correction, not for the destruction, of his creatures. The error was indeed confuted, and presently died away; but the general dislocation of society which occasioned it must have suspended for a time the moral energies of man, and the period of his severest suffering may also have been that of his deepest depravity.

¦ NOTE ON CERTAIN ECCLESIASTICAL WRITERS OF THE FOURTH AND FIFTH CENTURIES.

1. It is probable that LACTANTIUS was a native of Africa, since his first lessons were received from Arnobius, whose school was at Sicca, in that country; but the truth is not undoubtedly known, nor the year of his birth. It is only certain, that he witnessed and survived the persecution of Diocletian, and was selected, in his old age, as preceptor to Crispus, the son of Constantine. He was the most learned Christian of his time; and the record of his necessitous and voluntary poverty may at least persuade us, that his habits were influenced by the spirit of Christian philosophy which adorns his writings.

The Divine Institutions,' his most important work, contain a powerful confutation of Paganism, in a style not uninspired with the genius of antiquity. Lactantius (says St. Jerome *) is as a stream of Ciceronian eloquence; and I would that he had been as successful in confirming our own doctrine as in overthrowing that of others.' He was liable indeed to that reproach, and he shared it with all the apologists who had preceded him; his arguments are often feeble, his assumptions sometimes false, and his conclusions not always sound: but his style deserves great praise; and if his diction occasionally rivals the elegant exuberance of Cicero, (and he is commonly compared, and sometimes preferred, to that orator,) the Christian has reached, through the more elevated nature of his subject, a sublimer range of thought and expression, in the field of moral as well as divine philosophy. A nobler conception of the Deity, and a deeper knowledge of his works and dispensations, have occasionally exalted, above the Roman's boldest flights, a genius clearly inferior both in nature and cultivation.

There is another work still extant, called 'The Death of the Persecutors,' first printed in 1679, and by many attributed (though probably not with. truth) to Lactantius. It is of undisputed antiquityf, and contains some valuable facts not elsewhere recorded; but it is still more remarkable for an attempt to vindicate the temporal retribution of Providence, by asserting ad ann. 406, 407, he more specifically affirms, that Providence sent the invaders into Gaul for the express purpose of destroying the heresy of Vigilantius, and that the greatest devastations were committed in the districts where those errors were most deeply rooted. By an opposite, but not less extravagant, error, Theodosius, legislating nearly at the same time, attributed even the unseasonable severities of the skies to the prolonged existence of Paganism. An diutius perferimus mutari temporum vices irata cœli temperie; quæ Paganorum exacerbata perfidia, nescit naturæ libramenta servare. Unde enim ver solitam gratiam abjuravit? Unde æstas messe jejuna laboriosum agricolam in spe destituit aristarum? Unde intemperata ferocitas ubertatem terrarum penetrabili frigore sterilitatis læsione damnavit—nisi quod ad impietatis vindictam transit lege sua naturæ decretum? Quod ne posthac sustinere cogamur, pacifica ultione, ut diximus, pianda est supremi numinis veneranda majestas.'

Epist. 13, addressed to Paulinus, Bishop of Nola. See Dupin, Nouvelle Biblioth. Vie de Lactance. The Institutions were dedicated to Constantine, probably during the conclusion of the last persecution (between 306 and 311), and may possibly have influenced his religious opinions.

+ Probably published about 315.

the violent ends of the various persecutors. But an endeavour to pervert, with whatsoever promise of temporary profit, the eternal truths of history, can produce no other lasting effect, than to stain the character of the author, and to throw discredit on the cause which is advocated by falsehood. 2. Gregory, son of the Bishop of Nazianzus, was born about 320. He was animated by a strong natural love for literary and religious seclusion, and a disinclination to ecclesiastical dignities, of which we are compelled to acknowledge the sincerity, though it so happened that he occupied, in succession, the sees of Sasimi, of Nazianzus*, and Constantinople. His learning, his eloquence, and his religious zeal preserved him from obscurity, and raised him, in his own despight, from independence and privacy. On a visit to Constantinople, about the year 376, he found the Churches, with only one exception, in the possession of the Arians. In the adversity and humiliation of the Church, he raised his voice against the predominant heresy with boldness and success. Several are believed to have been converted by his arguments; and he continued to instruct and govern the Catholic party, until the accession of the orthodox Theodosius. He was then raised by the command of the Emperor and the affection of the people to a dignity which he neither coveted, nor long retained. Some discontents which followed gave him a pretext for resignation, and he died in 389 in the retirement of his native city.

