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diff --git a/39535-8.txt b/39535-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e71f85 --- /dev/null +++ b/39535-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16367 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of European Morals From Augustus to +Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of 2) by William Edward Hartpole Lecky + + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no +restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under +the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or +online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license + + + +Title: History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of + 2) + +Author: William Edward Hartpole Lecky + +Release Date: April 15, 2012 [Ebook #39535] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO 8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF EUROPEAN MORALS FROM AUGUSTUS TO CHARLEMAGNE (VOL. 2 OF 2)*** + + + + + + History of + + European Morals + + From Augustus to Charlemagne + + By + + William Edward Hartpole Lecky, M.A. + + Ninth Edition + + In Two Volumes + + Vol. 2. + + London + + Longmans, Green, And Co. + + 1890 + + + + + +CONTENTS + + +Chapter IV. From Constantine To Charlemagne. +Chapter V. The Position Of Women. +Index. +Footnotes + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. FROM CONSTANTINE TO CHARLEMAGNE. + + +Having in the last chapter given a brief, but I trust not altogether +indistinct, account of the causes that ensured the triumph of Christianity +in Rome, and of the character of the opposition it overcame, I proceed to +examine the nature of the moral ideal the new religion introduced, and +also the methods by which it attempted to realise it. And at the very +outset of this enquiry it is necessary to guard against a serious error. +It is common with many persons to establish a comparison between +Christianity and Paganism, by placing the teaching of the Christians in +juxtaposition with corresponding passages from the writings of Marcus +Aurelius or Seneca, and to regard the superiority of the Christian over +the philosophical teaching as a complete measure of the moral advance that +was effected by Christianity. But a moment's reflection is sufficient to +display the injustice of such a conclusion. The ethics of Paganism were +part of a philosophy. The ethics of Christianity were part of a religion. +The first were the speculations of a few highly cultivated individuals and +neither had nor could have had any direct influence upon the masses of +mankind. The second were indissolubly connected with the worship, hopes, +and fears of a vast religious system, that acts at least as powerfully on +the most ignorant as on the most educated. The chief objects of Pagan +religions were to foretell the future, to explain the universe, to avert +calamity, to obtain the assistance of the gods. They contained no +instruments of moral teaching analogous to our institution of preaching, +or to the moral preparation for the reception of the sacrament, or to +confession, or to the reading of the Bible, or to religious education, or +to united prayer for spiritual benefits. To make men virtuous was no more +the function of the priest than of the physician. On the other hand, the +philosophic expositions of duty were wholly unconnected with the religious +ceremonies of the temple. To amalgamate these two spheres, to incorporate +moral culture with religion, and thus to enlist in behalf of the former +that desire to enter, by means of ceremonial observances, into direct +communication with Heaven, which experience has shown to be one of the +most universal and powerful passions of mankind, was among the most +important achievements of Christianity. Something had, no doubt, been +already attempted in this direction. Philosophy, in the hands of the +rhetoricians, had become more popular. The Pythagoreans enjoined religious +ceremonies for the purpose of purifying the mind, and expiatory rites were +common, especially in the Oriental religions. But it was the +distinguishing characteristic of Christianity that its moral influence was +not indirect, casual, remote, or spasmodic. Unlike all Pagan religions, it +made moral teaching a main function of its clergy, moral discipline the +leading object of its services, moral dispositions the necessary condition +of the due performance of its rites. By the pulpit, by its ceremonies, by +all the agencies of power it possessed, it laboured systematically and +perseveringly for the regeneration of mankind. Under its influence, +doctrines concerning the nature of God, the immortality of the soul, and +the duties of man, which the noblest intellects of antiquity could barely +grasp, have become the truisms of the village school, the proverbs of the +cottage and of the alley. + +But neither the beauty of its sacred writings, nor the perfection of its +religious services, could have achieved this great result without the +introduction of new motives to virtue. These may be either interested or +disinterested, and in both spheres the influence of Christianity was very +great. In the first, it effected a complete revolution by its teaching +concerning the future world and concerning the nature of sin. The doctrine +of a future life was far too vague among the Pagans to exercise any +powerful general influence, and among the philosophers who clung to it +most ardently it was regarded solely in the light of a consolation. +Christianity made it a deterrent influence of the strongest kind. In +addition to the doctrines of eternal suffering, and the lost condition of +the human race, the notion of a minute personal retribution must be +regarded as profoundly original. That the commission of great crimes, or +the omission of great duties, may be expiated hereafter, was indeed an +idea familiar to the Pagans, though it exercised little influence over +their lives, and seldom or never produced, even in the case of the worst +criminals, those scenes of deathbed repentance which are so conspicuous in +Christian biographies. But the Christian notion of the enormity of little +sins, the belief that all the details of life will be scrutinised +hereafter, that weaknesses of character and petty infractions of duty, of +which the historian and the biographer take no note, which have no +perceptible influence upon society, and which scarcely elicit a comment +among mankind, may be made the grounds of eternal condemnation beyond the +grave, was altogether unknown to the ancients, and, at a time when it +possessed all the freshness of novelty, it was well fitted to transform +the character. The eye of the Pagan philosopher was ever fixed upon +virtue, the eye of the Christian teacher upon sin. They first sought to +amend men by extolling the beauty of holiness; the second by awakening the +sentiment of remorse. Each method had its excellences and its defects. +Philosophy was admirably fitted to dignify and ennoble, but altogether +impotent to regenerate, mankind. It did much to encourage virtue, but +little or nothing to restrain vice. A relish or taste for virtue was +formed and cultivated, which attracted many to its practice; but in this, +as in the case of all our other higher tastes, a nature that was once +thoroughly vitiated became altogether incapable of appreciating it, and +the transformation of such a nature, which was continually effected by +Christianity, was confessedly beyond the power of philosophy.(1) +Experience has abundantly shown that men who are wholly insensible to the +beauty and dignity of virtue, can be convulsed by the fear of judgment, +can be even awakened to such a genuine remorse for sin as to reverse the +current of their dispositions, detach them from the most inveterate +habits, and renew the whole tenor of their lives. + +But the habit of dilating chiefly on the darker side of human nature, +while it has contributed much to the regenerating efficacy of Christian +teaching, has not been without its disadvantages. Habitually measuring +character by its aberrations, theologians, in their estimates of those +strong and passionate natures in which great virtues are balanced by great +failings, have usually fallen into a signal injustice, which is the more +inexcusable, because in their own writings the Psalms of David are a +conspicuous proof of what a noble, tender, and passionate nature could +survive, even in an adulterer and a murderer. Partly, too, through this +habit of operating through the sense of sin, and partly from a desire to +show that man is in an abnormal and dislocated condition, they have +continually propounded distorted and degrading views of human nature, have +represented it as altogether under the empire of evil, and have sometimes +risen to such a height of extravagance as to pronounce the very virtues of +the heathen to be of the nature of sin. But nothing can be more certain +than that that which is exceptional and distinctive in human nature is not +its vice, but its excellence. It is not the sensuality, cruelty, +selfishness, passion, or envy, which are all displayed in equal or greater +degrees in different departments of the animal world; it is that moral +nature which enables man apparently, alone of all created beings, to +classify his emotions, to oppose the current of his desires, and to aspire +after moral perfection. Nor is it less certain that in civilised, and +therefore developed man, the good greatly preponderates over the evil. +Benevolence is more common than cruelty; the sight of suffering more +readily produces pity than joy; gratitude, not ingratitude, is the normal +result of a conferred benefit. The sympathies of man naturally follow +heroism and goodness, and vice itself is usually but an exaggeration or +distortion of tendencies that are in their own nature perfectly innocent. + +But these exaggerations of human depravity, which have attained their +extreme limits in some Protestant sects, do not appear in the Church of +the first three centuries. The sense of sin was not yet accompanied by a +denial of the goodness that exists in man. Christianity was regarded +rather as a redemption from error than from sin,(2) and it is a +significant fact that the epithet "well deserving," which the Pagans +usually put upon their tombs, was also the favourite inscription in the +Christian catacombs. The Pelagian controversy, the teaching of St. +Augustine, and the progress of asceticism, gradually introduced the +doctrine of the utter depravity of man, which has proved in later times +the fertile source of degrading superstition. + +In sustaining and defining the notion of sin, the early Church employed +the machinery of an elaborate legislation. Constant communion with the +Church was regarded as of the very highest importance. Participation in +the Sacrament was believed to be essential to eternal life. At a very +early period it was given to infants, and already in the time of St. +Cyprian we find the practice universal in the Church, and pronounced by at +least some of the Fathers to be ordinarily necessary to their +salvation.(3) Among the adults it was customary to receive the Sacrament +daily, in some churches four times a week.(4) Even in the days of +persecution the only part of their service the Christians consented to +omit was the half-secular agape.(5) The clergy had power to accord or +withhold access to the ceremonies, and the reverence with which they were +regarded was so great that they were able to dictate their own conditions +of communion. + +From these circumstances there very naturally arose a vast system of moral +discipline. It was always acknowledged that men could only rightly +approach the sacred table in certain moral dispositions, and it was very +soon added that the commission of crimes should be expiated by a period of +penance, before access to the communion was granted. A multitude of +offences, of very various degrees of magnitude, such as prolonged +abstinence from religious services, prenuptial unchastity, prostitution, +adultery, the adoption of the profession of gladiator or actor, idolatry, +the betrayal of Christians to persecutors, and paiderastia or unnatural +love, were specified, to each of which a definite spiritual penalty was +annexed. The lowest penalty consisted of deprivation of the Eucharist for +a few weeks. More serious offenders were deprived of it for a year, or for +ten years, or until the hour of death, while in some cases the sentence +amounted to the greater excommunication, or the deprivation of the +Eucharist for ever. During the period of penance the penitent was +compelled to abstain from the marriage-bed, and from all other pleasures, +and to spend his time chiefly in religious exercises. Before he was +readmitted to communion, he was accustomed publicly, before the assembled +Christians, to appear clad in sackcloth, with ashes strewn upon his head, +with his hair shaven off, and thus to throw himself at the feet of the +minister, to confess aloud his sins, and to implore the favour of +absolution. The excommunicated man was not only cut off for ever from the +Christian rites; he was severed also from all intercourse with his former +friends. No Christian, on pain of being himself excommunicated, might eat +with him or speak with him. He must live hated and alone in this world, +and be prepared for damnation in the next.(6) + +This system of legislation, resting upon religious terrorism, forms one of +the most important parts of early ecclesiastical history, and a leading +object of the Councils was to develop or modify it. Although confession +was not yet an habitual and universally obligatory rite, although it was +only exacted in cases of notorious sins, it is manifest that we have in +this system, not potentially or in germ, but in full developed activity, +an ecclesiastical despotism of the most crushing order. But although this +recognition of the right of the clergy to withhold from men what was +believed to be essential to their salvation, laid the foundation of the +worst superstitions of Rome, it had, on the other hand, a very valuable +moral effect. Every system of law is a system of education, for it fixes +in the minds of men certain conceptions of right and wrong, and of the +proportionate enormity of different crimes; and no legislation was +enforced with more solemnity, or appealed more directly to the religious +feelings, than the penitential discipline of the Church. More than, +perhaps, any other single agency, it confirmed that conviction of the +enormity of sin, and of the retribution that follows it, which was one of +the two great levers by which Christianity acted upon mankind. + +But if Christianity was remarkable for its appeals to the selfish or +interested side of our nature, it was far more remarkable for the empire +it attained over disinterested enthusiasm. The Platonist exhorted men to +imitate God; the Stoic, to follow reason; the Christian, to the love of +Christ. The later Stoics had often united their notions of excellence in +an ideal sage, and Epictetus had even urged his disciples to set before +them some man of surpassing excellence, and to imagine him continually +near them; but the utmost the Stoic ideal could become was a model for +imitation, and the admiration it inspired could never deepen into +affection. It was reserved for Christianity to present to the world an +ideal character, which through all the changes of eighteen centuries has +inspired the hearts of men with an impassioned love; has shown itself +capable of acting on all ages, nations, temperaments, and conditions; has +been not only the highest pattern of virtue but the strongest incentive to +its practice; and has exercised so deep an influence that it may be truly +said that the simple record of three short years of active life has done +more to regenerate and to soften mankind than all the disquisitions of +philosophers, and all the exhortations of moralists. This has indeed been +the well-spring of whatever is best and purest in the Christian life. Amid +all the sins and failings, amid all the priestcraft and persecution and +fanaticism that have defaced the Church, it has preserved, in the +character and example of its Founder, an enduring principle of +regeneration. Perfect love knows no rights. It creates a boundless, +uncalculating self-abnegation that transforms the character, and is the +parent of every virtue. Side by side with the terrorism and the +superstitions of dogmatism, there have ever existed in Christianity those +who would echo the wish of St. Theresa, that she could blot out both +heaven and hell, to serve God for Himself alone; and the power of the love +of Christ has been displayed alike in the most heroic pages of Christian +martyrdom, in the most pathetic pages of Christian resignation, in the +tenderest pages of Christian charity. It was shown by the martyrs who sank +beneath the fangs of wild beasts, extending to the last moment their arms +in the form of the cross they loved;(7) who ordered their chains to be +buried with them as the insignia of their warfare;(8) who looked with joy +upon their ghastly wounds, because they had been received for Christ;(9) +who welcomed death as the bridegroom welcomes the bride, because it would +bring them near to Him. St. Felicitas was seized with the pangs of +childbirth as she lay in prison awaiting the hour of martyrdom, and as her +sufferings extorted from her a cry, one who stood by said, "If you now +suffer so much, what will it be when you are thrown to wild beasts?" "What +I now suffer," she answered, "concerns myself alone; but then another will +suffer for me, for I will then suffer for Him."(10) When St. Melania had +lost both her husband and her two sons, kneeling by the bed where the +remains of those she loved were laid, the childless widow exclaimed, +"Lord, I shall serve Thee more humbly and readily for being eased of the +weight Thou hast taken from me."(11) + +Christian virtue was described by St. Augustine as "the order of +love."(12) Those who know how imperfectly the simple sense of duty can +with most men resist the energy of the passions; who have observed how +barren Mohammedanism has been in all the higher and more tender virtues, +because its noble morality and its pure theism have been united with no +living example; who, above all, have traced through the history of the +Christian Church the influence of the love of Christ, will be at no loss +to estimate the value of this purest and most distinctive source of +Christian enthusiasm. In one respect we can scarcely realise its effects +upon the early Church. The sense of the fixity of natural laws is now so +deeply implanted in the minds of men, that no truly educated person, +whatever may be his religious opinions, seriously believes that all the +more startling phenomena around him--storms, earthquakes, invasions, or +famines--are results of isolated acts of supernatural power, and are +intended to affect some human interest. But by the early Christians all +these things were directly traced to the Master they so dearly loved. The +result of this conviction was a state of feeling we can now barely +understand. A great poet, in lines which are among the noblest in English +literature, has spoken of one who had died as united to the all-pervading +soul of nature, the grandeur and the tenderness, the beauty and the +passion of his being blending with the kindred elements of the universe, +his voice heard in all its melodies, his spirit a presence to be felt and +known, a part of the one plastic energy that permeates and animates the +globe. Something of this kind, but of a far more vivid and real character, +was the belief of the early Christian world. The universe, to them, was +transfigured by love. All its phenomena, all its catastrophes, were read +in a new light, were endued with a new significance, acquired a religious +sanctity. Christianity offered a deeper consolation than any prospect of +endless life, or of millennial glories. It taught the weary, the +sorrowing, and the lonely, to look up to heaven and to say, "Thou, God, +carest for me." + +It is not surprising that a religious system which made it a main object +to inculcate moral excellence, and which by its doctrine of future +retribution, by its organisation, and by its capacity of producing a +disinterested enthusiasm, acquired an unexampled supremacy over the human +mind, should have raised its disciples to a very high condition of +sanctity. There can, indeed, be little doubt that, for nearly two hundred +years after its establishment in Europe, the Christian community exhibited +a moral purity which, if it has been equalled, has never for any long +period been surpassed. Completely separated from the Roman world that was +around them, abstaining alike from political life, from appeals to the +tribunals, and from military occupations; looking forward continually to +the immediate advent of their Master, and the destruction of the Empire in +which they dwelt, and animated by all the fervour of a young religion, the +Christians found within themselves a whole order of ideas and feelings +sufficiently powerful to guard them from the contamination of their age. +In their general bearing towards society, and in the nature and minuteness +of their scruples, they probably bore a greater resemblance to the Quakers +than to any other existing sect.(13) Some serious signs of moral decadence +might, indeed, be detected even before the Decian persecution; and it was +obvious that the triumph of the Church, by introducing numerous nominal +Christians into its pale, by exposing it to the temptations of wealth and +prosperity, and by forcing it into connection with secular politics, must +have damped its zeal and impaired its purity; yet few persons, I think, +who had contemplated Christianity as it existed in the first three +centuries would have imagined it possible that it should completely +supersede the Pagan worship around it; that its teachers should bend the +mightiest monarchs to their will, and stamp their influence on every page +of legislation, and direct the whole course of civilisation for a thousand +years; and yet that the period in which they were so supreme should have +been one of the most contemptible in history. + +The leading features of that period may be shortly told. From the death of +Marcus Aurelius, about which time Christianity assumed an important +influence in the Roman world, the decadence of the Empire was rapid and +almost uninterrupted. The first Christian emperor transferred his capital +to a new city, uncontaminated by the traditions and the glories of +Paganism; and he there founded an Empire which derived all its ethics from +Christian sources, and which continued in existence for about eleven +hundred years. Of that Byzantine Empire the universal verdict of history +is that it constitutes, with scarcely an exception, the most thoroughly +base and despicable form that civilisation has yet assumed. Though very +cruel and very sensual, there have been times when cruelty assumed more +ruthless, and sensuality more extravagant, aspects; but there has been no +other enduring civilisation so absolutely destitute of all the forms and +elements of greatness, and none to which the epithet mean may be so +emphatically applied. The Byzantine Empire was pre-eminently the age of +treachery. Its vices were the vices of men who had ceased to be brave +without learning to be virtuous. Without patriotism, without the fruition +or desire of liberty, after the first paroxysms of religious agitation, +without genius or intellectual activity; slaves, and willing slaves, in +both their actions and their thoughts, immersed in sensuality and in the +most frivolous pleasures, the people only emerged from their listlessness +when some theological subtilty, or some rivalry in the chariot races, +stimulated them into frantic riots. They exhibited all the externals of +advanced civilisation. They possessed knowledge; they had continually +before them the noble literature of ancient Greece, instinct with the +loftiest heroism; but that literature, which afterwards did so much to +revivify Europe, could fire the degenerate Greeks with no spark or +semblance of nobility. The history of the Empire is a monotonous story of +the intrigues of priests, eunuchs, and women, of poisonings, of +conspiracies, of uniform ingratitude, of perpetual fratricides. After the +conversion of Constantine there was no prince in any section of the Roman +Empire altogether so depraved, or at least so shameless, as Nero or +Heliogabalus; but the Byzantine Empire can show none bearing the faintest +resemblance to Antonine or Marcus Aurelius, while the nearest +approximation to that character at Rome was furnished by the Emperor +Julian, who contemptuously abandoned the Christian faith. At last the +Mohammedan invasion terminated the long decrepitude of the Eastern Empire. +Constantinople sank beneath the Crescent, its inhabitants wrangling about +theological differences to the very moment of their fall. + +The Asiatic Churches had already perished. The Christian faith, planted in +the dissolute cities of Asia Minor, had produced many fanatical ascetics +and a few illustrious theologians, but it had no renovating effect upon +the people at large. It introduced among them a principle of interminable +and implacable dissension, but it scarcely tempered in any appreciable +degree their luxury or their sensuality. The frenzy of pleasure continued +unabated, and in a great part of the Empire it seemed, indeed, only to +have attained its climax after the triumph of Christianity. + +The condition of the Western Empire was somewhat different. Not quite a +century after the conversion of Constantine, the Imperial city was +captured by Alaric, and a long series of barbarian invasions at last +dissolved the whole framework of Roman society, while the barbarians +themselves, having adopted the Christian faith and submitted absolutely to +the Christian priests, the Church, which remained the guardian of all the +treasures of antiquity, was left with a virgin soil to realise her ideal +of human excellence. Nor did she fall short of what might have been +expected. She exercised for many centuries an almost absolute empire over +the thoughts and actions of mankind, and created a civilisation which was +permeated in every part with ecclesiastical influence. And the dark ages, +as the period of Catholic ascendancy is justly called, do undoubtedly +display many features of great and genuine excellence. In active +benevolence, in the spirit of reverence, in loyalty, in co-operative +habits, they far transcend the noblest ages of Pagan antiquity, while in +that humanity which shrinks from the infliction of suffering, they were +superior to Roman, and in their respect for chastity, to Greek +civilisation. On the other hand, they rank immeasurably below the best +Pagan civilisations in civic and patriotic virtues, in the love of +liberty, in the number and splendour of the great characters they +produced, in the dignity and beauty of the type of character they formed. +They had their full share of tumult, anarchy, injustice, and war, and they +should probably be placed, in all intellectual virtues, lower than any +other period in the history of mankind. A boundless intolerance of all +divergence of opinion was united with an equally boundless toleration of +all falsehood and deliberate fraud that could favour received opinions. +Credulity being taught as a virtue, and all conclusions dictated by +authority, a deadly torpor sank upon the human mind, which for many +centuries almost suspended its action, and was only effectually broken by +the scrutinising, innovating, and free-thinking habits that accompanied +the rise of the industrial republics in Italy. Few men who are not either +priests or monks would not have preferred to live in the best days of the +Athenian or of the Roman republics, in the age of Augustus or in the age +of the Antonines, rather than in any period that elapsed between the +triumph of Christianity and the fourteenth century. + +It is, indeed, difficult to conceive any clearer proof than was furnished +by the history of the twelve hundred years after the conversion of +Constantine, that while theology has undoubtedly introduced into the world +certain elements and principles of good, scarcely if at all known to +antiquity, while its value as a tincture or modifying influence in society +can hardly be overrated, it is by no means for the advantage of mankind +that, in the form which the Greek and Catholic Churches present, it should +become a controlling arbiter of civilisation. It is often said that the +Roman world before Constantine was in a period of rapid decay; that the +traditions and vitality of half-suppressed Paganism account for many of +the aberrations of later times; that the influence of the Church was often +rather nominal and superficial than supreme; and that, in judging the +ignorance of the dark ages, we must make large allowance for the +dislocations of society by the barbarians. In all this there is much +truth; but when we remember that in the Byzantine Empire the renovating +power of theology was tried in a new capital free from Pagan traditions, +and for more than one thousand years unsubdued by barbarians, and that in +the West the Church, for at least seven hundred years after the shocks of +the invasions had subsided, exercised a control more absolute than any +other moral or intellectual agency has ever attained, it will appear, I +think, that the experiment was very sufficiently tried. It is easy to make +a catalogue of the glaring vices of antiquity, and to contrast them with +the pure morality of Christian writings; but, if we desire to form a just +estimate of the realised improvement, we must compare the classical and +ecclesiastical civilisations as wholes, and must observe in each case not +only the vices that were repressed, but also the degree and variety of +positive excellence attained. In the first two centuries of the Christian +Church the moral elevation was extremely high, and was continually +appealed to as a proof of the divinity of the creed. In the century before +the conversion of Constantine, a marked depression was already manifest. +The two centuries after Constantine are uniformly represented by the +Fathers as a period of general and scandalous vice. The ecclesiastical +civilisation that followed, though not without its distinctive merits, +assuredly supplies no justification of the common boast about the +regeneration of society by the Church. That the civilisation of the last +three centuries has risen in most respects to a higher level than any that +had preceded it, I at least firmly believe; but theological ethics, though +very important, form but one of the many and complex elements of its +excellence. Mechanical inventions, the habits of industrial life, the +discoveries of physical science, the improvements of government, the +expansion of literature, the traditions of Pagan antiquity, have all a +distinguished place, while, the more fully its history is investigated, +the more clearly two capital truths are disclosed. The first is that the +influence of theology having for centuries numbed and paralysed the whole +intellect of Christian Europe, the revival, which forms the starting-point +of our modern civilisation, was mainly due to the fact that two spheres of +intellect still remained uncontrolled by the sceptre of Catholicism. The +Pagan literature of antiquity, and the Mohammedan schools of science, were +the chief agencies in resuscitating the dormant energies of Christendom. +The second fact, which I have elsewhere endeavoured to establish in +detail, is that during more than three centuries the decadence of +theological influence has been one of the most invariable signs and +measures of our progress. In medicine, physical science, commercial +interests, politics, and even ethics, the reformer has been confronted +with theological affirmations which barred his way, which were all +defended as of vital importance, and were all in turn compelled to yield +before the secularising influence of civilisation. + +We have here, then, a problem of deep interest and importance, which I +propose to investigate in the present chapter. We have to enquire why it +was that a religion which was not more remarkable for the beauty of its +moral teaching than for the power with which it acted upon mankind, and +which during the last few centuries has been the source of countless +blessings to the world, should have proved itself for so long a period, +and under such a variety of conditions, altogether unable to regenerate +Europe. The question is not one of languid or imperfect action, but of +conflicting agencies. In the vast and complex organism of Catholicity +there were some parts which acted with admirable force in improving and +elevating mankind. There were others which had a directly opposite effect. + +The first aspect in which Christianity presented itself to the world was +as a declaration of the fraternity of men in Christ. Considered as +immortal beings, destined for the extremes of happiness or of misery, and +united to one another by a special community of redemption, the first and +most manifest duty of a Christian man was to look upon his fellow-men as +sacred beings, and from this notion grew up the eminently Christian idea +of the sanctity of all human life. I have already endeavoured to show--and +the fact is of such capital importance in meeting the common objections to +the reality of natural moral perceptions, that I venture, at the risk of +tediousness, to recur to it--that nature does not tell man that it is wrong +to slay without provocation his fellow-men. Not to dwell upon those early +stages of barbarism in which the higher faculties of human nature are +still undeveloped, and almost in the condition of embryo, it is an +historical fact beyond all dispute, that refined, and even moral societies +have existed, in which the slaughter of men of some particular class or +nation has been regarded with no more compunction than the slaughter of +animals in the chase. The early Greeks, in their dealings with the +barbarians; the Romans, in their dealings with gladiators, and in some +periods of their history, with slaves; the Spaniards, in their dealings +with Indians; nearly all colonists removed from European supervision, in +their dealings with an inferior race; an immense proportion of the nations +of antiquity, in their dealings with new-born infants, display this +complete and absolute callousness, and we may discover traces of it even +in our own islands and within the last three hundred years.(14) And +difficult as it may be to realise it in our day, when the atrocity of all +wanton slaughter of men has become an essential part of our moral +feelings, it is nevertheless an incontestable fact that this callousness +has been continually shown by good men, by men who in all other respects +would be regarded in any age as conspicuous for their humanity. In the +days of the Tudors, the best Englishmen delighted in what we should now +deem the most barbarous sports, and it is absolutely certain that in +antiquity men of genuine humanity--tender relations, loving friends, +charitable neighbours--men in whose eyes the murder of a fellow-citizen +would have appeared as atrocious as in our own, attended, instituted, and +applauded gladiatorial games, or counselled without a scruple the +exposition of infants. But it is, as I conceive, a complete confusion of +thought to imagine, as is so commonly done, that any accumulation of facts +of this nature throws the smallest doubt upon the reality of innate moral +perceptions. All that the intuitive moralist asserts is that we know by +nature that there is a distinction between humanity and cruelty; that the +first belongs to the higher or better part of our nature, and that it is +our duty to cultivate it. The standard of the age, which is itself +determined by the general condition of society, constitutes the natural +line of duty; for he who falls below it contributes to depress it. Now, +there is no fact more absolutely certain than that nations and ages which +have differed most widely as to the standard have been perfectly unanimous +as to the excellence of humanity. Plato, who recommended infanticide; +Cato, who sold his aged slaves; Pliny, who applauded the games of the +arena; the old generals, who made their prisoners slaves or gladiators, as +well as the modern generals, who refuse to impose upon them any degrading +labour; the old legislators, who filled their codes with sentences of +torture, mutilation, and hideous forms of death, as well as the modern +legislators, who are continually seeking to abridge the punishment of the +most guilty; the old disciplinarian, who governed by force, as well as the +modern instructor, who governs by sympathy; the Spanish girl, whose dark +eye glows with rapture as she watches the frantic bull, while the fire +streams from the explosive dart that quivers in its neck; as well as the +reformers we sometimes meet, who are scandalised by all field sports, or +by the sacrifice of animal life for food; or who will eat only the larger +animals, in order to reduce the sacrifice of life to a minimum; or who are +continually inventing new methods of quickening animal death--all these +persons, widely as they differ in their acts and in their judgments of +what things should be called "brutal," and of what things should be called +"fantastic," agree in believing humanity to be better than cruelty, and in +attaching a definite condemnation to acts that fall below the standard of +their country and their time. Now, it was one of the most important +services of Christianity, that besides quickening greatly our benevolent +affections it definitely and dogmatically asserted the sinfulness of all +destruction of human life as a matter of amusement, or of simple +convenience, and thereby formed a new standard higher than any which then +existed in the world. + +The influence of Christianity in this respect began with the very earliest +stage of human life. The practice of abortion was one to which few persons +in antiquity attached any deep feeling of condemnation. I have noticed in +a former chapter that the physiological theory that the foetus did not +become a living creature till the hour of birth, had some influence on the +judgments passed upon this practice; and even where this theory was not +generally held, it is easy to account for the prevalence of the act. The +death of an unborn child does not appeal very powerfully to the feeling of +compassion, and men who had not yet attained any strong sense of the +sanctity of human life, who believed that they might regulate their +conduct on these matters by utilitarian views, according to the general +interest of the community, might very readily conclude that the prevention +of birth was in many cases an act of mercy. In Greece, Aristotle not only +countenanced the practice, but even desired that it should be enforced by +law, when population had exceeded certain assigned limits.(15) No law in +Greece, or in the Roman Republic, or during the greater part of the +Empire, condemned it;(16) and if, as has been thought, some measure was +adopted condemnatory of it before the close of the Pagan Empire, that +measure was altogether inoperative. A long chain of writers, both Pagan +and Christian, represent the practice as avowed and almost universal. They +describe it as resulting, not simply from licentiousness or from poverty, +but even from so slight a motive as vanity, which made mothers shrink from +the disfigurement of childbirth. They speak of a mother who had never +destroyed her unborn offspring as deserving of signal praise, and they +assure us that the frequency of the crime was such that it gave rise to a +regular profession. At the same time, while Ovid, Seneca, Favorinus the +Stoic of Arles, Plutarch, and Juvenal, all speak of abortion as general +and notorious, they all speak of it as unquestionably criminal.(17) It was +probably regarded by the average Romans of the later days of Paganism much +as Englishmen in the last century regarded convivial excesses, as +certainly wrong, but so venial as scarcely to deserve censure. + +The language of the Christians from the very beginning was widely +different. With unwavering consistency and with the strongest emphasis, +they denounced the practice, not simply as inhuman, but as definitely +murder. In the penitential discipline of the Church, abortion was placed +in the same category as infanticide, and the stern sentence to which the +guilty person was subject imprinted on the minds of Christians, more +deeply than any mere exhortations, a sense of the enormity of the crime. +By the Council of Ancyra the guilty mother was excluded from the Sacrament +till the very hour of death; and though this penalty was soon reduced, +first to ten and afterwards to seven years' penitence,(18) the offence +still ranked amongst the gravest in the legislation of the Church. In one +very remarkable way the reforms of Christianity in this sphere were +powerfully sustained by a doctrine which is perhaps the most revolting in +the whole theology of the Fathers. To the Pagans, even when condemning +abortion and infanticide, these crimes appeared comparatively trivial, +because the victims seemed very insignificant and their sufferings very +slight. The death of an adult man who is struck down in the midst of his +enterprise and his hopes, who is united by ties of love or friendship to +multitudes around him, and whose departure causes a perturbation and a +pang to the society in which he has moved, excites feelings very different +from any produced by the painless extinction of a new-born infant, which, +having scarcely touched the earth, has known none of its cares and very +little of its love. But to the theologian this infant life possessed a +fearful significance. The moment, they taught, the foetus in the womb +acquired animation, it became an immortal being, destined, even if it died +unborn, to be raised again on the last day, responsible for the sin of +Adam, and doomed, if it perished without baptism, to be excluded for ever +from heaven and to be cast, as the Greeks taught, into a painless and +joyless limbo, or, as the Latins taught, into the abyss of hell. It is +probably, in a considerable degree, to this doctrine that we owe in the +first instance the healthy sense of the value and sanctity of infant life +which so broadly distinguishes Christian from Pagan societies, and which +is now so thoroughly incorporated with our moral feelings as to be +independent of all doctrinal changes. That which appealed so powerfully to +the compassion of the early and mediæval Christians, in the fate of the +murdered infants, was not that they died, but that they commonly died +unbaptised; and the criminality of abortion was immeasurably aggravated +when it was believed to involve, not only the extinction of a transient +life, but also the damnation of an immortal soul.(19) In the "Lives of the +Saints" there is a curious legend of a man who, being desirous of +ascertaining the condition of a child before birth, slew a pregnant woman, +committing thereby a double murder, that of the mother and of the child in +her womb. Stung by remorse, the murderer fled to the desert, and passed +the remainder of his life in constant penance and prayer. At last, after +many years, the voice of God told him that he had been forgiven the murder +of the woman. But yet his end was a clouded one. He never could obtain an +assurance that he had been forgiven the death of the child.(20) + +If we pass to the next stage of human life, that of the new-born infant, +we find ourselves in presence of that practice of infanticide which was +one of the deepest stains of the ancient civilisation. The natural history +of this crime is somewhat peculiar.(21) Among savages, whose feelings of +compassion are very faint, and whose warlike and nomadic habits are +eminently unfavourable to infant life, it is, as might be expected, the +usual custom for the parent to decide whether he desires to preserve the +child he has called into existence, and if he does not, to expose or slay +it. In nations that have passed out of the stage of barbarism, but are +still rude and simple in their habits, the practice of infanticide is +usually rare; but, unlike other crimes of violence, it is not naturally +diminished by the progress of civilisation, for, after the period of +savage life is passed, its prevalence is influenced much more by the +sensuality than by the barbarity of a people.(22) We may trace too, in +many countries and ages, the notion that children, as the fruit, +representatives, and dearest possessions of their parents, are acceptable +sacrifices to the gods.(23) Infanticide, as is well known, was almost +universally admitted among the Greeks, being sanctioned, and in some cases +enjoined, upon what we should now call "the greatest happiness principle," +by the ideal legislations of Plato and Aristotle, and by the actual +legislations of Lycurgus and Solon. Regarding the community as a whole, +they clearly saw that it is in the highest degree for the interest of +society that the increase of population should be very jealously +restricted, and that the State should be as far as possible free from +helpless and unproductive members; and they therefore concluded that the +painless destruction of infant life, and especially of those infants who +were so deformed or diseased that their lives, if prolonged, would +probably have been a burden to themselves, was on the whole a benefit. The +very sensual tone of Greek life rendered the modern notion of prolonged +continence wholly alien to their thoughts; and the extremely low social +and intellectual condition of Greek mothers, who exercised no appreciable +influence over the habits of thought of the nation should also, I think, +be taken into account, for it has always been observed that mothers are +much more distinguished than fathers for their affection for infants that +have not yet manifested the first dawning of reason. Even in Greece, +however, infanticide and exposition were not universally permitted. In +Thebes these offences are said to have been punished by death.(24) + +The power of life and death, which in Rome was originally conceded to the +father over his children, would appear to involve an unlimited permission +of infanticide; but a very old law, popularly ascribed to Romulus, in this +respect restricted the parental rights, enjoining the father to bring up +all his male children, and at least his eldest female child, forbidding +him to destroy any well-formed child till it had completed its third year, +when the affections of the parent might be supposed to be developed, but +permitting the exposition of deformed or maimed children with the consent +of their five nearest relations.(25) The Roman policy was always to +encourage, while the Greek policy was rather to restrain, population, and +infanticide never appears to have been common in Rome till the corrupt and +sensual days of the Empire. The legislators then absolutely condemned it, +and it was indirectly discouraged by laws which accorded special +privileges to the fathers of many children, exempted poor parents from +most of the burden of taxation, and in some degree provided for the +security of exposed infants. Public opinion probably differed little from +that of our own day as to the fact, though it differed from it much as to +the degree, of its criminality. It was, as will be remembered, one of the +charges most frequently brought against the Christians, and it was one +that never failed to arouse popular indignation. Pagan and Christian +authorities are, however, united in speaking of infanticide as a crying +vice of the Empire, and Tertullian observed that no laws were more easily +or more constantly evaded than those which condemned it.(26) A broad +distinction was popularly drawn between infanticide and exposition. The +latter, though probably condemned, was certainly not punished by law;(27) +it was practised on a gigantic scale and with absolute impunity, noticed +by writers with the most frigid indifference, and, at least in the case of +destitute parents, considered a very venial offence.(28) Often, no doubt, +the exposed children perished, but more frequently the very extent of the +practice saved the lives of the victims. They were brought systematically +to a column near the Velabrum, and there taken by speculators, who +educated them as slaves, or very frequently as prostitutes.(29) + +On the whole, what was demanded on this subject was not any clearer moral +teaching, but rather a stronger enforcement of the condemnation long since +passed upon infanticide, and an increased protection for exposed infants. +By the penitential sentences, by the dogmatic considerations I have +enumerated, and by the earnest exhortations both of her preachers and +writers, the Church laboured to deepen the sense of the enormity of the +act, and especially to convince men that the guilt of abandoning their +children to the precarious and doubtful mercy of the stranger was scarcely +less than that of simple infanticide.(30) In the civil law her influence +was also displayed, though not, I think, very advantageously. By the +counsel, it is said, of Lactantius, Constantine, in the very year of his +conversion, in order to diminish infanticide by destitute parents, issued +a decree, applicable in the first instance to Italy, but extended in A.D. +322 to Africa, in which he commanded that those children whom their +parents were unable to support should be clothed and fed at the expense of +the State,(31) a policy which had already been pursued on a large scale +under the Antonines. In A.D. 331, a law intended to multiply the chances +of the exposed child being taken charge of by some charitable or +interested person, provided that the foundling should remain the absolute +property of its saviour, whether he adopted it as a son or employed it as +a slave, and that the parent should not have power at any future time to +reclaim it.(32) By another law, which had been issued in A.D. 329, it had +been provided that children who had been, not exposed, but sold, might be +reclaimed upon payment by the father.(33) + +The last two laws cannot be regarded with unmingled satisfaction. The law +regulating the condition of exposed children, though undoubtedly enacted +with the most benevolent intentions, was in some degree a retrograde step, +the Pagan laws having provided that the father might always withdraw the +child he had exposed, from servitude, by payment of the expenses incurred +in supporting it,(34) while Trajan had even decided that the exposed child +could not become under any circumstance a slave.(35) The law of +Constantine, on the other hand, doomed it to an irrevocable servitude; and +this law continued in force till A.D. 529, when Justinian, reverting to +the principle of Trajan, decreed that not only the father lost all +legitimate authority over his child by exposing it, but also that the +person who had saved it could not by that act deprive it of its natural +liberty. But this law applied only to the Eastern Empire; and in part at +least of the West(36) the servitude of exposed infants continued for +centuries, and appears only to have terminated with the general extinction +of slavery in Europe. The law of Constantine concerning the sale of +children was also a step, though perhaps a necessary step, of +retrogression. A series of emperors, among whom Caracalla was conspicuous, +had denounced and endeavoured to abolish, as "shameful," the traffic in +free children, and Diocletian had expressly and absolutely condemned +it.(37) The extreme misery, however, resulting from the civil wars under +Constantine, had rendered it necessary to authorise the old practice of +selling children in the case of absolute destitution, which, though it had +been condemned, had probably never altogether ceased. Theodosius the Great +attempted to take a step in advance, by decreeing that the children thus +sold might regain their freedom without the repayment of the +purchase-money, a temporary service being a sufficient compensation for +the purchase;(38) but this measure was repealed by Valentinian III. The +sale of children in case of great necessity, though denounced by the +Fathers,(39) continued long after the time of Theodosius, nor does any +Christian emperor appear to have enforced the humane enactment of +Diocletian. + +Together with these measures for the protection of exposed children, there +were laws directly condemnatory of infanticide. This branch of the subject +is obscured by much ambiguity and controversy; but it appears most +probable that the Pagan legislation reckoned infanticide as a form of +homicide, though, being deemed less atrocious than other forms of +homicide, it was punished, not by death, but by banishment.(40) A law of +Constantine, intended principally, and perhaps exclusively, for Africa, +where the sacrifices of children to Saturn were very common, assimilated +to parricide the murder of a child by its father;(41) and finally, +Valentinian, in A.D. 374, made all infanticide a capital offence,(42) and +especially enjoined the punishment of exposition.(43) A law of the Spanish +Visigoths, in the seventh century, punished infanticide and abortion with +death or blindness.(44) In the Capitularies of Charlemagne the former +crime was punished as homicide.(45) + +It is not possible to ascertain, with any degree of accuracy, what +diminution of infanticide resulted from these measures. It may, however, +be safely asserted that the publicity of the trade in exposed children +became impossible under the influence of Christianity, and that the sense +of the serious nature of the crime was very considerably increased. The +extreme destitution, which was one of its most fertile causes, was met by +Christian charity. Many exposed children appear to have been educated by +individual Christians.(46) Brephotrophia and Orphanotrophia are among the +earliest recorded charitable institutions of the Church; but it is not +certain that exposed children were admitted into them, and we find no +trace for several centuries of Christian foundling hospitals. This form of +charity grew up gradually in the early part of the middle ages. It is said +that one existed at Trêves in the sixth, and at Angers in the seventh +century, and it is certain that one existed at Milan in the eighth +century.(47) The Council of Rouen, in the ninth century, invited women who +had secretly borne children to place them at the door of the church, and +undertook to provide for them if they were not reclaimed. It is probable +that they were brought up among the numerous slaves or serfs attached to +the ecclesiastical properties; for a decree of the Council of Arles, in +the fifth century, and afterwards a law of Charlemagne, had echoed the +enactment of Constantine, declaring that exposed children should be the +slaves of their protectors. As slavery declined, the memorials of many +sins, like many other of the discordant elements of mediæval society, were +doubtless absorbed and consecrated in the monastic societies. The strong +sense always evinced in the Church of the enormity of unchastity probably +rendered the ecclesiastics more cautious in this than in other forms of +charity, for institutions especially intended for deserted children +advanced but slowly. Even Rome, the mother of many charities, could boast +of none till the beginning of the thirteenth century.(48) About the middle +of the twelfth century we find societies at Milan charged, among other +functions, with seeking for exposed children. Towards the close of the +same century, a monk of Montpellier, whose very name is doubtful, but who +is commonly spoken of as Brother Guy, founded a confraternity called by +the name of the Holy Ghost, and devoted to the protection and education of +children; and this society in the two following centuries ramified over a +great part of Europe.(49) Though principally and at first, perhaps, +exclusively intended for the care of the orphans of legitimate marriages, +though in the fifteenth century the Hospital of the Holy Ghost at Paris +even refused to admit deserted children, yet the care of foundlings soon +passed in a great measure into its hands. At last, after many complaints +of the frequency of infanticide, St. Vincent de Paul arose, and gave so +great an impulse to that branch of charity that he may be regarded as its +second author, and his influence was felt not only in private charities, +but in legislative enactments. Into the effects of these measures--the +encouragement of the vice of incontinence by institutions that were +designed to suppress the crime of infanticide, and the serious moral +controversies suggested by this apparent conflict between the interests of +humanity and of chastity--it is not necessary for me to enter. We are at +present concerned with the principles that actuated Christian charity, not +with the wisdom of its organisations. Whatever mistakes may have been +made, the entire movement I have traced displays an anxiety not only for +the life, but also for the moral well-being, of the castaways of society, +such as the most humane nations of antiquity had never reached. This +minute and scrupulous care for human life and human virtue in the humblest +forms, in the slave, the gladiator, the savage, or the infant, was indeed +wholly foreign to the genius of Paganism. It was produced by the Christian +doctrine of the inestimable value of each immortal soul. It is the +distinguishing and transcendent characteristic of every society into which +the spirit of Christianity has passed. + +The influence of Christianity in the protection of infant life, though +very real, may be, and I think often has been, exaggerated. It would be +difficult to overrate its influence in the sphere we have next to examine. +There is scarcely any other single reform so important in the moral +history of mankind as the suppression of the gladiatorial shows, and this +feat must be almost exclusively ascribed to the Christian Church. When we +remember how extremely few of the best and greatest men of the Roman world +had absolutely condemned the games of the amphitheatre, it is impossible +to regard, without the deepest admiration, the unwavering and +uncompromising consistency of the patristic denunciations. And even +comparing the Fathers with the most enlightened Pagan moralists in their +treatment of this matter, we shall usually find one most significant +difference. The Pagan, in the spirit of philosophy, denounced these games +as inhuman, or demoralising, or degrading, or brutal. The Christian, in +the spirit of the Church, represented them as a definite sin, the sin of +murder, for which the spectators as well as the actors were directly +responsible before Heaven. In the very latest days of the Pagan Empire, +magnificent amphitheatres were still arising,(50) and Constantine himself +had condemned numerous barbarian captives to combat with wild beasts.(51) +It was in A.D. 325, immediately after the convocation of the Council of +Nice, that the first Christian emperor issued the first edict in the Roman +Empire condemnatory of the gladiatorial games.(52) It was issued in +Berytus in Syria, and is believed by some to have been only applicable to +the province of Phoenicia;(53) but even in this province it was suffered to +be inoperative, for, only four years later, Libanius speaks of the shows +as habitually celebrated at Antioch.(54) In the Western Empire their +continuance was fully recognised, though a few infinitesimal restrictions +were imposed upon them. Constantine, in A.D. 357, prohibited the lanistæ, +or purveyors of gladiators, from bribing servants of the palace to enrol +themselves as combatants.(55) Valentinian, in A.D. 365, forbade any +Christian criminal,(56) and in A.D. 367, any one connected with the +Palatine,(57) being condemned to fight. Honorius prohibited any slave who +had been a gladiator passing into the service of a senator; but the real +object of this last measure was, I imagine, not so much to stigmatise the +gladiator, as to guard against the danger of an armed nobility.(58) A much +more important fact is that the spectacles were never introduced into the +new capital of Constantine. At Rome, though they became less numerous, +they do not appear to have been suspended until their final suppression. +The passion for gladiators was the worst, while religious liberty was +probably the best, feature of the old Pagan society; and it is a +melancholy fact that of these two it was the nobler part that in the +Christian Empire was first destroyed. Theodosius the Great, who suppressed +all diversity of worship throughout the Empire, and who showed himself on +many occasions the docile slave of the clergy, won the applause of the +Pagan Symmachus by compelling his barbarian prisoners to fight as +gladiators.(59) Besides this occasion, we have special knowledge of +gladiatorial games that were celebrated in A.D. 385, in A.D. 391, and +afterwards in the reign of Honorius, and the practice of condemning +criminals to the arena still continued.(60) + +But although the suppression of the gladiatorial shows was not effected in +the metropolis of the Empire till nearly ninety years after Christianity +had been the State religion, the distinction between the teaching of the +Christians and Pagans on the subject remained unimpaired. To the last, the +most estimable of the Pagans appear to have regarded them with favour or +indifference. Julian, it is true, with a rare magnanimity, refused +persistently, in his conflict with Christianity, to avail himself, as he +might most easily have done, of the popular passion for games which the +Church condemned; but Libanius has noticed them with some approbation,(61) +and Symmachus, as we have already seen, both instituted and applauded +them. But the Christians steadily refused to admit any professional +gladiator to baptism till he had pledged himself to abandon his calling, +and every Christian who attended the games was excluded from communion. +The preachers and writers of the Church denounced them with the most +unqualified vehemence, and the poet Prudentius made a direct and earnest +appeal to the emperor to suppress them. In the East, where they had never +taken very firm root, they appear to have ceased about the time of +Theodosius, and a passion for chariot races, which rose to the most +extravagant height at Constantinople and in many other cities, took their +place. In the West, the last gladiatorial show was celebrated at Rome, +under Honorius, in A.D. 404, in honour of the triumph of Stilicho, when an +Asiatic monk, named Telemachus, animated by the noblest heroism of +philanthropy, rushed into the amphitheatre, and attempted to part the +combatants. He perished beneath a shower of stones flung by the angry +spectators; but his death led to the final abolition of the games.(62) +Combats of men with wild beasts continued, however, much later, and were +especially popular in the East. The difficulty of procuring wild animals, +amid the general poverty, contributed, with other causes, to their +decline. They sank, at last, into games of cruelty to animals, but of +little danger to men, and were finally condemned, at the end of the +seventh century, by the Council of Trullo.(63) In Italy, the custom of +sham fights, which continued through the whole of the middle ages, and +which Petrarch declares were in his days sometimes attended with +considerable bloodshed, may perhaps be traced in some degree to the +traditions of the amphitheatre.(64) + +The extinction of the gladiatorial spectacles is, of all the results of +early Christian influence, that upon which the historian can look with the +deepest and most unmingled satisfaction. Horrible as was the bloodshed +they directly caused, these games were perhaps still more pernicious on +account of the callousness of feeling they diffused through all classes, +the fatal obstacle they presented to any general elevation of the standard +of humanity. Yet the attitude of the Pagans decisively proves that no +progress of philosophy or social civilisation was likely, for a very long +period, to have extirpated them; and it can hardly be doubted that, had +they been flourishing unchallenged as in the days of Trajan, when the rude +warriors of the North obtained the empire of Italy, they would have been +eagerly adopted by the conquerors, would have taken deep root in mediæval +life, and have indefinitely retarded the progress of humanity. +Christianity alone was powerful enough to tear this evil plant from the +Roman soil. The Christian custom of legacies for the relief of the +indigent and suffering replaced the Pagan custom of bequeathing sums of +money for games in honour of the dead; and the month of December, which +was looked forward to with eagerness through all the Roman world, as the +special season of the gladiatorial spectacles, was consecrated in the +Church by another festival commemorative of the advent of Christ. + +The notion of the sanctity of human life, which led the early Christians +to combat and at last to overthrow the gladiatorial games, was carried by +some of them to an extent altogether irreconcilable with national +independence, and with the prevailing penal system. Many of them taught +that no Christian might lawfully take away life, either as a soldier, or +by bringing a capital charge, or by acting as an executioner. The first of +these questions it will be convenient to reserve for a later period of +this chapter, when I propose to examine the relations of Christianity to +the military spirit, and a very few words will be sufficient to dispose of +the others. The notion that there is something impure and defiling, even +in a just execution, is one which may be traced through many ages; and +executioners, as the ministers of the law, have been from very ancient +times regarded as unholy. In both Greece and Rome the law compelled them +to live outside the walls, and at Rhodes they were never permitted even to +enter the city.(65) Notions of this kind were very strongly held in the +early Church; and a decree of the penitential discipline which was +enforced, even against emperors and generals, forbade any one whose hands +had been imbrued in blood, even when that blood was shed in a righteous +war, approaching the altar without a preparatory period of penance. The +opinions of the Christians of the first three centuries were usually +formed without any regard to the necessities of civil or political life; +but when the Church obtained an ascendancy, it was found necessary +speedily to modify them; and although Lactantius, in the fourth century, +maintained the unlawfulness of all bloodshed,(66) as strongly as Origen in +the third, and Tertullian in the second, the common doctrine was simply +that no priest or bishop must take any part in a capital charge. From this +exceptional position of the clergy they speedily acquired the position of +official intercessors for criminals, ambassadors of mercy, when, from some +act of sedition or other cause, their city or neighbourhood was menaced +with a bloody invasion. The right of sanctuary, which was before possessed +by the Imperial statues and by the Pagan temples, was accorded to the +churches. During the holy seasons of Lent and Easter, no criminal trials +could be held, and no criminal could be tortured or executed.(67) +Miracles, it was said, were sometimes wrought to attest the innocence of +accused or condemned men, but were never wrought to consign criminals to +execution by the civil power.(68) + +All this had an importance much beyond its immediate effect in tempering +the administration of the law. It contributed largely to associate in the +popular imagination the ideas of sanctity and of mercy, and to increase +the reverence for human life. It had also another remarkable effect, to +which I have adverted in another work. The belief that it was wrong for a +priest to bring any charge that could give rise to a capital sentence +caused the leading clergy to shrink from persecuting heresy to death, at a +time when in all other respects the theory of persecution had been fully +matured. When it was readily admitted that heresy was in the highest +degree criminal, and ought to be made penal, when laws banishing, fining, +or imprisoning heretics filled the statute-book, and when every vestige of +religious liberty was suppressed at the instigation of the clergy, these +still shrank from the last and inevitable step, not because it was an +atrocious violation of the rights of conscience, but because it was +contrary to the ecclesiastical discipline for a bishop, under any +circumstances, to countenance bloodshed. It was on this ground that St. +Augustine, while eagerly advocating the persecution of the Donatists, more +than once expressed a wish that they should not be punished with death, +and that St. Ambrose, and St. Martin of Tours, who were both energetic +persecutors, expressed their abhorrence of the Spanish bishops, who had +caused some Priscillianists to be executed. I have elsewhere noticed the +odious hypocrisy of the later inquisitors, who relegated the execution of +the sentence to the civil power, with a prayer that the heretics should be +punished "as mildly as possible and without the effusion of blood,"(69) +which came at last to be interpreted, by the death of fire; but I may here +add, that this hideous mockery is not unique in the history of religion. +Plutarch suggests that one of the reasons for burying unchaste vestals +alive was that they were so sacred that it was unlawful to lay violent +hands upon them,(70) and among the Donatists the Circumcelliones were for +a time accustomed to abstain, in obedience to the evangelical command, +from the use of the sword, while they beat to death those who differed +from their theological opinions with massive clubs, to which they gave the +very significant name of Israelites.(71) + +The time came when the Christian priests shed blood enough. The extreme +scrupulosity, however, which they at first displayed, is not only +exceedingly curious when contrasted with their later history; it was also, +by the association of ideas which it promoted, very favourable to +humanity. It is remarkable, however, that while some of the early Fathers +were the undoubted precursors of Beccaria, their teaching, unlike that of +the philosophers in the eighteenth century, had little or no appreciable +influence in mitigating the severity of the penal code. Indeed, the more +carefully the Christian legislation of the Empire is examined, and the +more fully it is compared with what had been done under the influence of +Stoicism by the Pagan legislators, the more evident, I think, it will +appear that the golden age of Roman law was not Christian, but Pagan. +Great works of codification were accomplished under the younger +Theodosius, and under Justinian; but it was in the reign of Pagan +emperors, and especially of Hadrian and Alexander Severus, that nearly all +the most important measures were taken, redressing injustices, elevating +oppressed classes, and making the doctrine of the natural equality and +fraternity of mankind the basis of legal enactments. Receiving the +heritage of these laws, the Christians, no doubt, added something; but a +careful examination will show that it was surprisingly little. In no +respect is the greatness of the Stoic philosophers more conspicuous than +in the contrast between the gigantic steps of legal reform made in a few +years under their influence, and the almost insignificant steps taken when +Christianity had obtained an ascendancy in the Empire, not to speak of the +long period of decrepitude that followed. In the way of mitigating the +severity of punishments, Constantine made, it is true, three important +laws prohibiting the custom of branding criminals upon the face, the +condemnation of criminals as gladiators, and the continuance of the once +degrading but now sacred punishment of crucifixion, which had been very +commonly employed; but these measures were more than counterbalanced by +the extreme severity with which the Christian emperors punished +infanticide, adultery, seduction, rape, and several other crimes, and the +number of capital offences became considerably greater than before.(72) +The most prominent evidence, indeed, of ecclesiastical influence in the +Theodosian code is that which must be most lamented. It is the immense +mass of legislation, intended on the one hand to elevate the clergy into a +separate and sacred caste, and on the other to persecute in every form, +and with every degree of violence, all who deviated from the fine line of +Catholic orthodoxy.(73) + +The last consequence of the Christian estimate of human life was a very +emphatic condemnation of suicide. We have already seen that the arguments +of the Pagan moralists, who were opposed to this act, were of four kinds. +The religious argument of Pythagoras and Plato was, that we are all +soldiers of God, placed in an appointed post of duty, which it is a +rebellion against our Maker to desert. The civic argument of Aristotle and +the Greek legislators was that we owe our services to the State, and that +therefore voluntarily to abandon life is to abandon our duty to our +country. The argument which Plutarch and other writers derived from human +dignity was that true courage is shown in the manful endurance of +suffering, while suicide, being an act of flight, is an act of cowardice, +and therefore unworthy of man. The mystical or Quietist argument of the +Neoplatonists was that all perturbation is a pollution of the soul; that +the act of suicide is accompanied by, and springs from, perturbation, and +that therefore the perpetrator ends his days by a crime. Of these four +arguments, the last cannot, I think, be said to have had any place among +the Christian dissuasives from suicide, and the influence of the second +was almost imperceptible. The notion of patriotism being a moral duty was +habitually discouraged in the early Church; and it was impossible to urge +the civic argument against suicide without at the same time condemning the +hermit life, which in the third century became the ideal of the Church. +The duty a man owes to his family, which a modern moralist would deem the +most obvious and, perhaps, the most conclusive proof of the general +criminality of suicide, and which may be said to have replaced the civic +argument, was scarcely noticed either by the Pagans or the early +Christians. The first were accustomed to lay so much stress upon the +authority, that they scarcely recognised the duties, of the father; and +the latter were too anxious to attach all their ethics to the interests of +another world, to do much to supply the omission. The Christian estimate +of the duty of humility, and of the degradation of man, rendered appeals +to human dignity somewhat uncongenial to the patristic writers; yet these +writers frequently dilated upon the true courage of patience, in language +to which their own heroism under persecution gave a noble emphasis. To the +example of Cato they opposed those of Regulus and Job, the courage that +endures suffering to the courage that confronts death. The Platonic +doctrine, that we are servants of the Deity, placed upon earth to perform +our allotted task in His sight, with His assistance, and by His will, they +continually enforced and most deeply realised; and this doctrine was in +itself, in most cases, a sufficient preventive; for, as a great writer has +said: "Though there are many crimes of a deeper dye than suicide, there is +no other by which men appear so formally to renounce the protection of +God."(74) + +But, in addition to this general teaching, the Christian theologians +introduced into the sphere we are considering new elements both of +terrorism and of persuasion, which have had a decisive influence upon the +judgments of mankind. They carried their doctrine of the sanctity of human +life to such a point that they maintained dogmatically that a man who +destroys his own life has committed a crime similar both in kind and +magnitude to that of an ordinary murderer,(75) and they at the same time +gave a new character to death by their doctrines concerning its penal +nature and concerning the future destinies of the soul. On the other hand, +the high position assigned to resignation in the moral scale, the hope of +future happiness, which casts a ray of light upon the darkest calamities +of life, the deeper and more subtle consolations arising from the feeling +of trust and from the outpouring of prayer, and, above all, the Christian +doctrine of the remedial and providential character of suffering, have +proved sufficient protection against despair. The Christian doctrine, that +pain is a good, had in this respect an influence that was never attained +by the Pagan doctrine, that pain is not an evil. + +There were, however, two forms of suicide which were regarded in the early +Church with some tolerance or hesitation. During the frenzy excited by +persecution, and under the influence of the belief that martyrdom effaced +in a moment the sins of a life, and introduced the sufferer at once into +celestial joys, it was not uncommon for men, in a transport of enthusiasm, +to rush before the Pagan judges, imploring or provoking martyrdom; and +some of the ecclesiastical writers have spoken of these men with +considerable admiration,(76) though the general tone of the patristic +writings and the councils of the Church condemned them. A more serious +difficulty arose about Christian women who committed suicide to guard +their chastity when menaced by the infamous sentences of their +persecutors, or more frequently by the lust of emperors, or by barbarian +invaders. St. Pelagia, a girl of only fifteen, who has been canonised by +the Church, and who was warmly eulogised by St. Ambrose and St. +Chrysostom, having been captured by the soldiery, obtained permission to +retire to her room for the purpose of robing herself, mounted to the roof +of the house, and, flinging herself down, perished by the fall.(77) A +Christian lady of Antioch, named Domnina, had two daughters renowned alike +for their beauty and their piety. Being captured during the Diocletian +persecution, and fearing the loss of their chastity, they agreed by one +bold act to free themselves from the danger, and, casting themselves into +a river by the way, mother and daughters sank unsullied in the wave.(78) +The tyrant Maxentius was fascinated by the beauty of a Christian lady, the +wife of the Prefect of Rome. Having sought in vain to elude his addresses, +having been dragged from her house by the minions of the tyrant, the +faithful wife obtained permission, before yielding to her master's +embraces, to retire for a moment into her chamber, and she there, with +true Roman courage, stabbed herself to the heart.(79) Some Protestant +controversialists have been scandalised,(80) and some Catholic +controversialists perplexed, by the undisguised admiration with which the +early ecclesiastical writers narrate these histories. To those who have +not suffered theological opinions to destroy all their natural sense of +nobility it will need no defence. + +This was the only form of avowed suicide which was in any degree permitted +in the early Church. St. Ambrose rather timidly, and St. Jerome more +strongly, commended it; but at the time when the capture of Rome by the +soldiers of Alaric made the question one of pressing interest, St. +Augustine devoted an elaborate examination to the subject, and while +expressing his pitying admiration for the virgin suicides, decidedly +condemned their act.(81) His opinion of the absolute sinfulness of suicide +has since been generally adopted by the Catholic theologians, who pretend +that Pelagia and Domnina acted under the impulse of a special +revelation.(82) At the same time, by a glaring though very natural +inconsistency, no characters were more enthusiastically extolled than +those anchorites who habitually deprived their bodies of the sustenance +that was absolutely necessary to health, and thus manifestly abridged +their lives. St. Jerome has preserved a curious illustration of the +feeling with which these slow suicides were regarded by the outer world, +in his account of the life and death of a young nun named Blesilla. This +lady had been guilty of what, according to the religious notions of the +fourth century, was, at least, the frivolity of marrying, but was left a +widow seven months afterwards, having thus "lost at once the crown of +virginity and the pleasure of marriage."(83) An attack of illness inspired +her with strong religious feelings. At the age of twenty she retired to a +convent. She attained such a height of devotion that, according to the +very characteristic eulogy of her biographer, "she was more sorry for the +loss of her virginity than for the decease of her husband;"(84) and a long +succession of atrocious penances preceded, if they did not produce, her +death.(85) The conviction that she had been killed by fasting, and the +spectacle of the uncontrollable grief of her mother, filled the populace +with indignation, and the funeral was disturbed by tumultuous cries that +the "accursed race of monks should be banished from the city, stoned, or +drowned."(86) In the Church itself, however, we find very few traces of +any condemnation of the custom of undermining the constitution by +austerities,(87) and if we may believe but a small part of what is related +of the habits of the early and mediæval monks, great numbers of them must +have thus shortened their days. There is a touching story told by St. +Bonaventura, of St. Francis Assisi, who was one of these victims to +asceticism. As the dying saint sank back exhausted with spitting blood, he +avowed, as he looked upon his emaciated body, that "he had sinned against +his brother, the ass;" and then, the feeling of his mind taking, as was +usual with him, the form of an hallucination, he imagined that, when at +prayer during the night, he heard a voice saying: "Francis, there is no +sinner in the world whom, if he be converted, God will not pardon; but he +who kills himself by hard penances will find no mercy in eternity." He +attributed the voice to the devil.(88) + +Direct and deliberate suicide, which occupies so prominent a place in the +moral history of antiquity, almost absolutely disappeared within the +Church; but beyond its pale the Circumcelliones, in the fourth century, +constituted themselves the apostles of death, and not only carried to the +highest point the custom of provoking martyrdom, by challenging and +insulting the assemblies of the Pagans, but even killed themselves in +great numbers, imagining, it would seem, that this was a form of +martyrdom, and would secure for them eternal salvation. Assembling in +hundreds, St. Augustine says even in thousands, they leaped with paroxysms +of frantic joy from the brows of overhanging cliffs, till the rocks below +were reddened with their blood.(89) At a much later period, we find among +the Albigenses a practice, known by the name of Endura, of accelerating +death, in the case of dangerous illness, by fasting, and sometimes by +bleeding.(90) The wretched Jews, stung to madness by the persecution of +the Catholics, furnish the most numerous examples of suicide during the +middle ages. A multitude perished by their own hands, to avoid torture, in +France, in 1095; five hundred, it is said, on a single occasion at York; +five hundred in 1320, when besieged by the Shepherds. The old Pagan +legislation on this subject remained unaltered in the Theodosian and +Justinian codes; but a Council of Arles, in the fifth century, having +pronounced suicide to be the effect of diabolical inspiration, a Council +of Bragues, in the following century, ordained that no religious rites +should be celebrated at the tomb of the culprit, and that no masses should +be said for his soul; and these provisions, which were repeated by later +Councils, were gradually introduced into the laws of the barbarians and of +Charlemagne. St. Lewis originated the custom of confiscating the property +of the dead man, and the corpse was soon subjected to gross and various +outrages. In some countries it could only be removed from the house +through a perforation specially made for the occasion in the wall; it was +dragged upon a hurdle through the streets, hung up with the head +downwards, and at last thrown into the public sewer, or burnt, or buried +in the sand below high-water mark, or transfixed by a stake on the public +highway.(91) + +These singularly hideous and at the same time grotesque customs, and also +the extreme injustice of reducing to beggary the unhappy relations of the +dead, had the very natural effect of exciting, in the eighteenth century, +a strong spirit of reaction. Suicide is indeed one of those acts which may +be condemned by moralists as a sin, but which, in modern times at least, +cannot be regarded as within the legitimate sphere of law; for a society +which accords to its members perfect liberty of emigration, cannot +reasonably pronounce the simple renunciation of life to be an offence +against itself. When, however, Beccaria and his followers went further, +and maintained that the mediæval laws on the subject were as impotent as +they were revolting, they fell, I think, into serious error. The outrages +lavished upon the corpse of the suicide, though in the first instance an +expression of the popular horror of his act, contributed, by the +associations they formed, to strengthen the feeling that produced them, +and they were also peculiarly fitted to scare the diseased, excited, and +oversensitive imaginations that are most prone to suicide. In the rare +occasions when the act was deliberately contemplated, the knowledge that +religious, legislative, and social influences would combine to aggravate +to the utmost the agony of the surviving relatives, must have had great +weight. The activity of the Legislature shows the continuance of the act; +but we have every reason to believe that within the pale of Catholicism it +was for many centuries extremely rare. It is said to have been somewhat +prevalent in Spain in the last and most corrupt period of the Gothic +kingdom,(92) and many instances occurred during a great pestilence which +raged in England in the seventh century,(93) and also during the Black +Death of the fourteenth century.(94) When the wives of priests were +separated in vast numbers from their husbands by Hildebrand, and driven +into the world blasted, heart-broken, and hopeless, not a few of them +shortened their agony by suicide.(95) Among women it was in general +especially rare; and a learned historian of suicide has even asserted that +a Spanish lady, who, being separated from her husband, and finding herself +unable to resist the energy of her passions, killed herself rather than +yield to temptation, is the only instance of female suicide during several +centuries.(96) In the romances of chivalry, however, this mode of death is +frequently pourtrayed without horror,(97) and its criminality was +discussed at considerable length by Abelard and St. Thomas Aquinas, while +Dante has devoted some fine lines to painting the condition of suicides in +hell, where they are also frequently represented in the bas-reliefs of +cathedrals. A melancholy leading to desperation, and known to theologians +under the name of "acedia," was not uncommon in monasteries, and most of +the recorded instances of mediæval suicides in Catholicism were by monks. +The frequent suicides of monks, sometimes to escape the world, sometimes +through despair at their inability to quell the propensities of the body, +sometimes through insanity produced by their mode of life, and by their +dread of surrounding demons, were noticed in the early Church,(98) and a +few examples have been gleaned, from the mediæval chronicles,(99) of +suicides produced by the bitterness of hopeless love, or by the +derangement that follows extreme austerity. These are, however, but few; +and it is probable that the monasteries, by providing a refuge for the +disappointed and the broken-hearted, have prevented more suicides than +they have caused, and that, during the whole period of Catholic +ascendancy, the act was more rare than before or after. The influence of +Catholicism was seconded by Mohammedanism, which, on this as on many other +points, borrowed its teaching from the Christian Church, and even +intensified it; for suicide, which is never expressly condemned in the +Bible, is more than once forbidden in the Koran, and the Christian duty of +resignation was exaggerated by the Moslem into a complete fatalism. Under +the empire of Catholicism and Mohammedanism, suicide, during many +centuries, almost absolutely ceased in all the civilised, active, and +progressive part of mankind. When we recollect how warmly it was +applauded, or how faintly it was condemned, in the civilisation of Greece +and Rome; when we remember, too, that there was scarcely a barbarous +tribe, from Denmark to Spain, who did not habitually practise it,(100) we +may realise the complete revolution which was effected in this sphere by +the influence of Christianity. + +A few words may be added on the later phases of this mournful history. The +Reformation does not seem to have had any immediate effect in multiplying +suicide, for Protestants and Catholics held with equal intensity the +religious sentiments which are most fitted to prevent it, and in none of +the persecutions was impatience of life largely displayed. The history at +this period passes chiefly into the new world, where the unhappy Indians, +reduced to slavery, and treated with atrocious cruelty by their +conquerors, killed themselves in great numbers; till the Spaniards, it is +said, discovered an ingenious method of deterring them, by declaring that +the master also would commit suicide, and would pursue his victims into +the world of spirits.(101) In Europe the act was very common among the +witches, who underwent all the sufferings with none of the consolations of +martyrdom. Without enthusiasm, without hope, without even the +consciousness of innocence, decrepit in body, and distracted in mind, +compelled in this world to endure tortures, before which the most +impassioned heroism might quail, and doomed, as they often believed, to +eternal damnation in the next, they not unfrequently killed themselves in +the agony of their despair. A French judge named Remy tells us that he +knew no less than fifteen witches commit suicide in a single year.(102) In +these cases, fear and madness combined in urging the victims to the deed. +Epidemics of purely insane suicide have also not unfrequently occurred. +Both the women of Marseilles and the women of Lyons were afflicted with an +epidemic not unlike that which, in antiquity, had been noticed among the +girls of Miletus.(103) In that strange mania which raged in the Neapolitan +districts from the end of the fifteenth to the end of the seventeenth +century, and which was attributed to the bite of the tarantula, the +patients thronged in multitudes towards the sea, and often, as the blue +waters opened to their view, they chanted a wild hymn of welcome, and +rushed with passion into the waves.(104) But together with these cases, +which belong rather to the history of medicine than to that of morals, we +find many facts exhibiting a startling increase of deliberate suicide, and +a no less startling modification of the sentiments with which it was +regarded. The revival of classical learning, and the growing custom of +regarding Greek and Roman heroes as ideals, necessarily brought the +subject into prominence. The Catholic casuists, and at a later period +philosophers of the school of Grotius and Puffendorf, began to distinguish +certain cases of legitimate suicide, such as that committed to avoid +dishonour or probable sin, or that of the soldier who fires a mine, +knowing he must inevitably perish by the explosion, or that of a condemned +person who saves himself from torture by anticipating an inevitable fate, +or that of a man who offers himself to death for his friend.(105) The +effect of the Pagan examples may frequently be detected in the last words +or writings of the suicides. Philip Strozzi, when accused of the +assassination of Alexander I. of Tuscany, killed himself through fear that +torture might extort from him revelations injurious to his friends, and he +left behind him a paper in which, among other things, he commended his +soul to God, with the prayer that, if no higher boon could be granted, he +might at least be permitted to have his place with Cato of Utica and the +other great suicides of antiquity.(106) In England, the act appears in the +seventeenth century and in the first half of the eighteenth to have been +more common than upon the Continent,(107) and several partial or even +unqualified apologies for it were written. Sir Thomas More, in his +"Utopia," represented the priests and magistrates of his ideal republic +permitting or even enjoining those who were afflicted with incurable +disease to kill themselves, but depriving of burial those who had done so +without authorisation.(108) Dr. Donne, the learned and pious Dean of St. +Paul's, had in his youth written an extremely curious, subtle, and +learned, but at the same time feeble and involved, work in defence of +suicide, which on his deathbed he commanded his son neither to publish nor +destroy, and which his son published in 1644. Two or three English +suicides left behind them elaborate defences, as did also a Swede named +Robeck, who drowned himself in 1735, and whose treatise, published in the +following year, acquired considerable celebrity.(109) But the most +influential writings about suicide were those of the French philosophers +and revolutionists. Montaigne, without discussing its abstract lawfulness, +recounts, with much admiration, many of the instances in antiquity.(110) +Montesquieu, in a youthful work, defended it with ardent enthusiasm.(111) +Rousseau devoted to the subject two letters of a burning and passionate +eloquence,(112) in the first of which he presented with matchless power +the arguments in its favour, while in the second he denounced those +arguments as sophistical, dilated upon the impiety of abandoning the post +of duty, and upon the cowardice of despair, and with a deep knowledge of +the human heart revealed the selfishness that lies at the root of most +suicide, exhorting all who felt impelled to it to set about some work for +the good of others, in which they would assuredly find relief. Voltaire, +in the best-known couplet he ever wrote, defends the act on occasions of +extreme necessity.(113) Among the atheistical party it was warmly +eulogised, and Holbach and Deslandes were prominent as its defenders. The +rapid decomposition of religious opinions weakened the popular sense of +its enormity, and at the same time the humanity of the age, and also a +clearer sense of the true limits of legislation, produced a reaction +against the horrible laws on the subject. Grotius had defended them. +Montesquieu at first denounced them with unqualified energy, but in his +later years in some degree modified his opinions. Beccaria, who was, more +than any other writer, the representative of the opinions of the French +school on such matters, condemned them partly as unjust to the innocent +survivors, partly as incapable of deterring any man who was resolved upon +the act. Even in 1749, in the full blaze of the philosophic movement, we +find a suicide named Portier dragged through the streets of Paris with his +face to the ground, hung from a gallows by his feet, and then thrown into +the sewers;(114) and the laws were not abrogated till the Revolution, +which, having founded so many other forms of freedom, accorded the liberty +of death. Amid the dramatic vicissitudes, and the fierce enthusiasm of +that period of convulsions, suicides immediately multiplied. "The world," +it was said, had been "empty since the Romans."(115) For a brief period, +and in this one country, the action of Christianity appeared suspended. +Men seemed to be transported again into the age of Paganism, and the +suicides, though more theatrical, were perpetrated with no less +deliberation, and eulogised with no less enthusiasm, than among the +Stoics. But the tide of revolution passed away, and with some +qualifications the old opinions resumed their authority. The laws against +suicide were, indeed, for the most part abolished. In France and several +other lands there exists no legislation on the subject. In other countries +the law simply enjoins burial without religious ceremonies. In England, +the burial in a highway and the mutilation by a stake were abolished under +George IV.; but the monstrous injustice of confiscating to the Crown the +entire property of the deliberate suicide still disgraces the +statute-book, though the force of public opinion and the charitable +perjury of juries render it inoperative. + +The common sentiment of Christendom has, however, ratified the judgment +which the Christian teachers pronounced upon the act, though it has +somewhat modified the severity of the old censure, and has abandoned some +of the old arguments. It was reserved for Madame de Staël, who, in a +youthful work upon the Passions, had commended suicide, to reconstruct +this department of ethics, which had been somewhat disturbed by the +Revolution, and she did so in a little treatise which is a model of calm, +candid, and philosophic piety. Frankly abandoning the old theological +notions that the deed is of the nature of murder, that it is the worst of +crimes, and that it is always, or even generally, the offspring of +cowardice; abandoning, too, all attempts to scare men by religious +terrorism, she proceeded, not so much to meet in detail the isolated +arguments of its defenders, as to sketch the ideal of a truly virtuous +man, and to show how such a character would secure men against all +temptation to suicide. In pages of the most tender beauty, she traced the +influence of suffering in softening, purifying, and deepening the +character, and showed how a frame of habitual and submissive resignation +was not only the highest duty, but also the source of the purest +consolation, and at the same time the appointed condition of moral +amelioration. Having examined in detail the Biblical aspect of the +question, she proceeded to show how the true measure of the dignity of man +is his unselfishness. She contrasted the martyr with the suicide--the death +which springs from devotion to duty with the death that springs from +rebellion against circumstances. The suicide of Cato, which had been +absurdly denounced by a crowd of ecclesiastics as an act of cowardice, and +as absurdly alleged by many suicides as a justification for flying from +pain or poverty, she represented as an act of martyrdom--a death like that +of Curtius, accepted nobly for the benefit of Rome. The eye of the good +man should be for ever fixed upon the interest of others. For them he +should be prepared to relinquish life with all its blessings. For them he +should be prepared to tolerate life, even when it seemed to him a curse. + +Sentiments of this kind have, through the influence of Christianity, +thoroughly pervaded European society, and suicide, in modern times, is +almost always found to have sprung either from absolute insanity; from +diseases which, though not amounting to insanity, are yet sufficient to +discolour our judgments; or from that last excess of sorrow, when +resignation and hope are both extinct. Considering it in this light, I +know few things more fitted to qualify the optimism we so often hear than +the fact that statistics show it to be rapidly increasing, and to be +peculiarly characteristic of those nations which rank most high in +intellectual development and in general civilisation.(116) In one or two +countries, strong religious feeling has counteracted the tendency; but the +comparison of town and country, of different countries, of different +provinces of the same country, and of different periods in history, proves +conclusively its reality. Many reasons may be alleged to explain it. +Mental occupations are peculiarly fitted to produce insanity,(117) and the +blaze of publicity, which in modern time encircles an act of suicide, to +draw weak minds to its imitation. If we put the condition of absolutely +savage life, out of our calculation, it is probable that a highly +developed civilisation, while it raises the average of well-being, is +accompanied by more extreme misery and acute sufferings than the simpler +stages that had preceded it. Nomadic habits, the vast agglomeration of men +in cities, the pressure of a fierce competition, and the sudden +fluctuations to which manufactures are peculiarly liable, are the +conditions of great prosperity, but also the causes of the most profound +misery. Civilisation makes many of what once were superfluities, +necessaries of life, so that their loss inflicts a pang long after their +possession had ceased to be a pleasure. It also, by softening the +character, renders it peculiarly sensitive to pain, and it brings with it +a long train of antipathies, passions, and diseased imaginations, which +rarely or never cross the thoughts or torture the nerves of the simple +peasant. The advance of religious scepticism, and the relaxation of +religious discipline, have weakened and sometimes destroyed the horror of +suicide; and the habits of self-assertion, the eager and restless +ambitions which political liberty, intellectual activity, and +manufacturing enterprise, all in their different ways conspire to foster, +while they are the very principles and conditions of the progress of our +age, render the virtue of content in all its forms extremely rare, and are +peculiarly unpropitious to the formation of that spirit of humble and +submissive resignation which alone can mitigate the agony of hopeless +suffering. + + ------------------------------------- + +From examining the effect of Christianity in promoting a sense of the +sanctity of human life, we may now pass to an adjoining field, and examine +its influence in promoting a fraternal and philanthropic sentiment among +mankind. And first of all we may notice its effects upon slavery. + +The reader will remember the general position this institution occupied in +the eyes of the Stoic moralists, and under the legislation which they had +in a great measure inspired. The legitimacy of slavery was fully +recognised; but Seneca and other moralists had asserted, in the very +strongest terms, the natural equality of mankind, the superficial +character of the differences between the slave and his master, and the +duty of the most scrupulous humanity to the former. Instances of a very +warm sympathy between master and slave were of frequent occurrence; but +they may unfortunately be paralleled by not a few examples of the most +atrocious cruelty. To guard against such cruelty, a long series of +enactments, based avowedly upon the Stoical principle of the essential +equality of mankind, had been made under Hadrian, the Antonines, and +Alexander Severus. Not to recapitulate at length what has been mentioned +in a former chapter, it is sufficient to remind the reader that the right +of life and death had been definitely withdrawn from the master, and that +the murder of a slave was stigmatised and punished by the law. It had, +however, been laid down, by the great lawyer Paul, that homicide implies +an intention to kill, and that therefore the master was not guilty of that +crime if his slave died under chastisement which was not administered with +this intention. But the licence of punishment which this decision might +give was checked by laws which forbade excessive cruelty to slaves, +provided that, when it was proved, they should be sold to another master, +suppressed the private prisons in which they had been immured, and +appointed special officers to receive their complaints. + +In the field of legislation, for about two hundred years after the +conversion of Constantine, the progress was extremely slight. The +Christian emperors, in A.D. 319 and 326, adverted in two elaborate laws to +the subject of the murder of slaves,(118) but, beyond reiterating in very +emphatic terms the previous enactments, it is not easy to see in what way +they improved the condition of the class.(119) They provided that any +master who applied to his slave certain atrocious tortures, that are +enumerated, with the object of killing him, should be deemed a homicide, +but if the slave died under moderate punishment, or under any punishment +not intended to kill him, the master should be blameless; no charge +whatever, it was emphatically said, should be brought against him. It has +been supposed, though I think without evidence, by commentators(120) that +this law accorded immunity to the master only when the slave perished +under the application of "appropriate" or servile punishments--that is to +say, scourging, irons, or imprisonment; but the use of torture not +intended to kill was in no degree restricted, nor is there anything in the +law to make it appear either that the master was liable to punishment, if +contrary to his intention his slave succumbed beneath torture, or that +Constantine proposed any penalty for excessive cruelty which did not +result in death. It is, perhaps, not out of place to observe, that this +law was in remarkable harmony with the well-known article of the Jewish +code, which provided that if a slave, wounded to death by his master, +linger for a day or two, the master should not be punished, for the slave +was his money.(121) + +The two features that were most revolting in the slave system, as it +passed from the Pagan to the Christian emperors, were the absolute want of +legal recognition of slave marriage, and the licence of torturing still +conceded to the master. The Christian emperors before Justinian took no +serious steps to remedy either of these evils, and the measures that were +taken against adultery still continued inapplicable to slave unions, +because "the vileness of their condition makes them unworthy of the +observation of the law."(122) The abolition of the punishment of +crucifixion had, however, a special value to the slave class, and a very +merciful law of Constantine forbade the separation of the families of the +slaves.(123) Another law, which in its effects was perhaps still more +important, imparted a sacred character to manumission, ordaining that the +ceremony should be celebrated in the Church,(124) and permitting it on +Sundays. Some measures were also taken, providing for the freedom of the +Christian slaves of Jewish masters, and, in two or three cases, freedom +was offered as a bribe to slaves, to induce them to inform against +criminals. Intermarriage between the free and slave classes was still +strictly forbidden, and if a free woman had improper intercourse with her +slave, Constantine ordered that the woman should be executed and the slave +burnt alive.(125) By the Pagan law, the woman had been simply reduced to +slavery. The laws against fugitive slaves were also rendered more +severe.(126) + +This legislation may on the whole be looked upon as a progress, but it +certainly does not deserve the enthusiasm which ecclesiastical writers +have sometimes bestowed upon it. For about two hundred years, there was an +almost absolute pause in the legislation on this subject. Some slight +restrictions were, however, imposed upon the use of torture in trials; +some slight additional facilities of manumission were given, and some very +atrocious enactments made to prevent slaves accusing their masters. +According to that of Gratian, any slave who accused his master of any +offence, except high treason, should immediately be burnt alive, without +any investigation of the justice of the charge.(127) + +Under Justinian, however, new and very important measures were taken. In +no other sphere were the laws of this emperor so indisputably an advance +upon those of his predecessors. His measures may be comprised under three +heads. In the first place, all the restrictions upon enfranchisement which +had accumulated under the Pagan legislation were abolished; the legislator +proclaimed in emphatic language, and by the provisions of many laws, his +desire to encourage manumission, and free scope was thus given to the +action of the Church. In the second place, the freedmen, considered as an +intermediate class between the slave and the citizen, were virtually +abolished, all or nearly all the privileges accorded to the citizen being +granted to the emancipated slave. This was the most important contribution +of the Christian emperors to that great amalgamation of nations and +classes which had been advancing since the days of Augustus; and one of +its effects was, that any person, even of senatorial rank, might marry a +slave when he had first emancipated her. In the third place, a slave was +permitted to marry a free woman with the authorisation of his master, and +children born in slavery became the legal heirs of their emancipated +father. The rape of a slave woman was also in this reign punished, like +that of a free woman, by death.(128) + +But, important as were these measures, it is not in the field of +legislation that we must chiefly look for the influence of Christianity +upon slavery. This influence was indeed very great, but it is necessary +carefully to define its nature. The prohibition of all slavery, which was +one of the peculiarities of the Jewish Essenes, and the illegitimacy of +hereditary slavery, which was one of the speculations of the Stoic Dion +Chrysostom, had no place in the ecclesiastical teaching. Slavery was +distinctly and formally recognised by Christianity,(129) and no religion +ever laboured more to encourage a habit of docility and passive obedience. +Much was indeed said by the Fathers about the natural equality of mankind, +about the duty of regarding slaves as brothers or companions, and about +the heinousness of cruelty to them; but all this had been said with at +least equal force, though it had not been disseminated over an equally +wide area, by Seneca and Epictetus, and the principle of the original +freedom of all men was repeatedly averred by the Pagan lawyers. The +services of Christianity in this sphere were of three kinds. It supplied a +new order of relations, in which the distinction of classes was unknown. +It imparted a moral dignity to the servile classes, and it gave an +unexampled impetus to the movement of enfranchisement. + +The first of these services was effected by the Church ceremonies and the +penitential discipline. In these spheres, from which the Christian mind +derived its earliest, its deepest, and its most enduring impressions, the +difference between the master and his slave was unknown. They received the +sacred elements together, they sat side by side at the agape, they mingled +in the public prayers. In the penal system of the Church, the distinction +between wrongs done to a freeman, and wrongs done to a slave, which lay at +the very root of the whole civil legislation, was repudiated. At a time +when, by the civil law, a master, whose slave died as a consequence of +excessive scourging, was absolutely unpunished, the Council of Illiberis +excluded that master for ever from the communion.(130) The chastity of +female slaves, for the protection of which the civil law made but little +provision, was sedulously guarded by the legislation of the Church. Slave +birth, moreover, was no disqualification for entering into the priesthood; +and an emancipated slave, regarded as the dispenser of spiritual life and +death, often saw the greatest and the most wealthy kneeling humbly at his +feet imploring his absolution or his benediction.