VILI.

bouring nations*. In the mean time, the arms of CENT. Charlemagne prevailed over the Saxons, and eventually, at least, facilitated the labours of Liefuvyn, who continued to preach among this people till his death.

་

Villehad, an English priest, born in Northumberland, was abundantly successful in the conversion of the Saxons. It is true, that he taught under the protection and auspices of Charlemagne. But, whatever may be thought of the motives of the latter, the views of the missionary might be, and probably were, upright and spiritual. Certainly he underwent great hazardst, overcame the ferocious spirits of the infidels by his meekness, and spread among them the knowledge of the Gospel. A persecution drove him once out of the country; but, by the power of the emperor, he again returned and prosecuted his labours. After various contests, the Saxons were obliged to submit to Charlemagne, and to become nominal Christians in general. But, that this was universally the case, or even nearly so,

Buto seems, in part at least, to have felt the power of the divine word commending itself to his conscience in the sight of God; and to have reported that God was of a truth with real Christian pastors. 1 Cor. xiv. 25. Effects of the kind, mentioned by the Apostle, have, in all ages, been very conmon, wherever the real Gospel is plainly and faithfully delivered. The message from God convinces and overawes the serious hearer, and, by its internal excellence, makes itself a way into the conscience. If Lietuvyn had preached mere morals, I should no more have expected such consequences from his harangues, than from the lectures of the Greek philosophers.

+ Once when he was in danger of being put to death by the pagan Frisons, some of them, struck with his innocence and probity, and doubting whether the religion which he preached might not be divine, said, "Let us cast lots whether we shall put him to death, or dismiss him." It was done so, and the lot decided in his favour. Fleury XLV. 15. The custom of deciding cases of this nature by lot, was remarkably German. The classical reader may recollect a similar instance in Cæsar's Comm. toward the end of Lib, 1. De Bell. Gall.

CHAP. the pious labours of a number of missionaries render very improbable.

IV.

in Lower

He

His

Villehad was bishop of Bremen, and was called the Apostle of Saxony. He had begun his mission in Dockum, where Boniface was murdered. was the first missionary who passed the Elbe. attention to the Scriptures appears from his copying the epistles of St. Paul. He died in Friezeland, after he had laboured 35 years, and had been bishop of Bremen upwards of two years. To his weeping friends, he said in his dying moments, "Withhold me not from going to God: these sheep I recommend to Him, who intrusted them to me, and whose mercy is able to protect them." See Alban Butler, Vol. XI.

This was an age of missionaries: their character and their success form, indeed, almost the only shining picture in this century. Firmin, a Frenchman, preached the Gospel, under various difficulties*. in Alsace, Bavaria, and Switzerland, and inspected a number of monasteries. After all, the arms of Charlemagne contributed more than any thing else to the external reception of Christianity; and Alcuin, his favourite, laments, that more pains were taken to exact from the Saxons the payment of tithes, than to inform them of the nature of true religion. Teachers, who were merely secular, drenched in the vices of human nature and of the times, would doubtless act in this manner. But, I have attempted, from very confused and imperfect memoirs, to present to the reader, those, who in the north of Europe were indeed sent of God, and laboured in demonstration of the Spirit.

Rumold, a Rumold, a native either of England or of Ireland, Missionary should be added to the list. He travelled into Germany, Lower Germany, went into Brabant, diffused much murdered. light in the neighbourhood of Mechlin, and was A. D. made an itinerant episcopal missionary. In 775,

775.

• Mosh. Cent! VIII.

he was murdered by two persons, one of whom he CENT. had reproved for adultery

VIII.

Silvin, of Auchy, born in Toulouse †, was first a courtier, then a religious person, and afterwards appointed bishop among the infidels. His labours were, chiefly, in Terouanne, the north of France which was, in this century, full of pagans and merely nominal Christians. He gathered in a large harvest, having preached for many years. He died at Auchy, in the county of Artois. Virgilius, an Irishman, was appointed bishop of Virgilius Saltzburgh, by king Pepin. During two years, modesty prevented him from entering upon the office; but he was at length prevailed upon to receive consecration. He followed the steps of Boniface in rooting out the remains of idolatry in his diocese, and died in the year 780 ‡.