There remain to us about fifty of his Discourses and Sermons, of which the language and sentiments alike argue a moderate temper and a cultivated mind. The most celebrated among them are the third and fourth, which are directed against the Emperor Julian. In the seventeenth discourse, delivered on the occasion of some seditious disturbances at Nazianzus, in presenting himself as a mediator between the people and the civil officer, he exalts the authority of the Church in very lofty language. He thus addresses the Governor of the city: the law of Christ subjects you to my power and to my pulpit; for ours is the authority-an authority greater and more excellent than that which you possess, unless, indeed, spirit is to be subject unto flesh, and heaven unto earth † : you command with Jesus Christ; it is He with whom you exercise your authority; it is He who has given you the sword which you wear, not so much for the chastisement of crime, as for its prevention by terror and by menace.' It is curious to reflect, that these principles were thus publicly promulgated (in the year 372) within sixty years from the establishment of Christianity, and within nine from the death of Julian. Yet the character of Gregory was mild and forbearing; his twenty-sixth discourse contains some temperate injunctions respecting the treatment of heretics; and both in that and in other places, while he laments the distractions of the Church, and while he proclaims his own attachment to the Catholic doctrine, he is never so unjust as to ascribe the whole evil to the opposite party, nor so partial as to conceal or to spare the vices and scandals which disgraced his own ‡.

Gregory is celebrated for his friendship with St. Basil, the founder of oriental monachism; and the brother of St. Basil was another Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, in Cappadocia. This last was the author of five orations

He was raised to a share of this See, as a kind of Coadjutor to his father, and on his death fled from the city, lest the undivided responsibility should then be forced upon him. Dupin, a liberal Catholic, throws into his translation of this passage the words Church and Princes, neither of which came from the lips of Gregory.

It should be observed, that in his sixth Discourse (delivered before Gregory of Nyssa) he exalts the honour of the martyrs, and even attributes to them the office of mediators.

on the Lord's Prayer, besides various Commentaries on Scripture, and discourses on the mysteries and moral treatises. But the work by which he is most known is his oration on the life of St. Gregory, surnamed Thaumaturgus, or the wonder-worker. That renowned prelate (he was Bishop of Neocæsarea) flourished about one hundred and twenty years before his namesake of Nyssa; so that the stupendous miracles which are so diligently recorded of him by his credulous panegyrist can have no claim on our serious consideration.

3. St. Ambrose was born in Gaul, about the year 340, of Roman and noble parents; he was educated in Italy, and his talents and conduct early raised him to a high civil appointment. In 374, on the vacancy of the See of Milan, a violent dissension arose between the Catholics and the Arians; the Bishops of both parties assembled in great numbers, and the tumultuous divisions of the people not only violated the unity of the Church, but seriously threatened the repose of the State. Ambrose was then Governor-General of the province, and he proceeded in person to compose the disorders. The people were assembled in the principal church, and there he addressed them at length on their civil duties on social order and public tranquillity. His eloquent harangue produced a very different effect from that which had been (at least professedly) proposed by it, for it was followed by the unanimous acclamatory shout-We will have Ambrose for our Bishop.'