(131) + +In the next place, Christianity imparted a moral dignity to the servile +class. It did this not only by associating poverty and labour with that +monastic life which was so profoundly revered, but also by introducing new +modifications into the ideal type of morals. There is no fact more +prominent in the Roman writers than the profound contempt with which they +regarded slaves, not so much on account of their position, as on account +of the character which that position had formed. A servile character was a +synonym for a vicious one. Cicero had declared that nothing great or noble +could exist in a slave, and the plays of Plautus exhibit the same estimate +in every scene. There were, it is true, some exceptions. Epictetus had not +only been, but had been recognised as one of the noblest characters of +Rome. The fidelity of slaves to their masters had been frequently +extolled, and Seneca in this, as in other respects, had been the defender +of the oppressed. Still there can be no doubt that this contempt was +general, and also that in the Pagan world it was to a great extent just. +Every age has its own moral ideal, to which all virtuous men aspire. Every +sphere of life has also a tendency to produce a distinctive type being +specially favourable to some particular class of virtues, and specially +unfavourable to others. The popular estimate, and even the real moral +condition, of each class depends chiefly upon the degree in which the type +of character its position naturally develops, coincides with the ideal +type of the age. Now, if we remember that magnanimity, self-reliance, +dignity, independence, and, in a word, elevation of character, constituted +the Roman ideal of perfection, it will appear evident that this was +preeminently the type of freemen, and that the condition of slavery was in +the very highest degree unfavourable to its development. Christianity for +the first time gave the servile virtues the foremost place in the moral +type. Humility, obedience, gentleness, patience, resignation, are all +cardinal or rudimentary virtues in the Christian character; they were all +neglected or underrated by the Pagans; they can all expand and flourish in +a servile position. + +The influence of Christianity upon slavery, by inclining the moral type to +the servile classes, though less obvious and less discussed than some +others, is, I believe, in the very highest degree important. There is, +probably, scarcely any other single circumstance that exercises so +profound an influence upon the social and political relations of a +religion, as the class type with which it can most readily assimilate; or, +in other words, the group or variety of virtues to which it gives the +foremost place. The virtues that are most suited to the servile position +were in general so little honoured by antiquity that they were not even +cultivated in their appropriate sphere. The aspirations of good men were +in a different direction. The virtue of the Stoic, which rose triumphantly +under adversity, nearly always withered under degradation. For the first +time, under the influence of Christianity, a great moral movement passed +through the servile class. The multitude of slaves who embraced the new +faith was one of the reproaches of the Pagans; and the names of Blandina, +Potamiæna, Eutyches, Victorinus, and Nereus, show how fully they shared in +the sufferings and in the glory of martyrdom (132). The first and grandest +edifice of Byzantine architecture in Italy--the noble church of St. Vital, +at Ravenna--was dedicated by Justinian to the memory of a martyred slave. + +While Christianity thus broke down the contempt with which the master had +regarded his slaves, and planted among the latter a principle of moral +regeneration which expanded in no other sphere with an equal perfection, +its action in procuring the freedom of the slave was unceasing. The law of +Constantine, which placed the ceremony under the superintendence of the +clergy, and the many laws that gave special facilities of manumission to +those who desired to enter the monasteries or the priesthood, symbolised +the religious character the act had assumed. It was celebrated on Church +festivals, especially at Easter; and, although it was not proclaimed a +matter of duty or necessity, it was always regarded as one of the most +acceptable modes of expiating past sins. St. Melania was said to have +emancipated 8,000 slaves; St. Ovidius, a rich martyr of Gaul, 5,000; +Chromatius, a Roman prefect under Diocletian, 1,400; Hermes, a prefect in +the reign of Trajan, 1,250.(133) Pope St. Gregory, many of the clergy at +Hippo under the rule of St. Augustine, as well as great numbers of private +individuals, freed their slaves as an act of piety.(134) It became +customary to do so on occasions of national or personal thanksgiving, on +recovery from sickness, on the birth of a child, at the hour of death, +and, above all, in testamentary bequests.(135) Numerous charters and +epitaphs still record the gift of liberty to slaves throughout the middle +ages, "for the benefit of the soul" of the donor or testator. In the +thirteenth century, when there were no slaves to emancipate in France, it +was usual in many churches to release caged pigeons on the ecclesiastical +festivals, in memory of the ancient charity, and that prisoners might +still be freed in the name of Christ.(136) + +Slavery, however, lasted in Europe for about 800 years after Constantine, +and during the period with which alone this volume is concerned, although +its character was changed and mitigated, the number of men who were +subject to it was probably greater than in the Pagan Empire. In the West +the barbarian conquests modified the conditions of labour in two +directions. The cessation of the stream of barbarian captives, the +impoverishment of great families, who had been surrounded by vast retinues +of slaves, the general diminution of town life, and the barbarian habits +of personal independence, checked the old form of slavery, while the +misery and the precarious condition of the free peasants induced them in +great numbers to barter their liberty for protection by the neighbouring +lord.(137) In the East, the destruction of great fortunes through +excessive taxation diminished the number of superfluous slaves; and the +fiscal system of the Byzantine Empire, by which agricultural slaves were +taxed according to their employments,(138) as well as the desire of +emperors to encourage agriculture, led the legislators to attach the +slaves permanently to the soil. In the course of time, almost the entire +free peasantry, and the greater number of the old slaves, had sunk or +risen into the qualified slavery called serfdom, which formed the basis of +the great edifice of feudalism. Towards the end of the eighth century, the +sale of slaves beyond their native provinces was in most countries +prohibited.(139) The creation of the free cities of Italy, the custom of +emancipating slaves who were enrolled in the army, and economical changes +which made free labour more profitable than slave labour, conspired with +religious motives in effecting the ultimate freedom of labour. The +practice of manumitting, as an act of devotion, continued to the end; but +the ecclesiastics, probably through the feeling that they had no right to +alienate corporate property, in which they had only a life interest, were +among the last to follow the counsels they so liberally bestowed upon the +laity.(140) In the twelfth century, however, slaves in Europe were very +rare. In the fourteenth century, slavery was almost unknown.(141) + +Closely connected with the influence of the Church in destroying +hereditary slavery, was its influence in redeeming captives from +servitude. In no other form of charity was its beneficial character more +continually and more splendidly displayed. During the long and dreary +trials of the barbarian invasions, when the whole structure of society was +dislocated, when vast districts and mighty cities were in a few months +almost depopulated, and when the flower of the youth of Italy were mown +down by the sword, or carried away into captivity, the bishops never +desisted from their efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the prisoners. +St. Ambrose, disregarding the outcries of the Arians, who denounced his +act as atrocious sacrilege, sold the rich church ornaments of Milan to +rescue some captives who had fallen into the hands of the Goths, and this +practice--which was afterwards formally sanctioned by St. Gregory the +Great--became speedily general. When the Roman army had captured, but +refused to support, seven thousand Persian prisoners, Acacius, Bishop of +Amida, undeterred by the bitter hostility of the Persians to Christianity, +and declaring that "God had no need of plates or dishes," sold all the +rich church ornaments of his diocese, rescued the unbelieving prisoners, +and sent them back unharmed to their king. During the horrors of the +Vandal invasion, Deogratias, Bishop of Carthage, took a similar step to +ransom the Roman prisoners. St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, St. +Cæsarius of Arles, St. Exuperius of Toulouse, St. Hilary, St. Remi, all +melted down or sold their church vases to free prisoners. St. Cyprian sent +a large sum for the same purpose to the Bishop of Nicomedia. St. +Epiphanius and St. Avitus, in conjunction with a rich Gaulish lady named +Syagria, are said to have rescued thousands. St. Eligius devoted to this +object his entire fortune. St. Paulinus of Nola displayed a similar +generosity, and the legends even assert, though untruly, that he, like St. +Peter Teleonarius and St. Serapion, having exhausted all other forms of +charity, as a last gift sold himself to slavery. When, long afterwards, +the Mohammedan conquests in a measure reproduced the calamities of the +barbarian invasions, the same unwearied charity was displayed. The +Trinitarian monks, founded by John of Matha in the twelfth century, were +devoted to the release of Christian captives, and another society was +founded with the same object by Peter Nolasco, in the following +century.(142) + +The different branches of the subject I am examining are so closely +intertwined that it is difficult to investigate one without in a measure +anticipating the others. While discussing the influence of the Church in +protecting infancy, in raising the estimate of human life, and in +alleviating slavery, I have trenched largely upon the last application of +the doctrine of Christian fraternity I must examine--I mean the foundation +of charity. The difference between Pagan and Christian societies in this +matter is very profound; but a great part of it must be ascribed to causes +other than religious opinions. Charity finds an extended scope for action +only, where there exists a large class of men at once independent and +impoverished. In the ancient societies, slavery in a great measure +replaced pauperism, and, by securing the subsistence of a very large +proportion of the poor, contracted the sphere of charity. And what slavery +did at Rome for the very poor, the system of clientage did for those of a +somewhat higher rank. The existence of these two institutions is +sufficient to show the injustice of judging the two societies by a mere +comparison of their charitable institutions, and we must also remember +that among the ancients the relief of the indigent was one of the most +important functions of the State. Not to dwell upon the many measures +taken with this object in ancient Greece, in considering the condition of +the Roman poor we are at once met by the simple fact that for several +centuries the immense majority of these were habitually supported by +gratuitous distributions of corn. In a very early period of Roman history +we find occasional instances of distribution; but it was not till A.U.C. +630 that Caius Gracchus caused a law to be made, supplying the poorer +classes with corn at a price that was little more than nominal; and +although, two years after, the nobles succeeded in revoking this law, it +was after several fluctuations finally re-enacted in A.U.C. 679. The +Cassia-Terentia law, as it was called from the consuls under whom it was +at last established, was largely extended in its operation, or, as some +think, revived from neglect in A.U.C. 691, by Cato of Utica, who desired +by this means to divert popularity from the cause of Cæsar, under whom +multitudes of the poor were enrolling themselves. Four years later, +Clodius Pulcher, abolishing the small payment which had been demanded, +made the distribution entirely gratuitous. It took place once a month, and +consisted of five modii(143) a head. In the time of Julius Cæsar no less +than 320,000 persons were inscribed as recipients; but Cæsar reduced the +number by one half. Under Augustus it had risen to 200,000. This emperor +desired to restrict the distribution of corn to three or four times a +year, but, yielding to the popular wish, he at last consented that it +should continue monthly. It soon became the leading fact of Roman life. +Numerous officers were appointed to provide it. A severe legislation +controlled their acts, and to secure a regular and abundant supply of corn +for the capital became the principal object of the provincial governors. +Under the Antonines the number of the recipients had considerably +increased, having sometimes, it is said, exceeded 500,000. Septimus +Severus added to the corn a ration of oil. Aurelian replaced the monthly +distribution of unground corn by a daily distribution of bread, and added, +moreover, a portion of pork. Gratuitous distributions were afterwards +extended to Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch, and were probably not +altogether unknown in smaller towns.(144) + +We have already seen that this gratuitous distribution of corn ranked, +with the institution of slavery and the gladiatorial exhibitions, as one +of the chief demoralising influences of the Empire. The most injudicious +charity, however pernicious to the classes it is intended to relieve, has +commonly a beneficial and softening influence upon the donor, and through +him upon society at large. But the Roman distribution of corn, being +merely a political device, had no humanising influence upon the people, +while, being regulated only by the indigence, and not at all by the +infirmities or character, of the recipient, it was a direct and +overwhelming encouragement to idleness. With a provision of the +necessaries of life, and with an abundant supply of amusements, the poor +Romans readily gave up honourable labour, all trades in the city +languished, every interruption in the distribution of corn was followed by +fearful sufferings, free gifts of land were often insufficient to attract +the citizens to honest labour, and the multiplication of children, which +rendered the public relief inadequate, was checked by abortion, +exposition, or infanticide. + +When we remember that the population of Rome probably never exceeded a +million and a half, that a large proportion of the indigent were provided +for as slaves, and that more than 200,000 freemen were habitually supplied +with the first necessary of life, we cannot, I think, charge the Pagan +society of the metropolis, at least, with an excessive parsimony in +relieving poverty. But besides the distribution of corn, several other +measures were taken. Salt, which was very largely used by the Roman poor, +had during the Republic been made a monopoly of the State, and was sold by +it at a price that was little more than nominal.(145) The distribution of +land, which was the subject of the agrarian laws, was, under a new form, +practised by Julius Cæsar,(146) Nerva,(147) and Septimus Severus,(148) who +bought land to divide it among the poor citizens. Large legacies were left +to the people by Julius Cæsar, Augustus, and others, and considerable, +though irregular, donations made on occasions of great rejoicings. +Numerous public baths were established, to which, when they were not +absolutely gratuitous, the smallest coin in use gave admission, and which +were in consequence habitually employed by the poor. Vespasian instituted, +and the Antonines extended, a system of popular education, and the +movement I have already noticed, for the support of the children of poor +parents, acquired very considerable proportions. The first trace of it at +Rome may be found under Augustus, who gave money and corn for the support +of young children, who had previously not been included in the public +distributions.(149) This appears, however, to have been but an act of +isolated benevolence, and the honour of first instituting a systematic +effort in this direction belongs to Nerva, who enjoined the support of +poor children, not only in Rome, but in all the cities of Italy.(150) +Trajan greatly extended the system. In his reign 5,000 poor children were +supported by the Government in Rome alone,(151) and similar measures, +though we know not on what scale, were taken in the other Italian and even +African cities. At the little town of Velleia, we find a charity +instituted by Trajan, for the partial support of 270 children.(152) +Private benevolence followed in the same direction, and several +inscriptions which still remain, though they do not enable us to write its +history, sufficiently attest its activity. The younger Pliny, besides +warmly encouraging schools, devoted a small property to the support of +poor children in his native city of Como.(153) The name of Cælia Macrina +is preserved as the foundress of a charity for 100 children at +Terracina.(154) Hadrian increased the supplies of corn allotted to these +charities, and he was also distinguished for his bounty to poor +women.(155) Antoninus was accustomed to lend money to the poor at four per +cent., which was much below the normal rate of interest,(156) and both he +and Marcus Aurelius dedicated to the memory of their wives institutions +for the support of girls.(157) Alexander Severus in like manner dedicated +an institution for the support of children to the memory of his +mother.(158) Public hospitals were probably unknown in Europe before +Christianity; but there are traces of the distribution of medicine to the +sick poor;(159) there were private infirmaries for slaves, and also, it is +believed, military hospitals.(160) Provincial towns were occasionally +assisted by the Government in seasons of great distress, and there are +some recorded instances of private legacies for their benefit.(161) + +These various measures are by no means inconsiderable, and it is not +unreasonable to suppose that many similar steps were taken, of which all +record has been lost. The history of charity presents so few salient +features, so little that can strike the imagination or arrest the +attention, that it is usually almost wholly neglected by historians; and +it is easy to conceive what inadequate notions of our existing charities +could be gleaned from the casual allusions in plays or poems, in political +histories or court memoirs. There can, however, be no question that +neither in practice nor in theory, neither in the institutions that were +founded nor in the place that was assigned to it in the scale of duties, +did charity in antiquity occupy a position at all comparable to that which +it has obtained by Christianity. Nearly all relief was a State measure, +dictated much more by policy than by benevolence; and the habit of selling +young children, the innumerable expositions, the readiness of the poor to +enrol themselves as gladiators, and the frequent famines, show how large +was the measure of unrelieved distress. A very few Pagan examples of +charity have, indeed, descended to us. Among the Greeks we find +Epaminondas ransoming captives, and collecting dowers for poor girls;(162) +Cimon, feeding the hungry and clothing the naked;(163) Bias, purchasing, +emancipating, and furnishing with dowers some captive girls of +Messina.(164) Tacitus has described with enthusiasm how, after a +catastrophe near Rome, the rich threw open their houses and taxed all +their resources to relieve the sufferers.(165) There existed, too, among +the poor, both of Greece and Rome, mutual insurance societies, which +undertook to provide for their sick and infirm members.(166) The very +frequent reference to mendicancy in the Latin writers shows that beggars, +and therefore those who relieved beggars, were numerous. The duty of +hospitality was also strongly enjoined, and was placed under the special +protection of the supreme Deity. But the active, habitual, and detailed +charity of private persons, which is so conspicuous a feature in all +Christian societies, was scarcely known in antiquity, and there are not +more than two or three moralists who have even noticed it. Of these, the +chief rank belongs to Cicero, who devoted two very judicious but somewhat +cold chapters to the subject. Nothing, he said, is more suitable to the +nature of man than beneficence or liberality, but there are many cautions +to be urged in practising it. We must take care that our bounty is a real +blessing to the person we relieve; that it does not exceed our own means; +that it is not, as was the case with Sylla and Cæsar, derived from the +spoliation of others; that it springs from the heart and not from +ostentation; that the claims of gratitude are preferred to the mere +impulses of compassion, and that due regard is paid both to the character +and to the wants of the recipient.(167) + +Christianity for the first time made charity a rudimentary virtue, giving +it a leading place in the moral type, and in the exhortations of its +teachers. Besides its general influence in stimulating the affections, it +effected a complete revolution in this sphere, by regarding the poor as +the special representatives of the Christian Founder, and thus making the +love of Christ, rather than the love of man, the principle of charity. +Even in the days of persecution, collections for the relief of the poor +were made at the Sunday meetings. The agapæ or feasts of love were +intended mainly for the poor, and food that was saved by the fasts was +devoted to their benefit. A vast organisation of charity, presided over by +the bishops, and actively directed by the deacons, soon ramified over +Christendom, till the bond of charity became the bond of unity, and the +most distant sections of the Christian Church corresponded by the +interchange of mercy. Long before the era of Constantine, it was observed +that the charities of the Christians were so extensive--it may, perhaps, be +said so excessive--that they drew very many impostors to the Church;(168) +and when the victory of Christianity was achieved, the enthusiasm for +charity displayed itself in the erection of numerous institutions that +were altogether unknown to the Pagan world. A Roman lady, named Fabiola, +in the fourth century, founded at Rome, as an act of penance, the first +public hospital, and the charity planted by that woman's hand overspread +the world, and will alleviate, to the end of time, the darkest anguish of +humanity. Another hospital was soon after founded by St. Pammachus; +another of great celebrity by St. Basil, at Cæsarea. St. Basil also +erected at Cæsarea what was probably the first asylum for lepers. +Xenodochia, or refuges for strangers, speedily rose, especially along the +paths of the pilgrims. St. Pammachus founded one at Ostia; Paula and +Melania founded others at Jerusalem. The Council of Nice ordered that one +should be erected in every city. In the time of St. Chrysostom the church +of Antioch supported 3,000 widows and virgins, besides strangers and sick. +Legacies for the poor became common; and it was not unfrequent for men and +women who desired to live a life of peculiar sanctity, and especially for +priests who attained the episcopacy to bestow their entire properties in +charity. Even the early Oriental monks, who for the most part were +extremely removed from the active and social virtues, supplied many noble +examples of charity. St. Ephrem, in a time of pestilence, emerged from his +solitude to found and superintend a hospital at Edessa. A monk named +Thalasius collected blind beggars in an asylum on the banks of the +Euphrates. A merchant named Apollonius founded on Mount Nitria a +gratuitous dispensary for the monks. The monks often assisted by their +labours provinces that were suffering from pestilence or famine. We may +trace the remains of the pure socialism that marked the first phase of the +Christian community, in the emphatic language with which some of the +Fathers proclaimed charity to be a matter not of mercy but of justice, +maintaining that all property is based on usurpation, that the earth by +right is common to all men, and that no man can claim a superabundant +supply of its goods except as an administrator for others. A Christian, it +was maintained, should devote at least one-tenth of his profits to the +poor.(169) + +The enthusiasm of charity, thus manifested in the Church, speedily +attracted the attention of the Pagans. The ridicule of Lucian, and the +vain efforts of Julian to produce a rival system of charity within the +limits of Paganism,(170) emphatically attested both its pre-eminence and +its catholicity. During the pestilences that desolated Carthage in A.D. +326, and Alexandria in the reigns of Gallienus and of Maximian, while the +Pagans fled panic-stricken from the contagion, the Christians extorted the +admiration of their fellow-countrymen by the courage with which they +rallied around their bishops, consoled the last hours of the sufferers, +and buried the abandoned dead.(171) In the rapid increase of pauperism +arising from the emancipation of numerous slaves, their charity found free +scope for action, and its resources were soon taxed to the utmost by the +horrors of the barbarian invasions. The conquest of Africa by Genseric +deprived Italy of the supply of corn upon which it almost wholly depended, +arrested the gratuitous distribution by which the Roman poor were mainly +supported, and produced all over the land the most appalling +calamities.(172) The history of Italy became one monotonous tale of famine +and pestilence, of starving populations and ruined cities. But everywhere +amid this chaos of dissolution we may detect the majestic form of the +Christian priest mediating between the hostile forces, straining every +nerve to lighten the calamities around him. When the Imperial city was +captured and plundered by the hosts of Alaric, a Christian church remained +a secure sanctuary, which neither the passions nor the avarice of the +Goths transgressed. When a fiercer than Alaric had marked out Rome for his +prey, the Pope St. Leo, arrayed in his sacerdotal robes, confronted the +victorious Hun, as the ambassador of his fellow-countrymen, and Attila, +overpowered by religious awe, turned aside in his course. When, two years +later, Rome lay at the mercy of Genseric, the same Pope interposed with +the Vandal conqueror, and obtained from him a partial cessation of the +massacre. The Archdeacon Pelagius interceded with similar humanity and +similar success, when Rome had been captured by Totila. In Gaul, Troyes is +said to have been saved from destruction by the influence of St. Lupus, +and Orleans by the influence of St. Agnan. In Britain an invasion of the +Picts was averted by St. Germain of Auxerre. The relations of rulers to +their subjects, and of tribunals to the poor, were modified by the same +intervention. When Antioch was threatened with destruction on account of +its rebellion against Theodosius, the anchorites poured forth from the +neighbouring deserts to intercede with the ministers of the emperor, while +the Archbishop Flavian went himself as a suppliant to Constantinople. St. +Ambrose imposed public penance on Theodosius, on account of the massacre +of Thessalonica. Synesius excommunicated for his oppressions a governor +named Andronicus; and two French Councils, in the sixth century, imposed +the same penalty on all great men who arbitrarily ejected the poor. +Special laws were found necessary to restrain the turbulent charity of +some priests and monks, who impeded the course of justice, and even +snatched criminals from the hands of the law.(173) St. Abraham, St. +Epiphanius, and St. Basil are all said to have obtained the remission or +reduction of oppressive imposts. To provide for the interests of widows +and orphans was part of the official ecclesiastical duty, and a Council of +Macon anathematised any ruler who brought them to trial without first +apprising the bishop of the diocese. A Council of Toledo, in the fifth +century, threatened with excommunication all who robbed priests, monks, or +poor men, or refused to listen to their expostulations. One of the chief +causes of the inordinate power acquired by the clergy was their +mediatorial office, and their gigantic wealth was in a great degree due to +the legacies of those who regarded them as the trustees of the poor. As +time rolled on, charity assumed many forms, and every monastery became a +centre from which it radiated. By the monks the nobles were overawed, the +poor protected, the sick tended, travellers sheltered, prisoners ransomed, +the remotest spheres of suffering explored. During the darkest period of +the middle ages, monks founded a refuge for pilgrims amid the horrors of +the Alpine snows. A solitary hermit often planted himself, with his little +boat, by a bridgeless stream, and the charity of his life was to ferry +over the traveller.(174) When the hideous disease of leprosy extended its +ravages over Europe, when the minds of men were filled with terror, not +only by its loathsomeness and its contagion, but also by the notion that +it was in a peculiar sense supernatural,(175) new hospitals and refuges +overspread Europe, and monks flocked in multitudes to serve in them.(176) +Sometimes, the legends say, the leper's form was in a moment transfigured, +and he who came to tend the most loathsome of mankind received his reward, +for he found himself in the presence of his Lord. + +There is no fact of which an historian becomes more speedily or more +painfully conscious than the great difference between the importance and +the dramatic interest of the subjects he treats. Wars or massacres, the +horrors of martyrdom or the splendours of individual prowess, are +susceptible of such brilliant colouring, that with but little literary +skill they can be so pourtrayed that their importance is adequately +realised, and they appeal powerfully to the emotions of the reader. But +this vast and unostentatious movement of charity, operating in the village +hamlet and in the lonely hospital, staunching the widow's tears, and +following all the windings of the poor man's griefs, presents few features +the imagination can grasp, and leaves no deep impression upon the mind. +The greatest things are often those which are most imperfectly realised; +and surely no achievements of the Christian Church are more truly great +than those which it has effected in the sphere of charity. For the first +time in the history of mankind, it has inspired many thousands of men and +women, at the sacrifice of all worldly interests, and often under +circumstances of extreme discomfort or danger, to devote their entire +lives to the single object of assuaging the sufferings of humanity. It has +covered the globe with countless institutions of mercy, absolutely unknown +to the whole Pagan world. It has indissolubly united, in the minds of men, +the idea of supreme goodness with that of active and constant benevolence. +It has placed in every parish a religious minister, who, whatever may be +his other functions, has at least been officially charged with the +superintendence of an organisation of charity, and who finds in this +office one of the most important as well as one of the most legitimate +sources of his power. + +There are, however, two important qualifications to the admiration with +which we regard the history of Christian charity--one relating to a +particular form of suffering, and the other of a more general kind. A +strong, ill-defined notion of the supernatural character of insanity had +existed from the earliest times; but there were special circumstances +which rendered the action of the Church peculiarly unfavourable to those +who were either predisposed to or afflicted with this calamity. The +reality both of witchcraft and diabolical possession had been distinctly +recognised in the Jewish writings. The received opinions about eternal +torture, and ever-present dæmons, and the continued strain upon the +imagination, in dwelling upon an unseen world, were pre-eminently fitted +to produce madness in those who were at all predisposed to it, and, where +insanity had actually appeared, to determine the form and complexion of +the hallucinations of the maniac.(177) Theology supplying all the images +that acted most powerfully upon the imagination, most madness, for many +centuries, took a theological cast. One important department of it appears +chiefly in the lives of the saints. Men of lively imaginations and +absolute ignorance, living apart from all their fellows, amid the horrors +of a savage wilderness, practising austerities by which their physical +system was thoroughly deranged, and firmly persuaded that innumerable +devils were continually hovering about their cells and interfering with +their devotions, speedily and very naturally became subject to constant +hallucinations, which probably form the nucleus of truth in the legends of +their lives. But it was impossible that insanity should confine itself to +the orthodox forms of celestial visions, or of the apparitions and the +defeats of devils. Very frequently it led the unhappy maniac to some +delusion, which called down upon him the speedy sentence of the Church. +Thus, in the year 1300, the corpse of a Bohemian or, according to another +version, an English girl who imagined herself to be the Holy Ghost +incarnate for the redemption of women, was dug up and burnt, and two women +who believed in her perished at the stake.(178) In the year 1359, a +Spaniard declared himself to be the brother of the archangel Michael, and +to be destined for the place in heaven which Satan had lost; and he added +that he was accustomed every day both to mount into heaven and descend +into hell, that the end of the world was at hand, and that it was reserved +for him to enter into single combat with Antichrist. The poor lunatic fell +into the hands of the Archbishop of Toledo, and was burnt alive.(179) In +some cases the hallucination took the form of an irregular inspiration. On +this charge, Joan of Arc, and another girl who had been fired by her +example, and had endeavoured, apparently under a genuine hallucination, to +follow her career,(180) were burnt alive. A famous Spanish physician and +scholar, named Torralba, who lived in the sixteenth century, and who +imagined that he had an attendant angel continually about him, escaped +with public penance and confession;(181) but a professor of theology in +Lima, who laboured under the same delusion, and added to it some wild +notions about his spiritual dignities, was less fortunate. He was burnt by +the Inquisition of Peru.(182) Most commonly, however, the theological +notions about witchcraft either produced madness or determined its form, +and, through the influence of the clergy of the different sections of the +Christian Church, many thousands of unhappy women, who, from their age, +their loneliness, and their infirmity, were most deserving of pity, were +devoted to the hatred of mankind, and, having been tortured with horrible +and ingenious cruelty, were at last burnt alive. + +The existence, however, of some forms of natural madness was generally +admitted; but the measures for the relief of the unhappy victims were very +few, and very ill judged. Among the ancients, they were brought to the +temples, and subjected to imposing ceremonies, which were believed +supernaturally to relieve them, and which probably had a favourable +influence through their action upon the imagination. The great Greek +physicians had devoted considerable attention to this malady, and some of +their precepts anticipated modern discoveries; but no lunatic asylum +appears to have existed in antiquity.(183) In the first period of the +hermit life, when many anchorites became insane through their penances, a +refuge is said to have been opened for them at Jerusalem.(184) This +appears, however, to be a solitary instance, arising from the exigencies +of a single class, and no lunatic asylum existed in Christian Europe till +the fifteenth century. The Mohammedans, in this form of charity, seem to +have preceded the Christians. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Bagdad in +the twelfth century, describes a palace in that city, called "the House of +Mercy," in which all mad persons found in the country were confined and +bound with iron chains. They were carefully examined every month and +released as soon as they recovered.(185) The asylum of Cairo is said to +have been founded in A.D. 1304.(186) Leo Africanus notices the existence +of a similar institution at Fez, in the beginning of the sixteenth +century, and mentions that the patients were restrained by chains,(187) +and it is probable that the care of the insane was a general form of +charity in Mohammedan countries. Among the Christians it first appeared in +quarters contiguous to the Mohammedans; but there is, I think, no real +evidence that it was derived from Mohammedan example. The Knights of Malta +were famous as the one order who admitted lunatics into their hospitals; +but no Christian asylum expressly for their benefit existed till 1409. The +honour of instituting this form of charity in Christendom belongs to +Spain. A monk named Juan Gilaberto Joffre, filled with compassion at the +sight of the maniacs who were hooted by crowds through the streets of +Valencia, founded an asylum in that city, and his example was speedily +followed in other provinces. The new charity was introduced into Saragossa +in A.D. 1425, into Seville and Valladolid in A.D. 1436, into Toledo in +A.D. 1483. All these institutions existed before a single lunatic asylum +had been founded in any other part of Christendom.(188) Two other very +honourable facts may be mentioned, establishing the preeminence of Spanish +charity in this field. The first is, that the oldest lunatic asylum in the +metropolis of Catholicism was that erected by Spaniards, in A.D. +1548.(189) The second is, that when, at the close of the last century, +Pinel began his great labours in this sphere, he pronounced Spain to be +the country in which lunatics were treated with most wisdom and most +humanity.(190) + +In most countries their condition was indeed truly deplorable. While many +thousands were burnt as witches, those who were recognised as insane were +compelled to endure all the horrors of the harshest imprisonment. Blows, +bleeding, and chains were their usual treatment, and horrible accounts +were given of madmen who had spent decades bound in dark cells.(191) Such +treatment naturally aggravated their malady, and that malady in many cases +rendered impossible the resignation and ultimate torpor which alleviate +the sufferings of ordinary prisoners. Not until the eighteenth century was +the condition of this unhappy class seriously improved. The combined +progress of theological scepticism and scientific knowledge relegated +witchcraft to the world of phantoms, and the exertions of Morgagni in +Italy, of Cullen in Scotland, and of Pinel in France, renovated the whole +treatment of acknowledged lunatics. + +The second qualification to the admiration with which we regard the +history of Christian charity arises from the undoubted fact that a large +proportion of charitable institutions have directly increased the poverty +they were intended to relieve. The question of the utility and nature of +charity is one which, since the modern discoveries of political economy, +has elicited much discussion, and in many cases, I think, much +exaggeration. What political economy has effected on the subject may be +comprised under two heads. It has elucidated more clearly, and in greater +detail than had before been done, the effect of provident self-interest in +determining the welfare of societies, and it has established a broad +distinction between productive and unproductive expenditure. It has shown +that, where idleness is supported, idleness will become common; that, +where systematic public provision is made for old age, the parsimony of +foresight will be neglected; and that therefore these forms of charity, by +encouraging habits of idleness and improvidence, ultimately increase the +wretchedness they were intended to alleviate. It has also shown that, +while unproductive expenditure, such as that which is devoted to +amusements or luxury, is undoubtedly beneficial to those who provide it, +the fruit perishes in the usage; while productive expenditure, such as the +manufacture of machines, or the improvement of the soil, or the extension +of commercial enterprise, gives a new impulse to the creation of wealth. +It has proved that the first condition of the rapid accumulation of +capital is the diversion of money from unproductive to productive +channels, and that the amount of accumulated capital is one of the two +regulating influences of the wages of the labourer. From these positions +some persons have inferred that charity should be condemned as a form of +unproductive expenditure. But, in the first place, all charities that +foster habits of forethought and develop new capacities in the poorer +classes, such as popular education, or the formation of savings banks, or +insurance companies, or, in many cases, small and discriminating loans, or +measures directed to the suppression of dissipation, are in the strictest +sense productive; and the same may be said of many forms of employment, +given in exceptional crises through charitable motives; and, in the next +place, it is only necessary to remember that the happiness of mankind, to +which the accumulation of wealth should only be regarded as a means, is +the real object of charity, and it will appear that many forms which are +not strictly productive, in the commercial sense, are in the highest +degree conducive to this end, and have no serious counteracting evil. In +the alleviation of those sufferings that do not spring either from +improvidence or from vice, the warmest as well as the most enlightened +charity will find an ample sphere for its exertions.(192) Blindness, and +other exceptional calamities, against the effects of which prudence does +not and cannot provide, the miseries resulting from epidemics, from war, +from famine, from the first sudden collapse of industry, produced by new +inventions or changes in the channels of commerce; hospitals, which, +besides other advantages, are the greatest schools of medical science, and +withdraw from the crowded alley multitudes who would otherwise form +centres of contagion--these, and such as these, will long tax to the utmost +the generosity of the wealthy; while, even in the spheres upon which the +political economist looks with the most unfavourable eye, exceptional +cases will justify exceptional assistance. The charity which is pernicious +is commonly not the highest but the lowest kind. The rich man, prodigal of +money, which is to him of little value, but altogether incapable of +devoting any personal attention to the object of his alms, often injures +society by his donations; but this is rarely the case with that far nobler +charity which makes men familiar with the haunts of wretchedness, and +follows the object of its care through all the phases of his life. The +question of the utility of charity is merely a question of ultimate +consequences. Political economy has, no doubt, laid down some general +rules of great value on the subject; but yet the pages which Cicero +devoted to it nearly two thousand years ago might have been written by the +most enlightened modern economist; and it will be continually found that +the Protestant lady, working in her parish, by the simple force of common +sense and by a scrupulous and minute attention to the condition and +character of those whom she relieves, is unconsciously illustrating with +perfect accuracy the enlightened charity of Malthus. + +But in order that charity should be useful, it is essential that the +benefit of the sufferer should be a real object to the donor; and a very +large proportion of the evils that have arisen from Catholic charity may +be traced to the absence of this condition. The first substitution of +devotion for philanthropy, as the motive of benevolence, gave so powerful +a stimulus to the affections, that it may on the whole be regarded as a +benefit, though, by making compassion operate solely through a theological +medium, it often produced among theologians a more than common +indifference to the sufferings of all who were external to their religious +community. But the new principle speedily degenerated into a belief in the +expiatory nature of the gifts. A form of what may be termed selfish +charity arose, which acquired at last gigantic proportions, and exercised +a most pernicious influence upon Christendom. Men gave money to the poor, +simply and exclusively for their own spiritual benefit, and the welfare of +the sufferer was altogether foreign to their thoughts.(193) + +The evil which thus arose from some forms of Catholic charity may be +traced from a very early period, but it only acquired its full magnitude +after some centuries. The Roman system of gratuitous distribution was, in +the eyes of the political economist, about the worst that could be +conceived, and the charity of the Church being, in at least a measure, +discriminating, was at first a very great, though even then not an +unmingled, good. Labour was also not unfrequently enjoined as a duty by +the Fathers, and at a later period the services of the Benedictine monks, +in destroying by their example the stigma which slavery had attached to +it, were very great. Still, one of the first consequences of the exuberant +charity of the Church was to multiply impostors and mendicants, and the +idleness of the monks was one of the earliest complaints. Valentinian made +a severe law, condemning robust beggars to perpetual slavery. As the +monastic system was increased, and especially after the mendicant orders +had consecrated mendicancy, the evil assumed gigantic dimensions. Many +thousands of strong men, absolutely without private means, were in every +country withdrawn from productive labour, and supported by charity. The +notion of the meritorious nature of simple almsgiving immeasurably +multiplied beggars. The stigma, which it is the highest interest of +society to attach to mendicancy, it became a main object of theologians to +remove. Saints wandered through the world begging money, that they might +give to beggars, or depriving themselves of their garments, that they +might clothe the naked, and the result of their teaching was speedily +apparent. In all Catholic countries where ecclesiastical influences have +been permitted to develop unmolested, the monastic organisations have +proved a deadly canker, corroding the prosperity of the nation. +Withdrawing multitudes from all production, encouraging a blind and +pernicious almsgiving, diffusing habits of improvidence through the poorer +classes, fostering an ignorant admiration for saintly poverty, and an +equally ignorant antipathy to the habits and aims of an industrial +civilisation, they have paralysed all energy, and proved an insuperable +barrier to material progress. The poverty they have relieved has been +insignificant compared with the poverty they have caused. In no case was +the abolition of monasteries effected in a more indefensible manner than +in England; but the transfer of property, that was once employed in a +great measure in charity, to the courtiers of King Henry, was ultimately a +benefit to the English poor; for no misapplication of this property by +private persons could produce as much evil as an unrestrained monasticism. +The value of Catholic services in alleviating pain and sickness, and the +more exceptional forms of suffering, can never be overrated. The noble +heroism of her servants, who have devoted themselves to charity, has never +been surpassed, and the perfection of their organisation has, I think, +never been equalled; but in the sphere of simple poverty it can hardly be +doubted that the Catholic Church has created more misery than it has +cured. + +Still, even in this field, we must not forget the benefits resulting, if +not to the sufferer, at least to the donor. Charitable habits, even when +formed in the first instance from selfish motives, even when so +misdirected as to be positively injurious to the recipient, rarely fail to +exercise a softening and purifying influence on the character. All through +the darkest period of the middle ages, amid ferocity and fanaticism and +brutality, we may trace the subduing influence of Catholic charity, +blending strangely with every excess of violence and every outburst of +persecution. It would be difficult to conceive a more frightful picture of +society than is presented by the history of Gregory of Tours; but that +long series of atrocious crimes, narrated with an almost appalling +tranquillity, is continually interspersed with accounts of kings, queens, +or prelates, who, in the midst of the disorganised society, made the +relief of the poor the main object of their lives. No period of history +exhibits a larger amount of cruelty, licentiousness, and fanaticism than +the Crusades; but side by side with the military enthusiasm, and with the +almost universal corruption, there expanded a vast movement of charity, +which covered Christendom with hospitals for the relief of leprosy, and +which grappled nobly, though ineffectually, with the many forms of +suffering that were generated. St. Peter Nolasco, whose great labours in +ransoming captive Christians I have already noticed, was an active +participator in the atrocious massacre of the Albigenses.(194) Of Shane +O'Neale, one of the ablest, but also one of the most ferocious, Irish +chieftains who ever defied the English power, it is related, amid a crowd +of crimes, that, "sitting at meat, before he put one morsel into his mouth +he used to slice a portion above the daily alms, and send it to some +beggar at his gate, saying it was meet to serve Christ first."(195) + +The great evils produced by the encouragement of mendicancy which has +always accompanied the uncontrolled development of Catholicity, have +naturally given rise to much discussion and legislation. The fierce +denunciations of the mendicant orders by William of St. Amour in the +thirteenth century were not on account of their encouragement of +mischievous charity;(196) but one of the disciples of Wycliffe, named +Nicholas of Hereford, was conspicuous for his opposition to indiscriminate +gifts to beggars;(197) and a few measures of an extended order appear to +have been taken even before the Reformation.(198) In England laws of the +most savage cruelty were then passed, in hopes of eradicating mendicancy. +A parliament of Henry VIII., before the suppression of the monasteries, +issued a law providing a system of organised charity, and imposing on any +one who gave anything to a beggar a fine of ten times the value of his +gift. A sturdy beggar was to be punished with whipping for the first +offence, with whipping and the loss of the tip of his ear for the second +and with death for the third.(199) Under Edward VI., an atrocious law, +which, however, was repealed in the same reign, enacted that every sturdy +beggar who refused to work should be branded, and adjudged for two years +as a slave to the person who gave information against him; and if he took +flight during his period of servitude, he was condemned for the first +offence to perpetual slavery, and for the second to death. The master was +authorised to put a ring of iron round the neck of his slave, to chain +him, and to scourge him. Any one might take the children of a sturdy +beggar for apprentices, till the boys were twenty-four and the girls +twenty.(200) Another law, made under Elizabeth, punished with death any +strong man under the age of eighteen who was convicted for the third time +of begging; but the penalty in this reign was afterwards reduced to a +life-long service in the galleys, or to banishment, with a penalty of +death to the returned convict.(201) Under the same queen the poor-law +system was elaborated, and Malthus long afterwards showed that its effects +in discouraging parsimony rendered it scarcely less pernicious than the +monastic system that had preceded it. In many Catholic countries, severe, +though less atrocious, measures were taken to grapple with the evil of +mendicancy. That shrewd and sagacious pontiff, Sixtus V., who, though not +the greatest man, was by far the greatest statesman who has ever sat on +the papal throne, made praiseworthy efforts to check it at Rome, where +ecclesiastical influence had always made it peculiarly prevalent.(202) +Charles V., in 1531, issued a severe enactment against beggars in the +Netherlands, but excepted from its operation mendicant friars and +pilgrims.(203) Under Lewis XIV., equally severe measures were taken in +France. But though the practical evil was fully felt, there was little +philosophical investigation of its causes before the eighteenth century. +Locke in England,(204) and Berkeley in Ireland,(205) briefly glanced at +the subject; and in 1704 Defoe published a very remarkable tract, called, +"Giving Alms no Charity," in which he noticed the extent to which +mendicancy existed in England, though wages were higher than in any +Continental country.(206) A still more remarkable book, written by an +author named Ricci, appeared at Modena in 1787, and excited considerable +attention. The author pointed out with much force the gigantic development +of mendicancy in Italy, traced it to the excessive charity of the people, +and appears to have regarded as an evil all charity which sprang from +religious motives and was greater than would spring from the unaided +instincts of men.(207) The freethinker Mandeville had long before assailed +charity schools, and the whole system of endeavouring to elevate the +poor,(208) and Magdalen asylums and foundling hospitals have had fierce, +though I believe much mistaken, adversaries.(209) The reforms of the +poor-laws, and the writings of Malthus, gave a new impulse to discussion +on the subject; but, with the qualifications I have stated, no new +discoveries have, I conceive, thrown any just cloud upon the essential +principle of Christian charity. + +The last method by which Christianity has laboured to soften the +characters of men has been by accustoming the imagination to expatiate +continually upon images of tenderness and of pathos. Our imaginations, +though less influential than our occupations, probably affect our moral +characters more deeply than our judgments, and, in the case of the poorer +classes especially, the cultivation of this part of our nature is of +inestimable importance. Rooted, for the most part, during their entire +lives, to a single spot, excluded by their ignorance and their +circumstances from most of the varieties of interest that animate the +minds of other men, condemned to constant and plodding labour, and +engrossed for ever with the minute cares of an immediate and an anxious +present, their whole natures would have been hopelessly contracted, were +there no sphere in which their imaginations could expand. Religion is the +one romance of the poor. It alone extends the narrow horizon of their +thoughts, supplies the images of their dreams, allures them to the +supersensual and the ideal. The graceful beings with which the creative +fancy of Paganism peopled the universe shed a poetic glow on the peasant's +toil. Every stage of agriculture was presided over by a divinity, and the +world grew bright by the companionship of the gods. But it is the +peculiarity of the Christian types, that, while they have fascinated the +imagination, they have also purified the heart. The tender, winning, and +almost feminine beauty of the Christian Founder, the Virgin mother, the +agonies of Gethsemane or of Calvary, the many scenes of compassion and +suffering that fill the sacred writings, are the pictures which, for +eighteen hundred years, have governed the imaginations of the rudest and +most ignorant of mankind. Associated with the fondest recollections of +childhood, with the music of the church bells, with the clustered lights +and the tinsel splendour, that seem to the peasant the very ideal of +majesty; painted over the altar where he received the companion of his +life, around the cemetery where so many whom he had loved were laid, on +the stations of the mountain, on the portal of the vineyard, on the chapel +where the storm-tossed mariner fulfils his grateful vow; keeping guard +over his cottage door, and looking down upon his humble bed, forms of +tender beauty and gentle pathos for ever haunt the poor man's fancy, and +silently win their way into the very depths of his being. More than any +spoken eloquence, more than any dogmatic teaching, they transform and +subdue his character, till he learns to realise the sanctity of weakness +and suffering, the supreme majesty of compassion and gentleness. + +Imperfect and inadequate as is the sketch I have drawn, it will be +sufficient to show how great and multiform have been the influences of +Christian philanthropy. The shadows that rest upon the picture, I have not +concealed; but, when all due allowance has been made for them, enough will +remain to claim our deepest admiration. The high conception that has been +formed of the sanctity of human life, the protection of infancy, the +elevation and final emancipation of the slave classes, the suppression of +barbarous games, the creation of a vast and multifarious organisation of +charity, and the education of the imagination by the Christian type, +constitute together a movement of philanthropy which has never been +paralleled or approached in the Pagan world. The effects of this movement +in promoting happiness have been very great. Its effect in determining +character has probably been still greater. In that proportion or +disposition of qualities which constitutes the ideal character, the +gentler and more benevolent virtues have obtained, through Christianity, +the foremost place. In the first and purest period they were especially +supreme; but in the third century a great ascetic movement arose, which +gradually brought a new type of character into the ascendant, and diverted +the enthusiasm of the Church into new channels. + + ------------------------------------- + +Tertullian, writing in the second century, contrasts, in a well-known +passage, the Christians of his day with the gymnosophists or hermits of +India, declaring that, unlike these, the Christians did not fly from the +world, but mixed with Pagans in the forum, in the market-places, in the +public baths, in the ordinary business of life.(210) But although the life +of the hermit or the monk was unknown in the Church for more than two +hundred years after its foundation, we may detect, almost from the +earliest time, a tone of feeling which produces it. The central +conceptions of the monastic system are the meritoriousness of complete +abstinence from all sexual intercourse, and of complete renunciation of +the world. The first of these notions appeared in the very earliest +period, in the respect attached to the condition of virginity, which was +always regarded as sacred, and especially esteemed in the clergy, though +for a long time it was not imposed as an obligation. The second was shown +in the numerous efforts that were made to separate the Christian community +as far as possible from the society in which it existed. Nothing could be +more natural than that, when the increase and triumph of the Church had +thrown the bulk of the Christians into active political or military +labour, some should, as an exercise of piety, have endeavoured to imitate +the separation from the world which was once the common condition of all. +Besides this, a movement of asceticism had long been raging like a mental +epidemic through the world. Among the Jews--whose law, from the great +stress it laid upon marriage, the excellence of the rapid multiplication +of population, and the hope of being the ancestor of the Messiah, was +peculiarly repugnant to monastic conceptions--the Essenes had constituted a +complete monastic society, abstaining from marriage and separating +themselves wholly from the world. In Rome, whose practical genius was, if +possible, even more opposed than that of the Jews to an inactive +monasticism, and even among those philosophers who most represented its +active and practical spirit, the same tendency was shown. The Cynics of +the later Empire recommended a complete renunciation of domestic ties, and +a life spent mainly in the contemplation of wisdom. The Egyptian +philosophy, that soon after acquired an ascendancy in Europe, anticipated +still more closely the monastic ideal. On the outskirts of the Church, the +many sects of Gnostics and Manicheans all held under different forms the +essential evil of matter. The Docetæ, following the same notion, denied +the reality of the body of Christ. The Montanists and the Novatians +surpassed and stimulated the private penances of the orthodox.(211) The +soil was thus thoroughly prepared for a great outburst of asceticism, +whenever the first seed was sown. This was done during the Decian +persecution. Paul, the hermit, who fled to the desert during that +persecution, is said to have been the first of the tribe.(212) Antony, who +speedily followed, greatly extended the movement, and in a few years the +hermits had become a mighty nation. Persecution, which in the first +instance drove great numbers as fugitives to the deserts, soon aroused a +passionate religious enthusiasm that showed itself in an ardent desire for +those sufferings which were believed to lead directly to heaven; and this +enthusiasm, after the peace of Constantine, found its natural vent and +sphere in the macerations of the desert life. The imaginations of men were +fascinated by the poetic circumstances of that life which St. Jerome most +eloquently embellished. Women were pre-eminent in recruiting for it. The +same spirit that had formerly led the wife of the Pagan official to +entertain secret relations with the Christian priests, now led the wife of +the Christian to become the active agent of the monks. While the father +designed his son for the army, or for some civil post, the mother was +often straining every nerve to induce him to become a hermit. The monks +secretly corresponded with her, they skilfully assumed the functions of +education, in order that they might influence the young; and sometimes, to +evade the precautions or the anger of the father, they concealed their +profession, and assumed the garb of lay pedagogues.(213) The pulpit, which +had almost superseded, and immeasurably transcended in influence, the +chairs of the rhetoricians, and which was filled by such men as Ambrose, +Augustine, Chrysostom, Basil, and the Gregories, was continually exerted +in the same cause, and the extreme luxury of the great cities produced a +violent, but not unnatural, reaction of asceticism. The dignity of the +monastic position, which sometimes brought men who had been simple +peasants into connection with the emperors, the security it furnished to +fugitive slaves and criminals, the desire of escaping from those fiscal +burdens which, in the corrupt and oppressive administration of the Empire, +had acquired an intolerable weight, and especially the barbarian +invasions, which produced every variety of panic and wretchedness, +conspired with the new religious teaching in peopling the desert. A +theology of asceticism was speedily formed. The examples of Elijah and +Elisha, to the first of whom, by a bold flight of imagination, some later +Carmelites ascribed the origin of their order, and the more recent +instance of the Baptist, were at once adduced. To an ordinary layman the +life of an anchorite might appear in the highest degree opposed to that of +the Teacher who began His mission at a marriage feast; who was continually +reproached by His enemies for the readiness with which He mixed with the +world, and who selected from the female sex some of His purest and most +devoted followers; but the monkish theologians, avoiding, for the most +part, these topics, dilated chiefly on His immaculate birth, His virgin +mother, His life of celibacy, His exhortation to the rich young man. The +fact that St. Peter, to whom a general primacy was already ascribed, was +unquestionably married was a difficulty which was in a measure met by a +tradition that both he, and the other married apostles, abstained from +intercourse with their wives after their conversion.(214) St. Paul, +however, was probably unmarried, and his writings showed a decided +preference for the unmarried state, which the ingenuity of theologians +also discovered in some quarters where it might be least expected. Thus, +St. Jerome assures us that when the clean animals entered the ark by +sevens, and the unclean ones by pairs, the odd number typified the +celibate, and the even the married condition. Even of the unclean animals +but one pair of each kind was admitted, lest they should perpetrate the +enormity of second marriage.(215) Ecclesiastical tradition sustained the +tendency, and Saint James, as he has been portrayed by Hegesippus, became +a kind of ideal saint, a faithful picture of what, according to the +notions of theologians, was the true type of human nobility. He "was +consecrated," it was said, "from his mother's womb. He drank neither wine +nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came +upon his head. He never anointed himself with oil, or used a bath. He +alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary. He never wore woollen, but +linen, garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone, and was +often found upon his bended knees, and interceding for the forgiveness of +the people, so that his knees became as hard as a camel's."(216) + +The progress of the monastic movement, as has been truly said, "was not +less rapid or universal than that of Christianity itself."(217) Of the +actual number of the anchorites, those who are acquainted with the extreme +unveracity of the first historians of the movement will hesitate to speak +with confidence. It is said that St. Pachomius, who, early in the fourth +century, founded the coenobitic mode of life, enlisted under his +jurisdiction 7,000 monks;(218) that in the days of St. Jerome nearly +50,000 monks were sometimes assembled at the Easter festivals;(219) that +in the desert of Nitria alone there were, in the fourth century, 5,000 +monks under a single abbot;(220) that an Egyptian city named Oxyrynchus +devoted itself almost exclusively to the ascetic life, and included 20,000 +virgins and 10,000 monks;(221) that St. Serapion presided over 10,000 +monks;(222) and that, towards the close of the fourth century, the +monastic population in a great part of Egypt was nearly equal to the +population of the cities.(223) Egypt was the parent of monachism, and it +was there that it attained both its extreme development and its most +austere severity; but there was very soon scarcely any Christian country +in which a similar movement was not ardently propagated. St. Athanasius +and St. Zeno are said to have introduced it into Italy,(224) where it soon +afterwards received a great stimulus from St. Jerome. St. Hilarion +instituted the first monks in Palestine, and he lived to see many +thousands subject to his rule, and towards the close of his life to plant +monachism in Cyprus. Eustathius, Bishop of Sebastia, spread it through +Armenia, Paphlagonia, and Pontus. St. Basil laboured along the wild shores +of the Euxine. St. Martin of Tours founded the first monastery in Gaul, +and 2,000 monks attended his funeral. Unrecorded missionaries planted the +new institution in the heart of Æthiopia, amid the little islands that +stud the Mediterranean, in the secluded valleys of Wales and Ireland.(225) +But even more wonderful than the many thousands who thus abandoned the +world is the reverence with which they were regarded by those who, by +their attainments or their character, would seem most opposed to the +monastic ideal. No one had more reason than Augustine to know the danger +of enforced celibacy, but St. Augustine exerted all his energies to spread +monasticism through his diocese. St. Ambrose, who was by nature an acute +statesman; St. Jerome and St. Basil, who were ambitious scholars; St. +Chrysostom, who was pre-eminently formed to sway the refined throngs of a +metropolis--all exerted their powers in favour of the life of solitude, and +the last three practised it themselves. St. Arsenius, who was surpassed by +no one in the extravagance of his penances, had held a high office at the +court of the Emperor Arcadius. Pilgrims wandered among the deserts, +collecting accounts of the miracles and the austerities of the saints, +which filled Christendom with admiration; and the strange biographies +which were thus formed, wild and grotesque as they are, enable us to +realise very vividly the general features of the anchorite life which +became the new ideal of the Christian world.(226) + +There is, perhaps, no phase in the moral history of mankind of a deeper or +more painful interest than this ascetic epidemic. A hideous, sordid, and +emaciated maniac, without knowledge, without patriotism, without natural +affection, passing his life in a long routine of useless and atrocious +self-torture, and quailing before the ghastly phantoms of his delirious +brain, had become the ideal of the nations which had known the writings of +Plato and Cicero and the lives of Socrates and Cato. For about two +centuries, the hideous maceration of the body was regarded as the highest +proof of excellence. St. Jerome declares, with a thrill of admiration, how +he had seen a monk, who for thirty years had lived exclusively on a small +portion of barley bread and of muddy water; another, who lived in a hole +and never ate more than five figs for his daily repast;(227) a third, who +cut his hair only on Easter Sunday, who never washed his clothes, who +never changed his tunic till it fell to pieces, who starved himself till +his eyes grew dim, and his skin "like a pumice stone," and whose merits, +shown by these austerities, Homer himself would be unable to recount.(228) +For six months, it is said, St. Macarius of Alexandria slept in a marsh, +and exposed his body naked to the stings of venomous flies. He was +accustomed to carry about with him eighty pounds of iron. His disciple, +St. Eusebius, carried one hundred and fifty pounds of iron, and lived for +three years in a dried-up well. St. Sabinus would only eat corn that had +become rotten by remaining for a month in water. St. Besarion spent forty +days and nights in the middle of thorn-bushes, and for forty years never +lay down when he slept,(229) which last penance was also during fifteen +years practised by St. Pachomius.(230) Some saints, like St. Marcian, +restricted themselves to one meal a day, so small that they continually +suffered the pangs of hunger.(231) Of one of them it is related that his +daily food was six ounces of bread and a few herbs; that he was never seen +to recline on a mat or bed, or even to place his limbs easily for sleep; +but that sometimes, from excess of weariness, his eyes would close at his +meals, and the food would drop from his mouth.(232) Other saints, however, +ate only every second day;(233) while many, if we could believe the +monkish historian, abstained for whole weeks from all nourishment.(234) +St. Macarius of Alexandria is said during an entire week to have never +lain down, or eaten anything but a few uncooked herbs on Sunday.(235) Of +another famous saint, named John, it is asserted that for three whole +years he stood in prayer, leaning upon a rock; that during all that time +he never sat or lay down, and that his only nourishment was the Sacrament, +which was brought him on Sundays.(236) Some of the hermits lived in +deserted dens of wild beasts, others in dried-up wells, while others found +a congenial resting-place among the tombs.(237) Some disdained all +clothes, and crawled abroad like the wild beasts, covered only by their +matted hair. In Mesopotamia, and part of Syria, there existed a sect known +by the name of "Grazers," who never lived under a roof, who ate neither +flesh nor bread, but who spent their time for ever on the mountain side, +and ate grass like cattle.(238) The cleanliness of the body was regarded +as a pollution of the soul, and the saints who were most admired had +become one hideous mass of clotted filth. St. Athanasius relates with +enthusiasm how St. Antony, the patriarch of monachism, had never, to +extreme old age, been guilty of washing his feet.(239) The less constant +St. Poemen fell into this habit for the first time when a very old man, +and, with a glimmering of common sense, defended himself against the +astonished monks by saying that he had "learnt to kill not his body, but +his passions."(240) St. Abraham the hermit, however, who lived for fifty +years after his conversion, rigidly refused from that date to wash either +his face or his feet.(241) He was, it is said, a person of singular +beauty, and his biographer somewhat strangely remarks that "his face +reflected the purity of his soul."(242) St. Ammon had never seen himself +naked.(243) A famous virgin named Silvia, though she was sixty years old +and though bodily sickness was a consequence of her habits, resolutely +refused, on religious principles, to wash any part of her body except her +fingers.(244) St. Euphraxia joined a convent of one hundred and thirty +nuns, who never washed their feet, and who shuddered at the mention of a +bath.(245) An anchorite once imagined that he was mocked by an illusion of +the devil, as he saw gliding before him through the desert a naked +creature black with filth and years of exposure, and with white hair +floating to the wind. It was a once beautiful woman, St. Mary of Egypt, +who had thus, during forty-seven years, been expiating her sins.(246) The +occasional decadence of the monks into habits of decency was a subject of +much reproach. "Our fathers," said the abbot Alexander, looking mournfully +back to the past, "never washed their faces, but we frequent the public +baths."(247) It was related of one monastery in the desert, that the monks +suffered greatly from want of water to drink; but at the prayer of the +abbot Theodosius a copious stream was produced. But soon some monks, +tempted by the abundant supply, diverged from their old austerity, and +persuaded the abbot to avail himself of the stream for the construction of +a bath. The bath was made. Once, and once only, did the monks enjoy their +ablutions, when the stream ceased to flow. Prayers, tears, and fastings +were in vain. A whole year passed. At last the abbot destroyed the bath, +which was the object of the Divine displeasure, and the waters flowed +afresh.(248) But of all the evidences of the loathsome excesses to which +this spirit was carried, the life of St. Simeon Stylites is probably the +most remarkable. It would be difficult to conceive a more horrible or +disgusting picture than is given of the penances by which that saint +commenced his ascetic career. He had bound a rope around him so that it +became imbedded in his flesh, which putrefied around it. "A horrible +stench, intolerable to the bystanders, exhaled from his body and worms +dropped from him whenever he moved, and they filled his bed." Sometimes he +left the monastery and slept in a dry well, inhabited, it is said, by +dæmons. He built successively three pillars, the last being sixty feet +high and scarcely two cubits in circumference, and on this pillar, during +thirty years, he remained exposed to every change of climate, ceaselessly +and rapidly bending his body in prayer almost to the level of his feet. A +spectator attempted to number these rapid motions, but desisted from +weariness when he had counted 1,244. For a whole year, we are told, St. +Simeon stood upon one leg, the other being covered with hideous ulcers, +while his biographer was commissioned to stand by his side, to pick up the +worms that fell from his body, and to replace them in the sores, the saint +saying to the worm, "Eat what God has given you." From every quarter +pilgrims of every degree thronged to do him homage. A crowd of prelates +followed him to the grave. A brilliant star is said to have shone +miraculously over his pillar; the general voice of mankind pronounced him +to be the highest model of a Christian saint; and several other anchorites +imitated or emulated his penances.(249) + +There is, if I mistake not, no department of literature the importance of +which is more inadequately realised than the lives of the saints. Even +where they have no direct historical value, they have a moral value of the +very highest order. They may not tell us with accuracy what men did at +particular epochs; but they display with the utmost vividness what they +thought and felt, their measure of probability, and their ideal of +excellence. Decrees of councils, elaborate treatises of theologians, +creeds, liturgies, and canons, are all but the husks of religious history. +They reveal what was professed and argued before the world, but not that +which was realised in the imagination or enshrined in the heart. The +history of art, which in its ruder day reflected with delicate fidelity +the fleeting images of an anthropomorphic age, is in this respect +invaluable; but still more important is that vast Christian mythology, +which grew up spontaneously from the intellectual condition of the time, +included all its dearest hopes, wishes, ideals, and imaginings, and +constituted, during many centuries, the popular literature of Christendom. +In the case of the saints of the deserts, there can be no question that +the picture--which is drawn chiefly by eye-witnesses--however grotesque may +be some of its details, is in its leading features historically true. It +is true that self-torture was for some centuries regarded as the chief +measure of human excellence, that tens of thousands of the most devoted +men fled to the desert to reduce themselves by maceration nearly to the +condition of the brute, and that this odious superstition had acquired an +almost absolute ascendancy in the ethics of the age. The examples of +asceticism I have cited are but a few out of many hundreds, and volumes +might be written, and have been written, detailing them. Till the reform +of St. Benedict, the ideal was on the whole unchanged. The Western monks, +from the conditions of their climate, were constitutionally incapable of +rivalling the abstinence of the Egyptian anchorites; but their conception +of supreme excellence was much the same, and they laboured to compensate +for their inferiority in penances by claiming some superiority in +miracles. From the time of St. Pachomius, the coenobitic life was adopted +by most monks; but the Eastern monasteries, with the important exception +of a vow of obedience, differed little from a collection of hermitages. +They were in the deserts; the monks commonly lived in separate cells; they +kept silence at their repasts; they rivalled one another in the +extravagance of their penances. A few feeble efforts were indeed made by +St. Jerome and others to moderate austerities, which frequently led to +insanity and suicide, to check the turbulence of certain wandering monks, +who were accustomed to defy the ecclesiastical authorities, and especially +to suppress monastic mendicancy, which had appeared prominently among some +heretical sects. The orthodox monks commonly employed themselves in +weaving mats of palm-leaves; but, living in the deserts, with no wants, +they speedily sank into a listless apathy; and the most admired were those +who, like Simeon Stylites, and the hermit John, of whom I have already +spoken, were most exclusively devoted to their superstition. Diversities +of individual character were, however, vividly displayed. Many anchorites, +without knowledge, passions, or imagination, having fled from servile toil +to the calm of the wilderness, passed the long hours in sleep or in a +mechanical routine of prayer, and their inert and languid existences, +prolonged to the extreme of old age, closed at last by a tranquil and +almost animal death. Others made their cells by the clear fountains and +clustering palm-trees of some oasis in the desert, and a blooming garden +arose beneath their toil. The numerous monks who followed St. Serapion +devoted themselves largely to agriculture, and sent shiploads of corn for +the benefit of the poor.(250) Of one old hermit it is related that, such +was the cheerfulness of his mind, that every sorrow was dispelled by his +presence, and the weary and the heartbroken were consoled by a few words +from his lips.(251) More commonly, however, the hermit's cell was the +scene of perpetual mourning. Tears and sobs, and frantic strugglings with +imaginary dæmons, and paroxysms of religious despair, were the texture of +his life, and the dread of spiritual enemies, and of that death which his +superstition had rendered so terrible, embittered every hour of his +existence.(252) The solace of intellectual occupations was rarely resorted +to. "The duty," said St. Jerome, "of a monk is not to teach, but to +weep."(253) A cultivated and disciplined mind was the least subject to +those hallucinations, which were regarded as the highest evidence of +Divine favour;(254) and although in an age when the passion for asceticism +was general, many scholars became ascetics, the great majority of the +early monks appear to have been men who were not only absolutely ignorant +themselves, but who also looked upon learning with positive disfavour. St. +Antony, the true founder of monachism, refused when a boy to learn +letters, because it would bring him into too great intercourse with other +boys.(255) At a time when St. Jerome had suffered himself to feel a deep +admiration for the genius of Cicero, he was, as he himself tells us, borne +in the night before the tribunal of Christ, accused of being rather a +Ciceronian than a Christian, and severely flagellated by the angels.(256) +This saint, however, afterwards modified his opinions about the Pagan +writings, and he was compelled to defend himself at length against his +more jealous brethren, who accused him of defiling his writings with +quotations from Pagan authors, of employing some monks in copying Cicero, +and of explaining Virgil to some children at Bethlehem.(257) Of one monk +it is related that, being especially famous as a linguist, he made it his +penance to remain perfectly silent for thirty years;(258) of another, that +having discovered a few books in the cell of a brother hermit, he +reproached the student with having thus defrauded of their property the +widow and the orphan;(259) of others, that their only books were copies of +the New Testament, which they sold to relieve the poor.(260) + +With such men, living such a life, visions and miracles were necessarily +habitual. All the elements of hallucination were there. Ignorant and +superstitious, believing as a matter of religious conviction that +countless dæmons filled the air, attributing every fluctuation of his +temperament, and every exceptional phenomenon in surrounding nature, to +spiritual agency; delirious, too, from solitude and long continued +austerities, the hermit soon mistook for palpable realities the phantoms +of his brain. In the ghastly gloom of the sepulchre, where, amid +mouldering corpses, he took up his abode; in the long hours of the night +of penance, when the desert wind sobbed around his lonely cell, and the +cries of wild beasts were borne upon his ear, visible forms of lust or +terror appeared to haunt him, and strange dramas were enacted by those who +were contending for his soul. An imagination strained to the utmost limit, +acting upon a frame attenuated and diseased by macerations, produced +bewildering psychological phenomena, paroxysms of conflicting passions, +sudden alternations of joy and anguish, which he regarded as manifestly +supernatural. Sometimes, in the very ecstasy of his devotion, the memory +of old scenes would crowd upon his mind. The shady groves and soft +voluptuous gardens of his native city would arise, and, kneeling alone +upon the burning sand, he seemed to see around him the fair groups of +dancing-girls, on whose warm, undulating limbs and wanton smiles his +youthful eyes had too fondly dwelt. Sometimes his temptation sprang from +remembered sounds. The sweet, licentious songs of other days came floating +on his ear, and his heart was thrilled with the passions of the past. And +then the scene would change. As his lips were murmuring the psalter, his +imagination, fired perhaps by the music of some martial psalm, depicted +the crowded amphitheatre. The throng and passion and mingled cries of +eager thousands were present to his mind, and the fierce joy of the +gladiators passed through the tumult of his dream.(261) The simplest +incident came at last to suggest diabolical influence. An old hermit, +weary and fainting upon his journey, once thought how refreshing would be +a draught of the honey of wild bees of the desert. At that moment his eye +fell upon a rock on which they had built a hive. He passed on with a +shudder and an exorcism, for he believed it to be a temptation of the +devil.(262) But most terrible of all were the struggles of young and +ardent men, through whose veins the hot blood of passion continually +flowed, physically incapable of a life of celibacy, and with all that +proneness to hallucination which a southern sun engenders, who were borne +on the wave of enthusiasm to the desert life. In the arms of Syrian or +African brides, whose soft eyes answered love with love, they might have +sunk to rest, but in the lonely wilderness no peace could ever visit their +souls. The Lives of the Saints paint with an appalling vividness the +agonies of their struggle. Multiplying with frantic energy the macerations +of the body, beating their breasts with anguish, the tears for ever +streaming from their eyes, imagining themselves continually haunted by +ever-changing forms of deadly beauty, which acquired a greater vividness +from the very passion with which they resisted them, their struggles not +unfrequently ended in insanity and in suicide. It is related that when St. +Pachomius and St. Palæmon were conversing together in the desert, a young +monk, with his countenance distracted with madness, rushed into their +presence, and, in a voice broken with convulsive sobs, poured out his tale +of sorrows. A woman, he said, had entered his cell, had seduced him by her +artifices, and then vanished miraculously in the air, leaving him half +dead upon the ground;--and then with a wild shriek the monk broke away from +the saintly listeners. Impelled, as they imagined, by an evil spirit, he +rushed across the desert, till he arrived at the next village, and there, +leaping into the open furnace of the public baths, he perished in the +flames.(263) Strange stories were told among the monks of revulsions of +passion even in the most advanced. Of one monk especially, who had long +been regarded as a pattern of asceticism, but who had suffered himself to +fall into that self-complacency which was very common among the +anchorites, it was told that one evening a fainting woman appeared at the +door of his cell, and implored him to give her shelter, and not permit her +to be devoured by the wild beasts. In an evil hour he yielded to her +prayer. With all the aspect of profound reverence she won his regards, and +at last ventured to lay her hand upon him. But that touch convulsed his +frame. Passions long slumbering and forgotten rushed with impetuous fury +through his veins. In a paroxysm of fierce love, he sought to clasp the +woman to his heart, but she vanished from his sight, and a chorus of +dæmons, with peals of laughter, exulted over his fall. The sequel of the +story, as it is told by the monkish writer, is, I think, of a very high +order of artistic merit. The fallen hermit did not seek, as might have +been expected, by penance and prayers to renew his purity. That moment of +passion and of shame had revealed in him a new nature, and severed him +irrevocably from the hopes and feelings of the ascetic life. The fair form +that had arisen upon his dream, though he knew it to be a deception luring +him to destruction, still governed his heart. He fled from the desert, +plunged anew into the world, avoided all intercourse with the monks, and +followed the light of that ideal beauty even into the jaws of hell.(264) + +Anecdotes of this kind, circulated among the monks, contributed to +heighten the feelings of terror with which they regarded all communication +with the other sex. But to avoid such communication was sometimes very +difficult. Few things are more striking, in the early historians of the +movement we are considering, than the manner in which narratives of the +deepest tragical interest alternate with extremely whimsical accounts of +the profound admiration with which the female devotees regarded the most +austere anchorites, and the unwearied perseverance with which they +endeavoured to force themselves upon their notice. Some women seem in this +respect to have been peculiarly fortunate. St. Melania, who devoted a +great portion of her fortune to the monks, accompanied by the historian +Rufinus, made, near the end of the fourth century, a long pilgrimage +through the Syrian and Egyptian hermitages.(265) But with many of the +hermits it was a rule never to look upon the face of any woman, and the +number of years they had escaped this contamination was commonly stated as +a conspicuous proof of their excellence. St. Basil would only speak to a +woman under extreme necessity.(266) St. John of Lycopolis had not seen a +woman for forty-eight years.(267) A tribune was sent by his wife on a +pilgrimage to St. John the hermit to implore him to allow her to visit +him, her desire being so intense that she would probably, in the opinion +of her husband, die if it were ungratified. At last the hermit told his +suppliant that he would that night visit his wife when she was in bed in +her house. The tribune brought this strange message to his wife, who that +night saw the hermit in a dream.(268) A young Roman girl made a pilgrimage +from Italy to Alexandria, to look upon the face and obtain the prayers of +St. Arsenius, into whose presence she forced herself. Quailing beneath his +rebuffs, she flung herself at his feet, imploring him with tears to grant +her only request--to remember her, and to pray for her. "Remember you!" +cried the indignant saint; "it shall be the prayer of my life that I may +forget you." The poor girl sought consolation from the Archbishop of +Alexandria, who comforted her by assuring her that, though she belonged to +the sex by which dæmons commonly tempt saints, he doubted not the hermit +would pray for her soul, though he would try to forget her face.(269) +Sometimes this female enthusiasm took another and a more subtle form, and +on more than one occasion women were known to attire themselves as men, +and to pass their lives undisturbed as anchorites. Among others, St. +Pelagia, who had been the most beautiful, and one of the most dangerously +seductive actresses of Antioch, having been somewhat strangely converted, +was appointed by the bishops to live in penance with an elderly virgin of +irreproachable piety; but, impelled, we are told, by her desire for a more +austere life, she fled from her companion, assumed a male attire, took +refuge among the monks on the Mount of Olives, and, with something of the +skill of her old profession, supported her feigned character so +consistently that she acquired great renown, and it was only (it is said) +after her death that the saints discovered who had been living among +them.(270) + +The foregoing anecdotes and observations will, I hope, have given a +sufficiently clear idea of the general nature of the monastic life in its +earliest phase, and also of the writings it produced. We may now proceed +to examine the ways in which this mode of life affected both the ideal +type and the realised condition of Christian morals. And in the first +place, it is manifest that the proportion of virtues was altered. If an +impartial person were to glance over the ethics of the New Testament, and +were asked what was the central and distinctive virtue to which the sacred +writers most continually referred, he would doubtless answer that it was +that which is described as love, charity, or philanthropy. If he were to +apply a similar scrutiny to the writings of the fourth and fifth +centuries, he would answer that the cardinal virtue of the religious type +was not love, but chastity. And this chastity, which was regarded as the +ideal state, was not the purity of an undefiled marriage. It was the +absolute suppression of the whole sensual side of our nature. The chief +form of virtue, the central conception of the saintly life, was a +perpetual struggle against all carnal impulses, by men who altogether +refused the compromise of marriage. From this fact, if I mistake not, some +interesting and important consequences may be deduced. + +In the first place, religion gradually assumed a very sombre hue. The +business of the saint was to eradicate a natural appetite, to attain a +condition which was emphatically abnormal. The depravity of human nature, +especially the essential evil of the body, was felt with a degree of +intensity that could never have been attained by moralists who were +occupied mainly with transient or exceptional vices, such as envy, anger, +or cruelty. And in addition to the extreme inveteracy of the appetite +which it was desired to eradicate, it should be remembered that a somewhat +luxurious and indulgent life, even when that indulgence is not itself +distinctly evil, even when it has a tendency to mollify the character, has +naturally the effect of strengthening the animal passions, and is +therefore directly opposed to the ascetic ideal. The consequence of this +was first of all a very deep sense of the habitual and innate depravity of +human nature; and, in the next place, a very strong association of the +idea of pleasure with that of vice. All this necessarily flowed from the +supreme value placed upon virginity. The tone of calm and joyousness that +characterises Greek philosophy, the almost complete absence of all sense +of struggle and innate sin that it displays, is probably in a very large +degree to be ascribed to the fact that, in the department of morals we are +considering, Greek moralists made no serious efforts to improve our +nature, and Greek public opinion acquiesced, without scandal, in an almost +boundless indulgence of illicit pleasures. + +But while the great prominence at this time given to the conflicts of the +ascetic life threw a dark shade upon the popular estimate of human nature, +it contributed, I think, very largely to sustain and deepen that strong +conviction of the freedom of the human will which the Catholic Church has +always so strenuously upheld; for there is, probably, no other form of +moral conflict in which men are so habitually and so keenly sensible of +that distinction between our will and our desires, upon the reality of +which all moral freedom ultimately depends. It had also, I imagine, +another result, which it is difficult to describe with the same precision. +What may be called a strong animal nature--a nature, that is, in which the +passions are in vigorous, and at the same time healthy, action--is that in +which we should most naturally expect to find several moral qualities. +Good humour, frankness, generosity, active courage, sanguine energy, +buoyancy of temper, are the usual and appropriate accompaniments of a +vigorous animal temperament, and they are much more rarely found either in +natures that are essentially feeble and effeminate, or in natures which +have been artificially emasculated by penances, distorted from their +original tendency, and habitually held under severe control. The ideal +type of Catholicism being, on account of the supreme value placed upon +virginity, of the latter kind, the qualities I have mentioned have always +ranked very low in the Catholic conceptions of excellence, and the steady +tendency of Protestant and industrial civilisation has been to elevate +them. + +I do not know whether the reader will regard these speculations--which I +advance with some diffidence--as far-fetched and fanciful. Our knowledge of +the physical antecedents of different moral qualities is so scanty that it +is difficult to speak on these matters with much confidence; but few +persons, I think, can have failed to observe that the physical +temperaments I have described differ not simply in the one great fact of +the intensity of the animal passions, but also in the aptitude of each to +produce a distinct moral type, or, in other words, in the harmony of each +with several qualities, both good and evil. A doctrine, therefore, which +connects one of these two temperaments indissolubly with the moral ideal, +affects the appreciation of a large number of moral qualities. But +whatever may be thought of the moral results springing from the physical +temperament which asceticism produced, there can be little controversy as +to the effects springing from the condition of life which it enjoined. +Severance from the interests and affections of all around him was the +chief object of the anchorite, and the first consequence of the prominence +of asceticism was a profound discredit thrown upon the domestic virtues. + +The extent to which this discredit was carried, the intense hardness of +heart and ingratitude manifested by the saints towards those who were +bound to them by the closest of earthly ties, is known to few who have not +studied the original literature on the subject. These things are commonly +thrown into the shade by those modern sentimentalists who delight in +idealising the devotees of the past. To break by his ingratitude the heart +of the mother who had borne him, to persuade the wife who adored him that +it was her duty to separate from him for ever, to abandon his children, +uncared for and beggars, to the mercies of the world, was regarded by the +true hermit as the most acceptable offering he could make to his God. His +business was to save his own soul. The serenity of his devotion would be +impaired by the discharge of the simplest duties to his family. Evagrius, +when a hermit in the desert, received, after a long interval, letters from +his father and mother. He could not bear that the equable tenor of his +thoughts should be disturbed by the recollection of those who loved him, +so he cast the letters unread into the fire.(271) A man named Mutius, +accompanied by his only child, a little boy of eight years old, abandoned +his possessions and demanded admission into a monastery. The monks +received him, but they proceeded to discipline his heart. "He had already +forgotten that he was rich; he must next be taught to forget that he was a +father."(272) His little child was separated from him, clothed in dirty +rags, subjected to every form of gross and wanton hardship, beaten, +spurned, and ill treated. Day after day the father was compelled to look +upon his boy wasting away with sorrow, his once happy countenance for ever +stained with tears, distorted by sobs of anguish. But yet, says the +admiring biographer, "though he saw this day by day, such was his love for +Christ, and for the virtue of obedience, that the father's heart was rigid +and unmoved. He thought little of the tears of his child. He was anxious +only for his own humility and perfection in virtue."(273) At last the +abbot told him to take his child and throw it into the river. He +proceeded, without a murmur or apparent pang, to obey, and it was only at +the last moment that the monks interposed, and on the very brink of the +river saved the child. Mutius afterwards rose to a high position among the +ascetics, and was justly regarded as having displayed in great perfection +the temper of a saint.(274) An inhabitant of Thebes once came to the abbot +Sisoes, and asked to be made a monk. The abbot asked if he had any one +belonging to him. He answered, "A son." "Take your son," rejoined the old +man, "and throw him into the river, and then you may become a monk." The +father hastened to fulfil the command, and the deed was almost consummated +when a messenger sent by Sisoes revoked the order.(275) + +Sometimes the same lesson was taught under the form of a miracle. A man +had once deserted his three children to become a monk. Three years after, +he determined to bring them into the monastery, but, on returning to his +home, found that the two eldest had died during his absence. He came to +his abbot, bearing in his arms his youngest child, who was still little +more than an infant. The abbot turned to him and said, "Do you love this +child?" The father answered, "Yes." Again the abbot said, "Do you love it +dearly?" The father answered as before. "Then take the child," said the +abbot, "and throw it into the fire upon yonder hearth." The father did as +he was commanded, and the child remained unharmed amid the flames.(276) +But it was especially in their dealings with their female relations that +this aspect of the monastic character was vividly displayed. In this case +the motive was not simply to mortify family affections--it was also to +guard against the possible danger resulting from the presence of a woman. +The fine flower of that saintly purity might have been disturbed by the +sight of a mother's or a sister's face. The ideal of one age appears +sometimes too grotesque for the caricature of another; and it is curious +to observe how pale and weak is the picture which Molière drew of the +affected prudery of Tartuffe,(277) when compared with the narratives that +are gravely propounded in the Lives of the Saints. When the abbot Sisoes +had become a very old, feeble, and decrepit man, his disciples exhorted +him to leave the desert for an inhabited country. Sisoes seemed to yield; +but he stipulated, as a necessary condition, that in his new abode he +should never be compelled to encounter the peril and perturbation of +looking on a woman's face. To such a nature, of course, the desert alone +was suitable, and the old man was suffered to die in peace.(278) A monk +was once travelling with his mother--in itself a most unusual +circumstance--and, having arrived at a bridgeless stream, it became +necessary for him to carry her across. To her surprise, he began carefully +wrapping up his hands in cloths; and upon her asking the reason, he +explained that he was alarmed lest he should be unfortunate enough to +touch her, and thereby disturb the equilibrium of his nature.(279) The +sister of St. John of Calama loved him dearly, and earnestly implored him +that she might look upon his face once more before she died. On his +persistent refusal, she declared that she would make a pilgrimage to him +in the desert. The alarmed and perplexed saint at last wrote to her, +promising to visit her if she would engage to relinquish her design. He +went to her in disguise, received a cup of water from her hands, and came +away without being discovered. She wrote to him, reproaching him with not +having fulfilled his promise. He answered her that he had indeed visited +her, that "by the mercy of Jesus Christ he had not been recognised," and +that she must never see him again.(280) The mother of St. Theodorus came +armed with letters from the bishops to see her son, but he implored his +abbot, St. Pachomius, to permit him to decline the interview; and, finding +all her efforts in vain, the poor woman retired into a convent, together +with her daughter, who had made a similar expedition with similar +results.(281) The mother of St. Marcus persuaded his abbot to command the +saint to go out to her. Placed in a dilemma between the sin of +disobedience and the perils of seeing his mother, St. Marcus extricated +himself by an ingenious device. He went to his mother with his face +disguised and his eyes shut. The mother did not recognise her son. The son +did not see his mother.(282) The sister of St. Pior in like manner induced +the abbot of that saint to command him to admit her to his presence. The +command was obeyed, but St. Pior resolutely kept his eyes shut during the +interview.(283) St. Poemen and his six brothers had all deserted their +mother to cultivate the perfections of an ascetic life. But ingratitude +can seldom quench the love of a mother's heart, and the old woman, now +bent by infirmities, went alone into the Egyptian desert to see once more +the children she so dearly loved. She caught sight of them as they were +about to leave their cell for the church, but they immediately ran back +into the cell, and, before her tottering steps could reach it, one of her +sons rushed forward and closed the door in her face. She remained outside +weeping bitterly. St. Poemen then, coming to the door, but without opening +it, said, "Why do you, who are already stricken with age, pour forth such +cries and lamentations?" But she, recognising the voice of her son, +answered, "It is because I long to see you, my sons. What harm could it do +you that I should see you? Am I not your mother? did I not give you suck? +I am now an old and wrinkled woman, and my heart is troubled at the sound +of your voices."(284) The saintly brothers, however, refused to open their +door. They told their mother that she would see them after death; and the +biographer says she at last went away contented with the prospect. St. +Simeon Stylites, in this as in other respects, stands in the first line. +He had been passionately loved by his parents, and, if we may believe his +eulogist and biographer, he began his saintly career by breaking the heart +of his father, who died of grief at his flight. His mother, however, +lingered on. Twenty-seven years after his disappearance, at a period when +his austerities had made him famous, she heard for the first time where he +was, and hastened to visit him. But all her labour was in vain. No woman +was admitted within the precincts of his dwelling, and he refused to +permit her even to look upon his face. Her entreaties and tears were +mingled with words of bitter and eloquent reproach.(285) "My son," she is +represented as having said, "why have you done this? I bore you in my +womb, and you have wrung my soul with grief. I gave you milk from my +breast, you have filled my eyes with tears. For the kisses I gave you, you +have given me the anguish of a broken heart; for all that I have done and +suffered for you, you have repaid me by the most cruel wrongs." At last +the saint sent a message to tell her that she would soon see him. Three +days and three nights she had wept and entreated in vain, and now, +exhausted with grief and age and privation, she sank feebly to the ground +and breathed her last sigh before that inhospitable door. Then for the +first time the saint, accompanied by his followers, came out. He shed some +pious tears over the corpse of his murdered mother, and offered up a +prayer consigning her soul to heaven. Perhaps it was but fancy, perhaps +life was not yet wholly extinct, perhaps the story is but the invention of +the biographer; but a faint motion--which appears to have been regarded as +miraculous--is said to have passed over her prostrate form. Simeon once +more commended her soul to heaven, and then, amid the admiring murmurs of +his disciples, the saintly matricide returned to his devotions. + +The glaring mendacity that characterises the Lives of the Catholic Saints, +probably to a greater extent than any other important branch of existing +literature, makes it not unreasonable to hope that many of the foregoing +anecdotes represent much less events that actually took place than ideal +pictures generated by the enthusiasm of the chroniclers. They are not, +however, on that account the less significant of the moral conceptions +which the ascetic period had created. The ablest men in the Christian +community vied with one another in inculcating as the highest form of duty +the abandonment of social ties and the mortification of domestic +affections. A few faint restrictions were indeed occasionally made. +Much--on which I shall hereafter touch--was written on the liberty of +husbands and wives deserting one another; and something was written on the +cases of children forsaking or abandoning their parents. At first, those +who, when children, were devoted to the monasteries by their parents, +without their own consent, were permitted, when of mature age, to return +to the world; and this liberty was taken from them for the first time by +the fourth Council of Toledo, in A.D. 633.(286) The Council of Gangra +condemned the heretic Eustathius for teaching that children might, through +religious motives, forsake their parents, and St. Basil wrote in the same +strain;(287) but cases of this kind of rebellion against parental +authority were continually recounted with admiration in the Lives of the +Saints, applauded by some of the leading Fathers, and virtually sanctioned +by a law of Justinian, which deprived parents of the power of either +restraining their children from entering monasteries, or disinheriting +them if they had done so without their consent.(288) St. Chrysostom +relates with enthusiasm the case of a young man who had been designed by +his father for the army, and who was lured away to a monastery.(289) The +eloquence of St. Ambrose is said to have been so seductive, that mothers +were accustomed to shut up their daughters to guard them against his +fascinations.(290) The position of affectionate parents was at this time +extremely painful. The touching language is still preserved, in which the +mother of Chrysostom--who had a distinguished part in the conversion of her +son--implored him, if he thought it his duty to fly to the desert life, at +least to postpone the act till she had died.(291) St. Ambrose devoted a +chapter to proving that, while those are worthy of commendation who enter +the monasteries with the approbation, those are still more worthy of +praise who do so against the wishes, of their parents; and he proceeded to +show how small were the penalties the latter could inflict when compared +with the blessings asceticism could bestow.(292) Even before the law of +Justinian, the invectives of the clergy were directed against those who +endeavoured to prevent their children flying to the desert. St. Chrysostom +explained to them that they would certainly be damned.(293) St. Ambrose +showed that, even in this world, they might not be unpunished. A girl, he +tells us, had resolved to enter into a convent, and as her relations were +expostulating with her on her intention, one of those present tried to +move her by the memory of her dead father, asking whether, if he were +still alive, he would have suffered her to remain unmarried. "Perhaps," +she calmly answered, "it was for this very purpose he died, that he should +not throw any obstacle in my way." Her words were more than an answer; +they were an oracle. The indiscreet questioner almost immediately died, +and the relations, shocked by the manifest providence, desisted from their +opposition, and even implored the young saint to accomplish her +design.(294) St. Jerome tells with rapturous enthusiasm of a little girl, +named Asella, who, when only twelve years old, devoted herself to the +religious life and refused to look on the face of any man, and whose +knees, by constant prayer, became at last like those of a camel.(295) A +famous widow, named Paula, upon the death of her husband, deserted her +family, listened with "dry eyes" to her children, who were imploring her +to stay, fled to the society of the monks at Jerusalem, made it her desire +that "she might die a beggar, and leave not one piece of money to her +son," and, having dissipated the whole of her fortune in charities, +bequeathed to her children only the embarrassment of her debts.(296) It +was carefully inculcated that all money given or bequeathed to the poor, +or to the monks, produced spiritual benefit to the donors or testators, +but that no spiritual benefit sprang from money bestowed upon relations; +and the more pious minds recoiled from disposing of their property in a +manner that would not redound to the advantage of their souls. Sometimes +parents made it a dying request to their children that they would preserve +none of their property, but would bestow it all among the poor.(297) It +was one of the most honourable incidents of the life of St. Augustine, +that he, like Aurelius, Bishop of Carthage, refused to receive legacies or +donations which unjustly spoliated the relatives of the benefactor.(298) +Usually, however, to outrage the affections of the nearest and dearest +relations was not only regarded as innocent, but proposed as the highest +virtue. "A young man," it was acutely said, "who has learnt to despise a +mother's grief, will easily bear any other labour that is imposed upon +him."(299) St. Jerome, when exhorting Heliodorus to desert his family and +become a hermit, expatiated with a fond minuteness on every form of +natural affection he desired him to violate. "Though your little nephew +twine his arms around your neck; though your mother, with dishevelled hair +and tearing her robe asunder, point to the breast with which she suckled +you; though your father fall down on the threshold before you, pass on +over your father's body. Fly with tearless eyes to the banner of the +cross. In this matter cruelty is the only piety.... Your widowed sister +may throw her gentle arms around you.... Your father may implore you to +wait but a short time to bury those near to you, who will soon be no more; +your weeping mother may recall your childish days, and may point to her +shrunken breast and to her wrinkled brow. Those around you may tell you +that all the household rests upon you. Such chains as these, the love of +God and the fear of hell can easily break. You say that Scripture orders +you to obey your parents, but he who loves them more than Christ loses his +soul. The enemy brandishes a sword to slay me. Shall I think of a mother's +tears?"(300) + +The sentiment manifested in these cases continued to be displayed in later +ages. Thus, St. Gregory the Great assures us that a certain young boy, +though he had enrolled himself as a monk, was unable to repress his love +for his parents, and one night stole out secretly to visit them. But the +judgment of God soon marked the enormity of the offence. On coming back to +the monastery, he died that very day, and when he was buried, the earth +refused to receive so heinous a criminal. His body was repeatedly thrown +up from the grave, and it was only suffered to rest in peace when St. +Benedict had laid the Sacrament upon its breast.(301) One nun revealed, it +is said, after death, that she had been condemned for three days to the +fires of purgatory, because she had loved her mother too much.