£S.^ '^mJy: jM«jj2t ^^« ^'^o^'Vjrf ^,,.^. '^ %. PRINCETON, N. J. ^{^^Jenm d: fe^>./^v /H> ^7 ^^^. BR 1720 '.V5 G54 184^ ukJ-jS Gilly, William Stephen, 178 / // -1855. Vigilantius and his times Shelf. / t £l2/c^-^^^-£^ -y\ fix ' t i ^Oi VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. PRINTED BY L. SEELEY, THAMES WTTON, SDBBEY. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. BY W. S. GILLY, D.D. CANON OF DURHAM, AND VICAR OF NORHAM. Uti Kari r^v 65hp %y Xeyovcriv alpeaiv, ovtu Karpeiu rf irarp^iw Oeij!." Acts xxiv. 14. '■ NOSTER VIGILANTIUS." EpisT. Paulini ad Sulpicium. " SANCTUM VIGILANTIUM PRESBYTERUM," EPIST. HIEKON. AD PADLINU.M. SEELEY, BURNSIDE, AND SEELEY, FLEET STREET, LONDON. MDCCCXLIV. The object of the following- pages is to illustrate the ecclesiastical errors and corruptions of the fourth century, and to show what sort of opposition was made to them. The author believes that many of those innovations, which have been called a development of Church jmnciples, in regard to doctrine and discipline, were departures from the purer Christianity of the Church of the Apostles. He believes also that the calumniated presbyter, Vigilantius, was one of those witnesses, who have been raised up from time to time by divine grace, to bear testimony to the truth, and to be the links of its continuity through ages of rebuke and darkness. There is a succession of Chris- tianity which may be compared to that of Judaism. The genealogies of Israel are lost ; the sacerdotal line can no longer be traced up to Aaron ; the tribes are scattered through the world ; the succession has been interrupted ; but the true seed of Abraham cannot perish, nor will the promises in regard to the restoration of Israel be unful- vi ADVERTISEMENT. filled. In like manner, there is a sacred and indestructible line of Christianity, which has continued since our Lord's promise of the duration of his Church, uncorrupted by those who boast of their succession from the Church of the Fathers, the Church of the Schoolmen, and the Church of Rome : often being in the visible Church, and yet not of it. The Wilderness-Church, and the succession of Wit- nesses in sackcloth, have been predicted from the first, and this implies a condition the very reverse of Ascendancy, and Supremacy, and Prosperity. The succession of pure Gospel Truth has been perpetuated by despised and humble witnesses, like Vigilantius ; as the succession of " another gospel," called the Development system, has been perpetuated by bold and able men like Jerome, and the Schoolmen, and the Jesuits. The author is aware of the difficulties he has had to encounter in producing a volume under the title of ' Vigi- lantius and his Times.' It must be a very imperfect pro- duction at the best, being principally composed out of materials handed down to us by the opponents of the Reformer, All that he could hope to do was to make a faithful use of these materials, and not to colour or distort them to his own purposes. Some chronological mistakes have been discovered, since the sheets containing them went through the press ; but it is hoped they will not be thought to vitiate the narrative, or to lead to wrong deductions. The reader is requested to cast his eye over the table of Corrigenda and Addenda, and to correct the errors there acknowledged, with his pen. ADVERTISEMENT. rii So much variation as to dates occurs in the authorities consulted, that it was next to impossible to escape being misled occasionally. Baronius, Pagi, Tillemont, the Benedictine editors of Jerome, the editors of the works of Paulinus printed at Antwerp in 1622, and those printed at Paris in 1685, together with the French translation of the Letters of Paulinus (Paris, 1703) have been compared, to complete the chronological emendations. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Corruptions and errors of the fourth century, p. 2. — Vigilantius, p. 4. —Succession of truth, p. 5. — Martin of Tours, p. 9. — Sulpicius Severas, ibid. — Paulinas, p. 10. — Jerome, p. 11. — Plan and object of this work, ibid. CHAPTER n. MARTIN OF TOURS. Martin of Tours, p. 16. — Martin in the army, p. 17. — The first monastery in France founded by Martin, p. 18. — Martin raised to the episcopate, p. 19. — His good acts, p. 22.— His fanatical delusions, p. 24. — The miracles imputed to him, p. 25. — Strange contrasts in the character of Martin, p. 27.— Martin's hallucinations or imposture, p. 28. — The consequences of Martin's pretended miracles, p. 29.— Martin's opinions as to Antichrist, p. 30. — Sulpicius was the dupe of Martin, p. 31. CHAPTER III. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. Testimonies in favour of Sulpicius, p. 35. — Conformity not conversion, p. 36.— Pagan rites introduced into the church, p. 37- — Doubtful character of many of the proselytes of this period, p. 38. — Ausonius, ibid. — Claudian, p. 40. — The world's homage to Christianity, ibid. — gulpicius misguided by Martin, p. 42. — The credulity of Sulpi- cius, p. 43. — Examples of credulity, p. 45. — Popularity of his Life of Martin, p. 47- — Church-building promoted by Sulpicius, p. 50. X CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAULINUS. Paulinus retires from the world, p. 66. — Remonstrances of Ausonius, p. 67. — The replies of Paulinus, p. 71. — Irregular ordination of Paulinus, p. 73. — Paulinus at Nola, p. 76. — The saint- worship of Paulinus, p. 79. — The Natales of Paulinus, p. 81. — Paulinus consults Augustine, p. 87. CHAPTER T. JEROME, THE KECLUSE OF BETHLEHEM. Jerome's early career, p. 92. — His character, p. 9.^ — His self-inflictions, p. 94. — Ecclesi- astical dissensions, p. 98. — Canonical order disregarded, p. 101. — Jerome at Rome, p. 102. — Jerome in Palestine, p. 106. — Preparing for the Vulgate, p. 107. — Bethle- hem, p. 111. — The labours of Jerome, p. 114.— The Vulgate, p. 115. — Monastic in- stitutions at Bethlehem, p. 120. — Jerome's quarrel with Rufinus, p. 121. CHAPTER VI. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. Birth-place and origin of Vigilantius, p. 125.— His early opportunities of acquiring know- ledge, p. 130.— Patronized by Sulpicius Severus, p. 133. — His associates and studies in the house of Sulpicius, p. 135. — Change in the habits and character of his patron, p. 137. — Its effects on the mind of Vigilantius, p. 141. — Visit to Martin of Tours, p. 142. — Marvellous tales, p. 144. — The monastery of Marmoutier, p. 147. — Pious frauds or hallucinations, p. 150. — Cenobitical and monastic life in the fourth century, p. 154. — Baneful effects of the cenobitical system at Marmoutier, p. 1 56. — False ex- pedients for the correction of evil, p. 159. — Infectious imposture, p. 160. — How Vigi- lantius was affected by these things, p. 162. CHAPTER VII. Vigilantius at Nola, p. 166. — Vigilantius highly esteemed by Paulinus, p. 168.— Mode of life at Nola, p. 169. — The principles of Vigilantius in danger, p. 171. — Holy Scrip- ture was his safeguard, p. 173. — Description of the monastery at Nola, ibid. — His- tory of St. Felix, p. 174. — Villa of Paulinus, p. 175. — Discipline at Nola, p. 176.— Description of the church at Nola, p. 177. — The society at Nola, p. 180. — Austerities, p. 181. CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. The recreations at Nola, p. 184. — Marvellous tales, p. 18.5. — Propagation of falsehoods, p. 186.— The legends of Nola, p. 187.— Alleged miracles of Felix, p. 189.— What impression was made on Vigilantius at this time, p. 191. — The opportunities enjoj'ed by Vigilantius of acquiring scriptural knowledge, p. 193.— The difficulties of studying Scripture at that period compared with the present, p. 195.— Scriptural quotation, p. 198. CHAPTER IX. Ordination of Vigilantius, p. 204. — Second visit of Vigilantius to Nola, p. 207. — Saint- worship, ibid. — Unsatisfactory expedients to stir up devotion, p. 209. — Vigilantius finds Paulinus more deeply immersed in error, p. 210. — The reflections of Vigilan- tius, p. 211. — His faith again in peril, p. 212. — Corruptions at Nola, p. 213. — The progress of these corruptions, p. 214. — Excesses committed at festivals, p. 216. — Such abuses very common in the fourth century, p. 217. — Idolatry at Nola, p. 218.— The witness of Scripture against such idolatry, p. 220. — Apostolical authority and antiquity opposed to the errors of the fourth century, p. 223.— Epiphanius, p. 224. CHAPTER X. Vigilantius leaves Nola for Palestine, p. 229. — His first introduction to Jerome, p. 231. — Bethlehem a place of general resort at the end of the fourth century, p. 233. — De- scription of Bethlehem, p. 234. — Vigilantius at Bethlehem, p. 235. — Jerome in his cell, p. 236. — The sacred localities of Bethlehem, p. 238. — The legendary cradle of Jesus, p. 239. — Desecrations at Bethlehem, p. 240. CHAPTER XI. How Jerome's temper and austerities affected Vigilantius, p. 244.— Jerome an impersona- tion of the erroneous system of the fourth century, p. 246. — Jerome's severe judg- ment of Paulinus disgusts Vigilantius, p. 247. — Suspicions of Jerome's inconsistency raised in the mind of Vigilantius, p. 250. — Re-action, and traces and traits of cha- racter, p. 252. — Vigilantius the witness of Jerome's infirmities of temper, p. 253. — Services which do not improve the heart are injurious to religion, p. 255. — Extrava- gant opinions of the merits of celibacy, p. 2.56. — Reasons why error spreads, p. 261. Patristical notions of tnith and falsehood, p. 262. — Falsitas di.spensativa, p. 265. — Want of faith, p. 270. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. The religious recluse, p. 271. — The repulsive features of the system at Bethlehem, p. 273. — What would Vigilantiiis have been under other influences? p. 274. — Under Am- brose ? ibid.— Or under Augustine ? p. 275. — Counteraction produced by injudicious treatment, ibid. — Paula, p. 276. — Contentions at Bethlehem, p. 277. — Contempt of diocesan authority, ibid. — John, Bishop of Jerusalem, and Epiphanius, p. 279. — Disgraceful scene in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, p. 281. — The monks of Bethlehem^declare against their bishop, p. 283. CHAPTER XIII. Vigilantius in Jerusalem, p. 284. — The holy city, p. 286. — Jerusalem at the end of the fourth century, p. 288. — The Origenist controversy, and its consequences, p. 289. — Rufinus, p. 292. — Vigilantius is prejudiced against Jerome by Rufinus, p. 293. CHAPTER XIV. Jerusalem the scene of contention and superstition, p. 302.— Earthquake in Palestine, p. 304. — Jerome's account of its effects on Vigilantius, ibid. — Examination of this account, p. 305. — The real impression left on the mind of Vigilantius by this earth- quake, p. 306. — The terrors produced by the invasion of the Huns did not put an end to the contentions in Palestine, p. 307. — Vigilantius returns to Bethlehem, p. 309. — Remonstrates with Jerome on the subject of Origen's errors, p. 310. — Anecdote of Vigilantius, p. 311. — Disputes at Bethlehem, p. 312. — Abrupt departure of Vigilantius from Bethlehem, p. 313. — Jerome's first account of his dissatisfaction with Vigilantius, p. 314.— Jerome imputes his rupture with Vigilantius to Rufinus, ibid. CHAPTER XV. Vigilantius departs from Palestine, p. 317. — Visits Eg\-pt, and studies in Alexandria, ibid. — His voyage to Italy, p. 318, — Vigilantius in Italy, and conveys a letter to Paulinus, p. 319. — Contents of the letter, ibid. — Vigilantius in the Cottian Alps, p. 321. — What brought Vigilantius to the Cottian Alps, p. 323. — Council at Turin, A.D. 397, ibid. — Opposition to the yoke of celibacy in the Subalpine and Gallic pro- vinces, p. 324. — Traditional and historical connexion between Vigilantius and the ancestors of the Waldenses, ibid. — Description of the Cottian Alps, p. 326. — Had the gospel been received in the Cottian Alps at this time.'' p. 329. — Christianity was penetrating everywhere in the Roman empire, p. 332. — Historical proof that the gospel was professed at this time in the Cottian Alps, p. 333. —Vigilantius returns to Aquitain, p. 334. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. Vigilantius at Calagorris, in Gaul, p. 340. — Jerome's letter to Vigilantius, p. 341. — Jerome's defence of himself on the Origenist controversy, ibid. — His notice of Vigilantius's journey to Egypt, p. 343. — Explains the use made of Origen's works by himself and others, p. 344. — Retorts upon Vigilantius, and sneers at his transcripts of Origen, p. 345. — Accuses Vigilantius of ignorance and boast- ing, p. 346. — Taunts him with his former pursuits, ibid. — Alludes to a trans- action at Bethlehem, and to the opinion entertained of Vigilantius by Paulinus, p. 347. — Refers to the manner in which Vigilantius employed his time and wealth, p. 348. — Scurrilities, p. 349. — Accuses Vigilantius of a false and blasphemous inter- pretation of Scripture, ibid. — Examination of Jerome's letter to Vigilantius: its date, p. 351. — Vigilantius did not rashly enter into a controversy with Jerome, p. 353. — The virulence of Jerome's letter to Vigilantius, ibid. — We have Jerome's account only of the controversy, p. 354. — Vindication of Vigilantius, ibid. — Jerome's ungenerous allusions to the birth-place and former pursuits of Vigilantius, p. 356. — The inconsistency of his invectives, ibid. — Jerome admits that Vigilantius was em- ployed in sacred studies, p. 357. — There is reason to doubt the truth of Jerome's most serious charge against Vigilantius, p. 358. CHAPTER XVIL Vigilantius in Aquitain, p. 362. — How was he occupied ? p. 363. — The difRdence of Vigi- lantius, p. 364, — The political, religious, and moral condition of Aquitain at this crisis, p. 365. — The climate of Aquitain, ibid. — Licentiousness of the inhabitants, p. 366. — State of religion, p. 367. — Salvian's account, 368. — Difficulties, p. 370. — The providence of God vindicated, p. 372. — Vigilantius a witness of the truth, ibid. — No proof of his being guilty of the delinquencies imputed to him, p. 373. — Letter of Jerome to Riparius, p. 375.— Examination of Jerome's Letter to Riparius, p. 382. — Exuperius, p. 384. CHAPTER XVni. Riparius and Desiderius complain against Vigilantius, p. 387. — The Book of St. Jerome the presbyter against Vigilantius, p. 38.9. — Jerome reviles Vigilantius, ibid. — Vigi- lantius encouraged by bishops, p. 391.— Jerome accuses Vigilantius of ignorance, p. 393. — The birthplace and parentage of Vigilantius, p. 394. — The words of Vigilantius in condemnation of relic- worship, p. 395.--Jerome repudiates the adoration of mar- tyrs, ibid. — Jerome defends relic- worship, p. 397. — The place of repose of the apos- tles and martyrs, p. 398. — Prayers to the dead are ineffectual, p. 399. — Jerome argues in defence of praj'ers to the departed, ibid. — Jerome defends the use of lights, tapers, &c., p. 401. — Religious services at the graves of the martyrs, p. 403. — Vigils and night-watchings, p. 406. — Miracles in the churches of the apostles, p. 408. — Vigi- CONTENTS. lantius terrified by an earthquake, p. 410. — Mortifications, p. 411. — On alms sent to Jerusalem and elsewhere, p. 412. — Works of merit, p. 414. — Monks and celibates, p. 416. — Hermits and anchorites, p. 417. — This treatise was written in one night, p. 419. CHAPTER XIX. Examination of the treatise against Vigilantius, p. 420. — Jerome's mis-statement as to the spiritual condition of Gaul, ibid. — Substance of Jerome's charges against Vigi- lantius, p. 421. — Hallelujah, p. 422. — Unsupported insinuations, p. 423. — Old calum- nies revived, p. 425. — Celibacy, p. 426. — Birthplace of Vigilantius, p. 428. — Relic worship, p. 430. — Jerome declares against praying to the saints, p. 433. — On the condition of the souls of departed saints, p. 435. — More calumnies, p. 437. — Tapers and wax-lights, p. 438. — Sacramental services over the relics of martyrs, p. 439. — Vigils and nocturnal assemblies in the chiu'ches, p, 441. — Successive abuses, p. 442.— False miracles, p. 443. — Alms sent to Jerusalem, p. 445. — Asceticism, monks, an celibates, p. 446. CHAPTER XX. Recapitulation, p. 454. — The weakness of Jerome's case against Vigilantius, p. 455. — The tenets of Vigilantius held by our church reformers, ibid. — The witnesses, p. 456. . — Vigilantius vindicated, 458. — The extent of his views, p. 461. — The mental pro- cess by which he arrived at a knowledge of the truth, p. 462. CHAPTER XXI. The testimony of witnesses like Vigilantius was predicted, as consequent on the apostacies of the fourth century, p. 467. — Vigilantius a witness in sackcloth, p. 469. — Persecu- tion, ibid. — What was the result of Jerome's proceedings against Vigilantius ? p. 470. — Different opinions, ibid. — Banished.' ibid. — Silenced.' p. 471.— Or killed in a massacre by the Vandals.' p. 472. — Most probably he retired to Barcelona, p. 473. — And perished in Barcelona in the general massacre, p. 476. — Enquiry as to the efifects produced by the protest of Vigilantius, p. 477. — Opinions on the discontinuance of the protest, p. 479. — The principles asserted by Vigilantius may be traced in the regions where he protested, from the 5th to the 16th century, 480. — Image- worship opposed in the south of Gaul, p. 482. — Alcuin and the Gothic Christians of Aquitain, ibid. — Theodulphus and the comnmnity at Narbonne, p. 483. — Claude bishop of Turin, ibid. — The Vaiidis of the Cottian Alps, p, 486— Conclusion, p. 487. CORRIGENDA AND ADDENDA. Page 19, Note line 5, A full stop after deducltur. Begin next sentence with a capital. 19, — — 8, for Sententirt, read sententice. 19^ __ _ 9, A full stop after sacerdote. Begin next sentence with a capital. 19^ — — 16, A full stop after cogebat. Begin next sentence with a capital. 22, line 25, for neamoins, read neanmoins. — — 31, Note — • 2, for putantut, read putant ut. 41, — — 8, A colon after complesset. 1 44, — — '7, for ipse, reaxl ipsi. 68, — — 6, for sibi, read tibi. 70, line 6, beticeen the and towns, insert snow-clad. 78, Note — 3, for addressed, read dedicated. 79, line 22, after prayed, insert to. 81, — 21, for 394, read 395. 83, Note — 5, for Diversus, read Diversas. 86, — — 10, for soluti, read saluti. 88, — — 2, and 6, for somnis, read somniis. 89, — — 5, for sustenebant, read sustinebant. 93, — — 2, for exercerer read exercerem. 96, line 27, for Chalcidia, read Chalcidica, and in 2iO(/e 97, line 18, 100, Note — 2, for hunc, read hanc. 109, line — 18, for Chalcedon, read Chalcidica. . 113, Note — 10, dele et, after feminarum. 113 to 124, In the margin, for 395, read 396. 117, Note — 3, for utraque 7xad utroque. 119, line 26, /or 395, rtati 396, and in page 124, line 7. 123, line 4, for sent read given. 129, Note — i 15, a colon after cit^s. 129, — — 19, for ont read sont, and /or sur read sous. 132 line 10, for Phebadius, read Phoebadius. 153, Note line 2, for ehetem, read heh&tem. 165, to 203 in the margin, for 394, reeul 395. 166, line 10, for 394, read 395, in every page. 167, Note line 9, for lesprit, read I'esprit. 169, — — 1 and 4, a comma after nostri. 170, last line, after intercourse, read with Sulpicius. 171, line 23, for of dead, read to dead. 173, — 26, /o?' associates, ?-eorf associations. 176, — 30, for build, read plan. 180, — 10, for were, read was. 187, — 3, /or relate a few, rcftd give a specimen of. 188, Note line 3, for Felicisore, read Felicis ore. 189, — — 1, /or prow, read stern. 191, line 2, for a more blasphemous tissue of words was, read more blasphemous words were , 195' — 6, /or £i«7iOjO of Nola,rcarf Recluse of Nola. 198, — 17, dele ' of the enemy.' 205, — 7,for 39i, read 395. - 206, — 5, for 395, read 396. 325, — 9, after which, read it. 332, — 20, for several years before, read not many years after. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. I. INTRODUCTION. The Christian biography of the fourth century presents us with some of the most striking charac- ters in Church history. Great changes in the aspect of society, and rapid movements of the human mind were going on : so much so, that ecclesiastical historians do not agree, as to what term will best define that century. It has been called * the Nicene age,' ' the age of councils and synods,' ' the golden age of Christian learning,' and ' the dogmatic age.' The two last are perhaps the best definitions which can be used : for it is not easy to point out any other cen- tury that has produced so many theological writers of first-rate eminence ; whose works have had such a powerful influence, in regulating modes of faith and worship, and in giving expression to the feel- ings of devotion. Highest among those who were living in the 350—400. 2 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. I) last half of the fourth centurv, were Athanasius 350—400. . ■ r " of Alexandria, Basil of Csesarea, Gregory of Nazi- anzum, Hilary of Poictiers, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola, and Jerome, the celebrated reviser of the vulgate, and translator of the bible. What an array of highly-gifted men, honoured in their generation, men whose hope was full of immor- tality ! Their printed works occupy no less than thirty- eight folio volumes ; and to the authority of one or other of these an appeal is made, on almost every point of practical, doctrinal, and polemical divinity, which has since divided the opinions of the Christian world. But an age of excitement and controversy, like a stream, which, turning from its true course, traces its direction through unhealthy grounds, cannot roll on, without car- rying down in its channel much of that which is Corruptions turbulcut and impure. The fourth century was a of the fourth pcriod of trausitiou,* between the ascendancy of Century. hcathcnism, and that of Christianity, in the Roman Empire : and, in the struggle for ascendancy, a lamentable compromise between right and wrong * Those who contend most strenuously for antiquity, admit that a change took place in the fourth century, from the Christianity of the apostles, to that of the Fathers. See British Magazine, Vol. IX. p. 359. ' Three centuries and more were necessary,' says a writer in this Journal, ' for the infant church to attain her mature and perfect form and due stature. Athanasius, Basil, and Ambrose, are tlie fully-in- structed doctors of her doctrine, morals, and discipline.' According to this hypothesis, Paul, and Peter, and John were infants compared with Ambrose, and we are to receive a new doctrine from the fourth century. INTRODUCTION. was often made on the part of proselytizing Christians. Recruits rather than converts were obtained for the ranks of the cross ; and the frailties, the passions, and the imaginations of men began, at the expense of conscience and truth, to be enlisted in the service of the Church. Objects of worship were disguised and presented under forms more consonant with heathen, than with Gospel ideas of religion : rites similar to those of ancient mythology were introduced : and a breach was opened to every corruption. It was at the same time, a turning point be- tween scriptural and traditional Christianity : and as much learning and argument were employed, to justify the admixture of mythological ceremo- nies with evangelical exercises of devotion, as to prove the cardinal verities of the Gospel. In fact, the close of the fourth century is the epoch from which we date the time, when, to use the words of bishop Van Mildert, ' a system of Paganism was engrafted on Christianity ; ' when the sim- plicity of the Gospel was sacrificed, in a fearful degree, to pious sophistries ; and when the forms of the Pantheon were fatally introduced into the Christian sanctuary.* And here it must be con- fessed that the undue deference, which has been shown in every age, for ' the learned,' to the neg- * These men by taking the Greek philosophers to tlieir assistance, in explaining the nature and genius of the gospel, had unhappily turned religion into an art, and their successors the schoolmen, by framing a body of theology out of them, instead of searching for it from the Scriptures, soon after turned it into a trade. — Warhurton. B 2 A. T). S.W— 400. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 350—400, lect of humble and common-sense piety, receives a severe rebuke in the destiny of those churches, which were most rich in polemical theologians. How few of the capitals of Asia and Africa, where ecclesiastical learning flourished so proudly in the fourth century, can now exhibit any vestiges of the Christian establishments, which were the glory of the dogmatic age. " Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength." This prophetic saying, to which our Lord referred on two remarkable occasions, had an extraordinary fulfilment at the period we are now discussing. The chief, among " the wise and prudent " of that day, were falling into errors, which had gradually crept into the Church : and the religion, which was at first com- mended to the world by the simplicity and un- bending holiness of its professors, was now pro- moted by sophistry and false reasoning. Ambrose, who was then at the height of his reputation in the western Church ; and Jerome, who was con- sulted as an oracle, both in that and in the eastern Church ; and, even Augustine himself, gave their sanction to practices and opinions, at which " the stones would have cried out," had all who pro- fessed to be guided by the Holy Scriptures, held vigiiantius. their peace. But, at this crisis, Vigilantius of Aquitain, a young presbyter of obscure origin and lowly condition, began to express doubts as to those devout exercises, which had beguiled men older and abler than himself into creature-wor- ship, and which had rendered them obnoxious INTRODUCTION. t to the charge of being ' Cinerarii' and ' Ido- ,,^°- ^ ^ ^ ' 350—400. lolatrae. * This ' Christian brother,' as his adversary Jerome called him, before their celebrated dis- putes on the subject of saints and relic-worship, was one of those who occupied a foremost place in that doctrinal succession of truth and apostoli- Succession city, which has been, under the Divine blessing, the preservation of Christianity. He was a wit- ness, and a connecting link in the golden chain of Protestantism : and it is as absurd to suppose that Protestantism was the growth of a single age, as to imagine that ' Romanism ' was the production of any one generation. There are two questions which may be answered by the word ' succession.' I. How did Christians get so grievously wrong- in the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries ? By a succession of corruptions, and by a gradual depar- ture from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. n. How did they return to a purer doctrine and practice in the sixteenth century ? By a succession of struggles for the truth. ' Roman- ism ' did not rise full-grown and full-armed from the sowing of one crop of dragon's teeth ; nor did the Reformation spring from the brain of any one individual, like the fabled Minerva * Hieron. Epist. 37, aliter 53, ad Ripar. The word Cinerarii has a doubtful meaning ; it may refer to those who dressed up images, or to those who searched among the ashes of the dead for reUcs. A. D. 350- 400. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. from the forehead of Jupiter. It was the pro- duction of successive throes and labours, in those who contended for the truth : and Vigilantius of Aquitain, and Claude of Turin, and Waldo of Lyons, and Luther and Cranmer, and our other ' Protestant forefathers,' are only links in the chain, which connects antiquity with the present time. Some of the earliest protests were made against errors natural to the heart of man. Affec- tion, equally anxious about the eternal destinies of the dead, as of the living, led even some of St. Paul's converts, the Thessalonians, into mistakes, touching the condition of their friends who had departed in the faith, and concerning the coming of the day of the Lord (See 1 Thess. iv. ; 2 Thess. ii.). In process of time, similar affection multiplied errors. To collect the relics of the dead, to keep vigils at the tombs of the saints, to burn lights, and to hold assemblies over their ashes, might be very natural means of showing reverence and affection for the departed. But to what gross cor- ruptions did not these things lead ? To make vows of perpetual continence, and to drag out a life of self-denial and mortification, may be necessary and praiseworthy upon some occasions, but are celibacy and asceticism to be exalted, as they have been, above all Christian virtues ? To pay decent respect to the relics of holy men, and to recal to memory their precepts and examples ; to speak of them with veneration, and to pray to be made like unto them : this is always to be commended. But is there any real virtue in the dead bones of INTRODUCTION. departed saints, or in the remains of their vest- ments ? Or is it lawful to invoke the dead in prayer? What, indeed, is more natural, when some dear and venerated object is gone to join in the unseen world the company of just men made perfect, than to cherish the thought, that the bea- tified spirit will be with our spirit, will pray for us before the throne of grace, and help us in this world of trouble ! But for this belief is there any divine authority in the book of Revelation ? And if not, may we make it a prescribed article of faith, or recommend it as a beneficial practice ? The arm of the Lord is not shortened, and it may yet be his pleasure to display his power by pre- ternatural manifestations, and to show signs and wonders for the extension of his kingdom. But are miracles likely to be of very frequent occur- rence? And may not the pious be sometimes de- ceived by imaginary miracles.'' Are there not alleged miracles which savour of delusion, and imposture, and the very extravagance of which must excite disbelief? Such were the doubts and reflections of Vigi- lantius. His scruples led to serious consideration and enquiry. He passed several years in travelling for the purpose of conferring with the pious and wise of different countries. He expended vast sums of money in the translation and circulation of Scripture. He visited churches, where resis- tance was made to the corruptions, that prevailed in Rome and in the East. He " searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so." A. D. .'5,50-400. A. D. 350—400. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. And, at length, he openly declared his convictions, and raised his testimony against relic-worship, the invocation of saints, nocturnal services at the sepulchres of the dead, monastic vows, and the obligation of clerical celibacy. For this, he was denounced by some of his contemporaries, as an heretic ; although he was never known to deny any of the vital truths of the Gospel, or to oppose himself to the apostolical discipline of the Church : and the Gallic witness of the fourth century is now regarded as one famous or infamous in eccle- siastical history, accordingly as Protestants or Roman Catholics pronounce sentence upon him. Vigilantius was an extraordinary example, not only of perseverance in the pursuit of truth, amidst many difficulties, but also of the obloquy and unfair misrepresentations, to which every en- quirer is exposed, who ventures to take part against religious error in high places. He was raised from an humble station, and was introduced to the society of the learned and the good by Sul- picius Severus, and Paulinus of Nola, two of the very best men of the age, whose affection and friendship he never lost. In the first passage, where we find mention made of him by his oppo- nent Jerome, he is called ' The holy presbyter Vigilantius ;' and yet, when he undertook to pro- test against practices, which he regarded as superstitious and unscriptural, Jerome assailed him with every expression of contumely and ran- cour.* ' Base-horn tapster,' 'Madman,' * B?^ute,' * Hieron. adversus Vigilantium. Opera. Vol. IV. p. 2, 288, 289. INTRODUCTION. A. D. 350- -400. ' Monster,' ' Possessed of an unclean spirit' these are specimens of the style in which the recluse of Bethlehem inveighed against the witness of Aqui- tain. It will be the object of the following pages to set his character in a true light, and to show what effects were produced in the minds and conduct of sincere Christians, by the opinions, which Vigi- lantius impugned, and which Jerome advocated. The biography of the contemporaries of Vigi- lantius furnishes us with some striking contrasts : and I hope to bring my readers into familiar ac- quaintance with eminent men of the fourth cen- tury, in various situations of life, whose conduct and character exhibited the results of those erro- neous views of Christian faith and duty, which are to be traced to that age. If the leaven of superstition worked perniciously in persons of such unquestionable superiority over most of their time, as those whom I have selected to place in contrast, and in juxta-position with Vigilantius, and whom I have endeavoured to pourtray faith- fully,— what must not have been its bitter savour in the ignorant and unwary ? Martin of Tours, the apostle of Gaul, as he has been called, who "T"""- was a convert to Christianity from the military ranks, fell into the most deplorable fanaticism and aberration of mind. Instead of continuing to fight as the bold soldier of the cross, in the thick of the action, against the world, the flesh, and the devil, Martin slunk into a monastery, pretended to work miracles, and died in a hermit's cowl. Sulpicius severus! Martin of 10 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 350—400. Severus, the flower of Aquitain, the man of birth and of letters, the Gallic Sallust, the enquiring historian, became, under the influence of this superstition, the victim of deceivableness, and dwindled down to a fabulist and visionary : * and Pauiinus. it hurried Paulinus, who was also a man of letters, and a person of amiable disposition, into the most debasing errors. Had Paulinus remained in the high position in which God placed him, his im- mense wealth mio-ht have been used for the im- provement of society at large, by the exercise of judicious liberality and alms-giving, in connexion with ecclesiastical objects of interest. But un- fortunately, that good man adopted the profession of voluntary poverty ; disregarded the obligations of husband, citizen, and Christian statesman, and frittered away life as a deserter from his post of duty. He grovelled before the image of a favourite saint, until his brain reeled, and he was lost in phantasies. He inflicted severities upon himself, to such a degree, that he fell into a state of in- curable bodily and mental debility, and scarcely a trace remained of the once buoyant, energetic, and noble-minded Patrician. Sulpicius and Pau- linus were lost to the cause of true religion, when they turned their backs on the social duties of life : * I shall show more fully in another place, that, although I agree in much that was written in the British Magazine, (Nos. XL VIII. L. and Lll.) under the signature H. against Sulpicius, as the Biographer of St. Martin, yet I am disinclined to charge him with deliberate fraud or falsehood. I think he was one of the deceived, and not him- self a deceiver. INTRODUCTION. 11 they wanted somebody to give them advice similar 35q1°4(,q to that which John Wesley gave to Hannah More, * Live in the world, that is your sphere of action.' The same erroneous views of Christianity trans- formed the learned and eloquent Jerome, the jerome. most laborious and accomplished scholar of his time, into an acrimonious, discontented, and rail- ing bigot, who, while he professed mortification and abstinence, and confined himself to the sacred localities of Bethlehem, that he might keep his body in subjection, gave full reins to the passions of hatred, malice, and uncharitableness, and in- dulged the bitterest resentment, whenever a rival was to be encountered, or an adversary silenced. The effects of a doctrine or of a system can be Plan and object ot ascertained by one method only, — by an appeal to tiiiswork. facts. It is to facts therefore, to passages in men's lives, that I wish to direct attention : and, if lean shew that, in the case of some very eminent, and very good men of the fourth century, the religious opinions and practices introduced or sanctioned by these persons, spoilt their Christianity, soured their temper, weakened their intellect, disordered their imaginations, and diminished their useful- ness ; then I have produced facts, the best argu- ments that can be found, against the system or doctrine which has had the authority of their names. The four worthies of the fourth century, whom I have selected for observation, have been chosen for examples, in biographical view with Vigilantius, because he was brought into imme- diate connexion with them. 12 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 350—400. They were not only his contemporaries, and associates, but they had also much to do in the formation of his character, either directly or in- directly, by drawing his attention to religious opinions and observances, and to schools of theo- logy and Church discipline, in which they were the conspicuous masters. The very points in relation to which Vigilantius protested, and endeavoured to produce a reforma- tion in the Latin Church, were those which were sanctioned and pressed into notice by Martin, Sulpicius Severus, Paulinus and Jerome. It is necessary therefore, by way of preface to the life of Vigilantius, who may be styled * a forerunner of the Reformation,' and one of the earliest of * our Protestant* forefathers,' to commence with Biographical Sketches of some of those, who are at the head of that genealogical line, which is con- tradistinguished as ' Romanism.' Sulpicius and Paulinus were the patrons and * I use the word Protestant in this place, in the same sense in which Bishop Bull employed it, when speaking of transactions of the eighth century. ' Otir Alcuinus, also, the Emperor Charles the Great's tutor, the most learned man of his age, had so fully examined the Nicene Acts, that he wrote a learned discourse about them, and notably refuted them.' He then quotes the testimony of Hoveden, and adds, ' Whence it appears that the Nicene Acts sent from Con- stantinople to Charles the Great, were by him, before the Francfort synod, sent to Britain ; and being examined and abundantly refuted, and that from the Holy Scriptures, by our most learned Alcuinus, were carried back again together with that refutation of them, to the Emperor Charles, in the name of our Bishops and Princes ; so that even then the British Church was Protestaiit in this article concern- ing image-worship.' — Corrupt, of the Church of Rome, p. 40 — 43. I have taken this passage from an article in the British Magazine, signed E. C. Harrington. No. CXXXV. p. 182. INTRODUCTION. 13 friends of Vigilantius ; Martin was the pattern after whom they framed their conversation and conduct ; and Jerome was the oracle of his day, from whose works we collect almost all that is known of * the heresy' of Vigilantius, as his tes- timony to the truth has been most unfairly called. The order, in which I place these intro- ductory sketches, is correct both as to time and subject. Martin, Bishop of Tours, comes first, because he was the oldest : and, to his influence over the minds of Sulpicius and Paulinus, are to be attri- buted the erroneous notions of Christian duty, which drew those excellent men out of the path of active life, into monastic seclusion and mor- tification, and laid the foundation of all their errors. Biographical notices of the two friends succeed that of Martin : and an outline of the life of Jerome will prepare the reader for the few memo- rials which remain of Vigilantius himself. I do not profess to write any thing like ' a life' of these Fathers, or to dwell longer on their history than is necessary to show how one false step led to another, and to clear the way for a more perfect understanding of the principal subject of these pages. Martin died before Vigilantius ; but the three others outlived him : and I am satisfied with bringing my notice of them down to a period coeval with that in which Vigilantius was a pro- minent actor. As I have no pleasure in gloating over the de- A.D. 350—400. 14 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 350—400. fects of men, who were the admiration of their times, I shall gladly bring the noble actions and the good qualities of Martin, Sulpicius, Paulinus, and Jerome, into prominent view, whenever I have the opportunity of doing so. But I shall take care to guard my readers against those of their errors more especially, which, bearing some affinity or resemblance to truth and virtue, were mistaken for such, and therefore be- came the more dangerous. And I shall endeavour to shew, that it was in consequence of the mis- takes of ' saints' like these, that primitive Chris- tianity declined by little and by little from its original purity and simplicity, until it degenerated into the form called * Romanism.' I heartily wish that some abler hand may fill up the outlines, which I have but slightly traced ; because a thorough knowledge of ecclesiastical history depends upon the study of contemporary biography. All that is important in theology, and eventful in the position which the church has taken up at different seras, has resulted from the direction given to public thought and action by a very few of the principal writers and hierarchs. It is individual character which is impulsive and productive of great changes ; and until we look more closely to the temper, disposition, opinions, views, and performances of the /eif; who have taken a lead in every age, we shall continue to have a very imperfect knowledge of the history of the many, whether in church or state. Biography therefore, as furnishing us with an insight into the INTRODUCTION. 15 personal objects of the great actors in the drama 35,j:_°4,)o of human life, and into the immediate occasions which gave rise to important events, is not only one of the most amusing, but also one of the most instructive branches of literature. 16 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. II. MARTIN OF TOURS. Martin of Martin was bom at Sabaria,* in Pannonia, in the year 317, but received his education in Italy. He was deeply impressed with religious sentiments at a very early age, and, having become a catechu- men when only ten years old, his youthful zeal was so inflamed, that he would have retired into the desert, as a boy-hermit, at twelve years of age, had not his wishes been controlled. At fifteen, Martin served in the ranks of Constantine as a soldier of great promise, and the story, of his having divided his cloak with a beggar, tells nobly for the young Christian, who not only dis- played sympathy for the destitute, far beyond the character of the age in which he lived, but had the moral courage to perform an act which ex- posed him to the jeers of his comrades. In a vision of the night Martin fancied that the * Hodie Szombatch, or according to Cluverius, Sarvvar. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 17 Saviour appeared to him, clad in the vestment .o^".;o- which he had shared with the shivering beggar, and that he heard him repeat in the well-known words of the Gospel, '' Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me." Such a dream was likely to add inten- sity to the piety of an enthusiastic youth : and it did so. At eighteen, Martin was baptised. While Martin in he was in the army, he confronted the apostate Julian, in a style of manly resolution, which may have been exaggerated, or at least highly coloured, but which must nevertheless have had much in it of heroic reality. Upon an occasion when Julian wished to reward some of his troops, who had dis- tinguished themselves, he assembled them to receive a largess at his hands. When he came to Martin, and offered him the donative, * I am a Christian,' said the dauntless soldier to his com- mander, ' give me not a largess, but a discharge from your army. Hitherto I have served under you, now let me serve God as a soldier of Jesus Christ.' Julian, to try him, or to silence him, told him that his request proceeded from cowardice. * To-morrow,' exclaimed Martin, ' I will rush into the thickest of the fight, unarmed, and in the name of the Lord, and with the sign of the cross, I will penetrate unhurt into the closest phalanx of the foe.' He was put in chains for his bravado, (as it was considered) and would have been com- pelled to make good his words, had not the enemy sued for, and obtained peace in the interval. Du- ring the whole time that Martin continued in the 18 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 337 -367 The first monastery in France founded by Martin. army, the beauty of Christian holiness shone forth in his life and conversation. He was kind and forbearing towards his comrades, while he refused to join in any of their polluting amusements or customs : and he secured their affections by acts of self-denial and generosity, of which they felt the benefit, although they could not understand the motive. His patience and humility were said to be beyond all human imitation : by the exercise of extreme frugality, he was able to save enough out of his pay, to feed the hungry, and to clothe the naked, and to relieve those who were in debt from their embarrassments. When his military service was at an end, Martin took a journey into his native country for the conversion of his parents, and exposed himself to the resent- ment of the Arians by vindicating the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. He was banished from the land, after having been nearly scourged to death by the Arians, and returned first to Italy and afterwards to Gaul. The happiest period of his life was when he enjoyed the friendship and instruction of Hilary, Bishop of Poictiers ; and, in order that he might remain near him, he resolved to adopt the rules of the Ascetics, and to establish a monastery near Poictiers. This was the first regular conventual institution in France, and it is to the fact of Martin becoming the founder of a monastic house, and effecting many conversions by his reputed sanctity as a monk, that he owes his great celebrity in the French Church, and his appellation of the apostle of Gaul. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 19 It was here that he began to fancy himself ^Qi—iii capable of working miracles, and the stories that are told of his miraculous powers, are discreditable both to himself and to the Christian character of the age. If his own bead was not turned, he certainly turned the heads of others, as I shall show in the course of these memoirs ; and on his authority innumerable pious frauds were received as sacred realities. In 371 Martin was appointed ,, . ' ' , Martin Bishop of Tours, not by a regular and canonical raised to the _ "^ . Episcopate. election, due respect being had to fitness, age, and probation, but by the acclamation of the people, and against the judgment of some of the bishops of the province. The history of his con- secration* is a record of one of those irregular * ' Sub idem fere tempus ad Episcopatum Tiironicas ecclesiie peteba- tur : sed cum enii a monasterio suo facile non posset, Ruriciusquidam, unus e civibus, uxoris languore simulate, ad genua illius provolutus, ut egrederetur obtinuit. Ita dispositis jam in itinere civium turbis, sub quadam custodia ad civitatem usq. deducitur mirum in modum incredibilis multitudo non solum ex illo oppido, sed etiam ex vicinis urbibus ad sufFragia ferenda convenerat. Una omnium voluntas, eadem vota, eadem que sententia, Martinum Episcopatu esse dignis- simum, felicem fore tali Ecclesiam sacerdote, pauci tamen, et nonnulli ex Episcopis, qui ad constituendum antistitem fuerant evocati, impie repugnabant, dicentes : Scilicet contemptibilem esse personam, indig- num esse episcopatu, hominem vultu despicabilem, veste sordidum, crine deformem. Ita a populo sententia sanioris haec illorum irrisa dementia est, qui illustrem virum dum vituperare cupiunt, pr^dica- bant. Nee vero aliud his facere licuit, quam quod popuhis Domino volente cogebat, inter Episcopos tamen qui affuerant, praecipue De- fensor quidam nomine, dicitur restitisse : unde animadversum est, graviter ilium lectione prophctica tunc notatum. Nam cum fortuitu lector, cui legend! eo die officium erat, interclusus a populo defuisset, turbatis ministris, dum expectatur qui non aderat, unus e circumstan- tibus sumpto psalterio, quem primum versum invenit, arripuit. Psal- C 2 20 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 371—385. proceedings, for which the Church of the fourth century is greatly to be censured. Certain pre- lates refused to sanction his exaltation to the epis- copate, and are stated to have rested their objec- tions on his despicable aspect, the sordidness of his dress, and his disregard of personal appear- ance. This looks as if he had rendered himself more conspicuous by his eccentricities, than by judicious acts of zeal, and certainly a man, who was especially remarkable for his inattention to the decencies of dress, and for uncleanliness of person, was not pre-eminently fit to be a bishop. But the people, the multitude, thoughtotherwise, and the accidental recital of the second verse of the viiith Psalm,* which sounded like a providential re- buke to Defensor, Bishop of Angers, one of those who objected to his consecration, turned the scale mus autem hie erat : " Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti lau- dem propter inimicos tuos, ut destruas inimicum et defensorem," quo lecto clamor populi tollitur, pars diversa confunditur. Atque ita ha- bitum est, divino nutu psalmnm luinc lectiun fuisse, ut testimonium operis sui Defensor audiret, quia ex ore infantium atque lactentium in Martino Domini laude perfecta, et ostensus pariter et destructus est inimicus.' Sul. de Vit. Mart.c. 7. * See Sul. de Vit. Mart. c. 7. It was thought that this verse ap- plied to the occasion. ' Ex ore infantium et lactentium perfecisti lau- dem propter inimicos tuos, ut destruas inimicum et defensorem. In the vulgate of Sixtus V. and Clemens VIII. we read ultor, from Jerome's translation, and not Defensor. Some curious questions arise out of this statement. Who were the ' multitudo? ' The ' Populus' who elected Martin ? Did the common people of this part of Gaul then speak Latin ? Did they use the Latin version of the Psalms only, or had they a vernacular version ? The vernacular tongue of the south of France, — of Aquitain, — was called Celtic and Gallic by Sulpi- cius. See Dial. I. c. 20. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 21 in his favour, and he was admitted Bishop of Tours. After his promotion, he still retained the same preference for sordid apparel :* but according to Sulpicius, his biographer, he sustained his autho- rity with dignity, without departing from any of the practices which he had previously adopted. The prelate, however, was for the most part lost in the recluse, and though Tillemont speaks of his success in preaching to the peasantry of the country (Memoires, x. 318), there is strong reason to believe (both from his imperfect education and from the accounts which are handed down to us of his making converts, principally through the opinion entertained of his miraculous perform- ances,) that it was his reputation for sanctity, rather than his persuasive powers as a Christian orator,f which added to the number of his prose- lytes among the multitude. Nothing was too extravagant for the credulity of the congregations over which he presided. It was believed that the least morsel of his raiment, the simple mention of his name, or the touch of his cloak, would heal sickness. But, to what- * ' Eadem in vestitu ejus vilitas erat.' Vit. Mar. c. 7. t Every thing was ascribed to Martin's Miraculous gifts : for it is remarkable that his disciple and biographer Sulpicius speaks in the same passage of his facility in expounding Scripture, his extensive knowledge, and his illiterateness. ' Quam alacer, quani efficax, et quam in exsolvendis scripturarum qua^stionibus promptus et facilis! Jesum tester, spemque communem, me ex nullius unquam ore tantum scientiae, tantum iiigenii, tarn boni et tam puri scrmonis audissi^, Quamquam in Martini virtutibus quantula est ista laudatio ? Nisi quod mirum est, honiini illiteratp ne hanc qnidem gratiam defuisse.' —Vit. Mar. c. 26. A. D. 371—385. 22 VIGIL ANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 371—385. His good acts. ever cause his influence may be attributed, Mar- tin certainly, in many instances, made a noble use of it, until his mind was weakened by excessive austerities, and he himself began to believe that he was really in possession of the miraculous gifts ascribed to him. He built churches at Langey, Sonne, Amboise, Chisseau sur le Cher, Tournon, and Candes : * and while he promoted religious observances, he opposed himself generously and resolutely to that spirit of religious intolerance, which was now becoming too common in the Christian Church. Martin interceded for the Priscillianists, when Ithacius and others were urgent for their condem- nation, and he refused to communicate with the intolerant party, after some Priscillianists had been put to death. Tillemont, to his honour be it said, reprobates the severity exercised against these heretics, in terms which I have great plea- sure in transcribing. ' Mais apr6s qu'il fut parti, Maxime emporte par d'autres eveques, fit juger les Priscillianistes, par le Prefet, et I'Eglise eut la honte de voir repandre leur sang (en I'an 385,) a la poursuite des ministres de ses autels, qui neamoins pour deguiser un peu leur crime, sub- stitu^rent enfin un officier seculier en leur place.' f It would have been happy for the fame of Mar- * See Hist, Franc. Gregor. Tur. Ix. 31, and compare the modern names of the places mentioned by Gregory, as they are given by Til- lemont Memoires, X. 319, and by Bouquet, Rec. des Hist. Vol. II. 384. f Tillemont, Memoires, Vol. X, 326. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 23 tin, and for the honour of the Christian profession, if a veil could have been drawn over some of the events of his declining years, or if he had fallen by the hands of some of the heathen tyrants, w^hose violence he provoked, before his mind be- came entirely clouded. When Martin braved the monster Avitien* in his tent, and insisted upon his revoking the bloody order, by which many citizens of Tours had been condemned to die by torture, he was acting the part of a Christian. And it was truly a saint-like action, when the resolute Bishop of Tours set out, with his staff in his hand, to confront Maximus, and to plead for the prisoners and exiles, and the other victims of the Emperor's resentment. It savoured however of that spiritual pride, which has since broken out into so many acts of rebellion against civil authorities, not only on the part of Romish priests and pontiffs, but of others, from whom better things might have been expected, when Martin, upon the same occasion gave Maximus to under- stand, by passing his drinking cup to a presbyter before he handed it to the Emperor, that Church officers ought to take precedence of all the highest temporal dignitaries. | We desire to give some * Snip. Sev. Dial. III. 5. t Snip. Sev. de Vit. B. Martini, c. 23. In several of the editions of Sulpicius, the marginal reading of the passage which records the arrogance of Martin stands thus, ' Dignitas sacerdotalis regia dignior.' The words of Sulpicius are, ' Sed Martinus ubi ebibit, pateram pres- bytero suo tradidit, nullum scilicet existimans digniorem, qui post se biberet : nee integrum sibi fore : si aut regem ipsum, aut eos qui a rege erant proximi, prcsbytero proetulisset.' A. D. 385—400. SlOllS, 2i VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 385—400 ci'edit to the glorious things that were told of Martin, when it is said that ' nobody ever saw him give way to anger, sorrow, or levity ; that Christ's name was ever upon his lips, and that piety, peace, and compassion, reigned in his heart,' * but the more we read of his estimable qualities, the more we regret the delusions under which he laboured, and the excess to which he carried his asceticism, and his recommendations of itka/deiu- ^^ ^^ others. We hesitate not, therefore, to con- demn the system which marred a character, that might else have shone among the highest examples of Christian antiquity. The history of this extra- ordinary man is like a beacon, Mdiich displays a revolving light, illuminated on one side, and dark on the other. Its illuminated side is a symbol of encouragement and guidance ; its dark side, of danger and alarm. So Martin is to be considered as an example, which speaks in the language of caution. Beware ! When we read the eulogies of his admirable qualities by Sulpicius or Paulinus : and pursue the whole of the life of Martin, as it has been given in the biography of the former, or in the metrical narrative of the latter,! we can * Sul. Sev. de Vita. Mart. c. 26. t Snip. Sev. de Vita Mart. c. 26, and Dial. III. c. 21. Paulinus, De vita Sancti Martini, Lib. 6. It is doubted by some whether the Paulinus who wrote the metrical life of Martin was the Bishop of Nola. Gregory of Tours imputed it to him. ' Paulinus quoque beatus Nolanae urbis Episcopus post scrip- tos quinque libros versa de virtutibus ejus, quos Severus complexus est,' &c. Vide Greg. Turon. Liber primus Miraculorum Sanctis- simi Martini, c. 2. ST. aiARTIN OF TOURS. 25 A. D. 385—400. scarcely determine which occasions us most grief ; the fanatical hallucinations of the Bishop of Tours, or the credulity of the historians, who have re- corded them in seriousness and admiration. I will now direct the reader's attention to the Themirades marginal heads of the life of St. Martin, by Sul- to him. picius, in the ' Bibliotheca Patrum,' to show that the fame of Martin did not rest so much upon a life of active usefulness, as upon the credit of the miraculous powers and ascetic virtues ascribed to him. CHAP. I. The Military Service of the blessed Martin. II. He clothes a poor man at Amiens. Christ appears to Martin. When he was baptised. III. He quits the military service and follows Christ. IV. He goes to St. Hilary. The parents of Martin were Gentiles. He is seized by robbers. He converts a robber. Devils meet him. He is scourged for his opposition to the Arians. He founds a monastery at Milan. He lives upon roots and Hellebore. V. He restores his companion, a catechumen, to life. VI. He restores a man who had hanged himself, to life. VII. He is raised to the Bishoprick of Tours. How he lived when he became a Bishop. He builds a monastery on the Loire. The system of monastic life. VIII. He destroys a shrine dedicated to a robber. IX. He compels a mob of rustics to stand still, and renders them powerless. X. He destroys some Pagan temples. He stops the fall of a tree and is unhurt. He builds temples to God. XI. His presence arrests the progress of a fire. 26 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 385—400. CHAP. XII. Angels help him to destroy a heathen temple. XIII. He exposes himself with impunity to the blow of a sword. XV. He heals a girl with oil. XVI. He cures a demoniac. XVII. He cures another demoniac. XVIII. He eludes the stratagems of demons. XIX. He heals a leper with a kiss. XX. A letter from Martin cures one afflicted with ague. XXI. He heals the eye of Paulinas with a touch, ' tactu peniculi.' £Tillemont translates the word ' piece of cloth.' Fleury. ' Pencil.' XXII. After a fall, he is cured by an angel. XXIII. The sacerdotal dignity higher than that of kings. XXIV. He often enjoyed the company of angels. The Devil invades his cell. The various forms assumed by the Devil. XXV. The pretended sanctity of Anatolius exposed by Martin. The false prophet of Spain detected by Martin. XXVI. Martin tempted by the Devil, who assumed the appearance of Christ. The intimacy of the author with Martin. Martin recommends Sulpicius to imitate the perfect virtue of Paulinus. It is impossible to explain the great acts of Martin. A question naturally arises. With such a speci- men of credulity before us, can we entertain much respect for Sulpicius as a biographer ? Certainly not. But if we put this biography aside, what do we know of Martin? The only contemporary accounts of Martin are found in the pages of Sulpicius, and in the metrical reminis- cences of Paulinus, supposing the latter to have been the bishop of Nola. It is quite clear, how- ever, that a history, which dwells so largely upon the miraculous and the fanciful, did so for want of better materials, and because very little of that which was authentic and really worthy of credit, ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 27 and of imitation, in the life of St. Martin, had ;^g5l4oo. been collected by the biographer.* Either we know next to nothing of the true his- tory of the Bishop of Tours, or the scraps which have been collected together, furnish us with strange contrasts. Such, indeed, if we are to believe Sulpicius, was strangecon- ^ ' I trasts in the the mixture of good sense in Martin with the character of o _ ^ , Martin. vagaries of a perverted mind, and of real holiness with fabulous pretensions, that it is difficult to draw the line between the saint and the impostor. I will adduce some few examples. In conversa- tion with Sulpicius, Martin acknowledged that he had less of Christian grace in him after he became a Bishop, than before. * True,' observes Sulpi- cius, ' before he became a Bishop, he raised two dead men to life, but only one afterwards. We may therefore judge what great works he per- formed while he was a simple monk.'t A married soldier who had entered the monas- tery, importuned Martin to let him have the com- pany of his wife. ' If you were going into battle,' said the saint, ' would you wish to take your wife with you ? ' ' By no means,' replied the petitioner. ' Then in the same manner,' exclaimed Martin, ' as you would exclude a woman from the battle-field, so should you banish her from a scene of spiritual * Gregory of Tours speaks with indignation of the doubts as to the veracity of Sulpicius which were entertained in his time, touching the miracles of Martin. De Mar. Mir. Lib. 2. c. 32. t Sulp. Sev. Dial. II. 5. 28 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 385—400, conflict like this.'* Martin could not understand that husband and wife should be inseparable. At one time it was the boast of Martin that no woman had ever touched him, and it afterwards sadly perplexed some of his disciples that he should have received the attentions of the empress, the consort of Maximus, when she prepared a cell for his reception, gave him water for his hands, and dressed the food which he ate. They were afraid it would derogate from the purity of his character, and be alleged as an example for other saints to permit the too near approach of woman- kind, within the sacred circle of their presence. Some whimsical arguments and exceptions in favour of Martin, and in justification of his per- mitting a female to come near him, are advanced in one of the dialogues of Sulpicius, which it will be more amusing than edifying to read.f Martins Martin was in the frequent habit of discoursing S"r on the attacks to which he was exposed by imposture, g^tan and his angels. He related, that on one occasion a form stood before him in the midst of a halo of soft and purple light ; he was arrayed in royal vestments ; a diadem of gold and jewels was upon his head ; golden sandals bound his feet; his countenance was benign and serene, and nothing could be more unlike to Satan than that resplen- dent presence. ' It is Christ whom thou dost be- hold,' said the vision, — ' I am come to manifest myself unto thee.' Martin was silent. ' Martin, ^ Sulp. Sev. Dial. II. 12. t Ibid. II. 7. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 29 A. D. ;«}5— 400. wherefore dost thou doubt? I am Christ.' ' The Lord hath not foretold,' replied Martin, ' that he will come clothed in purple and crowned with gold. I will not believe in the presence of Christ, unless he appears as the crucified, and exhibits the marks which he received on the cross.* Immediately the apparition vanished, and left such a stench behind him, that it was quite evi- dent it was the devil. This relation Sulpicius de- clares he received from Martin's own mouth : ' Ex ipsius Martini ore cognovi.' * Well might the wise and good of that day protest,'!" as they did, against the fables, with which Sulpicius, in his blind confidence in the veracity of Martin, de- xheconse- .. ., qiiences of i^raded the annals of the Christian church. Martin s Martms ... r 11 1 pretended example of ' deceiving ' others, was soon followed miracles. by his disciples, and one, a catechumen, whom he had pretended to raise from the dead, gave this re- volting account of his own death and resuscitation. * He used to tell us,' said Sulpicius, ' that his spirit was conducted before the tribunal of the judge eternal, and was about to receive his sad sentence, when two angels suggested that this was the soul for whom Martin had been praying. Whereupon he was ordered to be taken back by * Hoc ita gestum, iit supra retulimus, ex ipsius Martini ore cog- novi, nequis forte existimet fabiilosum. Snip. Sev. dc Vita Mart. c. 25. t Et quia multos ad banc partem incredulos scio, quippe quos viderim meipso etiam referente non credere : Jesum Testor, etc. Non alii fuere insectatores ejus, licet pauci admodum, non alii tamcn quam episcopi ferebantur. Ibid. c. 2G. 30 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 385—400. Martin's opinions as to Antichrist. these two angels and to be restored to Martin and to life.'* Martin may have been a truly devoted servant of God, before his brain w^as disturbed ; he may have been charitable, forgiving, and kind-hearted ; but we cannot recognize the true ' self-denying spirit,' or 'humility of heart' in a man who in after life built his reputation of sanctity on ' pious frauds' of this kind, nor can we feel sympathy for that species of * holy zeal ' t which a Christian ascetic exhibits in common with the Hindoo Fa- quir, by frightful austerities and macerations, and other acts of personal infliction. The strange opinion which Martin held on the subject of Antichrist, and the end of the world, was another instance of that bewilderment of mind which was not uncommon in this age, when prophetical subjects were discussed with rashness and warmth. ' Before the end of the world,' said Martin in a conversation recorded by his biogra- pher Sulpicius, ' Nero and Antichrist will first come. Nero will exercise sovereign power in the west, and will resume the persecution which he * ' Idem tamen referre erat solitus, se corpore exutum ad tribunal judicis diictum, deputatiimque obscuris locis et viilgaribus turbis tris- tem excepisse sententiam ; turn per duos angelos judici fuisse sug- gestum hunc esse pro quo Martinus oraret ; ita per eosdem angelos se jussum reduci, et Martino redditum, vitaeque pristinse restitutum.' — Sulp, Sev. de Vita Martini, c. 5. f It is to be regretted that Mr. Palmer, in his ' Compendious Ec- clesiastical History,' should have made Martin one of his examples of the ' Fruits of faith,' and of ' holy zeal,' without cautioning his readers against the hallucinations under which the unhappy man laboured long before the close of his life. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 31 began heretofore, to compel the restoration of sfjsL^oo heathen worship. In the east, Antichrist will establish his power, and make Jerusalem the capital of his empire, after having restored the city and the temple. He will then proclaim himself to be Christ, persecute Christians, and institute the law of circumcision. Nero will be subdued and destroyed by Antichrist ; whose sway will extend over the whole world until the second and triumphant advent of the Messiah.'* Such were the wanderings of Martin's imagination, and his wild predictions were not unsupported by opinions, which had been strongly maintained in the pre- ceding ages of the Church. Even among grave thinkers of the fourth century, there were not want- ing persons,! who inclined to the idea that St. Paul alluded to Nero, when he said that the " mystery of iniquity" had already begun to work. Martin will again be introduced in the course of Suipicius my memorials of Vigilantius. In the mean time, oTxManin.^^ I cannot but feel persuaded, that Suipicius was the dupe and not the confederate of Martin : it is more likely that he was deceived by Martin's assevera- tions, and was induced to place reliance on the miraculous tales which were told him, than that he himself invented any of them. In one of his dialogues he candidly admits that the veracity of * Sulp. Sev. Dial. II. c. 16. f See Augustin de Civit. Dei Lib. 20. ' Quidam putantiit hoc quod dixit, jam enim mysterium iniquitatis operatwr, Neronem voluerit intelligi, cujusjam facta velut Antichrist! videbantur ; unde nonnulH ipsum resurrecturum et futurum Antichristum suspi- cantur.' 32 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 385—400. his relation was questioned ; * but it is scarcely to be believed that he would have ventured to publish such tales immediately after the death of Martin, had it not been notorious that the Bishop of Tours was the author, and that he himself was only the reporter of these tales of the marvellous. NOTE TO CHAPTER II. My remarks in this sketch of Martin's history will be found to differ very much from those of two contemporary writers, whose works have attracted considerable notice. Mr. Palmer, in his * Compendious Ecclesiastical History' numbers Martin among the ' holymen' of the fourth century, who are to be held up to example — whose actions exemplified the ' fruits of faith •/ and in a vindication of this esti- mate of Martin's character (see Christian Remembrancer for May 1840, vol. xxii, No. 5, p. 283,) he observes that ' the inventions and tales of others ought not to prejudice Martin,' and adds — ' the state- ments of Sulpicius with reference to miracles must be viewed with the greatest suspicion- He was obviously a very credulous writer, nor is it possible to depend upon his veracity.' But credulity was one of the errors of that age, and it was fostered by such as Martin, who had recourse to false expedients to propagate Christianity: and it is my object to shew that the Church, with its corrupt ecclesiastical system of the fourth centur}', was to blame in countenancing such fraudulent proceedings, and in palming a pack of fables upon an honest and simple-hearted man like Sulpicius. ' With respect to the asceticism objected to Martin,' says Mr. Pal- mer in the same paper, ' We may admit that he carried mortification too far in some instances, still it was a pardonable error, failing on the side of virtue.' This favourable view of the unfavourable side of Martin is in accordance with Mr. Palmer's amiable and Christian spirit. But Martin's asceticism was employed to attract notice, and * Horreo dicere (Posthumianus loquitur) quod nuper audivi infe- licem dixisse, nescio quem, te in illo libro tuo plura mentitum. Dial. I. c. 18. ST. MARTIN OF TOURS. 33 to make dupes, like Siilpicius, believe, that by virtue of his asceticism he could work miracles of the most extravagant kind, the very ex- travagance of which was a proof of his false pretensions, — therefore Martin's asceticism was as near akin to vice as to virtue. The author of ' the Church of the Fathers,' speaks thus of Martin and Sulpicius. ' The biographer of St. Martin is not merely a friend, who sometimes saw him, though a great authority in himself, but a disciple, and intimate, and e3^e-witness, as well as a man of cultivated and classical mind, — Sulpicius Severus, who wrote his memoir, even while the subject of it was alive, and while liis memory was fresh.' — Church of the Fathers, 2nd ed. 1842. p. 386. ' Sulpicius' memoir is full of accounts of miracles wrought by him. He is even said to have raised the dead. I cannot deny that a chance reader would regard his life merely as an early specimen of demon- ology. Whether the works attributed to him were really miracles, and whether they really took place, I leave to the private judgment of each reader of them. What has been said in former chapters ap- plies here ; it is difficult often to draw the line between real and ap- parent interruptions of the course of nature ; and, in an age of miracles, ordinary events will be exaggerated into supernatural : vene- ration, too, for an individual, will at such a time occasion the ordi- nary effects of his sagacity or presence of mind to be accounted more than human.' — Ibid. p. 389- Now then how are we to deal with this question, and whom are we to give up ? Sulpicius, or Martin ? And who was right in his opinion of Sulpicius ? Mr. Palmer, or the author of ' the Church of the Fathers?' If we dispute the authority of Sulpicius, we have no genuine contemporary biography of Martin, and he is nothing more than a legendary saint, and therefore not worthy of being held up to the example of Christians. If we pronounce in favour of the credibility and veracity of Sulpi- cius, then Martin and his monks must be regarded as guilty of 'pious frauds,' and their's were the fables which we are not to believe. ' It is true,' as Mr. Palmer allows, ' that many signs of the most impro- bable description are said to have been wrought by him.' And who said this? Sulpicius. Hear then again what the author of ' the Church of the Fathers ' advances in commendation of Sulpicius. ' The Memoirs of the saint are written with equal earnestness and simplicity. They were circulated tliroughout Christendom with asto- nishing rapidity : but the miraculous accounts they contained were a difficulty with great numbers. Accordingly, in the last of his publi- cations, Sulpicius gave the names of living witnesses in corroboration D 34 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. of his own statements. * Far be such suspicion,' he adds, ' from any one who lives under God's eye ; for Martin does not need support from fiction, however I open before Thee, O Christ, the fidelity of my whole narrative, that I have neither said, nor will say, aught but that which I have either seen myself, or have ascertained from plain authorities, or for the most part from his own mouth.' Ibid. p. 399. Once more, let us turn to what the author of ' the Church of the Fathers ' says about another saint of the fourth century, Jerome, whose name will figure in the sequel of these memorials. * I do not scruple then to say, that were he not a saint, there are things in his writings and views from which I should shrink ; but as the case stands, I shrink rather from putting myself in opposition to something like a judgment of the Catholic world in favour of his saintly perfection. I cannot indeed force myself to approve or like against my judgment or feeling; but I can receive things on faith against both the one and the other.' — Ibid. p. 263,264. So then it comes to this, according to the confession of this writer, that the Fathers of the fourth century, or the Catholic world of that age, have presented statements to us which we cannot receive on faith except' against our judgment and feelings' SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 35 CHAP. III. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. A. L>. 3.50—390. The Historian, Siilpicius Severus,* born about the year 350, was declared, by the universal accla- mation of his contemporaries,! to be one of the most accomplished and virtuous men of his age or country. Of noble birth, of great pov^ers of elo- TesUmo nies in quence, and of varied attainments of the very favour of first order, the path to the highest honours of the State lay before him, and he would probably have reached any object of his ambition had he aspired to worldly distinctions. Gibbon calls him * a correct and original writer ; ' (Rom. Emp.vol. iii. 26. note.) * Gennadius says that Sulpiciiis was his family name, but Guisehn, the Editor of his works, published at Antwerp 1574, has expended a great deal of learning, and many ingenious arguments, to prove that Severus was his proper name, and Sulpicius the ' Nomen adscitilium, vel prcenomen.' p. 7 and 9. He called himmM Sulpicius. Dial. 11. c. 5 and 13. t ' Vir genere et literis nobilis.' (Gennadius.) ' Fori celebritate diversans, et facundi nominis palmam tenens.' Paulini Epist. I. ' Nobilitate potens sed multo extensius idem, Nobilior Christi cultu quam Sanguinis ortu,' — Puuliiii Poemnta. D 2 36 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. n. 350—390. and even Bayle, with all his sarcasm, felt his heart warm towards this amiable man, and in his short biographical notice of Sulpicius he has nothing to detract from the reputation either of his virtue, or of his talents. On the contrary he has enhanced his merits by the incidental observation, that he was the native of a province at that time the glory of Gaul, as having produced the best poets, the best rhetoricians, and the most famous orators of the whole Roman Empire.* Sulpicius was qualified to run the race with the ablest of the land, and his early success at the bar was an earnest of his future eminence. To add to the inviting prospects before him. Conform- Sulpicius married into a noble and wealthy family ^■iSu^^' of consular dignity, one of the first of the patrician houses that embraced Christianity. Whether he was himself a Christian before he married, or whether he conformed to the religion of his wife, is doubtful, but it is likely that his religious pro- fession was at first more a matter of pliant consent, than of entire conviction, and that deeper impres- sions were made afterwards.f It was become the fashion of the day to declare in favour of the cross ; ■'^ ' II a ete illiistre par sa naissance, par son eloquence, et plus encore par sa vertu. On ne peut douter qu'il ne fut de la Province d'Aquitaine. En ce tems-la, les Aquitains etoient la fleur, I'orne- ment, et la gloire de toutes les Gaules, en faitd'Esprit, et d'eloquence. C'etoit dans I'Aquitaine que se rencontroient les meilleurs Poetes, les meilleurs rhetoriciens, et les plus excellens orateurs de tout I'empire Romain.' — Bayle, Dictionaire Hisforique, vide Severe Sul. f Paulinus intimates that there was something miraculous in the ultimate conversion of Sulpicius. Epist. I. See Tillemont Memoirs, 14. 69. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 37 and the Gospel which had formerly forced its way 35„':_39o. by the power of truth, into every condition of society, and into every department of the State, was now the adopted badge of many, who looked to imperial favour; or whose connection with Christian friends and relatives, rendered it more convenient and respectable, to worship with the followers of the no longer despised Nazarene, than with those of a declining mythology. Power, wealth, character and learning, as well as virtue and sanctity, were now on the side of the Chris- tians ; unfortunately however for the purity of faith and doctrine, there was a prevailing ten- dency, on the part of the most eminent bishops, and professors of the Gospel, to render proselytism still more general, by bringing Christianity, on some points, down to the level of Paganism ; when their aim ought to have been to extinguish the last embers of superstition. That the votaries of Polytheism might be conciliated, it was thought expedient to leave as many of the old popular superstitions in practice, as might be varnished over and adapted to Christian worship. That violence might not be done to long cherished habits and prejudices, certain helps to devotion, p^^g^^,, to which the people were accustomed, were re- aJced""^"" served, such as images, pictures, processions, ^t^J^^^ relics, pilgrimages, votive offerings, expiatory per- formances, and self-inflicted bodily penances. These were now, by the consent of Christian theologians, not only tolerated as a concession to long-established usages, but in many cases they 38 VIGILANTIUS AND lliS TIMES. A. D. 350- -390. were urged upon the observance of the new prose- lytes, as meritorious performances : they were prominently commended to notice in the festivals of the Church, and those who formerly rejoiced as heathens in their household gods and local deities, might now, as Christians, call upon their patron saints, and substitute the tombs of the martyrs, for the groves of the ' Dii ImUgetes,' as the scenes of their fond and pious weaknesses. In fact when Sulpicius conformed to Christianity, the rebuke of the Apostle to the people of Athens might have been applied, in the very same words, to those who were degrading the Gospel by their altars and inscriptions. We may judge of the Christianity of Sulpicius, when he first conformed to the ascendant religion, by the opinions and conduct of those who were his early associates. Doubtful That the proselytism, which took place towards many of the thc cnd of the fourtli century, was not always proselytes . ^ r • ... of this conversion, or the result ot serious conviction, is manifested in the writings of such authors as Ausonius and Claudian, both of whom were pro- fessed Christians. There is something so revolting in the sentiments and language of these two poets, that some critics have made it a question, whether Ausonius. iXiey had embraced Christianity or not. It cer- tainly may very justly be doubted, whether Au- sonius *• could have received the Gospel in his heart, * Baronius honestly confesses of Ausonius, ' Cacterum negari non potest eundem Ausonium turn de diis turn de amatoriis rebus quam- plurima cecinisse ; ob eamque causam visum esse nonnullis potius Gentilem quam Christianum homineni.' Bar. a. d. -394, c. 77. The Delphin Editors of Claudian were obliged to omit many of his obscene passages. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 39 or could have rendered to its mysterious doctrines any thing more than the homage of his outward re- spect ; when he indulged in such a profane play of words, upon one of the most awful lessons of divine truth, as that which we find in his flattering ad- dress to Valentinian, Gratian and Valens, at the conclusion of a Paschal hymn. Surely that trifler could have had no true sense of religion, or he would not, in compliment to the three princes, have attempted to give an illustration of the majesty of the Holy Trinity, by an allusion to this imperial triumvirate.