Catharine was at length canonized by Pius II., an office was instituted in her honour, of which the hymns affirmed that she had received the stigmata. This was to offer an unpardonable indignity to the Franciscans— for they were jealous of the glory of their patron*, and asserted his exclusive pretension to that intimate sympathy with Christ. Immediately the Dominicans rose in defence of St. Catharine. The office was, nevertheless, denounced to Sixtus IV.; and that Pope presently published an edict, prohibiting any one, under severe penalties, from representing the stig mata of St. Catharine in painting; but he seems afterwards to have retracted his prohibition. These matters took place about the year 1483 -it was the same which gave birth to Luther. About the year 1050, a daily office was instituted to the blessed Virgin, distinguished by seven canonical hours, in a form anciently used in honour of divine majesty; and in the course of the next hundred years the reverence so paid grew into worship. Among the attributes early† ascribed to her, was exemption from original sin; but this opinion was for some time confined to the breasts of a few individuals-it had no place in ecclesiastical ceremonies, or the arguments of the learned ‡. At length, however, about the year 1136, the Canons of Lyons ventured to introduce it into the offices of their Church. St. Bernard immediately opposed that innovation, and attacked the indiscreet zeal of those ecclesiastics. But in the following age, the subject was found to open too large a space for disputation, to escape the polemical zeal of the scholastics-it became, on the contrary, their favourite field of controversy. And since the Dominicans ranged themselves on the one side and the Franciscans on the other §, the contest was heated and perpetuated by monastic jealousy. But it was reserved for the Council of Basle to establish the doctrine, and to excommunicate all who should preach the contrary. A feast was then instituted in honour of the Immaculate Conception, and it received in 1446 the official confirmation of Sixtus IV. || Yet not thus was the controversy composed, nor even the show of concord restored between the contending orders. Without closely pursuing the inexhaustible subject of monastic dissension, we may mention that a violent dispute arose in this age between the Canons regular and the hermits of St. Augustine, respecting the dress assumed by the original monks of that father. The clamour ascended to the Apostolical chair and commanded the attention of Sixtus IV. He published a Bull, in which he wisely enjoined peace to both partieswisely, but vainly;-for the controversy (as it was called) continued for some time longer to disturb the harmony of those holy brethren. A difference, respecting the kind of worship, which is due to the Blood of Christ, first arose at Barcelona, in 1351, between the Dominicans and * Earlier in the same century, an opinion was propagated that those who die in the habit of St. Francis, and making profession of the third order, remain only one year in purgatory; because the saint descends thither once a year, and takes away all those of his order to heaven with him.' This proposition was not beneath the notice of the Council of Basle on the contrary, it was solemnly condemned (May 19, 1443) in the forty-fourth or forty-fifth session. +As early as the ninth century-some ascribe the origin of the opinion to Paschasius Radbertus. See Padre Paolo, Hist. Concil. Trident, lib. ii. Semler (Sec. xiv. cap. 1) mentions 1384 as the year in which the controversy on the Immaculate Conception broke out between the rival orders at Paris. In 1387 the faculty censured John de Montesono for maintaining the less exalted opinion-that is, the opinion of St. Bernard and the Dominicans. Nevertheless, the war continued to rage. || The bull of Sixtus is given by the continuator of Fleury, lib. cxv. s. 102. Franciscans. It was renewed at Brixen in 1462. James a Marchia, a Franciscan, publicly maintained, that the blood, which Christ shed on the cross, did not belong to the divine nature, and consequently was not an object of worship. The Dominicans were roused to fury by an assertion so derogatory to the Redeemer; and the preacher was immediately summoned before the Inquisition. Pius II. made some ineffectual attempts to suppress the controversy; but, finding his authority insufficient for that purpose, he at last submitted the question to a commission of divines. Howbeit, both parties were so highly inflamed, that the doctors were unable to arrive at any decision. At length the Pontiff published a reasonable decree, that both opinions might be lawfully maintained, until Christ's vicegerent should find leisure and opportunity for examining the question' and so the matter rests at this moment. - In 1492, some labourers, repairing the foundations of the Church of the Santa Croce at Rome, discovered what was