sion, to remove it. A conjecture, however, is present to our mind which will add to the much that has been said on the subject. It is evident that the army frequently encamped elsewhere than at Gilgal. In verse 21, it is said: "And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua, at Mannedah, in peace;" that is, unmolested by the enemy. Might not the original word, in verse 15, have been b (beshalom) instead of ban (hagilgalah?) Should a transcriber find this word obscured, he might, from the identity of verse 43 in all the rest, have innocently introduced this latter word. The original sense of the verse would then be, simply, that they were left for the night in undisputed possession of the field. Or, and to which our mind inclines the rather, taking an (hagilgalah) to signify, as Josephus interprets it, (Ant. Jud. 5, 1, 11,) liberty, read it as a common noun. The sense is then very much as before. We only propose these as conjectures, and claim for them nothing more than plausibility. The more common opinion is, that a copy of verse 43 has been erroneously transferred to this place. This is not improbable; but whatever the truth may be, the difficulty in this sense yet remains, while the three preceding verses, distinct from this in every way, rest, for aught we have yet seen, on the same basis as formerly. As to the Book of Jasher, we think that neither Mr. Hopkins nor we know much about it. We incline to another opinion than that given above; one which has been supported by great names, and is favored by the interpretations of the Rabbins; but it cannot be demonstrated. It is worth our while to bear in mind the origin of this doubt; that it forms a consistent part of a system of philosophy, which, setting forth from the abstractional intellectualities of Kant, and traversing the wide desert of rationalism, is now arriving in the very heart of a novel and unacknowledged skepticism: so the nineteenth century exhibits the strange phenomenon of a professed believer in Christianity writing a "Life of Christ," without once admitting the idea of a miracle being wrought by the Son of God. What cannot be explained away as natural, is found inconsistent, and rejected. May Heaven protect the American Churches from the infection of such philosophies! The article of Professor Hengstenberg, which seems to have been the germ of the one we are considering, we have not had the fortune to meet with; but we take it for granted that his disciple has not only presented the virtue of his arguments, but has strengthened and illustrated them with ten additional years of doubtful study. ART. III.-1. The History of the Popes, from the Foundation of the See of Rome to the Present Time. By ARCHIbald Bower, Esq., formerly Professor of Rhetoric, History, and Philosophy, at Rome. London. 1750. 2. A Compendious History of the Popes. By C. W. F. WALCH, D. D., Professor of Divinity and Philosophy at Gottingen. London. 1759. 3. The History of Popedom. Written in High Dutch, by SAMUEL PUFFENDORF. London. 1691. 4. Critica Historico-Cronilogica in Universos Annales Ecclesiasticos Eminentissimi et Reverendissimi Cæsaris Cardinalis Baronii, auctore R. P. ANTONIO PAGI, Doct. Theol. Ordinis Minorem Convent. S. Francisci Antverpiæ. 1727. 5. Biblia Gregoriana seu Commentaria Textuum Scripturæ Sacra, S. Gregorii, Papæ I., Augusta Vindelicorum et, Grecii, Sumptibus. P. M. & J. HAEREDUM. 1731. 6. Lectures on Ecclesiastical History. By GEORGE CAMPBELL, D. D., Principal of Marischal College, &c., &c. London. 1834. 7. Ecclesiastical Histories of Mosheim, Haweis, &c., &c. ROME was the birth-place of Gregory the Great, but not the Rome of the Augustan age. The place was indeed the same, and the walls which then inclosed millions of the proud hearts of the glorious empire yet remained; but what availed this, when the indomitable courage was gone? Cities, nations, and ages are individualized and distinguished by the genius of their people, far more than by splendid edifices, or creations of art; and when the spirit of the masses has changed, we may truly say, They are not the same. Italy was mostly subject to a Lombard king, and Rome, although yet under the rule of the emperor of the East, was the wretched victim of many miseries. The noble families of the empire had survived the chaos of civilized and barbarian life of the fifth century, only to be subject to insult and poverty in the sixth. Poverty indeed! not alone as to worldly goods, but in respect to the more enduring riches of the intellect and heart. Disorder reigned-wickedness triumphed-love expired! The religion of Christ, which had long been the state religion, was by this time much corrupted, though it retained something of its original power. The bishops, who were scattered here and there in the churches, had assumed the power exercised by secular rulers, and, by becoming swallowed up in the affairs of this world, too often neglected those of the next. Of the principal sees, those of Rome and Constantinople stood highest, and next in order came those of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem. The bishops of these sees were elected by the joint votes of the clergy and the people, and held their offices for life, or until they were deprived of their high privileges by reason of some misdemeanor of their own, or personal feelings of others. Over the humbler centres of religious influence, both Rome and Constantinople looked with paternal and ambitious eyes, each longing to become the great centre of the ecclesiastical system of the age. Such were the obvious relations of things; but, when viewed in connection with the national powers, the phase, it must be confessed, was darker still. Barbarism advanced rapidly. The Lombards, little better than the rude Goths, spread their ravages, and burned and slaughtered at the very gates of Rome. The emperors of the East attempted in vain to resist them, for they themselves were weak and fast dying away. A sort of government was instituted over the part of Italy still in their power, through an officer called the exarch, whose residence was at Ravenna; but it was nearly nominal, since that functionary could boast little money and less power. When, however, we speak of the Lombards and the Romans, we mean not that there was really a very great difference between them in point of refinement, for truly the successors of the civilized and patriotic citizens of the empire were like them but in