* In another poem Ausonius sports with the number three, and exhausts all his poeti- cal ingenuity in ringing changes on it. He speaks of the tliree heathen brother gods, and the three sister goddesses, the three points of Jupiter's thun- derbolt, the three heads of the dog Cerberus, the three-fold Qgg progeny, Helen, Castor, and Pollux, the three Fates, the three Gorgons, the tliree Harpies, and the three Sybils, and then he pro- fanely sums up with the Three in One. ' Ter bibe. Tres numerus super omnia, ter Deus iinus.' t * The lines begin — ' Sancta saliitiferi redeunt solemnia Christi.' And end thus — ' Trina fides auctore uno, spes certa sahitis, Hunc numerum junctis virtutibus amplectenti. Tale et terrenis specimen spectatur in oris Augustus genitor, geminum sator Augustorum.' Ausonii Versus Paschales, line 22 — ^25. Edyllia 317. Valpy's Delp, Ed. Vol. I. p. 393. f Edyllia 3.3G. Griphus Ternarii Numeri. Line 88. Vol. II. .535. A. D. 350—390. 40 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 350—400 'l'^^^ transgressions of Claudian against the Christianity which he professed, are too licentious Claudian. and obsccne to be transcribed, it is enough to say that many of the verses of this man, who ad- dressed hymns * ' to the Saviour,'' ' to the Lord Christ,' ' to the praise of Christ,' (and in one of which he ascribed the improvement of society to The the triumphs of Christ t) are quite as offensive as homage to the worst productions of the heathen muse. But Christian- ^^ ^j.^^ samc time it must be remarked, that the outward profession of such men as these, was a proof that the Gospel had at length vindicated its supremacy, even in a temporal point of view. Genius, learning, and rank, all paid homage to that which Marcellinus Ammianus, a Pagan his- torian of the fourth century, described to be * the beneficial tendency of the Christian religion,' J and the great, and the wise, and the noble, began to call themselves Christians, and to take pride in the name, before they spiritually understood what they professed. This prevailing want of true Christian feeling among many professing Christians, must be at- tributed, first, to the too great readiness, which was now displayed to receive catechumens into the Church, before they had given satisfactory proof of their conscientious belief; and secondly, * ' In Servatorem.' ' In Christum Dominum.' ' Laus Christi.' ' Miracula Christi.' — Claudian, Valpy, Delp, Ed. Vol. III. t ' Christe potens rerum, redeuntis conditor sevi,' ' Impia qui nostrse domuisti crimina vitse.' Claud. Carm. Pasc. Line 1, 4. Edit. Delp. Valpy. Vol. III. ± Mar. Am. xxii. 12. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 41 to the value which was set upon certain doubt- ful tests of faith and obedience, to the neg- lect of more unquestionable evidences of con- version. We trace this in the memorials that are come down to us of Sulpicius, of whose Christian life and conduct, we know very little until after the death of his wife, when he was about forty years of age. Up to that period we hear only of the amiable man, and the accomplished scholar : and we are left to conjecture what he would have been, under more judicious guidance and true scriptural instruction. When, after the loss of his wife, he sought for something to sus- tain his wounded spirit, instead of being taught to cast his whole burthen upon Him who does not willingly afflict the children of men, he was directed to the comfortless austerities of the ascetic,* and was assured, upon the Homoeopathic system of theology, that a cure could only be found, by having recourse to excessive and self- imposed deprivations. Phaebadius, bishop of Agen, his friend and countryman, would have been a * ' Nam cum olim audita fide ejus, vita atque virtutibus, desiderio illius aestuaremus, gratam nobis ad eum videndum peregrinationem suscepimus.' ' Sermo autem illius non alius apud nos fuit, quam mundi bujus illecebras et saeculi onera reliquenda, ut Dominum Jesum liberi expeditique sequeremur ; prEestantissimum que nobis praesentium temporum illustris viri Paullini cujus supra mentionem fecimus, exemplum ingerebat, qui summis opibus abjectis, Cliristum secutus, solus pcene his temporibus Evangelica prsecepta complesset ilium nobis sequendum, ilium clamabat imitandum : beatumque esse prsesens saeculum, tantae fidei virtutisque documento, cum secundum sententiam Domini dives et possidens multa, vendendo omnia et dando pauperibus, quod erat factu impossibiie, possibile fecisset exemplo.' — Sul. Sev. De Yit. Mar. c. '2(i. p. 217. A. D. 350—390. 42 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394 better counsellor. But SuljDicius, according to his own account, was a disciple of Martin. It was an unhappy step, when he placed himself m'Suided under such a master, and it might have been still by Martin. ^^^^^ fatal, had not the sweetness of his disposi- tion counteracted in some degree the baneful eifects of Martin's severe discipline, and degrading system of imposture.* Nothing could entirely change the temper of Sulpicius, or sour the milk of human kindness, which flowed from his heart. But his mind was so susceptible of deep impressions, that after having been weakened by grief, and exposed to the strong restoratives administered by Martin, it was henceforth in perpetual quest of excitement. His correspondence with Paulinus, who was him- self contented with nothing short of the most gloomy austerities, helped to keep him in a state of feverish anxiety, as to what he should do next. ' Tears were his drink, and ashes his bread,' to use his own language, and yet the fear haunted him, that he could not propitiate heaven, or secure peace of mind, until he had brought every affec- tion, desire, and feeling into more rigid subjec- tion. In the year 394, Sulpicius spent some time with the bishop of Tours and his monks at Mar- moutier ; but I reserve the particulars of that visit for another place in this volume. At present it * I entirely concur with H., the writer of some admirable articles in the British Magazine, Nos. XLVIII, L, LII, in his condemnation of Martin as an impostor, but I cannot consider Sulpicius to have been anything worse than the victim of fraud and credulity. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 43 is enough to say, that when he returned home, sg^i^ioo he devoted himself almost entirely to the prac- tice of austerities, or the compilation of mar- vellous narratives. His ' Sacra Historia,' or Abbre- viations of Sacred History, show what he might have done, had not his mind lost its balance ; but hisLife of St. Martin, and his Dialogues, de- Thecredu- scriptive of the miracles of the bishop of Tours pidus. " and the hermits of Egypt, were the subjects, which by preference employed his thoughts and his pen, and never did writer with any claims to common sense, indulge such a love of the marvellous and in- credible. But while we mourn over the aberration of this good man's mind, it is a consolation to dis- cover, that there were some pious and sensible persons of high rank in the Church, who protested against the fables with which he and others were degrading the annals of Christianity. Neither the works * of these witnesses to the truth are come down to us, nor the names of the works in which they declared against the pretended miracles of St. Martin,']" whom they considered to be unworthy of credit, as being either a wilful impostor, or an enthusiast acting under " a strong delusion that he should believe a lie." But though their writings * In the works which remain to us, we see antiquity through the medium of those records and writings only, which tlie ruHng party in the Church have allowed to be preserved. — Goode's Divine Rule of Faith and Practice, I. 192. t Quo miserior est regio nostra, quae tantuni viruni cum in proximo habuerit, nosse non meruit. Nee tamcn huic crimini miscebo popu- lares, soli ilium clerici, soli nesciunt sacerdotes. Nee immerito. Nosse ilium invidi noluerunt ; quia si virtutes illius nossent, sua vitia cognovissent. — Dial. I. Sulp, Sw. c 18. 44 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 394—400. are lost, Sulpicius himself has recorded the fact, that there were clergy and bishops of Gaul who questioned the veracity of those statements which he professed to have received from Martin's own lips.* The frequent protestations which the nar- rator made as to the fidelity of his own account, and the authority of his informants, convince us that he was himself imposed upon, and that his credulity had been most shamefully tried. | We cannot doubt that Martin and the fraternity at Marmoutier had so complete a hold upon his mind, as to induce him to believe all that was told him, and to make him the victim of a strange infatua- tion. ' Christ is my witness,' said Sulpicius, that I lie not, and who is so sacrilegious,' he asked in the simplicity of his heart, ' as to suppose that Martin would tell a falsehood ? ' J The miracles, which Sulpicius related of the monks of the East, are quite as absurd as those which he ascribed to the apostle of Gaul, and we might suppose that this fondness for the preter- natural was the error of the individual, and not of the age in which he lived, if we did not find that men of stronger minds than himself, even such as * ' Et vero nonnullos expert! sumus invidos virtutibus vitaeque ejus, qui in illo oderant quod in se non videbant, et quod imitari non valebant. Atque, O nefas dolendnm et ingemiscendum ! Non alii fuere insectatores ejus, licet pauci admodum, non alii tamen quam episcopi ferebantur.' — De Vila Martini, Chap. XXVI. f Sed tamen totius sermonis fidem apud te, Christe, depromimus, nos nee alia dixisse, nee alia dicturos, quam qua ant ipse vidimus, aut quae manifestis auctoribus, vel plerumque ipso referente, cogno- vimus/ — Dialogi. III. c. v. t Dial. III. c. 14. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 45 A. D. 3.04—400. Jerome and Augustine,* indulged in the same ex- travagances. Wliat are we to think of such legends as the following, seriously and solemnly recorded by a Christian writer, who had obtained no inconsider- able reputation as a man of sense and an histo- rian ? Do they not prove that his mind had been weakened through the influence of fanatics, who had opportunities, under the character of men of sanctity, of representing their follies and their falsehoods as sacred truths ? In his dialogues on the virtues of the Egyptian Examples monks, Sulpicius gravely tells us, that a wolf used nty"*" ""' to come regularly at the hour when a certain her- mit went to supper, and received a morsel from the holy man's hand, which he gently licked and caressed. One evening the hermit was absent at supper-time, and the wolf helped himself to one out of five loaves. The hermit on his return sus- pected who was the thief, and came to a know- ledge of the truth, by the evident marks of peni- tence and grief which the animal testified. | Another hermit, says this writer, was visited by a lioness, who rolled herself at his feet, and then induced him by her actions to follow her to her den, where he found five full-grown cubs, which were all blind. The hermit prayed, the cubs had sight restored to them, and the lioness, in grati- * See Augustine's account of more than twenty miracles, which he declares were witnessed by himself. De Civitate Dei, Lib. XXIlf c. 8. t De virtutibus Monachorum Orientalium. c. 8. 40 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 394^^.400. tude, brought a skin as a thank-offering to her benefactor, which he afterwards wore for his clothing.* Obedience to their superiors and the endurance of pain were among the principal virtues of the monks who lived in community, and I am about to relate, said Sulpicius, an incredible instance of obedience. One of these monks boasted, that if his abbot should command him to go into fire, he would not refuse : and he was put to the test. He boldly cast himself into the flames, which retired from him as they did from the three holy children, and left him not only unhurt, but as cool and re- freshed as if he had been covered with morning dew.f I must add one more story, which Sulpicius put into the mouth of Posthumianus, the principal speaker, in his dialogue concerning the virtues of the monks of the East : — ' I approached the mo- nasteries of the blessed Antony, which are still inhabited by his disciples, and I directed my steps to the very place, in which the most blessed Paul, the first hermit, passed his time. I beheld the Red Sea ; I ascended one of the ridges of Mount Sinai, whose summit nearly reaches Heaven, and cannot be attained. Amidst the recesses of this mountain, an anchorite was said to be still living, who had secluded himself there nearly fifty years, from all intercourse with men : he had no gar- ments, but was covered with long hair, which * De Viit\itibns Monaclioriim Orientaliutn, c. 9. t Ibid. c. 13. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 47 A. D. 394_-40(). served like a divine gift to clothe his nakedness I was not able to see him myself, though I made many endeavours to find him.* As often as pious men attempted to approach him, he fled into the most retired glens, and thus avoided every com- munication with his fellow-creatures. One person only had an opportunity of accosting him about five years before, and it was granted to him, as a reward for his extraordinary faith. When the hermit was asked why he avoided men so reso- lutely, he replied, * Those who hold intercourse with men, are not likely to be visited by angels.' t Such were the legends which Sulpicius com- mended to the attention of Christians, in his cele- brated Life of St. Martin, and in his Dialogues on the virtues of St. Martin, and of the Monks of the East. He devoted the hours, stolen from exer- cises of devotion, to the composition and publica- tion of this species of literature, believing most firmly that he was promoting the cause of his holy religion, by the circulation of tales, which never could have been received otherwise than as fables, if the minds of men had not been prepared for a credulous reception of them, by the erroneous training, which converts to Christianity received „ , . '-' '' Popularity from the ecclesiastics of that day. His Life of ofhisHfeot * I recommend the reader to compare the praises of Monasticism, and the exhortation to total retirement from the world, as they occur in some of the Christian writings of the fourth century, with the conversation which our Lord held with the apostles, as recorded in St, John xvii. t Dc Virt. Mon. Or. c. 11. 48 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 394l.°4Q^ Martin was so popular, within a very short time after its publication, that the booksellers and tran- scribers of Rome* declared, it was the most profitable work with which they had ever been concerned. Copies of it were sought with the greatest possible avidity, and found their way into the remotest provinces of the empire. Paulinus of Nola, as the friend of the author, naturally did everything in his power to push the book into notice. It was read as much in Carthage and Alexandria as in Rome ; it found its way to Mem- phis and Thebes, and to the deserts beyond, even during the lifetime of Sulpicius ; and the very possession of the book seemed a favourable intro- duction to the traveller, who carried it about with him. And no wonder that it was thus popular, for, independently of the marvellous, which in all ages has charms for general readers, there is some- thing in the style of Sulpicius so extremely attrac- tive and amusing, that it cannot fail of arresting attention. A shrewd writer, Du Pin, speaking of his Dialogues, has pronounced that it is impossible to lay them down, without reading them to the end, when once you have begun them. The form of a dialogue was professedly adopted by Sulpicius, to render his narrative the more agreeable ; but while he admitted that this was his object, he as- * * Librarii.' This curious bibllopolical anecdote is related by Sulpicius himself. — Dialoyi. Lib. I. c. 16. Forty years after it was first written, it continued to be universally read. ' Vita Martini ab omnibus legitur.'— ^ee Uranii EpisU ad Pacatum. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 49 serted most strenuously, that every incident he related was true.* We cannot but censure the misdirected labours of this accomplished scholar; we cannot but regret the duties left undone by this ardent and sincere Christian ; we cannot but condemn the false colour- ing given by him, whom we desire to consider a true-hearted man, to superstitious observances : and we are constrained to ask in sorrow, what might not such an attractive writer as Sulpicius have done for the advancement of Christian know- ledge, had he not been led captive by the love of the marvellous ? And what might he not have effected, by his example and generous devoted ness to the cause of the Gospel, had he not been bound hand and foot as the victim of asceticism ? To shrink from the temptations and profligacies of the world was commendable, but to run away as he did from positive duties, and to shut himself up in his retreat at Primuliac, was an act of desertion. Had he mixed more with men, and carried his many virtues into public life, what a beautiful form of Christianity would he have exhibited in his own person ! And how he would have enlarged his own mind, and corrected his confined notions, while he improved those of his associates ! Had such a man as he is described to have been, moved occasionally from the bosom of a peaceful and religious family, into the midst of society, how he * Ceterum etsi dialog! speciem, quo ad revelandum fastidiiim lectio variaretur, assumpsimus, nos pie praestari profitemur historiae veri- tatem.'— Z>im/. III. c. 5, E .K. D. ;i94— 400. 60 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394—400. Church- building promoted by Sulpi- cius. would have rebuked vice and encouraged virtue ! * His domestics,' said Paulinus, ' flourish like olive-branches round about his table, and when they speak of him to me, they dwell with inex- pressible pleasure on the beautiful example of his life and conversation, on the heavenly wisdom of his discourses, and on the benignity of the Master, who is ever " anointing their heads with the oil of gladness." * I dwell with delight on the lovely traits in the character of Sulpicius, and as I would rather leave him in light than in shade, I will not dismiss him without some further notice of his good actions. His virtues v/ere those of the man, and of the gos- pel of Jesus Christ : his faults were those of a de- fective and erroneous view of Christianity, seen through the medium of a vicious ecclesiastical system. Sulpicius was one of the first to improve the style of church building in country places. In large towns and cities, some of the most splendid temples and basilicae, even before his time, had been dedicated to purposes of Christian worship, but the small towns and villages remained for the most part totally or insufficiently provided with church ac- commodation, and this had a great tendency to keep the peasantry in a state of religious igno- rance. We find Ausonius boasting of the con- veniences and comforts of his villa at Noverum, (Nouliers) near Santorum (Saintes), but there was no sanctuary nearer than Bordeaux, a distance of ^ Epist. Paul. c. 14. SULPICIUS SEVERUS, ' 51 more than fifty miles, where he could attend the 394^1400 public ordinances at the great festivals of the Christian church, which were now giving their names to the season of the year.* The agricultural population continued to be pagans or village heathens, because they had few opportunities of hearing the gospel preached, or of having their piety quickened by social worship. In one of the dialogues of Sulpicius, mention is made of a village church of such small dimensions that it is compared to a hermit's cell. ' We went with him to the church, which was at the distance of about two miles, and was hidden from our sight by a ridge of the mountains. It was built of branches of trees wattled together, and was not much better than the habitation of our host, in which nobody could stand upright.' f Sulpicius was satisfied at first, with a small chapel at Primuliac, (where he principally resided after the year 395,) in the modest style of domestic architecture, but when the number of believers on * This is distinctly stated several times by the poet in his Epistles. * Burdigalae molles liquimus illecebras : ' Instantis revocant quia nos solennia Paschae.' Ausonii VIII. I. 2, 9. ' Nos etenim primis sanctum post Pascha diebus ' Visere avemus agrum.' Ibid. Epist. X. L 17, 18. In Epistle XXIV. Ausonius speaks of the Ecclesia of his village, ' Celebrique frequens ecclesia vico.' The Delphin annotators think this was a village church. If so, it must have been little more than a shrine or oratory, too small for the Easter solemnities. The churches said to have been built by St. Martin at Langey, Sonne, Sec. &c, (see page 22), vi^ere most likely of the same size and character, f Dial, de Virtutibus, Mon. Orien. c. 2. E 2 52 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39t-m. his estate increased, he proceeded to augment the consecrated structure, and to build another for the benefit of the neighbourhood ; and in the spirit of David, he was anxious to spare no expense for the enlargement and adornment of the house of God. We learn from the letters of Paulinus, (1 1 and 12,) that the churches built by Sulpicius, both at Primuliac and at Eluso also, were not only more costly than his own, but that they must have formed the model upon which many cathedral and conventual establishments were afterwards con- structed. At Primuliac, if I understand Paulinus correctly,* Sulpicius erected a baptistry between his domestic chapel and the public church, and connected the whole by colonnades and corri- dors.f Among other decorations were the pic- tures of Martin and Paulinus, placed opposite to each other in the baptistry, and herein we discern a marked step made towards that fatal introduc- tion of image-worship, which the council at Eli- beris | (Elvira in Grenada) had foreseen, and attempted to prevent, nearly one hundred years before, by its prohibition of paintings on the walls of churches. Such an erroneous mode of testify- * Vide Epist. Paul. 11 and 12. t Paulinus describes the form and purpose of this sacred edifice, ' Ecce velut trino,' &c. See Epist. XII. p. 144, and the French Edition. — Leitres de Paulinus, 488. X The authors of ' L'Art de verifier les dates,' place this council as far back as the year 277 ; by others it is assigned to 303 and 305, 824 and 825. See Dissert. 21. Natal. Alexand. de Concii. Illiberitano. Vol. VI. pp. 820, 826. This council prohibited many things which afterwards came into practice in the Christian Church, and were de- nounced by Vigilantius. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 53 ing his affection for his two friends, did most 3j)/i.'4oo. assuredly savour more of heathen adulation, than of Christian respect, and it was followed by other proceedings, which show how fast the professors of a pure and simple faith were lapsing into super- stition. Sulpicius deposited the remains of St. Clair under one of the altars of his church, to give a greater odour of sanctity to the place, or to use the words of Paulinus : * * Sancta sub aeternis altaribiis ossa quiescunt : Ut diim casta pio referuntur munera Christo, Divinis sacris animae jungantur odores.' The French translators of the epistles of Pauli- nus understood it in this sense, for they have thus translated the verses : ' Les OS sont enfermez sous I'enclos de I'autel, Ou, quand s'ofFre au seigneur I'liolocauste immortel, L'odeur de ses vertus en tous lieux reverees Se joint au doux parfum des ofFrandes sacrees.'t To add to the treasury of merits, with which Sulpicius supposed his church buildings were en- riched by the portraits of Martin and Paulinus, and by the dead body of St. Clair, he begged some relics of Paulinus, and obtained from him a piece of the true cross, as it was supposed. The pre- cious gift was sent with a letter, so truly descrip- tive of the superstitious fancies of the age, that I am tempted to give it at full length. :|: It does not enter into the plan of this work to * Epist. Paul. 12. t Les Lettres de Paulin. p. 48.5. X See Note at the end of this chapter. 54 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 394I-400. bring down the biographical sketch of Sulpicius to the close of his life. It is enough to say that his last days were embittered by remorse, and that he condemned himself to silence. Gennadius assigns his former loquacity, and his folly in having been deceived by the Pelagians, as the cause of this penance. ' Agnoscens loquacitatis culpam, silen- tium usque ad mortem tenuit.'* It is probable that besides his sorrow on account of Pelagianism, doubts crossed his mind as to the truth of the marvellous tales which he had propagated by his tongue and his pen, and that not having the strength of mind to acknowledge or solve his doubts, he resolved never to speak again. NOTES TO CHAPTER III. EPIST. PAULINI AD SEVERUM SULPICIUM XI. Frater Victor, inter alias operum tuorum et votorum narrationes, retulit nobis, desiderare te ad basilicam, qiiam modo apiid Primiilia- cum nostrum majorem priore condideris, de sacris sanctorum reliquiis benedictionem, qua adornetur domestica tua ecclesia, ut fide et gratia tua dignum est. Testis est autem Dominus, quod si vel scrypuhim sacri cineris habuissemus, supra quam nobis ad basilicam, quse proxime in nomine Domini consummabitur, dedicandam necessarium erat, misissemus unanimitati tuse : sed quia nos non habuimus hujus miineris copiam, et ille se spcm ejusdem gratia; copiosam habere dixit a sancta Silvia, qua; illi de multorum ex oriente Martyrum reliquiis spopondisset, invenimus quod digne et ad basilicse sanctificationem vobis et ad sanctorum cinerum cumulandam benedictionem mittere- mus, partem particulse de ligno divinte Crucis. Quod nobis donum benedicta Melania ab lerusalem munere sancti inde episcopi Joannis attulit, hoc specialiter sorori nostras venerabili Bassulae misit conserva communis ; sed quod alteri vestrum datur utriusque vestrum est, quia in utroque vestrum una ralione manet, et sexum evacuat fides, qua in virum perfectum ambo concurritis. Accipite ergo ab unanimis fratribus in omni bono vestrum sibi consortium cupientibus, accipite magnum in modico munus ; et in segmento pa3iie atomo dastuke brcvis, sumite " De Viris Illustr. c. 11). SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 55 nninimentiim prsesentis, et pigniis Eetemae salutis. Non angustetiir fides vestra carnalibiis oculis parva cernentibus, sed interna acie totam in hoc niinimo vim Crucis videat. Cum videre vos cogitatis lignum illud, quo salus nostra, quo Dominus majestatis aflfixus tremente mundo pependerit, exsultetis cum tremore. Recordemur et petras fissas ad luijus aspcctum Crucis; et saltem saxorum aemulatione, pras- cordia nostra findamus timore divino, Reputemus et velum templi eodem Crucis mysterio scissum ; et intelligamus, illius veli scissuram eo fuisse prgetentam, ut audientes vocem Domini, et mysterium pietatis immensse, non obduremus corda nostra ; sed a carnalibus dividamur, et scindamus infidelitatis velamen ; ut revelata cordis facie, salutarium Dei munerum sacramenta videamus. Non autem vobis et hoc scribimus, ut imitemini conipositioncm istam, quatubello aureolo rem tantse be- nedictionis inclusimus ; magis enim nos tali paratu fidem vestram imitati sumus, ut vestram vobis formulam mitteremus in specie auri. Quia scimus vos, ut aurum ignitum, intra vos habere regnum Dei, hoc est fidem Crucis, qua regnum coelorum invaditur. Si enim, inquit, compa- tiamur, et conregnabimus. Et ideo non ad fidei firmamentum, quia visionem fide praevenistis ; sed propter meritum fidei, quam, auditu receptam, factu probatis, misimus vobis in Domino ligni salutaris do- num : ut Crucem et corpore possideretis, quam tenetis spiritu, et pro- positi virtute portatis. Sed quia idipsum fides videtur postulare, non alienum puto (quia cognitu dignum est) enarrare specialem post tempora passionis his- toriam revelatce et invents Crucis ; qu£e si ignoretur, facile est per- spici, qua difficultate approbetur, Dominicse Crucis esse lignum hoc ; quod certum est, si in manum Judseorum venisset omnia contra fidem Cliristi prtecaventium, conterendum et exurendum fuisse. Neque enim in Cruce abolenda negligentes fuissent, qui signaverunt sepulchrum ; nee ferre potuissent, ut in Cruce superstite passio Illius coleretur, Cujusresurrectionem, vacuato discussis signaculis suis monu- mento probatam, coli ferre non possunt. Quid ergo nunc quEeritur ubi fuerit abdita, qua? nisi latuisset, illis prssertim persecutionum temporibus Judaicam consecutis invidiam, et p^ene supergressis ssevi- tiam, manifestum est abolendam fuisse ? Facile enim assequi conjec- tura possumus, qua vi excidisscnt Crucem, si extare vidissent, qui et Crucis locum persecuti sunt. Nam Iladrianus Imperator existimans se fidem Christianam loci injuria perempturum, in loco passionis simulacrum Jovis consecravit ; et Bethlehem Adonidis fano [)rofanata est ; ut quasi radix et fundamentum Ecclesiie tolleretur, si in iis locis idola colerentur, in quibus Christus natus est ut pateretur, passus est ut resurgeret, surrexit ut re^naret, judicatus ut judicaret. Me miserum ! etiam ista pro nobis Dominus omnipotens perpeti non re- cusavit ; ut ubi pro salute generis luimani crucifixus pependerat, ibi hominum sacrilegio sperneretur ; et super Crucem (ad quam orbe concusso, et sole refugo, et dissilientibus mortuoruni excitatione monumentis, rerum natura nutaverat,) stabat simulacrum diemonis, et ara simulacri pecudum buslis fumabat ; et Dei nomen deferebatur statuis mortuorum, cum Ipse vivoruni Deus, Qui et resurrcctio mor- tuorum est, non solum mortui, sed et crucifixi liominis blasphemaretur opprobrio. In Bctlilehcm quoquc, ubi agnoverat bos posscssorem suum, et asinus praisepe domini sui, ibi principcs hominum inficiati Salvatorem Deum, infanies hominum amores mortcsque coluerunt. 56 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. Prodita novo sidere Regis aeterni incunabala ubi supplices cum suis opibus adoraveriint Clialdaei, ibi barbaras libidines sacraverunt Romani. Ubi natum Salvatorem cum exercitu Angelorum concinentes coelesti gaiidio salutaveriint illustrata nocte pastores, ibi Veneris amasium mixtae semiviris planxere meretiices. Pro dolor! quse pietas homi- num banc impietatem compensare poterit ? Ubi sacra nati Salvatoris infantia vagierat, illic Veneris lamenta fingentium lascivis luctibus infamis ritus ululabat : et ubi Virgo pepererat, adulteri colebantur. Mansit boc saeculi prioris nefas in tempora nostris proxima Constan- tini ; qui princeps esseprincipibus Christianis non magis sua quam matris Helenas fide meruit: quae, divino, ut exitus docuit, inspirata consilio, cum lerosolymam agnosceret nomine, quae Augusta cum filio conreg- nabat, eum rogavit ut sibi facultatem daret cuncta illic loca Dominicis impressa vestigiis, et divinorum erga nos operum signata monumentis purgare, destructis templis et idolis, ab omni profanae impietatis con- tagio, et religioni suae reddere ; ut Ecclesia tandem in terra originis suae celebraretur. Itaque prompto filii Imperatoris assensu mater Augusta, patefactis ad opera sancta tbesauris, toto abusa fisco est : quantoque sumptu atque cultu regina poterat, et religio suadebat, aedificatis basi- licis contexit omnes et excoluit locos, in quibus salutaria nobis mysteria pietatis Suae Incarnationis, et Passionis, et Resurrectionis, atque Ascen- sionis sacramentis Dominus Redemptor impleverat. Mirum vero hoc quod in basilica ascensionis locus ille tantum, de quo in nube susceptus ascendit, captivani in suacarneducenscaptivitatem nostrani, itasacratus divinis vestigiis dicitur, ut nunquam tegi marmore aut paviri receperit : semper excussis, solo respuente, quae manus, adornandi studio, teniavit apponere. Itaque, in toto basilicae spatio solus in sui cespitis specie virens permanet ; et impressam divinorum pedum venerationem calcati Deo pulveris perspicua simul et attigua venerantibus arena conservat, ut vere dici possit : Adoravimus ubi steterunt pedes Ejus. Sed in historia Crucis accipite magnum et vere divinum miraculum. Regina ilia venerabilis, ut venit lerosolymam, diligenter et pie locis illis etcirca omnibus divinorum curiosa insiguium, et ocidis haurire gestiens fidem, quam piisauribus literisque perceperat, Crucem Domini studio- sissime inquirere adorsa est. Sed quse via vel ratio inveniendi subesset, cum index idoneus nemo inveniri posset, ubi memoriam et curam reli- giosae conscientiae vel observantise, et antiquitas aevi et superstitionis impite diuturnitas abolevisset Y Verum Ipso omnium et terris et animis opertorum conscio et teste Deo, fidelis mulier Sanctum Spiritum per affectum pium meruit : Quo aspirante, cum rem ab humanaconscientia divinitus remotam frustra diligens requisisset, de loco tantum passionis certior fieri studuit. Itaque non solum de Christianis doctrina et sanctitate plenos viros, sed et de Judaeis peritissimos, ut proprige (qua miseri et gloriantur) impietatis indices exquisivit, et accitos in leroso- lymam congregavit. Tum omnium una de loco testificatione confirmata jussit illico, urgente sine dubio conceptae revelationis instinctu, in ipsum locum operam fossionis accingi ; parataque mox civium pariter et miiitari manu brevi laborem istius molitionis hausit, et contra spem omnium, sed secundum ipsius tantum reginae fidem, alta egestione reseratis terrae finibus, abditae Crucis arcana patuerunt. Sed cum tres pariter cruces, ut quondam fixa; Domino et latronibus steterant, repertac fuissent, gratulatio repertaium ca-pit anxia dubitatione con- fundi justo piorum mctu, ue forsitan aut pro cruce Domini patibuluin SULPiClUS SEVERUS. 67 latronis eligerent, aiit salutare ligmim pro stipite latronis abjiciendo violarent. Respexit pias fideliter sestuantium curas Dominus, et ipsi potissimiim, qute tarn piae solicitiidinis princeps erat, hiijiis consilii lumen infudit, lit aliquem recens mortuum inquiri et inferri jiiberet. Nee mora, verbiim factum, cadaver illatum est: deponitur, jacenti una de crucibus admovetur, et altera : sed reorum ligna mors sprevit. Postremo Dominicam crucem prodit resurrectio, et ad salutaris ligni tactum morte profuga funus excussum, et corpus erectum est ; treme- factisque viventibus stetit mortuus ; et funebribus, ut Lazarus quondam, vinculis expeditus, illico inter spectatores suos redivivus incessit. Ergo Crux Domini totoperta actatibus, et Judseis in tempore passionis abscondita, neque gentibus in sedificatione fani terram sine dubio ad ipsam fobricam egerentibus revelata, nonne divina manu latuit, ut nunc inveniretur cum religiose quaereretur? Ita, ut Crucem Christi decuit, experimento resurrectionis inventa et probata Crux Christi est, dignoque mox ambitu consecratur, condita in passionis loco basi- lica, quae auratis corusca laqucaribus, et aureis dives altaribus, arcano positam sacrario Crucem servat ; quam episcopus urbis ejus quot- annis, cum Pascha Domini agit\ir, adorandam populo princeps ipse venerantium promit. Nee prtieter banc diem, qua Crucis ipsius mys- terium celebratur, ipsa, quae sacramentorum causa est, quasi quod- dam sacraj solemnitatis insigne profertur, nisi interdum religiosissimi postulent, qui hac tantum causa illo peregrinati advenerint, ut sibi ejus revelatio quasi in pretium longinquae peregrinationis deferatur. Quod solum episcopi beneficio obtineri ferunt : cujus et tantum munere de eadem Cruce baec minuta sacri ligni ad magnam fidei et benedictionis gratiam liaberi datur. Qua; quidem Crux in materia in- sensatavim vivam tenens, ita ex illo tempore innumeris pene quotidie hominum votis lignum suum commodat, ut detrimenta non sentiat, et quasi intacta permaneat, quotidie dividuam sumentibus, et semper totam venerantibus. Sed istam imputribilem virtutem et indetribilem soliditatem de Illius profecto carnis sanguine bibit, quae passa mortem non vidit corruptionem. Speramus autem et vobis non solum benedictionis monumento, sed et incorruptionis seminario futurum, ut ejus inspectio fidem vestram etiam de recordatione beati illius latronis accendat, qui bene verso latrocinio, longas in magnis laboribus sanctorum vias de momenti tide et momentoconfessionis anticipans, non immeritoante ipsos Apostolos et martyres praeparatum ipsis ab initio, ut ait, regnum primus invasit, et plus cceli praedo diripuit ; quia Christum crucifixum similitudine suae pa3nEe videns, in eo statu de quo etiam discipulorum fides turbata nutaverat, Dominum tamen majestatis, ut erat, confessus est : et petens in regno Dei memoriam sui fieri, gloriam resurrectionis ante ipsain re- surrectioncm credidit ; quam Apostoli, postea quam facta est, non tantum videndo, sed experiendo crediderunt. Nee ipsi tamen de re- surrcctione carnis potius quam de resurrectionis qualitate dubitantes ; quia videlicet qui in orbem terrarum mittcndi forent ad omnium gen- tium informationem, non auribus tantum, sed et oculis pr^dicandam fidem capere debebant, ut quod firmius didicissent, constantius edocerent. 68 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. PAULINUS TO SEVERUS SULPICIUS. LETTER XI. Our brother Victor, in describing your other works and pious wishes, has reported to me that for the baslHca which you have lately erected at our Primuliac, of larger dimensions than the former, you were desirous of procuring a blessing, derived from the sacred relics of the saints, with which to decorate your domestic church. The wish is worthy of your faith and piety ; and the Lord is our witness that if we had possessed but a single grain of sacred dust, beyond what was necessary for the consecration of the church, which, in the name of the Lord, will shortly be completed, we would have sent it to such a kindred spirit. But because that gift was beyond our power to bestow, and that Victor said that he had great hopes of obtaining the same favour from the holy Silvia, who had promised him some of the relics of the numerous eastern martyrs, we have devised a suitable present both for the consecration of the church, and to increase the blessing conveyed by the sacred ashes. The offering is a minute particle of the wood of the divine Cross. This precious gift, pre- sented to the blessed Melania by John, the holy bishop of Jerusalem, and brought by her from thence, is sent more especially to our vener- able sister Bassula, by our fellow-servant in the Lord [Therasia] ; but what is given to one of you is the property of both, because one mind governs both, and the faith by which you both grow together into a perfect man, abolishes the distinction of sex. Accept, there- fore, from brethren who are of a kindred spirit with yourselves, and who desire your participation with them in every good thing — accept a great gift in a moderate compass, and, in the almost impalpable fragment of a little splinter, take to yourselves a defence for your present safety, and a pledge of eternal salvation. Let not your faith be straitened by the eyes of the flesh viewing a diminutive object, but let it discern in this atom, by the inward sight, the entire power of the cross. Whilst you imagine that you behold that wood on which our salvation, the Lord of Majesty, was suspended amidst the trembling of the world, do ye yourselves rejoice with trembling. Let us remember that at the sight of this Cross even the rocks were rent ; and let us, by all means, rend our own hearts with divine fear, in imitation of the rocks. Let us reflect that the veil of the temple was rent asunder by the same mystery of the Cross ; and let us understand that the rending of the veil was recorded for this purpose, that we should not harden our hearts when we hear the voice of the Lord, and learn the mystery of infinite piety, but separating ourselves from carnal things, tear asunder SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 59 the veil of unbelief, that the face of the heart being unveiled, we may behold the mysteries of the gifts of God which bring salvation. We do not, however, write this to you that you should imitate the out- ward setting, whereby we have enclosed within a little golden tube the substance of so great a blessing. Rather have we, by so encasing it, imitated your faith, that we might send you a type of yourselves repre- presented under the figure of gold. Because we know that, like gold refined by fire, you have within you the kingdom of God, that is, the faith of the Cross, by which the kingdom of heaven is taken by vio- lence. For if, saith he, we suffer with Him, we shall likewise reign with Him. And therefore, not for the confirmation of your faith — for by faith you have anticipated sight ; but on account of the merit of your faith, received by hearing, and proved in very deed, have we sent you, in the Lord, the gift of the wood that confers salvation ; that you may possess that cross in the body, which you cling to in the spirit, and bear by virtue of the hope which is set before you. -But because the narrative appears to be demanded by faith, — and it is certainly deserving of being known, — I consider it not to be inap- propriate to relate the remarkable history of the revelation and discovery of the cross, since the time of our Saviour's passion. For if this his- tory were unknown, it is easy to understand how great would be the difficulty of proving that this wood is a portion of the Lord's cross ; since it is certain that had it fallen into the hands of the Jews, who employed every precaution to oppose the faith of Christ, it must have been broken piece-meal, and consumed to ashes. For those who scaled up the sepulchre would not have been remiss in annihilating the cross ; nor could they have endured the adoration of his passion in the survival of the cross, when neither do they endure the adora- tion of his resurrection, though proved by the vacant sepulchre, and the broken seals. Why, then, is there now any question about the place of its concealment, since, had it not been hidden, especially in those times of persecution which followed upon Jewish hatred, and almost exceeded Jewish barbarity, it is manifest that it must have been utterly destroyed. For we may readily infer with what violence they who persecuted the very site of the cross, would have exter- minated the cross itself, if they had seen it to be yet in existence. For the emperor Hadrian, imagining that he should extinguish the Christian religion by outraging its localities, dedicated an image to Jupiter on the site of the passion: Bethlehem also was profaned by a fane of Adonis ; that the root, as it were, and foundation of the Church should be swept away, if idols were but worshipped in the places where Christ was born, that he might suffer ; where he suffered, (liat he might rise again ; where he rose again, that he might reign ; GO VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. where he was judged, that he might judge. Woe is me! even this in- dignity did not the Lord Omnipotent refuse to endure for our sakes, that where he had hung nailed to the cross, for man's salvation, there should He be spurned by man's profanity. And above the cross — before which the earth quaked, the sun recoiled, the graves were vio- lently rent open by the raising of the dead, and all nature was shaken — above that cross stood the image of a demon, and the altar of the graven image smoked with the burnt carcases of beasts. While the name of God was conferred on the statues of the dead, the very God of the living, who is also the resurrection of the dead, was blasphemed with the reproach of being not only a dead man, but a crucified male- factor. In Bethlehem also, where the ox had known his owner, and the ass his master's crib, there did the princes of men, denying the God their Saviour, commemorate the infamous loves and deaths of human beings. Where the Chaldeans suppliantly adored with their treasures the cradle of the Eternal King, revealed by a new star, there did the Romans solemnize their libidinous and barbarian rites. Where shep- herds, in the brightness of the night, joined in the chaunt of the angelic host, and hailed with heavenly joy the new-born Saviour, there did harlots, mingling with emasculated miscreants, bewail the minion of Venus. Unutterable sorrow ! What human piety will ever be enabled to compensate this impiety? Where the hallowed infancy of the new-born Saviour had wailed, there howled the shameful rites of wretches counterfeiting with lascivious sorrows the lamentations of Venus ; and where the virgin had brought forth, adulterers were worshipped. This abomination of a former age continued nearly to our own time, to that of CoBstantine ; who deserved to be the first of Christian princes, not more by his own faith, than by that of his mother Helena. For that august lady, reigning conjointly with her son, and inspired, as the result evinced, with heavenly wisdom, when she was acquainted with Jerusalem by fame only, requested the emperor to invest her with full authority to destroy the heathen temples and idols, and cleansing from all infection of profane impiety every place which had been imprinted with the footsteps of the Lord, and stamped with the me- morials of his divine labours, to restore them to * her own religion, that the Church might at length be honoured in the land of its origin. On receiving the ready assent of her Son, and having the imperial treasures placed at her disposal for this holy work, the august mother made an unsparing use of their resources ; and by the erection of churches with such costliness and splendour as a queen might display. To their own sanctity (?). SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 61 and religious zeal suggest, she covered and adorned every place in which the Lord our Redeemer had fulfilled his offices of love for our salvation, by the mysteries of the incarnation, passion, resurrection, and ascension. Marvellous, indeed, is this fact, that in the Church of the Ascension, that spot alone from which he was received up into a cloud, and ascended into heaven, leading our captivity captive in his own flesh, is said to have been so hallowed by the divine footsteps, that it never admitted of being paved or covered with marble ; the materials being invariably flung aside by the soil, which indignantly rejected whatever the hand attempted to lay upon it for the purposes of ornament. Therefore, in the whole space within the church that spot alone retains the verdant appearance of the native turf; and the area presents to the sight and touch of the venerating spectator, im- pressed upon it by the divine feet, the sanctity of dust trodden by the Deity ; so that it may be said with truth, We have worshipped where his feet stood. But in the history of the cross, hear a great and truly divine miracle. The venerable queen, on her arrival at Jerusalem, evincing a holy diligence and zeal in exploring the vestiges of the deity in the imme- diate neighbourhood and the adjoining country beyond, and deliglited to drink in by her eyes the faith which she had before piously received by her ears and by the use of books, proceeded with the utmost eagerness to seek for the cross of the Lord. But what means or nsethod of discovering it subsisted, when no competent informant could be found in a place where both the lapse of time, and the long prevalence of an impious superstition had obliterated all care and memory of knowledge or observance in matters of religion? But by the testimony of God himself, to whom all secrets are known, whether in the earth, or in the hearts of men, this woman, so full of faith, obtained by her piety the aid of the Holy Spirit ; and by his inspira- tion, after she had sought with unavailing diligence to penetrate into a secret withdrawn by divine providence from human knowledge, she was now anxious to be informed of the place only of our Saviour's passion. Therefore she sought out not only such Christians as were replete with knowledge and holiness, but likewise the most learned of the Jews, as witnesses against their own impiety, (in which these miserable men even glory,) and summoned them to an assembly at Jerusalem. Then, being assured of the precise site by their unani- mous testimony, and instigated doubtless by the impulse of the reve- ' lation she had received, she directed that immediate preparations should be made for digging : and having provided a body of citizens and soldiers, she speedily completed her enterprise, and contrary to the expectations of all, but in accordance with the faith of the queen 02 VIGILANTIUS AND IIIS TIMES. alone, when the bosom of the earth had been laid open by a deep excavation, the mystery of the hidden cross was brought to light. But since three crosses were found together, as they formerly stood fixed for our Lord and the malefactors, mutual congratulations on their discovery began to be blended with anxious doubts, suggested by the well grounded apprehensions of the faithful, lest perchance they should either select the gibbet of a thief for the cross of the Lord, or profane the wood of salvation by flinging it aside as the stake of a felon. The pious care evinced in their faithful anxiety was regarded with favour by the Lord , and into the mind of her, who was the principal author of this holy solicitude, he infused the happy thought of directing that some corpse recently dead should be sought after and brought. No sooner said than done ; not a moment is lost ; a dead body is brought ; it is laid down : one of the crosses is applied to it as it lay, and then another : but death spurned the wood of the guilty. Finally, the cross of the Lord is revealed by the act of resurrection ; and at the touch of the wood of salvation death was put to flight, the grave repelled, and the corpse raised ; the dead stood erect, while the living trembled, and released, like Lazarus of old, from his grave clothes, he moved about among the spectators, once more a living man. Such was the discovery of the cross of the Lord, which was buried in the ground for so many generations, and hidden to the Jews at the time of the passion, nor yet revealed to the Gentiles, when in the erection of their temple they doubtless excavated the earth for its foundations. Was it not by the divine hand that it was concealed, that it miglit be found when it was sought with religious reverence ? Thus, as became the cross of Christ, is it discovered, and demon- strated to be the true cross by the proof of resurrection. It is soon afterwards inclosed within a suitable building, a church being raised on the site of the passion, where glittering with a ceiling of gilded fret-work, and enriched with golden altars, it preserves the cross laid up in its most hallowed sanctuary.* Every year when the Lord's Easter is celebrated, it is produced by the bishop of the city for the adoration of the people, he being himself the leader of their worship. Nor except on this day, on which the mystery of the cross itself is celebrated, is the cross, which is the cause of the Christian mysteries, produced, being the ensign, as it were, of the sacred solemnity ; unless when from time to time persons of preeminent religious faith desire it, when they have travelled thither with this sole object, that the exhibition of the cross might be vouchsafed to them, as a kind of payment in requital of their long pilgrimage. This boon they say is * See Bingham, Viii. vi. § 2. SULPICIUS SEVERUS. 63 accorded solely by the favour of the bishop, by whose special gift also this minute fragment of the sacred wood is granted for the great increase of faith and heavenly benediction : while the cross itself, retaining a living force in inanimate matter, continues, from time to time, to afford its daily supplies of wood to the almost innumerable wishes of men, but in such a manner as not to be susceptible of diminution ; for, enduring as though it were untouched, it is daily divisible to the receivers, but always entire to the worsliippers. But this incorruptible virtue, and indestructible solidity, it doubtless imbibed from the blood of that flesh, which, though it suffered deatli, did not see corruption. To you also we hope it will not only be the memorial of a blessing, but the seed of incorruption, that the sight of it may likewise inflame your faith with the recollection of that blessed tliief, who, by a happy change of robbery, with the faith of a moment, and with a moment of confession, anticipated the tardy pro- gress of the saints in their mighty labours ; and, before the apostles and martyrs themselves, was not undeservedly the first to seize upon the kingdom which had been prepared for them, as the Saviour saith, from the beginning, and boldly made spoil of it, a pious plunderer of the skies. For though he beheld Christ crucified after the similitude of his own punishment, yet in that condition, in which the faith even of the disciples wavered and was shaken, still he confessed him to be, as he truly was, the Lord of majesty. Entreating that he should be remembered in the kingdom of God, he believed in the glory of the resurrection, even before the resurrection, which, after it had come to pass, the apostles believed, not through their sight only, but by the experience of their other senses. Yet was it not so much of the fact of the resurrection of the flesh that they doubted, as of the manner of it ; doubtless because it was right that the faith to be preached by those, who were to be sent abroad throughout the world to teach all nations, should be received not by the ear only, but likewise by the eye, that in proportion to the certainty with which they had learnt, might be the constancy with which they taught, the gospel. 64 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. IV. PAULINUS. 354—380 Anicius Pontius Paulinus was one of those worthies of Aquitain, of whom that province had so much reason to be proud. He was born at Bordeaux about the year 354, and being de- scended from a wealthy and patrician family of Rome, and educated under the care of Ausonius, one of the ablest instructors of the time, he rose rapidly to some of the highest honours of the state. He is even said to have attained the Con- sular dignity, but this is doubtful, for his name does not appear in the fasti. He enjoyed so high a degree of celebrity among his contemporaries as a literary man, that Ausonius spoke of his elo- quence and poetical talents in extravagant terms of praise,* and Jerome pronounced his epistolary style to be almost Ciceronian. Erasmus thought those eulogies to be not undeserved, and called * Epistola Auson, 19. Hier. Epist. ad Paulin. 153 alias .51. ' Voce me provocas ad scribendum, torres eloquentia ; et in Epistolari stylo prope Tullium repraesentas.' PAULINUS. 65 him the ' Christian Cicero,' but the more refined classical taste of the present age will not agree with their judgment. Every earthly distinction and enjoyment but one seem to have been at the command of Pau- linus. He had large estates in France, Spain, and Italy. He was married to a woman whom he tenderly loved, and who had brought a large in- crease to his property and influence. He was alive to all the charms of science and literature. He was loved, sought after, and respected by all the good men of his age, whether Christians or Heathens, says one of his biographers, (Du Pin) ; and he maintained the closest intercourse and cor- respondence with the most eminent men of all parties, without embroiling himself with any of them. Travellers from distant countries went out of their way to see him. ' Do not consider it any trouble or retardation of your journey, to go and visit Paulinus, that illustrious man, whose fame is spread over all the earth.' This was the advice of Sulpiciusto Posthumian.^ He was truly called the * delight of his age : ' but he had none to inherit his name and property. His only son had died in infancy when he was residing in Spain. This was a grief that preyed upon his heart, and to it may be attributed his resolution of abandon- ing the world, its pleasures, its engagements, and all its secular duties. It is difficult to say when the thoughts of Paulinus were first seriously di- * Dial. Snip. .3, c. 20. F A. D. 354—380 00 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 380-392 i'^cted to the cross of Christ, and whether his parents were Christians or not. In his second Natalis, which was composed in the year 394, or 395, he has recorded that he was present at a fes- tival fifteen years before,* in honour of St. Felix at Nola, i.e. in 379 or 380, when he was twenty-seven years of age, and that he then dedicated his heart to that saint, and had continued to invoke him from that time. In another poem, he says, that he was devoted to Felix, as his patron saint, from his earliest days; ' primis ab annis'f — but whether this means from his infancy, or from his conversion, is doubtful. He was not baptized until he reached maturity, for in that age, with some, under conscientious, with others under superstitious feelings, it was not unusual to delay baptism long after the individual had become a proselyte to Christianity. The sacred rite was ad- ministered to Paulinus by Delphinus, bishop of Bourdeaux, according to the calculation of Du Pin, in 389, but Fleury thinks it was in 392. Paulinus His retirement from the anxieties and business i-etires from _,.„ n ^ • ^ • i the world, of lifc, took placc soou aitcr his baptism, and na- turally gave rise to many remonstrances, not only on the part of his gay and thoughtless friends, but also of some of the religiously and seriously dis- Tria tempore longo Lustra cucurrerunt, ex quo solennibus istis Coram vota tibi, coram mea corda dicavi. Natalis Secundus, Oper. Paul. 537. t tibi me memini debere, cui me Mancipium primis donavit Christus ab annis. Natalis 14, Fragmenta. Opera Paul, 631. PAULINUS. ,;7 A. I). posed. His preceptor and friend Ausonius was among- the most earnest of those, who attempted to shake his resolution ; and the correspondence which passed between them on the occasion con- tains so many beautiful passages, illustrative of the modes of living, conversing, and thinking among nominal and real Christians at the latter end of the fourth century, that a selection of them will not be unacceptable to the reader. In fact, there are very few things in the literature of any age, which can be read with more interest than the poetical reproaches addressed by Ausonius to Paulinus, on the interruption of their intercourse and correspondence, in consequence of the with- drawal of the latter from his former associates and pursuits. The rejoinders and explanations on the part of the Christian recluse, are also in verse, and are equally beautiful. To the expostulations and occasional sarcasms of Ausonius, Paulinus replies in a uniform tone of religious meekness and solemnity. Ausonius appeals to their ancient friendship, to it the happy days they had formerly spent together a'IsouViis in study, and to the attractions of the country, which Paulinus had left for scenes of seclusion in Spain. He implored him by the muse they had cultivated together, by the hopes so universally entertained of his future eminence, by the illus- trious line from which he was descended, by the duties of the high station which he occupied, and by every consideration of patriotism, ambition, and friendship, to return to the duties of active life. F ti emon- straiicos of 68 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392- 395. Nothing can be more inviting than the descrip- tion of the lovely and healthy region to which the poet entreats Paulinus to return. Its vine-clad hills, and happy population ; its verdant meadows, and shady groves ; its fertilizing streams and de- licious climate ; its warm and mild winters, and its summers cooled by the gentle breath of the north wind, are contrasted with the burning soil of Spain.* In another epistle, Ausonius asks with patriotic indignation, ' Shall Bilbilis or the rock of Calagor- ris deprive me of my friend, who is the pride of his country, and the ornament of the senate ?'t Sometimes he indulges in a severer strain, as when he imputes the estrangement of Paulinus to the influence of his wife, whom he compares very un- justly to the ambitious woman who ruled Tarqui- nius Priscus.J But for the most part, the tone of his remonstrances is serious and affectionate in the extreme, and sometimes softens down to pious * ' Terjuga Burdigalae trino me flumina coetu Secernunt turbis popularibiis ; otiaque inter Vitiferi exercent coUes, laetumque colonis Uber agri, turn prata virentia, turn nemus umbris Mobilibus, celebriqiie frequens ecclesia vico ; Totque mea in Novero sibi proxima praedia pago, Dispositis totum vicibus variata per annum, Egelidae ut tepeant hyemes, rabidosque per eestus Aspirent tenues frigus subtile Aquilones. Te sine sed nullus grata vice provenit annus.' Anson. Epist. 24, 1. 90—99. t ' Ergo meum, patriaeque decus, columenque Senati Bilbilis, aut haerens scopulis Calagorris habebit ? ' Auson. Epist. 25. 1. 56, 57. X ' Tanaquil tua nesciat istud.' — Ibid. Epist. 23, 1. 31. PAULINUS. 69 importunity, affording a strange contrast with some of his loose productions. ' If the supreme Father, and the Son of God, will vouchsafe to hear the prayers of the suppliant, thou wilt be restored in answer to my humble petition, and I shall no longer have to mourn over the house, which has lost its lord, or to bewail the misfortunes of an estate subject to an hundred masters, and to re- gret the absence of one so dear, who is wandering over Spain forgetful of his old friends, and con- fiding in strangers.'* At the conclusion of the metrical epistle which breathes this devout strain, so different from some of his poetical effusions, which were utterly un- worthy of a Christian poet, Ausonius expresses his ardent longing for the arrival of his friend, in a burst of feeling, that reminds us of the song of Deborah, and of her vivid picture of maternal im- patience.— '* The mother of Sisera looked out of the window, and cried through the lattice. Why is his chariot so long in coming, why tarry the wheels of his chariots ? "f * Si genitor natusque Dei pia verba volentum Accipiat, nostro reddi te posse precatu : Ne sparsam raptamqiie domum, lacerataque centum Per dominos veteris Paulini regna fleamus : Teque vagum toto quam longa Hispania tractu, Immemorem veterum, peregrinis fidere amicis. Auson. Epist. 24, 1. 113—118. t The celebrated description of the march of Sennacherib, by Isaiah, also occurs to us on reading the passage in Ausonius, to which attention is now directed. " He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron. At Michmash he hath laid up his carriages : They are gone over tlic passage : they A.D. 392—395. 70 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. Thus wrote the poet in a dramatic strain, which forcibly expressed his affectionate impatience for the return of Paulinus. ' When will the messen- ger gladden my ears with the news of his ap- proach ! when shall I hear ' Paulinus is coming!' He has left the towns of Spain behind him. He has set his foot on the Tarbellican soil. He has reached Ebromagus.* He is on his way to his brother's abode. His bark is gliding down the stream. He is in sight. He nears the shore. There he is. He lands amidst the acclamations of the people, who are all gone out to welcome him. He passes by his own door, and now he is at your threshold. Can 1 believe it, or am I only dreaming of what I wish may come to pass.' -j^ liave taken up their lodging at Geba, Ramah is afraid, Gibeah of Saul is fled."— Isaiah x. 28, 29. * Some Geographers say that Ebromagus was on the site of the modern Brau or Emhrau near the Garonne, not far from Blaye: but Vaissette, Vol. I. p. 634, contends that it was the place now called Bram or Vibram, near the source of the little river Lars in the Pays (le Laurequuis, and in the diocese of Thoulouse. This is at no great distance from the Eluso (Alzonne) of Sulpicius Severus. + Et quando iste meas impellet nuntius aures ? Ecce tuus Paulinus adest : Jam ninguida linquit Oppida Iberorum, Tarbellica jam tenet arva. Hebromagi jam tecta subit.jam prasdia fratris ' Vicina ingreditur ; jam labitur amne secundo ; Jamque in conspectu est ; jam prora obvertitur amni ; Ingressusque sui celebrata per ostia portus Totum occursantis populi prsevertitur agmen : Et sua praeteriens, jam jam tua limina pulsat. Credimus, an qui amant, ipsi sibi somnia fingunt ? Ibid. Epis. xxiv. 1. 123—132. ' The Dolphin annotators say that nothing is known about tliis brother of Paulinus. Mention is made of his death in the xix. Epis. Paul ad Dolphin. PAULINUS. 71 A. D. 92—395. The replies which Paulinus made to Ausonius were equally kind and tender, but the affection of ,r . . . The replies the friend had evidently yielded to a stronger ofPauiinus. affection, and earthly things were passing from his mind. He acknowledged that his former tastes and pursuits had ceased to have charms for him ; that the heart dedicated to Christ could no longer devote itself to Apollo and the muses : and that he was inspired by a higher power.* With great dignity he reminds his friend that he ought to bear with him, on his having higher views — and to congratulate him on his present happier frame of mind.-j In another poetical rejoinder, he mildly, but firmly, admits that his mind had undergone a great change, and that he was governed by the will of the supreme God. J And then with a beautifully-turned compliment he tells him, that it ought to gratify him to think, that Christ had been pleased to illuminate the mind, which had once been under the training of Ausonius.§ * Quid abdicatas in meam curam, pater, Redire musas praecipis ? Negant Camoenis, nee patent Apollini Dicata Christo pectora. Nunc alia mentem vis agit — Major deus, Epist. Paulini Ausonio 2. Opera Paul. p. 4G9. t Ignosce amanti, si geram quod expedit ; Gratare, si vivam ut libet. Ibid. p. 471. X Mens nova me fateor cepit, mens non mea quondam, Sed mea nunc auctore Deo. — Epist. iv. ibid. p. 474. § qui si quid in actu Ingeniove moo sua dignum ad mania vidit, 72 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. He gently replies to his friend's severe reflection upon his wife, by assuring him that his Therasia was a Lucretia, and not a Tanaquil : — Nee Tanaquil mihi, sed Lucretia conjux.* He reminds him, that Spain has her local charms, and her historic glory, as well as France and Italy. I After a series of holy meditations, which cast a soft light over the whole epistle, he concludes with this noble and devout sentiment : * If I have convinced you, congratulate your friend on the rich prospects before him. If not, leave him to the enjoyment of Christ's approbation. 'J He who could write thus, with all the delibera- tion which metrical composition required, was not likely to give way to the arguments or solicitations of a man of the world, like Ausonius. Paulinus adhered to his determination of renouncing every thing that is considered most dear to man. He sold several of his finest estates to give to the poor : he assumed the garb of poverty : he denied him- self the ordinary comforts of life, and for four years did he continue to practise mortifications, until he had brought himself to that standard of self-abne- Gratia prima tibi, tibi gloria debita cedet, Ciijus prgeceptis partum est quod Christus amaret. Quare gratandum magis est tibi quam queritandum. &c. &c. Ibid. p. 475. * Ibid. p. 476. + Quid nunierem egregias terris et moenibus urbes, Qua geminum felix Hispania tendit in sequor. — Ibid. p. 477. X Si placet hoc, gratare tui spe divite amici : Si contra est, Ohristo tantum mc linquo probari.— Ibid. p. 480. PAULINUS. 73 A. D. 392—395. gation to which he aspired. * What will the great men of the world say,' wrote St. Ambrose,* 'when they shall hear that a man of the rank of Paulinus, who has every advantage which nature and cir- cumstances can give him, has quitted the senate, and distributed, in almsgiving, the property of a family so illustrious and influential.' The Chris- tian congregation at Barcelona thought so highly of this spirit of self-denial, that they considered it a trait of holiness, sufficient to dispense with ordi- nary rules ; and one of those irregular proceedings took place, which were not uncommon at this period of Church history. In the year 393, when Paulinus was celebrating irregular the nativity of our Lord at Barcelona, the people S'^Pauiinus. insisted upon his being instantly ordained to the sacerdotal office, although he had not previously been ordained deacon. All expostulation was in vain : the call must be obeyed, and Paulinus con- sented to become a presbyter, on condition of not being obliged to undertake any pastoral charge, or to confine his services to any particular church or diocese. This irregularity was seriously resented by many of the clergy, especially by those of Rome ; and Siricius, the Bishop of Rome, not only signified his disapprobation, but afterwards treated Paulinus with some indignity, when he visited that city on his way to Nola. The forbear- ing spirit, in which this meek Christian spoke afterwards of the treatment which he received in * Epist. Ambr. 30. 74 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. the capital, is highly creditable to him, and the whole transaction shews that the episcopal autho- rity of the Roman prelate did not then extend be- yond his own metropolitan diocese. Siricius had the will, but not the power to declare the ordina- tion of Paulinus null and void. The account which Paulinus gave of his elevation to the priest- hood, and of his reflections on that important event in his life, is among the most interesting passages of his correspondence. ' We are still at Barcelona, as I have already told you ; but since your last letter, on Christmas day, I was forcibly taken by a crowd of people, who insisted on my instantly being ordained priest. I resisted, but was obliged to yield to the violence of the multi- tude, or rather, as I believe, to the secret will of Providence. I declare that it has been against my will, not that I had any aversion from, or that I disregarded a dignity so sublime ; God is my wit- ness that I wished to enter His service, but it was only by the first steps to holy orders ; " as a door- keeper in the house of the Lord." Feeling that my destiny lay in another direction, I looked with apprehension at this new and unexpected manifes- tation of the Divine will. I have, however, taken upon myself the yoke of Jesus Christ, and I see that I am engaged in a service infinitely beyond my strength and merits. It appears to me, that I am now admitted into the holy place, and to the contemplation of the mysteries of God, and that I am henceforth to participate in the Spirit, the body, and the glory of Christ. I acknowledge TAULINUS. 75 that my understanding is still too weak to be able to comprehend it, and I tremble under a sense of - my own infirmities. But He, who " maketh wise the simple, and who, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, hath perfected praise," is able to accomplish the work which He has begun in me, and to make me worthy of the sacred office, to which He has called me. ' You know, however, that this will not inter- rupt the vow, which I made under the inspiration of the same God. I have only consented to my ordination in the Church of Barcelona on condi- tion of not being obliged to bind myself to that Church. Thus, I have entered the priesthood of the Lord without being obliged to devote myself to the service of any particular Church. ' Come, then, and see me, I pray you, and let it be before Easter. I earnestly desire this, in order that you may be able to commemorate the festival of the holy week with me in my sacerdotal cha- racter. If you think, however, that it may be more propitious to travel, after having implored the protection of God during the Easter solemni- ties, let it be so. But I hope, nevertheless, that our Lord will so inspire you, that you will set out immediately after Easter. ' The messenger who came to me from you, will inform you of the length of the journey, and that he was but eight days coming here, from Alzonne. It is so short and easy, that the Pyrenees, between Narbonne and Spain, which are said to be so terrible, are more so in name than in reality. But A. D. 392—395. Nola. 76 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 392—395. why should I talk to you of the road ; — if you have any anxiety to see me, it will appear short, and you will always find it too long if you have no such desire.' * Pauiinus at In the year 394, Paulinus carried his long- cherished desire into execution, and bidding a final adieu to all mundane things, established himself at Nola in Campania, with the determination of making it his abode for the rest of his life. Therasia, his chaste and devoted wife, accom- panied him, but they had long ago ceased to think of each other, except as brother and sister, and in this relation they dwelt together, vying who should most faithfully enact the part of a servant of the Lord, in prayer and supplications, in hospitality and almsgiving. Night and day they had their express hours for acts of devotion, and they en- deavoured to fulfil every claim of charity to the very letter of scriptural admonition. They washed the feet of pilgrims and beggars and way-faring men : every traveller, whose road lay near their habitation, was at liberty to make the hospice at Nola his resting-place and house of refreshment ; they provided granaries of corn not only for the supply of the poor of the immediate neighbour- hood, but of those also who were at a distance ; they prepared decent clothing for the naked, and changes of raiment for such as required them. Besides all this, money was laid out to enable insolvents to pay their debts, and to redeem * Epis. Paul, ad Snip. 6. PAULINUS. 77 captives from slavery. In fact, so boundless was ^92-395. their generosity, that abundant as were the means of Paulinus to meet the legitimate demands of charity, those means failed before the lavish ex- penditure which he imposed upon himself. He was so reduced at one time as to be unable to buy salt, and an anecdote is told of his having no money left to relieve a petitioner, until an unex- pected supply came to the replenishment of his coffers. Here then, was, the man of consular dig- nity, who had lived amidst the choicest society of Rome, and of the provincial capitals ; and his wife, who had been nursed and educated in all the luxuries of that luxurious age, excluding them- selves from the enjoyments to which they had been accustomed, and ministering to the wants of the indigent and squalid, with their own hands ; and denying themselves that they might clothe the naked, and feed the hungry, and visit those who were sick and in prison. It was a sight on which angels might have looked and rejoiced : but not without a mixture of regret, for in truth, Paulinus ascribed too much meritoriousness to the act of almsgiving ; and he considered that he was purchasing salvation by laying out his money in charity. Tillemont has honestly admitted this in his beautiful panegyric on the saint of Nola. ' Paulinus speaks of his liberality, as if it were something necessary to his salvation.'* * * II en parle comme d'une action qui luy avoit este necessaire pour le sauver.' — Tillemont, Memoires Eccles. 14, 23. 78 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, A. D. 392—39.^ There is another reason why the retreat of Pau- linus at Nola cannot be contemplated without feelings of sorrow. What induced him to prefer that place before all the pleasant spots in France, Spain, and Italy, where he might have set up his tabernacle ? Nola certainly had its attractions : as a town of antiquity, its name had been known for a thousand years. It was situated within sight of Vesuvius, at the distance of fifteen miles from Naples, and twenty- four from Capua : but it had not the advantage of being placed on the banks of a great river, or close to the sea, or of being so situated as to command peculiar facilities for spreading the knowledge of the gospel. It was not more secluded, if seclusion was his object, than some of his many other estates. But it was the burial place of Felix, his patron saint, his DomincEdius* or ' Lord of the Edifice,' as he called him. What was the exact origin of the superstitious veneration, which he entertained for that martyr, does not appear from his writings : farthermore than that he was present at a festival in commemoration of Felix, when he was about twenty-seven years of age, and a deep impression * Epist. ad Sulp. et Nat. 7, p. 578, ' Dominadius.' ' This term,' say the French translators, signifies, ' le maitre du logis,' to give us to understand that the Church of Nola was addressed to St. Felix, accor- ding to the custom of the ancient Christians, which manifestly re- proves the impiety of the heretics, who do dishonour to God, in re- fusing to give honour to the saints. Paulinus called St. Felix his patron, to teach us that the saints are truly our protectors near the throne of God, and that we obtain succour through their intercession ; and this again condemns the heretics, who deny that the saints ought to be invoked.' — Lettres de Paulin. p. 78, 79, Edit. Par. 1703. PAULINUS. 79 was made upon his mind in regard to the miracu- ^92-395. lous sanctity of the tomb, wherein the martyr's remains were deposited. That which he then saw or heard was never effaced from his mind, and the two Jesuits, who edited one of the best editions of his works, attribute his conversion to the miracles which he witnessed on that occasion.* From thenceforth he cherished the hope, that the sacred precincts of the saint's grave would be his future residence, and in all the after events of his life, whatever evil or danger he escaped, whatever good he performed, and whatever temptation he resisted, was attributed to the intercession and aid of St. Felix. Every year, from the time at which he found himself able to realize his wishes, and to fix his habitation at Nola, he composed a poem or hymn, which he called Natalis, on the Martyrdom, or Spiritual Birth-day of Felix (the 14th of Janu- ary, the day of the martyr's death, being considered the day of his birth unto eternal life) and in these commemorative verses, he invoked the saint's help ; he prayed him for assistance, he praised him for succour received, and he enumerated the miracles, which were performed at his sepulchre. It is impossible by any sophistry, or by any tko saint- form of words, or artifice of interpretation, to Pauiimis. rescue the memory of Paulinus from the charge of ' saint-worship,' nay, it is one of his great virtues, in the estimation of the Roman church, that he was a * saint- worshipper.' His name * Opera Paulini, Editio Frontonis Ducsei, et Heribasti Rosweydi e Societate Jesu.— P. 661, 662. Antw. 1622. 80 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. is cited by her writers, as one of the earliest and best authorities for the practice. I refer con- fidently to Baronius* on this subject : and I will transcribe a passage from the preface to the ' Natales,' by the editors of the Antwerp edition of the works of Paulinus, to put it beyond all con- tradiction, that the Romish advocates of saint and image worship have always triumphantly pointed to the example of the holy man of Nola, as the most complete they could offer, in reference both to the antiquity of the practice and the weight of authority f for it. Speaking of the ' Natales/ edited by Dungalus in the ninth century, they say, ' Dungalus flourished eight hundred years ago, in the time of Louis the pious, and his son Lotharius, to whom he inscribed the book, in which he de- fended the worship of sacred images, and of the holy cross, and holy relics, on the authorities of the Fathers, against the opinions of Claudius Bishop of Turin. On mentioning our Paulinus, he nobly and truly exalts his character, and calls him a bright shining Pharos, and an impregnable tower,J who argued most clearly and eloquently * Baron. Ann. Eccl. Sub. An. 394, 87—93. + In page 846 of the Antwerp Edition of the works of Paulinus, Rosweyd has a long note in vindication of the practices which Pro- testants call superstitious and idolatrous, and justifies them by the writings and conduct of Augustine, Chrysostom, and Ambrose. Augus- tine, however, had his doubts on the subject. See ' De cura gerenda pro mortuis.' (especially chapters 16, 17, 18.) addressed to Paulinus. X ' Beatum, inquit, Paulinum sanctitate et sapientia praeditum, quasi quandam Pharum lucidissimam et turrim inexpugnabilem im- primis praetendimus.' — Opera Paulini, p. 535. Edit. 1622. PAU LINUS. 81 on the consistent, and faithful, and religious wor- ^^ol^^ ship of the cross and holy relics.' In the very first Natalis, Paulinus addressed himself to his patron saint in terms of adoration, which are utterly indefensible, if the word of God be truly delivered in Holy Scripture.* This poem was written before Paulinus had arrived at Nola, but afterwards when he was settled there, and when from the perpetual invocation of St. Felix, and under the effect produced by the ob- jects around him, his head was full of the imagi- nary glories of that saint, his language and his actions exhibited more and more strongly that fatally idolatrous tendency, which Christian wor- ship was displaying at this crisis of Church history. Let the reader examine the Natales of Paulinus TheNataics in their chronological order, and he will perceive distinctly, how the writer sunk lower and lower, year after year, until he was immersed in the most grovelling superstition. In the second Natalis, written in 394 ; -j" he as- cribes his safety to Felix, and implores him to con- tinue to be propitious.! * ' Vectus in aethereum sine sanguine Martyr honorem, O pater, O domine, indignis licet annue servis, * * -K- * * Seu placeat telluris iter, comes aggere tuto Esto tuis ; seu magna tui fiducia longo Suadeat ire mari, da currere mollibus undis, Et famulis famulos a puppi suggere ventos, Ut Campana simul Christo diice litora vecti, Ad tua mox alacri rapiamur culmina cursu, Inque tuo placidus nobis sit limine portus.' — Nat. I. ibid. p. 536. + According to Pagi in 395. X ' Et maria intravi duce te, quia cura pericli G 82 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. In his third hymn to St. Felix, his fervour in- creases, and he ascribes to the saint the privilege of casting out devils, and of exercising an effec- tive power over the prince of darkness, and concludes with praying, that the merits of the saint may be received in lieu of the demerits of his votaries.* In the fourth birth- day offering, he attributes his own birth in Christ to the intercession of the departed saint. f In the fifth poem, which abounds in the mar- vellous, he undertakes to enumerate the meri- torious actions by which Felix had won the crown of immortality. J The sixth contains an account of miracles, per- formed for the benefit of suppliants at the tomb Cessit amore tui, nee te sine ; nam tua sensi Prsesidia, in Domino superans maris aspera Christo : Semper eo et terris te propter tutus et undis. Sis bonus o felixque tuis, Dominumque potentem Exores.' Nat. II. ibid. p. 637. * • Martyris ostendit meritum, cum jure potenti Daemonas exercet, divinctaque corpora solvit. Nam sibi Felicem csecis incumbere pcenis, Pestiferi proceres tristi clamore fatentur, ■»**** Exora, ut precibus plenis meritisque redonet Debita nostra tuis.' Nat. III. p. 688—541. f * Ista dies ergo et nobis sollennis habenda, QuEe tibi natalis ; quia te mala nostra abolente Occidimus mundo, nascamur ut in bona Christo.' Nat. IV. ibid. p. 542. % ' Dicam igitur merita, et causas meritorum, E quibus obtinuit caelestum praemia laudum, iEternosque dies, et magni nomen honoris.' Nat. V. ibid. p. 553. PAULINUS. 