(302) Of +another saint it is recorded that his benevolence was such that he was +never known to be hard or inhuman to any one except his relations.(303) +St. Romuald, the founder of the Camaldolites, counted his father among his +spiritual children, and on one occasion punished him by flagellation.(304) +The first nun whom St. Francis of Assisi enrolled was a beautiful girl of +Assisi named Clara Scifi, with whom he had for some time carried on a +clandestine correspondence, and whose flight from her father's home he +both counselled and planned.(305) As the first enthusiasm of asceticism +died away, what was lost in influence by the father was gained by the +priest. The confessional made this personage the confidant in the most +delicate secrets of domestic life. The supremacy of authority, of +sympathy, and sometimes even of affection, passed away beyond the domestic +circle, and, by establishing an absolute authority over the most secret +thoughts and feelings of nervous and credulous women, the priests laid the +foundation of the empire of the world. + +The picture I have drawn of the inroads made in the first period of +asceticism upon the domestic affections, tells, I think, its own story, +and I shall only add a very few words of comment. That it is necessary for +many men who are pursuing a truly heroic course to break loose from the +trammels which those about them would cast over their actions or their +opinions, and that this severance often constitutes at once one of the +noblest and one of the most painful incidents in their career, are +unquestionable truths; but the examples of such occasional and exceptional +sacrifices, endured for some great unselfish end, cannot be compared with +the conduct of those who regarded the mortification of domestic love as in +itself a form of virtue, and whose ends were mainly or exclusively +selfish. The sufferings endured by the ascetic who fled from his relations +were often, no doubt, very great. Many anecdotes remain to show that warm +and affectionate hearts sometimes beat under the cold exterior of the +monk;(306) and St. Jerome, in one of his letters, remarked, with much +complacency and congratulation, that the very bitterest pang of captivity +is simply this irrevocable separation which the superstition he preached +induced multitudes to inflict upon themselves. But if, putting aside the +intrinsic excellence of an act, we attempt to estimate the nobility of the +agent, we must consider not only the cost of what he did, but also the +motive which induced him to do it. It is this last consideration which +renders it impossible for us to place the heroism of the ascetic on the +same level with that of the great patriots of Greece or Rome. A man may be +as truly selfish about the next world as about this. Where an overpowering +dread of future torments, or an intense realisation of future happiness, +is the leading motive of action, the theological virtue of faith may be +present, but the ennobling quality of disinterestedness is assuredly +absent. In our day, when pictures of rewards and punishments beyond the +grave act but feebly upon the imagination, a religious motive is commonly +an unselfish motive; but it has not always been so, and it was undoubtedly +not so in the first period of asceticism. The terrors of a future judgment +drove the monk into the desert, and the whole tenor of the ascetic life, +while isolating him from human sympathies, fostered an intense, though it +may be termed a religious, selfishness. + +The effect of the mortification of the domestic affections upon the +general character was probably very pernicious. The family circle is the +appointed sphere, not only for the performance of manifest duties, but +also for the cultivation of the affections; and the extreme ferocity which +so often characterised the ascetic was the natural consequence of the +discipline he imposed upon himself. Severed from all other ties, the monks +clung with a desperate tenacity to their opinions and to their Church, and +hated those who dissented from them with all the intensity of men whose +whole lives were concentrated on a single subject, whose ignorance and +bigotry prevented them from conceiving the possibility of any good thing +in opposition to themselves, and who had made it a main object of their +discipline to eradicate all natural sympathies and affections. We may +reasonably attribute to the fierce biographer the words of burning hatred +of all heretics which St. Athanasius puts in the mouth of the dying +patriarch of the hermits;(307) but ecclesiastical history, and especially +the writings of the later Pagans, abundantly prove that the sentiment was +a general one. To the Christian bishops it is mainly due that the wide and +general, though not perfect, recognition of religious liberty in the Roman +legislation was replaced by laws of the most minute and stringent +intolerance. To the monks, acting as the executive of an omnipresent, +intolerant, and aggressive clergy, is due an administrative change, +perhaps even more important than the legislative change that had preceded +it. The system of conniving at, neglecting, or despising forms of worship +that were formally prohibited, which had been so largely practised by the +sceptical Pagans, and under the lax police system of the Empire, and which +is so important a fact in the history of the rise of Christianity, was +absolutely destroyed. Wandering in bands through the country, the monks +were accustomed to burn the temples, to break the idols, to overthrow the +altars, to engage in fierce conflicts with the peasants, who often +defended with desperate courage the shrines of their gods. It would be +impossible to conceive men more fitted for the task. Their fierce +fanaticism, their persuasion that every idol was tenanted by a literal +dæmon, and their belief that death incurred in this iconoclastic crusade +was a form of martyrdom, made them careless of all consequences to +themselves, while the reverence that attached to their profession rendered +it scarcely possible for the civil power to arrest them. Men who had +learnt to look with indifference on the tears of a broken-hearted mother, +and whose ideal was indissolubly connected with the degradation of the +body, were but little likely to be moved either by the pathos of old +associations, and of reverent, though mistaken, worship, or by the +grandeur of the Serapeum, or of the noble statues of Phidias and +Praxiteles. Sometimes the civil power ordered the reconstruction of Jewish +synagogues or heretical churches which had been illegally destroyed; but +the doctrine was early maintained that such a reconstruction was a deadly +sin. Under Julian some Christians suffered martyrdom sooner than be +parties to it; and St. Ambrose from the pulpit of Milan, and Simeon +Stylites from his desert pillar, united in denouncing Theodosius, who had +been guilty of issuing this command. + +Another very important moral result to which asceticism largely +contributed was the depression and sometimes almost the extinction of the +civic virtues. A candid examination will show that the Christian +civilisations have been as inferior to the Pagan ones in civic and +intellectual virtues as they have been superior to them in the virtues of +humanity and of chastity. We have already seen that one remarkable feature +of the intellectual movement that preceded Christianity was the gradual +decadence of patriotism. In the early days both of Greece and Rome, the +first duty enforced was that of a man to his country. This was the +rudimentary or cardinal virtue of the moral type. It gave the tone to the +whole system of ethics, and different moral qualities were valued chiefly +in proportion to their tendency to form illustrious citizens. The +destruction of this spirit in the Roman Empire was due, as we have seen, +to two causes--one of them being political and the other intellectual. The +political cause was the amalgamation of the different nations in one great +despotism, which gave indeed an ample field for personal and intellectual +freedom, but extinguished the sentiment of nationality and closed almost +every sphere of political activity. The intellectual cause, which was by +no means unconnected with the political one, was the growing ascendancy of +Oriental philosophies, which dethroned the active Stoicism of the early +Empire, and placed its ideal of excellence in contemplative virtues and in +elaborate purifications. By this decline of the patriotic sentiment the +progress of the new faith was greatly aided. In all matters of religion +the opinions of men are governed much more by their sympathies than by +their judgments; and it rarely or never happens that a religion which is +opposed to a strong national sentiment, as Christianity was in Judea, as +Catholicism and Episcopalian Protestantism have been in Scotland, and as +Anglicanism is even now in Ireland, can win the acceptance of the people. + +The relations of Christianity to the sentiment of patriotism were from the +first very unfortunate. While the Christians were, for obvious reasons, +completely separated from the national spirit of Judea, they found +themselves equally at variance with the lingering remnants of Roman +patriotism. Rome was to them the power of Antichrist, and its overthrow +the necessary prelude to the millennial reign. They formed an illegal +organisation, directly opposed to the genius of the Empire, anticipating +its speedy destruction, looking back with something more than despondency +to the fate of the heroes who adorned its past, and refusing resolutely to +participate in those national spectacles which were the symbols and the +expressions of patriotic feeling. Though scrupulously averse to all +rebellion, they rarely concealed their sentiments, and the whole tendency +of their teaching was to withdraw men as far as possible both from the +functions and the enthusiasm of public life. It was at once their +confession and their boast, that no interests were more indifferent to +them than those of their country.(308) They regarded the lawfulness of +taking arms as very questionable, and all those proud and aspiring +qualities that constitute the distinctive beauty of the soldier's +character as emphatically unchristian. Their home and their interests were +in another world, and, provided only they were unmolested in their +worship, they avowed with frankness, long after the Empire had become +Christian, that it was a matter of indifference to them under what rule +they lived.(309) Asceticism, drawing all the enthusiasm of Christendom to +the desert life, and elevating as an ideal the extreme and absolute +abnegation of all patriotism,(310) formed the culmination of the movement, +and was undoubtedly one cause of the downfall of the Roman Empire. + +There are, probably, few subjects on which popular judgments are commonly +more erroneous than upon the relations between positive religions and +moral enthusiasm. Religions have, no doubt, a most real power of evoking a +latent energy which, without their existence, would never have been called +into action; but their influence is on the whole probably more attractive +than creative. They supply the channel in which moral enthusiasm flows, +the banner under which it is enlisted, the mould in which it is cast, the +ideal to which it tends. The first idea which the phrase "a very good man" +would have suggested to an early Roman would probably have been that of +great and distinguished patriotism, and the passion and interest of such a +man in his country's cause were in direct proportion to his moral +elevation. Ascetic Christianity decisively diverted moral enthusiasm into +another channel, and the civic virtues, in consequence, necessarily +declined. The extinction of all public spirit, the base treachery and +corruption pervading every department of the Government, the cowardice of +the army, the despicable frivolity of character that led the people of +Treves, when fresh from their burning city, to call for theatres and +circuses, and the people of Roman Carthage to plunge wildly into the +excitement of the chariot races, on the very day when their city succumbed +beneath the Vandal;(311) all these things coexisted with extraordinary +displays of ascetic and of missionary devotion. The genius and the virtue +that might have defended the Empire were engaged in fierce disputes about +the Pelagian controversy, at the very time when Alaric was encircling Rome +with his armies,(312) and there was no subtlety of theological metaphysics +which did not kindle a deeper interest in the Christian leaders than the +throes of their expiring country. The moral enthusiasm that in other days +would have fired the armies of Rome with an invincible valour, impelled +thousands to abandon their country and their homes, and consume the weary +hours in a long routine of useless and horrible macerations. When the +Goths had captured Rome, St. Augustine, as we have seen, pointed with a +just pride to the Christian Church, which remained an unviolated sanctuary +during the horrors of the sack, as a proof that a new spirit of sanctity +and of reverence had descended upon the world. The Pagan, in his turn, +pointed to what he deemed a not less significant fact--the golden statues +of Valour and of Fortune were melted down to pay the ransom to the +conquerors.(313) Many of the Christians contemplated with an indifference +that almost amounted to complacency what they regarded as the predicted +ruin of the city of the fallen gods.(314) When the Vandals swept over +Africa, the Donatists, maddened by the persecution of the orthodox, +received them with open arms, and contributed their share to that deadly +blow.(315) The immortal pass of Thermopylæ was surrendered without a +struggle to the Goths. A Pagan writer accused the monks of having betrayed +it.(316) It is more probable that they had absorbed or diverted the +heroism that in other days would have defended it. The conquest, at a +later date, of Egypt, by the Mohammedans, was in a great measure due to an +invitation from the persecuted Monophysites.(317) Subsequent religious +wars have again and again exhibited the same phenomenon. The treachery of +a religionist to his country no longer argued an absence of all moral +feeling. It had become compatible with the deepest religious enthusiasm, +and with all the courage of a martyr. + +It is somewhat difficult to form a just estimate of how far the attitude +assumed by the Church towards the barbarian invaders has on the whole +proved beneficial to mankind. The Empire, as we have seen, had long been, +both morally and politically, in a condition of manifest decline; its +fall, though it might have been retarded, could scarcely have been +averted, and the new religion, even in its most superstitious form, while +it did much to displace, did also much to elicit moral enthusiasm. It is +impossible to deny that the Christian priesthood contributed very +materially, both by their charity and by their arbitration, to mitigate +the calamities that accompanied the dissolution of the Empire;(318) and it +is equally impossible to doubt that their political attitude greatly +increased their power for good. Standing between the conflicting forces, +almost indifferent to the issue, and notoriously exempt from the passions +of the combat, they obtained with the conqueror, and used for the benefit +of the conquered, a degree of influence they would never have possessed, +had they been regarded as Roman patriots. Their attitude, however, marked +a complete, and, as it has proved, a permanent, change in the position +assigned to patriotism in the moral scale. It has occasionally happened in +later times, that churches have found it for their interest to appeal to +this sentiment in their conflict with opposing creeds, or that patriots +have found the objects of churchmen in harmony with their own; and in +these cases a fusion of theological and patriotic feeling has taken place, +in which each has intensified the other. Such has been the effect of the +conflict between the Spaniards and the Moors, between the Poles and the +Russians, between the Scotch Puritans and the English Episcopalians, +between the Irish Catholics and the English Protestants. But patriotism +itself, as a duty, has never found any place in Christian ethics, and +strong theological feeling has usually been directly hostile to its +growth. Ecclesiastics have, no doubt, taken a very large share in +political affairs, but this has been in most cases solely with the object +of wresting them into conformity with ecclesiastical designs; and no other +body of men have so uniformly sacrificed the interests of their country to +the interests of their class. For the repugnance between the theological +and the patriotic spirit, three reasons may, I think, be assigned. The +first is that tendency of strong religious feeling to divert the mind from +all terrestrial cares and passions, of which the ascetic life was the +extreme expression, but which has always, under different forms, been +manifested in the Church. The second arises from the fact that each form +of theological opinion embodies itself in a visible and organised church, +with a government, interest, and policy of its own, and a frontier often +intersecting rather than following national boundaries; and these churches +attract to themselves the attachment and devotion that would naturally be +bestowed upon the country and its rulers. The third reason is, that the +saintly and the heroic characters, which represent the ideals of religion +and of patriotism, are generically different; for although they have no +doubt many common elements of virtue, the distinctive excellence of each +is derived from a proportion or disposition of qualities altogether +different from that of the other.(319) + +Before dismissing this very important revolution in moral history, I may +add two remarks. In the first place, we may observe that the relation of +the two great schools of morals to active and political life has been +completely changed. Among the ancients, the Stoics, who regarded virtue +and vice as generically different from all other things, participated +actively in public life, and made this participation one of the first of +duties; while the Epicureans, who resolved virtue into utility, and +esteemed happiness its supreme motive, abstained from public life, and +taught their disciples to neglect it. Asceticism followed the Stoical +school in teaching that virtue and happiness are generically different +things; but it was at the same time eminently unfavourable to civic +virtue. On the other hand, that great industrial movement which has arisen +since the abolition of slavery, and which has always been essentially +utilitarian in its spirit, has been one of the most active and influential +elements of political progress. This change, though, as far as I know, +entirely unnoticed by historians, constitutes, I believe, one of the great +landmarks of moral history. + +The second observation I would make relates to the estimate we form of the +value of patriotic actions. However much historians may desire to extend +their researches to the private and domestic virtues of a people, civic +virtues are always those which must appear most prominently in their +pages. History is concerned only with large bodies of men. The systems of +philosophy or religion which produce splendid results on the great theatre +of public life are fully and easily appreciated, and readers and writers +are both liable to give them very undue advantages over those systems +which do not favour civic virtues, but exercise their beneficial influence +in the more obscure fields of individual self-culture, domestic morals, or +private charity. If valued by the self-sacrifice they imply, or by their +effects upon human happiness, these last rank very high, but they scarcely +appear in history, and they therefore seldom obtain their due weight in +historical comparisons. Christianity has, I think, suffered peculiarly +from this cause. Its moral action has always been much more powerful upon +individuals than upon societies, and the spheres in which its superiority +over other religions is most incontestable, are precisely those which +history is least capable of realising. + +In attempting to estimate the moral condition of the Roman and Byzantine +Empires during the Christian period, and before the old civilisation had +been dissolved by the barbarian or Mohammedan invasions, we must +continually bear this last consideration in mind. We must remember, too, +that Christianity had acquired an ascendancy among nations which were +already deeply tainted by the inveterate vices of a corrupt and decaying +civilisation, and also that many of the censors from whose pages we are +obliged to form our estimate of the age were men who judged human +frailties with all the fastidiousness of ascetics, and who expressed their +judgments with all the declamatory exaggeration of the pulpit. Modern +critics will probably not lay much stress upon the relapse of the +Christians into the ordinary dress and usages of the luxurious society +about them, upon the ridicule thrown by Christians on those who still +adhered to the primitive austerity of the sect, or upon the fact that +multitudes who were once mere nominal Pagans had become mere nominal +Christians. We find, too, a frequent disposition on the part of moralists +to single out some new form of luxury, or some trivial custom which they +regarded as indecorous, for the most extravagant denunciation, and to +magnify its importance in a manner which in a later age it is difficult +even to understand. Examples of this kind may be found both in Pagan and +in Christian writings, and they form an extremely curious page in the +history of morals. Thus Juvenal exhausts his vocabulary of invective in +denouncing the atrocious criminality of a certain noble, who in the very +year of his consulship did not hesitate--not, it is true, by day, but at +least in the sight of the moon and of the stars--with his own hand to drive +his own chariot along the public road.(320) Seneca was scarcely less +scandalised by the atrocious and, as he thought, unnatural luxury of those +who had adopted the custom of cooling different beverages by mixing them +with snow.(321) Pliny assures us that the most monstrous of all criminals +was the man who first devised the luxurious custom of wearing golden +rings.(322) Apuleius was compelled to defend himself for having eulogised +tooth-powder, and he did so, among other ways, by arguing that nature has +justified this form of propriety, for crocodiles were known periodically +to leave the waters of the Nile, and to lie with open jaws upon the banks, +while a certain bird proceeds with its beak to clean their teeth.(323) If +we were to measure the criminality of different customs by the vehemence +of the patristic denunciations, we might almost conclude that the most +atrocious offence of their day was the custom of wearing false hair, or +dyeing natural hair. Clement of Alexandria questioned whether the validity +of certain ecclesiastical ceremonies might not be affected by wigs; for, +he asked, when the priest is placing his hand on the head of the person +who kneels before him, if that hand is resting upon false hair, who is it +he is really blessing? Tertullian shuddered at the thought that Christians +might have the hair of those who were in hell upon their heads, and he +found in the tiers of false hair that were in use a distinct rebellion +against the assertion that no one can add to his stature, and, in the +custom of dyeing the hair, a contravention of the declaration that man +cannot make one hair white or black. Centuries rolled away. The Roman +Empire tottered to its fall, and floods of vice and sorrow overspread the +world; but still the denunciations of the Fathers were unabated. St. +Ambrose, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory Nazianzen continued with +uncompromising vehemence the war against false hair, which Tertullian and +Clement of Alexandria had begun.(324) + +But although the vehemence of the Fathers on such trivial matters might +appear at first sight to imply the existence of a society in which grave +corruption was rare, such a conclusion would be totally untrue. After +every legitimate allowance has been made, the pictures of Roman society by +Ammianus Marcellinus, of the society of Marseilles, by Salvian, of the +society of Asia Minor, and of Constantinople, by Chrysostom, as well as +the whole tenor of the history, and innumerable incidental notices in the +writers, of the time, exhibit a condition of depravity, and especially of +degradation, which has seldom been surpassed.(325) The corruption had +reached classes and institutions that appeared the most holy. The Agapæ, +or love feasts, which formed one of the most touching symbols of Christian +unity, had become scenes of drunkenness and of riot. Denounced by the +Fathers, condemned by the Council of Laodicea in the fourth century, and +afterwards by the Council of Carthage, they lingered as a scandal and an +offence till they were finally suppressed by the Council of Trullo, at the +end of the seventh century.(326) The commemoration of the martyrs soon +degenerated into scandalous dissipation. Fairs were held on the occasion, +gross breaches of chastity were frequent, and the annual festival was +suppressed on account of the immorality it produced.(327) The ambiguous +position of the clergy with reference to marriage already led to grave +disorder. In the time of St. Cyprian, before the outbreak of the Decian +persecution, it had been common to find clergy professing celibacy, but +keeping, under various pretexts, their mistresses in their houses;(328) +and, after Constantine, the complaints on this subject became loud and +general.(329) Virgins and monks often lived together in the same house, +professing sometimes to share in chastity the same bed.(330) Rich widows +were surrounded by swarms of clerical sycophants, who addressed them in +tender diminutives, studied and consulted their every foible, and, under +the guise of piety, lay in wait for their gifts or bequests.(331) The evil +attained such a point that a law was made under Valentinian depriving the +Christian priests and monks of that power of receiving legacies which was +possessed by every other class of the community; and St. Jerome has +mournfully acknowledged that the prohibition was necessary.(332) Great +multitudes entered the Church to avoid municipal offices;(333) the deserts +were crowded with men whose sole object was to escape from honest labour, +and even soldiers used to desert their colours for the monasteries.(334) +Noble ladies, pretending a desire to lead a higher life, abandoned their +husbands to live with low-born lovers.(335) Palestine, which was soon +crowded with pilgrims, had become, in the time of St. Gregory of Nyssa, a +hotbed of debauchery.(336) The evil reputation of pilgrimages long +continued; and in the eighth century we find St. Boniface writing to the +Archbishop of Canterbury, imploring the bishops to take some measures to +restrain or regulate the pilgrimages of their fellow-countrywomen; for +there were few towns in central Europe, on the way to Rome, where English +ladies, who started as pilgrims, were not living in open +prostitution.(337) The luxury and ambition of the higher prelates, and the +passion for amusements of the inferior priests,(338) were bitterly +acknowledged. St. Jerome complained that the banquets of many bishops +eclipsed in splendour those of the provincial governors, and the intrigues +by which they obtained offices, and the fierce partisanship of their +supporters, appear in every page of ecclesiastical history. + +In the lay world, perhaps the chief characteristic was extreme +childishness. The moral enthusiasm was greater than it had been in most +periods of Paganism, but, being drawn away to the desert, it had little +influence upon society. The simple fact that the quarrels between the +factions of the chariot races for a long period eclipsed all political, +intellectual, and even religious differences, filled the streets again and +again with bloodshed, and more than once determined great revolutions in +the State, is sufficient to show the extent of the decadence. Patriotism +and courage had almost disappeared, and, notwithstanding the rise of a +Belisarius or a Narses, the level of public men was extremely depressed. +The luxury of the court, the servility of the courtiers, and the +prevailing splendour of dress and of ornament, had attained an extravagant +height. The world grew accustomed to a dangerous alternation of extreme +asceticism and gross vice, and sometimes, as in the case of Antioch,(339) +the most vicious and luxurious cities produced the most numerous +anchorites. There existed a combination of vice and superstition which is +eminently prejudicial to the nobility, though not equally detrimental to +the happiness, of man. Public opinion was so low, that very many forms of +vice attracted little condemnation and punishment, while undoubted belief +in the absolving efficacy of superstitious rites calmed the imagination +and allayed the terrors of conscience. There was more falsehood and +treachery than under the Cæsars, but there was much less cruelty, +violence, and shamelessness. There was also less public spirit, less +independence of character, less intellectual freedom. + +In some respects, however, Christianity had already effected a great +improvement. The gladiatorial games had disappeared from the West, and had +not been introduced into Constantinople. The vast schools of prostitution +which had grown up under the name of temples of Venus were suppressed. +Religion, however deformed and debased, was at least no longer a seedplot +of depravity, and under the influence of Christianity the effrontery of +vice had in a great measure disappeared. The gross and extravagant +indecency of representation, of which we have still examples in the +paintings on the walls, and the signs on many of the portals of Pompeii; +the banquets of rich patricians, served by naked girls; the hideous +excesses of unnatural lust, in which some of the Pagan emperors had +indulged with so much publicity, were no longer tolerated. Although +sensuality was very general, it was less obtrusive, and unnatural and +eccentric forms had become rare. The presence of a great Church, which, +amid much superstition and fanaticism, still taught a pure morality, and +enforced it by the strongest motives, was everywhere felt--controlling, +strengthening, or overawing. The ecclesiastics were a great body in the +State. The cause of virtue was strongly organised; it drew to itself the +best men, determined the course of vacillating but amiable natures, and +placed some restraint upon the vicious. A bad man might be insensible to +the moral beauties of religion, but he was still haunted by the +recollection of its threatenings. If he emancipated himself from its +influence in health and prosperity, its power returned in periods of +sickness or danger, or on the eve of the commission of some great crime. +If he had nerved himself against all its terrors, he was at least checked +and governed at every turn by the public opinion which it had created. +That total absence of all restraint, all decency, and all fear and +remorse, which had been evinced by some of the monsters of crime who +occupied the Pagan throne, and which proves most strikingly the decay of +the Pagan religion, was no longer possible. The virtue of the best Pagans +was perhaps of as high an order as that of the best Christians, though it +was of a somewhat different type, but the vice of the worst Pagans +certainly far exceeded that of the worst Christians. The pulpit had become +a powerful centre of attraction, and charities of many kinds were actively +developed. + +The moral effects of the first great outburst of asceticism, so far as we +have yet traced them, appear almost unmingled evils. In addition to the +essentially distorted ideal of perfection it produced, the simple +withdrawal from active life of that moral enthusiasm, which is the leaven +of society, was extremely pernicious, and there can be little doubt that +to this cause we must in a great degree attribute the conspicuous failure +of the Church, for some centuries, to effect any more considerable +amelioration in the moral condition of Europe. There were, however, some +distinctive excellences springing even from the first phase of asceticism, +which, although they do not, as I conceive, suffice to counterbalance +these evils, may justly qualify our censure. + +The first condition of all really great moral excellence is a spirit of +genuine self-sacrifice and self-renunciation. The habits of compromise, +moderation, reciprocal self-restraint, gentleness, courtesy, and +refinement, which are appropriate to luxurious or utilitarian +civilisations, are very favourable to the development of many secondary +virtues; but there is in human nature a capacity for a higher and more +heroic reach of excellence, which demands very different spheres for its +display, accustoms men to far nobler aims, and exercises a far greater +attractive influence upon mankind. Imperfect and distorted as was the +ideal of the anchorite; deeply, too, as it was perverted by the admixture +of a spiritual selfishness, still the example of many thousands, who, in +obedience to what they believed to be right, voluntarily gave up +everything that men hold dear, cast to the winds every compromise with +enjoyment, and made extreme self-abnegation the very principle of their +lives, was not wholly lost upon the world. At a time when increasing +riches had profoundly tainted the Church, they taught men "to love labour +more than rest, and ignominy more than glory, and to give more than to +receive."(340) At a time when the passion for ecclesiastical dignities had +become the scandal of the Empire, they systematically abstained from them, +teaching, in their quaint but energetic language, that "there are two +classes a monk should especially avoid--bishops and women."(341) The very +eccentricities of their lives, their uncouth forms, their horrible +penances, won the admiration of rude men, and the superstitious reverence +thus excited gradually passed to the charity and the self-denial which +formed the higher elements of the monastic character. Multitudes of +barbarians were converted to Christianity at the sight of St. Simeon +Stylites. The hermit, too, was speedily idealised by the popular +imagination. The more repulsive features of his life and appearance were +forgotten. He was thought of only as an old man with long white beard and +gentle aspect, weaving his mats beneath the palm-trees, while dæmons +vainly tried to distract him by their stratagems, and the wild beasts grew +tame in his presence, and every disease and every sorrow vanished at his +word. The imagination of Christendom, fascinated by this ideal, made it +the centre of countless legends, usually very childish, and occasionally, +as we have seen, worse than childish, yet full of beautiful touches of +human nature, and often conveying admirable moral lessons.(342) Nursery +tales, which first determine the course of the infant imagination, play no +inconsiderable part in the history of humanity. In the fable of +Psyche--that bright tale of passionate love with which the Greek mother +lulled her child to rest--Pagan antiquity has bequeathed us a single +specimen of transcendent beauty, and the lives of the saints of the desert +often exhibit an imagination different indeed in kind, but scarcely less +brilliant in its display. St. Antony, we are told, was thinking one night +that he was the best man in the desert, when it was revealed to him that +there was another hermit far holier than himself. In the morning he +started across the desert to visit this unknown saint. He met first of all +a centaur, and afterwards a little man with horns and goat's feet, who +said that he was a faun; and these, having pointed out the way, he arrived +at last at his destination. St. Paul the hermit, at whose cell he stopped, +was one hundred and thirteen years old, and, having been living for a very +long period in absolute solitude, he at first refused to admit the +visitor, but at last consented, embraced him, and began, with a very +pardonable curiosity, to question him minutely about the world he had +left; "whether there was much new building in the towns, what empire ruled +the world, whether there were any idolaters remaining?" The colloquy was +interrupted by a crow, which came with a loaf of bread, and St. Paul, +observing that during the last sixty years his daily allowance had been +only half a loaf, declared that this was a proof that he had done right in +admitting Antony. The hermits returned thanks, and sat down together by +the margin of a glassy stream. But now a difficulty arose. Neither could +bring himself to break the loaf before the other. St. Paul alleged that +St. Antony, being his guest, should take the precedence; but St. Antony, +who was only ninety years old, dwelt upon the greater age of St. Paul. So +scrupulously polite were these old men, that they passed the entire +afternoon disputing on this weighty question, till at last, when the +evening was drawing in, a happy thought struck them, and, each holding one +end of the loaf, they pulled together. To abridge the story, St. Paul soon +died, and his companion, being a weak old man, was unable to bury him, +when two lions came from the desert and dug the grave with their paws, +deposited the body in it, raised a loud howl of lamentation, and then +knelt down submissively before St. Antony, to beg a blessing. The +authority for this history is no less a person than St. Jerome, who +relates it as literally true, and intersperses his narrative with severe +reflections on all who might question his accuracy. + +The historian Palladius assures us that he heard from the lips of St. +Macarius of Alexandria an account of a pilgrimage which that saint had +made, under the impulse of curiosity, to visit the enchanted garden of +Jannes and Jambres, tenanted by dæmons. For nine days Macarius traversed +the desert, directing his course by the stars, and, from time to time, +fixing reeds in the ground, as landmarks for his return; but this +precaution proved useless, for the devils tore up the reeds, and placed +them during the night by the head of the sleeping saint. As he drew near +the garden, seventy dæmons of various forms came forth to meet him, and +reproached him for disturbing them in their home. St. Macarius promised +simply to walk round and inspect the wonders of the garden, and then +depart without doing it any injury. He fulfilled his promise, and a +journey of twenty days brought him again to his cell.(343) Other legends +are, however, of a less fantastic nature; and many of them display, though +sometimes in very whimsical forms, a spirit of courtesy which seems to +foreshadow the later chivalry, and some of them contain striking protests +against the very superstitions that were most prevalent. When St. Macarius +was sick, a bunch of grapes was once given to him; but his charity +impelled him to give them to another hermit, who in his turn refused to +keep them, and at last, having made the circuit of the entire desert, they +were returned to the saint.(344) The same saint, whose usual beverage was +putrid water, never failed to drink wine when set before him by the +hermits he visited, atoning privately for this relaxation, which he +thought the laws of courtesy required, by abstaining from water for as +many days as he had drunk glasses of wine.(345) One of his disciples once +meeting an idolatrous priest running in great haste across the desert, +with a great stick in his hand, cried out in a loud voice, "Where are you +going, dæmon?" The priest, naturally indignant, beat the Christian +severely, and was proceeding on his way, when he met St. Macarius, who +accosted him so courteously and so tenderly that the Pagan's heart was +touched, he became a convert, and his first act of charity was to tend the +Christian whom he had beaten.(346) St. Avitus being on a visit to St. +Marcian, this latter saint placed before him some bread, which Avitus +refused to eat, saying that it was his custom never to touch food till +after sunset. St. Marcian, professing his own inability to defer his +repast, implored his guest for once to break this custom, and being +refused, exclaimed, "Alas! I am filled with anguish that you have come +here to see a wise man and a saint, and you see only a glutton." St. +Avitus was grieved, and said, "he would rather even eat flesh than hear +such words," and he sat down as desired. St. Marcian then confessed that +his own custom was the same as that of his brother saint; "but," he added, +"we know that charity is better than fasting; for charity is enjoined by +the Divine law, but fasting is left in our own power and will."(347) St. +Epiphanius having invited St. Hilarius to his cell, placed before him a +dish of fowl. "Pardon me, father," said St. Hilarius, "but since I have +become a monk I have never eaten flesh." "And I," said St. Epiphanius, +"since I have become a monk have never suffered the sun to go down upon my +wrath." "Your rule," rejoined the other, "is more excellent than +mine."(348) While a rich lady was courteously fulfilling the duties of +hospitality to a monk, her child, whom she had for this purpose left, fell +into a well. It lay unharmed upon the surface of the water, and afterwards +told its mother that it had seen the arms of the saint sustaining it +below.(349) At a time when it was the custom to look upon the marriage +state with profound contempt, it was revealed to St. Macarius of Egypt +that two married women in a neighbouring city were more holy than he was. +The saint immediately visited them, and asked their mode of life, but they +utterly repudiated the notion of their sanctity. "Holy father," they said, +"suffer us to tell you frankly the truth. Even this very night we did not +shrink from sleeping with our husbands, and what good works, then, can you +expect from us?" The saint, however, persisted in his inquiries, and they +then told him their stories. "We are," they said, "in no way related, but +we married two brothers. We have lived together for fifteen years, without +one licentious or angry word. We have entreated our husbands to let us +leave them, to join the societies of holy virgins, but they refused to +permit us, and we then promised before Heaven that no worldly word should +sully our lips." "Of a truth," cried St. Macarius, "I see that God regards +not whether one is virgin or married, whether one is in a monastery or in +the world. He considers only the disposition of the heart, and gives the +Spirit to all who desire to serve Him, whatever their condition may +be."(350) + +I have multiplied these illustrations to an extent that must, I fear, have +already somewhat taxed the patience of my readers; but the fact that, +during a long period of history, these saintly legends formed the ideals +guiding the imagination and reflecting the moral sentiment of the +Christian world, gives them an importance far beyond their intrinsic +value. Before dismissing the saints of the desert, there is one other +class of legends to which I desire to advert. I mean those which describe +the connection between saints and the animal world. These legends are, I +think, worthy of special notice in moral history, as representing the +first, and at the same time one of the most striking efforts ever made in +Christendom to inculcate a feeling of kindness and pity towards the brute +creation. In Pagan antiquity, considerable steps had been made to raise +this form of humanity to a recognised branch of ethics. The way had been +prepared by numerous anecdotes growing for the most part out of simple +ignorance of natural history, which all tended to diminish the chasm +between men and animals, by representing the latter as possessing to a +very high degree both moral and rational qualities. Elephants, it was +believed, were endowed not only with reason and benevolence, but also with +reverential feelings. They worshipped the sun and moon, and in the forests +of Mauritania they were accustomed to assemble every new moon, at a +certain river, to perform religious rites.(351) The hippopotamus taught +men the medicinal value of bleeding, being accustomed, when affected by +plethory, to bleed itself with a thorn, and afterwards close the wound +with slime.(352) Pelicans committed suicide to feed their young; and bees, +when they had broken the laws of their sovereign.(353) A temple was +erected at Sestos to commemorate the affection of an eagle which loved a +young girl, and upon her death cast itself in despair into the flames by +which her body was consumed.(354) Numerous anecdotes are related of +faithful dogs which refused to survive their masters, and one of these +had, it was said, been transformed into the dog-star.(355) The dolphin, +especially, became the subject of many beautiful legends, and its +affection for its young, for music, and above all for little children, +excited the admiration not only of the populace, but of the most +distinguished naturalists.(356) Many philosophers ascribed to animals a +rational soul, like that of man. According to the Pythagoreans, human +souls transmigrate after death into animals. According to the Stoics and +others, the souls of men and animals were alike parts of the all-pervading +Divine Spirit that animates the world.(357) + +We may even find traces from an early period of a certain measure of +legislative protection for animals. By a very natural process, the ox, as +a principal agent in agriculture, and therefore a kind of symbol of +civilisation, was in many different countries regarded with a peculiar +reverence. The sanctity attached to it in Egypt is well known. That +tenderness to animals, which is one of the most beautiful features in the +Old Testament writings, shows itself, among other ways, in the command not +to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn, or to yoke together the ox +and the ass.(358) Among the early Romans the same feeling was carried so +far, that for a long time it was actually a capital offence to slaughter +an ox, that animal being pronounced, in a special sense, the +fellow-labourer of man.(359) A similar law is said to have in early times +existed in Greece.(360) The beautiful passage in which the Psalmist +describes how the sparrow could find a shelter and a home in the altar of +the temple, was as applicable to Greece as to Jerusalem. The sentiment of +Xenocrates who, when a bird pursued by a hawk took refuge in his breast, +caressed and finally released it, saying to his disciples, that a good man +should never give up a suppliant,(361) was believed to be shared by the +gods, and it was regarded as an act of impiety to disturb the birds who +had built their nests beneath the porticoes of the temple.(362) A case is +related of a child who was even put to death on account of an act of +aggravated cruelty to birds.(363) + +The general tendency of nations, as they advance from a rude and warlike +to a refined and peaceful condition, from the stage in which the realising +powers are faint and dull, to that in which they are sensitive and vivid, +is undoubtedly to become more gentle and humane in their actions; but +this, like all other general tendencies in history, may be counteracted or +modified by many special circumstances. The law I have mentioned about +oxen was obviously one of those that belong to a very early stage of +progress, when legislators are labouring to form agricultural habits among +a warlike and nomadic people.(364) The games in which the slaughter of +animals bore so large a part, having been introduced but a little before +the extinction of the republic, did very much to arrest or retard the +natural progress of humane sentiments. In ancient Greece, besides the +bull-fights of Thessaly, the combats of quails and cocks(365) were +favourite amusements, and were much encouraged by the legislators, as +furnishing examples of valour to the soldiers. The colossal dimensions of +the Roman games, the circumstances that favoured them, and the +overwhelming interest they speedily excited, I have described in a former +chapter. We have seen, however, that, notwithstanding the gladiatorial +shows, the standard of humanity towards men was considerably raised during +the Empire. It is also well worthy of notice that, notwithstanding the +passion for the combats of wild beasts, Roman literature and the later +literature of the nations subject to Rome abound in delicate touches +displaying in a very high degree a sensitiveness to the feelings of the +animal world. This tender interest in animal life is one of the most +distinctive features of the poetry of Virgil. Lucretius, who rarely struck +the chords of pathos, had at a still earlier period drawn a very beautiful +picture of the sorrows of the bereaved cow, whose calf had been sacrificed +upon the altar.(366) Plutarch mentions, incidentally, that he could never +bring himself to sell, in its old age, the ox which had served him +faithfully in the time of its strength.(367) Ovid expressed a similar +sentiment with an almost equal emphasis.(368) Juvenal speaks of a Roman +lady with her eyes filled with tears on account of the death of a +sparrow.(369) Apollonius of Tyana, on the ground of humanity, refused, +even when invited by a king, to participate in the chase.(370) Arrian, the +friend of Epictetus, in his book upon coursing, anticipated the beautiful +picture which Addison has drawn of the huntsman refusing to sacrifice the +life of the captured hare which had given him so much pleasure in its +flight.(371) + +These touches of feeling, slight as they may appear, indicate, I think, a +vein of sentiment such as we should scarcely have expected to find +coexisting with the gigantic slaughter of the amphitheatre. The progress, +however, was not only one of sentiment--it was also shown in distinct and +definite teaching. Pythagoras and Empedocles were quoted as the founders +of this branch of ethics. The moral duty of kindness to animals was in the +first instance based upon a dogmatic assertion of the transmigration of +souls, and, the doctrine that animals are within the circle of human duty +being thus laid down, subsidiary considerations of humanity were alleged. +The rapid growth of the Pythagorean school, in the latter days of the +Empire, made these considerations familiar to the people.(372) Porphyry +elaborately advocated, and even Seneca for a time practised, abstinence +from flesh. But the most remarkable figure in this movement is +unquestionably Plutarch. Casting aside the dogma of transmigration, or at +least speaking of it only as a doubtful conjecture, he places the duty of +kindness to animals on the broad ground of the affections, and he urges +that duty with an emphasis and a detail to which no adequate parallel can, +I believe, be found in the Christian writings for at least seventeen +hundred years. He condemns absolutely the games of the amphitheatre, +dwells with great force upon the effect of such spectacles in hardening +the character, enumerates in detail, and denounces with unqualified +energy, the refined cruelties which gastronomic fancies had produced, and +asserts in the strongest language that every man has duties to the animal +world as truly as to his fellow-men.(373) + +If we now pass to the Christian Church, we shall find that little or no +progress was at first made in this sphere. Among the Manicheans, it is +true, the mixture of Oriental notions was shown in an absolute prohibition +of animal food, and abstinence from this food was also frequently +practised upon totally different grounds by the orthodox. One or two of +the Fathers have also mentioned with approbation the humane counsels of +the Pythagoreans.(374) But, on the other hand, the doctrine of +transmigration was emphatically repudiated by the Catholics; the human +race was isolated, by the scheme of redemption, more than ever from all +other races; and in the range and circle of duties inculcated by the early +Fathers those to animals had no place. This is indeed the one form of +humanity which appears more prominently in the Old Testament than in the +New. The many beautiful traces of it in the former, which indicate a +sentiment,(375) even where they do not very strictly define a duty, gave +way before an ardent philanthropy which regarded human interests as the +one end, and the relations of man to his Creator as the one question, of +life, and dismissed somewhat contemptuously, as an idle sentimentalism, +notions of duty to animals.(376) A refined and subtle sympathy with animal +feeling is indeed rarely found among those who are engaged very actively +in the affairs of life, and it was not without a meaning or a reason that +Shakespeare placed that exquisitely pathetic analysis of the sufferings of +the wounded stag, which is perhaps its most perfect poetical expression, +in the midst of the morbid dreamings of the diseased and melancholy +Jacques. + +But while what are called the rights of animals had no place in the ethics +of the Church, a feeling of sympathy with the irrational creation was in +some degree inculcated indirectly by the incidents of the hagiology. It +was very natural that the hermit, living in the lonely deserts of the +East, or in the vast forests of Europe, should come into an intimate +connection with the animal world, and it was no less natural that the +popular imagination, when depicting the hermit life, should make this +connection the centre of many picturesque and sometimes touching legends. +The birds, it was said, stooped in their flight at the old man's call; the +lion and the hyena crouched submissively at his feet; his heart, which was +closed to all human interests, expanded freely at the sight of some +suffering animal; and something of his own sanctity descended to the +companions of his solitude and the objects of his miracles. The wild +beasts attended St. Theon when he walked abroad, and the saint rewarded +them by giving them drink out of his well. An Egyptian hermit had made a +beautiful garden in the desert, and used to sit beneath the palm-trees +while a lion ate fruit from his hand. When St. Poemen was shivering in a +winter night, a lion crouched beside him, and became his covering. Lions +buried St. Paul the hermit and St. Mary of Egypt. They appear in the +legends of St. Jerome, St. Gerasimus, St. John the Silent, St. Simeon, and +many others. When an old and feeble monk, named Zosimas, was on his +journey to Cæsarea, with an ass which bore his possessions, a lion seized +and devoured the ass, but, at the command of the saint, the lion itself +carried the burden to the city gates. St. Helenus called a wild ass from +its herd to bear his burden through the wilderness. The same saint, as +well as St. Pachomius, crossed the Nile on the back of a crocodile, as St. +Scuthinus did the Irish Channel on a sea monster. Stags continually +accompanied saints upon their journeys, bore their burdens, ploughed their +fields, revealed their relics. The hunted stag was especially the theme of +many picturesque legends. A Pagan, named Branchion, was once pursuing an +exhausted stag, when it took refuge in a cavern, whose threshold no +inducement could persuade the hounds to cross. The astonished hunter +entered, and found himself in presence of an old hermit, who at once +protected the fugitive and converted the pursuer. In the legends of St. +Eustachius and St. Hubert, Christ is represented as having assumed the +form of a hunted stag, which turned upon its pursuer, with a crucifix +glittering on its brow, and, addressing him with a human voice, converted +him to Christianity. In the full frenzy of a chase, hounds and stag +stopped and knelt down together to venerate the relics of St. Fingar. On +the festival of St. Regulus, the wild stags assembled at the tomb of the +saint, as the ravens used to do at that of St. Apollinar of Ravenna. St. +Erasmus was the special protector of oxen, and they knelt down voluntarily +before his shrine. St. Antony was the protector of hogs, who were usually +introduced into his pictures. St. Bridget kept pigs, and a wild boar came +from the forest to subject itself to her rule. A horse foreshadowed by its +lamentations the death of St. Columba. The three companions of St. Colman +were a cock, a mouse, and a fly. The cock announced the hour of devotion, +the mouse bit the ear of the drowsy saint till he got up, and if in the +course of his studies he was afflicted by any wandering thoughts, or +called away to other business, the fly alighted on the line where he had +left off, and kept the place. Legends, not without a certain whimsical +beauty, described the moral qualities existing in animals. A hermit was +accustomed to share his supper with a wolf, which, one evening entering +the cell before the return of the master, stole a loaf of bread. Struck +with remorse, it was a week before it ventured again to visit the cell, +and when it did so, its head hung down, and its whole demeanour manifested +the most profound contrition. The hermit "stroked with a gentle hand its +bowed down head," and gave it a double portion as a token of forgiveness. +A lioness knelt down with lamentations before another saint, and then led +him to its cub, which was blind, but which received its sight at the +prayer of the saint. Next day the lioness returned, bearing the skin of a +wild beast as a mark of its gratitude. Nearly the same thing happened to +St. Macarius of Alexandria; a hyena knocked at his door, brought its +young, which was blind, and which the saint restored to sight, and repaid +the obligation soon afterwards by bringing a fleece of wool. "O hyena!" +said the saint, "how did you obtain this fleece? you must have stolen and +eaten a sheep." Full of shame, the hyena hung its head down, but persisted +in offering its gift, which, however, the holy man refused to receive till +the hyena "had sworn" to cease for the future to rob. The hyena bowed its +head in token of its acceptance of the oath, and St. Macarius afterwards +gave the fleece to St. Melania. Other legends simply speak of the sympathy +between saints and the irrational world. The birds came at the call of St. +Cuthbert, and a dead bird was resuscitated by his prayer. When St. +Aengussius, in felling wood, had cut his hand, the birds gathered round, +and with loud cries lamented his misfortune. A little bird, struck down +and mortally wounded by a hawk, fell at the feet of St. Kieranus, who shed +tears as he looked upon its torn breast, and offered up a prayer, upon +which the bird was instantly healed.(377) + +Many hundreds, I should perhaps hardly exaggerate were I to say many +thousands, of legends of this kind exist in the lives of the saints. +Suggested in the first instance by that desert life which was at once the +earliest phase of monachism and one of the earliest sources of Christian +mythology, strengthened by the symbolism which represented different +virtues and vices under the forms of animals, and by the reminiscences of +the rites and the superstitions of Paganism, the connection between men +and animals became the keynote of an infinite variety of fantastic tales. +In our eyes they may appear extravagantly puerile, yet it will scarcely, I +hope, be necessary to apologise for introducing them into what purports to +be a grave work, when it is remembered that for many centuries they were +universally accepted by mankind, and were so interwoven with all local +traditions, and with all the associations of education, that they at once +determined and reflected the inmost feelings of the heart. Their tendency +to create a certain feeling of sympathy towards animals is manifest, and +this is probably the utmost the Catholic Church has done in that +direction.(378) A very few authentic instances may, indeed, be cited of +saints whose natural gentleness of disposition was displayed in kindness +to the animal world. Of St. James of Venice--an obscure saint of the +thirteenth century--it is told that he was accustomed to buy and release +the birds with which Italian boys used to play by attaching them to +strings, saying that "he pitied the little birds of the Lord," and that +his "tender charity recoiled from all cruelty, even to the most diminutive +of animals."(379) St. Francis of Assisi was a more conspicuous example of +the same spirit. "If I could only be presented to the emperor," he used to +say, "I would pray him, for the love of God, and of me, to issue an edict +prohibiting any one from catching or imprisoning my sisters the larks, and +ordering that all who have oxen or asses should at Christmas feed them +particularly well." A crowd of legends turning upon this theme were +related of him. A wolf, near Gubbio, being adjured by him, promised to +abstain from eating sheep, placed its paw in the hand of the saint to +ratify the promise, and was afterwards fed from house to house by the +inhabitants of the city. A crowd of birds, on another occasion, came to +hear the saint preach, as fish did to hear St. Antony of Padua. A falcon +awoke him at his hour of prayer. A grasshopper encouraged him by her +melody to sing praises to God. The noisy swallows kept silence when he +began to teach.(380) + +On the whole, however, Catholicism has done very little to inculcate +humanity to animals. The fatal vice of theologians, who have always looked +upon others solely through the medium of their own special dogmatic views, +has been an obstacle to all advance in this direction. The animal world, +being altogether external to the scheme of redemption, was regarded as +beyond the range of duty, and the belief that we have any kind of +obligation to its members has never been inculcated--has never, I believe, +been even admitted--by Catholic theologians. In the popular legends, and in +the recorded traits of individual amiability, it is curious to observe how +constantly those who have sought to inculcate kindness to animals have +done so by endeavouring to associate them with something distinctively +Christian. The legends I have noticed glorified them as the companions of +the saints. The stag was honoured as especially commissioned to reveal the +relics of saints, and as the deadly enemy of the serpent. In the feast of +asses, that animal was led with veneration into the churches, and a rude +hymn proclaimed its dignity, because it had borne Christ in His flight to +Egypt, and in His entry into Jerusalem. St. Francis always treated lambs +with a peculiar tenderness, as being symbols of his Master. Luther grew +sad and thoughtful at a hare hunt, for it seemed to him to represent the +pursuit of souls by the devil. Many popular legends exist, associating +some bird or animal with some incident in the evangelical narrative, and +securing for them in consequence an unmolested life. But such influences +have never extended far. There are two distinct objects which may be +considered by moralists in this sphere. They may regard the character of +the men, or they may regard the sufferings of the animals. The amount of +callousness or of conscious cruelty displayed or elicited by amusements or +practices that inflict suffering on animals, bears no kind of proportion +to the intensity of that suffering. Could we follow with adequate +realisation the pangs of the wounded birds that are struck down in our +sports, or of the timid hare in the long course of its flight, we should +probably conclude that they were not really less than those caused by the +Spanish bull-fight, or by the English pastimes of the last century. But +the excitement of the chase refracts the imagination, and owing to the +diminutive size of the victim, and the undemonstrative character of its +suffering, these sports do not exercise that prejudicial influence upon +character which they would exercise if the sufferings of the animals were +vividly realised, and were at the same time accepted as an element of the +enjoyment. The class of amusements of which the ancient combats of wild +beasts form the type, have no doubt nearly disappeared from Christendom, +and it is possible that the softening power of Christian teaching may have +had some indirect influence in abolishing them; but a candid judgment will +confess that it has been very little. During the periods, and in the +countries, in which theological influence was supreme, they were +unchallenged.(381) They disappeared(382) at last, because a luxurious and +industrial civilisation involved a refinement of manners; because a +fastidious taste recoiled with a sensation of disgust from pleasures that +an uncultivated taste would keenly relish; because the drama, at once +reflecting and accelerating the change, gave a new form to popular +amusements, and because, in consequence of this revolution, the old +pastimes, being left to the dregs of society, became the occasions of +scandalous disorders.(383) In Protestant countries the clergy have, on the +whole, sustained this movement. In Catholic countries it has been much +more faithfully represented by the school of Voltaire and Beccaria. A +judicious moralist may, however, reasonably question whether amusements +which derive their zest from a display of the natural ferocious instincts +of animals, and which substitute death endured in the frenzy of combat for +death in the remote slaughter-house or by the slow process of decay, have +added in any appreciable degree to the sum of animal misery, and in these +cases he will dwell less upon the suffering inflicted than upon the +injurious influence the spectacle may sometimes exercise on the character +of the spectator. But there are forms of cruelty which must be regarded in +a different light. The horrors of vivisection, often so wantonly, so +needlessly practised,(384) the prolonged and atrocious tortures, sometimes +inflicted in order to procure some gastronomic delicacy, are so far +removed from the public gaze that they exercise little influence on the +character of men. Yet no humane man can reflect upon them without a +shudder. To bring these things within the range of ethics, to create the +notion of duties towards the animal world, has, so far as Christian +countries are concerned, been one of the peculiar merits of the last +century, and, for the most part, of Protestant nations. However fully we +may recognise the humane spirit transmitted to the world in the form of +legends from the saints of the desert, it must not be forgotten that the +inculcation of humanity to animals on a wide scale is mainly the work of a +recent and a secular age; that the Mohammedans and the Brahmins have in +this sphere considerably surpassed the Christians, and that Spain and +Southern Italy, in which Catholicism has most deeply planted its roots, +are even now, probably beyond all other countries in Europe, those in +which inhumanity to animals is most wanton and most unrebuked. + +The influence the first form of monachism has exercised upon the world, so +far as it has been beneficial, has been chiefly through the imagination, +which has been fascinated by its legends. In the great periods of +theological controversy, the Eastern monks had furnished some leading +theologians; but in general, in Oriental lands, the hermit life +predominated, and extreme maceration was the chief merit of the saint. But +in the West, monachism assumed very different forms, and exercised far +higher functions. At first the Oriental saints were the ideals of Western +monks. The Eastern St. Athanasius had been the founder of Italian +monachism. St. Martin of Tours excluded labour from the discipline of his +monks, and he and they, like the Eastern saints, were accustomed to wander +abroad, destroying the idols of the temples.(385) But three great causes +conspired to direct the monastic spirit in the West into practical +channels. Conditions of race and climate have ever impelled the +inhabitants of these lands to active life, and have at the same time +rendered them constitutionally incapable of enduring the austerities or +enjoying the hallucinations of the sedentary Oriental. There arose, too, +in the sixth century, a great legislator, whose form may be dimly traced +through a cloud of fantastic legends, and the order of St. Benedict, with +that of St. Columba and some others, founded on substantially the same +principle, soon ramified through the greater part of Europe, tempered the +wild excesses of useless penances, and, making labour an essential part of +the monastic system, directed the movement to the purposes of general +civilisation. In the last place, the barbarian invasions, and the +dissolution of the Western Empire, dislocating the whole system of +government and almost resolving society into its primitive elements, +naturally threw upon the monastic corporations social, political, and +intellectual functions of the deepest importance. + +It has been observed that the capture of Rome by Alaric, involving as it +did the destruction of the grandest religious monuments of Paganism, in +fact established in that city the supreme authority of Christianity.(386) +A similar remark may be extended to the general downfall of the Western +civilisation. In that civilisation Christianity had indeed been legally +enthroned; but the philosophies and traditions of Paganism, and the +ingrained habits of an ancient, and at the same time an effete society, +continually paralysed its energies. What Europe would have been without +the barbarian invasions, we may partly divine from the history of the +Lower Empire, which represented, in fact, the old Roman civilisation +prolonged and Christianised. The barbarian conquests, breaking up the old +organisation, provided the Church with a virgin soil, and made it, for a +long period, the supreme and indeed sole centre of civilisation. + +It would be difficult to exaggerate the skill and courage displayed by the +ecclesiastics in this most trying period. We have already seen the noble +daring with which they interfered between the conqueror and the +vanquished, and the unwearied charity with which they sought to alleviate +the unparalleled sufferings of Italy, when the colonial supplies of corn +were cut off, and when the fairest plains were desolated by the +barbarians. Still more wonderful is the rapid conversion of the barbarian +tribes. Unfortunately this, which is one of the most important, is also +one of the most obscure pages in the history of the Church. Of whole +tribes or nations it may be truly said that we are absolutely ignorant of +the cause of their change. The Goths had already been converted by +Ulphilas, before the downfall of the Empire, and the conversion of the +Germans and of several northern nations was long posterior to it; but the +great work of Christianising the barbarian world was accomplished almost +in the hour when that world became supreme. Rude tribes, accustomed in +their own lands to pay absolute obedience to their priests, found +themselves in a foreign country, confronted by a priesthood far more +civilised and imposing than that which they had left, by gorgeous +ceremonies, well fitted to entice, and by threats of coming judgment, well +fitted to scare their imaginations. Disconnected from all their old +associations, they bowed before the majesty of civilisation, and the Latin +religion, like the Latin language, though with many adulterations, reigned +over the new society. The doctrine of exclusive salvation, and the +doctrine of dæmons, had an admirable missionary power. The first produced +an ardour of proselytising which the polytheist could never rival; while +the Pagan, who was easily led to recognise the Christian God, was menaced +with eternal fire if he did not take the further step of breaking off from +his old divinities. The second dispensed the convert from the perhaps +impossible task of disbelieving his former religion, for it was only +necessary for him to degrade it, attributing its prodigies to infernal +beings. The priests, in addition to their noble devotion, carried into +their missionary efforts the most masterly judgment. The barbarian tribes +usually followed without enquiry the religion of their sovereign; and it +was to the conversion of the king, and still more to the conversion of the +queen, that the Christians devoted all their energies. Clotilda, the wife +of Clovis, Bertha, the wife of Ethelbert, and Theodolinda, the wife of +Lothaire, were the chief instruments in converting their husbands and +their nations. Nothing that could affect the imagination was neglected. It +is related of Clotilda, that she was careful to attract her husband by the +rich draperies of the ecclesiastical ceremonies.(387) In another case, the +first work of proselytising was confided to an artist, who painted before +the terrified Pagans the last judgment and the torments of hell.(388) But +especially the belief, which was sincerely held, and sedulously +inculcated, that temporal success followed in the train of Christianity, +and that every pestilence, famine, or military disaster was the penalty of +idolatry, heresy, sacrilege, or vice, assisted the movement. The theory +was so wide, that it met every variety of fortune, and being taught with +consummate skill, to barbarians who were totally destitute of all critical +power, and strongly predisposed to accept it, it proved extremely +efficacious; and hope, fear, gratitude, and remorse drew multitudes into +the Church. The transition was softened by the substitution of Christian +ceremonies and saints for the festivals and the divinities of the +Pagans.(389) Besides the professed missionaries, the Christian captives +zealously diffused their faith among their Pagan masters. When the +chieftain had been converted, and the army had followed his profession, an +elaborate monastic and ecclesiastical organisation grew up to consolidate +the conquest, and repressive laws soon crushed all opposition to the +faith. + +In these ways the victory of Christianity over the barbarian world was +achieved. But that victory, though very great, was less decisive than +might appear. A religion which professed to be Christianity, and which +contained many of the ingredients of pure Christianity, had risen into the +ascendant, but it had undergone a profound modification through the +struggle. Religions, as well as worshippers, had been baptised. The +festivals, images, and names of saints had been substituted for those of +the idols, and the habits of thought and feeling of the ancient faith +reappeared in new forms and a new language. The tendency to a material, +idolatrous, and polytheistic faith, which had long been encouraged by the +monks, and which the heretics Jovinian, Vigilantius, and Aerius had vainly +resisted, was fatally strengthened by the infusion of a barbarian element +into the Church, by the general depression of intellect in Europe, and by +the many accommodations that were made to facilitate conversion. Though +apparently defeated and crushed, the old gods still retained, under a new +faith, no small part of their influence over the world. + +To this tendency the leaders of the Church made in general no resistance, +though in another form they were deeply persuaded of the vitality of the +old gods. Many curious and picturesque legends attest the popular belief +that the old Roman and the old barbarian divinities, in their capacity of +dæmons, were still waging an unrelenting war against the triumphant faith. +A great Pope of the sixth century relates how a Jew, being once benighted +on his journey, and finding no other shelter for the night, lay down to +rest in an abandoned temple of Apollo. Shuddering at the loneliness of the +building, and fearing the dæmons who were said to haunt it, he determined, +though not a Christian, to protect himself by the sign of the cross, which +he had often heard possessed a mighty power against spirits. To that sign +he owed his safety. For at midnight the temple was filled with dark and +threatening forms. The god Apollo was holding his court at his deserted +shrine, and his attendant dæmons were recounting the temptations they had +devised against the Christians.(390) A newly married Roman, when one day +playing ball, took off his wedding-ring, which he found an impediment in +the game, and he gaily put it on the finger of a statue of Venus, that was +standing near. When he returned, the marble finger had bent so that it was +impossible to withdraw the ring, and that night the goddess appeared to +him in a dream, and told him that she was now his wedded wife, and that +she would abide with him for ever.(391) When the Irish missionary St. Gall +was fishing one night upon a Swiss lake, near which he had planted a +monastery, he heard strange voices sweeping over the lonely deep. The +Spirit of the Water and the Spirit of the Mountains were consulting +together how they could expel the intruder who had disturbed their ancient +reign.(392) + +The details of the rapid propagation of Western monachism have been amply +treated by many historians, and the causes of its success are sufficiently +manifest. Some of the reasons I have assigned for the first spread of +asceticism continued to operate, while others of a still more powerful +kind had arisen. The rapid decomposition of the entire Roman Empire by +continuous invasions of barbarians rendered the existence of an inviolable +asylum and centre of peaceful labour a matter of transcendent importance, +and the monastery as organised by St. Benedict soon combined the most +heterogeneous elements of attraction. It was at once eminently +aristocratic and intensely democratic. The power and princely position of +the abbot were coveted, and usually obtained, by members of the most +illustrious families; while emancipated serfs, or peasants who had lost +their all in the invasions, or were harassed by savage nobles, or had fled +from military service, or desired to lead a more secure and easy life, +found in the monastery an unfailing refuge. The institution exercised all +the influence of great wealth, expended for the most part with great +charity, while the monk himself was invested with the aureole of a sacred +poverty. To ardent and philanthropic natures, the profession opened +boundless vistas of missionary, charitable, and civilising activity. To +the superstitious it was the plain road to heaven. To the ambitious it was +the portal to bishoprics, and, after the monk St. Gregory, not +unfrequently to the Popedom. To the studious it offered the only +opportunity then existing in the world of seeing many books and passing a +life of study. To the timid and retiring it afforded the most secure, and +probably the least laborious life a poor peasant could hope to find. Vast +as were the multitudes that thronged the monasteries, the means for their +support were never wanting. The belief that gifts or legacies to a +monastery opened the doors of heaven was in a superstitious age sufficient +to secure for the community an almost boundless wealth, which was still +further increased by the skill and perseverance with which the monks +tilled the waste lands, by the exemption of their domains from all +taxation, and by the tranquillity which in the most turbulent ages they +usually enjoyed. In France, the Low Countries, and Germany they were +pre-eminently agriculturists. Gigantic forests were felled, inhospitable +marshes reclaimed, barren plains cultivated by their hands. The monastery +often became the nucleus of a city. It was the centre of civilisation and +industry, the symbol of moral power in an age of turbulence and war. + +It must be observed, however, that the beneficial influence of the +monastic system was necessarily transitional, and the subsequent +corruption the normal and inevitable result of its constitution. Vast +societies living in enforced celibacy, exercising an unbounded influence, +and possessing enormous wealth, must necessarily have become hotbeds of +corruption when the enthusiasm that had created them expired. The services +they rendered as the centres of agriculture, the refuge of travellers, the +sanctuaries in war, the counterpoise of the baronial castle, were no +longer required when the convulsions of invasion had ceased and when civil +society was definitely organised. And a similar observation may be +extended even to their moral type. Thus, while it is undoubtedly true that +the Benedictine monks, by making labour an essential element of their +discipline, did very much to efface the stigma which slavery had affixed +upon it, it is also true that, when industry had passed out of its initial +stage, the monastic theories of the sanctity of poverty, and the evil of +wealth, were its most deadly opponents. The dogmatic condemnation by +theologians of loans at interest, which are the basis of industrial +enterprise, was the expression of a far deeper antagonism of tendencies +and ideals. + +In one important respect, the transition from the eremite to the monastic +life involved not only a change of circumstances, but also a change of +character. The habit of obedience, and the virtue of humility, assumed a +position which they had never previously occupied. The conditions of the +hermit life contributed to develop to a very high degree a spirit of +independence and spiritual pride, which was still further increased by a +curious habit that existed in the Church of regarding each eminent hermit +as the special model or professor of some particular virtue, and making +pilgrimages to him, in order to study this aspect of his character.(393) +These pilgrimages, combined with the usually solitary and self-sufficing +life of the hermit, and also with the habit of measuring progress almost +entirely by the suppression of a physical appetite, which it is quite +possible wholly to destroy, very naturally produced an extreme +arrogance.(394) But in the highly organised and disciplined monasteries of +the West, passive obedience and humility were the very first things that +were inculcated. The monastery, beyond all other institutions, was the +school for their exercise; and as the monk represented the highest moral +ideal of the age, obedience and humility acquired a new value in the minds +of men. Nearly all the feudal and other organisations that arose out of +the chaos that followed the destruction of the Roman Empire were +intimately related to the Church, not simply because the Church was the +strongest power in Christendom, and supplied in itself an admirable model +of an organised body, but also because it had done much to educate men in +habits of obedience. The special value of this education depended upon the +peculiar circumstances of the time. The ancient civilisations, and +especially that of Rome, had been by no means deficient in those habits; +but it was in the midst of the dissolution of an old society, and of the +ascendancy of barbarians, who exaggerated to the highest degree their +personal independence, that the Church proposed to the reverence of +mankind a life of passive obedience as the highest ideal of virtue. + +The habit of obedience was no new thing in the world, but the disposition +of humility was pre-eminently and almost exclusively a Christian virtue; +and there has probably never been any sphere in which it has been so +largely and so successfully inculcated as in the monastery. The whole +penitential discipline, the entire mode or tenor of the monastic life, was +designed to tame every sentiment of pride, and to give humility a foremost +place in the hierarchy of virtues. We have here one great source of the +mollifying influence of Catholicism. The gentler virtues--benevolence and +amiability--may, and in an advanced civilisation often do, subsist in +natures that are completely devoid of genuine humility; but, on the other +hand, it is scarcely possible for a nature to be pervaded by a deep +sentiment of humility without this sentiment exercising a softening +influence over the whole character. To transform a fierce warlike nature +into a character of a gentler type, the first essential is to awaken this +feeling. In the monasteries, the extinction of social and domestic +feelings, the narrow corporate spirit, and, still more, the atrocious +opinions that were prevalent concerning the guilt of heresy, produced in +many minds an extreme and most active ferocity; but the practice of +charity, and the ideal of humility, never failed to exercise some +softening influence upon Christendom. + +But, however advantageous the temporary pre-eminence of this moral type +may have been, it was obviously unsuited for a later stage of +civilisation. Political liberty is almost impossible where the monastic +system is supreme, not merely because the monasteries divert the energies +of the nation from civic to ecclesiastical channels, but also because the +monastic ideal is the very apotheosis of servitude. Catholicism has been +admirably fitted at once to mitigate and to perpetuate despotism. When men +have learnt to reverence a life of passive, unreasoning obedience as the +highest type of perfection, the enthusiasm and passion of freedom +necessarily decline. In this respect there is an analogy between the +monastic and the military spirit, both of which promote and glorify +passive obedience, and therefore prepare the minds of men for despotic +rule; but, on the whole, the monastic spirit is probably more hostile to +freedom than the military spirit, for the obedience of the monk is based +upon humility, while the obedience of the soldier coexists with pride. +Now, a considerable measure of pride, or self-assertion, is an invariable +characteristic of free communities. + +The ascendancy which the monastic system gave to the virtue of humility +has not continued. This virtue is indeed the crowning grace and beauty of +the most perfect characters of the saintly type; but experience has shown +that among common men humility is more apt to degenerate into servility +than pride into arrogance; and modern moralists have appealed more +successfully to the sense of dignity than to the opposite feeling. Two of +the most important steps of later moral history have consisted of the +creation of a sentiment of pride as the parent and the guardian of many +virtues. The first of these encroachments on the monastic spirit was +chivalry, which called into being a proud and jealous military honour that +has never since been extinguished. The second was the creation of that +feeling of self-respect which is one of the most remarkable +characteristics that distinguish Protestant from the most Catholic +populations, and which has proved among the former an invaluable moral +agent, forming frank and independent natures, and checking every servile +habit and all mean and degrading vice.(395) The peculiar vigour with which +it has been developed in Protestant countries may be attributed to the +suppression of monastic institutions and habits; to the stigma +Protestantism has attached to mendicancy, which Catholicism has usually +glorified and encouraged; to the high place Protestantism has accorded to +private judgment and personal responsibility; and lastly, to the action of +free political institutions, which have taken deepest root where the +principles of the Reformation have been accepted. + + ------------------------------------- + +The relation of the monasteries to the intellectual virtues, which we have +next to examine, opens out a wide field of discussion; and, in order to +appreciate it, it will be necessary to revert briefly to a somewhat +earlier stage of ecclesiastical history. And in the first place, it may be +observed, that the phrase intellectual virtue, which is often used in a +metaphorical sense, is susceptible of a strictly literal interpretation. +If a sincere and active desire for truth be a moral duty, the discipline +and the dispositions that are plainly involved in every honest search fall +rigidly within the range of ethics. To love truth sincerely means to +pursue it with an earnest, conscientious, unflagging zeal. It means to be +prepared to follow the light of evidence even to the most unwelcome +conclusions; to labour earnestly to emancipate the mind from early +prejudices; to resist the current of the desires, and the refracting +influence of the passions; to proportion on all occasions conviction to +evidence, and to be ready, if need be, to exchange the calm of assurance +for all the suffering of a perplexed and disturbed mind. To do this is +very difficult and very painful; but it is clearly involved in the notion +of earnest love of truth. If, then, any system stigmatises as criminal the +state of doubt, denounces the examination of some one class of arguments +or facts, seeks to introduce the bias of the affections into the enquiries +of the reason, or regards the honest conclusion of an upright investigator +as involving moral guilt, that system is subversive of intellectual +honesty. + +Among the ancients, although the methods of enquiry were often very +faulty, and generalisations very hasty, a respect for the honest search +after truth was widely diffused.(396) There were, as we have already seen, +instances in which certain religious practices which were regarded as +attestations of loyalty, or as necessary to propitiate the gods in favour +of the State, were enforced by law; there were even a few instances of +philosophies, which were believed to lead directly to immoral results or +social convulsions, being suppressed; but, as a general rule, speculation +was untrammelled, the notion of there being any necessary guilt in +erroneous opinion was unknown, and the boldest enquirers were regarded +with honour and admiration. The religious theory of Paganism had in this +respect some influence. Polytheism, with many faults, had three great +merits. It was eminently poetical, eminently patriotic, and eminently +tolerant. The conception of a vast hierarchy of beings more glorious than, +but not wholly unlike, men, presiding over all the developments of nature, +and filling the universe with their deeds, supplied the chief nutriment of +the Greek imagination. The national religions, interweaving religious +ceremonies and associations with all civic life, concentrated and +intensified the sentiment of patriotism, and the notion of many distinct +groups of gods led men to tolerate many forms of worship and great variety +of creeds. In that colossal amalgam of nations of which Rome became the +metropolis, intellectual liberty still further advanced; the vast variety +of philosophies and beliefs expatiated unmolested; the search for truth +was regarded as an important element of virtue, and the relentless and +most sceptical criticism which Socrates had applied in turn to all the +fundamental propositions of popular belief remained as an example to his +successors. + +We have already seen that one leading cause of the rapid progress of the +Church was that its teachers enforced their distinctive tenets as +absolutely essential to salvation, and thus assailed at a great advantage +the supporters of all other creeds which did not claim this exclusive +authority. We have seen, too, that in an age of great and growing +credulity they had been conspicuous for their assertion of the duty of +absolute, unqualified, and unquestioning belief. The notion of the guilt +both of error and of doubt grew rapidly, and, being soon regarded as a +fundamental tenet, it determined the whole course and policy of the +Church. + +And here, I think, it will not be unadvisable to pause for a moment, and +endeavour to ascertain what misconceived truth lay at the root of this +fatal tenet. Considered abstractedly and by the light of nature, it is as +unmeaning to speak of the immorality of an intellectual mistake as it +would be to talk of the colour of a sound. If a man has sincerely +persuaded himself that it is possible for parallel lines to meet, or for +two straight lines to enclose a space, we pronounce his judgment to be +absurd; but it is free from all tincture of immorality. And if, instead of +failing to appreciate a demonstrable truth, his error consisted in a false +estimate of the conflicting arguments of an historical problem, this +mistake--assuming always that the enquiry was an upright one--is still +simply external to the sphere of morals. It is possible that his +conclusion, by weakening some barrier against vice, may produce vicious +consequences, like those which might ensue from some ill-advised +modification of the police force; but it in no degree follows from this +that the judgment is in itself criminal. If a student applies himself with +the same dispositions to Roman and Jewish histories, the mistakes he may +make in the latter are no more immoral than those which he may make in the +former. + +There are, however, two cases in which an intellectual error may be justly +said to involve, or at least to represent, guilt. In the first place, +error very frequently springs from the partial or complete absence of that +mental disposition which is implied in a real love of truth. Hypocrites, +or men who through interested motives profess opinions which they do not +really believe, are probably rarer than is usually supposed; but it would +be difficult to over-estimate the number of those whose genuine +convictions are due to the unresisted bias of their interests. By the term +interests, I mean not only material well-being, but also all those mental +luxuries, all those grooves or channels for thought, which it is easy and +pleasing to follow, and painful and difficult to abandon. Such are the +love of ease, the love of certainty, the love of system, the bias of the +passions, the associations of the imagination, as well as the coarser +influences of social position, domestic happiness, professional interest, +party feeling, or ambition. In most men, the love of truth is so languid, +and the reluctance to encounter mental suffering is so great, that they +yield their judgments without an effort to the current, withdraw their +minds from all opinions or arguments opposed to their own, and thus +speedily convince themselves of the truth of what they wish to believe. He +who really loves truth is bound at least to endeavour to resist these +distorting influences, and in as far as his opinions are the result of his +not having done so, in so far they represent a moral failing. + +In the next place, it must be observed that every moral disposition brings +with it an intellectual bias which exercises a great and often a +controlling and decisive influence even upon the most earnest enquirer. If +we know the character or disposition of a man, we can usually predict with +tolerable accuracy many of his opinions. We can tell to what side of +politics, to what canons of taste, to what theory of morals he will +naturally incline. Stern, heroic, and haughty natures tend to systems in +which these qualities occupy the foremost position in the moral type, +while gentle natures will as naturally lean towards systems in which the +amiable virtues are supreme. Impelled by a species of moral gravitation, +the enquirer will glide insensibly to the system which is congruous to his +disposition, and intellectual difficulties will seldom arrest him. He can +have observed human nature with but little fruit who has not remarked how +constant is this connection, and how very rarely men change fundamentally +the principles they had deliberately adopted on religious, moral, or even +political questions, without the change being preceded, accompanied, or +very speedily followed, by a serious modification of character. So, too, a +vicious and depraved nature, or a nature which is hard, narrow, and +unsympathetic, will tend, much less by calculation or indolence than by +natural affinity, to low and degrading views of human nature. Those who +have never felt the higher emotions will scarcely appreciate them. The +materials with which the intellect builds are often derived from the +heart, and a moral disease is therefore not unfrequently at the root of an +erroneous judgment. + +Of these two truths the first cannot, I think, be said to have had any +influence in the formation of the theological notion of the guilt of +error. An elaborate process of mental discipline, with a view to +strengthening the critical powers of the mind, is utterly remote from the +spirit of theology; and this is one of the great reasons why the growth of +an inductive and scientific spirit is invariably hostile to theological +interests. To raise the requisite standard of proof, to inculcate hardness +and slowness of belief, is the first task of the inductive reasoner. He +looks with great favour upon the condition of a suspended judgment; he +encourages men rather to prolong than to abridge it; he regards the +tendency of the human mind to rapid and premature generalisations as one +of its most fatal vices; he desires especially that that which is believed +should not be so cherished that the mind should be indisposed to admit +doubt, or, on the appearance of new arguments, to revise with impartiality +its conclusions. Nearly all the greatest intellectual achievements of the +last three centuries have been preceded and prepared by the growth of +scepticism. The historic scepticism which Vico, Beaufort, Pouilly, and +Voltaire in the last century, and Niebuhr and Lewis in the present +century, applied to ancient history, lies at the root of all the great +modern efforts to reconstruct the history of mankind. The splendid +discoveries of physical science would have been impossible but for the +scientific scepticism of the school of Bacon, which dissipated the old +theories of the universe, and led men to demand a severity of proof +altogether unknown to the ancients. The philosophic scepticism with which +the system of Hume ended and the system of Kant began, has given the +greatest modern impulse to metaphysics and ethics. Exactly in proportion, +therefore, as men are educated in the inductive school, they are alienated +from those theological systems which represent a condition of doubt as +sinful, seek to govern the reason by the interests and the affections, and +make it a main object to destroy the impartiality of the judgment. + +But although it is difficult to look upon Catholicism in any other light +than as the most deadly enemy of the scientific spirit, it has always +cordially recognised the most important truth, that character in a very +great measure determines opinions. To cultivate the moral type that is +most congenial to the opinions it desires to recommend has always been its +effort, and the conviction that a deviation from that type has often been +the predisposing cause of intellectual heresy, had doubtless a large share +in the first persuasion of the guilt of error. But priestly and other +influences soon conspired to enlarge this doctrine. A crowd of +speculative, historical, and administrative propositions were asserted as +essential to salvation, and all who rejected them were wholly external to +the bond of Christian sympathy. + +If, indeed, we put aside the pure teaching of the Christian founders, and +consider the actual history of the Church since Constantine, we shall find +no justification for the popular theory that beneath its influence the +narrow spirit of patriotism faded into a wide and cosmopolitan +philanthropy. A real though somewhat languid feeling of universal +brotherhood had already been created in the world by the universality of +the Roman Empire. In the new faith the range of genuine sympathy was +strictly limited by the creed. According to the popular belief, all who +differed from the teaching of the orthodox lived under the hatred of the +Almighty, and were destined after death for an eternity of anguish. Very +naturally, therefore, they were wholly alienated from the true believers, +and no moral or intellectual excellence could atone for their crime in +propagating error. The eighty or ninety sects,(397) into which +Christianity speedily divided, hated one another with an intensity that +extorted the wonder of Julian and the ridicule of the Pagans of +Alexandria, and the fierce riots and persecutions that hatred produced +appear in every page of ecclesiastical history. There is, indeed, +something at once grotesque and ghastly in the spectacle. The Donatists, +having separated from the orthodox simply on the question of the validity +of the consecration of a certain bishop, declared that all who adopted the +orthodox view must be damned, refused to perform their rites in the +orthodox churches which they had seized, till they had burnt the altar and +scraped the wood, beat multitudes to death with clubs, blinded others by +anointing their eyes with lime, filled Africa, during nearly two +centuries, with war and desolation, and contributed largely to its final +ruin.(398) The childish and almost unintelligible quarrels between the +Homoiousians and the Homoousians, between those who maintained that the +nature of Christ was like that of the Father and those who maintained that +it was the same, filled the world with riot and hatred. The Catholics tell +how an Arian Emperor caused eighty orthodox priests to be drowned on a +single occasion;(399) how three thousand persons perished in the riots +that convulsed Constantinople when the Arian Bishop Macedonius superseded +the Athanasian Paul;(400) how George of Cappadocia, the Arian Bishop of +Alexandria, caused the widows of the Athanasian party to be scourged on +the soles of their feet, the holy virgins to be stripped naked, to be +flogged with the prickly branches of palm-trees, or to be slowly scorched +over fires till they abjured their creed.(401) The triumph of the +Catholics in Egypt was accompanied (if we may believe the solemn +assertions of eighty Arian Bishops) by every variety of plunder, murder, +sacrilege, and outrage,(402) and Arius himself was probably poisoned by +Catholic hands.(403) The followers of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who were +chiefly monks, filled their city with riot and bloodshed, wounded the +prefect Orestes, dragged the pure and gifted Hypatia into one of their +churches, murdered her, tore the flesh from her bones with sharp shells, +and, having stripped her body naked, flung her mangled remains into the +flames.(404) In Ephesus, during the contest between St. Cyril and the +Nestorians, the cathedral itself was the theatre of a fierce and bloody +conflict.(405) Constantinople, on the occasion of the deposition of St. +Chrysostom, was for several days in a condition of absolute anarchy.(406) +After the Council of Chalcedon, Jerusalem and Alexandria were again +convulsed, and the bishop of the latter city was murdered in his +baptistery.(407) About fifty years later, when the Monophysite controversy +was at its height, the palace of the emperor at Constantinople was +blockaded, the churches were besieged, and the streets commanded by +furious bands of contending monks.(408) Repressed for a time, the riots +broke out two years after with an increased ferocity, and almost every +leading city of the East was filled by the monks with bloodshed and with +outrage.(409) St. Augustine himself is accused of having excited every +kind of popular persecution against the Semi-Pelagians.(410) The Councils, +animated by an almost frantic hatred, urged on by their anathemas the +rival sects.(411) In the "Robber Council" of Ephesus, Flavianus, the +Bishop of Constantinople, was kicked and beaten by the Bishop of +Alexandria, or at least by his followers, and a few days later died from +the effect of the blows.(412) In the contested election that resulted in +the election of St. Damasus as Pope of Rome, though no theological +question appears to have been at issue, the riots were so fierce that one +hundred and thirty-seven corpses were found in one of the churches.(413) +The precedent of the Jewish persecutions of idolatry having been adduced +by St. Cyprian, in the third century, in favour of excommunication,(414) +was urged by Optatus, in the reign of Constantine, in favour of +persecuting the Donatists;(415) in the next reign we find a large body of +Christians presenting to the emperor a petition, based upon this +precedent, imploring him to destroy by force the Pagan worship.(416) About +fifteen years later, the whole Christian Church was prepared, on the same +grounds, to support the persecuting policy of St. Ambrose,(417) the +contending sects having found, in the duty of crushing religious liberty, +the solitary tenet on which they were agreed. The most unaggressive and +unobtrusive forms of Paganism were persecuted with the same ferocity.(418) +To offer a sacrifice was to commit a capital offence; to hang up a simple +chaplet was to incur the forfeiture of an estate. The noblest works of +Asiatic architecture and of Greek sculpture perished by the same +iconoclasm that shattered the humble temple at which the peasant loved to +pray, or the household gods which consecrated his home. There were no +varieties of belief too minute for the new intolerance to embitter. The +question of the proper time of celebrating Easter was believed to involve +the issue of salvation or damnation;(419) and when, long after, in the +fourteenth century, the question of the nature of the light at the +transfiguration was discussed at Constantinople, those who refused to +admit that that light was uncreated, were deprived of the honours of +Christian burial.(420) + +Together with these legislative and ecclesiastical measures, a literature +arose surpassing in its mendacious ferocity any other the world had known. +The polemical writers habitually painted as dæmons those who diverged from +the orthodox belief, gloated with a vindictive piety over the sufferings +of the heretic upon earth, as upon a Divine punishment, and sometimes, +with an almost superhuman malice, passing in imagination beyond the +threshold of the grave, exulted in no ambiguous terms on the tortures +which they believed to be reserved for him for ever. A few men, such as +Synesius, Basil, or Salvian, might still find some excellence in Pagans or +heretics, but their candour was altogether exceptional; and he who will +compare the beautiful pictures the Greek poets gave of their Trojan +adversaries, or the Roman historians of the enemies of their country, with +those which ecclesiastical writers, for many centuries, almost invariably +gave of all who were opposed to their Church, may easily estimate the +extent to which cosmopolitan sympathy had retrograded. + +At the period, however, when the Western monasteries began to discharge +their intellectual functions, the supremacy of Catholicism was nearly +established, and polemical ardour had begun to wane. The literary zeal of +the Church took other forms, but all were deeply tinged by the monastic +spirit. It is difficult or impossible to conceive what would have been the +intellectual future of the world had Catholicism never arisen--what +principles or impulses would have guided the course of the human mind, or +what new institutions would have been created for its culture. Under the +influence of Catholicism, the monastery became the one sphere of +intellectual labour, and it continued during many centuries to occupy that +position. Without entering into anything resembling a literary history, +which would be foreign to the objects of the present work, I shall +endeavour briefly to estimate the manner in which it discharged its +functions. + +The first idea that is naturally suggested by the mention of the +intellectual services of monasteries is the preservation of the writings +of the Pagans. I have already observed that among the early Christians +there was a marked difference on the subject of their writings. The school +which was represented by Tertullian regarded them with abhorrence; while +the Platonists, who were represented by Justin Martyr, Clement of +Alexandria, and Origen, not merely recognised with great cordiality their +beauties, but even imagined that they could detect in them both the traces +of an original Divine inspiration, and plagiarisms from the Jewish +writings. While avoiding, for the most part, these extremes, St. +Augustine, the great organiser of Western Christianity, treats the Pagan +writings with appreciative respect. He had himself ascribed his first +conversion from a course of vice to the 'Hortensius' of Cicero, and his +works are full of discriminating, and often very beautiful, applications +of the old Roman literature. The attempt of Julian to prevent the +Christians from teaching the classics, and the extreme resentment which +that attempt elicited, show how highly the Christian leaders of that +period valued this form of education; and it was naturally the more +cherished on account of the contest. The influence of Neoplatonism, the +baptism of multitudes of nominal Christians after Constantine, and the +decline of zeal which necessarily accompanied prosperity, had all in +different ways the same tendency. In Synesius we have the curious +phenomenon of a bishop who, not content with proclaiming himself the +admiring friend of the Pagan Hypatia, openly declared his complete +disbelief in the resurrection of the body, and his firm adhesion to the +Platonic doctrine of the pre-existence of souls.(421) Had the +ecclesiastical theory prevailed which gave such latitude even to the +leaders of the Church, the course of Christianity would have been very +different. A reactionary spirit, however, arose at Rome. The doctrine of +exclusive salvation supplied its intellectual basis; the political and +organising genius of the Roman ecclesiastics impelled them to reduce +belief into a rigid form; the genius of St. Gregory guided the +movement,(422) and a series of historical events, of which the +ecclesiastical and political separation of the Western empire from the +speculative Greeks, and the invasion and conversion of the barbarians, +were the most important, definitely established the ascendancy of the +Catholic type. In the convulsions that followed the barbarian invasions, +intellectual energy of a secular kind almost absolutely ceased. A parting +gleam issued, indeed, in the sixth century, from the Court of Theodoric, +at Ravenna, which was adorned by the genius of Boëthius, and the talent of +Cassiodorus and Symmachus, but after this time, for a long period, +literature consisted almost exclusively of sermons and lives of saints, +which were composed in the monasteries.(423) Gregory of Tours was +succeeded as an annalist by the still feebler Fredegarius, and there was +then a long and absolute blank. A few outlying countries showed some faint +animation. St. Leander and St. Isidore planted at Seville a school, which +flourished in the seventh century, and the distant monasteries of Ireland +continued somewhat later to be the receptacles of learning; but the rest +of Europe sank into an almost absolute torpor, till the rationalism of +Abelard, and the events that followed the crusades, began the revival of +learning. The principal service which Catholicism rendered during this +period to Pagan literature was probably the perpetuation of Latin as a +sacred language. The complete absence of all curiosity about that +literature is shown by the fact that Greek was suffered to become almost +absolutely extinct, though there was no time when the Western nations had +not some relations with the Greek empire, or when pilgrimages to the Holy +Land altogether ceased. The study of the Latin classics was for the most +part positively discouraged. The writers, it was believed, were burning in +hell; the monks were too inflated with their imaginary knowledge to regard +with any respect a Pagan writer, and periodical panics about the +approaching termination of the world continually checked any desire for +secular learning.(424) It was the custom among some monks, when they were +under the discipline of silence, and desired to ask for Virgil, Horace, or +any other Gentile work, to indicate their wish by scratching their ears +like a dog, to which animal it was thought the Pagans might be reasonably +compared.(425) The monasteries contained, it is said, during some time, +the only libraries in Europe, and were therefore the sole receptacles of +the Pagan manuscripts; but we cannot infer from this that, if the +monasteries had not existed, similar libraries would not have been called +into being in their place. To the occasional industry of the monks, in +copying the works of antiquity, we must oppose the industry they +displayed, though chiefly at a somewhat later period, in scraping the +ancient parchments, in order that, having obliterated the writing of the +Pagans, they might cover them with their own legends.(426) + +There are some aspects, however, in which the monastic period of +literature appears eminently beautiful. The fretfulness and impatience and +extreme tension of modern literary life, the many anxieties that paralyse, +and the feverish craving for applause that perverts, so many noble +intellects, were then unknown. Severed from all the cares of active life, +in the deep calm of the monastery, where the turmoil of the outer world +could never come, the monkish scholar pursued his studies in a spirit +which has now almost faded from the world. No doubt had ever disturbed his +mind. To him the problem of the universe seemed solved. Expatiating for +ever with unfaltering faith upon the unseen world, he had learnt to live +for it alone. His hopes were not fixed upon human greatness or fame, but +upon the pardon of his sins, and the rewards of a happier world. A crowd +of quaint and often beautiful legends illustrate the deep union that +subsisted between literature and religion. It is related of Cædmon, the +first great poet of the Anglo-Saxons, that he found in the secular life no +vent for his hidden genius. When the warriors assembled at their banquets, +sang in turn the praises of war or beauty, as the instrument passed to +him, he rose and went out with a sad heart, for he alone was unable to +weave his thoughts in verse. Wearied and desponding he lay down to rest, +when a figure appeared to him in his dream and commanded him to sing the +Creation of the World. A transport of religious fervour thrilled his +brain, his imprisoned intellect was unlocked, and he soon became the +foremost poet of his land.