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boured thirty years in Holstein and the neighA.D. bouring parts, he was appointed bishop of Olden1128. burgh, in the year 1128. He ftill continued near

fix years in the fame course of evangelical labour, in which he had persevered so long before, but was A.D. at length confined to his bed by a palfy for up1154. wards of two years, and died in the year 1154*.

Anfelm of Havelburg was a bishop of fome literary reputation, and flourished in the middle of this century. The only thing, which I find remarkable concerning him, and it gives a strong prefumption in favour of his piety or understanding, or both, is this, that he faw and cenfured the pharifaifm of the monkish inftitutions. He declared, that there were many in his time, fucceffively rifing up, who difapproved of the vanity and novelty of monaftic orders.

It may be proper just to mention Peter, abbot of Cluny, firnamed the venerable. That fo ignorant and fo trifling a writer fhould have been honoured with a title fo magnificent, is one of the strongest marks of the low ftate of religious knowledge in general at that time. He takes large pains to vindicate the manners and cuftoms of his monaftery againft objections; and in doing this, he is fo verbofe and circumftantial, that he may feem to have placed the effence of Chriftianity in frivolous punctilios and infignificant ceremonies. This is he, who received Peter Abelard in his afflictions with great humanity, and who confoled Eloifa after the death of that ingenious heretic, by fending to her, at her requeft, the form of Abelard's abfolution §, which that unhappy woman infcribed on his fepulchre. I can only fay, in the praife of Peter, that his manners were gentle, his temper

* Cent. Magd. Cent. XII. 748.
Du Pin, Cent, XII. p. 79.

+ Id. 761.
§ Baron. Cent. XII.

t

temper very mild and humane, and that he had what in common life is concifely called A GOOD

HEART.

I add Peter Lombard to the lift of eminent perfons of this century, though I know nothing interesting to relate of him, further than what has already been mentioned. Subtilty of argumentation was his fort: I find no evidence of his genuine humility and piety.

Ifidore of Madrid, a poor labourer of this century, was canonized by papal authority. The account of him is too fcanty, to enable us to form a proper estimate of his real worth and qualifications. There muft, however, have been fomething fingularly striking in his character; as here we have one canonization at least, which could not be the refult of interested adulation. His mafter, John de Vargas, allowed him daily to attend the public offices of the Church; and he, by early rifing, took care that the master loft nothing of his due fervices: he relieved the poor by the produce of his labours: he was humble, laborious, and juft; and died near fixty years old, in the exercises of benevolence. What a Saint! if, as may be hoped, he was principled by the faith of Jefus, and renounced, from the heart, his own righteousness as filthy rags!

CENTURY

CENTURY XIII.

CHAP. I.

PETER WALDO.

TH

HE reader will recollect the account, which has been given of the Cathari*, who were evidently a people of God in the former part of the last century. In the latter part of the fame century, they received a great acceffion of members from the learned labours and godly zeal of Peter Waldo. In the century before us, they were gloriously diftinguished by a dreadful series of perfecution, and exhibited a spectacle to the world, both of the power of divine grace, and of the malice and enmity of the world against the real Gofpel of Jefus Chrift. I purpose to reprefent in one connected view, the hiftory of this people to the time of the Reformation, and a little after. The fpirit, doctrine, and progrefs of the Waldenfes, will be more clearly understood by this method, than by broken and interrupted details; and the thirteenth century feems the moft proper place in which their ftory fhould be introduced.

The Cathari, whom Bernard fo unhappily mifreprefented, were peculiarly numerous in the vallies of Piedmont. Hence the name Vaudois.or Vallenfes was given to them, particularly to those who inhabited the vallies of Lucerne and AnA miftake arofe from fimilarity of names, grogne.

See page 410.

that

that Peter Valdo or Waldo, was the first founder of thefe Churches. For the name Vallenfes being eafily changed into Waldenfes, the Romanifts improved this very eafy and natural miftake into an argument against the antiquity of thefe Churches, and denied that they had any existence till the appearance of Waldo. During the altercations of the Papifts and Proteftants, it was of fome confequence that this matter fhould be rightly ftated; because the former denied, that the doctrines of the latter had any existence till the days of Luther. But from a juft account of the fubject it appeared, that the real Proteftant doctrines exifted during the dark ages of the Church, even long before Waldo's time; the proper founder of them being Claudius of Turin, the Chriftian hero of the ninth century *.

About the year 1160, the doctrine of tranfub- A.D. ftantiation, which, fome time afterwards, Innocent 1160, III. confirmed in a very folemn manner, was required by the court of Rome to be acknowledged by all men. A very pernicious practice of idolatry was connected with the reception of this doctrine. Men fell down before the confecrated hoft and worshipped it as God: and the novelty, abfurdity,

and

* Dr. Allix, in his hiftory of the ancient Church of Piedmont, has done juftice to this fubject. I have already made ufe of his learned labours, and fhall again avail my felf of them; though my chief fource of information concerning this people will be their hiftory, written by John Paul Perrin of Lyons, who wrote in 1618. I could have wifhed, that his accounts of internal religion had been more full, even though those of the perfecutions had been more fcanty. But there arofe no writers of eminence among the Waldenfes ; and Perrin's history is in a great meafure collected from the records of the process and proceedings against the Waldenfian Churches, which were in the offices of the archbishops of Ambrun, and which were very providentially preferved. I fhall not quote him in any parti cular paffage, because I make fuch large ufe of his hiftory in general,

and impiety of this abomination very much ftruck the minds of all men, who were not dead to a fense of true religion. At this time Peter Waldo, a citizen of Lyons, appeared very courageous in oppofing the invention; though it is evident from the very imperfect account, which we have of the man, that it was not one fingle circumstance alone which influenced him in his views of reformation. It was the fear of God, in general, as a ruling principle in his own foul, and an alarming fenfe of the wickednefs of the times, which, under the divine influence, moved him to oppofe with courage the dangerous corruptions of the Hierarchy.

A providential event had given the first occasion to this reformer's concern for religion. Being affembled with fome of his friends, and after fupper converfing and refreshing himfelf among them, one of the company fell down dead on the ground, to the amazement of all that were prefent. From that moment, it pleafed God, that Waldo fhould commence a serious enquirer after divine truth. This perfon was an opulent merchant of Lyons, and as his concern of mind increased, and a door of usefulness to the fouls of men was more and more fet open before him, he abandoned his mercantile occupation, diftributed his wealth to the poor, and exhorted his neighbours to feek the bread of life. The poor, who flocked to him, that they might partake of his alms, received from him the beft inftructions, which he was capable of communicating; and they reverenced the man, to whofe liberality they were fo much obliged, while the great and the rich both hated and despised him.

Waldo himfelf, however, that he might teach others effectually, needed himself to be taught; and where was inftruction to be found? Men at that day might run here and there for meat, and

not

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