83 of Felix, and gives a samjDle of the prayers which were addressed to him.* In the seventh we have a sample also of the feeble and unsatisfactory acknowledgment, which ultimately refers every blessing to Christ, whilst it mediately ascribes the divine favour to the inter- vention of beatified spirits. t In this hymn we have supplicatory expressions addressed to St. Felix, which fully illustrate the character of the saint- worship of the fourth and fifth centuries. 'Hear me; help me; hasten to my assistance, effect my cure. Holy Felix, come to my aid.' J The eighth Natalis describes some of the signs and wonders worked by the hands of holy men of * * Felix sancte meos semper miserate labores, Nunc oblite mei, cur me, rogo, vel cui nudum Deseris? amisi charos tua dona juvencos.' Nat. VI. ibid. p. 569. t ' Diversus quia semper gratia dives Materias miris Domini vertutibus addit, Quas Deus in cliaro Christus Felice frequentat, Clara salutiferis edens miracula signis. * -;«• vC- -;;- * Ergo minuta mei simul, et nova facta Patroni Auscultate, precor, Dominus quae Christus in illo Multimoda virtute gerit, quibus omnibus unam Confirmare fidem nobis studet.' Nat. VI I. p. 576—578. X ' Sancte, precor, succurre tuo, scio proximus adstas, £t de contigua missis Imnc auribus aede Audisti, Felix, fletum infelicis alumni ; * * ->:- ■;:- * Ergo veni, Felix, animaeque perenne Patronus, Nunc pro corporeo medicus milii curre periclo. Curre, precor, sanctasque manus oppone minanti Lapsum oculo, et fixum quod conspicis erue ferrum.' Ibid. p. 581. G 2 392—395. 84 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. God in times of old, and by a very illogical mode of reasoning, declares, that Felix deceased had done, and could do, quite as much as the prophets and apostles did, while they were living. The saint is therefore intreated to ward off the evils of war, as he had before delivered his votary from fire and flood.* The ninth birth-day hymn is a valuable record, inasmuch as it contains a complete representation of the solemnities, and acts of adoration per- formed in honour of departed saints in the age of Paulinus and Vigilan tins. The reader might sup- pose it to be a description of the very scenes, which he himself may have witnessed at Rome or Naples, on a patron saint's day in the nineteenth century : the same pageantry, the same prostra- tions and genuflexions, the same invocations, * Sancte Januarie, ora pro nobis.' The hymn commences with an expression of im- patience for the arrival of the happy day, and the poet, in a very beautiful strain, enumerates the stimulants to piety, which have been found in the observance of sacred anniversaries, and other holy festivals. He then launches out into a rapturous * ' Sicut in Assyria Daniel Babylone leones EfFusa domuit victor prece ; sic tibi, Felix, Eifera barbaries Christo frangente dometur ; ***** Nam Patriarcharum Felix et filiiis seque Stirpis Apostolicae es, tanti non degener hseres Seminis, ut sanctse legis simul atque fidei Confessor, patriis virtutibus aemula Sanctus Signa geris.' Nat. VIII. p. 592, 593. PAULINUS. 86 acknowledgment of the pleasure he had always ex- 392-m. perienced in the commemoration of his own patron saint's birth-day, and he hails the present fes- tival with especial joy, because Nicetas, a Bishop from Dacia, was present to assist at, and grace it. After many exulting verses, Paulinus points to the fane which he had lately raised ; he boasts of its increased dimensions, and splendour, and con- veniences ; of its spacious entrance, and wide folding doors. He glories in the marble and ivory, in the paintings, and sculpture, and graceftd columns which adorn it. The range of cells, and the porticos are next presented to notice, with the altars and shrines, enriched with the ashes of apostles and martyrs. Here is a relic of St. An- drew, there of St. John the Baptist, of St. Thomas, and of St. Luke. There lie morsels of the bones of confessors, so numerous, that it requires several verses to name them all. The reasoning of Pauli- nus on the value of such relics, is so curious, that I must not omit to direct attention to it.* After a long argument on the right use of relics, the poet speaks of the painted walls of the Church, * < Quamvis Sancti omnes toto simul orbe per unum Sint ubicumque Deum ; quo praesentantur ubiqiie. Corporis ut sua membra Deo : sed debita Sanctis Sunt loca corporibus : neque tantum qua jacet ora Totum corpus, ibi positorum gratia vivit: Sed quacumque pii est pars corporis, et manus extat, Contestante Deo meriti documenta beati. Magna et in exiguo Sanctorum pulvcre virtus Clamat Apostolici vim corporis indicc Verbo.' Nat. IX. ibid. p. Oil. 86 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 392r^395. ^^ which wcFC delineated many scenes from sacred history. But as if he had his misgivings on the propriety of these paintings, he proceeds to ex- plain, that the rude ignorance of the multitudes, who flocked to the festival, required helps to de- votion in those visible explanations of holy writ, which are addressed to the eye. This is followed by a lamentation over the coarse piety of some of the votaries of St. Felix, and a confession that they were too apt to convert the holy feast into a day of riot and debauchery ; therefore it was neces- sary to furnish the Church with pictures, that the revellers might be tempted away from their eating and drinking, and learn sobriety and temperance from the representations of virtue, which were exhibited before their eyes.* The tenth Natalis gives a further description of the ornaments of the Church dedicated to St. Fe- lix, and relates an extraordinary miracle performed by Paulinus himself with a piece of the true Cross. t The fragment of the 14th imputes every * ' Verum utinam sanis agerent haec gaudia votis. Nee sua liminibus miscerent pocula Sanctis.' ***** Propterea visum nobis opus utile, totis Felicis domibus pictura illudere sancta ; * * * * * Dum fallit pictura famem : sanctasque legenti Historias, castoriim operum subrepit honestas Exemplis inducta piis ; potatur hianti Sobrietas, nimii subeunt oblivia vini.' Ibid. p. 614, 615. •f- ' Ipse dotnum remeans, modicum, sed grande soluti, De Crucis aeterna; sumptum mihi fragmine lignum Promo, tenensquc manu adversis procul ingero flammis.' Nat. X. ibid 620. PAULINUS. 87 A. D. 392—395. blessing in life, which the poet had enjoyed, to St. Felix.* The few lines which have been preserved of the XVth Natalisf do the same, so that m these hymns we have a mirror reflecting a true image of the mind of Paulinus, and of many of his most illustrious contemporaries, on the subject of that fatal error, which now divides the Christian world, and to which none of the ancient fathers contri- buted in a larger degree than Paulinus of Nola. * Oh, Felix,' said he, in one of his prayers to that saint, * let me die before thy tomb, and let me be presented by thee at the throne of the divine Majesty. Let me obtain a place, by means of thy intercession and of thy merits, among the saints of Christ:— fNatalis III.) It is an extraordinary fact, in the progress of the delusion under which Paulinus acted, when he invoked St. Felix, and performed so many ido- latrous services in that martyr's honour, that, at one time, his mind seemed to be entertaining doubts on the subject. He wrote to Augustine to Pauji, consult him concerning the spirits of the departed, Au|!iidne. and received a reply, which ought to have set him right. Augustine's answer is contained in his trea- tise, ' De Cura gerenda pro mortuis,' addressed to Paulinus. In this treatise, which is not a very long one, Augustine states, that it was the prac- * * Omnia, prsesentis vitse rem, spemque futurae Quae pariunt, tibi me memini debere.* Nat. XIV. ibid p. 631. t Nat. XV. ibid p. 632. inus 88 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 392—395. tice of the universal Church, in those days, to pray for the dead ; he also declares that there were some well-authenticated relations of visions, in which apparitions of the dead appeared to make communications to the living. ' But,' said he, ' this does not prove, that the dead are aware of what is taking place upon such occasions, for the living often appear to the living in their dreams, without any consciousness of their so appearing.'* He proceeds to tell Paulinus, that he himself once seemed to appear to a pupil of his in a dream, and to explain a difficult passage in Cicero, but that he had no consciousness of it himself (c. xi). The conclusion which he draws is this, that an apparition of a departed friend, whether seen by a person awake or asleep, is no proof that the dead can take an interest in the affairs of the living. * If,' continues he, * the souls of the dead could take part in the affairs of the living, and appear to them in their dreams, my mother would never be away from me a single night, for when she was alive, she followed me by land and by sea."'}' In support of his opinion, that the deceased, who care for us during life, have no longer any satisfaction or disquietude on our accounts, when * ' Sed respondendum est, non ideo putandiim esse mortuos ista sentire, quia liaec dicere, vel indicere vel patere videntur in somnis. Nam et viventes viventibus dormientibus saepe apparent, dum se ipsi nesciant apparere.' — De Cura gerenda pro mortuis, C. x. t ' Si rebus viventium interessent animae mortuorum, et ipsae nos quando eas videmus alloquerentur in somnis, ut de aliis taceam, me ipsum pia mater nulla nocte desereret, quae terra marique secuta est, ut mecuni viveret.' — C. xii. PAULINUS. 89 they pass into the world of spirits, and that they have nothing to do with the events of this life, when once removed from it, he quotes Psalm xxvi. 10; Isaiah Ixiii. 16 ; and 4 Kings xxii. 18 — 21.* Augustine next enter into a curious disquisition on the parable of Dives and Lazarus. ' If the dead have no concern about the living, why did Dives ask Abraham to send Lazarus to his breth- ren? But because he made that request, does it follow, that he knew at that very moment what was the condition of his brothers ? — Besides, Abraham did not send Lazarus, but replied, that they had Moses and the prophets. ' (c. xiv). He affirms, that the dead know nothing of what is going on in this world, at the time when particu- lar events take place, but they hear of things afterwards from the souls who go to the abodes of the departed. t He asserts at the same time, that there have been instances of men receiving succour from the martyrs, but acknowledges that it is beyond his understanding to comprehend by what means, and that he dare not attempt to explain it.J * ' Quomodo intersunt miseriiE vivorum, cum vel sua ipsi mala patiantur, si talia merita contraxerunt, vel in pace requiescant, sicut huic Josuae promissum est, ubi mala ulla nee patiendo, nee compati- endo, sustineant, liberati ah omnibus malis, quae patiendo, et compati- endo cum liic viverent sustenebant.' — C. xiii. f ' Proinde fatendum est ncscire quidem mortuos quid hie agatur, dum hie agitur ; postea veroaudire ab eis, qui liinc ad eos moriendo pergnnt.' — C.xv. % ' Res haec estaltior quam ut a me possit attingi, et abstrusior quam ut a me valeat perscrutari, ct ideo quid horum duorum sit, an vero A. D. 392—395. 90 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 392— ^95 ^^ ^^^ ^^^®' ^^^ reader will discover much incon- sistency and vacillation, but he will not wonder that Augustine had nothing to advance in justifica- tion of the practices, which Paulinus carried out to a greater pitch of extravagance, than any of his contemporaries. fortassis utrumque sit, ut aliquando ista fiant per ipsam praesentiam martyrum, aliquando per Angelos suscipientes personam martyrum, definire non audeo ; mallem a scientibus ista perqiiirere.' — C. xvi. JEROME. 91 CHAP. V. JEROME, THE RECLUSE OF BETHLEHEM. Jerome, the celebrated translator of the Bible, ^^^:^^j4^ born in the year 340 or 342, was a native of the Dalmatian and Pannonian borders. His parents were Christian, but he himself was not baptized, until he was far advanced towards maturity. He was at least an adult,* when the sacred rite was administered. As 1 have before observed, it was no uncommon thing in those days to defer the baptism of the children of Christian parents ; sometimes from a serious regard to the importance of engagements, which were thought to require the full consideration of a consenting mind; some- times from a fond wish, that a sacrament, cleans- ing from all former sins, should be deferred as long as possible ; in order that the Neophyte might have the benefit of its efficacy, at a period in life, when the indulgence of youthful passions * Baronius, a. d. 372, § 39. 92 VIGILANTIUS AND IIIS TIMES. A. D. 340—374. has brought a stain upon the soul, which needs such purification.* Jerome's Jcromo began life under all the advantages of early career. ^ r i rank and lortune. With ample lunds at his com- mand, he was enabled to launch into the world in pursuitof amusement or of improvement, as his own wayward will inclined him, and before he was twenty-five years of age, we find him travelling in Gaul in quest of information : studying hard at Rome, and mixing with men of science and erudi- tion : purchasing books, collecting a library, and at the same time rushing into the most luxurious and pernicious pleasures that war against the soul.f In fact, by his own confession, he ran a career of self-indulgence, mingled with self-discipline and preparation for better things, which laid the foun- dation for as much future remorse as satisfaction. His studies whetted his passion for controversy. * Often,' said he, ' when I was a young man at Rome, it was my habit to compose and recite speeches, as if I were debating, and thus I pre- pared myself for real conflict, by these imaginary disputations, I used also to go into the courts of law, where I heard the most eloquent pleaders discuss subjects with so much acerbity, that they would frequently turn from the real business be- * See another reason given by Tertullian, which shews the great antiquity of sponsors. — Tert. de Bapt. juxta finem.p. 710, 711. t Epistle 43, p. 21 7 a. Epist. 1, p. 8 a. Epist. 50, c. 8, p. 1 10 a. cited by Tillemont, p. 8. Memoirs, vol. xii. When I follow Tillemont, I do not think it necessary to give the original passages, because I have his authority for the statement ; the autliority of one, who would not do injustice to Jerome. JEROME. 93 fore them, and indulge in invectives against each 34q'^|j4 other.* One of his expressions, ' t/iat he required to be nis charac- piirijied as by fire,'-\ is strongly indicative of the ''^'' violence of his passions, and of the impetuosity with which he indulged them : and the probability is, that the mortifications and austerities, to which he afterwards condemned himself, had the effect of rendering his mind more sour, and his temper more ungovernable, while they were the means of keeping under his body. It is singular proof of the difficulty which one of Jerome's warmest admirers must have found in reconciling his unchristian temper with his Chris- tian professions, that Tillemont begins his memoir of this saint with an apology for the many acerbi- ties and inconsistencies which he betrayed. Con- scious that the saint's life presents a series of de- formities, he sets out with an awkward defence of what he felt to be indefensible. Tillemont admits, that Jerome's character as a man and an author, was full of faults ; that he was fiery and impulsive, and wrote and spoke more like an orator, than an historian or a critic ; that he was inaccurate in his statements, and repre- * * Aliquoties quum adolescentulus Romae controversias declamarem, et ad vera certamina fictis me litibus exercerer, currebam ad tribu- nalia jiidicum, et disertissimos oratorum tanta inter se videbam acer- bitate contendere, ut omissis saepe negotiis in proprias contumelias verterentur, et joculari se invicem dente morderent. Oi^era Hier. 4, 24.3. f Epist. 142, line 3, p. 119, as cited by Tillemont Mem. Vol. xii. p. 8. 94 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 340—374 sented things, rather according to the colouring given to them by his own mind, than according to truth : * that he yielded too often to his hot and violent temperament : that he let many things es- cape him in his writings, which cannot be justified : that he listened too eagerly to calumny even against such men as Chrysostom : that he treated his adversaries as though they were the vilest of men : that he was jealous and envious, and spared neither friend nor foe : that he was not only sour, and harsh, and choleric, but unforgiving towards those against whom he took offence. f * But he was a man of genius, ''Xs,2iy& the French critic, as if every allowance must be made for men of genius. Sflictfons When he was about thirty years old ; i.e. between the years 372 and 374, this ardent and impetuous man thought he could not better subdue the strength of his passions, or glorify his God, than by burying himself in the deserts of Syria,§ and practising such rigid austerities and such ap- palling self-inflictions, as none but a creature of * ' C'est peu de chose de dire qu' ayant un genie grand, eleve et plein de feu plutot d'un orateur, que d'un historien, ou d'un critique, il a ete souvent assez peu exact a raporter les choses comme elles etoient, et qu'il a suivi plutot les idees qu'il en avoit conceues, que la simple verite.' — Tillemont, Memoires, xii. 2. t Ibid. X ' Mais ce sont des defauts dont les beaux, et les grands esprits se defendent plus difficilement que les mediocres.' — Ibid. § His reasons for not returning to his own country, and for not remaining in Italy, illustrate the state of Christianity at that period. It was on account of the licentious manners of Lupicinus, bishop of Dalmatia, and of the tumults and schisms at Rome. See Du Pin. Bib. des Aut. Eccl. Note 333. JEROME. 95 the sternest nature could encounter. * It was out o-f",,, 3/4—377. of my fear of hell, and in expiation of my sins that 1 did this,' said he. In another place he con- fesses, ' I was so tormented by the violence of my natural passions, which were too strong for me, that I did everything in my power to extinguish these flames by severe abstinence: but this did not prevent my being perpetually harassed by bad thoughts.' * The Recluse, who for purposes of penance or spiritual discipline, can submit not only to the deprivations, but to the bodily sufferings to which Jerome condemned himself for four years, is no subject for a sneer. He must have been influenced by the strongest motives of piety, however mis- guided, and he must have been supported by re- solution of the highest order. Although the two cases admit of comparison, and it is diflicult to condemn the one without con- demning the other, yet there is this diff^erence be- tween the heathen devotee, who cuts himself with lancets before wondering spectators and endures horrible tortures without a complaint, — and the Christian ascetic. — The one has an immediate, the other a remote reward in view. The one does it to be seen of men, and is sustained by the plaudits and veneration which he secures: the other has oftentimes no earthly witness of his fastings, and * ' Dum essem juvenis, et solitudinis me deserta vallarent, incen- tiva vitiorum ardoremque naturae ferre non poteram, quem quiim crebris jejuniis frangerem, mens tamen cogitationibus sestuabat.' Epist. 4, al 95. Op. Hier. 4, p. 774. 96 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 3U-377. ^^^^ ^^^ nakedness. No eye sees his painful prostrations in prayer ; no ear listens to his long protracted invocations, and confessions ; no sym- pathising spectator is at hand to behold his tears, to weep with him, or to console him. But for this very reason the fanatical mortifications of the Recluse are worse than useless ; they are not in- structive and edifying to others ; and in most cases they fail to make the individual a meeker, or more useful servant of the Heavenly Master whom he professes to honour. They are inflictions which his God and Saviour has neither commanded nor sanctioned, and being contrary to the word and will of God, are of a nature to puff* up, and to en- gender the pride of heart which God hates. The whole of Jerome's after-life was an argument against the suff"erings, to which, as a hermit, he had exposed himself. He came out of his solitude elated, acrimonious, and ungovernable in temper. He might have qualified himself for his great work, the translation of the Scriptures into latin, without such preparation : and a more extensive inter- course with mankind would have taught him to think less of himself, and more favourably of per- sons who diff'ered from him in opinion. Jerome's description of his own condition, while he remained in the frightful solitude of Chalcidia, will be read with mingled feelings of horror and pity. ' I spent my time there alone, because my soul was filled with bitterness. The sackcloth, in which I was clad, rendered my appearance rough and hideous ; my skin became squalid and JEROME. black, like the hide of an Ethiopian. I sjDent much of my days in sighing and shedding tears, and when in spite of myself I was obliged to yield to sleep, — my body fell to the ground, so lean and devoid of flesh, that my bones could scarcely hold together, I do not speak of eating and drinking ; even the sick recluse drinks nothing but cold water, and it would be a luxury, to eat anything cooked.'* In the same passage he declared that he passed whole weeks in fasting (' inedia ) and sought for the gloomiest and wildest spots of the wilderness in which he might imprison his miserable body.f But when all this was un- availing, with more rationality and with better success, he had recourse to study, and began to learn the Hebrew language. The most extra- ordinary lesson to be learnt from this part of Jerome's history, his seclusion in Chalcidia, is, that mortifications such as these, and self-inflic- tions, have little to do with softening the heart, and quelling the insurrection of evil passions, or with bringing the mind into subjection and obedi- ence. Jerome was obliged to leave the scene of * ' Sedebam solus quia amaritudine repletus eram. Horrebant sacco membra deformia, et squalida cutis situm iiEthiopicae carnis ob- duxerat. Quotidie lacrymse, quotidie gemitus, et si quando repugnan- tem somnus imminens oppressisset, nuda humo ossa vix haerentia coUi- debam. De cibis vero et potu taceo quum etiam languentes aqua frigida utantur, et coctum aliquid accepisse luxuria sit.' — llieron. Epist- 18, alias 22. Vol. iv. pars 2. p. 80, cited by Tillemont xii. p. 20. f ' Et repugnantem carnem hebdomadarum inedia subjugabam.' — Ibid, also cited by Tillemont, xii. 21, 22. H A. D. 374—377. 98 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 374—377 his eremitical probation, in consequence of the bad conduct of other recluses in the neighbourhood of his retirement. Jealous of his reputation, as being able to practise more rigid austerities than them- selves, and differing from him on points of doc- trine, they assailed him with the grossest calum- nies. He complained that those hermits presumed to condemn the whole world from their cells, and to set themselves up as the judges and censors* of bishops. * It was better,' he protested, ' to live with the beasts, than with such Christians as they.' When Jerome quitted the desert, where he had tried to fly from himself (' pro facinoribus meis,^ is his expression,) he went to Antioch (a. d. 375 or 377,) and there he was disgusted with another fac- tion. So little of godly union and concord pre- vailed in the church at this period, that it is hard to say where Christians could have been found, ^ , . who were united in one holy bond of truth and EccIgsieis- ticaidis- peace, of faith and charity. Jerome, in a letter written to Pope Damasus,t at this juncture, pro- fessed to think that pure religion was then to be found only at Rome : and, that the gospel had been corrupted everywhere else. | * Tillemont, xii, p. 46, citing Epist. 77. t Ibid. p. 49. X According to Jerome, it was to Damasus that Praetextatus said, in allusion to the pomp and wealth of the Roman pontiif, ' Make me bishop of Rome, and I will be a Christian immediately.' ' Facite me Romanae urbis Episcopum, et ero protinus Christianus.' — Epist. Hieron. ad Pammach. Oper. 4, Pars 2, p. 310. § ' Profligato a sobole mala patrimonio, apud vos solos incorrupta Patriim haereditas.' — Epist. xiv. al. 57- Ad Damasiim. Oper. Ilier. Vol. iv. Pars 2, p. 19. sensions. JEROME. 99 The boasted tranquillity of tlie Western churches was however disturbed by perpetual jars, and the sun which was rising in the West (Nunc in occi- dente sol justitiae oritur) was clouded there as much as in the east. When Damasus was elected Pope, A. D. 366, the dissensions in Rome were so violent, that the gates of the Basilica, where his rival was consecrated, were broken open, the roof was torn off, the building was set on fire, and one hundred and thirty-seven persons were killed. Such is the statement of Ammianus Marcellinus the historian, (Lib. 27. c. 3.) who blamed both parties, as Fleury remarks, without attempting to contradict the fact. The same historian, instead of making Rome the abode of sanctity, as Jerome was in- clined to do, observes, that it would have been better, had the prelates there lived like the bishops in the provinces, who made themselves acceptable to God, and to his worshippers, by their meekness and modesty. So conflicting is the contemporary ecclesiastical history of the 4th century. At Antioch, whither Jerome repaired at this period of his history, there were three parties ranged under three individuals, each of whom arrogated to himself the title of Bishop of that Diocese. Meletius, the occupant of the see, from the year 361, Paulinus, who had been opposed to him since 372, and Vitalis, who was placed in the episcopal chair by a party of seceders, in 375 or 376. In this schism Jerome scarcely knew what part to take, but he leant towards the faction of Pauli- H 2 A.D. 377—387. 100 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377—387. nils, while he declared, as he had done before in the desert, that he must consider himself as sub- ject to the Church of Rome, only for the sake of the majesty of that see, and because he had been baptized in her communion.* ' Whoever shall par- take of the Lamb,' said he, 'out of that house, is profane.' f Yet, with unaccountable inconsistency, Jerome consented to be ordained priest by Pauli- nus, at Antioch, about the year 378, and this very fact marks, in an especial degree, the irregularities and the disunion which prevailed in an age, that has been held up to our own as the mirror of Christian purity .J What can be said of apostolical succession in St. Jerome's case, when he received ordination in a church torn by faction, and at the hands of a man, who had been schismatically thrust into the chair of a Bishop, undeposed by lawful authority ? At a time too, when there were three nominal Bishops of Antioch, and shortly after he him- self had, in the strongest language, disowned them all, saying, that he knew nothing of Vitalis : that he rejected Meletius, and did not recognize Paidi- * See Jerom. Ep. viv. and xvi, aliter .57, 58. t ' Quicunque extra hunc domum agnum comederet, profanus est. Si quis in Area Noe non fuerit, peribit, regnante Diluvio.' — Epist. ad Dam. 14, aliter 57. X Tillemont attempts to apologize for Jerome's ordination by Pau- linus, (Mem, 12, 51.) The reader who studies the ecclesiastical history of these times, in the works of contemporary authors, will seek in vain for any proof of that unity of faith and discipline, which later writers have attributed to the example and influence of Maternal and Imperial Rome. JEROME. 101 niis : ' Non novi Vitalem, Meletium respuo, ignoro 377*1° .5- Paulhmm* Canonical order was also overlooked, and vio- Canonical lated in a scandalous manner, by Jerome's refusing regarded. to undertake the sacerdotal duties of any particu- lar church : and by receiving ordination on the express condition, that he should be at liberty to decline the functions of the sacred office. Priest without a lawful commission, and without a pas- toral charge, was Jerome ; and he makes the fourth instance, mentioned in these biographical sketches, of those disorderly ecclesiastical proceed- ings which are a reproach to the fourth century. Martin and Ambrose were raised to the episco- pate, and Paulinus and Jerome to the priesthood, without due attention to those rules of succession and order, which are now proclaimed by some to be essential to the elements of a Christian Church ; and these irregularities were permitted, when there was no plea of necessity to justify them. Jerome's apology for the latitude which he allowed to himself upon a subject of such importance is unsound and puerile : — ' I am not to be expected,' said he to Paulinus, ' to surrender my privilege of retiring into solitude as a monk, because you have made me a priest. When I shall no longer be with you at Antioch, you will not have fewer priests than you had before my ordination.' f But notwithstanding these inconsistencies, it would have been well for Jerome, if he had passed the * Hier. Epist. xiv. alitor 57, ad Damasiim. t Tillemont, xii, 51, citing Hier. Epist. (Jl. Jerome at Rome. 102 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 377-387 whole of his life, as profitably as he did during the two or three years after his questionable or- dination at Antioch. He went to Constantinople in 379, and became an associate of Gregory of Nazianzum, then bishop of that city, one of the most amiable, learned, and enlightened prelates of this epoch, under whose guidance he resumed his study of Scripture, and devoted himself with great earnestness to literary pursuits. In 382 we find Jerome at Rome, employed as secretary to Pope Damasus, the prelate whose elevation to the episcopal chair of the imperial city had been signalized by a scene of blood- shed, at the very steps of the altar ; an outrage which marks the fatal tendency of popular nomi- nations to render electors insensible to every consideration, but the fierce claims of partisanship. At this period a council was held at Rome, and a curious accusation of forgery was brought against Jerome. Jerome, in support of an ex- pression (' Dominicus homo,') which he had used in a paper read before the council, produced a MS. of St. Athanasius, in which the same term was applied to Jesus Christ. An ApoUinarian requested permission to take the MS. home with him, and having erased the words in the hand- writing of Athanasius, wrote them over again, and then pointed to the sentence, as a forgery of Jerome. The accusation was easily refuted, and Jerome speaks of it in his second apology against Rufinus, as an absurd fable : * but absurd as it * llioron, Apol. Lib. 2. Sec Opera Plieron. Vol, iv, Pars 2, p. 415. JEROME. 103 was, a more disgraceful attempt to vilify an ad- versary was never made, nor can our own accom- plished age of forgery produce a more ingenious method of throwing discredit on the genuineness of a manuscript. A charge of a much more serious nature was brought against our monk, during his stay at Rome, between the years 382 and 385, and I mention it, to record my entire belief, that it was as unfounded as it was malig- nant : but truth at the same time demands the admission, that it was one of those scandalous reports, which naturally grow out of imprudent intercourse. The purity of the Christian charac- ter requires, that persons professing to be more holy and self-denying than others, should avoid every communication, which exposes them to sus- picion. For a long time during his sojournment at Rome, Jerome stood so high in the estimation of all, that he was even talked of as the probable successor of Damasusin the papacy. But whether it was his petulant and overbearing spirit, which first turned the tide of favour against him ; whether jealousy of his reputation for sanctity stirred up bad feelings, even in his beloved Rome ; or whether the indiscretion of another brought the saint into disrepute, — certain it is, that the clergy of the capital openly accused him of being too familiar with Paula, one * of the * holy women,' whom he had taken under his spiritual guidance. Marcella * ' Les Ecclesiastiques de Rome, dont il reprenoit les moeurs, trou- verent a redire a sa conduite Tacciisation d'avoir trop de familiarite avec Paule.' Du Pin. Biblin, dcs Aut. Eccl. 3, 376, Note. A. D. 377—387. 104 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377-387. and Paula, two young widows, and several un- married females of rank and fortune, who had re- solved to live in celibacy, received Jerome into their houses in the character of their spiritual su- perintendant, or father confessor, and with them he used to spend much of his time in pious con- versation ; and particularly in scriptural studies. Scandalous imputations were the consequence : but that Jerome may give his own account of the affair, I subjoin an extract from his letter to Asella, written a.d. 385. ' I have now been living nearly three years among them, (at Rome,) and have been in frequent com- munication with a crowd of virgins, to some of whom I have expounded the sacred books, as well as I could. This has given rise to attentions, — attentions have been followed by familiarity, and familiarity has produced confidence. But can they say that they ever saw anything in my conduct, which was un- worthy of a Christian ? Have I ever received money from any of them ? Have I not refused even the smallest present? Havel ever polluted myself with a touch of their gold or silver ? Has an improper word, or an impure look ever escaped me ? Nothing has been objected against me but my sex, — and not even this, until Paula was about to set out for Jerusalem. Before I resorted to the house of the holy Paula, the whole city respected me, and I was unanimously pronounced to be worthy of the pontificate. Damasus, of blessed memory, held confidential discourse with me, I was called holy, humble, and eloquent. Have I ever entered the JEROME. 105 abode of a woman of loose behaviour? Havel ^^fl^^Qj ever been led away by an admiration of silken gar- ments, or of sparkling gems, or by the love of money ? There have been no Roman matrons who could make a greater impression on me, than she who was always mourning and fasting, squalidly dressed, and half blind with weeping ; who kept vigils in imploring the mercy of God, and whom the sun found upon her knees after praying all night ! Whose songs were psalms, whose dis- course was about the Gospel, whose delight was in continence, whose whole life was an act of ab- stinence. Yes ! none could please me but she, whom I never saw eating anything. But when I began to venerate, to cultivate, and to watch her for the sake of her chastity, then it would seem that all my virtue was at an end.' * There is every reason to acquit Jerome of this charge, and we may believe that he spoke truly ; for then fanaticis7?i, and nothing softer than faiia- ticism, was his passion : he had no admiration, as he said in another part of his letter, for any coun- tenance which was not attenuated and pale with mortification and fasting ; he looked upon the use of the bath, and extreme attention to cleanliness, as a stain worse than dirt.f In fact, Jerome had, by this time, totally subdued his body. Those who have studied human nature, are aware, that , extremes meet : and that the man, who had for- * Epistola ad Asellam 28. aliter99. Oper. Hier. iv. Pars 2. p. 65. t ' Tibi placet lavare quotidie : alius has mundicias soides putat. Bono tuo crassus sis ; mc macies dclcctat et pallor.' Iliid. p. 67. 106 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377—8: merly been the prey of concupiscence, might bring himself to regard with the most perfect abhorrence that which was at one time his ruling passion. The calumny, however, did not subside, but was kept alive by those whom Jerome called ' false monks,' ' disorderly celibates,' and 'unwor- thy ecclesiastics, ' and who suborned a servant to bring a distinct charge against the saint and Paula. The unhappy wretch was put to the torture, the usual mode even at a much later period of Chris- tianity than the fourth century, of wringing truth from doubtful witnesses : and he confessed, that he had spoken falsely. But the storm against Jerome was too heavy for him to brave, and in 385 he re- solved to turn his back upon Rome for ever,— that Rome which he then called Babylon,* but which he once fondly thought to be the ' Holy Home' of the purest of Christian clergy and laity, among whom nothing corrupt ever entered, and whom he considered to be ' the light of the world, t the salt of the earth, the vessels of gold and silver, the ark of refuge, in which there was no danger, though all without was a deluge of sin and guilt.' Jerome ill Many of the holy women, who were the pupils of Jerome, quitted Rome soon after his departure, and rejoined him at Bethlehem, which, from the year 386 or 387, became the place of his constant abode : and I cannot but think that this open re- * ' Ora autem ut de Babylone lerosolyman regrediar.' — Epist. ad Asellam. ibid. + ' Vos estis lax mundi : vos sal terrai : vos aurea vasa ct argentea.' Epist. ad Damasum. ibid. p. 19. JEROME. 107 A. D. 377—387. sumption of an intercourse, which had exposed the saint to obloquy, was a proof of conscious in- tegrity and innocence on both sides. There is an end to all confidence in human asseveration, and professions of sanctity, if we are to believe that a man, who professedly devoted his whole life to the recommendation of continence, and whose voluminous writings abound in statements, setting forth the excellence of chastity above all other virtues, was living all the while in impurity with the very persons, whose conduct he was holding up to admiration and example as the perfection of purity and sanctity. Jerome was one of the last men in the world whose opinions or general conduct I could consent to praise ; but he was no hypocrite. He was too impulsive to be an actor : he was sin- cere in his declarations ; whether they were the avowals of intolerant hatred of all that was op- posed to his notions of right and wrong, or of fana- tical adherence to a line of conduct which he deemed to be the only line of perfectibility. If he had been a sensualist, and had lived improperly with women, he would boldly have taken up the defence of such intercourse, as the French St. Simonians did a few years ago. Before Jerome finally settled at Bethlehem, Pi he made preparations for his correction of the vuigate. old Latin version of the Bible, and for his own immortal work, which is now called by distinction the Vulgate. For this purpose he visited every place in Palestine and Egypt, where he thought he might have opportunities of collating copies of epanng 108 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377_387. Scripture, or of consulting persons learned in biblical knowledge. His intense application to biblical studies gave him a right and title to the gratitude of the whole Church. There was not a MS. upon the subject within his reach, which he did not read with attention, and from which he did not take notes. He searched the libra- ries of Caesarea and Alexandria for manuscripts, and never were their treasures opened to more inquiring eyes. He transcribed the Hebrew text of all the books of the Old Testament, with the Hexapla of Origen before him, and collated them with a valuable copy in the Library of Csesarea, which had the reputation of being authentic. Not satisfied with his own readings and interpretations, or with those of his Christian friends, he read over every passage in the original Hebrew, whereon he had the least doubt, with learned Jews, and took their opinion on the meaning and pronunciation, and correct orthography of words, and on the localities of places, before he would consider his revision to be complete. In all this, there was toil, which could only be rewarded by the con- sciousness of being employed in a noble under- taking : but another division of his labour was 'sweetened by some of the most delightful enjoy- ments, which can fall to the lot of man. Determined to ascertain the exact position of every spot in the Holy Land, mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, he made a tour of Pa- lestine, and with the sacred books in his hand, he visited the sites of cities and villages, of which the JEROME. 109 names will live, till time shall be no more, with the imperishable records in which they are written. To an ardent mind, like that of Jerome, which received every impression as if it were stamped with a seal of fire, what must have been his feel- ings, when he stood on Horeb, the mount of the Lord ? when he traced the steps of Elijah on Mount Carmel ? when he followed John the Baptist to the desert, where his early years were passed in meditation and abstinence? when he stood alone in the wilderness, where Jesus is sup- posed to have fasted forty days and forty nights, and when he knelt on the mountain where his Lord had passed a whole night in prayer ? To the hermit, who permitted himself to enjoy but few of the pleasures of life, and who had dragged out years of self-inflicted suffering in the wildest solitudes of Chalcedon, these scenes must have had a charm which surpasses imagination. The unchangeable aspect of the mountain and desert remained the same, and he beheld them, as they are described in the pages of the sacred volume. His spirit was stirred, but I should think in a less degree, by his visit to Jerusalem. There the garden of Gethsemane, which witnessed the agony and bloody sweat of Jesus, the terrible Golgotha, where the last sufferings were endured, and the face of the rock, which gave a sepulchre to the crucified Saviour, no longer retained their original features. Either the exact sites of these places were unknown, or the audacious hand of man had desecrated them by acts of mistaken piety, and A. D. 377—387. 110 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377-387. had removed vestiges and landmarks of awful reality, to erect puny and evanescent memorials of its own, which the same hammer and chisel that constructed could demolish. Thus objects of nature, sanctified by the incarnate presence of their Creator, which would have spoken more intelligibly to the heart and soul than the noblest temple or altar, had been effaced, in order that misdirected zeal might have its local habitation and name, in the form of a perishable church or shrine. Of all presumptuous and blinded acts of devotion that were ever performed, that is most to be deprecated which could disturb the natural traces of the ground, where Jesus suffered and was buried, and could conceal them under constructions of wood and stone. What a profanation ! what an invasion of preoccupied holy ground ! What an interruption of the most sacred musings, in which the soul can indulge, to pile buildings (under the pretence of consecration) on the rock which was in itself a sanctuary I ' qiianto praestantius esset Numen aquse, viridi si margine clauderet undas Herba, nee ingenuum violarent marmora toplium.' Must not the sight of the unchanged scenery, where Christ walked, of Mount Tabor, of the shores of the sea of Galilee, of the hills which en- viron it, as they are and as they were, be ten thousand times more imposing, and more likely to generate feelings of profound piety, than the domes, which have made the alleged Calvary and JEROME. Ill Gethsemane scenes of undistinguishable confii- i^j^^-^f^j^ sion. To say the least, every one who names the name of Christ must feel his devotion quickened, when he gazes on the undisturbed masses of rock and mountain, where his Redeemer's feet were planted, whilst many cannot but find a stumbling- block in the superstitious purposes, for which shrines have been erected in Jerusalem and its vicinity.* As soon as Jerome found himself permanently Bethlehem. fixed in his ' dear Bethlehem,' (to use his own de- vout and affectionate language, when he spoke of that venerable place,) he returned to those habits and pursuits which were inseparable from his cha- racter : but the ruggedness of his temper was not softened by the sacred associations connected with the birthplace of the Redeemer. Bethlehem was still a small village, distant about six miles from Jerusalem, although the sanctity of the place, and its vicinity to the sacred capital of Palestine, brought many visitors from all parts of the world to pour out their devotions there. Not only the furthest east, and the regions of the south, Persia and India, Armenia and Ethiopia, but the remot- est shores of the west also sent pilgrims to worship at the place of Christ's nativity. Our own coun- * A sentiment of this kind gleams in one of tiie pages of Jerome, which describes the cave of Bethlehem. Happy for Christianity if it had been drawn out to its full proportion. ' Ubi instar palatii, opi- bus privatorum extructfe basilicse, ut vile corpusculum nominis pre- ciosius inambulet, et quasi mundo quid quam possit esse ornatius, tecta magis sua velit aspicerc, quam caelum ? ' — Op. Hier. iv. p. 551. 112 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 377 —387. trymen from Britain* were not wanting to swell the number : and the most learned and accom- plished men of the day had no greater anxiety than to visit the spot were Jesus was born, Beth- lehem was therefore no solitude, and our monk had perpetual opportunities of keeping up his ac- quaintance with the world, and of hearing what was going on in the various churches of Christen- dom. It would have been happier for him, if he could have shut out all that was passing among the contentious spirits, who disturbed the peace of the Gospel kingdom ; for every piece of intelligence as it reached him, increased the fever of his mind, and drew him off from studies and contemplations, which were more worthy of his attention and of his fame. Considering the frequent interruptions, which his love of disputation occasioned, and how often he suffered his pen to be drawn away from his scriptural labours, and his temper to be chafed by controversy, it is astonishing that he should have found time for the stupendous work of trans- lation in which he engaged. Dissatisfied as we feel with the irritable polemic, yet we must con- fess that the versatility of his genius, and the amazing perseverance of his mind, stand out in stronger light, when viewed beside the darker traits of his character. After having been driven beyond all the bounds of reason and decency, by the violence of his indignation against some unfor- tunate writer, who had excited his spleen, he * Epist. 44. Op. Hier. iv. 551. See also in Isa, xiv. JEROME. 113 could return to his corrected edition of the old sjf_l'-^i^,j Latin translation of Scripture, or to his new trans- lation, or to his Commentary, with as much dili- gence and close application, as if he had never wandered from his subject. Let the reader reflect on what sort of application these works required ; and that he may form a right estimate of the frame of mind and body under which they were con- ducted, let him take into account, that Jerome sat down to his papers and parchments, with a body attenuated by long- continued abstinence, and weakened by fasting. Herbs and black bread were his daily fare, and the quantity which he took of this poor nourishment was so small, that he must have been constantly suffering under hunger and exhaustion. Wine and meat he pro- nounced to be an absolute profanation to those who had devoted themselves, as he had done, to God : and even a morsel of fish, or a mid-day meal, was a violation of the rules of abstinence by which he thought a recluse ought to be governed.* * There is a curious instance of the credulity of Jerome, in one of his tirades against the use of viands. In his second treatise against Jovinian, he professes to have seen people of a British tribe wiio were cannibals, and who, when they had plenty of cattle at command, preferred to cat human flesh : he even enumerates the parts of the human body which these Britisli man-eaters considered dainties. ' Quid loquar de cseteris nationibus, quum ipse adolescentulus in Gallia viderim Atticotos, gentcm Britannicam humanis vesci carnibus, et quum per sylvas porcorum greges, et armentorum pecudumque. reperiant, pastorum nates et feminarum et papiilas abscindere solerc. et has solas delicias ciborum arbitrari.' — Adv. Jovini. Lib. secund. Op. Hier. 4. Pars TI. p. 201. I 114 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^oi^°-,. It was under such circumstances that this inde- ;,:r'~ — fatisrable man undertook his laborious tasks of 1 he labours ^ of Jerome, translation and exposition. For the first, he had to collate various readings, to consult difficult and time-worn manuscripts, to authenticate and com- pare the interpretations of previous commentators, to correct verbal and literal errors ; to exercise his judgment in replacing passages which had been improperly omitted, and in rejecting those which had been interpolated : to examine differ- ent versions, the Greek, Syriac, and Ethiopic : and to translate them all with the help of linguists, whom he had to select for the associates of his labours. (One of these was a Jew named Bara- ninas, who, like Nicodemus, for fear of the Jews, came to him by night, and compelled him to under- take nocturnal labour*). And all this he had to do upon his own individual responsibility ! Such was his bold undertaking. Ptolemy, if the tradi- tions relating to the Septuagint be true, thought seventy fellow-workers not too many for the com- pletion of a correct translation. Our own autho- rized version was, in the first instance, committed to fifty-four. Jerome did not shrink from placing the burthen upon his own shoulders only, in spite of the jealousy, suspicion, and calumnies which as- sailed him for his presumption, as it was styled, in supposing that the long-cherished Septuagint was defective, and required to be superseded by a new version. To this laborious undertaking he * See Hieron. Epist. 41, p. 342, ibid. JEROME. ur, added the equally toilsome task of comment- ^^.ji^^g^ ing on the sacred volume, and this too, be it re- membered, when his eyes were so weak and his body so feeble, that he was obliged to employ an amanuensis. He could not write, he could only read and dictate, yet at one great effort he trans- lated the three books of Solomon in three days. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. It was not unusual with him to complete about one thousand lines * (or, according to Tillemont's calculation, thirty or forty pages,) of his Com- mentary in a single day. Johnson's Rasselas was written in a week. Jerome wrote his Treatise against Vigilantius, of five hundred lines, in one night. I cannot leave this portion of Jerome's biography TheVuigate without adding a few more remarks on the great- ness of that undertaking on which his fame rests. A new translation of the Scriptures for the use of the Church in general, and especially of the Western Church, had become necessary, in con- sequence of the variations and corruptions which had crept into the Septuagint and Latin versions. There were many Latin versions f afloat, not only among Christians, but among the Jews and hea- thens also; for by this time no man of any preten- * ' Interdura per singulos dies usque ad numerum mille versuum pervenire.' — Prsef in Epist. ad Ep)i. c. iii. Ibid. Pars I. p. 347. t ' Latinorum interpretum intiiiita varietas. Qui enim Scripturas ex Hebrsea lingua in Graecam verterunt numerari possunt, Latini autem interpretes nullo modo.' — See Aug. de doctr. Chr. Lib, II. c. II. 116 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 387-m sions to philosophy or learning, could suffer him- self to be ignorant of the contents of that book, which was turning the world upside down. Here- tical professors of the gospel, Hebrew doctors, and cavillers of every description, from the half-con- verted to the declared infidel, were glad enough to exhibit copies of the Old or New Testament, with false readings, and passages rendered questionable either by omissions, or interpolations. This not only increased the number of copies, but also of separate translations of scripture, especially in the prevailing language of the Roman empire of the West. The Latin version preferred before all others was called by some authors, Versio Itaia* by others Versio or translatio Vetus,-\ and by others, Versio Communis et Vulgata. Communis, Vulgata, and Itala, because it was read publicly in all the churches of Italy, France, Spain, Africa, and Germany, where the Latin was understood ; and Vetus, on account of its being more ancient than any of the rest. But even this was not free from corruptions. It was held in such veneration, however, that it was as dangerous for Jerome to dispute its purity, as it would now be for any of us to assail the authorised English version. But Jerome was not a man to be turned from his pur- pose by clamour. Careless of evil report or good re- port, he commenced and proceeded with his work, and he continued toiling at it, through all the trying * Aug. de doc. Christ, II. 15. t Greg. Mag. Lib. Mor. Prsefat. JEROME. 117 obstacles which jealousy, malevolence, infirmities of body, and distractions from various causes, opposed to him, until he brought it to a triumph- ant conclusion. It is not certain that he re-trans- lated every passage in the New Testament ; some ambiguous sentences, in one or two of the prefaces to his sacred books, leave it open to conjecture, that he may have been satisfied with correcting some of the epistles. The Psalms were also left for the most part as he found them, for two rea- sons : first, because their constant use in the daily services of public worship rendered them less liable to the introduction of false readings ; and secondly, because their adaptation to music, and the general practice of learning them by heart, would have rendered any new form of words both inconvenient and unpopular. It required time, and the removal of many pre- judices, and of long-cherished predilections, before Jerome's translation could be received into the church as the Vulgate. The old Vulgate, or Versio Itala* retained its place for many years after Jerome's death. Even during the pontificate of Gregory the Great, the old Vulgate was cited for its authority, as frequently as the new. The * ' Novam vero translationem dissero, sed ut comprobationis causa exigit, nunc novam, nunc veterem per testimonia assume, ut, quia sedes apostoloruni, Deo auctore prsesidio, utraque utitur, niei quoque labor studii ex utraque fulciatur.' Greg. Mag. — Tom. I. p. 8. Epis- tola de Lib. Moral, c. 4. Gregory however seems to have preferred Jerome's, or the new translation, ' In posteriori autem translatione quam et veraciorem crcdimus,' &c.— In Ezech. Lib. I. Horn. X. Opcr. Or. Tom. I. p. 12G5. A. D. 3B7— ;?f),5. 118 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 387—395. church at large used each, and Gregory spoke of the two, as the neiu and the cmcient translation.* To Jerome, therefore, belongs the honour of having taken a work in hand, which has been the * By way of specimen, and to show the difference between the old version, the Vcrsio Itala, and that of Jerome, I annex two passages, cited by Augustine, ' De cura gerenda pro mortuis', c. 16 and 20, with the corresponding verses in Jerome's translation. Versio Itala, vetus. ' Haec dicit Dominus Deus Israel : verba mea quae audisti, et veritus es a facie mea cum audisti quae locutus sum de isto loco, et qui commorantur in eo, ut deseratur, et in maledicto sit ; et conscidisti vestimenta tua, et flevisti in conspectu meo; et ego audivi, dixit dominus Sabaoth : non sic, ecce ego apponam te ad patres tuos, et apponeris cum pace : et non videbunt oculi tui omnia mala, quae ego induco in locum hunc, et qui commorantur in eo.' — 4 Kings xxii. 18 — 20. ' Alii quidem datur per Spiri- tum sermo sapicntiiE ; alii sermo scientise secundum eundem Spiri- tum : alteri autem fides in eodem spiritu, alteri donatio curationum in uno spiritu, alii operationes virtutum, alii prophetia, alii diju- dicatio Spirituum, alii genera linguarum, alii interpretatio ser- monum. Omnia autem haec ope- ratur unus atque idem spiritus, dividens propria unicuique prout vult.' — 1 Cor. xii. 8—11. Versio Hieronymi Nova. ' Haec dicit dominus Deus Israel. Pro eo quod audisti verba voluminis, et perterritum est cor tuum, et humiliatus es coram domino, auditis sermonibus con- tra locum istum, et habitatores ejus, quod videlicet fierent in stu- porem et in maledictum ; et sci- disti vestimenta tua, et flevisti coram me, et ego audivi, ait do- minus, idcirco coUigam te ad pa- tres tuos, et colligeris ad sepul- crum tuum in pace, ut non videant oculi tui omnia mala quae inducturus sum super locum istum.' — 4 Kings xxii. 18 — 20. ' Alii quidem per Spiritum datur sermo sapientise, alii autem sermo scientise secundum eundem Spiritum : alteri fides in eodem Spiritu : alii gratia sanitatum in uno Spiritu, alii operatio vir- tutum, alii prophetia, alii discre- tio Spirituum, alii genera lingua- rum, alii interpretatio sermo- num. Haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem spiritus, divi- dens singulis prout vult." — 1 Cor. xii. 8—11. JEROME. 119 means of illustrating and purifying and preserving one of the noblest versions of scripture ; and he carried it on perseveringly, notwithstanding the obloquy and painful labour to which it exposed him. That it was not free from errors, he himself confessed ; in fact, what translation from an ancient tongue can ever be pronounced to be perfect ? But its general clearness and fidelity have been almost universally admitted, and the principal errors which appear in the modern editions of the Vulgate, and which support the dogmas of Rome, are to be ascribed to the Sixtine and Clementine revisions, rather than to the pen of Jerome him- self. If the assiduity of one man, if his faithful- ness, learning, research, patience, and prayer, could have bequeathed a translation of scripture to pos- terity, free from vital defects, Jerome took the right mode to leave us so precious a legacy. But the thing is an impossibility; no individual is com- petent to a task, which has hitherto defeated the endeavours of every labourer, who has trusted to his own single strength. Besides his translations and revisions of scrip- ture, the principal works which occupied the attention of Jerome, during the first years of his abode at Bethlehem, say from 387 to 395, were commentaries on the epistles to Philemon, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, and to Titus : Com- mentaries also on some of the minor prophets : Qusestiones Hebraicae, and Translations of the Homilies of Origen. Jerome at this period of time confined himself A.U. 3»7— ?.f)o. 120 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 387—395. to Bethlehem, but when he spoke of shutting himself up in his cell, and there passing his time in penitence and tears, in preparation for the day of judgment, we are not to understand, that he literally made a close prisoner of himself between the four walls of his little hermitage. On the contrary, he lived in intercourse with the com- pany of monks and nuns, so to call them, for whom the celebrated Paula had provided a retreat in the sacred villa2:e. The establishment consisted Monastic ^ Institutions of a church, and four monasteries : three for wo- at Bethle- ' hem. jyien and one for men. Over this community, Jerome exercised an influence, which he himself compared to episcopal authority. In fact it was nothing less than an invasion of the jurisdiction of the bishop of Jerusalem to set up an impei^ium i?i 'wiperio of this kind, and the open quarrel which took place between Jerome and his monks, and John, bishop of Jerusalem,* showed that monas- tic houses, from the very nature of their constitu- tion, had a tendency to undermine the authority of the bishops. The history of this quarrel afl'ords a striking instance of the miserable divisions, and scandalous disorders, which disgraced the church in the fourth century ; and it is one which makes thinking men shrink from the idea of taking it as an example, or of shaping their conduct according to such ricketty framework. * John is mentioned by Paulinus in a Letter to Siilpiciiis, (Epist. 2. aliter 31.) in terms of the highest respect.—' Sancti Episcopi Joannis.' The French transhvtor reads, ' Bienhciireiix Jean evequc do Jerusalem.' JEROME. 121 A.D. 387—395. But the unhappy difference between Jerome and his bishop, was not the only one which em- . Jerome's bittered his spirit and increased the natural quanoi acerbity of his temper at this juncture. A rup- Rufinus. ture between himself and Rufinus of Aquileia, with whom he had been on terms of confiden- tial intimacy for many years, had been increas- ing for some time past, in consequence of their recriminations in regard to opinions concerning Origen. This fatal Origenist question was one, on which Jerome had no command over himself. He was conscious that he had laid himself open to animadversion, and even to suspicion, by many of his writings and conversations relating to that author : and that there was at least an appearance of inconsistency in the severity, with which he now assailed those who were accused of having a leaning towards some of Origen's errors. In the con- troversy with Rufinus, whether Jerome was right or wrong in his premises, or in his treatment of the subject, and in the use of his arguments, it is ad- mitted on all sides,* that he betrayed a petulant and vindictive spirit, and gave loose to the worst passions of his nature, in a manner which is totally unjustifiable. When Augustine undertook to be a mediator between them, he studiously abstained from expressing his opinion as to who was right or wrong. He certainly never declared himself for Jerome, or spoke severely against Rufinus. The question therefore naturally arises, — if Jerome could so glaringly lay himself open to censure in * See Tillcmont, Dii Pin, and Fleury on this subject. 122 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 387—395. this controversy with Rufinus, a man of undoubted respectability,* what dependence can we place on his judgment, his veracity, or on his fair dealing as a disputant, when he was embroiled with Vigilan- tius and others ? The same tastes and pursuits, the same mode of life, the same kind of reputation, as an ascetic, and the adviser of ascetics, which distinguished Jerome, rendered Rufinus also in like manner^ if not equally, eminent among his contemporaries. As Jerome kept up an inter- course of the most intimate kind with Paula, so Rufinus was seldom separated from Melanie ; and was the constant companion of her journies for spiritual objects. As Jerome, in his hermitage at Bethlehem, counselled and comforted those who went thither to have their vows of celibacy forti- fied, so Rufinus, in his cell on the mount of Olives, was consulted by bishops and monks, virgins and widows, married and unmarried, gentle and simple, rich and poor, and gave many of them the aid not only of his advice, but also of his pecuniary assist- ance. ' He was irreproachable,' says Tillemont, ' in his life and conduct, however he may have given occasion to his adversaries to censure him on articles of faith.' That which exasperated Jerome against Rufinus, at this time, was the suspicion he entertained, that Rufinus was implicated in a transaction, which * See the testimony of Paulinus to this effect, ' Ipsam adnotationem direxi ad Rufinum presbyterum, sanctte Melaniae spirituali via cotni- tem, vere sanctum, et pie doctum, et ob hoc intima mihi affectione conjunctdm.' — Epistola Pauhni 9, ad Snip. Sev. aliter 28. JEROME. 123 his general character will not suffer us to impute to him. A translation of the Letter of Epiphanius to John of Jerusalem, on the errors of Origen, had been sent by Jerome to Eusebius of Cremona. A monk, who had access to the apartments of Eusebius, stole his papers ; garbled copies of the translation were circulated among the enemies of Jerome, and the latter accused Rufinus of having suborned the monk to commit this injury.* From that moment the most acrimonious corres- pondence passed between them, and Jerome could seldom write or speak of Rufinus without the ut- most virulence. Both were to blame in the con- test that arose between them, and in the bitter spirit with which it was carried on, and we can- not but exclaim, — ' Was this the conduct befitting two persons of such reputed sanctity ? Were these the peacemakers and counsellors, worthy of being consulted as oracles, the one on the Mount of Olives, and the other on the spot where Christ was born, and where angels had sung good will to men ? ' In the meantime Jerome was continuing his scriptural studies with as much perseverance and ardour, as if nothing had occurred to interrupt his labours, or to unhinge his mind ; and his reputation for sanctity was so great, that testimonies of res- pect were poured in upon him from all parts of Christendom. A singular proof, of the value in * ' See Epist. llieron. ad Pam. -SB, alitor 101. Op. Hier. 4. Pars II. p. 248. A. D. i7-395. 124 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 387—3*95 which his works were held, was given by the arrival of six strangers at Bethlehem, who said they came from Lucrinus, a pious and wealthy Spaniard, who had sent them thither, with the request, that they might be permitted to take copies of all his works. It was about the same period, the beginning of the year 395, that Vigi- lantius brought a letter from Paulinus of Nola to Jerome. This was the first occasion of a personal acquaintance between the reformerof the Pyrenees, and the monk of Bethlehem, and we may now proceed with the main branch of our subject, the Memorials of Vigilantius. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 125 CHAP. VI. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. ViGiLANTius was born about the year a.d. 364 * a.d. y 3(14—390. in the Gallic village of Calagorris, (now called Houra, according to Vaissette, Vol. I, p. 57, and not Caseres as some have supposed,) situated at the foot of the Pyrenees, on the northern side of the mountains, and belonging to the district of Convense, — the present Comminffes. The place Birthplace was so called, because the first settlers came from vigiiantius. Calagorris in Spain, f when Pompey dispersed a * ' It is not easy to give the exact date of his birth. In a letter to Paulinus Vigiiantius is termed ' puer ' in the year 394. But he was ordained priest in 394 or 395, and ' puer ' may signify a domestic. When the word referred to age, it was used very arbitrarily. Thus Jerome applied it to himself, when he was in his fifteenth, twenty- fourth, and thirtieth year.' — See Jerome's Commentaries on Habakkuk iii. Isaiah xv. and Obadiah. -j- ' Baronius, mistaking the Gallic for the Spanish town, wrote a long note to prove that Vigiiantius was a Spaniard. ' Calagiirris sita erat in regione antiquorum Vasconum, et valde credibile, hos Hispa- nos, relicta patria, quibusdam suis pagis eorum nomina h quibus ori- ginem duxerant, imposuisse.' — Pagi. Critica Hist. Chronol. Vol. II. p. 74. The Gallic Calagorris was near Lugdunum Convenarum. In D'Anville's large Map of Modern France, there is a Chateau Leon, 120 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 364—390. large body of brigands, who infested that part of the country, and compelled them to retire into Gaul. It is probable that the birth-place of Vigilan- tius had much to do in the formation of his charac- ter, and that he was indebted to the spot, where he drew his first breath, for that lofty and indepen- dent spirit which he carried with him through life. A mountaineer has many advantages over the in- habitant of a crowded city. He inhales a pure and invigorating air ; he has magnificent and in- spiring objects perpetually before him : he is in- vited to range amongst solitudes, and to commune with his own heart, amidst those majestic features of nature, which declare the glory of God and the insignificance of man. His daily occupation pre- pares him for noble pursuits, and when he is cul- tivating his patch of ground on the edge of a precipice, or leading his flocks and herds to the mountain pasturage, or guiding strangers through the dangers and intricacies of a mountain pass, he is trained to forethought, and inured to hardship. Even his diversions have the same effect, and throw him constantly on his own resources : for whether he pursues the chase to supply his table with food, or to drive the wolf and the bear from the fold, it is a school of discipline, where the best hunter usually becomes the best leader in war, and the wisest sage in counsel. There is another which may have derived its name from tlie ancient Luydunum Con- venarum. Mr. Faber has suggested that the old term Leonists, as appUed to the Waldenses, may have been given to them from ' Vigi- hintius the Leonist, who resided some time among their ancestors.' — See Faber on Election, p. 441, and Vallenses and Albigenses, p. 279. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 127 and a higher advantage in being born a moun- taineer. Mountain tribes are generally the most unwilling to receive either the yoke or the corrup- tions of the stranger : for the children of the moun- tain and the field are too familiar with the glorious works of God's hands, to take impressions from the childish baubles that foster idolatry. The father of Vigilantius was an inn-keeper, descended from one of those robbers, whom Pompey chased out of Spain. Jerome sneers at this ignoble parentage, and makes the pedigree and birth-place of Vigi- lantius the subject of his coarse jokes. There are however some considerations which may recon- cile us to the place and circumstances of our ' holy presbyter's ' birth. Four hundred years, the interval between the time of Pompey and that of Vigilantius, are enough to wipe away any genealogical stain ; and if it were not so, Roman and English history at least present sufficient apology for the crime of being derived from such ancestry. Would our most ancient Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman families care for the reproach of having their line traced up to the followers of those pirates and freebooters, Hengist and RoUo ? And as to being born in an humble inn, there is one event, which might have induced a Christian writer to refrain from any expression of contempt on that score. But so far from deriving a stigma from it, to the inn at Calagorris Vigilantius was indebted for the early Christian bias of his mind, and for his first attainments in general knowledge. That inn was placed exactly where a youth of emulous and 3C4-390. 128 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 364—390. aspiring disposition would have good opportunities of acquiring important information, and of being- instructed in the events which were passing in the political and religious world. This Calagorris was situated at the entrance of the defiles of the Pyrenees, on the great paved road which led from Aquitain into Spain. There were two main branches of this road ; the eastern, which crossed the Pyrenees between the modern provinces of Rousillon and Catalo- nia ; and the western, which directing its course at the foot of the mountains, through the dis- tricts now called Comminges, Beam, and Lower Navarre, attained the summit near the celebrated pass of Roncevalles, and then descended towards Pampeluna. On this last mentioned branch was Calagorris, at no great distance from one of the sources of the Garonne. In the language of the itinerary of Antonine,* (which places it twenty-six Roman miles from Lugdunum Convenarum, now called St. Bertrand,t and sixteen from Aquse Siccee, * Item ab Aquis Tarbellicis Tolosam, M. P. CXXXIII. Beneharnum - - - M. P. XVIIII. Oppidum novum - - - M. P. XVIII. Aquas Convenarum - - M. P. VIII. Lugdunum - - - M. P. XVI. Calagorgem - - - M. P. XXVI. Aquassiccas - - - M. P. XVI. Vernosolem - - - M. P. XV. Tolosam - - - - M. P. XV. Itinerarium Antonini. De Hisp. in Aquitaniam. t ' St. Bertrand de Comenge. Ceste cite est appellee dans la Notice des Provinces Civitas Convenarum et dans Gregoire de Tours Convener. Je croye que ceste ville a este anciennement appellee Lugdunum Convenarum, car dans le voyager d'Antonine Lugdunum MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 129 now Rieux ;) it is called a mansio or station, to z^^^\v^ distinguish it from the town or civitas* At each mansio or station there was accommodation for travellers, and relays of horses f were provided by the State to convey despatches or government-mes- sengers ; and persons travelling officially, or under the imperial favour, might be whirled along at the rate of nearly nine Roman miles an hour % in light se troiive marque sur le chemin de Benearmim (qui est la ville de Lescar en Beam) a Tolose, ce qui Strabon esclaircit encore mieux au livre 4 de sa Geograpliie, ou il remarque que dans le pays de Comenge, aux monts Pyrenees il y a une ville nommee Lugdunum.' ' Gregoire de Tours, c. 34, du livre 7 de son Histoire escrit que la ville de Comenge est assise au sommet d'une Montagne. C'est pour- quoy tout ainsi que la ville de Lyon a este appellee Lugdunum, du mot ancien Gaulois Dunum.' Catel. Mem. de 1' Histoire du Lan- guedoc, p. 316. * ' Ad has vias locatse sunt civitates, atque mansiones, quae ma- nendi, et quiescendi causa, hospitia necessariis ad vitEe usum instructa habuerunt: et mutationes (sic etiam vocavit ilia astas) ubi veredos, jumenta, et vehicula, mutarent peregrinantes.' — Camden. Ilomani in Britannia, p. 45. ' Nous avons parle des cites il faut a present traiter des mutations et mansions. Et d'autant qu'en I'un et I'autre il falloit faire quelques arrests et stations, scavoir aux mutations pour changer de chevaux, et aux mansions pour demeurer au giste, dela est arrive, que les man- sions et les mutations ont comprises sur le nom conimun de sta- tions comme qui diroit repos ou arrest.' — Bergier Hist, des grands Chemins del'Empire. Liv. iv. c. 9, p. 638. + ' Equos stabularios quos alebat Respublica.' — Zosimus. Hist. J ' Si quis cogitet nocte ac die longissimum iter vehiculis tribns Tiberium Neronem emensum, fcstinantem ad Drusum fratrem aegrotum in Gcrmania: in eo fueniiit C.C.M. Passuum.'— Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vii. c. 20. But though they might travel in those days at great speed on the high roads, the wise and humane laws, which protected the cattle em- ployed on them from ill usage, would do honour to more refined times. The number of horses to be yoked, according to the size and weight of the carriage, the number of persons to be conveyed, and the K 130 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 364—390. His early opportuni- ties of ac- quiring knowledge. two-wheeled cars, (birotae,) or four-wheeled car- riages, (rhedae,) drawn by horses or mules. These stations were farmed by individuals, who, (as they do now in some countries,) made large fortunes by the speculation in post-horses : no less than forty horses, besides other beasts of burthen, being kept at some of them. The father of Vigilantius had charge of the station at Calagorris, and the great wealth which his son afterwards possessed, and which he em- ployed so well, was the inheritance derived from the profits of that situation. But we have no other particulars to relate of the boyhood of Vigi- lantius, than that he was brought up at this Pyre- nean mansio, and that it was his humble occupa- tion to wait on travellers, as servant of the inn, driver of the post-horses, and guide across the mountains. How he was educated we know not ; Jerome insinuates that he was badly educated, that he spent his youth in the same occupation as his father, in adulterating wine, as he afterwards adulterated Scripture, and that he was always equally defective in knowledge and in diction. But if so, why was Jerome so much disturbed by the opposition of this reformer ? We may reasonably suppose that the house, in quantity of baggage to be laid on each, were distinct subjects of legis- lation in the Theodosian code. The Rheda was not permitted to carry more than a thousand pounds weight, and the Birota two hun- dred pounds weight. Two persons, or three at the most, were consi- dered enough for the Birota, and it was expressly forbidden to beat the horses with heavy sticks, or to treat them with any degree of cru- elty.—Codex Theod. de Cursu. pub. lib. 35. Bergier, p. 646, 651. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 131 which Vigilantius spent his early years, gave him 364I.390. opportunities of picking up information, and ac- quiring a taste for general knowledge ; for it was the resort of many illustrious characters, who tra- velled by this route into Spain from Aquitain. The frequent councils and synods which were held at this period, induced the most celebrated men of the day to undertake long journeys from province to province ; and with some of these, the subject of our memoir may have become ac- quainted, when they rested at Calagorris, or were pursuing their way to the next station or relay, under his guidance.* The state of the public roads, t and the safe and speedy communication which was then established between the most distant kingdoms of the earth, have been fre- quently mentioned among the secondary causes of success in the promulgation of the gospel. General intercourse was, at the least, much facilitated, and it is not a mere flight of the imagi- nation to presume that Vigilantius acquired his first knowledge of Christian truth, in his conversa- tion with the bishops and clergy, who were on their way to the provincial capitals on each side * Ammianus, (Hist. 21, and 16.) speaking of these councils, says, * the highways were covered with troops of bishops, galloping from every side to the assemblies which they call synods, and the public establishments of the posts were almost ruined by their frequent and hasty journeys.' t The public roads were so good, that even the passage of the Alps and Pyrenees, especially of the latter, was considered an under- taking of perfect ease. ' Tam brevis enim et facilis via est, ut nee in Pyrenaeo ardua sit, qui Narbonensi ad Hispanias agger, nomen magis quam jugum horrendus, interjacct.' — Paul. Epist. vi p. 102. K 2 132 VIGILANTIUS AND IIIS TIMES. A. D. 364—390. of the Pyrenees. There were several councils held during the youth of Vigilantius, any one of which may have given him an opportunity of receiving religious impressions, from the eminent ecclesiastics who were crossing and recrossing the mountains, and who were expedited on their way by means of the conveniences which his father's inn and relays afforded. The Council of Sara- gossa, in 380, which brought hither St. Delphinus from Bourdeaux, and St. Phebadius from Agen, was likely to make him acquainted with these two friends of Sulpicius Severus and Paulinus, who afterwards took him under their patronage. The Council of Bordeaux, assembled in 384, for the purpose of investigating the heresy of the Priscil- lianists, was another occasion to which we may attribute a religious movement in the young moun- taineer's mind, when that synod caused so many who were interested in the enquiry, to pass by the posting-house at Calagorris. There is every reason to believe that he had the advantage of early inter- course with St. Exuperius, Bishop of Thoulouse, who was his protector in after life, when Jerome endeavoured to stir up a spirit of persecution against him. Exuperius, if tradition says rightly, was a native of the same district, and was born in a village now called Aure,* at no great distance from the birth-place of Vigilantius : but whatever impression he may have received from others, to Sulpicius Severus he was indebted for his settled conversion. * See Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. x, p. 620, and Catel. Mem. Hist, dii Languedoc. p. 820. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 133 Sulpicius had estates on both sides of the 364^.1^390 Pyrenees, and having become acquainted with 1^ ionised Vioilantius in the course of his iourneys across ^ySuipidus '^ _ . . oeverus. the mountains, he took him into his employ- ment, first as ' a simple domestic,' and afterwards as the superintendent of some of his lands in Spain. Vaissette * states that Vigilantius had the receipt of rents confided to him, with the sale of the Gallic historian's vintage. This is not un- likely, considering the business in which his father was engaged, and his own judgment in the taste and value of wines, (another matter of reproach in the eyes of Jeromef) ; but contrary to Vaissette 's usual practice, he does not furnish us with the authority on which his statement rests. The youth, who was tapster, and waiter, J or money- taker at his father's inn, may have been received into the service of Sulpicius with a view to his being employed in a capacity, for which his former habits suited him ; but we have no occasion to shrink from contemplating his character in either of these lowly stations. It is certain that he be- came the friend and confidant of the eminent man who first took him into his service as a * simple domestic,' and the lower the grade from which he rose, the greater must have been his merit. There were two kinds of servants in Gaul and Spain at that period, — the purchased slave, and the hired * * Severe Sulpice, dont il fut d'abord simple domestiqiie, Ini confia ensuite, a ce qu'il paroit, le soin de quelque terre qu'il avoit en Espagne, avec celui de la recepte de ses revenues, et de la vente dc son vin.' — Vaissette Hist, du Languedoc. Vol. I, p. 152. t Hieron, Op. IV. Pars II. p. 281. % Ibid. p. 277. 