immediately proclaimed to be the original Inscription on the cross of Christ. The belief was propagated, that it had been sent to Rome by St. Helena, mother of Constantine; and though there was no authority for this tradition, and though the pious Catholics of Toulouse pretended to have possessed the true inscription undisturbed for many ages, Alexander VI. pronounced (four years afterwards) the authenticity of the Roman title, and recommended it by particular indulgences to the devotion of the faithful. On the 29th of May in the same year an ambassador from Bajazet arrived, bearing, as a present to the Pope, the head of the true lance. All the clergy went forth in procession to receive it, and the Pontiff assisted in person at the miserable mummery. Raynaldus likewise assures us (on the authority of Jacobus Rosius) that the sponge and the reed were presented on the same occasion: such were the offerings with which the Infidel insulted the superstition of Christendom, and found his ready agent and most zealous accomplice in the Pope. But while the spiritual guides of the faithful were thus degradingly employed-while absurdity and imposture seemed triumphant in the Church, and the monks and the clergy were lending, in rivalry, their aid to nourish them-a far different spirit was growing up among those who had sought their instruction elsewhere. Many pious Laymen had already explored the forbidden treasures of Scripture. They had long ago abhorred the vices of the ecclesiastical system; they now discovered that whatever in it was wicked was likewise unfounded in truth. They advanced with increasing confidence towards evangelical perfection, just as the Churchmen were rushing most wildly in the opposite direction, and casting wisdom and piety, as if in scorn and detestation, behind them. Yet was there some reason even in this their madness. The superstitions of Rome were closely connected with her authority, and these exerted on each other a reciprocal and potent influence. The superstitions enslaved the consciences, and thus commanded the riches of the faithful; and so they ministered to the Papal power-while, on the other hand, that power Semler, cent. xv. cap. ii. While such were the subjects on which monastic absurdity was exhausted, a very different description of nonsense was in vogue, proceeding more directly from the scholastic method-the following may serve as a specimen. One Jean de Mercœur was condemned in 1346 for errors, among which were the following: (1) Jesus Christ, through his created will, may have willed something, which has never come to pass. (3) In whatsoever manner God wills, he wills efficaciously, that it come to pass. (4) God wills, that such a one sin and be a sinner, and he wills it by his will, at his free pleasure. (5) No one sins in willing otherwise than God wills, that he will,' &c. More may be found in Fleury, lib. xcv, s. 37. established and canonized the abuses: and it had so long been efficient in protecting them, that to many it seemed capable of sustaining them for ever. II. On the Discipline and Morals of the Church. The severe edicts of Gregory VII. against the concubinage of the clergy, and the disorders which followed them, in no very dissolute age of the Church, sufficiently prove that a law, which offended the principles of nature, could not command observance, even though professional zeal and worldly interest and morality itself pleaded against its violation. And if the severity of that Pontiff for the moment abated the scandal, it was never wholly removed, but continued sometimes to elude, and sometimes to defy the unremitted exertions of Popes and Councils. Insomuch that, considered only as an instrument of ecclesiastical policy, it would seem that the celibacy of the clergy has produced less advantage to the Church of Rome by the exclusive spirit which it encourages, and the popular influence of which it facilitates the acquisition, than it has done mischief by the reproach and shame to which it has given unceasing occasion*. Early in the twelfth age, the general relaxation of discipline and morals was deplored by St. Bernard, and it increased in despite General of his eloquent denunciations. From that time forward Demoralization. the Reformation of the Church, in its Head and its members, became a subject of frequent mention, and of constant hope or apprehension, according to the sanctity or the worldliness of individual Churchmen. At the Council of Vienne, the particulars of ecclesiastical corruption were boldly exposed, but imperfectly remedied. During the exile at Avignon the pestilence increased; it was inflamed by the schism, which succeeded; till at length, whatever still remained of learning and excellence in the Church, combined against its further progress. It is superfluous to repeat the names or transcribe the indignant expressions of those Reformers. The truth of their testimony has never been disputed+; and one of the few circumstances in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, which has escaped all controversy, is that of its demoralization. The fathers of Constance and Basle having failed to repair the discipline of the Church, it received no improvement during the interval which succeeded; nor were the examples of Innocent VIII., Älexander VI., or Julius II., well calculated to re-establish the authority of the Canons, or restore the model of antient purity. *The following Canons of a Council held at Toledo in the year 400, sufficiently show the practice of the Church of Spain, nearly 80 years after the Council of Nice. Canon I. 