Ambrose was not yet baptized†-what religious instruction he may have received in the schools of the Catechumens is uncertain, and it appears to have been exceedingly slight; but he had not yet been admitted to the communion of the faithful. Yet no difficulty seems to have arisen from this obstacle. But the consent of the Emperor was necessary for his translation from a civil to an ecclesiastical office. That consent was granted with immediate alacrity. Still there remained one unforeseen impediment to be overcome-the persevering repugnance of Ambrose to the proposed elevation. But the perseverance of the people was not less obstinate. It was in vain that the Bishop elect, in order to disqualify himself in their eyes for a sacred office, publicly committed some acts of judicial cruelty and flagrant immorality. The people exclaimed- Thy offence be upon our heads.' It was in vain that he escaped from the city and concealed himself at the residence of a faithful friend; he was discovered and conducted in triumph to Milan. At length, conceiving that the will of God was thus irresistibly declared against him, he submitted to assume the ungrateful dignity.

After having passed through the necessary ecclesiastical gradations he was ordained Bishop on the 8th day after his baptism, at the age of 34. His first act was to make over the whole of his property to the Church or the poor; and it should be remarked, that the same charitable disposition continued afterwards to distinguish him. He immediately declared in favour of the Catholic against the Arian doctrine; and though the fury with which the contest was at that time conducted reached and infected him, we cannot justly accuse him of having wantonly inflamed it. The Empress Justinia, the widow of Valentinian, was an Arian, together with

Dupin, Nouv. Biblioth. Vie St. Ambrose. While the infant was one day sleeping in his father's palace, a swarm of bees surrounded his cradle, and after reposing on his lips, suddenly ascended high into the air, and disappeared. Ambrose had been anticipated by Plato-yet the Roman Church has shown no disinclination to adopt the profane miracle.

+ See Fleury, liv. xvii., sect. xxi., &c,

her soldiers and her court; the great body of the people were on the side of Ambrose; and in the year 385 some violent disputes arose, in which the Bishop maintained his spiritual privileges with a courage and a confidence which would not have dishonoured the brightest ages of papacy*. From a contest with a passionate woman, he advanced to measure his strength with a wise and powerful Emperor. Theodosius the Great had very barbarously avenged the murder of some Imperial officers at Thessalonica by the massacre of the inhabitants; and as the Bishop of Milan had previously interfered in their favour, he boldly condemned the sanguinary execution. Theodosius pleaded in his defence the example of David. Since then you have imitated his offence (rejoined the Prelate) imitate also his penitence.' It appears, that for the period of eight months the Emperor was denied all access to the holy offices of the Church-the consolation which was afforded to the lowest of his subjects was refused (as he complainedt) to himself. Finally, after some public humiliation, to remind him of the essential distinctions between the Priest and the Prince, and the spiritual inferiority of the latter, he consented to the performance of public penance, as the condition of reconciliation with the Church. This extraordinary event took place in 390§; and if we have already remarked upon the boldness with which Gregory Nazianzen proclaimed (about eighteen years earlier) the ghostly supremacy of the Church, we must not here omit to observe, that from the conclusion of Diocletian's persecution fourscore years had not yet elapsed, ere a successor of that unrestrained and lawless despot was compelled by the mere influence of opinion to humble himself before the unarmed minister of that religion which his predecessor had designed to exterminate.

Many works of St. Ambrose remain, which exhibit no great indications of literary genius; but they abound in useful moral lessons, which are plentifully interspersed with exhortations to fasting and celibacy, and the other superstitions of the day. It is also recorded, that he performed many astonishing miracles; stories that throw disgrace on an elevated character, which really needed not the aid of imposture to secure respect, or even popularity. He died in 397; and after enjoying universal celebrity during his life, throughout the whole extent of Christendom, he has deserved from succeeding generations the equivocal praise, that he was the first effectual assertor of those exalted ecclesiastical pretensions, so essential to the existence of the Romish system, and so dear to the ambitious ministers of every Church.

4. St. John, surnamed from his eloquence, Chrysostom, (i. e. the Golden

The great influence which Ambrose is shown to have possessed over the populace, not to excite only but to compose its tumults, attests the vigour of his character more certainly, than it proves either his virtues or even his eloquence-though we have no reason to doubt either.