131 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 364- 390. dependent ; and in each case they were often ad- mitted to great familiarity with their masters, and rose to situations of trust and importance. Vigi- lantius was of the latter class, and the letters of Paulinus to Sulpicius, as will be shown presently, speak of him in terms, which assure us, that whatever place he filled in the household of Sul- picius, he was in the enjoyment of the historian s entire confidence and warm affection. I am unable to state the precise time, when the subject of this memoir first attracted the notice of Sulpicius, or when he was received into the his- torian's service ; but I cannot be very wrong, if I suppose it to have been in the year 390, and that his first employment was not that of a menial servant, for it led to his being confidentially appointed to a charge, requiring both integrity and judgment. Whether as steward, receiver of rents, or overseer of the vintage, Vigilantius had established his character for trust-worthiness ; and when he obtained his third step in the establish- ment of his patron, it must again have been one of marked distinction. He was called from the management of the estate in Spain, to take up his abode in one of the villas of Sulpicius, situated between Thoulouse and Narbonne ; but whether this was Primuliac, now Prumilli, or Eluso, the modern Alzonne, is uncertain. The French editors of the Letters of Paulinus think that the latter was the historian's principal residence* at this * Les Letties de S. Paulin, p. 17, Note. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 135 S^O— 394. time ; and Vaissette inclines to the same opinion.* Siilpicius was unquestionably living there in 393, or 394, for it was from Eluso that he then despatched an epistle to Paulinus at Barcelona.']' Its vicinity to the estate, which his friend Paulinus had at Ebromagus, renders it still more likely that he continued to dwell there, as long as there was any chance of Paulinus returning to Aquitain. When this was no longer to be expected, Sulpicius retired to Primuliac, where we find him in 39 5, f and it was there that he built his celebrated church and monastery. But whether it was at Eluso or Primuliac, that Vigilantius was received into the house of Sulpicius after his return from Hisassod- Spain, he had every opportunity of improving his ^Sie"'^in mind, and of mixing with the best literary and s'jij°"us*'^ religious society in the province. It is probable that he was here employed as an amanuensis or copyist, and was laying the foundation of that scriptural knowledge which afterwards enabled him to encounter no less an opponent than Jerome himself. Ausonius and Claudian, Prudentius and Paulinus, Delphinus, Amandus, Exuperius, and the most distinguished men in Aquitain were the associates of Sulpicius ; and there was not a way- faring stranger of any reputation, who did not visit him, on his road between Bordeaux and Nar- bonne : so that everything that passed in the Chris- tian world was communicated to the inmates of the * Histoire generalc du Languedoc. Vol. I. p. 634 — 630. t See Epist. Paul, ad Sulp. G. X Epist. Paul ad Snip. Sev. I. T3G VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394 villa, either by travellers from distant parts, or persons v^ho were in correspondence with friends in the great capitals of the east and west. This would naturally lead to the discussion of theologi- cal subjects, and to that interchange of opinion on the great questions of faith and discipline, then agitated in the church, which conduced to make the young mountaineer a serious thinker and an anxious enquirer at this early period of his life. The house of Sulpicius was exactly the place where his attention would be directed to the very points of investigation, in which he . afterwards took so prominent a part. Sacred history, and the practices of the primitive ages, were the especial meditations of Sulpicius, until he was persuaded to abandon them for the fables which Martin and the monks of Egypt brought into vogue, and Vigilantius could not see him take up his new pursuits without contrasting them with his former studies and habits. Austerities and monkish legends were novelties gradually introduced at Eluso and Primuliac, and did not all at once supplant the simpler observ- ances of Christian worship, and the nobler con- templations of Christian perfection, commended to attention by the apostolical writers. Happily it was the brighter side of Sulpicius, which was first presented to the view of Vigilantius. Sulpi- cius writing an abridgment of the Bible, and occupied daily in consulting and transcribing scripture ; — Sulpicius humbly endeavouring to imitate the best patterns of Christianity, feeding MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 137 A. D. 390-394. the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, receiving the wanderer into his house, and regu- lating his whole life by evangelical precepts ; — Sulpicius building churches, and promoting public and family worship; — Sulpicius gathering about him the learned, and the pious, and the wise, and discussing religious subjects ; — Sulpicius in the height of his fame, when everybody admired and loved him, gave a right bias to the mind of Vigi- lantius, before he entered upon that new path which it was not safe to follow. But a blight was cast over the well-spent life change in r a 1 ' • 1 1 •! It -\T • the habits 01 bulpicius when that evil counsellor, Martm amiehaiac- of Tours, persuaded him, that all his bene- patron. volent and pious actions would not enable him to escape the everlasting fire reserved for the wicked, unless he made for himself a Gehenna and Inferno* upon earth, by the practice of the most rigid pe- nances. Under the influence of such baneful advice, Sulpicius began to convert a household of faith into a scene of the grossest supersti- tion. He denied himself the necessaries of life ; he exhausted his strength by long fastings and devo- tional exercises, which lasted through the greater part of the twenty-four hours of every day ; he tore his body with scourges, and invented new modes of self-punishment. When these inflictions failed to bring him peace of mind, he redoubled his con- tributions to charitable purposes, and thought to * * Te contra infclicem ct in Into fsecis infernos adhaerentem inge- miscas, quod vel unum, ut scripsisti, priediolum non vendidisse vide- aris.' — Epist. Paiilini ad Snip. Sev. 2. 138 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39ol^394. purchase a sure interest in heaven by alms-deeds, ■ which exceeded all that he had done before. But he was still goaded on to make further sacrifices, and was exhorted never to be satisfied with him- self until he had sold all and given to the poor.* In the midst of all his self-denial, he was racked with doubts and suspicions, and haunted by a phantom, which accused him of reserving too much for himself out of his own property, and of not having been suflficiently unsparing in the ma- ceration of his body ; of not having duly prolonged his fastings and watchings ; of not having adopted a more painful posture in his exercises of devotion. This proceeded from want of faith, and he resorted to the extremes of self-denial as a means of making satisfaction for his sins, because he did not place true reliance on, or feel security in his Saviour's atonement. He did not look to his Redeemer for the full and entire expiation of his sins, but adopted the belief, that the ransom was incomplete without some sufferings of his own, and that the uttermost farthing of his debt to an inexorable God could not be paid, so long as he enjoyed any one earthly comfort.f In vain did the better ad- visers of Sulpicius remonstrate with him, and en- deavour to assure him, that a benevolent use of his property would be a fulfilment of the aposto- * See Sulp, Sev. de Vita Martini, c. 26. ' Vendendo omnia et dando pauperibus.' t These facts are collected from the tenor of some of the Epistles of Paulinus, in which the writer makes allusion to the self-accusations of Sulpicius. See especially Epist. II. Paul, ad Sulp. Sev. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 139 lical precept, " to do good, and to distribute ;" and 3901^394 that it was enough to be a faithful steward of the charge committed to him. He was dissatisfied with himself, and became more and more miser- able. Even Paulinus expostulated with him on some of his unreasonable self-accusations, in a letter which gives a beautiful description of his mode of life. ' You are fulfilling the Apostle's injunction, possessing all things, as though you possessed not ; having only for the sake of those who have nothing. You still live indeed in your own house, but only as a steward to provide for others. You are as a pilgrim in your own country, and consider this world as the place of your exile, that you may become an inhabitant of Paradise, and the citizen of a better country.' * The letter proceeds to inform us, that the dis- play of grandeur, common in the mansions of per- * The letter of Paulinus, from which this extract is taken, contains a curious passage relating to the number 300. I transcribe it as a sam- ple of the superstitions of the fourth century. ' It was not with a great number of soldiers, nor with armed legions, that this holy man (Abraham) triumphed over the princes, his ene- mies, but with only three hundred of his servants, that is to say, by the power of the cross, represented by the Greek letter T, which, in the arithmetic of that language, signified three hundred, and we may add that it was by the same power that the ark of Noah, floating on the waters, a type of the Church in the world, was raised three hundred cubits above the earth.' This fanciful and mystic interpretation is ascribed originally to Bar- nabas. Tertullian, Ambrose, Augustine, and Gregory the Great, and several others, indulged in the same extravagant opinions of the hid- den meaning of the Number 300, as represented by the Greek letter T.— See Rosweyd, Notes on the Second Epistle of Paulinus. l-tO VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 390—394. sons of his rank, was not to be seen in that of Sulpicius. No festal halls were there, no rich tapestry, no gold and silver plate, but it was filled with multitudes of poor pilgrims, whilst he himself occupied only a small corner of it. He treated his servants as if they were his companions, waiting upon them like a menial, and scarcely letting it appear that he was the head of the family. He considered his house as only lent to him, and endeavoured to pay the hire of it to Jesus Christ, by the service he rendered to the poor for his sake.* Another letter of Paulinus, written long after- wards, describes the happy household of Sulpicius, made so by the constant amiability of their mas- ter ; happy in every thing except the conscious- ness that the head of the family, who treated them more like his nearest relatives than his de- pendents, was himself tormented by a perpetual distrust of his own spiritual condition. ' Your domestics tell me that your heart burns with charity ; that your spirit is enlightened with heavenly knowledge ; that you are humble in the midst of grandeur, and poor in the midst of wealth, and that you live in a state of self-imposed bond- age ; that you benignantly treat your servants as your companions, and your brethren as your mas- ters.'f Paulinus concludes his eulogium, by com- paring Sulpicius to St. Martin : ' Elevated to the highest degree of virtue, they assure me, that you * Epist. IT. Paulini ad Snip. Sever, t Epist. XIV. Paul, ad Sulp. Sever. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 141 are a perfect servant of God : the enemy of riches, 3oo'^-l3;)4. the living- portrait of the holy Martin, and of the holy Clarus ; and an entirely obedient follower of the gospel.' Such was Sulpicius Severus, the early friend its effects ,.. . f -^T •^ • -I • \ • on the mind and religious instructor of Vigilantius, and in him ofvigiian- the young mountaineer witnessed that spiritual wavering, and unsettled character, that mixture of piety with fanaticism, and of kind-heartedness with austerity, which produced in his own mind a spirit of inquiry, and must have forced such re- flections as these upon him — * Can that system be right, which perverts the understanding, inflames the imagination, and tortures the body and mind of such a man, as this generous master of mine ? The dignified senator is urged to abandon his post of duty : the influential noble, whose pure and blameless life, in the midst of corrupt society, might preach Christianity with persuasive elo- quence, and make converts every day, is told to shut himself up in a cell, and to hide his light under a bushel. The professed follower of Him, who promised refreshment and rest unto those, who should adopt his religion, is directed by his ghostly adviser to place some new yoke upon his neck, heavy to carry, and hard to bear.' The more Vigilantius loved and reverenced Sul- picius, the more dissatisfied would he be, with the system, which never allowed a really pious man to be at rest in his conscience, but filled him with doubts and misgivings, as to the safety of his soul, so long as he indulged in the most innocent W2 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.Ii. 390—394. earthly enjoyments, and reserved any thing to be called his own out of his princely patrimony. * My father,' he might have said to him after having endeavoured to soothe his troubled mind, * You are filled with remorse because you have not obeyed Martin more submissively, nor followed more closely in the footsteps of Paulinus.* You complain that you have not sold your lands to give to the poor ; but do you not spend all your substance in hospitality and charity ? See what Paulinus himself has written to reconcile you to yourself. It requires a greater effort of virtue to retain pos- session of wealth, without fixing our afi"ections upon it, than to resign it altogether ; it is more noble and generous to have it, and to despise it, than to renounce it, for fear of misusing it.' t Visit to _ Durins: the time that Visfilantius was in the ser- Martin of .J, VriV. mXXV. X,L±^X, , 1^ Tours. vice of Sulpicius, it is probable that he accom- panied him on one of those frequent visits, which the historian paid to St. Martin ; and which were so fatal not only to his reputation, as a man of sound understanding, but also to his peace of mind. Martin was then living in the monastery, * ' Sermo autem illius non alius apud nos fuit, quam mundi hujus illicebras, et sfficiili onera relinquenda,ut dominum Jesum liberi expe- ditique sequeremiir : praestantissimumque nobis prjesentiura teniporum iilustris viri Paulini, ciijiis supra mentionem fecimus, exemplum inge- rebat, qui summis opibus abjectis, Christum secutus, solus paene his temporibus Evangelica prsecepta complesset." — Sul. Sev. Vita Martini, c. 26. + ' Nos autem non patiamur invidiam perfectionis, sed potius acci- piamus veniam infirmitatis; quia negare non potes, fortius esse manen- tibus, quam alienatis rebus carere j et spernere quod habeas, quam non habere quod spernas.' — Epist. Paul, ad Sulp. Sev. II. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 143 founded by him at Marmoutier (Majus Monasteri- um) near Tours ; and in order to make the reader better acquainted with the modes of thought and action, which characterized the age, we will suppose that Vigilantius had an opportunity of be- coming a spectator with Sulpicius of some of those scenes, which ecclesiastical writers have gravely described in honour of St. Martin. Being careful not to introduce a single incident, but such as is recorded in the contemporary authorities of the fourth and fifth centuries, I will take no greater liberty with my subject, than to make Vigilantius the eye-witness of transactions, which were really performed to the very letter, as I am about to re- present them. Picture, then, Sulpicius and Vigilantius pursuing their journey from the banks of the Garonne to those of the Loire. The nearer they approached the city of Tours, the more striking were the proofs exhibited of Martin's wonderful influence over the minds of the people. They saw the ruins of hea- then temples recently demolished, and were told that the work of destruction had been done at the command of the bishop. They beheld prepara- tions for building shrines and churches, and were assured that it was enough for Martin to give the word, and the sacred walls began to rise. The prefects and authorities of the country were kept in awe by the dread of incurring the displeasure of a saint, whose w ord they believed could para- lyse their limbs, fasten them to the seats on which they were sitting, or to the ground on which they A. n. 390—394. 144 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390-394. were standing ; and the peasants and citizens de- clared that they dwelt in security both as to life and property, now that the very name of Martin controlled their oppressors. They saw groups of people accompanying sick and infirm patients, who were being conveyed in litters and carts, and they were informed * that they were on their way to the holy man of Tours, whose prayers would procure their restoration to health. * If we can Marvellous . t • -i ^ • ■> • i i tales. receive his blessing, said they, ' we shall be made whole — or if we can only get within reach of his shadow, or the touch of his garment, virtue will proceed from it ; but if this be denied us, we will kiss the ground on which he has sat, or the path over which he has walked, and our faith in his miraculous powers will be rewarded with healing.' They were accosted by peasants, who pointed to their sheep, or cattle, and said, ' We have to thank the holy Martin for driv- ing the rot from our flocks, and the murrain from our herds.' * That cow,' said one, ' went mad, it was not safe to go near her, she ran wnldly through the fields, and threatened every one with destruction that stood in her way. I implored the saint's help. He came and commanded the ani- mal to stand still. She obeyed him. His search- * Sulpicius, in his Life of Martin, and in his Dialogues on the vir- tues of Martin, repeats again and again, that every thing he relates, was told to him by eye-witnesses. ' Nam cum olim audita fide ejus vita atque virtutibus, desiderio illius sestuaremiis, gratam nobis ad eum videndum peregrinationem suscepimus : simul quia jam ardebat animus vitam illius scribere, partim ab ipso, in quantum ille interrogari potuit, sciscitati sumus: partim ab his, qui interfuerant vel sciebant, cognovimus.' — De Vita Mart. c. 26. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 145 ing eye, which nothing can escape, discerned a devil sitting upon her back : ' Depart from her, thou evil one,' he exclaimed, ' and cease to tor- ment the harmless beast.' The spirit of darkness obeyed, and left her. ' And wonderful to say,' added the peasant, ' my cow, when she found herself released from her tormentor, came and lay down humbly at the feet of Martin, who dismissed her quietly, and now she is as gentle as any of the rest of the herd.' * Another man, the owner of a chariot and four horses, told them, that as he was driving some soldiers to the next station, the beasts stopped short at the sight of Martin, who was clothed in hair-cloth, and whose dark and flowing cloak frightened them. They would not stir from the spot, and the soldiers in their wrath at being thus delayed, attacked the holy man, and beat him most cruelly. But the horses were still immove- able ; neither whips, nor goads, nor clubs, which were plied unmercifully to urge them on, were of any avail. They continued fixed to the ground until the soldiers implored Martin's forgiveness on their knees, and at his voice, they were permitted to proceed.' t A still more marvellous exhibition of the saint's supernatural power was communicated to them. The emperor Valentinian, in his pride, and at the instigation of his wife, an Arian, refused to receive the bishop of Tours. The saint had recourse to * Dial. II. c. 9. t Ibid. Cliap. 4. A. D. 390—394. 146 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390-394. his sack-cloth and ashes ; he abstained from food ; not a drop of water did he permit to moisten his lips ; he passed nights and days in prayer, and for a week he persevered in these exercises of devo- tion. On the seventh day an angel appeared to him, and assured him that he might now present himself before the emperor without the fear of being excluded from his presence. The saint went to the palace. The barred gates and closed doors opened as he approached : the guards had not the power to impede his progress, and the indignant monarch saw the object of his resentment draw nigh to him, without an attempt being made by his attendants to stop him. Valentinian, in sullen pride, remained upon his royal seat, and would not rise to welcome his visitor ; suddenly a flame rose from under his chair, and the scorched tyrant was taught to shew better manners, and to respect a holy man like Martin. He jumped from his throne in agony, and stood up before the saint of God.* They learnt from another informant that there was a shrine in the neighbourhood of the mo- nastery, which was said to be erected over the remains of a Christian martyr. The saint had rea- son to doubt the fact, and going to the tomb, he prayed that the Lord would enlighten him as to the merits of the person who lay buried there. While he was at his devotions he beheld a hideous apparition, which he conjured to inform him over whose body the altar was raised. The phantom * Ibid. Chap. 6. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 147 told him, that his own relics were inhumed there, -^ ° 300 — 394. and that he had been a robber, and executed on that spot for his crimes.* Within a short distance of the monastery, Sul- picius and his companion were cautioned by one of Martin's monks to be extremely circumspect in their conduct, and not to violate the sanctity of the place by any act of impropriety. ' The very walls have ears and eyes, and there is not an act,' said he, ' with which the saint is not ac- quainted. It was my misfortune to offend, and now I put you on your guard : I was sitting by Martin's chafing-dish, and inadvertently suffered my dress to be deranged, and to expose what ought to have been covered. Secret powers of per- ception enabled Martin to understand what was done, and although he was at some distance, and could not see it, yet he exclaimed with a loud voice, *' Who is desecrating my habitation ! "f The celebrated monastery of St. Martin, called The Mo- Majus Monasterium, by way of distinction, and ^f^^''^"^ which by corruption has since given the name of Marmoutier to the small town which now stands upon its site, was on the northern or right bank of the river Loire. The travellers had therefore to pass through the city of Tours, and its suburbs, before they could arrive at it. Tours is built very near the point of junction where the Cher falls into the Loire, and then^ as now, presented the most delightful scenery to the eye. But the * De Vita Mart. c. 8. t Dial. III. 19. L 2 armoii- tier. 148 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394. beauties of nature, and the attractions of busy life, had no charms for Martin ; and shortly after his elevation to the episcopate, he fixed upon this as the most retired spot he could find, near the principal church of his diocese, and here the pre- late resumed the habit and the severe discipline of an anchorite. The travellers, after walking about tw^o miles from the city tov^ards the east, in the direction of the river, found themselves approach- ing a spot so wild, so rocky, and entangled with trees and underwood, that they could scarcely believe that they were still in the immediate neighbourhood of a populous town. They might have expected every moment to see a vast range of buildings rise before them, capable of receiving the eighty monks whom Martin had gathered about him ; but instead of this they advanced on- wards without hearing any sound, or seeing any object which indicated the vicinity of so large a fraternity. At length, upon turning a corner of a lofty range of rocks, which hemmed in the river so closely, that there was scarcely a passage left for their feet, a small plain opened before them, which looked like an amphitheatre, walled in by a mountain, and separated from a forest by the waters of the Loire.* In this solitude, which no voice disturbed, Sul- picius pointed out a hut to his companion, built of nothing but logs, rudely joined together, as the habitation of the holy Bishop of Tours. As if they * Sulp. de vita Mart. c. 7. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 149 were on sacred ground, they approached the saint's dwelling-place softly and reverently, and when they arrived at the door, they paused before they presumed to knock, or to ask permission to enter. No answer was returned to their first ap- plication for admittance, and Sulpicius whispered to his attendant that Martin was at his devotions, and must not be interrupted. He then beckoned him away from the saint's cabin, and drew near to two or three huts of the same construction : but these too were closed, and all was silence within. They next explored the side of the mountain, in the hollow cavities of which many of the monks had made cells for themselves, and here a sight presented itself which filled them with the most profound awe. Wherever their eyes could pene- trate into the recesses of those caverns, they beheld the inmates in the attitude of prayer. One was prostrate before a cross, another was on his knees, and another was standing with his arms folded, and pressing a relic to his heart. One of these hermits was seen in the most pain- ful and difficult position which the human frame could assume ; his body was supported on his left knee ; the right leg was stretched out so as to balance rather than help to sustain the weight of his body. His eyes were fixed on the holy symbol of his religion, his left hand rested on a scull placed upon a small table, and with his right hand he kept striking his naked breast with a flint stone, which lacerated the flesh, while every blow was followed by a gush of blood, and his lips seemed to be repeating the A. I). 390— 3;)4. 150 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 390-394. well-known words, ' mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.' Suddenly a strong and melodious voice was heard from the other side of the rocks, which began to chant the first verse of the 141st Psalm,—" Lord, I call upon thee, haste thee unto me, and consider my voice when I cry unto thee : " a second voice near them repeated, " Let my prayer be set forth in thy sight as the incense, and the lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice." The third verse was sung in chorus from the same quarter from whence the first was heard, and in this way the antiphony proceeded from side to side : the whole fraternity apparently joining the sacred psalmody in their turn, until the psalm with the * gloria patri ' was concluded. Not a monk was seen : the sounds were heard pouring forth in per- fect harmony from the huts and cells all round. The rocks and woods re-echoed the deep notes, and never was that alternate or choral singing, which Ignatius is said first to have introduced into the services of the Christian Church, performed with more devotional reverence. When all was again silent, the two friends re- turned to the hut of Martin ; still the door was closed, and no answer was given to their signal for Pious admittance, but the saint was heard speaking, as if haTiudmi he was in conversation . Presently voices, apparently of women, issued indistinctly from the cell, and Sul- picius betrayed signs of amazement and terror, which were felt also by his companion.* He trem- * Dial. II. c. 14. tions. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 151 bled from head to foot, large drops of perspiration 39^:^394 stood upon his forehead, and he continued in a state of silent horror, when he was asked for the cause of his agitation. At length the voices ceased, and Martin, clothed in hair-cloth next his skin, with a threadbare garment of coarse texture and stained with dirt,* hanging loosely about him, came out of the hut, and invited his visitors to enter. His face and head were sprinkled with ashes ; what remained of his grey hair was cut close to the skin : his person was emaciated, and he looked more like a corpse risen from a sepulchre than a living man. But his manner was calm and dignified, and his reception of Sulpicius showed more of kindness and human affection, than might have been expected from such a recluse. After the first salutations were over, Martin brought water, and prepared to wash the travellers' feet with his own hands. In vain they would have prevented him : the saint persisted in performing this act of humility, and they acquiesced more out of awe than free consent. t Not a living being besides themselves appeared within the cell, and it was some time before Sul- picius could muster resolution to ask the saint with whom he had been holding discourse. At first Martin declined to make any reply, but after * ' The garments of the monks were never changed or washed, but were worn until they dropped to pieces.' — Hieron. in vita Hilar. t * Ad vesperum autem ipse nobis pedes abluit. Ita auctoritate illius oppressus sum, ut nefas putarem si non acquievissem.' — Sulp. de vita Mart. c. 26. ]52 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 390—394. some importunity on the part of his interrogator, he consented to satisfy his curiosity, on condition that the secret should not be disclosed to others. ' I will tell you then,' said the holy man, ' Agnes and Thecla and Mary * have been with me.' He then described their countenances and the appear- ance of their raiment. He added that the apos- tles Peter and Paul | often favoured him with their presence, and that angels of light descended from heaven to converse with him ; and that the powers of darkness assailed him more virulently after these interviews with the glorified of the Lord. ' Hark they are coming ! but be not ye alarmed, I will put them to flight. I will rebuke them, and send them back to their accursed abodes. Belial,:}] away ! I fear thee not, foul fiend, depart from me ! Moloch, fire-demon, return to thine own place, — thy burning breath, and the flames that issue from thy mouth, cannot scorch me ! Lucifer, thou art fallen, and I will not be carried with thee to the bottomless pit. Away, prince of this world ! I am not Balaam, think not that you are to con- tend for my body, — I am not thy prey.' Martin's horrified visitors were half dead with terror, while the saint continued to accost and defy one demon * ' Dicam inquit vobis, sed vos quaeso nuUi dicatis : Agnes, Thecla et Maria mecum fuerunt.' — Sulp. Dial. II. c. 14. For an account of these three, especially Thecla, see Nat. Alex. IX, p. 726, and Baro- nius 362, 55 ; 869, 63 ; 372, 62. t ' Petrum etiam et Paulum Apostolos videri a se saepius non negavit.' — Ibid. J ' Jam vero dsemones prout ad eum quisque venisset, suis nomi- nibns increpabat.' — Snip. Dial. II. c. 14. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 153 after another by name, as if they were really as- sailing him, and his action corresponded with his words. His countenance expressed anger and disdain. Sometimes he rushed towards the door, as if he were driving the adversary before him, and then he would stand erect, and wave his hand with a commanding air, as if that movement only was sufficient to rid him of the intruder. This ex- traordinary scene continued for some time. It then seemed as if he was exposed to the attack of a new enemy, and that the heathen gods * were joining in the conflict. * Mercury ! ' exclaimed the saint, ' thinkest thou, that I do not know thee under that shape ? Thy Proteus form is too familiar to me to be mistaken. Licentious messenger of uncleanness, thou art the most persevering of my foes : but away with thee ! I am proof against thy malice. And thou too, once mighty Jove, thinkest thou that thy frowns have any terrors for Martin ? Thy reign is over, thy forked lightnings cannot reach me ; thy thunderbolts fall harmless at my feet ; away to Pandemonium ! '| It was not long before Martin recovered his composure, and proposed to his guests to have re- course to prayer. They did so, but they were too much disquieted, to feel anything like calmness ; * Mercurium maxime patiebatur infestum. Jovetn brutum atque ebetem esse dicebat.' — Ibid. t * If the name of Gallus be substituted for that of Vigilantius, this scene is substantially described by Sulpicius, who protests again and again, that incredible as his narrative may appear, every word of it was true, and that Martin declared he was visited by celestial, and assailed by evil spirits,' — Dial. II. c. 14. A. D. 390—394. 154 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. .?90— 394 and after a frugal repast, for which they had no — appetite, they retired to the cell allotted to them. Here they passed the night, not in quiet and re- freshing sleep, but harassed with dreams, and waking visions, in which they were haunted by the image of Martin, contending with the fiends and false gods, who, according to his disordered imagination, had been arrayed against him. The next day Sulpicius and Vigilantius made acquaint- ance with some of the monks, who had retired to this place, for the purposes of penitence and devotion. Many of them were men of noble birth, Cenobiti- who had abandoned affluence and comfort, to put nasUcHfe thcmselvcs uudcr the guidance of the Bishop of centm?.^ Tours, and to submit implicitly to his rules. They had all things in common, and lived after the manner of a large family, which had no will, no wish, no interest, but that which was entirely consistent with the most reverential affection for its head. These Cenobites were divided into eight companies of ten each,* over whom one presided : for obedience and subjection were the great prin- ciples which bound them together. Until certain hours they remained alone, each shut up in his own cell, and none moved out except the chief of each class. At prescribed times they met toge- ther. Prayers were offered up, psalms were sung, and scripture was read. When they took their meals, by decades at the same table, not a word was spoken. Their food consisted of bread, * See Hieron. Epist. 18, ad Eustochium. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 155 vegetables and olives ; salt was their only season- ing. After they retired to their solitary chambers or caverns for the night, the priors of each class went their rounds, and made their observations. They listened and inspected, and if the monks performed their devotions carelessly or unfre- quently, they were reported to Martin, who gently exhorted and rebuked them. Everything in the shape of recreation seemed to be banished from this society of ascetics ; but they kept up a per- petual state of excitement by vying with each other, who should fast the longest, — who should continue the most perseveringly in a painful pos- ture of supplication, — who should devise a more uncomfortable and new texture of hair-cloth to irritate his skin,^ — who should relate the most ex- travagant visions, and who should come nearest to Martin in preternatural performances and preten- sions. As they seldom departed from the precincts of the monastery, it is difficult to ascertain what good they did, each in his individual capacity, to the neighbourhood, which was said to be sancti- fied by their presence ; and yet this was the fra- ternity, from which almost every city in Gaul was anxious, says the biographer of Martin, to have a bishop.* Some of the brethren, it is true, were occasionally employed in transcribing from the holy volume, but these were the younger ones ; the elder members gave themselves up to prayer : f ■• Sulp. Sev. cle vita Mart. c. 7. f Ibid. A. D. 390— ;5;)4. 156 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394. Baneful effects of the Ceiio- bitical system at MaFniou- tier. and, if preaching and the instruction* of the igno- rant, or the missionary office, had formed a promi- nent part of their duties, it is most probable that we should have been more distinctly informed of it.f How much more useful would this com- pany of eighty monks have been in their ge- neration, if they had been followers of a more judicious guide: but their minds were so deeply imbued with the persuasion, that the path to heaven must be that which Martin had traced out, and that only, that having once entered upon it, they could not muster resolution to try any other. The general effect produced upon the fraternity was " to believe a lie," and to magnify everything into a miracle, until they worked themselves up into a pitch of absolute insanity. If one of them saw a distant object indistinctly in the gloom of the evening, or heard some strange noise amidst the wild roar of the tempest, which swept through the forest, and asked another what it could be, the answer was, " It is an angel of light come to strengthen us in our trials :" or, " It is a spirit of darkness sent to tempt, or to buffet us." The in- ducement to exaggerate, to tell a tale of wonder, to see visions, and to dream dreams, became more * ' Martin himself was an illiterate man,' — Sul. de vita Mart. c. 26. but yet it is said of liim, that no man expounded Sacred Scripture with greater force or perspicuity.' — Ibid. t 'Tillemont intimates that Martin himself was called the preacher and apostle of Gaul, because he made so many proselytes among the peasants and country people,' — Vol. X. p. 318, but it is singular that he does not strengthen his assertion, by adducing instances of his suc- cessful preaching. He cites miracles in abundance. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 157 and more infectious. The miserable effects of this fanaticism were extravagantly exemplified in a votary named Arborius, who, after visiting* the monastery, related of himself, that he had seen Martin ministering at the altar in vestments glit- tering in gold and jewels, and that he had heard the jingling of the rings and gems, with which his fingers were adorned. What a fancy ! Martin, who delighted in rags and filth, transformed into a figure splendidly arrayed ! ! ! * Another disciple had not sojourned long within the precincts of the monastery, when, to the de- light of those who were led captive by similar delusions, he too imagined that strange sights were passing before his eyes. One day, after listening with devout credulity to some of the marvels which were the talk of the place, he exclaimed, " I see a wretched demoniac, who is coming to implore the aid of Martin, struggling to escape from his tormentor. Holy bishop, hasten to his assistance ! Look ! he is carried by the fiend up into the air. In vain he struggles to release himself. There he is with his head hanging down as if he were sus- pended from a cloud. But the obscene spirit has not the power to offend us with that which we ought not to see. His vestments are not disor- dered. His nakedness is not discovered. Oh, Martin, I beseech you to release him. It is Mer- cury who is thus afflicting him. " f * Vide Dial. III. c. 14. t ' Vidi quendam, appropiante Martino, in aera raptum.' &c. Sulpicius himself gave this relation, when speaking in the person of 390—394. 158 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394. No wonder that Sulpicius, or any other of the demented disciples of Martin, should be hurried away by the impression of the moment, after wit- nessinsf the scene which I have described in the saint's cell ; for scarcely a day passed without an incident of the same kind, so completely was Martin at this period of his life under the influence of strong hallucinations. One morning, accord- ing to the narrative, Martin was sitting on his three-legged stool in front of his cell, when he declared to those who were with him that he saw two devils on the rock which overhung the mo- nastery, and that he heard them calling out, *' Brictio ! come hither, Brictio." Presently Bric- tio made his appearance, and, rushing like a mad- man at Martin, began to rail at him in the foulest language. His rage was so great that he- appeared to be on the point of laying violent hands on the saint. But Martin received all his intemperate language with a calm and placid countenance, and gently brought him to his senses by mild rea- soning. ' The two devils were doubtless put to flight,' continues the biographer, ' by Martin, and then Brictio fell at his benefactor's feet, and con- fessed his error. Martin, upon this, told the de- moniac, and the rest of us, that he had seen how he was vexed by the devils.' * Gallus. Dial. III. 6. EfFeror, siquidem creditis, spiritu, et prae dolore totus insanio, non credent Martini virtutibus Christiani, qiias daemones fatebuntur. Dial. III. G. * ' Quodam itidem die dum in area quae parvaadmodiini,' &c. See Dial. III. 20. Can this Brictio be the same as the Bishop, whose MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 159 A. 0. 390—3.94. It is lamentable to have to record such aberra- tions as these, of a man like Martin, and we would ' gladly search for something in explanation, or in extenuation of such fanaticism. Brictio was one False expe n I 1 I /^ , . , 1 clients for 01 those half-converted wavermg proselytes, who the correc- had joined the fraternity at Marmoutier, but whose cvii. heart and affections were still with the world, and while he professed to be a Christian, many of his practices were still heathen. Contrary to the hu- mane precepts of the Bishop of Tours, this man was a purchaser of slaves, and encouraged that abominable traffic in human blood, which the Apostle denounced as the sin of man-stealing and kidnapping. On the day before the event just described, Martin had rebuked Brictio for being a slave-trader, and finding him unmoved by re- monstrance, he most probably got up this scene to frighten him and others out of such unchristian practices, which he pronounced to be a clear sign of demoniacal possession. Alas ! for the weakness and corruption of human nature ! Here was a holy man with a work of God to perform, but in- stead of proceeding with it like a servant of the Lord, he did so rather as a child, or at the least, as a victim of Satan, attempting to put down the deeds of darkness by deceitful devices ; in other words, to cast out devils by Beelzebub. The monk and the chating-dish, Brictio and the incident which 1 have just now related, shov^ how much Martin rose above his contemporaries in decorum name figures in the Calendar, 13th. Nov. Brittius Bishop, and who, according to Gregory of Tours, succeeded Martin ? 160 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 390—3.94. ^^^ benevolence, while he was still far below the Gospel standard of truth and single-mindedness. Happy would it have been for Martin and his disciples, and for the Christianity of that age, if his faith in the promises of divine aid had been more stedfast ; if he had persevered more patiently in commending and carrying out the true prin- ciples of the gospel, without having recourse to false expedients for promoting the glory of God, and the extension of Christ's kingdom. One act of imposture or fanaticism, (I would fain avoid these hard names, but by what other name can it be called,) was followed by another, and the simplest actions were resolved into miracles by the self-deluded recluse and his blinded admirers. One morning they were assembled together near the river side, when a serpent issued from the Loire in the direction where they were standing. ' In the name of the Lord,' said Martin, ' I com- mand thee to depart.' The reptile glided away, and swam over to the opposite bank. What could be more natural, than that terrified by the human voice, it should retire /rom it ; but Martin thought proper to make a miracle of the event. * Behold,' said he, with a deep sigh, ' serpents listen to me, but men refuse to hear me.'* Infectious Bcforc Sulpicius and his companion returned to imposture. Aqultain, an impostor at Marmoutier, named Anato- lius, presumed a little too much upon the miracu- lous character of the place, and over-acted his * Dial. III. 12. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 161 part. He pretended to enjoy the same intercourse ^ "^^ with the ministering spirits of heaven, to which Martin himself laid claim, and spoke of angels being the interlocutors between himself and God. By what artifices he imposed upon his companions, we are not informed ; but extraordinary sounds were heard, and brilliant lights were seen in his cell, which staggered incredulity. They began to believe that Anatolius was a highly gifted saint, and when he produced a garment of rare texture, as a robe of purity, which had been presented to him by the Lord himself, the most pious and dis- cerning of the fraternity confessed that they were unable to detect any falsehood. By the advice of Clarus they had recourse to prayer, and as the story goes, when they were about to take Anato- lius and the marvellous vestment before Martin, to have it examined, it vanished from their sight.* Such were the scenes related to Vigilantius by Sulpicius, if not actually witnessed by him ; and he could not remain blind to the fact, that his patron was neither happier nor better for his visit to the Bishop of Tours. After his return home, the imasfe of Martin haunted the sensitive his- torian : he was pursued by the recollection of the ascetic prelate sleeping on the cold earth, with nothing but ashes strewed beneath him, and covered with sackcloth only ; refusing a softer bed, or warmer clothing, even in severe ill- ness ; declaring that a Christian ought to die on * Sulp. Sev. de Vita Mart. c. 25. M 162 VIGILANTIUS AND IIIS TIMES. A. D. 390—394. How Vigi- laiitius was ashes;* feeding on the most unwholesome food, and denying himself every indulgence ; praying in the most irksome posture, forcing sleep from his eyes, and exposing himself to the extremes of heat and cold, hunger and thirst. The imagination of Sul- picius dwelt on what he had seen and heard at Marmoutier, until he believed that heaven would be closed upon him, unless he should practise the same austerities. Now what was the effect likely to be pro- attectedi.y (Juccd ou thc mlud of a devout younsr man, who these things. J O ' could not shake off his feelings of tenderness for his patron, though he was the daily spec- tator of his weakness ? He would either become the victim of the same delusions, or he would consult the holy volume, which he was taught to regard as his rule of faith, and praying earnestly for guidance from above, he would gradually learn to distinguish between the commandments of God, and the yoke imposed by fanaticism : and the more he loved his benefactor the more he would be inclined to turn with aversion from the corrupt system , which was repugnant to scriptural precepts, and debased the Christianity of an amiable and devout man. Vigilantius could not be blind to the fact, that in the first place Sulpicius had im- bibed some extravagant notions as to the necessity of self-infliction, far beyond the duty of abstinence and bodily discipline. The sackcloth and ashes, the exposure to cold, and hunger, and want of * ' Non decet Christianum nisi in cinere mori.' — Epist. Snip. Sev. ad Bassulam, MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 163 sleep, the sufferings imposed by way of penance, and the rejection of the necessaries of life, which he saw carried to excess, implied a belief that the sacri- fice of Christ was not a sufficient satisfaction for the sins of man ; that man must therefore inflict some sufferings upon himself to supply the deficiency, to appease the unpropitiated wrath of God, and in a sense unknown to scripture, " to fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ." He perceived also in the second place, that Sulpicius, magnify- ing the merits of such as could inflict the severest sufferings upon themselves, and elevating them in his own mind to a rank far above any human ex- ample of holiness and virtue, yielded a blind faith to all they said and commanded. Hence his cre- dulity on the subject of Martin's professed miracles, and his obedience to that bishop's rules of dis- cipline. Because Martin had great powers of endurance, he must therefore be pre-eminently holy : and because he was pre-eminently holy, nothing that he related of his own performances could be considered incredible. Thus Vigilantius saw on one side vain-glorious exaltation, spiritual pride, and pretension to miraculous power ; and on the other side, a false humility and prostration of the understanding, both growing out of the same mistaken system of asceticism : a system which undermined the doctrine of Christ's full and suffi- cient sacrifice, and assigned an undue value to the inflictions and performances of men like Martin of Tours : and which he probably foresaw would in the end elevate them in the minds of weak breth- M 2 A . 1). 390-394. 164 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, 390—394. ^^^^ ^^ mediatorial thrones, and render them little — less than objects of divine worship. Consequently we must attribute to impressions first received in the household of Sulpicius, the efforts, which Vigilantius afterwards made, to expose the errors of asceticism, and to check the progress of hagiolatry. CHAP. VII. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. In the fourth century, intercourse by letters was not usually carried on by public means of convey- ance, as it is now ; but epistles were conveyed privately, at such opportunities as the occasional journeys of friends or domestics might offer. The same traveller was frequently the bearer of oral messages, and of written communications to many persons on the whole line of his route ; and this gave him admission to houses, and the advan- tage of an hospitable reception from the beginning to the end of his journey. It was necessarily a confidential trust, and none were likely to be so employed, but those who were in every degree worthy of being admitted to the intimacy of the parties in correspondence. The letter-bearer in most cases was the familiar associate of the indi- viduals from whom he brought the communica- tion, and he filled up in conversation the intelli- gence which was left untold, or insufficiently A. D. 394. at Nola. 166 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39" explained in the papers and parchments which he brought with him. It was he who carried political and religious news from place to place, who con- veyed little presents and tokens of affection, and who frequently acted as a missionary and messen- ger of the Gospel, by enlarging upon those sacred topics, which formed the subject of the epistles entrusted to him. It is in this character that Vigilantius next ap- pears before us, in the year 394. He was sent Vigilantius by Sulpicius with a companion into Campania, to Paulinus of Nola, to whose notice he had most probably been introduced at Eluso or Ebromagus, before that excellent man retired from the world. The manner in which Paulinus speaks of him in a letter addressed to Sulpicius, after his arrival at Nola, indicates longer acquaintance and greater esteem than could have arisen out of a first intro- duction. From the beginning to the end of that epistle, there is a strain of tenderness, and of holy affection, which plainly marks the degree of friendship existing between Vigilantius and the two correspondents, and the high estimation in which he was held by both, at this period of his life. * You have thought it necessary,' thus wrote Paulinus to Sulpicius,* * to make an excuse, dearest brother, for not coming to me according to your * ' Epistola Paulini ad Sulpiciiim Severum. Bib. Patr. 5. Pars I. p. 142. Edit. Col. 1G18. Opera. Paulini, p. 1, Editio Antwerpiae, 1622. In the French Lettres do Paulin, Paris, V!0^, this Epistle is numbered 5, p. .55. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 167 engagement, and my expectation. But it is the inferior part of you, your body only, which remains at home, while you yourself are present with me in will, in spirit, and in discourse; and indeed you cannot be said to be entirely absent from me even bodily, since those two corporeal members of yours, are with me in the persons of your two domestics,* who are united to you by holy service in the Lord.' After many pious reflections, and having des- cribed his own sickness and convalescence, which corresponded in point of time with the illness and recovery of Sulpicius, and which he professed to regard as a proof of their community in the Gos- pel, (in reference to 1 Cor. xii. 25 — 27-) Paulinus proceeds thus : ' But this is not the only cause which has de- tained our young men | here, for our Vigilantius has been labouring under a fever in Campania, both before he arrived at my house, and since ; and he has thus sympathized in my illness by fellow-suff- ering, like one who is a member of my body. J * ' Pueris tuis.' riotSes and pueri, were terms used to express not only the servants, but the confidential attendants and friends of a household. In the 9th Epist. of Paulinus, ' Frater Victor^ is spoken of with every term of endearment, after having been called ' piier,' and ' contubernium.' t ' Pueros nostros.' J 'Quia et ipse sociale membrum erat, socio labore compassus est.' — Bib. Patr. Edit. Col. 1(318, p. 143. ' labore compassus est.' — Op. Paul. Ed. Ant. 1G22, p. J). ' Comme 1 esprit du Christianismc nous fait etre les membres d'unc meme corps. — French tran : Lettres de Paul, p. QQ, The French translators suppress the term of endear- ment, noster, before the name of Vigilantius. A. D. 394. 168 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 094- His companion has felt none of my malady, but has been perfectly well, and free from my infirmities, because the flesh which does not belong to me, could not participate in the afflictions of joints not its own. When our Vigilantius began to be well enough to travel, then I thought of replying to your letter. I confess however that both would willingly have been on their journey long ago : but since the one would have been rash to hasten his departure before he was convalescent, and the other, who was well, would have been unkind to set out before his companion had recovered, I quietly de- tained them both, against their wishes, by delay- ing to write to you, when I found that remon- strances were unavailing.' * Vigilantius This passagc in attestation of the piety of Vigi- esteemedby lautius, and of the affectionate esteem in which he was held by Paulinus, is the more remarkable, because the very terms, and modes of expression, which the writer had used, in speaking of commu- nity of sufferings to describe his intimacy with Sulpicius, the brother of his heart and soul, are repeated to denote the ties which bound him to Vigilantius.f In two subsequent clauses of the same epistle, the two messengers are called ' Your domestics, our fellow-servants : ' (in the * The text of the Bibli. Patr. is punctuated very incorrectly : ' sed cum ante virium receptionem temcre festinaret, qui non poterat impio qui valebaf, amhos, quia non poteramus volentes consiho, retinuimus invitos silentio.' — p. 143. The Antwerp Edition, Paul. Oper. reads thus, ' temerefistinnret, qui non polerat : impie qui valebnt.' — p. 9, + Compati sibi unius corporis membra. Ibid. p. 8. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 169 French translation, * nos compagnons au service ^g°; de dieu,' p. 69.) and ' the young men our sons.' * In one of these it is plainly seen, that a confidential communication, relating to his treat- ment by the pontiff' of Rome, which Paulinus was unwilling to commit to paper, was entrusted to these faithful and valued attendants,! to be transmitted by word of mouth. During this visit to Nola, when illness protracted his abode under the roof of Paulinus, Vigilantius could not fail to observe how the mind and temper, and whole conduct of his host were affected by the dregs of heathen superstition, mixed up with ingredients compounded by such physicians of the soul as Martin and Jerome. Paulinus had but lately fixed his residence at ^^^f''^ Nola, and was now having recourse, in a more Noia. marked degree than before, to those beguiling practices, which afterwards became the charac- teristics of the Latin Church ; and proved so fatal in the end to the simplicity of the Gospel. Reli- gious observances, transferred from Pagan altars to Christian shrines, were dignified with the name of honours due to the memory of a departed saint : and as the heroes of old were invoked by the an- cestors of Paulinus, so did he himself substitute * ' Conservi nostri pueri tui.' ' Conscrva in domino ' is the ex- pression he apphes to his wife at the end of this epistle. t Our young men will give you full information on this subject. 'Sed plenius indicare poterunt conservi nostri pueri tui, quantum nobis gratiiE dominiccC detrimentum faciat Urbici Papse supcrba dis- cretio.'— Bib. Patr. IV. 144. Oper. Paul. 10. 170 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394. the name of Felix for that of Hercules or Quirinus, and implore the aid of a dead martyr, when no other name in prayer ought to have been upon his lips, than that of the one Mediator between God and man. No man of ordinary piety, or of the common standard of human virtue, could have succeeded, so rapidly as Paulinus did, in spreading evil, under the name of good. It was his reputation for pre- eminent sanctity which blinded the eyes of weak brethren to the consequences of a debasing system ; and had any other man, of less renown than him- self, attempted to set up altars to the memory of deceased monks, and to pay divine honours in Christian sanctuaries to images and pictures, he would have been pronounced a publican and a hea- then. But this ' flower of his age ' cast a spell over the minds and understandings of many of his con- temporaries, more by the power of his amiability than of his genius. It is therefore certain that Vigi- lantius heard and saw everything that could be ad- vanced in favour of the mythological novelties, which were now being grafted on the Christian Church ; but it is probable that he was not con- vinced of the propriety of such proceedings, and that he was treasuring up practical arguments against them. They were the subjects of the letter, which he carried back to Sulpicius, and must also have been topics of conversation. Saint- worship especially must have been an observance, which Vigilantius heard frequently discussed at Nola ; for the renewal of personal intercourse, one MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 171 of the greatest enjoyments which Paulinus allowed '^394; himself to hope for, was to be obtained, as he expressed it, by the intercession of St. Felix. ' Shall I not have the pleasure of accompanying you to the shrine of my household saint, and shall we not thank God that we have been restored to each other by the interposition of St. Felix ? ' * That mind must have been one of no common strength, which could resist the fascinations of the discourse and example of a holy recluse, who was consulted as the Christian oracle of Italy, and who was, at the very period of this visit, employ- ing his wealth and his influence to promote these observances, which Vigilantius afterwards de- nounced, f The simple mountaineer saw splendid shrines rising in honour of a man, who had lived 150 years before, and of whom but little could be known with any accuracy. He beheld preparations made ^^fP""' •J -J r 1 ciples 01 for a series of rites, and a course of daily worship, y^iiantius ' •' 1 in danger. which take the fastest hold upon the imagination. He witnessed the ardour shown by an ordained minister of Christ, to promote the homage of dead men's bones, to encourage prostration before pic- * ' In gremio jam communis patroni Dominsedii mei Felicis exci- piam, et quod nunc ipsius orationibus impetrari rogo.' &c. — Epist. Paul. I. ad Sulp. f Pagi uses a very strong term in condemnation of the opposition offered by Vigilantius to the superstitions of his age. — ' Cum Vigi- lantius in Sanctorum Martyrum reliquias et Sacerdotum castitatem debacchari csepisset, — Vol. II. p. 73. It was not against relics, or chastity, but the abuse of them, that Vigilantius protested in after-life. 172 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39]*; tures and statues, to invoke the dead and restore ceremonies, which are called idolatrous in the holy page of the book of life. The person, who sanc- tioned these things, and to whom writers, calling themselves Christians, have imputed the honour of being the foremost in promoting this falsely called ' Christian philosophy,' * was held in such high estimation, that the supreme pontiff of Rome himself could not keep the tide of honour, which poured upon him, within due bounds : for even when the Pope frowned upon him for some of his irregular proceedings, public opinion loudly testi- fied its admiration, and the portals of Paulinus were crowded by persons of the first eminence who came to Nola, at the very time that Vigilantius was there, to pay him their best tributes of res- pect. * They (the two young men) have seen,' said Paulinus, in his epistle to Sulpicius, speaking of the rebuke which he had received from Pope Siriciusf for suff*ering himself to be uncanonically ordained at Barcelona, — ' they have seen how the grace of God has made the prejudice of the Pope work for my honour ; they have seen within the short interval of a few days, how I have been visited by monks, clergy, and bishops, and even by laymen of the highest rank. There is scarcely a bishop of Campania who has not testified his respect for me in person or by letter ; and prelates * See Baronius, Ann. 4, p. 771. \ ' Urhicus ' is the erroneous reading in the Antwerp Edition of Paulinas' Works. MEMORIALS OF VICxILANTIUS. 173 39i. from Africa have deputed representatives to ex- press their veneration.' * Of all this public homage, rendered to one of the most celebrated fathers of Christian idolatry, Vigi- lantius was witness. He loved the man, he heard him discourse, as sophists and fanatics can dis- course, in honied accents, of the lawfulness of mixing up heathen rites with Christian observ- ances, and yet his mind remained unpolluted. Under the divine grace and the especial pro vi- HoiyScrip- dence which guard those servants of God from evil, safec^uard^'^ who are reserved to be the instruments of correcting and reforming his church, I attribute the escape of Vigilantius from the peculiar perils of his situation, to the scriptural lessons, which he learnt of the very man, whose religious errors were so dangerous to him. The bane and an- tidote were both before him ; but more of this hereafter. Durino- the e^reater part of the time that Vioi- Description lantms was at Nola, Paulmus was suiiermg under astcryat severe illness, brought on by the rigid abstinence which he had imposed upon himself, and by the excitement and feverish delight he experienced at reaching the spot, where he had so long desired to establish himself. The place and its associates would not admit of anything like mental repose. It was not retirement ; for his habitation was near the town, which was thronged at certain seasons by pilgrims and others, who came to worship at * Epist. Paul, ad Snip. I. p. 10, 11. Ed. Ant. 174 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394. the shrine of Felix, or to listen to the marvellous tales, which were told of the conversions, cures, and other signs and wonders wrought by his intervention. History of Accordiuff to the legend, St. Felix was a Syrian St. Felix. , , . , , , • . T by birth, who having passed over into Italy, retired to Nola in order to receive religious instruction from Maximus, bishop of that place. There he lived with so much sanctity, that after having worthily fulfilled the duties of the inferior orders which he had received, he was ordained priest of that church. During the cruel persecution under the Emperor Decius, St. Felix employed his zeal in encouraging the Christians of the diocese of Nola to remain stedfast in the faith. He was taken by the infidels and thrown into an obscure prison, but an angel, it was said, opened the gates and set him free. He then concealed himself for some time in his house, that he might assist the faithful, and exhort them to support with constancy the violence of the persecution. The satellites of the emperor having learnt the place of his retreat, went to seize him, but he retired into a cavern of which the entrance was immediately covered with cobwebs, which made them suppose he was not there. The persecution being ended, and Maxi- mus dead, it was proposed to appoint Felix in his stead, but he took care to have another elected, and continued to live in the odour of such reputed sanctity that, both during his life and after his decease, God was believed to have performed many miracles through his intercession. The MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 175 church celebrated his fete on the 14th of •^g^'^- January.* ■ The villa of Paulinus was within less than a vniaof mile of Nola, and stood close to the church and tomb of St. Felix. It was fitted up to serve both as a monastery, for those who lived constantly with him, and as a house of reception for eminent strangers who resorted thither to do honour to him, and homage to his Domincedius. Very different was its present appearance from that of the Roman palace, the ancient seat of his ances- tors, wherein baths and banquetting halls, and spacious rooms for theatrical entertainments occu- pied the two stories, which were now converted into small cells and dormitories. One side of the building was set apart for his brother monks, and the other for the accommodation of his visitors, the worldly-minded people, as he called all those who did not adopt his own mode of living. Tugurium, or cottage, was the name he gave to the transformed villa. The ample pleasure-ground had also undergone an entire change ; the foun- tains and statues had disappeared ; the flowers, which emitted sweet odours, and shone in brilliant colours, were thought too luxurious for the senses of persons devoted to religion : an orchard, and a cabbage-garden were all that were reserved to regale a fraternity of the elect of God.-f * The above is a close translation of the account given of St. Felix by the French translators of the Letters of Paulinas. — p. 78, t Such was the term used by Paulinus, ' fraternitatem electorum Dei.' — Epis. Paul, ad Sulp. Sev. I. 170 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^. D. 394. Everything in this holy retreat was conducted . . ,. according- to rule, for in fact the house of Paulinus Discipline *-' i i • atNoia. was, as he styled it, a monastery, and his com- panions were a society of monks, who submitted to strict regulations. They did not indeed prac- tise all the rigid austerities of the cenobites who lived with Martin of Tours, but still it was a severe discipline under which they were governed. They rose at an appointed hour, and celebrated the office of matins at daybreak : at stated times they had daily services in the church, and every evening, vespers were performed with punctual regularity. At midnight there was also a call to prayer, which was obeyed by all who were in health. Paulinus would seldom allow himself to be so unwell as to be absent from the scene of nocturnal devotion. Every apartment in the house was within hear- ing of the sacred music performed in the church, and when the psalms Mere being chanted by a choir, composed of boys and virgins, the host insisted upon all his guests observing the strictest silence during that service. If they declined being present, they were expected to observe reli- gious decorum, while the praises of God were ascending to heaven. The piety of Paulinus was not satisfied with the church of Nola, as he found it when he first arrived there ; and while Vigilantius was staying with him, he began to build a new edifice of more spacious dimensions, and with splendid MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 177 decorations. The walls and pavement were of 394. marble.* The roof of the principal dome was worked in mosaic, and was intended to represent the Holy Trinity and the Gospel dispensation. The Father ff*^J"^P^'°" was denoted by words proceeding from a cloud ; chmxh at the Son by a Lamb, and the Holy Ghost by a Dove. There was also a cross issuing out of a halo of light, and around it were twelve doves symbolizing the twelve apostles. A rock, from which four streams gushed out, represented Jesus Christ and the four evangelists. All these objects were further explained by verses inscribed on the cupola. t Under the cupola was the high altar, enshrining the ashes of some of the apostles, relics of the martyrs, and a small piece of wood, said to be a chip of the true cross. The nave of the church was lofty and wide, and had two aisles supported by two rows of columns. J Attached to each aisle were four chapels, which served for private prayer and meditation, or for burial-places for persons of eminent sanctity. Near the altar there were two sacristies ; that on the right hand was provided with books for those who wished to study and to read the scriptures ; that on the left was set apart for the officiating priests ; and here the sacred vestments and vessels, and the eu- charistic elements, and every thing necessary for divine service were kept.§ Churches, in the time of Paulinus, as they do * Epist. Paul. XII. ad Sulp. Sev. f Ibid. X Ibid. || Ibid. N 178 . VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D 394. now, generally looked towards the east, but Pau- linus, instead of following the usual custom, turned the chancel-end towards the tomb of St. Felix. This mausoleum opened into the oratory of St. Felix, by three arcades and three doors, and the new church was made to communicate with the mausoleum by three corresponding arcades and doors ; and these all being of trellis work, the people could not only pass, but could see through, from one sanctuary to the other, which had a very agreeable effect. It was some years before the whole of the fabric was finished, but when it was completed, it looked like a little town, surmounted by three cupolas, encompassed with walls, and comprising within its circuit a cathedral and mo- nastic establishment, with every suitable con- venience and decoration.* This description is taken from one of the letters of Paulinus, addressed to Sulpicius Severus,f in which there is an account of another church which he built at Fondi. The motive which induced him to erect this sanctuary is especially worthy of being recorded at the present crisis, when church-building occupies so much attention. ' I will now,' said he, ' describe the church which I have constructed at Fondi, the town where I once had a house, and where I very often resided. It was out of affectionate regard for the inhabitants of the place, and in memory of my patrimonial estate there, that I determined to build them a * Epist. Paul. XII. ad Snip. Sev. t Ibid. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. n 179 new church, because the old one was too small, ^o"- and in a very ruinous condition, I have composed the following verses for an inscription for the church, as soon as it shall be consecrated ; and my principal reason for sending them to you is, be- cause our brother Victor wishes to have a copy of the picture, which I had painted for the Apsis, to convey to you, in case you should desire to have a similar painting for your own church. By the bye, I am not quite sure that I have spelt Apsis right. Is it Apsis, or ^Z'sis? for I do not remem- ber that I ever saw the word written.'* The verses accompanying this letter described the picture, as representing a cross standing in the midst of a garden of flowers. At the foot of the cross, Christ was painted under the figure of a white lamb. The Holy Ghost hovered above him, in the form of a dove, and the Father appeared from a cloud, crowning the Lamb. In another part of the picture, the eternal Judge was seen sitting on a lofty rock, and before his tribunal were a flock of goats, and a flock of lambs. The good shepherd rejects the goats, and stretches forth his right arm benignantly towards the lambs, f This picture reminds us of the two-fold action in Raphael's celebrated ' Transfiguration.' Did it suggest to that eminent master the double repre- sentation which his Tableau contains ? Rosweyd makes mention of an ancient Sarcophagus remain- ing at Rome in 1591, which contained something •' Epist, XII. ad. Snip. Sev. p. 154. f Ibid. p. 155. N 2 180 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. •A.n. 394. very like the configuration described in the verses ■ of Paulinus. The society Another of the letters of Paulinus, addressed to at Nola. ci ^ • • Sulpicius, enables us to judge what sort of persons were admitted to his especial confidence, and how he took care to rebuke those, who brought with them to Nola the dregs of the world, while they professed to be followers of Christ, and servants of God. Attention to dress, and even to the ex- tremes of cleanliness, were considered worldly dregs at Nola, After speaking with great con- tempt of a soldier named Marracinus, who had in- tended to be the bearer of an epistle from Sulpicius, but who was unwilling to lay aside his bracelets and collar, and boots, and other military trappings, Paulinus proceeds to describe the bearing and appearance of those who reached his standard of excellence, and to compare them with the deport- ment and garb of such as he disliked. ' I love to receive the visits of those who serve God as we do, and whose religious character is visible in their pallid faces, but I have no satisfaction in the com- pany of such as are proud of their embroidered apparel. Give me the society of those who wear hair-cloth shirts ; not of those who are arrayed in cloaks and tunics, and girt with sword-belts, but of men clad in sackcloth, and whose loins are girdled with a rope ; not of those insolent persons who pride themselves on their well-dressed hair, but of those, who for the sake of holy deformity, wear their hair short and badly cut, whose fore- heads are shaven, and who possess no ornament MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 181 except the purity of their lives : who live in a.d. honourable disreo:ard and neglect of the niceties — — — of life : who hold personal beauty in contempt, and care only for the internal beauty of their souls : who purposely disfigure themselves, and suffer their faces to be haggard, that their hearts may be clean. How can they, to whom our mode of life is the odour of death, blame us, if their lives be equally unsupportable to us. They have a horror of my fasting, and I cannot endure their eating. Certain acquaintances of ours avoid the faint- smelling breath of a monk, when he speaks ; and I detest the foul vapours of a Thrason over- charged with wine. If the dryness of our mouths is displeasing to them, the fumes of wine that pour out of theirs is not less disgusting to us. If they are shocked by our abstemiousness, we are not less so by their intemperance. It is not from men who are intoxicated in the morning, that we wish to receive visits; but from those who fast till the evening ; not from those who on the morrow feel the effects of the preceding evening's debauch, but from men who have not touched wine during the whole day ; not from those whose heads reel under the fumes of wine, but of those on whom pious vigils have inflicted holy wounds, and caused a sober intoxication, and who stagger not from re- pletion, but from inanition.' * It is lamentable to gather from such passages as Austerities. these, that the saints of the fourth century thought it praiseworthy to fast and abstain from nourishing * Epist. Paul, ad Snip, VII. 182 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394. food until their mouths were dry and parched, their stomachs were enfeebled, and their whole frame was exhausted for want of sustenance. This was not the discipline of the body which the apos- tle Paul recommended. His practice and advice, (1 Cor. ix.) were so to train and subdue the body, as to make it a vigorous and fit tenement for an active soul. We learn from other epistles, that Paulinus himself not only fasted until the evening during the whole of Lent, but that no one belonging to the fraternity was permitted to eat before evening. It appears also that it was their frequent prac- tice to abstain from food until sunset. The dishes then served up were composed usually of vegetables and herbs. On sending a loaf of wheat- flour to Sulpicius,* Paulinus remarked, that it would probably be considered a dainty unlike the fare which was consistent with his professed humility. This shews that the bread which he generally used was of a very inferior quality. His table was frugal in the quantity as well as in the quality of the food he took. Speaking of one Cardamas, who had not been used to such sobriety, he remarks, that after he had been some little time at Nola, he was much altered ; and ac- commodating himself to their meagre fare, had become contented with vegetables and a small allowance of wine. ' This,' says he, ' the lean- ness of his body and the paleness of his face suffi- ciently attest.' He adds, ' Though Cardamas rarely drinks at our table, and in such small * Epist. Paul, ad Snip. I. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 183 quantities that there is scarcely enough to wet ^gj- his lips, yet he does not now complain of an • empty stomach or a dry throat.' * In another letter | Paulinus mentions very plea- santly some instructions which Victor, who had been sent to him from Sulpicius, had given him for living with more simplicity and economy. He says his dishes were all calculated to destroy the fancies and delicacies of a senator.J This Victor was described as a young man brought up in a frugal kitchen, who thoroughly understood how to dress beans, to make vinegar from beet-root, and such coarse broth as was fit only for hungry monks. It was mentioned as a great perfection in the culinary character of Victor, that he would not use pepper or any such drug, but that he was an adept in the use of all sorts of savoury herbs : that he was a pitiless enemy to gardens, for the mo- ment he placed his foot in one he carried off with his knife everything he met with ; that he never plagued himself about fire-wood, for he took and threw into the fire everything he found about the house, and for that purpose he would make no hesitation in uncovering the roof and tearing up the old planks. § Whatever objections Vigilantius may have felt, or expressed against the mode of life pursued at Nola, yet he must have conformed with the regu- lations of the house, in all matters relating to ab- stemiousness and devout demeanour, or he would not have conciliated the good opinion of his host. * Epist. XXV. p. 221. t Ibid. III. p. 42, 40. X Epist. III. p. 4,3. § Ibid. 184 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. VIII. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. 394. Nola. Human life must have something in the way of -; relaxation and amusement. Vi^ilantius saw that The recrea- . , tionsat even the severe piety of Paulinus consented to unbend at certain hours in the day. The conver- sation of his visitors, and the news they brought with them from the world, which he himself had forsaken, were his principal recreation. All profane subjects were forbidden, but the discourse would necessarily assume an entertaining form occa- sionally, and holy legends and religious gossip were substituted for the romantic tales, and merry anecdotes which are wont to divert the circles of common society. The holy man and his monks, vx'ith their guests from a distance, would seat themselves in the corridor, which united the two wings of the house ; or in the orchard, and would encourage each other to relate the miracles they had wit- nessed, or heard of. It must be a sacred exploit, a conflict with Satan, or a struggle with one of MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 185 A. D. 394. tales. his agents, a conversion by supernatural means, a cure wrought after invoking some popular saint, or some wondrous story of the same kind ; and the narrators vied with each other who should relate the most extraordinary tale. When a traveller came among them, the in- Marvellous mates of the monastery of Nola were ambitious, in honour of their patron saint, to magnify his supposed favour at the throne of grace, and to tell what astonishing things had been performed through the intercessions of Felix. The stranger from Tours would in his turn relate the surprising feats of St. Martin, and so the tale went round ; until the party was in a state of religious intoxica- tion, and ready to affirm and believe anything, however extravagant and incredible it might be. I have already produced an example of this con- tagious fanaticism in the case of Sulpicius, when he fancied he saw a demoniac suspended in the air, after he had been listening to some of Martin's narrations ; and now Vigilantius had a second opportunity of observing how a similar delusion affected Paulinus. When people brood perpetually over one train of ideas, they get absorbed and bewildered, and beginning as fanatics, they end as deceivers. They are themselves the first victims of the dreamy life they lead ; they impose upon themselves before they impose upon others ; and the propagation of the error does not originate in deliberate falsehood, but grows out of a system which had originally some shadow of truth in it. In fact, no successful structure of fraud, not even 186 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 394. the mythology of Rome and Greece, nor the fables of Hindooism, nor the bold imposture of Mahomet, could have been built up upon the foundation of an unmixed lie ; they had something of the form of reality to rest upon, and may be traced up to a corruption of patriarchal traditions. And so with the legendary frauds, which must be laid to the door of Paulinus and other visionaries of his age, and which have since expanded through centuries, until a selection only from them fills scores of folio volumes, in the unfinished work, called ' Acta Sanctorum,' or ' Acts of the Saints.' Propagation Manv of the wonders, which Vieilantius heard of false- " . ^ , hoods. related at Nola, may possibly have arisen from nothing worse than the wanderings of a disordered imagination, or the exaggerated statement of some event, which had really happened, and which being unaccountable according to the ordinary nature of things, was imputed to the supernatural interposition of St. Felix. But the eminent men who ought to have controlled such follies, encou- raged them ; and to the delusions, which the Christian fathers of the fourth century blindly favoured, or failed to discountenance, we owe the long array of * pious frauds,' so congenial to our corrupt nature, which have since disgraced the Latin and Greek churches. The commemoration of false miracles became part and parcel of the eccle- siastical discipline, which was framed for the edification of Christian converts. Having furnished a sample of the fables which MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 187 had such charms for the associates of Martin at Mar- i-^- 394. moutier, and of Sulpicius at Primuliac and Alzonne, I will now relate a few of those, which doubtless tended to open theeyes of Vigilantius to the weak points in the character of his host at Nola. Du Pin has pronounced the letter of Paulinus, from which the first of the following legends is taken, to be one of the most interesting in the whole col- lection. His critique is just. The narrative is given so graphically, and with so much dramatic effect, that I am sorry my limits oblige me to ab- breviate it.