as he was riding, that a woman met him, bearing in her arms the lifeless On seeing body of her little son. him, and knowing by his habit that he was a servus dei, a monk, she laid hold on the bridle of his horse, and implored his relief, nor would let him proceed till he granted her request. He therefore dismounted, raised his hands towards Heaven, and laid the buskin upon the child's breast. Whereupon the soul came into him again; and he delivered him to his mother, and then proceeded on his journey. How upon Were I but to attempt an account of the healing virtues of reliques in general, it would prove too great a trial for common patience. ever earnestly I should resolve Consulting brevity, it would be impossible to adhere to my purpose, from the ever new and surprizing discoveries observable from time to time, especially on perusing what are styled the fontes historia ecclesiastica. I am surely not the only one who is struck with amazement and concern to see, that Chrysostom, who flourished in the latter part of the fourth century, and was still living in the beginning of the fifth, speaks with unaffected gravity in a sermon publicly delivered at Antioch [Homilia ad Antioch. 5. tomo ii. edit. Montfaucon] of the excellency and dignity of the dung on which Job sat or lay when afflicted with a loathsome disthis dung, which ease : n хождься, surpassed in dignity every royal throne, σεμνότερα παντος θρόνα βασιλικό -it would be attended with various beneficial effects to any one if he had personally seen this dung.-These are his words: he notices also, as a practice to which he had no objection to make (whether or not in pursuance of the temper of the times and the taste of the great multitude, it is perhaps not difficult to decide), that numbers performed journeys and pilgrimages thither, even from beI have no doubt that yond sea, &c. this great man was obliged to yield to the mad propensity of vulgar habit. Be that, however, as it may, a long time afterwards, the Greek author of the Catena in Jobum transcribes this very passage, as a matter of great moment: although in the inventories of Church treasuries of hallowed fragments, and the rotten remains of antiquity, as far as my knowledge reaches, not a dusty particle or a single atom of that amazing old curiosity is to be found. This is the more lamentable, since it might certainly with greater propriety have been pronounced a specific against all kinds of devil's work, witchcraft, and malignant ulcers, boils, and blains, than other more modern nostrums from the moral qualities of the vegetable, mineral, and animal king doms in use among the people called Christians. The Oak of Mamre, that was still in being in the time of Constantine the Great, and of which chips and splinters were even in the eighth century distributed far and wide; must have excelled all other wood, because Abraham entertained the Angels beneath its shade. A still greater degree of this miraculous power was presumed to be in the sacred reliques themselves. Whether it was always exhibited whenever they were only approached; as its constant connexion with bones, or fingers, locks of bair, &c. might have afforded occasion to the scholastici, for propounding many im. portant questions on such recent sacramenta, when they came out of their abstractions, and wanted to examine objects in concreto in the actual world; or only occasionally, and without adhering to an annual or diurnal order; or in fair proportion The exact account, both at once. given by Evagrius in his Ecclesiastical History, of the reliques of St. Euphemia, is peculiarly instructive; and very remarkable for this reason, that he communicates it on occasion of the council of Chalcedou. In the very Church of St. Euphemia that famous council was held; and if, as is but reasonable, we maturely reflect upon this account, it cannot fail of facilitating our insight into other matters, particularly the temper and spirit of several members of that council. The subject itself consequently belongs to the fifth century, and gives us to understand the various means that were employed to uphold the worthless devotion and spiritless religion then in vogue. St. Euphemia was wont to appear occasionally to this and that bishop or considerable personage, in their sleep, commanding them, rguyav, to press wine in her Church. She must of course have previously explained - how how this was to be understood; otherwise, unless some additional helps of intaition were granted, it would have been as little intelligible at the time, as it proved afterwards to the historians and the Latin translators; and accordingly some have expounded it quite differently. The meaning of it however is thus explained: "In the Chapel stands the shrine of her holy reliques. On the left side of it is a small aperture, provided with little folding-doors. Through this aper ture a convenient iron rod having a sponge affixed to one extremity is introduced so as to touch the sacred reliques on all sides, by turning it to and fro. On being drawn out, the sponge is full of blood and clots of gore, in such quantity as not only to be sufficient for the imperial per sonages, the congregated priests and the eager mob of people assembled for the nonce, but may be sent abroad to all the faithful amateurs throughout the Christian world. These coagulated drops will keep for ever, and the blood not change its form. This miracle moreover is regulated in conformity