fishermen and saddlers, the last of whom, at least, Homer would have commemorated as worthy of the same praise which he bestows upon Menestheus.

τῷ σ' οὔπω τις ὁμοῖος ἐπιχθόνιος χένετ' ἀνὴρ,
κοσμῆσαι ἵππους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἀσπιδιώτας.*

In the common estimation of men, the members of these different trades
were persons entitled to respect, and many of them were even exercised by the
companions of nobles. In the fifteenth century it was deemed no derogation to a
scholar, bachelor, master of arts, or one entitled "honorable" to be a printer and
book-seller. Every thing relative to men was raised in dignity by the principles
of the Catholic religion; for meekness in manners was not an hypocrisy, but the
manly expression of a sincere conviction. To these various professions I shall
only add, as forming a curious and truly Homeric personage of the middle ages,
the office of a messenger, to which Monteil has done full justice. There was the
messenger of the university, the flying messenger, who could speak Latin, and who
used to sing his hours as he rode along, " par monts et par vaux."
Even gentle-
men used to charge themselves with messages and letters, travelling night and day
to serve great lords and others. There was the feudal messenger, the messenger
of men of arms who had to ride from castle to castle;
there were foot messengers,
town messengers, and church messengers.

In 1464 posts were established in France, which proved fatal to this profession. Before that time the conveyance of letters and pacquets belonged almost every where to the universities. That of Paris had at least 100 messengers under its orders. But on the whole it is to be remembered, that the religious and poetical character of these ages was unfavorable to many branches of industry which now may appear to flourish, even under the circumstances of a state of continued concealed or open war between the masters and their laborers. The race of men who seem to have no conception of moral and social perfection beyond what is implied in the smoke of a steam engine, did not then exist. Men exercised themselves in honest and useful employments, but not with an insatiable thirst for gold and a heart hardened against the harmonies of life, against the associations of poetry, against the movement of humanity, and the inspirations of religion. Neither in their intellectual nor bodily discipline did they resemble the heretical race who, as they inquire for the sake of inquiry, so do they seem to labor for the sake of labor. "We are called to liberty," they might have said, "and we desire not to sacrifice the whole of our time about interests of money, in which there is no companionship; we require intervals of leisure for our religious exercises, for the festivals of the Church, for the recreation of our minds, for the improvement of our various intellectual powers. In this we give no just cause of offence for any one to condemn our faith, if he also respects it; but if he will only

* II. II. 552

L'imprimerie par La Caille XV. Siecle.

hearken to arguments drawn from natural reason he must admit that this is a question of which, as far as respects ourselves, we are the best judges, and we will therefore give him his dismissal in the words of Plato: οὐδέν γε δεινὸν ποιοῦμεν, κρίνοντες τὸν Ἀπόλλω καὶ τὰ τοῦ ̓Απόλλωνος ὄργανα πρὸ Μαρσύου τε καὶ τῶν ἐκείνου ὀργάνων.”

The various civil dignitaries of the social order during the ages of faith have now passed before us in all their relations; we have beheld the ancient magistrates, counsellors, nobles, and kings; it would be unjust to pass on without taking notice of the humble members of a Catholic state, upon whose character the history of Christian associations has already thrown such light, and in whose manners there will be found so much to interest the historian and the philosophic observer of mankind; but as it would be difficult to make a selection from such a multitude of examples as present themselves incidentally in history to the mind of accurate and reflecting readers, it will, perhaps, be sufficient to choose one of whose life we have the most curious details given by a very ancient writer, himself a saint, and in whose manners we can behold not only the singular merit which has entitled him to the veneration of the Church, but also the general tone and habits which belonged during these ages, in some degree or other, to a multitude of persons who trod the same paths with him. Eligius or Eloy, says his contemporary St. Quen, born of devout parents, at Limoges, was placed as an apprentice to "an honorable man, by name Abbo, who was a silversmith and kept a public shop! He was a pious youth and very skillful in whatever he undertook; he used diligently to assist at the divine offices in the churches, and whatever he heard there used to be the subject of his meditation when he returned home. He became known to king Clotaire, who gave him abundance of employment; and on the death of this king, his son and successor, king Dagobert, treated Eligius with no less kindness. His integrity and diligence, his piety and meekness, his charity and mortification, were beyond all description. While at work, he had always some holy page open before him, that his mind as well as his hands might be well employed. His fame was so spread that whenever strangers from Italy or Gothland came to the royal palace, they would first pay a visit to Eligius; and also holy men and poor people and monks used to come to him in crowds. His great desire was to redeem captives" (we have seen what zeal was evinced in this respect by the fraternity in London of Ironmongers),"and sometimes he used to deliver at once as many as thirty, and fifty, and even one hundred, for ships used often to arrive with that number on board of Romans, or Gauls, or Britons, or even of Moors, but especially of Saxons, who at that time used to be carried off from their country in whole droves like cattle;" (for paganism had still great power, and the inhabitants of the sea coasts were for the most part pagans) "and if his money failed he would give his clothes, or his food, his belt, or his shoes to redeem them. He

*De Repub. III.

used to give these redeemed captives the choice of three things. If they wished to return to their own country, he would supply them with means to regain it. If they wished to remain where they were, he undertook to provide for them, so that they should live, not as slaves, but as his own brethren. If he could persuade them to engage in the monastic life, he treated them as his lords, and supplied them with what was necessary. He had many holy laymen living with him in his

house.

