their founders is Christ. So the diploma of foundation of the monastery of St. Maria in the country of Friuli, in the year 662, begins thus: " Having resolved to found a monastery by means of which we may increase in the study of God, and propose examples of life to others, we must seek a beginning from the foundation of all good, which the Apostle explains, saying, 'Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere præter id quod positum est, quod est Christus §.' "' Founders being thus actuated by the motive of love for our Lord, we shall discover without surprise that monasteries were built and enriched also in consideration of the holiness attached to particular orders or men. The historian of the Cistercians declares expressly that it was in consequence of their eminent sanctity that in a short time about 1800 monasteries of men, and 1040 of nuns of that order were constructed ||. Each benefactor seemed to say with Guido of Duca,

"But since God's will is that so largely shine
His grace in thee, I will be liberal too ¶."

So Margaret, queen of Naples, in her privilege to the monas

* D. Gatt. Hist. Abb. Cassinens. x. 624.

Triumphus S Joan. Bapt. 183.
Hist. Cassinens. vi. 276. § S. Paul. Aquil. Op. Appendix ii.
Aubertus Miræus, Chron. Cisterciens.
Purg. 14.

tery of St. Anne of Aquavira, of Mount Dragon, says that she wishes" to support those who, for the salvation of the human race -qui pro salute humani generis-continually labour and watch in prayers with God, and considering that this is a stable and firm possession which any one raises for himself by conferring benefits and favours on the churches *." "At Meinvelt, in the diocese of Treves," says Cæsar of Heisterbach, "is a monastery of a Black order, called Lake, having its name from the adjoining water, a house very rich and flourishing. One day, a certain Saxon was received there to hospitality, who departed much edified by the charity with which he had been received. Not long after, a rich friend of his in Saxony, being at the point of death, and about to write his will in his presence, said, I wish to bequeath somewhat for my soul, if I knew in what place it would be best applied.' To whom he said, 'Near Cologne is a monastery of great religion, in which, as I can testify from experience, there are men of God most charitable. You cannot leave your alms to a more worthy place. By his advice the Saxon bequeathed forty marks of silver to them, and died. This was told me by a certain religious convert of our order †."

Again, we find that monasteries were built and enriched with a view to the good of the soul, and through a desire and love of spiritual riches. Henry VI., offering to build several convents for the Observants, in order to prevail upon St. John Capistran, then vicar-general, to come over to England, that holy man in his reply wrote as follows: "Moreover, concerning the building of new monasteries to the honour of God and the memory of St. Bernardine of Sienna, I add no more, but that, as I have said, faith without good works is not available. Wherefore, if you pleased to build the said monasteries, I would have you to know that you build not for me nor for others, but for yourself, so many everlasting palaces in heaven; for our days are short, and in a little space of time death cuts us off from all that is here below, and we poor wretches carry nothing away with us but the virtues and vices, the good or evil, which we have acted in this life. If, therefore, your majesty intends to provide for your soul by building the said monasteries for the Observants, I will write to the most reverend father vicar of France, and to some guardian in the neighbourhood, with whom you may consult in this affair ."

But let us again open the diplomas, and simply transcribe them. They are written, it must be confessed, in stunning Latin, but the sense is sufficiently intelligible. What first follows is dated in 1018. "I, John Giso, and Cono, espontanea

Hist. Cassinens. x. 619.

Collectanea Anglo-Minoritica, 203.

+ iv. 71.

nostra bona boluntate,' having thought of the day of death and eternal judgment, and remembering the mercy of Almighty God, for the redemption and salvation of our souls, that the pious and merciful Lord may grant us indulgence for our sins, and that eternal light may encompass us in the future life, by this charter give and grant to the Church of St. Angelo *," &c. Again, in 1078: " I, Dauferus, and I, Altruda, his wife, inhabiting the city of Troja, being moved by the mercy of Almighty God, have thought within ourselves, ut quid prodest homini si totum mundum lucretur anima ejus detrimentum paciatur,' and elsewhere what the Scripture saith, in omni opere tuo memorare novissima tua, et in eternum non peccaberis; and again what it says, mensura quam mensi fueritis remecietur vobis ;' therefore, for the remedy of our souls, in order that we may obtain rest with the most high Lord, and dwell with him, we give†," &c. Again, in 1097: "I, Herbius de Johex, born in Brittain, and now living in the city of Troja, whilst I assiduously reflected on these present things, which would be nothing to a mortal man, I foresaw those things existing which avail to the salvation of the soul, and chose rather to embrace the latter than the former; for nothing transitory can be compared to what endures for ever- Nil enim transitorium comparabitur permanenti,' nothing mortal can equal what is immortal; since also, I remember that which Truth declares in the Gospel, saying, 'Nihil proficuum esset animæ lucrum hujus seculi unde anima perimitur;' on account of this, I and my wife, the daughter of Landulf, agree to give," &c. Again in 1057: "I, John, the son of Beczo, having in mind the day of my death and eternal judgment, desire and hope, through the great mercy of Almighty God, the redemption of my soul, and that of the soul of my brother Paul, and all my relations, that to us our Lord Jesus Christ may grant pardon, and that he may recal us to his holy grace, and when that future judgment comes, when the Lord will say, Venite, benedicti Patris mei,' we may be able to obtain recompense from the Lord. Therefore I deliver up to this holy church," &c. Take again a fragment of the testament of Dagobert, in which he leaves certain goods to the abbeys of St. Vincent, now St. Germain, at Paris; of St. Peter, now St. Geneviève of St. Denis, of St. Columban, and of St. Lupus, at Sens. “As far," he says, as the sense of the human understanding can conceive with a sagacious mind, and perpend with acute investigation, there is nothing better in the light of this life, and in the fugitive joy, than that we should study to expend in the support of the poor or venerable places what we derive from transitory

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