But Euphraxus, who fought to pacify his confcience at the easiest rate, with miferable ignorance importuned the abbot to inveft him with the habit, to which he at length confented. Euphraxus died three days after. Infidelity may finile, but if ever the confcience become thoroughly alarmed, even in the most hardened fceptics and fenfualifts, it will quickly find, that the best of our moral works are no covering to the foul from the juftice of an holy God; and therefore, unless the real doctrine of falvation be understood, men in their distress will betake themselves to fuch paltry refuges as this of Euphraxus. A licentious Charles II. having fedulous recourfe to popish ceremonies, in his dying hours, is not a fingular cafe. Others, who, like him in health, despised the doctrines of grace, have done the fame.

convent.

Nilus refufed the offer of the bishopric of Capua: nor could the moft flattering invitations induce him to go to Conftantinople. He feemed likely to enjoy tranquil retirement to his death, in his But Providence ordered it otherwise. The Saracens invaded Calabria, of which they afterwards gained poffeffion. Nilus was driven from his home, and lived a long time in other convents. Otho III. upon a vifit, preffed him to accept fome fituation in his dominions, wherever he fhould chufe. Nilus thanked the emperor, but faid, our Divine Master will not forfake my brethren, if they be true monks, after I am gone. Afk what you please, said the emperor, I will give it you with pleasure. "The only thing, I afk you," replied Nilus, is, "that you would fave your foul. For you must give an account to God, as well as other men." This good abbot died at Tufculum, A.D. in an extreme old age in the year 1005*.

*A. Butler.

Such

1005.

Such was the light, scattered here and there, in the darkness of the times, by which the God of grace and mercy called, nourished, and fanctified his Church, and preferved to himself a godly feed in the earth, who should ferve him in the Gofpel of his Son, and prevent the cruel tyranny of the prince of darkness from completely overfpreading the world.

CENTURY

CENTURY XI.

CHAP. I.

A GENERAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH IN THIS

CENTURY.

TH

HE genuine Church of Chrift under the protection and influence of her fupreme head, exifted indeed in this century; but it would be in vain to attempt a regular and fyftematical hiftory of her progrefs. Some particular circumftances in different parts of the Chriftian world, fome pious and fuccefsful endeavours to propagate the Gospel

in

pagan countries, fome degrees of oppofition to the reigning idolatry and fuperftition, and the writings of fome pious and evangelical Theologians, demonftrated, that the Spirit of God had not forfaken the earth altogether.

*

Indeed, if this century may be faid, in fome degree, to have excelled the laft, the fuperiority must be afcribed to the improvements of learning. For the arts and fciences revived, in a measure, among the clergy and the monks, though not cultivated by any other fet of men. I fpeak in regard to the western Church; for the eastern, enfeebled and oppreffed by the Turks and Saracens from without, and by civil broils and factions from within, with difficulty preferved that degree of knowledge, which in thofe degenerate days ftill remained among the Greeks. I fcarce find any veftiges of Chriftian piety among the eastern Chrif

* Mofheim, Cent. XI. 479.

tians

tians at this time: indeed, the attentive reader muft have obferved how barren of that fort of events, which relate to Chriftian hiftory, Afia in general had been for fome ages.-So fatal was the influence of Mahometanifm, and fo judicially hardened were the defcendants of thofe, who firft had honoured the religion of Jefus. Conftantinople was ftill called a Chriftian city, and, in learning and politenefs, was fuperior to any part of the weft; but it is in Europe we are to look for the emanations of piety. France and Italy excelled particularly in the cultivation of learning. Robert king A.D. of France, the fon and fucceffour of Hugh Capet, 1031. who began to reign in 996, and died in 1031, diftinguished himself as the friend of fcience, Even the ferocious Normans, whose wars and devaftations were fo terrible in Italy, France, and England, after they had established their refpective governments, applied themselves to the cultivation of the human mind, and diffufed fome light among the people whom they had fubdued. This was particularly the cafe with the fouthern parts of Italy, and with our own ifland. William the Conqueror, favage and imperious as he was, reftored letters to England, which, amidst the Danish depredations, had been almoft extinguished. And we fhall fee, at leaft, one learned foreigner at the head of the English Church, who, uniting piety to knowledge, was not unworthy of the Chriftian name. The learning itself, indeed, was not philofophical, like that of modern times, but confifted chiefly of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. It was, however, connected with divinity: the Scriptures were held in high reputation: the hardy prefumption of fubtil theory, and the fupercilious negligence concerning piety and publick worthip were then unknown among men. In fuch circumftances,

to

to have learned to read, to have attended to the meaning of words, and to have employed the powers of the human mind, in any manner, on the facred writings, were bleffings to mankind. In Italy and France alfo there were fome witneffes of divine truth, who opposed the abominations of the popedom.

The great scenes of political contention in this age, were, in the east, the Crufades; in the west, the difputes between the popes and the emperors. Civil, and even, what is called, ecclefiaftical history, is full of thefe fubjects. To my province they bear scarcely any relation. The former were attended with dreadful evils, and much augmented the influence of that pernicious fuperftition, which commutes for offences, and taught men to indulge themselves in the worft of vices, through the hope of finding their way to heaven by the merit of a Crusade. I fhall, however, examine a little, hereafter, the grounds of the juftice or injuftice of these expeditions, because the character of fome pious men of great eminence, is connected with the queftion. The difputes between the popes and the emperors, feem entirely barren of inftructive incidents in religion. They confirm, nevertheless, the Chriftian in the belief of thofe Scriptures, which fo accurately mark the character of Antichrift*. Gregory VII, commonly called Hildebrand, began the scheme, which fifty years after was completely accomplished, namely, of refcuing the election of the popes from the emperors, and of fixing it entirely in the college of Cardinals, in which it ftill continues. The celibacy of the clergy, and the doctrine of tranfubftantiation, were established A.D. by the council of Placentia in 1095. Popery, in 1095,

fhort,