(427) A Spanish boy, having long tried in vain +to master his task, and driven to despair by the severity of his teacher, +ran away from his father's home. Tired with wandering, and full of anxious +thoughts, he sat down to rest by the margin of a well, when his eye was +caught by the deep furrow in the stone. He asked a girl who was drawing +water to explain it, and she told him that it had been worn by the +constant attrition of the rope. The poor boy, who was already full of +remorse for what he had done, recognised in the reply a Divine intimation. +"If," he thought, "by daily use the soft rope could thus penetrate the +hard stone, surely a long perseverance could overcome the dulness of my +brain." He returned to his father's house; he laboured with redoubled +earnestness, and he lived to be the great St. Isidore of Spain.(428) A +monk who had led a vicious life was saved, it is said, from hell, because +it was found that his sins, though very numerous, were just outnumbered by +the letters of a ponderous and devout book he had written.(429) The Holy +Spirit, in the shape of a dove, had been seen to inspire St. Gregory; and +the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas, and of several other theologians, had +been expressly applauded by Christ or by his saints. When, twenty years +after death, the tomb of a certain monkish writer was opened, it was found +that, although the remainder of the body had crumbled into dust, the hand +that had held the pen remained flexible and undecayed.(430) A young and +nameless scholar was once buried near a convent at Bonn. The night after +his funeral, a nun whose cell overlooked the cemetery was awakened by a +brilliant light that filled the room. She started up, imagining that the +day had dawned, but on looking out she found that it was still night, +though a dazzling splendour was around. A female form of matchless +loveliness was bending over the scholar's grave. The effluence of her +beauty filled the air with light, and she clasped to her heart a +snow-white dove that rose to meet her from the tomb. It was the Mother of +God come to receive the soul of the martyred scholar; "for scholars too," +adds the old chronicler, "are martyrs if they live in purity and labour +with courage."(431) + +But legends of this kind, though not without a very real beauty, must not +blind us to the fact that the period of Catholic ascendancy was on the +whole one of the most deplorable in the history of the human mind. The +energies of Christendom were diverted from all useful and progressive +studies, and were wholly expended on theological disquisitions. A crowd of +superstitions, attributed to infallible wisdom, barred the path of +knowledge, and the charge of magic, or the charge of heresy, crushed every +bold enquiry in the sphere of physical nature or of opinions. Above all, +the conditions of true enquiry had been cursed by the Church. A blind +unquestioning credulity was inculcated as the first of duties, and the +habit of doubt, the impartiality of a suspended judgment, the desire to +hear both sides of a disputed question, and to emancipate the judgment +from unreasoning prejudice, were all in consequence condemned. The belief +in the guilt of error and doubt became universal, and that belief may be +confidently pronounced to be the most pernicious superstition that has +ever been accredited among mankind. Mistaken facts are rectified by +enquiry. Mistaken methods of research, though far more inveterate, are +gradually altered; but the spirit that shrinks from enquiry as sinful, and +deems a state of doubt a state of guilt, is the most enduring disease that +can afflict the mind of man. Not till the education of Europe passed from +the monasteries to the universities, not till Mohammedan science, and +classical free-thought, and industrial independence broke the sceptre of +the Church, did the intellectual revival of Europe begin. + +I am aware that so strong a statement of the intellectual darkness of the +middle ages is likely to encounter opposition from many quarters. The +blindness which the philosophers of the eighteenth century manifested to +their better side has produced a reaction which has led many to an +opposite, and, I believe, far more erroneous extreme. Some have become +eulogists of the period, through love of its distinctive theological +doctrines, and others through archæological enthusiasm, while a very +pretentious and dogmatic, but, I think, sometimes superficial, school of +writers, who loudly boast themselves the regenerators of history, and +treat with supreme contempt all the varieties of theological opinion, are +accustomed, partly through a very shallow historical optimism which +scarcely admits the possibility of retrogression, and partly through +sympathy with the despotic character of Catholicism, to extol the mediæval +society in the most extravagant terms. Without entering into a lengthy +examination of this subject, I may be permitted to indicate shortly two or +three fallacies which are continually displayed in their appreciations. + +It is an undoubted truth that, for a considerable period, almost all the +knowledge of Europe was included in the monasteries, and from this it is +continually inferred that, had these institutions not existed, knowledge +would have been absolutely extinguished. But such a conclusion I conceive +to be altogether untrue. During the period of the Pagan empire, +intellectual life had been diffused over a vast portion of the globe. +Egypt and Asia Minor had become great centres of civilisation. Greece was +still a land of learning. Spain, Gaul, and even Britain,(432) were full of +libraries and teachers. The schools of Narbonne, Arles, Bordeaux, +Toulouse, Lyons, Marseilles, Poitiers, and Trèves were already famous. The +Christian emperor Gratian, in A.D. 376, carried out in Gaul a system +similar to that which had already, under the Antonines, been pursued in +Italy, ordaining that teachers should be supported by the State in every +leading city.(433) To suppose that Latin literature, having been so widely +diffused, could have totally perished, or that all interest in it could +have permanently ceased, even under the extremely unfavourable +circumstances that followed the downfall of the Roman Empire and the +Mohammedan invasions, is, I conceive, absurd. If Catholicism had never +existed, the human mind would have sought other spheres for its +development, and at least a part of the treasures of antiquity would have +been preserved in other ways. The monasteries, as corporations of peaceful +men protected from the incursions of the barbarians, became very naturally +the reservoirs to which the streams of literature flowed; but much of what +they are represented as creating, they had in reality only attracted. The +inviolable sanctity which they secured rendered them invaluable +receptacles of ancient learning in a period of anarchy and perpetual war, +and the industry of the monks in transcribing, probably more than +counterbalanced their industry in effacing, the classical writings. The +ecclesiastical unity of Christendom was also of extreme importance in +rendering possible a general interchange of ideas. Whether these services +outweighed the intellectual evils resulting from the complete diversion of +the human mind from all secular learning, and from the persistent +inculcation, as a matter of duty, of that habit of abject credulity which +it is the first task of the intellectual reformer to eradicate, may be +reasonably doubted. + +It is not unfrequent, again, to hear the preceding fallacy stated in a +somewhat different form. We are reminded that almost all the men of genius +during several centuries were great theologians, and we are asked to +conceive the more than Egyptian darkness that would have prevailed had the +Catholic theology which produced them not existed. This judgment resembles +that of the prisoner in a famous passage of Cicero, who, having spent his +entire life in a dark dungeon, and knowing the light of day only from a +single ray which passed through a fissure in the wall, inferred that if +the wall were removed, as the fissure would no longer exist, all light +would be excluded. Mediæval Catholicism discouraged and suppressed in +every way secular studies, while it conferred a monopoly of wealth and +honour and power upon the distinguished theologian. Very naturally, +therefore, it attracted into the path of theology the genius that would +have existed without it, but would under other circumstances have been +displayed in other forms. + +It is not to be inferred, however, from this, that mediæval Catholicism +had not, in the sphere of intellect, any real creative power. A great +moral or religious enthusiasm always evokes a certain amount of genius +that would not otherwise have existed, or at least been displayed, and the +monasteries were peculiarly fitted to develop certain casts of mind, which +in no other sphere could have so perfectly expanded. The great writings of +St. Thomas Aquinas(434) and his followers, and, in more modern times, the +massive and conscientious erudition of the Benedictines, will always make +certain periods of the monastic history venerable to the scholar. But, +when we remember that during many centuries nearly every one possessing +any literary taste or talents became a monk, when we recollect that these +monks were familiar with the language, and might easily have been familiar +with the noble literature, of ancient Rome, and when we also consider the +mode of their life, which would seem, from its freedom from care, and from +the very monotony of its routine, peculiarly calculated to impel them to +study, we can hardly fail to wonder how very little of any real value they +added, for so long a period, to the knowledge of mankind. It is indeed a +remarkable fact that, even in the ages when the Catholic ascendancy was +most perfect, some of the greatest achievements were either opposed or +simply external to ecclesiastical influence. Roger Bacon, having been a +monk, is frequently spoken of as a creature of Catholic teaching. But +there never was a more striking instance of the force of a great genius in +resisting the tendencies of his age. At a time when physical science was +continually neglected, discouraged, or condemned, at a time when all the +great prizes of the world were open to men who pursued a very different +course, Bacon applied himself with transcendent genius to the study of +nature. Fourteen years of his life were spent in prison, and when he died +his name was blasted as a magician. The mediæval laboratories were chiefly +due to the pursuit of alchemy, or to Mohammedan encouragement. The +inventions of the mariner's compass, of gunpowder, and of rag paper were +all, indeed, of extreme importance; but no part of the credit of them +belongs to the monks. Their origin is involved in much obscurity, but it +is almost certain that the last two, at all events, were first employed in +Europe by the Mohammedans of Spain. Cotton paper was in use among these as +early as 1009. Among the Christian nations it appears to have been unknown +till late in the thirteenth century. The first instance of the employment +of artillery among Christian nations was at the battle of Crecy, but the +knowledge of gunpowder among them has been traced back as far as 1338. +There is abundant evidence, however, of its employment in Spain by +Mohammedans in several sieges in the thirteenth century, and even in a +battle between the Moors of Seville and those of Tunis at the end of the +eleventh century.(435) In invention, indeed, as well as in original +research, the mediæval monasteries were singularly barren. They cultivated +formal logic to great perfection. They produced many patient and +laborious, though, for the most part, wholly uncritical scholars, and many +philosophers who, having assumed their premises with unfaltering faith, +reasoned from them with admirable subtlety; but they taught men to regard +the sacrifice of secular learning as a noble thing; they impressed upon +them a theory of the habitual government of the universe, which is +absolutely untrue; and they diffused, wherever their influence extended, +habits of credulity and intolerance that are the most deadly poisons to +the human mind. + +It is, again, very frequently observed among the more philosophic +eulogists of the mediæval period, that although the Catholic Church is a +trammel and an obstacle to the progress of civilised nations, although it +would be scarcely possible to exaggerate the misery her persecuting spirit +caused, when the human mind had outstripped her teaching; yet there was a +time when she was greatly in advance of the age, and the complete and +absolute ascendancy she then exercised was intellectually eminently +beneficial. That there is much truth in this view, I have myself +repeatedly maintained. But when men proceed to isolate the former period, +and to make it the theme of unqualified eulogy, they fall, I think, into a +grave error. The evils that sprang from the later period of Catholic +ascendancy were not an accident or a perversion, but a normal and +necessary consequence of the previous despotism. The principles which were +imposed on the mediæval world, and which were the conditions of so much of +its distinctive excellence, were of such a nature that they claimed to be +final, and could not possibly be discarded without a struggle and a +convulsion. We must estimate the influence of these principles considered +as a whole, and during the entire period of their operation. There are +some poisons which, before they kill men, allay pain and diffuse a +soothing sensation through the frame. We may recognise the hour of +enjoyment they procure, but we must not separate it from the price at +which it is purchased. + +The extremely unfavourable influence the Catholic Church long exercised +upon intellectual development had important moral consequences. Although +moral progress does not necessarily depend upon intellectual progress it +is materially affected by it, intellectual activity being the most +important element in the growth of that great and complex organism which +we call civilisation. The mediæval credulity had also a more direct moral +influence in producing that indifference to truth, which is the most +repulsive feature of so many Catholic writings. The very large part that +must be assigned to deliberate forgeries in the early apologetic +literature of the Church we have already seen; and no impartial reader +can, I think, investigate the innumerable grotesque and lying legends +that, during the whole course of the Middle Ages, were deliberately palmed +upon mankind as undoubted facts, can follow the histories of the false +decretals, and the discussions that were connected with them, or can +observe the complete and absolute incapacity most Catholic historians have +displayed, of conceiving any good thing in the ranks of their opponents, +or of stating with common fairness any consideration that can tell against +their cause, without acknowledging how serious and how inveterate has been +the evil. There have, no doubt, been many noble individual exceptions. Yet +it is, I believe, difficult to exaggerate the extent to which this moral +defect exists in most of the ancient and very much of the modern +literature of Catholicism. It is this which makes it so unspeakably +repulsive to all independent and impartial thinkers, and has led a great +German historian(436) to declare, with much bitterness, that the phrase +Christian veracity deserves to rank with the phrase Punic faith. But this +absolute indifference to truth whenever falsehood could subserve the +interests of the Church is perfectly explicable, and was found in +multitudes who, in other respects, exhibited the noblest virtue. An age +which has ceased to value impartiality of judgment will soon cease to +value accuracy of statement; and when credulity is inculcated as a virtue, +falsehood will not long be stigmatised as a vice. When, too, men are +firmly convinced that salvation can only be found within their Church, and +that their Church can absolve from all guilt, they will speedily conclude +that nothing can possibly be wrong which is beneficial to it. They +exchange the love of truth for what they call the love of _the_ truth. +They regard morals as derived from and subordinate to theology, and they +regulate all their statements, not by the standard of veracity, but by the +interests of their creed. + +Another important moral consequence of the monastic system was the great +prominence given to pecuniary compensations for crime. It had been at +first one of the broad distinctions between Paganism and Christianity, +that, while the rites of the former were for the most part unconnected +with moral dispositions, Christianity made purity of heart an essential +element of all its worship. Among the Pagans a few faint efforts had, it +is true, been made in this direction. An old precept or law, which is +referred to by Cicero, and which was strongly reiterated by Apollonius of +Tyana, and the Pythagoreans, declared that "no impious man should dare to +appease the anger of the divinities by gifts;"(437) and oracles are said +to have more than once proclaimed that the hecatombs of noble oxen with +gilded horns that were offered up ostentatiously by the rich, were less +pleasing to the gods than the wreaths of flowers and the modest and +reverential worship of the poor.(438) In general, however, in the Pagan +world, the service of the temple had little or no connection with morals, +and the change which Christianity effected in this respect was one of its +most important benefits to mankind. It was natural, however, and perhaps +inevitable, that in the course of time, and under the action of very +various causes, the old Pagan sentiment should revive, and even with an +increased intensity. In no respect had the Christians been more nobly +distinguished than by their charity. It was not surprising that the +Fathers, while exerting all their eloquence to stimulate this +virtue--especially during the calamities that accompanied the dissolution +of the Empire--should have dilated in extremely strong terms upon the +spiritual benefits the donor would receive for his gift. It is also not +surprising that this selfish calculation should gradually, and among hard +and ignorant men, have absorbed all other motives. A curious legend, which +is related by a writer of the seventh century, illustrates the kind of +feeling that had arisen. The Christian bishop Synesius succeeded in +converting a Pagan named Evagrius, who for a long time, however, felt +doubts about the passage, "He who giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." +On his conversion, and in obedience to this verse, he gave Synesius three +hundred pieces of gold to be distributed among the poor; but he exacted +from the bishop, as the representative of Christ, a promissory note, +engaging that he should be repaid in the future world. Many years later, +Evagrius, being on his death-bed, commanded his sons, when they buried +him, to place the note in his hand, and to do so without informing +Synesius. His dying injunction was observed, and three days afterwards he +appeared to Synesius in a dream, told him that the debt had been paid, and +ordered him to go to the tomb, where he would find a written receipt. +Synesius did as he was commanded, and, the grave being opened, the +promissory note was found in the hand of the dead man, with an endorsement +declaring that the debt had been paid by Christ. The note, it was said, +was long after preserved as a relic in the church of Cyrene. + +The kind of feeling which this legend displays was soon turned with +tenfold force into the channel of monastic life. A law of Constantine +accorded, and several later laws enlarged, the power of bequests to +ecclesiastics. Ecclesiastical property was at the same time exonerated +from the public burdens, and this measure not only directly assisted its +increase, but had also an important indirect influence; for, when taxation +was heavy, many laymen ceded the ownership of their estates to the +monasteries, with a secret condition that they should, as vassals, receive +the revenues unburdened by taxation, and subject only to a slight payment +to the monks as to their feudal lords.(439) The monks were regarded as the +trustees of the poor, and also as themselves typical poor, and all the +promises that applied to those who gave to the poor applied, it was said, +to the benefactors of the monasteries. The monastic chapel also contained +the relics of saints or sacred images of miraculous power, and throngs of +worshippers were attracted by the miracles, and desired to place +themselves under the protection, of the saint. It is no exaggeration to +say that to give money to the priests was for several centuries the first +article of the moral code. Political minds may have felt the importance of +aggrandising a pacific and industrious class in the centre of a +disorganised society, and family affection may have predisposed many in +favour of institutions which contained at least one member of most +families; but in the overwhelming majority of cases the motive was simple +superstition. In seasons of sickness, of danger, of sorrow, or of remorse, +whenever the fear or the conscience of the worshipper was awakened, he +hastened to purchase with money the favour of a saint. Above all, in the +hour of death, when the terrors of the future world loomed darkly upon his +mind, he saw in a gift or legacy to the monks a sure means of effacing the +most monstrous crimes, and securing his ultimate happiness. A rich man was +soon scarcely deemed a Christian if he did not leave a portion of his +property to the Church, and the charters of innumerable monasteries in +every part of Europe attest the vast tracts of land that were ceded by +will to the monks, "for the benefit of the soul" of the testator.(440) + +It has been observed by a great historian that we may trace three distinct +phases in the early history of the Church. In the first period religion +was a question of morals; in the second period, which culminated in the +fifth century, it had become a question of orthodoxy; in the third period, +which dates from the seventh century, it was a question of munificence to +monasteries.(441) The despotism of Catholicism, and the ignorance that +followed the barbarian invasions, had repressed the struggles of heresy, +and in the period of almost absolute darkness that continued from the +sixth to the twelfth century, the theological ideal of unquestioning faith +and of perfect unanimity was all but realised in the West. All the energy +that in previous ages had been expended in combating heresy was now +expended in acquiring wealth. The people compounded for the most atrocious +crimes by gifts to shrines of those saints whose intercession was supposed +to be unfailing. The monks, partly by the natural cessation of their old +enthusiasm, partly by the absence of any hostile criticism of their acts, +and partly too by the very wealth they had acquired, sank into gross and +general immorality. The great majority of them had probably at no time +been either saints actuated by a strong religious motive, nor yet diseased +and desponding minds seeking a refuge from the world; they had been simply +peasants, of no extraordinary devotion or sensitiveness, who preferred an +ensured subsistence, with no care, little labour, a much higher social +position than they could otherwise acquire, and the certainty, as they +believed, of going to heaven, to the laborious and precarious existence of +the serf, relieved, indeed, by the privilege of marriage, but exposed to +military service, to extreme hardships, and to constant oppression. Very +naturally, when they could do so with impunity, they broke their vows of +chastity. Very naturally, too, they availed themselves to the full of the +condition of affairs, to draw as much wealth as possible into their +community.(442) The belief in the approaching end of the world, especially +at the close of the tenth century, the crusades, which gave rise to a +profitable traffic in the form of a pecuniary commutation of vows, and the +black death, which produced a paroxysm of religious fanaticism, stimulated +the movement. In the monkish chronicles, the merits of sovereigns are +almost exclusively judged by their bounty to the Church, and in some cases +this is the sole part of their policy which has been preserved.(443) + +There were, no doubt, a few redeeming points in this dark period. The +Irish monks are said to have been honourably distinguished for their +reluctance to accept the lavish donations of their admirers,(444) and some +missionary monasteries of a high order of excellence were scattered +through Europe. A few legends, too, may be cited censuring the facility +with which money acquired by crime was accepted as an atonement for +crime.(445) But these cases were very rare, and the religious history of +several centuries is little more than a history of the rapacity of priests +and of the credulity of laymen. In England, the perpetual demands of the +Pope excited a fierce resentment; and we may trace with remarkable +clearness, in every page of Matthew Paris, the alienation of sympathy +arising from this cause, which prepared and foreshadowed the final rupture +of England from the Church. Ireland, on the other hand, had been given +over by two Popes to the English invader, on the condition of the payment +of Peter's pence. The outrageous and notorious immorality of the +monasteries, during the century before the Reformation, was chiefly due to +their great wealth; and that immorality, as the writings of Erasmus and +Ulric von Hutten show, gave a powerful impulse to the new movement, while +the abuses of the indulgences were the immediate cause of the revolt of +Luther. But these things arrived only after many centuries of successful +fraud. The religious terrorism that was unscrupulously employed had done +its work, and the chief riches of Christendom had passed into the coffers +of the Church. + +It is, indeed, probable that religious terrorism played a more important +part in the monastic phase of Christianity than it had done even in the +great work of the conversion of the Pagans. Although two or three amiable +theologians had made faint and altogether abortive attempts to question +the eternity of punishment; although there had been some slight difference +of opinion concerning the future of some Pagan philosophers who had lived +before the introduction of Christianity, and also upon the question +whether infants who died unbaptised were only deprived of all joy, or were +actually subjected to never-ending agony, there was no question as to the +main features of the Catholic doctrine. According to the patristic +theologians, it was part of the gospel revelation that the misery and +suffering the human race endures upon earth is but a feeble image of that +which awaits it in the future world; that all its members beyond the +Church, as well as a very large proportion of those who are within its +pale, are doomed to an eternity of agony in a literal and undying fire. +The monastic legends took up this doctrine, which in itself is +sufficiently revolting, and they developed it with an appalling vividness +and minuteness. St. Macarius, it is said, when walking one day through the +desert, saw a skull upon the ground. He struck it with his staff and it +began to speak. It told him that it was the skull of a Pagan priest who +had lived before the introduction of Christianity into the world, and who +had accordingly been doomed to hell. As high as the heaven is above the +earth, so high does the fire of hell mount in waves above the souls that +are plunged into it. The damned souls were pressed together back to back, +and the lost priest made it his single entreaty to the saint that he would +pray that they might be turned face to face, for he believed that the +sight of a brother's face might afford him some faint consolation in the +eternity of agony that was before him.(446) The story is well known of how +St. Gregory, seeing on a bas-relief a representation of the goodness of +Trajan to a poor widow, pitied the Pagan emperor, whom he knew to be in +hell, and prayed that he might be released. He was told that his prayer +was altogether unprecedented; but at last, on his promising that he would +never offer such a prayer again, it was partially granted. Trajan was not +withdrawn from hell, but he was freed from the torments which the +remainder of the Pagan world endured.(447) + +An entire literature of visions depicting the torments of hell was soon +produced by the industry of the monks. The apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, +which purported to describe the descent of Christ into the lower world, +contributed to foster it; and St. Gregory the Great has related many +visions in a more famous work, which professed to be compiled with +scrupulous veracity from the most authentic sources,(448) and of which it +may be confidently averred that it scarcely contains a single page which +is not tainted with grotesque and deliberate falsehood. Men, it was said, +passed into a trance or temporary death, and were then carried for a time +to hell. Among others, a certain man named Stephen, from whose lips the +saint declares that he had heard the tale, had died by mistake. When his +soul was borne to the gates of hell, the Judge declared that it was +another Stephen who was wanted; the disembodied spirit, after inspecting +hell, was restored to its former body, and the next day it was known that +another Stephen had died.(449) Volcanoes were the portals of hell, and a +hermit had seen the soul of the Arian emperor Theodoric, as St. Eucherius +afterwards did the soul of Charles Martel, carried down that in the Island +of Lipari.(450) The craters in Sicily, it was remarked, were continually +agitated, and continually increasing, and this, as St. Gregory observes, +was probably due to the impending ruin of the world, when the great press +of lost souls would render it necessary to enlarge the approaches to their +prisons.(451) + +But the glimpses of hell that are furnished in the "Dialogues" of St. +Gregory appear meagre and unimaginative, compared with those of some later +monks. A long series of monastic visions, of which that of St. Fursey, in +the seventh century, was one of the first, and which followed in rapid +succession, till that of Tundale, in the twelfth century, professed to +describe with the most detailed accuracy the condition of the lost.(452) +It is impossible to conceive more ghastly, grotesque, and material +conceptions of the future world than they evince, or more hideous +calumnies against that Being who was supposed to inflict upon His +creatures such unspeakable misery. The devil was represented bound by +red-hot chains, on a burning gridiron in the centre of hell. The screams +of his never-ending agony made its rafters to resound; but his hands were +free, and with these he seized the lost souls, crushed them like grapes +against his teeth, and then drew them by his breath down the fiery cavern +of his throat. Dæmons with hooks of red-hot iron plunged souls alternately +into fire and ice. Some of the lost were hung up by their tongues, others +were sawn asunder, others gnawed by serpents, others beaten together on an +anvil and welded into a single mass, others boiled and then strained +through a cloth, others twined in the embraces of dæmons whose limbs were +of flame. The fire of earth, it was said, was but a picture of that of +hell. The latter was so immeasurably more intense that it alone could be +called real. Sulphur was mixed with it, partly to increase its heat, and +partly, too, in order that an insufferable stench might be added to the +misery of the lost, while, unlike other flames, it emitted, according to +some visions, no light, that the horror of darkness might be added to the +horror of pain. A narrow bridge spanned the abyss, and from it the souls +of sinners were plunged into the darkness that was below.(453) + +Such catalogues of horrors, though they now awake in an educated man a +sentiment of mingled disgust, weariness, and contempt, were able for many +centuries to create a degree of panic and of misery we can scarcely +realise. With the exception of the heretic Pelagius, whose noble genius, +anticipating the discoveries of modern science, had repudiated the +theological notion of death having been introduced into the world on +account of the act of Adam, it was universally held among Christians that +all the forms of suffering and dissolution that are manifested on earth +were penal inflictions. The destruction of the world was generally +believed to be at hand. The minds of men were filled with images of the +approaching catastrophe, and innumerable legends of visible dæmons were +industriously circulated. It was the custom then, as it is the custom now, +for Catholic priests to stain the imaginations of young children by +ghastly pictures of future misery, to imprint upon the virgin mind +atrocious images which they hoped, not unreasonably, might prove +indelible.(454) In hours of weakness and of sickness their overwrought +fancy seemed to see hideous beings hovering around, and hell itself +yawning to receive its victim. St. Gregory describes how a monk, who, +though apparently a man of exemplary and even saintly piety, had been +accustomed secretly to eat meat, saw on his deathbed a fearful dragon +twining its tail round his body, and, with open jaws, sucking his +breath;(455) and how a little boy of five years old, who had learnt from +his father to repeat blasphemous words, saw, as he lay dying, exulting +dæmons who were waiting to carry him to hell.(456) To the jaundiced eye of +the theologian, all nature seemed stricken and forlorn, and its brightness +and beauty suggested no ideas but those of deception and of sin. The +redbreast, according to one popular legend, was commissioned by the Deity +to carry a drop of water to the souls of unbaptised infants in hell, and +its breast was singed in piercing the flames.(457) In the calm, still hour +of evening, when the peasant boy asked why the sinking sun, as it dipped +beneath the horizon, flushed with such a glorious red, he was answered, in +the words of an old Saxon catechism, because it is then looking into +hell.(458) + +It is related in the vision of Tundale, that as he gazed upon the burning +plains of hell, and listened to the screams of ceaseless and hopeless +agony that were wrung from the sufferers, the cry broke from his lips, +"Alas, Lord! what truth is there in what I have so often heard--the earth +is filled with the mercy of God?"(459) It is, indeed, one of the most +curious things in moral history, to observe how men who were sincerely +indignant with Pagan writers for attributing to their divinities the +frailties of an occasional jealousy or an occasional sensuality--for +representing them, in a word, like men of mingled characters and +passions--have nevertheless unscrupulously attributed to their own Divinity +a degree of cruelty which may be confidently said to transcend the utmost +barbarity of which human nature is capable. Neither Nero nor Phalaris +could have looked complacently for ever on millions enduring the torture +of fire--most of them because of a crime which was committed, not by +themselves, but by their ancestors, or because they had adopted some +mistaken conclusion on intricate questions of history or metaphysics.(460) +To those who do not regard such teaching as true, it must appear without +exception the most odious in the religious history of the world, +subversive of the very foundations of morals, and well fitted to transform +the man who at once realised it, and accepted it with pleasure, into a +monster of barbarity. Of the writers of the mediæval period, certainly one +of the two or three most eminent was Peter Lombard, whose "Sentences," +though now, I believe, but little read, were for a long time the basis of +all theological literature in Europe. More than four thousand theologians +are said to have written commentaries upon them(461)--among others, Albert +the Great, St. Bonaventura, and St. Thomas Aquinas. Nor is the work +unworthy of its former reputation. Calm, clear, logical, subtle, and +concise, the author professes to expound the whole system of Catholic +theology and ethics, and to reveal the interdependence of their various +parts. Having explained the position and the duties, he proceeds to +examine the prospects, of man. He maintains that until the day of judgment +the inhabitants of heaven and hell will continually see one another; but +that, in the succeeding eternity, the inhabitants of heaven alone will see +those of the opposite world; and he concludes his great work by this most +impressive passage: "In the last place, we must enquire whether the sight +of the punishment of the condemned will impair the glory of the blest, or +whether it will augment their beatitude. Concerning this, Gregory says the +sight of the punishment of the lost will not obscure the beatitude of the +just; for when it is accompanied by no compassion it can be no diminution +of happiness. And although their own joys might suffice to the just, yet +to their greater glory they will see the pains of the evil, which by grace +they have escaped.... The elect will go forth, not indeed locally, but by +intelligence, and by a clear vision, to behold the torture of the impious, +and as they see them they will not grieve. Their minds will be sated with +joy as they gaze on the unspeakable anguish of the impious, returning +thanks for their own freedom. Thus Esaias, describing the torments of the +impious, and the joy of the righteous in witnessing it, says: 'The elect +in truth will go out and will see the corpses of men who have prevaricated +against Him; their worm will not die, and they will be to the satiety of +vision to all flesh, that is to the elect. The just man will rejoice when +he shall see the vengeance.' "(462) + +This passion for visions of heaven and hell was, in fact, a natural +continuation of the passion for dogmatic definition, which had raged +during the fifth century. It was natural that men, whose curiosity had +left no conceivable question of theology undefined, should have +endeavoured to describe with corresponding precision the condition of the +dead. Much, however, was due to the hallucinations of solitary and ascetic +life, and much more to deliberate imposture. It is impossible for men to +continue long in a condition of extreme panic, and superstition speedily +discovered remedies to allay the fears it had created. If a malicious +dæmon was hovering around the believer, and if the jaws of hell were +opening to receive him, he was defended, on the other hand, by countless +angels; a lavish gift to a church or monastery could always enlist a saint +in his behalf, and priestly power could protect him against the dangers +which priestly sagacity had revealed. When the angels were weighing the +good and evil deeds of a dead man, the latter were found by far to +preponderate; but a priest of St. Lawrence came in, and turned the scale +by throwing down among the former a heavy gold chalice, which the deceased +had given to the altar.(463) Dagobert was snatched from the very arms of +dæmons by St. Denis, St. Maurice, and St. Martin.(464) Charlemagne was +saved, because the monasteries he had built outweighed his evil +deeds.(465) Others, who died in mortal sin, were raised from the dead at +the desire of their patron saint, to expiate their guilt. To amass relics, +to acquire the patronage of saints, to endow monasteries, to build +churches, became the chief part of religion, and the more the terrors of +the unseen world were unfolded, the more men sought tranquillity by the +consolations of superstition.(466) + +The extent to which the custom of materialising religion was carried, can +only be adequately realised by those who have examined the mediæval +literature itself. That which strikes a student in perusing this +literature, is not so much the existence of these superstitions, as their +extraordinary multiplication, the many thousands of grotesque miracles +wrought by saints, monasteries, or relics, that were deliberately asserted +and universally believed. Christianity had assumed a form that was quite +as polytheistic and quite as idolatrous as the ancient Paganism. The low +level of intellectual cultivation, the religious feelings of +half-converted barbarians, the interests of the clergy, the great social +importance of the monasteries, and perhaps also the custom of compounding +for nearly all crimes by pecuniary fines, which was so general in the +penal system of the barbarian tribes, combined in their different ways, +with the panic created by the fear of hell, in driving men in the same +direction, and the wealth and power of the clergy rose to a point that +enabled them to overshadow all other classes. They had found, as has been +well said, in another world, the standing-point of Archimedes from which +they could move this. No other system had ever appeared so admirably +fitted to endure for ever. The Church had crushed or silenced every +opponent in Christendom. It had an absolute control over education in all +its branches and in all its stages. It had absorbed all the speculative +knowledge and art of Europe. It possessed or commanded wealth, rank, and +military power. It had so directed its teaching, that everything which +terrified or distressed mankind drove men speedily into its arms, and it +had covered Europe with a vast network of institutions, admirably adapted +to extend and perpetuate its power. In addition to all this, it had +guarded with consummate skill all the approaches to its citadel. Every +doubt was branded as a sin, and a long course of doubt must necessarily +have preceded the rejection of its tenets. All the avenues of enquiry were +painted with images of appalling suffering, and of malicious dæmons. No +sooner did the worshipper begin to question any article of faith, or to +lose his confidence in the virtue of the ceremonies of his Church, than he +was threatened with a doom that no human heroism could brave, that no +imagination could contemplate undismayed. + +Of all the suffering that was undergone by those brave men who in ages of +ignorance and superstition dared to break loose from the trammels of their +Church, and who laid the foundation of the liberty we now enjoy, it is +this which was probably the most poignant, and which is the least +realised. Our imaginations can reproduce with much vividness gigantic +massacres like those of the Albigenses or of St. Bartholomew. We can +conceive, too, the tortures of the rack and of the boots, the dungeon, the +scaffold, and the slow fire. We can estimate, though less perfectly, the +anguish which the bold enquirer must have undergone from the desertion of +those he most dearly loved, from the hatred of mankind, from the malignant +calumnies that were heaped upon his name. But in the chamber of his own +soul, in the hours of his solitary meditation, he must have found elements +of a suffering that was still more acute. Taught from his earliest +childhood to regard the abandonment of his hereditary opinions as the most +deadly of crimes, and to ascribe it to the instigation of deceiving +dæmons, persuaded that if he died in a condition of doubt he must pass +into a state of everlasting torture, his imagination saturated with images +of the most hideous and appalling anguish, he found himself alone in the +world, struggling with his difficulties and his doubts. There existed no +rival sect in which he could take refuge, and where, in the professed +agreement of many minds, he could forget the anathemas of the Church. +Physical science, that has disproved the theological theories which +attribute death to human sin, and suffering to Divine vengeance, and all +natural phenomena to isolated acts of Divine intervention--historical +criticism, which has dispelled so many imposing fabrics of belief, traced +so many elaborate superstitions to the normal action of the undisciplined +imagination, and explained and defined the successive phases of religious +progress, were both unknown. Every comet that blazed in the sky, every +pestilence that swept over the land, appeared a confirmation of the dark +threats of the theologian. A spirit of blind and abject credulity, +inculcated as the first of duties, and exhibited on all subjects and in +all forms, pervaded the atmosphere he breathed. Who can estimate aright +the obstacles against which a sincere enquirer in such an age must have +struggled? Who can conceive the secret anguish he must have endured in the +long months or years during which rival arguments gained an alternate sway +over his judgment, while all doubt was still regarded as damnable? And +even when his mind was convinced, his imagination would still often revert +to his old belief. Our thoughts in after years flow spontaneously, and +even unconsciously, in the channels that are formed in youth. In moments +when the controlling judgment has relaxed its grasp, old intellectual +habits reassume their sway, and images painted on the imagination will +live, when the intellectual propositions on which they rested have been +wholly abandoned. In hours of weakness, of sickness, and of drowsiness, in +the feverish and anxious moments that are known to all, when the mind +floats passively upon the stream, the phantoms which reason had exorcised +must have often reappeared, and the bitterness of an ancient tyranny must +have entered into his soul. + +It is one of the greatest of the many services that were rendered to +mankind by the Troubadours, that they cast such a flood of ridicule upon +the visions of hell, by which the monks had been accustomed to terrify +mankind, that they completely discredited and almost suppressed them.(467) +Whether, however, the Catholic mind, if unassisted by the literature of +Paganism and by the independent thinkers who grew up under the shelter of +Mohammedanism, could have ever unwound the chains that had bound it, may +well be questioned. The growth of towns, which multiplied secular +interests and feelings, the revival of learning, the depression of the +ecclesiastical classes that followed the crusades, and, at last, the +dislocation of Christendom by the Reformation, gradually impaired the +ecclesiastical doctrine, which ceased to be realised before it ceased to +be believed. There was, however, another doctrine which exercised a still +greater influence in augmenting the riches of the clergy, and in making +donations to the Church the chief part of religion. I allude, of course, +to the doctrine of purgatory. + +A distinguished modern apologist for the middle ages has made this +doctrine the object of his special and very characteristic eulogy, +because, as he says, by providing a finite punishment graduated to every +variety of guilt, and adapted for those who, without being sufficiently +virtuous to pass at once into heaven, did not appear sufficiently vicious +to pass into hell, it formed an indispensable corrective to the extreme +terrorism of the doctrine of eternal punishment.(468) This is one of those +theories which, though exceedingly popular with a class of writers who are +not without influence in our day, must appear, I think, almost grotesque +to those who have examined the actual operation of the doctrine during the +middle ages. According to the practical teaching of the Church, the +expiatory powers at the disposal of its clergy were so great, that those +who died believing its doctrines, and fortified in their last hours by its +rites, had no cause whatever to dread the terrors of hell. On the other +hand, those who died external to the Church had no prospect of entering +into purgatory. This latter was designed altogether for true believers; it +was chiefly preached at a time when no one was in the least disposed to +question the powers of the Church to absolve any crime, however heinous, +or to free the worst men from hell, and it was assuredly never regarded in +the light of a consolation. Indeed, the popular pictures of purgatory were +so terrific that it may be doubted whether the imagination could ever +fully realise, though the reason could easily recognise, the difference +between this state and that of the lost. The fire of purgatory, according +to the most eminent theologians, was like the fire of hell--a literal fire, +prolonged, it was sometimes said, for ages. The declamations of the pulpit +described the sufferings of the saved souls in purgatory as incalculably +greater than any that were endured by the most wretched mortals upon +earth.(469) The rude artists of mediævalism exhausted their efforts in +depicting the writhings of the dead in the flames that encircled them. +Innumerable visions detailed with a ghastly minuteness the various kinds +of torture they underwent,(470) and the monk, who described what he +professed to have seen, usually ended by the characteristic moral, that +could men only realise those sufferings, they would shrink from no +sacrifice to rescue their friends from such a state. A special place, it +was said, was reserved in purgatory for those who had been slow in paying +their tithes.(471) St. Gregory tells a curious story of a man who was, in +other respects, of admirable virtue; but who, in a contested election for +the popedom, supported the wrong candidate, and without, as it would +appear, in any degree refusing to obey the successful candidate when +elected, continued secretly of opinion that the choice was an unwise one. +He was accordingly placed for some time after death in boiling water.(472) +Whatever may be thought of its other aspects, it is impossible to avoid +recognising in this teaching a masterly skill in the adaptation of means +to ends, which almost rises to artistic beauty. A system which deputed its +minister to go to the unhappy widow in the first dark hour of her anguish +and her desolation, to tell her that he who was dearer to her than all the +world besides was now burning in a fire, and that he could only be +relieved by a gift of money to the priests, was assuredly of its own kind +not without an extraordinary merit. + +If we attempt to realise the moral condition of the society of Western +Europe in the period that elapsed between the downfall of the Roman Empire +and Charlemagne, during which the religious transformations I have noticed +chiefly arose, we shall be met by some formidable difficulties. In the +first place, our materials are very scanty. From the year A.D. 642, when +the meagre chronicle of Fredigarius closes, to the biography of +Charlemagne by Eginhard, a century later, there is an almost complete +blank in trustworthy history, and we are reduced to a few scanty and very +doubtful notices in the chronicles of monasteries, the lives of saints, +and the decrees of Councils. All secular literature had almost +disappeared, and the thought of posterity seems to have vanished from the +world.(473) Of the first half of the seventh century, however, and of the +two centuries that preceded it, we have much information from Gregory of +Tours, and Fredigarius, whose tedious and repulsive pages illustrate with +considerable clearness the conflict of races and the dislocation of +governments that for centuries existed. In Italy, the traditions and +habits of the old Empire had in some degree reasserted their sway; but in +Gaul the Church subsisted in the midst of barbarians, whose native vigour +had never been emasculated by civilisation and refined by knowledge. The +picture which Gregory of Tours gives us is that of a society which was +almost absolutely anarchical. The mind is fatigued by the monotonous +account of acts of violence and of fraud springing from no fixed policy, +tending to no end, leaving no lasting impress upon the world.(474) The two +queens Frédégonde and Brunehaut rise conspicuous above other figures for +their fierce and undaunted ambition, for the fascination they exercised +over the minds of multitudes, and for the number and atrocity of their +crimes. All classes seem to have been almost equally tainted with vice. We +read of a bishop named Cautinus, who had to be carried, when intoxicated, +by four men from the table;(475) who, upon the refusal of one of his +priests to surrender some private property, deliberately ordered that +priest to be buried alive, and who, when the victim, escaping by a happy +chance from the sepulchre in which he had been immured, revealed the +crime, received no greater punishment than a censure.(476) The worst +sovereigns found flatterers or agents in ecclesiastics. Frédégonde deputed +two clerks to murder Childebert,(477) and another clerk to murder +Brunehaut;(478) she caused a bishop of Rouen to be assassinated at the +altar--a bishop and an archdeacon being her accomplices;(479) and she found +in another bishop, named Ægidius, one of her most devoted instruments and +friends.(480) The pope, St. Gregory the Great, was an ardent flatterer of +Brunehaut.(481) Gundebald, having murdered his three brothers, was +consoled by St. Avitus, the bishop of Vienne, who, without intimating the +slightest disapprobation of the act, assured him that by removing his +rivals he had been a providential agent in preserving the happiness of his +people.(482) The bishoprics were filled by men of notorious debauchery, or +by grasping misers.(483) The priests sometimes celebrated the sacred +mysteries "gorged with food and dull with wine."(484) They had already +begun to carry arms, and Gregory tells of two bishops of the sixth century +who had killed many enemies with their own hands.(485) There was scarcely +a reign that was not marked by some atrocious domestic tragedy. There were +few sovereigns who were not guilty of at least one deliberate murder. +Never, perhaps, was the infliction of mutilation, and prolonged and +agonising forms of death, more common. We read, among other atrocities, of +a bishop being driven to a distant place of exile upon a bed of +thorns;(486) of a king burning together his rebellious son, his +daughter-in-law, and their daughters;(487) of a queen condemning a +daughter she had had by a former marriage to be drowned, lest her beauty +should excite the passions of her husband;(488) of another queen +endeavouring to strangle her daughter with her own hands;(489) of an +abbot, compelling a poor man to abandon his house, that he might commit +adultery with his wife, and being murdered, together with his partner, in +the act;(490) of a prince who made it an habitual amusement to torture his +slaves with fire, and who buried two of them alive, because they had +married without his permission;(491) of a bishop's wife, who, besides +other crimes, was accustomed to mutilate men and to torture women, by +applying red-hot irons to the most sensitive parts of their bodies;(492) +of great numbers who were deprived of their ears and noses, tortured +through several days, and at last burnt alive or broken slowly on the +wheel. Brunehaut, at the close of her long and in some respects great +though guilty career, fell into the hands of Clotaire, and the old queen, +having been subjected for three days to various kinds of torture, was led +out on a camel for the derision of the army, and at last bound to the tail +of a furious horse, and dashed to pieces in its course.(493) + +And yet this age was, in a certain sense, eminently religious. All +literature had become sacred. Heresy of every kind was rapidly expiring. +The priests and monks had acquired enormous power, and their wealth was +inordinately increasing.(494) Several sovereigns voluntarily abandoned +their thrones for the monastic life.(495) The seventh century, which, +together with the eighth, forms the darkest period of the dark ages, is +famous in the hagiology as having produced more saints than any other +century, except that of the martyrs.(496) + +The manner in which events were regarded by historians was also +exceedingly characteristic. Our principal authority, Gregory of Tours, was +a bishop of great eminence, and a man of the most genuine piety, and of +very strong affections.(497) He describes his work as a record "of the +virtues of saints, and the disasters of nations;"(498) and the student who +turns to his pages from those of the Pagan historians, is not more struck +by the extreme prominence he gives to ecclesiastical events, than by the +uniform manner in which he views all secular events in their religious +aspect, as governed and directed by a special Providence. Yet, in +questions where the difference between orthodoxy and heterodoxy is +concerned, his ethics sometimes exhibit the most singular distortion. Of +this, probably the most impressive example is the manner in which he has +described the career of Clovis, the great representative of +orthodoxy.(499) Having recounted the circumstances of his conversion, +Gregory proceeds to tell us, with undisguised admiration, how that +chieftain, as the first-fruits of his doctrine, professed to be grieved at +seeing that part of Gaul was held by an Arian sovereign; how he +accordingly resolved to invade and appropriate that territory; how, with +admirable piety, he commanded his soldiers to abstain from all +devastations when traversing the territory of St. Martin, and how several +miracles attested the Divine approbation of the expedition. The war--which +is the first of the long series of professedly religious wars that have +been undertaken by Christians--was fully successful, and Clovis proceeded +to direct his ambition to new fields. In his expedition against the +Arians, he had found a faithful ally in his relative Sighebert, the old +and infirm king of the Ripuarian Franks. Clovis now proceeded artfully to +suggest to the son of Sighebert the advantages that son might obtain by +his father's death. The hint was taken. Sighebert was murdered, and Clovis +sent ambassadors to the parricide, professing a warm friendship, but with +secret orders on the first opportunity to kill him. This being done, and +the kingdom being left entirely without a head, Clovis proceeded to +Cologne, the capital of Sighebert; he assembled the people, professed with +much solemnity his horror of the tragedies that had taken place, and his +complete innocence of all connection with them;(500) but suggested that, +as they were now without a ruler, they should place themselves under his +protection. The proposition was received with acclamation. The warriors +elected him as their king, and thus, says the episcopal historian, "Clovis +received the treasures and dominions of Sighebert, and added them to his +own. Every day God caused his enemies to fall beneath his hand, and +enlarged his kingdom, because he walked with a right heart before the +Lord, and did the things that were pleasing in His sight."(501) His +ambition was, however, still unsated. He proceeded, in a succession of +expeditions, to unite the whole of Gaul under his sceptre, invading, +defeating, capturing, and slaying the lawful sovereigns, who were for the +most part his own relations. Having secured himself against dangers from +without, by killing all his relations, with the exception of his wife and +children, he is reported to have lamented before his courtiers his +isolation, declaring that he had no relations remaining in the world to +assist him in his adversity; but this speech, Gregory assures us, was a +stratagem; for the king desired to discover whether any possible pretender +to the throne had escaped his knowledge and his sword. Soon after, he +died, full of years and honours, and was buried in a cathedral which he +had built. + +Having recounted all these things with unmoved composure, Gregory of Tours +requests his reader to permit him to pause, to draw the moral of the +history. It is the admirable manner in which Providence guides all things +for the benefit of those whose opinions concerning the Trinity are +strictly orthodox. Having briefly referred to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, +Aaron, and David, all of whom are said to have intimated the correct +doctrine on this subject, and all of whom were exceedingly prosperous, he +passes to more modern times. "Arius, the impious founder of the impious +sect, his entrails having fallen out, passed into the flames of hell; but +Hilary, the blessed defender of the undivided Trinity, though exiled on +that account, found his country in Paradise. The King Clovis, who +confessed the Trinity, and by its assistance crushed the heretics, +extended his dominions through all Gaul. Alaric, who denied the Trinity, +was deprived of his kingdom and his subjects, and, what was far worse, was +punished in the future world."(502) + +It would be easy to cite other, though perhaps not quite such striking, +instances of the degree in which the moral judgments of this unhappy age +were distorted by superstition.(503) Questions of orthodoxy, or questions +of fasting, appeared to the popular mind immeasurably more important than +what we should now call the fundamental principles of right and wrong. A +law of Charlemagne, and also a law of the Saxons, condemned to death any +one who ate meat in Lent,(504) unless the priest was satisfied that it was +a matter of absolute necessity. The moral enthusiasm of the age chiefly +drove men to abandon their civic or domestic duties, to immure themselves +in monasteries, and to waste their strength by prolonged and extravagant +maceration.(505) Yet, in the midst of all this superstition, there can be +no question that in some respects the religious agencies were operating +for good. The monastic bodies that everywhere arose, formed secure asylums +for the multitudes who had been persecuted by their enemies, constituted +an invaluable counterpoise to the rude military forces of the time, +familiarised the imagination of men with religious types that could hardly +fail in some degree to soften the character, and led the way in most forms +of peaceful labour. When men, filled with admiration at the reports of the +sanctity and the miracles of some illustrious saint, made pilgrimages to +behold him, and found him attired in the rude garb of a peasant, with +thick shoes, and with a scythe on his shoulder, superintending the labours +of the farmers,(506) or sitting in a small attic mending lamps,(507) +whatever other benefit they might derive from the interview, they could +scarcely fail to return with an increased sense of the dignity of labour. +It was probably at this time as much for the benefit of the world as of +the Church, that the ecclesiastical sanctuaries and estates should remain +inviolate, and the numerous legends of Divine punishment having overtaken +those who transgressed them,(508) attest the zeal with which the clergy +sought to establish that inviolability. The great sanctity that was +attached to holidays was also an important boon to the servile classes. +The celebration of the first day of the week, in commemoration of the +resurrection, and as a period of religious exercises, dates from the +earliest age of the Church. The Christian festival was carefully +distinguished from the Jewish Sabbath, with which it never appears to have +been confounded till the close of the sixteenth century; but some Jewish +converts, who considered the Jewish law to be still in force, observed +both days. In general, however, the Christian festival alone was observed, +and the Jewish Sabbatical obligation, as St. Paul most explicitly affirms, +no longer rested upon the Christians. The grounds of the observance of +Sunday were the manifest propriety and expediency of devoting a certain +portion of time to devout exercises, the tradition which traced the +sanctification of Sunday to apostolic times, and the right of the Church +to appoint certain seasons to be kept holy by its members. When +Christianity acquired an ascendancy in the Empire, its policy on this +subject was manifested in one of the laws of Constantine, which, without +making any direct reference to religious motives, ordered that, "on the +day of the sun," no servile work should be performed except agriculture, +which, being dependent on the weather, could not, it was thought, be +reasonably postponed. Theodosius took a step further, and suppressed the +public spectacles on that day. During the centuries that immediately +followed the dissolution of the Roman Empire, the clergy devoted +themselves with great and praiseworthy zeal to the suppression of labour +both on Sundays and on the other leading Church holidays. More than one +law was made, forbidding all Sunday labour, and this prohibition was +reiterated by Charlemagne in his Capitularies.(509) Several Councils made +decrees on the subject,(510) and several legends were circulated, of men +who had been afflicted miraculously with disease or with death, for having +been guilty of this sin.(511) Although the moral side of religion was +greatly degraded or forgotten, there was, as I have already intimated, one +important exception. Charity was so interwoven with the superstitious +parts of ecclesiastical teaching, that it continued to grow and nourish in +the darkest period. Of the acts of Queen Bathilda, it is said we know +nothing except her donations to the monasteries, and the charity with +which she purchased slaves and captives, and released them or converted +them into monks.(512) While many of the bishops were men of gross and +scandalous vice, there were always some who laboured assiduously in the +old episcopal vocation of protecting the oppressed, interceding for the +captives, and opening their sanctuaries to the fugitives. St. Germanus, a +bishop of Paris, near the close of the sixth century, was especially +famous for his zeal in ransoming captives.(513) The fame he acquired was +so great, that prisoners are said to have called upon him to assist them, +in the interval between his death and his burial; and the body of the +saint becoming miraculously heavy, it was found impossible to carry it to +the grave till the captives had been released.(514) In the midst of the +complete eclipse of all secular learning, in the midst of a reign of +ignorance, imposture, and credulity which cannot be paralleled in history, +there grew up a vast legendary literature, clustering around the form of +the ascetic; and the lives of the saints, among very much that is +grotesque, childish, and even immoral, contain some fragments of the +purest and most touching religious poetry.(515) + +But the chief title of the period we are considering, to the indulgence of +posterity, lies in its missionary labours. The stream of missionaries +which had at first flowed from Palestine and Italy began to flow from the +West. The Irish monasteries furnished the earliest, and probably the most +numerous, labourers in the field. A great portion of the north of England +was converted by the Irish monks of Lindisfarne. The fame of St. +Columbanus in Gaul, in Germany, and in Italy, for a time even balanced +that of St. Benedict himself, and the school which he founded at Luxeuil +became the great seminary for mediæval missionaries, while the monastery +he planted at Bobbio continued to the present century. The Irish +missionary, St. Gall, gave his name to a portion of Switzerland he had +converted, and a crowd of other Irish missionaries penetrated to the +remotest forests of Germany. The movement which began with St. Columba in +the middle of the sixth century, was communicated to England and Gaul +about a century later. Early in the eighth century it found a great leader +in the Anglo-Saxon St. Boniface, who spread Christianity far and wide +through Germany, and at once excited and disciplined an ardent enthusiasm, +which appears to have attracted all that was morally best in the Church. +During about three centuries, and while Europe had sunk into the most +extreme moral, intellectual, and political degradation, a constant stream +of missionaries poured forth from the monasteries, who spread the +knowledge of the Cross and the seeds of a future civilisation through +every land, from Lombardy to Sweden.(516) + +On the whole, however, it would be difficult to exaggerate the +superstition and the vice of the period between the dissolution of the +Empire and the reign of Charlemagne. But in the midst of the chaos the +elements of a new society may be detected, and we may already observe in +embryo the movement which ultimately issued in the crusades, the feudal +system, and chivalry. It is exclusively with the moral aspect of this +movement that the present work is concerned, and I shall endeavour, in the +remainder of this chapter, to describe and explain its incipient stages. +It consisted of two parts--a fusion of Christianity with the military +spirit, and an increasing reverence for secular rank. + +It had been an ancient maxim of the Greeks, that no more acceptable gifts +can be offered in the temples of the gods, than the trophies won from an +enemy in battle.(517) Of this military religion Christianity had been at +first the extreme negation. I have already had occasion to observe that it +had been one of its earliest rules that no arms should be introduced +within the church, and that soldiers returning even from the most +righteous war should not be admitted to communion until after a period of +penance and purification. A powerful party, which counted among its +leaders Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius, and Basil, +maintained that all warfare was unlawful for those who had been converted; +and this opinion had its martyr in the celebrated Maximilianus, who +suffered death under Diocletian solely because, having been enrolled as a +soldier, he declared that he was a Christian, and that therefore he could +not fight. The extent to which this doctrine was disseminated has been +suggested with much plausibility as one of the causes of the Diocletian +persecution.(518) It was the subject of one of the reproaches of Celsus; +and Origen, in reply, frankly accepted the accusation that Christianity +was incompatible with military service, though he maintained that the +prayers of the Christians were more efficacious than the swords of the +legions.(519) At the same time, there can be no question that many +Christians, from a very early date, did enlist in the army, and that they +were not cut off from the Church. The legend of the thundering legion, +under Marcus Aurelius, whatever we may think of the pretended miracle, +attested the fact, and it is expressly asserted by Tertullian.(520) The +first fury of the Diocletian persecution fell upon Christian soldiers, and +by the time of Constantine the army appears to have become, in a great +degree, Christian. A Council of Arles, under Constantine, condemned +soldiers who, through religious motives, deserted their colours; and St. +Augustine threw his great influence into the same scale. But even where +the calling was not regarded as sinful, it was strongly discouraged. The +ideal or type of supreme excellence conceived by the imagination of the +Pagan world and to which all their purest moral enthusiasm naturally +aspired, was the patriot and soldier. The ideal of the Catholic legends +was the ascetic, whose first duty was to abandon all secular feelings and +ties. In most family circles the conflict between the two principles +appeared, and in the moral atmosphere of the fourth and fifth centuries it +was almost certain that every young man who was animated by any pure or +genuine enthusiasm would turn from the army to the monks. St. Martin, St. +Ferreol, St. Tarrachus, and St. Victricius, were among those who through +religious motives abandoned the army.(521) When Ulphilas translated the +Bible into Gothic, he is said to have excepted the four books of Kings, +through fear that they might encourage the martial disposition of the +barbarians.(522) + +The first influence that contributed to bring the military profession into +friendly connection with religion was the received doctrine concerning the +Providential government of affairs. It was generally taught that all +national catastrophes were penal inflictions, resulting, for the most +part, from the vices or the religious errors of the leading men, and that +temporal prosperity was the reward of orthodoxy and virtue. A great +battle, on the issue of which the fortunes of a people or of a monarch +depended, was therefore supposed to be the special occasion of +Providential interposition, and the hope of obtaining military success +became one of the most frequent motives of conversion. The conversion of +Constantine was professedly, and the conversion of Clovis was perhaps +really, due to the persuasion that the Divine interposition had in a +critical moment given them the victory; and I have already noticed how +large a part must be assigned to this order of ideas in facilitating the +progress of Christianity among the barbarians. When a cross was said to +have appeared miraculously to Constantine, with an inscription announcing +the victory of the Milvian bridge; when the same holy sign, adorned with +the sacred monogram, was carried in the forefront of the Roman armies; +when the nails of the cross, which Helena had brought from Jerusalem, were +converted by the emperor into a helmet, and into bits for his war-horse, +it was evident that a great change was passing over the once pacific +spirit of the Church.(523) + +Many circumstances conspired to accelerate it. Northern tribes, who had +been taught that the gates of the Walhalla were ever open to the warrior +who presented himself stained with the blood of his vanquished enemies, +were converted to Christianity; but they carried their old feelings into +their new creed. The conflict of many races, and the paralysis of all +government that followed the fall of the Empire, made force everywhere +dominant, and petty wars incessant. The military obligations attached to +the "benefices" which the sovereigns gave to their leading chiefs, +connected the idea of military service with that of rank still more +closely than it had been connected before, and rendered it doubly +honourable in the eyes of men. Many bishops and abbots, partly from the +turbulence of their times and characters, and partly, at a later period, +from their position as great feudal lords, were accustomed to lead their +followers in battle; and this custom, though prohibited by Charlemagne, +may be traced to so late a period as the battle of Agincourt.(524) + +The stigma which Christianity had attached to war was thus gradually +effaced. At the same time, the Church remained, on the whole, a pacific +influence. War was rather condoned than consecrated, and, whatever might +be the case with a few isolated prelates, the Church did nothing to +increase or encourage it. The transition from the almost Quaker tenets of +the primitive Church to the essentially military Christianity of the +Crusades was chiefly due to another cause--to the terrors and to the +example of Mohammedanism. + +This great religion, which so long rivalled the influence of Christianity, +had indeed spread the deepest and most justifiable panic through +Christendom. Without any of those aids to the imagination which pictures +and images can furnish, without any elaborate sacerdotal organisation, +preaching the purest Monotheism among ignorant and barbarous men, and +inculcating, on the whole, an extremely high and noble system of morals, +it spread with a rapidity and it acquired a hold over the minds of its +votaries, which it is probable that no other religion has altogether +equalled. It borrowed from Christianity that doctrine of salvation by +belief, which is perhaps the most powerful impulse that can be applied to +the characters of masses of men, and it elaborated so minutely the charms +of its sensual heaven, and the terrors of its material hell, as to cause +the alternative to appeal with unrivalled force to the gross imaginations +of the people. It possessed a book which, however inferior to that of the +opposing religion, has nevertheless been the consolation and the support +of millions in many ages. It taught a fatalism which in its first age +nerved its adherents with a matchless military courage, and which, though +in later days it has often paralysed their active energies, has also +rarely failed to support them under the pressure of inevitable calamity. +But, above all, it discovered the great, the fatal secret of uniting +indissolubly the passion of the soldier with the passion of the devotee. +Making the conquest of the infidel the first of duties, and proposing +heaven as the certain reward of the valiant soldier, it created a blended +enthusiasm that soon overpowered the divided counsels and the voluptuous +governments of the East, and, within a century of the death of Mohammed, +his followers had almost extirpated Christianity from its original home, +founded great monarchies in Asia and Africa, planted a noble, though +transient and exotic, civilisation in Spain, menaced the capital of the +Eastern empire, and, but for the issue of a single battle, they would +probably have extended their sceptre over the energetic and progressive +races of Central Europe. The wave was broken by Charles Martel, at the +battle of Poitiers, and it is now useless to speculate what might have +been the consequences had Mohammedanism unfurled its triumphant banner +among those Teutonic tribes who have so often changed their creed, and on +whom the course of civilisation has so largely depended. But one great +change was in fact achieved. The spirit of Mohammedanism slowly passed +into Christianity, and transformed it into its image. The spectacle of an +essentially military religion fascinated men who were at once very warlike +and very superstitious. The panic that had palsied Europe was after a long +interval succeeded by a fierce reaction of resentment. Pride and religion +conspired to urge the Christian warriors against those who had so often +defeated the armies and wasted the territory of Christendom, who had shorn +the empire of the Cross of many of its fairest provinces, and profaned +that holy city which was venerated not only for its past associations, but +also for the spiritual blessings it could still bestow upon the pilgrim. +The papal indulgences proved not less efficacious in stimulating the +military spirit than the promises of Mohammed, and for about two centuries +every pulpit in Christendom proclaimed the duty of war with the +unbeliever, and represented the battle-field as the sure path to heaven. +The religious orders which arose united the character of the priest with +that of the warrior, and when, at the hour of sunset, the soldier knelt +down to pray before his cross, that cross was the handle of his sword. + +It would be impossible to conceive a more complete transformation than +Christianity had thus undergone, and it is melancholy to contrast with its +aspect during the crusades the impression it had once most justly made +upon the world, as the spirit of gentleness and of peace encountering the +spirit of violence and war. Among the many curious habits of the Pagan +Irish, one of the most significant was that of perpendicular burial. With +a feeling something like that which induced Vespasian to declare that a +Roman emperor should die standing, the Pagan warriors shrank from the +notion of being prostrate even in death, and they appear to have regarded +this martial burial as a special symbol of Paganism. An old Irish +manuscript tells how, when Christianity had been introduced into Ireland, +a king of Ulster on his deathbed charged his son never to become a +Christian, but to be buried standing upright like a man in battle, with +his face for ever turned to the south, defying the men of Leinster.(525) +As late as the sixteenth century, it is said that in some parts of Ireland +children were baptised by immersion; but the right arms of the males were +carefully held above the water, in order that, not having been dipped in +the sacred stream, they might strike the more deadly blow.(526) + +It had been boldly predicted by some of the early Christians that the +conversion of the world would lead to the establishment of perpetual +peace. In looking back, with our present experience, we are driven to the +melancholy conclusion that, instead of diminishing the number of wars, +ecclesiastical influence has actually and very seriously increased it. We +may look in vain for any period since Constantine, in which the clergy, as +a body, exerted themselves to repress the military spirit, or to prevent +or abridge a particular war, with an energy at all comparable to that +which they displayed in stimulating the fanaticism of the crusaders, in +producing the atrocious massacre of the Albigenses, in embittering the +religious contests that followed the Reformation. Private wars were, no +doubt, in some degree repressed by their influence; for the institution of +the "Truce of God" was for a time of much value, and when, towards the +close of the middle ages, the custom of duels arose, it was strenuously +condemned by the clergy; but we can hardly place any great value on their +exertions in this field, when we remember that duels were almost or +altogether unknown to the Pagan world; that, having arisen in a period of +great superstition, the anathemas of the Church were almost impotent to +discourage them; and that in our own century they are rapidly disappearing +before the simple censure of an industrial society. It is possible--though +it would, I imagine, be difficult to prove it--that the mediatorial office, +so often exercised by bishops, may sometimes have prevented wars; and it +is certain that during the period of the religious wars, so much military +spirit existed in Europe that it must necessarily have found a vent, and +under no circumstances could the period have been one of perfect peace. +But when all these qualifications have been fully admitted, the broad fact +will remain, that, with the exception of Mohammedanism, no other religion +has done so much to produce war as was done by the religious teachers of +Christendom during several centuries. The military fanaticism evoked by +the indulgences of the popes, by the exhortations of the pulpit, by the +religious importance attached to the relics at Jerusalem, and by the +prevailing hatred of misbelievers, has scarcely ever been equalled in its +intensity, and it has caused the effusion of oceans of blood, and has been +productive of incalculable misery to the world. Religious fanaticism was a +main cause of the earlier wars, and an important ingredient in the later +ones. The peace principles, that were so common before Constantine, have +found scarcely any echo except from Erasmus, the Anabaptists, and the +Quakers;(527) and although some very important pacific agencies have +arisen out of the industrial progress of modern times, these have been, +for the most part, wholly unconnected with, and have in some cases been +directly opposed to, theological interests. + +But although theological influences cannot reasonably be said to have +diminished the number of wars, they have had a very real and beneficial +effect in diminishing their atrocity. On few subjects have the moral +opinions of different ages exhibited so marked a variation as in their +judgments of what punishment may justly be imposed on a conquered enemy, +and these variations have often been cited as an argument against those +who believe in the existence of natural moral perceptions. To those, +however, who accept that doctrine, with the limitations that have been +stated in the first chapter, they can cause no perplexity. In the first +dawning of the human intelligence (as I have said) the notion of duty, as +distinguished from that of interest, appears, and the mind, in reviewing +the various emotions by which it is influenced, recognises the unselfish +and benevolent motives as essentially and generically superior to the +selfish and the cruel. But it is the general condition of society alone +that determines the standard of benevolence--the classes towards which +every good man will exercise it. At first, the range of duty is the +family, the tribe, the state, the confederation. Within these limits every +man feels himself under moral obligations to those about him; but he +regards the outer world as we regard wild animals, as beings upon whom he +may justifiably prey. Hence, we may explain the curious fact that the +terms brigand or corsair conveyed in the early stages of society no notion +of moral guilt.(528) Such men were looked upon simply as we look upon +huntsmen, and if they displayed courage and skill in their pursuit, they +were deemed fit subjects for admiration. Even in the writings of the most +enlightened philosophers of Greece, war with barbarians is represented as +a form of chase, and the simple desire of obtaining the barbarians as +slaves was considered a sufficient reason for invading them. The right of +the conqueror to kill his captives was generally recognised, nor was it at +first restricted by any considerations of age or sex. Several instances +are recorded of Greek and other cities being deliberately destroyed by +Greeks or by Romans, and the entire populations ruthlessly massacred.(529) +The whole career of the early republic of Rome, though much idealised and +transfigured by later historians, was probably governed by these +principles.(530) The normal fate of the captive, which, among barbarians, +had been death, was, in civilised antiquity, slavery; but many thousands +were condemned to the gladiatorial shows, and the vanquished general was +commonly slain in the Mamertine prison, while his conqueror ascended in +triumph to the Capitol. + +A few traces of a more humane spirit may, it is true, be discovered. Plato +had advocated the liberation of all Greek prisoners upon payment of a +fixed ransom,(531) and the Spartan general Callicratidas had nobly acted +upon this principle;(532) but his example never appears to have been +generally followed. In Rome, the notion of international obligation was +very strongly felt. No war was considered just which had not been +officially declared; and even in the case of wars with barbarians, the +Roman historians often discuss the sufficiency or insufficiency of the +motives, with a conscientious severity a modern historian could hardly +surpass.(533) The later Greek and Latin writings occasionally contain +maxims which exhibit a considerable progress in this sphere. The sole +legitimate object of war, both Cicero and Sallust declared to be an +assured peace. That war, according to Tacitus, ends well which ends with a +pardon. Pliny refused to apply the epithet great to Cæsar, on account of +the torrents of human blood he had shed. Two Roman conquerors(534) are +credited with the saying that it is better to save the life of one citizen +than to destroy a thousand enemies. Marcus Aurelius mournfully assimilated +the career of a conqueror to that of a simple robber. Nations or armies +which voluntarily submitted to Rome were habitually treated with great +leniency, and numerous acts of individual magnanimity are recorded. The +violation of the chastity of conquered women by soldiers in a siege was +denounced as a rare and atrocious crime.(535) The extreme atrocities of +ancient war appear at last to have been practically, though not legally, +restricted to two classes.(536) Cities where Roman ambassadors had been +insulted, or where some special act of ill faith or cruelty had taken +place, were razed to the ground, and their populations massacred or +delivered into slavery. Barbarian prisoners were regarded almost as wild +beasts, and sent in thousands to fill the slave market or to combat in the +arena. + +The changes Christianity effected in the rights of war were very +important, and they may, I think, be comprised under three heads. In the +first place, it suppressed the gladiatorial shows, and thereby saved +thousands of captives from a bloody death. In the next place, it steadily +discouraged the practice of enslaving prisoners, ransomed immense +multitudes with charitable contributions, and by slow and insensible +gradations proceeded on its path of mercy till it became a recognised +principle of international law, that no Christian prisoners should be +reduced to slavery.(537) In the third place, it had a more indirect but +very powerful influence by the creation of a new warlike ideal. The ideal +knight of the Crusades and of chivalry, uniting all the force and fire of +the ancient warrior, with something of the tenderness and humility of the +Christian saint, sprang from the conjunction of the two streams of +religious and of military feeling; and although this ideal, like all +others, was a creation of the imagination not often perfectly realised in +life, yet it remained the type and model of warlike excellence, to which +many generations aspired; and its softening influence may even now be +largely traced in the character of the modern gentleman. + + ------------------------------------- + +Together with the gradual fusion of the military spirit with Christianity, +we may dimly descry, in the period before Charlemagne, the first stages of +that consecration of secular rank which at a later period, in the forms of +chivalry, the divine right of kings, and the reverence for aristocracies, +played so large a part both in moral and in political history. + +We have already seen that the course of events in the Roman Empire had +been towards the continual aggrandisement of the imperial power. The +representative despotism of Augustus was at last succeeded by the oriental +despotism of Diocletian. The senate sank into a powerless assembly of +imperial nominees, and the spirit of Roman freedom wholly perished with +the extinction of Stoicism. + +It would probably be a needless refinement to seek any deeper causes for +this change than may be found in the ordinary principles of human nature. +Despotism is the normal and legitimate government of an early society in +which knowledge has not yet developed the powers of the people; but when +it is introduced into a civilised community, it is of the nature of a +disease, and a disease which, unless it be checked, has a continual +tendency to spread. When free nations abdicate their political functions, +they gradually lose both the capacity and the desire for freedom. +Political talent and ambition, having no sphere for action, steadily +decay, and servile, enervating, and vicious habits proportionately +increase. Nations are organic beings in a constant process of expansion or +decay, and where they do not exhibit a progress of liberty they usually +exhibit a progress of servitude. + +It can hardly be asserted that Christianity had much influence upon this +change. By accelerating in some degree that withdrawal of the virtuous +energies of the people from the sphere of government which had long been +in process, it prevented the great improvement of morals, which it +undoubtedly effected, from appearing perceptibly in public affairs. It +taught a doctrine of passive obedience, which its disciples nobly observed +in the worst periods of persecution. On the other hand, the Christians +emphatically repudiated the ascription of Divine honours to the sovereign, +and they asserted with heroic constancy their independent worship, in +defiance of the law. After the time of Constantine, however, their zeal +became far less pure, and sectarian interests wholly governed their +principles. Much misapplied learning has been employed in endeavouring to +extract from the Fathers a consistent doctrine concerning the relations of +subjects to their sovereigns; but every impartial observer may discover +that the principle upon which they acted was exceedingly simple. When a +sovereign was sufficiently orthodox in his opinions, and sufficiently +zealous in patronising the Church and in persecuting the heretics, he was +extolled as an angel. When his policy was opposed to the Church, he was +represented as a dæmon. The estimate which Gregory of Tours has given of +the character of Clovis, though far more frank, is not a more striking +instance of moral perversion than the fulsome and indeed blasphemous +adulation which Eusebius poured upon Constantine--a sovereign whose +character was at all times of the most mingled description, and who, +shortly after his conversion, put to a violent death his son, his nephew, +and his wife. If we were to estimate the attitude of ecclesiastics to +sovereigns by the language of Eusebius, we should suppose that they +ascribed to them a direct Divine inspiration, and exalted the Imperial +dignity to an extent that was before unknown.(538) But when Julian mounted +the throne, the whole aspect of the Church was changed. This great and +virtuous, though misguided sovereign, whose private life was a model of +purity, who carried to the throne the manners, tastes, and friendships of +a philosophic life, and who proclaimed and, with very slight exceptions, +acted with the largest and most generous toleration, was an enemy of the +Church, and all the vocabulary of invective was in consequence habitually +lavished upon him. Ecclesiastics and laymen combined in insulting him, and +when, after a brief but glorious reign of less than two years, he met an +honourable death on the battle-field, neither the disaster that had +befallen the Roman arms, nor the present dangers of the army, nor the +heroic courage which the fallen emperor had displayed, nor the majestic +tranquillity of his end, nor the tears of his faithful friends, could +shame the Christian community into the decency of silence. A peal of +brutal merriment filled the land. In Antioch the Christians assembled in +the theatres and in the churches, to celebrate with rejoicing the death +which their emperor had met in fighting against the enemies of his +country.(539) A crowd of vindictive legends expressed the exultation of +the Church,(540) and St. Gregory Nazianzen devoted his eloquence to +immortalising it. His brother had at one time been a high official in the +Empire, and had fearlessly owned his Christianity under Julian; but that +emperor not only did not remove him from his post, but even honoured him +with his warm friendship.(541) The body of Julian had been laid but a +short time in the grave, when St. Gregory delivered two fierce invectives +against his memory, collected the grotesque calumnies that had been heaped +upon his character, expressed a regret that his remains had not been flung +after death into the common sewer, and regaled the hearers by an emphatic +assertion of the tortures that were awaiting him in hell. Among the Pagans +a charge of the gravest kind was brought against the Christians. It was +said that Julian died by the spear, not of an enemy, but of one of his own +Christian soldiers. When we remember that he was at once an emperor and a +general, that he fell when bravely and confidently leading his army in the +field, and in the critical moment of a battle on which the fortunes of the +Empire largely depended, this charge, which Libanius has made, appears to +involve as large an amount of base treachery as any that can be conceived. +It was probably a perfectly groundless calumny; but the manner in which it +was regarded among the Christians is singularly characteristic. +"Libanius," says one of the ecclesiastical historians, "clearly states +that the emperor fell by the hand of a Christian; and this, probably, was +the truth. It is not unlikely that some of the soldiers who then served in +the Roman army might have conceived the idea of acting like the ancient +slayers of tyrants who exposed themselves to death in the cause of +liberty, and fought in defence of their country, their families, and their +friends, and whose names are held in universal admiration. Still less is +he deserving of blame who, for the sake of God and of religion, performed +so bold a deed."(542) + +It may be asserted, I think, without exaggeration, that the complete +subordination of all other principles to their theological interests, +which characterised the ecclesiastics under Julian, continued for many +centuries. No language of invective was too extreme to be applied to a +sovereign who opposed their interests. No language of adulation was too +extravagant for a sovereign who sustained them. Of all the emperors who +disgraced the throne of Constantinople, the most odious and ferocious was +probably Phocas. An obscure centurion, he rose by a military revolt to the +supreme power, and the Emperor Maurice, with his family, fell into his +hands. He resolved to put the captive emperor to death; but, first of all, +he ordered his five children to be brought out and to be successively +murdered before the eyes of their father, who bore the awful sight with a +fine mixture of antique heroism and of Christian piety, murmuring, as each +child fell beneath the knife of the assassin, "Thou art just, O Lord, and +righteous are Thy judgments," and even interposing, at the last moment, to +reveal the heroic fraud of the nurse who desired to save his youngest +child by substituting for it her own. But Maurice--who had been a weak and +avaricious rather than a vicious sovereign--had shown himself jealous of +the influence of the Pope, had forbidden the soldiers, during the extreme +danger of their country, deserting their colours to enrol themselves as +monks, and had even encouraged the pretensions of the Archbishop of +Constantinople to the title of Universal Bishop; and, in the eyes of the +Roman priests, the recollection of these crimes was sufficient to excuse +the most brutal of murders. In two letters, full of passages from +Scripture, and replete with fulsome and blasphemous flattery, the Pope, +St. Gregory the Great, wrote to congratulate Phocas and his wife upon +their triumph; he called heaven and earth to rejoice over them; he placed +their images to be venerated in the Lateran, and he adroitly insinuated +that it was impossible that, with their well-known piety, they could fail +to be very favourable to the See of Peter.(543) + +The course of events in relation to the monarchical power was for some +time different in the East and the West. Constantine had himself assumed +more of the pomp and manner of an oriental sovereign than any preceding +emperor, and the court of Constantinople was soon characterised by an +extravagance of magnificence on the part of the monarch, and of adulation +on the part of the subjects, which has probably never been exceeded.(544) +The imperial power in the East overshadowed the ecclesiastical, and the +priests, notwithstanding their fierce outbreak during the iconoclastic +controversy, and a few minor paroxysms of revolt, gradually sank into that +contented subservience which has usually characterised the Eastern Church. +In the West, however, the Roman bishops were in a great degree independent +of the sovereigns, and in some degree opposed to their interests. The +transfer of the imperial power to Constantinople, by leaving the Roman +bishops the chief personages in a city which long association as well as +actual power rendered the foremost in the world, was one of the great +causes of the aggrandisement of the Papacy and the Arianism of many +sovereigns, the jealousy which others exhibited of ecclesiastical +encroachments, and the lukewarmness of a few in persecuting heretics, were +all causes of dissension. On the severance of the Empire, the Western +Church came in contact with rulers of another type. The barbarian kings +were little more than military chiefs, elected for the most part by the +people, surrounded by little or no special sanctity, and maintaining their +precarious and very restricted authority by their courage or their skill. +A few feebly imitated the pomp of the Roman emperors, but their claims had +no great weight with the world. The aureole which the genius of Theodoric +cast around his throne passed away upon his death, and the Arianism of +that great sovereign sufficiently debarred him from the sympathies of the +Church. In Gaul, under a few bold and unscrupulous men, the Merovingian +dynasty emerged from a host of petty kings, and consolidated the whole +country into one kingdom; but after a short period it degenerated, the +kings became mere puppets in the hands of the mayors of the palace, and +these latter, whose office had become hereditary, who were the chiefs of +the great landed proprietors, and who had acquired by their position a +personal ascendancy over the sovereigns, became the virtual rulers of the +nation. + +It was out of these somewhat unpromising conditions that the mediæval +doctrine of the Divine right of kings, and the general reverence for rank, +that formed the essence of chivalry, were slowly evolved. Political and +moral causes conspired in producing them. The chief political causes--which +are well known--may be summed up in a few words. + +When Leo the Isaurian attempted, in the eighth century, to repress the +worship of images, the resistance which he met at Constantinople, though +violent, was speedily allayed; but the Pope, assuming a far higher +position than any Byzantine ecclesiastic could attain, boldly +excommunicated the emperor, and led a revolt against his authority, which +resulted in the virtual independence of Italy. His position was at this +time singularly grand. He represented a religious cause to which the great +mass of the Christian world were passionately attached. He was venerated +as the emancipator of Italy. He exhibited in the hour of his triumph a +moderation which conciliated many enemies, and prevented the anarchy that +might naturally have been expected. He presided, at the same time, over a +vast monastic organisation, which ramified over all Christendom, +propagated his authority among many barbarous nations, and, by its special +attachment to the Papacy, as distinguished from the Episcopacy, +contributed very much to transform Christianity into a spiritual +despotism. One great danger, however, still menaced his power. The +barbarous Lombards were continually invading his territory, and +threatening the independence of Rome. The Lombard monarch, Luitprand had +quailed in the very hour of his triumph before the menace of eternal +torture but his successor, Astolphus, was proof against every fear, and it +seemed as though the Papal city must have inevitably succumbed before his +arms. + +In their complete military impotence, the Popes looked abroad for some +foreign succour, and they naturally turned to the Franks, whose martial +tastes and triumphs were universally renowned. Charles Martel, though +simply a mayor of the palace, had saved Europe from the Mohammedans, and +the Pope expected that he would unsheath his sword for the defence of the +Vatican. Charles, however, was deaf to all entreaties; and, although he +had done more than any ruler since Constantine for the Church, his +attention seems to have been engrossed by the interests of his own +country, and he was much alienated from the sympathies of the clergy. An +ancient legend tells how a saint saw his soul carried by dæmons into hell, +because he had secularised Church property, and a more modern +historian(545) has ascribed his death to his having hesitated to defend +the Pope. His son, Pepin, however, actuated probably in different degrees +by personal ambition, a desire for military adventure, and religious zeal, +listened readily to the prayer of the Pope, and a compact was entered into +between the parties, which proved one of the most important events in +history. Pepin agreed to secure the Pope from the danger by which he was +threatened. The Pope agreed to give his religious sanction to the ambition +of Pepin, who designed to depose the Merovingian dynasty, and to become in +name, as he was already in fact, the sovereign of Gaul. + +It is not necessary for me to recount at length the details of these +negotiations, which are described by many historians. It is sufficient to +say, that the compact was religiously observed. Pepin made two expeditions +to Italy, and completely shattered the power of the Lombards, wresting +from them the rich exarchate of Ravenna, which he ceded to the Pope, who +still retained his nominal allegiance to the Byzantine emperor, but who +became, by this donation, for the first time avowedly an independent +temporal prince. On the other hand, the deposition of Childeric was +peaceably effected; the last of the Merovingians was immured in a +monastery, and the Carlovingian dynasty ascended the throne under the +special benediction of the Pope, who performed on the occasion the +ceremony of consecration, which had not previously been in general +use,(546) placed the crown with his own hands on the head of Pepin, and +delivered a solemn anathema against all who should rebel against the new +king or against his successors. + +The extreme importance of these events was probably not fully realised by +any of the parties concerned in them. It was evident, indeed, that the +Pope had been freed from a pressing danger, and had acquired a great +accession of temporal power, and also that a new dynasty had arisen in +Gaul under circumstances that were singularly favourable and imposing. +But, much more important than these facts was the permanent consecration +of the royal authority that had been effected. The Pope had successfully +asserted his power of deposing and elevating kings, and had thus acquired +a position which influenced the whole subsequent course of European +history. The monarch, if he had become in some degree subservient to the +priest, had become in a great degree independent of his people; the Divine +origin of his power was regarded as a dogma of religion, and a sanctity +surrounded him which immeasurably aggrandised his power. The ascription, +by the Pagans, of divinity to kings had had no appreciable effect in +increasing their authority or restraining the limits of criticism or of +rebellion. The ascription of a Divine right to kings, independent of the +wishes of the people, has been one of the most enduring and most potent of +superstitions, and it has even now not wholly vanished from the +world.(547) + +Mere isolated political events have, however, rarely or never this +profound influence, unless they have been preceded and prepared by other +agencies. The first predisposing cause of the ready reception of the +doctrine of the Divine character of authority, may probably be found in +the prominence of the monastic system. I have already observed that this +system represents in its extreme form that exaltation of the virtues of +humility and of obedience which so broadly distinguishes the Christian +from the Pagan type of excellence. I have also noticed that, owing to the +concurrence of many causes, it had acquired such dimensions and influence +as to supply the guiding ideal of the Christian world. Controlling or +monopolising all education and literature, furnishing most of the +legislators and many of the statesmen of the age, attracting to themselves +all moral enthusiasm and most intellectual ability, the monks soon left +their impress on the character of nations. Habits of obedience and +dispositions of humility were diffused, revered, and idealised, and a +Church which rested mainly on tradition fostered a deep sense of the +sanctity of antiquity, and a natural disposition to observe traditional +customs. In this manner a tone of feeling was gradually formed that +assimilated with the monarchical and aristocratical institutions of +feudalism, which flourished chiefly because they corresponded with the +moral feelings of the time. + +In the next place, a series of social and political causes diminished the +personal independence for which the barbarians had been noted. The king +had at first been, not the sovereign of a country, but the chief of a +tribe.(548) Gradually, however, with more settled habits, the sovereignty +assumed a territorial character, and we may soon discover the rudiments of +a territorial aristocracy. The kings gave their leading chiefs portions of +conquered land or of the royal domains, under the name of benefices. The +obligation of military service was attached to these benefices, and by +slow and perhaps insensible stages, each of which has been the subject of +fierce controversy, they were made irrevocable, and ultimately hereditary. +While society was still disorganised, small landlords purchased the +protection of the Church, or of some important chief, by surrendering +their estates, which they received back as tenants, subject to the +condition of the payment of rent, or of military service. Others, without +making such surrender, placed themselves under the care of a neighbouring +lord, and offered, in return, homage or military aid. At the same time, +through causes to which I have already adverted, the free peasants for the +most part sank into serfs, subject to and protected by the landowners. In +this manner a hierarchy of ranks was gradually formed, of which the +sovereign was the apex and the serf the basis. The complete legal +organisation of this hierarchy belongs to the period of feudalism, which +is not within the scope of the present volume; but the chief elements of +feudalism existed before Charlemagne, and the moral results flowing from +them may be already discerned. Each rank, except the very highest, was +continually brought into contact with a superior, and a feeling of +constant dependence and subordination was accordingly fostered. To the +serf, who depended for all things upon the neighbouring noble, to the +noble, who held all his dignities on the condition of frequent military +service under his sovereign, the idea of secular rank became indissolubly +connected with that of supreme greatness. + +It will appear evident, from the foregoing observations, that in the +period before Charlemagne the moral and political causes were already in +action, which at a much later period produced the organisation of +chivalry--an organisation which was founded on the combination and the +glorification of secular rank and military prowess. But, in order that the +tendencies I have described should acquire their full force, it was +necessary that they should be represented or illustrated in some great +personage, who, by the splendour and the beauty of his career, could +fascinate the imaginations of men. It is much easier to govern great +masses of men through their imagination than through their reason. Moral +principles rarely act powerfully upon the world, except by way of example +or ideals. When the course of events has been to glorify the ascetic or +monarchical or military spirit, a great saint, or sovereign, or soldier +will arise, who will concentrate in one dazzling focus the blind +tendencies of his time, kindle the enthusiasm and fascinate the +imagination of the people. But for the prevailing tendency, the great man +would not have arisen, or would not have exercised his great influence. +But for the great man, whose career appealed vividly to the imagination, +the prevailing tendency would never have acquired its full intensity. + +This typical figure appeared in Charlemagne, whose colossal form towers +with a majestic grandeur both in history and in romance. Of all the great +rulers of men, there has probably been no other who was so truly +many-sided, whose influence pervaded so completely all the religious, +intellectual, and political modes of thought existing in his time. Rising +in one of the darkest periods of European history, this great emperor +resuscitated, with a brief but dazzling splendour, the faded glories of +the Empire of the West, conducted, for the most part in person, numerous +expeditions against the barbarous nations around him, promulgated a vast +system of legislation, reformed the discipline of every order of the +Church, and reduced all classes of the clergy to subservience to his will, +while, by legalising tithes, he greatly increased their material +prosperity. He at the same time contributed, in a measure, to check the +intellectual decadence by founding schools and libraries, and drawing +around him all the scattered learning of Europe. He reformed the coinage, +extended commerce, influenced religious controversies, and convoked great +legislative assemblies, which ultimately contributed largely to the +organisation of feudalism. In all these spheres the traces of his vast, +organising, and far-seeing genius may be detected, and the influence which +he exercised over the imaginations of men is shown by the numerous legends +of which he is the hero. In the preceding ages the supreme ideal had been +the ascetic. When the popular imagination embodied in legends its +conception of humanity in its noblest and most attractive form, it +instinctively painted some hermit-saint of many penances and many +miracles. In the Romances of Charlemagne and of Arthur we may trace the +dawning of a new type of greatness. The hero of the imagination of Europe +was no longer a hermit, but a king, a warrior, a knight. The long train of +influences I have reviewed, culminating in Charlemagne, had done their +work. The age of the ascetics began to fade. The age of the crusades and +of chivalry succeeded it. + +It is curious to observe the manner in which, under the influence of the +prevailing tendency, the career of Charlemagne was transfigured by the +popular imagination. His military enterprises had been chiefly directed +against the Saxons, against whom he had made not less than thirty-two +expeditions. With the Mohammedans he had but little contact. It was +Charles Martel, not his grandson, who, by the great battle of Poitiers, +had checked their career. Charlemagne made, in person, but a single +expedition against them in Spain, and that expedition was on a small +scale, and was disastrous in its issue. But in the Carlovingian romances, +which arose at a time when the enthusiasm of the Crusades was permeating +Christendom, events were represented in a wholly different light. Charles +Martel has no place among the ideal combatants of the Church. He had +appeared too early, his figure was not sufficiently great to fascinate the +popular imagination, and by confiscating ecclesiastical property, and +refusing to assist the Pope against the Lombards, he had fallen under the +ban of the clergy. Charlemagne, on the other hand, was represented as the +first and greatest of the crusaders. His wars with the Saxons were +scarcely noticed. His whole life was said to have been spent in heroic and +triumphant combats with the followers of Mohammed.