CHARACTERISTICS OF THE REFORMATION.-IV. BERENGER. ONE of the immediate results of the work of the itinerant teachers, mentioned in our article of last week, was the establishment of schools in many parts of Europe. In the year 1060, we find such a school established in Tours by one Berenger. A layman, teaching secular learning, is a sign of a new era, if not arrived, at least giving promise of its arrival. The man, like his work, was in advance of his age. The priests at the Cathedral Church of Tours, more enlightened or more politic (we know not which) than the clergy generally were, offered Berenger the post of superintendent of the Cathedral school, and afterwards made him archdeacon of Angers. Berenger, however, was no common man; and although he accepted these offices, the course he had proposed to himself was not altered; he was by no means content to impart only the spiritual nourishment' usual in Cathedral schools, but added secular instruction, and that for all who chose to come. "The benevolent "zeal" (such is the testimony of Neander) "which he manifested in sustain"ing and encouraging the efforts of all who sought after knowledge gained "him scholars and friends throughout all France. It was objected, however, to him and his school, that he was constantly deviating from the beaten "track, that he was for striking out his own path, in matters both of secular "and ecclesiastical science." ""* Yes! here was a man who dared to think for himself in an age of implicit belief in authority. He actually had the audacity to attempt to alter things as they were-sought to make improvements in grammar, and to introduce a new pronunciation of Latin. Small things these to us, but great things then, and indicative of bold and original thought and no small self-reliance. To add to the grievous enormities of improving grammar, and civilising the pronunciation of Latin, this man had the temerity to criticise the immorality of the clergy, and to doubt the holiness of the monks. Purple and 'silk,' said he, are not the only things to be found in hell, the monk's cowl may also be seen there.' He had the unparalleled boldness to say of the Pope, that he was not even an upright man,' and to call the Roman Church a council of Satan-a seat of wickedness and vanity.' At this time, however, a moral reformer was tolerably safe, compared with one whose orthodoxy could be called in question. The immorality of Church Dignitaries had already become a mark for the shafts of more than one reformer in those times; for it was now that the great Hildebrand was beginning his work. Berenger seems to have taken wider views, although as yet, he had not touched matters connected with the faith, was probably a sound believer in all the articles taught by the Church. He longed for a reformation in the Church; so did Hildebrand-but the latter looked at the matter from a priestly point of view, while Berenger's desire arose from a purely religious feeling. "That "time," he writes in one of his letters, "when religion flourished in the first "bloom of her youth, was a time when men distinguished for science and dignity of life were made bishops, in conformity with the ecclesiastical laws, "when that which constitutes the greatest, nay, the sole ornament of the "Christian religion, LOVE, had not grown cold by the domination of wickedr ness; but when, rather, by the glowing fire of love all impurity of heart "was consumed, all darkness of the understanding dispelled, by the purity of * Church Hist, vi. p, 222, "its light! But in the times in which God has made it our lot to live, we see the annihilation of all religion, we see the sun turned into darkness, the moon into blood. We see how all confess God with words, but deny "Him by their works; how they say Lord! Lord! but do not the things He "has commanded them." A man looking with eyes thus open to the iniquity in the Church, and with self-reliance enough to strike out a path for himself, would be easily led to look from the practice of the teachers to the doctrines taught, and to question whether the Church might not have deviated from the truth in its teachings as well as in its practice. One who had dared so openly to denounce the moral delinquency in the Church must have thereby made many enemies who would be only too ready to take the first opportunity to catch him tripping. He might have lived openly in defiance of all moral law with impunity, as many others did (until Hildebrand's reforms compelled a change in this), but when he touched Church-doctrine, then he afforded his enemies the opportunity they had long sought. Had a man less just than Hildebrand been at the head of the Church in those days, we should have had to record a different fate for Berenger than that which befell him. This first revolt of human reason against medieval superstition and Priestcraft arose in reference to the monstrous doctrine of transubstantiation, or, as Michelet (with sly satire we think) is pleased to term it, the marvellous poetry of a God inclosed in a loaf, spirit in matter, infinity in an atom.' Berenger, who, as we have seen, conceived of religion as love, and thought more of active virtue than dead forms, might very naturally hesitate to shut his eyes to the fact, that though the priest said, and the multitude believed, that the loaf was transformed into the body, and the wine into the blood of Christ, yet, that they were after all nothing but bread and wine. When he saw men willing to shut their eyes to the facts of sense, he might very reasonably doubt their capacity to appreciate moral perceptions. By