in the year 1105, reprimanded the bishop, and enjoined him silence on that subject. Even Bernard himself inveighed so strongly against the popes and the clergy, that nothing but the obstinate prejudices of education prevented him from seeing the whole truth in this matter. It was natural for men, who reverenced the scriptures, and who compared what they read of antichrist, with what they saw in the church of Rome, to express some suspicions, that the prophecy was then fulfilling, though the glare of fictitious holiness, which covered the popedom, prevented them from beholding their object with perspicuity. Our own island was rapidly advancing all this century into a state of deplorable subjection to the Roman see. Men of solid understanding, like our Henry II. lamented, struggled, and resisted, but with little effect. They felt the temporal oppression of ecclesiastical tyranny, while they were perfectly regardless of their own spiritual misery, and even aided the court of Rome in the persecution of real christians. That same Henry II. who made so firm a stand against papal encroachments in civil matters, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, joined with the French king in persecuting the cathari of Toulouse, who were injuriously denominated arians; * and, while he abused and perverted one of the finest understandings by a life of ambition, and lewdness, and by supporting idolatrous religion, he himself was exposed to the severest sufferings from the papal usurpations. One instance of his barbarity will deserve to be distinctly related. Thirty men and women, who were Germans, appeared in England in the year 1159, and were afterwards brought before a council of the clergy at Oxford. Gerard their teacher, a man of learning, said, that they were christians, and believed the doctrine of the apostles. They expressed an abhorrence of the doctrine of purgatory, of prayers for the dead, and of the invocation of saints. Henry, in conjunction with the council, ordered them to be branded with a hot iron on the forehead, to be whipped through Oxford, to have their clothes cut short by their girdles, and to be turned into the open fields; and he likewise forbade any person, under severe penalties, to shelter or relieve them. As it was the depth of winter, they all lost their lives through cold and hunger.* They had made one female convert in England, who, through fear of similar punishment, recanted. The whole number of the Germans remained, however, patient, serene, and composed, repeating "Blessed are those, who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Their teacher Gerard, that he might be distinguished from the rest, had an additional stigma on his chin. What a darkness must at that time have filled this island! A wise and sagacious king, a renowned university, the whole body of the clergy and laity, all united in expelling Christ from their coasts! Brief as is the account of the martyrs, it is sufficiently evident that they were the martyrs of Christ. Driven most probably from home by the rage of persecution, they had brought the light and power of the gospel with them into England; and so totally senseless and corrupt was our nation, that none received it. It deserves to be noticed, that England was afterwards for a long time exposed to suffer more severely, than most other nations, from the exactions of the popedom. Mr. Berington observes, on occasion of this story, that none but a hero or a madman was at that time qualified to be a reformer. But a true reformer need not to be either the one or the other. A man of understanding, who fears God, and speaks the words of soberness, if influenced by the spirit of God, is fitted to reform mankind. The contention between king Henry and Becket is well known. I have nothing to say of it, except that the whole affair is foreign to my purpose. There is no Neubrig. Brompt. Collect. See Henry's Hist. of Eng. vol. iii. p. 240. evidence that a spirit of true religion influenced either the king or the archbishop. Antichrist, indeed, reigned calm and victorious throughout Europe. Nevertheless, even in Italy itself, some suspicions of his existence appeared. Joachim, abbot of Calabria, was a man renowned for learning and piety, and perhaps very deservedly. This man asserted that antichrist was born in the Roman state, and would be exalted to the apostolic see.* Our king Richard I. being at Messina in Sicily, going upon his expedition to the holy land, sent for this Joachim, and with much satisfaction heard him explain the book of the Revelation, and discourse of antichrist. Mr. Berington gives a ludicrous account of this interview between the king and the abbot; and observes, that the "bishops who were present, and Richard, and Joachim, were equally intelligent in the mysteries of the evangelist with any other interpreters from that day." This gentleman is a lively, agreeable writer, and has exerted a capacity, learning, and industry, to which I have been obliged on several occasions. But the rude treatment of any part of the word of God deserves to be rebuked, whether he, who is guilty of it, be a roman catholic or a protestant, or a sceptic in religion. I doubt not but some of his readers, who never examined the subject with the least attention, will be gratified with the pleasantry of his remark. But let them be told, that part of the apocalypse is very intelligible, even at present; and that all of it will probably be so before the end of time. And is not all scripture said to be profitable?‡ It behooved not a man professing christianity, to throw out innuendos, which might have been expected only from an avowed infidel. Has the author ever examined with care, the writings of expositors on the apocalypse? Did he ever attend to Mr. Mede's elaborate and learned works on the subject? Did Sir Isaac Newton's observations on the apocalypse ever fall into his hands? or, to come to * Hoveden, p. 681. Collier's Ecc. Hist. b. vi. p. 401. latter times, has he ever studied the works of bishop Newton, bishop Hurd, or the late bishop Halifax? Let him attend to any one of these, and having digested his scheme, let him then say, with a sneer if he can, that our ignorant king Richard I. was as intelligent an expositor as he. If this same Richard had been as earnest in studying the scriptures, as he was in conducting his romantic expedition into the holy land, by comparing the apocalyptic prophecies with the treatment which he himself received from the pope, he might have understood that the bishop of Rome was antichrist. For, in a bull dated 1197, Innocent III. declared, that it was not fit, that any man should be invested with authority, who did not revere and obey the holy see. In another bull, addressed to Richard, he told him, that if he opposed the execution of the decrees of the apostolic see, he would soon convince him, how hard it was to kick against the pricks. In another bull, he declared, that he would not endure the least contempt of himself, or of God, whose place he held on earth, but would punish every disobedience without delay, and without respect of persons; and would convince the whole world, that he was determined to act like a sovereign. The "lionhearted" Richard obeyed his decrees, and gave up his opposition, in the cause which he had contested. Innocent, indeed, reigned in England with a power little less than despotic. This was the pope, who confirmed the doctrine of transubstantiation in the grossest sense, who reduced the two succeeding princes John and Henry III. into a state of the lowest vassalage to himself, and who enriched his creatures with the treasures of England, almost entirely at pleasure. * Gervas Chronicle. See Henry's 3d. vol. of Hist. of Eng CHAP. VII. The Propagation of the Gospel. THE pale of the visible church was still farther extended in this century among the idolatrous nations; and, though the methods of propagating divine truth were too often unchristian, some missionaries seem to have been actuated by an apostolical spirit. The articles under this head are only few, but will deserve the reader's attention. Boleslaus, duke of Poland, having taken Stetin the capital of Pomerania, by storm, and laid waste the country with fire and sword, compelled the remaining inhabitants to submit at discretion. What right he had to make war on the Pomeranians at all, and if he had a right, how far he confined himself within the bounds of justice and humanity, are inquiries not easy to be answered, on account of the scantiness of our information. From such inauspicious beginnings, however, Pomerania was introduced to an acquaintance with christianity. The conqueror endeavoured, for three years, to procure pastors and teachers from his own dominions, to instruct his new subjects; but could find none. He then engaged Otho, bishop of Bamberg, in the work. The duke of Pomerania met the bishop on his approach, and received him with much respect. The savage inhabitants, however, were with difficulty prevented from murdering him. Otho was firm, and by christian zeal, patience, and meekness, laboured to efface the disadvantageous impressions, which the military executions of Boleslaus could not fail to make on their minds. The dutchess of Pomerania, with her female attendants, received the gospel. So did the duke with his companions, and he gave this evidence of sincerity, that he was prevailed on by the instructions of Otho to dismiss his concubines, who were twenty-four in number. This missionary was afterVOL. II. 52 |