(549) Among the +achievements attributed to him was an expedition to rescue Nismes and +Carcassonne from their grasp, which was, in fact, a dim tradition of the +victories of Charles Martel.(550) He is even said to have carried his +victorious arms into the heart of Palestine, and he is the hero of what +are probably the three earliest extant romances of the Crusades.(551) In +fiction, as in history, his reign forms the great landmark separating the +early period of the middle ages from the age of military Christianity. + +On the verge of this great change I draw this history to a close. In +pursuing our long and chequered course, from Augustus to Charlemagne, we +have seen the rise and fall of many types of character, and of many forms +of enthusiasm. We have seen the influence of universal empire expanding, +and the influence of Greek civilisation intensifying, the sympathies of +Europe. We have surveyed the successive progress of Stoicism, Platonism, +and Egyptian philosophies, at once reflecting and guiding the moral +tendencies of society. We have traced the course of progress or +retrogression in many fields of social, political, and legislative life, +have watched the cradle of European Christianity, examined the causes of +its triumph, the difficulties it encountered, and the priceless blessings +its philanthropic spirit bestowed upon mankind. We have also pursued step +by step the mournful history of its corruption, its asceticism, and its +intolerance, the various transformations it produced or underwent when the +turbid waters of the barbarian invasions had inundated the civilisations +of Europe. It remains for me, before concluding this work, to investigate +one class of subjects to which I have, as yet, but briefly adverted--to +examine the effects of the changes I have described upon the character and +position of woman, and upon the grave moral questions concerning the +relations of the sexes. + + + + + +CHAPTER V. THE POSITION OF WOMEN. + + +In the long series of moral revolutions that have been described in the +foregoing chapters, I have more than once had occasion to refer to the +position that was assigned to woman in the community, and to the virtues +and vices that spring directly from the relations of the sexes. I have +not, however, as yet discussed these questions with a fulness at all +corresponding to their historical importance, and I propose, in +consequence, before concluding this volume, to devote a few pages to their +examination. Of all the many questions that are treated in this work, +there is none which I approach with so much hesitation, for there is +probably none which it is so difficult to treat with clearness and +impartiality, and at the same time without exciting any scandal or +offence. The complexity of the problem, arising from the very large place +which exceptional institutions or circumstances, and especially the +influence of climate and race, have had on the chastity of nations, I have +already noticed, and the extreme delicacy of the matters with which this +branch of ethics is connected must be palpable to all. The first duty of +an historian, however, is to truth; and it is absolutely impossible to +present a true picture of the moral condition of different ages, and to +form a true estimate of the moral effects of different religions, without +adverting to the department of morals, which has exhibited most change, +and has probably exercised most influence. + +It is natural that, in the period when men are still perfect barbarians, +when their habits of life are still nomadic, and when, war and the chase, +being their sole pursuits, the qualities that are required in these form +their chief measure of excellence, the inferiority of women to men should +be regarded as undoubted, and their position should be extremely degraded. +In all those qualities which are then most prized, women are indisputably +inferior. The social qualities in which they are especially fitted to +excel have no sphere for their display. The ascendancy of beauty is very +faint, and, even if it were otherwise, few traces of female beauty could +survive the hardships of the savage life. Woman is looked upon merely as +the slave of man, and as the minister to his passions. In the first +capacity, her life is one of continual, abject, and unrequited toil. In +the second capacity, she is exposed to all the violent revulsions of +feeling that follow, among rude men, the gratification of the animal +passions. + +Even in this early stage, however, we may trace some rudiments of those +moral sentiments which are destined at a later period to expand. The +institution of marriage exists. The value of chastity is commonly in some +degree felt, and appears in the indignation which is displayed against the +adulterer. The duty of restraining the passions is largely recognised in +the female, though the males are only restricted by the prohibition of +adultery. + +The first two steps which are taken towards the elevation of woman are +probably the abandonment of the custom of purchasing wives, and the +construction of the family on the basis of monogamy. In the earliest +periods of civilisation, the marriage contract was arranged between the +bridegroom and the father of the bride, on the condition of a sum of money +being paid by the former to the latter. This sum, which is known in the +laws of the barbarians as the "mundium,"(552) was in fact a payment to the +father for the cession of his daughter, who thus became the bought slave +of her husband. It is one of the most remarkable features of the ancient +laws of India, that they forbade this gift, on the ground that the parent +should not sell his child;(553) but there can be little doubt that this +sale was at one time the ordinary type of marriage. In the Jewish writings +we find Jacob purchasing Leah and Rachel by certain services to their +father; and this custom, which seems to have been at one time general in +Judea,(554) appears in the age of Homer to have been general in Greece. At +an early period, however, of Greek history, the purchase-money was +replaced by the dowry, or sum of money paid by the father of the bride for +the use of his daughter;(555) and this, although it passed into the hands +of the husband, contributed to elevate the wife, in the first place, by +the dignity it gave her, and, in the next place, by special laws, which +both in Greece and Rome secured it to her in most cases of +separation.(556) The wife thus possessed a guarantee against ill-usage by +her husband. She ceased to be his slave, and became in some degree a +contracting party. Among the early Germans, a different and very +remarkable custom existed. The bride did not bring any dowry to her +husband, nor did the bridegroom give anything to the father of the bride; +but he gave his gift to the bride herself, on the morning after the first +night of marriage, and this, which was called the "Morgengab," or morning +gift, was the origin of the jointure.(557) + +Still more important than the foregoing was the institution of monogamy, +by which, from its earliest days, the Greek civilisation proclaimed its +superiority to the Asiatic civilisations that had preceded it. We may +regard monogamy either in the light of our intuitive moral sentiment on +the subject of purity, or in the light of the interests of society. In its +Oriental or polygamous stage, marriage is regarded almost exclusively, in +its lowest aspect, as a gratification of the passions; while in European +marriages the mutual attachment and respect of the contracting parties, +the formation of a household, and the long train of domestic feelings and +duties that accompany it, have all their distinguished place among the +motives of the contract, and the lower element has comparatively little +prominence. In this way it may be intelligibly said, without any reference +to utilitarian considerations, that monogamy is a higher state than +polygamy. The utilitarian arguments in its defence are also extremely +powerful, and may be summed up in three sentences. Nature, by making the +number of males and females nearly equal, indicates it as natural. In no +other form of marriage can the government of the family, which is one of +the chief ends of marriage, be so happily sustained, and in no other does +woman assume the position of the equal of man. + +Monogamy was the general system in Greece, though there are said to have +been slight and temporary deviations into the earlier system, after some +great disasters, when an increase of population was ardently desired.(558) +A broad line must, however, be drawn between the legendary or poetical +period, as reflected in Homer and perpetuated in the tragedians, and the +later historical period. It is one of the most remarkable, and to some +writers one of the most perplexing, facts in the moral history of Greece, +that in the former and ruder period women had undoubtedly the highest +place, and their type exhibited the highest perfection. Moral ideas, in a +thousand forms, have been sublimated, enlarged, and changed, by advancing +civilisation; but it may be fearlessly asserted that the types of female +excellence which are contained in the Greek poems, while they are among +the earliest, are also among the most perfect in the literature of +mankind. The conjugal tenderness of Hector and Andromache; the unwearied +fidelity of Penelope, awaiting through the long revolving years the return +of her storm-tossed husband, who looked forward to her as to the crown of +all his labours; the heroic love of Alcestis, voluntarily dying that her +husband might live; the filial piety of Antigone; the majestic grandeur of +the death of Polyxena; the more subdued and saintly resignation of +Iphigenia, excusing with her last breath the father who had condemned her; +the joyous, modest, and loving Nausicaa, whose figure shines like a +perfect idyll among the tragedies of the Odyssey--all these are pictures of +perennial beauty, which Rome and Christendom, chivalry and modern +civilisation, have neither eclipsed nor transcended. Virgin modesty and +conjugal fidelity, the graces as well as the virtues of the most perfect +womanhood, have never been more exquisitely pourtrayed. The female figures +stand out in the canvas almost as prominently as the male ones, and are +surrounded by an almost equal reverence. The whole history of the Siege of +Troy is a history of the catastrophes that followed a violation of the +nuptial tie. Yet, at the same time, the position of women was in some +respects a degraded one. The custom of purchase-money given to the father +of the bride was general. The husbands appear to have indulged largely, +and with little or no censure, in concubines.(559) Female captives of the +highest rank were treated with great harshness. The inferiority of women +to men was strongly asserted, and it was illustrated and defended by a +very curious physiological notion, that the generative power belonged +exclusively to men, women having only a very subordinate part in the +production of their children.(560) The woman Pandora was said to have been +the author of all human ills. + +In the historical age of Greece, the legal position of women had in some +respects slightly improved, but their moral condition had undergone a +marked deterioration. Virtuous women lived a life of perfect seclusion. +The foremost and most dazzling type of Ionic womanhood was the courtesan, +while, among the men, the latitude accorded by public opinion was almost +unrestricted. + +The facts in moral history, which it is at once most important and most +difficult to appreciate, are what may be called the facts of feeling. It +is much easier to show what men did or taught than to realise the state of +mind that rendered possible such actions or teaching; and in the case +before us we have to deal with a condition of feeling so extremely remote +from that of our own day, that the difficulty is preeminently great. Very +sensual, and at the same time very brilliant societies, have indeed +repeatedly existed, and the histories of both France and Italy afford many +examples of an artistic and intellectual enthusiasm encircling those who +were morally most frail; but the peculiarity of Greek sensuality is, that +it grew up, for the most part, uncensured, and indeed even encouraged, +under the eyes of some of the most illustrious of moralists. If we can +imagine Ninon de l'Enclos at a time when the rank and splendour of +Parisian society thronged her drawing-rooms, reckoning a Bossuet or a +Fénelon among her followers--if we can imagine these prelates publicly +advising her about the duties of her profession, and the means of +attaching the affections of her lovers--we shall have conceived a relation +scarcely more strange than that which existed between Socrates and the +courtesan Theodota. + +In order to reconstruct, as far as possible, the modes of feeling of the +Greek moralists, it will be necessary in the first place to say a few +words concerning one of the most delicate, but at the same time most +important, problems with which the legislator and the moralist have to +deal. + +It was a favourite doctrine of the Christian Fathers, that concupiscence, +or the sensual passion, was "the original sin" of human nature; and it +must be owned that the progress of knowledge, which is usually extremely +opposed to the ascetic theory of life, concurs with the theological view, +in showing the natural force of this appetite to be far greater than the +well-being of man requires. The writings of Malthus have proved, what the +Greek moralists appear in a considerable degree to have seen, that its +normal and temperate exercise in the form of marriage, would produce, if +universal, the utmost calamities to the world, and that, while nature +seems in the most unequivocal manner to urge the human race to early +marriages, the first condition of an advancing civilisation in populous +countries is to restrain or diminish them. In no highly civilised society +is marriage general on the first development of the passions, and the +continual tendency of increasing knowledge is to render such marriages +more rare. It is also an undoubted truth that, however much moralists may +enforce the obligation of extra-matrimonial purity, this obligation has +never been even approximately regarded; and in all nations, ages, and +religions a vast mass of irregular indulgence has appeared, which has +probably contributed more than any other single cause to the misery and +the degradation of man. + +There are two ends which a moralist, in dealing with this question, will +especially regard--the natural duty of every man doing something for the +support of the child he has called into existence, and the preservation of +the domestic circle unassailed and unpolluted. The family is the centre +and the archetype of the State, and the happiness and goodness of society +are always in a very great degree dependent upon the purity of domestic +life. The essentially exclusive nature of marital affection, and the +natural desire of every man to be certain of the paternity of the child he +supports, render the incursions of irregular passions within the domestic +circle a cause of extreme suffering. Yet it would appear as if the +excessive force of these passions would render such incursions both +frequent and inevitable. + +Under these circumstances, there has arisen in society a figure which is +certainly the most mournful, and in some respects the most awful, upon +which the eye of the moralist can dwell. That unhappy being whose very +name is a shame to speak; who counterfeits with a cold heart the +transports of affection, and submits herself as the passive instrument of +lust; who is scorned and insulted as the vilest of her sex, and doomed, +for the most part, to disease and abject wretchedness and an early death, +appears in every age as the perpetual symbol of the degradation and the +sinfulness of man. Herself the supreme type of vice, she is ultimately the +most efficient guardian of virtue. But for her, the unchallenged purity of +countless happy homes would be polluted, and not a few who, in the pride +of their untempted chastity, think of her with an indignant shudder, would +have known the agony of remorse and of despair. On that one degraded and +ignoble form are concentrated the passions that might have filled the +world with shame. She remains, while creeds and civilisations rise and +fall, the eternal priestess of humanity, blasted for the sins of the +people. + +In dealing with this unhappy being, and with all of her sex who have +violated the law of chastity, the public opinion of most Christian +countries pronounces a sentence of extreme severity. In the Anglo-Saxon +nations especially, a single fault of this kind is sufficient, at least in +the upper and middle classes, to affix an indelible brand which no time, +no virtues, no penitence can wholly efface. This sentence is probably, in +the first instance, simply the expression of the religious feeling on the +subject, but it is also sometimes defended by powerful arguments drawn +from the interests of society. It is said that the preservation of +domestic purity is a matter of such transcendent importance that it is +right that the most crushing penalties should be attached to an act which +the imagination can easily transfigure, which legal enactments can never +efficiently control, and to which the most violent passions may prompt. It +is said, too, that an anathema which drives into obscurity all evidences +of sensual passions is peculiarly fitted to restrict their operation; for, +more than any other passions, they are dependent on the imagination, which +is readily fired by the sight of evil. It is added, that the emphasis with +which the vice is stigmatised produces a corresponding admiration for the +opposite virtue, and that a feeling of the most delicate and scrupulous +honour is thus formed among the female population, which not only +preserves from gross sin, but also dignifies and ennobles the whole +character. + +In opposition to these views, several considerations of much weight have +been urged. It is argued that, however persistently society may ignore +this form of vice, it exists nevertheless, and on the most gigantic scale, +and that evil rarely assumes such inveterate and perverting forms as when +it is shrouded in obscurity and veiled by an hypocritical appearance of +unconsciousness. The existence in England of certainly not less than fifty +thousand unhappy women,(561) sunk in the very lowest depths of vice and +misery, shows sufficiently what an appalling amount of moral evil is +festering uncontrolled, undiscussed, and unalleviated, under the fair +surface of a decorous society. In the eyes of every physician, and indeed +in the eyes of most continental writers who have adverted to the subject, +no other feature of English life appears so infamous as the fact that an +epidemic, which is one of the most dreadful now existing among mankind, +which communicates itself from the guilty husband to the innocent wife, +and even transmits its taint to her offspring, and which the experience of +other nations conclusively proves may be vastly diminished, should be +suffered to rage unchecked because the Legislature refuses to take +official cognisance of its existence, or proper sanitary measures for its +repression.(562) If the terrible censure which English public opinion +passes upon every instance of female frailty in some degree diminishes the +number, it does not prevent such instances from being extremely numerous, +and it immeasurably aggravates the suffering they produce. Acts which in +other European countries would excite only a slight and transient emotion, +spread in England, over a wide circle, all the bitterness of unmitigated +anguish. Acts which naturally neither imply nor produce a total subversion +of the moral feelings, and which, in other countries, are often followed +by happy, virtuous, and affectionate lives, in England almost invariably +lead to absolute ruin. Infanticide is greatly multiplied, and a vast +proportion of those whose reputations and lives have been blasted by one +momentary sin, are hurled into the abyss of habitual prostitution--a +condition which, owing to the sentence of public opinion and the neglect +of legislators, is in no other European country so hopelessly vicious or +so irrevocable.(563) + +It is added, too, that the immense multitude who are thus doomed to the +extremity of life-long wretchedness are not always, perhaps not generally, +of those whose dispositions seem naturally incapable of virtue. The +victims of seduction are often led aside quite as much by the ardour of +their affections, and by the vivacity of their intelligence, as by any +vicious propensities.(564) Even in the lowest grades, the most +dispassionate observers have detected remains of higher feelings, which, +in a different moral atmosphere, and under different moral husbandry, +would have undoubtedly been developed.(565) The statistics of prostitution +show that a great proportion of those who have fallen into it have been +impelled by the most extreme poverty, in many instances verging upon +starvation.(566) + +These opposing considerations, which I have very briefly indicated, and +which I do not propose to discuss or to estimate, will be sufficient to +exhibit the magnitude of the problem. In the Greek civilisation, +legislators and moralists endeavoured to meet it by the cordial +recognition of two distinct orders of womanhood(567)--the wife, whose first +duty was fidelity to her husband; the hetæra, or mistress, who subsisted +by her fugitive attachments. The wives of the Greeks lived in almost +absolute seclusion. They were usually married when very young. Their +occupations were to weave, to spin, to embroider, to superintend the +household, to care for their sick slaves. They lived in a special and +retired part of the house. The more wealthy seldom went abroad, and never +except when accompanied by a female slave; never attended the public +spectacles; received no male visitors except in the presence of their +husbands, and had not even a seat at their own tables when male guests +were there. Their pre-eminent virtue was fidelity, and it is probable that +this was very strictly and very generally observed. Their remarkable +freedom from temptations, the public opinion which strongly discouraged +any attempt to seduce them, and the ample sphere for illicit pleasures +that was accorded to the other sex, all contributed to protect it. On the +other hand, living, as they did, almost exclusively among their female +slaves, being deprived of all the educating influence of male society, and +having no place at those public spectacles which were the chief means of +Athenian culture, their minds must necessarily have been exceedingly +contracted. Thucydides doubtless expressed the prevailing sentiment of his +countrymen when he said that the highest merit of woman is not to be +spoken of either for good or for evil; and Phidias illustrated the same +feeling when he represented the heavenly Aphrodite standing on a tortoise, +typifying thereby the secluded life of a virtuous woman.(568) + +In their own restricted sphere their lives were probably not unhappy. +Education and custom rendered the purely domestic life that was assigned +to them a second nature, and it must in most instances have reconciled +them to the extra-matrimonial connections in which their husbands too +frequently indulged. The prevailing manners were very gentle. Domestic +oppression is scarcely ever spoken of; the husband lived chiefly in the +public place; causes of jealousy and of dissension could seldom occur; and +a feeling of warm affection, though not a feeling of equality, must +doubtless have in most cases spontaneously arisen. In the writings of +Xenophon we have a charming picture of a husband who had received into his +arms his young wife of fifteen, absolutely ignorant of the world and of +its ways. He speaks to her with extreme kindness, but in the language that +would be used to a little child. Her task, he tells her, is to be like a +queen bee, dwelling continually at home and superintending the work of her +slaves. She must distribute to each their tasks, must economise the family +income, and must take especial care that the house is strictly orderly--the +shoes, the pots, and the clothes always in their places. It is also, he +tells her, a part of her duty to tend her sick slaves; but here his wife +interrupted him, exclaiming, "Nay, but that will indeed be the most +agreeable of my offices, if such as I treat with kindness are likely to be +grateful, and to love me more than before." With a very tender and +delicate care to avoid everything resembling a reproach, the husband +persuades his wife to give up the habits of wearing high-heeled boots, in +order to appear tall, and of colouring her face with vermilion and white +lead. He promises her that if she faithfully performs her duties he will +himself be the first and most devoted of her slaves. He assured Socrates +that when any domestic dispute arose he could extricate himself admirably, +if he was in the right; but that, whenever he was in the wrong, he found +it impossible to convince his wife that it was otherwise.(569) + +We have another picture of Greek married life in the writings of Plutarch, +but it represents the condition of the Greek mind at a later period than +that of Xenophon. In Plutarch the wife is represented not as the mere +housekeeper, or as the chief slave of her husband, but as his equal and +his companion. He enforces, in the strongest terms, reciprocity of +obligations, and desires that the minds of women should be cultivated to +the highest point.(570) His precepts of marriage, indeed, fall little if +at all below any that have appeared in modern days. His letter of +consolation to his wife, on the death of their child, breathes a spirit of +the tenderest affection. It is recorded of him that, having had some +dispute with the relations of his wife, she feared that it might impair +their domestic happiness, and she accordingly persuaded her husband to +accompany her on a pilgrimage to Mount Helicon, where they offered up +together a sacrifice to Love, and prayed that their affection for one +another might never be diminished. + +In general, however, the position of the virtuous Greek woman was a very +low one. She was under a perpetual tutelage: first of all to her parents, +who disposed of her hand, then to her husband, and in her days of +widowhood to her sons. In cases of inheritance her male relations were +preferred to her. The privilege of divorce, which, in Athens, at least, +she possessed as well as her husband, appears to have been practically +almost nugatory, on account of the shock which public declarations in the +law court gave to the habits which education and public opinion had +formed. She brought with her, however, a dowry, and the recognised +necessity of endowing daughters was one of the causes of those frequent +expositions which were perpetrated with so little blame. The Athenian law +was also peculiarly careful and tender in dealing with the interests of +female orphans.(571) Plato had argued that women were equal to men; but +the habits of the people were totally opposed to this theory. Marriage was +regarded chiefly in a civic light, as the means of producing citizens, and +in Sparta it was ordered that old or infirm husbands should cede their +young wives to stronger men, who could produce vigorous soldiers for the +State. The Lacedæmonian treatment of women, which differed in many +respects from that which prevailed in the other Greek States, while it was +utterly destructive of all delicacy of feeling or action, had undoubtedly +the effect of producing a fierce and masculine patriotism; and many fine +examples are recorded of Spartan mothers devoting their sons on the altar +of their country, rejoicing over their deaths when nobly won, and infusing +their own heroic spirit into the armies of the people. For the most part, +however, the names of virtuous women seldom appear in Greek history. The +simple modesty which was evinced by Phocion's wife, in the period when her +husband occupied the foremost position in Athens,(572) and a few instances +of conjugal and filial affection, have been recorded; but in general the +only women who attracted the notice of the people were the hetæræ, or +courtesans.(573) + +In order to understand the position which these last assumed in Greek +life, we must transport ourselves in thought into a moral latitude totally +different from our own. The Greek conception of excellence was the full +and perfect development of humanity in all its organs and functions, and +without any tinge of asceticism. Some parts of human nature were +recognised as higher than others; and to suffer any of the lower appetites +to obscure the mind, restrain the will and engross the energies of life, +was acknowledged to be disgraceful; but the systematic repression of a +natural appetite was totally foreign to Greek modes of thought. +Legislators, moralists, and the general voice of the people, appear to +have applied these principles almost unreservedly to intercourse between +the sexes, and the most virtuous men habitually and openly entered into +relations which would now be almost universally censured. + +The experience, however, of many societies has shown that a public opinion +may accord, in this respect, almost unlimited licence to one sex, without +showing any corresponding indulgence to the other. But, in Greece, a +concurrence of causes had conspired to bring a certain section of +courtesans into a position they have in no other society attained. The +voluptuous worship of Aphrodite gave a kind of religious sanction to their +profession. Courtesans were the priestesses in her temples, and those of +Corinth were believed by their prayers to have averted calamities from +their city. Prostitution is said to have entered into the religious rites +of Babylon, Biblis, Cyprus, and Corinth, and these as well as Miletus, +Tenedos, Lesbos, and Abydos became famous for their schools of vice, which +grew up under the shadow of the temples.(574) + +In the next place, the intense æsthetic enthusiasm that prevailed was +eminently fitted to raise the most beautiful to honour. In a land and +beneath a sky where natural beauty developed to the highest point, there +arose a school of matchless artists both in painting and in sculpture, and +public games and contests were celebrated, in which supreme physical +perfection was crowned by an assembled people. In no other period of the +world's history was the admiration of beauty in all its forms so +passionate or so universal. It coloured the whole moral teaching of the +time, and led the chief moralists to regard virtue simply as the highest +kind of supersensual beauty. It appeared in all literature, where the +beauty of form and style was the first of studies. It supplied at once the +inspiration and the rule of all Greek art. It led the Greek wife to pray, +before all other prayers, for the beauty of her children. It surrounded +the most beautiful with an aureole of admiring reverence. The courtesan +was often the queen of beauty. She was the model of the statues of +Aphrodite, that commanded the admiration of Greece. Praxiteles was +accustomed to reproduce the form of Phryne, and her statue, carved in +gold, stood in the temple of Apollo at Delphi; and when she was accused of +corrupting the youth of Athens, her advocate, Hyperides, procured her +acquittal by suddenly unveiling her charms before the dazzled eyes of the +assembled judges. Apelles was at once the painter and the lover of Laïs, +and Alexander gave him, as the choicest gift, his own favourite concubine, +of whom the painter had become enamoured while pourtraying her. The chief +flower-painter of antiquity acquired his skill through his love of the +flower-girl Glycera, whom he was accustomed to paint among her garlands. +Pindar and Simonides sang the praises of courtesans, and grave +philosophers made pilgrimages to visit them, and their names were known in +every city.(575) + +It is not surprising that, in such a state of thought and feeling, many of +the more ambitious and accomplished women should have betaken themselves +to this career, nor yet that they should have attained the social position +which the secluded existence and the enforced ignorance of the Greek wives +had left vacant. The courtesan was the one free woman of Athens, and she +often availed herself of her freedom to acquire a degree of knowledge +which enabled her to add to her other charms an intense intellectual +fascination. Gathering around her the most brilliant artists, poets, +historians, and philosophers, she flung herself unreservedly into the +intellectual and æsthetic enthusiasms of her time, and soon became the +centre of a literary society of matchless splendour. Aspasia, who was as +famous for her genius as for her beauty, won the passionate love of +Pericles. She is said to have instructed him in eloquence, and to have +composed some of his most famous orations; she was continually consulted +on affairs of state; and Socrates, like other philosophers, attended her +assemblies. Socrates himself has owned his deep obligations to the +instructions of a courtesan named Diotima. The courtesan Leontium was +among the most ardent disciples of Epicurus.(576) + +Another cause probably contributed indirectly to the elevation of this +class, to which it is extremely difficult to allude in an English book, +but which it is impossible altogether to omit, even in the most cursory +survey of Greek morals. Irregular female connections were looked upon as +ordinary and not disgraceful incidents in the life of a good man, for they +were compared with that lower abyss of unnatural love, which was the +deepest and strangest taint of Greek civilisation. This vice, which never +appears in the writings of Homer and Hesiod, doubtless arose under the +influence of the public games, which, accustoming men to the contemplation +of absolutely nude figures,(577) awoke an unnatural passion,(578) totally +remote from all modern feelings, but which in Greece it was regarded as +heroic to resist.(579) The popular religion in this, as in other cases, +was made to bend to the new vice. Hebe, the cup-bearer of the gods, was +replaced by Ganymede, and the worst vices of earth were transported to +Olympus.(580) Artists sought to reflect the passion in their statues of +the Hermaphrodite, of Bacchus, and the more effeminate Apollo; moralists +were known to praise it as the bond of friendship, and it was spoken of as +the inspiring enthusiasm of the heroic Theban legion of Epaminondas.(581) +In general, however, it was stigmatised as unquestionably a vice, but it +was treated with a levity we can now hardly conceive. We can scarcely have +a better illustration of the extent to which moral ideas and feelings have +changed, than the fact that the first two Greeks who were considered +worthy of statues by their fellow-countrymen are said to have been +Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who were united by an impure love, and who +were glorified for a political assassination.(582) + +It is probable that this cause conspired with the others to dissociate the +class of courtesans from the idea of supreme depravity with which they +have usually been connected. The great majority, however, were sunk in +this, as in all other ages, in abject degradation;(583) comparatively few +attained the condition of hetæræ, and even of these it is probable that +the greater number exhibited the characteristics which in all ages have +attached to their class. Faithlessness, extreme rapacity, and extravagant +luxury, were common among them; but yet it is unquestionable that there +were many exceptions. The excommunication of society did not press upon or +degrade them; and though they were never regarded with the same honour as +married women, it seems generally to have been believed that the wife and +the courtesan had each her place and her function in the world, and her +own peculiar type of excellence. The courtesan Leæna, who was a friend of +Harmodius, died in torture rather than reveal the conspiracy of her +friend, and the Athenians, in allusion to her name, caused the statue of a +tongueless lioness to be erected to commemorate her constancy.(584) The +gentle manners and disinterested affection of a courtesan named Bacchis +were especially recorded, and a very touching letter paints her character, +and describes the regret that followed her to the tomb.(585) In one of the +most remarkable of his pictures of Greek life, Xenophon describes how +Socrates, having heard of the beauty of the courtesan Theodota, went with +his disciples to ascertain for himself whether the report was true; how +with a quiet humour he questioned her about the sources of the luxury of +her dwelling, and how he proceeded to sketch for her the qualities she +should cultivate in order to attach her lovers. She ought, he tells her, +to shut the door against the insolent, to watch her lovers in sickness, to +rejoice greatly when they succeed in anything honourable, to love tenderly +those who love her. Having carried on a cheerful and perfectly +unembarrassed conversation with her, with no kind of reproach on his part, +either expressed or implied, and with no trace either of the timidity or +effrontery of conscious guilt upon hers, the best and wisest of the Greeks +left his hostess with a graceful compliment to her beauty.(586) + +My task in describing this aspect of Greek life has been an eminently +unpleasing one, and I should certainly not have entered upon even the +baldest and most guarded disquisition on a subject so difficult, painful, +and delicate, had it not been absolutely indispensable to a history of +morals to give at least an outline of the progress that has been effected +in this sphere. What I have written will sufficiently explain why Greece, +which was fertile, beyond all other lands, in great men, was so remarkably +barren of great women. It will show, too, that while the Greek moralists +recognised, like ourselves, the distinction between the higher and the +lower sides of our nature, they differed very widely from modern public +opinion in the standard of morals they enforced. The Christian doctrine, +that it is criminal to gratify a powerful and a transient physical +appetite, except under the condition of a lifelong contract, was +altogether unknown. Strict duties were imposed upon Greek wives. Duties +were imposed at a later period, though less strictly, upon the husband. +Unnatural love was stigmatised, but with a levity of censure which to a +modern mind appears inexpressibly revolting. Some slight legal +disqualifications rested upon the whole class of hetæræ, and, though more +admired, they were less respected than women who had adopted a domestic +life; but a combination of circumstances had raised them, in actual worth +and in popular estimation, to an unexampled elevation, and an aversion to +marriage became very general, and extra-matrimonial connections were +formed with the most perfect frankness and publicity. + +If we now turn to the Roman civilisation, we shall find that some +important advances had been made in the condition of women. The virtue of +chastity has, as I have shown, been regarded in two different ways. The +utilitarian view, which commonly prevails in countries where a political +spirit is more powerful than a religious spirit, regards marriage as the +ideal state, and to promote the happiness, sanctity, and security of this +state is the main object of all its precepts. The mystical view which +rests upon the natural feeling of shame, and which, as history proves, has +prevailed especially where political sentiment is very low, and religious +sentiment very strong, regards virginity as its supreme type, and marriage +as simply the most pardonable declension from ideal purity. It is, I +think, a very remarkable fact, that at the head of the religious system of +Rome we find two sacerdotal bodies which appear respectively to typify +these ideas. The Flamens of Jupiter and the Vestal Virgins were the two +most sacred orders in Rome. The ministrations of each were believed to be +vitally important to the State. Each could officiate only within the walls +of Rome. Each was appointed with the most imposing ceremonies. Each was +honoured with the most profound reverence. But in one important respect +they differed. The Vestal was the type of virginity, and her purity was +guarded by the most terrific penalties. The Flamen, on the other hand, was +the representative of Roman marriage in its strictest and holiest form. He +was necessarily married. His marriage was celebrated with the most solemn +rites. It could only be dissolved by death. If his wife died, he was +degraded from his office.(587) + +Of these two orders, there can be no question that the Flamen was the most +faithful expression of the Roman sentiments. The Roman religion was +essentially domestic, and it was a main object of the legislator to +surround marriage with every circumstance of dignity and solemnity. +Monogamy was, from the earliest times, strictly enjoined; and it was one +of the great benefits that have resulted from the expansion of Roman +power, that it made this type dominant in Europe. In the legends of early +Rome we have ample evidence both of the high moral estimate of women, and +of their prominence in Roman life. The tragedies of Lucretia and of +Virginia display a delicacy of honour, a sense of the supreme excellence +of unsullied purity, which no Christian nation could surpass. The legends +of the Sabine women interceding between their parents and their husbands, +and thus saving the infant republic, and of the mother of Coriolanus +averting by her prayers the ruin impending over her country, entitled +women to claim their share in the patriotic glories of Rome. A temple of +Venus Calva was associated with the legend of Roman ladies, who, in an +hour of danger, cut off their long tresses to make bowstrings for the +soldiers.(588) Another temple preserved to all posterity the memory of the +filial piety of that Roman woman who, when her mother was condemned to be +starved to death, obtained permission to visit her in her prison, and was +discovered feeding her from her breast.(589) + +The legal position, however, of the Roman wife was for a long period +extremely low. The Roman family was constituted on the principle of the +uncontrolled authority of its head, both over his wife and over his +children, and he could repudiate the former at will. Neither the custom of +gifts to the father of the bride, nor the custom of dowries, appears to +have existed in the earliest period of Roman history; but the father +disposed absolutely of the hand of his daughter, and sometimes even +possessed the power of breaking off marriages that had been actually +contracted.(590) In the forms of marriage, however, which were usual in +the earlier periods of Rome, the absolute power passed into the hands of +the husband, and he had the right, in some cases, of putting her to +death.(591) Law and public opinion combined in making matrimonial purity +most strict. For five hundred and twenty years, it was said, there was no +such thing as a divorce in Rome.(592) Manners were so severe, that a +senator was censured for indecency because he had kissed his wife in the +presence of their daughter.(593) It was considered in a high degree +disgraceful for a Roman mother to delegate to a nurse the duty of suckling +her child.(594) Sumptuary laws regulated with the most minute severity all +the details of domestic economy.(595) The courtesan class, though probably +numerous and certainly uncontrolled, were regarded with much contempt. The +disgrace of publicly professing themselves members of it was believed to +be a sufficient punishment;(596) and an old law, which was probably +intended to teach in symbol the duties of married life, enjoined that no +such person should touch the altar of Juno.(597) It was related of a +certain ædile, that he failed to obtain redress for an assault which had +been made upon him, because it had occurred in a house of ill-fame, in +which it was disgraceful for a Roman magistrate to be found.(598) The +sanctity of female purity was believed to be attested by all nature. The +most savage animals became tame before a virgin.(599) When a woman walked +naked round a field, caterpillars and all loathsome insects fell dead +before her.(600) It was said that drowned men floated on their backs, and +drowned women on their faces; and this, in the opinion of Roman +naturalists, was due to the superior purity of the latter.(601) + +It was a remark of Aristotle, that the superiority of the Greeks to the +barbarians was shown, among other things, in the fact that the Greeks did +not, like other nations, regard their wives as slaves, but treated them as +helpmates and companions. A Roman writer has appealed, on the whole with +greater justice, to the treatment of wives by his fellow countrymen, as a +proof of the superiority of Roman to Greek civilisation. He has observed +that while the Greeks kept their wives in a special quarter in the +interior of their houses, and never permitted them to sit at banquets +except with their relatives, or to see any male except in the presence of +a relative, no Roman ever hesitated to lead his wife with him to the +feast, or to place the mother of the family at the head of his table.(602) +Whether, in the period when wives were completely subject to the rule of +their husbands, much domestic oppression occurred, it is now impossible to +say. A temple dedicated to a goddess named Viriplaca, whose mission was to +appease husbands, was worshipped by Roman women on the Palatine;(603) and +a strange and improbable, if not incredible story, is related by Livy, of +the discovery during the Republic, of a vast conspiracy by Roman wives to +poison their husbands.(604) On the whole, however, it is probable that the +Roman matron was from the earliest period a name of honour;(605) that the +beautiful sentence of a jurisconsult of the Empire, who defined marriage +as a lifelong fellowship of all divine and human rights,(606) expressed +most faithfully the feelings of the people, and that female virtue had in +every age a considerable place in Roman biographies.(607) + +I have already enumerated the chief causes of that complete dissolution of +Roman morals which began shortly after the Punic wars, which contributed +very largely to the destruction of the Republic, and which attained its +climax under the Cæsars. There are few examples in history of a revolution +pervading so completely every sphere of religious, domestic, social, and +political life. Philosophical scepticism corroded the ancient religions. +An inundation of Eastern luxury and Eastern morals submerged all the old +habits of austere simplicity. The civil wars and the Empire degraded the +character of the people, and the exaggerated prudery of republican manners +only served to make the rebound into vice the more irresistible. In the +fierce outburst of ungovernable and almost frantic depravity that marked +this evil period, the violations of female virtue were infamously +prominent. The vast multiplication of slaves, which is in every age +peculiarly fatal to moral purity; the fact that a great proportion of +those slaves were chosen from the most voluptuous provinces of the Empire; +the games of Flora, in which races of naked courtesans were exhibited; the +pantomimes, which derived their charms chiefly from the audacious +indecencies of the actors; the influx of the Greek and Asiatic hetæræ who +were attracted by the wealth of the metropolis; the licentious paintings +which began to adorn every house; the rise of Baiæ, which rivalled the +luxury and surpassed the beauty of the chief centres of Asiatic vice, +combining with the intoxication of great wealth suddenly acquired, with +the disruption, through many causes, of all the ancient habits and +beliefs, and with the tendency to pleasure which the closing of the paths +of honourable political ambition by the imperial despotism, naturally +produced, had all their part in preparing those orgies of vice which the +writers of the Empire reveal. Most scholars will, I suppose, retain a +vivid recollection of the new insight into the extent and wildness of +human guilt which they obtained when they first opened the pages of +Suetonius or Lampridius; and the sixth Satire of Juvenal paints with a +fierce energy, though probably with the natural exaggeration of a +satirist, the extent to which corruption had spread among the women. It +was found necessary, under Tiberius, to make a special law prohibiting +members of noble houses from enrolling themselves as prostitutes.(608) The +extreme coarseness of the Roman disposition prevented sensuality from +assuming that æsthetic character which had made it in Greece the parent of +Art, and had very profoundly modified its influence, while the passion for +gladiatorial shows often allied it somewhat unnaturally with cruelty. +There have certainly been many periods in history when virtue was more +rare than under the Cæsars; but there has probably never been a period +when vice was more extravagant or uncontrolled. Young emperors especially, +who were surrounded by swarms of sycophants and panders, and who often +lived in continual dread of assassination, plunged with the most reckless +and feverish excitement into every variety of abnormal lust. The reticence +which has always more or less characterised modern society and modern +writers was unknown, and the unblushing, undisguised obscenity of the +Epigrams of Martial, of the Romances of Apuleius and Petronius, and of +some of the Dialogues of Lucian, reflected but too faithfully the spirit +of their time. + +There had arisen, too, partly through vicious causes, and partly, I +suppose, through the unfavourable influence which the attraction of the +public institutions exercised on domestic life, a great and general +indisposition towards marriage, which Augustus attempted in vain to arrest +by his laws against celibacy, and by conferring many privileges on the +fathers of three children.(609) A singularly curious speech is preserved, +which is said to have been delivered on this subject, shortly before the +close of the Republic, by Metellus Numidicus, in order, if possible, to +overcome this indisposition. "If, Romans," he said, "we could live without +wives, we should all keep free from that source of trouble; but since +nature has ordained that men can neither live sufficiently agreeably with +wives, nor at all without them, let us consider the perpetual endurance of +our race rather than our own brief enjoyment."(610) + +In the midst of this torrent of corruption a great change was passing over +the legal position of Roman women. They had at first been in a condition +of absolute subjection or subordination to their relations. They arrived, +during the Empire, at a point of freedom and dignity which they +subsequently lost, and have never altogether regained. The Romans +recognised two distinct classes of marriages: the stricter, and, in the +eyes of the law, more honourable, forms, which placed the woman "in the +hand" of her husband and gave him an almost absolute authority over her +person and her property; and a less strict form, which left her legal +position unchanged. The former, which were general during the Republic, +were of three kinds--the "confarreatio," which was celebrated and could +only be dissolved by the most solemn religious ceremonies, and was +jealously restricted to patricians; the "coemptio," which was purely +civil, and derived its name from a symbolical sale; and the "usus," which +was effected by the mere cohabitation of a woman with a man without +interruption for the space of a year. Under the Empire, however, these +kinds of marriage became almost wholly obsolete; a laxer form, resting +upon a simple mutual agreement, without any religious or civil ceremony, +was general, and it had this very important consequence, that the woman so +married remained, in the eyes of the law, in the family of her father, and +was under his guardianship, not under the guardianship of her husband. But +the old _patria potestas_ had become completely obsolete, and the +practical effect of the general adoption of this form of marriage was the +absolute legal independence of the wife. With the exception of her dowry, +which passed into the hands of her husband, she held her property in her +own right; she inherited her share of the wealth of her father, and she +retained it altogether independently of her husband. A very considerable +portion of Roman wealth thus passed into the uncontrolled possession of +women. The private man of business of the wife was a favourite character +with the comedians, and the tyranny exercised by rich wives over their +husbands--to whom it is said they sometimes lent money at high interest--a +continual theme of satirists.(611) + +A complete revolution had thus passed over the constitution of the family. +Instead of being constructed on the principle of autocracy, it was +constructed on the principle of coequal partnership. The legal position of +the wife had become one of complete independence, while her social +position was one of great dignity. The more conservative spirits were +naturally alarmed at the change, and two measures were taken to arrest it. +The Oppian law was designed to restrain the luxury of women; but, in spite +of the strenuous exertions of Cato, this law was speedily repealed.(612) A +more important measure was the Voconian law, which restricted within very +narrow limits the property which women might inherit; but public opinion +never fully acquiesced in it, and by several legal subterfuges its +operation was partially evaded.(613) + +Another and a still more important consequence resulted from the changed +form of marriage. Being looked upon merely as a civil contract, entered +into for the happiness of the contracting parties, its continuance +depended upon mutual consent. Either party might dissolve it at will, and +the dissolution gave both parties a right to remarry. There can be no +question that under this system the obligations of marriage were treated +with extreme levity. We find Cicero repudiating his wife Terentia, because +he desired a new dowry;(614) Augustus compelling the husband of Livia to +repudiate her when she was already pregnant, that he might marry her +himself;(615) Cato ceding his wife, with the consent of her father, to his +friend Hortensius, and resuming her after his death;(616) Mæcenas +continually changing his wife;(617) Sempronius Sophus repudiating his +wife, because she had once been to the public games without his +knowledge;(618) Paulus Æmilius taking the same step without assigning any +reason, and defending himself by saying, "My shoes are new and well made, +but no one knows where they pinch me."(619) Nor did women show less +alacrity in repudiating their husbands. Seneca denounced this evil with +especial vehemence, declaring that divorce in Rome no longer brought with +it any shame, and that there were women who reckoned their years rather by +their husbands than by the consuls.(620) Christians and Pagans echoed the +same complaint. According to Tertullian, "divorce is the fruit of +marriage."(621) Martial speaks of a woman who had already arrived at her +tenth husband;(622) Juvenal, of a woman having eight husbands in five +years.(623) But the most extraordinary recorded instance of this kind is +related by St. Jerome, who assures us that there existed at Rome a wife +who was married to her twenty-third husband, she herself being his +twenty-first wife.(624) + +These are, no doubt, extreme cases; but it is unquestionable that the +stability of married life was very seriously impaired. It would be easy, +however, to exaggerate the influence of legal changes in affecting it. In +a purer state of public opinion a very wide latitude of divorce might +probably have been allowed to both parties, without any serious +consequence. The right of repudiation, which the husband had always +possessed, was, as we have seen, in the Republic never or very rarely +exercised. Of those who scandalised good men by the rapid recurrence of +their marriages, probably most, if marriage had been indissoluble, would +have refrained from entering into it, and would have contented themselves +with many informal connections, or, if they had married, would have +gratified their love of change by simple adultery. A vast wave of +corruption had flowed in upon Rome, and under any system of law it would +have penetrated into domestic life. Laws prohibiting all divorce have +never secured the purity of married life in ages of great corruption, nor +did the latitude which was accorded in imperial Rome prevent the existence +of a very large amount of female virtue. + +I have observed, in a former chapter, that the moral contrasts shown in +ancient life surpass those of modern societies, in which we very rarely +find clusters of heroic or illustrious men arising in nations that are in +general very ignorant or very corrupt. I have endeavoured to account for +this fact by showing that the moral agencies of antiquity were in general +much more fitted to develop virtue than to repress vice, and that they +raised noble natures to almost the highest conceivable point of +excellence, while they entirely failed to coerce or to attenuate the +corruption of the depraved. In the female life of Imperial Rome we find +these contrasts vividly displayed. There can be no question that the moral +tone of the sex was extremely low--lower, probably, than in France under +the Regency, or in England under the Restoration--and it is also certain +that frightful excesses of unnatural passion, of which the most corrupt of +modern courts present no parallel, were perpetrated with but little +concealment on the Palatine. Yet there is probably no period in which +examples of conjugal heroism and fidelity appear more frequently than in +this very age, in which marriage was most free and in which corruption was +so general. Much simplicity of manners continued to co-exist with the +excesses of an almost unbridled luxury. Augustus, we are told, used to +make his daughters and granddaughters weave and spin, and his wife and +sister made most of the clothes he wore.(625) The skill of wives in +domestic economy, and especially in spinning, was frequently noticed in +their epitaphs.(626) Intellectual culture was much diffused among +them,(627) and we meet with several noble specimens, in the sex, of large +and accomplished minds united with all the gracefulness of intense +womanhood, and all the fidelity of the truest love. Such were Cornelia, +the brilliant and devoted wife of Pompey,(628) Marcia, the friend, and +Helvia, the mother of Seneca. The Northern Italian cities had in a great +degree escaped the contamination of the times, and Padua and Brescia were +especially noted for the virtue of their women.(629) In an age of +extravagant sensuality a noble lady, named Mallonia, plunged her dagger in +her heart rather than yield to the embraces of Tiberius.(630) To the +period when the legal bond of marriage was most relaxed must be assigned +most of those noble examples of the constancy of Roman wives, which have +been for so many generations household tales among mankind. Who has not +read with emotion of the tenderness and heroism of Porcia, claiming her +right to share in the trouble which clouded her husband's brow; how, +doubting her own courage, she did not venture to ask Brutus to reveal to +her his enterprise till she had secretly tried her power of endurance by +piercing her thigh with a knife; how once, and but once in his presence, +her noble spirit failed, when, as she was about to separate from him for +the last time, her eye chanced to fall upon a picture of the parting +interview of Hector and Andromache?(631) Paulina, the wife of Seneca, +opened her own veins in order to accompany her husband to the grave; when +much blood had already flowed, her slaves and freedmen bound her wounds, +and thus compelled her to live; but the Romans ever after observed with +reverence the sacred pallor of her countenance--the memorial of her +act.(632) When Pætus was condemned to die by his own hand, those who knew +the love which his wife Arria bore him, and the heroic fervour of her +character, predicted that she would not long survive him. Thrasea, who had +married her daughter, endeavoured to dissuade her from suicide by saying, +"If I am ever called upon to perish, would you wish your daughter to die +with me?" She answered, "Yes, if she will have then lived with you as long +and as happily as I with Pætus." Her friends attempted, by carefully +watching her, to secure her safety, but she dashed her head against the +wall with such force that she fell upon the ground, and then, rising up, +she said, "I told you I would find a hard way to death if you refuse me an +easy way." All attempts to restrain her were then abandoned, and her death +was perhaps the most majestic in antiquity. Pætus for a moment hesitated +to strike the fatal blow; but his wife, taking the dagger, plunged it +deeply into her own breast, and then, drawing it out, gave it, all reeking +as it was, to her husband, exclaiming, with her dying breath, "My Pætus, +it does not pain."(633) + +The form of the elder Arria towers grandly above her fellows, but many +other Roman wives in the days of the early Cæsars and of Domitian +exhibited a very similar fidelity. Over the dark waters of the Euxine, +into those unknown and inhospitable regions from which the Roman +imagination recoiled with a peculiar horror, many noble ladies freely +followed their husbands, and there were some wives who refused to survive +them.(634) The younger Arria was the faithful companion of Thrasea during +his heroic life, and when he died she was only persuaded to live that she +might bring up their daughters.(635) She spent the closing days of her +life with Domitian in exile;(636) while her daughter, who was as +remarkable for the gentleness as for the dignity of her character,(637) +went twice into exile with her husband Helvidius, and was once banished, +after his death, for defending his memory.(638) Incidental notices in +historians, and a few inscriptions which have happened to remain, show us +that such instances were not uncommon, and in Roman epitaphs no feature is +more remarkable than the deep and passionate expressions of conjugal love +that continually occur.(639) It would be difficult to find a more touching +image of that love, than the medallion which is so common on the Roman +sarcophagi, in which husband and wife are represented together, each with +an arm thrown fondly over the shoulder of the other, united in death as +they had been in life, and meeting it with an aspect of perfect calm, +because they were companions in the tomb. + +In the latter days of the Pagan Empire some measures were taken to repress +the profligacy that was so prevalent. Domitian enforced the old Scantinian +law against unnatural love.(640) Vespasian moderated the luxury of the +court; Macrinus caused those who had committed adultery to be bound +together and burnt alive.(641) A practice of men and women bathing +together was condemned by Hadrian, and afterwards by Alexander Severus, +but was only finally suppressed by Constantine. Alexander Severus and +Philip waged an energetic war against panders.(642) The extreme excesses +of this, as of most forms of vice, were probably much diminished after the +accession of the Antonines; but Rome continued to be a centre of very +great corruption till the influence of Christianity, the removal of the +court to Constantinople, and the impoverishment that followed the +barbarian conquests, in a measure corrected the evil. + +Among the moralists, however, some important steps were taken. One of the +most important was a very clear assertion of the reciprocity of that +obligation to fidelity in marriage which in the early stages of society +had been imposed almost exclusively upon wives.(643) The legends of +Clytemnestra and of Medea reveal the feelings of fierce resentment which +were sometimes produced among Greek wives by the almost unlimited +indulgence that was accorded to their husbands;(644) and it is told of +Andromache, as the supreme instance of her love of Hector, that she cared +for his illegitimate children as much as for her own.(645) In early Rome, +the obligations of husbands were never, I imagine, altogether unfelt; but +they were rarely or never enforced, nor were they ever regarded as bearing +any kind of equality to those imposed upon the wife. The term adultery, +and all the legal penalties connected with it, were restricted to the +infractions by a wife of the nuptial tie. Among the many instances of +magnanimity recorded of Roman wives, few are more touching than that of +Tertia Æmilia, the faithful wife of Scipio. She discovered that her +husband had become enamoured of one of her slaves; but she bore her pain +in silence, and when he died she gave liberty to her captive, for she +could not bear that she should remain in servitude whom her dear lord had +loved.(646) + +Aristotle had clearly asserted the duty of husbands to observe in marriage +the same fidelity as they expected from their wives,(647) and at a later +period both Plutarch and Seneca enforced this duty in the strongest and +most unequivocal manner.(648) The degree to which, in theory at least, it +won its way in Roman life is shown by its recognition as a legal maxim by +Ulpian,(649) and by its appearance in a formal judgment of Antoninus Pius, +who, while issuing, at the request of a husband, a condemnation for +adultery against a guilty wife, appended to it this remarkable condition: +"Provided always it is established that by your life you gave her an +example of fidelity. It would be unjust that a husband should exact a +fidelity he does not himself keep."(650) + +Another change, which may be dimly descried in the later Pagan society, +was a tendency to regard purity rather in a mystical point of view, as +essentially good, than in the utilitarian point of view. This change +resulted chiefly from the rise of the Neoplatonic and Pythagorean +philosophies, which concurred in regarding the body, with its passions, as +essentially evil, and in representing all virtue as a purification from +its taint. Its most important consequence was a somewhat stricter view of +pre-nuptial unchastity, which in the case of men, and when it was not +excessive, and did not take the form of adultery, had previously been +uncensured, or was looked upon with a disapprobation so slight as scarcely +to amount to censure. The elder Cato had expressly justified it;(651) and +Cicero has left us an extremely curious judgment on the subject, which +shows at a glance the feelings of the people, and the vast revolution +that, under the influence of Christianity, has been effected in, at least, +the professions of mankind. "If there be any one," he says, "who thinks +that young men should be altogether restrained from the love of +courtesans, he is indeed very severe. I am not prepared to deny his +position; but he differs not only from the licence of our age, but also +from the customs and allowances of our ancestors. When, indeed, was this +not done? When was it blamed? When was it not allowed? When was that which +is now lawful not lawful?"(652) Epictetus, who on most subjects was among +the most austere of the Stoics, recommends his disciples to abstain, "as +far as possible," from pre-nuptial connections, and at least from those +which were adulterous and unlawful, but not to blame those who were less +strict.(653) The feeling of the Romans is curiously exemplified in the +life of Alexander Severus, who, of all the emperors, was probably the most +energetic in legislating against vice. When appointing a provincial +governor, he was accustomed to provide him with horses and servants, and, +if he was unmarried, with a concubine, "because," as the historian very +gravely observes, "it was impossible that he could exist without +one."(654) + +What was written among the Pagans in opposition to these views was not +much, but it is worthy of notice, as illustrating the tendency that had +arisen. Musonius Rufus distinctly and emphatically asserted that no union +of the sexes other than marriage was permissible.(655) Dion Chrysostom +desired prostitution to be suppressed by law. The ascetic notion of the +impurity even of marriage may be faintly traced. Apollonius of Tyana +lived, on this ground, a life of celibacy.(656) Zenobia refused to cohabit +with her husband, except so far as was necessary for the production of an +heir.(657) Hypatia is said, like many Christian saints, to have maintained +the position of a virgin wife.(658) The belief in the impurity of all +corporeal things, and in the duty of rising above them, was in the third +century strenuously enforced.(659) Marcus Aurelius and Julian were both +admirable representatives of the best Pagan spirit of their time. Each of +them lost his wife early, each was eulogised by his biographer for the +virtue he manifested after her death; but there is a curious and +characteristic difference in the forms which that virtue assumed. Marcus +Aurelius, we are told, did not wish to bring into his house a stepmother +to rule over his children, and accordingly took a concubine.(660) Julian +ever after lived in perfect continence.(661) + +The foregoing facts, which I have given in the most condensed form, and +almost unaccompanied by criticism or by comment, will be sufficient, I +hope, to exhibit the state of feeling of the Romans on this subject, and +also the direction in which that feeling was being modified. Those who are +familiar with this order of studies will readily understand that it is +impossible to mark out with precision the chronology of a moral sentiment; +but there can be no question that in the latter days of the Roman Empire +the perceptions of men on this subject became more subtle and more refined +than they had previously been, and it is equally certain that the Oriental +philosophies which had superseded Stoicism largely influenced the change. +Christianity soon constituted itself the representative of the new +tendency. It regarded purity as the most important of all virtues, and it +strained to the utmost all the vast agencies it possessed, to enforce it. +In the legislation of the first Christian emperors we find many traces of +a fiery zeal. Panders were condemned to have molten lead poured down their +throats. In the case of rape, not only the ravisher, but even the injured +person, if she consented to the act, was put to death.(662) A great +service was done to the cause both of purity and of philanthropy, by a law +which permitted actresses, on receiving baptism, to abandon their +profession, which had been made a form of slavery, and was virtually a +slavery to vice.(663) Certain musical girls, who were accustomed to sing +or play at the banquets of the rich, and who were regarded with extreme +horror by the Fathers, were suppressed, and a very stringent law forbade +the revival of the class.(664) + +Side by side with the civil legislation, the penitential legislation of +the Church was exerted in the same direction. Sins of unchastity probably +occupy a larger place than any others in its enactments. The cases of +unnatural love, and of mothers who had made their daughters courtesans, +were punished by perpetual exclusion from communion, and a crowd of minor +offences were severely visited. The ascetic passion increased the +prominence of this branch of ethics, and the imaginations of men were soon +fascinated by the pure and noble figures of the virgin martyrs of the +Church, who on more than one occasion fully equalled the courage of men, +while they sometimes mingled with their heroism traits of the most +exquisite feminine gentleness. For the patient endurance of excruciating +physical suffering, Christianity produced no more sublime figure than +Blandina, the poor servant-girl who was martyred at Lyons; and it would be +difficult to find in all history a more touching picture of natural purity +than is contained in one simple incident of the martyrdom of St. Perpetua. +It is related of that saint that she was condemned to be slaughtered by a +wild bull, and, as she fell half dead from its horns upon the sand of the +arena, it was observed that even in that awful moment her virgin modesty +was supreme, and her first instinctive movement was to draw together her +dress, which had been torn in the assault.(665) + +A crowd of very curious popular legends also arose, which, though they are +for the most part without much intrinsic excellence, have their importance +in history, as showing the force with which the imaginations of men were +turned in this direction, and the manner in which Christianity was +regarded as the great enemy of the passions of the flesh. Thus, St. Jerome +relates an incredible story of a young Christian, being, in the Diocletian +persecution, bound with ribands of silk in the midst of a lovely garden, +surrounded by everything that could charm the ear and the eye, while a +beautiful courtesan assailed him with her blandishments, against which he +protected himself by biting out his tongue and spitting it in her +face.(666) Legends are recounted of young Christian men assuming the garb +and manners of libertines, that they might obtain access to maidens who +had been condemned to vice, exchanging dresses with them, and thus +enabling them to escape.(667) St. Agnes was said to have been stripped +naked before the people, who all turned away their eyes except one young +man, who instantly became blind.(668) The sister of St. Gregory of Nyssa +was afflicted with a cancer in her breast, but could not bear that a +surgeon should see it, and was rewarded for her modesty by a miraculous +cure.(669) To the fabled zone of beauty the Christian saints opposed their +zones of chastity, which extinguished the passion of the wearer, or would +only meet around the pure.(670) Dæmons were said not unfrequently to have +entered into the profligate. The garment of a girl who was possessed was +brought to St. Pachomius, and he discovered from it that she had a +lover.(671) A courtesan accused St. Gregory Thaumaturgus of having been +her lover, and having refused to pay her what he had promised. He paid the +required sum, but she was immediately possessed by a daemon.(672) The +efforts of the saints to reclaim courtesans from the path of vice created +a large class of legends. St. Mary Magdalene, St. Mary of Egypt, St. Afra, +St. Pelagia, St. Thais, and St. Theodota, in the early Church, as well as +St. Marguerite of Cortona, and Clara of Rimini, in the middle ages, had +been courtesans.(673) St. Vitalius, it is said, was accustomed every night +to visit the dens of vice in his neighbourhood, to give the inmates money +to remain without sin for that night, and to offer up prayers for their +conversion.(674) It is related of St. Serapion, that, as he was passing +through a village in Egypt, a courtesan beckoned to him. He promised at a +certain hour to visit her. He kept his appointment, but declared that +there was a duty which his order imposed on him. He fell down on his knees +and began repeating the Psalter, concluding every psalm with a prayer for +his hostess. The strangeness of the scene, and the solemnity of his tone +and manner, overawed and fascinated her. Gradually her tears began to +flow. She knelt beside him and began to join in his prayers. He heeded her +not, but hour after hour continued in the same stern and solemn voice, +without rest and without interruption, to repeat his alternate prayers and +psalms, till her repentance rose to a paroxysm of terror, and, as the grey +morning streaks began to illumine the horizon, she fell half dead at his +feet, imploring him with broken sobs to lead her anywhere where she might +expiate the sins of her past.(675) + +But the services rendered by the ascetics in imprinting on the minds of +men a profound and enduring conviction of the importance of chastity, +though extremely great, were seriously counterbalanced by their noxious +influence upon marriage. Two or three beautiful descriptions of this +institution have been culled out of the immense mass of the patristic +writings;(676) but, in general, it would be difficult to conceive anything +more coarse or more repulsive than the manner in which they regarded +it.(677) The relation which nature has designed for the noble purpose of +repairing the ravages of death, and which, as Linnæus has shown, extends +even through the world of flowers, was invariably treated as a consequence +of the fall of Adam, and marriage was regarded almost exclusively in its +lowest aspect. The tender love which it elicits, the holy and beautiful +domestic qualities that follow in its train, were almost absolutely +omitted from consideration.(678) The object of the ascetic was to attract +men to a life of virginity, and, as a necessary consequence, marriage was +treated as an inferior state. It was regarded as being necessary, indeed, +and therefore justifiable, for the propagation of the species, and to free +men from greater evils; but still as a condition of degradation from which +all who aspired to real sanctity should fly. To "cut down by the axe of +Virginity the wood of Marriage," was, in the energetic language of St. +Jerome, the end of the saint;(679) and if he consented to praise marriage, +it was merely because it produced virgins.(680) Even when the bond had +been formed, the ascetic passion retained its sting. We have already seen +how it embittered other relations of domestic life. Into this, the holiest +of all, it infused a tenfold bitterness. Whenever any strong religious +fervour fell upon a husband or a wife, its first effect was to make a +happy union impossible. The more religious partner immediately desired to +live a life of solitary asceticism, or at least, if no ostensible +separation took place, an unnatural life of separation in marriage. The +immense place this order of ideas occupies in the hortatory writings of +the Fathers, and in the legends of the saints, must be familiar to all who +have any knowledge of this department of literature. Thus--to give but a +very few examples--St. Nilus, when he had already two children, was seized +with a longing for the prevailing asceticism, and his wife was persuaded, +after many tears, to consent to their separation.(681) St. Ammon, on the +night of his marriage, proceeded to greet his bride with an harangue upon +the evils of the married state, and they agreed, in consequence, at once +to separate.(682) St. Melania laboured long and earnestly to induce her +husband to allow her to desert his bed, before he would consent.(683) St. +Abraham ran away from his wife on the night of his marriage.(684) St. +Alexis, according to a somewhat later legend, took the same step, but many +years after returned from Jerusalem to his father's house, in which his +wife was still lamenting her desertion, begged and received a lodging as +an act of charity, and lived there unrecognised and unknown till his +death.(685) St. Gregory of Nyssa--who was so unfortunate as to be +married--wrote a glowing eulogy of virginity, in the course of which he +mournfully observed that this privileged state could never be his. He +resembled, he assures us, an ox that was ploughing a field, the fruit of +which he must never enjoy; or a thirsty man, who was gazing on a stream of +which he never can drink; or a poor man, whose poverty seems the more +bitter as he contemplates the wealth of his neighbours; and he proceeded +to descant in feeling terms upon the troubles of matrimony.(686) Nominal +marriages, in which the partners agreed to shun the marriage bed, became +not uncommon. The emperor Henry II., Edward the Confessor, of England, and +Alphonso II., of Spain, gave examples of it. A very famous and rather +picturesque history of this kind is related by Gregory of Tours. A rich +young Gaul, named Injuriosus, led to his home a young bride to whom he was +passionately attached. That night, she confessed to him, with tears, that +she had vowed to keep her virginity, and that she regretted bitterly the +marriage into which her love for him had betrayed her. He told her that +they should remain united, but that she should still observe her vow; and +he fulfilled his promise. When, after several years, she died, her +husband, in laying her in the tomb, declared, with great solemnity, that +he restored her to God as immaculate as he had received her; and then a +smile lit up the face of the dead woman, and she said, "Why do you tell +that which no one asked you?" The husband soon afterwards died, and his +corpse, which had been laid in a distinct compartment from that of his +wife in the tomb, was placed side by side with it by the angels.(687) + +The extreme disorders which such teaching produced in domestic life, and +also the extravagances which grew up among some heretics, naturally +alarmed the more judicious leaders of the Church, and it was ordained that +married persons should not enter into an ascetic life, except by mutual +consent.(688) The ascetic ideal, however, remained unchanged. To abstain +from marriage, or in marriage to abstain from a perfect union, was +regarded as a proof of sanctity, and marriage was viewed in its coarsest +and most degraded form. The notion of its impurity took many forms, and +exercised for some centuries an extremely wide influence over the Church. +Thus, it was the custom during the middle ages to abstain from the +marriage bed during the night after the ceremony, in honour of the +sacrament.(689) It was expressly enjoined that no married persons should +participate in any of the great Church festivals if the night before they +had lain together, and St. Gregory the Great tells of a young wife who was +possessed by a dæmon, because she had taken part in a procession of St. +Sebastian, without fulfilling this condition.(690) The extent to which the +feeling on the subject was carried is shown by the famous vision of +Alberic in the twelfth century, in which a special place of torture, +consisting of a lake of mingled lead, pitch, and resin is represented as +existing in hell for the punishment of married people who had lain +together on Church festivals or fast days.(691) + +Two other consequences of this way of regarding marriage were a very +strong disapproval of second marriages, and a very strong desire to secure +celibacy in the clergy. The first of these notions had existed, though in +a very different form, and connected with very different motives, among +the early Romans, who were accustomed, we are told, to honour with the +crown of modesty those who were content with one marriage, and to regard +many marriages as a sign of illegitimate intemperance.(692) This opinion +appears to have chiefly grown out of a very delicate and touching feeling +which had taken deep root in the Roman mind, that the affection a wife +owes her husband is so profound and so pure that it must not cease even +with his death; that it should guide and consecrate all her subsequent +life, and that it never can be transferred to another object. Virgil, in +very beautiful lines, puts this sentiment into the mouth of Dido;(693) and +several examples are recorded of Roman wives, sometimes in the prime of +youth and beauty, upon the death of their husbands, devoting the remainder +of their lives to retirement and to the memory of the dead.(694) Tacitus +held up the Germans as in this respect a model to his countrymen,(695) and +the epithet "univiræ" inscribed on many Roman tombs shows how this +devotion was practised and valued.(696) The family of Camillus was +especially honoured for the absence of second marriages among its +members.(697) "To love a wife when living," said one of the latest Roman +poets, "is a pleasure; to love her when dead is an act of religion."(698) +In the case of men, the propriety of abstaining from second marriages was +probably not felt so strongly as in the case of women, and what feeling on +the subject existed was chiefly due to another motive--affection for the +children, whose interests, it was thought, might be injured by a +stepmother.(699) + +The sentiment which thus recoiled from second marriages passed with a +vastly increased strength into ascetic Christianity, but it was based upon +altogether different grounds. We find, in the first place, that an +affectionate remembrance of the husband had altogether vanished from the +motives of the abstinence. In the next place, we may remark that the +ecclesiastical writers, in perfect conformity with the extreme coarseness +of their views about the sexes, almost invariably assumed that the motive +to second or third marriages must be simply the force of the animal +passions. The Montanists and the Novatians absolutely condemned second +marriages.(700) The orthodox pronounced them lawful, on account of the +weakness of human nature, but they viewed them with the most emphatic +disapproval,(701) partly because they considered them manifest signs of +incontinence, and partly because they regarded them as inconsistent with +their doctrine that marriage is an emblem of the union of Christ with the +Church. The language of the Fathers on this subject appears to a modern +mind most extraordinary, and, but for their distinct and reiterated +assertion that they considered these marriages permissible,(702) would +appear to amount to a peremptory condemnation. Thus--to give but a few +samples--digamy, or second marriage, is described by Athenagoras as "a +decent adultery."(703) "Fornication," according to Clement of Alexandria, +"is a lapse from one marriage into many."(704) "The first Adam," said St. +Jerome, "had one wife; the second Adam had no wife. They who approve of +digamy hold forth a third Adam, who was twice married, whom they +follow."(705) "Consider," he again says, "that she who has been twice +married, though she be an old, and decrepit, and poor woman, is not deemed +worthy to receive the charity of the Church. But if the bread of charity +is taken from her, how much more that bread which descends from +heaven!"(706) "Digamists," according to Origen, "are saved in the name of +Christ, but are by no means crowned by him."(707) "By this text," said St. +Gregory Nazianzen, speaking of St. Paul's comparison of marriage to the +union of Christ with the Church, "second marriages seem to me to be +reproved. If there are two Christs there may be two husbands or two wives. +If there is but one Christ, one Head of the Church, there is but one +flesh--a second is repelled. But if he forbids a second, what is to be said +of third marriages? The first is law, the second is pardon and indulgence, +the third is iniquity; but he who exceeds this number is manifestly +bestial."(708) Digamists were excluded from the priesthood and from the +distributions of Church charity; a period of penance was imposed on them +before they were admitted to communion,(709) and two English statutes of +the Middle Ages withheld the benefit of clergy from any prisoner who had +"married two wives or one widow."(710) The Council of Illiberis, in the +beginning of the fourth century, while in general condemning baptism by +laymen, permitted it in case of extreme necessity; but provided that even +in that case the officiating layman must not have been twice married.(711) +Among the Greeks fourth marriages were at one time deemed absolutely +unlawful, and much controversy was excited by the Emperor Leo the Wise, +who, having had three wives, had taken a mistress, but afterwards, in +defiance of the religious feelings of his people, determined to raise her +to the position of a wife.(712) + +The subject of the celibacy of the clergy, in which the ecclesiastical +feelings about marriage were also shown, is an extremely large one, and I +shall not attempt to deal with it, except in a most cursory manner.(713) +There are two facts connected with it which every candid student must +admit. The first is, that in the earliest period of the Church, the +privilege of marriage was accorded to the clergy. The second is, that a +notion of the impurity of marriage existed, and that it was felt that the +clergy, as pre-eminently the holy class, should have less licence than +laymen. The first form this feeling took appears in the strong conviction +that a second marriage of a priest, or the marriage of a priest with a +widow, was unlawful and criminal.(714) This belief seems to have existed +from the earliest period of the Church, and was retained with great +tenacity and unanimity through many centuries. In the next place, we find +from an extremely early date an opinion, that it was an act of virtue, at +a later period that it was an act of duty, for priests after ordination to +abstain from cohabiting with their wives. The Council of Nice refrained, +by the advice of Paphnutius, who was himself a scrupulous celibate, from +imposing this last rule as a matter of necessity;(715) but in the course +of the fourth century it was a recognised principle that clerical +marriages were criminal. They were celebrated, however, habitually, and +usually with the greatest openness. The various attitudes assumed by the +ecclesiastical authorities in dealing with this subject form an extremely +curious page of the history of morals, and supply the most crushing +evidence of the evils which have been produced by the system of celibacy. +I can at present, however, only refer to the vast mass of evidence which +has been collected on the subject, derived from the writings of Catholic +divines and from the decrees of Catholic Councils during the space of many +centuries. It is a popular illusion, which is especially common among +writers who have little direct knowledge of the middle ages, that the +atrocious immorality of monasteries, in the century before the +Reformation, was a new fact, and that the ages when the faith of men was +undisturbed, were ages of great moral purity. In fact, it appears, from +the uniform testimony of the ecclesiastical writers, that ecclesiastical +immorality in the eighth and three following centuries was little if at +all less outrageous than in any other period, while the Papacy, during +almost the whole of the tenth century, was held by men of infamous lives. +Simony was nearly universal.(716) Barbarian chieftains married at an early +age, and totally incapable of restraint, occupied the leading positions in +the Church, and gross irregularities speedily became general. An Italian +bishop of the tenth century epigrammatically described the morals of his +time, when he declared, that if he were to enforce the canons against +unchaste people administering ecclesiastical rites, no one would be left +in the Church except the boys; and if he were to observe the canons +against bastards, these also must be excluded.(717) The evil acquired such +magnitude that a great feudal clergy, bequeathing the ecclesiastical +benefices from father to son, appeared more than once likely to +arise.(718) A tax called "Culagium," which was in fact a licence to +clergymen to keep concubines, was during several centuries systematically +levied by princes.(719) Sometimes the evil, by its very extension, +corrected itself. Priestly marriages were looked upon as normal events not +implying any guilt, and in the eleventh century several instances are +recorded in which they were not regarded as any impediment to the power of +working miracles.(720) But this was a rare exception. From the earliest +period a long succession of Councils as well as such men as St. Boniface, +St. Gregory the Great, St. Peter Damiani, St. Dunstan, St. Anselm, +Hildebrand and his successors in the Popedom, denounced priestly marriage +or concubinage as an atrocious crime, and the habitual life of the priests +was, in theory at least, generally recognised as a life of sin. + +It is not surprising that, having once broken their vows and begun to live +what they deemed a life of habitual sin, the clergy should soon have sunk +far below the level of the laity. We may not lay much stress on such +isolated instances of depravity as that of Pope John XXIII., who was +condemned among many other crimes for incest, and for adultery;(721) or +the abbot-elect of St. Augustine, at Canterbury, who in 1171 was found, on +investigation, to have seventeen illegitimate children in a single +village;(722) or an abbot of St. Pelayo, in Spain, who in 1130 was proved +to have kept no less than seventy concubines;(723) or Henry III., Bishop +of Liège, who was deposed in 1274 for having sixty-five illegitimate +children;(724) but it is impossible to resist the evidence of a long chain +of Councils and ecclesiastical writers, who conspire in depicting far +greater evils than simple concubinage. It was observed that when the +priests actually took wives the knowledge that these connections were +illegal was peculiarly fatal to their fidelity, and bigamy and extreme +mobility of attachments were especially common among them. The writers of +the middle ages are full of accounts of nunneries that were like brothels, +of the vast multitude of infanticides within their walls, and of that +inveterate prevalence of incest among the clergy, which rendered it +necessary again and again to issue the most stringent enactments that +priests should not be permitted to live with their mothers or sisters. +Unnatural love, which it had been one of the great services of +Christianity almost to eradicate from the world, is more than once spoken +of as lingering in the monasteries; and, shortly before the Reformation, +complaints became loud and frequent of the employment of the confessional +for the purposes of debauchery.(725) The measures taken on the subject +were very numerous and severe. At first, the evil chiefly complained of +was the clandestine marriage of priests, and especially their intercourse +with wives whom they had married previous to their ordination. Several +Councils issued their anathemas against priests "who had improper +relations with their wives;" and rules were made that priests should +always sleep in the presence of a subordinate clerk; and that they should +only meet their wives in the open air and before at least two witnesses. +Men were, however, by no means unanimous in their way of regarding this +matter. Synesius, when elected to a bishopric, at first declined, boldly +alleging as one of his reasons, that he had a wife whom he loved dearly, +and who, he hoped, would bear him many sons, and that he did not mean to +separate from her or visit her secretly as an adulterer.(726) A Bishop of +Laon, at a later date, who was married to a niece of St. Rémy, and who +remained with his wife till after he had a son and a daughter, quaintly +expressed his penitence by naming them respectively Latro and +Vulpecula.(727) St. Gregory the Great describes the virtue of a priest, +who, through motives of piety, had discarded his wife. As he lay dying, +she hastened to him to watch the bed which for forty years she had not +been allowed to share, and, bending over what seemed the inanimate form of +her husband, she tried to ascertain whether any breath still remained, +when the dying saint, collecting his last energies, exclaimed, "Woman, +begone; take away the straw; there is fire yet."(728) The destruction of +priestly marriage is chiefly due to Hildebrand, who pursued this object +with the most untiring resolution. Finding that his appeals to the +ecclesiastical authorities and to the civil rulers were insufficient, he +boldly turned to the people, exhorted them, in defiance of all Church +traditions, to withdraw their obedience from married priests, and kindled +among them a fierce fanaticism of asceticism, which speedily produced a +fierce persecution of the offending pastors. Their wives, in immense +numbers, were driven forth with hatred and with scorn; and many crimes, +and much intolerable suffering, followed the disruption. The priests +sometimes strenuously resisted. At Cambrai, in A.D. 1077, they burnt alive +as a heretic a zealot who was maintaining the doctrines of Hildebrand. In +England, half a century later, they succeeded in surprising a Papal legate +in the arms of a courtesan, a few hours after he had delivered a fierce +denunciation of clerical unchastity.(729) But Papal resolution supported +by popular fanaticism won the victory. Pope Urban II. gave licence to the +nobles to reduce to slavery the wives whom priests had obstinately refused +to abandon, and after a few more acts of severity priestly marriage became +obsolete. The extent, however, of the disorders that still existed, is +shown by the mournful confessions of ecclesiastical writers, by the +uniform and indignant testimony of the poets and prose satirists who +preceded the Reformation, by the atrocious immoralities disclosed in the +monasteries at the time of their suppression, and by the significant +prudence of many lay Catholics, who were accustomed to insist that their +priest should take a concubine for the protection of the families of his +parishioners.(730) + +It is scarcely possible to conceive a more demoralising influence than a +priesthood living such a life as I have described. In Protestant +countries, where the marriage of the clergy is fully recognised, it has, +indeed, been productive of the greatest and the most unequivocal benefits. +Nowhere, it may be confidently asserted, does Christianity assume a more +beneficial or a more winning form than in those gentle clerical households +which stud our land, constituting, as Coleridge said, "the one idyll of +modern life," the most perfect type of domestic peace, the centre of +civilisation in the remotest village. Notwithstanding some class +narrowness and professional bigotry, notwithstanding some unworthy, but +half unconscious mannerism, which is often most unjustly stigmatised as +hypocrisy, it would be difficult to find in any other quarter so much +happiness at once diffused and enjoyed, or so much virtue attained with so +little tension or struggle. Combining with his sacred calling a warm +sympathy with the intellectual, social, and political movements of his +time, possessing the enlarged practical knowledge of a father of a family, +and entering with a keen zest into the occupations and the amusements of +his parishioners, a good clergyman will rarely obtrude his religious +convictions into secular spheres, but yet will make them apparent in all. +They will be revealed by a higher and deeper moral tone, by a more +scrupulous purity in word and action, by an all-pervasive gentleness, +which refines, and softens, and mellows, and adds as much to the charm as +to the excellence of the character in which it is displayed. In visiting +the sick, relieving the poor, instructing the young, and discharging a +thousand delicate offices for which a woman's tact is especially needed, +his wife finds a sphere of labour which is at once intensely active and +intensely feminine, and her example is not less beneficial than her +ministrations. + +Among the Catholic priesthood, on the other hand, where the vow of +celibacy is faithfully observed, a character of a different type is +formed, which with very grave and deadly faults combines some of the +noblest excellences to which humanity can attain. Separated from most of +the ties and affections of earth, viewing life chiefly through the +distorted medium of the casuist or the confessional, and deprived of those +relationships which more than any others soften and expand the character, +the Catholic priests have been but too often conspicuous for their fierce +and sanguinary fanaticism, and for their indifference to all interests +except those of their Church; while the narrow range of their sympathies, +and the intellectual servitude they have accepted, render them peculiarly +unfitted for the office of educating the young, which they so persistently +claim, and which, to the great misfortune of the world, they were long +permitted to monopolise. But, on the other hand, no other body of men have +ever exhibited a more single-minded and unworldly zeal, refracted by no +personal interests, sacrificing to duty the dearest of earthly objects, +and confronting with undaunted heroism every form of hardship, of +suffering, and of death. + +That the middle ages, even in their darkest periods, produced many good +and great men of the latter type it would be unjust and absurd to deny. It +can hardly, however, be questioned that the extreme frequency of illicit +connections among the clergy tended during many centuries most actively to +lower the moral tone of the laity, and to counteract the great services in +the cause of purity which Christian teaching had undoubtedly effected. The +priestly connections were rarely so fully recognised as to enable the +mistress to fill a position like that which is now occupied by the wife of +a clergyman, and the spectacle of the chief teachers and exemplars of +morals living habitually in an intercourse which was acknowledged to be +ambiguous or wrong, must have acted most injuriously upon every class of +the community. Asceticism, proclaiming war upon human nature, produced a +revulsion towards its extreme opposite, and even when it was observed it +was frequently detrimental to purity of mind. The habit of continually +looking upon marriage in its coarsest light, and of regarding the +propagation of the species as its one legitimate end, exercised a +peculiarly perverting influence upon the imagination. The exuberant piety +of wives who desired to live apart from their husbands often drove the +latter into serious irregularities.(731) The notion of sin was introduced +into the dearest of relationships,(732) and the whole subject was +distorted and degraded. It is one of the great benefits of Protestantism +that it did much to banish these modes of thought and feeling from the +world, and to restore marriage to its simplicity and its dignity. We have +a gratifying illustration of the extent to which an old superstition has +declined, in the fact that when Goldsmith, in his great romance, desired +to depict the harmless eccentricities of his simple-minded and unworldly +vicar, he represented him as maintaining that opinion concerning the +sinfulness of the second marriage of a clergyman which was for many +centuries universal in the Church. + +Another injurious consequence, resulting, in a great measure, from +asceticism, was a tendency to depreciate extremely the character and the +position of women. In this tendency we may detect in part the influence of +the earlier Jewish writings, in which an impartial observer may find +evident traces of the common Oriental depreciation of women. The custom of +purchase-money to the father of the bride was admitted. Polygamy was +authorised,(733) and practised by the wisest man on an enormous scale. A +woman was regarded as the origin of human ills. A period of purification +was appointed after the birth of every child; but, by a very significant +provision, it was twice as long in the case of a female as of a male +child.(734) "The badness of men," a Jewish writer emphatically declared, +"is better than the goodness of women."(735) The types of female +excellence exhibited in the early period of Jewish history are in general +of a low order, and certainly far inferior to those of Roman history or +Greek poetry; and the warmest eulogy of a woman in the Old Testament is +probably that which was bestowed upon her who, with circumstances of the +most aggravated treachery, had murdered the sleeping fugitive who had +taken refuge under her roof. + +The combined influence of the Jewish writings, and of that ascetic feeling +which treated women as the chief source of temptation to man, was shown in +those fierce invectives, which form so conspicuous and so grotesque a +portion of the writings of the Fathers, and which contrast so curiously +with the adulation bestowed upon particular members of the sex. Woman was +represented as the door of hell, as the mother of all human ills. She +should be ashamed at the very thought that she is a woman. She should live +in continual penance, on account of the curses she has brought upon the +world. She should be ashamed of her dress, for it is the memorial of her +fall. She should be especially ashamed of her beauty, for it is the most +potent instrument of the dæmon. Physical beauty was indeed perpetually the +theme of ecclesiastical denunciations, though one singular exception seems +to have been made; for it has been observed that in the middle ages the +personal beauty of bishops was continually noticed upon their tombs.(736) +Women were even forbidden by a provincial Council, in the sixth century, +on account of their impurity, to receive the Eucharist into their naked +hands.(737) Their essentially subordinate position was continually +maintained. + +It is probable that this teaching had its part in determining the +principles of legislation concerning the sex. The Pagan laws during the +Empire had been continually repealing the old disabilities of women, and +the legislative movement in their favour continued with unabated force +from Constantine to Justinian, and appeared also in some of the early laws +of the barbarians.(738) But in the whole feudal legislation women were +placed in a much lower legal position than in the Pagan Empire.(739) In +addition to the personal restrictions which grew necessarily out of the +Catholic doctrines concerning divorce, and concerning the subordination of +the weaker sex, we find numerous and stringent enactments, which rendered +it impossible for women to succeed to any considerable amount of property, +and which almost reduced them to the alternative of marriage or a +nunnery.(740) The complete inferiority of the sex was continually +maintained by the law; and that generous public opinion which in Rome had +frequently revolted against the injustice done to girls, in depriving them +of the greater part of the inheritance of their fathers, totally +disappeared. Wherever the canon law has been the basis of legislation, we +find laws of succession sacrificing the interests of daughters and of +wives,(741) and a state of public opinion which has been formed and +regulated by these laws; nor was any serious attempt made to abolish them +till the close of the last century. The French revolutionists, though +rejecting the proposal of Siéyès and Condorcet to accord political +emancipation to women, established at least an equal succession of sons +and daughters, and thus initiated a great reformation of both law and +opinion, which sooner or later must traverse the world. + +In their efforts to raise the standard of purity, the Christian teachers +derived much assistance from the incursions and the conquests of the +barbarians. The dissolution of vast retinues of slaves, the suspension of +most public games, and the general impoverishment that followed the +invasions, were all favourable to female virtue; and in this respect the +various tribes of barbarians, however violent and lawless, were far +superior to the more civilised community. Tacitus, in a very famous work, +had long before pourtrayed in the most flattering colours the purity of +the Germans. Adultery, he said, was very rare among them. The adulteress +was driven from the house with shaven hair, and beaten ignominiously +through the village. Neither youth, nor beauty, nor wealth could enable a +woman who was known to have sinned to secure a husband. Polygamy was +restricted to the princes, who looked upon a plurality of wives rather as +a badge of dignity than as a gratification of the passions. Mothers +invariably gave suck to their own children. Infanticide was forbidden. +Widows were not allowed to re-marry. The men feared captivity, much more +for their wives than for themselves; they believed that a sacred and +prophetic gift resided in women; they consulted them as oracles, and +followed their counsels.(742) + +It is generally believed, and it is not improbable, that Tacitus in this +work intended to reprove the dissolute habits of his fellow-countrymen, +and considerably over-coloured the virtue of the barbarians. Of the +substantial justice, however, of his picture we have much evidence. +Salvian, who, about three centuries later, witnessed and described the +manners of the barbarians who had triumphed over the Empire, attested in +the strongest language the contrast which their chastity presented to the +vice of those whom they had subdued.(743) The Scandinavian mythology +abounds in legends exhibiting the clear sentiment of the heathen tribes on +the subject of purity, and the awful penalties threatened in the next +world against the seducers.(744) The barbarian women were accustomed to +practise medicine and to interpret dreams, and they also very frequently +accompanied their husbands to battle, rallied their broken forces, and +even themselves took part in the fight.(745) Augustus had discovered that +it was useless to keep barbarian chiefs as hostages, and that the one way +of securing the fidelity of traitors was by taking their wives, for these, +at least, were never sacrificed. Instances of female heroism are said to +have occurred in the conquered nations, which might rival the most +splendid in the Roman annals. When Marius had vanquished an army of the +Teutons, their wives besought the conqueror to permit them to become the +servants of the Vestal Virgins, in order that their honour, at least, +might be secure in slavery. Their request was refused, and that night they +all perished by their own hands.(746) A powerful noble once solicited the +hand of a Galatian lady named Camma, who, faithful to her husband, +resisted all his entreaties. Resolved at any hazard to succeed, he caused +her husband to be assassinated, and when she took refuge in the temple of +Diana, and enrolled herself among the priestesses, he sent noble after +noble to induce her to relent. After a time, he ventured himself into her +presence. She feigned a willingness to yield, but told him it was first +necessary to make a libation to the goddess. She appeared as a priestess +before the altar, bearing in her hand a cup of wine, which she had +poisoned. She drank half of it herself, handed the remainder to her guilty +lover, and when he had drained the cup to the dregs, burst into a fierce +thanksgiving, that she had been permitted to avenge, and was soon to +rejoin, her murdered husband.(747) Another and still more remarkable +instance of conjugal fidelity was furnished by a Gaulish woman named +Epponina. Her husband, Julius Sabinus, had rebelled against Vespasian; he +was conquered, and might easily have escaped to Germany, but could not +bear to abandon his young wife. He retired to a villa of his own, +concealed himself in subterranean cellars that were below it, and +instructed a freedman to spread the report that he had committed suicide, +while, to account for the disappearance of his body, he set fire to the +villa. Epponina, hearing of the suicide, for three days lay prostrate on +the ground without eating. At length the freedman came to her, and told +her that the suicide was feigned. She continued her lamentations by day, +but visited her husband by night. She became with child, but owing, it is +said, to an ointment, she succeeded in concealing her state from her +friends. When the hour of parturition was at hand, she went alone into the +cellar, and without any assistance or attendance was delivered of twins, +whom she brought up underground. For nine years she fulfilled her task, +when Sabinus was discovered, and, to the lasting disgrace of Vespasian, +was executed, in spite of the supplications of his wife, who made it her +last request that she might be permitted to die with him.(748) + +The moral purity of the barbarians was of a kind altogether different from +that which the ascetic movement inculcated. It was concentrated +exclusively upon marriage. It showed itself in a noble conjugal fidelity; +but it was little fitted for a life of celibacy, and did not, as we have +seen, prevent excessive disorders among the priesthood. The practice of +polygamy among the barbarian kings was also for some centuries unchecked, +or at least unsuppressed, by Christianity. The kings Caribert and +Chilperic had both many wives at the same time.