his

A. Butler, Vol. VII. + See Alban Butler's Lives of Saints.

A misunderstanding had once taken place between this missionary and Boniface. The latter accused him to the See of Rome, of teaching, "that there was another world, and other men under the earth, or another sun and moon." Bonif. Ep. 10. To the pious spirit of Boniface a difficulty of solving the question arose, on this view of the tenets of Virgilius, how such ideas were compatible with the Mosaic account of the origin of all mankind from Adam, and of the redemption of the whole species by Jesus Christ. After all, it appears that Boniface was mistaken, and that Virgilius, being better acquainted with the true figure of the earth, than most of his contemporaries in that ignorant age, only held the opinion of the Antipodes, a notion as sound in philosophy, as it is innocent in regard to Christianity. As Virgilius was afterwards made bishop of Saltzburgh, he continued to labour in the same cause with Boniface, and to tread in his steps. It is more than probable, that both Boniface and the pope were satisfied of his soundness in the faith, and dismissed the accusation. It seemed worth while to state this matter in a true light, from the evidence of Boniface's letter. It appears, that Virgilius was not condemned for holding the doctrine of the Antipodes, and that the charge of Bower, against Boniface, is as malicious, as it is ill founded. See hist. of the popes (Zachary) -where the historian, without warrant, accuses Boniface of bearing a secret grudge to Virgilius, and of being actuated by a spirit of revenge.

dies,

A. D.

780.

CHAP.

V.

CHAP. V.

AUTHORS OF THIS CENTURY.

THE most learned writer of this century, if we may
except our countryman Bede, seems to have been
John of Damascus. He was one of the first, who
mingled the Aristotelian or Peripatetic philosophy
with the Christian religion*. This philosophy was
gradually supplanting the authority of the Platonic.
It makes no part of my subject, to explain the dif-
ference of the systems of Plato and Aristotle. Suf-
fice it to say, that they were both very foreign to
Christianity, and each, in their turn, corrupted it
extremely. John was a voluminous writer, and
became, among the Greeks, what Thomas Aquinas
afterwards was among the Latins. He seems to
have defended the system, commonly called the
Arminian notion of free-will, in opposition to the
doctrine of effectual grace. This was a natural
consequence of his philosophizing spirit. For, all
the philosophers of antiquity, amidst their endless
discordancies, agreed in teaching man to rely on
himself. This is the dangerous philosophy, which
St. Paul warns us to beware of. It hitherto wore,
chiefly, the garb of Plato: it was now assuming that
of Aristotle. In both these dresses, it was still
"the
wisdom of this world, which is foolishness with God."
And even at this day, among all who lean to their
own understanding, to the disparagement of re-
velation, its nature is the same, however varnished
with the polish of Christian phraseology.

In the doctrine of the Trinity, John appears to
have been orthodox: in other respects, he was one
of the most powerful supporters of error.
He was

*Fleur. XLII. 44.

+ Du Pin, 8th Cent. John of Damascus,

VIII.

an advocate for the practice of praying for the CENT. dead, which he regarded as effectual for the remission of sins. This was a deplorable article of superstition, which had been growing in the Church, and wanted the sanction of a genius like that of John, to give it lasting celebrity. I can find no evidences of his real knowledge or practice of godliness. And the reader will think he has been detained sufficiently by this Grecian author, after he has learned, that his eloquent and learned pen defended the detestable doctrine of image-worship, and contributed more than that of any other author, to establish the practice of it in the east. In the mean time there arose no evangelical luminary, who might combat his arguments with sufficient ability. The Scripture itself, indeed, was more than half buried under the load of superstitions. The learning of this eastern father, was probably more accurate and refined than that of Bede.. In the latter, however, we have seen the fullest evidence of Christian light and humility in the former, as far as respects true wisdom, all is dark and dreary; and the baleful influence of his unscriptural opinions, however respectable he might be in a literary view, has seldom been exceeded by that of any other writer in the history of the Church.

I have already taken notice of the opposition made in the west, to the progress of image-worship, by the authority of Charlemagne. The Carolin books, published in his name, were powerful checks against the growing evil; and it is more probable, that such a prince as Charlemagne was carried along by the current of the times, than that he directed the sentiments of the western Churches by his own theological studies. Political and secular reasons unhappily retained these Churches in the Roman communion, and, in process of time, the abominations of idolatry overspread them all. It is, however, a pleasing circumstance, that the labours of