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From this very imperfect account, for which I am obliged to Gibbon, and which he candidly ad-mits to be true, we may collect, what a blessed work it is to propagate the Gospel of Christ; that no men deserve better of mankind than faithful missionaries; and, that the allegorical descriptions of the effects of real Christianity, which we meet with in the prophets, have a deep and solid meaning*. To see Danes and Englishmen enjoying together, in mutual confidence and charity, the blessings of true religion, must have been surprising to those, who had known, with what savage barbarity the former had desolated the habitations of the latter. In truth, that religion which could mollify, transform, and rectify the heart of an ancient Dane, must indeed be divine. These are the triumphs of the Gospel. It was the preaching of the Cross, attended with the energy of the Holy Spirit, which effected this salutary change of manners in the north of Europe. Denmark had inflicted much evil on her southern neighbours, and they requited her with spiritual blessings. It is remarkable, that, to this day, no nation has exceeded the Danes in labours for the propagation of the Gospel, in proportion to their abilities and opportunities. And it must be confessed, that they owe much to mankind on the score of gratitude, for the favours of the same kind which their ancestors received.

For want of materials, I cannot dwell on the particulars of the conversion of this people t. But

Isaiah xi. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid.

One instance, however, is recorded, that deserves to be mentioned. William, an English priest, attended Canute the great, in one of his voyages from England to Denmark. Moved with pity on account of the idolatry of the Danes, he desired to be left as a missionary. His labours were successful, and he was appointed bishop of Roschild in Zealand. King Swein having put to death some persons without a legal trial, William forbad his entrance into the Church. Several courtiers

CENT.

XI.

III.

CHAP. the durable change of their manners intimates, that their country must have been blessed with one of those gracious effusions of the Holy Spirit, the consequences of which are commonly felt for ages after. Toward the close of this century, the northern nations ceased to invade the southern entirely. The last attempt was made by Magnus, king of Norway, on the isle of Anglesea; but he was repulsed by Hugh earl of Shrewsbury*, in the eleventh year of William Rufus. "That restless people seem about this time to have learned the use of tillage, which thenceforth kept them at home, and freed the other nations of Europe from the devastations spread over them by those piratical invaders. This proved one great cause of the subsequent settlement and improvement of the southern nations."

I quote the words of Hume, which represent in a very perspicuous manner the advantages resulting from the civilization of the north, not only to the Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes, but also to the south of Europe. It is in assigning the cause of this happy change, that I am obliged to dissent from that elegant historian. He thinks that the effect is sufficiently accounted for by these northern people having learned the use of tillage. But, besides, that he has no historical evidence of this fact, and supports it by mere conjecture, it is fair to ask, How came they to be so docile and tractable, as to submit to the arts of agriculture? Does a nation, habituated to arms and to idleness, easily give itself up to industry, and the arts of peace? If we can answer this question aright, we shall know to what is to be ascribed the happy transformation of the north. Scanty as my materials have been,

drawing their swords, the bishop offered them his neck. Swein submitted, conformed to the rules of penance imposed by William, and ever after concurred with his views. The bishop of Roschild died in the year 1067. Alban Butler. Hume, Vol. I. C. V.

I have yet shown, that the Gospel had now been,
for three centuries, preached in Scandinavia. To
this, doubtless, as the principal cause, we must attri-
bute the happy alteration of manners in those bar-
barous regions. Christian godliness has the promise
of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to
come. While it conducts enslaved souls into liberty,
and, turning them from the power of Satan to God,
invests them with the garments of salvation, it also
meliorates their condition in this life, and diffuses,
through the world, the most salutary precepts of
peace, order, and tranquillity. Let not men expect
the general civilization of the globe by any other
methods. When the earth shall be full of the know-
ledge of the Lord, then will the nations learn war
no more. We enjoy, at this day, the advantages of
society derived to Europe, from the propagation of
the Gospel, while we ungratefully depreciate the
labours of those Christian missionaries, through
which, under God, those advantages were conveyed
to us.
Our Saviour has directed us, to pray to the
Lord of the harvest that he would send forth la-
bourers into his harvest; and every one, who breathes
the genuine spirit of the Gospel, will devoutly obey
'the precept.

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CHAP. IV.

THE STATE OF THE CHURCH IN ENGLAND.

IV.

As the importance of our own country began to be CHAP. displayed in this century, it will be proper to take some notice of the appearance of religion in an island, which, we have seen, had so distinguished a share in diffusing divine truth through the northern parts of Europe. Even the very little of evangelical religion, which we may discover, may deserve our attention.

CHAP.

IV.

In the reign of Ethelred, a very cruel massacre of the Danes was, by royal order, made throughout his dominions. The rage of the populace, excited by so many injuries, was extreme, and made no distinction between the innocent and the guilty. Swein, king of Denmark, amply revenged these cruelties, by repeatcd devastations: and the unwarlike Ethelred fled into Normandy to save his life, while his subjects felt all the miseries, which might be expected from incensed and victorious barbarians. Among other instances of their hostilities, they levied a contribution on the county of Kent, and murdered the archbishop of Canterbury, who had refused to countenance the exaction *.

The author, whose short account I have followed, does not deign to give us the name of this archbishop, nor to relate a single circumstance of his murder. I cannot but think, however, that he would have enlarged on the subject, if it would have gratified his dislike of religion. But thus a conduct, at once the most magnanimous and patriotic, is buried in obscurity, because the hero was an ecclesiastic. Let it, however, receive the justice, which is due to it from these memoirs.

The Danes were besieging Canterbury, when Alphage, the archbishop, was entreated by his friends to save his own life. "God forbid," said Alphage, "that I should tarnish my character by so inglorious a conduct; and should be afraid of going to heaven, because a violent death lies across the passage. I have been the instrument of drawing over several considerable persons among these Danes to the Gospel: if this be a fault, I shall be happy in suffering for it. I have ransomed some of my countrymen, and supported others when in captivity. If Danes be angry, because I have reproved their sins, it behoves me to remember him who hath said, "If thou

Hame, Vol. I. p. 144. .'

+ Collier's Ecc. Hist.

XI.

give not the wicked warning, his blood will I require CENT. at thine hand.' It is the character of a hireling to leave the sheep, when he seeth the wolf coming. I mean, therefore, to stand the shock, and submit to the order of Divine Providence*.

The archbishop, influenced by these motives, remained in Canterbury, and exhorted the people, as a Christian pastor. But the Danes entered the city by violence, and exercised the most horrid barbarities, particularly on ladies of quality, whom they dragged to the stake and burnt to death, nor did they spare even infants. Alphage, moved at these hideous scenes, had the boldness to expostulate with them. "The cradle," says he, "can afford no triumphs for soldiers. It would be better for you! to exercise your vengeance on me, whose death may give some celebrity to your names. Remember, some of your troops, have, through my means, been brought over to the faith of Christ, and I have frequently rebuked you for your acts of injustice." The Danes, exasperated at his words, seized, and bound the archbishop, and kept him prisoner for seven months. His liberty, however, was offered to him, on condition of immense payments to be made by himself and by Ethelred the king. He told them, that the sums were too large to be raised by any exactions, and he firmly refused to drain the treasures of the Church, for the sake of saving his life; accounting it wrong to give to Pagans those sums, which had been devoted to the honour of religion, and to the relief of the poor. The merciless Danes, enraged beyond measure, threw him down and stoned him, while he prayed for his enemies and for the Church; and, at length, a certain Dane, lately become a Christian, dispatched him, in order to free him from his pain.-One of his successors, the famous Lanfranc, doubted whether Alphage ought to

• Osberu de Vit. Elphegi. Hoveden's Annals.

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