(749) Clotaire married the +sister of his first wife during the lifetime of the latter, who, on the +intention of the king being announced, is reported to have said, "Let my +lord do what seemeth good in his sight, only let thy servant live in thy +favour."(750) Theodebert, whose general goodness of character is warmly +extolled by the episcopal historian, abandoned his first wife on account +of an atrocious crime which she had committed; took, during her lifetime, +another, to whom he had previously been betrothed; and upon the death of +this second wife, and while the first was still living, took a third, +whom, however, at a later period he murdered.(751) St. Columbanus was +expelled from Gaul chiefly on account of his denunciations of the polygamy +of King Thierry.(752) Dagobert had three wives, as well as a multitude of +concubines.(753) Charlemagne himself had at the same time two wives, and +he indulged largely in concubines.(754) After this period examples of this +nature became rare. The Popes and the bishops exercised a strict +supervision over domestic morals, and strenuously, and in most cases +successfully, opposed the attempts of kings and nobles to repudiate their +wives. + +But, notwithstanding these startling facts, there can be no doubt that the +general purity of the barbarians was from the first superior to that of +the later Romans, and it appears in many of their laws. It has been very +happily observed,(755) that the high value placed on this virtue is well +illustrated by the fact that in the Salic code, while a charge of +cowardice falsely brought against a man was only punished by a fine of +three solidi, a charge of unchastity falsely brought against a woman was +punished by a fine of forty-five. The Teutonic sentiment was shown in a +very stern legislation against adultery and rape,(756) and curiously +minute precautions were sometimes taken to guard against them. A law of +the Spanish Visigoths prohibited surgeons from bleeding any free woman +except in the presence of her husband, of her nearest relative, or at +least of some properly appointed witness, and a Salic law imposed a fine +of fifteen pieces of gold upon any one who improperly pressed her +hand.(757) + +Under the influence of Christianity, assisted by the barbarians, a vast +change passed gradually over the world. The vice we are considering was +probably more rare; it certainly assumed less extravagant forms, and it +was screened from observation with a new modesty. The theory of morals had +become clearer, and the practice was somewhat improved. The extreme +grossness of literature had disappeared, and the more glaring violations +of marriage were always censured and often repressed. The penitential +discipline, and the exhortations of the pulpit, diffused abroad an +immeasurably higher sense of the importance of purity than Pagan antiquity +had known. St. Gregory the Great, following in the steps of some Pagan +philosophers,(758) strenuously urged upon mothers the duty of themselves +suckling their children; and many minute and stringent precepts were made +against extravagances of dress and manners. The religious institutions of +Greece and Asia Minor, which had almost consecrated prostitution, were for +ever abolished, and the courtesan sank into a lower stage of degradation. + +Besides these changes, the duty of reciprocal fidelity in marriage was +enforced with a new earnestness. The contrast between the levity with +which the frailty of men has in most ages been regarded, and the extreme +severity with which women who have been guilty of the same offence have +generally been treated, forms one of the most singular anomalies in moral +history, and appears the more remarkable when we remember that the +temptation usually springs from the sex which is so readily pardoned; that +the sex which is visited with such crushing penalties is proverbially the +most weak; and that, in the case of women, but not in the case of men, the +vice is very commonly the result of the most abject misery and poverty. +For this disparity of censure several reasons have been assigned. The +offence can be more surely and easily detected, and therefore more +certainly punished, in the case of women than of men; and, as the duty of +providing for his children falls upon the father, the introduction into +the family of children who are not his own is a special injury to him, +while illegitimate children who do not spring from adultery will probably, +on account of their father having entered into no compact to support them, +ultimately become criminals or paupers, and therefore a burden to +society.(759) It may be added, I think, that several causes render the +observance of this virtue more difficult for one sex than for the other; +that its violation, when every allowance has been made for the moral +degradation which is a result of the existing condition of public opinion, +is naturally more profoundly prejudicial to the character of women than of +men; and also that much of our feeling on these subjects is due to laws +and moral systems which were formed by men, and were in the first instance +intended for their own protection. + +The passages in the Fathers, asserting the equality of the obligation +imposed upon both sexes, are exceedingly unequivocal;(760) and although +the doctrine itself had been anticipated by Seneca and Plutarch, it had +probably never before, and it has never since, been so fully realised as +in the early Church. It cannot, however, be said that the conquest has +been retained. At the present day, although the standard of morals is far +higher than in Pagan Rome, it may be questioned whether the inequality of +the censure which is bestowed upon the two sexes is not as great as in the +days of Paganism, and that inequality is continually the cause of the most +shameful and the most pitiable injustice. In one respect, indeed, a great +retrogression resulted from chivalry, and long survived its decay. The +character of the seducer, and especially of the passionless seducer who +pursues his career simply as a kind of sport, and under the influence of +no stronger motive than vanity or a spirit of adventure, has been +glorified and idealised in the popular literature of Christendom in a +manner to which we can find no parallel in antiquity. When we reflect that +the object of such a man is by the coldest and most deliberate treachery +to blast the lives of innocent women; when we compare the levity of his +motive with the irreparable injury he inflicts; and when we remember that +he can only deceive his victim by persuading her to love him, and can only +ruin her by persuading her to trust him, it must be owned that it would be +difficult to conceive a cruelty more wanton and more heartless, or a +character combining more numerous elements of infamy and of dishonour. +That such a character should for many centuries have been the popular +ideal of a considerable section of literature, and the boast of numbers +who most plume themselves upon their honour, is assuredly one of the most +mournful facts in history, and it represents a moral deflection certainly +not less than was revealed in ancient Greece by the position that was +assigned to the courtesan. + +The fundamental truth, that the same act can never be at once venial for a +man to demand, and infamous for a woman to accord, though nobly enforced +by the early Christians, has not passed into the popular sentiment of +Christendom. The mystical character, however, which the Church imparted to +marriage has been extremely influential. Partly by raising it into a +sacrament, and partly by representing it as, in some mysterious and not +very definable sense, an image of the union of Christ with His Church, a +feeling was fostered that a lifelong union of one man and one woman is, +under all circumstances, the single form of intercourse between the sexes +which is not illegitimate; and this conviction has acquired the force of a +primal moral intuition. + +There can, I think, be little doubt that, in the stringency with which it +is usually laid down, it rests not upon the law of nature, but upon +positive law, although unassisted nature is sufficient to lead men many +steps in its direction. Considering the subject simply in the light of +unaided reason, two rules comprise the whole duty of man. He must abstain +from whatever injures happiness or degrades character. Under the first +head, he must include the more remote as well as the immediate +consequences of his act. He must consider how his partner will be affected +by the union, the light in which society will view the connection, the +probable position of the children to be born, the effect of these births, +and also the effect of his example upon the well-being of society at +large. Some of the elements of this calculation vary in different stages +of society. Thus, public opinion in one age will reprobate, and therefore +punish, connections which, in another age, are fully sanctioned; and the +probable position of the children, as well as the effect of the births +upon society, will depend greatly upon particular and national +circumstances. + +Under the second head is comprised the influence of this intercourse in +clouding or developing the moral feelings, lowering or elevating the tone +of character, exciting or allaying the aberrations of the imagination, +incapacitating men for pure affections or extending their range, making +the animal part of our nature more or less predominant. We know, by the +intuition of our moral nature, that this predominance is always a +degraded, though it is not always an unhappy, condition. We also know that +it is a law of our being, that powerful and beautiful affections, which +had before been latent, are evoked in some particular forms of union, +while other forms of union are peculiarly fitted to deaden the affections +and to pervert the character. + +In these considerations we have ample grounds for maintaining that the +lifelong union of one man and of one woman should be the normal or +dominant type of intercourse between the sexes. We can prove that it is on +the whole most conducive to the happiness, and also to the moral +elevation, of all parties. But beyond this point it would, I conceive, be +impossible to advance, except by the assistance of a special revelation. +It by no means follows that because this should be the dominant type it +should be the only one, or that the interests of society demand that all +connections should be forced into the same die. Connections, which were +confessedly only for a few years, have always subsisted side by side with +permanent marriages; and in periods when public opinion, acquiescing in +their propriety, inflicts no excommunication on one or both of the +partners, when these partners are not living the demoralising and +degrading life which accompanies the consciousness of guilt, and when +proper provision is made for the children who are born, it would be, I +believe, impossible to prove, by the light of simple and unassisted +reason, that such connections should be invariably condemned. It is +extremely important, both for the happiness and for the moral well-being +of men, that lifelong unions should not be effected simply under the +imperious prompting of a blind appetite. There are always multitudes who, +in the period of their lives when their passions are most strong, are +incapable of supporting children in their own social rank, and who would +therefore injure society by marrying in it, but are nevertheless perfectly +capable of securing an honourable career for their illegitimate children +in the lower social sphere to which these would naturally belong. Under +the conditions I have mentioned, these connections are not injurious, but +beneficial, to the weaker partner; they soften the differences of rank, +they stimulate social habits, and they do not produce upon character the +degrading effect of promiscuous intercourse, or upon society the injurious +effects of imprudent marriages, one or other of which will multiply in +their absence. In the immense variety of circumstances and characters, +cases will always appear in which, on utilitarian grounds, they might seem +advisable. + +It is necessary to dwell upon such considerations as these, if we would +understand the legislation of the Pagan Empire or the changes that were +effected by Christianity. The legislators of the Empire distinctly +recognised these connections, and made it a main object to authorise, +dignify, and regulate them. The unlimited licence of divorce practically +included them under the name of marriage, while that name sheltered them +from stigma, and prevented many of the gravest evils of unauthorised +unions. The word concubine also, which in the Republic had the same +signification as among ourselves, represented in the Empire a strictly +legal union--an innovation which was chiefly due to Augustus, and was +doubtless intended as part of the legislation against celibacy, and also, +it may be, as a corrective of the licentious habits that were general. +This union was in essentials merely a form of marriage, for he who, having +a concubine, took to himself either a wife or another concubine, was +legally guilty of adultery. Like the commonest form of marriage, it was +consummated without any ceremony, and was dissoluble at will. Its +peculiarities were that it was contracted between men of patrician rank +and freedwomen, who were forbidden by law to intermarry; that the +concubine, though her position was perfectly recognised and honourable, +did not share the rank of her partner, that she brought no dowry, and that +her children followed her rank, and were excluded from the rank and the +inheritance of their father.(761) + +Against these notions Christianity declared a direct and implacable +warfare, which was imperfectly reflected in the civil legislation, but +appeared unequivocally in the writings of the Fathers, and in most of the +decrees of the Councils.(762) It taught, as a religious dogma, invariable, +inflexible, and independent of all utilitarian calculations, that all +forms of intercourse of the sexes, other than lifelong unions, were +criminal. By teaching men to regard this doctrine as axiomatic, and +therefore inflicting severe social penalties and deep degradation on +transient connections, it has profoundly modified even their utilitarian +aspect, and has rendered them in most countries furtive and disguised. +There is probably no other branch of ethics which has been so largely +determined by special dogmatic theology, and there is none which would be +so deeply affected by its decay. + +As a part of the same movement, the purely civil marriage of the later +Pagan Empire was gradually replaced by religious marriages. There is a +manifest propriety in invoking a divine benediction upon an act which +forms so important an epoch in life, and the mingling of a religious +ceremony impresses a deeper sense of the solemnity of the contract. The +essentially religious and even mystical character imparted by Christianity +to marriage rendered the consecration peculiarly natural, but it was only +very gradually that it came to be looked upon as absolutely necessary. As +I have already noticed, it was long dispensed with in the marriage of +slaves; and even in the case of freemen, though generally performed, it +was not made compulsory till the tenth century.(763) In addition to its +primary object of sanctifying marriage, it became in time a powerful +instrument in securing the authority of the priesthood, who were able to +compel men to submit to the conditions they imposed in the formation of +the most important contract of life; and the modern authorisation of civil +marriages, by diminishing greatly the power of the Catholic priesthood +over domestic life, has been one of the most severe blows ecclesiastical +influence has undergone. + +The absolute sinfulness of divorce was at the same time strenuously +maintained by the Councils, which in this, as in many other points, +differed widely from the civil law. Constantine restricted it to three +cases of crime on the part of the husband, and three on the part of the +wife; but the habits of the people were too strong for his enactments, +and, after one or two changes in the law, the full latitude of divorce +reappeared in the Justinian Code. The Fathers, on the other hand, though +they hesitated a little about the case of a divorce which followed an act +of adultery on the part of the wife,(764) had no hesitation whatever in +pronouncing all other divorces to be criminal, and periods of penitential +discipline were imposed upon Christians who availed themselves of the +privileges of the civil law.(765) For many centuries this duality of +legislation continued. The barbarian laws restricted divorce by imposing +severe fines on those who repudiated their wives. Charlemagne pronounced +divorce to be criminal, but did not venture to make it penal, and he +practised it himself. On the other hand, the Church threatened with +excommunication, and in some cases actually launched its thunders against, +those who were guilty of it. It was only in the twelfth century that the +victory was definitely achieved, and the civil law, adopting the principle +of the canon law, prohibited all divorce.(766) + +I do not propose in the present work to examine how far this total +prohibition has been for the happiness or the moral well-being of men. I +will simply observe that, though it is now often defended, it was not +originally imposed in Christian nations, upon utilitarian grounds, but was +based upon the sacramental character of marriage, upon the belief that +marriage is the special symbol of the perpetual union of Christ with His +Church, and upon a well-known passage in the Gospels. The stringency of +the Catholic doctrine, which forbids the dissolution of marriage even in +the case of adultery, has been considerably relaxed by modern legislation, +and there can, I think, be little doubt that further steps will yet be +taken in the same direction; but the vast change that was effected in both +practice and theory since the unlimited licence of the Pagan Empire must +be manifest to all. + +It was essential, or at least very important, that a union which was so +solemn and so irrevocable should be freely contracted. The sentiment of +the Roman patriots towards the close of the Republic was that marriage +should be regarded as a means of providing children for the State, and +should be entered into as a matter of duty with that view, and the laws of +Augustus had imposed many disqualifications on those who abstained from +it. Both of these inducements to marriage passed away under the influence +of Christianity. The popular sentiment disappeared with the decline of +civic virtues. The laws were rescinded under the influence of the ascetic +enthusiasm which made men regard the state of celibacy as pre-eminently +holy. + +There was still one other important condition to be attained by +theologians in order to realise their ideal type of marriage. It was to +prevent the members of the Church from intermarrying with those whose +religious opinions differed from their own. Mixed marriages, it has been +truly said, may do more than almost any other influence to assuage the +rancour and the asperity of sects, but it must be added that a +considerable measure of tolerance must have been already attained before +they become possible. In a union in which each partner believes and +realises that the other is doomed to an eternity of misery there can be no +real happiness, no sympathy, no trust; and a domestic agreement that some +of the children should be educated in one religion and some in the other +would be impossible when each parent believed it to be an agreement that +some children should be doomed to hell. + +The domestic unhappiness arising from differences of belief was probably +almost or altogether unknown in the world before the introduction of +Christianity; for, although differences of opinion may have before +existed, the same momentous consequences were not attached to them. It has +been the especial bane of periods of great religious change, such as the +conversion of the Roman Empire, or the Reformation, or our own day when +far more serious questions than those which agitated the sixteenth century +are occupying the attention of a large proportion of thinkers and +scholars, and when the deep and widening chasm between the religious +opinions of most highly educated men, and of the immense majority of +women, is painfully apparent. While a multitude of scientific discoveries, +critical and historical researches, and educational reforms have brought +thinking men face to face with religious problems of extreme importance, +women have been almost absolutely excluded from their influence. Their +minds are usually by nature less capable than those of men of impartiality +and suspense, and the almost complete omission from female education of +those studies which most discipline and strengthen the intellect increases +the difference, while at the same time it has been usually made a main +object to imbue them with a passionate faith in traditional opinions, and +to preserve them from all contact with opposing views. But contracted +knowledge and imperfect sympathy are not the sole fruits of this +education. It has always been the peculiarity of a certain kind of +theological teaching that it inverts all the normal principles of +judgment, and absolutely destroys intellectual diffidence. On other +subjects we find, if not a respect for honest conviction, at least some +sense of the amount of knowledge that is requisite to entitle men to +express an opinion on grave controversies. A complete ignorance of the +subject-matter of a dispute restrains the confidence of dogmatism; and an +ignorant person, who is aware that, by much reading and thinking in +spheres of which he has himself no knowledge, his educated neighbour has +modified or rejected opinions which that ignorant person had been taught, +will, at least if he is a man of sense or modesty, abstain from +compassionating the benighted condition of his more instructed friend. But +on theological questions this has never been so. Unfaltering belief being +taught as the first of duties, and all doubt being usually stigmatised as +criminal or damnable, a state of mind is formed to which we find no +parallel in other fields. Many men and most women, though completely +ignorant of the very rudiments of biblical criticism, historical research, +or scientific discoveries, though they have never read a single page, or +understood a single proposition of the writings of those whom they +condemn, and have absolutely no rational knowledge either of the arguments +by which their faith is defended, or of those by which it has been +impugned, will nevertheless adjudicate with the utmost confidence upon +every polemical question; denounce, hate, pity, or pray for the conversion +of all who dissent from what they have been taught; assume, as a matter +beyond the faintest possibility of doubt, that the opinions they have +received without enquiry must be true, and that the opinions which others +have arrived at by enquiry must be false, and make it a main object of +their lives to assail what they call heresy in every way in their power, +except by examining the grounds on which it rests. It is probable that the +great majority of voices that swell the clamour against every book which +is regarded as heretical are the voices of those who would deem it +criminal even to open that book, or to enter into any real, searching, and +impartial investigation of the subject to which it relates. Innumerable +pulpits support this tone of thought, and represent, with a fervid +rhetoric well fitted to excite the nerves and imaginations of women, the +deplorable condition of all who deviate from a certain type of opinions or +of emotions; a blind propagandism or a secret wretchedness penetrates into +countless households, poisoning the peace of families, chilling the mutual +confidence of husband and wife, adding immeasurably to the difficulties +which every searcher into truth has to encounter, and diffusing far and +wide intellectual timidity, disingenuousness, and hypocrisy. + +These domestic divisions became very apparent in the period of the +conversion of the Roman Empire; and a natural desire to guard intact the +orthodoxy and zeal of the converts, and to prevent a continual +discordance, stimulated the Fathers in their very vehement denunciations +of all mixed marriages. We may also trace in these denunciations the +outline of a very singular doctrine, which was afterwards suffered to fall +into obscurity, but was revived in the last century in England in a +curious and learned work of the nonjuror Dodwell.(767) The union of Christ +and His Church had been represented as a marriage; and this image was not +regarded as a mere metaphor or comparison, but as intimating a mysterious +unity, which, though not susceptible of any very clear definition, was not +on that account the less real. Christians were the "limbs of Christ," and +for them to join themselves in marriage with those who were not of the +Christian fold was literally, it was said, a species of adultery or +fornication. The intermarriage of the Israelites, the chosen seed of the +ancient world, with the Gentiles, had been described in the Old Testament +as an act of impurity;(768) and in the opinion of some, at least, of the +Fathers, the Christian community occupied towards the unbelievers a +position analogous to that which the Jews had occupied towards the +Gentiles. St. Cyprian denounced the crime of those "who prostitute the +limbs of Christ in marriage with the Gentiles."(769) Tertullian described +the intermarriage as fornication;(770) and after the triumph of the +Church, the intermarriage of Jews and Christians was made a capital +offence, and was stigmatised by the law as adultery.(771) The civil law +did not prohibit the orthodox from intermarrying with heretics, but many +councils in strong terms denounced such marriages as criminal. + +The extreme sanctity attributed to virginity, the absolute condemnation of +all forms of sexual connection other than marriage, and the formation and +gradual realisation of the Christian conception of marriage as a permanent +union of a man and woman of the same religious opinions, consecrated by +solemn religious services, carrying with it a deep religious +signification, and dissoluble only by death, were the most obvious signs +of Christian influence in the sphere of ethics we are examining. Another +very important result of the new religion was to raise to a far greater +honour than they had previously possessed, the qualities in which women +peculiarly excel. + +There are few more curious subjects of enquiry than the distinctive +differences between the sexes, and the manner in which those differences +have affected the ideal types of different ages, nations, philosophies, +and religions. Physically, men have the indisputable superiority in +strength, and women in beauty. Intellectually, a certain inferiority of +the female sex can hardly be denied when we remember how almost +exclusively the foremost places in every department of science, +literature, and art have been occupied by men, how infinitesimally small +is the number of women who have shown in any form the very highest order +of genius, how many of the greatest men have achieved their greatness in +defiance of the most adverse circumstances, and how completely women have +failed in obtaining the first position, even in music or painting, for the +cultivation of which their circumstances would appear most propitious. It +is as impossible to find a female Raphael, or a female Handel, as a female +Shakspeare or Newton. Women are intellectually more desultory and volatile +than men; they are more occupied with particular instances than with +general principles; they judge rather by intuitive perceptions than by +deliberate reasoning or past experience. They are, however, usually +superior to men in nimbleness and rapidity of thought, and in the gift of +tact or the power of seizing speedily and faithfully the finer inflexions +of feeling, and they have therefore often attained very great eminence in +conversation, as letter-writers, as actresses, and as novelists. + +Morally, the general superiority of women over men, is, I think, +unquestionable. If we take the somewhat coarse and inadequate criterion of +police statistics, we find that, while the male and female populations are +nearly the same in number, the crimes committed by men are usually rather +more than five times as numerous as those committed by women;(772) and +although it may be justly observed that men, as the stronger sex, and the +sex upon whom the burden of supporting the family is thrown, have more +temptations than women, it must be remembered, on the other hand, that +extreme poverty which verges upon starvation is most common among women, +whose means of livelihood are most restricted, and whose earnings are +smallest and most precarious. Self-sacrifice is the most conspicuous +element of a virtuous and religious character, and it is certainly far +less common among men than among women, whose whole lives are usually +spent in yielding to the will and consulting the pleasures of another. +There are two great departments of virtue: the impulsive, or that which +springs spontaneously from the emotions; and the deliberative, or that +which is performed in obedience to the sense of duty; and in both of these +I imagine women are superior to men. Their sensibility is greater, they +are more chaste both in thought and act, more tender to the erring, more +compassionate to the suffering, more affectionate to all about them. On +the other hand, those who have traced the course of the wives of the poor, +and of many who, though in narrow circumstances, can hardly be called +poor, will probably admit that in no other class do we so often find +entire lives spent in daily persistent self-denial, in the patient +endurance of countless trials, in the ceaseless and deliberate sacrifice +of their own enjoyments to the well-being or the prospects of others. +Women, however, though less prone than men to intemperance and brutality, +are in general more addicted to the petty forms of vanity, jealousy, +spitefulness, and ambition, and they are also inferior to men in active +courage. In the courage of endurance they are commonly superior; but their +passive courage is not so much fortitude which bears and defies, as +resignation which bears and bends. In the ethics of intellect they are +decidedly inferior. To repeat an expression I have already employed, women +very rarely love truth, though they love passionately what they call "the +truth," or opinions they have received from others, and hate vehemently +those who differ from them. They are little capable of impartiality or of +doubt; their thinking is chiefly a mode of feeling; though very generous +in their acts, they are rarely generous in their opinions or in their +judgments. They persuade rather than convince, and value belief rather as +a source of consolation than as a faithful expression of the reality of +things. They are less capable than men of perceiving qualifying +circumstances, of admitting the existence of elements of good in systems +to which they are opposed, of distinguishing the personal character of an +opponent from the opinions he maintains. Men lean most to justice and +women to mercy. Men excel in energy, self-reliance, perseverance, and +magnanimity; women in humility, gentleness, modesty, and endurance. The +realising imagination which causes us to pity and to love is more +sensitive in women than in men, and it is especially more capable of +dwelling on the unseen. Their religious or devotional realisations are +incontestably more vivid; and it is probable that, while a father is most +moved by the death of a child in his presence, a mother generally feels +most the death of a child in some distant land. But, though more intense, +the sympathies of women are commonly less wide than those of men. Their +imaginations individualise more; their affections are, in consequence, +concentrated rather on leaders than on causes; and if they care for a +great cause, it is generally because it is represented by a great man, or +connected with some one whom they love. In politics, their enthusiasm is +more naturally loyalty than patriotism. In history, they are even more +inclined than men to dwell exclusively upon biographical incidents or +characteristics as distinguished from the march of general causes. In +benevolence, they excel in charity, which alleviates individual suffering, +rather than in philanthropy, which deals with large masses and is more +frequently employed in preventing than in allaying calamity. + +It was a remark of Winckelmann that "the supreme beauty of Greek art is +rather male than female;" and the justice of this remark has been amply +corroborated by the greater knowledge we have of late years attained of +the works of the Phidian period, in which art achieved its highest +perfection, and in which, at the same time, force and freedom, and +masculine grandeur, were its pre-eminent characteristics. A similar +observation may be made of the moral ideal of which ancient art was simply +the expression. In antiquity the virtues that were most admired were +almost exclusively those which are distinctively masculine. Courage, +self-assertion, magnanimity, and, above all, patriotism, were the leading +features of the ideal type; and chastity, modesty, and charity, the +gentler and the domestic virtues, which are especially feminine, were +greatly undervalued. With the single exception of conjugal fidelity, none +of the virtues that were very highly prized were virtues distinctively or +pre-eminently feminine. With this exception, nearly all the most +illustrious women of antiquity were illustrious chiefly because they +overcame the natural conditions of their sex. It is a characteristic fact +that the favourite female ideal of the artists appears to have been the +Amazon.(773) We may admire the Spartan mother, and the mother of the +Gracchi, repressing every sign of grief when their children were +sacrificed upon the altar of their country, we may wonder at the majestic +courage of a Porcia and an Arria; but we extol them chiefly because, being +women, they emancipated themselves from the frailty of their sex, and +displayed an heroic fortitude worthy of the strongest and the bravest of +men. We may bestow an equal admiration upon the noble devotion and charity +of a St. Elizabeth of Hungary, or of a Mrs. Fry, but we do not admire them +because they displayed these virtues, although they were women, for we +feel that their virtues were of the kind which the female nature is most +fitted to produce. The change from the heroic to the saintly ideal, from +the ideal of Paganism to the ideal of Christianity, was a change from a +type which was essentially male to one which was essentially feminine. Of +all the great schools of philosophy no other reflected so faithfully the +Roman conception of moral excellence as Stoicism, and the greatest Roman +exponent of Stoicism summed up its character in a single sentence when he +pronounced it to be beyond all other sects the most emphatically +masculine.(774) On the other hand, an ideal type in which meekness, +gentleness, patience, humility, faith, and love are the most prominent +features, is not naturally male but female. A reason probably deeper than +the historical ones which are commonly alleged, why sculpture has always +been peculiarly Pagan and painting peculiarly Christian, may be found in +the fact, that sculpture is especially suited to represent male beauty, or +the beauty of strength, and painting female beauty, or the beauty of +softness; and that Pagan sentiment was chiefly a glorification of the +masculine qualities of strength, and courage, and conscious virtue, while +Christian sentiment is chiefly a glorification of the feminine qualities +of gentleness, humility, and love. The painters whom the religious feeling +of Christendom has recognised as the most faithful exponents of Christian +sentiment have always been those who infused a large measure of feminine +beauty even into their male characters; and we never, or scarcely ever, +find that the same artist has been conspicuously successful in delineating +both Christian and Pagan types. Michael Angelo, whose genius loved to +expatiate on the sublimity of strength and defiance, failed signally in +his representations of the Christian ideal; and Perugino was equally +unsuccessful when he sought to pourtray the features of the heroes of +antiquity.(775) The position that was gradually assigned to the Virgin as +the female ideal in the belief and the devotion of Christendom, was a +consecration or an expression of the new value that was attached to the +feminine virtues. + +The general superiority of women to men in the strength of their religious +emotions, and their natural attraction to a religion which made personal +attachment to its Founder its central duty, and which imparted an +unprecedented dignity and afforded an unprecedented scope to their +characteristic virtues, account for the very conspicuous position that +female influence assumed in the great work of the conversion of the Roman +Empire. In no other important movement of thought was it so powerful or so +acknowledged. In the ages of persecution female figures occupy many of the +foremost places in the ranks of martyrdom, and Pagan and Christian writers +alike attest the alacrity with which women flocked to the Church, and the +influence they exercised in its favour over the male members of their +families. The mothers of St. Augustine, St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. +Gregory Nazianzen, and Theodoret, had all a leading part in the conversion +of their sons. St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, Flacilla, the wife +of Theodosius the Great, St. Pulcheria, the sister of Theodosius the +Younger, and Placidia, the mother of Valentinian III., were among the most +conspicuous defenders of the faith. In the heretical sects the same zeal +was manifested, and Arius, Priscillian, and Montanus were all supported by +troops of zealous female devotees. In the career of asceticism women took +a part little if at all inferior to men, while in the organisation of the +great work of charity they were pre-eminent. For no other field of active +labour are women so admirably suited as for this; and although we may +trace from the earliest period, in many creeds and ages, individual +instances of their influence in allaying the sufferings of the +distressed,(776) it may be truly said that their instinct and genius of +charity had never before the dawn of Christianity obtained full scope for +action. Fabiola, Paula, Melania, and a host of other noble ladies devoted +their time and fortunes mainly to founding and extending vast institutions +of charity, some of them of a kind before unknown in the world. The +Empress Flacilla was accustomed to tend with her own hands the sick in the +hospitals,(777) and a readiness to discharge such offices was deemed the +first duty of a Christian wife.(778) From age to age the impulse thus +communicated has been felt. There has been no period, however corrupt, +there has been no Church, however superstitious, that has not been adorned +by many Christian women devoting their entire lives to assuaging the +sufferings of men; and the mission of charity thus instituted has not been +more efficacious in diminishing the sum of human wretchedness, than in +promoting the moral dignity of those by whom it was conducted. + +Among the Collyridian heretics, women were admitted to the priesthood. +Among the orthodox, although this honour was not bestowed upon them, they +received a religious consecration, and discharged some minor +ecclesiastical functions under the name of deaconesses.(779) This order +may be traced to the Apostolic period.(780) It consisted of elderly +virgins, who were set apart by a formal ordination, and were employed in +assisting as catechists and attendants at the baptism of women, in +visiting the sick, ministering to martyrs in prison, preserving order in +the congregations, and accompanying and presenting women who desired an +interview with the bishop. It would appear, from the evidence of some +councils, that abuses gradually crept into this institution, and the +deaconesses at last faded into simple nuns, but they were still in +existence in the East in the twelfth century. Besides these, widows, when +they had been but once married, were treated with peculiar honour, and +were made the special recipients of the charity of the Church. Women +advanced in years, who, either from their single life or from bereavement, +have been left without any male protector in the world, have always been +peculiarly deserving of commiseration. With less strength, and commonly +with less means, and less knowledge of the world than men, they are liable +to contract certain peculiarities of mind and manner to which an excessive +amount of ridicule has been attached, and age in most cases furnishes them +with very little to compensate for the charms of which it has deprived +them. The weight and dignity of matured wisdom, which make the old age of +one sex so venerable, are more rarely found in that of the other, and even +physical beauty is more frequently the characteristic of an old man than +of an old woman. The Church laboured steadily to cast a halo of reverence +around this period of woman's life, and its religious exercises have done +very much to console and to occupy it. + +In accordance with these ideas, the Christian legislators contributed +largely to improve the legal position of widows in respect to +property,(781) and Justinian gave mothers the guardianship of their +children, destroying the Pagan rule that guardianship could only be +legally exercised by men.(782) The usual subservience of the sex to +ecclesiastical influence, the numerous instances of rich widows devoting +their fortunes, and mothers their sons, to the Church, had no doubt some +influence in securing the advocacy of the clergy; but these measures had a +manifest importance in elevating the position of women who have had, in +Christian lands, a great, though not, I think, altogether a beneficial +influence, in the early education of their sons. + +Independently of all legal enactments, the simple change of the ideal type +by bringing specially feminine virtues into the forefront was sufficient +to elevate and ennoble the sex. The commanding position of the mediæval +abbesses, the great number of female saints, and especially the reverence +bestowed upon the Virgin, had a similar effect. It is remarkable that the +Jews, who, of the three great nations of antiquity, certainly produced in +history and poetry the smallest number of illustrious women, should have +furnished the world with its supreme female ideal, and it is also a +striking illustration of the qualities which prove most attractive in +woman that one of whom we know nothing except her gentleness and her +sorrow should have exercised a magnetic power upon the world incomparably +greater than was exercised by the most majestic female patriots of +Paganism. Whatever may be thought of its theological propriety, there can +be little doubt that the Catholic reverence for the Virgin has done much +to elevate and purify the ideal of woman, and to soften the manners of +men. It has had an influence which the worship of the Pagan goddesses +could never possess, for these had been almost destitute of moral beauty, +and especially of that kind of moral beauty which is peculiarly feminine. +It supplied in a great measure the redeeming and ennobling element in that +strange amalgam of religious, licentious, and military feeling which was +formed around women in the age of chivalry, and which no succeeding change +of habit or belief has wholly destroyed. + +It can hardly, I think, be questioned that in the great religious +convulsions of the sixteenth century the feminine type followed +Catholicism, while Protestantism inclined more to the masculine type. +Catholicism alone retained the Virgin worship, which at once reflected and +sustained the first. The skill with which it acts upon the emotions by +music, and painting, and solemn architecture, and imposing pageantry, its +tendency to appeal to the imagination rather than to the reason, and to +foster modes of feeling rather than modes of thought, its assertion of +absolute and infallible certainty, above all, the manner in which it +teaches its votary to throw himself perpetually on authority, all tended +in the same direction. It is the part of a woman to lean, it is the part +of a man to stand. A religion which prescribes to the distracted mind +unreasoning faith in an infallible Church, and to the troubled conscience +an implicit trust in an absolving priesthood, has ever had an especial +attraction to a feminine mind. A religion which recognises no authority +between man and his Creator, which asserts at once the dignity and the +duty of private judgment, and which, while deepening immeasurably the +sense of individual responsibility, denudes religion of meretricious +ornaments, and of most æsthetic aids, is pre-eminently a religion of men. +Puritanism is the most masculine form that Christianity has yet assumed. +Its most illustrious teachers differed from the Catholic saints as much in +the moral type they displayed as in the system of doctrines they held. +Catholicism commonly softens, while Protestantism strengthens, the +character; but the softness of the first often degenerates into weakness, +and the strength of the second into hardness. Sincerely Catholic nations +are distinguished for their reverence, for their habitual and vivid +perceptions of religious things, for the warmth of their emotions, for a +certain amiability of disposition, and a certain natural courtesy and +refinement of manner that are inexpressibly winning. Sincerely Protestant +nations are distinguished for their love of truth, for their firm sense of +duty, for the strength and the dignity of their character. Loyalty and +humility, which are especially feminine, flourish chiefly in the first; +liberty and self-assertion in the second. The first are most prone to +superstition, and the second to fanaticism. Protestantism, by purifying +and dignifying marriage, conferred a great benefit upon women; but it must +be owned that neither in its ideal type, nor in the general tenor of its +doctrines or devotions, is it as congenial to their nature as the religion +it superseded. + +Its complete suppression of the conventual system was also, I think, very +far from a benefit to women or to the world. It would be impossible to +conceive any institution more needed than one which would furnish a +shelter for the many women who, from poverty, or domestic unhappiness, or +other causes, find themselves cast alone and unprotected into the battle +of life, which would secure them from the temptations to gross vice, and +from the extremities of suffering, and would convert them into agents of +active, organised, and intelligent charity. Such an institution would be +almost free from the objections that may justly be urged against +monasteries, which withdraw strong men from manual labour, and it would +largely mitigate the difficulty of providing labour and means of +livelihood for single women, which is one of the most pressing, in our own +day one of the most appalling, of social problems. Most unhappily for +mankind, this noble conception was from the first perverted. Institutions +that might have had an incalculable philanthropic value were based upon +the principle of asceticism, which makes the sacrifice, not the promotion, +of earthly happiness its aim, and binding vows produced much misery and +not a little vice. The convent became the perpetual prison of the daughter +whom a father was disinclined to endow, or of young girls who, under the +impulse of a transient enthusiasm, or of a transient sorrow, took a step +which they never could retrace, and useless penances and contemptible +superstitions wasted the energies that might have been most beneficially +employed. Still it is very doubtful whether, even in the most degraded +period, the convents did not prevent more misery than they inflicted, and +in the Sisters of Charity the religious orders of Catholicism have +produced one of the most perfect of all the types of womanhood. There is, +as I conceive, no fact in modern history more deeply to be deplored than +that the Reformers, who in matters of doctrinal innovations were often so +timid, should have levelled to the dust, instead of attempting to +regenerate, the whole conventual system of Catholicism. + +The course of these observations has led me to transgress the limits +assigned to this history. It has been, however, my object through this +entire work to exhibit not only the nature but also the significance of +the moral facts I have recorded, by showing how they have affected the +subsequent changes of society. I will conclude this chapter, and this +work, by observing that of all the departments of ethics the questions +concerning the relations of the sexes and the proper position of women are +those upon the future of which there rests the greatest uncertainty. +History tells us that, as civilisation advances, the charity of men +becomes at once warmer and more expansive, their habitual conduct both +more gentle and more temperate, and their love of truth more sincere; but +it also warns us that in periods of great intellectual enlightenment, and +of great social refinement, the relations of the sexes have often been +most anarchical. It is impossible to deny that the form which these +relations at present assume has been very largely affected by special +religious teaching, which, for good or for ill, is rapidly waning in the +sphere of government, and also, that certain recent revolutions in +economical opinion and industrial enterprise have a most profound bearing +upon the subject. The belief that a rapid increase of population is always +eminently beneficial, which was long accepted as an axiom by both +statesmen and moralists, and was made the basis of a large part of the +legislation of the first and of the decisions of the second, has now been +replaced by the directly opposite doctrine, that the very highest interest +of society is not to stimulate but to restrain multiplication, diminishing +the number of marriages and of children. In consequence of this belief, +and of the many factitious wants that accompany a luxurious civilisation, +a very large and increasing proportion of women are left to make their way +in life without any male protector, and the difficulties they have to +encounter through physical weakness have been most unnaturally and most +fearfully aggravated by laws and customs which, resting on the old +assumption that every woman should be a wife, habitually deprive them of +the pecuniary and educational advantages of men, exclude them absolutely +from very many of the employments in which they might earn a subsistence, +encumber their course in others by a heartless ridicule or by a steady +disapprobation, and consign, in consequence, many thousands to the most +extreme and agonising poverty, and perhaps a still larger number to the +paths of vice. At the same time a momentous revolution, the effects of +which can as yet be but imperfectly descried, has taken place in the chief +spheres of female industry that remain. The progress of machinery has +destroyed its domestic character. The distaff has fallen from the hand. +The needle is being rapidly superseded, and the work which, from the days +of Homer to the present century, was accomplished in the centre of the +family, has been transferred to the crowded manufactory.(783) + +The probable consequences of these things are among the most important +questions that can occupy the moralist or the philanthropist, but they do +not fall within the province of the historian. That the pursuits and +education of women will be considerably altered, that these alterations +will bring with them some modifications of the type of character, and that +the prevailing moral notions concerning the relations of the sexes will be +subjected in many quarters to a severe and hostile criticism, may safely +be predicted. Many wild theories will doubtless be propounded. Some real +ethical changes may perhaps be effected, but these, if I mistake not, can +only be within definite and narrow limits. He who will seriously reflect +upon our clear perceptions of the difference between purity and impurity, +upon the laws that govern our affections, and upon the interests of the +children who are born, may easily convince himself that in this, as in all +other spheres, there are certain eternal moral landmarks which never can +be removed. + + + + + +INDEX. + + +Abortion, diversities of moral judgment respecting, i. 92. + History of the practice of, ii. 20, 24 + +Abraham the Hermit, St., ii. 110 + +Acacius, his ransom of Persian slaves, ii. 72 + +Adultery, laws concerning, ii. 313 + +Æschylus, his views of human nature, i. 196. + His violation of dramatic probabilities, 229 + +Affections, the, all forms of self-love, according to some Utilitarians, + i. 9. + Subjugation of the, to the reason, taught by the Stoics, &c., 177, 187. + Considered by the Stoics as a disease, 188. + Evil consequences of their suppression, 191 + +Africa, sacrifices of children to Saturn in, ii. 31. + Effect of the conquest of Genseric of, 82 + +Agapæ, or love feasts, of the Christians, how regarded by the pagans, i. + 415; ii. 79. + Excesses of the, and their suppression, 150 + +Agnes, St., legend of, ii. 319 + +Agricultural pursuits, history of the decline of, in Italy, i. 266. + Efforts to relieve the agriculturists, 267 + +Albigenses, their slow suicides, ii. 49 + +Alexander the Great: effect of his career on Greek cosmopolitanism, i. 229 + +Alexandria, foundation of, i. 230. + Effect of the increasing importance of, on Roman thought, 319. + The Decian persecution at, 451. + Excesses of the Christian sects of, ii. 196, 197, _note_ + +Alexis, St., his legend, ii. 322 + +Alimentus, Cincius, his work written in Greek, i. 230 + +Almsgiving, effects of indiscriminate, ii. 90, 91 + +Amafanius, wrote the first Latin work on philosophy, i. 175, _note_. + +Ambrose, St., his miraculous dream, i. 379. + His dissection of the pagan theory of the decline of the Roman empire, + 409. + His ransom of Italians from the Goths, ii. 72. + His commendation of disobedience to parents, 132 + +American Indians, suicide of the, ii. 54 + +Ammon, St., his refusal to wash himself, ii. 110. + Deserts his wife, 322 + +Amour, William de St., his denunciation of the mendicant orders, ii. 96 + +Amphitheatres, history and remains of Roman, i. 273 + +Anaxagoras, on the death of his son, i. 191. + On his true country, 201 + +Anchorites. _See_ Ascetics; Monasticism + +Angelo, Michael, in what he failed, ii. 363 + +Anglo-Saxon nations, their virtues and vices, i. 153 + +Animals, lower, Egyptian worship of, i. 166, _note_. + Humanity to animals probably first advocated by Plutarch, 244. + Animals employed in the arena at Rome, 280. + Instances of kindness to, 288, 307. + Legends of the connection of the saints and the animal world, ii. 161. + Pagan legends of the intelligence of animals, 161, 162. + Legislative protection of them, 162. + Views as to the souls of animals, 162. + Moral duty of kindness to animals taught by pagans, 166. + Legends in the lives of the saints in connection with animals, 168. + Progress in modern times of humanity to animals, 172 + +Antigonus of Socho, his doctrine of virtue, i. 183, _note_ + +Antioch, charities of, ii. 80. + Its extreme vice and asceticism, 153 + +Antisthenes, his scepticism, i. 162 + +Antoninus, the philosopher, his prediction, i. 427 + +Antoninus the Pious, his death, i. 207. + His leniency towards the Christians, 438, 439. + Forged letter of, 439, _note_. + His charity, ii. 77 + +Antony, St., his flight into the desert, ii. 103. + His mode of life, 110. + His dislike to knowledge, 115. + Legend of his visit to Paul the hermit, 157, 158 + +Aphrodite, the celestial and earthly, i. 106 + +Apollonius of Tyana, his conversation with an Egyptian priest respecting + the Greek and Egyptian modes of worshipping the deity, i. 166, + _note_. + Miracles attributed to him, 372. + His humanity to animals, ii. 165 + +Apollonius, the merchant, his dispensary for monks, ii. 81 + +Apuleius, his condemnation of suicide, i. 213. + His disquisition on the doctrine of dæmons, 323. + Practical form of his philosophy, 329. + Miracles attributed to him, 372. + His defence of tooth-powder, ii. 148 + +Archytas of Tarentum, his speech on the evils of sensuality, i. 200, + _note_ + +Argos, story of the sons of the priestess of Juno at, i. 206 + +Arians, their charges against the Catholics, i. 418, _note_ + +Aristides, his gentleness, i. 228 + +Aristotle, his admission of the practice of abortion, i. 92. + Emphasis with which he dwelt upon the utility of virtue, 124. + His patriotism, 200. + His condemnation of suicide, 212. + His opinions as to the duties of Greeks to barbarians, 229 + +Arius, death of, ii. 196 + +Arnobius, on the miracles of Christ, i. 375 + +Arrian, his humanity to animals, ii. 164 + +Arsenius, St., his penances, ii. 107, 114, _note_. + His anxiety to avoid distractions, 125, _note_ + +Ascetics, their estimate of the dreadful nature of sin, i. 113. + Decline of asceticism and evanescence of the moral notions of which it + was the expression, 113. + Condition of society to which it belongs, 130. + Decline of the ascetic and saintly qualities with civilisation, 130. + Causes of the ascetic movement, ii. 102. + Its rapid extension, 103-105. + Penances attributed to the saints of the desert, 107-109. + Miseries and joys of the hermit life, 113 _et seq._ + Dislike of the monks to knowledge, 115. + Their hallucinations, 116. + Relations of female devotees with the anchorites, 120. + Ways in which the ascetic life affected both the ideal type and realised + condition of morals, 122, _et seq._ + Extreme animosity of the ascetics to everything pagan, 136, 137. + Decline of the civic virtues caused by asceticism, 139. + Moral effects of asceticism on self-sacrifice, 154, 155. + Moral beauty of some of the legends of the ascetics, 156. + Legends of the connection between the saints and the animal world, 161. + Practical form of asceticism in the West, 177. + Influence of asceticism on chastity, 319, 320. + On marriage, 320. + On the estimate of women, 337 + +Asella, story of her asceticism, ii. 133 + +Asia Minor, destruction of the churches of, ii. 14 + +Aspasia, the Athenian courtesan, ii. 293 + +Asses, feast of, ii. 173 + +Association, Hartley's doctrine of, i. 22. + Partly anticipated by Hutcheson and Gay, 23. + Illustrations of the system of association, 26-30. + The theory, how far selfish, 30. + The essential and characteristic feature of conscience wholly + unaccounted for by the association of ideas, 66 + +Astrology, belief in, rapidly gaining ground in the time of the elder + Pliny, i. 171, and _note_ + +Atticus, his suicide, i. 215, and _note_ + +Augustine, St., on original sin, i. 209. + His belief in contemporary miracles, 378. + On the decline of the Roman empire, 410. + His condemnation of virgin suicides, ii. 47 + +Augustus, his solemn degradation of the statue of Neptune, i. 169. + His mode of discouraging celibacy, 232. + Miraculous stories related of him, 258. + His superstition, 376. + Advice of Mæcenas to him, 399. + His consideration for the religious customs of the Jews, 406 + +Aulus Gellius, his account of the rhetoricians, i. 313. + Compared with Helvétius, 313 + +Aurelius, Marcus, on a future state, i. 184. + On posthumous fame, 186. + Denied that all vices are the same, 192, _note_. + On the sacred spirit dwelling in man, 198. + His submissive gratitude, 199. + His practical application of the precepts of the Stoics, 202. + His wavering views as to suicide, 213. + His charity to the human race, 241. + Mild and more religious spirit of his stoicism, 245. + His constant practice of self-examination, 249. + His life and character, 249-255. + Compared and contrasted with Plutarch, 253. + His discouragement of the games of the arena, 286. + His humanity, 308. + His disbelief of exorcism, 384. + His law against religious terrorism, 422. + His persecution of the Christians, 439, 440. + His benevolence, ii. 77. + His view of war, 258 + +Austin, Mr., his view of the foundation of the moral law, i. 17, _note_. + His advocacy of the unselfish view of the love we ought to bear to God, + 18, _note_. + Character of his "Lectures on Jurisprudence," 22, _note_ + +Avarice, association of ideas to the passion of, i. 25 + +Avitus, St., legend of, ii. 159 + +Babylas, St., miracles performed by his bones, i. 382, and _note_. + His death, ii. 9 + +Bacchus, suppression of the rites of, at Rome, i. 401 + +Bacon, Lord, great movement of modern thought caused by, i. 125. + His objection to the Stoics' view of death, 202 + +Bacon, Roger, his life and works, ii. 210 + +Bain, Mr., on pleasure, i. 12, _note_. + His definition of conscience, 29, _note_. + +Balbus, Cornelius, his elevation to the consulate, i. 232 + +Baltus on the exorcists, i. 381, _note_. + +Baptism, Augustinian doctrine of, i. 96 + +Barbarians, causes of the conversion of the, i. 410 + +Basil, St., his hospital, ii. 80. + His labours for monachism, 106 + +Bassus, Ventidius, his elevation to the consulate, i. 232 + +Bathilda, Queen, her charity, ii. 245 + +Bear-gardens in England, ii. 175, _note_. + +Beauty, analogies between virtue and, i. 77. + Their difference, 79. + Diversities existing in our judgments of virtue and beauty, 79. + Causes of these diversities, 79. + Virtues to which we can, and to which we cannot, apply the term + beautiful, 82, 83. + Pleasure derived from beauty compared with that from the grotesque, or + eccentric, 85. + The prevailing cast of female beauty in the north, contrasted with the + southern type, 144, 145, 152. + Admiration of the Greeks for beauty, ii. 292 + +Bees, regarded by the ancients as emblems or models of chastity, i. 108, + _note_. + +Beggars, causes of vast numbers of, ii. 94. + Old English laws for the suppression of mendicancy, 96. + Enactments against them in various parts of Europe, 98 + +Benedict, St., his system, 183 + +Benefices, military use of, ii. 270 + +Benevolence; Hutcheson's theory that all virtue is resolved into + benevolence, i. 4. + Discussions in England, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as + to the existence of, 20. + Various views of the source from which it springs, 22. + Association of ideas producing the feeling of, 26. + Hartley on benevolence quoted, 27, _note_. + Impossibility of benevolence becoming a pleasure if practised only with + a view to that end, 37. + Application to benevolence of the theory, that the moral unity of + different ages is a unity not of standard but of tendency, + 100. + Influenced by our imaginations, 132, 133. + Imperfectly recognised by the Stoics, 188, 192 + +Bentham, Jeremy, on the motives of human actions, i. 8, _note_. + On the pleasures and pains of piety quoted, 9, _note_. + On charity, 10, _note_. + On vice, 13, _note_. + On the sanctions of morality, 19, and _note_, 21. + Throws benevolence as much as possible into the background, 21. + Makes no use of the doctrine of association, 25, _note_. + His definition of conscience, 29, _note_. + On interest and disinterestedness, 32, _note_. + On the value and purity of a pleasure, 90, _note_. + +Besarion, St., his penances, ii. 108 + +Biography, relative importance of, among Christians and Pagans, i. 174 + +Blandina, martyrdom of, i. 442 + +Blesilla, story of her slow suicide, ii. 48 + +Blondel, his denunciation of the forgeries of the Sibylline books, i. 377 + +Boadicea, her suicide, ii. 53, _note_ + +Bolingbroke's "Reflections on Exile," i. 201, _note_ + +Bona Dea, story and worship of, i. 94, _note_. + Popularity of her worship among the Romans, 106, 386 + +Boniface, St., his missionary labours, ii. 247 + +Bonnet, his philosophy, i. 71 + +Bossuet, on the nature of the love we should bear to God, i. 18, _note_ + +Brephotrophia, in the early church, ii. 32 + +Brotherhood, effect of Christianity in promoting, ii. 61 + +Brown, on the motive for the practice of virtue, i. 8, _note_. + On theological Utilitarianism, 16, _note_ + +Brunehaut, Queen, her crimes, approved of by the Pope, ii. 236, 237. + Her end, 237 + +Brutus, his extortionate usury, i. 193, 194 + +Buckle, Thomas, his remarks on morals, i. 74, _note_. + On the difference between mental and physical pleasures, 90, _note_. + His views of the comparative influence of intellectual and moral + agencies in civilisation, 103, _note_ + +Bull-baiting in England, ii. 175, _note_ + +Bulgarians, their conversion to Christianity, ii. 180 + +Butler, Bishop, maintains the reality of the existence of benevolence in + our nature, i. 20, 21, _note_. + On the pleasure derived from virtue, 32, _note_. + His analysis of moral judgments, 76. + His definition of conscience, 83 + +Byzantine Empire, general sketch of the moral condition of the, ii. 13, + 14. + Moral condition of the empire during the Christian period, 147 + +Cædmon, story of the origin of his "Creation of the World," ii. 204 + +Cæsar, Julius, denies the immortality of the soul, i. 182. + His condemnation of suicide, 213. + His colonial policy, 233. + His multiplication of gladiatorial shows, 273 + +Caligula, his intoxication with his imperial dignity, i. 259. + His superstitious fears, 367 + +Calvinists: tendency of the Supralapsarian to deny the existence of a + moral sense, i. 17, _note_ + +Camma, conjugal fidelity of, ii. 341 + +Capital punishment, aversion to, ii. 39 + +Carlyle, Thomas, on self-sacrifice, i. 57, _note_. + The influence of conscience on the happiness of men, 62 + +Carneades, his expulsion from Rome proposed by Cato, i. 399 + +Carpocrates, licentiousness of the followers of, i. 417 + +Carthage, effect of the destruction of, on the decadence of Rome, i. 169. + The Decian persecution at, 452 + +Carthaginians, the, amongst the most prominent of Latin writers, i. 235 + +Cassius, the tyrannicide, his suicide, i. 215 + +Castellio, his exposure of the forgeries of the Sibylline books, i. 377 + +Catacombs, the, i. 453, 455 + +Catholicism, Roman, the system of education adopted by, contrasted with + that of the English public schools, i. 114. + Conflict of the priests with political economists on the subject of + early marriages, 114, 115. + The teaching of, on many points the extreme antithesis of that of the + pagan philosophers, 208. + Its view of death, 208, 210. + Little done by it for humanity to animals, ii. 173, 177, 188. + Influence on despotism, 186. + Its total destruction of religious liberty, 194-199. + Causes of the indifference to truth manifested in its literature, 241. + Protestantism contrasted with it, 368 + +Cato, his refusal to consult the oracles, i. 165, _note_. + His stoicism, 185. + His inhumanity to his slaves, 193. + His study of the "Phædon" the night he committed suicide, 212. + His opposition to Greek philosophy, 231. + His view of pre-nuptial chastity, ii. 314 + +Cattle plague, theological notions respecting the, i. 356 + +Catullus, on the death of a sparrow, ii. 165, _note_ + +Cautinus, Bishop, his drunkenness, ii. 236 + +Celibacy among the ancients, i. 106. + The Catholic monastic system, 107. + How discouraged by Augustus, 232. + Celibacy the primal virtue of the Christians of the fourth and fifth + centuries, ii. 122. + Effect of this upon moral teaching, 122, 123. + History of the celibacy of the clergy, 328, 336 + +Celsus calls the Christians Sibyllists, i. 376. + And jugglers, 384 + +Celts, Spanish, their worship of death, i. 206, 207. + Causes of their passion for suicide, 207, _note_. + Their lamentations on the birth of men, 207, _note_ + +Censors, Roman, minute supervision of the, i. 168 + +Character, influence of, on opinion, i. 172. + Governed in a great measure by national circumstances, 172 + +Chariot races, passion for, at Constantinople, ii. 37 + +Charity, a form of self-love, according to the Utilitarians, i. 9, and + _note_. + Impossibility of charity becoming a pleasure if practised only with a + view to that end, 36. + Charity of the Stoics, 191. + Cicero's emphatic assertion of the duty, 240. + Exertions of the Christians in the cause of charity, ii. 75, 79. + Inadequate place given to this movement in history, 84, 85. + Christian charity, in what it consists, 73. + Laws of the Romans, 73. + Pagan examples of charity, 78. + Noble enthusiasm of the Christians in the cause of charity, 78, 79. + Charity enjoined as a matter of justice, 81. + Theological notions of charity, 85, 90, 91. + Evils of Catholic charity, 93-94. + Legends respecting the virtue, 245, and _note_ + +Charlemagne, his law respecting Sunday, ii. 245. + Fascination exercised by him over the popular imagination, 271, 272. + His polygamy, 343 + +Charles V., the Emperor, his law against beggars, ii. 97 + +Charles Martel, his defeat of the Mohammedans, at Poictiers, ii. 273 + +Charondas, law of, on second marriages, ii. 325, _note_ + +Chastity, in Utilitarian systems, i. 12, 49. + Sketch of the history of, 103-107. + The Catholic monastic system, 107. + Modern judgments of, ii. 282, 283. + Cato's views, 314. + Mystical views, 315. + Services of the ascetics in enforcing the duty of chastity, 318-320 + +Children, charge of murdering infants, among the early Christians, i. 417. + Abortion, ii. 20-24. + Infanticide, 24, 26. + Exposed children, 32. + Institutions of the Romans for the benefit of children, 77 + +Chilon, his closing hours, i. 207 + +Cholera, theological notions respecting the, i. 356 + +Christian and pagan virtues compared, i. 190 + +Christianity; distinctions between the pagan and Christian conceptions of + death, i. 208. + The importance of Christianity not recognised by pagan writers, 336. + Causes of this, 338. + Examination of the theory which ascribes part of the teaching of the + later pagan moralists to Christian influence, 340. + Theory which attributes the conversion of Rome to evidences of miracles, + 346. + Opinion of the pagans about the credulity of the Christians, 347. + Incapacity of the Christians of the third century for judging historic + miracles, 375. + And for judging prophecies, 376. + Contemporary miracles represented as existing among them, 377. + Christian miracles had probably little weight with the pagans, 385. + Progress of Christianity to what due, 386, 387. + Singular adaptation of it to the wants of the time, 387. + Heroism it inspired, 390. + Explanation of the conversion of the Roman Empire, 393. + Account of the persecutions of the Christians, 395. + Reasons why the Christians were more persecuted than the Jews, 403, 406, + 407. + The first cause of the persecution of the Christians, 406. + Charges of immorality brought against them, 414. + Due in a great measure to Jews and heretics, 416, 417. + The disturbance of domestic life caused by female conversions, 418. + Antipathy of the Romans to every system which employed religious + terrorism, 421. + Christian intolerance of pagan worship, 423. + And of diversity of belief, 424-427. + History of the persecutions, 429. + Nero's, 429. + Domitian's, 431. + Condition of the Christians under the Antonines, 434. + Become profoundly obnoxious to the people, 436. + Marcus Aurelius, 439, 440. + Introduction of Christianity into France, 442, and _note_. + Attitude of the rulers towards it from M. Aurelius to Decius, 451, _et + seq._ + Condition of the Church on the eve of the Decian persecution, 448. + Gallus, 454. + Valerian, 454. + Gallienus, 455. + Erection of churches in the Empire, 457. + Persecutions of Diocletian and Galerius, 458. + End of the persecutions, 463. + Massacre of Christians in Phrygia, 464. + Moral efficacy of the Christian sense of sin, ii. 3. + Dark views of human nature not common in the early Church, 5. + The penitential system, 6. + Empire Christianity attained in eliciting disinterested enthusiasm, 8. + Great purity of the early Christians, 10, 11. + The promise of the Church for many centuries falsified, 12. + The first consequence of Christianity a new sense of the sanctity of + human life, 17. + Influence in the protection of infant life, 20-32. + In the suppression of gladiatorial shows, 34. + Its effect upon persecutions, 40, _et seq._ + The penal code not lightened by it, 42. + Condemnation of suicide, 43. + Second consequence of Christianity Teaches universal brotherhood, 61. + Slavery, 61-66. + Ransom of captives, 72. + Charity, 73. + Exertions of the Christians in the cause of charity, 75, 79. + Their exertions when the Empire was subverted, 81, 82, 88. + Theological notions concerning insanity, 85-90. + Almsgiving, 90-92. + Beneficial effect of Christianity in supplying pure images to the + imagination, 99. + Summary of the philanthropic achievements of Christianity, 100. + Ways in which the ascetic mode of life affected both the ideal type and + realised condition of morals, 122, _et seq._ + History of the relations of Christianity to the civic virtues, 140. + Improvements effected by Christianity in the morals of the people, 153. + Attitude of Christianity to the barbarians, 178. + How it achieved their conversion, 179-181. + Tendency of the barbarians to adulterate it, 181. + Legends of the conflict between the old gods and the new faith, 181. + Fierce hatred of rival sects, and total destruction of religious + liberty, 194, 200. + Polytheistic and idolatrous form of Christianity in mediæval times, 229. + The doctrine of purgatory, 232. + Benefits conferred by the monasteries, 243-245. + The observance of Sunday, 245. + Influence of Christianity upon war, 254, 259. + Upon the consecration of secular rank, 260, _et seq._ + Upon the condition of women, 316, _et seq._ + Strong assertion of the equality of obligation in marriage, 345, 346. + Relation of Christianity to the female virtues, 358, _et seq._ + +Chrysippus on the immortality of the soul, i. 183 + +Chrysostom, St., his labours for monachism, ii. 107. + His treatment of his mother, 132 + +Cicero on the evidence of a Divine element within us, i. 56, _note_. + His definition of conscience, 83. + His conception of the Deity, 164. + His opinion of the popular beliefs, 165. + Instance of his love of truth, 176, _note_. + His desire for posthumous reputation, 185, _note_. + His declaration as to virtue concealing itself from the world, 185. + His belief in the immortality of the soul, 204. + His view of death, 205, 206. + His complacency on the approach of death, 207. + His conception of suicide, 213. + His maintenance of the doctrine of universal brotherhood, 240. + How he regarded the games of the arena, 285. + His friendship with his freedman Tiro, 323. + His remarks on charity, ii. 79. + His rules respecting almsgiving, 92 + +Circumcelliones, atrocities of the, ii. 41. + Their custom of provoking martyrdom, 49 + +Civic virtues, predominance accorded to, in ancient ethics, i. 200 + +Civilisation, refining influence of, on taste, i. 79. + Pleasures of a civilised and semi-civilised society compared, 86. + Views of Mill and Buckle on the comparative influence of intellectual + and moral agencies in, 102, _note_. + Effect of education in diminishing cruelty, and producing charity, 134. + Moral enthusiasm appropriate to different stages of civilisation, 136. + Increase of veracity with civilisation, 137. + Each stage of civilisation specially appropriate to some virtue, 147 + +Clarke, on moral judgments, i. 77 + +Classical literature, preservation of, ii. 199. + Manner in which it was regarded by the Church, 200-204 + +Claudius, his delight in gladiatorial shows, i. 280. + His decree as to slaves, 307 + +Claver, Father, his remark on some persons who had delivered a criminal + into the hands of justice, i. 41, _note_ + +Cleanthes, his suicide, i. 212 + +Clemency, Seneca's distinction between it and pity, i. 189 + +Clement of Alexandria, on the two sources of all the wisdom of antiquity, + i. 344. + On the Sibylline books, 376. + On wigs, ii. 149 + +Clemens, Flavius, put to death, i. 433 + +Cleombrotus, his suicide, i. 212, _note_ + +Clergy, corruption of the, from the fourth century, ii. 150, 237. + Submission of the Eastern, but independence of the Western, clergy to + the civil power, 264-268. + History of their celibacy, 328 + +Climate, effects of, in stimulating or allaying the passions, i. 144 + +Clotaire, his treatment of Queen Brunehaut, ii. 237 + +Clotilda, her conversion of her husband, i. 410; ii. 180 + +Clovis, his conversion, i. 410; ii. 180. + Gregory of Tours' account of his acts, 240, 241 + +Cock-fighting among the ancients and moderns, ii. 164, and _note_, 175, + _note_ + +Cock-throwing, ii. 164, _note_, 175, _note_ + +Coemgenus, St., legend of, ii. 111, _note_ + +Coleridge, S. T., his remarks on the practice of virtue as a pleasure, i. + 28, _note_. + His admiration for Hartley, 28, _note_. + On the binding ground of the belief of God and a hereafter, i. 55, + _note_ + +Colman, St., his animal companions, ii. 170. + His girdle, 319, _note_ + +Colonies, Roman, the cosmopolitan spirit forwarded by the aggrandisement + of the, i. 233 + +Colosseum, the, i. 275. + Games at the dedication of the, 280 + +Columbanus, St., his missionary labours, ii. 246 + +Comedy, Roman, short period during which it flourished, i. 277 + +Comet, a temple erected by the Romans in honour of a, i. 367 + +Commodus, his treatment of the Christians, i. 443 + +Compassion, theory that it is the cause of our acts of barbarity, i. 71, + 72 + +Concubines, Roman, ii. 350 + +Concupiscence, doctrine of the Fathers respecting, ii. 281 + +Condillac, cause of the attractiveness of utilitarianism to, i. 71. + Connection with Locke, i. 122, _note_ + +Confessors, power of the, in the early Church, i. 390, and _note_ + +Congo, Helvétius, on a custom of the people of, i. 102, _note_ + +Conquerors, causes of the admiration of, i. 94, 95 + +Conscience, association of ideas generating, i. 28. + Recognised by the disciples of Hartley, 29. + Definitions of Hobbes, Locke, Bentham, and Bain, 29, _note_. + The rewards and punishments of conscience, 60-62. + Unique position of, in our nature, 83. + As defined by Cicero, the Stoics, St. Paul, and Butler, 83 + +Consequences, remote, weakness of the utilitarian doctrine of, i. 42-44 + +"Consolations," literature of, leading topics of, i. 204 + +Constantine, the Emperor, his foundation of the empire of the East, ii. + 12. + His humane policy towards children, 29, 30. + His sanction of the gladiatorial shows, 35. + His laws mitigating the severity of punishments, 42. + His treatment of slaves, 64. + His law respecting Sunday, 244. + Magnificence of his court at Constantinople, 265 + +Conventual system, effect of the suppression of the, on women, ii. 369 + +Cordeilla, or Cordelia, her suicide, ii. 53, _note_ + +Corinth, effect of the conquest of, on the decadence of Rome, i. 169 + +Cornelia, a vestal virgin, incident of her execution, ii. 318, _note_ + +Cornelius, the bishop, martyrdom of, i. 454 + +Cornutus, his disbelief in a future state, i. 183 + +Corporations, moral qualities of, i. 152 + +Councils of the Church, character of the, ii. 197, _note_ + +Courtesans, Greek, ii. 287. + Causes of their elevation, 291-294. + How regarded by the Romans, 300 + +Cousin, Victor, his criticism of the Scotch moralists, i. 74, _note_. + His objection against Locke, 75, _note_ + +Crantor, originates the literature of "Consolations," i. 204 + +Cremutius Cordus, trial of, i. 448, _note_ + +Crime, value attached by the monks to pecuniary compensations for, ii. + 213. + Catalogue of crimes of the seventh century, 237-239 + +Criminals, causes of our indulgent judgment of, i. 135 + +Critical spirit, the, destroyed by Neoplatonism, i. 330 + +Cromaziano, his history of suicide, i. 216, _note_ + +Cruelty, origin and varieties of, i. 132, 134. + Cruelty to animals, utilitarian doctrine concerning, 46, 47 + +Crusius, his adherence to the opinion of Ockham as to the foundation of + the moral law, i. 17, _note_ + +Cudworth, his analysis of moral judgments, i. 76 + +Culagium, a tax levied on the clergy, ii. 330 + +Cumberland, Bishop, his unselfish view of virtue, i. 19, _note_ + +Cynics, account of the later, i. 309 + +Cyprian, St., his evasion of persecution by flight, i. 452. + His exile and martyrdom, 455 + +Cyzicus deprived of its freedom, i. 259 + +Dæmons, Apuleius' disquisition on the doctrine of, i. 323. + The doctrine supersedes the Stoical naturalism, i. 331. + The dæmons of the Greeks and Romans, 380. + And of the Christians, 382 + +Dale, Van, his denial of the supernatural character of the oracles, i. 374 + +Dead, Roman worship of the, i. 168 + +Death, calmness with which some men of dull and animal natures can meet, + i. 89. + Frame of mind in which a man should approach death, according to + Epictetus, 195. + Preparation for death one of the chief ends of the philosophy of the + ancients, 202. + Bacon's objection to the Stoics' view of, 202. + The Irish legend of the islands of life and death, 203. + The literature of "Consolations," 204. + Death not regarded by the philosophers as penal, 205. + Popular terrors of death, 205, 206. + Instances of tranquil pagan deaths, 207. + Distinctions between the pagan and Christian conceptions of death, 208 + +Decius, persecution of the Christians under, i. 449, 450 + +Defoe, Daniel, his tract against beggars, ii. 98, and _note_ + +Delphi, oracle of, its description of the best religion, i. 167 + +Deogratias, his ransom of prisoners, ii. 72 + +Despotism, Helvétius' remarks on the moral effects of, i. 129, _note_ + +Diagoras, his denial of the existence of the gods, i. 162 + +Diodorus, the philosopher, his suicide, i. 215 + +Dion Chrysostom, his denunciation of images of the Deity, i. 166, 167, + _note_. + His life and works, 312 + +Dionysius of Halicarnassus, on the creed of the Romans, i. 167 + +Disinterestedness, Bentham's remarks on, quoted, i. 32, _note_ + +Disposition, what constitutes, according to the theory of association, i. + 30 + +Divination, a favourite subject of Roman ridicule, i. 166. + Belief of the ancients in, 363 + +Divorce, unbounded liberty of, among the Romans, ii. 306-308. + Condemned by the Church, 350, 351 + +Docetæ, their tenets, ii. 102 + +Dog-star, legend of the, ii. 162 + +Dolphin, legends of the, ii. 162, and _note_ + +Domestic laws, Roman, changes in, i. 297, 298 + +Domestic virtues, destruction of the, by the ascetics, ii. 125 + +Domitian, his law respecting suicide, i. 219. + Anecdote of his cruelty, 289. + His law as to slaves, 307. + His persecution of the Stoics and Christians, 431, 432 + +Domitilla, banishment of, i. 433 + +Domnina, her suicide with her daughters, ii. 46 + +Donatists, their intolerance, ii. 195 + +Dowry of women, rise of the, ii. 277 and _note_ + +Dreams, opinions of the Romans concerning, i. 366, 367, _note_ + +Dumont, M., on vengeance quoted, i. 41, _note_ + +Duty, theory of morals must explain what is, and the notion of there being + such a thing as, i. 5. + Paley on the difference between it and prudence, 15, 16, _note_. + Distinction between natural duties and those resting on positive law, + 93. + Duty a distinct motive, 180 + +Dwarfs, combats of, in the arena, i. 281 + +Earthquakes, how regarded by the ancients, i. 369. + Cause of persecutions of the Christians, 408 + +Easter controversy, bitterness of the, ii. 198 + +Eclectic school of philosophy, rise of the, i. 242. + Its influence on the Stoics, 245 + +Eclipses, opinions of the ancients concerning, i. 366 + +Education, importance ascribed to, by the theory of the association of + ideas, i. 30. + Contrast between that adopted by the Catholic priesthood and that of the + English public schools, 114. + Its influence on the benevolent feelings, 133, 134. + Two distinct theories of, 187 + +Egypt, the cradle of monachism, ii. 105. + The Mohammedan conquest of, 143. + Triumphs of the Catholics in, 196 + +Egyptians, their reverence for the vulture, i. 108, _note_. + Their kindness to animals, 289. + Contrast of the spirit of their religion with that of the Greeks, 324. + Difference between the Stoical and Egyptian pantheism, 325 + +Elephants, legends of, ii. 161 + +Emperors, Roman, apotheosis of, i. 170, 257 + +Endura, the Albigensian practice of, ii. 49 + +England, national virtues and vices of, i. 153. + Ancient amusements of, ii. 174, 175, _note_ + +Ephrem, St., his charity, ii. 81 + +Epictetus, his disbelief in a future state, i. 183. + His life and works, 184, and _note_. + On the frame of mind in which a man should approach death, 195. + His views of the natural virtue of man, 198. + On suicide, 214, _note_, 220. + On universal brotherhood, 254. + His stoicism tempered by a milder and more religious spirit, 245, 246. + His remarks on national religious beliefs, 405 + +Epicureans, their faith preserved unchanged at Athens, i. 128, and _note_. + Their scepticism, 162. + Roman Epicureans, 162, 163. + Epicureanism the expression of a type of character different from + Stoicism, 171, 172. + But never became a school of virtue in Rome, 175. + Destructive nature of its functions, 176. + Esteemed pleasure as the ultimate end of our actions, 186. + Encouraged physical science, 193. + Their doctrine as to suicide, 214, 215, _note_ + +Epicurus, the four canons of, i. 14. + Vast place occupied by his system in the moral history of man, 171. + His character, 175, 176, _note_. + Lucretius' praise of him, 197. + His view of death, 205. + Discovery of one of his treatises at Herculaneum, 205, _note_ + +Epidemics, theological notions respecting, i. 356 + +Epiphanius, St., his miraculous stories, i. 378. + His charges against the Gnostics, 417. + Legend of him and St. Hilarius, ii. 159 + +Epponina, story of her conjugal fidelity, ii. 342 + +Error, the notion of the guilt of, ii. 190-193 + +Essenes, virginity their ideal of sanctity, i. 109, ii. 102 + +Euhemerus, his explanation of the legends, i. 163 + +Euphrates the Stoic, his answer to Pliny the Younger, i. 202. + Has permission from Hadrian to commit suicide, 218, _note_ + +Euphraxia, St., ii. 110 + +Euripides, beauty of the gentler virtues inculcated in the plays of, i. + 228 + +Eusebius, on the allegorical and mythical interpretations of paganism, i. + 163, _note_. + His account of the Christian persecutions, i. 463 + +Eusebius, St., his penances, ii. 108 + +Eustathius, condemnation of, by the council of Gangra, ii. 131 + +Evagrius, his inhumanity to his parents, ii. 125 + +Evil, views of Hobbes and the Utilitarians of the essence and origin of, + i. 8-10 + +Excellence, supreme, how far it is conducive to happiness, i. 56 + +Excommunication, penalties of, ii. 7 + +Executioners, always regarded as unholy, i. 41 + +Exorcism, among the early Christians, i. 378, 380. + Origin of the notions of possession and exorcism, 380. + Jews the principal exorcists, 380. + Belief of the early Christians in, 382. + Contempt of the pagans for it, 384. + Ulpian's law against exorcists, 384. + Probable explanation of possession and exorcism, 385. + Speedy decline of exorcism, 385. + The practice probably had no appreciable influence in provoking + persecution of the Christians, 420 + +Experience, general statement of the doctrine which bases morals upon, i. + 5 + +Fabianus, martyrdom of, i. 446 + +Fabiola, founded the first public hospital, ii. 80 + +Fabius, his self-sacrifice, i. 185 + +Fabius Pictor, his works written in Greek, i. 230 + +Faculty, moral, the term, i. 75 + +Fairies, belief in, i. 348, 349 + +Fatalism, Æschylus the poet of, i. 196 + +Felicitas, St., her martyrdom, i. 444. + In prison, ii. 9 + +Fénelon, on the unselfish love we should bear to God, i. 18, _note_ + +Fetishism, latent, the root of a great part of our opinions, i. 350 + +Fidenæ, accident at the amphitheatre at, i. 275 + +Fights, sham, in Italy in the middle ages, ii. 37, 38 + +Fire, regarded by the ancients as an emblem of virginity, i. 108, _note_ + +Fish, symbol of the early Christians, i. 376 + +Flamens of Jupiter, ii. 298 + +Flora, games of, i. 276 + +Forethought, brought into a new position by industrial habits, i. 140 + +Foundlings, hospitals for, ii. 23, _note_, 32. + In ancient times, 28, 29. + Adversaries of, 98, and _note_ + +France, condition of, under the Merovingian kings, ii. 236, _note_ + +Francis of Assisi, St., story of his death from asceticism, ii. 49. + His kindness to animals, 172 + +Franks, cause of their conversion, i. 410 + +Frédégonde, Queen, her crimes, ii. 236, 237 + +Freedmen, influence of, at Rome, i. 233. + Condition of the freedmen of the Romans, 236 + +Frenchmen, the chief national virtues and causes of their influence in + Europe, i. 152. + Compared with Anglo-Saxon nations, 153 + +Friendship, Utilitarian view of, i. 10 + +Galerius, his persecution of the Christians, i. 458, 461. + His illness, 462. + Relents towards the Christians, 462 + +Galilæans, their indifference to death, i. 392, _note_ + +Gall, St., legend of, ii. 182. + His missionary labours, 247 + +Gallienus, proclaims toleration to the Christians, i. 455, 457 + +Gallus, the Emperor, persecutions of the Christians under, i. 454 + +Gambling-table, moral influence of the, i. 148 + +Gaul, introduction of Christianity into, i. 442. + Foundation of the monastic system in, ii. 106. + Long continuance of polygamy among the kings of, 343 + +Gay, his view of the origin of human actions, quoted, i. 8, _note_. + His suggestion of the theory of association, 23, 24 + +Genseric, effect of his conquest of Africa upon Italy, ii. 82. + His capture of Rome, 83 + +George of Cappadocia, his barbarity, ii. 195 + +Germanicus, the Emperor, fury of the populace with the gods, in + consequence of the death of, i. 169 + +Germanus, St., his charity, ii. 245 + +Germany, conversion of, to Christianity, ii. 246. + Marriage customs of the early Germans, 278. + Their chastity, 340, 341 + +Gervasius, St., recovery of his remains, i. 379. + +Girdles of chastity, ii. 319, _note_ + +Gladiatorial shows, influence of Christianity on the suppression of, i. + 34. + Reasons why the Romans saw nothing criminal in them, 101. + History and effect on the Romans of, 271-283. + How regarded by moralists and historians, 284. + The passion for them not inconsistent with humanity in other spheres, + 288. + +Gnostics, accusations against the, by the early Fathers, i. 417. + Their tenets, ii. 102 + +God, the Utilitarian view of the goodness of, i. 9, and _note_. + Question of the disinterestedness of the love we should bear to, 18. + Our knowledge of Him derived from our own moral nature, 55. + Early traces of an all-pervading soul of nature in Greece, 161, 162, + 170. + Philosophic definitions of the Deity, 162, _note_. + Pantheistic conception of, by the Stoics and Platonists, 163. + Recognition of Providence by the Roman moralists, 196. + Two aspects under which the Stoics worshipped the Divinity--providence + and moral goodness, 198 + +Gods, the, of the ancients, i. 161, _et seq._ + Euhemerus' theory of the explanation of the prevailing legends of the + gods, 163. + Views of Cicero of the popular beliefs, 165. + Opinions of the Stoics, of Ovid, and of Horace, 166. + Nature of the gods of the Romans, 167. + Decline of Roman reverence for the gods, 168, 169 + +Good, pleasure equivalent to, according to the Utilitarians, i. 8, _note_, + 9 + +Gracchi, colonial policy of the, i. 233 + +Grazers, sect of, ii. 109 + +Greeks, ancient, their callous murder of children, i. 45, 46. + Low state of female morality among them. + Their enforcement of monogamy, 104. + Celibacy of some of their priests and priestesses, 105. + Early traces of a religion of nature, 161. + Universal providence attributed to Zeus, 161. + Scepticism of the philosophers, 161, 162. + Importance of biography in the moral teaching of the, i. 74. + Difference between the teaching of the Roman moralists and the Greek + poets, 195. + On death, and future punishment, 205, 206. + Greek suicides, 212. + Gentleness and humanity of the Greek character, 227. + Influence on Roman character, 227, 228. + The Greek spirit at first as far removed from cosmopolitanism as that of + Rome, 228. + Causes of Greek cosmopolitanism, 229. + Extent of Greek influence at Rome, 230. + Gladiatorial shows among them, 276. + Spirit of their religion contrasted with that of the Egyptians, 324. + Their intolerance of foreign religions, 406. + Condition and fall of their empire of the East, ii. 12-14. + Their practice of infanticide, 25-27. + Their treatment of animals, 164. + Their treatment of prisoners taken in war, 257, 258. + Their marriage customs, 277. + Women in the poetic age, 278. + Peculiarity of Greek feelings on the position of women, 280, 281. + Unnatural forms assumed by vice amongst them, 294 + +Gregory the Great, his contempt for Pagan literature, ii. 201, _note_. + His attitude towards Phocas, 264 + +Gregory of Nyssa, St., his eulogy of virginity, ii. 322 + +Gregory of Tours, manner in which he regarded events, ii. 240-242, 261, + 277 + +Grotesque, or eccentric, pleasure derived from the, compared with that + from beauty, i. 85 + +Gundebald, his murders approved of by his bishop, ii. 237 + +Gunpowder, importance of the invention of, i. 126 + +Guy, Brother, his society for protection and education of children, ii. + 33, and _note_ + +Hadrian, the Emperor, his view of suicide, i. 219. + Gives Euphrates permission to destroy himself, 218, _note_. + His laws respecting slaves, 307. + His leniency towards Christianity, 438. + His benevolence, ii. 77 + +Hair, false, opinions of the Fathers on, ii. 149 + +Hall, Robert, on theological Utilitarianism, i. 15 _note_ + +"Happiness, the greatest, for the greatest number," theory of the, i. 3. + The sole end of human actions, according to the Utilitarians, 8, _note_. + The best man seldom the happiest, 69. + Mental compared with physical happiness, 87. + Influence of health and temperament on happiness, 88, and _note_ + +Hartley, his doctrine of association, i. 22. + Coleridge's admiration for him, 28, _note_. + On animal food, 48, _note_. + His attempt to evade the conclusion to which his view leads, quoted, 67, + _note_. + His definition of conscience, 82 + +Hegesias, the orator of death, i. 215 + +Heliogabalus, his blasphemous orgies, i. 260 + +Hell, monkish visions of, ii. 221 and _note_. + Glimpses of the infernal regions furnished by the "Dialogues" of St. + Gregory, 221. + Modern publications on this subject, 223, _note_ + +Helvétius, on the origin of human actions, i. 8, _note_. + On customs of the people of Congo and Siam, 102, _note_. + Compared with Aulus Gellius, 313 + +Herbert, of Cherbury, Lord, his profession of the doctrine of innate + ideas, i. 123 + +Hercules, meaning of, according to the Stoics, i. 163 + +Hereford, Nicholas of, his opposition to indiscriminate alms, ii. 96 + +Heresy, punishment of death for, i. 98; ii. 40 + +Hermits. _See_ Asceticism; Monasticism + +Heroism, the Utilitarian theory unfavourable to, i. 66. + War, the school of heroism, 173 + +Hilarius, St., legend of him and St. Epiphanius, ii. 159 + +Hildebrand, his destruction of priestly marriage, ii. 322 + +Hippopotamus, legend of the, ii. 161 + +Historical literature, scantiness of, after the fall of the Roman empire, + ii. 235 + +Hobbes, Thomas, his opinions concerning the essence and origin of virtue, + i. 7, 8, _note_. + His view of the origin of human actions, quoted, 8, _note_. + His remarks on the goodness which we apprehend in God, quoted, 9, + _note_. + And on reverence, 9, _note_. + On charity, 9, 10, _note_. + On pity, 10, _note_. + Review of the system of morals of his school, 11. + Gives the first great impulse to moral philosophy in England, 19, + _note_. + His denial of the reality of pure benevolence, 20, 21. + His definition of conscience, 29, _note_. + His theory of compassion, 72, _note_ + +Holidays, importance of, to the servile classes, ii. 244 + +Homer, his views of human nature and man's will, i. 196 + +Horace, his ridicule of idols, i. 166. + His description of the just man, 197 + +Hospitality enjoined by the Romans, ii. 79 + +Hospitals, foundation of the first, ii. 80, 81 + +Human life, its sanctity recognised by Christianity, ii. 18. + Gradual acquirement of this sense, 18 + +Human nature, false estimate of, by the Stoics, i. 192 + +Hume, David, his theory of virtue, i. 4. + Misrepresented by many writers, 4. + His recognition of the reality of benevolence in our nature, 20, and + _note_. + His comment on French licentiousness in the eighteenth century, 50, + _note_. + His analysis of the moral judgments, 76. + Lays the foundation for a union of the schools of Clarke and + Shaftesbury, 77 + +Humility, new value placed upon it by monachism, ii. 185, 187 + +Hutcheson, Francis, his doctrine of a "moral sense," i. 4. + Establishes the reality of the existence of benevolence in our nature, + 20. + His analysis of moral judgments, 76 + +Hypatia, murder of, ii. 196 + +Iamblichus, his philosophy, i. 330 + +Ideas, confused association of. Question whether our, are derived + exclusively from sensation or whether they spring in part from + the mind itself, 122. + The latter theory represented by the Platonic doctrine of pre-existence, + 122. + Doctrine of innate ideas, 122 + +Idols and idolatry, views of the Roman philosophers of, i. 166. + Discussion between Apollonius of Tyana and an Egyptian priest + respecting, 166, _note_. + Idols forbidden by Numa, 166, _note_. + Plutarch on the vanity of, 166, _note_ + +Ignatius, St., his martyrdom, i. 438 + +Ignis fatuus, legend of the, ii. 224, _note_ + +Imagination, sins of, i. 44. + Relation of the benevolent feelings to it, 132, 133. + Deficiency of imagination the cause of the great majority of + uncharitable judgments, 134-136. + Feebleness of the imagination a source of legends and myths, 347. + Beneficial effects of Christianity in supplying pure images to the + imagination, 299 + +Imperial system of the Romans, its effect on their morals, i. 257. + Apotheosis of the emperors, 257 + +India, ancient, admiration for the schools of, i. 229 + +Inductive, ambiguity of the term, as applied to morals, i. 73 + +Industrial truth, characteristics of, i. 137. + Influence of the promotion of industrial life upon morals, 139-140 + +Infanticide, history of the practice of, ii. 24. + Efforts of the Church to suppress it, 29. + Roman laws relating to, 31. + Causes of, in England, 285 + +Infants, Augustinian doctrine of the damnation of unbaptised, i. 96. + The Sacrament given to, in the early Church, ii. 6 + +Insanity, alleged increase of, ii. 60. + Theological notions concerning, 86. + The first lunatic asylums, 88 + +Insurance societies among the poor of Greece and Rome, ii. 78 + +Intellectual progress, its relations to moral progress, i. 149-151 + +Interest, self-, human actions governed exclusively by, according to the + Utilitarians, i. 7, 8, _note_. + Summary of the relations of virtue and public and private, 117 + +Intuition, rival claims of, and utility to be regarded as the supreme + regulator of moral distinctions, i. 1, 2. + Various names by which the theory of intuition is known, 2, 3. + Views of the moralists of the school of, 3. + Summary of their objections to the Utilitarian theory, i. 69. + The intuitive school, 74, 75. + Doctrines of Butler, Adam Smith, and others, 76-77. + Analogies of beauty and virtue, 77. + Distinction between the higher and lower parts of our nature, 83. + Moral judgments, and their alleged diversities, 91. + General moral principles alone revealed by intuition, 99. + Intuitive morals not unprogressive, 102, 103. + Difficulty of both the intuitive and utilitarian schools in finding a + fixed frontier line between the lawful and the illicit, 116, + 117. + The intuitive and utilitarian schools each related to the general + condition of society, 122. + Their relations to metaphysical schools, 123, 124. + And to the Baconian philosophy, 125. + Contrasts between ancient and modern civilisations, 126, 127. + Practical consequences of the opposition between the two schools, 127 + +Inventions, the causes which accelerate the progress of society in modern + times, i. 126 + +Ireland, why handed over by the Pope to England, ii. 217 + +Irenæus, his belief that all Christians had the power of working miracles, + i. 378 + +Irish, characteristics of the, i. 138. + Their early marriages and national improvidences, 146. + Absence of moral scandals among the priesthood, 146. + Their legend of the islands of life and death, 203. + Their missionary labours, ii. 246. + Their perpendicular burials, 253 + +Isidore, St., legend of, ii. 205 + +Isis, worship of, at Rome, i. 387. + Suppression of the worship, 402 + +Italians, characteristics of the, i. 138, 144 + +Italy, gigantic development of mendicancy in, ii. 98. + Introduction of monachism into, 106 + +James, the Apostle, Eusebius' account of him, ii. 105 + +James, St., of Venice, his kindness to animals, ii. 172 + +Jenyns, Soame, his adherence to the opinion of Ockham, i. 17, _note_ + +Jerome, St., on exorcism, i. 382. + On the clean and unclean animals in the ark, ii. 104. + Legend of, 115. + Encouraged inhumanity of ascetics to their relations, 134. + His legend of SS. Paul and Antony, 158 + +Jews, their law regulating marriage and permitting polygamy, i. 103. + Their treatment of suicides, 218, _note_. + Influence of their manners and creed at Rome, 235, 337. + Became the principal exorcists, 380, 381, _note_. + Spread of their creed in Rome, 386. + Reasons why they were persecuted less than the Christians, 402, 407. + How regarded by the pagans, and how the Christians were regarded by the + Jews, 415. + Charges of immorality brought against the Christians by the Jews, 417. + Domitian's taxation of them, 432. + Their views of the position of women, ii. 337 + +Joffre, Juan Gilaberto, his foundation of a lunatic asylum in Valencia, + ii. 89 + +John, St., at Patmos, i. 433 + +John, St., of Calama, story of, ii. 128 + +John XXIII., Pope, his crimes, ii. 331 + +Johnson, Dr., his adherence to the opinion of Ockham, i. 17, _note_ + +Julian, the Emperor, his tranquil death, i. 207, and _note_. + Refuses the language of adulation, 259. + His attempt to resuscitate paganism, 331. + Attitude of the Church towards him, ii. 261. + Joy at his death, 262 + +Julien l'Hospitalier, St., legend of, ii. 84, _note_ + +Jupiter Ammon, fountain of, deemed miraculous, i. 366, and _note_ + +Justinian, his laws respecting slavery, ii. 65 + +Justin Martyr, his recognition of the excellence of many parts of the + pagan writings, i. 344. + On the "seminal logos," 344. + On the Sibylline books, 376. + Cause of his conversion to Christianity, 415. + His martyrdom, 441 + +Juvenal, on the natural virtue of man, i. 197 + +Kames, Lord, on our moral judgments, i. 77. + Notices the analogies between our moral and æsthetical judgments, 77 + +King's evil, ceremony of touching for the, i. 363, _note_ + +Labienus, his works destroyed, i. 448, _note_ + +Lactantius, character of his treatise, i. 463 + +Lætorius, story of, i. 259 + +Laughing condemned by the monks of the desert, ii. 115, _note_ + +Law, Roman, its relation to Stoicism, i. 294, 295. + Its golden age not Christian, but pagan, ii. 42 + +Lawyers, their position in literature, i. 131, _note_ + +Legacies forbidden to the clergy, ii. 151. + Power of making bequests to the clergy enlarged by Constantine, 215 + +Leibnitz, on the natural or innate powers of man, i. 121, _note_ + +Leo the Isaurian, Pope, his compact with Pepin, ii. 266 + +Leonardo da Vinci, his kindness to animals, ii. 172, _note_ + +Licentiousness, French, Hume's comments on, i. 50, _note_. + +Locke, John, his view of moral good and moral evil, i. 8, _note_. + His theological utilitarianism, 16, _note_. + His view of the sanctions of morality, 19. + His invention of the phrase "association of ideas," 23. + His definition of conscience, 29, _note_. + Cousin's objections against him, 75, _note_. + His refutation of the doctrine of a natural moral sense, 123, 124. + Rise of the sensual school out of his philosophy, 123, _note_. + Famous formulary of his school, 124 + +Lombard, Peter, character of his "Sentences," ii. 226. + His visions of heaven and hell, 228 + +Longinus, his suicide, i. 219 + +Love terms Greek, in vogue with the Romans, i. 231, _note_ + +Lucan, failure of his courage under torture, i. 194. + His sycophancy, 194. + His cosmopolitanism, 240 + +Lucius, the bishop, martyrdom of, i. 454 + +Lucretius, his scepticism, i. 162. + His disbelief in the immortality of the soul, i. 182, _note_. + His praise of Epicurus, 197. + His suicide, 215. + On a bereaved cow, ii. 165 + +Lunatic asylums, the first, ii. 89 + +Luther's wife, her remark on the sensuous creed she had left, i. 52 + +Lyons, persecution of the Christians at, i. 441 + +Macarius, St., miracle attributed to, ii. 40, _note_. + His penances, 108, 109. + Legend of his visit to an enchanted garden, 158. + Other legends of him, 158, 159, 170, 220 + +Macedonia, effect of the conquest of, on the decadence of Rome, i. 169 + +Mackintosh, Sir James, theory of morals advocated by, i. 4. + Fascination of Hartley's doctrine of association over his mind, 29 + +Macrianus, persuades the Emperor Valerian to persecute the Christians, i. + 455 + +Macrina Cælia, her benevolence to children, ii. 77 + +Magdalen asylums, adversaries of, ii. 98, and _note_ + +Mallonia, virtue of, ii. 309 + +Malthus, on charity, ii. 92, _note_ + +Mandeville, his "Enquiry into the Origin of Moral Virtue." His thesis that + "private vices are public benefits," i. 7. + His opposition to charity schools, ii. 98 + +Manicheans, their tenets, ii. 102. + Their prohibition of animal food, 167 + +Manilius, his conception of the Deity, i. 163 + +Manufactures, influence upon morals, i. 139 + +Marcellinus, Tullius, his self-destruction, i. 222 + +Marcia, mistress of Commodus, her influence in behalf of toleration to the + Christians, i. 443 + +Marcian, St., legend of the visit of St. Avitus to him, ii. 159 + +Marcus, St., story of, and his mother, ii. 128 + +Marriage, how regarded by the Jews, Greeks, Romans, and Catholics, i. 103, + 104. + Statius' picture of the first night of marriage, 107, _note_. + Reason why the ancient Jews attached a certain stigma to virginity, 109. + Conflict of views of the Catholic priest and the political economist on + the subject of early marriages, 114. + Results in some countries of the difficulties with which legislators + surround marriage, 144. + Early marriages the most conspicuous proofs of Irish improvidence, 144. + Influence of asceticism on, ii. 320. + Notions of its impurity, 324. + Second marriages, 324 + +Marseilles, law of, respecting suicide, i. 218, _note_. + Epidemic of suicide among the women of, ii. 55 + +Martial, sycophancy of his epigrams, i. 194 + +Martin of Tours, St., establishes monachism in Gaul, ii. 106 + +Martyrdom, glories of, i. 390. + Festivals of the Martyrs, 390, _note_. + Passion for, 391. + Dissipation of the people at the festivals, ii. 150 + +Mary, St., of Egypt, ii. 110 + +Mary, the Virgin, veneration of, ii. 367, 368, 390 + +Massilians, wine forbidden to women by the, i. 96, _note_ + +Maternal affection, strength of, ii. 25, _note_ + +Maurice, on the social penalties of conscience, i. 60, _note_ + +Mauricus, Junius, his refusal to allow gladiatorial shows at Vienna, i. + 286 + +Maxentius, instance of his tyranny, ii. 46 + +Maximilianus, his martyrdom, ii. 248 + +Maximinus, Emperor, his persecution of the Christians, i. 446 + +Maximus of Tyre, account of him and his discourses, i. 312. + His defence of the ancient creeds, 323. + Practical form of his philosophy, 329 + +Medicine, possible progress of, i. 158, 159 + +Melania, St., her bereavement, ii. 10. + Her pilgrimage through the Syrian and Egyptian hermitages, 120 + +Milesians, wine forbidden by the, to women, i. 94, _note_ + +Military honour pre-eminent among the Romans, i. 172, 173. + History of the decadence of Roman military virtue, 268 + +Mill, J., on association, 25, _note_, _et seq._ + +Mill, J. S., quoted, i. 29, 47, 90, 102 + +Minerva, meaning of, according to the Stoics, i. 163 + +Miracles, general incredulity on the subject of, at the present time, i. + 346, 348. + Miracles not impossible, 347. + Established by much evidence, 347. + The histories of them always decline with education, 348. + Illustration of this in the belief in fairies, 348. + Conceptions of savages, 349. + Legends, formation and decay of, 350-352. + Common errors in reasoning about miracles, 356. + Predisposition to the miraculous in some states of society, 362. + Belief of the Romans in miracles, 363-367. + Incapacity of the Christians of the third century for judging historic + miracles, 375. + Contemporary miracles believed in by the early Christians, 378. + Exorcism, 378. + Neither past nor contemporary Christian miracles had much weight upon + the pagans, 378 + +Missionary labours, ii. 246 + +Mithra, worship of, in Rome, i. 386 + +Mohammedans, their condemnation of suicide, ii. 53. + Their lunatic asylums, 89. + Their religion, 251. + Effects of their military triumphs on Christianity, 252 + +Molinos, his opinion on the love we should bear to God, condemned, i. 18, + _note_ + +Monastic system, results of the Catholic monastic system, i. 107. + Suicide of monks, ii. 52. + Exertions of the monks in the cause of charity, 84. + Causes of the monastic movement, 102. + History of the rapid propagation of it in the West, 183. + New value placed by it on obedience and humility, 185, 269. + Relation of it to the intellectual virtues, 188. + The monasteries regarded as the receptacles of learning, 199. + Fallacy of attributing to the monasteries the genius that was displayed + in theology, 208. + Other fallacies concerning the services of the monks, 208-212. + Value attached by monks to pecuniary compensations for crime, 213. + Causes of their corruption, 217. + Benefits conferred by the monasteries, 243 + +Monica, St., i. 94, _note_ + +Monogamy, establishment of, ii. 372 + +Monophysites, the cause, to some extent, of the Mohammedan conquest of + Egypt, ii. 143 + +Montanists, their tenets, ii. 102 + +Moral distinctions, rival claims of intuition and utility to be regarded + as the supreme regulators of, i. 1 + +Moral judgments, alleged diversities of, i. 91. + Are frequently due to intellectual causes, 92. + Instances of this in usury and abortion, 92. + Distinction between natural duties and others resting on positive law, + 93. + Ancient customs canonised by time, 93. + Anomalies explained by a confused association of ideas, 94, 95. + Moral perceptions overridden by positive religions, 95. + Instances of this in transubstantiation and the Augustinian and + Calvinistic doctrines of damnation, 96, 97. + General moral principles alone revealed by intuition, 99. + The moral unity of different ages a unity not of standard but of + tendency, 100. + Application of this theory to the history of benevolence, 100. + Reasons why acts regarded in one age as criminal are innocent in + another, 101. + Views of Mill and Buckle on the comparative influence of intellectual + and moral agencies in civilisation, 102, 103, _note_. + Intuitive morals not unprogressive, 102, 103. + Answers to miscellaneous objections against the theory of natural moral + perceptions, 109. + Effect of the condition of society on the standard, but not the essence, + of virtue, 110. + Occasional duty of sacrificing higher duties to lower ones, 110, _et + seq._ + Summary of the relations of virtue and public and private interest, 117. + Two senses of the word natural, 119 + +Moral law, foundation of the, according to Ockham and his adherents, i. + 17, _note_. + Various views of the sanctions of morality, 19. + Utilitarian theological sanctions, 53. + The reality of the moral nature the one great question of natural + theology, 56. + Utilitarian secular sanctions, 57. + The Utilitarian theory subversive of morality, 66. + Plausibility and danger of theories of unification in morals, 72. + Our knowledge of the laws of moral progress nothing more than + approximate or general, 136 + +"Moral sense," Hutcheson's doctrine of a, i. 4 + +Moral system, what it should be, to govern society, i. 194 + +Morals, each of the two schools of, related to the general condition of + society, i. 122. + Their relations to metaphysical schools, 123, 124. + And to the Baconian philosophy, 125. + Contrast between ancient and modern civilisations, 125-127. + Causes that lead societies to elevate their moral standard, and + determine their preference of some particular kind of + virtues, 130. + The order in which moral feelings are developed, 130. + Danger in proposing too absolutely a single character as a model to + which all men must conform, 155. + Remarks on moral types, 156. + Results to be expected from the study of the relations between our + physical and moral nature, 158. + Little influence of Pagan religions on morals, 161 + +More, Henry, on the motive of virtue, i. 76 + +Musonius, his suicide, i. 220 + +Mutius, history of him and his son, ii. 125 + +Mysticism of the Romans, causes producing, i. 318 + +Myths, formation of, i. 351 + +Naples, mania for suicide at, ii. 55 + +Napoleon, the Emperor, his order of the day respecting suicide, i. 219, + _note_ + +Nations, causes of the difficulties of effecting cordial international + friendships, i. 156 + +Natural moral perceptions, objections to the theory of, i. 116. + Two senses of the word natural, 118. + Reid, Sedgwick, and Leibnitz on the natural or innate powers of man, + 121, _note_. + Locke's refutation of the doctrine of a natural moral sense, 124 + +Neoplatonism, account of, i. 325. + Its destruction of the active duties and critical spirit, 329 + +Neptune, views of the Stoics of the meaning of the legends of, i. 163. + His