* ' A vessel was anchored on the coast of Sardinia, The but the violence of a tempest drove her from her noLi. moorings, and forced her out to sea. The sailors took to their boat, and made for land, but they were soon all lost. One old man, however, named Victor, was left alone in the ship, and there he remained six days and nights at the mercy of the waves without any food. Tears were his bread, night and day, but he called upon the name of the Lord, and by the help of angels he was enabled to do several things, which, in his ignorance and feebleness, it would otherwise have been impos- sible for him to achieve ; he cut down the mast, he baled out the water, he hoisted and trimmed such sails as could be used ; and he beheld a vision of the heavenly host keeping watch, or working for the safety of the ship. ' Nay more, he was comforted with the sight of the Lord, sitting at the helm and steering it : •■• Epist. Paul. XXXVI. ad ^lacaiium, p. 317—32]. 188 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394. sometimes the celestial helmsman* appeared in the person of the Lord, as he is described in the Apocalypse, and sometimes under the form of St. FelLv, the Patron Saint of Paulinus ! ! ! ' This monstrous narrative^ closes with an account of the safe arrival of the vessel and of the old man, Victor, in an Italian port, and with a recommen- dation to trust in the Lord, and his saints. Another story was more than a thrice-told tale * Ipse enim dominus nunc suo vultu coruscus, ut in Apocalypsi describitur, et coma fulgidus ; nunc confessoris et amici sui, domini mei communis patroni Felicisore venerabilis, in puppi sedebat, sicut nautico usu dicitur ad temones.'— Paul. Epist. ad Macarium, p. 320. Ed. Antw. t Reginald the monk of Durham, who compiled a collection of marvellous stories about St. Cuthbert, between 11.50 and 1180, has recorded one, which seems to have been fabricated out of this pseudo- miracle related by Paulinus. ' Once upon a time, says Reginald, a ship was sailing past the island over a smooth sea. The sailors were letting down their nets from time to time, all were amusing themselves with angling. All was ease and happiness. But suddenly a storm arose, the more appaUing because unforeseen ; and such was the violence of the billows, that the ship was at one time elevated into the sky upon the top of a wave, and in the next moment was lost in the hollow of a deep abyss, which seemed to penetrate into the bowels of the earth. In the mean time the cold became so intense, as literally to freeze up the limbs of the sailors. The sails had disappeared in the wind, the mast had been carried away, and the planks of the vessel were quitting their places. No one could hold an oar, and the rudder could no longer perform its duty ; so that the ship was tossed to and fro like the shell of an egg upon the waves. All hope of life was gone, and the sailors were momentarily expecting death, in profound silence. At last, however, some of the men bethought themselves of St. Cuthbert. Many of them had been bred and born within his territory, and all of them had heard repeatedly of his sanctity and his miracles. To him, therefore, they addressed their voices and their hearts, and beating their sinful breasts, implored his aid in tears, when, behold, the venerable bishop himself, Cuthbert the saint, appeared to them in a bodily form, visible and palpable, and MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 189 at Nola. Two mean and ugly cottages stood very -^j,," near the church of St. Felix, so near as to prove a sad eye-sore to Paulinus, who used all his persua- Alleged • . mirticlcs of sions ineffectually to uiduce the proprietors to sell FcHx. them to him, in order that he might pull them down. In his anxiety to make himself master of his neighbour's possession, Paulinus forgot the history of Ahab and Naboth, or he fancied that the sanctity of his object would extenuate his viola- tion of the tenth commandment. While he was devising means to eject the owner of the cottages, one of the huts caught fire, and the conflagration threatened to burn down the Church, as well as these nuisances. In vain did they attempt to ex- took his seat at the prow of the vessel as her steersman. He was richly clothed in pontifical robes, and wore a splendid mitre upon his head ; and never before had mortal eye witnessed a sight of such grace and beauty. All danger now disappeared. The saint stretched out his pastoral staff over the waves, and the ship glided with the ease of a bird over the boiling and raging billows. The water rose in indig- nation mountains high by its sides, but still it glided gently on in a straight line, without let or hindrance. Cuthbert now addressed the astonished men, and told them his name, and bid them take heart, and promised to bring them safe to land. Fame was soon in sight, and they saw at a distance the church of Lindisfarne. But the miracle does not end here. Cuthbert, by his mighty power, compelled the ship to make a bound upon the dry land, so that the men were under no necessity of wetting their feet upon the shore. And when he had performed this mighty work, he exclaimed, ' T have done the deed ! ' and, straightway, vanishing from their eyes, he returned to his man- sion of peaceful repose, Bartholomew, a monk of Durham, was then the hermit of the island, and to him the sailors told the miracle, with weeping eyes, and offered up their grateful devotions to their mighty benefactor. John, a grey-haired monk of our church, says Reginald, told me this marvellous tale. He had it from the men themselves, who confirmed it by an oath, and he had heard it repeatedly from Bartholomew.' 190 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^gf tinguish the flames ; all endeavours were to no purpose, until Paulinus took one of his sacred re- lics, a piece of the true cross, and held it between the raging elements, and the holy edifice. In an instant the fire was extinguished, the church was saved, and the nuisance was no more. The cabin of the more obstinate proprietor of the two was burnt to the ground, and the other, subdued by so great a miracle, gave up his inheritance, and allowed it to be removed. ' Thanks to St. Felix/ said the narrator, ' nothing was burnt, but that which ought to have been burnt.' * Another miracle which Paulinus loved to relate in honour of St. Felix, was so overlaid with absur- dities, that I could scarcely have believed that any man in his senses would have committed himself to such heathenish trash, had not the recluse of Nola made it the subject of one of his poems. A farmer who was a pious votary of St. Felix, had brought up two bullocks, which were great favourites, and were used to plough his land. One night they were carried off by thieves, and the clown, instead of going in search of them, repaired to the shrine of the saint, and poured out not only his prayers for help, but his complaints and remon- strances. He even accused the saint of letting him sleep too soundly, while the knaves robbed him. Long did he continue to prostrate himself before the the dead man's sepulchre ; bitterly did he expostulate, and many were the supplications * ' Et nihil exustum, nisi quod debebat aduri.'- Piiiil Nata!. X. p. 621. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 191 he poured forth, mixed with threats and promises. In short, a more blasphemous tissue of words was never strung together in the form of prayers, than those which Paulinus put into the mouth of the unfortunate rustic. Among other things, he declared, that he would not leave the church, unless the saint would restore his bullocks to him on the spot ; nor did he stir, until he was removed by force. When he was compelled to return home, he renewed his petitions to Felix with clamorous importunity, and his faith was rewarded. Felix himself took the trouble to go after the stolen cattle, rescued them out of the hands of the thieves, and drove them home to their master, who triumphantly exhibited them the next day, before all the people, at the martyr's shrine.* We have no means of learning what was the immediate effect produced on Vigilantius, by list- ening to the ridiculous legends which amused and edified the good folks at Nola ; or whether he then expressed any opinions upon the subject, which he afterwards discussed with so much freedom. At all events he gave no displeasure to his host, for he carried away with him many testimonies of esteem and affection, and, as we shall see by-and-bye, he returned to Nola the following year, and again departed in full favour with Paulinus. What are we to think then of his sentiments and conduct at this time ? Had he begun to en- tertain the objections which he avowed a few * Vide Paiilini Nat. VI. A. D. 394. Wliat im- pression was made on Vigilantius at this time. 192 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 394. years afterwards ? And if so, was he guilty of unwortliy dissimulation in keeping them to him- self, and in taking part in religious services, which he secretly condemned ? I am inclined to believe, that his doubts and scruples, at this period of his life, were kept under, and perhaps to a certain extent over-ruled, by the profound reverence with which he regarded Sulpicius and Paulinus. It was impossible not to entertain the deepest love and veneration for such men. We feel the spell ourselves, even while we are dwelling on their faults, and tracing the unhappy consequences of their errors. We cannot roughly break the web, which their Christian virtues and inestimable qualities have spun round us. We confess our- selves to be fascinated by their kind-heartedness and self-denial, and zealous devotion to the cause of God. The sweet odour of their real sanctity sheds its soft influence over us. We become con- fused and drowsy, and dream with them. Vision- ary examples of holy living and purity, even to perfection, pass dimly before us. We begin to admire them too much. We must rouse ourselves : we must listen to stern reason : we must call revelation to our aid ! We must compare the grave and sober miracles of the Bible with the extrava- gant and ludicrous prodigies, said to have been worked in these days of wonder. We must go to the page of eternal truth, and see what God has forbidden. We must take up the ' old almanac ' of history, and see what has been the certain and inevitable result of practices and opinions like MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 103 those of Paulinus and Sulpicius, through the long, ^gl' long and dark reign of error and superstition — we must turn from their unquestionable virtues, to the no less certain vices of their admirers and followers, who could not attain unto their inno- cence and piety and devotedness, but sunk into all the slough and filth of the corrupt system, which they were so misguided as to sanction, and to entail as a curse upon the Church of Christ. I have no doubt that Vigilantius was at first infa- tuated by the lovely parts of their character, and was silenced by their sophistries. But when he began to exercise his judgment, and to come to himself, then their very excellence, which was marred by their mistaken views of Gospel perfec- tibility, made him detest the system the more ; and the recollection of scenes which he had wit- nessed, and of superstitious rites in which he had joined, caused him to examine more attentively the traditions which sapped the very intellect of his noble friends, and left them in ruin. When Jerome quarrelled with Vigilantius, and spared no invective, he accused him of ignorance of Scripture, and pretended to laugh at the idea of the innkeeper's son undertaking to ex- plain Holy Writ, and affecting to understand the prophets and apostles better than other people. But Vigilantius had enjoyed the very best op- Theoppor- portunities of making himself acquainted with the enjoj-edby language and meaning of Scripture. He might J/aiquh'ino^ sometimes err, like others, in the interpretation of knowEl. Scriptural passages, but the great work of transla- o 194 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. n. 294. tion, transcription, collation, and circulation of Scripture, in which he was afterwards engaged, as I shall show in theprogress of this work, ought to have made Jerome hesitate before he gave way to his severity ; and Jerome knew full well that it was im- possible to associate with Sulpicius and Paulinus, especially with the latter, as familiarly as Vigilantius had done, without having the attention perpetually drawn to the sacred fountain of our holy religion. The antidote was at hand, while the poisonous in- fusion was poured into his cup. Vigilantius was studying the word of God, while he was drinking intoxicating draughts from the lips of Paulinus ; and I believe it to have been his reverence for the word of revelation, imbibed from the conversation and correspondence of his two patrons, which made him diffident for a long time of his own judgment. He was in the habit of hearing the sacred books quoted by Paulinus on all occasions, and giving that good man credit for faithfully measuring his conduct and opinions by Holy Writ ; he did not venture to set up his own opinions, until he had made a more diligent search into the precious volume which he was taught to venerate. When he began to examine for himself, he found that though Paulinus had been fluent in the use of Scripture, he was not deep or critical : no doubt he discovered, that which Du Pin and Tillemont have since noticed, that the writings and conver- sation of Paulinus, though they were the delight of his time, * Ics delices de son temps,' were more entertaining than instructive ; that they were MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 195 A. D. 304. superficial ; did not go into religion as a science, and did not unravel difficult questions. It was to — the heart that Paulinus spoke with so much effect, and this it was that won its way to the affections of Vigilantius. The Bishop of Nola's interpretations of Scrip- ture were most happy and beautiful, when they were directed to the feelings, to the moral con- duct, and to the gentler emotions of the heart ; but they failed both in force and fidelity, when they were meant to illustrate the mysteries of doc- trine. He wanted spiritual and intellectual dis- cernment to distinguish between holy truths and the opposite errors, which often lie close together, I am glad to have been led, by this part of my narrative, to make some remarks upon Paulinus as a Textuarian ; because it was from his mouth or pen that Vigilantius acquired much of that scriptural wisdom, by which he became a formida- ble adversary to Jerome. Paulinus excelled in a general knowledge, and ready citation of Scrip- ture, and it is attractive, when we read his epistles, to follow him in the easy and natural flow of his biblical references. His merit will ThedifR- be estimated the more highly in taking this studyLg view of his character and attainments, when we timt'pcriod'' call to mind the innumerable difBculties, by wltirthe which Scripture reading was beset in those p^^^*^"*' days. To us, who have the word of God in print, with a great variety of editions at our command, in books of all sizes and types, there can be but a faint idea of the difficulty of studying the bible o 2 196 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 391. in manuscript; and (by the help of manuscripts only,) of making one's self sufficiently acquainted with the sacred text, so as to be able to quote many consecutive sentences with fluency and ac- curacy. The work of reference alone, and of turning to a passage with any degree of readiness, must have been a troublesome task, at a time when it was a rare thing to have all the canonical books in a volume. And even when the entire" series was gathered together in one collection, and lay in order before the reader, his hand and his eye were unassisted by the helps and directories which come to our aid. Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome had introduced certain divisions, but they fell very short of those more minute compartments of chap- ter and verse, which have been universally adopted in modern times. We have the books of the Old and New Testament placed in an order which is familiar to everybody ; the sequence in which they follow each other, the columns in which they are ranged, the headings of chapters, the marginal directions, the concordances and the indexes which we pos- sess, aiford facilities for consulting and committing the divine oracles to memory, which were unknown to Paulinus, and to Vigilantius. It is our blessing to live in an age and country, where the bible can be purchased so cheaplyin all languages, that whether we wish to read it in our own tongue, or to compare a passage with the original, or with any foreign translation, we can obtain copies of the very type which best suits our eye-sight, without any inconve- nience. Moreover, there is another advantage which MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 197 we enjoy, and which we cannot estimate too highly. We all use the same version, the authorized English version, as it is called ; consequently we always hear Scripture quoted in the very same form of words ; sentence for sentence, word for word, syllable for syllable. From our very child- hood we are familiarized with texts, which never vary in sound ; and the ear and the eye at once recognise the inspired truth, " line upon line, and precept upon precept." When Paulinus first devoted himself to the study of Holy Writ, there was no uniform version in his native language, whether Latin or Gallican, and he was not eminent for his knowledge of Greek. The vei'sio Itala^ of which I have spoken before, was of most common use ; but it was not univer- sally preferred, and Jerome's revised or re-trans- lated vulgate had not then been published. One in- stance of the many various readings which pre- vailed, may be seen in the eighth Psalm, which was the occasion of Martin's election to the bishopric of Tours.*" The words then recited were * ut destruas inimicum et defensorem,' whereas ultorem occurred in some copies. But notwithstanding all these obstacles in the way of a perfect familiarity with Scripture, this persevering biblicist, from whom Vigilantius im- bibed much of his knowledge and veneration of Scripture, was considered so good a textuarian, that Augustine, with all his deep acquirements in * See page 20. A. D. 394. 198 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. sacred literature, consulted Paulinus, and sub- mitted some of his writings to his correction.* The epistles of Paulinus show us how fluently he quoted from the Old and New Testament ; and I trust I shall not be thought tedious, if I give some copious extracts from them, especially from those with which Vigilantius must have been well ac- quainted. When Sulpicius wrote to his friend to express his admiration of his self-denial, in devoting quototion! himself to almsgiving and exercises of devotion, Paulinus replied to him in this strain : — -f * How art thou to oppose thyself unarmed to the strong man armed ? ' The blessed Job, when he was assailed, ex- claimed, " Naked did I come out of my mother's womb. "J Who will arm me against so many hosts of the enemy of the powers of the air, in order that I may not return to the earth, " naked as I came out 1 " ' But I breathe again, I am comforted, I lift my- self up. " God is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid ? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." § Though I have no arms of my own, I will not lose my confidence. I have the armory of Christ from which I may " put on the armour of light,'' II — with which I may wrestle " against principalities, against powers, against the rulers * See Aug. Epist. 27 and 95. And Paul. Epist. 28. t See Epist. II. Paul, ad Sulp. Sev. t Job i. 21. $i Psalm xxvii. 1, 3. 1| Rom. xiii. 12. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 199 of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." * Against these He will be my armour-bearer, He will be my ensign- bearer, who is " the chosen vessel unto the Lord." f ''He shall gird my loins about ''% icith chastity. (In the original the word is " truth," and this is one of the incidental proofs of the force of superstition over the mind of Paulinus, with whom nothing without celibacy was truth.) He shall put " the helmet of salvation" on my head. He shall give me " the breast-plate of righteousness.'" § He shall protect me with "the shield of faith," and He shall arm my right hand, (yea the whole of me,) as the right hand of Christ, with the "sword of the Spirit," and ivith the " sword of truth," \\ in order that a '' thousand shall fall at my side, and ten thousand at my right hand." ^ * I am led in this place to the audacity, as I may say, to the audacity of asking, " Who art thou. Lord,"** " who hast made heaven and earth?" " who appeared in the flame in the bush," fj" " who hast done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things in the Red Sea? "JJ Will no one know thee yet ? " Will this people only draw nigh thee with their lips, while their hearts are far from thee ? " §§ And shall the Gentiles, " which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law," ||11 confessing *' the * Ephcs. vi. 12. t Acts ix. 15. $ Eph. vi. 14. §Ibid. vi. 14. II Jbicl. vi. 1(), 17. IT Psalm xci. 7. *-^- ActS-ix. 5. tt Actsvii. 80. XX Psalm cvi. 21, 22. §§ Isa. xxix. 13. nil Rom. ii. 14. A. I). 394. 200 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.Ti. 394. power of God ? " Where is the difficulty of know- ing what God is, when " the heavens declare the glory of God,"* and " the invisible things of him are understood by the things that are made ? " t These extracts, in the rapid transition from one scriptural passage to another, prove that Paulinus had scripture at his finger's end ; but they ex- hibit also the perpetual tendency of his mind, to put forced constructions upon Christian precepts. * He interlaced his discourse with an infinite num- ber of scriptural passages,' says Du Pin, ' and often gave them a meaning different from the na- tural construction, and we must confess that his allusions and allegories are often too far-fetched and puerile.' J In his fourth letter to Sulpicius there is an example of this which we cannot con- template but with feelings of dissatisfaction amounting to disgust. ' Therefore let us love him, whom it is our debt of duty to love ; let us kiss him, whom we can kiss with chastity ; let us em- brace him, whom it is chastity to espouse.' The original words are too extravagant to admit of literal translation.il A similar straining of scripture to his own pur- poses is discoverable in his seventh letter to Sul- picius,^ when after having described the sackcloth and the cropped hair, and the half-shorn beard, * Psalm xix. 1. t Rom. i. 20. % Bib. des Aut. Ecc. 3, 499. § See Epist. IV. p. 76. Antw. Ed. 1622. II Ergo ilium amemus quern amare debitum est. Ilium osculemur rjuem osculari castitas est. Illi copuleraur cui nupsisse virginitas est. f Antw. Ed. p. 103. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 201 and the squalid appearance of those whom he ^ °. considered to be true monks, he goes on to say, ' But the countenance and the dress, and the smell of men of this description, will excite dis- gust in those to whom '* there is the savour of death unto death."* '' Who call evil good, aiid good evil."1[ " Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter ; " and foul for chaste, and enmity for holiness.' The letter of Paulinus to Aper and Amanda, on the management of their property, is a more pleasing proof of his familiar acquaintance with scripture, and of the graceful manner in which he was wont to give a serious turn to his own thoughts, and to those of his correspondents. The mention of the concerns of a farm leads him to observations of this kind — * The same attention to the business of the farm, which you expect on the part of your steward, God expects from you, and such must be the cultivation of your hearts.' J ' We perceive how much instruction may be drawn from country life, in those precepts in which God directs his servants to the ant and to the bee ; § the one showing how provision is made for the future, by collecting grains of corn ; the other as gathering honey from the flower. And our Lord in the gospel perpetually refers his disciples to rural objects. The fig-tree, and the * 2 Cor. ii. 16. t Isaiah v. 20. X ' Qualem agri tui specicm fieri a villico tuo, talem deo domino cordis tui redde ciilturam.' — Opera Paul. 2(58. § Deiiique quantum de rure, &c. 202 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^^°- fields of corn ripe for the reapers,* are made to show the signs of the times ; and we are taught by the tares that are sown in the field of the care- less husbandman, how necessary it is to be spiritually vigilant.' + Towards the end of this epistle, he makes a most forcible and ingenious application of the language of the prophet Joel,$ ' Let not the prediction of the prophet be realized in you — " That which the palmer- worm hath left, the locust hath eaten ; and that which the locust hath left, hath the canker- worm eaten ; and that which the cankerworm hath left, hath the caterpillar eaten." For there are in us just as many incentives to sin— hope, fear, joy, and grief, — two, as regards the present, — ^joy and grief; and two, as regards the future, — hope and fear : therefore we must beware lest when we shun the former, we fall under the latter. The palmerworm, and locust, and cankerworm, and caterpillar represent the violent passions by which we are consumed : of which some prey but a short time on the heart, others increase gradu- ally, and if they are not immediately cast out, they penetrate to the vitals, and destroy all the moisture of the soul.' I have much greater pleasure in selecting ex- tracts, which exhibit the right application made by Paulinus of his scriptural studies, than in point- ing to the erroneous use of holy writ : not only because I confess that I cherish an aff'ection for * Mark xiii. 28. Luke xxi. 29. Johniv. 35. t Matt. xxiv. 40. X Joel i. 4, ne fiat in vobis, &c. p. 270. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 203 his memory, notwithstanding his many grievous sins against the simplicity of the gospel, but be- cause I wish also to open to view the source, from which Vigilantius drew much of his Biblical knowledge, and where he learnt to measure every truth proposed to him by the divine standard. In a letter of Paulinus to Florentiiis, Bishop of Caliors, * Christ the Rock' is thus commended to our devout meditation.* * Christ is the Rock which follows us with a flowing fountain into the wilderness of this life,t when we are athirst for righteousness, that we may be refreshed with a sweet draught, and may not be burnt up with the flames of evil desires. He is the rock on which the house is built that cannot fall.| He is the rock on which the man may dig deep : § — from whose side, pierced with the lance, there flowed water mixed with blood |1 — that he might pour upon us, as out of the fountains of salvation, the water of grace, and the blood of the sacrament, which are at the same time the cause and the price of our redemption.' In another epistle, he speaks of Christ in the same strain. ' He now offers himself as the foun- dation, and the top of our building, because he is the beginning and the end, and the same stone ; for Christ^ is the stone without which no man can build a solid structure.'** * Ad. Flor. Epis. Epist. XXXII. p. 283. t 1 Cor. x. 4. X Matt. vii. 24, § Luke vi. 48. || John xix. 84, H Christ is here described as the rock, not Peter. ** Epist. 12, ad Sulp. A.D. 394. 204 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. IX. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. "^395; I CANNOT distinctly make out when Vigilantius rTT '■ was ordained priest. Gennadius * who flourished Ordination '■ ' ofvigiian- about Q. ccutury afterwards, says, that he had served a church in the diocese of Barcelona, but he does not say when. Fleury, Du Pin, Bayle, Baronius, De Marca, and Pagi, follow Gennadius, and represent him as having officiated as priest at Barcelona ; they do not however agree as to time. De Marca and Pagi f think that he was ordained at Barcelona, at the request of Paulinus. Others are of opinion that he was first admitted into priest's orders in a Gallic diocese, and that he had nothing to do with a church on the other side of the Pyrenees, until he was banished from Gaul, for writing against the corruptions of the church. Contemporary history does not give us any certain * ' Vigilantius presbyter, natione Gallus, Hispaniaj Barceloni ensis parochise Ecclesiam tenuit.' — Gennadius, Catal. Scrip. Eccles. c. 35. t Pagi. Crit. Hist-Chr. in An. Bar. II. p. 74. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 205 information either as to the time or place of his ordination ; but there were so many hasty and irregular consecrations at that period, that I am inclined to believe that Vigilantius was made priest at the recommendation of one of his patrons, Sulpicius or Paulinus, soon after his first visit to the latter in 394. It was no uncommon thing for a bishop to confer orders on one of the dependents of a man eminent for his sanctity, at the request of the patron. We have an instance of this in one of Paulinus' letters to Amandus. * I commend Marius, the bearer of this epistle, to your notice, and I beg that he may be ordained in your church, according to the tenor of a request which I have already made to my father, the holy bishop. I have affranchised this servant of mine, now our fellow-servant in the Lord, and have given him his liberty for the Lord's sake.' The reason added by Paulinus is a curious proof, that prayers for the souls of the dead were offered up at this early period as part of a priest's office, at the request of a benefactor to the Church. ' I have done this,' he continues, ' that he may perform the obsequies in memory of my parents in the Lord's house, and that, in the performance of religious services, he may enjoy true freedom under your protection. Pray see that he obtain from the holy priest Exuperius a small portion of the glebe, which belongs to the Church, for his subsistence.* * Nunc sane Marium portitorem hujus Epistolse commendamus specialiterunanimitati tuee ; ut, sicut rogavimus sanctum Episcopum et A. D. 395. 206 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 395. It is very likely that the same sort of favour conduced to the ordination of Vigilantius ; but where, or under what bishop I cannot say. This, however appears certain, that he was in priest's orders in the year following (395), and that he was then unattached to any particular church, and not confined to the limits of a parish, but travel- ling for his improvement in the East. Vigilantius was hitherto in a dependent situation, and this accounts in part for the reserve, which he seems to have maintained on any differences of opinion, if such existed between him and his two patrons. There is no evidence to show that he had yet openly broached tenets, which churchmen of that day would have considered questionable. It is most probable that his mind was not yet emanci- pated from the bondage, in which it was held, and that he required to see more of the corruptions into which the Christian Church was plunging, before he could undertake to act the part of a Reformer, or Remonstrant. A double opportunity was offered to Vigilantius, in the year 395, of witnessing the spiritual degra- dation to which the best of men may be reduced, when once they attempt to mingle together the discordant elements of Paganism and Christianity, patrem nostrum, ita ordinetur a vobis. Conservum enim eum, data in domino Libertate, reddidimiis : sed vobis in domo domini serviat : delegatis ad parentum nostrorum memoriam obscquiis, ut per religiosam servitutem obtinere firmam libertatem sub vcstra defensione mercatur. Age et apud sanctum presbyterum fratrem Exuperium, ut in casa ecclesiae terrulam, qua victum suum procuret, accipiat.' — Paul, Epist. 21,aliter 12, ad Amandum. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 207 and to preach "another Gospel." At his father's ^^f death, he succeeded to the wealth amassed at the inn and posting-house of Calagorris, and this enabled him to undertake a journey to Palestine and Egypt. Campania was not much out of his way, and ff^^""'} Paulinus could supply him with letters of intro- J^^^'^^^'"^ duction to Jerome, and other distinguished eccle- siastics. Again, therefore, we accompany him to Nola, where his patron was now endeavouring to heal the wounds of an unquiet conscience, by practices equally debasing to the Roman patrician, and to the Christian penitent. The great error of the day consisted in seeking ^mnt-wor- for the intervention of some created being, be- tween the soul and its Creator. The worshipper, whether Pagan or Christian, did not approach the eternal throne at once, but he stopped short at the shrine of some imaginary mediator, and here he offered his oblations and his prayers. When he did not find the peace he sought for, or the benefit he desired to obtain, whether spiritual or temporal, he fancied that his ofi'erings were unac- cepted in default of some omission, not towards the Supreme, but in relation to the intercessor. He had not decked the altar or the effigy splen- didly enough ; he had not made his own character sufficiently conformable to that of the demigod, the hero, or the saint, in whose name he implored to be heard. He had not imposed sufi'erings upon himself, such as that object of his veneration had endured. He had not hungered or thirsted, or 208 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^p^- suffered cold and nakedness, and the extreme of want in an equal degree. He had tried his own patience and fortitude by no such agonies of mind or body as those, to which that honoured being had submitted. In short, he measured all his duties and merits by the qualities, real or fabulous, which had been ascribed to his Hercules or his Ceres, to his Saint Thecla, or his Saint Felix. This was the sad delusion under which Pauli- nus laboured. Familiar as he was with the word of God in Holy Scripture, he yet squared his life and conversation more by the traditional vir- tues, which were attributed to martyrs and confes- sors of the Church of the second, third, and fourth centuries, than by the precepts of Christ, and the example of his disciples. The acts of the saints, as handed down in legendary tales of the East and West, and not the acts of the Apostles sanc- tioned by the authority of the universal Church, were taken for his guidance ; and he made Nola his habitation, under the expectation, that in imi- tating the penitential exercises and devotions, and the self-denial of the saint of Nola, he should find rest to his soul. At first he found all the repose and enjoyment, for which he looked. His extensive almsgiving- left a sweet savour on his mind : his hours, when they were unemployed in devising and executing schemes for the happiness of others, were occupied in prayer and praise. His retirement from the world brought its own pleasures, so long as some rational project was unaccomplished : but when MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 209 he had fully carried out all his original intentions, ^•''■ 395. he began to feel a craving for something new. There was a sameness in his largesses to the poor, in his entertainment of strangers, in the appear- ance of his Church, and in the routine of his daily offices of devotion, which gave him dissatisfaction. Had Paulinus mixed with general society, and made his charities and his devotions part of the business of his life, while he was taking his share in the public duties of the senator, and the land-owner, and the guardian of a great number of dependents, he might have been happy ; but now he must seek for such excitement as was consistent with his profes- sion as a recluse, and a monk. He must invent new penances. He must increase his austerities and mortifications. The body must be kept under with greater care, for no doubt the mind was uneasy, because the flesh was rebellious. He must eat less : he must sleep less, and punish himself more severely. Still he found not the self-complacency of which he was in search. Then unsatis- i '' 1 1 • factory other helps to piety must be discovered or m- expedients I i '' _ to stir up vented. He must enrich his sanctuary with a devotion. fresh collection of relics. He must stir up his feeble devotion by the sight of pictures and images, to remind him how this saint spent years in the desert, and that saint lived weeks and months without eating or drinking. He must not suffer his eyes to sleep, or his eyelids to take any rest, until he has repeated so many prayers, or read so many pages. He must call all these ex- p 210 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 395. pedients to the help of drooping piety. It must be excitement upon excitement. This was the mood in which Vigilantius found Paulinus on his arrival at Nola in 395. The active mind requires incessant occupation, and the Vigilantius rclioious votarv who quits busy life to serve his finds Pau- ® j i J ^ linusmore Qod iu scclusion, must nccessarilv rcsort to fresli deeply immersed fuel to fccd tho firc and keep alive the dying in error. , . • a • n i embers of a heated miagmation. An idler, whose strength is to sit still, or one who has no very im- pulsive temper, may quietly settle down in the dulness of an ascetic or monastic life ; but Pauli- nus was of a temperament which required con- tinued excitement. He had been used from his childhood to a moving scene, and the devotional food which nourished him to-day would be taste- less and vapid to-morrow. And so it was when he turned his back upon the engagements, the honours and the conversation of the world : he thought it sinful to derive amusement from the most innocent enjoyment of earth, even from its fields and gardens and flowers. He felt the curse of a dull void amidst all his long promised charms of seclusion, and with feverish impatience he sought for new objects on which to fix his languishing at- tention. He dug for relics near home, and sent any distance for a rag or a bone, which had the reputa- tion of having belonged to a martyred Christian. He contrived to collect in his church some of the relics of St. Andrew, St. Thomas, and St. Luke, with morsels said to have belonged to the bodies of St. John the Baptist, of St. Agricola, St. Vital, MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 211 St. Proculus, St. Euphemia, and St. Nazaire.* -^^^ He had a piece of the true cross, which he averred might be submitted to the flames without its being- burnt. He listened to marvellous tales with the most implicit belief. No pretended miracle was too improbable for him : the more astounding and supernatural the event, the greater its charms for his disordered fancy. He prostrated himself be- fore the tomb of his patron, St. Felix ; and sur- rounded with the paintings and representations with which he had decorated the shrines that covered the bones of that martyr, he became so impressed with the solemnities of a place of his own creation, as to feel persuaded that he heard and saw things, which are beyond the reach of the human senses. Upon his hard couch, to which he retired after painful watchings and labours, he dreamed of unearthly objects, and the vision of the night was received as a reality. Such was Paulinus at Nola, the second year of his residence there. But would so good a man be a The reflee- deceiver ? Would the noble and wealthy patrician vi"na°n. have been able to turn his back upon the attractions ^'"''" of life, unless he had received such miraculous sup- port as he described ? Would the learned scholar, the elegant poet, the charming associate of the greatest men, the choicest spirit of his age, sur- render the companionship of such friends, as those with whom he had been in the habit of consorting, unless he had the angel visits, and the heavenly communications, with which he professed to be * Nat. Paul. ix. P -1 212 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. g-g"- favoured ? Would the saint, who had the gift of continence and self-denial, be likely to mistake the illusion of his own mind for realities ? Would the scripturist, who could recite and apply the word of holy writ with the utmost fluency, would he be likely to misunderstand, or to trangress the oracles of God ? Such may have been the reason- ing of Vigilantius, when he felt himself unable to resist the influence of such an example and such an authority. " Do not believe all the kind things Romanian will say of me," said Augustine in a letter to Paulinus, ''for fear you should think better of me than I deserve, and lest you should pray less for me than I require." * If this beautiful sentiment and instructive lesson had been more generally followed, the unbounded admiration of holy men of old, which has led to so much error, would have been moderated. His faith j^ jg woudcrful that Vigilantius did not become again in ~ P^"i- a sceptic, or a confirmed bigot, during this visit to Nola, for he now saw the very worst species of idolatry that could be exhibited, by men calling themselves Christians, not only under the sanc- tion, but absolutely under the direction of Pauli- nus. Was it that the extravagance of the scenes he witnessed acted as a beacon to put him on his guard? Was it that he consulted scripture the more frequently and the more humbly, when he beheld Paulinus tottering on the slippery places, * Aug. Epist. ad Paul. 82. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS.. 213 upon which he had ventured to set his foot ? ■^^^■ Was it that finding the most complete discrepancy — between what he saw and heard at Nola, and what he read in the volume of truth, he prayed the more earnestly for heavenly guidance, and received it ? Was it that his eyes were opened to understand, that good cannot sanction evil, and that the most spiritual men of that genera- tion, wiser though they may have been than him- self, were not wiser than God, who had forbidden many of those things which he saw Paulinus per- form ? The miracles related in the Bible were wrought, that they might act as testimonies against worship offered to any but God alone, and they were re- corded as memorials of the divine will. But the Comip- signs and wonders, of which Vigilantius heard Noia. talk, at Nola, were attestations to which Paulinus appealed, in proof that the dead man Felix ought to be invoked ; that cures had been, and again would be, wrought at his tomb ; and that heavenly blessings would reward those who should decorate his shrine, and pray in his name, and implore his intercession ! Many things, that the ancient Church of God had been forbidden to do at their religious festivals, because the heathens did those things, and because they led to the abominations of the heathens, were openly done in the sanctuary- dedicated to St. Felix. Banquettings were held in his honour, in the very church itself; revellings and drunkenness followed, the roof re-echoed with voices of blasphemy and idolatry. The pave- 214 VIGIL ANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39°; ment reeked with the filthy remnants of the feast, and with the filthier proofs of gluttony and intoxi- cation ; and the misguided man, who gave occa- sion to this impiety, was infatuated enough to endeavour to recal the besotted worshippers to more decent behaviour by setting up pictures in the church of Nola,* in direct violation of the canons of the council of Eliberis, and in de- fiance of the warning word of God himself; — " Woe unto him, that saith unto the wood, Awake ; to the dumb stone. Arise, it shall teach." f Yes, Paulinus after introducing those abominations into his house of prayer, which the word of un- erring wisdom had proclaimed to be "a snare," and " a cursed thing ; " and a thing to be utterly detested, and utterly abhorred, J carried his in- fatuation still further, by decorating the walls of his church with pictorial representations, under the vain hope, that figures of St. Martin and of other holy men, might instruct his riotous banquetters, and teach them purer morals and better manners. The pro- The following was the lamentable progress of these cor- the mischicf, as we collect from the account ruptions. ^jjjgjj Paulinus himself gave of the solemnities in honour of St. Felix. § First of all he circu- lated reports that miracles were performed at the tomb of St. Felix, and that extraordinary cures were vouchsafed to those who prayed at the sepulchre of the saint for his intercession ; — then he enlarged the oratory dedicated to St. Felix, •^ See infra, p. 217. t Hab. ii. 10. J Dent. vii. 26. § See his Letters and his Natales, — Passim. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 215 and fitted it up for these unhallowed scenes, and he established rites and observances, and an appara- tus of worship, which were pagan forms of adora- tion under a Christian name. Processions were formed, the relics of the saint w^ere displayed, in- cense smoked, and lights burned before his tomb : instances of his miraculous interposition were recounted, votive offerings were presented, and voices exclaiming * Hear us, holy Felix! ' ' Blessed Felix ! ' resounded through the church. Next he attracted multitudes from all parts of the country, by providing a great feast for those who should be in attendance ; and he composed annual hymns in honour of the birth-day of Felix, which com- memorated it as a day worthy of being celebrated among the holiest in the calendar. ' Venit festa dies coelo, celeberrima terris, Natalem Felicis agens.' — Nat. 3. So successful were the fables and the lying wonders and the multiform preparations, to which he resorted for the purpose of gathering deluded votaries from distant parts to sanctify the anniver- sary, that, in the year at which we are now arrived, 395, when Vigilantius was at Nola, an incredible number of people flocked to the solemnity. ' They assembled in such crowds, that there was no counting them ; they kept arriving all the evening before ; their footsteps disturbed the stillness of the night ; their torches illumined its darkness. It was a dense multitude urged on by one vow and object. Lucania, Apulia, Calabria, Campania, A. D. 395. 216 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^•g^- Latium, poured in their population ; worshippers ■ came from Capua, Naples, and even from Rome. Nay, you might suppose it was Rome herself rising before you, and not Nola.' * Having thus given Paulinus'own account of the swarms that fell down before the shrine which he had set up, in honour of the imaginary object of his invocation, — of the dead man concerning whose spirit he knew nothing, and could not say whether it heard him or not, — I will now let him describe the excesses committed on these holy days by the fanatical crowd, and the correctives with which he attempted to restrain them. ' Oh that they would offer up their vows of joy with more sobriety, and that they would not be quaffing cups of wine within the sacred precincts ! And yet I think some allowance may be made for those who indulge themselves a little in those festivals ; because rude minds are liable to error. Excesses ... . committed aud simplc piety is scarcely conscious of the faults at these ... . festivals, committcd, while it fancies that the saints will be pleased with the offerings of fragrant wine poured upon their tombs. What ! do they approve after death of that which they condemned when living ? Does the table of Peter receive that which the doctrine of Peter censured ? ' * You have now reason to dread Felix ; you are foolishly disregarding him ; you are insulting him by your drunkenness ; you think you are praying to him, while you are convicting yourself of sin. * Sec Nat. IH. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 217 A. D. 395, Wretched creature ! you are making him the wit- ness, and the avenger of your revels.' * I have therefore thought it right to have the Myalls of St. Felix's sanctuary decorated with paintings, that an impression may be made upon the minds of the rustics, by means of pictorial representations ; that the figures and the descrip- tions over them may teach a lesson ; that they may think less of the banquet, while they are feasting their eyes with the imagery ; that the sacred his- tory, and the pious examples which it holds up to view, may have an happy influence with them, and that they may forget their wine and become sober.'* The abuse which Paulinus endeavoured to re- g^jj.jj move, viz. banquetting in honour of a saint, was "^"^*^^ very common, (even according to the admission of "^"(.gn.^^*^ very com- mon in t' 4th cen- Tillemont) in the Christian church, towards the *"^y- close of the fourth century. Ambrose endeavoured to restrain it at Milan. Augustine did all in his power to banish it from his diocese, -f and Jerome spoke of it with disgust, complaining that even some of the monastic order would gluttonously feast themselves at festivals, until their stomachs rejected the load of food whichtheyhad swallowed. ' Si quando dies festus venerit, saturantur ad vomitum.'l But the misplaced indulgence, which led eccle- siastics of that period to be tender towards forms of heathenism, so long as they were disguised under a Christian mask, prevented their checking * See Nat. IX. f Aug. Epist. LXIV. t Epist. Hier. XVIIF. Opcia. Ilier. IV. p. 45. 218 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^g?- the evil with a high hand, and denouncing it with • • the severe voice of authority. Thus it was tole- rated until it became a crying sin. Though it was unusual in those days to have representations of men and animals painted in churches, yet the pro- fanation was introduced at Nola, under the vain hope that pictures would serve as instructors, and teach a purer morality to the peasants who got drunk in honour of St. Felix. Tillemont's account of this proceeding shows how difficult the Ro- manists find it to excuse their favourite saints, when they sin against Scripture and the early Councils. * C'etoit une chose extraordinaire en ce temps lade peindre des animaux et des hommes dans les Eglises, St. Paulin le fit en faveur des Paysans, qui faisoient le plus grand nombre de ceux qui venoient tous les ans a la feste de St. Felix. Comme c'etoientdes gens fort grossiers, ils imaginoient honorer les saints de boire sur les tombeaux. Ansi ils passoient la nuit a se rejouir et a faire de petits festins dans Feglise.' * Such were the expedients of Paulinus to correct an evil, to which he had himself so largely con- tributed, by instilling into these poor rustics false notions of religion, and by drugging them into a state of feverish excitement ; by making them drunk with the expectation of beholding miracles Idolatry at thc dcad man's biddinof. It was his fatal dicta- at Nola. . . . , ^, . tion and example, which trained baptized Chris- tians to idolatry, by teaching them to invocate * Tillemont, Memoirs XIV. 105. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 219 and adore a departed saint, and to kneel before his tomb and his relics ! It maybe thought that the language of Paulinus, in his hymns in honour of St. Felix, was only the extravagance of poetry, and a mere string of apos- trophes. Then let us see how he spoke of the deceased martyr, when he was writing of him in sober prose. He had occasion to write to his friend Victricius, concerning a young man named Ursus, who had been taken ill at Nola ; and the recovery of the invalid is attributed to the intercession of the guardian spirit of the place. * The Lord per- mitted his disorder to reach a dangerous point, in order that the virtue of my patron saint's interces- sion might be made manifest.' * It is not unlikely that Vigilantius transcribed this, and other records of the endeavours, which Paulinus was perpetually making, to magnify the merits and the miraculous powers of his ' Dom'mcB- dius ; ' but did he ever hear from his lips any words of caution against the abuses, which such crea- ture-worship could not fail to rivet, like chains, about the necks of weak brethren? He saw Paulinus kneel and prostrate himself before the tomb of St. Felix, until he was so exhausted that he could scarcely raise himself up. He heard him supplicate the dead in language which it was idolatry to address to any but the living God. He heard him, after he had spent a whole night in the church, recount dreams as if they were realities, * Paul. Epist. XXVIII. ad Victricium. p. 17. Ant. Ed. A. D. 395. 220 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 395. and repeat conversations, which his distempered imagination fancied to have passed between him- self and St. Felix. He had to listen to incredible tales of the wonder-working ashes that lay be- neath the shrines of the monastery, — of sicknesses removed, of disasters averted, of lost property restored, of crimes detected, of life prolonged, of conversions effected by the bones of a man, who had been numbered among the dead for a hundred years and more. He saw Paulinus mak- ing the very preparations which tempted a fanati- cal crowd, " to sit down to eat and to drink, and to rise up to play." He perceived that the mind of his patron was weakened, or was under so strong an illusion that he was running into all manner of puerilities, in his vain attempts to reconcile his idolatrous practices with his Christian profes- sion. And all this time he was exhorted by the poor fanatic to take those very Scriptures for his guidance, which he himself was perverting to his own destruction. Most providentially the Gallic presbyter was led to compare the ' Paganized Christianity' of INola with the simple worship of the apostolical age, and to see through the aberrations of Paulinus. The wit- The true fathers of the Christian Church, who ness of • r ^ Scripture built Only uDon the foundation of the prophets against i i i • i such and the apostles, Jesus Christ being the corner- stone, had all understood the scriptural exhorta- tions against idolatry and "provoking the Lord to jealousy," in the plain meaning of the passages, which forbade them " to lust after evil things," MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 221 and to imitate the religious customs of the heathen ^-g"- world, in any of its ensnaring practices. " Flee from idolatry," (1 Cor. x. 14.) " Keep yourselves from idols." (1 John v. 21.) "Let no man be- guile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen." (Col. ii. 18.) Such were the apostolic directions in explanation of the plain commandments delivered by the pro- phets of old, from the mouth of God himself, "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, — and shouldst be driven to wor- ship them and serve them." (Deut. iv. 15, 16, 19.) " Take heed unto yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee." " Neither shalt thou set up any image which the Lord thy God hateth." (Deut. xvi. 22.) Vigilantius knew that these were the inspired and scriptural injunctions against paying religious honour to material representations, and to effigies made to resemble created things, be they the ele- ments of light and hfe, or rational beings like our- selves. He knew that the Holy Ghost had prohibited all creature-worship, because it leads to unimagina- ble evils. He was aware that a fond admiration of a departed object of affection leads to a super- stitious honouring of the figure, by which that 222 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 395. object is represented. What then must have been the workings of his mind, with the written word of God in his hand, and with the example of Pau- linus before his eyes, provoking the Lord to anger by offences against that written word ! To " flee from idolatry," and to " keep ourselves from idols," is to abstain from a superstitious reverence of the person whom we love, or respect, as well as to avoid the use of sculptured and pictorial representations, as helps to worship. Holy writ declares that the use of false helps in religious services leads to all manner of abominations, that it is a snare, a temp- tation, and a stumbling-block, that it is the be- ginning of " fornication against God," and that it ends in the deceived and deluded transgressors being delivered over to the severest judgments. ** The Lord shall smite thee with madness and blindness, and astonishment of heart." (Deut. xxviii. 28.) Vigilantius saw the literal fulfilment of this curse in the persons of Sulpicius and Paulinus ; they both outlived the strength of their faculties, and dwindled down to imbeciles ; and the church, with the ecclesiastical system to which they belonged, has ended in forcing its members to worship the images, which at first it only com- mended to notice, as instructive objects, as me- morials, and helps to devotion. At first the Latin Church only said to the dumb stone, ' It shall teach ; ' but now its language is, ' I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, and of the mother of God ever virgin, and also of the other saints. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 223 are to be had and retained, and that due honour ^^P; and veneration are to be given to them.' * " We may talk of the authority and the antiquity Apostolical . . - authority of the Fathers, but if authority is to be re- andanti- 1 • 111 • 1 1 • quit}' op- spected, what authority should weigh heavier posed to with us than that of the apostolical age itself? ofthe4tii And if the Fathers of the Church claim our defer- ence, who are to set themselves up against the opinion and the express injunction of the inspired Fathers of the first Christian Church ? How can any Church of later days annul the sacred canons of those, who had the mind of Christ, and the spirit of the Holy Ghost ? Everything that can be said to us on the authority of the Church, or on antiquity, and on the opinions of the Fathers and Councils, or even on Tradition, must, of necessity, by all the laws of sound argument, reason, and religion, enjoin us to hear the Church of the first century speaking to us in the Gospels, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, and in the canonical Epistles fwhicli have received the sanction of the holy Catholic Church, that is, the whole congre- gation of Christian men dispersed throughout the whole w^orld) before the Church of any after-pe- riod whatever. So thought Vigilantius, as soon as his mind was free to take a clear view of the sub- ject ; and therefore he then protested against saint worship, image worship, and relic worship, and all the 'old wives' fables' connected therewith. And Vigilantius was not the only witness of his * deed of Pope Pius IV. nius. 224 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 395; time against the fatal corruptions, which were stealing into Christian sanctuaries, under the pre- Epipha- tence of teaching the illiterate worshipper by means of pictorial descriptions. I beg the reader to remember the anecdote related of Epiphanius, who avowed and justified his hasty destruction of a painted curtain hanging before a shrine, because it was ornamented with a picture of Jesus Christ, or of some saint, he cared not which. ' I tore it down, and I rent it,' said he, ' because it presented to view the image of a man in a Church of Christ, contrary to the authority of Scriptures .'' ' Cum ergo hoc vidissem in ecclesia Christi contra autoritatem Scripturarum hominis pendere im- aginem, scidi illud, &c.' * In another passage, speaking of the same pro- fane use of pictures, Epiphanius declared, that it was contrary to the Christian religion : ' contra religionem nostram.'f The letter, addressed to John of Jerusalem, from which this account is taken, and in which Epiphanius protested that the use of images and pictures (for he expressly calls the picture of a man an image) is contrary to Scripture, and contrary to the Christian re- ligion, was written in the year 396. It was the epistle of one bishop of the Christian Church to another ; and yet at this very period, Paulinus was setting up images and pictures in his Church at Nola, and his authority for the practice has ever since been triumphantly appealed to by the Latin Church. So much for the consistency of Romanism ! * Hier. Op. IV. 828. f Ibid. 829. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 225 And SO much for the unity, and the wisdom of the fourth century, when one saint practised what an- other condemned I The uncompromising Chris- tians of the primitive ages, and those who followed their example, sternly refused every compli- ance which looked like the most distant ap- proach to the forbidden thing, but the pliant Pau- linus, and the indulgent clergy of his age baited, instead of springing, the trap, which was so likely to catch the unwary. Romanists have since stopped short of nothing ; they have even pre- sumed to pourtray in their churches Him, who has said, "To what will ye liken me?" and there are soft and crafty counsellors now among our- selves, who would persuade us that we may safely make use of pictures, and such like prohibited helps to devotion, and who would tell us that painted representations of Christ, and the Virgin, and the saints, are not included in the com- mandment against idolatry. But the honest and plain spoken fathers of the Reformation, have pro- claimed in the Homily against the peril of Ido- latry, that ' Images came first from tfie Gentiles to us Christians ; '* and that * they teach no things of God, of our Saviour Christ, and of his saints, but lies and errors, and change the truth into a lie.' No true representation can be given of Christ, it must be a misrepresentation, a caricature. There is no simpler test to be made of the ab- surdity and falsehood of image- worship, than to * Citing Eusebius and Jerome. Q A. I). 396. 226 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. U. 396. set people of different quarters of the world to make similitudes of adorable objects, and then to observe how the European would turn away in disgust from the woolly-haired, and thick-lipped Jesus of the Hottentot ; and how the copper- coloured face, and Tartar brow of a Chinese Virgin Mary, would inspire anything but reverence or devout admiration in the mind of an Italian votary. A negro's effigy of the first or second Person of the Holy Trinity would absolutely be an object of horror to a white man ! I have not been able to make out the exact time or manner, in which pictures and images were first introduced as objects of adoration into Chris- tian sanctuaries, but the language of Epiphanius, when he maintains that the practice was contrary to the authority of Scripture and of the Church, corresponds with that of his great contemporary Augustine, and convinces me that it was a profane novelty of the fourth century. * I know,' said Augustine, ' that there are many worshippers of sepulchres and pictures, and that there are many who feast most luxuriously at the graves of the dead. And I mean to shovi^ in another volume how vain, and pernicious, and sacrilegious these practices are. But I admonish you not to re- proach the Catholic Church, and to blame her for the practices of men, whom she condemns, and is constantly endeavouring to correct.' * * Novi multos esse sepulchrorutn et picturarum adoratores : novi multos esse qui luxuriosissime super mortuos bibant ; et epulas cadaver- ibus exhibentes super sepultos se ipsos sepeliant, et voracitates ebri- MEMORIALS OV VIGILANTIUS. 2 Jerome on the other hand intimates that the t°- veneration of sepulchres and relics was univer- sal at the end of the fourth century. * Martyrum ubique sepulcra veneramur, et sanctam favillam oculis apponentes si liceat etiara ore contingimus.' Op. Hier. 4, 550. NOTE TO CHAPTER IX. Fleurj 's account of this proceeding of Epiphanius is worth tran- scribing from the Oxford translation, to exhibit the sophistry of Ro- manism. The Oxford Editor's apologetic note is also curious, inasmuch as it attributes the exclusion of images from the early churches not to obedience to God's word, but to abhorrence of pagan idols. ' At theendof his (Epiphanius) letter are these words : — " Moreover, I have been informed, that some have murmured against me, because when we were going to the holy place named Bethel, in order to perform the Collect there with you, on coming to the village Anablatha, and seeing there, as I passed, a lamp lighted, I asked what place it was, and on being told it was a church, I went in to pray accordingly. I found a curtain fastened to the door of this church, upon which was painted a picture, to represent Christ or some saint, for I do not perfectly remember the subject. Having, therefore, seen the image of a man exposed to view in the church of Christ against the authority of Scripture, I tore the curtain, and advised those who kept that place rather to wrap the dead body of some poor man in it, for his burial. They murmured and said, ' If he must tear our curtain, he ought at least to give us another in exchange.' When I heard this I promised to do it, and accordingly I now send the best I could meet with, and I beg you to order the priests of the place to receive it, and to forbid etatesque suas dcputcnt religioni. . . Sed et ilia quam vana sint, quam noxia, quam sacrilega, et quemadmodum a magna parte vestrum, atque adeo pen^ ab omnibus vobis non observentur, alio volumine ostendere institui. Nunc vos illud admoneo, ut aliquando, Ecclesire catholicae maledicere desinatis, vituperando mores hominum, quos et ipsa condemnat et quos quotidie tanquam malos filios corrigere studet.' — Aug. de Moribus Eccl. c. '34. Q 2 228 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. for the future the exhibition in the church of such curtains as are contrary to our religion ; it becomes you to remove this scandal." If this part of the letter was really written by St. Epiphanius, it must be confessed that in this point he was more scrupulous than other bishops ; for the use of pictures in the churches was received both in the east and west, as appears from St. Gregory of Nyssa, from Pru- dentius, and from St. Paiilinus, who wrote at the same time. And there is mention made of a similar picture upon a curtain in a church in the]_book of the Miracles of St. Stephen, composed by the order of Evodius, Bishop of Uzala, St. Augustine's friend. However the cus- toms of the churches might be different in this point, and the great number of Jews who lived in Palestine might render it necessary to use images with more reserve, that they might not be offended when there was no necessity for it.' * -::- «i When persecution ceased, and faith, from the more mixed cha- racter of its professors, needed externals to impress the senses, we first find the erection of magnificent churches, and the introduction of various ornaments. Still the use of sacred imnr/cs was long ex- cluded, in consequence of the abhorrence of Pagan idols." — Note by the Editor. See Trans, of Fleury's Eccl. Hist, book xix. vol. i. pp. 231, 202. Ed. Oxford, 184.3. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 229 CHAP. X. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. The time was now come when Vigilantius was to a. d. move in another sphere, and to witness the strong contrast between the fervent piety of the western, Ser*'"^ and the dogmatical acerbities of the oriental Paiesdne. Church. Distant scenes and far different society were to occupy his attention. The humble seclu- sions of Sulpicius and Paulinus, were to be ex- changed for the bustling and disputatious schools of the East : for the cities of Egypt and Asia ; or for the cells of recluses, which presented a strange appearance of solitude one day, and of a medley of visitors another day. Instead of the gentle manners of his two Gallic friends, who were full of the milk of human kindness, and w hose errors were softened by the simplicity, and unquestionable piety that marked all their words and actions, he was now to engage with fierce polemics, who were perpetually ruffling their own tempers, and keeping animosities alive in the minds of others by questions that ministered to 230 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 39G. strife. There was little of the disputatious spirit either in the disposition or the writings of Sul- picius and Paulinus. Tillemont has truly observed of the latter, that he did not write dogmatically, and that his pen was principally employed ' in the service of the heart.' * ' More entertaining than instructive,' is the character, I may repeat, which another eminent critic, (Du Pin,) gives of the pages of the Recluse of Nola. It may therefore be pre- sumed, that truth has been the gainer, by the re- moval of Vigilantius from the quiet retreats of Aquitain and Campania, to the contentious arena of the East. Whilst he had the meek devotion, and affectionate charity of his early patrons to reconcile him in some degree to their unscriptural worship and ' paganized Christianity,' their errors may have been less dangerous in his sight than they afterwards appeared. There was much in the personal sanctity of his patrons, which would seem to atone for many of their opinions and practices : at all events which would render him indulgent towards them. I have remarked more than once, that up to this period of his his- tory, there is no direct evidence of Vigilantius having openly opposed himself, either in argu- ment or deportment, to the corruptions which he afterwards arraigned. But an incidental expres- sion of Jerome, in a letter written in the year 396, (on which I shall enlarge in the proper place,) renders it not improbable that he had expressed * ' Pour le service du coeur.' — Memoires, xiv, 144. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 231 some opinions to Paulinus, before he set out for -ggg- Palestine, which intimated dissatisfaction with the proceedings at Nola.* When he came to encounter similar error in bigots, whose acerbity and bitterness were enough to render even their virtues repulsive, then his spirit, like that of Paul at Athens, was stirred within him. He saw them wholly given to super- stitions, which had a sure and undeviating ten- dency towards idolatry, and he began to discipline his mind, and to gird up his loins for the combat. Vigilantius, a.d. 396, was the bearer of a letter His first . 11- 1 • introduc- from Paulmus to Jerome, and this was the mtro- tionto duction which made him personally acquainted with the most extraordinary man of that age. Jerome was the terror of his contemporaries ; the man above all others, who, in a mistaken attempt to do his duty to God, failed most signally in his duty towards men, unmindful of the Apostle's words " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar," f &c. The mortification of the flesh had tended to puff up his spirit, and of all the polemical writers of the 4th century, he was the most bitter and severe. I have already shown that he excelled not only in general erudition, but in the knowledge of languages ancient and modern ; and at a period when literary works of the most laborious and voluminous character were un- dertaken and completed, Jerome surpassed every other author, in the number and the importance of * Hicr. Opcr. iv. Pais. II. p. 277. t 1 John iv. 20, 232 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390. his productions. He was at this time in corres- pondence with persons of eminence in every part of Christendom ; he was the confidential adviser of the most celebrated saints of both sexes ; he gave a tone to religious opinion ; he pronounced upon orthodoxy and heterodoxy with a voice of authority ; he was dreaded by those who loved him most ; and he was courted as much out of fear as respect. He became a literary, theologi- cal, and ecclesiastical oracle, by the bold and confident manner in which he dealt out praise and censure, and thus he took the world as it were by storm. Jerome was daring, sarcastic, and un- compromising : and he exercised that control over the minds of others, which bad tempered men of talent usually secure in a greater degree than persons of a more kindly disposition, though they may be of equal abilities and attainments. We may easily imagine the impatience, mingled with dread, with which Vigilantius looked forward to his first interview with this eminent man ; and associations connected with the spot, where they were to meet, must have added greatly to the in- terest he felt in undertaking a journey to Pales- tine. The glowing descriptions of Bethlehem and of the holy company of saints assembled there, which had been written by Jerome himself, and under Jerome's direction by Paula and Eustochium,* and others, must have been known to the Gallic traveller, and made his heart warm not only to * See Oper. Hieron. Vol. IV. p. .54.5— -5.51. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 2.33 A. D. the place, but to those also who sojourned there. These were represented to be the choicest spirits of the age; the good, the learned, the pious, and the accomplished, who were drawn from all parts of the world in hope of becoming wiser, better, and more devout in Palestine. As Athens was the .:[^°piiceTf favourite resort of the first scholars of their times, f.^^^^^^^ who burned to behold the place where poets and Jj^ f^^^^^ philosophers had sat and discoursed, and to medi- century. tate over their tombs ; so the hallowed localities of Judea were equally and even still more dear to Christians, who longed to be where patriarchs and apostles had received inspiration from above. " Wheresoever the carcase is, there shall the eagles be gathered together ; " and according to one of the accounts which we read in the volumi- nous works of Jerome, saints assembled together at Bethlehem, and exhibited the appearance of every virtue. ' Their tongues are different, but they have only one form of religion. Here are choirs composed of all nations, and there is no speech nor language, in which the singers do not pour forth their sacred melodies. In the midst of all this, which is the very essence and charm of Christianity, there is no assumption of superiority, no supercilious pride which says, " I am more continent than thou." The only contention is who shall be the humblest. The last is the first. No distinction of dress is seen here; no admiration is expressed ; do as you will, you will neither be censured nor praised. The excess of fasting will not raise you in the estimation of others ; no 234 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. deference is paid to exhaustion after long absti- nence,* and temperate satiety is not condemned. To his own Master every one standeth or falleth : no one judgeth another, lest he be judged of God. The slander and gossip which are common to other countries are totally unknown here. There is no luxury, no indulgence ; on the contrary there are so many shrines and oratories, that you cannot offer up your devotions at them all in one day.'f This beautiful picture of harmony and peace was drawn about six years before Vigilantius visited Bethlehem ; but the visions of Christian loveliness and charity, which had floated before his eyes during his journey, were chased away by coming into collision with persons, whose tempers had been soured, and whose good dispositions had been perverted by the very expedients adopted as the safeguards of virtue. The local charms of the scenery were just such as he expected to find, but the paradise of the mind was not to be discovered. Deg„ip. ' In summer,' says one of the contemporary de- Betuehem scriptious of Bcthlehcm, to which I have just referred, * the overshadowing hills and the rich foliaofe of the trees afford a shade from the heat of the sun, and in autumn the temperature is so genial as to invite to those sauntering walks, and to those hours of meditation, which the serious and thoughtful love to spend reclining on ground strewed with leaves. In spring the fields are painted and scented with flowers, and are * * Nee defertiir incdite.' t Opera Hieron. iv. Pars II. p. o51. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 235 resonant with the songs of birds ; and in winter ;^y°; there is no fear of cold where abundance of timber secures a plentiful supply of fuel.' * On descending the slope of the hill, which viuiiantius sheltered Bethlehem from the north, Vigilantius S,era. followed a narrow road overhung by rocks and trees, and every step he took was enlivened by the sound of Psalmody proceeding from the pea- santry, as they plied their field-work at the entrance of the village. ' In every direction,' says the writer of the letter of Paula and Eusto- chium to Marcella, ' where there is a sound of human voices, it is the voice of Psalmody. If it be the husbandman guiding his plough, his song- is Hallelujah ! If it be the shepherd tending his flock, the reaper gathering in his corn, or the vine-dresser pruning the tendrils, his chaunt is the same ; it is some song of David that he sings. Here all poetry is sacred poetry, and every feeling of the heart finds utterance in the language of the Psalmist.' -f The aspect of Bethlehem on entering the village was that of holy ground. Every building seemed dedicated to religion, and Vigilantius saw at a glance that it would require many hours to visit the churches, and shrines, and monasteries, which presented themselves before him. J The grove of Adonis and the temple of Venus no longer dese- crated this hallowed ground ; the cross now stood * See Oper. Hieron. Epist. 45, alias 18. Vol. IV. Pars II. p. 553. t Ibid. p. 552. X Ubi sunt latae porticus, &c. Ibid. p. 551. 236 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. n. 396. his cell. where emblems of impurity had been erected by the Emperor Hadrian.* .Jerome in A narrow bye path leading off from the street, at the spot where the tomb of King Archelaus formerly stood, conducted the traveller to the cell of Jerome ; here he found the ascetic clad in a vestment so coarse and sordid, | that its very vile- ness bore the stamp of spiritual pride, and seemed to say, " Stand off, my wearer is holier than thou." The face of the monk was pale and haggard. He had been slowly recovering from a severe illness, and was wasted to a shadow. Frequent tears had ploughed his cheeks with deep furrows ; '^ his eyes were sunk in their sockets ; all the bones of his face were sharp and projecting. Long fasting, habitual mortification, and the chagrin which per- petual disputation occasions, had given an air of * Ibid. Epist. 49, p. 564. t In the inevitable inconsistency of his system, Jerome sometimes recommended a disregard of exterior appearance altogether, and cen- sured vain-glorious rags as much as ostentatious foppery ; at other times he would declare that no Christian recluse should ever think of wearing any thing but shabby clothes. ' Vestes pullas aeque devita, ut Candidas. Ornatus ut sordes pari modo fugiendi sunt, quia alterum delicias, alterum gloriam redolet. Non absque amictu lineo incedere, sed pretium vestium linearum non habere, laudabile est.' — Epist. 34, ad Nep. Op. Hier. 4, p. 262. ' Nulla fuit alia Romee matronarum, quae meam posset edomare mentem, nisi lugens, atque jejunans, squa- lens sordibus.' — Epist. ad Asellam, ibid. p. 66. ' Vestis ipsa vilis et pulla animi tacentis indicium.' — Epist. 88, ad matr. et fil. p. 732. ' Sordidae vestes, candidae mentis indicia sunt, vilis tunica contemptum saeculi probet ita duntaxat, ne animus tumeat, ne habitus sermoque dissentiant.'— Ep. 95, ad Rus. Mon. 4, p. 77J. X Nunc jam cano capite, et arata nigis fronte, et ad instar bouni palearibus a men to pendentibus.' — Ibid. 257. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 237 gloominess to his countenance, which accorded but ill with his boast, that his cell to him was like an arbour in the garden of Eden. In conformity with his own* maxims, that cleanliness of body is un- cleanliness of soul, and that an unwashed skin is preferable to frequent ablutions, Jerome's person exhibited proofs of his utter disregard of Christ's precept, "but thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret." He was discoloured with dust and ashes, and the Pharisee of old was not more ostentatious of his cleanliness than was our recluse of his sordid apparel and dirty exterior. But though his figure was attenuated and downcast, and his face pale and emaciated, yet a brightness shot from his keen eye, which told of the fiery spirit that burned within that feeble frame. Vigilantius, like most others, on their first introduction to this austere man, shrunk instinctively from the severe and intent regard that was fixed upon him, not- withstanding the real kindness with which Jerome welcomed him to Bethlehem, After the first salutations were over, Vigilantius was given to understand that he ought to lose no time in adoring the holy relics, which the highly favoured village offered to his notice, and he observed that the monk scarcely uttered a sentence, or gave him * Attention is directed to tlie following passages by Jerome's Editors. ' Munditiam corporis atque vestitiis, animae esse immunditiam.'— Ibid. 682. ' Ad victrices sordes rcdit, onDnibiis saiciili ciiltibus niundiores.' —Ibid. 561. A. D. 396. lehein. 23B VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^Q°- a direction without making the sign of the cross.