'Married deacons or priests who have not preserved continence with their wives shall not be promoted.' Canon VII. If the wife of a priest has sinned, he may bind her in his house, and make her fast and chastise her...he should not, however, eat with her until she has done penance. Canon XIX. If she be the daughter of a bishop, priest, or deacon,' &c. And again, the widow of a bishop, priest, or deacon, who marries again, shall not receive communion, except on her death-bed.' On this subject Guizot has remarked, that the necessity of recruiting an unmarried clergy from the ranks of the laity was one reason for the failure of the Papal scheme of universal monarchy. To have cured its success (he adds), the clergy ought to have been a distinct caste, bringing up their own children to their own profession. But there is much to be said against this opinion. A caste producing itself is a much more separate and distinguishable object for an enemy's aim, than a body which is incessantly recruiting itself from the mass. La discipline ecclésiastique (says Bossuet) s'étoit relâchée par toute la terre : les désor dres et les abus portés jusqu'aux environs de l'autel faisoient gémir les bons, les humilioient, les pressoient à se rendre encore meilleurs-mais ils firent un autre effet sur les esprits aigres et superbes.' Histoire des Variations, lib. xi. s. 294. We might also refer to the celebrated avowal made (in 1522) by Adrian VI. at the diet of Nuremberg. Cardinal As If there was any country, which at that time had escaped the general degradation, the exception may have been formed by Spain and Spain is chiefly indebted for that distinction to the morose, monastic austerity of Cardinal Ximenes. That haughty Churchman revived the image of the spiritual champions of early days. Under the habit of a Franciscan, he nourished unbounded ambition, and more than pontifical insolence*. regent of the kingdom, he possessed great secular authority; but his religious profession was ever nearest to his heart, and it was his favourite boast, that he could bind the grandees to their duty by his cord, and crush their pride with his sandals.' The object, on which he was most ardently bent, was the conversion of the vanquished Moors. His impatience permitted no method, except compulsion; and no fewer than fifty thousand are related to have submitted to baptism, and made their heartless professions of conformity. The triumph was applauded; the tyrant was feared and imitated; and his severe court presented a remarkable contrast to the licentiousness of Rome. In the opposite extremities of the moral scale the evangelical Christian will discover, perhaps, an equal departure from the will of the Saviour. That selfish arrogance, which swells and hardens under the garb of religion, is scarcely less at variance with the spirit of the Gospel, than positive sensual sin.... Yet both were the inevitable produce of an ecclesiastical system, which was compelled to maintain its hold on the affections of men, by offering, at the same time, encouragement to their fanaticism, and impunity to their vices. Church, if we Benefits conferred by the Church. commonly, in Yet should we be very unjust to the Roman Catholic should allow it to be supposed, that she opened no receptacles for the nurture of true excellence-that in her general institutions, especially in her earlier ages, she has overlooked the moral necessities of man-the truth is far otherwise. We have repeatedly observed, how seasons of barbarism, religion was employed in supplying the defects of civil government and diffusing consolation and security. The Truce of God mitigated the fury of private warfare, by limiting the hours of vengeance, and interposing a space for the operation of justice and humanity. The name of the Church was associated with peacef-and it was a prouder position, than when she trampled on the necks of kings. The emancipation of the Serfs was another cause, equally sacred, in which her exertions were repeatedly employed. In her interference in the concerns of monarchs and nations, she frequently appeared as the advocate of the weak, and the adversary of arbitrary power. Even the much abused law of Asylum served through a long period as a check on baronial oppression, rather than an encouragement to crime. * On one occasion Ximenes opposed the levy of tenths in Spain, though commanded by Leo X., under the pretext of a Turkish war. The Cardinal (should we not rather say the Regent?) informed the Pope, that, unless on the urgency of some very pressing occasion, he would never allow the clergy of Spain, under his government, to become tributary. See Beausobre, Hist. Reform. liv. i. It should be mentioned that Ximenes published a Polyglott Bible. Cont. Fleur. 