statue solemnly degraded by Augustus, 169 + +Nero, his singing and acting, i. 259. + His law about slaves, 307. + His persecution of the Christians, 429 + +Newman, Dr., on venial sin, i. 111, and _note_ on pride, ii. 188 + +Nicodemus, apocryphal gospel of, ii. 221 + +Nilus, St., deserts his family, ii. 322 + +Nitria, number of anchorites in the desert of, ii. 105 + +Nolasco, Peter, his works of mercy, ii. 73. + His participation in the Albigensian massacres, 95 + +Novatians, their tenets, ii. 102 + +Numa, legend of his prohibition of idols, i. 166, _note_ + +Oath, sanctity of an, among the Romans, i. 168 + +Obedience, new value placed on it by monachism, ii. 185, 186, 269 + +Obligation, nature of, i. 64, 65 + +Ockham, his opinion of the foundation of the moral law, i. 17, and _note_ + +Odin, his suicide, ii. 53 + +O'Neale, Shane, his charity, ii. 96 + +Opinion, influence of character on, i. 171, 172 + +Oracles, refuted and ridiculed by Cicero, i. 165. + Plutarch's defence of their bad poetry, 165, _note_. + Refusal of Cato and the Stoics to consult them, 165. + Ridiculed by the Roman wits, 166. + Answer of the oracle of Delphi as to the best religion, 167. + Theory of the oracles in the 'De Divinatione' of Cicero, 368, and + _note_. + Van Dale's denial of their supernatural character, 374. + Books of oracles burnt under the republic and empire, 447, and _note_ + +Origen, his desire for martyrdom, i. 391 + +Orphanotrophia, in the early Church, ii. 32 + +Otho, the Emperor, his suicide, i. 219. + Opinion of his contemporaries of his act, 219, _note_ + +Ovid, object of his "Metamorphoses," i. 166. + His condemnation of suicide, 213, and _note_. + His humanity to animals, ii. 165 + +Oxen, laws for the protection of, ii. 162 + +Oxyrinchus, ascetic life in the city of, ii. 105 + +Pachomius, St., number of his monks, ii. 105 + +Pætus and Arria, history of, ii. 310 + +Pagan religions, their feeble influence on morals, i. 161 + +Pagan virtues, the, compared with Christian, i. 190 + +Paiderastia, the, of the Greeks, ii. 294 + +Pain, equivalent to evil, according to the Utilitarians, i. 8, _note_ + +Palestine, foundation of monachism in, ii. 106. + Becomes a hot-bed of debauchery, 152 + +Paley, on the obligation of virtue, i. 14, _note_. + On the difference between an act of prudence and an act of duty, 16, + _note_. + On the love we ought to bear to God, 18, _note_. + On the religious sanctions of morality, 19. + On the doctrine of association, 25, _note_. + On flesh diet, 49, _note_. + On the influence of health on happiness, 88, _note_. + On the difference in pleasures, 90, _note_ + +Pambos, St., story of, ii. 116, _note_ + +Pammachus, St., his hospital, ii. 80 + +Panætius, the founder of the Roman Stoics, his disbelief in the + immortality of the soul, i. 183 + +Pandars, punishment of, ii. 316 + +Parents, reason why some savages did not regard their murder as criminal, + i. 101 + +Parthenon, the, at Athens, i. 105 + +Pascal, his advocacy of piety as a matter of prudence, i. 17, _note_. + His adherence to the opinion of Ockham as to the foundation of the moral + law, 17, _note_. + His thought on the humiliation created by deriving pleasure from certain + amusements, i. 86, _note_ + +Patriotism, period when it flourished, i. 136. + Peculiar characteristic of the virtue, 177, 178. + Causes of the predominance occasionally accorded to civic virtues, 200. + Neglect or discredit into which they have fallen among modern teachers, + 201. + Cicero's remarks on the duty of every good man, 201. + Unfortunate relations of Christianity to patriotism, ii. 140. + Repugnance of the theological to the patriotic spirit, 145 + +Paul, St., his definition of conscience, i. 83 + +Paul, the hermit, his flight to the desert, ii. 102. + Legend of the visit of St. Antony to him, 158 + +Paul, St. Vincent de, his foundling hospitals, ii. 34 + +Paula, story of her asceticism and inhumanity, ii. 133, 134 + +Paulina, her devotion to her husband, ii. 310 + +Pelagia, St., her suicide, ii. 46. + Her flight to the desert, 121, and _note_ + +Pelagius, ii. 223 + +Pelican, legend of the, ii. 161 + +Penances of the saints of the desert, ii. 107, _et seq._ + +Penitential system, the, of the early church, ii. 6, 7 + +Pepin, his compact with Pope Leo, ii. 267 + +Peregrinus the Cynic, his suicide, i. 220 + +Pericles, his humanity, i. 228 + +Perpetua, St., her martyrdom, i. 391, 444; ii. 317 + +Persecutions, Catholic doctrines justifying, i. 98. + Why Christianity was not crushed by them, 395. + Many causes of persecution, 395-397. + Reasons why the Christians were more persecuted than the Jews, 403, 406, + 407. + Causes of the persecutions, 406, _et seq._ + History of the persecutions, 429. + Nero, 429. + Domitian, 431. + Trajan, 437. + Marcus Aurelius, 439, 440. + From M. Aurelius to Decius, 442, _et seq._ + Gallus, 454. + Valerian, 454. + Diocletian and Galerius, 458-463. + End of the persecutions, 463. + General considerations on their history, 463-468 + +Petronian law, in favour of slaves, i. 307 + +Petronius, his scepticism, i. 162. + His suicide, 215. + His condemnation of the show of the arena, 286 + +Philip the Arab, his favour to Christianity, i. 445 + +Philosophers, efforts of some, to restore the moral influence of religion + among the Romans, i. 169. + The true moral teachers, 171 + +Philosophical truth, characteristics of, i. 139, 140. + Its growth retarded by the opposition of theologians, 140 + +Philosophy, causes of the practical character of most ancient, i. 202. + Its fusion with religion, 352. + Opinions of the early Church concerning the pagan writings, 332. + Difference between the moral teaching of a philosophy and that of a + religion, ii. 1. + Its impotency to restrain vice, 4 + +Phocas, attitude of the Church towards him, ii. 263 + +Phocion, his gentleness, i. 228 + +Physical science affects the belief in miracles, i. 354, 355 + +Piety, utilitarian view of the causes of the pleasures and pains of, i. 9, + and _note_. + A matter of prudence, according to theological Utilitarianism, 16 + +Pilate, Pontius, story of his desire to enrol Christ among the Roman gods, + i. 429 + +Pilgrimages, evils of, ii. 152 + +Pior, St., story of, ii. 129 + +Pirates, destruction of, by Pompey, i. 234 + +Pity, a form of self-love, according to some Utilitarians, i. 9, 10, + _note_. + Adam Smith's theory, 10, _note_. + Seneca's distinction between it and clemency, 189. + Altar to Pity at Athens, 228. + History of Marcus Aurelius' altar to Beneficentia at Rome, 228, _note_ + +Plato, his admission of the practice of abortion, i. 92. + Basis of his moral system, 105. + Cause of the banishment of the poets from his republic, 161, 162. + His theory that vice is to virtue what disease is to health, 179, and + _note_. + Reason for his advocacy of community of wives, 200. + His condemnation of suicide, 212, and _note_. + His remarks on universal brotherhood, 241. + His inculcation of the practice of self-examination, 248 + +Platonic school, its ideal, i. 322 + +Platonists, their more or less pantheistic conception of the Deity, i. + 163. + Practical nature of their philosophy, 329. + The Platonic ethics ascendant in Rome, 331 + +Pleasure the only good, according to the Utilitarians, i. 7. + Illustrations of the distinction between the higher and lower parts of + our nature in our pleasures, 83-85. + Pleasures of a civilised compared with those of a semi-civilised + society, 86. + Comparison of mental and physical pleasures, 87, 88. + Distinction in kind of pleasure, and its importance in morals, 89-91. + Neglected or denied by Utilitarian writers, 89, _note_ + +Pliny, the elder, on the probable happiness of the lower animals, i. 87, + _note_. + On the Deity, 164. + On astrology, 171, and _note_, 164, _note_. + His disbelief in the immortality of the soul, 182. + His advocacy of suicide, 215. + Never mentions Christianity, 336. + His opinion of earthquakes, 369. + And of comets, 369. + His facility of belief, 370. + His denunciation of finger rings, ii. 148 + +Pliny, the younger, his desire for posthumous reputation, i. 185, _note_. + His picture of the ideal of Stoicism, 186. + His letter to Trajan respecting the Christians, 437. + His benevolence, 242; ii. 77 + +Plotinus, his condemnation of suicide, i. 214. + His philosophy, 330 + +Plutarch, his defence of the bad poetry of the oracles, 165, _note_. + His mode of moral teaching, 175. + Basis of his belief in the immortality of the soul, 204. + On superstitious fear of death, 206. + His letter on the death of his little daughter, 242. + May justly be regarded as the leader of the eclectic school, 243. + His philosophy and works compared with those of Seneca, 243. + His treatise on "The Signs of Moral Progress," 249. + Compared and contrasted with Marcus Aurelius, 253. + How he regarded the games of the arena, 286. + His defence of the ancient creeds, 322. + Practical nature of his philosophy, 329. + Never mentions Christianity, 336. + His remarks on the domestic system of the ancients, 419. + On kindness to animals, ii. 165, 166. + His picture of Greek married life, 289 + +Pluto, meaning of, according to the Stoics, i. 163 + +Po, miracle of the subsidence of the waters of the, i. 382, _note_ + +Poemen, St., story of, and of his mother, ii. 129. + Legend of him and the lion, 169 + +Political economy, what it has accomplished respecting almsgiving, ii. 90 + +Political judgments, moral standard of most men in, lower than in private + judgments, i. 151 + +Political truth, or habit of "fair play," the characteristic of free + communities, i. 139. + Highly civilised form of society to which it belongs, 139. + Its growth retarded by the opposition of theologians, 140 + +Polybius, his praise of the devotion and purity of creed of the Romans, i. + 167 + +Polycarp, St., martyrdom of, i. 441 + +Polygamy, long continuance of, among the kings of Gaul, ii. 343 + +Pompeii, gladiatorial shows at, i. 276, _note_ + +Pompey, his destruction of the pirates, i. 234. + His multiplication of gladiatorial shows, 273 + +Poor-law system, elaboration of the, ii. 96. + Its pernicious results, 97, 99, 105 + +Poppæa, Empress, a Jewish proselyte, i. 386 + +Porcia, heroism of, ii. 309 + +Porphyry, his condemnation of suicides, i. 214. + His description of philosophy, i. 326. + His adoption of Neoplatonism, i. 330 + +Possevin, his exposure of the Sibylline books, i. 377 + +Pothinus, martyrdom of, i. 442 + +Power, origin of the desire of, i. 23, 26 + +Praise, association of ideas leading to the desire for even posthumous, i. + 26 + +Prayer, reflex influence upon the minds of the worshippers, i. 36 + +Preachers, Stoic, among the Romans, i. 308, 309 + +Pride, contrasted with vanity, i. 195. + The leading moral agent of Stoicism, i. 195 + +Prometheus, cause of the admiration bestowed upon, i. 35 + +Prophecies, incapacity of the Christians of the third century for judging + prophecies, i. 376 + +Prophecy, gift of, attributed to the vestal virgins of Rome, i. 107. + And in India to virgins, 107, _note_ + +Prosperity, some crimes conducive to national, i. 58 + +Prostitution, ii. 282-286. + How regarded by the Romans, 314 + +Protagoras, his scepticism, i. 162 + +Protasius, St., miraculous discovery of his remains, i. 379 + +Prudentius, on the vestal virgins at the gladiatorial shows, i. 291 + +Purgatory, doctrine of, ii. 232-235 + +Pythagoras, sayings of, i. 53. + Chastity the leading virtue of his school, 106. + On the fables of Hesiod and Homer, 161. + His belief in an all-pervading soul of nature, 162. + His condemnation of suicide, 212. + Tradition of his journey to India, 229, _note_. + His inculcation of the practice of self-examination, 248. + His opinion of earthquakes, 369. + His doctrine of kindness to animals, ii. 165 + +Quakers, compared with the early Christians, ii. 12, and _note_ + +Quintilian, his conception of the Deity, i. 164 + +Rank, secular, consecration of, ii. 260, _et seq_ + +Rape, punishment for, ii. 316 + +Redbreast, legend of the, ii. 224, _note_ + +Regulus, the story of, i. 212 + +Reid, basis of his ethics, i. 76. + His distinction between innate faculties evolved by experience and + innate ideas independent of experience, 121, _note_ + +Religion, theological utilitarianism subverts natural, i. 54-56. + Answer of the oracle of Delphi as to the best, 167. + Difference between the moral teaching of a philosophy and that of a + religion, ii. 1. + Relations between positive religion and moral enthusiasm, 141 + +Religions, pagan, their small influence on morals, i. 161. + Oriental, passion for, among the Romans, 318 + +Religious liberty totally destroyed by the Catholics, ii. 194-199 + +Repentance for past sin, no place for, in the writings of the ancients, i. + 195 + +Reputation, how valued among the Romans, i. 185, 186 + +Resurrection of souls, belief of the Stoics in the, i. 164 + +Revenge, Utilitarian notions as to the feeling of, i. 41, and _note_. + Circumstances under which private vengeance is not regarded as criminal, + i. 101 + +Reverence, Utilitarian views of, i. 9, and _note_. + Causes of the diminution of the spirit of, among mankind, 141, 142 + +Rhetoricians, Stoical, account of the, of Rome, i. 310 + +Ricci, his work on Mendicancy, ii. 98 + +Rochefoucauld La, on pity, quoted, i. 10, _note_. + And on friendship, 10, 11, _note_ + +Rogantianus, his passive life, i. 330 + +Roman law, its golden age not Christian, but pagan, ii. 42 + +Romans, abortion how regarded by the, i. 92. + Their law forbidding women to taste wine, 93, 94, _note_. + Reasons why they did not regard the gladiatorial shows as criminal, 101. + Their law of marriage and ideal of female morality, 104. + Their religious reverence for domesticity, 106. + Sanctity of, and gifts attributed to, their vestal virgins, 106. + Character of their cruelty, 134. + Compared with the modern Italian character in this respect, 134. + Scepticism of their philosophers, 162-167. + The religion of the Romans never a source of moral enthusiasm, 167. + Its characteristics, 168. + Causes of the disappearance of the religious reverence of the people, + 169. + Efforts of some philosophers and emperors to restore the moral influence + of religion, 169. + Consummation of Roman degradation, 170. + Belief in astrological fatalism, 170, 171. + The stoical type of military and patriotic enthusiasm pre-eminently + Roman, 172-174, 178. + Importance of biography in their moral teaching, 178. + Epicureanism never became a school of virtue among them, 175. + Unselfish love of country of the Romans, 178. + Character of Stoicism in the worst period of the Roman Empire, 181. + Main features of their philosophy, 185, _et seq._ + Difference between the Roman moralists and the Greek poets, 195. + The doctrine of suicide the culminating point of Roman Stoicism, 222. + The type of excellence of the Roman people, 224, 225. + Contrast between the activity of Stoicism and the luxury of Roman + society, 225, 226. + Growth of a gentler and more cosmopolitan spirit in Rome, 227. + Causes of this change, 228, _et seq._ + Extent of Greek influence at Rome, 228. + The cosmopolitan spirit strengthened by the destruction of the power of + the aristocracy, 231, 232. + History of the influence of freedmen in the state, 233. + Effect of the aggrandisement of the colonies, the attraction of many + foreigners to Rome, and the increased facilities for + travelling, on the cosmopolitan spirit, 233, _et seq._ + Foreigners among the most prominent of Latin writers, 235. + Results of the multitudes of emancipated slaves, 235, 236. + Endeavours of Roman statesmen to consolidate the empire by admitting the + conquered to the privileges of the conquerors, 238. + The Stoical philosophy quite capable of representing the cosmopolitan + spirit, 239. + Influence of eclectic philosophy on the Roman Stoics, 244. + Life and character of Marcus Aurelius, 249-255. + Corruption of the Roman people, 255. + Causes of their depravity, 256. + Decadence of all the conditions of republican virtue, 256. + Effects of the Imperial system on morals, 257-261. + Apotheosis of the emperors, 257. + Moral consequences of slavery, 262. + Increase of idleness and demoralising employments, 262. + Increase also of sensuality, 263. + Destruction of all public spirit, 264. + The interaction of many states which in new nations sustains national + life prevented by universal empire, 264. + The decline of agricultural pursuits, 265. + And of the military virtues, 268. + History and effects of the gladiatorial shows, 271. + Other Roman amusements, 276. + Effects of the arena upon the theatre, 277. + Nobles in the arena, 283. + Effects of Stoicism on the corruption of society, 291. + Roman law greatly extended by it, 294. + Change in the relation of Romans to provincials, 297. + Changes in domestic legislation, 297. + Roman slavery, 300-308. + The Stoics as consolers, advisers, and preachers, 308. + The Cynics and rhetoricians, 309, 310. + Decadence of Stoicism in the empire, 317. + Causes of the passion for Oriental religions, 318-320. + Neoplatonism, 325. + Review of the history of Roman philosophy, 332-335. + History of the conversion of Rome to Christianity, 336. + State of Roman opinion on the subject of miracles, 365. + Progress of the Jewish and Oriental religions in Rome, 386, 387. + The conversion of the Roman empire easily explicable, 393. + Review of the religious policy of Rome, 397. + Its division of religion into three parts, according to Eusebius, 403. + Persecutions of the Christians, 406, _et seq._ + Antipathy of the Romans to every religious system which employed + religious terrorism, 420. + History of the persecutions, 429. + General sketch of the moral condition of the Western Empire, ii. 14. + Rise and progress of the government of the Church of Rome, 14, 15. + Roman practice of infanticide, 27. + Relief of the indigent, 73. + Distribution of corn, 74. + Exertions of the Christians on the subversion of the empire, 82. + Inadequate place given to this movement, 85. + Horrors caused by the barbarian invasions prevented to some extent by + Christian charity, 81-84. + Influence of Christianity in hastening the fall of the empire, 140, 141. + Roman treatment of prisoners of war, 256-258. + Despotism of the pagan empire, 260. + Condition of women under the Romans, 297. + Their concubines, 350 + +Rome, an illustration of crimes conducive to national prosperity, i. 58, + _note_. + Conversion of, 336. + Three popular errors concerning its conversion, 339. + Capture of the city by the barbarians, ii. 82 + +Romuald, St., his treatment of his father, ii. 135 + +Rope-dancing of the Romans, i. 291 + +Sabinus, Saint, his penances, ii. 108 + +Sacrament, administration of the, in the early Church, ii. 6 + +Salamis, Brutus' treatment of the citizens of, i. 194 + +Sallust, his stoicism and rapacity, i. 194 + +Sanctuary, right of, accorded to Christian churches, ii. 40 + +Savage, errors into which the deceptive appearances of nature doom him, i. + 54. + First conceptions formed of the universe, 349. + The ethics of savages, 120, 121 + +Scepticism of the Greek and Roman philosophers, i. 162-166. + Influence of, on intellectual progress, ii. 193 + +Scholastica, St., the legend of, ii. 136, _note_ + +Scifi, Clara, the first Franciscan nun, ii. 135 + +Sectarian animosity, chief cause of, i. 134 + +Sedgwick, Professor, on the expansion of the natural or innate powers of + men, i. 121, _note_ + +Sejanus, treatment of his daughter by the senate, i. 107, _note_ + +Self-denial, the Utilitarian theory unfavourable to, i. 66 + +Self-examination, history of the practice of, i. 247-249 + +Self-sacrifice, asceticism the great school of, ii. 155 + +Seneca, his conception of the Deity, i. 163, _note_, 164. + His distinction between the affections and diseases, 189, _note_. + And between clemency and pity, 189. + His virtues and vices, i. 194. + On the natural virtue of man and power of his will, 197. + On the Sacred Spirit dwelling in man, 198. + On death, 205. + His tranquil end, 207. + Advocates suicide, 213, 220. + His description of the self-destruction of a friend, 222. + His remarks on universal brotherhood, 241. + His stoical hardness tempered by new doctrines, 244. + His practice of self-examination, 248. + His philosophy and works compared with those of Plutarch, 243, 244. + How he regarded the games of the arena, 286. + His exhortations on the treatment of slaves, 306. + Never mentions Christianity, 336. + Regarded in the middle ages as a Christian, 340. + On religious beliefs, 405 + +Sensuality, why the Mohammedans people Paradise with images of, i. 108. + Why some pagans deified it, 108. + Fallacy of judging the sensuality of a nation by the statistics of its + illegitimate births, 144. + Influence of climate upon public morals, 144. + Of large towns, 145. + And of early marriages, 146. + Absence of moral scandals among the Irish priesthood, 146, 147. + Speech of Archytas of Tarentum on the evils of, 200, _note_. + Increase of sensuality in Rome, 263. + Abated by Christianity, ii. 153. + The doctrine of the Fathers respecting concupiscence, 281. + +Serapion, the anthropomorphite, i. 52. + Number of his monks, ii. 105. + His interview with the courtesan, 320 + +Sertorius, his forgery of auspicious omens, i. 166. + +Severus, Alexander, refuses the language of adulation, i. 259. + His efforts to restore agricultural pursuits, 267. + Murder of, 444. + His leniency towards Christianity, 444. + His benevolence, ii. 77 + +Severus, Cassius, exile of, i. 448, _note_ + +Severus, Septimus, his treatment of the Christians, i. 443 + +Sextius, his practice of self-examination, i. 248 + +Shaftesbury, maintains the reality of the existence of benevolence in our + nature, i. 20. + On virtue, 76, 77 + +Sibylline books, forged by the early Christians, i. 376, 377 + +Silius Italicus, his lines commemorating the passion of the Spanish Celts + for suicide, i. 207, _note_. + His self-destruction, 221 + +Silvia, her filthiness, ii. 110 + +Simeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, his martyrdom, i. 438 + +Simeon Stylites, St., his penance, ii. 111. + His inhumanity to his parents, ii. 130 + +Sin, the theological doctrine on the subject, i. 111, 112. + Conception of sin by the ancients, 195. + Original, taught by the Catholic Church, 209, 210. + Examination of the Utilitarian doctrine of the remote consequences of + secret sins, 43, 44 + +Sisoes, the abbot, stories of, ii. 126, 127 + +Sixtus, Bishop of Rome, his martyrdom, i. 455 + +Sixtus V., Pope, his efforts to suppress mendicancy, ii. 97 + +Slavery, circumstances under which it has been justified, i. 101. + Origin of the word servus, 102, _note_. + Crusade of England against, 153. + Character of that of the Romans, 235. + Moral consequence of slavery, 262. + Three stages of slavery at Rome, 300. + Review of the condition of slaves, 300-306. + Opinion of philosophers as to slavery, 306. + Laws enacted in favour of slaves, 306. + Effects of Christianity upon the institution of slavery, ii. 61. + Consecration of the servile virtue, 68. + Impulse given to manumission, 70. + Serfdom in Europe, 70, 71, _note_. + Extinction of slavery in Europe, 71. + Ransom of captives, 72 + +Smith, Adam, his theory of pity, quoted, i. 10, _note_. + His recognition of the reality of benevolence in our nature, 20. + His analysis of moral judgment, 76 + +Smyrna, persecution of the Christians at, i. 441 + +Socrates, his view of death, i. 205. + His closing hours, 207. + His advice to a courtesan, ii. 296 + +Soul, the immortality of the, resolutely excluded from the teaching of the + Stoics, i. 181. + Character of their first notions on the subject, 182. + The belief in the reabsorption of the soul in the parent Spirit, 183. + Belief of Cicero and Plutarch in the immortality of the, 204. + But never adopted as a motive by the Stoics, 204. + Increasing belief in the, 331. + Vague belief of the Romans in the, 168 + +Sospitra, story of, i. 373 + +Spain, persecution of the Christians in, i. 461. + Almost complete absence of infanticide in, ii. 25, _note_. + The first lunatic asylums in Europe established in, 89, 90 + +Spaniards, among the most prominent of Latin writers, i. 235. + Their suicides, ii. 54 + +Spartans, their intense patriotism, i. 178. + Their legislature continually extolled as a model, 201. + Condition of their women, ii. 290 + +Spinoza, his remark on death, i. 203 + Anecdote of him, 289 + +Staël, Madame de, on suicide, ii. 59 + +Statius, on the first night of marriage, i. 107, _note_ + +Stewart, Dugald, on the pleasures of virtue, i. 32, _note_ + +Stilpo, his scepticism and banishment, i. 162. + His remark on his ruin, 191. + +Stoics, their definition of conscience, i. 83. + Their view of the animation of the human foetus, 92. + Their system of ethics favourable to the heroic qualities, 128. + Historical fact in favour of the system, 128. + Their belief in an all-pervading soul of nature, 162. + Their pantheistic conception of the Deity, 163. + Their conception and explanation of the prevailing legends of the gods, + 163. + Their opinion as to the final destruction of the universe by fire, and + the resuscitation of souls, 164. + Their refusal to consult the oracles, 165. + Stoicism the expression of a type of character different from + Epicureanism, 172. + Rome pre-eminently the home of Stoicism, 172. + Account of the philosophy of the Stoics, 177. + Its two essentials--the unselfish ideal and the subjugation of the + affections to the reason, 177. + The best example of the perfect severance of virtue and interest, 181. + Their views concerning the immortality of the soul, 182-184. + Taught men to sacrifice reputation, and do good in secret, 186. + And distinguished the obligation from the attraction of virtue, 186. + Taught also that the affections must be subordinate to the reason, + 187-191. + Their false estimate of human nature, 192. + Their love of paradox, 192. + Imperfect lives of many eminent Stoics, 193. + Their retrospective tendencies, 193. + Their system unfitted for the majority of mankind, 194. + Compared with the religious principle, 195. + The central composition of this philosophy, the dignity of man, 195. + High sense of the Stoics of the natural virtue of man, and of the power + of his will, 195, 196. + Their recognition of Providence, 196. + The two aspects under which they worshipped God, 198. + The Stoics secured from quietism by their habits of public life, + 199-201. + Their view of humanity, 202. + Their preparations for, and view of, death, 202. + Their teaching as to suicide, 212, 213, _et seq._ + Contrast between Stoicism and Roman luxury, 225, 226. + The Stoical philosophy quite capable of representing the cosmopolitan + spirit, 239, 240. + Stoicism not capable of representing the softening movement of + civilisation, 241. + Influence of the eclectic spirit on it, 244. + Stoicism becomes more essentially religious, 245. + Increasingly introspective character of later Stoicism, 247. + Marcus Aurelius the best example of later Stoicism, 249-255. + Effects of Stoicism on the corruption of Roman Society, 291, 292. + It raised up many good Emperors, 292. + It produced a noble opposition under the worst Emperors, 293. + It greatly extended Roman law, 294. + The Stoics considered as the consolers of the suffering, advisers of the + young, and as popular preachers, 308. + Rapid decadence of Stoicism, 317, 318. + Difference between the Stoical and Egyptian pantheism, 324. + Stoical naturalism superseded by the theory of dæmons, 331. + Theory that the writings of the Stoics were influenced by Christianity + examined, 332. + Domitian's persecution of them, 432 + +Strozzi, Philip, his suicide, ii. 56 + +Suffering, a courageous endurance of, probably the first form of virtue in + savage life, i. 130 + +Suicide, attitude adopted by Pagan philosophy and Catholicism towards, i. + 211, _et seq._ + Eminent suicides, 215. + Epidemic of suicides at Alexandria, 216. + And of girls at Miletus, 216, _note_. + Grandeur of the Stoical ideal of suicide, 216. + Influences conspiring towards suicide, 217. + Seneca on self-destruction, 217, 218, 220. + Laws respecting it, 218, _note_. + Eminent instances of self-destruction, 219, 221. + The conception of, as an euthanasia, 221. + Neoplatonist doctrine concerning, 331. + Effect of the Christian condemnation of the practice of, ii. 43-61. + Theological doctrine on, 45, _note_. + The only form of, permitted in the early Church, 47. + Slow suicides, 48. + The Circumcelliones, 49. + The Albigenses, 49. + Suicides of the Jews, 50. + Treatment of corpses of suicides, 50. + Authorities for the history of suicides, 50, _note_. + Reaction against the mediæval laws on the subject, 51. + Later phases of its history, 54. + Self-destruction of witches, 54. + Epidemics of insane suicide, 55. + Cases of legitimate suicide, 55. + Suicide in England and France, 58 + +Sunday, importance of the sanctity of the, ii. 244. + Laws respecting it, 245 + +Superstition, possibility of adding to the happiness of man by the + diffusion of, i. 50-53. + Natural causes which impel savages to superstition, i. 55. + Signification of the Greek word for, 205 + +Swan, the, consecrated to Apollo, i. 206 + +Sweden, cause of the great number of illegitimate births in, i. 144 + +Swinburne, Mr., on annihilation, i. 182, _note_ + +Symmachus, his Saxon prisoners, i. 287 + +Synesius, legend of him and Evagrius, ii. 214. + Refuses to give up his wife, 332 + +Syracuse, gladiatorial shows at, i. 275 + +Tacitus, his doubts about the existence of Providence, i. 171, _note_ + +Telemachus, the monk, his death in the arena, ii. 37 + +Telesphorus, martyrdom of, i. 446, _note_ + +Tertia Æmilia, story of, ii. 313 + +Tertullian, his belief in dæmons, i. 382. + And challenge to the Pagans, 383 + +Testament, Old, supposed to have been the source of pagan writings, i. 344 + +Thalasius, his hospital for blind beggars, ii. 81 + +Theatre, scepticism of the Romans extended by the, i. 170. + Effects of the gladiatorial shows upon the, 277 + +Theft, reasons why some savages do not regard it as criminal, i. 102. + Spartan law legalising it, 102 + +Theodebert, his polygamy, ii. 343 + +Theodoric, his court at Ravenna, ii. 201, 202, _note_ + +Theodorus, his denial of the existence of the gods, i. 162 + +Theodorus, St., his inhumanity to his mother, ii. 128 + +Theodosius the Emperor, his edict forbidding gladiatorial shows, ii. 36. + Denounced by the Ascetics, 139. + His law respecting Sunday, 245 + +Theological utilitarianism, theories of, i. 14-17 + +Theology, sphere of inductive reasoning in, 357 + +Theon, St., legend of, and the wild beasts, ii. 168 + +Theurgy rejected by Plotinus, i. 330. + All moral discipline resolved into, by Iamblichus, 330 + +Thrace, celibacy of societies of men in, i. 106 + +Thrasea, mildness of his Stoicism, i. 245 + +Thrasea and Aria, history of, ii. 311 + +Thriftiness created by the industrial spirit, i. 140 + +Tiberius the Emperor, his images invested with a sacred character, i. 260. + His superstitions, 367, and _note_ + +Timagenes, exiled from the palace by Tiberius, i. 448, _note_ + +Titus, the Emperor, his tranquil end, i. 207. + Instance of his amiability, 287 + +Tooth-powder, Apuleius' defence of, ii. 148 + +Torments, future, the doctrine of, made by the monks a means of extorting + money, ii. 216. + Monastic legends of, 220 + +Tragedy, effects of the gladiatorial shows upon, among the Romans, i. 277 + +Trajan, the Emperor, his gladiatorial shows, i. 287. + Letter of Pliny to, respecting the Christians, 437. + Trajan's answer, 437. + His benevolence to children, ii. 77. + Legend of St. Gregory and the Emperor, 223 + +Transmigration of souls, doctrine of, of the ancients, ii. 166 + +Travelling, increased facilities for, of the Romans, i. 234 + +Trinitarian monks, their works of mercy, ii. 73 + +Troubadours, one of their services to mankind, ii. 232 + +'Truce of God,' importance of the, ii. 254 + +Truth, possibility of adding to the happiness of men by diffusing abroad, + or sustaining, pleasing falsehoods, i. 52. + Saying of Pythagoras, 53. + Growth of, with civilisation, 137. + Industrial, political, and philosophical, 137-140. + Relation of monachism to the abstract love of truth, ii. 189. + Causes of the mediæval decline of the love of truth, 212 + +Tucker, his adoption of the doctrine of the association of ideas, i. 25, + _note_ + +Turks, their kindness to animals, i. 289 + +Types, moral, i. 156. + All characters cannot be moulded in one type, 158 + +Ulpian on suicide, i. 218, _note_ + Unselfishness of the Stoics, i. 177 + +Usury, diversities of moral judgment respecting, i. 92 + +Utilitarian school. _See_ Morals; Virtue; Vice + +Utility, rival claims of, and intuition to be regarded as the supreme + regulators of moral distinctions, i. 1, 2. + Various names by which the theory of utility is known, 3. + Views of the moralists of the school of, 3, _et seq._ + +Valerian, his persecutions of the Christians, i. 454 + +Valerius Maximus, his mode of moral teaching, i. 174 + +Vandals, their conquest of Africa, ii. 150 + +Varro, his conception of the Deity, i. 163. + On popular religious beliefs, 167 + +Venus, effect of the Greek worship of, on the condition of women, ii. 291, + _note_ + +Vespasian, his dying jest, i. 259. + Effect of his frugality on the habits of the Romans, 292. + Miracle attributed to him, 347. + His treatment of philosophers, 448, _note_ + +Vice, Mandeville's theory of the origin of, i. 7. + And that "private vices were public benefits," 7. + Views of the Utilitarians as to, 12. + The degrees of virtue and vice do not correspond to the degrees of + utility, or the reverse, 40-42. + The suffering caused by vice not proportioned to its criminality, 57-59. + Plato's ethical theory of virtue and vice, 179. + Grote's summary of this theory, 179, _note_. + Conception of the ancients of sin, 195. + Moral efficacy of the Christian sense of sin, ii. 3, 4 + +Virgil, his conception of the Deity, i. 163. + His epicurean sentiment, 193, _note_. + On suicide, 213. + His interest in animal life, ii. 165 + +Virginity, how regarded by the Greeks, i. 105. + Æschylus' prayer to Athene, 105. + Bees and fire emblems of virginity, 108, _note_. + Reason why the ancient Jews attached a certain stigma to virginity, 109. + Views of Essenes, 109 + +Virgins, Vestal, sanctity and gifts attributed to the, i. 106, 107, and + _note_. + Executions of, 407, and _note_. + Reasons for burying them alive, ii. 41. + How regarded by the Romans, 297 + +Virtue, Hume's theory of the criterion, essential element, and object of, + i. 4. + Motive to virtue according to the doctrine which bases morals upon + experience, 6. + Mandeville's the lowest and most repulsive form of this theory, 6, 7. + Views of the essence and origin of virtue adopted by the school of + Utilitarians, 7-9. + Views of the Utilitarians of, 12. + Association of ideas in which virtue becomes the supreme object of our + affections, 27. + Impossibility of virtue bringing pleasure if practised only with that + end, 35, 36. + The utility of virtue not denied by intuitive moralists, 39. + The degrees of virtue and vice do not correspond to the degrees of + utility, or the reverse, 53. + The rewards and punishments of conscience, 59, 60. + The self-complacency of virtuous men, 64, 65, and _note_. + The motive to virtue, according to Shaftesbury and Henry More, 76. + Analogies of beauty and virtue, 77. + Their difference, 78. + Diversities existing in our judgments of virtue and beauty, 79, 80. + Virtues to which we can and cannot apply the term beautiful, 82. + The standard, though not the essence, of virtue, determined by the + condition of society, 109. + Summary of the relations of virtue to public and private interest, 117. + Emphasis with which the utility of virtue was dwelt upon by Aristotle, + 124. + Growth of the gentler virtues, 132. + Forms of the virtue of truth, industrial, political, and philosophical, + 137. + Each stage of civilisation is specially appropriate to some virtue, 147. + National virtues, 151. + Virtues, naturally grouped together according to principles of affinity + or congruity, 153. + Distinctive beauty of a moral type, 154. + Rudimentary virtues differing in different ages, nations, and classes, + 154, 155. + Four distinct motives leading men to virtue, 178-180. + Plato's fundamental proposition that vice is to virtue what disease is + to health, 179. + Stoicism the best example of the perfect severance of virtue and + self-interest, 181. + Teachings of the Stoics that virtue should conceal itself from the + world, 186. + And that the obligation should be distinguished from the attraction of + virtue, 186. + The eminent characteristics of pagan goodness, 190. + All virtues are the same, according to the Stoics, 192. + Horace's description of a just man, 197. + Interested and disinterested motives of Christianity to virtue, ii. 3. + Decline of the civic virtues caused by asceticism, 139. + Influence of this change on moral philosophy, 146. + The importance of the civic virtues exaggerated by historians, 147. + Intellectual virtues, 188. + Relation of monachism to these virtues, 189, _et seq._ + +Vitalius, St., legend of, and the courtesan, ii. 320 + +Vivisection, ii. 176. + Approved by Bacon, 176, _note_ + +Volcanoes, how regarded by the early monks, ii. 221 + +Vultures, why made an emblem of nature by the Egyptians, i. 108, _note_ + +War, its moral grandeur, i. 95. + The school of the heroic virtues, 173. + Difference between foreign and civil wars, 232. + Antipathy of the early Christians to a military life, ii. 248. + Belief in battle being the special sphere of Providential interposition, + 249. + Effects of the military triumphs of the Mohammedans, 251. + Influences of Christianity upon war considered, 254. + Improved condition of captives taken in war, 256 + +Warburton, on morals, i. 15, _note_, 17, _note_ + +Waterland, on the motives to virtue and cause of our love of God, quoted, + i. 9, _note_, 15, _note_ + +Wealth, origin of the desire to possess, i. 23. + Associations leading to the desire for, for its own sake, 25 + +Western Empire, general sketch of the moral condition of the, ii. 14 + +Widows, care of the early Church for, ii. 366 + +Will, freedom of the human, sustained and deepened by the ascetic life, + ii. 123 + +Wine, forbidden to women, i. 93, 94, _note_ + +Witchcraft, belief in the reality of, i. 363. + Suicide common among witches, ii. 54 + +Wollaston, his analysis of moral judgments, i. 76 + +Women, law of the Romans forbidding women to taste wine, i. 93, 94, + _note_. + Standards of female morality of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, 103, 104. + Virtues and vices growing out of the relations of the sexes, 143. + Female virtue, 143. + Effects of climate on this virtue, 144. + Of large towns, 146. + And of early marriages, 145. + Reason for Plato's advocacy of community of wives, 200. + Plutarch's high sense of female excellence, 244. + Female gladiators at Rome, 281, and _note_. + Relations of female devotees with the anchorites, ii. 120, 128, 150. + Their condition in savage life, 276. + Cessation of the sale of wives, 276. + Rise of the dowry, 277. + Establishment of monogamy, 278. + Doctrine of the Fathers as to concupiscence, 281. + Nature of the problem of the relations of the sexes, 282. + Prostitution, 282-284. + Recognition in Greece of two distinct orders of womanhood--the wife and + the hetæra, 287. + Condition of Roman women, 297, _et seq._ + Legal emancipation of women in Rome, 304. + Unbounded liberty of divorce, 306. + Amount of female virtue in Imperial Rome, 308-312. + Legislative measures to repress sensuality, 312. + To enforce the reciprocity of obligation in marriage, 312. + And to censure prostitution, 315. + Influence of Christianity on the position of women, 316, _et seq._ + Marriages, 320. + Second marriages, 324. + Low opinion of women, produced by asceticism, 338. + The canon law unfavourable to their proprietary rights, 338, 339. + Barbarian heroines and laws, 341-344. + Doctrine of equality of obligation in marriage, 346. + The duty of man towards woman, 347. + Condemnation of transitory connections, 350. + Roman concubines, 351. + The sinfulness of divorce maintained by the Church, 350-353. + Abolition of compulsory marriages, 353. + Condemnation of mixed marriages, 353, 354. + Education of women, 355. + Relation of Christianity to the female virtues, 358. + Comparison of male and female characteristics, 358. + The Pagan and Christian ideal of woman contrasted, 361-363. + Conspicuous part of woman in the early Church, 363-365. + Care of widows, 367. + Worship of the Virgin, 368, 369. + Effect of the suppression of the conventual system on women, 369. + Revolution going on in the employments of women, 373 + +Xenocrates, his tenderness, ii. 163 + +Xenophanes, his scepticism, i. 162 + +Xenophon, his picture of Greek married life, ii. 288 + +Zadok, the founder of the Sadducees, i. 183, _note_ + +Zeno, vast place occupied by his system in the moral history of man, i. + 171. + His suicide, 212. + His inculcation of the practice of self-examination, 248 + +Zeus, universal providence attributed by the Greeks to, i. 161 + + + + + + +FOOTNOTES + + + 1 There is a remarkable passage of Celsus, on the impossibility of + restoring a nature once thoroughly depraved, quoted by Origen in his + answer to him. + + 2 This is well shown by Pressensé in his _Hist. des Trois premiers + Siècles_. + + 3 See a great deal of information on this subject in Bingham's + _Antiquities of the Christian Church_ (Oxford, 1853), vol. v. pp. + 370-378. It is curious that those very noisy contemporary divines + who profess to resuscitate the manners of the primitive Church, and + who lay so much stress on the minutest ceremonial observances, have + left unpractised what was undoubtedly one of the most universal, and + was believed to be one of the most important, of the institutions of + early Christianity. Bingham shows that the administration of the + Eucharist to infants continued in France till the twelfth century. + + 4 See Cave's _Primitive Christianity_, part i. ch. xi. At first the + Sacrament was usually received every day; but this custom soon + declined in the Eastern Church, and at last passed away in the West. + + 5 Plin. _Ep._ x. 97. + + 6 The whole subject of the penitential discipline is treated minutely + in Marshall's _Penitential Discipline of the Primitive Church_ + (first published in 1714, and reprinted in the library of + Anglo-Catholic Theology), and also in Bingham, vol. vii. Tertullian + gives a graphic description of the public penances, _De Pudicit._ v. + 13. + + 7 Eusebius, _H. E._ viii, 7. + + 8 St. Chrysostom tells this of St. Babylas. See Tillemont, _Mém. pour + servir à l'Hist. eccl._ tome iii. p. 403. + + 9 In the preface to a very ancient Milanese missal it is said of St. + Agatha that as she lay in the prison cell, torn by the instruments + of torture, St. Peter came to her in the form of a Christian + physician, and offered to dress her wounds; but she refused, saying + that she wished for no physician but Christ. St. Peter, in the name + of that Celestial Physician, commanded her wounds to close, and her + body became whole as before. (Tillemont, tome iii. p. 412.) + + 10 See her acts in Ruinart. + + 11 St. Jerome, _Ep._ xxxix. + + 12 "Definitio brevis et vera virtutis: ordo est amoris."--_De Civ. Dei_, + xv. 22. + + 13 Besides the obvious points of resemblance in the common, though not + universal, belief that Christians should abstain from all weapons + and from all oaths, the whole teaching of the early Christians about + the duty of simplicity, and the wickedness of ornaments in dress + (see especially the writings of Tertullian, Clemens Alexandrinus, + and Chrysostom, on this subject), is exceedingly like that of the + Quakers. The scruple of Tertullian (_De Coronâ_) about Christians + wearing laurel wreaths in the festivals, because laurel was called + after Daphne, the lover of Apollo, was much of the same kind as that + which led the Quakers to refuse to speak of Tuesday or Wednesday, + lest they should recognise the gods Tuesco or Woden. On the other + hand, the ecclesiastical aspects and the sacramental doctrines of + the Church were the extreme opposites of Quakerism. + + 14 See the masterly description of the relations of the English to the + Irish in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, in Froude's _History of + England_, ch. xxiv.; and also Lord Macaulay's description of the + feelings of the Master of Stair towards the Highlanders. (_History + of England_, ch. xviii.) + + 15 See on the views of Aristotle, Labourt, _Recherches historiques sur + les Enfanstrouvés_ (Paris, 1848), p. 9. + + 16 See Gravina, _De Ortu et Progressu Juris Civilis_, lib. i. 44. + + 17 "Nunc uterum vitiat quæ vult formosa videci, + Raraque in hoc ævo est, quæ velit esse parens." + + Ovid, _De Nuce_, 22-23. + + The same writer has devoted one of his elegies (ii. 14) to + reproaching his mistress Corinna with having been guilty of this + act. It was not without danger, and Ovid says, + + "Sæpe suos utero quæ necit ipsa perit." + + A niece of Domitian is said to have died in consequence of having, + at the command of the emperor, practised it (Sueton. _Domit._ + xxii.). Plutarch notices the custom (_De Sanitate tuenda_), and + Seneca eulogises Helvia (_Ad Helv._ xvi.) for being exempt from + vanity and having never destroyed her unborn offspring. Favorinus, + in a remarkable passage (Aulus Gellius, _Noct. Att._ xii. 1), speaks + of the act as "publica detestatione communique odio dignum," and + proceeds to argue that it is only a degree less criminal for mothers + to put out their children to nurse. Juvenal has some well-known and + emphatic lines on the subject:-- + + "Sed jacet aurato vix ulla puerpera lecto; + Tantum artes hujus, tantum medicamina possunt, + Quæ steriles facit, atque homines in ventre necandos + Conducit." + + _Sat._ vi. 592-595. + + There are also many allusions to it in the Christian writers. Thus + Minucius Felix (_Octavius_, xxx.): "Vos enim video procreatos filios + nunc feris et avibus exponere, nunc adstrangulatos misero mortis + genere elidere. Sunt quæ in ipsis visceribus, medicaminibus epotis, + originem futuri hominis extinguant, et parricidium faciant antequam + pariant." + + 18 See Labourt, _Recherches sur les Enfans trouvés_, p. 25. + + 19 Among the barbarian laws there is a very curious one about a daily + compensation for children who had been killed in the womb on account + of the daily suffering of those children in hell. "Propterea + diuturnam judicaverunt antecessores nostri compositionem et judices + postquam religio Christianitatis inolevit in mundo. Quia diuturnam + postquam incarnationem suscepit anima, quamvis ad nativitatis lucem + minima pervenisset, patitur poenam, quia sine sacramento + regenerationis abortivo modo tradita est ad inferos."--_Leges + Bajuvariorum_, tit. vii. cap. xx. in Canciani, _Leges Barbar._ vol. + ii. p. 374. The first foundling hospital of which we have undoubted + record is that founded at Milan, by a man named Datheus, in A.D. + 789. Muratori has preserved (_Antich. Ital._ Diss. xxxvii.) the + charter embodying the motives of the founder, in which the following + sentences occur: "Quia frequenter per luxuriam hominum genus + decipitur, et exinde malum homicidii generatur, dum concipientes ex + adulterio, ne prodantur in publico, fetos teneros necant, _et absque + baptismatis lavacro parvulos ad Tartara mittunt_, quia nullum + reperiunt locum, quo servare vivos valeant," &c. Henry II. of + France, 1556, made a long law against women who, "advenant le temps + de leur part et délivrance de leur enfant, occultement s'en + délivrent, puis le suffoquent et autrement suppriment _sans leur + avoir fait empartir le Saint Sacrement du Baptême_."--Labourt, + _Recherches sur les Enfans trouvés_, p. 47. There is a story told of + a Queen of Portugal (sister to Henry V. of England, and mother of + St. Ferdinand) that, being in childbirth, her life was despaired of + unless she took a medicine which would accelerate the birth but + probably sacrifice the life of the child. She answered that "she + would not purchase her temporal life by sacrificing the eternal + salvation of her son."--Bollandists, _Act. Sanctor._, June 5th. + + 20 Tillemont, _Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire ecclésiastique_ + (Paris, 1701), tome x. p. 41. St. Clem. Alexand. says that infants + in the womb and exposed infants have guardian angels to watch over + them. (_Strom._ v.) + + 21 There is an extremely large literature devoted to the subject of + infanticide, exposition, foundlings, &c. The books I have chiefly + followed are Terme et Monfalcon, _Histoire des Enfans trouvés_ + (Paris, 1840); Remacle, _Des Hospices d'Enfans trouvés_ (1838); + Labourt, _Recherches historiques sur les Enfans trouvés_ (Paris, + 1848); Koenigswarter, _Essai sur la Législation des Peuples anciens + et modernes relative aux Enfans nés hors Mariage_ (Paris, 1842). + There are also many details on the subject in Godefroy's Commentary + to the laws about children in the Theodosian Code, in Malthus, _On + Population_, in Edward's tract _On the State of Slavery in the Early + and Middle Ages of Christianity_, and in most ecclesiastical + histories. + + 22 It must not; however, be inferred from this that infanticide + increases in direct proportion to the unchastity of a nation. + Probably the condition of civilised society in which it is most + common, is where a large amount of actual unchastity coexists with + very strong social condemnation of the sinner, and where, in + consequence, there is an intense anxiety to conceal the fall. A + recent writer on Spain has noticed the almost complete absence of + infanticide in that country, and has ascribed it to the great + leniency of public opinion towards female frailty. Foundling + hospitals, also, greatly influence the history of infanticide; but + the mortality in them was long so great that it may be questioned + whether they have diminished the number of the deaths, though they + have, as I believe, greatly diminished the number of the murders of + children. Lord Kames, writing in the last half of the eighteenth + century, says: "In Wales, even at present, and in the Highlands of + Scotland, it is scarce a disgrace for a young woman to have a + bastard. In the country last mentioned, the first instance known of + a bastard child being destroyed by its mother through shame is a + late one. The virtue of chastity appears to be thus gaining ground, + as the only temptation a woman can have to destroy her child is to + conceal her frailty."--_Sketches of the History of Man--On the + Progress of the Female Sex._ The last clause is clearly inaccurate, + but there seems reason for believing that maternal affection is + generally stronger than want, but weaker than shame. + + 23 See Warburton's _Divine Legation_, vii. 2. + + 24 Ælian, _Varia Hist._ ii. 7. Passages from the Greek imaginative + writers, representing exposition as the avowed and habitual practice + of poor parents, are collected by Terme et Monfalcon, _Hist. des + Enfans trouvés_, pp. 39-45. Tacitus notices with praise (_Germania_, + xix.) that the Germans did not allow infanticide. He also notices + (_Hist._ v. 5) the prohibition of infanticide among the Jews, and + ascribes it to their desire to increase the population. + + 25 Dion. Halic. ii. + +_ 26 Ad Nat._ i. 15. + + 27 The well-known jurisconsult Paulus had laid down the proposition, + "Necare videtur non tantum is qui partum perfocat sed et is qui + abjicit et qui alimonia denegat et qui publicis locis misericordiæ + causa exponit quam ipse non habet." (_Dig._ lib. xxv. tit. iii. 1. + 4.) These words have given rise to a famous controversy between two + Dutch professors, named Noodt and Bynkershoek, conducted on both + sides with great learning, and on the side of Noodt with great + passion. Noodt maintained that these words are simply the expression + of a moral truth, not a judicial decision, and that exposition was + never illegal in Rome till some time after the establishment of + Christianity. His opponent argued that exposition was legally + identical with infanticide, and became, therefore, illegal when the + power of life and death was withdrawn from the father. (See the + works of Noodt (Cologne, 1763) and of Bynkershoek (Cologne, 1761)). + It was at least certain that exposition was notorious and avowed, + and the law against it, if it existed, inoperative. Gibbon (_Decline + and Fall_, ch. xliv.) thinks the law censured but did not punish + exposition. See, too, Troplong, _Influence du Christianisme sur le + Droit_, p. 271. + + 28 Quintilian speaks in a tone of apology, if not justification, of the + exposition of the children of destitute parents (_Decl._ cccvi.), + and even Plutarch speaks of it without censure. (_De Amor. Prolis._) + There are several curious illustrations in Latin literature of the + different feelings of fathers and mothers on this matter. Terence + (_Heauton._ Act. iii. Scene 5) represents Chremes as having, as a + matter of course, charged his pregnant wife to have her child killed + provided it was a girl. The mother, overcome by pity, shrank from + doing so, and secretly gave it to an old woman to expose it, in + hopes that it might be preserved. Chremes, on hearing what had been + done, reproached his wife for her womanly pity, and told her she had + been not only disobedient but irrational, for she was only + consigning her daughter to the life of a prostitute. In Apuleius + (_Metam._ lib. x.) we have a similar picture of a father starting + for a journey, leaving his wife in childbirth, and giving her his + parting command to kill her child if it should be a girl, which she + could not bring herself to do. The girl was brought up secretly. In + the case of weak or deformed infants infanticide seems to have been + habitual. "Portentosos foetus extinguimus, liberos quoque, si debiles + monstrosique editi sunt, mergimus. Non ira, sed ratio est, a sanis + inutilia secernere."--Seneca, _De Ira_, i. 15. Terence has introduced + a picture of the exposition of an infant into his _Andria_, Act. iv. + Scene 5. See, too, Suet. _August._ lxv. According to Suetonius + (_Calig._ v.), on the death of Germanicus, women exposed their + new-born children in sign of grief. Ovid had dwelt with much feeling + on the barbarity of these practices. It is a very curious fact, + which has been noticed by Warburton, that Chremes, whose sentiments + about infants we have just seen, is the very personage into whose + mouth Terence has put the famous sentiment, "Homo sum, humani nihil + a me alienum puto." + + 29 That these were the usual fates of exposed infants is noticed by + several writers. Some, too, both Pagan and Christian (Quintilian, + _Decl._ cccvi.; Lactantius, Div. Inst. vi. 20, &c.), speak of the + liability to incestuous marriages resulting from frequent + exposition. In the Greek poets there are several allusions to rich + childless men adopting foundlings, and Juvenal says it was common + for Roman wives to palm off foundlings on their husbands for their + sons. (_Sat._ vi. 603.) There is an extremely horrible declamation + in Seneca the Rhetorician (_Controvers._ lib. v. 33) about exposed + children who were said to have been maimed and mutilated, either to + prevent their recognition by their parents, or that they might gain + money as beggars for their masters. + + 30 See passages on this point cited by Godefroy in his _Commentary to + the Law __"__De Expositis,__"__ Codex Theod._ lib. v. tit. 7. + +_ 31 Codex Theod._ lib. xi. tit. 27. + +_ 32 Codex Theod._ lib. v. tit. 7, lex. 1. + +_ 33 Ibid._ lib. v. tit. 8, lex 1. + + 34 See Godefroy's _Commentary to the Law_. + + 35 In a letter to the younger Pliny. (_Ep._ x. 72.) + + 36 See on this point Muratori, _Antich. Ital._ Diss. xxxvii. + + 37 See on these laws, Wallon, _Hist. de l'Esclavage_, tome iii. pp. 52, + 53. + + 38 See _Cod. Theod._ lib. iii. tit. 3, lex 1, and the Commentary. + + 39 On the very persistent denunciation of this practice by the Fathers, + see many examples in Terme et Monfalcon. + + 40 This is a mere question of definition, upon which lawyers have + expended much learning and discussion. Cujas thought the Romans + considered infanticide a crime, but a crime generically different + from homicide. Godefroy maintains that it was classified as + homicide, but that, being esteemed less heinous than the other forms + of homicide, it was only punished by exile. See the Commentary to + _Cod. Theod._ lib. ix. tit. 14, l. 1. + +_ 41 Cod. Theod._ lib. ix. tit. 15. + +_ 42 Ibid._ lib. ix. tit. 14, lex 1. + +_ 43 Corp. Juris_, lib. viii. tit. 52, lex 2. + +_ 44 Leges Wisigothorum_ (lib. vi. tit. 3, lex 7) and other laws (lib. + iv. tit. 4) condemned exposition. + + 45 "Si quis infantem necaverit ut homicida teneatur."--_Capit._ vii. + 168. + + 46 It appears, from a passage of St. Augustine, that Christian virgins + were accustomed to collect exposed children and to have them brought + into the church. See Terme et Monfalcon, _Hist. des Enfans trouvés_, + p. 74. + + 47 Compare Labourt, _Rech. sur les Enfans trouvés_, pp. 32, 33; + Muratori, _Antichità Italiane_, Dissert. xxxvii. Muratori has also + briefly noticed the history of these charities in his _Carità + Christiana_, cap. xxvii. + + 48 The first seems to have been the hospital of Sta. Maria in Sassia, + which had existed with various changes from the eighth century, but + was made a foundling hospital and confided to the care of Guy of + Montpellier in A.D. 1204. According to one tradition, Pope Innocent + III. had been shocked at hearing of infants drawn in the nets of + fishermen from the Tiber. According to another, he was inspired by + an angel. Compare Remacle, _Hospices d'Enfans trouvés_, pp. 36-37, + and Amydemus, _Pietas Romana_ (a book written A.D. 1624, and + translated in part into English in A.D. 1687), Eng. trans, pp. 2, 3. + + 49 For the little that is known about this missionary of charity, + compare Remacle, _Hospices d'Enfans trouvés_, pp. 34-44; and + Labourt, _Recherches historiques sur les Enfans trouvés_, pp. 38-41. + + 50 E.g. the amphitheatre of Verona was only built under Diocletian. + + 51 "Quid hoc triumpho pulchrius?... Tantam captivorum multitudinem + bestiis objicit ut ingrati et perfidi non minus doloris ex ludibrio + sui quam ex ipsa morte patiantur."--Incerti, _Panegyricus Constant_. + "Puberes qui in manus venerunt, quorum nec perfidia erat apta + militiæ nec ferocia servituti ad poenas spectaculo dati sævientes + bestias multitudine sua fatigarunt."--Eumenius, _Paneg. Constant._ + xi. + +_ 52 Cod. Theod._ lib. xv. tit. 12, lex 1. Sozomen, i. 8. + + 53 This, at least, is the opinion of Godefroy, who has discussed the + subject very fully. (_Cod. Theod._ lib. xv. tit. 12.) + + 54 Libanius, _De Vita Sua_, 3. + +_ 55 Cod. Theod._ lib. xv. tit. 12, l. 2. + + 56 Ibid. lib. ix. tit. 40, l. 8. + + 57 Ibid. lib. ix. tit. 40, l. 11. + + 58 Ibid. lib. xv. tit. 12, l. 3. + + 59 Symmach. _Ex._ x. 61. + + 60 M. Wallon has traced these last shows with much learning. (_Hist. de + l'Esclavage_, tome iii. pp. 421-429.) + + 61 He wavered, however, on the subject, and on one occasion condemned + them. See Wallon, tome iii. p. 423. + + 62 Theodoret, v. 26. + + 63 Muller, _De Genio Ævi Theodosiani_ (1797), vol. ii. p. 88; Milman, + _Hist. of Early Christianity_, vol. iii. pp. 343-347. + + 64 See on these fights Ozanam's _Civilisation in the Fifth Century_ + (Eng. trans.), vol. i. p. 130. + + 65 Nieupoort, _De Ritibus Romanorum_, p. 169. + + 66 See a very unequivocal passage, _Inst. Div._ vi. 20. Several earlier + testimonies on the subject are given by Barbeyrac, _Morale des + Pères_, and in many other books. + + 67 See two laws enacted in A.D. 380 (_Cod. Theod._ ix. tit. 35, l. 4) + and A.D. 389 (_Cod. Theod._ ix. tit. 35, l. 5). Theodosius the + Younger made a law (ix. tit. 35, l. 7) excepting the Isaurian + robbers from the privileges of these laws. + + 68 There are, of course, innumerable miracles punishing guilty men, but + I know none assisting the civil power in doing so. As an example of + the miracles in defence of the innocent, I may cite one by St. + Macarius. An innocent man, accused of a murder, fled to him. He + brought both the accused and accusers to the tomb of the murdered + man, and asked him whether the prisoner was the murderer. The corpse + answered in the negative; the bystanders implored St. Macarius to + ask it to reveal the real culprit; but St. Macarius refused to do + so. (_Vitæ Patrum_, lib. ii. cap. xxviii.) + + 69 "Ut quam clementissime et ultra sanguinis effusionem puniretur." + +_ 70 Quæstoe. Romanæ_, xcvi. + + 71 Tillemont, _Mém. d'Hist. ecclés_. tome vi. pp. 88-98. The Donatists + after a time, however, are said to have overcome their scruples, and + used swords. + + 72 Under the Christian kings, the barbarians multiplied the number of + capital offences, but this has usually been regarded as an + improvement. The Abbé Mably says: "Quoiqu'il nous reste peu + d'ordonnances faites sous les premiers Mérovingiens, nous voyons + qu'avant la fin du sixième siècle, les François avoient déjà adopté + la doctrine salutaire des Romains au sujet de la prescription; et + que renonçant à cette humanité cruelle qui les enhardissoit au mal, + ils infligèrent peine de mort contre l'inceste, le vol et le meurtre + qui jusques-là n'avoient été punis que par l'exil, ou dont on se + rachetoit par une composition. Les François, en réformant + quelques-unes de leurs lois civiles, portèrent la sévérité aussi + loin que leurs pères avoient poussé l'indulgence."--Mably, _Observ. + sur l'Hist. des François_, liv. i. ch. iii. See, too, Gibbon's + _Decline and Fall_, ch. xxxviii. + + 73 The whole of the sixth volume of Godefroy's edition (folio) of the + Theodosian code is taken up with laws of these kinds. + + 74 Mme. de Staël, _Réflexions sur le Suicide_. + + 75 The following became the theological doctrine on the subject: "Est + vere homicida et reus homicidii qui se interficiendo innocentum + hominem interfecerit."--Lisle, _Du Suicide_, p. 400. St. Augustine + has much in this strain. Lucretia, he says, either consented to the + act of Sextius, or she did not. In the first case she was an + adulteress, and should therefore not be admired. In the second case + she was a murderess, because in killing herself she killed an + innocent and virtuous woman. (_De Civ. Dei_, i. 19.) + + 76 Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Cyprian are especially ardent in this + respect; but their language is, I think, in their circumstances, + extremely excusable. Compare Barbeyrac, _Morale des Pères_, ch. ii. + § 8; ch. viii. §§ 34-39. Donne's _Biathanatos_ (ed. 1644), pp. + 58-67. Cromaziano, _Istoria critica e filosofica del Suicidio + ragionato_ (Venezia, 1788), pp. 135-140. + + 77 Ambrose, _De Virginibus_, iii. 7. + + 78 Eusebius, _Eccles. Hist._ viii. 12. + + 79 Eusebius, _Eccles. Hist._ viii. 14. Bayle, in his article upon + Sophronia, appears to be greatly scandalised at this act, and it + seems that among the Catholics it is not considered right to admire + this poor lady as much as her sister suicides. Tillemont remarks: + "Comme on ne voit pas que l'église romaine l'ait jamais honorée, + nous n'avons pas le mesme droit de justifier son action."--_Hist. + ecclés._ tome v. pp. 404, 405. + + 80 Especially Barbeyrac in his _Morale des Pères_. He was answered by + Ceillier, Cromaziano, and others. Matthew of Westminster relates of + Ebba, the abbess of a Yorkshire convent which was besieged by the + Danes, that she and all the other nuns, to save their chastity, + deformed themselves by cutting off their noses and upper lips. (A.D. + 870.) + +_ 81 De Civ. Dei_, i. 22-7. + + 82 This had been suggested by St. Augustine. In the case of Pelagia, + Tillemont finds a strong argument in support of this view in the + astounding, if not miraculous, fact that, having thrown herself from + the top of the house, she was actually killed by the fall! "Estant + montée tout au haut de sa maison, fortifiée par le mouvement que + J.-C. formoit dans son coeur et par le courage qu'il luy inspiroit, + elle se précipita de là du haut en bas, et échapa ainsi à tous les + piéges de ses ennemis. Son corps en tombant à terre frapa, dit S. + Chrysostome, les yeux du démon plus vivement qu'un éclair.... Ce qui + marque encore que Dieu agissoit en tout ceci c'est qu'au lieu que + ces chutes ne sont pas toujours mortelles, ou que souvent ne brisant + que quelques membres, elles n'ostent la vie que longtemps après, ni + l'un ni l'autre n'arriva en cette rencontre; mais Dieu retira + aussitost l'âme de la sainte, en sorte que sa mort parut autant + l'effet de la volonté divine que de sa chute."--_Hist. ecclés._ tome + v. pp. 401-402. + + 83 "Et virginitatis coronam et nuptiarum perdidit voluptatem."--_Ep._ + xxii. + + 84 "Quis enim siccis oculis recordetur viginti annorum adolescentulam + tam ardenti fide crucis levasse vexillum ut magis amissam + virginitatem quam mariti doleret interitum?"--_Ep._ xxxix. + + 85 For a description of these penances, see _Ep._ xxxviii. + +_ 86 Ep._ xxxix. + + 87 St. Jerome gave some sensible advice on this point to one of his + admirers. (_Ep._ cxxv.) + + 88 Hase, _St. François d'Assise_, pp. 137-138. St. Palæmon is said to + have died of his austerities. (_Vit. S. Pachomii._) + + 89 St. Augustine and St. Optatus have given accounts of these suicides + in their works against the Donatists. + + 90 See Todd's _Life of St. Patrick_, p. 462. + + 91 The whole history of suicide in the dark ages has been most minutely + and carefully examined by M. Bourquelot, in a very interesting + series of memoirs in the third and fourth volumes of the + _Bibliothèque de l'École des Chartes_. I am much indebted to these + memoirs in the following pages. See, too, Lisle, _Du Suicide, + Statistique, Médecine, Histoire, et Législation_. (Paris, 1856.) The + ferocious laws here recounted contrast remarkably with a law in the + Capitularies (lib. vi. lex 70), which provides that though mass may + not be celebrated for a suicide, any private person may, through + charity, cause prayers to be offered up for his soul. "Quia + incomprehensibilia sunt judicia Dei, et profunditatem consilii ejus + nemo potest investigare." + + 92 See the very interesting work of the Abbé Bourret, _l'École + chrétienne de Séville sous la monarchie des Visigoths_ (Paris, + 1855), p. 196. + + 93 Roger of Wendover, A.D. 665. + + 94 Esquirol, _Maladies mentales_, tome i. p. 591. + + 95 Lea's _History of Sacerdotal Celibacy_ (Philadelphia, 1867), p. 248. + + 96 "Per lo corso di molti secoli abbiamo questo solo suicidio donnesco, + e buona cosa è non averne più d'uno; perchè io non credo che la + impudicizia istessa sia peggiore di questa disperata + castità."--Cromaziano, _Ist. del. Suicidio_, p. 126. Mariana, who, + under the frock of a Jesuit, bore the heart of an ancient Roman, + treats the case in a very different manner. "Ejus uxor Maria + Coronelia cum mariti absentiam non ferret, ne pravis cupiditatibus + cederet, vitam posuit, ardentem forte libidinem igne extinguens + adacto per muliebria titione; dignam meliori seculo foeminam, insigne + studium castitatis."--_De Rebus Hispan._ xvi. 17. + + 97 A number of passages are cited by Bourquelot. + + 98 This is noticed by St. Gregory Nazianzen in a little poem which is + given in Migne's edition of _The Greek Fathers_, tome xxxvii. p. + 1459. St. Nilus and the biographer of St. Pachomius speak of these + suicides, and St. Chrysostom wrote a letter of consolation to a + young monk, named Stagirius, which is still extant, encouraging him + to resist the temptation. See Neander, _Ecclesiastical Hist._ vol. + iii. pp. 319, 320. + + 99 Bourquelot. Pinel notices (_Traité médico-philosophique sur + l'Aliénation mentale_ (2nd ed.), pp. 44-46) the numerous cases of + insanity still produced by strong religious feeling; and the history + of the movements called "revivals," in the present century, supplies + much evidence to the same effect. Pinel says, religious insanity + tends peculiarly to suicide (p. 265). + + 100 Orosius notices (_Hist._ v. 14) that of all the Gauls conquered by + Q. Marcius, there were none who did not prefer death to slavery. The + Spaniards were famous for their suicides, to avoid old age as well + as slavery. Odin, who, under different names, was the supreme + divinity of most of the Northern tribes, is said to have ended his + earthly life by suicide. Boadicea, the grandest figure of early + British history, and Cordeilla, or Cordelia, the most pathetic + figure of early British romance, were both suicides. (See on the + first, Tacitus, _Ann._ xiv. 35-37, and on the second Geoffrey of + Monmouth, ii. 15--a version from which Shakspeare has considerably + diverged, but which is faithfully followed by Spenser. (_Faëry + Queen_, book ii. canto 10.)) + + 101 "In our age, when the Spaniards extended that law which was made + only against the cannibals, that they who would not accept the + Christian religion should incur bondage, the Indians in infinite + numbers escaped this by killing themselves, and never ceased till + the Spaniards, by some counterfeitings, made them think that they + also would kill themselves, and follow them with the same severity + into the next life."--Donne's _Biathanatos_, p. 56 (ed. 1644). On the + evidence of the early travellers on this point, see the essay on + "England's Forgotten Worthies," in Mr. Froude's _Short Studies_. + + 102 Lisle, pp. 427-434. Sprenger has noticed the same tendency among the + witches he tried. See Calmeil, _De la Folie_ (Paris, 1845), tome i. + pp. 161, 303-305. + + 103 On modern suicides the reader may consult Winslow's _Anatomy of + Suicide_; as well as the work of M. Lisle, and also Esquirol, + _Maladies mentales_ (Paris, 1838), tome i. pp. 526-676. + + 104 Hecker's _Epidemics of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1844), p. 121. + Hecker in his very curious essay on this mania, has preserved a + verse of their song:-- + + "Allu mari mi portati + Se voleti che mi sanati, + Allu mari, alla via, + Così m'ama la donna mia, + Allu mari, allu mari, + Mentre campo, t'aggio amari." + + 105 Cromaziano, _Ist. del Suicidio_ caps. viii, ix. + + 106 Cromaziano, pp. 92-93. + + 107 Montesquieu, and many Continental writers, have noticed this, and + most English writers of the eighteenth century seem to admit the + charge. There do not appear, however, to have been any accurate + statistics, and the general statements are very untrustworthy. + Suicides were supposed to be especially numerous under the + depressing influence of English winter fogs. The statistics made in + the present century prove beyond question that they are most + numerous in summer. + +_ 108 Utopia_, book ii. ch. vi. + + 109 A sketch of his life, which was rather curious, is given by + Cromaziano, pp. 148-151. There is a long note on the early + literature in defence of suicide, in Dumas, _Traité du Suicide_ + (Amsterdam, 1723), pp. 148-149. Dumas was a Protestant minister who + wrote against suicide. Among the English apologists for suicide + (which he himself committed) was Blount, the translator of the _Life + of Apollonius of Tyana_, and Creech, an editor of Lucretius. + Concerning the former there is a note in Bayle's _Dict._ art. + "Apollonius." The latter is noticed by Voltaire in his _Lettres + Philos._ He wrote as a memorandum on the margin of his "Lucretius," + "N.B. When I have finished my Commentary I must kill myself;" which + he accordingly did--Voltaire says to imitate his favourite author. + (Voltaire, _Dict. phil._ art. "Caton.") + +_ 110 Essais_, liv. ii. ch. xiii. + +_ 111 Lettres persanes_, lxxvi. + +_ 112 Nouvelle Héloïse_, partie iii. let. 21-22. Esquirol gives a curious + illustration of the way the influence of Rousseau penetrated through + all classes. A little child of thirteen committed suicide, leaving a + writing beginning: "Je lègue mon âme a Rousseau, mon corps à la + terre."--_Maladies mentales_, tome i. p. 588. + + 113 In general, however, Voltaire was extremely opposed to the + philosophy of despair, but he certainly approved of some forms of + suicide. See the articles "Caton" and "Suicide," in his _Dict. + philos._ + + 114 Lisle, _Du Suicide_, pp. 411, 412. + + 115 "Le monde est vide depuis les Romains."--St.-Just, _Procés de + Danton_. + + 116 This fact has been often noticed. The reader may find many + statistics on the subject in Lisle, _Du Suicide_, and Winslow's + _Anatomy of Suicide_. + + 117 "There seems good reason to believe, that with the progress of + mental development through the ages, there is, as in the case with + other forms of organic development, a correlative degeneration going + on, and that an increase of insanity is a penalty which an increase + of our present civilisation necessarily pays."--Maudsley's + _Physiology of Mind_, p. 201. + +_ 118 Cod. Theod._ lib. ix. tit. 12. + + 119 Some commentators imagine (see Muratori, _Antich. Ital. Diss._ xiv.) + that among the Pagans the murder of a man's own slave was only + assimilated to the crime of murdering the slave of another man, + while in the Christian law it was defined as homicide, equivalent to + the murder of a freeman. I confess, however, this point does not + appear to me at all clear. + + 120 See Godefroy's _Commentary_ on these laws. + + 121 Exodus xxi. 21 + + 122 "Quas vilitates vitæ dignas legum observatione non credidit."--_Cod. + Theod._ lib. ix. tit. 7. See on this law, Wallon, tome iii. pp. 417, + 418. + + Dean Milman observes, "In the old Roman society in the Eastern + Empire this distinction between the marriage of the freeman and the + concubinage of the slave was long recognised by Christianity itself. + These unions were not blessed, as the marriages of their superiors + had soon begun to be, by the Church. Basil the Macedonian (A.D. + 867-886) first enacted that the priestly benediction should hallow + the marriage of the slave; but the authority of the emperor was + counteracted by the deep-rooted prejudices of centuries."--_Hist. of + Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 15. + +_ 123 Cod. Theod._ lib. ii. tit. 25. + + 124 Ibid. lib. iv. tit. 7. + + 125 Ibid. lib. ix. tit. 9. + +_ 126 Corpus Juris_, vi. 1. + +_ 127 Cod. Theod._ lib. vi. tit. 2. + + 128 See on all this legislation, Wallon, tome iii.; Champagny, _Charité + chrétienne_, pp. 214-224. + + 129 It is worthy of notice, too, that the justice of slavery was + frequently based by the Fathers, as by modern defenders of slavery, + on the curse of Ham. See a number of passages noticed by Moehler, + _Le Christianisme et l'Esclavage_ (trad. franç.), pp. 151-152. + + 130 The penalty, however, appears to have been reduced to two years' + exclusion from communion. Muratori says: "In più consili si truova + decretato, 'excommunicatione vel poenitentiæ biennii esse + subjiciendum qui servum proprium sine conscientia judicis + occiderit.' "--_Antich. Ital._ Diss. xiv. + + Besides the works which treat generally of the penitential + discipline, the reader may consult with fruit Wright's letter _On + the Political Condition of the English Peasantry_, and Moehler, p. + 186. + + 131 On the great multitude of emancipated slaves who entered, and at one + time almost monopolised, the ecclesiastical offices, compare + Moehler, _Le Christianisme et l'Esclavage_, pp. 177-178. Leo the + Great tried to prevent slaves being raised to the priestly office, + because it would degrade the latter. + + 132 See a most admirable dissertation on this subject in Le Blant, + _Inscriptions chrétiennes de la Gaule_, tome ii. pp. 284-299; + Gibbon's _Decline and Fall_, ch. xxxviii. + + 133 Champagny, _Charité chrétienne_, p. 210. These numbers are, no + doubt, exaggerated; see Wallon, _Hist. de l'Esclavage_, tome iii. p. + 38. + + 134 See Schmidt, _La Société civile dans le Monde romain_, pp. 246-248. + + 135 Muratori has devoted two valuable dissertations (_Antich. Ital._ + xiv. xv.) to mediæval slavery. + + 136 Ozanam's _Hist. of Civilisation in the Fifth Century_ (Eng. trans.), + vol. ii. p. 43. St. Adelbert, Archbishop of Prague at the end of the + tenth century, was especially famous for his opposition to the slave + trade. In Sweden, the abolition of slavery in the thirteenth century + was avowedly accomplished in obedience to Christian principles. + (Moehler, _Le Christianisme et l'Esclavage_, pp. 194-196; Ryan's + _History of the Effects of Religion upon Mankind_, pp. 142, 143.) + + 137 Salvian, in a famous passage (_De Gubernatione Dei_, lib. v.), + notices the multitudes of poor who voluntarily became "coloni" for + the sake of protection and a livelihood. The coloni, who were + attached to the soil, were much the same as the mediæval serfs. We + have already noticed them coming into being, apparently when the + Roman emperors settled barbarian prisoners to cultivate the desert + lands of Italy; and before the barbarian invasions their numbers + seem to have much increased. M. Guizot has devoted two chapters to + this subject. (_Hist. de la Civilisation en France_, vii. viii.) + + 138 See Finlay's _Hist. of Greece_, vol. i. p. 241. + + 139 Moehler, p. 181. + + 140 "Non v'era anticamente signor secolare, vescovo, abbate, capitolo di + canonici e monistero che non avesse al suo servigio molti servi. + Molto frequentemente solevano i secolari manometterli. Non cosi le + chiese, e i monisteri, non per altra cagione, a mio credere, se non + perchè la manumissione è una spezie di alienazione, ed era dai + canoni proibito l'alienare i beni delle chiese."--Muratori, + _Dissert._ xv. Some Councils, however, recognised the right of + bishops to emancipate Church slaves. Moehler, _Le Christianisme et + l'Esclavage_, p. 187. Many peasants placed themselves under the + dominion of the monks, as being the best masters, and also to obtain + the benefit of their prayers. + + 141 Muratori; Hallam's _Middle Ages_, ch. ii. part ii. + + 142 See on this subject, Ryan, pp. 151-152; Cibrario, _Economica + politica del Medio Evo_, lib. iii. cap. ii., and especially Le + Blant, _Inscriptions chrétiennes de la Gaule_, tome ii. pp. 284-299. + + 143 About 5/6ths of a bushel. See Hume's _Essay on the Populousness of + Ancient Nations_. + + 144 The history of these distributions is traced with admirable learning + by M. Naudet in his _Mémoire sur les Secours publics dans + l'Antiquité_ (_Mém. de l'Académie des Inscrip. et Belles-lettres_, + tome xiii.), an essay to which I am much indebted. See, too, + Monnier, _Hist. de l'Assistance publique_; B. Dumas, _Des Secours + publics chez les Anciens_; and Schmidt, _Essai sur la Société civile + dans le Monde romain et sur sa Transformation par le Christianisme_. + + 145 Livy, ii. 9; Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxxi. 41. + + 146 Dion Cassius, xxxviii. 1-7. + + 147 Xiphilin, lxviii. 2; Pliny, _Ep._ vii. 31. + + 148 Spartian. _Sept. Severus_. + + 149 Suet. _August._ 41; Dion Cassius, li, 1. + + 150 "Afflictos civitatis relevavit; puellas puerosque natos parentibus + egestosis sumptu publico per Italiæ oppida ali jussit."--Sext. + Aurelius Victor, _Epitome_, "Nerva." This measure of Nerva, though + not mentioned by any other writer, is confirmed by the evidence of + medals. (Naudet, p. 75.) + + 151 Plin. _Panegyr._ xxvi. xxviii. + + 152 We know of this charity from an extant bronze tablet. See Schmidt, + _Essai historique sur la Société romaine_, p. 428. + + 153 Plin. _Ep._ i. 8; iv. 13. + + 154 Schmidt, p. 428. + + 155 Spartianus, _Hadrian_. + + 156 Capitolinus, _Antoninus_. + + 157 Capitolinus, _Anton._, _Marc. Aurel._ + + 158 Lampridius, _A. Severus_. + + 159 See Friedlænder, _Hist. des Moeurs romaines_, iii. p. 157. + + 160 Seneca (_De Ira_, lib. i. cap. 16) speaks of institutions called + valetudinaria, which most writers think were private infirmaries in + rich men's houses. The opinion that the Romans had public hospitals + is maintained in a very learned and valuable, but little-known work, + called _Collections relative to the Systematic Relief of the Poor_. + (London, 1815.) + + 161 See Tacit. _Annal._ xii. 58; Pliny, v. 7; x. 79. + + 162 Cornelius Nepos, _Epaminondas_, cap. iii. + + 163 Plutarch, _Cimon_. + + 164 Diog. Laërt. _Bias_. + + 165 Tac. _Annal._ iv. 63. + + 166 See Pliny, _Ep._ x. 94, and the remarks of Naudet, pp. 38, 39. + +_ 167 De Offic._ i. 14, 15. + + 168 Lucian describes this in his famous picture of Peregrinus; and + Julian, much later, accused the Christians of drawing men into the + Church by their charities. Socrates (_Hist. Eccl._ vii. 17) tells a + story of a Jew who, pretending to be a convert to Christianity, had + been often baptised in different sects, and had amassed a + considerable fortune by the gifts he received on those occasions. He + was at last miraculously detected by the Novatian bishop Paul. There + are several instances in the _Lives of the Saints_ of judgments + falling on those who duped benevolent Christians. + + 169 See on this subject Chastel, _Études historiques sur la Charité_ + (Paris, 1853); Martin Doisy, _Hist. de la Charité pendant les quatre + premiers Siècles_ (Paris, 1848); Champagny, _Charité chrétienne_; + Tollemer, _Origines de la Charité catholique_ (Paris, 1863); Ryan, + _History of the Effects of Religion upon Mankind_ (Dublin, 1820); + and the works of Bingham and of Cave. I am also indebted, in this + part of my subject, to Dean Milman's histories, Neander's + _Ecclesiastical History_, and _Private Life of the Early + Christians_, and to Migne's _Encyclopédie_. + + 170 See the famous epistle of Julian to Arsacius, where he declares that + it is shameful that "the Galileans" should support not only their + own, but also the heathen poor; and also the comments of Sozomen, + _Hist. eccl._ v. 16. + + 171 The conduct of the Christians, on the first of these occasions, is + described by Pontius, _Vit. Cypriani_, ix. 19. St. Cyprian organised + their efforts. On the Alexandrian famines and pestilences, see + Eusebius, _H. E._ vii. 22; ix. 8. + + 172 The effects of this conquest have been well described by Sismondi, + _Hist. de la Chute de l'Empire Romain_, tome i. pp. 258-260. + Theodoric afterwards made some efforts to re-establish the + distribution, but it never regained its former proportions. The + pictures of the starvation and depopulation of Italy at this time + are appalling. Some fearful facts on the subject are collected by + Gibbon, _Decline and Fall_, ch. xxxvi.; Chateaubriand, vime _Disc._ + 2de partie. + +_ 173 Cod. Theod._ ix. xl. 15-16. The first of these laws was made by + Theodosius, A.D. 392; the second by Honorius, A.D. 398. + + 174 Cibrario, _Economica politica del Medio Evo_, lib. ii. cap. iii. The + most remarkable of these saints was St. Julien l'Hospitalier, who + having under a mistake killed his father and mother, as a penance + became a ferryman of a great river, and having embarked on a very + stormy and dangerous night at the voice of a traveller in distress, + received Christ into his boat. His story is painted on a window of + the thirteenth century, in Rouen Cathedral. See Langlois, _Essai + historique sur la Peinture sur verre_, pp. 32-37. + + 175 The fact of leprosy being taken as the image of sin gave rise to + some curious notions of its supernatural character, and to many + legends of saints curing leprosy by baptism. See Maury, _Légendes + pieuses du Moyen-Age_, pp. 64-65. + + 176 See on these hospitals Cibrario, _Econ. Politica del Medio Evo_, + lib. iii. cap. ii. + + 177 Calmeil observes: "On a souvent constaté depuis un demi-siècle que + la folie est sujette à prendre la teinte des croyances religieuses, + des idées philosophiques ou superstitieuses, des préjugés sociaux + qui ont cours, qui sont actuellement en vogue parmi les peuples ou + les nations; que cette teinte varie dans un même pays suivant le + caractère des événements relatifs à la politique extérieure, le + caractère des événements civils, la nature des productions + littéraires, des représentations théâtrales, suivant la tournure, la + direction, le genre d'élan qu'y prennent l'industrie, les arts et + les sciences."--_De la Folie_, tome i. pp. 122-123. + + 178 Milman's _History of Latin Christianity_, vol. vii. pp. 353, 354. + + "Venit de Anglia virgo decora valde, pariterque facunda, dicens, + Spiritum Sanctum incarnatum in redemptionem mulierum, et baptizavit + mulieres in nomine Patris, Filii et sui. Quæ mortua ducta fuit in + Mediolanum, ibi et cremata."--_Annales Dominicanorum Colmariensium_ + (in the "Rerum Germanic. Scriptores"). + + 179 "Martin Gonçalez, du diocèse de Cuenca, disoit qu'il etoit frère de + l'archange S. Michel, la première vérité et l'échelle du ciel; que + c'étoit pour lui que Dieu réservoit la place que Lucifer avoit + perdue; que tous les jours il s'élevoit au plus haut de l'Empirée et + descendoit ensuite au plus profond des enfers; qu'a la fin du monde, + qui étoit proche, il iroit au devant de l'Antichrist et qu'il le + terrasseroit, ayant á sa main la croix de Jésus-Christ et sa + couronne d'épines. L'archevêque de Tolède, n'ayant pu convertir ce + fanatique obstiné, ni l'empêcher de dogmatiser, l'avoit enfin livré + au bras séculier."--Touron, _Hist. des Hommes illustres de l'ordre de + St. Dominique_, Paris, 1745 (_Vie d'Eyméricus_), tome ii. p. 635. + + 180 Calmeil, _De la Folie_, tome i. p. 134. + + 181 Ibid. tome i. pp. 242-247. + + 182 Calmeil, tome i. p. 247. + + 183 See Esquirol, _Maladies mentales_. + + 184 Gibbon, _Decline and Fall_, ch. xxxvii. + + 185 Purchas's _Pilgrims_, ii. 1452. + + 186 Desmaisons' _Asiles d'Aliénés en Espagne_, p. 53. + + 187 Leo Africanus, _Description of Africa_, book iii. + + 188 I have taken these facts from a very interesting little work, + Desmaisons, _Des Asiles d'Aliénés en Espagne; Recherches historiques + et médicales_ (Paris, 1859). Dr. Desmaisons conjectures that the + Spaniards took their asylums from the Mohammedans; but, as it seems + to me, he altogether fails to prove his point. His work, however, + contains some curious information on the history of lunatic asylums. + + 189 Amydemus, _Pietas Romana_ (Oxford, 1687), p. 21; Desmaisons, p. 108. + + 190 Pinel, _Traité médico-philosophique_, pp. 241, 242. + + 191 See the dreadful description in Pinel, pp. 200-202. + + 192 Malthus, who is sometimes, though most unjustly, described as an + enemy to all charity, has devoted an admirable chapter (_On + Population_, book iv. ch. ix.) to the "direction of our charity;" + but the fullest examination of this subject with which I am + acquainted is the very interesting work of Duchâtel, _Sur la + Charité_. + + 193 This is very tersely expressed by a great Protestant writer: "I give + no alms to satisfy the hunger of my brother, but to fulfil and + accomplish the will and command of my God."--Sir T. Brown, _Religio + Medici_, part ii. § 2. A saying almost exactly similar is, if I + remember right, ascribed to St. Elizabeth of Hungary. + + 194 See Butler's _Lives of the Saints_. + + 195 Campion's _Historie of Ireland_, book ii. chap. x. + + 196 He wrote his _Perils of the Last Times_ in the interest of the + University of Paris, of which he was a Professor, and which was at + war with the mendicant orders. See Milman's _Latin Christianity_, + vol. vi. pp. 348-356; Fleury, _Eccl. Hist._ lxxxiv. 57. + + 197 Henry de Knyghton, _De Eventibus Angliæ_. + + 198 There was some severe legislation in England on the subject after + the Black Death. Eden's _History of the Working Classes_, vol. i. p. + 34. In France, too, a royal ordinance of 1350 ordered men who had + been convicted of begging three times to be branded with a hot iron. + Monteil, _Hist. des Français_, tome i. p. 434. + + 199 Eden, vol. i. pp. 83-87. + + 200 Ibid. pp. 101-103. + + 201 Ibid. pp. 127-130. + + 202 Morighini, _Institutions pieuses de Rome_. + + 203 Eden, _History of the Labouring Classes_, i. 83. + + 204 Locke discussed the great increase of poverty, and a bill was + brought in suggesting some remedies, but did not pass. (Eden, vol. + i. pp. 243-248.) + + 205 In a very forcible letter addressed to the Irish Catholic clergy. + + 206 This tract, which is extremely valuable for the light it throws upon + the social condition of England at the time, was written in + opposition to a bill providing that the poor in the poor-houses + should do wool, hemp, iron, and other works. Defoe says that wages + in England were higher than anywhere on the Continent, though the + amount of mendicancy was enormous. "The reason why so many pretend + to want work is, that they can live so well with the pretence of + wanting work.... I affirm of my own knowledge, when I have wanted a + man for labouring work, and offered nine shillings per week to + strolling fellows at my door, they have frequently told me to my + face they could get more a-begging." + +_ 207 Reforma degl' Instituti pii di Modena_ (published first anonymously + at Modena). It has been reprinted in the library of the Italian + economists. + +_ 208 Essay on Charity Schools._ + + 209 Magdalen asylums have been very vehemently assailed by M. Charles + Comte, in his _Traité de Législation_. On the subject of Foundling + Hospitals there is a whole literature. They were violently attacked + by, I believe, Lord Brougham, in the _Edinburgh Review_, in the + early part of this century. Writers of this stamp, and indeed most + political economists, greatly exaggerate the forethought of men and + women, especially in matters where the passions are concerned. It + may be questioned whether one woman in a hundred, who plunges into a + career of vice, is in the smallest degree influenced by a + consideration of whether or not charitable institutions are provided + for the support of aged penitents. + +_ 210 Apol._ ch. xlii. + + 211 On these penances, see Bingham, _Antiq._ book vii. Bingham, I think, + justly divides the history of asceticism into three periods. During + the first, which extends from the foundation of the Church to A.D. + 250, there were men and women who, with a view to spiritual + perfection, abstained from marriage, relinquished amusements, + accustomed themselves to severe fasts, and gave up their property to + works of charity; but did this in the middle of society and without + leading the life of either a hermit or a monk. During the second + period, which extended from the Decian persecution, anchorites were + numerous, but the custom of a common or coenobitic life was unknown. + It was originated in the time of Constantine by Pachomius. + + 212 This is expressly stated by St. Jerome (_Vit. Pauli_). + + 213 See on this subject some curious evidence in Neander's _Life of + Chrysostom_. St. Chrysostom wrote a long work to console fathers + whose sons were thus seduced to the desert. + + 214 On this tradition see Champagny, _Les Antonins_, tome i. p. 193. + +_ 215 Ep._ cxxiii. + + 216 Euseb. _Eccl. Hist._ ii. 23. + + 217 Gibbon, _Decline and Fall_, ch. xxxvii.; a brief but masterly sketch + of the progress of the movement. + + 218 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ xxxviii. + + 219 Jerome, Preface to the Rule of St. Pachomius, § 7. + + 220 Cassian, _De Coenob. Inst._ iv. 1. + + 221 Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._ ch. v. Rufinus visited it himself. + + 222 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ lxxvi. + + 223 Rufinus, _Hist. Mon._ vii. + + 224 There is a good deal of doubt and controversy about this. See a note + in Mosheim's _Eccl. Hist._ (Soame's edition), vol. i. p. 354. + + 225 Most of the passages remaining on the subject of the foundation of + monachism are given by Thomassin, _Discipline de l'Église_, part i. + livre iii. ch. xii. This work contains also much general information + about monachism. A curious collection of statistics of the numbers + of the monks in different localities, additional to those I have + given and gleaned from the _Lives of the Saints_, may be found in + Pitra (_Vie de St. Léger_, Introd. p. lix.); 2,100, or, according to + another account, 3,000 monks, lived in the monastery of Banchor. + + 226 The three principal are the _Historia Monachorum_ of Rufinus, who + visited Egypt A.D. 373, about seventeen years after the death of St. + Antony; the _Institutiones_ of Cassian, who, having visited the + Eastern monks about A.D. 394, founded vast monasteries containing, + it is said, 5,000 monks, at Marseilles, and died at a great age + about A.D. 448; and the _Historia Lausiaca_ (so called from Lausus, + Governor of Cappadocia) of Palladius, who was himself a hermit on + Mount Nitria, in A.D. 388. The first and last, as well as many minor + works of the same period, are given in Rosweyde's invaluable + collection of the lives of the Fathers, one of the most fascinating + volumes in the whole range of literature. + + The hospitality of the monks was not without drawbacks. In a church + on Mount Nitria three whips were hung on a palm-tree--one for + chastising monks, another for chastising thieves, and a third for + chastising guests. (Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ vii.) + +_ 227 Vita Pauli._ St. Jerome adds, that some will not believe this, + because they have no faith, but that all things are possible for + those that believe. + +_ 228 Vita St. Hilarion._ + + 229 See a long list of these penances in Tillemont, _Mém. pour servir à + l'Hist. ecclés._ tome viii. + +_ 230 Vitæ Patrum_ (Pachomius). He used to lean against a wall when + overcome by drowsiness. + +_ 231 Vitæ Patrum_, ix. 3. + + 232 Sozomen, vi. 29. + + 233 E.g. St. Antony, according to his biographer St. Athanasius. + + 234 "Il y eut dans le désert de Scété des solitaires d'une éminente + perfection.... On prétend que pour l'ordinaire ils passoient des + semaines entières sans manger, mais apparemment cela ne se faisoit + que dans des occasions particulières."--Tillemont, _Mém. pour servir + à l'Hist. eccl._ tome viii. p. 580. Even this, however, was + admirable! + + 235 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ cap. xx. + + 236 "Primum cum accessisset ad eremum tribus continuis annis sub + cujusdam saxi rupe stans, semper oravit, ita ut nunquam omnino + resederit neque Jacuerit. Somni autem tantum caperet, quantum stans + capere potuit; cibum vero nunquam sumpserat nisi die Dominica. + Presbyter enim tunc veniebat ad eum et offerebat pro eo sacrificium + idque ei solum sacramentum erat et victus."--Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._ + cap. xv. + + 237 Thus St. Antony used to live in a tomb, where he was beaten by the + devil. (St. Athanasius, _Life of Antony._) + + 238 {~GREEK SMALL LETTER BETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}. See on these monks Sozomen, vi. 33; Evagrius, i. 21. It is + mentioned of a certain St. Marc of Athens, that, having lived for + thirty years naked in the desert, his body was covered with hair + like that of a wild beast. (Bollandists, March 29.) St. Mary of + Egypt, during part of her period of penance, lived upon grass. + (_Vitæ Patrum._) + +_ 239 Life of Antony._ + + 240 "II ne faisoit pas aussi difficulté dans sa vieillesse de se laver + quelquefois les piez. Et comme on témoignoit s'en étonner et trouver + que cela ne répondoit pas à la vie austère des anciens, il se + justifioit par ces paroles: Nous avons appris à tuer, non pas notre + corps mais nos passions."--Tillemont, _Mém. Hist. eccl._ tome xv. p. + 148. This saint was so very virtuous, that he sometimes remained + without eating for whole weeks. + + 241 "Non appropinquavit oleum corpusculo ejus. Facies vel etiam pedes a + die conversionis suæ nunquam diluti sunt."--_Vitæ Patrum_, c. xvii. + + 242 "In facie ejus puritas animi noscebatur."--Ibid. c. xviii. + + 243 Socrates, iv. 23. + + 244 Heraclidis Paradisus (Rosweyde), c. xlii. + + 245 "Nulla earum pedes suos abluebat; aliquantæ vero audientes de balneo + loqui, irridentes, confusionem et magnam abominationem se audire + judicabant, quæ neque audi tum suum hoc audire patiebantur."--_Vit. + S. Euphrax._ c. vi. (Rosweyde.) + + 246 See her acts, Bollandists, April 2, and in the _Vitæ Patrum_. + + 247 "Patres nostri nunquam facies suas lavabant, nos autem lavacra + publica balneaque frequentamus."--Moschus, _Pratum Spirituale_, + clxviii. + +_ 248 Pratum Spirituale_, lxxx. + + An Irish saint, named Coemgenus, is said to have shown his devotion + in a way which was directly opposite to that of the other saints I + have mentioned--by his special use of cold water--but the principle in + each case was the same--to mortify nature. St. Coemgenus was + accustomed to pray for an hour every night in a pool of cold water, + while the devil sent a horrible beast to swim round him. An angel, + however, was sent to him for three purposes. "Tribus de causis à + Domino missus est angelus ibi ad S. Coemgenum. Prima ut a diversis + suis gravibus laboribus levius viveret paulisper; secunda ut + horridam bestiam sancto infestam repelleret; tertia _ut frigiditatem + aquæ calefaceret_."--Bollandists, June 3. The editors say these acts + are of doubtful authenticity. + + 249 See his Life by his disciple Antony, in the _Vitæ Patrum_, Evagrius, + i. 13, 14. Theodoret, _Philotheos_, cap. xxvi. + + 250 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ lxxvi. + + 251 Rufinus, Hist. _Monach._ xxxiii. + + 252 We have a striking illustration of this in St. Arsenius. His + eyelashes are said to have fallen off through continual weeping, and + he had always, when at work, to put a cloth on his breast to receive + his tears. As he felt his death approaching, his terror rose to the + point of agony. The monks who were about him said, " 'Quid fles, + pater? numquid et tu times?' Ille respondit, 'In veritate timeo et + iste timor qui nunc mecum est, semper in me fuit, ex quo factus sum + monachus.' "--_Verba Seniorum_, Prol. § 163. It was said of St. + Abraham that no day passed after his conversion without his shedding + tears. (_Vit. Patrum._) St. John the dwarf once saw a monk laughing + immoderately at dinner, and was so horrified that he at once began + to cry. (Tillemont, _Mém. de l'Hist. ecclés._ tome x. p. 430.) St. + Basil (_Regulæ_, interrog. xvii.) gives a remarkable disquisition on + the wickedness of laughing, and he observes that this was the one + bodily affection which Christ does not seem to have known. Mr. + Buckle has collected a series of passages to precisely the same + effect from the writings of the Scotch divines. (_Hist. of + Civilisation_, vol. ii. pp. 385-386.) + + 253 "Monachus autem non doctoris habet sed plangentis officium."--_Contr. + Vigilant._ xv. + + 254 As Tillemont puts it: "Il se trouva très-peu de saints en qui Dieu + ait joint les talens extérieurs de l'éloquence et de la science avec + la grâce de la prophétie et des miracles. Ce sont des dons que sa + Providence a presque toujours séparés."--_Mém. Hist. ecclés._ tome + iv. p. 315. + + 255 St. Athanasius, _Vit. Anton._ + +_ 256 Ep._ xxii. He says his shoulders were bruised when he awoke. + +_ 257 Ep._ lxx.; _Adv. Rufinum_, lib. i. ch. xxx. He there speaks of his + vision as a mere dream, not binding. He elsewhere (_Ep._ cxxv.) + speaks very sensibly of the advantage of hermits occupying + themselves, and says he learnt Hebrew to keep away unholy thoughts. + + 258 Sozomen, vi. 28; Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._ ch. vi. Socrates tells + rather a touching story of one of these illiterate saints, named + Pambos. Being unable to read, he came to some one to be taught a + psalm. Having learnt the single verse, "I said I will take heed to + my ways, that I offend not with my tongue," he went away, saying + that was enough if it were practically acquired. When asked, six + months, and again many years, after, why he did not come to learn + another verse, he answered that he had never been able truly to + master this. (_H. E._ iv. 23.) + + 259 Tillemont, x. p. 61. + + 260 Ibid. viii. 490; Socrates, _H. E._ iv. 23. + + 261 I have combined in this passage incidents from three distinct lives. + St. Jerome, in a very famous and very beautiful passage of his + letter to Eustochium (_Ep._ xxii.) describes the manner in which the + forms of dancing-girls appeared to surround him as he knelt upon the + desert sands. St. Mary of Egypt (_Vitæ Patrum_, ch. xix.) was + especially tortured by the recollection of the songs she had sung + when young, which continually haunted her mind. St. Hilarion (see + his _Life_ by St. Jerome) thought he saw a gladiatorial show while + he was repeating the psalms. The manner in which the different + visions faded into one another like dissolving views is repeatedly + described in the biographies. + + 262 Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._, ch. xi. This saint was St. Helenus. + + 263 Life of St. Pachomius (_Vit. Patrum_), cap. ix. + + 264 Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._ cap. i. This story was told to Rufinus by + St. John the hermit. The same saint described his own visions very + graphically. "Denique etiam me frequenter dæmones noctibus + seduxerunt, et neque orare neque requiescere permiserunt, phantasias + quasdam per noctem totam sensibus meis et cogitationes suggerentes. + Mane vero velut cum quadam illusione prosternebant se ante me + dicentes, Indulge nobis, abbas, quia laborem tibi incussimus tota + nocte."--Ibid. St. Benedict in the desert is said to have been + tortured by the recollection of a beautiful girl he had once seen, + and only regained his composure by rolling in thorns. (St. Greg. + _Dial._ ii. 2.) + + 265 She lived also for some time in a convent at Jerusalem, which she + had founded. Melania (who was one of St. Jerome's friends) was a + lady of rank and fortune, who devoted her property to the monks. See + her journey in Rosweyde, lib. ii. + + 266 See his _Life_ in Tillemont. + + 267 Ibid. x. p. 14. A certain Didymus lived entirely alone till his + death, which took place when he was ninety. (Socrates, _H. E._ iv. + 23.) + + 268 Rufinus, _Hist. Monachorum_, cap. i. + +_ 269 Verba Seniorum_, § 65. + + 270 Pelagia was very pretty, and, according to her own account, "her + sins were heavier than the sand." The people of Antioch, who were + very fond of her, called her Margarita, or the pearl. "Il arriva un + jour que divers évesques, appelez par celui d'Antioche pour quelques + affaires, estant ensemble à la porte de l'eglise de S.-Julien, + Pélagie passa devant eux dans tout l'éclat des pompes du diable, + n'ayant pas seulement une coeffe sur sa teste ni un mouchoir sur ses + épaules, ce qu'on remarqua comme le comble de son impudence. Tous + les évesques baissèrent les yeux en gémissant pour ne pas voir ce + dangereux objet de péché, hors Nonne, très-saint évesque d'Héliople, + qui la regarda avec une attention qui fit peine aux autres." + However, this bishop immediately began crying a great deal, and + reassured his brethren, and a sermon which he preached led to the + conversion of the actress. (Tillemont, _Mém. d'Hist. ecclés._ tome + xii. pp. 378-380. See, too, on women, "under pretence of religion, + attiring themselves as men," Sozomen, iii. 14.) + + 271 Tillemont, tome x. pp. 376, 377. Apart from family affections, there + are some curious instances recorded of the anxiety of the saints to + avoid distractions. One monk used to cover his face when he went + into his garden, lest the sight of the trees should disturb his + mind. (_Verb. Seniorum._) St. Arsenius could not bear the rustling + of the reeds (ibid.); and a saint named Boniface struck dead a man + who went about with an ape and a cymbal, because he had (apparently + quite unintentionally) disturbed him at his prayers. (St. Greg. + _Dial._ i. 9.) + + 272 "Quemadmodum se jam divitem non esse sciebat, ita etiam patrem se + esse nesciret."--Cassian, _De Coenobiorum Institutis_, iv. 27. + + 273 "Cumque taliter infans sub oculis ejus per dies singulos ageretur, + pro amore nihilominus Christi et obedientiæ virtute, rigida semper + atque immobilia patris viscera permanserunt ... parum cogitans de + lacrymis ejus, sed de propria humilitate ac perfectione + sollicitus."--Ibid. + + 274 Ibid. + + 275 Bollandists, July 6; _Verba Seniorum_, xiv. + +_ 276 Verba Seniorum_, xiv. + + 277 TARTUFFE (_tirant un mouchoir_ + _ de sa poche_). + + "Ah, mon Dieu, je vous prie, + Avant que de parler, prenez-moi ce mouchoir. + + DORINE. + + Comment! + + TARTUFFE. + + Couvrez ce sein que je ne saurois voir; + Par de pareils objets des âmes sont blessées, + Et cela fait venir de coupables pensées." + + _Tartuffe_, Acte iii. scène 2. + + 278 Bollandists, July 6. + +_ 279 Verba Seniorum_, iv. The poor woman, being startled and perplexed + at the proceedings of her son, said, "Quid sic operuisti manus tuas, + fili? Ille autem dixit: Quia corpus mulieris ignis est, et ex eo + ipso quo te contingebam veniebat mihi commemoratio aliarum feminarum + in animo." + + 280 Tillemont, _Mém. de l'Hist. ecclés._ tome x. pp. 444, 445. + +_ 281 Vit. S. Pachomius_, ch. xxxi.; _Verba Seniorum_. + +_ 282 Verba Senorium_, xiv. + + 283 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ cap. lxxxvii. + + 284 Bollandists, June 6. I avail myself again of the version of + Tillemont. "Lorsque S. Pemen demeuroit en Egypte avec ses frères, + leur mère, qui avoit un extrême désir de les voir, venoit souvent au + lieu où ils estoient, sans pouvoir jamais avoir cette satisfaction. + Une fois enfin elle prit si bien son temps qu'elle les rencontra qui + alloient à l'église, mais dès qu'ils la virent ils s'en retournèrent + en haste dans leur cellule et fermèrent la porte sur eux. Elle les + suivit, et trouvant la porte, elle les appeloit avec des larmes et + des cris capables de les toucher de compassion.... Pemen s'y leva et + s'y en alla, et l'entendant pleurer il luy dit, tenant toujours la + porte fermée, 'Pourquoi vous lassez-vous inutilement à pleurer et + crier? N'êtes-vous pas déjà assez abattue par la vieillesse?' Elle + reconnut la voix de Pemen, et s'efforçant encore davantage, elle + s'écria, 'Hé, mes enfans, c'est que je voudrais bien vous voir: et + quel mal y a-t-il que je vous voie? Ne suis-je pas votre mère, et ne + vous ai-je pas nourri du lait de mes mammelles? Je suis déjà toute + pleine de rides, et lorsque je vous ay entendu, l'extrême envie que + j'ay de vous voir m'a tellement émue que je suis presque tombée en + défaillance.' "--_Mémoires de l'Hist. ecclès._ tome xv. pp. 157, 158. + + 285 The original is much more eloquent than my translation. "Fili, quare + hoc fecisti? Pro utero quo te portavi, satiasti me luctu, pro + lactatione qua te lactavi dedisti mihi lacrymas, pro osculo quo te + osculata sum, dedisti mihi amaras cordis angustias; pro dolore et + labore quem passa sum, imposuisti mihi sævissimas plagas."--_Vita + Simeonis_ (in Rosweyde). + + 286 Bingham, _Antiquities_, book vii. ch. iii. + + 287 Ibid. + + 288 Bingham, _Antiquities_, book vii. chap. 3. + + 289 Milman's _Early Christianity_ (ed. 1867), vol. iii. p. 122. + + 290 Ibid. vol. iii. p. 153. + + 291 Ibid. vol. iii. p. 120. + +_ 292 De Virginibus_, i. 11. + + 293 See Milman's _Early Christianity_, vol. iii. p. 121. + +_ 294 De Virginibus_, i. 11. + +_ 295 Epist._ xxiv. + + 296 St. Jerome describes the scene at her departure with admiring + eloquence. "Descendit ad portum fratre, cognatis, affinibus et quod + majus est liberis prosequentibus, et elementissimam matrem pietate + vincere cupientibus. Jam carbasa tendebantur, et remorum ductu navis + in altum protrahebatur. Parvus Toxotius supplices manus tendebat in + littore, Ruffina jam nubilis ut suas expectaret nuptias tacens + fletibus obsecrabat. Et tamen illa siccos tendebat ad cælum oculos, + pietatem in filios pietate in Deum superans. Nesciebat se matrem ut + Christi probaret ancillam."--_Ep._ cviii. In another place he says of + her: "Testis est Jesus, ne unum quidem nummum ab ea filiæ derelictum + sed, ut ante jam dixi, derelictum magnum æs alienum."--Ibid. And + again: "Vis, lector, ejus breviter scire virtutes? Omnes suos + pauperes, pauperior ipsa dimisit."--Ibid. + + 297 See Chastel, _Etudes historiques sur la Charité_, p. 231. The + parents of St. Gregory Nazianzen had made this request, which was + faithfully observed. + + 298 Chastel, p. 232. + + 299 See a characteristic passage from the _Life of St. Fulgentius_, + quoted by Dean Milman. "Facile potest juvenis tolerare quemcunque + imposuerit laborem qui poterit maternum jam despicere + dolorem."--_Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 82. + +_ 300 Ep._ xiv. (_Ad Heliodorum_). + + 301 St. Greg. _Dial._ ii. 24. + + 302 Bollandists, May 3 (vol. vii. p. 561). + + 303 "Hospitibus omni loco ac tempore liberalissimus fuit.... Solis + consanguineis durus erat et inhumanus, tamquam ignotos illos + respiciens."--Bollandists, May 29. + + 304 See Helyot, _Dict. des Ordres religieux_, art. "Camaldules." + + 305 See the charming sketch in the _Life of St. Francis_, by Hase. + + 306 The legend of St. Scholastica, the sister of St. Benedict, has been + often quoted. He had visited her, and was about to leave in the + evening, when she implored him to stay. He refused, and she then + prayed to God, who sent so violent a tempest that the saint was + unable to depart. (St. Greg. _Dial._ ii. 33.) Cassian speaks of a + monk who thought it his duty never to see his mother, but who + laboured for a whole year to pay off a debt she had incurred. + (Coenob. _Inst._ v. 38.) St. Jerome mentions the strong natural + affection of Paula, though she considered it a virtue to mortify it. + (_Ep._ cviii.) + +_ 307 Life of Antony._ See, too, the sentiments of St. Pachomius, _Vit._ + cap. xxvii. + + 308 "Nec ulla res aliena magis quam publica."--Tertullian, _Apol._ ch. + xxxviii. + + 309 "Quid interest sub cujus imperio vivat homo moriturus, si illi qui + imperant, ad impia et iniqua non cogant."--St. Aug. _De Civ. Dei_, v. + 17. + + 310 St. Jerome declares that "Monachum in patria sua perfectum esse non + posse, perfectum autem esse nolle delinquere est."--_Ep._ xiv. Dean + Milman well says of a later period: "According to the monastic view + of Christianity, the total abandonment of the world, with all its + ties and duties, as well as its treasures, its enjoyments, and + objects of ambition, advanced rather than diminished the hopes of + salvation. Why should they fight for a perishing world, from which + it was better to be estranged?... It is singular, indeed, that while + we have seen the Eastern monks turned into fierce undisciplined + soldiers, perilling their own lives and shedding the blood of others + without remorse, in assertion of some shadowy shade of orthodox + expression, hardly anywhere do we find them asserting their + liberties or their religion with intrepid resistance. Hatred of + heresy was a more stirring motive than the dread or the danger of + Islamism. After the first defeats the Christian mind was still + further prostrated by the common notion that the invasion was a just + and heaven-commissioned visitation; ... resistance a vain, almost an + impious struggle to avert inevitable punishment."--Milman's _Latin + Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 206. Compare Massillon's famous _Discours + au Régiment de Catinat_:--"Ce qu'il y a ici de plus déplorable, c'est + que dans une vie rude et pénible, dans des emplois dont les devoirs + passent quelquefois la rigueur des cloîtres les plus austères, vous + souffrez toujours en vain pour l'autre vie.... Dix ans de services + ont plus usé votre corps qu'une vie entière de pénitence ... un seul + jour de ces souffrances, consacré au Seigneur, vous aurait peut-être + valu un bonheur éternel." + + 311 See a very striking passage in Salvian, _De Gubern. Div._ lib. vi. + + 312 Chateaubriand very truly says, "qu'Orose et saint Augustin étoient + plus occupés du schisme de Pélage que de la désolation de l'Afrique + et des Gaules."--_Études histor._ vime discours, 2de partie. The + remark might certainly be extended much further. + + 313 Zosimus, _Hist._ v. 41. This was on the first occasion when Rome was + menaced by Alaric. + + 314 See Merivale's _Conversion of the Northern Nations_, pp. 207-210. + + 315 See Sismondi, _Hist. de la Chute de l'Empire romain_, tome i. p. + 230. + + 316 Eunapius. There is no other authority for the story of the + treachery, which is not believed by Gibbon. + + 317 Sismondi, _Hist. de la Chute de l'Empire romain_, tome ii. pp. + 52-54; Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 213. The + Monophysites were greatly afflicted because, after the conquest, the + Mohammedans tolerated the orthodox believers as well as themselves, + and were unable to appreciate the distinction between them. In Gaul, + the orthodox clergy favoured the invasions of the Franks, who, alone + of the barbarian conquerors of Gaul, were Catholics, and St. + Aprunculus was obliged to fly, the Burgundians desiring to kill him + on account of his suspected connivance with the invaders. (Greg. + _Tur._ ii. 23.) + + 318 Dean Milman says of the Church, "if treacherous to the interests of + the Roman Empire, it was true to those of mankind."--_Hist. of + Christianity_, vol. iii. p. 48. So Gibbon: "If the decline of the + Roman Empire was hastened by the conversion of Constantine, the + victorious religion broke the violence of the fall and mollified the + ferocious temper of the conquerors."--Ch. xxxviii. + + 319 Observe with what a fine perception St. Augustine notices the + essentially unchristian character of the moral dispositions to which + the greatness of Rome was due. He quotes the sentence of Sallust: + "Civitas, incredibile memoratu est, adeptâ libertate quantum brevi + creverit, tanta cupido gloriæ incesserat;" and adds: "Ista ergo + laudis aviditas et cupido gloriæ multa illa miranda fecit, + laudabilia scilicet atque gloriosa secundum hominum existimationem + ... causa honoris, laudis et gloriæ consuluerunt patriæ, in qua + ipsam gloriam requirebant, salutemque ejus saluti suæ præponere non + dubitaverunt, pro isto uno vitio, id est, amore laudis, pecuniæ + cupiditatem et multa alia vitia comprimentes.... Quid aliud amarent + quam gloriam, qua volebant etiam post mortem tanquam vivere in ore + laudantium?"