* As was the custom with every pilgrim who visited Bethlehem, Vigilantius hastened to the spots which tradition asserted were the very scenes of the Saviour's first abode on earth : though, indeed, they were no longer identical either in character or appearance. The site of The sacred thc humblc inn where Christ was born was rfBeth- occupied by a church. The cottage, where Joseph and Mary are said to have dwelt, after the nativity of Jesus, was replaced by a shrine. The green turf of the hill, where the shepherds are supposed to have been watching their flocks by night, when the angels announced the Mes- siah's birth, had made way for the stone w^ork of a chapel : and the once verdant slopes were now furrowed by the tracks of footsteps. But at each sacred station the Gaul knelt and prayed in all the fervour of a devotion, which was as sincere as it was ardent. This surely was the age of enthu- siastic and impulsive feeling, and however much it is to be regretted that the piety of the fourth century was ill directed, yet we are not disposed to question its reality. Our quarrel is with the religious guides of those times, for pretending that things which Jesus had handled or touched were still in a state of preservation ; for thinking to stir up the gift of God by improper means, and for * ' Ad omnem actum, ad omnem incessum manns pingat Domini crucem.' — Ibid. 46. MEMORIALS OF VIGIL ANTIUS. 239 permitting- the use of unnecessary and false helps ggg; to devotion. ~ Ine Vigilantius was assured that certain remains of iege"dary '^ _ cradle oi wood-work were portions of the very manger in Jesus. which Christ was born ; * and it is probable that the exhibition of these objects, in all their revolting violation of truth, helped to remove credulities from his mind, which had hitherto been undisturbed. It is no wonder that he should have read and heard talk of such memorials with a certain degree of veneration, when he was at a distance from them, but after he had approached and examined them, and discerned symptoms of modernity and imposture, he might well think of them with doubt and distrust. The real place of the nativity is supposed to have been a large cavern, or excavation in the rock, used as the stable or cattle-fold of the inn, which was too full to receive Joseph and Mary. "And laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." The word which has been rendered ' mange?' ' signifies, in the original Greek, I not the crib out of which cattle ate, but the place at large where they were fed, or in which they were confined or stabled. It occurs three * Jerome himself assisted in propagating fables of this kind. See his Letter to Eustochium, (-4, Part II. p. G73,) he speaks of the Stone which the angel rolled from the sepulchre, and of the pillar at which Christ was scourged, and of the grave of Lazarus, and the house of Mary and Martha, as if they were still to be seen in his time. + ^aruij. ' PrcEsepe, stabulum.' See the word in Parkhurst's Lexi- con, and its use by Justin and Origen. 240 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. T). 396. times in the sacred narrative.* Therefore to talk of having seen the manger, as if it were the very thim which had been used as Christ's cradle^ literally speaking, must needs be a fable : and yet this has been the language of credulity or impos- ture, from the fourth century to the present time. • C'est proprement a ce retour qu'il, (Jerome) adora la creche, et les autres marques de I'enfance du Sauveur qui estoient a Bethlehem.' f ' Incense is continually smoking before the cradle of the Saviour.' J But supposing that the term is used metaphor- ically, and that the manger or cradle, signifies the grotto only, or the stable where Jesus was born, then there is no reason to contend that the tra- dition is untrue, or to disbelieve that the cavern, over which a crypt and church have since been built, was the very scene of the event, which they are intended to commemorate. I envy not the feelings of the person, who can visit this conse- crated place, with any emotions short of the most profound veneration and awe. To a devout spirit, Desecia- howcvcr, the rock itself, and its cavern unpro- Bethiehem fancd by the intrusiveness of human architecture, would have spoken more emphatically, " Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground," than all the marble * St. Luke ii. 7, 12, 16, ' in prsesepio.' — Vulgate. t Tillemont, Memoires, XII. 104. ' Ubi adoravi praesepe et in- cunabula Salvatoris.' Ilier. Op. 4, pars II. p. 461. J Translation of Chateaubriand's Travels, Vol. I. Part III. Chap. III. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 241 and the jasper which have since been employed to decorate the revered spot, where the infant Re- deemer lay. Injustice to Jerome, I believe that these were his feelings, and doubtless there was more sim- plicity in the Church of the Nativity, when Vigi- lantius worshipped in it, than there is now. In the description of Bethlehem, which Paula and Eustochium gave to Marcella, at the dictation of Jerome, we find mention made of the nnadorned sanctity of the Spelunca, or Prcesepe, where Christ was born.* But now the two churches con- structed over the birth-place of Jesus invite to ad- miration, rather than to humility and prayer. In the upper church, the forty-eight columns of Corinthian order, the marble floors, the wood work of cedar, the Mosaic and other pictures, the gold and silver ornaments, and the decorations of sculpture, painting, and drapery, which might be consistent and becoming in any other sacred edi- fice, are absolutely monstrous and out of all keep- ing with the spot, where Christ first ' came to visit us in great humility.' The subterraneous Church of the Grotto of the Nativity, which is approached by spiral steps from the edifice above, is equally discordant in its embellishments. ' Beautifullij faced with marble,' \ according to one modern account ; ' Elegantly Jittecl up, and floored tuitii marble,'' X according to another ; this ' hand- * ' Quo Sermone, qua voce Spcluncam tibi possum us Salvatoris exponere? Et illud pracsepe,' etc. Oper. Hier. 4. p. ii. p. 551. t Chateaubriand. t Russel's Palestine. B A. D. 3%. 242 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. I). 396. some chapeV would excite more profound devotion, if the attention were not attracted by a multipli- city of glittering objects, and if piety were not frittered away by minute frivolities. ' There,' says the guide to the wondering traveller, ' in that hollow, where is a piece of white marble incrusted with jasper and surrounded by a circle of silver, exactly there the Lord of heaven and earth was brought into the world.' And * there stands an altar, occupying the place where Mary sat, when she presented the child to the magi ; ' and ' there knelt the wise men from the east, when they worshipped the infant Jesus.' And ' that block of white Carara in the recess, hewn into the form of a manger, and covered with blue satin embroidered with silver, marks the very spot where the divine child was laid upon straw.' Where such objects are obtruded upon the attention, and faith is strained to rise up to the standard (I ought rather to say, to sink down to the level) of these legends, doubts injurious to the holy cause of religion too often disturb the spirit, which would fain dwell with devout and fervent belief on the only truth that is of importance, namely, ' Here, in this sacred locality, was born the " Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.'" When we reflect that from the earliest times, worship- pers have gone from all parts of the world to kneel and pray at the place of the nativity ; and that to this hour Christians of every denomination, meet there to do homage before the Lord and giver of life, it is most devoutly to be desired, that nothing MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 243 should be seen or heard within that sacred grotto. that can raise a suspicion, or excite a scruple. May the late consecration of a Bishop of the Anglican Church, to preside over the Protestant congregations in Palestine, be the means of re- storing a purer and a simpler character, both to the localities and to the worship, which call to mind the name and attributes of the holy child Jesus ! From the Church and Crypt of the Nativity, Vigilantius was conducted to the chapel, said to have been erected over the bones of the Innocents murdered by Herod. Another visit of devotion was paid to the shrine constructed on the spot, where the shepherds were alleged to have been lying, when the angels announced the Saviour's birth. When these and other scenes, connected with sacred history, had received his adoration, and when the first fever of his mind was over, and he could more calmly withdraw his attention from the past to the present, Jerome began to converse with Vigilantius about Paulinus and his friends in Campania and Aquitain, and the praises which were bestowed upon the holy man of Nola, touched responsive chords in the heart of the young Gaul. A. D. ^ ' 3917. 244 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. XI. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A.D. 396. How Jerome's temper and austerities affected Vigilantius. Notwithstanding all the attention that was shown to Vigilantius by Jerome, and although there was the utmost sincerity in the warmth of his first reception of the guest,* who was commended to his notice by Paulinus, yet there continued but little cordiality between them. * You will learn from the Holy Presbyter, Vigi- lantius, with what avidity I received him. It is better that you should have it from his own mouth, than from my letter. '-j" So wrote Jerome to Pau- linus, in answer to the letter of introduction, and the expression, ' Holy Presbyter^ is a proof that up to this period, the Gallic Priest stood high in the estimation of all who knew him. What then was the first cause of the coldness of Jerome, which soon became hatred and rancour ? It must have been difi'erence of opinion, and * ' Nobis in Monasterio hospitalitas cordi est, omnesque ad nos venientes laeta humanitatis fronte suscipimus.' Hier. Op. 4. p. ii. p. 455. f Hier. Op. 4. p. ii. p. 5G8. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 245 not misconduct on the part of Vigilantius, which gave displeasure to Jerome, and this differ- ence of opinion had relation to tenets held at Nola as well as at Bethlehem. We discover this in a curious passage of the quarrelsome letter, which Jerome addressed to Vigilantius after he had left Bethlehem, and when the rupture had become serious. ' I was inclined to give every credit to the Epistle of the Holy Paulinus, and I did not doubt his judgment, when he spoke in your favour.' — ' Nor do I now blame that holy man, because he would rather dissemble his knowledge of what was wrong in you, than bring any accusation in his letter against a protege who was the bearer of it.'* It is evidently here insi- nuated, that Paulinus had found some discordancy between himself and Vigilantius before the latter left Campania. But on what subject? On a matter of opinion which did not affect either his character or his orthodoxy, else the term ' Holy Presbyter, would not have been applied to him. My persuasion that such was the case is strengthened by the manner in which Jerome concludes the sentence, wherein he so designates Vigilantius, and boasts of his kind reception of him : ' You will learn from the Holy Presbyter, Vigilantius, with what avidity I received him ; it is better that you should have it from his own mouth than from my letter ; but T cannot explain why he should have proceeded on his journey, and * Oper. Ilior. 4. p. ii. p. 277. A. D. 396. 246 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 390'. Jerome an inipersona- tiiin of tlie erroneous fivstem of tlie fourth century. left me so abruptly, lest I should appear to be doing him an injury. But I detained him a little while in spite of his haste, and gave him a proof of my friendship, that you may learn from him, all you desire to know.' * It is clear enough, that Jerome had no ground for complaining of anything unsound or disrepu- table in Vigilantius, when he spoke of him in such terms as these, and we must search for the cause of the mutual distaste that they began to entertain for each other in other considerations. This in- quiry is necessary to the development of the his- tory of Vigilantius, which cannot be traced but by a process of this kind. That part of the ecclesias- tical system of the fourth century, which was pe- culiarly ascetic and rigid, found an impersonation in Jerome, who exhibited its worst and most re- pulsive traits in the whole tenor of his life and conversation. Sourness, bitterness, envy, intole- rance, and dissatisfaction with every manifesta- tion of sanctity which did not come up to his own standard, had become habitual to him, and were betrayed in almost everything that he wrote, said, or did. Censoriousness, and the spirit of invec- tive, were amongst his most strongly-marked fail- ings, and the very best men of the age did not escape his censure. The Recluses were not de- voted enough to their retirement to please him ; the charitable and self-denying had yet something- more to give up ; the pious were not long enough at their devotions ; the reputed orthodoxy of the * Ibid, p. 5G8. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 247 A. D. 396. sincerest Christians of his day fell short of his es- timate ; the Celibates, whether monks or virgins, came under his lash, — for associating with the married, and with persons who were still living in the world. In short, none pleased Jerome but those, who carried the principles and practices which he advocated to excess, and Rufinus was not too severe when he said of him, that he spared neither monks nor virgins, no, not even those whom he had before praised, and that he had libelled most infamously every order and rank of Christians. ' Even the Holy Ambrose, whose memory is still dear to all, was the object of his foul and unworthy attack ; and Didymus, whom he formerly ranked among the living prophets and apostles, is now placed by him among those whose teaching is opposed to that of the Church.'* The ' golden-mouthed ' John (Chrysostom) of Constantinople was not spared, but was brought under his lash with an insinuation which was even worse than open slander. ' Not to speak of his other flagitious proceedings, John received Ori- genists into his confidence.' f A striking, and to Vigilantius, a most offensive exhibition of these traits of character, is likely to have occurred very soon after his arrival at Beth- lehem. The conversation naturally turned upon Paulinus, and when the young Presbyter expected to hear Jerome speak of their common friend in paS"' ^^ terms of unmingled commendation, with regard to vfilantius. * See Hier. Op. 4. p. ii. p. 456. t Ibid. p. 727. Jerome's severe 248 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 306. his self-denial at least, he was astonished to find that Paulinus had not yet made sacrifices enough to please the Recluse of Bethlehem. On this sub- ject, Jerome's praise, to judge from his own corre- spondence, was faint, and expressed in terms which implied, that he considered it to be the duty of Paulinus to surrender all that he had for purposes of almsgiving. ' Let Paulinus hear the sentence pronounced by his Saviour,' " If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." (Matt. xix. 21). 'Paulinus is turning precept into practice ; he is taking up the bare cross, as a naked follower of Christ, and he is climbing the ladder of Jacob light and un- incumbered. He cares not for a full purse ; he changes his dress with his mind, and rejoices in sordid apparel ; with pure hands, and a clean heart, he delights in real poverty. But it is no great matter to affect, or even to exhibit abstemi- ousness with a melancholy and downcast look, and in a shabby cloak, while his revenues are still so ample. When Crates, the rich Theban, went to Athens to learn philosophy, he flung away all his gold, because he thought that he could not be rich and virtuous at the same time. Shall we then imagine that we can follow the poor and lowly Jesus, whilst we are encumbered with gold; and under the pretext of alms-giving shall we cling to our wealth ; and shall we think to dispense faithfully what belongs to another, when we cautiously reserve to ourselves our own ? ' MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 249 The austere monk also expressed himself in grudging- language, as to the money which Pauli- nus had expended in building and decorating churches. ' The true temple of Christ is the soul of a be- liever, adorn this, clothe it, give to it, and so be to it in Christ's stead. What use is there in his lavishing precious stones upon church walls when Christ is suffering in the hunger of a poor man ? His possessions are not his own ; but they are en- trusted to him as to a steward. Let him remem- ber Ananias and Sapphira.'* Stern and severe judgment is this, thought Vigilantius, to pronounce upon the generous and devoted Paulinus, who has given up rank, station, lands, — almost all that man holds dear for the kingdom of heaven ! If Paulinus should sell all, and give to the poor, what opportunities would be left him for the exercise of almsgiving ! Is he to be charitable once for all, and so to cut off the means of being benevolent in future? This is a species of moral Origenism, which cannot have been recommended by our Lord, whose words to the young man in the Gospel were those of rebuke for his boasting, and not an exhortation (for gene- ral practice) to the sacrifice of all one possesses ! There was another topic in discussing which Jerome did not appear to advantage. In the letter * Under the full assurance that his conversation agreed with his correspondence, I have put these sentiments into the mouth of Jerome from his letter addressed to Paulinus, a. d. 896, in answer to the epis- tle brought 1)}' Vigilantius. See Hier, Op. 4. p. o(J3— 6. A. D. 396. 250 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. tins conveyed by Vigilantius to Jerome, Paulinus had expressed a wish to visit Jerusalem, and in that spi- of Jerome's rit of contradiction which had now become a second inconsis- . i x i i i • j.' tency raised naturc With Jcromc, hc treated that aspiration in the mind „,,,.. i-i ^ i a. ofvigiian- after the holy city, in a manner which could not but make his guest suspect, that he was deter- mined to find fault with the best men of the age, and to have a rule of his own whereby to judge of every proposition not made by himself. Another suspicion also crossed the young Presbyter's mind, viz. that, after all, Palestine was no longer the holy ground which Jerome himself had repre- sented it to be ; that pilgrimages thither were not so very desirable ; and that there was no small inconsistency between the sentiments expressed on this subject by the oracle of Bethlehem at one time and at another. * Why,' said Jerome, ' does Paulinus express so much anxiety to come to Jerusalem, the city which slew the prophets, and spilt the blood of Christ. The Jerusalem which is above, which is free, and the mother of us all, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusa- lem, it is that which he should yearn after. True worshippers worship not the Father, either at Jerusalem or on Mount Gerizim, because God is a Spirit, and his worshippers must worship him in spirit and in truth. The gate of heaven is equally open, both in Jerusalem and in Britain. Anthony, and the exemplary monks of Egypt and Mesopo- tamia, and of Pontus, Cappadocia and Armenia, never saw Jerusalem, and the gate of Paradise is open to them. The blessed Hilarion, who was a MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 251 native of Palestine, and lived in Palestine, spent one day only in Jerusalem, that he might appear neither to disregard holy places when they were near at hand, nor to suppose that the presence of the Lord was confined to any one place. If Pau- linus really desires to be what he is said to be, a monk, that is a solitary, what has he to do with cities ? ' * Language of this kind was the more surprising, because Jerome had on other occasions strongly recommended pilgrimages to Jerusalem. It was thus that he raised prejudices against himself, in the mind of Vigilantius, by speaking somewhat disparagingly of Paulinus, and mixing up censure with praise ; nor could all that the monk had to say in explanation of his inconsistency, remove the unfavourable impression.f It would not be an unprofitable inquiry, to show * * Non Hierosolymis fuisse, sed Hierosolymis bene vixisse laudan- dum est. Ilia expetenda, ilia laudanda est civitas, non quae occidit prophetas, et Christi sanguinem fudit, sed quam fluminis impetus laJtiticat, quae in monte sita, celari non potest. — Et veri adoratores neque Hierosolymis, neque in monte Gerizim adorant Patrem ; quia Deus spiritus est, et adoratores ejus in spiritu et veritate adorare oportet.' — ' Et de Hierosolymis et de Britannia sequaliter patet aula coslestis. Regnum enim Dei intra vos est. Antonius et cuncta ^gypti, et Mesopotamia, Ponti, Cappadocise, et Armenise examina Monach- orum non viderunt Hierosolymam ; et patet illis absque hac urbe Paradisi janua. Beatus Hilarion quum Palsestinus esset, et in Pates- tina viveret, uno tantum die vidit Hierosolymam, ut nee contemnere loca sancta propter viciniam, nee rursus Dominum loco claudere vide- retur. — Cur, inquias, haec tarn longo repetita principio ? Videlicet ne quidquam fidei tuae deesse putes, quia Hierosolymam non vidisti.' Ibid, p. 5G4-5. + See Jerome on this subject. ' Neque vero hoc dicens memetip- sum inconstantia^ redargue, damnoque quod facio,' etc. Ibid, p 564. A. D. 396. 252 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. how naturally the human mind is inclined to take „ — : — a contrary bias, when violent and injudicious at- Ke-action •' _ •' and traces tcmpts arc madc to suide it. Action produces re- ana traits of _ ' *-■ , , '■ character, action, and when a strain is put upon anythmg, whether it be at rest or in motion, its tendency is to fly off in an opposite direction, if the force be not properly adjusted and sustained. Amid the scanty materials which we have for anything like a biography of Vigilantius, or even for a sketchy outline of his history, before the full development of his character, we are obliged to pick our way thus, by following in the track of his associates, and by seeing what there was in their conduct likely to influence his, either one way or the other. Knowing that, at a period subsequent to that now under discussion, he loudly protested against the celibacy, the pilgrimages, the austeri- ties, and the saint and relic worship, which his religious friends took such pains to promote, we must see if there was anything so extravagant and revolting in their system, as to produce an impres- sion unfavourable to an estimation of the discipline which they were anxious to establish. It was the discipline of the Church of the fourth century, which Vigilantius afterwards impugned. What, then, was there in that discipline, likely to raise scruples in a mind imbued with the simplicity of the Gospel message, as delivered by the apostles? First of all, he did not perceive any symptoms of that calmness and composure of soul which the sacred localities and religious exercises of Beth- lehem were said to produce. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 253 " I found him whom my soul loveth.'* This |-^^- was Jerome's assertion,'!' but in few things did that monk exhibit the meekness and gentleness of Him, whose steps he professed to follow. Instead of being calmed, his mind seemed to be perpetu- ally ruffled ; and the invectives, which he uttered and penned, within sight of Christ's birthplace, and while many hours of every day were allotted to devotion, proved that sanctity of place, and the formal repetition of solemn services, do not of themselves act as a safeguard against the infirmi- ties of temper, or tend to smooth the asperities of controversial bitterness. Vigilantius knew well vi-iiantius that Jerome never failed to repeat the appointed of Jerome's , ^ -11 A ^ infirmities hymns or prayers at canonical hours : at day- of temper. break, and evening, as well as at the third, sixth, and ninth hours ; that he rose two or three times during the night to pray, and that he would neither touch a morsel of food, nor go out of, nor return into, his cell, without repeating his prayer ; J and yet he could not perceive in Jerome either " love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, or meekness." These are " the fruits of the Spirit," and the failure of them, when they were expected to be the production of excessive attention to bur- thensome Church ordinances, and to stated forms and hours of devotion, which wearied rather than strengthened the soul, exposed the defectiveness of the system. What value, therefore, was the young Presbyter taught to set upon the exaction * Canticles iii. 4. t Hier. Op. 4. ii. p. 552. X Ibid, p. 46. 254 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. of painful services from morning till night, and even during the night, when he was aware that the acrimonious recluse was not made a better man by his own rigid observance of canonical rules, but would rise from his knees to pen an angry invective, or utter language borrowed from the coarsest vocabulary of the heathen, in his un- measured reprobation of an adversary? 'The venom of the serpent ' — ' the nauseate vomiting of the man,'* 'A dog returning to his vomit 'f 'An Epicurus in carnal indulgence'! 'A foul and swi- nish sensualist.' § It was thus Jerome wrote and spoke of Jovinian, whose principal offence consisted in having maintained, first, that the holy lives of married people are as acceptable to Christ as those of celibates; secondly, that they who are regenerated in baptism cannot fall under tempta- tion of the devil ; thirdly, that eating with thanks- giving is as meritorious as abstinence ; and fourthly, that all who keep their baptismal vows are equally rewarded in the kingdom of heaven.' || Another controversial writer had given offence to our great advocate of continency, by arguing, that the Virgin Mary had borne children to Jo- seph after the birth of Christ. ' Blasphemer ' — ' blinded with fury ' — * madman ' — ' most ignorant * Ibid. p. 146. t Ibid. p. 183. % Ibid. p. 213. § Ibid. p. 226. These and similar expressions are strung together in such pro- fusion in the pages of Jerome, that the Benedictine Editors of his works mark one of the passages in which he thus heaps insults upon his adversary, with the following marginal note: ' Invehitur acriter in turpem Jovinianum.' Ibid, p. 226. II Ibid, p. 146. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 255 A. D. 396. and stupid of men' — 'detractor and liar' — ' dog- like calumniator,' these were a few of the select phrases, which Jerome did not hesitate to apply to him in vindication of the perpetual virginity of the mother of Jesus.* Where the temper and disposition of Christians, who lay down severe rules of outward observance, not only for themselves but for others also, do not correspond with their profession, and are not corrected by those rules : the non-conformist, sgj,^;^^^ whether from disinclination to follow them, or ^^•^'^j^ ^^ not improve from scruples as to their accordance with the re- the heart, r are iniunous quirements of God's revealed word, is confirmed to religion. in his objections. He thinks that if such devo- tion were the devotion of the heart, it would have a corresponding influence on the character and conversation ; and when he sees contrary results, he pronounces it to be nothing but that lip-ser- vice, which is unacceptable to God ; and he judges of its general tendency by the effects pro- duced on the individuals, with whom he is most familiar. It is impossible not to remark, in the history of Vigilantius, that he began to declare himself against the ecclesiastical system, which distinguished this period, very soon after his visit to Jerome, having failed to do so with the same openness and emphasis, during his familiar inter- course with Sulpicius and Paulinus. This shews that nothing betrays the unevangelical, and un- scriptural character of Asceticism in all its traits, * See Liber adversus Helvidinm. Hier. Op. 4. p. ii. p. 129. 256 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 396. whether of austerity, formalism, or imposture, more than that want of real charity, which is inseparable from it, where it is carried out to its full extent. While St. Paul was a Pharisee, and partook of the harshness and bigotry of that sect, he was fierce and unrelenting, but when he embraced the Gospel and understood its true spirit, he became pre-eminent for benevolence. He was gentle among his converts " as a nurse cherisheth her children." (1 Thess. ii. 7.) He besought them " by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." How unlike to St. Paul's was the unhallowed and intemperate zeal of Jerome ! Jerome had none of that ' kindness which is the key to the heart.' He and the system which he advocated were reciprocally reflected in each other, and the eyes of Vigilantius were opened to the defects of both. Without making any further observations as to the effect, which the embroiled life and angry conversation of Jerome were likely to have upon a stranger, who went to Bethlehem in search of a perfect rule of holiness and spiritual happiness, Extravagant ^ shall procccd to uoticc somc of the ultra opinions the'mTruf which wcrc continually slipping from the tongue and pen of Jerome, and which he could not have refrained from avowing in his intercourse with Vigilantius. If it had been the custom in those days to keep a journal, and if Vigilantius had noted down all that passed between Jerome and himself, we may suppose without any great stretch of the imagination, that dialogues of this sort would have been recorded. of celibacy. mp:morials of vigilantius. 257 Visilajitiiis . Your estimation * of the virtue of ^■^• celibacy is so great, that one would suppose you would have every man who professes to be religi- ous to turn monk, and every virgin to devote her- self to continency, and that you would like to see a total renunciation of matrimony. Jerome. I certainly do prefer the single to the nuptial state ; but because I often make a com- parison between the two conditions in favour of celibacy, I am not to be accused of detracting from the merits of married persons ; or of drawing an invidious distinction between the married and the unmarried saints of Holy Writ, f VigiUuitius . Why then are you always com- mending virginity as if it were such an exalted virtue ? Jerome. Because the married woman's heart is divided between God and her husband. She is too often thinking of what will please her husband ; but the virgin thinks of God only. Her very name Virgin, signifies that she is /loij/ both in body and spirit. J But the wife, instead of giving up her time to fasting and prayer, must be think- ing of her husband ; how she is to please him, and look fair in his eyes, and how she is to pre- pare for his repast. And she is gazing in the mirror and tiring her hair, and painting her face, * ' Carried away by his natural warmth, he so exalts virginity above wedlock, and widowhood above second marriage, that he seems to regard marriage as an evil, ratlier tolerated than expressly per- mitted.' Translation of Fleury, Eccl. Hist. i. 227. Oxford. 1842. + Hier. Op. IV. pars ii, p. 142. X ' Virginis dciinitio, sanctam esse corpore et spiritii.' Ibid. S 258 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ggg- and looking to the kitchen and the cellar, and de- voting herself to household concerns. Do you fancy she can think of God in the midst of this ? * No. "She that is married careth for the things of this world, how she may please her husband." Vigilantius . But in your admiration of virginity, have you not sometimes put a construction on Scripture, which other interpreters will not be inclined to admit? Jerome. On the contrary, the whole tenour of Scripture is in commendation of celibacy, and es- pecially the New Testament. Why was John the beloved disciple, and why did he lie in the bosom of Jesus? Because he remained a celibate. Peter could not question Christ as John did, because he had a wife.t Vigilantius. But how do you know that John was a celibate ? Jerome. If you obstinately pretend to say that John was not a celibate, and insinuate that I affirm him to have been so, in order that I may exalt the merit of virginity, explain why he was loved more than the other apostles. Peter was only an apostle ; but John was an apostle, evangelist, and prophet. All these privileges were conferred upon him, because he was a virgin : and to him, a vir- gin, was committed the charge of the virgin Mother, by his virgin Lord.J * Ibid. t Ibid, p. 168. X ' Ut breviter sermone multa coniprehendam, doceamque ciijus privilegii sit Johannes, immo in Jolianne virginitas : h Domino virgine, mater virgo, virgini discipulo commendatur.' Ibid, p. 1G9, MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS, 259 Viftilantius. But David was a married man, and to!^- yet David was one of the most favoured of men. He was king and evangelical prophet, and Christ deigned to call himself the Son of David. Jerome. There are many mistakes about David in consequence of a misconstruction of Scripture. The history of Abishag, the fair damsel, the young virgin who cherished the king and minis- tered to him, is totally misunderstood. We are not to understand literally that a young and fair virgin was sought for to cherish the king in the coldness of his old age. Listen to the explanation given by Solomon : " Get wisdom, get under- standing ; forget it not ; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not and she shall preserve thee ; love her and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom ; and with all thy getting, get under- standing." Prov. iv. 5 — 7. The word Abishag is to be understood sacramentally, and indicates the superior wdsdom of old men. It signifies that wisdom which is peculiarly great in aged men.* It was wisdom which David embraced, and which cherished him, and not literally a fair young- damsel. Vigilayitius. T should like to know what are your real sentiments on the subject of celibacy and matrimony. Jerome. I will explain myself in a few words. It is not my saying, it is an old saying of Scripture, ■" ' Sed et ipsius nominis Abisag saciamentum sapicntiani senum indicat ampliorem.' Ibid, p. 258. S 2 260 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, A. D. 396. that no man can serve two masters, the flesh and the Spkit. '* The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other." When there seems to be anything very severe in my treatise, look not to my words, but to the Scripture from whence they are taken. Christ a virgin and Mary a virgin commended the principle of virginity to both sexes.* The Apostles were virgins, or were celibates after marriage. Bishops, priests, and deacons are elected because they are virgins or widowers ; or certainly it is understood that after being ordained to the priesthood, they are always to remain celibates. Why are we to deceive ourselves or to be disappointed ? if we enjoy the pleasures of matrimony, are we to expect to reap the rewards of continency ? f Do we wish to live sumptuously, to enjoy the society of our wives, and to reign with Christ in the company of virgins and widows ? Shall the same person enjoy the rewards of fasting and gluttony, of squalidness and cleanliness, of sackcloth and silk ? Lazarus received evil things during his life, and Dives, in his purple and fine linen and good fare, enjoyed the good things of the flesh whilst he lived ; but they had diff'erent places after their death, the one had misery in- stead of pleasure, the other pleasure instead of misery. According to my judgment we must fol- * ' Christus Virgo, Virgo Maria, utrique sexui Virginitatis dedi- cavere principia.' Ibid, p. 242. t In all this the cardinal error of the times appears manifest. Jerome did not look upon eternal life as the gift of God through Jesus Christ, but as the reward of merit, to be won bv suflerings. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 261 low either Lazarus or the rich man.' * * But I do not ^-gg- condemn either nuptials or conjugal union ; and that you may know my real opinion, I tell you that I would advise every body to marry, who is afraid to sleep alone.' t It was thus that Jerome, aware of the incon- sistency of his own reasoning, by perversion or straining of scripture, by a paradox or a sorry joke, attempted to make a good case out of a bad one. And it was then, as it has con- tinued ever since ; violent partizans and zealots reckon on success, and on obtaining an ascen- dancy in proportion to their vehemence and adroit- ness in the use of an argument and in the play of words. Fanatical and extreme opinions are sure to spread, when they are earnestly propaoated Reasons by persons, who have previously obtamed an ad- spreads. vantage over their contemporaries by the reputa- tion of learning and sanctity. The careless and indifferent refuse to take part in the questions which are raised. The humble and modest are silenced by the fear of appearing to measure strength with those whose intellectual superiority is admitted. The good and right minded may be fully sensible of the extent of the mischief, but they are slow to expose the errors of men who are eminent for some virtues. A general torpor or intimidation prevails among those who ought to * Ibid, p. 243. t ' Non damno nuptias, non damno conjugium. Et ut certius sententiam meam teneat, volo omnes, qui propter nocturnos forsitan metiis soli ciibitare non possunt, uxores diicere.' Ibid, p. 247. 262 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. Patristical notions of truth and falsehood. set about refuting the fallacy : neutrality, being mistaken for acquiescence, is favourable to the movement, and the evil spreads, until it arrives at a point beyond the intention and control even of the heresiarch with whom it originated. Up to the period to which we have brought the reader, Vigilantius was among the number of those who perceived, but dared not attempt to expose the fallacies of Jerome's reasoning. Another subject on which the young Gaul had opportunities of ascertaining Jerome's opinions, will also admit of being introduced in the form of a supposed dia- logue, in which the answers of the monk, far from being imaginary, are almost a literal translation of his own words. Vigilantius. Are we to place implicit belief in the protestations of Martin and others, who have assured us that they were transported beyond hu- man feelings, and that they really did enjoy super- natural comfort in the conversation of angels ? Jerome. No doubt. The mind may be pre- pared by virginal continence and rigorous fasting for the enjoyment of such divine favour, and even while we are in the body we may hold commu- nion with angels.* I myself have experienced the grace vouchsafed to fasting. When I was in * ' Sic et in animo virginali, rore ccelesti et jejuniorum vigore, calor puellaris extinguitur, et in hiimano corpore, angelorum impetra- tur conversatio.' Ibid, p. 791. The author of the ' Church of the Fa- thers ' translates this passage — ' So also in a virginal mind by celestial dew, and strict fasts, the warmth of youth is quenched, and thelife of angels is employed in a human frame.' MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 263 the desert, and had totally subdued myself by long fasting, as God is my witness, after much weeping and praying, when my eyes were uplifted towards heaven, I sometimes seemed to be in the very company of angels, and in the gladness of my heart, I sung in the words of Solomon,* " Because of the savour of thy good ointment, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee." t Vigilcmtius . I have been told that those heavenly beings have been sent as ministers of punishment as well as of consolation, to recal a faltering saint to a sense of his Christian duties. Jerome. I am a personal witness to this also. At one period of my life, I was too fond of reading- profane authors. It was in Lent, and during a rigid fast, after passing whole nights in prayer and confession, I took up Plautus for my recrea- tion. A raging fever consumed me, the vital powers were almost exhausted, and a slight palpitation of the heart was the only symptom of life. In this condition I was suddenly transported in the spirit to the tribunal of the judge eternal, where there was such an etiulgence of light from the glory of those who stood around the throne, that I fell pros- trate and dared not look up. I was asked what I was. 'A Christian,' was my reply. *Thou liest,'| said the judge. ' Thou art a Ciceronian, not a Chris- tian, for '* where thy treasure is, there is thine "^' Ibid, p. 30. ' Nonminqiiam videbar mihi interesse agminibus angelormn.' t Cant. i. 3. X ' Mciitiiis, ait.' llicr. Op. IV. pars ii. p. 43. A. D. 396. 264 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. t:,^- heart also." ' I became mute, and in the midst of • the stripes that were inflicted on me (for the judge commanded that I should be beaten), I felt greater torture under the flames of conscience while I remembered the words of the Psalmist, " For in death there is no remembrance of thee ; in the grave who shall give thee thanks ? " Then I began to cry out, and to exclaim, Have mercy upon me ! oh, Lord ! have mercy upon me ! At length some of those who stood about the throne knelt before the judge, and interceded for me. They implored pardon and time for repentance in consi- deration of my youth, on condition that I should pay the whole penalty due to my sin, if I should ever read the books of heathen literature again. I promised never to transgress and said, * O Lord, if ever I shall read any secular works again, it will be a denial of thee.'* On making this vow I was dismissed, and returned to earth.' (Strange enough ' reverter ad superos ' is the hea- then expression). ' When I opened my eyes, to the astonishment of all around me, the tears which I shed attested the reality of what I had suffered. Fancy not that this was a trance or one of those vain dreams which sometimes deceive us. The tribunal before which I was called, and the fearful judgment which I dreaded are my witnesses. May I never have to suff'er such torture again, under the livid weals which I had to exhibit, and the blows which I still felt after I awoke, and which * ' Domine, si tinquam habuero codices sseciilares, si legero, te ncgavi,' — Ibid. p. 43. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 265 made me read divine books with more diligence ^j", than I had ever shown in the study of human literature.* Vigilantius . — Are you to be understood literally when you speak of these heavenly visions ? To your great comfort at one time did you really see and converse with angels ? And at another time were you actually punished with stripes at the hands of these ministers of God's wrath ? You speak of having felt the blows after you awoke. Was it a dream or a reality ? Jerome. — It is a new mode of interrogation to question a man closely on the subject of his visions. In the Treatise on Virginity, which I addressed to Eustochium, in order to direct her attention to sacred studies,'! I may have spoken of that vision in terms which led her to suppose that it was more than a dream. But when we have great objects in view, such as diverting the public taste from heathen literature, we are iustified in Faisitas •^ dispensii- usmg some license. We have learnt that many tiva. styles of discourse may be used, and that it is one thing to write for the purpose of an argument * ' Nee vero sopor ille fuerat, aut vana somnia, quibus ssepe dehi- dimur. Testis est tribunal ilhid, ante quod jacui : testis judicium triste, quod timui : ita mihi nunquam contingat in talem incidere qugestionem, liventes habuisse scapulas,* plagas sensisse post somnum, et tanto dehinc studio divina legisse, quanto non ante mortalia lege- ram.' — Ibid. p. 48. When Rufinus reproached Jerome for tiie viola- tion of tlie vow made on this occasion, Jerome replied, ' that it was only a dream.' — Ibid. p. 383. t Compare Op. Hier. iv. pp. 43 and 383, 385, 414, 454. Var. Ice, " \'\s cntes faleor habuisse me scapulas." 266 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396'. yvf^-vdi-iKs;,;, and another thing for the purpose of giving instruction, ^oyf^dnKS^.^ Unhappily, for the Christian church, while Jerome talked of renouncing heathen literature, he taught and employed those unworthy arti- fices of rhetoric and disputation, which were learnt in the schools of heathen philosophy,! to the detriment of Christian simplicity and morality. Thus in his Epistle to Pammachius, in defence of his Treatise against Jovinian,J he appeals to the practice of Socrates, Demos- thenes, Cicero, Plato, Theophrastus, Xeno- phon, Aristotle, and others, all of whom, as he said, at times spoke one thing while they meant another, and proposed things probable rather than true, to secure a victory. He refers also to Origen, Methodius, Eusebius, and Apollinaris, as using similar weapons (slippery problems, labi^icis pro- hlematihus) in their writings against Celsus and Porphyry, and hesitates not to bring Tertullian, Cyprian, Lactantius, and Hilary, into the same category of writers, who were in the habit of advancing, not what they believed to be true, but what they thought to be necessary for the occa- sion.§ Nay, St. Paul himself is adduced by * Ibid. Epist. ad Pam. 50. Ibid. p. 235. + The errors of the schoolmen, and of the modern school of divi- nity, which now professes to teach ' reserve,' may be attributed to their fondness for the Aristotelian philosophy, which Luther exposed so ably. + Ibid. p. 236. § The translator of the Oxford edition of Fleury's Ecclesiastical History abbreviates the passage referred to in this manner : — ' He bids his censurers bear in mind the difference between writing to refute an error, and for simple instruction. In the first an autlior is MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 267 Jerome as an authority for the practice of using falsehood where the interests of Christianity are at stake, or when an object is to be attained. * Read St. Paul's Epistles,' says he, ' especially those to the Romans, the Galatians, and the Ephesians, in which he enters with all his ener- gies into a controversy, and you will see what sort of use he makes of the contents of the Old Testa- ment ; and with what artifice, and prudence, and dissimulation he wields his arguments.* In his Commentaryt on the Epistle to the Gala- tians, the unscrupulous monk goes still farther, and argues that St. Paul did not rebuke Peter be- cause he really thought him deserving of repre- hension ; but by * a new mode of controversy,' J to edify the Gentiles, he pretended to reprove Peter in order that ' hypocrisy might be corrected by hypocrisy.' § apt to take more scope, and does not always declare his intention. He is obliged sometimes to speak not as he really feels, but with re- ference to the prejudices of his opponents.' — Vol. i, p. 228. * ' Quam artifex, quam prudens, quam dissimulator sit ejus quod agit,' — Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 236. f Augustine remonstrated against this interpretation of Jerome. ' If it be allowed, said he, to admit the existence of pious frauds in Holy Scripture, and to say that St. Paul in this place spoke contrary to what he thought, and treated St. Peter as guilty of a fault when he was really not, there is not a single passage which may not be eluded in a similar manner.' — See Epis. August, ad Hieron. 7(3 al. 9G. De Petro reprehenso a Paulo inter Opera Hier. 4. ii. pp. 630 — 642. J ' Nova contradictionis dispensatione.' — Ibid, pars i. p. 243. § ' Ut hypocrisis — correptionis hypocrisi emendaretur.' — Ibid. Fleury says (vol. ii. 62. O.E.), ' It is thought that St. Jerome yielded at last to the opinion of St. Augustine, from what he afterwards wrote, viz. that Peter himself was worthy of blame, according to St. Paul, to show that no man should think himself blameless.'— Hieron. Op. iv. pars ii. p. 498. A.D. 3S6. 2G8 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 366. One scarcely knows in what terms of reproba- tion to speak of that license, which too many of the most eminent fathers of this century allowed themselves, when they expressed their opinions in mystic terms for expediency sake ; or when they outstepped the limits of truth in the warmth of an argument ; or when they indulged in exagge- rated statements, rhetorical hyperbole, and bom- bastic flourishes, in conformity with the custom and taste of the times. This unworthy practice has been rightly called ' Falsitas Dispensativa,' fraudulent management, or, license to conceal the truth, or to use falsehood as circumstances may require ; and it has been vindicated and followed by the admirers of patris- tical antiquity in a manner which shews too plainly, that there is a proneness in the human mind, under fanatical excitement, to * believe a lie.' It was this ' Falsitas Dispensativa,' which enabled Jerome and his contemporaries to build up that structure called the church of the fourth century, so unlike ' The holy temple of the Lord fitly framed together on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.' False miracles,* dreams related in terms which led the hearers to suppose they were realities ; scriptural verities withheld, under the pretext that they were too strong for * How can we rely on any of the patristical miracles, or any testi- mony of the Fathers as to the miracles of the fourth century, if they felt themselves at liberty to trifle with the truth for the promotion of the Gospel ? MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 269 weak brethren ; church ordinances pronounced to be sacraments, when they were only of human authority ; texts of scripture misapplied, wrested, and perverted, to suit the occasion ; allegories treated as facts ; opinions expressed in terms of such ambiguity as would admit of retractation or confirmation, of blowing hot or cold, in the pro- gress of developement : these were the artifices and ' the sleight of men,' who had a system of their own to uphold, and who forgot that the fabric which has not truth for its basis, cannot be * an habitation of God through the Spirit.* Such were the corruptions, and the sad errors of many of the contemporaries of Vigilantius, over * ' One of the most seductive arguments of infidelity grounds itself on the mimerous passages in the works of the Christian Fathers, asserting the lawfulness of deceit for a good purpose. That the Fathers held, almost without exception, that, " Wholly without breach of duty, it is allowed to the teachers and heads of the Chris- tian Church to employ artifices, to intermix falsehoods with truths, and especially to deceive the enemies of the faith, provided only they hereby serve the interest of truth and the advantage of mankind," is the unwilling confession of Ribof.' — (Program, de CEconomia Pa- trum.) ' St. Jerome, as is shown by the citations of this learned theo- logian, boldly attributes this management, ' falsitatem dispensativatn,' even to the apostles themselves. But why speak I of the advantage given to the opponents of Christianity? Alas! to this doctrine chiefly, and to the practices derived from it, must we attribute the utter corruption of the religion itself for so many ages, and even now over so large a portion of the civilized world. By a system of accom- modating truth to falsehood, the pastors of the church gradually changed the life and light of the Gospel into the very superstitions which they were commissioned to disperse, and thus paganised Chris- tianity, in order to christen paganism. At this very hour Europe groans and bleeds in consequence.' — Coleridge's Fifth Essay in " The Friend," vol. i. A. D. 396. 270 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. faith which good men mourn, and bad men exult. It is painful to have to record such instances of human infirmity, which are in reahty so many Want of proofs of waut of faith. Had the fathers of the fourth century trusted more implicitly to the great head of the church to sustain his own cause, with his own right hand, they would not have had re- course to such miserable expedients. And if * churchmen ' of the present day would not take such pains to exalt * the church of the fathers ' above that of the existing generation, we should not be under the necessity of raking up the sins of past ages. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 271 CHAP. XII. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. 396. When we think of the self-denial of the religious recluse, of his heroic command over himself, and of the devoted piety, which enables him to steal ourieduse. from midnight and sunrise the hours which the wearied body and mind would fain give to repose, all our generous sympathies are with him, and we humbly and earnestly wish that our own spirit of prayer and supplication were like his. Our hearts warm to him in his high-minded rejection of the comforts and enjoyments, which we ourselves have not the fortitude to renounce ; and even where we think he goes beyond the limits of sober-minded zeal, we do not presume to ridicule his extravagant austerities. But believing that there may be a Christian course, without any abandonment of the social duties of life, * and that there are sound ■^' See how some apologists of the past sneer at the present state of Christian society. ' At present the beau ideal of a clergyman, in the eyes of many, is " a reverend gentleman, who has a large family," and " administers spiritual consolation." — ' Church of the Fathers,' p. 167. 272 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 396. church principles, apart from the practices which the holy men of the fourth century carried to excess, we think it right to give no more than a just share of commendation to their virtues, and to bring into view the errors both of the men and of the customs of that age, which has been held up to us as a model of Christian perfection. Above all we feel it a sacred duty to show that those times, so far from being ' the holy and the happy times,' * on which we are to look back with * ' The church of the Fathers/ as its dedicatory lines show, was composed for the purpose of exhibiting ' the holy and happy times* of the fourth century in their most attractive point of view. This little volume does certainly present to us, in their most beautiful forms, ' Whatsoever things were pure, and lovely, and of good report' in those times. But the principle on which it was written is open to this censure, that while its author sets the estimable qualities of his Christian heroes in the broadest liglit, he veils whatever was objec- tionable in their conduct and character. What would be said of a biography of John Calvin, or of John Knox, or of Oliver Cromwell, in which all the virtues of those eminent men were emblazoned, and all their faults kept out of sight ; in which all the advantages of a presbyterian and republican form of government were magnified, and all its evils suppressed? A very timely and salutary exposure of the dangerous tendencies of those peculiar ' Church principles,' which the author of the ' Church of the Fathers' holds in common with some of his friends, has lately been made by Mr. Palmer, in his ' Narrative of Events connected with the publication of the Tracts for the Times, with Reflections on existing Tendencies to Romanism,' 1843. But are not Mr. Palmer's own pages in this very Narrative, and in his ' Compendious Ecclesiastical History,' to which I have referred in pp. 32 — 34, open to similar objections ? Have not all extreme opi- nions and practices, under the name of ' Church principles,' a tend- ency to Romanism ? When error is treated with unmerited tender- ness, and when that, which conducts to modes of worship which the Word of God prohibits, is eulogised, is not the Church in danger? And when ascetic severities and commemorations of saints and mar- tyrs, borrowed from heathen mythology, are commended to notice in MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 273 A.D. 396. regret, did exhibit a want both of holiness and happiness amid the very scenes, where we are directed to seek for a spiritual paradise : and we are also bound to vindicate the character, and explain the mental progress, of a calumniated pro- fessor of Christianity like Vigilantius, who after- wards protested against proceedings, of the evil of which he had been an eye-witness. If I am judged to be too severe in my observa- Therepui- Till *^^^ features tions on the temper of Jerome, and on the dark ofthesys- tcin nt spots of the system, as it was carried out by him BetWehem. and his associates at Bethlehem, let me justify myself by a reference to what the author of ' The Church of the Fathers ' has himself said of the man from whom Vigilantius shrunk, and whose repulsive exhibition of the errors, of which he was the living impersonation, had its influence in de- ciding the future course of the wavering presbyter. "A word or two about St. Jerome. I do not scruple then to say, that were he not a saint, there are things in his writings and views from v\^hich I should shrink ; but as the case stands, I shrink rather from putting myself in opposition to some- thing like a judgment of the Catholic world in favour of his saintly perfection. I cannot, indeed, laudatory terms, without any cautionary remarks, do tliey not ' become the patli to superstition and idolatry?' Since this note was written, the reputed author of the ' Church of the Fathers,' — Mr. Newman, — has distinctly avowed, in a volume of * Sermons, beuring on the subjects of the present day,' that the tendency of the views he himself has been inculcating is towards the theology of Rome : (See note to pp, 384 — 886,) and has stated his consciousness, that ' the disposivg cause of certain tendencies to Rome,' has beeii * portions of what he has written.' T 274 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 396.' force myself to approve or like against my judg- ment or feeling ; but I can receive things in faith asainst both the one and the other. And I am willinsf to take certain characteristics of this learned and highly-gifted man on faith ; and there is, per- haps, need of some exercise of this kind," &c.* What would "VVe havc every reason to suppose that the cha- Vigilantius "^ '■ * have been ractcr of Vimlautius was unformed when he arrived under other ^ influences? at Bcthlchem ; that his opinions were crude, and unsettled, and that, like many other good but un- stable men, he was in a frame of mind prepared to take an impression from some master hand, capable of moulding him after its own fashion. If, instead of directing his steps to Palestine, when he left his amiable friends and patrons at Primuliac and Nola, he had gone to Milan, and there sat at the Under Am- fcct of Ambrosc, wc should then probably have heard no more of him but as a monk or a priest, in obedient submission to the " Church of the Fathers." The vigorous understanding and digni- fied air of Ambrose might have obtained a victory over the scruples of the Gallic presbyter. The haughty but suavid prelate, in whose person the Old and New Testaments are beautifully said to have met,t who could complete the conversion of Au- gustine, and bring Theodosius upon his knees, and whose successful management of the alleged mira- cle, at the discovery of the relics of Gervasius, and Protasius, invested him with an awful reputation of sanctity, might have found some means of removing * Church of the Fathers, pp. 263, 264. t See Milman's Hist, of Christianity, vol. iii. p. 244. brose ? MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 275' A.U. 396. the scruples of a young Christian, who as yet was only doubting. The gentleness and generosity which mixed so gracefully with sterner traits in the charac- ter of Ambrose, the proud humility which con- cealed his determination to exercise an ascendancy over all who came within the circle of his authority, and the captivating attractions of the sacred services which he introduced, as interludes, so to call them, to while away the canonical hours which hung hea- vily under other religious directors, might have soft- ly rivetted the chains on Vigilantius, which Jerome failed to secure with his hammer and anvil of iron. Or had Vio^ilantius been the bearer of a letter Or under ~ Augustine ? from Paulinus to Augustine, his destiny might have been different, and doubts and misgivings, which at first were reluctantly entertained, and only timidly expressed, might have given way, and shrunk into acquiescence before the supremacy of a mind like that of the bishop of Hippo. But Pro- vidence ordered it otherwise, and sent the Gallic inquirer to the cell of Jerome, instead of bringing him within the magic circle of that commanding genius, which by blending ardent devotion with deep philosophy, and adorning the most acute dialectics with graceful eloquence, has obtained triumphs which have lasted from the close of the fourth century to the present hour. In one who was not yet the slave of the lamp, counter- which emitted a fitful and gloomy light in the ducedbyli- tt n 1 • 1 ••/T i j^ • judicious cell oi bigotry and superstition (1 must repeat it, treatmeiit. even at the hazard of saying the same thing too often), the paradoxes, the acerbity, and the con- T 2 276 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. tentious spirit of Jerome produced counteraction, and Vigilantius started back like a bow too sud- denly and too violently bent. Had celibacy been recommended as a state of repose and safety, he might have adopted it ; but when it was exalted above all Christian virtues, and exacted as the sweetest oblation heaven could receive ; and when marriage was pronounced to be an evil, to be toler- ated only as a matter of necessity, he was induced to search beyond human authority, to see if these things were so. If bodily austerities and prolonged devotions had been accompanied, at Bethlehem, with composure of spirit, gentleness of demeanour, and command of temper, he might obediently and believingly have had recourse to similar acts of devotion, to secure the same blessed effects to his own mind. But many things that he witnessed there tended to make him question the wisdom and expediency of a system, which seemed to sour the spirit more and more, to render men and women insensible to all the social duties of life, to extinguish human sympathy, and to harden hearts against natural affection. For example ; the praise Paula. of Paula, mother of Eustochium, and impiously called by Jerome, the mother-in-law of God, * who had shut up her bosom against the feelings of a parent, was a favourite topic with the monks and sisterhood of Bethlehem. Paula had immortalized herself in their eyes,t by saying farewell for ever to her children, without shedding a tear, or betray- Socrus Dei.' — See Hieron. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 422. t See ibid. p. 672. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 277 ing the least emotion. The passage in Jerome, ^g°- which describes this scene, is thousfht to be one of considerable beauty. It is poetical and dramatic, but the condition of mind which it pourtrays is well described by the apostle, — "without natural affection." Another proof came under the observation of Vigilantius, that the system promoted by the spi- ritual guides of that period had not the power to make men pre-eminently holy and happy, but tended to produce contention and strife to such Contentions , . at Bethle- an extent, as might lead the scorner to ask with hem. bitter sarcasm, ' Tantsene animis coelestibus irae?' He saw in the occurrences which I am about to notice, which were still matters of discussion when he was in Palestine, that the professed recluse was the last person to submit to ecclesias- tical authority, when it was exercised against his inclination. Jerome was an ordained priest, but in consequence of some rigid notions of his relating to the character and duties of a monk, which he main- tained were in a certain degree incompatible with those of a priest, he refused to exercise the sacerdotal offices. These scruples on the part of Jerome in- duced him to request that his brother Paulinianus might be ordained priest, in order to minister as such within the monasteries at Bethlehem. It does not clearly appear whether John, then bishop of Jerusalem, refused to admit Paulinianus to the priesthood ; but it is certain that Epiphanius, contempt of bishop of Salamis, ordained him, and thus gave thorlty"*^" offence to the prelate into whose diocese the irre- 278 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 3(,f^ gularly-ordained priest was to be intruded. In ■ aggravation of this uncanonical proceeding, Pauli- nianus himself was unwilling to be thus thrust into the priesthood ; he pleaded his unfitness for the sacred office, and when he would have solemnly repeated his remonstrance at the altar, his mouth was stopped, and after his ordination he was forcibly led to the priest's stall, and compelled to take his seat there. Here then we have a priest ordained without his own free consent, ordained without a parochial charge, receiving imposition of hands from a bishop who had no authority to ordain him to a monastery at Bethlehem. Implicated in all these proceedings was Jerome. ' I do not under- stand,' says Tillemont very candidly, ' what Jerome means, when he says that he had done nothing to create divisions in the church.' John protested loudly and bitterly against this invasion of his episcopal jurisdiction. * He forbade the parish priests to administer the rite of baptism to the catechumens of Jerome's monastery, and laid an interdict upon the contumacious. The crimina- tions and recriminations, and the enmities which followed, were creditable neither to John, nor to * The apology of Epiphanius for this irregular proceeding is strongly demonstrative of the erroneous mode of reasoning by which good men too often attempt to justify what is wrong. ' You ought to rejoice, knowing that the fear of God obliged me to do it, especially considering that there is no difference in the priesthood of God, when regard is had to the good of the church ; for though the bishops have every one his church, of which he takes care, and though none may encroach upon what belongs to another, yet the love of Christ, which is without dissimulation, is to be preferred to everything.' — Trans, of Fleury's Eccl. Hist. vol. i. pp. 220, 230. Oxford, 1842. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 279 A. D. 3i)6. Epiplianius, nor to Jerome.* Other causes of mutual dissatisfaction widened the breach, and the letters of Jerome record some gross language used on this occasion, and some lamentable scenes, which not only disprove that those ancient times were the holiest and happiest of times, but show that monasteries, from the nature of their constitution, had a tendency to undermine epis- copal authority. Who, but a person that relies upon some privileges and some fancied sanctity of his order, could reconcile himself to using such insolent language against his diocesan, as Jerome's letter to Pammachius contains, under the title of an Epistle against the errors of John, bishop of Jerusalem ? And who but monkish editors would exultingly mark the offensive passages by such marginal notes as these? ' Invehitur juste in Jo- Jj"'S"^ hannem Hieronymus.' The line of conduct pur- Eplphanius. sued by the two angry bishops against each other, exasperated as they were by disputes about Origen, in addition to the cause of complaint I have men- tioned, was such as would be incredible, if it were not related by one, who, being deeply implicated in the quarrel, knew all the circumstances of it. At the very time that Epiphanius was lodged in John's house, and entertained at his table, and after they had interchanged the kiss of peace, * * Nosne sumiis, qui ecclcsiam scindimus, an ille qui vivis habi- taciilum, mortuis sepulcium negat, qui fratrum exilia postulat? Quis potentissimam illam feram, totius orbis cervicibus imminentem, contra nostras cervices spiritualiter incitavit? Quis ossa Sanctorum, et in- noxios cineres, luicusque verberari ab imbribus sinit? ' — Ilieron. Epist. ad Pam. contr. cnorcs Joli. Hieros. Opor. vol, iv. pars ii. p. 33.3. 280 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. their theological disputes ran so high, that at length the foreign prelate openly, and in one of the churches of Jerusalem, =* (no other than that * This is Jerome's account of the altercation, taken from an Epistle in which he addressed himself to John : — ' Nos hie eramus, ciincta novimus, quando contra Origenem in Ecclesia tua Papa Epiphanius loquebatiir ; quando sub illius nomine in vos jacula torquebantur. Tu et chorus tuns canino rictu, naribusque contractis, scalpentes capita, delirum senem nutibus loquebamini. Nonne ante sepulcrum Domini misso Archidiacono prsecepisti, ut talia disputans conticesceret? Quis hoc unquam Presbytero suo coram plebe imperavit Episcopus ? Nonne quum de Anastasi pergeretis ad Crucem, et ad eum omnis setatis et sexus turba conflueret, ofFerens parvulos, pedes deosculans, fimbrias vellens ; quumque non posset prssmovere gradum, sed in uno loco vix fluctus undantis populi sustineret, tu tortus invidia adversiis gloriosum senem clamitabas ; nee erubuisti in os ei dicere, quod volens et de industria moraretur. Recordare quseso illius diei ; quando ad horam septimam invitatus populus spe sola, quasi postea auditurus Epiphanium esset, detinebatur, quid tunc concionatus sis. Nempe contra Anthropomorphitas, qui simplicitate rustica Deum habere membra, quae in divinis Libris scripta sunt, arbitrantur, furens et indignans loqnebaris: oculos et manus et totius corporis truncum, in senem dirigebas, volens ilium suspectum facere stultissimse haereseos. Postquam lassus, ore arido, resupinaque cervice ac trementibus labiis conticuisti, et tandem totius populi vota completa sunt, quid tibi fecit delirus et fatuus senex ? Surrexit, ut se indicaret pauca dicturum esse, salutataque et voce et manu Ecclesia, " Cuncta (inquit) quae loquutus est collegio frater, aetate filius mens, contra Anthropomorphi- tarum hasresim, bene et tideliter loquutus est, quce mea quoque dam- natur voce, Sed ocquum est, ut quomodo banc haeresim condemna- nnis, etiam Origenis perversa dogmata condemnemus." Qui risus omnium, quae acclamatio consequuta sit, puto quod retineas.' — Oper. Hier. vol. iv. pars ii. pp.312, 313. ' You (i.e. John, Bishop of Jerusalem) have imposed upon strangers. We were present, and know the whole truth. When the Pope Epi- phanius spoke in your church against Origen, and under his name attacked you, you and your company made it sufficiently appear by your looks, and your contemptuous gestures, that you considered him a mere dotard. Did you not, before the Sepulchre of the Lord, send to him your archdeacon, bidding him cease to speak in that strain? MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 281 of the holy sepulchre) insinuated that John was ggg- an Origenist. John, in retaliation, treated Epipha- j^";;;^ nius as an old dotard, laughed aloud at him, and ^'jf£^^"^f ** ordered his archdeacon to go and tell him to be ^gg^^"^]:^ silent. This scene was followed by another equally disgraceful. Alas ! the sanctuaries built on the spot where some of the most awful events of Christ's incarnation had taken place, had but little effect in softening the hearts of these angry rivals ! Epiphanius was followed whithersoever he went by a crowd of votaries, who in admiration of his reputed sanctity, brought children to be blessed by him, kissed his feet, and plucked the borders of his garments. This excited the jealousy of John, who lost his temper so far as to cry out, in What bishop ever so treated his priest before the people? And when, as you proceeded from the place of the resurrection to that of the cross, a multitude of people, of every age and sex, ran up to him, presenting to him children, kissing his feet, plucking the border of his mantle, so that you could not advance, and even had difficulty in standing, your envy for the holy old man's glory made you cry out to his face, that it was on purpose that he stopped. Call to mind, I pray you, the day when the people waited till an hour after mid-day only with the hope of hearing Epiphanius. You spoke like a madman against the Anthropomorphites, who with a rude simplicity believe that God has, in a literal sense, the members which the Scriptures attribute to him ; and you turned your hands, your eyes, and your whole body towards the holy old man, with the wish to render him suspected of this absurd heresy. After you had spoken, he rose to show his wish to say something, and, after saluting the assembly with voice and hand, he said, " All that my brother has pronounced against the Anthropomorphites is good, and conformable to the faith, and I, too, condemn them ; as, however, we condemn this heresy, it is right that we also condemn the evil doctrine of Origen." What bursts of laughter, what cries immediately arose ! surely you must remember them.' — Translation of Fleury's Eccl. Hist, book xix. 45. vol. i. p. 234. Ed. Oxford, 1842. 282 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. the hearing of all the people, that Epiphanius was courting popularity. The quarrel between Epi- phanius and John was the natural but disgraceful consequence of that want of Christian charity and ecclesiastical obedience,* which prevailed in the church at this period of its history .f Epiphanius left Jerusalem abruptly and full of resentment, and it is but due to Jerome and the fraternity at Bethlehem to state, that they did all in their power to effect a reconciliation. At their persua- sion Epiphanius returned to Jerusalem, for the purpose of coming to a better understanding with John ; but this interview seems to have widened the breach, for a second time he went away in anger, and with such precipitation that having reached the city in the evening, he quitted it again at midnight. His next step will scarcely * ' In Asia Minor the church was almost without form and void.' Church of the Fathers, p. 90. ' What is most melancholy of all, even the portion among us which seems to be sound is divided in itself.' — Basil's Letter to Bishops of Gaul and Italy. See ibid. p. 108. ' The name of the episcopate has at length attached to wretched men, the slaves of slaves, none of the servants of God choosing to make himself their rivals, none but the abandoned.' — Epist, Bas. 239. Ibid. ibid. Were these the times to be called ' ancient, holy, and happy?' + I refer the reader to Jerome's own account of these proceedings. See Epist. ad Pam. 88 aliter 61, adversus errores Joh. Hieros Oper. Hier. vol. iv. p. ii. pp. 306 — 334. Jerome's notions of the deference due from a presbyter to a bishop were never very strict. ' Nihil inte- rest inter Presbyterum et Episcopum.' — Ibid. p. 830. * Ut deferamus Episcopis ut Episcopis, et non sub nomine alterius, aliis quibus nolu- mus servire cogamur.' ' Sed contenti sint honore suo. Patres se sciant esse, non dominos, maxime apnd eos qui spretis ambitionibus Siieculi, nihil quieti etotio prseferunt.' — AdTheophihim. Epist. 39 alitor 62. Ibid. p. 339. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 283 A. D. 396. admit of justification. He wrote to John insisting upon a public acknowledgment of his alleged errors as an Origenist, and when this was refused on the part of that prelate, Epiphanius proceeded The monks to advise all the monastic establishments in the hem declare diocese of Jerusalem, over which he had any in- bishop. fluence, to separate from their communion with John. Jerome and the monks of Bethlehem fol- lowed this pernicious advice, and within six miles of the seat of authority, and in the birth-place of the Prince of Peace, exhibited the disgraceful spectacle of schism and rebellion. Whatever might be the errors of John of Jeru- salem in the eyes of Jerome and his confraternity, that bishop was held by others in such high esti- mation, that Pope Anastasius, in the year 402, addressed a letter to John, in which he treated him with great respect, and declared that the glory of his pontificate was spread throughout the ■whole world.* * Fleury's Eccl. Hist. 20, 52. 284 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. lem. CHAP. XIII. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. From Bethlehem, Vigilantius went to Jerusalem '. before he finally took leave of Jerome ; and it was Serusa"^ i'^ this interval that he acquired courage enough to make some show of opposition to the Master, whose authority none ever ventured to dispute, without incurring his severest displeasure. The character of the Gallic presbyter has not yet opened out, so as to give us any opportunity of pronouncing upon it confidently. We are not yet upon any traces indicating that sanctity of life and conversation, which we should expect to dis- cover in a man called ' Holy,' by one of his most eminent contemporaries ; neither have we found marks of the energy necessary to qualify the controversialist for a contest with the redoubtable Jerome. A combination of circumstances acted upon Vigilantius by degrees, brought out his dor- mant talents and spirit, and thrust him upon an arena where at first he performed a very imper- fect part. I have supposed throughout the whole MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 285 of this volume that Vigilantius was moulded by events, and that Providence ordained that he should take his form and pressure from the times, in an obverse figure. In all this I recognise the power of God ; for it is written, " I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise ? Where is the scribe ? Where is the dis- puter of this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" And, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are." * I gather from Jerome's letter to Vigi- lantius, and from the " Invectives of Rufinus " against Jerome, and Jerome's reply to them, that Vigilantius paid a visit to Rufinus at Jerusa- lem in the course of this year, and was commis- sioned to make some communication to, and to discuss some subject of common interest with, that distinguished polemic. It was not unlikely that he was also the bearer of a message or a letter from Paulinus to Rufinus, between whom there then existed the closest friendship. A sojournment in Jerusalem, towards the close of the fourth century, was more likely than any- thing else, to make an unfavourable impression * 1 Cor. i. 19, 20, 27, 28. A. D. 396. 286 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. city, upon an unsettled mind, not yet reconciled to those appliances, to which it had been taught to have recourse, to confirm its faith and strengthen its hopes. The holy Jerusalem, ' the holy city,' Jerusalem, conse- crated by the most awful events that ever took, place on earth ; Jerusalem, where every footstep was supposed to be planted on sacred ground ! where every object was felt to be associated with holy recollections, hopes, and fears ; where the eye could not rest on plain or slope, on hill or valley, on glen or mountain, without bringing before it visions of rapture ! The pulse quickens and the heart beats at the thought of Jerusalem. A devout transport takes possession of the whole man, as he enters its venerable walls. He expects that the air he breathes, the sounds he hears, the objects on which he gazes, will all partake of the sanctity of the place. It is holy ground ; he must take the shoes from off his feet, he must tread softly, he must speak in whispers, he must lift up his heart to his Redeemer. If he does not do so, he has a heart of stone, for certainly every true Christian in Jerusalem must be fervent in spirit there, if nowhere else. Doubtless these were the feelings of Vigilantius. His beloved Paulinus had once expressed an anxious wish to live and die in Jerusalem ; and a pilgrimage to the holy city was the aspiration of all devout men : because it was believed to give a foretaste of the holy rest reserved for the people of God, after their labours are over, and when their MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 287 good works shall follow them into the presence of gjg- the Eternal. The martyrs, the confessors, the ' most pious bishops of every age, had resorted thither, believing that the defects in their religious knowledge and practice could not be supplied except at Jerusalem, and that they must worship in Christ's footsteps, if they would experience the ardour of real devotion. Jerusalem, in the glowing language of the age, was not watered like Egypt from below, but from above ; it was moistened with the dew of heaven ; and as Judea was more excellent than all other provinces of the earth, so was Jerusalem far more excellent than the most revered spots in other parts of Judea. To lie prostrate before the very cross on which Christ suffered ; to fancy you see the Saviour suspended upon it ; to enter the sepulchre where his body lay ; to kiss the stone that was rolled away by angels at the resurrection ; to be in that upper room where the Holy Ghost descended on the hundred and twenty ! * Who could be thus favoured, without drinking deeply and more deeply of the waters of life, and being purified body and soul ? But when Vigilantius arrived at Jerusalem, did he experience all that his fancy had antici- pated ? Did he find it the abode of the good only ? And were the good made better within the hallowed precincts of Jerusalem ? There are no writings of the Gallic presbyter remaining, to tell us what were his disappoint- * It was the belief of that day, that all these were yet to be seen. See Epist. 86. Hier. ad Eustochiiim 4. pp. 673, 674. 288 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ^g°- ments when he visited Jerusalem, saving the short , ; — sentence which has been preserved in reference to Jerusalem ^ . • at the end of the usclcssness of pilmmao^cs to the holy citv. the fourth i o o ^ j j century. But Jcrome, in the same year m which Vigilantius gratified his desire of adding one more to the number of pilgrims who crowded to Jerusalem, spoke of it thus : ' Soldiers and harlots, mimics and buffoons, and everything else that swarms in other cities swarms here. It is full of all sorts of people, and you are so annoyed by multitudes of both sexes, that what you may escape elsewhere, you are forced to endure here.' * I will not pol- lute my pages with a name which Jerome did not hesitate to apply to Jerusalem. Who can wonder then, that Vigilantius was first disappointed and afterwards disgusted at Jeru- salem ; and that he learnt to detest the thought of pilgrimages, on the scene which he saw polluted by vice, though it was said to be the gathering- place of all who were pre-eminent for piety from every part of the world. ' Hither came converts from the dark mysteries of Druidism, from Gaul and Britain ; Armenia, Persia, and India sent * ' Si crucis et resurrectionis loca non essent in tube celebenima, in qua curia, in qua aula militum, in qua scorta, mimi, scurrae, et omnia sunt, quse solent in cseteris urbibus, vel si Monachorum turbis solum- modo frequentaretur, expetenduni re vera hujusceniodi cunctis Mo- nachis esset habitaculuni. Nunc vero sunimse stultitias est renunciare saeculo, dimittere patriam, urbes deserere, Monachum profiteri, et inter majores populos peregre vivere, qu^ni eras victurus in patria. De toto hue orbe concurritur. Plena est civitas universi generis hominum : et tanta utriusque sexus constipatio, ut quod alibi ex parte fugiebas, hie totum sustinere cogaris.' — Hier. Epist. ad Paul. 13 alias 49. Op. 4, p. ii. p. 565. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 289 hither the most ardent of those who had before ^■^■ oub. kissed their hand to the luminaries of heaven ; from Ethiopia and Egypt came worshippers, whose hearts it was as hard to change as their colour ; Pontus, Cappadocia, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the farthest East poured out the choicest of their population into Jerusalem, there to exhibit piety in its various forms.'* Such was the glowing- account given by two of Jerome's disciples. The sad scenes described in the preceding chapter, when John bishop of Jerusalem, and St. Epipha- nius inveighed against each other with so much virulence, were exhibited not only within the walls, but within the holiest sanctuaries of the holy city. What reliance then can be placed on the efficacy of pilgrimages to holy places to re- move asperities and to soften human hearts, when the very persons whose names are handed down to us, as having been most eminent for their sanctity, railed at each other with more than ordinary bit- terness, under the shadow of the awful hills of Calvary and Olivet ? The furious animosities, caused by the fatal xheOri- Origenist controversy, were still the subject of ?ro™'°" angry conversation, when Viailantius was at Jeru- ''^"'i if« ^on- o J ' o sequences. salem ; and he himself could not escape being implicated in the dispute which was then dividing- very friends. In fact, Origenism, and the part taken by the Gallic stranger, in the quarrel, which, like an epidemic disorder, infected every one who * ' Diversarum nobis virtiitum specimen ostenderunt.' — Epist, PauL ad Marcel. Ilier. Op, 4. pars ii. p. 551. U 290 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. sojourned in Palestine at this period, produced the first estranoement between him and Jerome. It is necessary therefore to give a short account of this controversy. The works of Origen contain doctrinal errors, which are summed up under eight heads. 1 . That the Son of God does not see the Father, and the Holy Ghost does not see the Son. 2. That the souls of men were once angels in heaven, and were committed to mortal bodies, as a punishment for their sins. 3. That Satan and the fallen angels will repent, and will be permitted to reign with the saints in heaven. 4. That Adam and Eve were incorporeal before the fall, and that the skins, wherein they were said to be clothed, were their bodies. 5. That man will not rise in the body. 6. That the paradise on earth was only allego- rical of heaven. 7. That the waters above the firmament were angels ; and the waters below were evil spirits. 8. That the image of God in man was effaced by sin. About the year 392, John, Bishop of Jerusalem was accused by St. Epiphanius of holding these errors of Origen : and Rufinus of Aquileia and Palladius, both of whom were then residing in Palestine, were also said to lYiaintain the same tenets. Strong party feeling was excited upon the occasion, and men of the highest eminence took one side or the other. Jerome espoused the MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 291 cause of Epiphanius, and was most vehement against those who were accused of Origenism, especially against John, whom he contemptuously called ' haucl grandis homu7iculus,' and Rufinus, who had once been his intimate friend. Angry discussion led to retort and recrimination, and, to use Tillemont's expression, Jerome became ' the enemy ' of Rufinus. One Christian the enemy of another ! Could it be so, in that age of saints, to which we are now directed to look for the very perfection of Christian wisdom and virtue ? Alas, how frequently is the biographical page of the Fathers of the fourth century stained with similar spots. The author, whom I have just cited, with all his tenderness for Jerome, speaks thus of the quarrel between our monk and his antagonists, " It is provoking that St. Jerome himself acknowledges that he separated himself from the communion of his bishop, without knowing if he were culpable, without any judgment having been pronounced against him, and on a mere suspicion founded on an accusation made by St. Epiphanius, who, how- ever holy he might be, did not always sufficiently consider what he did, and what he said. And he acted afterwards, with regard to St. John Chry- sostom, nearly in the same manner in which he had acted towards John of Jerusalem.'* * ' II est faschenx que S. Jerome avoiie Iiiy mcsme par \k qu'il s'estoit separe do la communion de son Evesquc sans savoir s'il estoit coupable, sans qu'il y eust eu aucun jugement rendu contre luy, etsur nn simple soupcon fondesur ce qu'il estoit accus6 par Saint Epiphane, qui, quelqiie saint qu'il fust, n'examinoit pas toiijours assez ce qu'il U 2 A. D. 39G. 292 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. The scandal attached to the Origenist contro- versy became greater for the reason, that Jerome had formerly laid himself open to the imputation of leaning to some of those opinions which he now assailed with the utmost fury, and Rufinus naturally took advantage of this, and charged his opponent with inconsistency and apostacy. Rufinus. At the very crisis when the flame, which these disputes had kindled, was burning with undi- minished violence,* Vigilantius became personally acquainted with Rufinus, who was then living in Jerusalem with the venerable Melania. Rufinus, whatever may have been his theologi- cal errors and controversial asperity, was, like Jerome himself, a man whose purity of conduct, out of the polemical arena, was never questioned. Even vi'hile he and his great rival were raging against each other like two wild beasts, Paulinus spoke of him, as ' a most learned, pious, and holy man, for whom he entertained the warmest affection. 'I His erudition, diligence, and zeal in promoting sacred literature, commended him to the respect of his contemporaries ; but, unhappily, faisoit, et ce qu'il disoit : et il agit depuis k I'egard de S. Jean Chry- sostome a pen prfes de la mani^re qu'il avait agi k I'egard de Jean de Jerusalem.' — Tillemont, torn. xii. p. 185. * In vain were many attempts made to reconcile the contending parties in this spiritual warfare. Theophilus, Archbishop of Alex- andria, sent Isidore, a priest of some celebrity, to act as mediator ; and Archelaus (' Comes Christianissimus et disertissimus,' see Hier. Op. 4, 331.) undertook the same office, but ineffectually. t ' Vere sanctum et pie doctum, et ob hoc intimft mihi afFectione conjunctum.' — Epist. Paul. 9 aliter 28. ' Sancto doctissimo viro, et carissimo mihi.' — Ibid. 26 aliter 40. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 293 A. D. 396. when he involved himself in disputation, he sacri- ficed every consideration to the desire of enjoying a triumph over his adversary.* The writings of Rufinus were very voluminous, comprising translations of Josephus, Origen, and Eusebius, with many original compositions histo- rical, theological, and polemical. In the latter he took especial delight, and because Vigilan- tius made his acquaintance when his spirit was chafed, we may readily believe that Jerome was not wrong in imputing to Rufinusf the first seeds vigiiantius of the open quarrel betwixt himself and the against ^'^^ presbyter of Aquitain. Vigiiantius had seen Rufinus/ enough of the weak side of Jerome to turn a willing ear to all that was said against him, and I will now take the same liberty, on which I ven- tured in one of my preceding chapters, and re- count, in the form of a dialogue, the reasons which existed for bringing a charge of self-contradiction and inconsistency against the recluse of Bethle- hem. The materials with which the followino- dialogue is constructed will be found in the ' Invectives of Rufinus,' and in the ' Apology ' and admissions of Jerome, in answer to those invectives. J Fleury, Du Pin, and Tillemont may be cited in confirmation of the interpretation which 1 have put on those historical documents. * Tillemont in one place speaks of the irreproachable life of Ru- finus ; in another, of his artifices and falsehood. So difficult is it to decide between religious polemics. t Vide Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 457. t Ibid. pp. 339—473. 294 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. Vigilantius. What caused this quarrel between you and Jerome ? You were once intimate friends ; your friends are his friends, and you are still in the enjoyment of their esteem, while you are estranged from him. Riifimis. Very true, the time was when we were united together in the closest friendship. He used to address me as his dearest Rufinus,* and to tell me how he longed to embrace me.f He was not satisfied with common modes of expres- sion, but he employed the language of poetry and scripture,;}: in the excess of his aifection, to ex- press the esteem he felt for me. In a letter to Florentius, written, it is true, many years ago, after praising my virtue and sanctity,^ he spoke of himself as if he were not worthy to be compared with me. II I, in return, entertained the same love and respect for him.^ I praised his learning and his eloquence in perfect sincerity, and I cannot accuse myself of having given him any personal cause of offence, before this Origenist question was agitated. But now I am a heretic, and a * ' Rufine charissime.' — Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 1. t ' Qu;im ego nunc tna arctis stringerem colla complexibus.' — Ibid. ibid. t Ibid. p. 2. § The terms ' sanctus' and ' saiictitas' were sadly abused in the conversation and correspondence of those times. They became ordi- nary conventional civilities, and had little more meaning in them than the expressions of courtesy now in use amongst ourselves. II ' Et ego cinis et vilissima pars luti, etiam favilla dum vertor, satis habeo, si spendorem morum illius imbecillitas oculorum meorum ferre sustineat.' — Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 4. IF Ibid. p. 449. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 295 blasphemer, and a liar, and everything that is bad, because we differ in our opinions of Origen. Vigilantius. But did he not formerly entertain and express sentiments which implied an admira- tion of Origen ? Rujinus. Certainly he did, and therefore I cannot but feel provoked to think that he should now be one of the fiercest of my assailants, and that he should judge me with so much severity upon a subject, on which he himself was once open to censure. I believe the works of Origen have been corrupted, or at least misunderstood, and it is my intention to write a treatise in vindi- cation of him. Many passages in Origen are ob- scure, but I am persuaded they may be reconciled with what he has said elsewhere, in strict confor- mity with the Catholic faith. "^ Vigilantius. I have read some of the Homilies of Origen, translated by Jerome, and in the pre- face to one of them, Jerome speaks of the author in terms of high commendation. Does he not say that Origen excelled himself in his Canticles, as he had excelled every body else in his other books ? -j" Rujinus. Yes, and he has gone so far as to call Origen the second doctor in the church after the Apostles. J I am therefore compelled to say, that it argues malevolence in Jerome to be treating me * See Praefatio Riifini in Libros ilepl apxi^v Origenis, apud Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 339. t ' Origenes quum in cseteris libris omnes vicerit, in Cantica Canti- corutn ipse se vicit,' — Hier. Op. 2. p. 807. + Ibid. 4. pars ii. pp. 340, 376. A. D. 396. 296 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. as if I were an heretic, whereas I have no more offended against the true faith, by my praise of Origen, than he has. My belief in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost is as pure as his OM'n.'* My belief in the resurrection of the body, and in the glorious change from a mortal to an immortal state, has been openly avowed by me on all occasions. Vigilaiitius. So then you are agreed upon essential points, such as the Trinity and the Incar- nation, and yet you are at variance beyond all hope of reconciliation. These doctrinal discus- sions seem to be sadly destructive of mutual charity ;t and you disputants are opposing or ad- vocating doctrines to-day on which you were doubtful yesterday. If you and Jerome stir your- selves up to enmity on topics of inferior moment, while you are consentient on those which are ne- cessary to salvation, will you not injure the cause of Christianity ! How am I to discern the truth, when men of the highest theological reputation, like Jerome and Rufinus, revile each other as heretics ? Rujinus. I have been ill-used by Jerome ; but I can show that if I have fallen into some mis- * Rufinus published an Exposition of the Creed which Gennadius commended, and Du Pin pronounced to be a treatise so complete, that it would be hard to find a better. See Du Pin Nouv. Bib. des Ant. Eccl. vol. 3, p. 469. + See what Augustine says on this subject, Epist. 73 aliter 15. Hier, Op. 4. pars ii. p. 617. ' Quis denique amicus non formidatur, quasi futurus inimicus, si potuit inter Hieronymum et Rufinum hoc quod plangimns exoriri? O misera et miseranda conditio.' MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 297 takes, he has not kept clear either of error or of self-contradiction, in regard to Origen. Vigilaiitins . On what other points do you con- sider that he has stumbled ? For, I confess, that my faith in his judgment has been shaken lately, and that I am much less persuaded in my own mind upon some subjects on which he is very earnest, than I was before I came to Palestine. On others too I have been taught by his example to think for myself, Jerome's freedom with the books of Holy Writ has directed me to consult the Word of God, before I subscribe to any man's dogmas. Ritfijius. You are right, no man has taken greater liberties with sacred subjects than Jerome. He has presumed to set up an authority of his own, and to flourish the censor's rod over every body's head. Lactantius, Hilary, Didymus, Am- brose, all come under his lash, as if none but him- self could pronounce what are the correct and authentic passages of Revelation, or discern be- tween Catholic faith and error.* Vigilantius. Just so; he has advanced opinions which would be called heresy in others. I have often been startled by the vehemence with which he has expressed himself in praise of celibacy, and in abhorrence of matrimony. It is difficult to condemn the language used by the Marcionites, and the Manichees, in their strictures on wedlock, and at the same time to approve of that of * Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 442. A. D. 298 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. Jerome.* Nor do I find it easy to condemn the Aerians, for asserting that there is no difference between bishops and presbyters, and to say that Jerome is orthodox, when he makes declarations to the same effect. f I cannot consent to receive all the dogmas of a man, who is so rash and un- 2:uarded in his assertions ; and I am ahiiost at a loss what sentiments or conduct to adopt, when I remember how frequently he exposes himself to the charge of inconsistency in the heat of an argument, and in the fierceness of his resentment against an adversary. Who can be said to be right on those questions, which now divide the church, if Jerome, with all his erudition and piety, can rush into so many contradictions ? Rujinus. Jerome accuses me of embracing the erroneous tenets of Origen. Now I am able to show that in passages, where he would be ex- pected to declare his own opinions, he has com- mitted himself : on the state of the soul, of the devil and of the fallen angels ; on universal re- demption ; J and on other matters also he has sub- scribed to the very errors which he has blamed in Origen. § I can also expose his audacity and his * See Epist. Hieron. .30 aliter .50, 31 aliter 52 ad Pam. t ' Nihil interest inter Presbyterum et Episcopum ; eadem dignitas mittentis et raissi.' — Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 330. % Jerome's opinions, however, expressed in his Commentary on Isaiah, are the reverse of Origen's. — Vide Hier. Op. 3. pp. 212, 227, 515. § Vide Invectivarum Libr. Rutin, in Hier. Du Pin discusses the subject of these ' Invectives' at considerable length. He admits that Jerome's Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians repro- duces Origen's remarks on the Resurrection, on the Pre-existence of MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 299 perjury, in having pretended to make a vow before God and his angels never to read profane authors again, whereas to this present hour he takes every opportunity of vaunting his knowledge of heathen literature.* Vigilantius . These are the things which make me distrust the judgment of Jerome more and more ; and I begin to have my doubts upon many points which he pressed upon my attention with his usual warmth. The principal subjects of his conversation were the virtue and the necessity of fasting, austerities, mortifications, seclusion, and vigils at the sepulchres of the dead. He talked as if he thought monks and hermits were the especial favourites of heaven, and had mira- culous gifts granted to them, because they were monks and hermits. I cannot reconcile his extra- vagant tales of wonder,! with the grave and sober language of scripture, and I marvel how a Biblical student, who has passed his life in translating and explaining the word of God, can devote himself to the contemplation of miracles, so totally unlike Souls, and on the final Pardon of Satan, without objecting to them : that in his Commentary on Nahum, Jerome maintains that God will not punish the Antediluvians in another world ; that in his remarks on the Prodigal he teaches that angels may sin ; that in his Treatise on the Book of Ecclesiastes he affirms that the sun and the stars have souls ; and that he ventures, in other places, to advance opinions, which he rejects when he is combating Origen. See Nouv. Bib. des Aut. Ec. 3. 451. * Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. pp. 383, 404, 420, 4o4— G. t * St. Jerome raconte de quelle maniere il (St. Paul, ermite) fut visile par S. Antoine, et il rapporte des circonstances de cette histoire qui sont fort pen croyables.' — Du Pin, Nouv. Bib. des Aut. Ec. 3. p. 371. A. n. 396. 300 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396. those of the Old and New Testament, and there- fore so hard to be believed.* Rufinus. You have more reason to be dissatisfied with his perversion of Scripture. Has he not said in his Commentary on Habakkuk, that God has not a distinct knowledge of all events that take place in the world ? Has he not ventured to assert that all oaths are unlawful ? \ Has he not proclaimed that Christians are not under any obli- gation to pay tribute to heathen princes ? J Nay, has he not taken upon himself to declare that in some cases suicide may be justified ? § Vigilantius. If this be Jerome's freedom with the text and sense of scripture, why may not I sug- gest a new construction of some passages of holy writ, without offending against the Christian faith, even though I may not have all the Fathers of the church with me. I have heard him speak in disapprobation of those devout Christians who bind parchments containing sentences of the gospel * See Hieron. Vita S. Pauli Eremitae. et Vita S. Hilarionis Eremitae. t ' Evangelica autem Veritas non recipit Juramentum.' — Com. in Mat. c. 5. J ' Nos pro illius honore tributa non reddimus, et quasi filii regis a vectigalibus immunes sumus.' — Vide Com. in Mat, c. 17. § ' Unde et in persecutionibus non licet propria manu perire, absque eo ubi castitas periclitatur.' — Vide Com. in Jon. Prop. c. 1. Jerome replied to the accusations and invectives of Rufinus, first in a letter addressed to Pammachius and Oceanus, and afterwards in an apology or vindication of himself, dedicated to Pammachius and Marcella. These are very acute and vigorous, but unsatisfactory. In the first he declared, that in praising Origen he praised the Interpre- ter, not the Dogmatist ; the man's genius, not his faith ; the philosopher, and not the apostle. — (Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. 362.) This epistle con- tains a specimen of those subtilties and sophistries, and of those dis- MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 301 about their necks and arms, and call it a Phari- saical practice;* but I believe he would be very hot against me, if I were to express an opinion against the veneration of relics. You confirm me in some of my doubts and misgivings, and have taught me to think less highly of Jerome, than I did when I brought away with me so many predilections in his favour from Primuliac and Nola. gusting definitions and references to the mysteries of physiology, which have since distinguished the Romish school of divinity. I alhide especially to the passage beginning ' Credimus, inquiunt,' and ending ' dicunt non resurgere.' — (Ibid. p. 344.) Jerome's last answer to Rufinus was so unworthy of a Christian, that the Benedictine editors felt themselves constrained to notice its unbecoming language. ' We must remember,' say they, ' that although Jerome was very learned, and a saint, yet he was still a man.' — (p. 445.) ' The Invec- tives,' and ' The Apology,' are two works which are a disgrace to Christian literature. I ask again, Were those angry, fierce, and fiery spirits the exemplars of ancient times? Was that the holy and happy epoch of Christianity, when two men, said to be of irreproachable morals, could revile each other in such language, as we find in these remains of Christian antiquity ?' — (See pp. 439, 440, 442.) And the worst of it is, that this style of railing and abusive controversy has been imitated and defended in after times, under colour of its being justifiable, because tlie saints of old practised it. * ' Hoc apud nos superstitiosse mulierculae, in parvis Evangeliis, et in crucis ligno, et in istiusmodo rebus, quaj habent quidem zelum Dei, sed non juxta scientiam, usque hodie factitant.' — Vide Com. in Mat. c. 23. A. D. 302 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, CHAP. XIV. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. The scenes which Vioilantius witnessed in Jeru- 396. '- — salem had a powerful effect upon his mind. What thrsTen^of could be more abhorrent from the pure and gentle and*supe°" priuciplcs of the gospel, than the contentious spirit stition. which raged within those sacred precincts, unre- strained by the daily and hourly observances which were scrupulously followed by the pilgrims and religious there ? * What were the captious so- phistries, and the artificial theories, and the laby- rinths of questions raised by angry disputants, doing for Christianity ? They were paganising it. What was the system of satisfactions and of bodily sufferings doing for the mind ? Exasperating it, and * The discord, which is now pronounced to be the shameful note of the Anglican Church, prevailed in the fourth century to a much more scandalous extent in Jerusalem. ' Where is our unity, for which Christ prayed? Where is our charity, which he enjoined?' ' Our very note and symbol is discord ; and we wrangle and denounce, and call it life ; but peace we know not, nor faith, nor love.' — New- man's Sermons on the Subjects of the Day. No. XXII. ' Outward and Inward Notes of the Church.' MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 303 puffing it up. What were the veneration of relics, gyg'; and the reverence shown for deceased martyrs and confessors, and the blind deference paid to living saints Cto use a term which has been so miserably abused), doing for the household of God? They were shaking it to the very foundations ; they were bringing in imaginary or questionable guides in the place of the apostles and prophets ; and were substituting other names than that of Christ, through which health and salvation were to be sought. Oh ! had the name and the example of Jesus been as much before the Christians of this period, as in primitive times, and had the doctrines of Peter, and John, and James, and Paul constituted the teaching of the church then ; and had men been satisfied with the ever-present miracle of the enlargement of the kingdom of the Messiah, and the fulfilment of the divine promises ; the stranger from the Pyrenees would not have had to gaze on the disgraceful dramas which were performed at Jerusalem. But the intercession of some obscure and apo- cryphal Felix, or Thecla, instead of the sure and prevailing mediation of the Son of God, — the worse than Ovidian fables of the pretended cross, — the metamorphoses of Anthony and Martin, — and the dreams or impostures of Ambrose and other relic- hunters, — instead of the stupendous miracles of the resurrection and the descent of the Holy Ghost ; — the exaggerated and fanciful histories of hermits in Egypt and the deserts of Syria, — in- 304 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, A. D. 396. Earthquake in Palestine. Jerome's account of its effects on Vigilan- tiua. stead of the veritable Acts of the Apostles,- — these figments were ever in men's mouths, even at the Holy Sepulchre ; consequently the standard of morality and of piety was lowered with that of the truth ; and Jerusalem displayed an humiliating and disgusting mixture of individual vice and malevolence, with professions of superhuman sanc- tity. Such must ever be the case where credulity takes the place of reasonable faith, and dependence on self-infliction is substituted for reliance on the all- sufficient sacrifice and satisfaction of the Redeemer. Before I proceed, an anecdote must be noticed, which Jerome has recorded in ridicule of our Gallic presbyter. An eclipse of the sun,* accompanied by an earthquake, took place while Vigilantius was in Palestine, and most probably in Jerusalem. Every body was alarmed ; it was thought that the end of the world was at hand, and that the Lord was coming to judgment. The shock of the earthquake was felt at night, and in the panic of the moment, Vigilantius rushed from his bed, without putting on his clothes, flung himself upon his knees, and in an agony of terror poured out his supplications for divine protection. Jerome's version of this story, contained in a letter written many years afterwards to Vigilantius, is ill-natured and sarcastic. " When a sudden earthquake felt in this province roused all from their sleep at midnight, you, in your prudence and * Fleury says this event happened in the year 393 ; but Tille- mont's reasons for assigning it to the year 396 are satisfactory. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 305 A. D. 3%. wisdom fell upon your knees in prayer, naked as you were born, and put us in mind of Adam and Eve in paradise. But they blushed when they were conscious of their nakedness, and covered them- selves with leaves of trees, whereas you, equally bare as regarded faith and dress, half-dead with fear, and carrying nothing about you but the remains of the preceding evening's debauch, ex- posed your body indecently, shocked all the saints who witnessed it, and gave this proof of your discretion. A fine specimen art thou, of those who contend against the blood of the martyrs." * It is not easy to extract from this account any Examina- P 1 . . . J^ tion of this great cause oi complamt agamst Vigilantms. He account. participated in the terror common to all, for in another place, Jerome tells us that everybody was equally afraid (obscurato sole omnis mundus jam- jamque venturum judicem formidaret) ; f and in the hurry of his alarm, he had not time, or he forgot to dress himself. No great harm in this. And he was seen praying— .was that a subject for ridicule ? Jerome's allusion to Adam and Eve is somewhat profane ; and his insinuation that Vigilantius was intoxicated the day before this event is unsup- ported by any evidence whatever. On the con- trary it bears the mark of being nothing more than a scurrilous charge suggested by the indignation of the moment. Jerome makes no mention of it * Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 286. f Epist. Gl. ad Pain, llier. Oper. 4. pars ii. p. 333. X 306 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 396. in his letter to Paulinus, wherein he complains of ■ the sudden and unfriendly departure of Vigilantius from Bethlehem ; none in the two epistles addressed to Paulinus in the years 397 and 398 ; none in his first letter of complaint to Vigilantius ; and none in his bitter epistle to Riparius, which was full of invective, and written two years before the treatise which first contained the account. But let us take Jerome at his word, and allow that Vigilantius had been indulging in some excess the night before, and that his terror was increased by a sense of his unworthiness. VTas this a Thereaiim- matter for scorn and irony? He was seen upon Di'Gssion left onthemind his kuccs iu the hour of remorse and alarm, and ofVigilan- i • i i p i • i tiusbythis may not this have been one or those events in the dealings of a gracious Providence, which act powerfully upon the conscience ; one of those mo- ments in which the soul is struggling between the conflicting interests of time and eternity ? We are willing to regard the terrified Gaul as an offender, exclaiming in the agony of impending death, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" We will believe that in the jar of elements, one soul con- scious of guilt, began to look within itself, and to say, " Where is now my hope ? " " In what have I been putting my trust for peace and reconcilia- tion ? " And this was Vigilantius. We will believe that in the anguish of his heart he had recourse to God and the Redeemer, as the only Saviour ; that he then felt that there was none other name under heaven given among men whereby he might be saved ; that there was no prevailing intercessor. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 307 and none to help him, but the living God ; that 3^5 saints and pilgrims were all subject to the same judgment; that neither relic, nor shrine, nor martyr's grave, could afford security in the hour of peril ; and that Jerusalem, yea, the holy sepulchre itself, was no place of refuge, and could yield no balm to the wounds of a troubled conscience. Therefore we hesitate not to mark the time of the earthquake at Jerusalem as a turning-point in the history of Vigilantius. In the midst of the contentions which disgraced The terrors Palestine, or to use Tillemont's words, "In the the invasion midst of the spiritual war " which the commotions didnotput of nature, the eclipse and the earthquake did not Iheconten- put an end to, another war caused by an irruption Pakst"ne. of barbarians from the North made the whole East tremble with alarm ; but neither did this pacify the animosities which rankled in the hearts of Christian polemics. In the birth-place of the Prince of Peace, and on the mount of Olives, from whence it was believed that Christ had ascended into heaven, to plead the blood of his atonement, and to reconcile man to his offended Father, even there did they rend each other with the ferocity of wild beasts, at the terrible juncture when a horde of barbarians were rushing upon the defence- less hills and dales of Palestine and Syria. Instead of those miserable encounters, why did they not fall upon each other's necks, mutually confess their provocations, and implore forgiveness I A short but hollow truce did indeed take place be- X 2 308 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 39f). tween Jerome and Rufinus,* but they soon assailed each other again with unabated violence. Jerome, who was honest in every thing, honest in his acknowledgments as well as in his affections and enmities, confessed the full extent of this evil. "There were such dissensions among us," said he, " that though the Huns were upon us from the North, and the whole East was trembling with alarm ; though the enemy were thundering at the very gates of Jerusalem ; and vessels were engaged to transport the consecrated virgins to places of safety ; yet our private quarrels were still as fierce as the conflict v/ith the barbarians."! In another epistle,J describing this inroad of the Huns and Vandals, Jerome states, that for twenty years those terrible invaders had been the scourge of Europe and Asia, and that they were instruments in the hands of an offended ; God, to punish the impenitent, whosej mutual ani- mosities were as unsparing as the sword of the enemy. "It is for our sins," said he, " that these monsters proceed in their career of rapine, viola- tion, and slaughter." " The churches are demo- lished, the dead are torn from their graves ; horses are stabled in sacred places, the monasteries are razed to the ground, the rivers are discoloured with blood ; neither age, nor sex, nor virtue, nor dignity, is spared ; every horror is committed * They were persuaded to embrace before the altar of the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem, a.d. 397. t See Epist. Hier. 84 aliter 30, de Morte Fabiolse, p. 661. t Epist. Hier. ad Heliod. .3.5 aliter 3, p. 274. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. .309 throughout the land, and it is better to be among ^y^; the dead than the living." So wrote Jerome, in the course of this very year, and yet not a heart among the Christian polemics was softened, there was no relenting, and never was theological hatred indulged or expressed with more envenomed malice.* The conversation of Rufinus,^and his contemptu- ous estimate of Jerome, probably strengthened those convictions in the mind of Vigilantius, which Jerome's own conduct and the practical exhibition of the ecclesiastical system in the metropolis of Palestine had tended to produce. Vigilantius returned to Bethlehem prepared to vigUantms resist the powerful mrluence oi the Master, and Bethlehem. assumed courage enough to remonstrate with him on some subjects on which they differed. What those subjects were 1 am unable to discover, ex- cept the Origenist question, to which Jerome plainly alludes, in the letter afterwards addressed to Vigilantius, which I shall examine more fully in a subsequent chapter. ' It would have been nothing more than proper,' said he in that letter, which was in answer to a treatise written by Vigi- * In justice to Jerome, I am happy to observe, that his vindica- tion of himself, four or five years afterwards, contained this noble appeal to the better feelings of Rufinus : — ' Where is the benefit of two old men like ourselves quarrelling about heretics, especially when both of us profess to be Catholics ? Let us shake iiands, let us be united, let us follow the example of, and keep pace with, those two great men (Theophilus and Anastasius) of the East and West. We are both old men ; let us correct the errors of our youth.' — Apologia adv. Ruf. lib. -3. Ilier. Op. torn. 4. pars ii, p. 44.5. 310 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 395- lantius, * if I had declined giving you any satis- faction upon points, on which you refused to believe my declaration, when we discussed them by word of mouth.' He then proceeds to vindi- cate his opinions and conduct in regard to the works of Origen. ' Did I not say that Origen had erred ? Did I not daily anathematize him ? ' This implies that frequent conversations were held about Origen, and that Jerome took pains, but unsuccessfully, to satisfy the Gaul, that there was no ground for the suspicions that were afloat at his expense. Remon- I collcct therefore that Vigilantius had ventured Jerome on to cxpress the samc opinion, which many others the subject . , . it 11 i ofOrigen's eutertamcd, viz., that Jerome had made an un- guarded use of Origen in his commentaries ; that he had committed himself and done injury to the sacred cause of gospel truth by his frequent praise of that writer ; and that he had no right to find fault with Rufinus, or those who were reviled as Origenists, while he himself was not free from blame. It is probable that Vigilantius had not yet made himself sufficiently master of the argument, that he had not even read enough of Origen's works, to entitle him to act as censor on the occasion, and that he betrayed some ignorance of the matters in dispute, which would make Jerome the more angry at his interference ; but there is no proof of his having said anything un- worthy of the language or manner, which a young man ought to adopt in his expostulation with an elder like Jerome. It was no uncommon thing errors. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 311 for men of acknowledged eminence, in that day, ggg' to express themselves warmly in this celebrated controversy, even while they admitted that they did not understand all its bearings. Pammachius and Oceanus, when they requested an explanation of Jerome, and Pope Anastasius when he con- demned Rufinus, acknowledged that they were not thoroughly acquainted with what Origen had written, or Jerome had translated. Vigilantius therefore, without any very great presumption, might signify his surprise and regret, that dan- gerous errors should have been countenanced by Jerome. If he had done it disrespectfully or improperly, surely Jerome would have made a representation of such offensive conduct to Pauli- nus, at the same time that he complained of other things which had given him umbrage. The erroneous comment, which Vigilantius made on a passage in the Book of Daniel, was an after concern, else the monk in this letter to Paulinus would scarcely have termed that offender a ' holy presbyter,' whom he afterwards branded as ' a blasphemer/ and exhorted to make atonement for his crime ' in sackcloth and ashes.' An incident occurred before the departure of Anecdote of Vigilantius, which Jerome related very unfairly to '^''^""'^' his disadvantage. The monk was expounding or preaching on the resurrection ; this was one of the subjects on which he was accused of leaning to the errors of Origen. But his discourse on that occasion was so pleasing to the Gaul that he rose up and loudly applauded the preacher ; he clapped 312 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39g- with his hands, stamped with his feet, declared that nothing could be more orthodox than the doctrine he heard, and apologized for his former suspicions. Jerome spoke of this proceeding as if it were a piece of hypocrisy and double deal- ing ; but surely it was an ingenuous outburst of delight at finding that the father was orthodox, where he had reason to fear he was in error. In the same angry epistle* in which Jerome accused Vigilantius of declaiming against himself, he also charged him with railing at Oceanus, Vincentius, Paulinianus and Eusebius ; but whe- ther this dispute with those friends of Jerome took place while the Gaul was at Bethlehem or after- wards, is a matter of doubt. All the four were certainly at Bethlehem in the course of this year,! but more of this hereafter. I may, how- ever, now take the opportunity of observing, that men like Paulinianus and Vincentius, who could Disputes at not tolcratc a difference of opinion in their own Bethlehem. . ' diocesan, were just as likely to be on the trans- gressing side in a disputation as Vigilantius. With the monks at Bethlehem, as with those who would now introduce monasticism J into our own insti- •■• Ibid. p. 277. t See Tillemont, vol. 12, pp, 194, 208. J ' But if the truth must be spoken, what are the humble monk, and the holy man, and other regulars, as they are called, but Chris- tians after the very pattern given us in Scripture.' — ' Did our Saviour come on earth suddenly, as he will one day visit, in whom would he see the features of the Christians he and his apostles left behind them, but in them?' — Newman's Sermons on the Subjects of the pre- sent Day. p. .328. A measure which was lately adopted with the sanction of the highest authorities of our church, namely, the ap- MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 313 A.D. 396". tutions, bishops were to be regarded as successors of the apostles, and episcopal authority was to be reverenced, just so long as it suited them to appeal to it,* but when it was exercised against them- selves, then bishops were not to be lords over them, but fathers only.f All that we can assume for certain from Jerome's very brief notice of Vigilantius at this time is, that the Gallic priest went away from Bethlehem Abi-upt de- . . parture of in a hurry, that all parties were somewhat dissa- vigiiantius V ' from Beth- tisfied with each other, and that Rutin us was lehem. blamed for the abrupt termination of an acquaint- ance, which began under circumstances highly favourable to the stranger from Aquitain. The two following extracts, one from Jerome's letter addressed to Paulinus, in answer to the epistle brought to him by Vigilantius, and the other from his vindication of himself in reply to the invectives of Rufinus, written about six years afterwards, will show what was the worst he had pointment of an Anglican Bishop at Jerusalem, is thus denounced by Mr. Newman : ' May that measure utterly fail and come to nought ; and be as though it had never been/ — Note to Sermon xxii, p. 379. Such is the language of these advocates of Church principles and of episcopal authority, when episcopal authority is exercised contrary to their notions. * ' Apud nos Apostolornm locum Episcopi tenent.' — Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 65. In the epistle in which this passage occurs (Ep. 27 al. 54) there is that curious charge against the Montanists of holding mystic orgies, which has been reiterated against Christians and heretics from the earliest times. t ' Ut Pontifices Christi, (qui tanien rectam fidem praedicant) non dominorum metu, sed Patrum honore vcneremur ; ut deferamus Epis- copis ut Episcopis, ct non sub nomine alterius, aliis quibus nolumus, servire cogamur,' — Ibid. p. 330. 314 VIGILANTIUS AND II IS TIMES. A. D. 396. Jerome's first account of his dis- satisfaction with Vigi- lantius. Jerome im- putes his rupture with Vigilantius to Rufinus. to allege against the Gaul, before resentment added bitterness to his indignation. ' I am not satisfied with any mediocrity in you, my Paulinus, I am anxious that you should take the highest place, that you should be wholly per- fect. With regard to the holy presbyter Vigilan- tius, and how warmly I received him, it is better that you should receive the information from his own mouth than from my letter. I cannot ex- plain why he should be in such a hurry to leave me, and should take his departure so soon, lest I should appear to injure somebody. However, I have detained him for a short time, though he was only a passing visitor, and in haste to be gone, and I have given him a taste of my friendship, that you may learn from him whatever you may desire to know about me. I salute your holy fellow- servant and fellow-soldier (Therasia) in the Lord through you.' * ' I do not know what you are dreaming about in the matter of Vigilantius. For where have I written that he was polluted with heretical com- munion at Alexandria ? Mention the book ; pro- duce the epistle ; you will nowhere find it. And * ' Nihil in te mediocre contentus sum : totum summum, totum perfectum desidero. Sanctum Vigilantium Presbyterum qua aviditate susceperim, melius est ut ipsius verbis, qu^m meis discas litteris: qui cur tarn cito k nobis profectus sit, et nos reliquerit, non possum dicere, ne Izedere quempiam videar. Tamen quasi praetereuntem et festinan- tem paululum retinui, et gustum ei nostrae amicitise dedi ; ut per eum discas, quid in nobis desideres. Sanctam conservam tuam, et tecum in Domino militantem, per te salutari volo.' — Epist. 49, alias 13, ad Paiilinum. Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 5G8. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 315 with the same license, yea, even with the same lying impudence which induces you to believe that all will give credence to your words, you add, ' Since you have cited against him a passage from the scriptures so wrongfully that I dare not repeat it with my mouth.' You dare not repeat it ; you ! who accuse me the more by keeping silence ! And since you have nothing which you can object, you pretend to be on the reserve, that the reader may imagine you are sparing me, when, liar that you are, you spare not your own soul. What is this passage of scripture which may not come out of that modest mouth of thine ? or what is there improper that can be quoted from the sacred books ? If you are ashamed to speak it, at least write it, that my own words may con- vict me of levity. But, to be silent on other matters, I shall prove from this one chapter that you possess an iron face of deception. See how much 1 dread your accusation. If you produce what you threaten, all will become mine that now is yours. I have answered you in answering Vigilantius, for he blamed the same things which afterwards you both praise as a friend and blame as an enemy. I know by whom this person's madness against me is excited. I am aware of your underhand devices ; I am not unacquainted with the simplicity which all commend. By this man's folly your malevolence against me has run riot ; and if I have thrown this back by my letter, in order that you alone should not appear to wield the sceptre of literature, you ought not to pretend A. D. 396. 316 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39g; that there is immodesty in my words, for in no one instance have you found it ; but you should un- derstand and confess that your calumnies have been answered through his stupidity.' * * ' In Vigilantii nomine quid somnies, nescio. Ubi enim eum scripsi hseretica apud Alexandriam communione maculatum ? Da librum, prefer Epistolam, nusqnam omnino reperies : et eadem licen- tia, immo impudentianientiendi,qua putas omnes tuis sermonibus cre- dituros, addis: " quando testimonium de Scripturis in eum tam injuriose posuisti, ut ego id repetere meo ore non audeam." Non audes repetere, qui tacendo amplius criminaris ? Et quia non habes quod objicias, simulas verecundiam : ut lector te putet milii parcere, qui mentiens nee tuze animoe pepercisti. Quod est illud testimonium de Scripturis, quod de tuo illo pudentissimo ore non exeat? Aut quid in Sanctis Libris potest turpe memorari? Si erubescis loqui, scribe saltern, ut nos procacitatis proprius sermo convincat. Ut csetera sileam, ex hoc uno capitulo comprobabo, ferream te frontem possidere fallaciae. Vide quantum timeam criminationem tuam. Si protuleris quod minaris, mea erunt universa quae tua sunt. Ego in Vigilantio tibi respondi. Eadem enim accusabat, quae tu postea et amicus laudas, et inimicus accusas. Scio k quo illius contra me rabies concitata sit, novi cuniculos tuos. Simplicitatem quam omnes praedicant, non ignoro. Per illius stultitiam tua in me malitia debaccbata est : quam ego si Epistola mea repuli ; ne solus habere videaris baculum littera- rum, non debes turpitudinem simulare verborum, quam nusquam omnino legisti : sed intelligere et confiteri per illius vecordiam, tuis caluraniis fuisse responsum.' Apologia adv. Ruf. Ilier. Oper. 4. pars ii. p, 457. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 317 A.n. 396-7. CHAP. XV. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. We have seen that Vigilantius quitted Bethlehem with his opinion of Jerome greatlv shaken. ' He 1 •, , -IT 11- Vigilantius went away hastily, said Jerome, 'and his stay departsfrom was so short that it was only a passing visit.' Up to this time nothing- appeared injurious to his cha- racter. On the contrary he was mentioned in terms of respect, and the reproach which w^as uttered by Jerome at his sudden departure was in the tone of friendship unrequited, not insulted.* ' If they did not part on good terms, I do not see how,' says Tillemont, ' Jerome could speak of him as if he were a " holy priest." 'f Evidently they disputed and were reconciled. It is uncer- tain whither Vigilantius first directed his steps, after quitting the place of the Saviour's nativity ; but there is no doubt that he visited Eoypt, and visits ° "^ ' Kgypt, and then embarked for Europe. The correspondence, studies in of which I have given extracts in the preceding * Hier. Op. 4. ii. p. 568, and compare Tillemont, vol. xii. p. 195. + Tillemont, ibid. 318 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 396-7. chapter, alludes to his being the bearer of a letter from Jerome to Paulinas, and to his setting out from Bethlehem with the intention of conveying it to him ; of his going to Alexandria,* and of his censorious remarks on the conduct and opinions of Jerome during his voyage from thence to Italy. f What other parts of Egypt he visited, how long he remained there, and who were his instructors or as- sociates in Alexandria, on these particulars we have no accurate information ; but incidental complaints, falling from the pen of Jerome, intimate that his thoughts and studies were principally occupied during his sojourn in Egypt, with the same sub- ject which caused his first dispute with that father. Alexandria, under its Archbishop Theophi- lus, was at that time the hot-bed, where the bitter fruits of the Origenist controversy were brought to maturity ; and there, stung by the recollection of the taunts, which he had received at Bethlehem, touching his ignorance of the real merit of the question, J the Gallic Presbyter pored over the subject with all the aid he could obtain, and imbibed such strong prejudices against Origen, that he began to think it was impious even to read, much more to translate that author. When he His voyage was on ship-board, in his passage to the Italian coast, this ' ve.vata qucBstio,' was the topic of con- versation ; and as monks and nuns, in correspond- ence with the fraternity at Bethlehem, were flying in all directions from the East towards Rome, to * Hier. Op. 4. ii. p, 457- t Ibid. p. 277. X Ibid. p. 276. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 319 A. D. 396.7. escape from the terrible invasion of the Huns, being more afraid of the temjDest raging under those barbarians, than of the wind and waves ;* there were not wanting persons, in the same vessel, to give information to Jerome of the new adversary who had entered the lists against him. ' As soon as you were at sea, and the bilge-water began to act upon your poor weak and disturbed brain, then you began to attack me, then you bethought yourself, that I was heretical in my opinions.'! Such were the elegant terms in which the father recorded his anger : and ' You falsely accuse me of Origenism,' was the burthen of his song ; so that Jerome's first public complaint against Vigi- lantius was not that Vigilantius was a heretic, but that Vigilantius had accused him, Jerome, of heterodoxy. This is a curious and a very impor- tant fact in the history of this quarrel. Our Gaul crossed the Adriatic, and landed, it viaiiantius 1 • 1 1 /- T 1 • 1 in Italy, and may be surmised, on the coast oi Italy, m order conveys a Iptt^r to to proceed first to Nola with his letters for Pauli- Pauimus. nus, and then to make his way towards his own country. We have not the slightest account of his interview with Paulinus, but we know that the epistle from Jerome was delivered : for Paulinus made some observations upon it, which drew forth a rejoinder and explanation from Jerome. In the epistle of which Vigilantius was the bearer, the contents of the letter, austere monk had exacted, or had expressed him- self as if he exacted, of his friend, a total surren- * Ibid. p. OGl. t Ibid. p. 277. 320 VICrlLANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 39fi-7. der of his property, and had cited the example of an heathen philosopher who had made a like sacrifice.* Against this, there was some remon- strance on the part of Paulinus, who asked for an explanation, and Jerome wrote again to assure him, that he did not mean that his words should be taken literally. ' To make a sacrifice of one's gold is the act of incipient, not of perfect virtue. Crates the Theban did this, and so did Antisthenes. But to offer ourselves to God is the peculiar act of Christians and apostles.' — ' The Lord requires the souls of believers, and not their money.' — ' I have so much to do, and am so beset with pilgrims, that I am not always able to read over what I have written. Therefore, when you find any paradox in my letters, or anything inaccurately expressed, attribute it to your own misapprehensions, or to the errors and carelessness of my amanuenses, who sometimes inscribe what I did not indite, or they did not understand, and while they attempt to correct other people's errors, exhibit their own.'| * See supra, p. 248. + Aurum deponere incipientium est, non perfectorum. Fecit hoc Thebanus Crates, fecit Antisthenes. Seipsum ofFerre Deo, propria Christianorum est et Apostolorum. — Sed Dominus magis quseritanimas credentium, qu^m opes. — Ego enim tanta vohimina prae frequentia commeantium et peregrinorum tiirbis relegere non potui ; et ut ipsi probavere prsesentes, longo tentus incommodo vix diebus quadrages- imae, qiiibus ipsi proficiscebantur, respirare coepi. Unde si paragram- mata repereris, vel minus aliqua descripta sunt, quee sensum legentis impediant, non mihi debes imputare, sed tuis, et imperitiae notariorutn librariorumque incurise ; qui scribunt non quid inveniunt, sed quod intelligunt, et duni alienos errores emendare nituntur, ostendunt suos. Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 578. This is a fatal admission of Jerome. If lie himself wrote hastily MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 321 From Nola, Vigilantius made an overland journey ^qq°j to his own country, at the foot of the Pyrenees, on " the Gallic side of the mountains, and his route lay through the Cottian Alps : a circumstance to which ,^/^he clli! Jerome referred several years afterwards, in one of tmn Alps. those off-hand splenetic sentences, in which he was wont to indulge in his angry moments. I will not interrupt my narrative to relate on what occa- sion it was written, it will be enough to say, that in the year 404 Jerome addressed a letter against Vigilantius to Riparius, in which he exclaimed, ' I once saw the monster, and endeavoured to chain him down with the testimonies of Scripture, but he took himself away, he escaped, he broke forth, and clamoured against me, " inter Adriae fluctus, Cottiique regis Alpes." ' * Tillemont renders this passage, ' He declaimed against Jerome in the midst of the waves of the Adriatic sea, and among the snows of the Cottian Alps, which separate Italy from Dauphin^ and Pro- vence.' t and inaccurately, if the transcribers were incorrect, and if, according to his assertion in another place, the 'fahitas dispensativa ' were allow- able, [see supra, p. 268,3 t° which of the alleged writings of the Fathers, and to which of their dogmas, may we implicitly trust, as containing a true statement either of the facts or opinions of the fourth century? * This mode of expression intimates a continuity of action, and the sequence of one event after another, viz. the disputes at Bethlehem, the departure in consequence, the voyage across the Adriatic, and the arrival and invectives in the Cottian Alps. + ' II declama contre lui au milieu des flots de la mer Adriatique, et parmi les nciges des Alpes Cottiennes, qui s^parcnt I'ltalie du Dauphine et de la Provence.' Tillemont, St. Jerome, vol. xii. p. 195. Y 322 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. O. 396-7. Bayle reads, ' between the Adriatic sea and the Alps.' (See his article on Vigilantius.) Faber understands it to refer to * a region be- tween the waves of the Adriatic and the Alps of King Cottius.' * Now this statement corresponds exactly with Jerome's previous mention of the Gaul's sudden departure from Bethlehem, — of his intended visit to Paulinus, — of his invectives against himself during the voyage, and afterwards in the Cottian Alps, — and of his return to his own country. I repeat Jerome's expressions to show the connection betw^een the several events referred to by him in the order of time in which they occurred. 1. On the abrupt departure of Vigilantius from Bethlehem. * He left us so hastily.' ' He was gone, he escaped.' f 2. On his intention to visit Paulinus. ' It is better that you should have it from his own words than from my letter.' J 3. On his voyage to Italy and declamations against Jerome. ' As soon as you were on board ship.' § 4. On his continued invectives in the Cottian * Vallenses and Albigenses, p. 293. t ' 1. Qui cur tam cito k nobis profectus sit, et nos reliquerit.' Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 568. ' Abiit, excessit, evasit, erupit.' Ibid, p. 279. ;j; 2. ' Melius est ut ipsius verbis, quflni meis discas litteris : — ut per eum discas.' ibid. p. 568. § 3. ' Postquam navigare ccepisti : — tunc nos Haereticos recordatus ee.' Ibid. p. 277. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. ^23 Alps ' He declaimed against me, amidst the ^q^--. Adriatic seas and the Cottian Alps.' * ' 5. On his return to his own country. ' You boast in your own country. '| But why did Vigilantius travel into Aquitain by what "^ ° . ^ . brought the passes of the Cottian Alps? Because it was vigDantius . * to the Cot- a common route to take ni those days from the tianAips. South of Italy to Gaul, and especially to such as desired to see their friends in Rome, or Milan, or Turin, before they crossed the Alps. In the case of Vigilantius, in the year 397, this route was ad. .w. precisely the line he would be likely to follow, for Rufinus, with whom he was again in communica- tion, was either at Rome or Milan,J having re- turned to Italy this year. And if the council Council at convoked at Turin, by desire of the Gallic bishops 397. of the Five Provinces, to decide some questions relating to the churches of Vienne, Aries, Mar- seilles and others, § met this year, as some chrono- logists have said, that of itself was enough to draw him to the north of Italy. He was perhaps aware that he would find in the Cottian Alps a race of people, who were opposed to those notions of celibacy and vows of continence, which formed the favourite dogma of Jerome, and were at the bottom of all his ascetic austerities. * 4. ' Cottiique regis Alpes, in nos declamando clamavit.' Ibid. p. 279. t 5. ' Scilicet et gloriari cupis ; et in patria tiia jactitas.' p. 277. X See Tillemont, xii, p. 218, and compare with Jerome's Apology, lib. 1. See also Crit. Hist. Cli. Pagi. sub an. 397. § Sirmond. Con. Gallise, i. 27. Y 2 .124 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 397. Opposition to the yoke of celibacy in the Sub- alpine and Gallic pro- vinces. Traditional and histori- cal con- nexion be- tween Vigi- lantius and the ances- tors of the Waldenses. Some years before, Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, had complained that the secluded parts of his patriarchate contained clergy ivho refused on the plea of ancient custom to submit to the yoke of celibacy."* The treatise against Vigilantius, written by Jerome in 406, contains this apostrophe, so remarkable for its extravagance and exaggeration. * Shame upon them ! He is said to have bishops the accomplices of his crime, if they can be called bishops who ordain none deacons but such as are married, and who will not give the sacraments of Christ unless they see the wives of the clergy pregnant, or that they have children crying in their mother's arms.'f I do not feel sure that this inflated passage applied to the ecclesiastics of the Cottian Alps, and I do not know of any bisJwps of that locality to whom it could apply : but it shows that there were bishops and clergy in the Gallic provinces averse from the yoke of celibacy imposed by asceticism, and with whom Vigilantius would be likely to put himself into personal com- munication, wherever he could find them. Be this as it may, the Gallic Presbyter, who was afterwards famous for protesting against clerical * Quod eo non prseterii quia in plerisqiie abditioribiis locis cum ministerium gererent, vel etiam sacerdodum, filios siisceperunt : et id tamquam usu veteri defendiint.* Ambrose de Officiis Ministrorum, lib. i. c. 50, f ' Proh nefas, Episcopos sui sceleris dicitur habere consortes ; si tamen Episcopi iiominandi sunt, qui non ordinant Diaconos, nisi prius uxores duxerint : nulli coelibi credentes piidicitiam, imo ostendentes quam sancte vivant, qui male de omnibus suspicantur ; et nisi praeg- iiantes uxores viderint Clericorum, infantesque de ulnis matrum vagi- entes, Christi sacramenta non tribuunt.' Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 281. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 325 VOWS, relic-worship, and similar errors, is recorded to have been asserting some of his opinions in the Cottian Alps, at this juncture of time ; and the passage before us has been advanced in evidence of some connection between Vigilantius and the ancestors of the people, who still hold the same opinions in the same secluded valleys. If this were a solitary link in the chain, by which has been sought to bind together the history of Vigilantius with that of the Protestants of the Valleys of Dauphine and Piedmont, it would scarcely be worth notice. But other links have been produced, and though the chain is still broken, it is one which Romanists, as well as Pro- testants, have tried to render perfect. The advocates of Romish dogmas have often been forward in declaring that the heresies of Vigilantius were the seeds of subalpine noncon- formity. In the ninth century it was put on record by Jonas of Orleans and Dungalus, that the false teaching of Vigilantius still found scho- lars ready to receive it in parts of the subalpine diocese of Claude, Bishop of Turin ; * and both Jonas and Dungalus attribute the Iconoclastic pro- ceedings of Claude to the example of Vigilantius. It is therefore necessary to examine the point more closely in this place, and to see what arguments can be adduced in supi)ort of the tradition that the locality, whether in the Cottian Alps, or between the Cottian Alps and the Adriatic Sea, * See Libri 3. Jona; Aiir. dc Cult. Imaginum. et Diingal. adver, Claud. Taiir. Scntentias. A. n. a.07. 326 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 397. where Vigilantius was inveighing against Jerome in 397, was that which has been termed the cradle of the Waldenses. SThe'cot" '^^^^ Cottian Alps are the great range of moun- tianAips. tains south of Mount Cenis, between the Graian and the Maritime Alps ; and the valleys on each side of this vast barrier between Gaul and Italy, comprising the country about Brianjfon and Em- brun on the western, and Fenestrelle, Pignerol, and Angrogna, with parts of what was called Lombardy during the dark and middle ages, on the eastern side, have been the strongholds of the Waldenses, and of those who opposed themselves to corrupt doctrines in favour at Rome, from very early times, before the term Waldenses came into use. But will such a vague statement as that of Jerome, whether he meant to say that Vigilantius declaimed against him betiveen the Adriatic and the Cottian Alps, or both in the Adriatic and in the Cottian Alps, enable us to point to the par- ticular region in question ? Is it definite enough ? Will it admit of being used as a finger-post to the country now inhabited by the people called the Waldenses, or men of the valleys ? Have we any similar expressions in other ancient writers, which will help to identify the spot alluded to by Jerome, whether we read it with Bayle in its widest acceptation ' between the Adriatic and the Cottian Alps,' or with Tillemont in its more limited con- struction, * Among the snows of the Cottian Alps, which divide Italy from Dauphine and Provence?' MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. S27 Yes, we have. When Polybius meant to desig- nate part of the very region now under discussion, viz., that Piedmontese and Subalpine region in Italy, which Hannibal first reached in his march towards Rome, after descending from the summit of the Alps upon the country of the Taurini, (people about Turin), that historian's loose descrip- tion was to this effect. ' The plains of the Po, of which we have already said so much, are separated from the valley of the Rhone, by that Alpine ridge which stretches from Marseilles to the extremity of the Adriatic ; and these are the mountains which Hannibal crossed, when he turned from the region of the Rhone to pass over into Italy.' * This geographical description, (placing the Valley of the Rhone, the plains of the Po, the point of Hannibal's descent into Italy, and the Adriatic, in juxtaposition) which was thought to be sufficiently distinctive for the pur- poses of Polybius, is in part followed by Appian.f 'Pompey,' says Appian, 'penetrated into the Alpine mountains with great resolution, in emula- tion of Hannibal's enterprise, and formed a new * ' O 5e PuSarbs ex^' ■'""^ M^'' I'TjYas virtp -rhv 'AopiaTiKhv fji.v)(hv irphs t^jv iaittpav vevotjcras, eV ru'is airoKAivnva't ixepitrt twv "AKirewu diy irphs ras &piirovs' ^f? Se irphs ras Xf'/wep'i'as Sutreij, eKPdWd 5' els to SapS&Joj' Tr^\o.yos. v aKpdcpeiat, Kaix^dvovirai r^u dpxV ""■'' MarrcraAi'as, as iirl rhv rod Travrhs 'ASpia p.vx^6v &s riO' iiirepapas 'Avvi/Sas airb rwi' icara rhv 'Pooavov roirwu, ye$a\ev tis 'IraXiav.' — Polybius, lib. iii. 47. t Whitaker lias observed on this in his Course of Hannibal, p. 121. A. D. 397. 228 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. n. 30?. route midway between the springs of the Rhone, which Poly bias places above the Adriatic gulf, and the Po.^* The springs of the Po are within ten or twelve miles of the Waldensian district; and if Jerome had his eye upon that region of the Cottian Alps, which afforded a passage into Gaul, or on that secluded part of Lombardy, where Ambrose said the priests rejected the yoke of celibacy, no wonder that, in his ignorance of its exact position, he described it with the same latitude of expres- sion, which Polybius and Appian had used before him. Jerome, therefore, whose geographical know- ledge of the country was not so clear as to allow him to be very distinct in his descriptions, has said enough to direct us to those Cottian Alps now occupied by the Waldenses. But what au- thority have we for saying that this was the terri- tory in our traveller's line when journeying by land from Campania to Aquitain? The best road from Italy to Gaul was by the passes of the Cottian Alps. If he went by Rome, and from thence to Turin or Milan, as we have attempted to show, and then proceeded to scale the moun- tain barrier, the Cottian was the very pass which was at that time one of the most practicable and direct of all the roads out of Italy into Gaul. See the description of a writer of the fourth century, when he was speaking of the road which * Appian de Bel. Civ. lib, i. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 329 A. D. 397. led from Cisalpine Gaul, and through the valleys of the Cottian Alps, over Mount Genevre to Brian gon, on the western side of the mountains. ' It is the central,' said he, ' tlie short, and the most frequented of all the passes that lead out of Italy into Gaul *." Bergier, in his learned his- tory of the principal roads in the Roman empire, gives a very full account of that which conducted through the Cottian Alps, and speaks of it as the paved way which formed the grand line of com- munication between Italy, the Gauls, Britain, and Spain f. This then was the exact course that Vigilantius would take in his journey across the Alps to the foot of the Pyrenees, and when he entered the pass he was in the midst of the valleys now called Perosa and Pragelas ; and this road led him through places which have long been famous in Waldensian history, viz. Pignerol and Fenestrelle, on the Italian side of the Alps, and Brianifon and Embrun, on the French side. Here are those mountain-recesses, where King Cottius found safety, when other chiefs were subdued by the power of pagan Rome ; and here are the fast- nesses where the people of God have since been sheltered from the tyranny of papal Rome. Another question that arises is this. Were Had the . . . gospel been the people of the Cottian Alps then Christians? received in 111 mi ^^® Cottian Had the gospel then reached them? There was Aipsatthis ^ ^ time ? * * Media, compendiaria, magisqiie Celebris.' — Ammiaii. Marcel, lib, XV. t Bergier Hist, dcs Grands Cliemitis de I'Empire Rom. lib. iii. c.31, 34, .36. Waldensian Researches, pp, -H— 62. 330 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 39-^; scarcely any place in the Roman empire which the gospel had not reached. ' Exit usque ad ortum Solis, et usque obitum. Gallos fovit, imbuit Britannos, praesidit Hispanise.'* This is not merely the poetical rhapsody of a Christian bard of this period, but it is a true de- scription of the manner in which Christianity had spread, and was then exercising its benign and softening influence everywhere. The Christians "were no longer regarded as the pests of society, and charged with being the cause of every cala- mity which assailed families and nations ; f nor did they now constitute a feeble minority in the city, the camp, the court, or the field, but they presented everywhere a bold front ; and character and influence were decidedly on their side. The arm of power did not protect and afterwards esta- blish Christianity, under Constantine and his suc- cessors, until its intrinsic excellence had been fully manifested in the lives and conversation of its professors. For not only did indifl'erent ob- servers among the Gentiles bear testimony to the moral beauty J of the religion which had been * Priidentius, Perist. Hymn 14, 101. + ' Quod existiment omnis publicse cladis, omnis popularis incom- modi Christianos esse causam.' — ' Si Tiberis ascendit ad Mcenia, si Nilus non ascendit in arva, si coelum stetit, si terra movit, si fama, si lues, statim Christianos ad Leonem.' — Tertullian Apol. 40. Edit. Par. 1664, p. 32. t Ammianus Marcellinus speaks of the plain and simple religion of the Christians. ' Christianam religionem absolutam et simplicem,' &c.— Ammian. Marcel. 1. 21, c. 16, p. 226. Edit. Lug. Bat. 1G08. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 331 gradually introduced into society, but avowed tgP; enemies of the cross confessed its improving and benignant tendency ; and where this was acknow- ledged, ascendancy followed as a natural conse- quence. ' Is it not disgraceful to us,' said the Emperor Julian, ' that these Galileans should not only support their own poor, but ours also?*' No wonder, then, that there should have been a willingness in the public mind to receive Christi- anity, and that the shout, ' We too are Christians,'}" should thunder from tiie multitude, when they were deciding the claims of a Christian and a Heathen aspirant to the purple, after the death of Julian.J By this time, indeed, not only good men were showing a readiness to embrace the gospel, but an anxiety was exhibited to be thought Christians, by * See Julian's Epistle on the Reformation of Paganism. t ' Tunc temporis vero cum Imperator esset nuncupatus, imperium suscipere detractabat. Et militibus per vim eum tiahentibus ; voci- ferabatur nolle se, qui Christianus esset, hominibus superstitioni Gen- tilium deditis impeiare. Verum postea quam omnes una voce professi sunt se quoque Cliristianos esse, ipse quidem imperium suscepit.' — Socratis Historiae Ecclesiastical, lib. iii. cap. xxii. Edit. Far. 10C8, p. 195. ' Hac audita oratione, exclamavere communitcr universi : ne dubitcs Imperator, neve repellas imperium nostrum, utimprobum : Imperator cs enim Christianorum fiiturus, qui in pietatis disciplina cducati sunt, cum grandiores inter nos doctriuam Constantini perceperint, minores autem illis Constantius instruxcrit.' — Ecclesiastics Ilistorise Theodo- reti Episcopi Cyrensis Liber Quartus, cap. i. p. 771. Ed. Basileae 44. J Even Julian himself went to a Christian church, to propitiate a military force which he knew to consist principally of Christians. ' Utque omnes nullo impedicnte ad sui favorem illiceret, adhecrere cultui Christiano fingebat.' ' Progressus in illorum ccclesiam solon- niter numine orato, disccssit,' — Annnian. Mar. lib. xxi. 2. 332 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 397. Christianity was pene- trating everywhere in the Ro- man empire. persons who had no real claim to that high dis- tinction ! A singular proof of the homage paid to the new religion, and of the respect for piety, which is imbibed upon a familiar acquaintance with the virtuous, was given by the two most emi- nent poets of this period, Ausonius and Claudian, as I have shown in a preceding chapter. Christianity had, in fact, at this time, not only established itself in the palaces, temples, and council-chambers of the two capitals of the Roman empire, and found its way to the chief cities of the provinces and to the marts of commerce, but it had also penetrated to the remotest country places, and even many villages, which, from being less within the reach of instruction than towns, had given the name of Pagans * to such as long remained unconverted, now contained Christian churches and sanctuaries, — the loveliest sight that can gladden the eye. Several years before the date at the head of this chapter, an imperial edict spoke as if few professed pagans remained anywhere within the provinces. ' If any pagans that remain, though we believe there are none,' &c. 'j' It would be therefore unreasonable, even in default of express mention of the fact, to question the existence of Christians in the valleys of the Cottian Alps, on * See Glossarium Diicangii sub verbo. t ' Paganos qui supersunt, quamquam jam nuUos esse credamus, promulgatarum legum jamdudum piaescripta compescant.' Codex Theodos.cum perpetuiscommentariis. Jacobi Gottesfredi, vol.vi. p. 294. Kdit. Lugduni. 1665, lib. xvi. tit. x. 22. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. S3S the ground of seclusion and remoteness, and of 39°; the improbability of the gospel having taken root ' there. But we have better reason still for believ- ing that the Cottian Alps were even then evan- gelized ; and that the traditions which boast of the early conversion, and of the faithful adherence of the inhabitants of this region to the primitive faith, have historical foundations whereon to rest. It was to these mountains, anion o- others, that ^I'st^rjcai ' o ' proof that Christian confessors fled durino- the several early the gospel ~ '^ was pro- persecutions, and it is a matter of historical record ffssedat ' this time in that Irenseus, in the second century, made himself tiieCottian acquainted with the Celtic language, that he might hold intercourse with the remote converts of his diocese, which extended up to the Cottian Alps*. The Christian soldiers of the celebrated Theban legion were scattered through the whole of the Maritime and Cottian Alps, especially in the valley of the Po, which rises near Mount Viso. San Secondo, a Piedmontese village, near the Pelice, within the present Waldensian limits, was so called after one of the Theban martyrs ; and another confessor, named Chiaffredus, is repre- sented to have been concealed in a place called Crisolo, in the year 297, at the foot of Mount Viso, and within a few miles of Rora, where the Waldensian church is still flourishing.f With this * ' 'OuK firi^TiTTicrfLS 5« nafja T)^(ijv -rSiv iv KeAro.s ^larpiSuiioiv, icai TrrpJ fidpSapou StaAfKTOu rh irAetcTTOv acrxo^ovfiifwr.' — IrelKlM. lib. i. adv. Hjer. prrefatio. t In one of the volumes lately edited by a royal commission at 334 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 397. documentary evidence that the gospel had reached the Cottian Alps, and that the Christianity there professed was unshackled by the yoke of the ascetics, it is not easy to believe that Jerome's mention of the Cottian Alps, in connection with Vigilantius and his invectives, was accidental. Whether the Gallic presbyter declaimed there on his way to Aquitain, or in the course of his visits to the Alpine churches at some subsequent period, there is reason to believe that he went among them, expecting to find persons who held opinions similar to his own : and Romish polemics have taken great pains to brand the doctrines since taught in these mountains with the name of the Vigilantian heresy. But how long he remained in this province, on his way home, is a question to which we have no Vigilantius (,|yg ^Q ouide US. Wc only know that he returned returns to O J Aquitain. \^^q j^jg Q^yjj couutry after the voyage and journey which took place in 397, and then devoted himself to the study of those subjects on which he and Jerome were at variance. Vaissette, in his History of Languedoc, employs a note in the inquiry. What was the country of Vigilantius, and in what part of Aquitain did he make his residence, and begin to brood over and promulgate those opinions which were so offensive to the Fathers and Doctors of the Church ? The district between Thoulouse and the Pyrenees was Turin, entitled, ' Moniinienta Historic Patria;/ these facts are stated at some length. See GiofFredo Storia delle Alpi Marit. p. 100—180. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 305 NOTE TO CHAPTER XV. Mr. Faber argues that Lugdunum Convenarum was the birth-place of Vigilantius, but that he took up his abode in the Cottian Alps, after his return from Palestine ; and he ingeniously suggests, that Lugdunum Convenarum ma)' have given rise to the tradition wliich derived the Waldenses from a person named Leo, and denominated them Leonists.t ' Yet, though I think it clear that the Valdenses could not have been called Leonists from the Lyons of the opulent merchant Peter, that is to say, from the Lyons which is seated upon the Rhone, I am not without a strong suspicion that, ultimately, and through an en- tirely different channel, the title may have been borrowed from an- ot/ier Lyons, from Lyons, to wit, in Aquitaine, upon the borders of the Pyrenees ; from the Lvydunum Convenarum, I mean, which now bears the name of St. Bertrand, and which is situated in what (from Convenes) is styled the Pays de Cominges. My conjecture is, that the traditional Leo of the Valdenses, however his history may have been circumstantially distorted and chronologically misplaced, is no other than the famous Vigilantius, of whose immediate connection with the primitive Christians of the valleys, at the beginning of the fifth century, we shall presently hear again. This holy man, as we fortunately learn from the very scurrility of Jerome, was actually born in the precise town of Lyons, or Convcnae, in Aquitaine. Whence, from the place of his nativity, he would obviously be called, among his hosts of the valleys, Vigilantius Leo, or Vigilantius the Leonist. * Vaissette. Hist, du Languedoc, vol. i. p. 638. t Rein. c. 4, in Bib. Patr. vol. xiii. p. 209. ot Claud. Seyssel. adv. Val. fol. ■). 0. the quarter in which Vaissette places Vigilantius, \^^ on his return from Palestine : but he has made a great mistake in supposing that the Gaul entered into the service of Sulpicius* again. He was at this time wealthy and independent of patronage, and afterwards had the charge of a parish at no great distance from his birthplace, Calagorris, in the country of the Convense. 336 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. His proper local appellation he communicated, if I mistake not, to his congenial friends, the Vallenses of Piedmont ; and his memory, as we see, was affectionately cherished by them, down even to the time of Claude Seyssel. Thus, ultimately, I apprehend, the name of Leonist was derived from Lyons ; not, indeed, from the more cele- brated Lyons on the Rhone, but from the Lyons of Aquitaine, or the Lugdunum Convenarum of the Pyrenees.' — Faber's Vallenses and Albigenses, pp. 278—280. It will be perceived that I have ventured to differ from Mr. Faber, not only as to the birth-place of Vigilantius, but also as to the time of his first visiting the Cottian Alps, and as to the diocese in which he officiated as a priest. The authorities on which I depend plant him not in an Alpine but in a Pyrenean parish. I cannot but take the opportunity of paying a debt of acknowledgment to Mr. Faber, for drawing my attention to this subject. So long ago as December, 1832, I received a letter from that eminent ecclesiastical scholar, with the following communication : — ' In one of my excursions from your Waldensian researches, I was led, after an interval of some years, to re-peruse Jerome's Epistle to Riparius, with the appended tract against Vigilantius : and I there made a discovery, which did not strike me when 1 read those docu- ments before with a totally different object, but which may, perhaps, be as interesting to you as it certainly has been to myself. ' Who was that extraordinary character, Vigilantius ? ' This thought came across me, as I recollected the identity of his religious sentiments with those of your Vaudois : and I forthwith, laying your book aside for a season, set to work to try if I could get to the bottom of the matter. ' " Vigilantius, a native of Aquitaine, and a presbyter of Barcelona, had charged Jerome with too great a lenity to the objectionable opi- nions of Origen. In return, Jerome, in the year 397, addressed to him a very violent epistle on the subject." — Hieron. Epist. Ixxv. Oper. vol. ii. pp.251, 252. ' Subsequently to the propounding of that epistle, Vigilantius re- turned into his native country of Gaul ; and there he published a treatise against the growing superstition of the age, a treatise which is ascribed to the year 406. ' In his treatise he attacked the notion, that celibacy is the duty of the clergy : censured the excessive veneration of the martyrs, and the figment that they are potent intercessors at the throne of grace : ridi- culed the blind and almost idolatrous reverence which was paid to their relics: exposed the folly of burning tapers, like the Pagans, before their shrines, in broad day-light: detected the pretended MEMORIALS OF VlGILAxNTIUS. 