defpotifm of Antichrift was, as yet, fo far from being univerfal, that it was not owned throughout Italy itfelf; and, that in fome parts of that country, as well as in England and France, the purity of Chriftian worship was ftill maintained. The city of Rome, indeed, and its environs, feem to have been, at this period, the moft corrupt part of Christendom in Europe, nor do I remember a single miffionary in thefe times to have been an Italian.

He

Paulinus, in his book against Felix, affirms, that the Eucharift is a morfel and bit of bread*. maintains, that it is fpiritual life or death in the eater, as he either has faith or hath not; which feems to be a juft and evangelical view of that divine ordinance, not only free from the abfurdity of tranfubftantiation, but alfo expreffive of the Chriftian article of juftification, of which the reader hears very little in thefe cloudy times. Still more exprefs teftimonies to the effentials of falvation are not wanting in this author. He protefts, that the blood of thofe, who have themselves been redeemed, cannot blot out the leaft fin; that the expiation of iniquity is the exclufive privilege of the blood of Chrift alone. He defines the properties of the divine and human nature, as united in the perfon of Jefus Chrift, with great precifion; and fo careful is he to defcribe the latter, as circumfcribed and limited by the bounds of body, as to form, at leaft, a ftrong confequential argument against the notion of tranfubftantiation. Hear how he comments on our Lord's well-known defcription of eating his flesh and drinking his blood in the 6th Chap. of St. John's Gofpel. "The flesh and blood may be referred to his human,

Buccella et particula panis. in his dedication to Charle

human, not to his divine nature.-Yet if he were not the true God, his flesh and blood could by no means give eternal life to thofe, who feed upon him. Whence alfo John fays, the blood of his Son cleanfeth us from all fin." Hear also how he fpeaks of the interceffion of Chrift. "Paul is not

An

a mediator; he is an embaffador for Chrift. advocate is He, who being alfo the Redeemer, exhibits to God the Father the human nature in the unity of the perfon of God and man. John interceeds not, but declares that this imediator is the propitiation for our fins." Once more: "The Son of God Almighty, our Almighty Lord, becaufe He redeemed us with the price of his blood, is juftly called the true Redeemer, by the confeffion of all, who are redeemed. He himself was not redeemed; He had never been captive: we have been redeemed, because we were captives, fold under fin*, bound by the hand-writing which was against us, which He took away, nailing it to his cross, blotting it out by his blood, triumphing openly over it in himself, having finished a work which the blood of no other Redeemer could do." Such is the language of this evangelical bifhop, while he is oppofing the Neftorian herefy revived by Felix. And here, at least, we see a due refpect paid to Holy Scripture. Paulinus, quotes, understands, and builds his faith upon it; and is equally remote from dependence on mere human reafonings, on the authority of the Church of Rome, or on any traditions.

This bishop was born about the year 726, near Friuli, was promoted to Aquileia in 776, was highly favoured by Charlemagne, and preached the Gofpel to the pagans of Carinthia and Stiria, and

* Rom. vii.

+ Coloff. ii.

to

to the Avares, a nation of Hunns. One of his
maxims was,
“Pride is that, without which no
fin is or will be committed: it is the beginning,
the end, and the caufe of all fin." I wonder not,
that he, who could fee the nature of fin with fo

penetrating an eye, in an age of dulnefs, was conA.D. founded with the bishop of Hippo. He died in 804. 804*. In a letter to Charlemagne, he complained of the want of refidence in bishops, and of their attending the court. He cites a canon of the council of Sardica, in the fourth century, which forbad the abfence of bifhops from their diocefes, for a longer space than three weeks.

I have been obliged to Alban Butler for fome of the foregoing particulars. But, it is remarkable that he omits his teftimony against image-worship. The reader fhould know that Butler is a zealous Roman Catholic.

CENTURY

CENTURY IX.

CHAP. I.

A

A GENERAL VIEW OF THE STATE OF RELIGION IN THIS CENTURY.

WE
War, a land of deferts and pits, a land

E are penetrating into the regions of dark-
nefs, and

of drought, and of the shadow of death*;" and we are carried, by every step, into fcenes ftill more gloomy than the former. Here and there, indeed, a glimmering ray of the fun of righteoufnefs appears; but it is in vain to look for any fteady luftre of evangelical truth and holiness. In fuch a fituation, to pursue the chronological courfe of events, would be as tedious as it is unprofitable. The plan of history for each century fhould be modified by the exifting circumftances. And there feem to be four diftinct phenomena of Chriftian light in this period, which will deserve to be illustrated in fo many chapters: namely, in the 2d, 3d, 4th, and 5th. It fhall be the business of this first chapter, to premise fome general obfervations, which may enable the reader more clearly to understand those phenomena.

Several circumftances attended the thick darknefs, which pervaded this century; and they appear to be reducible to the following heads :the preference given to human writings above the Scriptures, the domination of the popedom,-the accumulation

* Jerem. II. 6.

accumulation of ceremonies,-and the oppreffion of the godly*.

It was now fashionable to explain Scripture entirely by the writings of the fathers. No man was permitted, with impunity, to vary in the least from their decifions. The great apoftolical rule of interpretation, namely, to compare fpiritual things with fpiritual, was in a manner loft. It was deemed fufficient, that fuch a renowned doctor had given fuch an interpretation. Hence, men of learning and industry paid more attention to the fathers, than to the facred volume, which, through long disuse and neglect, was looked on as obfcure and perplexed, and quite unfit for popular reading. Even divine truths feemed to derive their authority more from the word of man than of God; and the writings and decrees of men were no longer treated as witneffes, but ufurped the office of judges of divine truth.

The popedom alfo grew ftronger and stronger. Ignorance and fuperftition were fo predominant, that whoever dared to oppofe the bishop of Rome, drew upon himself an hoft of enemies. All, who looked for advancement in the Church, attached themselves to Antichrift. It is in this way only, that I can account for the very little refiftance made to image-worship. We have feen, how a large part of the weft rejected it. But moft perfons contented themselves with a fimple expofition of their creed. Idolatry, in the mean time, was practically fupported by the whole power and influence of the popedom.

The great accumulation of ceremonies, the obfervance of which was looked upon as abfolutely neceffary

*Centuriat. See their preface to the 9th century. I have availed myself of fome of the thoughts: the whole is ingenious and fpirited.

t1 Cor. ii.