--_De Civ. Dei_, v. 12-13. + + 320 "Præter majorum cineres atque ossa, volucri + Carpento rapitur pinguis Damasippus et ipse, + Ipse rotam stringit multo sufflamine consul; + Nocte quidem; sed luna videt, sed sidera testes + Intendunt oculos. Finitum tempus honoris + Quum fuerit, clara Damasippus luce flagellum Sumet."--Juvenal, _Sat._ + viii. 146. + +_ 321 Nat. Quæst._ iv. 13. _Ep._ 78. + + 322 "Pessimum vitæ scelus fecit, qui id [aurum] primus induit digitis + ... quisquis primus instituit cunctanter id fecit, lævisque manibus, + latentibusque induit."--Plin. _Hist. Nat._ xxxiii. 4. + + 323 See a curious passage in his _Apologia_. It should be said that we + have only his own account of the charges brought against him. + + 324 The history of false hair has been written with much learning by M. + Guerle in his _Éloge des Perruques_. + + 325 The fullest view of this age is given in a very learned little work + by Peter Erasmus Müller (1797), _De Genio Ævi Theodosiani_. + Montfaucon has also devoted two essays to the moral condition of the + Eastern world, one of which is given in Jortin's _Remarks on + Ecclesiastical History_. + + 326 See on these abuses Mosheim, _Eccl. Hist._ (Soame's ed.), vol. i. p. + 463; Cave's _Primitive Christianity_, part i. ch. xi. + + 327 Cave's _Primitive Christianity_, part i. ch. vii. + +_ 328 Ep._ lxi. + + 329 Evagrius describes with much admiration how certain monks of + Palestine, by "a life wholly excellent and divine," had so overcome + their passions that they were accustomed to bathe with women; for + "neither sight nor touch, nor a woman's embrace, could make them + relapse into their natural condition. Among men they desired to be + men, and among women, women." (_H. E._ i. 21.) + + 330 These "mulieres subintroductæ," as they were called, are continually + noticed by Cyprian, Jerome, and Chrysostom. See Müller, _De Genio + Ævi Theodosiani_, and also the _Codex Theod._ xvi. tit. ii. lex 44, + with the Comments. Dr. Todd, in his learned _Life of St. Patrick_ + (p. 91), quotes (I shall not venture to do so) from the _Lives of + the Irish Saints_ an extremely curious legend of a kind of contest + of sanctity between St. Scuthinus and St. Brendan, in which it was + clearly proved that the former had mastered his passions more + completely than the latter. An enthusiast named Robert + d'Arbrisselles is said in the twelfth century to have revived the + custom. (Jortin's _Remarks_, A.D. 1106.) + + 331 St. Jerome gives (_Ep._ lii.) an extremely curious picture of these + clerical flatterers, and several examples of the terms of endearment + they were accustomed to employ. The tone of flattery which St. + Jerome himself, though doubtless with the purest motives, employs in + his copious correspondence with his female admirers, is to a modern + layman peculiarly repulsive, and sometimes verges upon blasphemy. In + his letter to Eustochium, whose daughter as a nun had become the + "bride of Christ," he calls the mother "Socrus Dei," the + mother-in-law of God. See, too, the extravagant flatteries of + Chrysostom in his correspondence with Olympias. + + 332 "Pudet dicere sacerdotes idolorum, mimi et aurigæ et scorta + hæreditates capiunt; solis clericis et monachis hoc lege prohibetur, + et prohibetur non a persecutoribus, sed a principibus Christianis. + Nec de lege conqueror sed doleo cur meruerimus hanc legem." _Ep._ + lii. + + 333 See Milman's _Hist. of Early Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 314. + + 334 This was one cause of the disputes between St. Gregory the Great and + the Emperor Eustace. St. Chrysostom frequently notices the + opposition of the military and the monastic spirits. + + 335 Hieron. _Ep._ cxxviii. + + 336 St. Greg. Nyss. _Ad eund. Hieros_. Some Catholic writers have + attempted to throw doubt upon the genuineness of this epistle, but, + Dean Milman thinks, with no sufficient reason. Its account of + Jerusalem is to some extent corroborated by St. Jerome. (_Ad + Paulinum_, _Ep._ xxix.) + + 337 "Præterea non taceo charitati vestræ, quia omnibus servis Dei qui + hic vel in Scriptura vel in timore Dei probatissimi esse videntur, + displicet quod bonum et honestas et pudicitia vestræ ecclesiæ + illuditur; et aliquod levamentum turpitudinis esset, si prohiberet + synodus et principes vestri mulieribus et velatis feminis illud iter + et frequentiam, quam ad Romanam civitatem veniendo et redeundo + faciunt, quia magna ex parte pereunt, paucis remeantibus integris. + Perpaucæ enim sunt civitates in Longobardia vel in Francia aut in + Gallia in qua non sit adultera vel meretrix generis Anglorum, quod + scandalum est et turpitudo totius ecclesiæ vestræ."--(A.D. 745) _Ep._ + lxiii. + + 338 See Milman's _Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 8. + + 339 Tillemont, _Hist. eccl._ tome xi. p. 547. + + 340 This was enjoined in the rule of St. Paphnutius. See Tillemont, tome + x. p. 45. + + 341 "Omnimodis monachum fugere debere mulieres et episcopos."--Cassian, + _De Coenob. Inst._ xi. 17. + + 342 We also find now and then, though I think very rarely, intellectual + flashes of some brilliancy. Two of them strike me as especially + noteworthy. St. Arsenius refused to separate young criminals from + communion though he had no hesitation about old men; for he had + observed that young men speedily get accustomed and indifferent to + the state of excommunication, while old men feel continually, and + acutely, the separation. (Socrates, iv. 23.) St. Apollonius + explained the Egyptian idolatry with the most intelligent + rationalism. The ox, he thought, was in the first instance + worshipped for its domestic uses; the Nile, because it was the chief + cause of the fertility of the soil &c. (Rufinus, _Hist. Mon._ cap. + vii.) + + 343 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ cap. xix. + + 344 Rufinus, _Hist. Monach._ cap. xxix. + + 345 Tillemont, _Hist. eccl._ tome viii. pp. 583, 584. + + 346 Ibid. p. 589. + + 347 Theodoret, _Philoth._ cap. iii. + +_ 348 Verba Seniorum._ + + 349 Theodoret, _Philoth._ cap. ii. + + 350 Tillemont, tome viii. pp. 594-595. + + 351 Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ viii. 1. Many anecdotes of elephants are + collected viii. 1-12. See, too, Dion Cassius, xxxix. 38. + + 352 Pliny, viii. 40. + + 353 Donne's _Biathanatos_. p. 22. This habit of bees is mentioned by St. + Ambrose. The pelican, as is well known, afterwards became an emblem + of Christ. + + 354 Plin. _Hist. Nat._ x. 6. + + 355 A long list of legends about dogs is given by Legendre, in the very + curious chapter on animals, in his _Traité de l'Opinion_, tome i. + pp. 308-327. + + 356 Pliny tells some extremely pretty stories of this kind. (_Hist. + Nat._ ix. 8-9.) See, too, Aulus Gellius, xvi. 19. The dolphin, on + account of its love for its young, became a common symbol of Christ + among the early Christians. + + 357 A very full account of the opinions, both of ancient and modern + philosophers, concerning the souls of animals, is given by Bayle, + _Dict._ arts. "Pereira E," "Rorarius K." + + 358 The Jewish law did not confine its care to oxen. The reader will + remember the touching provision, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his + mother's milk" (Deut. xiv. 21); and the law forbidding men to take a + parent bird that was sitting on its young or on its eggs. (Deut. + xxii. 6, 7.) + + 359 "Cujus tanta fuit apud antiquos veneratio, ut tam capital esset + bovem necuisse quam civem."--Columella, lib. vi. in prooem. "Hic + socius hominum in rustico opere et Cereris minister. Ab hoc antiqui + manus ita abstinere voluerunt ut capite sanxerint si quis + occidisset."--Varro, _De Re Rustic._ lib. ii. cap. v. + + 360 See Legendre, tome ii. p. 338. The sword with which the priest + sacrificed the ox was afterwards pronounced accursed. (Ælian, _Hist. + Var._ lib. viii. cap. iii.) + + 361 Diog. Laërt. _Xenocrates_. + + 362 There is a story told by Herodotus (i. 157-159) of an ambassador who + was sent by his fellow-countrymen to consult an oracle at Miletus + about a suppliant who had taken refuge with the Cymæans and was + demanded with menace by his enemies. The oracle, being bribed, + enjoined the surrender. The ambassador on leaving, with seeming + carelessness disturbed the sparrows under the portico of the temple, + when the voice from behind the altar denounced his impiety for + disturbing the guests of the gods. The ambassador replied with an + obvious and withering retort. Ælian says (_Hist. Var._) that the + Athenians condemned to death a boy for killing a sparrow that had + taken refuge in the temple of Æsculapius. + + 363 Quintilian, _Inst._ v. 9. + + 364 In the same way we find several chapters in the _Zendavesta_ about + the criminality of injuring dogs; which is explained by the great + importance of shepherd's dogs to a pastoral people. + + 365 On the origin of Greek cock-fighting, see Ælian, _Hist. Var._ ii. + 28. Many particulars about it are given by Athenæus. Chrysippus + maintained that cock-fighting was the final cause of cocks, these + birds being made by Providence in order to inspire us by the example + of their courage. (Plutarch, _De Repug. Stoic._) The Greeks do not, + however, appear to have known "cock-throwing," the favourite English + game of throwing a stick called a "cock-stick" at cocks. It was a + very ancient and very popular amusement, and was practised + especially on Shrove Tuesday, and by school-boys. Sir Thomas More + had been famous for his skill in it. (Strutt's _Sports and + Pastimes_, p. 283.) Three origins of it have been given:--1st, that + in the Danish wars the Saxons failed to surprise a certain city in + consequence of the crowing of cocks, and had in consequence a great + hatred of that bird; 2nd, that the cocks (_galli_) were special + representatives of Frenchmen, with whom the English were constantly + at war; and 3rd, that they were connected with the denial of St. + Peter. As Sir Charles Sedley said:-- + + "Mayst thou be punished for St. Peter's crime, + And on Shrove Tuesday perish in thy prime." + + Knight's _Old England_, vol. ii. p. 126. + +_ 366 De Natura Rerum_, lib. ii. + +_ 367 Life of Marc. Cato._ + + 368 "Quid meruere boves, animal sine fraude dolisque, + Innocuum, simplex, natum tolerare labores? + Immemor est demum nec frugum munere dignus. + Qui potuit curvi dempto modo pondere aratri + Ruricolam mactare suum."-- + + _Metamorph._ xv. 120-124. + + 369 "Cujus + Turbavit nitidos extinctus passer ocellos." + + Juvenal, _Sat._ vi. 7-8. + + There is a little poem in Catullus (iii.) to console his mistress + upon the death of her favourite sparrow; and Martial more than once + alludes to the pets of the Roman ladies. + + Compare the charming description of the Prioress, in Chaucer:-- + + "She was so charitable and so pitous, + She wolde wepe if that she saw a + mous Caught in a trappe, if it were ded or bledde. + Of smale houndes had she that she fedde + With rosted flesh and milke and wastel brede, + But sore wept she if one of them were dede, + Or if men smote it with a yerde smert: + And all was conscience and tendre herte." + + _Prologue to the __"__Canterbury Tales.__"_ + + 370 Philost. _Apol._ i. 38. + + 371 See the curious chapter in his {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, xvi. and compare it with + No. 116 in the _Spectator_. + + 372 In his _De Abstinentia Carnis_. The controversy between Origen and + Celsus furnishes us with a very curious illustration of the + extravagances into which some Pagans of the third century fell about + animals. Celsus objected to the Christian doctrine about the + position of men in the universe, that many of the animals were at + least the equals of men both in reason, religious feeling, and + knowledge. (Orig. _Cont. Cels._ lib. iv.) + + 373 These views are chiefly defended in his two tracts on eating flesh. + Plutarch has also recurred to the subject, incidentally, in several + other works, especially in a very beautiful passage in his _Life of + Marcus Cato_. + + 374 See, for example, a striking passage in Clem. Alex. _Strom._ lib. + ii. St. Clement imagines Pythagoras had borrowed his sentiments on + this subject from Moses. + + 375 There is, I believe, no record of any wild beast combats existing + among the Jews, and the rabbinical writers have been remarkable for + the great emphasis with which they inculcated the duty of kindness + to animals. See some passages from them, cited in Wollaston, + _Religion of Nature_, sec. ii., note. Maimonides believed in a + future life for animals, to recompense them for their sufferings + here. (Bayle, _Dict._ art, "Rorarius D.") There is a curious + collection of the opinions of different writers on this last point + in a little book called the _Rights of Animals_, by William Drummond + (London, 1838), pp. 197-205. + + 376 Thus St. Paul (1 Cor. ix. 9) turned aside the precept, "Thou shalt + not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn," from its + natural meaning, with the contemptuous question, "Doth God take care + for oxen?" + + 377 I have taken these illustrations from the collection of hermit + literature in Rosweyde, from different volumes of the Bollandists, + from the _Dialogues_ of Sulpicius Severus, and from what is perhaps + the most interesting of all collections of saintly legends, Colgan's + _Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ_. M. Alfred Maury, in his most valuable + work, _Légendes pieuses du Moyen Age_, has examined minutely the + part played by animals in symbolising virtues and vices, and has + shown the way in which the same incidents were repeated, with slight + variations, in different legends. M. de Montalembert has devoted + what is probably the most beautiful chapter of his _Moines + d'Occident_ ("Les Moines et la Nature") to the relations of monks to + the animal world; but the numerous legends he cites are all, with + one or two exceptions, different from those I have given. + + 378 Chateaubriand speaks, however (_Études historiques_, étude vime, 1re + partie), of an old Gallic law, forbidding to throw a stone at an ox + attached to the plough, or to make its yoke too tight. + + 379 Bollandists, May 31. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have had the same + fondness for buying and releasing caged birds, and (to go back a + long way) Pythagoras to have purchased one day, near Metapontus, + from some fishermen all the fish in their net, that he might have + the pleasure of releasing them. (Apuleius, _Apologia_.) + + 380 See these legends collected by Hase (_St Francis. Assisi_). It is + said of Cardinal Bellarmine that he used to allow vermin to bite + him, saying, "We shall have heaven to reward us for our sufferings, + but these poor creatures have nothing but the enjoyment of this + present life." (Bayle, _Dict. philos._ art. "Bellarmine.") + + 381 I have noticed, in my _History of Rationalism_, that, although some + Popes did undoubtedly try to suppress Spanish bull-fights, this was + solely on account of the destruction of human life they caused. Full + details on this subject will be found in Concina, _De Spectaculis_ + (Romæ, 1752). Bayle says, "Il n'y a point de casuiste qui croie + qu'on pèche en faisant combattre des taureaux contre des dogues," + &c. (_Dict. philos._ "Rorarius, C.") + + 382 On the ancient amusements of England the reader may consult + Seymour's _Survey of London_ (1734), vol. i. pp. 227-235; Strutt's + _Sports and Pastimes of the English People_. Cock-fighting was a + favourite children's amusement in England as early as the twelfth + century. (Hampson's _Medii Ævi Kalendarii_, vol. i. p. 160.) It was, + with foot-ball and several other amusements, for a time suppressed + by Edward III., on the ground that they were diverting the people + from archery, which was necessary to the military greatness of + England. + + 383 The decline of these amusements in England began with the great + development of the theatre under Elizabeth. An order of the Privy + Council in July, 1591, prohibits the exhibition of plays on + Thursday, because on Thursdays bear-baiting and suchlike pastimes + had been usually practised, and an injunction to the same effect was + sent to the Lord Mayor, wherein it was stated that, "in divers + places the players do use to recite their plays, to the great hurt + and destruction of the game of bear-baiting and like pastimes, which + are maintained for Her Majesty's pleasure."--Nichols, _Progresses of + Queen Elizabeth_ (ed. 1823), vol. i. p. 438. The reader will + remember the picture in _Kenilworth_ of the Earl of Sussex + petitioning Elizabeth against Shakespeare, on the ground of his + plays distracting men from bear-baiting. Elizabeth (see Nichols) was + extremely fond of bear-baiting. James I. especially delighted in + cock-fighting, and in 1610 was present at a great fight between a + lion and a bear. (Hone, _Every Day Book_, vol. i. pp. 255-299.) The + theatres, however, rapidly multiplied, and a writer who lived about + 1629 said, "that no less than seventeen playhouses had been built in + or about London within threescore years." (Seymour's _Survey_, vol. + i. p. 229.) The Rebellion suppressed all public amusements, and when + they were re-established after the Restoration, it was found that + the tastes of the better classes no longer sympathised with the + bear-garden. Pepys (_Diary_, August 14, 1666) speaks of bull-baiting + as "a very rude and nasty pleasure," and says he had not been in the + bear-garden for many years. Evelyn (_Diary_, June 16, 1670), having + been present at these shows, describes them as "butcherly sports, or + rather barbarous cruelties," and says he had not visited them before + for twenty years. A paper in the _Spectator_ (No. 141, written in + 1711) talks of those who "seek their diversion at the bear-garden, + ... where reason and good manners have no right to disturb them." In + 1751, however, Lord Kames was able to say, "The bear garden, which + is one of the chief entertainments of the English, is held in + abhorrence by the French and other polite nations."--_Essay on + Morals_ (1st ed.), p. 7; and he warmly defends (p. 30) the English + taste. During the latter half of the last century there was constant + controversy on the subject (which may be traced in the pages of the + _Annual Register_), and several forgotten clergymen published + sermons upon it, and the frequent riots resulting from the fact that + the bear-gardens had become the resort of the worst classes assisted + the movement. The London magistrates took measures to suppress + cock-throwing in 1769 (Hampson's _Med. Æv. Kalend._ p. 160); but + bull-baiting continued far into the present century. Windham and + Canning strongly defended it; Dr. Parr is said to have been fond of + it (_Southey's Commonplace Book_, vol. iv. p. 585); and as late as + 1824, Sir Robert (then Mr) Peel argued strongly against its + prohibition. (_Parliamentary Debates_, vol. x. pp. 132-133, + 491-495.) + + 384 Bacon, in an account of the deficiencies of medicine, recommends + vivisection in terms that seem to imply that it was not practised in + his time. "As for the passages and pores, it is true, which was + anciently noted, that the more subtle of them appear not in + anatomies, because they are shut and latent in dead bodies, though + they be open and manifest in live; which being supposed, though the + inhumanity of _anatomia vivorum_ was by Celsus justly reproved, yet, + in regard of the great use of this observation, the enquiry needed + not by him so slightly to have been relinquished altogether, or + referred to the casual practices of surgery; but might have been + well diverted upon the dissection of beasts alive, which, + notwithstanding the dissimilitude of their parts, may sufficiently + satisfy this enquiry."--_Advancement of Learning_, x. 4. Harvey + speaks of vivisections as having contributed to lead him to the + discovery of the circulation of the blood. (Acland's _Harveian + Oration_ (1865), p. 55.) Bayle, describing the treatment of animals + by men, says, "Nous fouillons dans leurs entrailles pendant leur vie + afin de satisfaire notre curiosité."--_Dict. philos._ art. "Rorarius, + C." Public opinion in England was very strongly directed to the + subject in the present century, by the atrocious cruelties + perpetrated by Majendie at his lectures. See a most frightful + account of them in a speech by Mr. Martin (an eccentric Irish + member, who was generally ridiculed during his life, and has been + almost forgotten since his death, but to whose untiring exertions + the legislative protection of animals in England is + due).--_Parliament. Hist._ vol. xii. p. 652. Mandeville, in his day, + was a very strong advocate of kindness to animals.--_Commentary on + the Fable of the Bees._ + + 385 See his _Life_ by Sulpicius Severus. + + 386 Milman. + + 387 Greg. Turon. ii. 29. + + 388 This was the first step towards the conversion of the + Bulgarians.--Milman's _Latin Christianity_, vol. iii. p. 249. + + 389 A remarkable collection of instances of this kind is given by + Ozanam, _Civilisation in the Fifth Century_ (Eng. trans.), vol. i. + pp. 124-127. + + 390 St. Gregory, _Dial._ iii. 7. The particular temptation the Jew heard + discussed was that of the bishop of the diocese, who, under the + instigation of one of the dæmons, was rapidly falling in love with a + nun, and had proceeded so far as jocosely to stroke her on the back. + The Jew, having related the vision to the bishop, the latter + reformed his manners, the Jew became a Christian, and the temple was + turned into a church. + + 391 William of Malmesbury, ii. 13. + + 392 See Milman's _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 293. + + 393 Cassian. _Coenob. Instit._ v. 4. See, too, some striking instances of + this in the life of St. Antony. + + 394 This spiritual pride is well noticed by Neander, _Ecclesiastical + History_ (Bohn's ed.), vol. iii. pp. 321-323. It appears in many + traits scattered through the lives of these saints. I have already + cited the visions telling St. Antony and St. Macarius that they were + not the best of living people; and also the case of the hermit, who + was deceived by a devil in the form of a woman, because he had been + exalted by pride. Another hermit, being very holy, received pure + white bread every day from heaven, but, being extravagantly elated, + the bread got worse and worse till it became perfectly black. + (Tillemont, tome x. pp. 27-28.) A certain Isidore affirmed that he + had not been conscious of sin, even in thought, for forty years. + (Socrates, iv. 23.) It was a saying of St. Antony, that a solitary + man in the desert is free from three wars--of sight, speech, and + hearing: he has to combat only fornication. (_Apothegmata Patrum._) + + 395 "Pride, under such training [that of modern rationalistic + philosophy], instead of running to waste, is turned to account. It + gets a new name; it is called self-respect.... It is directed into + the channel of industry, frugality, honesty, and obedience, and it + becomes the very staple of the religion and morality held in honour + in a day like our own. It becomes the safeguard of chastity, the + guarantee of veracity, in high and low; it is the very household god + of the Protestant, inspiring neatness and decency in the + servant-girl, propriety of carriage and refined manners in her + mistress, uprightness, manliness, and generosity in the head of the + family.... It is the stimulating principle of providence on the one + hand, and of free expenditure on the other; of an honourable + ambition and of elegant enjoyment."--Newman, _On University + Education_, Discourse ix. In the same lecture (which is, perhaps, + the most beautiful of the many beautiful productions of its + illustrious author), Dr. Newman describes, with admirable eloquence, + the manner in which modesty has supplanted humility in the modern + type of excellence. It is scarcely necessary to say that the + lecturer strongly disapproves of the movement he describes. + + 396 Thus "indagatio veri" was reckoned among the leading virtues, and + the high place given to {~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} and "prudentia" in ethical writings + preserved the notion of the moral duties connected with the + discipline of the intellect. + + 397 St. Augustine reckoned eighty-eight sects as existing in his time. + + 398 See a full account of these persecutions in Tillemont, _Mém. + d'Histoire ecclés._ tome vi. + + 399 Socrates, _H. E._, iv. 16. This anecdote is much doubted by modern + historians. + + 400 Milman's _Hist. of Christianity_ (ed. 1867), vol. ii. p. 422. + + 401 St. Athanasius, _Historical Treatises_ (Library of the Fathers), pp. + 192, 284. + + 402 Milman, _Hist. of Christianity_, ii. pp. 436-437. + + 403 The death of Arius, as is well known, took place suddenly (his + bowels, it is said, coming out) when he was just about to make his + triumphal entry into the Cathedral of Constantinople. The death + (though possibly natural) never seems to have been regarded as such, + but it was a matter of controversy whether it was a miracle or a + murder. + + 404 Socrates, _H. E._, vii. 13-15. + + 405 Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. pp. 214-215. + + 406 Milman, _Hist. of Christianity_, vol. iii. p. 145. + + 407 Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. pp. 290-291. + + 408 Ibid. vol. i. pp. 310-311. + + 409 Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. pp. 314-318. Dean + Milman thus sums up the history: "Monks in Alexandria, monks in + Antioch, monks in Jerusalem, monks in Constantinople, decide + peremptorily on orthodoxy and heterodoxy. The bishops themselves + cower before them. Macedonius in Constantinople, Flavianus in + Antioch, Elias in Jerusalem, condemn themselves and abdicate, or are + driven from their sees. Persecution is universal--persecution by + every means of violence and cruelty; the only question is, in whose + hands is the power to persecute.... Bloodshed, murder, treachery, + assassination, even during the public worship of God--these are the + frightful means by which each party strives to maintain its opinions + and to defeat its adversary." + + 410 See a striking passage from Julianus of Eclana, cited by Milman, + _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. p. 164. + + 411 "Nowhere is Christianity less attractive than in the Councils of the + Church.... Intrigue, injustice, violence, decisions on authority + alone, and that the authority of a turbulent majority, ... detract + from the reverence and impugn the judgments of at least the later + Councils. The close is almost invariably a terrible anathema, in + which it is impossible not to discern the tones of human hatred, of + arrogant triumph, of rejoicing at the damnation imprecated against + the humiliated adversary."--Ibid. vol. i. p. 202. + + 412 See the account of this scene in Gibbon, _Decline and Fall_, ch. + xlvii.; Milman, _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. p. 263. There + is a conflict of authorities as to whether the Bishop of Alexandria + himself kicked his adversary, or, to speak more correctly, the act + which is charged against him by some contemporary writers is not + charged against him by others. The violence was certainly done by + his followers and in his presence. + + 413 Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvii. 3. + + 414 Cyprian, _Ep._ lxi. + + 415 Milman, _Hist. of Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 306. + + 416 Ibid. iii. 10. + + 417 "By this time the Old Testament language and sentiment with regard + to idolatry were completely incorporated with the Christian feeling; + and when Ambrose enforced on a Christian Emperor the sacred duty of + intolerance against opinions and practices which scarcely a century + before had been the established religion of the Empire, his zeal was + supported by almost the unanimous applause of the Christian + world."--Milman's _Hist. of Christianity_, vol. iii. p. 159. + + 418 See the Theodosian laws of Paganism. + + 419 This appears from the whole history of the controversy; but the + prevailing feeling is, I think, expressed with peculiar vividness in + the following passage:--"Eadmer says (following the words of Bede) in + Colman's times there was a sharp controversy about the observing of + Easter, and other rules of life for churchmen; therefore, this + question deservedly excited the minds and feeling of many people, + fearing lest, perhaps, after having received the name of Christians, + they should run, or had run in vain."--King's _Hist. of the Church of + Ireland_, book ii. ch. vi. + + 420 Gibbon, chap. lxiii. + + 421 An interesting sketch of this very interesting prelate has lately + been written by M. Druon, _Étude sur la Vie et les OEuvres de + Synésius_ (Paris, 1859). + + 422 Tradition has pronounced Gregory the Great to have been the + destroyer of the Palatine library, and to have been especially + zealous in burning the writings of Livy, because they described the + achievements of the Pagan gods. For these charges, however (which I + am sorry to find repeated by so eminent a writer as Dr. Draper), + there is no real evidence, for they are not found in any writer + earlier than the twelfth century. (See Bayle, _Dict._ art. "Greg.") + The extreme contempt of Gregory for Pagan literature is, however, + sufficiently manifested in his famous and very curious letter to + Desiderius, Bishop of Vienne, rebuking him for having taught certain + persons Pagan literature, and thus mingled "the praises of Jupiter + with the praises of Christ;" doing what would be impious even for a + religious layman, "polluting the mind with the blasphemous praises + of the wicked." Some curious evidence of the feelings of the + Christians of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, about Pagan + literature, is given in Guinguené, _Hist. littéraire de l'Italie_, + tome i. p. 29-31, and some legends of a later period are candidly + related by one of the most enthusiastic English advocates of the + Middle Ages. (Maitland, _Dark Ages_.) + + 423 Probably the best account of the intellectual history of these times + is still to be found in the admirable introductory chapters with + which the Benedictines prefaced each century of their _Hist. + littéraire de la France_. The Benedictines think (with Hallam) that + the eighth century was, on the whole, the darkest on the continent, + though England attained its lowest point somewhat later. Of the + great protectors of learning Theodoric was unable to write (see + Guinguené, tome i. p. 31), and Charlemagne (Eginhard) only began to + learn when advanced in life, and was never quite able to master the + accomplishment. Alfred, however, was distinguished in literature. + + 424 The belief that the world was just about to end was, as is well + known, very general among the early Christians, and greatly affected + their lives. It appears in the New Testament, and very clearly in + the epistle ascribed to Barnabas in the first century. The + persecutions of the second and third centuries revived it, and both + Tertullian and Cyprian (_in Demetrianum_) strongly assert it. With + the triumph of Christianity the apprehension for a time subsided; + but it reappeared with great force when the dissolution of the + Empire was manifestly impending, when it was accomplished, and in + the prolonged anarchy and suffering that ensued. Gregory of Tours, + writing in the latter part of the sixth century, speaks of it as + very prevalent (_Prologue to the First Book_); and St. Gregory the + Great, about the same time, constantly expresses it. The panic that + filled Europe at the end of the tenth century has been often + described. + + 425 Maitland's _Dark Ages_, p. 403. + + 426 This passion for scraping MSS. became common, according to + Montfaucon, after the twelfth century. (Maitland, p. 40.) According + to Hallam, however (_Middle Ages_, ch. ix. part i.), it must have + begun earlier, being chiefly caused by the cessation or great + diminution of the supply of Egyptian papyrus, in consequence of the + capture of Alexandria by the Saracens, early in the seventh century. + + 427 Bede, _H. E._ iv. 24. + + 428 Mariana, _De Rebus Hispaniæ_, vi. 7. Mariana says the stone was in + his time preserved as a relic. + + 429 Odericus Vitalis, quoted by Maitland (_Dark Ages_, pp. 268-269). The + monk was restored to life that he might have an opportunity of + reformation. The escape was a narrow one, for there was only one + letter against which no sin could be adduced--a remarkable instance + of the advantages of a diffuse style. + + 430 Digby, _Mores Catholici_, book x. p. 246. Matthew of Westminster + tells of a certain king who was very charitable, and whose right + hand (which had assuaged many sorrows) remained undecayed after + death (A.D. 644). + + 431 See Hauréau, _Hist. de la Philosophie scolastique_, tome i. pp. + 24-25. + + 432 On the progress of Roman civilisation in Britain, see Tacitus, + _Agricola_, xxi. + + 433 See the Benedictine _Hist. littér. de la France_, tome i. part ii. + p. 9. + + 434 A biographer of St. Thomas Aquinas modestly observes:--"L'opinion + généralement répandue parmi les théologiens c'est que la _Somme de + Théologie_ de St. Thomas est non-seulement son chef-d'oeuvre mais + aussi celui de l'esprit humain." (!!)--Carle, _Hist. de St.-Thomas + d'Aquin_, p. 140. + + 435 See Viardot, _Hist. des Arabes en Espagne_, ii. 142-166. Prescott's + _Ferdinand and Isabella_, ch. viii. Viardot contends that the + compass--which appears to have been long known in China--was first + introduced into Europe by the Mohammedans; but the evidence of this + appears inconclusive. + + 436 Herder. + + 437 "Impius ne audeto placare donis iram Deorum."--Cicero, _De Leg._ ii. + 9. See, too, Philost. _Apoll. Tyan._ i. 11. + + 438 There are three or four instances of this related by Porphyry, _De + Abstin. Carnis_, lib. ii. + + 439 Muratori, _Antich. Italiane_, diss. lxvii. + + 440 See, on the causes of the wealth of the monasteries, two admirable + dissertations by Muratori, _Antich. Italiane_, lxvii., lxviii.; + Hallam's _Middle Ages_, ch. vii. part i. + + 441 "Lors de l'établissement du christianisme la religion avoit + essentiellement consisté dans l'enseignement moral; elle avoit + exercé les coeurs et les âmes par la recherche de ce qui étoit + vraiment beau, vraiment honnête. Au cinquième siècle on l'avoit + surtout attachée à l'orthodoxie, au septième on l'avoit réduite à la + bienfaisance envers les couvens."--Sismondi, _Hist. des Français_, + tome ii. p. 50. + + 442 Mr. Hallam, speaking of the legends of the miracles of saints, says: + "It must not be supposed that these absurdities were produced as + well as nourished by ignorance. In most cases they were the work of + deliberate imposture. Every cathedral or monastery had its tutelar + saint, and every saint his legend, fabricated in order to enrich the + churches under his protection, by exaggerating his virtues, his + miracles, and consequently his power of serving those who paid + liberally for his patronage."--_Middle Ages_, ch. ix. part i. I do + not think this passage makes sufficient allowance for the + unconscious formation of many saintly myths, but no impartial person + can doubt its substantial truth. + + 443 Sismondi, _Hist. des Français_, tome ii. pp. 54, 62-63. + + 444 Milman's _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. ii. p. 257. + + 445 Durandus, a French bishop of the thirteenth century, tells how, + "when a certain bishop was consecrating a church built out of the + fruits of usury and pillage, he saw behind the altar the devil in a + pontifical vestment, standing at the bishop's throne, who said unto + the bishop, 'Cease from consecrating the church; for it pertaineth + to my jurisdiction, since it is built from the fruits of usuries and + robberies.' Then the bishop and the clergy having fled thence in + fear, immediately the devil destroyed that church with a great + noise."--_Rationale Divinorum_, i. 6 (translated for the Camden + Society). + + A certain St. Launomar is said to have refused a gift for his + monastery from a rapacious noble, because he was sure it was derived + from pillage. (Montalembert's _Moines d'Occident_, tome ii. pp. + 350-351.) When prostitutes were converted in the early Church, it + was the rule that the money of which they had become possessed + should never be applied to ecclesiastical purposes, but should be + distributed among the poor. + +_ 446 Verba Seniorum_, Prol. § 172. + + 447 This vision is not related by St. Gregory himself, and some + Catholics are perplexed about it, on account of the vision of + another saint, who afterwards asked whether Trajan was saved, and + received for answer, "I wish men to rest in ignorance of this + subject, that the Catholics may become stronger. For this emperor, + though he had great virtues, was an unbaptised infidel." The whole + subject of the vision of St. Gregory is discussed by Champagny, _Les + Antonins_, tome i. pp. 372-373. This devout writer says, "Cette + légende fut acceptée par tout le moyen-âge, _indulgent pour les + païens illustres_ et tout disposé à les supposer chrétiens et + sauvés." + + 448 See the solemn asseveration of the care which he took in going only + to the most credible and authorised sources for his materials, in + the Preface to the First Book of _Dialogues_. + +_ 449 Dial._ iv. 36. + + 450 Ibid. iv. 30. + + 451 Ibid. iv. 35. + + 452 The fullest collection of these visions with which I am acquainted + is that made for the Philobiblion Society (vol. ix.), by M. + Delepierre, called _L'Enfer décrit par ceux qui l'ont vu_, of which + I have largely availed myself. See, too, Rusca _De Inferno_, + Wright's _Purgatory of St. Patrick_, and an interesting collection + of visions given by Mr. Longfellow, in his translation of Dante. The + Irish saints were, I am sorry to say, prominent in producing this + branch of literature. St. Fursey, whose vision is one of the + earliest, and Tondale, or Tundale, whose vision is one of the most + detailed, were both Irish. The English historians contain several of + these visions. Bede relates two or three--William of Malmesbury that + of Charles the Fat; Matthew Paris three visions of purgatory. + + 453 The narrow bridge over hell (in some visions covered with spikes), + which is a conspicuous feature in the Mohammedan pictures of the + future world, appears very often in Catholic visions. See Greg. Tur. + iv. 33; St. Greg. _Dial._ iv. 36; and the vision of Tundale, in + Delepierre. + + 454 Few Englishmen, I imagine, are aware of the infamous publications + written with this object, that are circulated by the Catholic + priests among the poor. I have before me a tract "for children and + young persons," called _The Sight of Hell_, by the Rev. J. Furniss, + C.S.S.R., published "permissu superiorum," by Duffy (Dublin and + London). It is a detailed description of the dungeons of hell, and a + few sentences may serve as a sample. "See! on the middle of that + red-hot floor stands a girl; she looks about sixteen years old. Her + feet are bare. She has neither shoes nor stockings.... Listen! she + speaks. She says, I have been standing on this red-hot floor for + years. Day and night my only standing-place has been this red-hot + floor.... Look at my burnt and bleeding feet. Let me go off this + burning floor for one moment, only for one single short moment.... + The fourth dungeon is the boiling kettle ... in the middle of it + there is a boy.... His eyes are burning like two burning coals. Two + long flames come out of his ears.... Sometimes he opens his mouth, + and blazing fire rolls out. But listen! there is a sound like a + kettle boiling.... The blood is boiling in the scalded veins of that + boy. The brain is boiling and bubbling in his head. The marrow is + boiling in his bones.... The fifth dungeon is the red-hot oven.... + The little child is in this red-hot oven. Hear how it screams to + come out. See how it turns and twists itself about in the fire. It + beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little + feet on the floor.... God was very good to this child. Very likely + God saw it would get worse and worse, and would never repent, and so + it would have to be punished much more in hell. So God in His mercy + called it out of the world in its early childhood." If the reader + desires to follow this subject further, he may glance over a + companion tract by the same reverend gentleman, called _A Terrible + Judgment on a Little Child_; and also a book on _Hell_, translated + from the Italian of Pinamonti, and with illustrations depicting the + various tortures. + + 455 St. Greg. _Dial._ iv. 38. + + 456 Ibid. iv. 18. + + 457 Alger's _History of the Doctrine of a Future Life_ (New York, 1866), + p. 414. The ignis fatuus was sometimes supposed to be the soul of an + unbaptised child. There is, I believe, another Catholic legend about + the redbreast, of a very different kind--that its breast was stained + with blood when it was trying to pull out the thorns from the crown + of Christ. + + 458 Wright's _Purgatory of St. Patrick_, p. 26. M. Delepierre quotes a + curious theory of Father Hardouin (who is chiefly known for his + suggestion that the classics were composed by the mediæval monks) + that the rotation of the earth is caused by the lost souls trying to + escape from the fire that is at the centre of the globe, climbing, + in consequence, on the inner crust of the earth, which is the wall + of hell, and thus making the whole revolve, as the squirrel by + climbing turns its cage! (_L'Enfer décrit par ceux qui l'ont vu_, p. + 151.) + + 459 Delepierre, p. 70. + + 460 Thus, in a book which was attributed (it is said erroneously) to + Jeremy Taylor, we find two singularly unrhetorical and unimpassioned + chapters, deliberately enumerating the most atrocious acts of + cruelty in human history, and maintaining that they are surpassed by + the tortures inflicted by the Deity. A few instances will suffice. + Certain persons "put rings of iron, stuck full of sharp points of + needles, about their arms and feet, in such a manner as the + prisoners could not move without wounding themselves; then they + compassed them about with fire, to the end that, standing still, + they might be burnt alive, and if they stirred the sharp points + pierced their flesh.... What, then, shall be the torment of the + damned where they shall burn eternally without dying, and without + possibility of removing?... Alexander, the son of Hyrcanus, caused + eight hundred to be crucified, and whilst they were yet alive caused + their wives and children to be murdered before their eyes, that so + they might not die once, but many deaths. This rigour shall not be + wanting in hell.... Mezentius tied a living body to a dead until the + putrefied exhalations of the dead had killed the living.... What is + this in respect of hell, when each body of the damned is more + loathsome and unsavoury than a million of dead dogs?... Bonaventure + says, if one of the damned were brought into this world it were + sufficient to infect the whole earth.... We are amazed to think of + the inhumanity of Phalaris, who roasted men alive in his brazen + bull. That was a joy in respect of that fire of hell.... This + torment ... comprises as many torments as the body of man has + joints, sinews, arteries, &c., being caused by that penetrating and + real fire, of which this temporal fire is but a painted fire.... + What comparison will there be between burning for a hundred years' + space, and to be burning without interruption as long as God is + God?"--_Contemplations on the State of Man_, book ii. ch. 6-7, in + Heber's Edition of the works of Taylor. + + 461 Perrone, _Historiæ Theologiæ cum Philosophia comparata Synopsis_, p. + 29. Peter Lombard's work was published in A.D. 1160. + + 462 "Postremo quæritur, An poena reproborum visa decoloret gloriam + beatorum? an eorum beatitudini proficiat? De hoc ita Gregorius ait, + Apud animum justorum non obfuscat beatitudinem aspecta poena + reproborum; quia ubi jam compassio miseriæ non erit, minuere + beatorum lætitiam non valebit. Et licet justis sua gaudia + sufficiant, ad majorem gloriam vident poenas malorum quas per gratiam + evaserunt.... Egredientur ergo electi, non loco, sed intelligentia + vel visione manifesta ad videndum impiorum cruciatus; quos videntes + non dolore afficientur sed lætitia satiabuntur, agentes gratias de + sua liberatione visa impiorum ineffabili calamitate. Unde Esaias + impiorum tormenta describens et ex eorum visione lætitiam bonorum + exprimens, ait, Egredientur electi scilicet et videbunt cadavera + virorum qui prævaricati sunt in me. Vermis eorum non morietur et + ignis non extinguetur, et erunt usque ad satietatem visionis omni + carni, id est electis. Lætabitur justus cum viderit + vindictam."--Peter Lombard, _Senten._ lib. iv. finis. These amiable + views have often been expressed both by Catholic and by Puritan + divines. See Alger's _Doctrine of a Future Life_, p. 541. + +_ 463 Legenda Aurea._ There is a curious fresco representing this + transaction, on the portal of the church of St. Lorenzo, near Rome. + + 464 Aimoni, _De Gestis Francorum Hist._ iv. 34. + + 465 Turpin's _Chronicle_, ch. 32. In the vision of Watlin, however (A.D. + 824), Charlemagne was seen tortured in purgatory on account of his + excessive love of women. (Delepierre, _L'Enfer décrit par ceux qui + l'ont vu_, pp. 27-28.) + + 466 As the Abbé Mably observes: "On croyoit en quelque sorte dans ces + siècles grossiers que l'avarice étoit le premier attribut de Dieu, + et que les saints faisoient un commerce de leur crédit et de leur + protection. De-là les richesses immenses données aux églises par des + hommes dont les moeurs déshonoroient la religion."--_Observations sur + l'Hist. de France_, i. 4. + + 467 Many curious examples of the way in which the Troubadours burlesqued + the monkish visions of hell are given by Delepierre, p. + 144.--Wright's _Purgatory of St. Patrick_, pp. 47-52. + + 468 Comte, _Philosophie positive_, tome v. p. 269. + + 469 "Saint-Bernard, dans son sermon _De obitu Humberti_, affirme que + tous les tourments de cette vie sont joies si on les compare à une + seconde des peines du purgatoire. 'Imaginez-vous donc, délicates + dames,' dit le père Valladier (1613) dans son sermon du 3me dimanche + de l'Avent, 'd'estre au travers de vos chenets, sur vostre petit feu + pour une centaine d'ans: ce n'est rien au respect d'un moment de + purgatoire. Mais si vous vistes jamais tirer quelqu'un à quatre + chevaux, quelqu'un brusler à petit feu, enrager de faim ou de soif, + une heure de purgatoire est pire que tout cela.' "--Meray, _Les + Libres Prêcheurs_ (Paris, 1860), pp. 130-131 (an extremely curious + and suggestive book). I now take up the first contemporary book of + popular Catholic devotion on this subject which is at hand, and + read: "Compared with the pains of purgatory, then, all those wounds + and dark prisons, all those wild beasts, hooks of iron, red-hot + plates, &c., which the holy martyrs suffered, are nothing." "They + (souls in purgatory) are in a real, though miraculous manner, + tortured by fire, which is of the same kind (says Bellarmine) as our + element fire." "The Angelic Doctor affirms 'that the fire which + torments the damned is like the fire which purges the elect.' " + "What agony will not those holy souls suffer when tied and bound + with the most tormenting chains of a living fire like to that of + hell! and we, while able to make them free and happy, shall we stand + like uninterested spectators?" "St. Austin is of opinion that the + pains of a soul in purgatory during the time required to open and + shut one's eye is more severe than what St. Lawrence suffered on the + gridiron;" and much more to the same effect. (_Purgatory opened to + the Piety of the Faithful._ Richardson, London.) + + 470 See Delepierre, Wright, and Alger. + + 471 This appears from the vision of Thurcill. (Wright's _Purgatory of + St. Patrick_, p. 42.) Brompton (_Chronicon_) tells of an English + landlord who had refused to pay tithes. St. Augustine, having vainly + reasoned with him, at last convinced him by a miracle. Before + celebrating mass he ordered all excommunicated persons to leave the + church, whereupon a corpse got out of a grave and walked away. The + corpse, on being questioned, said it was the body of an ancient + Briton who refused to pay tithes, and had in consequence been + excommunicated and damned. + + 472 Greg. _Dial._ iv. 40. + + 473 As Sismondi says: "Pendant quatre-vingts ans, tout au moins, il n'y + eut pas un Franc qui songeât à transmettre à la postérité la mémoire + des événements contemporains, et pendant le même espace de temps il + n'y eut pas un personnage puissant qui ne bâtit des temples pour la + postérité la plus reculée."--_Hist. des Français_, tome ii. p. 46. + + 474 Gibbon says of the period during which the Merovingian dynasty + reigned, that "it would be difficult to find anywhere more vice or + less virtue." Hallam reproduces this observation, and adds: "The + facts of these times are of little other importance than as they + impress on the mind a thorough notion of the extreme wickedness of + almost every person concerned in them, and consequently of the state + to which society was reduced."--_Hist. of the Middle Ages_, ch. i. + Dean Milman is equally unfavourable and emphatic in his judgment. + "It is difficult to conceive a more dark and odious state of society + than that of France under her Merovingian kings, the descendants of + Clovis, as described by Gregory of Tours. In the conflict of + barbarism with Roman Christianity, barbarism has introduced into + Christianity all its ferocity with none of its generosity and + magnanimity; its energy shows itself in atrocity of cruelty, and + even of sensuality. Christianity has given to barbarism hardly more + than its superstition and its hatred of heretics and unbelievers. + Throughout, assassinations, parricides, and fratricides intermingle + with adulteries and rapes."--_History of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. + p. 365. + + 475 Greg. Tur. iv. 12. Gregory mentions (v. 41) another bishop who used + to become so intoxicated as to be unable to stand; and St. Boniface, + after describing the extreme sensuality of the clergy of his time, + adds that there are some bishops "qui licet dicant se fornicarios + vel adulteros non esse, sed sunt ebriosi et injuriosi," &c.--_Ep._ + xlix. + + 476 Greg. Tur. iv. 12. + + 477 Ibid. viii. 29. She gave them knives with hollow grooves, filled + with poison, in the blades. + + 478 Ibid. vii. 20. + + 479 Ibid. viii. 31-41. + + 480 Ibid. v. 19. + + 481 See his very curious correspondence with her.--_Ep._ vi. 5, 50, 59; + ix. 11, 117; xi. 62-63. + + 482 Avitus, _Ep._ v. He adds: "Minuebat regni felicitas numerum regalium + personarum." + + 483 See the emphatic testimony of St. Boniface in the eighth century. + "Modo autem maxima ex parte per civitates episcopales sedes traditæ + sunt laicis cupidis ad possidendum, vel adulteratis clericis, + scortatoribus et publicanis sæculariter ad perfruendum."--_Epist._ + xlix. "ad Zachariam." The whole epistle contains an appalling + picture of the clerical vices of the times. + + 484 More than one Council made decrees about this. See the _Vie de St. + Léger_, by Dom Pitra, pp. 172-177. + + 485 Greg. Tur. iv. 43. St. Boniface, at a much later period (A.D. 742), + talks of bishops "Qui pugnant in exercitu armati et effundunt + propria manu sanguinem hominum."--_Ep._ xlix. + + 486 Greg. Tur. iv. 26. + + 487 Ibid. iv. 20. + + 488 Ibid. iii. 26. + + 489 Ibid. ix. 34. + + 490 Ibid. viii. 19. Gregory says this story should warn clergymen not to + meddle with the wives of other people, but "content themselves with + those that they may possess without crime." The abbot had previously + tried to seduce the husband within the precincts of the monastery, + that he might murder him. + + 491 Ibid. v. 3. + + 492 Ibid. viii. 39. She was guilty of many other crimes, which the + historian says "it is better to pass in silence." The bishop himself + had been guilty of outrageous and violent tyranny. The marriage of + ecclesiastics appears at this time to have been common in Gaul, + though the best men commonly deserted their wives when they were + ordained. Another bishop's wife (iv. 36) was notorious for her + tyranny. + + 493 Fredigarius, xlii. The historian describes Clotaire as a perfect + paragon of Christian graces. + + 494 "Au sixième siècle on compte 214 établissements religieux des + Pyrénées à la Loire et des bouches du Rhône aux Vosges."--Ozanam, + _Études germaniques_, tome ii. p. 93. In the two following centuries + the ecclesiastical wealth was enormously increased. + + 495 Matthew of Westminster (A.D. 757) speaks of no less than eight Saxon + kings having done this. + + 496 "Le septième siècle est celui peut-être qui a donné le plus de + saints au calendrier."--Sismondi, _Hist. de France_, tome ii. p. 50. + "Le plus beau titre du septième siècle à une réhabilitation c'est le + nombre considérable de saints qu'il a produits.... Aucun siècle n'a + été ainsi glorifié sauf l'âge des martyrs dont Dieu s'est réservé de + compter le nombre. Chaque année fournit sa moisson, chaque jour a sa + gerbe.... Si donc il plaît à Dieu et au Christ de répandre à pleines + mains sur un siècle les splendeurs des saints, qu'importe que + l'histoire et la gloire humaine en tiennent peu compte?"--Pitra, _Vie + de St. Léger_, Introd. p. x.-xi. This learned and very credulous + writer (who is now a cardinal) afterwards says that we have the + record of more than eight hundred saints of the seventh century. + (Introd. p. lxxx.) + + 497 See, e.g., the very touching passage about the death of his + children, v. 35. + + 498 Lib. ii. Prologue. + + 499 Greg. Tur. ii. 27-43. + + 500 He observes how impossible it was that he could be guilty of + shedding the blood of a relation: "Sed in his ego nequaquam conscius + sum. Nec enim possum sanguinem parentum meorum effundere."--Greg. + Tur. ii. 40. + + 501 "Prosternebat enim quotidie Deus hostes ejus sub manu ipsius, et + augebat regnum ejus eo quod ambularet recto corde coram eo, et + faceret quæ placita erant in oculis ejus."--Greg. Tur. ii. 40. + + 502 Lib. iii. Prologue. St. Avitus enumerates in glowing terms the + Christian virtues of Clovis (_Ep._ xli.), but, as this was in a + letter addressed to the king himself, the eulogy may easily be + explained. + + 503 Thus Hallam says: "There are continual proofs of immorality in the + monkish historians. In the history of Rumsey Abbey, one of our best + documents for Anglo-Saxon times, we have an anecdote of a bishop who + made a Danish nobleman drunk, that he might cheat him out of an + estate, which is told with much approbation. Walter de Hemingford + records, with excessive delight, the well-known story of the Jews + who were persuaded by the captain of their vessel to walk on the + sands at low water till the rising tide drowned them."--Hallam's + _Middle Ages_ (12th ed.), iii. p. 306. + + 504 Canciani, _Leges Barbarorum_, vol. iii. p. 64. Canciani notices, + that among the Poles the teeth of the offending persons were pulled + out. The following passage, from Bodin, is, I think, very + remarkable: "Les loix et canons veulent qu'on pardonne aux + hérétiques repentis (combien que les magistrats en quelques lieux + par cy-devant, y ont eu tel esgard, que celui qui avoit mangé de la + chair au Vendredy estoit bruslé tout vif, comme il fut faict en la + ville d'Angers l'an mil cinq cens trente-neuf, s'il ne s'en + repentoit: et jaçoit qu'il se repentist si estoit-il pendu par + compassion)."--_Démonomanie des Sorciers_, p. 216. + + 505 A long list of examples of extreme maceration, from lives of the + saints of the seventh and eighth centuries is given by Pitra, _Vie + de St. Léger_, Introd. pp. cv.-cvii. + + 506 This was related of St. Equitius.--Greg. _Dialog._ i. 4. + + 507 Ibid. i. 5. This saint was named Constantius. + + 508 A vast number of miracles of this kind are recorded. See, e.g., + Greg. Tur. _De Miraculis_, i. 61-66; _Hist._ iv. 49. Perhaps the + most singular instance of the violation of the sanctity of the + church was that by the nuns of a convent founded by St. Radegunda. + They, having broken into rebellion, four bishops, with their + attendant clergy, went to compose the dispute, and having failed, + excommunicated the rebels, whereupon the nuns almost beat them to + death in the church.--Greg. Tur. ix. 41. + + 509 See Canciani, _Leges Barbarorum_, vol. iii. pp. 19, 151. + + 510 Much information about these measures is given by Dr. Hessey, in his + _Bampton Lectures on Sunday_. See especially, lect. 3. See, too, + Moehler, _Le Christianisme et l'Esclavage_, pp. 186-187. + + 511 Gregory of Tours enumerates some instances of this in his + extravagant book _De Miraculis_, ii. 11; iv. 57; v. 7. One of these + cases, however, was for having worked on the day of St. John the + Baptist. Some other miracles of the same nature, taken, I believe, + from English sources, are given in Hessey's _Sunday_ (3rd edition), + p. 321. + + 512 Compare Pitra, _Vie de St.-Léger_, p. 137. Sismondi, _Hist. des + Français_, tome ii. pp. 62-63. + + 513 See a remarkable passage from his life, cited by Guizot, _Hist. de + la Civilisation en France_, xviime leçon. The English historians + contain several instances of the activity of charity in the darkest + period. Alfred and Edward the Confessor were conspicuous for it. + Ethelwolf is said to have provided, "for the good of his soul," + that, till the day of judgment, one poor man in ten should be + provided with meat, drink, and clothing. (Asser's _Life of Alfred_.) + There was a popular legend that a poor man having in vain asked alms + of some sailors, all the bread in their vessel was turned into + stone. (Roger of Wendover, A.D. 606.) See, too, another legend of + charity in Matthew of Westminster, A.D. 611. + + 514 Greg. Tur. _Hist._ v. 8. + + 515 M. Guizot has given several specimens of this (_Hist. de la + Civilis._ xviime leçon). + + 516 This portion of mediæval history has lately been well traced by Mr. + Maclear, in his _History of Christian Missions in the Middle Ages_ + (1863). See, too, Montalembert's _Moines d'Occident_; Ozanam's + _Études germaniques_. The original materials are to be found in + Bede, and in the _Lives of the Saints_--especially that of St. + Columba, by Adamnan. On the French missionaries, see the Benedictine + _Hist. lit. de la France_, tome iv. p. 5; and on the English + missionaries, Sharon Turner's _Hist. of England_, book x. ch. ii. + + 517 Dion Chrysostom, _Or._ ii. (_De Regno_). + + 518 Gibbon, ch. xvi. + + 519 Origen, _Cels._ lib. viii. + + 520 "Navigamus et nos vobiscum et militamus."--Tert. _Apol._ xlii. See, + too, Grotius _De Jure_, i. cap. ii. + + 521 See an admirable dissertation on the opinions of the early + Christians about military service, in Le Blant, _Inscriptions + chrétiennes de la Gaule_, tome i. pp. 81-87. The subject is + frequently referred to by Barbeyrac, _Morale des Pères_, and + Grotius, _De Jure_, lib. i. cap. ii. + + 522 Philostorgius, ii. 5. + + 523 See some excellent remarks on this change, in Milman's _History of + Christianity_, vol. ii. pp. 287-288. + + 524 Mably, _Observations sur l'Histoire de France_, i. 6; Hallam's + _Middle Ages_, ch. ii. part ii. + + 525 Wakeman's _Archæologia Hibernica_, p. 21. However, Giraldus + Cambrensis observes that the Irish saints were peculiarly + vindictive, and St. Columba and St. Comgall are said to have been + leaders in a sanguinary conflict about a church near Coleraine. See + Reeve's edition of Adamnan's _Life of St. Columba_, pp. lxxvii. 253. + + 526 Campion's _Historie of Ireland_ (1571), book i. ch. vi. + + 527 It seems curious to find in so calm and unfanatical a writer as + Justus Lipsius the following passage: "Jam et invasio quædam + legitima videtur etiam sine injuria, ut in barbaros et moribus aut + _religione_ prorsum a nobis abhorrentes."--_Politicorum sive Civilis + Doctrinæ libri_ (Paris, 1594), lib. iv. ch. ii. cap. iv. + + 528 "Con l'occasione di queste cose Plutarco nel _Teseo_ dice che gli + eroi si recavano a grande onore e si reputavano in pregio d'armi con + l'esser chiamati ladroni; siccome a' tempi barbari ritornati quello + di Corsale era titolo riputato di signoria; d'intorno a' quali tempi + venuto Solone, si dice aver permesso nelle sue leggi le società per + cagion di prede; tanto Solone ben intese questa nostra compiuta + Umanità, nella quale costoro non godono del diritto natural delle + genti! Ma quel che fa più maraviglia è che Platone ed Aristotile + posero il ladroneccio fralle spezie della caccia e con tali e tanti + filosofi d'una gente umanissima convengono con la loro barbarie i + Germani antichi; appo i quali al referire di Cesare ì ladronecci non + solo non eran infami, ma si tenevano tra gli esercizi della virtù + siccome tra quelli che per costume non applicando ad arte alcuna + così fuggivano l'ozio."--Vico, _Scienza Nuova_, ii. 6. See, too, + Whewell's _Elements of Morality_, book vi. ch. ii. + + 529 The ancient right of war is fully discussed by Grotius, _De Jure_, + lib. iii. See, especially, the horrible catalogue of tragedies in + cap. 4. The military feeling that regards capture as disgraceful, + had probably some, though only a very subordinate, influence in + producing cruelty to the prisoners. + + 530 "Le jour où Athènes décréta que tous les Mityléniens, sans + distinction de sexe ni d'âge, seraient exterminés, elle ne croyait + pas dépasser son droit; quand le lendemain elle revint sur son + décret et se contenta de mettre à mort mille citoyens et de + confisquer toutes les terres, elle se crut humaine et indulgente. + Après la prise de Platée les hommes furent égorgés, les femmes + vendues, et personne n'accusa les vainqueurs d'avoir violé le + droit.... C'est en vertu de ce droit de la guerre que Rome a étendu + la solitude autour d'elle; du territoire où les Volsques avaient + vingt-trois cités elle a fait les marais pontins; les + cinquante-trois villes du Latium ont disparu; dans le Samnium on put + longtemps reconnaître les lieux où les armées romaines avaient + passé, moins aux vestiges de leurs camps qu'à la solitude qui + règnait aux environs."--Fustel de Coulanges, _La Cité antique_, pp. + 263-264. + + 531 Plato, _Republic_, lib. v.; Bodin, _République_, liv. i. cap. 5. + + 532 Grote, _Hist. of Greece_, vol. viii. p. 224. Agesilaus was also very + humane to captives.--Ibid. pp. 365-6. + + 533 This appears continually in Livy, but most of all, I think, in the + Gaulish historian, Florus. + + 534 Scipio and Trajan. + + 535 See some very remarkable passages in Grotius, _De Jure Bell_. lib. + iii. cap. 4, § 19. + + 536 These mitigations are fully enumerated by Ayala, _De Jure et + Officiis Bellicis_ (Antwerp, 1597), Grotius, _De Jure_. It is + remarkable that both Ayala and Grotius base their attempts to + mitigate the severity of war chiefly upon the writings and examples + of the Pagans. The limits of the right of conquerors and the just + causes of war are discussed by Cicero, _De Offic._ lib. i. + + 537 In England the change seems to have immediately followed conversion. + "The evangelical precepts of peace and love," says a very learned + historian, "did not put an end to war, they did not put an end to + aggressive conquests, but they distinctly humanised the way in which + war was carried on. From this time forth the never-ending wars with + the Welsh cease to be wars of extermination. The heathen English had + been satisfied with nothing short of the destruction and expulsion + of their enemies; the Christian English thought it enough to reduce + them to political subjection.... The Christian Welsh could now sit + down as subjects of the Christian Saxon. The Welshman was + acknowledged as a man and a citizen, and was put under the + protection of the law."--Freeman's _Hist. of the Norman Conquest_, + vol. i. pp. 33-34. Christians who assisted infidels in wars were + _ipso facto_ excommunicated, and might therefore be enslaved, but + all others were free from slavery. "Et quidem inter Christianos + laudabili et antiqua consuetudine introductum est, ut capti hinc + inde, utcunque justo bello, non fierent servi, sed liberi + servarentur donec solvant precium redemptionis."--Ayala, lib. i. cap. + 5. "This rule, at least," says Grotius, "(though but a small matter) + the reverence for the Christian law has enforced, which Socrates + vainly sought to have established among the Greeks." The Mohammedans + also made it a rule not to enslave their co-religionists.--Grotius, + _De Jure_, iii. 7, § 9. Pagan and barbarian prisoners were, however, + sold as slaves (especially by the Spaniards) till very recently. + + 538 The character of Constantine, and the estimate of it in Eusebius, + are well treated by Dean Stanley, _Lectures on the Eastern Church_ + (Lect. vi.). + + 539 Theodoret, iii. 28. + + 540 They are collected by Chateaubriand, _Études hist._ 2me disc. 2me + partie. + + 541 See St. Gregory's oration on _Cesarius_. + + 542 Sozomen, vi. 2. + +_ 543 Ep._ xiii. 31-39. In the second of these letters (which is + addressed to Leontia), he says: "Rogare forsitan debui ut ecclesiam + beati Petri apostoli quæ nunc usque gravibus insidiis laboravit, + haberet Vestra Tranquillitas specialiter commendatam. Sed qui scio + quia omnipotentem Deum diligitis, non debeo petere quod sponte ex + benignitate vestræ pietatis exhibetis." + + 544 See the graphic description in Gibbon, ch. liii. + + 545 Baronius. + + 546 Mably, ii. 1; Gibbon, ch. xlix. + + 547 There are some good remarks upon the way in which, among the free + Franks, the bishops taught the duty of passive obedience, in Mably, + _Obs. sur l'Histoire de France_, livre i. ch. iii. Gregory of Tours, + in his address to Chilperic, had said: "If any of us, O king, + transgress the boundaries of justice, thou art at hand to correct + us; but if thou shouldest exceed them, who is to condemn thee? We + address thee, and if it please thee thou listenest to us; but if it + please thee not, who is to condemn thee save He who has proclaimed + Himself Justice."--Greg. Tur. v. 19. On the other hand, Hincmar, + Archbishop of Rheims, strongly asserted the obligation of kings to + observe the law, and denounced as diabolical the doctrine that they + are subject to none but God. (Allen, _On the Royal Prerogative_ + (1849), pp. 171-172.) + + 548 The exact degree of the authority of the barbarian kings, and the + different stages by which their power was increased, are matters of + great controversy. The reader may consult Thierry's _Lettres sur + l'Hist. de France_ (let. 9); Guizot's _Hist. de la Civilisation_; + Mably, _Observ. sur l'Hist. de France_; Freeman's _Hist. of the + Norman Conquest_, vol. i. + + 549 Fauriel, _Hist. de la Poésie provençale_, tome ii. p. 252. + + 550 Ibid, p. 258. + + 551 Le Grand D'Aussy, _Fabliaux_, préf. p. xxiv. These romances were + accounts of his expeditions to Spain, to Languedoc, and to + Palestine. + + 552 The {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} of the Greeks. + + 553 Legouvé, _Histoire morale des Femmes_, pp. 95-96. + + 554 Gen. xxix., xxxiv. 12; Deut. xxii. 29; 1 Sam. xviii. 25. + + 555 The history of dowries is briefly noticed by Grote, _Hist. of + Greece_, vol. ii. pp. 112-113; and more fully by Lord Kames, in the + admirable chapter "On the Progress of the Female Sex," in his + _Sketches of the History of Man_, a book less read than it deserves + to be. M. Legouvé has also devoted a chapter to it in his _Hist. + morale des Femmes_. See, too, Legendre, _Traité de l'Opinion_, tome + ii. pp. 329-330. We find traces of the dowry, as well as of the + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}, in Homer. Penelope had received a dowry from Icarus, her + father. M. Michelet, in one of those fanciful books which he has + recently published, maintains a view of the object of the {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~} which + I do not remember to have seen elsewhere, and which I do not + believe. He says: "Ce prix n'est point un achat de la femme, mais + une indemnité qui dédommage la famille du père pour les enfants + futurs, qui ne profiteront pas à cette famille mais à celle où la + femme va entrer."--_La Femme_, p. 166. + + 556 In Rome, when the separation was due to the misconduct of the wife, + the dowry belonged to her husband. + + 557 "Dotem non uxor marito sed uxori maritus offert."--Tac. _Germ._ + xviii. On the Morgengab, see Canciani, _Leges Barbarorum_ (Venetiis, + 1781), vol. i. pp. 102-104; ii. pp. 230-231. Muratori, _Antich. + Ital._ diss. xx. Luitprand enacted that no Longobard should give + more than one-fourth of his substance as a Morgengab. In Gregory of + Tours (ix. 20) we have an example of the gift of some cities as a + Morgengab. + + 558 See, on this point, Aul. Gellius, _Noct. Att._ xv. 20. Euripides is + said to have had two wives. + + 559 Aristotle said that Homer never gives a concubine to Menelaus, in + order to intimate his respect for Helen--though false. (_Athenæus_, + xiii. 3.) + + 560 Æschylus has put this curious notion into the mouth of Apollo, in a + speech in the _Eumenides_. It has, however, been very widely + diffused, and may be found in Indian, Greek, Roman, and even + Christian writers. M. Legouvé, who has devoted a very curious + chapter to the subject, quotes a passage from St. Thomas Aquinas, + accepting it, and arguing from it, that a father should be more + loved than a mother. M. Legouvé says that when the male of one + animal and the female of another are crossed, the type of the female + usually predominates in the offspring. See Legouvé, _Hist. morale + des Femmes_, pp. 216-228; Fustel de Coulanges, _La Cité antique_, + pp. 39-40; and also a curious note by Boswell, in Croker's edition + of Boswell's _Life of Johnson_ (1847), p. 472. + + 561 Dr. Vintras, in a remarkable pamphlet (London, 1867) _On the + Repression of Prostitution_, shows from the police statistics that + the number of prostitutes _known to the police_ in England and + Wales, in 1864, was 49,370; and this is certainly much below the + entire number. These, it will be observed, comprise only the + habitual, professional prostitutes. + + 562 Some measures have recently been taken in a few garrison towns. The + moral sentiment of the community, it appears, would be shocked if + Liverpool were treated on the same principles as Portsmouth. This + very painful and revolting, but most important, subject has been + treated with great knowledge, impartiality, and ability, by + Parent-Duchâtelet, in his famous work, _La Prostitution dans la + ville de Paris_. The third edition contains very copious + supplementary accounts, furnished by different doctors in different + countries. + + 563 Parent-Duchâtelet has given many statistics, showing the very large + extent to which the French system of supervision deters those who + were about to enter into prostitution, and reclaims those who had + entered into it. He and Dr. Vintras concur in representing English + prostitution as about the most degraded, and at the same time the + most irrevocable. + + 564 Miss Mulock, in her amiable but rather feeble book, called _A + Woman's Thoughts about Women_, has some good remarks on this point + (pp. 291-293), which are all the more valuable, as the authoress has + not the faintest sympathy with any opinions concerning the character + and position of women which are not strictly conventional. She + notices the experience of Sunday school mistresses, that, of their + pupils who are seduced, an extremely large proportion are "of the + very best, refined, intelligent, truthful, and affectionate." + + 565 See the very singular and painful chapter in Parent-Duchâtelet, + called "Moeurs et Habitudes des Prostituées." He observes that they + are remarkable for their kindness to one another in sickness or in + distress; that they are not unfrequently charitable to poor people + who do not belong to their class; that when one of them has a child, + it becomes the object of very general interest and affection; that + most of them have lovers, to whom they are sincerely attached; that + they rarely fail to show in the hospitals a very real sense of + shame; and that many of them entered into their mode of life for the + purpose of supporting aged parents. One anecdote is worth giving in + the words of the author: "Un médecin n'entrant jamais dans leurs + salles sans ôter légèrement son chapeau, par cette seule politesse + il sut tellement conquérir leur confiance qu'il leur faisait faire + tout ce qu'il voulait." This writer, I may observe, is not a romance + writer or a theorist of any description. He is simply a physician + who describes the results of a very large official experience. + + 566 "Parent-Duchâtelet atteste que sur trois mille créatures perdues + trente cinq seulement avaient un état qui pouvait les nourrir, et + que quatorze cents avaient été précipitées dans cette horrible vie + par la misère. Une d'elles, quand elle s'y résolut, n'avait pas + mangé depuis trois jours."--Legouvé, _Hist. morale des Femmes_, pp. + 322-323. + + 567 Concerning the position and character of Greek women, the reader may + obtain ample information by consulting Becker's _Charicles_ + (translated by Metcalfe, 1845); Rainneville, _La Femme dans + l'Antiquité_ (Paris, 1865); and an article "On Female Society in + Greece," in the twenty-second volume of the _Quarterly Review_. + + 568 Plutarch, _Conj. Præc._ + + 569 Xenophon, _Econ._ ii. + + 570 Plut. _Conj. Præc._ There is also an extremely beautiful picture of + the character of a good wife in Aristotle. (_Economics_, book i. + cap. vii.) + + 571 See Alexander's _History of Women_ (London, 1783), vol. i. p. 201. + + 572 Plutarch, _Phocion_. + + 573 Our information concerning the Greek courtesans is chiefly derived + from the thirteenth book of the _Deipnosophists_ of Athenæus, from + the _Letters_ of Alciphron, from the _Dialogues_ of Lucian on + courtesans, and from the oration of Demosthenes against Neæra. See, + too, Xenophon, _Memorabilia_, iii. 11; and among modern books, + Becker's _Charicles_. Athenæus was an Egyptian, whose exact date is + unknown but who appears to have survived Ulpian, who died in A.D. + 228. He had access to, and gave extracts from, many works on this + subject, which have now perished. Alciphron is believed to have + lived near the time of Lucian. + + 574 According to some writers the word "venerari" comes from "Venerem + exercere," on account of the devotions in the temple of Venus. See + Vossius, _Etymologicon Linguæ Latinæ_, "veneror;" also La Mothe le + Vayer, _Lettre_ xc. + + 575 On the connection of the courtesans with the artistic enthusiasm, + see Raoul Rochette, _Cours d'Archéologie_, pp. 278-279. See, too, + Athenæus, xiii. 59; Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxxv. 40. + + 576 See the very curious little work of Ménage, _Historia Mulierum + Philosopharum_ (Lugduni, MDXC.); also Rainneville, _La Femme dans + l'Antiquite_, p. 244. At a much later date Lucian described the + beauty, accomplishments, generosity, and even modesty, of Panthea of + Smyrna, the favourite mistress of Lucius Verus. + + 577 The {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ZETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}, which was at first in use, was discarded by the + Lacedæmonians, and afterwards by the other Greeks. There are three + curious memoirs tracing the history of the change, by M. Burette, in + the _Hist. de l'Académie royale des Inscriptions_, tome i. + + 578 On the causes of paiderastia in Greece, see the remarks of Mr. Grote + in the review of the _Symposium_, in his great work on Plato. The + whole subject is very ably treated by M. Maury, _Hist. des Religions + de la Gréce antique_, tome iii. pp. 35-39. Many facts connected with + it are collected by Döllinger, in his _Jew and Gentile_, and by + Chateaubriand, in his _Études historiques_. The chief original + authority is the thirteenth book of Athenæus, a book of very painful + interest in the history of morals. + + 579 Plutarch, in his _Life of Agesilaus_, dwells on the intense + self-control manifested by that great man, in refraining from + gratifying a passion he had conceived for a boy named Megabetes, and + Maximus Tyrius says it deserved greater praise than the heroism of + Leonidas. (_Diss._ xxv.) Diogenes Laërtius, in his _Life of Zeno_, + the founder of Stoicism, the most austere of all ancient sects, + praises that philosopher for being but little addicted to this vice. + Sophocles is said to have been much addicted to it. + + 580 Some examples of the ascription of this vice to the divinities are + given by Clem. Alex. _Admonitio ad Gentes_. Socrates is said to have + maintained that Jupiter loved Ganymede for his wisdom, as his name + is derived from {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} and {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, to be delighted with prudence. + (Xenophon, _Banquet_.) The disaster of Cannæ was ascribed to the + jealousy of Juno because a beautiful boy was introduced into the + temple of Jupiter. (Lactantius, _Inst. Div._ ii. 17.) + + 581 Athenæus, xiii. 78. See, too, the very revolting book on different + kinds of love, ascribed (it is said falsely) to Lucian. + + 582 Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxxiv. 9. + + 583 There is ample evidence of this in Athenæus, and in the Dialogues of + Lucian on the courtesans. See, too, Terence, _The Eunuch_, act v. + scene 4, which is copied from the Greek. The majority of the class + were not called hetæræ, but {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}. + + 584 Plutarch, _De Garrulitate_; Plin. _Hist. Nat._ xxxiv. 19. The feat + of biting out their tongues rather than reveal secrets, or yield to + passion, is ascribed to a suspiciously large number of persons. + Ménage cites five besides Leæna. (_Hist. Mulier. Philos._ pp. + 104-108.) + + 585 See, upon Bacchis, several of the letters of Alciphron, especially + the very touching letter (x.) on her death, describing her kindness + and disinterestedness. Athenæus (xiii. 66) relates a curious + anecdote illustrating these aspects of her character. + + 586 Xenophon, _Memorab._ iii. 11. + + 587 On the Flamens, see Aulus Gell. _Noct._ x. 15. + + 588 Capitolinus, _Maximinus Junior_. + + 589 Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ vii. 36. There is (as is well known) a similar + legend of a daughter thus feeding her father. Val. Max. Lib. v. cap. + 4. + + 590 This appears from the first act of the _Stichus_ of Plautus. The + power appears to have become quite obsolete during the Empire but + the first legal act (which was rather of the nature of an + exhortation than of a command) against it was issued by Antoninus + Pius, and it was only definitely abolished under Diocletian. + (Laboulaye, _Recherches sur la condition civile et politique des + femmes_, pp. 16-17.) + + 591 Aul. Gell. _Noct._ x. 23. + + 592 Val. Maximus, ii. 1, § 4; Aul. Gellius, _Noct._ iv. 3. + + 593 Ammianus Marcellinus, xxviii. 4. + + 594 Tacitus, _De Oratoribus_, xxviii. + + 595 See Aulus Gellius, Noct. ii. 24. + + 596 "More inter veteres recepto, qui satis poenarum adversum impudicas in + ipsa professione flagitii credebant."--Tacitus, _Annal._ ii. 85. + + 597 Aul. Gell. iv. 3. Juno was the goddess of marriage. + + 598 Ibid. iv. 14. + + 599 The well-known superstition about the lion, &c., becoming docile + before a virgin is, I believe, as old as Roman times. St. Isidore + mentions that rhinoceroses were said to be captured by young girls + being put in their way to fascinate them. (Legendre, _Traité de + l'Opinion_, tome ii. p. 35.) + + 600 Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxviii. 23. + + 601 Ibid. vii. 18. + + 602 "Quem enim Romanorum pudet uxorem ducere in convivium? aut cujus + materfamilias non primum locum tenet ædium, atque in celebritate + versatur? quod multo fit aliter in Græcia. Nam neque in convivium + adhibetur, nisi propinquorum, neque sedet nisi in interiore parte + ædium quæ _gynæcontis_ appellatur, quo nemo accedit, nisi propinqua + cognatione conjunctus."--Corn. Nepos. præfat. + + 603 Val. Max. ii. 1, § 6. + + 604 Liv. viii. 18. + + 605 See Val. Max. ii. 1. + + 606 "Nuptiæ sunt conjunctio maris et feminæ, et consortium omnis vitæ, + divini et humani juris communicatio."--Modestinus. + + 607 Livy, xxxiv. 5. There is a fine collection of legends or histories + of heroic women (but chiefly Greek) in Clem. Alexand. _Strom._ iv. + 19. + + 608 Tacitus, _Annal._ ii. 85. This decree was on account of a patrician + lady named Vistilia having so enrolled herself. + + 609 Dion Cassius, liv. 16, lvi. 10. + + 610 "Si sine uxore possemus, Quirites, esse, omnes ea molestia + careremus; sed quoniam ita natura tradidit, ut nec cum illis satis + commode nec sine illis ullo modo vivi possit, saluti perpetuæ potius + quam brevi voluptati consulendum."--Aulus Gellius, _Noct._ i. 6. Some + of the audience, we are told, thought that, in exhorting to + matrimony, the speaker should have concealed its undoubted evils. It + was decided, however, that it was more honourable to tell the whole + truth. Stobæus (_Sententiæ_) has preserved a number of harsh and + often heartless sayings about wives, that were popular among the + Greeks. It was a saying of a Greek poet, that "marriage brings only + two happy days--the day when the husband first clasps his wife to his + breast, and the day when he lays her in the tomb;" and in Rome it + became a proverbial saying, that a wife was only good "in thalamo + vel in tumulo." + + 611 Friedländer, _Hist. des Moeurs romaines_, tome i. pp. 360-364. On the + great influence exercised by Roman ladies on political affairs some + remarkable passages are collected in Denis, _Hist. des Idées + Morales_, tome ii. pp. 98-99. This author is particularly valuable + in all that relates to the history of domestic morals. The + _Asinaria_ of Plautus, and some of the epigrams of Martial, throw + much light upon this subject. + + 612 See the very remarkable discussion about this repeal in Livy, lib. + xxxiv. cap. 1-8. + + 613 Legouvé, _Hist. Morale des Femmes_, pp. 23-26. St. Augustine + denounced this law as the most unjust that could be mentioned or + even conceived. "Qua lege quid iniquius dici aut cogitari possit, + ignoro."--St. Aug. _De Civ. Dei_, iii. 21--a curious illustration of + the difference between the habits of thought of his time and those + of the middle ages, when daughters were habitually sacrificed, + without a protest, by the feudal laws. + + 614 Plutarch, _Cicero_. + + 615 Tacit. _Ann._ i. 10. + + 616 Plutarch, _Cato_; Lucan, _Pharsal_. ii. + + 617 Senec. _Ep._ cxiv. + + 618 Val. Max. vi. 3. + + 619 Plutarch, _Paul. Æmil._ It is not quite clear whether this remark + was made by Paulus himself. + + 620 Sen. _De Benef._ iii. 16. See, too, _Ep._ xcv. _Ad Helv._ xvi. + +_ 621 Apol._ 6. + +_ 622 Epig._ vi. 7. + + 623 Juv. _Sat._ vi. 230. + +_ 624 Ep._ 2. + + 625 Sueton. _Aug._ Charlemagne, in like manner, made his daughters work + in wool. (Eginhardus, _Vit. Car. Mag._ xix.) + + 626 Friedländer, _Moeurs romaines du règne d'Auguste à la fin des + Antonins_ (trad. franç.), tome i. p. 414. + + 627 Much evidence of this is collected by Friedländer, tome i. pp. + 387-395. + + 628 Plutarch, _Pompeius_. + + 629 Martial, xi. 16. Pliny, _Ep._ i. 14. + + 630 Suet. _Tiberius_, xlv. + + 631 Plutarch, _Brutus_. + + 632 Tacit. _Annal._ xv. 63, 64. + + 633 "Pæte, non dolet."--Plin. _Ep._ iii. 16; Martial, _Ep._ i. 14. + + 634 Tacit. _Annal._ xvi. 10-11; _Hist._ i. 3. See, too, Friedländer, + tome i. p. 406. + + 635 Tacit. _Ann._ xvi. 34. + + 636 Pliny mentions her return after the death of the tyrant (_Ep._ iii. + 11). + + 637 "Quod paucis datum est, non minus amabilis quam veneranda."--Plin. + _Ep._ vii. 19. + + 638 See Plin. _Ep._ vii. 19. Dion Cassius and Tacitus relate the exiles + of Helvidius, who appears to have been rather intemperate and + unreasonable. + + 639 Friedländer gives many and most touching examples, tome i. pp. + 410-414. + + 640 Suet. _Dom._ viii. + + 641 Capitolinus, _Macrinus_. + + 642 Lampridius, _A. Severus_. + + 643 In the oration against Neæra, which is ascribed to Demosthenes, but + is of doubtful genuineness, the licence accorded to husbands is + spoken of as a matter of course: "We keep mistresses for our + pleasures, concubines for constant attendance, and wives to bear us + legitimate children, and to be our faithful housekeepers." + + 644 There is a remarkable passage on the feelings of wives, in different + nations, upon this point, in Athenæus, xiii. 3. See, too, Plutarch, + _Conj. Præc._ + + 645 Euripid. _Andromache_. + + 646 Valer. Max. vi. 7, § 1. Some very scandalous instances of cynicism + on the part of Roman husbands are recorded. Thus, Augustus had many + mistresses, "Quæ [virgines] sibi undique etiam _ab uxore_ + conquirerentur."--Sueton. _Aug._ lxxi. When the wife of Verus, the + colleague of Marcus Aurelius, complained of the tastes of her + husband, he answered, "Uxor enim dignitatis nomen est, non + voluptatis."--Spartian. _Verus_. + + 647 Aristotle, _Econom._ i. 4-8-9. + + 648 Plutarch enforces the duty at length, in his very beautiful work on + marriage. In case husbands are guilty of infidelity, he recommends + their wives to preserve a prudent blindness, reflecting that it is + out of respect for them that they choose another woman as the + companion of their intemperance. Seneca touches briefly, but + unequivocally, on the subject: "Scis improbum esse qui ab uxore + pudicitiam exigit, ipse alienarum corruptor uxorum. Scis ut illi nil + cum adultero, sic nihil tibi esse debere cum pellice."--_Ep._ xciv. + "Sciet in uxorem gravissimum esse genus injuriæ, habere + pellicem."--_Ep._ xcv. + + 649 "Periniquum enim videtur esse, ut pudicitiam vir ab uxore exigat, + quam ipse non exhibeat."--_Cod. Just. Dig._ xlviii. 5-13. + + 650 Quoted by St. Augustine, _De Conj. Adult._ ii. 19. Plautus, long + before, had made one of his characters complain of the injustice of + the laws which punished unchaste wives but not unchaste husbands, + and ask why, since every honest woman is contented with one husband, + every honest man should not be contented with one wife? (_Mercator_, + Act iv. scene 5.) + + 651 Horace, _Sat._ i. 2. + + 652 "Verum si quis est qui etiam meretriciis amoribus interdictum + juventuti putet, est ille quidem valde severus; negare non possum; + sed abhorret non modo ab hujus sæculi licentia, verum etiam a + majorum consuetudine atque concessis. Quando enim hoc factum non + est? Quando reprehensum? Quando non permissum? Quando denique fuit + ut quod licet non liceret?"--Cicero, _Pro Cælio_, cap. xx. The whole + speech is well worthy of the attention of those who would understand + Roman feelings on these matters; but it should be remembered that it + is the speech of a lawyer defending a dissolute client. + + 653 {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}. {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH YPOGEGRAMMENI~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH PSILI AND VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER GAMMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PERISPOMENI~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}, {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PERISPOMENI AND YPOGEGRAMMENI~}, + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}.--_Enchir._ xxxiii. + + 654 "Et si uxores non haberent, singulas concubinas, quod sine his esse + non possent."--Lampridius, _A. Severus_. We have an amusing picture + of the common tone of people of the world on this matter, in the + speech Apuleius puts into the mouth of the gods, remonstrating with + Venus for being angry because her son formed a connection with + Psyche. (_Metam._ lib. v.) + + 655 Preserved by Stobæus. See Denis, _Hist. des Idées morales dans + l'Antiquité_, tome ii. pp. 134-136, 149-150. + + 656 Philos. _Apol._ i. 13. When a saying of Pythagoras, "that a man + should only have commerce with his own wife," was quoted, he said + that this concerned others. + + 657 Trebellius Pollio, _Zenobia_. + + 658 This is asserted by an anonymous writer quoted by Suidas. See + Ménage, _Hist. Mulierum Philosopharum_, p. 58. + + 659 See, e.g., Plotinus, 1st Eun. vi. 6. + + 660 Capitolinus, _M. Aurelius_. + + 661 Amm. Marcell. xxv. 4. + +_ 662 Cod. Theod._ lib. ix. tit. 24. + +_ 663 Cod. Theod._ lib. xv. tit. 7. + + 664 "Fidicinam nulli liceat vel emere vel docere vel vendere, vel + conviviis aut spectaculis adhibere. Nec cuiquam aut delectationis + desiderio erudita feminea aut musicæ artis studio liceat habere + mancipia."--_Cod. Theod._ xv. 7, 10. This curious law was issued in + A.D. 385. St. Jerome said these musicians were the chorus of the + devil, and quite as dangerous as the sirens. See the comments on the + law. + + 665 Ruinart, _Act. S. Perpetuæ_. These acts, are, I believe, generally + regarded as authentic. There is nothing more instructive in history + than to trace the same moral feelings through different ages and + religions; and I am able in this case to present the reader with an + illustration of their permanence, which I think somewhat remarkable. + The younger Pliny gives in one of his letters a pathetic account of + the execution of Cornelia, a vestal virgin, by the order of + Domitian. She was buried alive for incest; but her innocence appears + to have been generally believed; and she had been condemned unheard, + and in her absence. As she was being lowered into the subterranean + cell her dress was caught and deranged in the descent. She turned + round and drew it to her, and when the executioner stretched out his + hand to assist her, she started back lest he should touch her, for + this, according to the received opinion, was a pollution; and even + in the supreme moment of her agony her vestal purity shrank from the + unholy contact. (Plin. _Ep._ iv. 11.) If we now pass back several + centuries, we find Euripides attributing to Polyxena a trait + precisely similar to that which was attributed to Perpetua. As she + fell beneath the sword of the executioner, it was observed that her + last care was that she might fall with decency. + + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK KORONIS~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH DASIA AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}, + {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK KORONIS~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI AND VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK KORONIS~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER CHI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}. + + Euripides, _Hec._ 566-68. + +_ 666 Vita Pauli._ + + 667 St. Ambrose relates an instance of this, which he says occurred at + Antioch (_De Virginibus_, lib. ii. cap. iv.). When the Christian + youth was being led to execution, the girl whom he had saved + reappeared and died with him. Eusebius tells a very similar story, + but places the scene at Alexandria. + + 668 See Ceillier, _Hist. des Auteurs ecclés._ tome iii. p. 523. + + 669 Ibid. tome viii. pp. 204-207. + + 670 Among the Irish saints St. Colman is said to have had a girdle which + would only meet around the chaste, and which was long preserved in + Ireland as a relic (Colgan, _Acta Sanctorum Hiberniæ_, Louvain, + 1645, vol. i. p. 246); and St. Fursæus a girdle that extinguished + lust. (Ibid. p. 292.) The girdle of St. Thomas Aquinas seems to have + had some miraculous properties of this kind. (See his _Life_ in the + Bollandists, Sept. 29.) Among both the Greeks and Romans it was + customary for the bride to be girt with a girdle which the + bridegroom unloosed in the nuptial bed, and hence "zonam solvere" + became a proverbial expression for "pudicitiam mulieris imminuere." + (Nieupoort, _De Ritibus Romanorum_, p. 479; Alexander's _History of + Women_, vol. ii. p. 300.) + +_ 671 Vit. St. Pachom._ (Rosweyde). + + 672 See his _Life_, by Gregory of Nyssa. + + 673 A little book has been written on these legends by M. Charles de + Bussy, called _Les Courtisanes saintes_. There is said to be some + doubt about St. Afra, for, while her acts represent her as a + reformed courtesan, St. Fortunatus, in two lines he has devoted to + her, calls her a virgin. (Ozanam, _Études german._ tome ii. p. 8.) + + 674 See the _Vit. Sancti Joannis Eleemosynarii_ (Rosweyde). + + 675 Tillemont, tome x. pp. 61-62. There is also a very picturesque + legend of the manner in which St. Paphnutius converted the courtesan + Thais. + + 676 See especially, Tertullian, _Ad Uxorem_. It was beautifully said, at + a later period, that woman was not taken from the head of man, for + she was not intended to be his ruler, nor from his feet, for she was + not intended to be his slave, but from his side, for she was to be + his companion and his comfort. (Peter Lombard, _Senten._ lib. ii. + dis. 18.) + + 677 The reader may find many passages on this subject in Barbeyrac, + _Morale des Pères_, ii. § 7; iii. § 8; iv. § 31-35; vi. § 31; xiii. + § 2-8. + + 678 "It is remarkable how rarely, if ever (I cannot call to mind an + instance), in the discussions of the comparative merits of marriage + and celibacy, the social advantages appear to have occurred to the + mind.... It is always argued with relation to the interests and the + perfection of the individual soul; and, even with regard to that, + the writers seem almost unconscious of the softening and humanising + effect of the natural affections, the beauty of parental tenderness + and filial love."--Milman's _Hist. of Christianity_, vol. iii. p. + 196. + + 679 "Tempus breve est, et jam securis ad radices arborum posita est, quæ + silvam legis et nuptiarum evangelica castitate succidat."--_Ep._ + cxxiii. + + 680 "Laudo nuptias, laudo conjugium, sed quia mihi virgines + generant."--_Ep._ xxii. + + 681 See Ceillier, _Auteurs ecclés._ xiii. p. 147. + + 682 Socrates, iv. 23. + + 683 Palladius, _Hist. Laus._ cxix. + +_ 684 Vit. S. Abr._ (Rosweyde), cap. i. + + 685 I do not know when this legend first appeared. M. Littré mentions + having found it in a French MS. of the eleventh century (Littré, + _Les Barbares_, pp. 123-124); and it also forms the subject of a + very curious fresco, I imagine of a somewhat earlier date, which was + discovered, within the last few years, in the subterranean church of + St. Clement at Rome. An account of it is given by Father Mullooly, + in his interesting little book about that Church. + +_ 686 De Virgin._ cap. iii. + + 687 Greg. Tur. i. 42. + + 688 The regulations on this point are given at length in Bingham. + + 689 Muratori, _Antich. Ital._ diss. xx. + + 690 St. Greg. _Dial._ i. 10. + + 691 Delepierre, _L'Enfer décrit par ceux qui l'ont vu_, pp. 44-56. + + 692 Val. Max. ii. 1. § 3. + + 693 "Ille meos, primus qui me sibi junxit, amores + Abstulit; ille habeat secum, servetque sepulchro." + + _Æn._ iv. 28. + + 694 E.g., the wives of Lucan, Drusus, and Pompey. + + 695 Tacit. _German._ xix. + + 696 Friedländer, tome i. p. 411. + + 697 Hieron. _Ep._ liv. + + 698 "Uxorem vivam amare voluptas; + Defunctam religio." + + Statius. _Sylv._ v. in prooemio. + + 699 By one of the laws of Charondas it was ordained that those who cared + so little for the happiness of their children as to place a + stepmother over them, should be excluded from the councils of the + State. (Diod. Sic. xii. 12.) + + 700 Tertullian expounded the Montanist view in his treatise, _De + Monogamia_. + + 701 A full collection of the statements of the Fathers on this subject + is given by Perrone, _De Matrimonio_, lib. iii. Sect. I.; and by + Natalis Alexander, _Hist. Eccles._ Sæc. II. dissert. 18. + + 702 Thus, to give but a single instance, St. Jerome, who was one of + their strongest opponents, says: "Quid igitur? damnamus secunda + matrimonia? Minime, sed prima laudamus. Abjicimus de ecclesia + digamos? absit; sed monogamos ad continentiam provocamus. In arca + Noe non solum munda sed et immunda fuerunt animalia."--_Ep._ cxxiii. + +_ 703 In Legat._ + +_ 704 Strom._ lib. iii. + +_ 705 Contra Jovin._ i. + + 706 Ibid. See, too, _Ep._ cxxiii. + + 707 Hom. xvii. in Luc. + +_ 708 Orat._ xxxi. + + 709 Perrone, _De Matr._ iii. § 1, art. 1; Natalis Alexander, _Hist. + Eccles._ II. dissert. 18. The penances are said not to imply that + the second marriage was a sin, but that the moral condition that + made it necessary was a bad one. + + 710 See Stephen's _Hist. of English Criminal Law_, i. p. 461. + + 711 Conc. Illib. can. xxxviii. Bingham thinks the feeling of the Council + to have been, that if baptism was not administered by a priest, it + should at all events be administered by one who might have been a + priest. + + 712 Perrone, _De Matrimonio_, tome iii. p. 102. + + 713 This subject has recently been treated with very great learning and + with admirable impartiality by an American author, Mr. Henry C. Lea, + in his _History of Sacerdotal Celibacy_ (Philadelphia, 1867), which + is certainly one of the most valuable works that America has + produced. Since the great history of Dean Milman, I know no work in + English which has thrown more light on the moral condition of the + middle ages, and none which is more fitted to dispel the gross + illusions concerning that period which High Church writers, and + writers of the positive school, have conspired to sustain. + + 714 See Lea, p. 36. The command of St. Paul, that a bishop or deacon + should be the husband of _one_ wife (1 Tim. iii. 2-12) was believed + by all ancient and by many modern commentators to be prohibitory of + second marriages; and this view is somewhat confirmed by the widows + who were to be honoured and supported by the Church, being only + those who had been but once married (1 Tim. v. 9). See Pressensé, + _Hist. des trois premiers Siècles_ (1re série), tome ii. p. 233. + Among the Jews it was ordained that the high priest should not marry + a widow. (Levit. xxi. 13-14.) + + 715 Socrates, _H. E._ i. 11. The Council of Illiberis (can. xxxiii.) had + ordained this, but both the precepts and the practice of divines + varied greatly. A brilliant summary of the chief facts is given in + Milman's _History of Early Christianity_, vol. iii. pp. 277-282. + + 716 See, on the state of things in the tenth and eleventh centuries, + Lea, pp. 162-192. + + 717 Ratherius, quoted by Lea, p. 151. + + 718 See some curious evidence of the extent to which the practice of the + hereditary transmission of ecclesiastical offices was carried, in + Lea, pp. 149, 150, 266, 299, 339. + + 719 Lea, pp. 271, 292, 422. + + 720 Ibid. pp. 186-187. + + 721 Lea, p. 358. + + 722 Ibid. p. 296. + + 723 Ibid. p. 322. + + 724 Ibid. p. 349. + + 725 The reader may find the most ample evidence of these positions in + Lea. See especially pp. 138, 141, 153, 155, 260, 344. + + 726 Synesius, _Ep._ cv. + + 727 Lea, p. 122. St. Augustine had named _his_ illegitimate son + Adeodatus, or the Gift of God, and had made him a principal + interlocutor in one of his religious dialogues. + +_ 728 Dialog._ iv. 11. + + 729 This is mentioned by Henry of Huntingdon, who was a contemporary. + (Lea, p. 293.) + + 730 The first notice of this very remarkable precaution is in a canon of + the Council of Palencia (in Spain) held in 1322, which anathematises + laymen who compel their pastors to take concubines. (Lea, p. 324.) + Sleidan mentions that it was customary in some of the Swiss cantons + for the parishioners to oblige the priest to select a concubine as a + necessary precaution for the protection of his female parishioners. + (Ibid. p. 355.) Sarpi, in his _Hist. of the Council of Trent_, + mentions (on the authority of Zuinglius) this Swiss custom. Nicolas + of Clemangis, a leading member of the Council of Constance, declared + that this custom had become very common, that the laity were firmly + persuaded that priests _never_ lived a life of real celibacy, and + that, where no proofs of concubinage were found, they always assumed + the existence of more serious vice. The passage (which is quoted by + Bayle) is too remarkable to be omitted. "Taceo de fornicationibus et + adulteriis a quibus qui alieni sunt probro cæteris ac ludibrio esse + solent, spadonesque aut sodomitæ appellantur; denique laici usque + adeo persuasum habent nullos cælibes esse, ut in plerisque parochiis + non aliter velint presbyterum tolerare nisi concubinam habeat, quo + vel sic suis sit consultum uxoribus, quæ nec sic quidem usquequaque + sunt extra periculum." Nic. de Clem. _De Præsul. Simoniac._ (Lea, p. + 386.) + + 731 This was energetically noticed by Luther, in his famous sermon "De + Matrimonio," and some of the Catholic preachers of an earlier period + had made the same complaint. See a curious passage from a + contemporary of Boccaccio, quoted by Meray, _Les Libres prêcheurs_, + p. 155. "Vast numbers of laymen separated from their wives under the + influence of the ascetic enthusiasm which Hildebrand created."--Lea, + p. 254. + + 732 "Quando enim servata fide thori causa prolis conjuges conveniunt sic + excusatur coitus ut culpam non habeat. Quando vero deficiente bono + prolis fide tamen servata conveniunt causa incontinentiæ non sic + excusatur ut non habeat culpam, sed venialem.... Item hoc quod + conjugati victi concupiscentia utuntur invicem, ultra necessitatem + liberos procreandi, ponam in his pro quibus quotidie dicimus Dimitte + nobis debita nostra.... Unde in sententiolis Sexti Pythagorici + legitur 'omnis ardentior amator propriæ uxoris adulter est.' "--Peter + Lombard, _Sentent._ lib. iv. dist. 31. + + 733 Many wives, however, were forbidden. (Deut. xvii. 17.) Polygamy is + said to have ceased among the Jews after the return from the + Babylonish captivity.--Whewell's _Elements of Morality_, book iv. ch. + v. + + 734 Levit. xii. 1-5. + + 735 Ecclesiasticus, xiii. 14. I believe, however, the passage has been + translated "Better the badness of a man than the blandishments of a + woman." + + 736 This curious fact is noticed by Le Blant, _Inscriptions chrétiennes + de la Gaule_, pp. xcvii.-xcviii. + + 737 See the decree of a Council of Auxerre (A.D. 578), can. 36. + + 738 See the last two chapters of Troplong, _Influences du Christianisme + sur le Droit_ (a work, however, which is written much more in the + spirit of an apologist than in that of an historian), and Legouvé, + pp. 27-29. + + 739 Even in matters not relating to property, the position of women in + feudalism was a low one. "Tout mari," says Beaumanoir, "peut battre + sa femme quand elle ne veut pas obéir à son commandement, ou quand + elle le maudit, ou quand elle le dément, pourvu que ce soit + modérément et sans que mort s'ensuive," quoted by Legouvé, p. 148. + Contrast with this the saying of the elder Cato: "A man who beats + his wife or his children lays impious hands on that which is most + holy and most sacred in the world."--Plutarch, _Marcus Cato_. + + 740 See Legouvé, pp. 29-38; Maine's _Ancient Law_, pp. 154-159. + + 741 "No society which preserves any tincture of Christian institutions + is likely to restore to married women the personal liberty conferred + on them by the middle Roman law: but the proprietary disabilities of + married females stand on quite a different basis from their personal + incapacities, and it is by keeping alive and consolidating the + former that the expositors of the canon law have deeply injured + civilisation. There are many vestiges of a struggle between the + secular and ecclesiastical principles; but the canon law nearly + everywhere prevailed."--Maine's _Ancient Law_, p. 158. I may observe + that the Russian law was early very favourable to the proprietary + rights of married women. See a remarkable letter in the _Memoirs of + the Princess Daschkaw_ (edited by Mrs. Bradford: London, 1840), vol. + ii. p. 404. + +_ 742 Germania_, cap. ix. xviii.-xx. + +_ 743 De Gubernatione Dei._ + + 744 See, for these legends, Mallet's _Northern Antiquities_. + + 745 Tacitus, _Germ._ 9; _Hist._ iv. 18; Xiphilin. lxxi. 3; Amm. + Marcellinus, xv. 12; Vopiscus, _Aurelianus_; Floras, iii. 3. + + 746 Valer. Max. vi. 1; Hieron. _Ep._ cxxiii. + + 747 Plutarch, _De Mulier. Virt._ + + 748 Plutarch, _Amatorius_; Xiphilin. lxvi. 16; Tacit. _Hist._ iv. 67. + The name of this heroic wife is given in three different forms. + + 749 On the polygamy of the first, see Greg. Tur. iv. 26; on the polygamy + of Chilperic, Greg. Tur. iv. 28; v. 14. + + 750 Greg. Tur. iv. 3. + + 751 Ibid. iii. 25-27, 36. + + 752 Fredegarius, xxxvi. + + 753 Ibid. lx. + + 754 Eginhardus, _Vit. Kar. Mag._ xviii. Charlemagne had, according to + Eginhard, four wives, but, as far as I can understand, only two at + the same time. + + 755 Smyth's _Lectures on Modern History_, vol. i. pp. 61-62. + + 756 Milman's _Hist. of Latin Christianity_, vol. i. p. 363; Legouvé, + _Hist. Morale des Femmes_, p. 57. + + 757 See, on these laws, Lord Kames _On Women_; Legouvé, p. 57. + + 758 Favorinus had strongly urged it. (Aul. Gell. _Noct._ xii. 1.) + + 759 These are the reasons given by Malthus, _On Population_, book iii. + ch. ii. + + 760 St. Augustine (_De Conj. Adult._ ii. 19) maintains that adultery is + even more criminal in the man than in the woman. St. Jerome has an + impressive passage on the subject: "Aliæ sunt leges Cæsarum, aliæ + Christi; aliud Papianus, aliud Paulus nostri præcepit. Apud illos + viris impudicitiæ fræna laxantur et solo stupro atque adulterio + condemnato passim per lupanaria et ancillulas libido permittitur, + quasi culpam dignitas faciat non voluntas. Apud nos quod non licet + feminis æque non licet viris; et eadem servitus pari conditione + censetur."--_Ep._ lxxvii. St. Chrysostom writes in a similar strain. + + 761 See Troplong, _Influence du Christianisme sur le Droit_, pp. + 239-251. + + 762 We find, however, traces of a toleration of the Roman type of + concubine in Christianity for some time. Thus, a Council of Toledo + decreed: "Si quis habens uxorem fidelis concubinam habeat non + communicet. Cæterum is qui non habet uxorem et pro uxore concubinam + habet a communione non repellatur, tantum ut unius mulieris, aut + uxoris aut concubinæ ut ei placuerit, sit conjunctione contentus."--1 + _Can._ 17. St. Isidore said: "Christiano non dicam plurimas sed nec + duas simul habere licitum est, nisi unam tantum aut uxorem, aut + certo loco uxoris, si conjux deest, concubinam."--_Apud Gratianum_, + diss. 4. Quoted by Natalis Alexander, _Hist. Eccles._ Sæc. I. diss. + 29. Mr. Lea (_Hist. of Sacerdotal Celibacy_, pp. 203-205) has + devoted an extremely interesting note to tracing the history of the + word concubine through the middle ages. He shows that even up to the + thirteenth century a concubine was not necessarily an abandoned + woman. The term was applied to marriages that were real, but not + officially recognised. Coleridge notices a remarkable instance of + the revival of this custom in German history.--_Notes on English + Divines_ (ed. 1853), vol. i. p. 221. + + 763 Legouvé, p. 199. + + 764 See some curious passages in Troplong, pp. 222-223. The Fathers seem + to have thought dissolution of marriage was not lawful on account of + the adultery of the husband, but that it was not absolutely + unlawful, though not commendable, for a husband whose wife had + committed adultery to re-marry. + + 765 Some of the great charities of Fabiola were performed as penances, + on account of her crime in availing herself of the legislative + permission of divorce. + + 766 Laboulaye, _Recherches sur la Condition civile et politique des + Femmes_, pp. 152-158. + + 767 "A discourse concerning the obligation to marry within the true + communion, following from their style (_sic_) of being called a holy + seed." This rare discourse is appended to a sermon against mixed + marriages by Leslie. (London, 1702.) The reader may find something + about Dodwell in Macaulay's _Hist. of England_, ch. xiv.; but + Macaulay, who does not appear to have known Dodwell's + masterpiece--his dissertation _De Paucitate Marturum_, which is one + of the finest specimens of criticism of his time--and who only knew + the discourse on marriages by extracts, has, I think, done him + considerable injustice. + + 768 Dodwell relies mainly upon this fact, and especially upon Ezra's + having treated these marriages as essentially null. + + 769 "Jungere cum infidelibus vinculum matrimonii, prostituere gentilibus + membra Christi."--Cyprian, _De Lapsis_. + + 770 "Hæc cum ita sint, fideles Gentilium matrimonia subeuntes stupri + reos esse constat, et arcendos ab omni communicatione + fraternitatis."--Tert. _Ad Uxor._ ii. 3. + + 771 See on this law, and on the many councils which condemned the + marriage of orthodox with heretics, Bingham, _Antiq._ xxii. 2, §§ + 1-2. + + 772 Many curious statistics illustrating this fact are given by M. + Bonneville de Marsangy--a Portuguese writer who was counsellor of the + Imperial Court at Paris--in his _Étude sur la Moralité comparée de la + Femme et de l'Homme_. (Paris, 1862.) The writer would have done + better if he had not maintained, in lawyer fashion, that the + statistics of crime are absolutely decisive on the question of the + comparative morality of the sexes, and also, if he had not thought + it due to his official position to talk in a rather grotesque strain + about the regeneration and glorification of the sex in the person of + the Empress Eugénie. + + 773 See Pliny, _Hist. Nat._ xxxiv. 19. + + 774 "Tantum inter Stoicos, Serene, et ceteros sapientiam professos + interesse, quantum inter foeminas et mares non immerito dixerim."--_De + Const. Sapientis_, cap. i. + + 775 This is well illustrated, on the one side, by the most repulsive + representations of Christ, by Michael Angelo, in the great fresco in + the Sistine Chapel (so inferior to the Christ of Orgagna, at Pisa, + from which it was partly imitated), and in marble in the Minerva + Church at Rome; and, on the other side, by the frescoes of Perugino, + at Perugia, representing the great sages of Paganism. The figure of + Cato, in the latter, almost approaches, as well as I remember, the + type of St. John. + + 776 In that fine description of a virtuous woman which is ascribed to + the mother of King Lemuel, we read: "She stretcheth out her hand to + the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy." (Proverbs + xxxi. 20.) I have already quoted from Xenophon the beautiful + description of the Greek wife tending her sick slaves. So, too, + Euripides represents the slaves of Alcestis gathering with tears + around the bed of their dying mistress, who, even then, found some + kind word for each, and, when she died, lamenting her as their + second mother. (Eurip. _Alcest._) In the servile war which desolated + Sicily at the time of the Punic wars, we find a touching trait of + the same kind. The revolt was provoked by the cruelties of a rich + man, named Damophilus, and his wife, who were massacred with + circumstances of great atrocity; but the slaves preserved their + daughter entirely unharmed, for she had always made it her business + to console them in their sorrow, and she had won the love of all. + (Diodor. Sic. _Frag._ xxxiv.) So, too, Marcia, the wife of Cato, + used to suckle her young slaves from her breast. (Plut. _Marc. + Cato_.) I may add the well-known sentiment which Virgil puts in the + mouth of Dido: "Haud ignara mali miseris succurrere disco." There + are, doubtless, many other touches of the same kind in ancient + literature, some of which may occur to my readers. + + 777 Theodoret, v. 19. + + 778 See the beautiful description of the functions of a Christian woman + in the second book of Tertullian, _Ad Uxorem_. + + 779 See, upon the deaconesses, Bingham's _Christian Antiquities_, book + ii. ch. 22, and Ludlow's _Woman's Work in the Church_. The latter + author argues elaborately that the "widows" were not the same as the + deaconesses. + + 780 Phoebe (Rom. xvi. 1) is described as a {~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}. + + 781 A very able writer, who takes on the whole an unfavourable view of + the influence of Christianity on legislation, says: "The provision + for the widow was attributable to the exertions of the Church, which + never relaxed its solicitude for the interests of wives surviving + their husbands, winning, perhaps, one of the most arduous of its + triumphs when, after exacting for two or three centuries an express + promise from the husband at marriage to endow his wife, it at last + succeeded in engrafting the principle of dower on the customary law + of all Western Europe."--Maine's _Ancient Law_, p. 224. + + 782 See Troplong, _Influence du Christianisme sur le Droit_, pp. + 308-310. + + 783 The results of this change have been treated by Miss Parkes in her + truly admirable little book called _Essays on Woman's Work_, better + than by any other writer with whom I am acquainted. + + + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF EUROPEAN MORALS FROM AUGUSTUS TO CHARLEMAGNE (VOL. 2 OF 2)*** + + + +CREDITS + + +April 15, 2012 + + Project Gutenberg TEI edition 1 + Produced by Delphine Lettau, David King, and the Online + Distributed Proofreading Team at <http://www.pgdp.net/>. + + + +A WORD FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG + + +This file should be named 39535-8.txt or 39535-8.zip. + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + + + http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/9/5/3/39535/ + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one -- the old editions will be +renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one +owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and +you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission +and without paying copyright royalties. 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