name. Romans and Lombards were nearly the same: not utterly uncivilized, nor without hope. The conquerors had melted down into the same mass with the conquered, and had adopted their religion, or rather made a religious compromise, for there was little difference between the Christianity and the heathenism of that age. Wonderful conversions of whole nations happened then, and miracles multiplied on every hand. Ignorance, too, failed not to be present, with all the evils which swell her train. St. Jerome, 'tis said, was whipped in a dream by the devil because he read Cicero; the Council of Carthage prohibited the bishops from reading any heathen book; and as few applied themselves to study except the clergy, who themselves knew little or nothing, the amount of available learning was small indeed. On this point we refer the reader to the following extract from a book on "Popedom," written by Samuel Puffendorf, in 1690, who thus quaintly elucidates the matter : "This ignorance, accompanied afterward with so insupportable a pedantry, was promoted by different causes; one of the chiefest whereof was the invasion of a no less warlike than ignorant people, in the western provinces of the Roman empire, which for some ages, during an unsettled and inconstant government, felt nothing but cruel wars, terrible disorders, spoiling, ravaging, and laying waste of whole countries; and in a word, all the miseries that are the necessary consequences of a barbarous government. Whereas the Muses and Liberal Sciences are the daughters of peace and prosperity; but in the hurlyburlies and tumults of war, books are a dead ware, and shall lie long enough on the hands of those that have 'em. Schools and academies are then like wildernesses, either quite empty, or haunted by none but wild beasts; and the gentlemen of the long robe will rather choose to shoulder a musquet than trudge to Westminster Hall with a green bag under their arms: so that, in such times, the poor professors, schoolmasters, &c., have nothing to do but to shut up their shops, pack up their goods, and be gone, especially when the victorious enemy has no knowledge of letters, and as little esteem or kindness for them." About, or a little before, this time, men began to separate themselves from the rest of the world by retiring into monasteries; thus commencing that mode of life which plays so conspicuous a part in succeeding histories, and which has continued to exist even to the present. In these convents, the little knowledge of the age was collected together; but covered as it was with bigotry and superstition, it did hurt, rather than good, to those who tried its shallow depths. The writings of the fathers were held in high esteem, and carefully copied, though with more than commendable zeal, for often were the precious relics of earlier ages erased to give place to them.* Such was the state of things when Gregory first opened his eyes upon this world, in the year of our Lord 544 or '5. He was descended from one of the most illustrious families in Rome, being the great grandson of Pope Felix II., who was of a senatorian family. He was educated as much as might be, in that age, being well versed in grammar, rhetoric, and logic, as also no stranger to the principles of honor, morality, and religion. From his connection with the state, he found it necessary also to study Roman jurisprudence, in which he became well versed. Coming into public life at the proper age, his abilities and prudence, being far above those of his companions, caused him to rise rapidly in the esteem of all, until his integrity and name becoming known to the emperor Justin, he was appointed governor of his native city. Rome at this time was surrounded by a victorious and implacable Haweis's Eccles. Hist. # enemy, against whom Gregory had to exert all his abilities, both natural and acquired. At one time we find him making good use of his skill in jurisprudence to gain his ends; at another he moves the people by eloquence which was simple and unaffected, but yet possessing in no small degree the power of exciting the feelings. By these endeavors he many times saved the city from the enemy without, and from famine within, for want of food was no uncommon affliction in that time of apprehension and turmoil. Gregory's exertions to remedy these evils, being great and efficient, gave universal satisfaction, not only to the emperor, but to the senate and people of Rome. At this time,† his father dying, left to him an immense property, with which, in his zeal for religion, he founded seven monasteries, six in Sicily, and one in his own city, dedicated to St. Andrew. Into this latter he himself retired, after a time, having found that power, and grandeur, worldly business, and the praise of men, had an influence to efface the religious sentiments imbibed from his cradle. Under St. Valentius, who was appointed abbot of St. Andrew's by himself, he began the life of a monk; in which capacity his native powers gained him many admirers; for, banishing from his mind all thoughts of the world and its cares, he sought spirituality through meditation and prayer. He was truly a monk, living only upon legumes, and even eating sparingly of these, until his abstinence proved too much for his constitution, and his health failed rapidly. His friends now came to his aid, and persuaded him to remit many of his fasts, and preserve his life for the good of all. We must allow that the monk Gregory was deeply religious, desirous of serving God in spirit and in truth. The life of a governor was not suited to his disposition; for, on account of his naturally-excellent heart and lively temperament, the spirit of the socialities of the world had undue power over him. As to his tendency to fall into those enterprises which were not in themselves sinful, but which lead to error, his after life will furnish examples. Suffice it to say, that he possessed stern determination and good judgment, but they had to do battle with the superstitions and misdirected religious sentiments of the age-which conflicts too often injured rather than nourished the real goodness of the man. Still he was far above his cotemporaries as it respects the kindlier feelings of the soul; and on account of these, he will always merit the praise of the true philanthropist. To say that all his honors came in virtue of his zeal for the public good is not too † About A. D. 578. * Bower's Hist. Popes, vol. ii, p. 463. |