opening their bodily eyes, he perhaps hoped to stimulate their moral sense; but this was striking at that superstition on which Church power was based; the Church, therefore, could not stand quietly by and see it done. Accordingly, when Berenger broached the doctrine, that the bread and wine of the Eucharist were merely symbols of the body and blood of Christ, the priesthood denounced him, and he was declared a heretic. Though condemned and imprisoned, Berenger still maintained the truth of his doctrine, and offered to prove the same from the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. A Council was held at Paris, at which he was adjudged to be worthy of death unless he recanted. It was immediately after this that Hildebrand came to France as Papal Legate; Berenger appealed to him. Hildebrand was not a man to succumb to the multitude, was wise enough, too, to see the impolicy of dividing the Church upon this point, and, moreover, desirous to increase the Papal authority; he accordingly declared the sentence of the Council inoperative until confirmed by the Pope. To Rome accordingly Berenger proceeded with Hildebrand. The fury of the Roman clergy led them to call for the death of the heretic, and, in the fear of this, he recanted; but when he returned to France, he repented of his cowardice, and again taught his doctrine. The influence of Hildebrand, however, prevented, for a time, any further molestation of him. But in an age when fraud and error are triumphant, the witnesses for the Truth must never hope for peace. Lanfranc (conspicuous in the history of the Norman Conquest as the adviser of William the Conqueror) sought to bring Berenger into disrepute, by accusing him of perjury in forswearing his recantation. "It is true," said Berenger, in reply, "that human wickedness can by out"ward force extort from human weakness a different confession, but a change "of conviction is what God's almighty agency alone can effect. Thou priest,' he continues, "coldly passest by him whom robbers have left half dead; but "God has already provided for me, so that I shall not be left alone." In conclusion, he implores the readers of his reply to award to him their compassion, for that by the fear of death, he had been led to abandon the defence of the Truth. "He went on with his work," says Neander, "disseminating "his doctrine, not only by what he wrote, but also by means of his scholars, through France; and, as a teacher, he ever continued to exert wide 'influence, both in France and in other countries."* But Priestcraft was yet too powerful to be defied with impunity; and the heresy of Berenger was all the more hateful because it was based on common sense. A man who had the powerful argument of fact in his favour must be put down if possible at any cost. The outcry of the zealots against him became so great that Hildebrand was forced to summon him again to Rome. The bishops demanded that he should now not only be required to recant, but that he should undergo the fiery ordeal to prove his sincerity; probably they hoped by this means to kill him. Hildebrand, however (to his honour be it said), was no persecutor; he consented to require the recantation, but peremptorily refused the ordeal. Once again Berenger succumbed to his fears and recanted, but on his return to France again retracted his recantation. Hildebrand refused, however, to countenance any further interference with him; he knew the best way to propagate a heresy was to persecute it, and the course he took was the wisest, while there is no doubt it was also most in accordance with his own feelings. Indeed, some have supposed from the conduct pursued by Hildebrand in this matter, that he himself really held the views entertained by Berenger; but, from all we know of him, it is difficult to suppose that if so he would have concealed the fact. The truth is, Hildebrand's efforts were directed to a moral reform of the Church, and he wished not to complicate his position by entering into theological squabbles. Berenger died in France, at a very advanced age, in the year 1088. latter years of his life were embittered by a feeling that in the recantation he had twice made, he had been a coward, and had perhaps damaged the truth he taught. We feel, in reading his writings on this matter, that if he sinned, he also paid the penalty. The Some have thought fit to condemn, in no very measured terms, the weakness of Berenger in retracting his opinions, and to sneer at his want of the martyr-spirit. Waddington is particularly unjust towards him, and declares that he went to Rome, on both occasions of his recanting, "calmly prepared "to debase himself by an insincere and perjured humiliation."+ Christian charity should not have penned those words without proof of the statement, especially with a knowledge of the remorse displayed by Berenger at the contemplation of his own weakness, which proves, at least, his sincere sorrow for what he did. All men have not the capacity-the moral or physical courageto become martyrs; and in the presence of the recantations of that great "hero" of the Anglican Church, Cranmer, at least an English Churchman should have shown some lenity to Berenger. To us this man stands honourablein spite of the want of moral courage (it might be only physical courage he wanted), which, in the presence of his assembled foes he showed-as being *Church Hist. vi. p. 239. + Hist. Church. Lib. Useful Knowl. p. 295. the first to import reason into theology, the first Freethinker in those Ages of Darkness. That one man in an age of superstition and darkness like that should have dared to use his reason and appeal to it, is sufficient to entitle him to our esteem. For the enunciation of the principle that Articles of Faith are criticisable by reason we owe Berenger thanks; and, before condemning him for not submitting to death, we should ever remember that he was not the only man in whom the spirit has been willing, but the flesh weak, and it must be placed to his account, that he energetically acknowledged his weakness, sorrowed over his fault, and did all in his power to repair it. And this, at least, he accomplished. Waddington (whose bias against him is evident) would have us believe that his influence died with him, and declares that his followers did not exist as a sect.