to the moral character of the Bishop of the diocese, whether he is godly or not. On the other hand, the extraordinary and extremely fragrant odour constantly exhaled from all parts round the shrine, is confined to no particular season." This is the description of Evagrius. Here the miracle is obtained by the assistance of a specific instrument. The virtue of this coagulated blood must have been exceeding great and valuable, since it still continued to be distributed abroad in the days of Evagrius. However, the indications of the peculiar medicinal effects of it might the more easily be held superfluous in succeeding times; since this wonderful wine-press [gua] had for a great while ceased working; though it ought to have operated much longer as a greater support to the authority of the Chalcedon synod against the perpetual contradictions of the heretics: especially as another miracle of St. Euphemia did not answer that end. For, on her being appointed umpire between the Catholics and the Heretics, the creed of each being given to her in the coffin, the heretical was found lying under her feet. The Heretics would scarcely have been worthy to have trod the wine. press of this holy blood. Many of the clerici must undoubt edly have been conversant with sur gical instruments, as appears from the above account; and more parti cularly it is evident that they knew by name, and very frequently prac tised phlebotomum, or as Baronius, Ann. 504. n. 17, writes it in the old Church Latin, flebotomum. He there relates, from the before so often quoted Gregorius, Dial. i. cap. 4. that Saint Equitius was once taken to task for preaching in public, it not being ascertained, that he had been duly ordained by a Bishop. He there fore was obliged to give this account of himself: "I had likewise some scruples and doubts about it. But during a particular night, a beautiful youth, in a vision, stood by me, alque in lingua mea medicinale ferramentum, i. e. phleubotomum, posuit; he laid the instrument used for breathing veins, upon my tongue, and said: Behold, I have now put my words into thy mouth, &c." Hence how ever it appears, that such a very extraordinary vocation, without applying for holy orders in the proper quarter, probably was not to be car ried into precedent; especially as it was only a vision of Equitius. This is a very irregular use of phlebotomus; neither do we find that this Equitius was of any farther benefit to the world, than, as the monks generally were, in attracting the particular regard of the country people, by mira. cles, to such or such monasteries and cells. But, would they become true Christians, and therefore regenerated, they must themselves enter the cloister, and put on the monkish dress, (that was the new man); or by the efficacy of reliques and other receipts, procure the remission of the punishment due to their sins, particularly an abridgment of their long and painful sojourn in purgatory. A superabundance of strange and unheard of miraculous cures are related by Victor, of Vitus, de persecu tione Vandalica, which, on the testimony of numerous witnesses of the Catholic faith (now consisting simply in the homousy of the Trinity) were actually wrought during the reigns of the Arian kings Genseric and Huneric in Africa. It is astonishing what sin gular exploits, mostly consisting in miraculous cures, are related of these persons. Honest Victor does not even observe common decency, were he to be judged by the manners of the present times. He recounts so tediously and perseveringly innumerable martyrdoms, suffered by so many persons, that a prodigious length of time, a forest of timber and a whole army of bangmen, as well as of martyrs, must have been variously employed in these executions. The most curious part of the story, however, is, that he says (in praise of the Catholics) ipsi tortores eos a facie sua projecerunt, dicentes; istos imitatur universus populus, ut nullus ad religionem nostram penitus convertatur; et præcipuè, quia nulli livores, nulla pœnarum vestigia, in eis videbantur. The very executioners were so overwearied and disgusted, that they drove them away, saying: The whole people imitate them, insomuch, that absolutely none are converted to our [Arian] religion; chiefly because no bruises or marks of the fortures sustained are seen upon them. [Whence did the executioners know, that they had really so tortured these people?] These last words are perhaps to be set down to the account of the vernacular style and to the embellishments which Vic tor afterwards, when with several others he had quitted Africa, goodnaturedly added because he was not there present. The Apostles had not such good luck as to be so quickly healed; they retained their wales and bruises. Paul had his scars to produce long afterwards. But here was absolutely not a bump, no mark of extravasated blood, not a vestige of torture, though they had been hung upon hooks, bad their arms dislo cated, and the flesh torn off their bodies. It must have happened to some of them as it did to the matron Victoria in civitate Culusitana. Even her executioners thought her dead, cum in continuatione supplicii vulsis humeris, eliam qui cruciabant, conspicerent mortuam,deposuerunt prorsus omni parte exanimem. She however afterwards related, how a virgin (not to mince the matter, it was Maria) stood by her, and stroked all her limbs; whereupon she was instantly healed. This is one of the cures without the