566 PACHOMIUS AT TABENNE. numerous progeny which had been formed by his examp'e and his lessons. The prolific colonies of monks multiplied with rapid increase on the sands of Libya, upon the rocks of Thebais, and in the cities of the Nile. To the south of Alexandria, the mountain, and adjacent desert, of Nitria, were peopled by five thousand anachorets; and the traveler may still investigate the ruins of fifty monasteries, which were planted in that barren soil by the disciples of Antony." In the Upper Thebais, the vacant island of Tabenne" was occupied by Pachomius and fourteen hundred of his brethren. That holy abbot successively founded nine monasteries of men, and one of women; and the festival of Easter sometimes collected fifty thousand religious persons, who followed his angelic rule of discipline." The stately and populous city of Oxyrinchus, the seat of Christian orthodoxy, had devoted the temples, the public edifices, and even the ramparts, to pious and charitable uses; and the bishop, who might preach in twelve churches, computed ten thousand females and twenty thousand males of the monastic profession." The Egyptians, who gloried in this marvellous revolution, were disposed to hope, and to believe, that the number of the monks was equal to the remainder of the people," and posterity might repeat the saying, which had formerly been applied to the sacred animals of the same country, that, in Egypt, it was less difficult to find a god than a man. 11 Jerom. tom. i. p. 146, ad Eustochium. Hist. Lausiac. d. 7. in Vit. Patrum, P. 712. The P. Sicard (Missions du Levant, tom. ii. pp. 29-79) visited, and has described this desert which now contains four monasteries, and twenty or thirty monks. See D'Anville, Description de l'Egypte, p. 74.* 12 Tabenne is a small island in the Nile, in the diocese of Tentyra or Dendera, between the modern town of Girge and the ruins of ancient Thebes. (D'Anville, p. 194.) M. de Tillemont doubts whether it was an isle; but I may conclude, from his own facts, that the primitive name was afterwards transferred to the great monastery of Bau or Pabau (Mém. Ecclės. tom. vii. pp. 678, 688.) 13 See in the Codes Regularum (published by Lucas Holstenius, Rome, 1661,) a preface of St. Jerom to his Latin version of the Rule of Pachomius, tom. i. p. 61. 14 Rufin. c. 5. in Vit. Patrum, p. 459. He calls it civitas ampla valde et populosa, and reckons twelve churches. Strabo (1. xvii. p. 1166) and Ammianus (xxii. 16) have made honorable mention of Oxyrinchus, whose inhabitants adored a small fish in a magnificent temple. 15 Quanti populi habentur in urbibus, tantæ pæne habentur in desertis multitudines monachorum. Rufin. c. 7, in Patrum, p. 461. He congratulates the fortunate change. * M. Guizot, quoting Planck, (Hist. Ecc. 1. 14. 3.) says that, "The persecutions "of Diocletian contributed largely to fill the desert with Christian fugitives, who preferred safety as anchorites. to glory as martyrs." To which it may be added from Neander, that Antony was born in 251, and consequently more than fifty years of age when Diocletian's decrees were issued. It is therefore, very probable that the example of his security attracted many at that time to seek such an asylum. In the year 311, his reputation for sanctity was so great, that having occasion to visit Alexandria during the persecution, renewed by Maximin, while other monks who had come into the city concealed themselves, Antony appeared in public, yet no one dared to touch him."-ENG, CH. 44 MONASTIC LIFE AT ROME. Athanasius introduced into Rome the knowl 567 Propagation tic life at Rome, A. D. 341. edge and practice of the monastic life; and a of the monasschool of this new philosophy was opened by the disciples of Antony, who accompanied their primate to the holy threshold of the Vatican. The strange and savage appearance of these Egyptians excited, at first, horror and contempt, and, at length, applause and zealous imitation. The senators, and more especially the matrons, transformed their palaces and villas into religious houses; and the narrow institution of six vestals, was eclipsed by the frequent monasteries, which were seated on the ruins of ancient temples, and in the midst of the Roman forum. Inflamed by the example of Antony, a Syrian youth, whose name was Hilarion," fixed his dreary abode on a sandy beach, between the sea and a morass, about seven miles from Gaza. The austere penance in which he persisted forty-eight years, diffused a similar enthusiasm ; and the holy man was followed by a train of two or three thousand anachorets, whenever he visited the innumerable monasteries of Palestine. The fame of Basil is immortal in the Basil in Pontus, monastic history of the east. With a mind, that A. D. 360. 16 Hilarion in 16 The introduction of the monastic life into Rome and Italy is occasionally mentioned by Jerom, tom. i. pp. 119, 120, 199).