1. 119, s. 142. + The Peace of the Church' was first proclaimed early in the eleventh century. The particular edict, which was more formally promulgated at the Council of Clermont, prohibited all private warfare from sun-set every Wednesday till sun-rise on the Monday following, so that four days a week were sanctified from acts of violence. On this occasion, we cannot, perhaps, give the Pope much credit for his motives; but our question is not with motives, but with facts. This subject was made a matter of legislation in the Theodosian and Justinian codes, The duty of charity, during the better ages of the Church, was by no means neglected by the secular clergy, while it was the practice and office of the monastic establishments. And even the discipline so strictly inculcated by the earlier prelates, however arbitrary in its exercise and pernicious in its abuse, was not unprofitable in arresting the first steps and restraining the earliest dispositions to sin. Confession and penance, and the awful censures of the Church, when dispensed with discretion, must have been potent instruments for the improvement of uncivilized society. The original principles of monachism were entirely guiltless of the evils which flowed from it in later ages. In the Principles of East, it was the passion for retirement and contemplation Monachism. which chiefly contributed to people the mountains and wildernesses with holy recluses. In the West, it was rather a desire of association for useful purposes, which caused the construction of so many monasteries-schools were connected with their establishment, and whatever impulse was given to the human understanding proceeded from them. In both, they were effectual in drawing off from the virtual exercise of paganism those nominal proselytes, extremely numerous in all ranks of the laity, who concealed, under the profession of Christianity, a lingering affection for the hereditary superstition. It is, indeed, true, that such an institution could not have originated, except in a very peculiar and unhappy condition of society; that it took root and flourished in general demoralization, and public and private misery. But on the other hand, it is equally true, that it operated for some ages with great efficacy in abating the evils out of which it sprang. The rule of St. Benedict was well calculated to improve the generation to which it was delivered; and the retreats which he opened gave security and employment to multitudes, in the most calamitous period of Christian history. No self-torture or maceration was prescribed to his disciples by that reasonable legislator-those were the inventions of the later and more depraved ages of the Church, when the fanaticism of some was found requisite to counterbalance the profligacy of others. These changes insensibly took place, as the monks departed step by step from the independence of their original profession; first throwing off the character of laymen, and obtaining admission into the ranks of the clergy, by which they became subject to severe oppression from the bishops; and then gradually escaping from that yoke to the more indulgent, but not less arbitrary, despotism of the Pope. Nevertheless, even during the decline of the monastic principles, some sparks of former virtue were revived by the frequent reformation of the old orders and the establishment of new-some remains of pristine excellence were very long preserved amid the ruins of the system. If we have been compelled on many occasions to notice the vices of the It drew a decree from Boniface V. in the seventh century; and in the eighth the Lombard Kings passed some laws to deprive the worst description of criminals of such protection. The Abbots and Bishops were commanded, under severe penalties, to give up such fugitives into the hands of civil justice. Consult Giannone, lib. v. cap. vi. * See Guizot (Hist. Moderne, Leç. 14. and 15.) from whom some of the above observations are borrowed. It is perhaps too hastily asserted in chap. xiv. (p. 382) of this work, that as late as the eleventh age the monks were, for the most part, laymen.' The change had taken place earlier; and though the distinction, such as it now exists, between the monks and the lay brethren, was then first established, it seems probable, that the greater part of the monks were already ecclesiastics, and that the lay brothers were introduced, for the discharge of the inferior and more laborious offices. |