intervention of a medium; yet it was not so highly extolled, as : that other, which happened to several persons at once; likewise in Africa, and in the same period of time. la a city [Typasensis civitas] an Arian Bishop had been ordained; the inhabitants therefore ran on board of ship, relictis paucissimis who could not get to the vessel. In vain did the Arian Bishop endeavour by bribes and menaces to induce them to attend his preaching; they preferred the holding of public worship in a house (since, for political reasons, it was forbidden to omit it.) The Bishop gave intelligence of this to the king, who commanded, ut in medio foro congregata illuc omni provincia, &c. that in the public market, the assembly of the whole province should have their tongues cut out, and their right hands chopped off. This was done accordingly; but the Holy Ghost provided that they should continue to speak as before; in Constantinople was still living a subdiaconus, &c. This miraculous cure was manifestly performed without any visible means; it is truly extraordinary; several authors (all from Catholic zeal, following the first panegyrist and in pursuance of the Catholic tradition) speak of this miracle. Baronius therefore pronounces their (imperceptible) tongues, with which they spoke, to have been cœlestes linguæ, ejusdem cum ill's generis,, tongues of the same sort with those that were sent down from Heaven, like fire, to alight upon the heads of all on Whitsunday. The history however does not mention whether any thing in this instance was seen, as in the former. It is notorious, that even numbers of Protestants industriously defend the truth of this relation, in the same sincere dispositions as they affirm the reality of demoniacal possessions, &c. I should be sorry to unsettle any one in his belief and sincerity. But neither can I refrain from the observation, which on a closer investigation of Church History, almost irresistibly obtrudes itself upon the mind, that religion in general suffers as much harm from such miracles, as formerly the genuine art of medicine and the health of mankind, did from the artful pretences of impudent mountebanks to advance the honour of physic by dispensing saiubrity to the world. Victor is, in the opinion of some, a hack hackney writer of legends; nothing but miracles, nothing but cruelties, and all on account of the famous homousy of the Trinity. For of some other matters of tumults and insurrections, excited by false zeal, under the name of love for pure doctrine; of mischievous correspondences with foreign Catholics, in order to recover for them the possession of Africa, and the like, nothing is said. There is no doubt of the fact, that some few persons may have had their tongues cut out and their right hands amputated; but, whether that was done on account of religion, is a different question. Any story might very safely be told on this side of Africa to the prejudice of the king of the Vandals. It would not, however, have been the first pious falsehood, and that boldly affirmed, by several writers of those times; and if we reflect upon the whole combination of Heathenish superstitions, of the horrible vices and iniquities of those who were then styled Catholic Christians, it is extremely disgusting to perceive, that the bare belief by the people of a creed, of which they could not possibly know any thing more than the words, could perfectly cover the whole multitude of the most scandalous and horrible impieties of the Christian body, as it was called. The Reader, as the vulgar saying is, would cross and bless himself, were I to transcribe but a few hundreds of the miracles which were wrought, not only against the Arians, but even amongst the Catholics, against the Nestorians, the Eutychians, or Severians; and the almost incredible numbers of (silly) people who were converted by them from those heresies. Fooleries, stupidities, vulgarities, scurrilities, now occur, which serve to shew the relative condition of their hearers and readers; but at the same time militate against all inward religion and the ethics of Christ. In short, the general ignorance, superstition, and native simplicity which had been introduced from Paganism, enable us to draw safe conclusions on the state of those times; a state that rendered the divine and internal power of religion almost undiscernible. Very few documents relating to the general habits of rural and domestic life among the Hea thens are now extant; otherwise we should be astonished at such a natu ral resemblance (in Damascii vita Isidori for instance), and the more infallibly should we perceive, that the doctrine of Christ, and the Chris tian religion, by which we expect sal vation, could possibly be made consistent with the gross manners of Pa ganism: that therefore all these stories and miracles, with reference to their inherent nature and combination, bear much less the Christian stamp, than that of their Pagan affinity, One observation here spontaneously Occurs. Not long afterwards, the Grecian Emperor, on the very im prudent advice of some of the cler gy, formed the design of forbidding the Arians to exercise their religion in his dominions; King Theodoric, who was now master of Italy, together with several of the countries that had formerly belonged to the Vistigoths and other sovereigns, sent a remonstrance to the Emperor against it, threatening withal, that if he proceeded to accomplish his purpose, he would