more antient than the Roman Miffal, properly fpeaking. And whoever has attended to the fuperlative fimplicity, fervour, and energy of the prayers, will have no hefitation in concluding, that they muft, the collects particularly, have been composed in a time of true evangelical light and godlinefs. It is impoffible indeed to fay, how early fome parts of the Liturgy were written; but doubtlefs they are of very high antiquity. Many perfons, in dark times, and under the disadvantage of flothful ignorant paftors, have been enlightened and nourished through their medium, and not a few I trust of my readers can juftly confefs with me, how much their devotion has been affifted by the public use of them. Let any unprejudiced perfon compare with the Liturgy feveral forms of prayer compofed in modern times, and he will find an unction to attend the former, of which the latter is deftitute. The prefent age is certainly much tinctured, in general, with a fceptical, philofophic fpirit, which in its nature is not favourable to the production of devotional compofitions.

The hiftorical evidence hence refulting of the religious spirit of the times is great. The western Church was far from being wholly corrupt in the close of the fixth century. The doctrines of grace revived by Auguftine were still predominant: divine life was much clogged indeed with the asthma of fuperftition; but its pulfe was yet vigorous. I clofe this digreffion, if it may be called one, with remarking, that the continued use of these liturgies in the churches of the Weft, demonftrates the concurrent teftimony of antiquity, in favour of evangelical doctrine.

Of

* That beautiful and fublime ode, called Te Deum, ascribed, though not with certainty, to Ambrofe, was incontestably used in the Church, before the middle of the fixth century.

Of Gregory's epiftles nothing more is needful to be added to the numerous extracts from them, which have fupplied me with materials for his history.

His expofition of the book of Job is very voluminous. In a letter to Leander prefixed to it, he speaks of the tripartite fenfe, according to the ideas of Auguftine, with fufficient juftnefs and accuracy; yet through fondness for fyftem he carries his point too far, fo as to destroy fometimes the literal sense, after the vicious mode of Origen. We may believe him, when he defcribes the correspondence of the fubject to his own bodily afflictions; and he frankly owns his neglect of language and ftile. Few readers will be tempted to fearch the work throughout, on account of the heavinefs of his manner, and the total want of elegance. Yet piety and humility are every where predominant; and though it can by no means be called a just commentary on the book of Job, he in general avoids deviations from the analogy of faith, by the evangelical purity of his frame and temper, and he had, I doubt not, real communion with God in the work. Let us hear his humble confeffion at the clofe: it deferves the ferious notice of authors, and in that most falutary science of self-knowledge demonftrates a proficiency worthy of a follower of Auguftine.

Having finished my work, I fee I must return to myself. The human mind is frequently bewildered, even when it attempts to speak correctly. For while we ftudy propriety of language, we are drawn out of ourselves, and are apt to lofe fimplicity. From speaking in publick let me return to the court of the heart; let me call my thoughts to a ferious confultation with a view to difcern myself, that I may obferve whether I have spoken evil inadvertently, or good in a wrong fpirit. For then only is real good spoken in a right spirit, when

We

we mean by it to please Him alone, from whom we receive it. I am not confcious of having faid evil; yet I will not maintain that I am abfolutely innocent in this refpect. The good which I have spoken I have received from above, and it is lefs good, through my finfulness. For, averting my contemplation from words and fentences, the leaves and branches, and narrowly inspecting the root of my intention, I know that I meant earneftly to please God: but the defire of human praife infenfibly mixes with this intention. I difcover this flowly and afterwards, and find that the execution correfponds not with the first intention. While we really mean to please God at first, the love of human praise steals into the mind, and overtakes and accompanies the pure defign; as in eating, what was begun through neceffity and in innocence, terminates too often in excefs. If we are ftrictly examined by the divine Judge, how can we escape? our evils are our own without mixture, and our good things are defiled with impurity. What I feel within, I lay open to my reader. In expounding I have not concealed what I think; in confeffing I hide not what I fuffer.-I beg every reader to pray for me. If the value of his prayers and of my expofition be compared, he will have the advantage. He receives from me only words; but repays me with tears of fupplication."

His paftoral care is a monument of the author's intense seriousness. I have already observed in many Christian paftors, and in Gregory as eminently as in most, a very strong sense of the importance of the clerical office, which rebukes the prefumption of moderns more keenly than any words of mine can do. With the ancients fcarce any perfon, however qualified, feemed adequate to the cure of fouls; with us every ftripling undertakes it with

out fear or hefitation. The treatise itself deserves to be read throughout by every candidate for the paftoral office. I know not how to select any parts of it particularly, and its brevity forbids and difcourages all attempts at abridgement*.

The expofition on the Canticles is worthy of the godly fpirit of Gregory. I fhall hazard a quotation or two, which I doubt not will meet the fenfations of minds acquainted spiritually with Jefus Christ, however the profane may ridicule, and the phlegmatic may cenfure. It is worth while to fhew, that a fpirit of union with Chrift has ever been felt in his Church.

On the first verse of the Canticles he fays, "Let him whom I love above all, nay alone, let him come to me, that he may touch me with the fweetness of his infpiration. For when I feel his influence, I leave myself by a fudden change, and being melted am transformed into his likeness. The holy mind is disgusted with all things which it feels from the body, and defires to become altogether fpiritual; and while fenfual objects murmur around, it flies into spiritual things, and defires to hide itself in them. Therefore it defires the loving kindness of the Lord, because without it, it feels no power to approach him.”

On the words, "draw me, we will run after thee,” he obferves, "Divine grace prevents us. He, who is drawn, runs, because being ftrengthened by divine love, he paffes over all obftacles."

The

* Should the young candidate for the miniftry object, as he justly may, the difficulty of meeting with this work of Gregory, let him fubftitute in its place bishop Burnet's treatise on the fame fubject. It is to be lamented, that fo valuable a book is so little read and known, and that while the public taste has called for repeated editions of inflammatory politics, this treasure of paftoral information is dwindled into an oblivion little short of contempt,

The defective taste and learning of his age forbid us to expect any very accurate and folid expofition of fo difficult a prophet as Ezekiel. It is, in fact, in occafional paffages, independent of fyftem, that Gregory fhines. I fingle out a paffage as an inftance of this." Generally those who most excel in divine contemplation, are moft oppreffed with temptation. By the firft the foul is lifted up to God, by the fecond it is preffed down into itself. Were it not for this, the mind would fall into pride. There is, by the divine difpofition, a wonderful temperature in this fubject, that the faint may neither rife too high, nor fink too low."

Let

Obferve how divinely he fpeaks concerning the teaching of the Holy Spirit, in one of his homilies on the Gofpels*. On the words in St. John's Gofpel, he (the Spirit) fhall teach you all things, he fays, "Unless the Spirit be with the heart of the hearer, the word of the teacher is barren. no man attribute to the teacher what he understands from his mouth; for, unless there be an internal teacher, the tongue of the external one labours in vain. Why is there fuch a difference in the fenfations of hearers, all hearing the fame words? It is to be afcribed to this special teaching. John himself in his epiftle teaches the fame, the anointing teaches you of all things." It is plain that the Spirit of the Lord was not departed, as yet, from the Roman church, while his internal inftructions, despised fo fearlessly by the profane, and scrutinized fo malignantly by many orthodox profeffors in our days, were regarded with fo much fimplicity and

reverence.

His dialogues, if indeed they be his, or be not much interpolated, dishonour his memory by the excess of fuperftition.

* Tom. II. Homil. on Ezek. xiv.

Thus

+ Tom. II. p. 451.