337 miracles said to be wrought by their senseless remains : vilified the boasted sanctity of vainly gratuitous monachism : and pointed out the useless absurdity of pilgrimages either to Jerusalem or to any other reputed sanctuary. ' Such was the drift of his treatise, as we learn from Jerome's reply to it : and, in the course of it, he naturally adverted to Jerome's former indecent attack upon him. ' " Upon this Jerome wrote a very abusive epistle, addressed to Riparius : and, shortly afterward, receiving the treatise itself, he composed an answer to it, in which it is hard to say, whether illogical absurdity or brutal scurrility is the most predominant." — Hieron. Epist. liii. Hieron. adv. Vigilant. Oper. vol. ii. pp. 157 — 101. ' And now spring up the actual questions : Whence was it, in a rapidly declining Church, that Vigilantius derived his sentiments? In what school had he been instructed? From what part of his native Gaul, when he quitted Barcelona, did he publish the season- able treatise, which called forth the abuse of Jerome ? ' His antagonist tells us : that he wrote from a region, situated be- tween the waves of the Adriatic and the Cotlian Alps ; from a region, that is to say, which formed a part of what was once called Cisalpine Gaul. ' " Ego vidi hoc aliquando portentum : et, testimoniis scripturarum, quasi vinculis Hippocratis, volui ligare furiosum. Sedabiit ; excessit ; evasit ; erupit ; et, inter Adrice fluctus Cottiique regis Alpes, in nos declamando clamavit." — Hieron. Epist. liii. Oper, vol. ii. p. 1.58. ' Now I need not tell you, that this district on the eastern side of the Cottian Alps is the precise country of the Vallenses. Here they claim to have lived at least from the time of Pope Sylvester : and here, in point oi fact, as we may presumptively gather from the pre- sent remarkable statement of Jerome, they were actually settled as early as in and before the year 406, or only about seventy years from Sylvester's death. ' Perhaps you will say, that I am jumping too rapidly to a conclu- sion : hear, then, the remainder of Jerome's incidental testimony. ' In his epistle to Riparius, he marvels that the holy bishop, within whose diocese Vigilantius was then residing as a presbyter, did not crush so useless a vessel with a well-aimed blow from the iron rod of apostolicity : but, in his subsequent tract against him, the reason of such episcopal forbearance stands out most abundantly manifest. Tlie two superstitious bigots, indeed, Riparius and Desiderius, complained heavily to Jerome, just as the modern Popish priests do of the Vau- dois, that their own neighbouring parishes were polluted by such a villainous neighbourhood: and it was charitably added, that, with Z 338 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. Satan's standard in his hand, Vigilantiiis was making successful in- cursions upon the shimbering churches of the Gauls. — Hieron. adv. Vigil. Oper. vol. ii. p. 159. But, with respect to the bishops, evi- dently the bishops of the Alpine district where he sojourned, they, however nefarious it might appear to Jerome and his correspondents, perfectly agreed with the misnamed heretic : and, on one special point of difference between the controvertists, they actually preferred the ordination of husbands to the ordination of bachelors. ' " Proh nefas ! episcopos sui sceleris dicitur habere consortes," &c. Hieron. adv. Vigil. Oper. vol. ii. p. 1-58. ' The bishops, then, of the district where Vigilantius was minister- ing as presbyter ; that is, the district inter Adrm flnctus Cottiique regis Alpes, were of the same sentiments with himself: and thence, of course, stood opposed to the neighbouring presbyters, Riparius and Desiderius, who held with Rome, and who reported Vigilantius to Jerome. ' Accordingly, Jerome is amazed at the audacity of Vigilantius and his compeers in presuming to differ, both from the Bishop of Rome and (as he is pleased to say) from all other bishops of the known world, as to the vital importance of consecrating the Eucl)arist over the dead bones of Peter and Paul. — Hieron. adv. Vigil, p. 160. * Here, therefore, only seventy years after the death of Pope Syl- vester, we actually find a Church in the valleys of the Cottian Alps, the theological condition of which exactly corresponds with the account handed down, from generation to generation, among the Vallenses themselves : that is to saj', we actually find a Church, in the very region where the account teaches us to seek it, protesting, through the mouth of its approved pastor, Vigilantius (for I venture to claim Vigilantius, after his departure from Barcelona, as a settled Vallensic pastor), against the superstitions of the times, and, in its estimate of those superstitions, openly differing from the bishops of the corrupt Church of Rome.'"' In another part of this work, when I come to treat of our Gallic presbyter's subsequent history, I shall enter more fully into the ques- tions of the diocese in which he officiated as priest — the opinions which he proclaimed— the bishops and clergy who were his adver- * Having asked Mr. Faber's permission to insert this letter, I received the following reply, which explains his present view of the subject : — ' Sherhurn House, March 9. ' My dear Sir, — I should be glad if you would leave my letter to you exactly as it nmv stands. At the same time, it is due, both to MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 339 saries or friends — the Gallic churches which he visited — and the pro- vinces in which his principles have been maintained, with more or less pertinacity, as the principles of the primitive Church. On these points, I do not wish to dogmatize, but to offer facts and statements for calm consideration, and, if possible, to present them in a form which will direct the way to further investigation, and admit of tem- perate discussion. you and to myself, to state, that though, with the Benedictines,* I originally thought that Riparius and Desiderius were Alpine clerics, in the vicinity of the country of the Vaudois ; I am noiv perfectly satisfied, both by your arguments and by a careful reperusal of Jerome, that their parishes were, in truth, in the vicinity of the Pyrenees. You might add, that I was ignorant, till you informed me, that the Bene- dictines at first understood Jerome as I did, but that afterwards, like myself, they saw reason to change their opinion. You might further add, if you please, that the error is corrected in a new edition of my Sacred Calendar of Prophecy, which is on the eve of coming out, and that, should my work on the Valdenses ever reach another edition, it would there also be corrected. Yours most truly, ' G. S. Faber.' * Editors of' Histoire Literaire de la France.' Z 2 340 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. XVI. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. 398. Vigilantius at Calagor- ris, in Gaul. His occupa- tion there. Vigilantius remained quietly in his own country for many months after his return from Palestine, and devoted himself to sacred studies : but I cannot make out that he undertook any parochial charge, or performed the regular functions of the priesthood, until after he had published the book which gave so much oifence to Jerome. Calagor- ris, as it has been explained (see p. 128), distant about twenty-six miles from Lugdimum Conven- arum, and forty-five from Tolosa, was his native place, and this was the scene of his retirement, while he laboured to qualify himself for the work of a theological polemic. Jerome's frequent and ungenerous allusion to his rusticity, to the wine- cellar and to the tavern at Calagorris, where his father had accumulated his wealth (and where he himself, at some former period, may have fol- lowed the same occupation), leave no doubt that our presbyter returned to the town or village where he was born, and resided on his patrimony. Vaissette had Jerome's sarcasms against the ' tap- ster and wine-taster' in his mind, when he inti- MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 341 A. D. mated that Vigilantius entered the service of Sul- ^g^ picius again, and resumed his station as the steward of the vineyards. How he employed his time and his resources, and what use he made of the property which had come into his possession, will be seen in the following letter, which has been rendered into English, as literally, as the idiom of our language would permit.* Jeromes Letter to Vigilantius .-\ * 1. It would indeed have been just, had I given Jerome-s . _ . , , . , defence of you no satisfaction by my letters, since you have himself on , , p , the Ori- given no credence to your own ears, tor you who genist con- have yielded no credence to the word spoken, will '"°'"^^" not assent to it when written. But since Christ has given us an example of perfect humility in Himself, by kissing his betrayer, and accepting the repentance of the thief upon the cross, in your ■"■ I have thought right to siihstitiite for my own the translation of a friend, the Rev. Joseph Stevenson, the learned editor of ' Beda,' and other works, lately published by the Historical Society. In the margin I have inserted the various readings, according to the Verona edition of 1734, and a MS. copy of Jerome, in the Library of Durham Cathedral. tHIERONYMI EPISTOLA XXXVI. Alius 75. Scriptaanno AD VIGILANTIUM. .396',ed.Ben. Justum quidem fuerat, nequaquara tibi litteris satisfacere, qui tuis auribus non credidisti : neque enim schedulse potes* acquiescere, qui *A1. poteris, vivo sermoni non accommodasti fidem. Sed quia Christus perfects f4' -1 ^ • . Lnnstus ex- nobis humilitatis exemplar in So tribuit ; dans osculum proditori ; ct emphupor- latronis poenitenliam in patibulo suscipicns, eadem abscnti signitico, Jp'^^t-V '"'""" 342 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. absence I intimate to you the same things which ' ■ I also told you when present ; that I have read or am reading Origen, as I read Apollinaris or other authors, whose books the Church does not receive in some points. Not that I mean to affirm that all the contents of their books are to be condemned ; but I admit that some things are to be repre- hended. Since, however, it is my business and my employment to read many authors, that from many quarters I may gather various flowers, not so much with the intention of approving them all, as of selecting the good : I take many writers into my hands, that from many sources I may know many things, according to that which is written, " Prove all things, hold fast that which is good *." I am sufficiently astonished therefore that you have wished to object the dogmas of Origen against me, of whose error you are in many points en- tirely ignorant up to the present hour. Am I an heretic ? and why, I pray you, do the heretics dislike me ? Are you orthodox ? you who even quae prsesenti qiioque loqiuitiis sum, me ita Origenem legisse vel legere, *A1. Apolli- "t Apollinarium,* vel caeteros Tractatores, quorum in quibusdam, libros itarem. Ecclesia non recipit. Non quo omnia dicam esse damnanda, quae in Icgendi libii i^lo™!" voluminibus continentur : sed quod quaedam reprehendenda Haereti- confitear. Verum quia operis mei est et studii, multos legere, ut corum. 1 • ■ 1- /3 ex plurimis diversos nores carpam, non tarn probaturus omnia, quam quae bona sunt electurus, assume multos in manus meas, ut a multis rniess.v.21. multa cognoscam, secundum illud quod scriptum est : Omnia legentes : qiicc bona sunt retinentes. Unde satis miror te voluisse Origenis milii objicere dogmata, cujus ''^\-I^g(yne, in plerisque errorem usque ad banc setatem penitus ignoras. Egone* * 1 Thess. V. 21. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 343 A. D. 398. notice have either unwillingly subscribed against your opinion and your tongue — which speaks differ- — entlv, and so you are a shuffler; or williniilv, ofvigiiaiv , I • ^T 1 ^1 T-, tius'sjour- and so an heretic. You have forsaken E"vpt : n^y to you have abandoned all the provinces in which many bold-faced persons defend your opinions ; and you have selected, as an object of persecution, me, who reprehend all doctrines contrary to the Church, and publicly condemn them by my voice. ' 2. So Origen is an heretic. What is that to me ? for I do not deny that in many points he is an heretic. He has erred concerning the resur- rection of the body, he has erred about the con- dition of souls, about the repentance of the devil ; and, what is more than these, he has declared in his Commentaries upon Isaiah, that the Son of God and the Holy Ghost are the Seraphim. Did not I say that he has erred, and did not I daily anathematize these things, t should be a partaker of that error. For we ought not to receive what he has well said, in such manner as to be com- pelled to accept also what he has said amiss. But haereticus? et cur me qnseso liseretici non amant ? Tu orthodoxus ? Hreretici Qui etiam contra sententiam tuam, et linguam alia praedicantem, aut """ ^hki- invitus subscripsisti et praevaricator es : aut voleiis, et haereticus. m-mum Dimisisti iELryptum, cunctas provincias reliquisti, in quibus sectam -vt , i , tuam, libera plerique fronte defendant : et elegisti me ad insectandum, invita sub- qui omnia contra Ecclesiam dogmata reprehendo ; et publica voce con- s"''P'io"t'- demno. Origenes haereticus : quid ad me, qui ilium in plerisque Onsenis hsereticum non nego ? Erravit de resurrectione corporis* ; erravit de errores. animarum statu, de diaboli pcenitentia : et quod his majus est, Filium /uni'^edV Dei et Spiritum Sanctum in Connnentariis Isaite, Seraphim esse testa- tus est. Si errasse non dicerem eum, et hsec quotidie non anathema- tizarem, csscm erroris illius socius. 344 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. Explains this same Origen has well interpreted the Scrip- tures in many parts, and has examined obscure theuseniade nJaccs of thc Prophcts, and has revealed very ot Origen s '^ r ' J works by o'reat mysteries as well of the New Testament as himself and ^ •^ others. of the Old, If, therefore, I have translated the good, and have either cut off or corrected the bad, or kept silence about it, am I to be accused be- cause through me the Latins possess the good parts, and know nothing about the bad ? If this be a crime, let the confessor Hilarius be accused, who has translated from Greek into Latin the interpretation of the Psalms and the Homilies upon Job, from this man's writings. Let Eusebius of Vercelli be as confessedly blameworthy, who translated into our language Commentaries upon the Psalms, written by an heretic, although he translated all the best portions only, [and passed over whatever was heretical. I say nothing about Victorinus Petabionensis, and others, who have followed and reproduced Origen, in his explana- tion only of the Scriptures, lest I should appear. Multa bene interpre- tatus est Origenes. Hilarius. Eusebius Vercell. *A1. Pdaln- oncusifCd.V . Victorinus Pictabion. Neque enim ita debemus bona ejus recipere, ut mala quoque susci- pere cogamur. At idem et Scripturas in multis bene interpretatus est ; et Prophetarum obscura disseruit ; et tam novi quam veteris Testamenti revelavit maxima sacramenta. Si igitur quae bona sunt, transtuli ; et mala, vel amputavi, vel correxi, vel tacui ; arguendus sum, cur per me Latini bona ejus habeant, et mala ignorent ? Si hoc crimen est, arguatur Confessor Hilarius, qui Psalmorum in- terpretationem et Homilias in Job ex |;libris ejus, id est, ex Grseco in Latinum, transtulit. Sit in culpa ejusdem confessionis Vercellensis Eusebius, qui omnium Psalmorum Commentaries hseretici hominis vertit in nostrum eloquium : licet hasretica praetermittens, optima quseque transtulcrit. Taceo de Victorino Pictabionensi*, et caeteris (jui Origenem in explanatione dumtaxat Scripturaruin sequuti sunt, et MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 345 not SO much to defend myself, as to be looking- ^g^- about for companions in my accusation. ' But now to come to yourself: how do you ^p^o°'"vigi. happen to possess transcripts of Origen's treatise sneerT'athfs upon Job, in which, arguino' ao^ainst the devil, transmpts I ' ' O o o 'of Origen. and about the stars and the heaven, he says things which the Church does not receive ? Is it per- mitted to your wise head alone to pass judgment upon all writers, both Greek and Latin, and with your censor's condemnatory mark, so to speak, to eject some from the libraries, and to admit others ? And when you pronounce me at your pleasure either a catholic or a heretic, shall not I be permitted to reject what is wrong, and to condemn what I have often condemned ? Read my books to the Ephesians, read my other treatises, espe- cially my Commentaries upon Ecclesiastes, and you will clearly perceive that from my youth I have never been so frightened by the authority of any one, as to yield my assent to heretical pravity. ' 3. It is a great point to be aware of one's igiio- expresserunt : ne non tam me defendere, quam socios criminis videar qiiscrore. Ad tcipsiim veniam : cur tractatiis ejus in Job descriptos liahcs, in quibus contra diabolum, et de stellis coeloque disputans, Sapientissi- quaedani loquutus est, quae Ecclesia non recipit? Tibi soli licet rw "lum cra- ' 1 ' n r^ ^ "^ mum, id est, (TO(pona.T(f Kpavi(f, de cimctis, et Grsecis et Latinis Tractatoribus ferre cerebrum. scntentiam, et quasi censoria virgula, alios ejicere de bibliothecis, alios rcciperc? et quum tibi placuerit, me vel Catholicum, vel Ha-reti- cum pronunciare : nobis non licet perversa respuere, et damnare quod siepe damnavimus ? Lege ad Ephesios libros, lege caetera opuscula mea, et maxime in Ecclesiasten Conimentarios : et liquido pervidebis, Numqaam me ab adolescentia numquam aliciiius auctoritate deterritum acquie- acqi'i^vit , . . . deterntus visse haereticjB pravitati. hs^reticre Non parum est scire quid ncscias : pnidentis liominis est nosse pravitati. 346 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. ranee ; it beeomes a wise man to know his own ~ capacity, so as not, being excited by the raalice vigiiantius of thc dcvil, to make the world the witness of his of Ignorance and boast- stupiditv. You arc inclined, forsooth, to be boast- ing. ■• "^ ful, and you brag, in your country, that I could not reply to your eloquence, and that I feared in you the acumen of Chrysippus. I am restrained by Christian modesty, and I would not unlock the privacy of my cell, with a sharp discourse. But for this, I could expose all your weakness, which is well known even to children. But these things I leave either to be spoken of, or laughed at by others. I as a Christian, speaking to you as a Christian, beseech you, brother, that you would not aim at being wise above your knowledge, and that you would not make an exhibition of your innocence or your simplicity ; or, at all events, that you would not by your pen proclaim those Taunts him thiugs about which I am silent, and which others understand, although you are ignorant of them ; and by your follies make yourself a general laughing-stock. From your childhood you have learned another trade ; you have been accustomed with his former pur- suits. *A\.ut,MS. D. Erat in cellula Monasterii. mensuram suam, nee zelo diaboli concitatiim, imperitiae sujb cnnctum orbem testem facere. Scilicet et gloriari cupis : et* in patria tua jactitas, me non potuisse respondeie eloquentiae tiise, et acumen in te Chrysippi formidasse. Christiana verecundia teneor, et cellulae mese latebras nolo mordaci sermone reserare. Alioqui proferrem v apis-tiav ffov Kai Tpoiraiocpoplav, parvulonim qiioque voce cantatiim. Sed haec aliis aut loquenda, aiit ridenda dimitto. Ego quasi Cliristianus cum Chris- tiano loquens, obsecro te, frater, ne plus veils sapere, quam sapis : ne vel innocentiam, vel simplicitatem tuam vel certe ea quae taceo, et te non intelligente, caeteri intelligunt, stylo proferas, et ineptiarum tuarum cunctis cachinnum praebeas. Aliud a parva setate dldicistl : MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 347 to another kind of training. The same individual ^g°- cannot examine both gold coins and the scrip- tiires — both sip wines and understand the Apostles and the Prophets. You pull me to pieces ; you accuse of heresy my holy brother Oceanus ; the judgment of the presbyters Vincentius and Pau- linianus, and of brother Eusebius, displeases you. You are the sole Cato, the most eloquent of the Roman nation ; and you would have yourself believed upon your own authority and for your own prudence. Remember, I pray you, the day when, Aiiudestoa as I was preaching about the true resurrection atBeth- of the body, you leaped from one side, and praised to tiie'o'pi- ... ITT • • 1 "i*"^ enter- me by clappmg your hands and stampmg with tabed of your feet, and proclaimed that I was orthodox. But byPcauiillus. after you began to be at sea, the stench of the bilge-water struck to your inmost brain, and then you remembered that I was an heretic. What can I do for you ? I gave credence to the letters of the holy presbyter Paulinus, and did not imagine that his judgment of you was erroneous. And although immediately that I received the aliis assuetus es disciplinis. Non est ejusdem hominis, et aureos Cauponiara nummos et Scripturas probare ; et degustare vina, et Prophetas, vel artem exer- Apostolos intelligere. Me laceras : sanctum fratrem Oceanum in lantius. ciilpam haereseos vocas : Presbyterorum tibi Vincentii et Pauliniani, et fratris Eiisebii judicium displicet. Solus es Cato Romani generis discrtissimus, qui testimonio tuo et prudentite velis credi. Recoidare quseso illius diei quando me de resurreclione et veritate corporis praedicante, ex latere subsultabas, et plaudebas manu et applo- debas pedem*, et orthodoxum conclamabas. Postqiiam navigare * k\. pede, coepisti : et ad intimum cerebrum tuum sentinse putredo pervenit, ^^^- ^• tunc nos haereticos recordatus es. Quid tibi faciam ? Credidi sancti Crediderat Prcsbyteri Paulini Epistolis; et illius super nomine tuo non putavi nierony- . ... T-. 1- T-i • 1 > / mus testi- crrare judicuun. Et licet statini acccpta Lpistola o.cvva.pTr\7ov scrmoncm niouio Paulini. 348 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. Refers to the manner in which Vigilantius employed his time and wealth. letter, I noticed that your conversation was unpo- lished, yet I thought there was more of clownish- ness and simplicity in you than of folly. Nor do I blame the holy man ; for he thought it better to conceal from me what he knew, than to accuse his poor retainer by letters of which that person himself was to be the bearer. But I do reprove myself for yielding to the judgment of another rather than to my own, and that I trusted the account given by the letter, rather than that other which my own eyes perceived, ' 4. Cease then to annoy me, and to overwhelm me with your writings. At least save your money, with which you are hiring scribes and copyists, and are employing them both as clerks and parti- sans ; for, perhaps, they praise you that they may profit by your writing. If you are inclined to exercise your talents, give up yourself to grammar and rhetoric, learn logic, become acquainted with the opinions of the philosophers ; so that when you have learned all, you may then at least begin to be silent. Yet perhaps I am doing a foolish Laudat prudentiam S. Paulini. Carpit lepide im- peritiam Vigikntii. tiium intelligerem : tamen rusticitatem et simplicitatcm magis in te arbitrabar, quam vecordiam. Nee reprehendo sanctum viriim. Maluit enim apud me dissimulare quod noverat, quam portitorem clientulum suis litteris accusare. Sed memetipsum arguo, qui alterius potius acquievi, quam meo judicio : et oculis aliud cernentibus, aliud schedulae credidi quam videbam. Quamobrem desine me lacessere, et voluminibus tuisobruere. Parce saltern nummis tuis, quibus notarios librariosque conducens, eisdem et Scriptoribus uteris et fautoribus : qui te ideo forsitan laudant, ut lucrum in scribendis faciant. Si libet exercere ingenium : trade te Grammaticis atque Rhetoribus : disce dialecticam : sectis instruere Pliilosopliorum : et quum omnia didiccris, saltern tunc tacere incipias. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. UO A. D. 398. thing in seeking masters for liim who is every one's master, and am prescribing moderation to a person who knows not how to speak, and cannot hold his tongue. The Greek proverb is true, "Ovy xJ^a. In my opinion your name has been given Scurrilities. you out of opposition, /car avrif^ctaiv, foF your whole mind slumbers, and you are snoring, not so much in a deep sleep, as in a lethargy. For among other blasphemies which you have uttered with your sacrilegious mouth, you have dared to say that the mountain mentioned in Daniel, from which the stone was cut out without hands, is the devil, and that the stone is Christ, because He having assumed a body from Adam (who formerly had adhered to the devil by sin,) was born of the Virgin, that He might separate man from the mountain, that is, from the devil. Such a tongue ouoht to be cut ^P'=."'^^ ^ ^ Viguantius out, and torn into morsels and shreds. Would of-} false and bias- any Christian understand God the Father Almio'htv pbemous in- •^ . o ./ terpretation under the figure of the devil, and pollute the ears ofsaipture. of the whole world by so great a crime ? If any Qiiamqiiam stulte faciam, magistro cunctoriim magistros quserere : et ei modiim im[)onere qui loqui nescit ; et tacere non potest. Veruni est illiid apiid Graecos proverbium, oua) \vpa. Ego reor, et nomen tibi Kar'' ai'T((ppa(Tiy jmpositum. Nam tola mente dorniitas, et profiin- dissimo non tam somno stertis, qiiam letbargo. Inter caeteras quippe blasphemias, quas ore sacrilego protulisti, ausus es dicere : montem de Daniel ii. quo abscissus est in Danicle lapis sine manibus, esse diabolum ; et Blasphemia 1 • I /-ii • ^ • • • » J • 1- 1 1 Vigjlantii lapidem Clinstum : Qui quia assumsit corpus ex Adam, qui diabolo in Danielis ante per vitia cobaeserat, natum esse de Virgine : ut a nionte, hoc est, i»tTp''eta- ,.,,,. ^ -11 1- tione. a diabolo boniinem separaret. U praecidendam linguam, ac per partes et frusta lacerandam. Qnisquamne Christianus Dcum Patrein Omnipotentem in persona diaboli interprctatur ; ct tanto piaculo, totius orbis aurcs maculat? Si interpretationem tuam, quisquam non 350 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D. 398. individual whatever, I will not say Catholic, but heretic or heathen, ever admitted your interpreta- tion, then let what you have said be considered godly. But if the Church of Christ has never heard such impiety, and if by your mouth he, who said, * I shall be like the Highest,' has for the first time signified that he himself is the moun- tain,— then do penance, live in sackcloth and ashes, and wash away so great a crime by inces- sant tears, if indeed this impiety may be forgiven you ; and (according to the error of Origen), you may obtain pardon when the Devil shall obtain it, who appears never to have spoken more blas- phemy than by your mouth. I have patiently borne the injury done to myself, but I have not been able to bear your impiety against God. I have appeared, therefore, to write more severely towards the end of my letter than I promised, although after your former repentance, in which you begged my pardon, it is very foolish to have given you a second place for repentance. dicam Catholicorum, sed Haereticorum sive Gentilium umquam rece- pit : pi urn sit quod loquutus es. Sin autem tantum nefas numquam audivit Christi Ecclesia : et per tuum primum os, ipse se montem Isni xiv interpretatus est, qui dixerat : ero similis Altissimo : age poenitentiam, in sacco versare et cinere : et tantum sceliis jugibus absterge lachry- mis ; si tamen tibi dimittatur haec impietas ; et juxta errorem Origenis tunc veniam consequaris : quando consequutnrus est et diabolus, qui numquam plus quam per os tuum deprehenditur blasphemasse. Meam Iiiipietatpm injuriam patienter tuli. Impietatem contra Deum ferre non potui. contra Doimi Unde et visus sum mordacius in extremo Epistolae scribere, quam 1)011 potuit . ' . I'erro Iliei- promiseram : quamquam post priorem poenitentiam, qua a me veniam deprecatus es ; iterumcommisisse unde agas poenitentiam, stolidissimum oiivmus. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 351 May Christ vouchsafe to you that you may hear ^^i and be silent, that you may understand, and so speak.' [Mr. Stevenson's translation is from the text of the edition of Vallarsins, Verona, 1734, vol. i. p. 845.] Our first inquiry as to this extraordinary letter must be, When was it written ? Much depends on its date. It is however very difficult to settle the exact chronology of any of Jerome's epistles ; and after all the attention given to the subject by Tillemont and Pagi, who made it their express business to correct the dates of Baronius and other ecclesiastical writers, many questions still remain unsettled. Jerome's epistle to Visilantius (numbered 36, Examina- r o v tion of alias 75), was certainly not only written, but put ^^^^l^f^^ in circulation before the first ' Invectives of Rufinus vigiiantius. Its date. against Jerome ; ' because Rufinus cites in that treatise one of the sentences contained in the letter now under discussion *. Pagi f shows that this Book of Invectives was published in the year 399, consequently Jerome's letter could not have been penned so late as 400, as Vastel has as- serted. Tillemont gives his reasons for believing that it was written a little before or a little after sit. Tribuat tibi Christus, ut audias et taceas : nt intelligas, et sic loquaris. Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. pp. 275 — 8, Benedictine edition, Paris, 170G. * ' Ipse vero Orientalis Magister qui ad Vigilantium scribens dix- erat " ptr me Latini cognoscunt omnes Oriyenis bona, et ignorant mala." '— Comp. Hier. Op. 4. ii. 276 and 374. t Pagi. Hist. Grit. Chron. sub anno 309, vol. ii. p. 28. 352 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. ■gjjg- the reconciliation between Jerome and Rufinus, which took place in 397. I venture to hazard an ojDinion that it may be assigned to the latter end of the year 398, and for this reason. According to Tillemont, the epistle addressed by Jerome to Pammachius and Oceanus, in explanation of his sentiments and conduct in relation to Origen, was written in 398. Now the treatise of Vigilantius, which called forth Jerome's letter to him (as fur as we can judge from Jerome's allusions to the contents of that letter), was composed after the monk of Bethlehem had explained himself to his two friends ; and had reference to the very argu- ments which Jerome used in his correspondence with them. One passage in particular is strong evidence in favour of my date. ' You pull me to pieces,' said Jerome, ' You accuse my holy bro- ther, Oceanus, of heresy, and the judgment of the holy presbyters Vincentius and Paulinianus, and of brother Eusebius, displeases you.'* These four persons distinguished themselves by their defence of Jerome on the Origenist question at Rome, in 398, and were sent thither, according to Rufinus, for that purpose :t but they met there accidentally. It is creditable to Vigilantius to have it to say in his behalf, that he did not rush hastily into a con- troversy with Jerome about Origen ; that he spent nearly two years in preparation before he wrote his treatise ; and that the subject of it was a sus- picion strongly entertained not only by the adver- * IlitT. Op. 4. ii. p. 277. t Tillemont, 12, p. 215, MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 353 saries of the great master, whom he called a sect %q' ready to defend the opinions of Vigilantius, but viaii-mtii.s by many of his friends also. ' Clear yourself of *^''^,"°t , •'J J rashly enter these suspicions ; and convict those of error who i"t° =^ <^™- ^ ' troversy accuse you ; lest if you withhold the expression withjerome. of your true sentiments, you appear to acquiesce in the charges brought against you.' Such was the language of two of his adherents,* one of whom, Pammachius, had previously urged him to suppress his treatise against Jovinian, because it exposed him to unpleasant imputations. Full of rancour was Jerome's answer to Vio-i- The viru- "^ lence oi lantius, in the epistle which we have now before Jerome's ' ^ letter to Vi- us, and yet there is but little to extract from it to giiamius. the dishonour of the Gaul, even in the absence of his own account of the quarrel. Jerome admits that Origen had been a favourite author with him, that he had praised him, and that he had been the means of making his Homilies known to Latin readers : he acknowledges also that Origen had promulgated some dangerous errors. And yet he is full of indignation because his Gallic censor questioned the prudence of his conduct in that matter, and argued that one who commended a heretic to notice, and promoted the circulation of some of his opinions, without putting the un- wary upon their guard, was doing disservice to the cause of religion. Vigilantius, in the heat of the controversy, may have uttered many things which were unbecom- ^•- Ilier. Op. 4. ii. p. .341. 2 A 354 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. n. 398. We have Jerome's •nccount only of the con- troversy. Vindication of Vigi- lantius. Supra, p. 344. p. 34 f). ing ; but this unhappily was a sin common to all the polemics of that age. He is accused by his angry adversary of having blown hot and cold, of shuffling, of subscribing to sentiments in regard to this dispute one day, which he denied or retracted another day. If he did so, I feel no inclination to defend him ; but it must be remembered that we have nothing but an opponent's version of the whole story. This version tells us, and I beheve it, that Vigilantius had raised the question in Jerome's presence, and that he had been over- powered by the great doctor's rhetoric and supe- rior knowledge of Scripture. Was it not therefore wise in the Gallic presbyter to retire to his own country, and to procure copies of Origen's works, as they had been translated by Jerome and others, and to examine the matter thoroughly, before he agitated it again ? * How do you happen to possess transcripts of Origens treatises upon Job t ' This was asked tauntingly, but it gives us just the sort of information that we want. Vigilantius was a collector of theological writings, * both Greek and Latin y and he spent his money in forming a library, and his time in studying the books of which it was composed. Vigilantius is accused of boasting in his own country that his eloquence had silenced Jerome : if he did so, he was acting the part of a silly braggart ; and we trust he was humbled by the old man's rebuke ; that he took his counsel in good part, and as a Christian began to think more humbly of himself, and to devote himself more MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 355 A. D. 398. and more to divine contemplation. It is probable that he did so ; for it was above four years ere the Gaul wrote another treatise, and this interval, we have every reason to hope, was passed studiously and thoughtfully. ' Remember, 1 pray you, the day when I was p- 346 preaching on the resurrection of the body, how you leaped from my side, and praised me by clapping your hands and stampiiig with your feet, and pro- claimed that I was orthodox.' I have already made some remarks on this passage (see p. 312), which bears witness to the ingenuous disposition of the man whom Jerome vilified. This vehement action, in approbation of a sacred discourse, so discordant with our notions of decorum, was very common in those days, and was tolerated even down to the time of St. Bernard. It was one of the many improper concessions to pagan customs which dis- graced the Church of the Fathers. Chrysostom, in his Homilies, alludes to it very frequently, sometimes with complacency, but for the most part with censure. Augustine mentions the practice without condemning it ; and so does Gregory Nazianzen. Jerome, in other places, incidentally remarks on similar expressions of boisterous appro- bation, as matters of ordinary occurrence *. Another part of Jerome's epistle is one which his warmest admirers have blushed to read. * The reader who would know more of this custom will find a curious description of it in ' Graevii Thesaurus Antiquitatum,' vol. vi. de Vet. Accl. lib. v. 2 A 2 3oG VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. Jerome's ungenerous allusions to the birth- place and former pur- suits of Vi- gilantius. pp. 345, 346. p. 345. The incon- sistency of his invec- tives. ' From your childhood you have learnt another trade. You have been accustomed to another k'md of tr am- ino;. The same individual cannot ejYimine both o-old coins and the Scriptures — cannot both sip ivines, and understand the Apostles and the Prophets.' Vigi- lantius had been trained to scriptural knowledge by Sulpicius and Paulinus. He had lived in the most familiar and friendly intimacy with two men, who scarcely ever spoke or wrote without using a Biblical phrase. It was said of him that he wdiS' pernecessarius'* to Paulinus, who spake of him in the very terms, which he employed to express his affection for his beloved friend Sul- picius f . * One who sips wine ' — this was an insinuation of more or less severity, accordingly as it meant to impute a profession or a habit to Vigilantius, If it was only intended to signify that the Gaul had been brought up in a tavern or a vineyard, let it pass : controversialists cannot refrain from indulging in this kind of sarcasm : but if it intimated that Vigilantius was an habitual and intemperate wine-drinker, the inconsistency of the charge appears on the face of the letter which contains it — ' I as a Christian, speaking to you as a Christian ! ' Let this admission be com- pared with subsequent scurrilities. Equally in- consistent is the petulant sentence which asserted that the same person could ' not examine gold coins and the Scriptures,' for it is stated in the same page that the Gaul's gold was employed in the pur- Baronins. 5. 275. Pa^i. 2. 73. t See p. J68. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A. D. mi chase and circulation of books, some of which must have been books of sacred literature. ' At least save your money, with which you are hiring scribes and copyists, and are employing them as clerks and p- 347. partisans ^ for perhaps they praise you that they may profit by your iDritings.' The next passage in the epistle recommends Vigilantius ' to give himself up to grammar, and rhetoric, and philosophy.' Sacred writings and sacred studies, therefore, occupied the Gallic presbyter at Calagorris ; and thus did nfitsXf he qualify himself, and those among whom he JJaTi-""' circulated his transcriptions, to examine the cor- Pj^f^^f '" rupt novelties in faith and discipline, which the studies. Fathers of the fourth century were introducing into the church. The general ignorance and unpolished style of Vigilantius were favourite subjects of Jerome's invectives, not only in this epistle, but in other places also, when he took occasion to speak of him. Gennadius, however, who lived about a century afterwards, and may have seen some of the writings of Vigilantius, gave him credit for eloquence, and allowed that his works were admired*. Erasmus has observed, with great justice, that the sentences which Jerome has quoted from the works of the Gaul do not by any means betray defects of style f. * * Scripsit et ipse, religionis quidem zelo, aliqua ; sed seductus humana laude, et praesumens supra vires suas, homo lingua politus, consensu scripturarum exercitatus, exposuit pravo ingenio visionem Danielis, et alia locutus est frivola, quae in Catalogo liEereticorum ponuntur.' — Gennadii. Catal. 35. t Erasmi Op. vol. iii. f. 55. cited by Bebel, Ant. o, p. 823. 368 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398. ' The Greek prove?'b is true {"Ovu \,;pa.*) in applica- ' tion to you' — ' What is the lyre to an ass ? ' This ^* * ■ was one of the monk's severe remarks at the expense of his adversary ; and he follows it up by a sorry joke upon his name, which he says was given to him hy antiphrasis , because of his dull There is ^^^^ skepii iitttuve. The charge which follows is of reason to ■« •' ^ doubt the a more serious nature, and should be received truth of _ Jerome's with ffrcat hcsitatiou. ' The mountain 7nentioned most serious _ *-' ^ charge in DauieL from luhich the stone was cut without against Vi- '^ giiantius. httuds, is thc devH, and that stone is Christ, because he having assumed a body from Adam^ who formerly had adhered to the devil by sin^ was born of the Virgin, that he might separate man from the moun- tain, that is from the devil' Vigilantius is accused of giving this wild interpretation to the passage in Daniel, chap. ii. 34, 35, 45. We have not his own words ; we have not his explanation of the construction which he put on the prophecy ; we have nothing but his opponent's allegation, and the slight allusion made to it by Gennadius ; we can there- fore only admit that if such was our Presbyter's exposition of Scripture at this period of his history, he was then totally unfit to expound the word of God. He was asleep and dreaming, and he required all the time and attention which he afterwards gave * Tliere are several forms in which this proverb is written. '"Ovoj xipas subaudi a.Kpoar'ijs, i.e. Asinus lyres auscultator,' — ' T* -^hp koi,v6v, (pdcri, \ipa Kai 6i>a> ; Quid enim commercii, quod did solet, asino cum hjral' — '"Oj-os \vpas iJKBffe, kcli adXirilyos vs; Asinus lyram auscultavit ct porcus tubam.' See Erasmi. Adagior. 35. Opera. Er. 2. p. 164. ' Asino quippe Lyra superfine canit.' See Hier. 4. ii. p, 61. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 359 to sacred subjects, before he could venture again to open his mouth, and to use his writing-tablets as a commentator on any portion of holy writ. But I hesitate not to maintain that there must be some gross mis-statement or exaggeration. The extra- vagant absurdity of this interpretation is totally unlike the general character of the man's exposi- tion of Scripture. His acceptation of the word of God, to judge from his rejection of the theories of Origen, and from his horror of Jerome's apparent leaning to them, was the very reverse of that which is here imputed to him. It was plain, sober-minded, and unvisionary, and was marked by a rigid adherence to the dictates of common sense and sound reasoning. I entreat the reader to examine Jerome's ac- count of the matter, both in the original Latin, and in Mr. Stevenson's close and literal transla- tion, and he will find marks of hearsay and calumnious imputation, which rests on no good authority. Jerome does not say that it was an interpretation found in the writings of Vigilantius, but a some- thing that he had uttered with his mouth. ' For among the blasphemies which you have uttered with your sacrilegious mouth, yow have dared to say that the mountain,' &c. * Such a tongue ought to be cut out, and torn in morsels and shreds.' ' The devil never appears to have spoken more blasphemy than by your mouth^ There is not the slightest evidence that Jerome had read any treatise avowed by Vigilantius, con- A.D. 398. 360 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A.D, 398. taining the pretended exposition. Gennadius mentions it on the authority of Jerome only, and the expression he uses is ' alia locutus est frivola.' ' He spoke other foolish things.' Jerome does not repeat the accusation in any of his invectives afterwards * : we may therefore dismiss it as an empty and ridiculous piece of slander, which is unsupported by direct or indirect testimony, and which has not the least shadow^ of probability to rest on. The angry monk, whose cell was open to every sort of gossip brought by travellers and pil- grims from the West, received a story which he would have been ashamed to record, had not his temper been soured by controversy and asceticism. He exhausted, in his epistle to the maligned Gaul, every epithet in the vocabulary of abuse : he had recourse to proverbs and figures of speech to enable him to pronounce his opponent a fool and an ass, and a sleepy blockhead ; and he concludes by raking up a tale, told him by he could not remember whom, in order that he might stamp ' sacrilegious blasphemer ' on the brow of a man whose reputation he was assailing, and whose name has been handed down to posterity as a heretic f, on no other contemporary authority than * I^am inclined to think, that when Rufinus accused Jerome of bringing a slanderous accusation against Vigilantius, which he dare not repeat, he referred to this: — ' Quando testimonium de Scripturis in eum tam injuriose posuisti, ut ego id repetere meo ore non audeam.' — Hier. Op. 4. ii. 457. t It is unwise to allow ourselves to be prejudiced against the ' Re- monstrants' of the fourth and fifth centuries, by the loose invectives of Jerome and his followers. Vigilantius figures in Rome's Catalogue MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 361 his own. The exhortation to repentance, which Jerome appended to his epistle, proves the state of mind in which he wrote it.' Do penance, that you may ohtahi pardon when the devil shall p. 240 obtai?i it.' Such was the holiness of this ' holy and happy- time.' of Heretics. Jerome is the principal witness against him. See his Commentary on Isaiah. Jerome there speaks of' t/ie Heretics who lately sprung up under their stupid master in Gaul:' meaning Vigilantius. ' HEeretici, quales nuper sub magistro cerebroso in Galha pullularunt.' Hier. Op. 3. p. 482, in Isai. c. 65. But in his Commentary on Hosea, the same consistent Doctor assures us, that ' no man can construct a heresy, but he who is of an ardent genius, and has the gifts of nature which are implanted in him. by God.^ ' Nullus enim potest haeresim struere, nisi qui ardentis ingenii est, et habet dona naturae quae a Deo artifice sunt creata.' — Ibid, in Ose. c. x. p. 1301. The Benedictine editors mark this passage with their marginal notes — ' Heeretici habent acumen ingenii.' ' Doctissimi Hwretici.^ If Vigilantius was not only a Heretic, but the founder of a sect of Heretics, how could he be the fool and ass which Jerome has represented him to be in this Epistle? A. D. 398. 3G2 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. CHAP. XVII. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. A.D. The letter of Jerome, contained in the last chap- 398-404. , , 1 1 . , . . 1 • 1 TT- • ter, had no relation to the opinions which Vigi- inAqdtdn. lantius aftcrwai'ds propagated in Gaul ; we are therefore to infer that he had not yet publicly assailed the worship of relics, vigils at the graves of the martyrs, and other corrupt practices, which were then occupying the attention of the devout, more than the indispensable truths of the gospel. The controversies on topics connected with the errors of Origen, the collection and value of relics, and the meritorious performances of monks and hermits, fill so many of the pages of the ec- clesiastical writers who were flourishing at the end of the fourth century, that it is evident the doctrine of Christ's full and perfect satisfaction was not sufficiently brought into prominent vievv^. Fanaticism in all its forms had pushed sober piety out of place, and we scarcely know where to look for a description of that humble and useful Christian character, in the midst of busy life and MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. .303 A. D. ;598-404. social duties, which is so common in our own times.* We are attempting to follow Vigilantius into his native country, at the southern extremity of Aquitain, which at this period comprised the Novempopulania, and the Narbonnese, and we feel the want of the details necessary to explain the life he led, and the principles on which he endeavoured to introduce a reform into the church. Now it is, when he was about to declare himself, in protestation against corruptions which had become universal, that we are craving to learn with whom he associated ; by what steps he advanced: what course of reading, what train of How was he thought, and what process of reasoning enabled him to come conspicuously forward, as an oppo- nent of Jerome in a new field of discussion. But we have not enough to gratify our curiosity, and, in the loss of his own writings, we can only pick our way cautiously through those of the author who has maligned him. After the Epistle of Jerome, which I have dated a.d. 398, we hear nothing more of him until the year 404, when the complaint of some neighbouring priests drew forth the monk's letter to Riparius, in which Vigilantius is accused of inveighing against the homage paid to the ashes and sepulchres of the martyrs. * I cannot refrain from quoting a beautiful passage from ' Ancient Christianity,' in wliich the domestic condition of the Ro^an Chris- tianized world in the fifth century is compared with our own. ' No single indication does he (Salvian) furnish of the existence around him, or anywhere within his knowledge, of domestic Christian purity, spirituality, and peace. Nothing like that which, thank God! adorns and blesses thousands and tens of thousands of British Protestant homes.' — No. v. p. 03. 364 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398-404. The bare fact, that so long an interval elapsed before he re-appeared on the stage of controversy, is favourable to his character. It shows that, feeling incompetent to agitate theological ques- tions without better preparation for the discussion, he suffered himself to be silenced by the tirade of Jerome, and was several years in training ere he The diffi- ventured to resume the contest. On every previous dence oi V i- "^ i giiantius. occasion he had exhibited the same diffidence, and was slow to avow sentiments in opposition to those of the persons whom he was accustomed to respect. Jerome's insinuation (page 346) that Paulinus suspected him of entertaining notions unlike those which prevailed at Nola, and that he himself had some reason to be dissatisfied with Vigilantius at Bethlehem : his complaint that Vigi- lantius was stirred up by Rufinus to engage in the Origenist dispute ;• — the readiness of Vigilantius to retract his words, and to ask pardon for what he had said in disparagement of Jerome ; and his uncontrolled delight when he heard Jerome dis- course like an orthodox Christian on the resurrec- tion of the body ; — his retirement of twelve months, and his study of that subject, before he undertook to write upon it; — and now again his hesitation of several years before he protests publicly against what he believed to be superstitious folly ; — all this proves that our Gallic reformer was not a rash declaimer, but a calm and thoughtful remonstrant. We may therefore fairly give him credit for fortify- ing himself by prayer and scriptural research, and by the counsel of good men, before he undertook MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 365 to enter the lists against the doughty champions, 39'^:404. who were arrayed on the side of spiritual abuses. - —~ -J I _ Iho ])ohti- I will take advantage of this pause in the his- cai, loii- ° i gious, and tory of Vigilantius, to survey the province in moraicondi- which he was residing- and to see if there was Aquitainat ^ ' this crisis. anything in its political, religious, and moral condition to shock the feelings of the presbyter, who had been trained in the virtuous school of Sulpicius and Paulinus : and to direct him at the same time to something deeper and more satisfy- ing than the system, on which he had hitherto been taught to rely for safety in the hour of tem- poral and spiritual danger. As the earthquake in Palestine was likely to have acted upon his con- science through his fears, so may the aspect of public affairs, and the fast coming judgments of God, have been of a kind to excite apprehensions for himself and his fellow-countrymen, and to urge him to hasten for his life, and to plant his foot on a firmer foundation of hope, both for time and eternity, than that which the veneration of dead men's bones, and vigils at the graves of martyrs, could afford. Calagorris was so situated, that its inhabitants could take shelter at the shortest notice in moun- tain retreats known only to themselves : they could retire into the caverns of rocks or coverts of forests inaccessible to the stranger : they could also descend in a few hours into the plains, and be in the midst of all the salubrity and beauty of the finest climate and the richest productions. rpi Ij.1.1 1 1 1 The climate Ihe orange and the lemon have perhaps been ofAquitain. VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 398-404. Licentious- ness of the inhabitants. introduced since ; but it was a ' land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills : a land of wheat and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates : a land of oil olive, and honey,' of flowers and aromatic shrubs : a land where they ate bread without scarceness, and where cattle, game, and fish, venison and wild-fowl furnished the chase and the table with a never-failing supply. Into this delicious region the native of the Pyrenean border could transport himself at pleasure, or he could stand on the last slope of the mountain ridge, which overhangs the Garonne and its tributary streams, and delight his eye with the vales, which stretched towards Tho- louse, and glistened under the brightest of suns and clearest of skies. That part of the pro- vince, of which Thoulouse was the capital, had become one of the most licentious of the whole Roman empire ; and while its affluence was off*er- ing a tempting prize to the barbarian invaders, who were now hovering over this part of Gaul, the eff'eminacy of the people, and their total inability to resist a hostile force, exposed them a helpless prey to the first horde that should pour down upon them. The empire of the Caesars was fast breaking up. The imperial government held its reins with a feeble hand : the provincial officers were utterly unworthy of the trust committed to them : the nobles were selfish, and devoted to their own indulgences : the people were indolent, and indiff'erent to every feeling of patriotism : the legionary troops had neither discipline nor motive MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 367 of any kind to give them confidence either in the 39'^8.4n4. camp or field. Consequently public spirit was extinct, and the people, who expected every day to see their houses plundered and their lands laid waste, were living like gamblers and desperate profligates, who were resolved to make the most of the present hour. A singular proof had been given, about this time, of the utter degeneracy of the once celebrated Roman legions. They com- plained of their defensive armour, and insisted on having the heavy helmet, shield, and cuirass changed for lighter panoply. What could such an army do to arrest the torrent which was rolling towards the south of Europe ? Greece had already been ravaged : the northern Alps had been sur- mounted by the invader's daring foot, and nothing was able to prevent an irruption into the seven provinces of Gaul. The panic had begun, and the frightful forms of death and abomination, which none could avert, were seen from afar off. At this crisis, very different was the conduct of various professors of Christianity and ministers of the gospel. Some of the latter, disgusted by the general depravity, desirous of flying from the contagion of evil, or alarmed for their personal safety, had deserted their parochial charges and betaken themselves to the monasteries. Others had become negligent and careless, and were state of re- absorbed in the common vortex of iniquity. Many of the laics, who were religiously disposed, but who had no spiritual guidance to keep them in tlie right way, separated themselves from their 368 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D. 39&-404. Salvian's account. domestic and social ties, put away their wives, abandoned their children, and professing a new kind of abstinence, occasioned great scandal to the name of Christianity. Abandonment of some sort seemed to be the universal infatuation. The licentious, and they who cared nothing about religion, were given over to work all uncleanness with greediness. The pious were not satisfied with the precepts of the law and the gospel, but tried to find out for themselves a more perfect way, and sought new means of propitiating the Divine wrath, of gaining for themselves superna- tural protectors, and of appeasing a God, who, as they were taught to believe, was not satisfied with the sacrifice of his only-begotten Son. The uncontradicted accounts of Salvian, a priest of Aquitain, who wrote soon after the dreadful ca- tastrophe had taken place, of which the distant sound of the Gallic trumpet was now the alarum, give a graphic picture of the lovely aspect of the country, contrasted with the deplorable state of public morals. * Who will deny,' said Salvian, * that the people of Aquitain possessed the very garden of all Gaul, and that they revelled not only in the midst of abundance, but in the enjoyment of what was con- sidered still more precious — pleasure, mirth, and beauty. The whole region bloomed with the vine, or was enamelled with meadows ; was divided into well- cultivated fields, or was planted with fruit- trees, or shaded with groves, or irrigated with fountains, or watered by rivers, or waved with MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 369 corn ; so that they appeared to be not merely the lords of the soil, and to have their lot cast in a goodly heritage, but to be the possessors of a para- dise.'* 'But,' he continues, 'as the people of Aquitain were the first in riches, so were they the foremost of all the Gauls in vice. Nowhere was voluptuousness more wanton, conduct more abo- minable, or discipline more relaxed.' t Salvian had previously declared that his coun- trymen were unworthy of their gospel privileges ; that no part of Christendom was more corrupt ; that they were worse than the barbarians who had over- run their land ; J and that their Christian teachers had not properly inculcated Christian morals. § Some of this writer's sentences present fearful views of the result of such wickedness. ' And although they are delivered over to the barbarians, in consequence of their impure lives, they do not correct their impurities even in the presence of the barbarians.' ' Can we wonder, if the lands of the Aquitanians, or of all of us, have been given over to the barbarians by God, when that, which we have polluted by our profligacy, the barbarians have cleansed by their chastity ? '|| Salvian did not exempt even the monks from this sweeping charge, although he was himself * Salvian de Gubernationc Dei, lib. vii. p. 248. Noiibergae, 1623. t Ibid. p. 2r,0. + Ibid. p. 99. § Ibid. p. 149. II ' Ciimque ob impiirissimam vitam traditi a Deo barbaris fiierint, impuritatcs tamen ipsas etiam inter barbaros non relinquunt.' — Ibid. p. 252. ' Et miramur, si terrtc vel Aquitanorum, vel nostrum omnium a Deo barbaris data? sunt ; cum ea qune Romani polluerant fornica- tione, nunc mundent barbari castitate?' — Ibid, p, 2.54. 2 B A. I). ;}.08-4(l4. 370 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 398-404. (ievoted to the monastic institutions. In one place he says, ' I except all the religious,' meaning- the monastic fraternities, but in other places he in- cludes clergy and monks, and those who had put away their wives and professed continence and sanctity, in the number of abandoned sinners on whom the wrath of heaven had justly fallen.* And what was Vigilantius doing while the tem- pest was lowering, and wars and rumours of wars were heard on the frontiers ? He was protesting against the corrupt practices of the superstitious and fanatical. But was that all ? I confess my regret that I can do so little towards exhibiting him in the character of a presbyter ; and here I may Difficulties, alludc again to the disadvantage under which I have laboured throughout the whole of this vo- lume. I have the unthankful and invidious task of pointing out the errors of eminent men, and of introducing a Reformer to my readers, without the power of giving any of those delightful biographical sketches, which render the Reformer's office and pretensions pleasing. I can only vindicate him from the aspersions of his adversaries ; and the vindication unfortunately becomes a series of at- tacks on the principles or dispositions of some of those who have been esteemed Christian saints. Admirable traits of many kinds, holy sayings and doings, anecdotes and characteristics, which command respect and win applause, may be set * Compare Salvian, lib. iv. p. 135, with lib, iii. pp. 91—93, and lib. V. pp. 185 — 7. MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 371 against the follies and faults, which the plan of 398:404 my book forces me to write up against the Jeromes and Martins of the fourth and fifth centuries ; while I can only gather here and there a stray flower wherewith to weave a garland for Vigilan- tius. And this is not the worst of it. I lay myself open to the suspicion, that, while I expose the blemishes of the patristical system, I hate its virtues. But it is not so.* Because the mis- chievous part of it has been cloaked, and the attempts of those who remonstrate against its errors, and its adaptation to present times, have been misrepresented and decried, therefore the truth of history requires a counter-statement. Such I am attempting to give, fearless of, but not blind to, the misconstruction and censure to which I may be exposing myself. " Let God be true, but every man a liar." Christ is the foundation laid. What has been built upon this foundation ? Gold, silver, and precious stones ; or wood, hay, stubble ? This is the inquiry. Truth and light are what we want, and if these be found, and the clouds of doubt and darkness be dispersed, it matters not what system * ' Let the Christian philosopher say whether there must not have been some fatal error attaching to a system, which even when worked with all imaginable intensity of purpose, by a man like Augustine, could have had such an issue. The purport of all we are affirming in this controversy is this, not that Cyprian and Augustine were not personally good and zealous men, — those who misrepresent us as affirming any such thing well know that we have carefully respected the reputation of eminent individuals, — but we say that the Church system of the Nicene age was such as must bring about, and invari- ably has brought about, after a little interval, universal profligacy.' — Ancient Christianity, No. 5, p. 66. 2 B 2 372 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. 398^404. shall perish, or what hypothesis shall come to an " end. ' Zev Trarep, aWa uv pvffai iitt' f)6po$ vlas 'Axaiw:'" Tloirjcrov 5' aXQprjv, hhs 5' (x^QaKfioicnv iSecrBai,' "Ev 5e (pdeL Kai oKecraov.' — Iliad, 17. G45 — 7. When the destroying armies of the Goths and Vandals were ravaging Christian Europe, and sparing the house neither of God nor man, the enemies of the gospel said, that they were exe- cuting the judgments of heaven upon the professors of a false religion. In reply to this, Salvian wrote Theprovi- hjg book ' On the Providence of God,' and main- dence of SV'"*^' tained that the Almighty was not punishing Chris- tians because their religion was untrue, but be- cause they themselves were false to their own principles, and did not act up to the doctrines and spirit of their holy faith. Salvian's argument, therefore, was, that God vindicated his justice in the punishment of unworthy Christians. Mine is, that God at the same time vindicated his mercy, by Vigiiantius raisiuff UD witncsscs of his truth. Anions^ these a witness of . , . . the truth, was Vigilantius, and though we read of him only as one who was held up to hatred for protesting and reasoning against the follies of a system, which produced laxity of morals, and shut up the great majority of professing Christians in ignorance of the pure doctrines of the gospel, yet in spite of the obloquy cast upon him, I believe that he was leading a virtuous and holy life, and that he was not merely remonstrating against error, but was actively promoting godliness. The letters of Je- rome admit that there were bishops who took his MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 373 part, and that the prelate, who presided over the 398.404. diocese wherein he first promulgated his tenets against relic-worship, did not think it necessary to silence him, but rather acquiesced with him. Moreover, in Jerome's most bitter invectives, not a single proof is offered to show that the once ' holy No proof of ^ >■ _ •'his being presbyter' had become an evil-doer, or that there gi'jity of the ^ ■' . _ dc'lin([uen- was any s^round for branding- him as a glutton and cies imputed "^ P . to him. a wme-bibber. Surely the unsparing adversary, who raked up everything that could be collected to the discredit of the Gaul, who reviled him for having formerly been a tavern-keeper, who sneered at him for his terror on the night of the earth- quake, and taunted him with having been guilty of a false interpretation of scripture, referring with minute particularity to the passage which he had misunderstood : surely, I say, this severe censor would not have omitted the details of time, and place, and circumstance, had Vigilantius really been an offender against the morality or the essen- tial truths of Christianity. But not an instance of immorality or heresy, no, not one is adduced, during the six years that intervened between our presbyter's libel, as it was called, against Jerome, and his Treatise against the prevailing supersti- tions. It was known that he was spending his money in the collection and transcription of books, and in visiting the churches of Gaul ; that he was agitating questions which have since divided Christendom, and was bringing over others to his opinions, which were at variance with those of the most celebrated doctors of the church ; and that 374 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES, A. D. 398-404. he was in favour with certain bishops : all this was reported by some of the neighbouring priests, who were watching his conduct ; and yet not one act of negligence as a minister of the church, nor of profli- gacy as a man, nor of heterodoxy as a Christian, is recorded to stain his memory. When Jerome had anything bad to tell, he told it freely enough ; but the worst that he could say, in the year 402, [when, according to Tillemont and Pagi, he wrote his second, and perhaps, his third. Apology against Rufinus,] was that Vigilantius was a simpleton, urged on by Rufinus to vent his malice against his former friend.* Baronius, with all his asperity, makes this extraordinary remark, that Vigilantius, up to the time when he avowed his repugnance to the veneration of relics, was regarded as a holy man.f As a holy man then he must have lived, and as such he was still living, when Jerome, in reply to some information received from Riparius, a Gallic priest of the diocese of Tholouse, wrote the annexed letter, in the year 404 or 405. * See Apol. 3, apud Hier. Op. 4. pars ii. p. 457. + ' Hactenus inter sanctos perfidus latuisset.' Sub. an. 406, vol. v. p. 275. How could the man whom Baronius stigmatises as stvprator, bestia, monstrum (see p. 278) be mistaken for a holy man? MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 375 Letter of Jerome to Riparius, (37 AL 53.)* 404; [Mr. Stevenson's translation, from the edition of Vallarsiiis. Verona, 1734.] ' Having received letters from you for the first time, not to answ^er them would be a mark of pride ; to answer them would be rash ; for you question me about matters which it is sacrilege both to utter and to hear. You say that Vigilantius (who Kar avrtf^txa^v is SO Called) is again opening his foul mouth, and is casting out the vilest nastiness against the relics of the holy Martyrs, styling us wlio receive them, cinder-gatherers and idolaters, because we venerate the bones of dead men. Un- happy man that he is, and to be lamented with a whole fountain of tears, who, in so saying, perceives not that he is a Samaritan and a Jew, who regard the bodies of the dead as unclean things, and ima- *HIERONYMI EPISTOLA XXXVII. Alias 53. Scripta anno 404, vel AD RIl'ARIUM PHESBYTERUM. circiter. Acceptis primum litteris tuis, non respondere, superbiae est : re- spondere, temeritatis. De his enim rebus interrogas, quas * et proferre * Al. qu^, et audire, sacrilegium est. Ais Vigilantium, qui kot' avritppaaiv hoc ^'^" * • vocatur nomine, (nam Dormitantius rectius diceretur,) os foetidum Itainsupe- rursus aperire, et putorem spurcissimum contra sanctorum Martyrum ^^°" P^^' proferre rehquias ; et nos, qui eas suscipimus, appellare cinerarios et Hoc nomine idololatras, qui mortuorum hominum ossa vcnercmur. O infehcem Jfi'!'",^. ' ' Latuolici a hominem, et omni lachrymarum fonte plangendum ; qui \\xc dicens, Calvinistis. non se intelligit esse Samaritanum et Judteum, qui corpora mortuorum, 376 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. P. 404. gine that even the vessels which are in the same house are polluted ; following the letter which killeth, and not the spirit which giveth life. We however do not worship and adore, I do not say the relics of the Martyrs, but even the sun and the moon ; we do not worship and adore the Angels, nor the Archangels, nor the Cherubim, nor the Sera- phim, nor any name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, lest we serve the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed for ever. But we honour the relics of the Martyrs, that we may adore Him Whose Martyrs they are. We honour the servants, that the honour of the servants may redound to the Lord, who says, *' He that receiveth you receiveth Me." Are the relics of Peter and Paul therefore unclean ? Shall the body of Moses be unclean, which, ac- cording to the Hebrew text, was buried by the Lord Himself? And do we venerate the temples of idols, as often as we enter the churches of the Prophets and the Apostles, and of all the martyrs ? and are the tapers lit before their tombs the ensigns Qiiomodo vencramur reliquias sanctorum. Matt. X. 40. Hebraica Veritas. pro immundis habent, et etiam vasa qwe in eadem domo fuerint, pollui suspicantur ; sequentes occidentem litteram, et non spiritum vivificantem ! Nos autem non dico Martyrum reliquias, sed ne solem quidem et lunam, non Angelos, non Archangelos, non Cherubim, non Seraphim, et omne nomen quodnominatur et in prsesenti saeculo et in futuro, colimus et adoramus ; ne serviamus creaturEe potius quam Crea- tori, qui est benedictus in saecula. Honoramus autem reliquias Martyrum , ut eum cujus sunt Martyres adoremus. Honoramus servos, ut honor servorum redundet ad Dominum, qui ait ; Qui vos suscipit, me sus- cipit. Ergo Petri et Pauli immundae sunt reliquiae ? Ergo Moysi corpusculum immundum erit ? quod juxta Hebraicam Veritatem ab ipso scpultum est Domino ? Et quotiesquumque Apostolorum et Pro- MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 377 A. D. 404. of idolatry ? Can I say aught more which may fall back upon the head of the author, and cure or destroy his mad brain, lest the souls of the simple ones should be perverted by such sacrilege ? Was the Body, then, of our Lord unclean, when it was placed in the sepulchre ? and the angels clothed in white garments, did they watch by a dead and polluted body, that after many centuries Dormi- tantius should dream, yea even belch forth his most unclean surfeit, and with Julian the perse- cutor should either destroy the churches of the saints, or convert them into temples ? ' 2. I am surprised that the holy bishop, in whose diocese he is said to be a presbyter, should ac- quiesce in his madness, and should not, with his apostolic rod, his rod of iron, dash in pieces the useless vessel ; and deliver him for the destruc- tion of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. Let him remember that passage, " When thou ps. i. m. phetarum, et omnium Martyrum Basilicas ingredimur, toties idolorum templa veneramur ? accensique ante tumulos eorum cerei, idololatiiaj insignia sunt? Plus aliquid dicam, quod redundet in auctoris caput : Accensi et insanura cerebrum, vel sanet aliquando, vel deleat; ne tantis sacri- cerei ante legiis simplicium animffi subvertantur. Ergo et Domini Corpus in Martyrum. sepulcro positum, immundum fuit? Et angeli, qui candidis vestibus utebantur, mortuo cadaveri atque polluto prscbebant excubias ;* ut post * ^.1. exequi- multa saecula Dormitantius somniaret, immo eructaret immundissimam «*, MS. D. crapulam : et cum Juliano persecutore, Sanctorum Basilicas aut des- trueret, aut in templa con verteret ? Miror sanctum Episcopum, in cujus parochia esse Presbyter dicitur, acquiescere furori ejus : et non virga Apostolica, virgaque ferrea confringere vas inutile, et tradere in interitum carnis ; utspiritus salvus fiat. Meminerit illiusdicti : Si videbas furem Ps.xlix.lG.* * The references to the Psalms in the Latin correspond with the Benedictine edition, and with the Vulgate. 378 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. A. D, 404. sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers." And Ps. ci. 8. in another place, "I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord." And again, Ps- exxxix. "■ Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate Thee, and am not I grieved with those that rise up against Thee ? I hate them with a perfect hatred." If the relics of the Martyrs be not to be honoured, how Ps. cxvi.i5. is it that we read, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." If their bones 2Kingsxiii. pollute those who touch them, how did Elisha, when dead, raise up the dead man, and the dead body (which, according to Vigilantius, lay as an unclean thing) give life ? Were all the camps of the Israelitish army and of the people of God unclean, because they carried the bodies of Joseph and the patriarchs in the desert? and did they carry unclean cinders into the Holy Land ? Joseph also, the typical predecessor of our Lord and Saviour, was he defiled, who with such affection carried the bones of Jacob to Hebron, that he currehas cum eo, etcum adulteris portionem tuam ponebas. Et in alio Ps. c. 8. loco : In matutino interficiebam omnes peccatores teri'ce, ut disperderem Ps.cxxxviii. de civitate Domini omnes operantes iniquitalem. Et iteriim : Nonne 21, 22. odientes te, Domine, odio habiii, et super inimicos iuos tabescebam ? Perfecto odio oderam illos. Si non sunt honorandae reliquiae Martyrum, Ps. cxv. 6. quomodo legimus : Preciosa in conspectu Dotnini mors Sanctorum 4 ReiT. 13. ^w* .' Si ossa eorum polluunt contingentes, quomodo Elisseus mor- * Al.mtam. tuus, mortuum suscitavit, et dedit vitam* quod juxta Vigilantium corpus,^A.Y. jacebat immundum ? Ergo omnia castra Israelitici exercitus et populi Dei fuere immunda, quia Joseph et Patriarcharum corpora portabant in solitudine : et ad Sanctara Terram immundos cineres pertulerunt ? Joseph quoque, qui in typo praecessit Domini Salvatoris, sceleratus fuit ; qui tanta ambitione, Jacob in Hebron ossa portavit; ut immun- MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. '379 A. D. 404. might join his unclean parent to his unclean grandfather and great-grandfather, and couple the dead with the dead ? This tongue should be cut off by the surgeons, or rather this mad head should be cured ; that he, who knows not how to speak, may learn sometimes to keep silence. I once saw this monster, and wished to bind the madman with Scripture testimonies, as with the chains of Hippocrates ; but he went off, he de- parted, he escaped, he burst forth; and between the billows of the Adriatic and the Cottian Alps he has railingly complained against us. For what- ever the madman talks is to be styled bawling and clamour. ' 3. Perhaps you silently in your heart blame me for inveighing against the absent. I will admit to you that I am annoyed. I cannot patiently hear such a sacrilegious person. For I have read of the javelin of Phinehas, of the austerity of Elias, of the zeal of Simon the Canaanite, of the severity of Peter, when he slew Ananias and Sap- phira, and of the decision of Paul, who condemned dum patrem, avo et atavo sociaret immundis, et mortuura mortuis copularet ? O praecidenda lingua a medicis ; immo insanum curandiim caput ; ut qui loqui nescit, discat aliquando reticere ! Ego, ego vidi Viderat hoc aliquando portentum, et testimoniis Scripturarum, quasi vinculis ViOTlantium Hippocratis, volui ligarefiiriosum : sedabiit, excessit, evasit, erupit ; et tjuj,, inter Adriee fluctus, Cottiique regis Alpes, in nos declamando clamavit. Quidquid enim amens loquitur, vociferatio et clamor est appellandus. Tacita me forsitan cogitatione reprehendas : cur in absentem inve- har. Fatebor tibi dolorem meum. Sacrilegium tantum patienter au- Patienter dire non possum. Legi enim seiromasten Phinees, austeritatem Eliae, , . • -r. , i ., . • in eo Jovi- Lt quomodo Luphorbus in Pythagora renatus esse perhibetur, sic in uianns siir- jgto Joviniani mens prava surrexit : ut et in illo, et in hoc diaboli rexit. ... . Isa. xiv. respondere cogamur insidiis. Cui jure dicitur : Semen pessimum, para sec. Ixx. Jilios tuos occisioni peccatis patris tui. llle Romanae Ecclesise auctori- * Vide Gen- tate damnatus,* inter phasides aves et carnes suillas non tarn emisit r t'w"' spiritum quam eriictavit. Iste caiipo Calagurritanus et in perversum OuintiH- propter nomen viciili mutiis Quintilianiis, miscet aquam vino : et de anus, unde artiticio pristine, suae venena perfidias Catholicae fidei sociare conatur, "' ' impugnare virginitatem, odisse pudicitiam, in convivio ssecularium MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. 301 A. D. 406. fasts of the saints. Whilst he philosophises in his cups, and feeds upon dainties, he is charmed with ■ the melody of psalms, so that he condescends to hear the songs of David, and Idithun, and Asaph, and the sons of Chore, only in the midst of feast- ing. Unable any longer to restrain myself, and to turn a deaf ear to the wrong done to the apostles and martyrs, I have spoken as I have done, not in ridicule, but in sorrow. ' 2. What wickedness ! He is said to have bishops vigiiantius . . ' encouraged associated with him in his crime, if indeed those by bishops. persons are to be styled bishops who ordain no deacons except such as are already wedded, who give credit for chastity to no unmarried person, nay rather who demonstrate how saintly is the life of those who suspect evil of every one ; and who confer not the sacraments unless they see that the wives of [their] clergy are pregnant, and that children are crying at their mothers' bosoms. What are the Eastern churches to do? what the churches of Egypt ? what the church of the apos- contra sanctorum jejunia proclamare ; dum inter phialas philosopha- tur, et ad placentas liguriens, Psalmorum modulatione mulcetur : ut tantum inter epulas, David et Idithun, et Asaph et filiorum Chore cantica audire dignetur. Haec dolentis magis effudi animo quam ridentis, dum me cohibere non possum ; et injuriam Apostolorum ac Martyrum surda nequeo aure transire. Proh nefas, episcopos sui sceleris dicitur liabere consortes, si tamen episcopi nominandi sunt, qui non ordinant diaconos, nisi prius uxores duxerint : nulli coehbi credentes pudicitiam, imo ostendentes quam sancte vivant, qui male de omnibus suspicantur ; et nisi praegnantes uxores viderint clericorum, infantesque de ulnis matrum vagientes, * MS. ac- Christi sacramenta non tribuunt. Quid facient Orientis Ecclesiae ? quid "^'^^ Cceliha- iEgypti, et sedis Apostolicae, quae aut virgines clericos * accipinnt, cnrum. •^!'2 VIGILANTIUS AND HIS TIMES. "^•p^- tolic see ? for they accept as clerks such [only] as are virgins, or are continent, or such as cease to be husbands although they have wives. This is the doctrine of Dormitantius, giving the reins to lust, and by his exhortations redoubling the natural warmth of the flesh, which for the most part burns fiercely during youth ; or rather extinguishing it by intercourse with women ; so that we differ in no respect from swine, from brute beasts, from Jtr. V. 8. horses, of which it is written, " They were as fed horses in the morning ; every one neighed after his neighbour's wife." In regard to this the Holy Ps. xxxii. .9. Spirit speaketh by David, " Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understanding;" and again, with reference to Dormitantius, "Whose mouth must be held with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee." * 3. But it is now time for us to quote his sayings, that we may answer them separately. For it * Rufinus, •11 I 1 Ml 1 • u. seePrjfifat. might happcu that the ill-natured interpreter* tom.\ Ep? should once more affirm that the affair had been cxvii. editio • . i i r ^ ^ . . . , Vai. Verona, invented by me lor the purpose oi giving it a de- aut continentes ; aut si iixores habuerint, mariti esse desistnnt? Hoc dociiit Dormitantius, libidini frena permittens et naturalem carnis ardorem, qui in adolescentia plerumque feivescit, suishortatibus dupli- cans, imo extinguens coi'tu feminarum : ut nihil sit quo distemus a porcis, quo difFeramus a brutis animantibus, quo ab equis, de quibus Jer. V. 8. scriptum est : Equi insanientes infeminasfacti sunt mild : unusquisqve in uxorem proximi sui hinnehat. Hoc est quod loquitur per David Ps. xxxi. 9. Spiritus Sanctus : JSolite Jieri sicut equus et mulus, quibus non est intellectns, Et rursum de Dormitantio et sociis ejus: In chamo et freno mnxillas eorurn constrim/e, qui nun npproxinianl ad te. Sed jam tempus est ut ipsius verba ponentes ad singula respondere nitamur. Fieri enim potest, ut rursum malignus interpres dicat fictam MEMORIALS OF VIGILANTIUS. S93 A. n. 40(;. clamatory and rhetorical answer, as I did when I wrote to the mother and daughter in Gaul, who disagreed with each other. This little disser- tation of mine originates in the suggestion of the holy presbyters Riparius and Desiderius, who write to me that their parishes are contami- nated by the vicinity of this person, and who, by brother Sisinnius have sent me the books which this snorer has disgorged in the midst of his sur- feit. They also assert that some persons have been found, who to indulge their own vices, acquiesce in his blasphemies. Although he is unsl. burning and a shining light; " that under the figure of bodily light that light might be exhibited of which we read in the Psalter, " Thy word is a Ps.cxix.105. lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, O Lord." ' 9. Does the bishop of Rome therefore act amiss Reii_gious when he offers to the Lord sacrifices above the the graves bones of those deceased men, Peter and Paul, martyrs. which we consider worthy of veneration, but venerari ? Illud fiebat idolis, et idcirco detestandum est : hoc tit Marty ribus, et idcirco recipiendum est. Nam et absque Martyrum Luminaria reliquiis per totas Orientis Ecclesias, quando legendum est Evangelium, f. ^'^'