On the whole, I fhall venture to observe, what, however, no reader will be prepared to receive, unless his mind has been feafoned with a degree of experimental religion, that the comments of Bede are far more folid and judicious than those of many modern, improperly called rational divines; though in the former the errors of fanciful allegory abound, in the latter an air of ftrict and accurate argumentation every where appear. The reafon is, because the former, being poffeffed of the true meaning of the Apostle on the whole, fupports and illuftrates it throughout, though he fails in detached paffages because of the defultory ebullitions of a vicious taste, which predominated in his time; the latter with " semblance of worth, not fubftance," are accurate and juft in many particulars, but from their fyftem of notions, which is extremely oppofite to that of St. Paul, mislead their readers altogether, in regard to the main drift of the argument.

A year before our prefbyter's death, he wrote a letter to Egbert, archbishop of York, which deferves to be immortalized for the folid fenfe, which it exhibits, a quality, with which Bede was very eminently endowed *.

"Above all things," fays he, "avoid useless. difcourfe, and apply yourself to the Holy Scriptures, especially the epiftles to Timothy and Titus; to Gregory's paftoral care, and his homilies on the Gofpel. It is indecent for him, who is dedicated to the fervice of the Church, to give way to actions or difcourfe unfuitable to his character. always thofe about you, who may affift you in temptation: be not like fome bishops, who love to have thofe about them, who love good cheer, and divert them with trifling and facetious converfation.

• Bede's Works, Paris edit. p. 46.

Have

Your

Your diocefe is too large to allow you to go through the whole in a year; therefore appoint prefbyters, in each village, to inftruct and adminifter the facraments; and let them be ftudious, that every one of them may learn, by heart, the Creed and the Lord's prayer; and that if they do not understand Latin, they may repeat them in their own tongue. I have tranflated them into English, for the benefit of ignorant prefbyters. I am told, that there are many villages in our nation, in the mountainous parts, the inhabitants of which have never seen a bishop or paftor; and yet they are obliged to pay their dues to the bishop.

The belt means to reform our Church, is to increase the number of bifhops: who fees not, how much more reasonable it is for numbers to share this burden? Gregory therefore directed Auguftine to appoint twelve bifhops to be under the archbishop of York, as their metropolitan. I wish you would fill up this number, with the affiftance of the king of Northumberland*."

"I know it is not easy to find an empty place for the erection of a bishopric. You may choose fome monastery for the purpose.-In truth, there are many places, which have the name of monafteries without deserving it."-He goes on to fhew how, for thirty years paft, the fcandalous abufe of monafteries had prevailed, and how useless many of them were to church and ftate, as they preferved neither piety nor decency. He directs Egbert to fee that his flock be inftructed in chriftian faith and practice, and that they frequently attend on the communion.

* His name was Cedulph. Two years after Bede's death, he gave up his crown and lived twenty-two years in a monaftery. His mind was moft probably truly devout, though the fpirit of the times led him into a degenerate method of fhewing it.

communion. He finds fault with the exceffive multiplication of monks, and expreffes his fears, left, in procefs of time, the ftate fhould be deftitute of foldiers to repel an invafion. This last obfervation is of a piece with another at the close of his hiftory, that many Northumbrians in his days, both nobles and private men, employed themselves and their children more in monaftic vows than in the exercife of arms. "What effect this will have," fays he," the next generation will bear witnefs." It is no common inftance of judgment in one who had always been a monk, te notice these evils *. How they happened to be fo very fashionable in our ifland, it is not hard to account for. Our ancestors were, doubtlefs, much indebted under God to the Roman See. Chriftianity, before the miffions of Gregory, was very low in England. A real fpirit of godlinefs, the fincere practice and true underftanding of the Gofpel, had been, through the bishops of Rome, introduced among barbarians. Even the benefits thence refulting to fociety muft have been great. Gratitude and affection would naturally lead our ancestors, in those fuperftitious ages, to monaftic exceffes, And if the evils, of which Bede complains, be ftrong proofs of the fuperftitious tafte, they are alfo of the fpirit of piety which fubfifted among them. While Bede lived, in no part of the world was godlinefs better underftood and practifed, than among our ancestors. In a fynod held by Cuthbert, archbishop of Canterbury, about the middle of this century, at Cloveshoot, there were twelve prelates, with Ethelbald, king of the Mercians. The canons of this fynod would have done honour

* Even kings gave themselves up to retirements of this kind, and there want not inftances, among the Saxon princes, of pilgrimages to Rome of a religious nature. Warner.

Now Cliff, near Rochester.

honour to the pureft times, and they feem to have been infpired by the genius of Bede. The clergy are directed to have fellowship with one another, to ferve God in one fpirit of faith, hope, and charity, to pray for one another, to attend to the duties of the fabbath, and, in fine, the fame things are repeated, which are to be found in Bede's letter to Egbert.

Let us not pride ourselves in a fancied fuperiority to our forefathers: a vanity of this fort feems to be the difeafe of the prefent age;-but men were not all without understanding in those dark feafons. The indifcriminating cenfures of Mofheim on whole centuries, feem to fhew more malignity than difcernment. Bede alone knew more of true religion, both doctrinal and practical, than numbers of ecclefiaftics put together at this day; which will clearly appear, if we do but free him from fuperftitious rubbish, and examine what he is internally.

CHAP.

CHA P. II.

A

MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS.

LITTLE after the beginning of this century, Lambert, bishop of Maeftricht, was murdered. He had fucceeded Theodard, under whom he had been educated, and, for forty years, had adorned the Gospel by a life of piety and charity. He had been seven years deprived of his See amidit A.D. the civil confufions of France, but had been re681. established about the year 681. This prelate had

exerted himself with much zeal in his diocefe, and laboured with fuccefs in the converfion of the pagans, who were in his neighbourhood. His patience, as well as his doctrine, had a falutary effect. It is not, however, in the power of the wifeft and beft of men, to reftrain the tempers of their friends and relations. Two brothers, Gallus and Riold, were intolerably violent in plundering the church of Maeftricht, and infefting the neighbourhood. Lambert's relations, particularly two nephews, returned evil for evil, and flew them, much against the will of the bishop. Doubtlefs, the brothers ought to have applied to the civil magiftrate, though juftice was at that time very ill adminiftered in France. Dodo, a powerful baron of the neighbourhood, a relation of the robbers, was determined to revenge their deaths upon the bifhop himfelf; and he attacked him with armed men at Leodium* upon the Meufe. Lambert, in his first agitation upon the news of their approach, feized a fword, but recollecting himself, and

Now Liege. Fleury XLI. 16.