When any stranger asked for his house, go into such a street,' he would be told, and where you will see a number of poor people there you will find his door.' He used to send out his servant to seek for poor strangers to invite them to hospitality, and he used to serve them with his own hands. The king and rich men used often to send him bread and other necessaries, which he used to distribute to the poor. He used to pray and sing Psalms during the night, keeping vigils, and if the king would send for him suddenly, he would never go until he had fulfilled his service to Christ. Being sent on a journey into Britain, he gave large alms on his way, for his thoughts always rested on the sentence of the apostle, 'Habentes victum et vestitum, his contenti simus ; nam qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in tentationem et laqueum diaboli.' Having obtained a villa from the king, he built a monastery on it, and whatever property was given to him he destined to support it. Here were many religious who were skilled in arts. It was a fertile and agreeable spot, so beautiful that when any one tarried there, finding himself among gardens and groves of apple, he might exclaim, 'quam bonæ domus tuæ, Jacob,' et 'quam pulchra tabernacula tua Israel!' like the shadowy woods, like the cedar near the waters, like a Paradise on the river's bank. 'Habitacula justorum benedicentur.' It is surrounded with a ditch and a hedge, and comprises a space of ten stadia, by the side of a river, with a mountain crowning it, covered with wood and breaking out into steep rocks, while the whole space is full of fruit trees. Thus the mind is refreshed, and may congratulate itself in enjoying in some measure the sweets of Paradise. Moreover, he built a Xenodochium in the city of Paris for poor maidens: he built also and restored several churches, and covered them with lead. Thus was he bountiful in alms, sedulous in watching, devout in prayer, perfect in charity, profound in humility, excellent in doctrine, ready in speech, most holy in conversation, bound by no chains to the world, active in ministering to the servants of God, solicitous to redeem captives, brave in suffering hardships, cheerful in good works, generous in hospitality. Nothing could be more clement than his mind, nothing sweeter than his severity, Nihil risu gravius, nihil prorsus tristia suavius.'

Under a laic habit he had a mellifluous doctrine from God filled with the Holy Spirit, with the desire of Christ, and of eternal happiness, and being forgetful of secular dignities, he had all his conversation with the poor, and with monks, 'omne consortium cum egenis haberet et monachis.' Though monks used to flock to him, yet he was never satiated with their conversation, so that he would often repair

to divers solemn monasteries. Who could describe with what devotion, with what humility he would enter the monastery and walk among the brethren! It was his custom on a journey, if he knew that the same night he could visit a monastery or a church, or any religious man, he would never take food till he arrived there, and the last three or four miles he would go on foot, and then would he eat their eulogia fasting. This blessed man among other good works made a great number of rich shrines composed of gold, and silver, and precious stones; as those of Germanus, Severinus, Quintinus, Genoveva, Columban, Maximian, and above all of the blessed Martin of Tours: king Dagobert was at the expense of the materials. Also he made the mausoleum of St. Denis, at Paris, and adorned the altars and the doors with silver metal. This was the time when heresy afflicted the empire, and many heretics came into Gaul. Eligius reclaimed several of them, 'erat enim ipse in studio Scripturarum subtilissimus,' and being himself sufficiently instructed he went about among the people with evangelical exhortations, teaching them to persevere irrevocably in the faith of Christ, and to beware of the contagion of the heretics he was subject to the king, and devout to Christ; he prayed frequently, according to the apostle, for kings and for those who are in high station, that men might lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and charity. So that under the laic habit he possessed the priestly grace, an indication of his future destiny. Oh what a perfect layman, whom priests themselves might desire to imitate! O mind worthy of being celebrated by all to whom to live was only Christ, only to fear him with love, and to love him with fear! O happy foe to this world, to whom the world was crucified, as was he to the world!"* Here concludes that part of the life of this saintly man which was spent in the exercise of his humble trade: henceforth he goes on to greater blessedness, but as occasion is not given us now to view the graces of his ecclesiastical life, we shall take leave of him for the present with submissive reverence, although with the earnest hope that we shall meet again in the cloisters of Noyon.

Such then are a few of the leading facts presented in this history, of the associations and employments of the middle and lowest ranks of society during the ages of faith. Perhaps the prospect held out to the reader in the commencement of this path was not inviting, but it seems indeed to have supplied much that may give us pause if pondered fittingly. It was impossible to impart dignity to such a subject, and to speak of the most ordinary trades in a manner that would prove agreeable seemed difficult; but although Callimachus might turn away in contempt, our offering is, as it were, a Cyclic rhapsody which can omit mention of nothing however little or common, and it appears as if in this instance it has made us acquainted with circumstances and with personages, such as no one meekly wise can reasonably disdain. The truth is, that the Catholic religion enjoys that privilege which belongs in a lower degree, to genius, of ennobling what to us without it appears common,

* Vita Sancti Eligii Episcop. S. Audœni auct. apud Dacher. Spicilegium, tom. V.

and beautiful is every path on which its light has shone. But henceforth, reader, be assured my theme will rise, for this humble pathway has conducted us to the confines of that happy earth, the pledge and earnest of eternal peace which the meek do now inherit. We from this stage of our course proceed like those who journey over a plain, gazing intent through the evening sky upon some noble mountains crowned with holy towers, the object of their vow, which stretch in purple splendor against the bright vespertine ray. But here must we pause awhile and gather strength as wearied men halt when they first gain sight of home. A short space separates us from the realm of joy; if no interruption should occur to our remaining enterprise, I shall in the next book endeavor to trace its shadowed form, and set it forth to view.

END OF THE SECOND BOOK.