* This, however, is not true, for we find amongst the heretics of Languedoc, 100 years after his time, the sect of the Berengarians. But his work produced other fruit; Roscelin followed him, and reduced the monstrous mystery of the Trinity to the rational conception of three Gods; and then came Abelard, with the grand principle which lies at the root of all progress, that wisdom comes of frequent and assiduous questioning. Here, then, deep down in the darkness and ignorance of that eleventh century, we meet with those seeds which through seven hundred years of future time have been fructifying and producing their results in the shape of new truths and fresh blessings for humanity. JAS. L. GOODING. LIFE AND DOCTRINES OF KHOUNG-FOU-TSZE (CONFUCIUS). § 4. THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORKS. WHEN, after the already recited visits to the neighbouring States, Confucius settled down again in his native State, he devoted himself to the reproduction of the Chinese classics in an improved form, with the addition of comments. His first task was with the book of ancient poetry, the Shi-King. In ancient days the officers of State were commissioned to bring with them, on their annual visit to the Imperial Court, the poetry which during the year had been composed in their provinces. It mattered not what the subject was -all had to be brought up, and the Emperor, sitting in state, determined what portions should be preserved, and those he approved were written into the great book of poems. This mode of collection enables us to account for the fact, that so many of the pieces are as dark enigmas, which need a volume in explanation. They were called into being through some local causes which are now unknown, and the natural consequence is that they are but imperfectly comprehended by the Chinese nation. It is reported that when Confucius took this book in hand it contained several thousand pieces, and he reduced the number to three hundred, arranged under three heads :—1. Those which relate to national manners; 2. Miscellaneous, comprising songs, satires, and elegies; 3. Hymns of praise, or religious pieces, to be sung in the ceremonies and during the great festivals. It is probable that beside weeding out thousands, of whose teaching or structure the philosopher did not approve, he also improved those he pre *Hist. Church. Lib. Useful Knowl. p. 295, note. served, but even with that revision they are not very chaste, or in any sense vigorous. The Chinese have no great poem, no Iliad or Faery Queen, but only these fugitive fragments, and consequently their poetic standard ranges rather low. Confucius, however, entertained quite a different opinion to that we have expressed. He viewed the odes as the ideals of perfection, and recommended their study as of the highest importance. In the Lun-Yu he is reported as saying, "Why, my sons, do you not study the book of Odes? "If we creep on the ground, if we lie useless and inglorious, those poems "will raise us to true glory: in them we see, as in a mirror, what may best "become us, and what will be unbecoming; by their influence we shall be "made social, affable, benevolent; for as music combines sounds in just "melody, so the ancient poetry tempers and composes our passions: the "Odes teach us our duty to our parents at home, and abroad to our prince : "they instruct us also delightfully in the various productions of Nature."* Sir William Jones was of opinion that the majority of these odes are near 3,000 years old, and, as he observes, we must say much older if 'we give credit to the Chinese annals.' He gives one (a panegyric on Yu-kun, prince of Hu-hi, in the province of Honang, who died at the age of 100, in the year 736 B.C.), the author of which he supposes to have been contemporary with Hesiod and Homer. His chronology needs revision, but we allow it to pass, to come at once to the ode literally translated : "Behold yon reach of the River Ki Its green reeds how luxuriant-how luxuriant! Thus is our prince adorned with virtues ; As a carver, as a filer of ivory. As a cutter, as a polisher of gems, Oh, how elate, how sagacious! Oh, how dauntless, how composed! How worthy of fame, how worthy of reverence! We have a prince adorned with virtues : It seems that other princes were not so good; for in the same book the following ode reveals another character : "See where yon crag's imperious height The sunny highland crowns, And hideous as the brow of night So scowls the chief whose word is law, While millions gaze with painful awe, With fear allied to hate." In order that our readers may not form too low an estimate of these poems, we add one more specimen from the collection furnished by Mr. Davis.† "Now scarce is heard the zephyr's sigh Now scarce is felt the fanning air * Asiatic Researches, vol. ii. pp. 197-8. + Royal Asiatic Transactions, vol. ii. p. 393. |