* 17 See the Life of Hilarion, by St. Jerom (tom. i. pp. 241, 252.) The stories of Paul, Hilarion, and Malchus, by the same author, are admirably told: and the only defect of these pleasing compositions is the want of truth and common sense. * Monastic institutions were largely indebted, during their early growth, to the vigorous intellect of Athanasius. His biography of Antony proves the interest which he took in them, and reveals his guiding hand. In the year 352, he ordered the patriarch of asceticism, then a hundred years old, to visit Alexandria, that he might assist in putting down Arianism, favored and supported by the emperor Constantius. The appearance of the archbishop's celebrated friend made so great a sensation, that even Pagans crowded to church that they might see the man of God," and the diseased pressed round him to touch his garments, in the hope of being healed. In the few days of his residence, more were converted to Christianity and orthodoxy, than during a year at other times. (Neander, 3, p. 231.) The six years of his next exile (356-361) were passed by Athanasius in the deserts of Thebais. Antony was dead, but the primate of Egy was welcomed and sheltered in the numerous monasteries that had risen nor can it be doubted that he employed himself in disciplining their and digesting for them the rules of Pachomius. The monks were, on sions, his faithful guardians, cunning emissaries, and discreet ministe West, monachism was altogether introduced and recommended found at first little favor there, but his powerful intervention soon a warm reception. "Athanasius was the first who, during his res "ferent times, when banished from the East, among the Western "duced among them a better knowledge of the Oriental mo biographical account of the monk Antony, which was early tran "Latin, had a great influence in this matter." (Neander, 3. 367. bishops sensible of the advantages to be derived from it, and the leaders of the Western church continued during the next eightv progress. Eusebius of Vercelli, Ambrose of Milan, Martin of To. Augustin, all "contributed still further to awaken and diffuse t the Christian spirit of Italy, in Gaul, and in Africa."-ENG. CH 568 A. D. 370. MARTIN IN GAUL. had tasted the learning and eloquence of Athens; with an ambition, scarcely to be satisfied by the archbishopric of Cæsarea, Basil1 retired to a savage solitude in Pontus; and deigned, for a while, to give laws to the spiritual colonies which he profusely scattered along the coast of the Black Martin in Gaul, sea. In the west, Martin of Tours," a soldier, a hermit, a bishop, and a saint, established the monasteries of Gaul; two thousand of his disciples followed him to the grave; and his eloquent historian challenges the deserts of Thebais, to produce, in a more favorable climate, a champion of equal virtue. The progress of the monks was not less rapid, or universal, than that of Christianity itself. Every province, and, at last, every city, of the empire, was filled with their increasing multitudes; and the bleak and barren isles, from Lerins to Lipari, that arise out of the Tuscan sea, were chosen by the anachorets for the place of their voluntary exile. An easy and perpetual intercourse by sea and land connected the provinces of the Roman world; and the life of Hilarion displays the facility with which an indigent hermit of Palestine might traverse Egypt, embark for Sicily, escape to Epirus, and finally settle in the island of Cyprus." The Latin Christians embraced the religious institutions of Rome. The pilgrims, who visited Jerusalem, eagerly copied, in the most distant climates of the earth, the faithful model of the monastic life. The disciples of Antony spread themselves beyond the tropic, over the Christian empire of Ethiopia." The monastery of Banchor," in Flintshire, which contained above two thousand brethren, dispersed a numerous colony among the barbarians of Ireland: and Iona, one of the 18 His original retreat was in a small village on the banks of the Iris, not far from Neo-Cæsarea. The ten or twelve years of his monastic life were disturbed by long and frequent avocations. Some critics have disputed the authenticity of his Ascetic rules; but the external evidence is weighty, and they can only prove that it is the work of a real or affected enthusiast. See Tillemont, Mém. Eccles. tom. ix. pp. 636-644. Helyot, Hist. des Ordres Monastiques tom i. pp. 175–181. 19 See his life, and the three Dialogues by Sulpicius Severus, who asserts (Dialog. i, 16) that the booksellers of Rome were delighted with the quick and ready sale of his popular work. 20 When Hilarion sailed from Parætonium to Cape Pachynus, he offered to pay his passage with a book of the Gospels. Posthumian, a Gallic monk, who had visited Egypt, found a merchant ship bound from Alexandria to Marseilles, and performed the voyage in thirty days (Sulp. Sever. Dialog, i. 1.) Athanasius, who addressed his Life of St. Antony to the foreign monks, was obliged to hasten the composition, that it might be ready for the sailing of the fleets (tom. ii. p. 451.) 21 See Jerom (tom. i. p. 126), Assemanni, Bibliot. Orient. tom. Iv. p. 92, pp. 857-919, and Geddes, Church History of Ethiopia, pp. 29-31. The Abyssinian monks adhere very strictly to the primitive institution. 22 Camden's Britannia, vol. i. pp. 666, 667. 23 All that learning can extract from the rubbish of the dark ages is copiously stated by Archbishop Usher in his Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates, cap. xvi. pp. 425-503. RAPID PROGRESS OF MONASTICISM. 