retaliate it upon the Catholics in his territory (who by the way, could not sufficiently extol this king, declaring that he even outsbone many Catholic princes); but, which is yet more remarkable, he even abused the holiness of Pope John, so far as to oblige that pontiff in his own consummate person to compromise with the emperor. Was not this the proper time by some palpable miracle and marvelous cures to divert King Theodoric from his purpose, and at least free the Pope from that glaring insult? But there was no miracle: it is simply affirmed by Gregorius Magnus, that the horse, which the Pope had borrowed in Greece, after its former rider (it was the palfrey of a lady, and perfectly safe) had positively declared she would never mount it more, it hav ing received a physical influence from his holiness. However, this was no allegation against the Arians; and they still retained the free exercise of their religion, because John was more prudent than other zealots. Here it will be proper to relate in few words the extraordinary event which is reported to have happened at the execution of that respectable minister of state, Boethius, during the reign of the Gothic King Theo doric. This truly great inan had, with some others, fallen under suspicion with the king, on a charge of having formed the design of delivering the City of Rome into the hands of the Greek and Catholic Emperor Justinus. Letters were produced, and witnesses were not wanting: with all these preliminary circumstances, however, we have nothing to do. He was, in short, by the king's order executed in prison: and with so much precaution to prevent his coming to life again, that his head was split in twain. He however pressed the two halves together with both his hands; and on being asked who had given him that deadly stroke, he distinctly answered, Ungodly people. He then He then went into a neighbouring Church, knelt down before the altar, and having had the holy office administered to him, presently after died. Baronius informs us, that the Catholic Church did not fail to confer upon him the honourable title of Martyr, for having laid down his life in behalf of the Catholics, against the Arian infidels. I shall not attempt farther to explain this affair; though I cannot help saying, that it is a very great miracle, the like whereof the most dextrous surgeon with all his artificial bandages, could not easily produce, performed upon a person whose head was split in halves. But it is very easy to figure to ourselves a martyr for the Catholic doctrine in these circumstances, which shew nothing more than an unfortunate combination of incidents for that worthy and learned minister of state. By such tales the minds of men were so corrupted, as to account them the proper characteristic of the Catholic doctrine of salvation, and it was only necessary to accuse a man of disbelieving them, to make him pass for an odious and execrable heretic. Nor was this all. The same judgment respecting such as did not give credit to them, was from a pretended boly zeal, attributed to God, as they were ever wont to pass upon them. For, since miracles cannot be without the interposition of the Deity, the approbation of God was always mixed up with the whole combination in which they were said to be done. Thus was the internal efficacy of the Christian doctrine and knowledge continually obstructed or en tirely suppressed. All hopes of bliss were made to depend on the belief of these narrations, on the assistance of certain martyrs, of certain saints, of Mary, of the reliques, &c. Where was, in all this, the experience of that salvation-bringing grace of God, which teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, to lead a godly and holy life in the present world, and in whatsoever we do to do all to the glory of God? BLOOMSBURIENSIS. Mr. URBAN, March 29. As you have always been a friend and supporter of our excellent Church, I trust you will indulge me by inserting a few observations I have lately made upon reading "Milner's History of the Church of Christ." In the first volume there are many passages which appear very objectionable, especially when we consider the author was a Clergyman of the Establishment. It excited my surprise and indignation, that the Editor, a Dignitary of our Church, and the President of a College in one of our Universities, when he revised and corrected his Brother's Work, should have allowed the following passages to remain, the total exclusion of which would not injure the plan of the History, as they seem evidently to be introduced for the purpose of shewing that the Author's sentiments were not in unison with those of our orthodox Ministers of Religion. In p. 102, speaking of the persecution of the Christians in the reign of Domitian, he observes: "The humanity of the times in which we live, and the blessings of the civil freedom which the subjects of these kingdoms enjoy, protect us, it is true, from similar dangers of life and property: nevertheless, who has not observed, that even rank and dignity are among us exposed to considerable contempt, whenever a man is conspicuous and eminent for a zealous profession and diligent practice of truly evangelical doctrines and precepts?" Is this language, I ask, liberal? and is it true? Fanatics and enthusiasts deserve to be treated with contempt'; but rank and dignity, conspicuous for genuine piety, always command the veneration and respect of all good men. Page |