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Augustine and Pelagius.

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At length, some of the writings of Pelagius falling into the hands of Augustine, that father was induced to take up his pen. Being thus attacked, he sought the countenance of the patriarch of Jerusalem, whose sentiments agreeing with Origen, he thought likely to serve his interest. John of Jerusalem, agreeably to his wishes, defended him in the synod, and obtained his acquittal. This vindication he sent to Augustine, which he thought the best answer to what that great man had written against him. This controversy soon reached Rome, where, Pelagius practised the same artifices as he had before done in former debates, by which means he at first succeeded with Zosimus the Roman prelate, and things seemed to promise a favourable issue; but Augustine was to be no longer deceived, nor could he be kept silent: his writings on the subject were introduced to Zosimus, and matters took a turn, by which the duplicity and errors of Pelagius, and of his colleague were laid open, and the consequence was, they were both condemned, and their sentiments declared dangerous, and contrary to scripture. In this decision, it is to be feared that the power of civil authority was called in to aid the church in her sacred and spiritual warfare. Such was the spirit of the times! and such the imperfections of men who embraced the glorious and benign religion of

Jesus!

Such being the state of Pelagianism, all hopes of suceess were at length given up by the chief partizans, and they sunk into neglect and obscurity. But the great adversary of the truth had not given over all for lost, and therefore he attempted to introduce the system again, a little altered in the letter, and abetted by fresh bands.

About the year 431, John Cassian, a monk of Mar.

Chap. 2.

Semi-Pelagianism.

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seilles, who perhaps conceiving that the Augustinians, and the Pelagians had both run into extremes, adopted a middle course, which system obtained the name of Semi-Pelagianism. This scheme, though favouring the other two partook more by far of the Pelagian, than of the Augustinian sentiment. Cassian affirmed that the gifts of divine grace were not according to any predestination, but to all men alike-that Christ died alike for all, and that grace was equally offered to all -that man was born free, equally capable of resisting, or of complying with the influences of grace-that men were capable of faith and holiness without grace; and that every man could repent without grace; but that the word of God was necessary to the perfection of repentance. This form of doctrine, being rather less glaring than the former, was embraced by many, and continues to the present day (under various other names) to be the religion of all who are unacquainted with the plague of the heart, whose consciences are unenlightened, and who are too proud to bow to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. But this heresy, though new modelled, and beaded by new propagators, was recognised by that bold and acute advocate for the truth, Augustine. In his manly attempts to detect error, and to establish the grand truths of the cross, he was assisted by Hilary a priest, and Prosper a layman. Some of whose writings have been preserved, from the character of which it may be concluded that they were men fearing God, and men who loved the gospel.

The feuds and factions with which the church was now disgraced and weakened had not however quite extinguished the missionary spirit. The labours of Patrick in Ireland afford a proof of it. He was by nativity a Scot, and on the death of Palladius, bishop

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St. Patrick.

Cent. 5.

eant see.

of Scotland, Celestine of Rome ordained him to the vaAt this time the British isles were perpetually suffering all the horrors of war, by means of which Patrick was carried captive to Ireland, where remaining some considerable time, he became acquainted with the language and manners of the country. At length Patrick was, either by his captors, or some others of a like cast, removed into Gaul; but he took the first opportunity of returning to Ireland, where he prose⚫uted measures for the enlightening of the natives. But so barbarous were the people, and so numerous his discouragements, that he suspended his labours, and returned again to Gaul, where he held frequent conferences with Germanus, who had conducted a successful mission in Britain a little before. With the friendly communications of Germanus he was fired with a zealous determination to renew his former attempts among the Irish. He accordingly returned, and by perseverance gained ground, till at length he established school, taught the use of letters, and was the means, doubtless, of introducing much good. Hence Patrick, commonly called St. Patrick, is acknowledged as the apostle of Ireland. The foolish stories told of him by Irish priests, and by their silly votaries are very sparingly to be believed; probably Patrick himself, never knew any thing of the circumstances to which these idle tales refer.

CHAPTER III.

State of the Visible Church in the East-In the WestDecline of real Religion-Review of the Century.

FROM the death of the emperor Arcadius, to the end of the century, the metropolitan see of Constantinople was supplied with a succession of bishops, very similar in character to each other, courtly, moderate, catholic; but far inferior to Chrysostom. In Persia, Christianity appears to have been protected and persecuted by turns. There was so little meekness, and so much zeal for outward observances among the pastors themselves, that they often brought down the vengeance of half-converted princes, and stirred up the wrath of pagan priests, so that their sufferings were procured by their own folly and rashness.

The reign of Theodosius commenced about the year 409, when he was but a youth. He had a sister, named Pulcheria, two years older than himself, a young woman of very superior mind, and whose instruction, bath in a religious and political point of view, proved no small help to Theodosius, who was not only young, but from a natural imbecility, altogether unfit for the station which, by birth, he was appointed to fill. His virtues, and even his piety, are spoken of in the highest terms. He reigned forty-one years, and his sister succeeded him in the government, allying herself in marriage with Marcian, on whom she conferred the title of emperor. To the end of this period, there is little or nothing worth recording, of the works either

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Theodosius and Pulcheria.

Gent. 5.

of emperor, bishop, or priest-all, all is hastening to the shades of night.

Things in the West look but little better. The conversions which take place consist, chiefly, in baptizing half-enlightened and unsanctified pagan heroes, and their armies. Among the ministers of the church, the principal struggle is for dignity, power, wealth, or to establish the church called catholic in opposition to schismatics and heretics. Some few exceptions from this too general ease, we find in the labours of Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola, Germanus in Britain, and Patrick in Ireland.

During these troublesome times, the Arian controversy was, for a while, maintained with less animosity than formerly. To this, two things greatly contributed; the repeated and successful attacks of the barbarians upon the Roman empire, and the sharp contention in the church, on the rise of the Pelagian heresy. But we shall find that the Arian enmity to the cross was not slain, nor its nature altered.

It has been observed above, that the Arians had availed themselves of the barbarian conquests, and had converted some of the princes to their faith. The effect of these conversions, we have seen in part; the orthodox felt the power of their vengeance, and it is really a pity that the orthodox themselves could, when opportunity served, resort to very similar measures. The force of the civil arm is a poor and sorry criterion of truth. Whether the greatest cruelties were practised by the Arians, or by the Trinitarians, the facts must determine.

Genseric, king of the Vandals, was a mighty man among the enemies of the Western empire, and being himself a proselyte to the Arian faith, he failed not to