+ See Fleury, liv. xix., sect. xxi. The power to bind and to loose,' as delegated by Christ to his ministers on earth is a favourite theme with St. Ambrose, and asserted by him in a sufficiently extensive sense.

See Theodorit, book v., c. xviii.

§ Six years earlier (according to Fleury) St. Ambrose addressed to Valentinian a letter, in which he strenuously opposed the restoration of the altar of victory at Rome, so warmly pressed by Symmachus. It contains these bold expressions- What answer will you make, then, when a Bishop shall say to you, The Church cannot receive the offerings of him, who has given ornaments to the temples of the Gods; we cannot present on the altar of Jesus Christ the gifts of him who has made an offering to idols. The edict signed by your hand convicts you of that act. The honour which you offer to Christ, how can it be acceptable to him, since at the same instant you offer adoration to idols? No-you cannot serve two masters, &c.' Epistle 17.

Mouthed), was a native of Antioch, of a noble and opulent family. 'In the year 374, while he was still young, he had acquired such distinction, that the neighbouring Prelates elected him to a vacant See; but it is generally affirmed that he refused that dignity, and fled to an adjacent mountain, where he passed four years in the society of an ancient solitary; thence he changed his residence to a frightful cavern, which witnessed for the two following years his rigid austerities. Having completed this preparatory discipline, he entered upon the offices of the ministry; and after edifying his native city for eighteen years by the most animating instructions, he was at once exalted, without solicitation, and even against his professed wish, to the See of Constantinople. Chrysostom carried with him to that dangerous eminence not only the fervour of Christian eloquence, but the severity of monastic virtue; and he thought it little to move the affections and raise the admiration of his audience, unless he could reach their practice and quell their vices. Had he confined his exhortations to the mass of the people, he would have produced less effect perhaps, but he would have excited no odium— but the intrepid and earnest orator rose in his vehement denunciations from the people to the clergy, and from the clergy to the court, without excepting even the Empress herself from his reproaches*. To the keenness of his censures he added the weight of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and both were zealously employed against episcopal licentiousness†, no less than against the vices and scandals imputed to the priesthood, and especially to the monastic orders. But in the tedious and delicate office of ecclesiastical reform, that zeal which is not tempered with moderation, and qualified by due regard for existing circumstances, will commonly ruin the advocate, without benefiting the cause. The disposition of Chrysostom was naturally choleric and impatient, and his noblest intentions were frustrated by his passionate imprudence. Two powerful parties united for his overthrow; and though their first triumph was instantly reversed by an insurrection of the populace, whom his ardent eloquence, the beneficence of his charitable habits and institutions, the austerity of his morals, and the very bitterness of his rebukes, had bound and devoted to him, yet a subsequent condemnation was more effectual; and after a tumultuous rule of six years, Chrysostom was dismissed into exile to a desolate town named Cucusus, among the ridges of Mount Taurus. In that remote residence he passed three years, the last, perhaps the most glorious, of his life-for his virtues were more eagerly acknowledged in his absence, and his genius was endeared, and his errors were obliterated, by his misfortunes. About thirteen years afterwards his relics were removed to Constantinople, and his name assumed an eminent place among the saints of the Church; and it is proper to add, that the justice, which was so abundantly bestowed on the memory of Chrysostom, should in a great measure be attributed to the perseverance of the Bishop of Rome; whose sympathy had consoled him

* Eudoxia, after failing in her first attempt to displace Chrysostom, renewed her hostilities; and it was then that the Bishop delivered the sermon (if indeed he did at all deliver it) beginning with the celebrated words-'Herodias is again furious; Herodias again dances; she once again requires the head of St. John.' An insolent allusion, (says Gibbon), which, as a woman and a Sovereign, it was equally impossible for her to forgive.' Chap. xxxii. The whole account of St. Chrysostom is written with learning, eloquence and fairness.

In his visitation through the Asiatic provinces he deposed thirteen Bishops of Lydia and Phrygia, and passed a very severe censure upon the whole order.

Still his expulsion was not effected without popular commotions, which led to the conflagration of the principal church and the adjoining palace.