569 Hebrides, which was planted by the Irish monks, diffused over the northern regions a doubtful ray of science and superstition." These unhappy exiles from social life were Causes of its impelled by the dark and implacable genius of rapid progress. superstition. Their mutual resolution was supported by the example of millions, of either sex, of every age, and of every rank; and each proselyte, who entered the gates of a monastery, was persuaded, that he trod the steep and thorny path of eternal happiness.25 But the operation of these religious motives was variously determined by the temper and situation of mankind. Reason might subdue, or passion might suspend, their influence: but they acted most forcibly on the infirm minds of children and females; they were strengthened by secret remorse, or accidental misfortune; and they might derive some aid from the temporal considerations of vanity or interest. It was naturally supposed, that the pious and humble monks, who had renounced the world, to accomplish the work of their salvation, were the best qualified for the spiritual government of the Christians. The reluctant hermit was torn from his cell, and seated, amidst the acclamations of the people, on the episcopal throne: the monasteries of Egypt, of Gaul, and of the east, supplied a regular succession of saints and bishops; and ambition soon discovered the secret road which led to the possession of wealth and honors.26 The 24 This small, though not barren spot, Iona, Hy, or Columbkill, only two miles in length, and one mile in breadth, has been distinguished, 1. By the monastery of St. Columba, founded A. D. 566: whose abbot exercised an extraordinary jurisdiction over the bishops of Caledonia, 2. By a classic library, which afforded some hopes of an entire Livy; and, 3. By the tombs of sixty kings, Scots, Irish, and Norwegians, who reposed in holy ground. See Usher (pp. 311, 360-370) and Buchanan (Rer. Scot. 1. ii. p. 15, edit. Ruddiman).* 570 RAPID INCREASE OF THE MONKS. By popular monks, whose reputation was connected with the fame and success of the order, assiduously labored to multiply the number of their fellow-captives. They insinuated themselves into noble and opulent families; and the specious arts of flattery and seduction were employed to secure those proselytes, who might bestow wealth or dignity on the monastic profession. The indignant father bewailed the loss, perhaps, of an only son; the credulous maid was betrayed by vanity to violate the laws of nature; and the matron aspired to imaginary perfection, by renouncing the virtues of domestic life.* Paula yielded to the persuasive eloquence of Jerom; and the profane title of mother-in-law of God," tempted that illustrious widow to consecrate the virginity of her daughter Eustochium. the advice, and in the company, of her spiritual guide, Paula abandoned Rome and her infant son; retired to the holy village of Bethlem; founded an hospital and four monasteries; and acquired, by her alms and penance, an eminent and conspicuous station in the Catholic church. Such rare and illustrious penitents were celebrated as the glory and example of their age; but the monasteries were filled by a crowd of obscure and abject plebeians," who gained in the cloister much more than they had sacrificed in the world. Peasants, slaves, and mechanics, might escape from poverty and contempt, to a safe and honorable profession; whose apparent hardships were mitigated by custom, by popular applause, and by the secret relaxation 27 Dr. Middleton (vol. i. p. 110) liberally censures the conduct and writings of Chrysostom, one of the most eloquent and successful advocates for the monastic life. 29 Jerom's devout ladies form a very considerable portion of his works: the particular treatise, which he styles the Epitaph of Paula (tom. i. pp. 169-192), is an elaborate and extravagant panegyric. The exordium is ridiculously turgid: "If all the members of my body were changed into tongues, and if all my limbs resounded with a human voice, yet should I be incapable," &c. 29 Socrus Dei esse cœpisti (Jerom, tom. i. p. 140, ad Eustochium). Rufinus (in Hieronym. Op. tom. iv. p. 223), who was justly scandalized, asks his adversary, From what Pagan poet he had stolen an expression so impious and absurd. 30 Nunc autem veniunt plerumque ad hanc professionem servitutis Dei, et ex conditione servili, vel etiam liberati, vel propter hoc a Dominis liberati sive liberandi; et ex vita rusticana, et ex opificum exercitatione, et plebeio labore. Augustin, de Oper Monach. c. 22. ap. Thomassin, Discipline de l'Eglise, tom. iii. p. 1094. The Egyptian, who blamed Arsenius, owned that he led a more comfortable life as a monk than as a shepherd. See Tillemont, Mém. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 679. Such abuses were prohibited by the first statutes that regulated the organization of monasteries. Of a wedded pair, one could not embrace the monastic life without the consent of the other. (Basil. Reg. maj. qu. 12.) A minor was not admitted without parental concurrence. (Ib. qu. 15. Conc. Gangr. c. 16.) The owner's leave must be obtained, before a slave could join the fraternity. But the emperor Justinian removed these restraints, and allowed slaves, children, and wives, to be received into monasteries even against the will of masters, parents, and husbands. (Novell. 5, c. 2. Cod. Just. 1. i, tom. iii., leg. 53, 55.)-GÜIZOT. |