V. PART II. CENT. enter here into a particular account of the public supplications, the holy pilgrimages, the superstitious services paid to departed souls, the multiplication of temples, altars, penitential garments, and a multitude of other circumstances, that showed the decline of genuine piety, and the corrupt darkness that was eclipsing the lustre of primitive Christianity. As there were none in these times to hinder the Christians from retaining the opinions of their pagan ancestors concerning departed souls, heroes, demons, temples, and such like matters, and even transferring them into their religious services; and as, instead of entirely abolishing the rites and institutions of ancient times, these institutions were still observed, with only some slight alterations; all this swelled of necessity the torrent of superstition, and deformed the beauty of the Christian religion and worship with those corrupt remains of paganism, which still subsist in a certain church. It will not be improper to observe here, that the famous pagan doctrine, concerning the purification of departed souls, by means of a certain kind of fire, was more amply explained and confirmed now than it had formerly been [a]. Every body knows, that this doctrine proved an inexhaustible source of riches to the clergy through the succeeding ages, and that it still enriches the Romish church with its nutritious streams. Interpreta- III. The interpretation of the Holy Scriptures employed fewer pens in this century than in the preceding age, in which the Christian doctors were less involved in the labyrinths of controversy. Yet, notwithstanding the multiplication of reli tions of scripture. [a] See, particularly concerning this matter, Augustin, his book de viii. Questionibus ad Dulcitium, N. xiii. tom. vi. opp. p. 128. De fide et operibus, cap. xvi. p. 182. De fide, spe, et charitate, sect. 118, p. 222. Enarratione, Psal. xxxv. sect. 3, &c. V. PART II. gious disputes, a considerable number of learned CENT. men undertook this useful and important task. We shall not mention those who confined their illustrations to some one, or a few books of the divine word, such as Victor of Antioch, Polychronius, Philo, Carpathius, Isidore of Cordoua, Salonius, and Andrew of Cæsarea. We must not, however, pass over in silence Theodoret and Theodore, bishops of Cyrus and Mopsuestia, the two most famous expositors of this age, who illustrated a great part of the Holy Scriptures by their pious labours. They were truly eminent, both in point of learning and genius; and, free and unprejudiced in their search after truth, they followed the explications of scripture given by their predecessors, only as far as they found them agreeable to reason. The commentaries of Theodoret are yet extant, and in the hands of the learned [b]; those of Theodore are concealed in the east among the Nestorians, though on many accounts worthy to see the light [c]. Cyril, of Alexandria, deserves also a place among the commentators of this century; but a still higher rank, among that useful and learned body, is due to Isidore of Pelusium, whose epistles [b] See Simon, Histoire Critique des principaux Commentateurs du N. Test. chap. xxii. p. 314; as also his Critique de la Biblioth. Ecclesiast. de Du Pin, tom. i. p. 180. Theodoret wrote commentaries upon the five books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, the Psalms, the Canticles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, the 12 lesser prophets, and St. Paul's 14 Epistles. [c] Jos. Sim. Asseman. Biblioth. Oriental. Clem. Vatic. tom. iii. sect. 2. p. 227. Simon, Critique de la Biblioth. Eccles. de Du Pin, tom. i. p. 108. 677. We are assured by Fabricius, upon the testimony of Lambecius, that Theodore's commentary upon the twelve prophets is still in being, in MS. in the emperor's library at Vienna. See Fabr. Bibl. Græc. tom. ix. p. 162. See also for an ample and learned account of the writings of this author, Lardner's Credibility, &c. vol. ix. p. 389. CENT. contain many observations, which cast a considerV. able degree of light upon several parts of scripPART II. ture [d]. Many chi mentators. IV. It is, however, to be lamented, that the merical and greatest part of the commentators, both Greek weak com- and Latin, following the idle fancies of Origen, overlooked the true and natural sense of the words, and hunted after subtile and hidden significations, for mysteries (as the Latins then termed them) in the plainest precepts of the Holy Scriptures. Several of the Greeks, and particularly Theodoret, laboured with success and precision, in illustrating the books of the New Testament; and their success here is to be principally attributed to their perfect knowledge of the Greek language, which they had learned from their infancy. But neither the Greeks nor Latins cast much light upon the Old Testament, which was cruelly tortured by the allegorical pens of almost all who attempted to illustrate and explain it. For nothing is more common than to see the interpreters of the fifth century straining all the passages of that sacred book, either to typify Christ, and the blessings of his kingdom, or Antichrist, and the wars and desolations which he was to bring upon the earth, and that, without the least spark of judgment, or the smallest air of probability. Some of dom and V. A few chosen spirits, superior to the others more wis in sagacity and wisdom, were bold enough to judgment. stand up against these critical delusions, and to point out a safer and plainer way to divine truth. This we learn from the epistles of Isidore of Pelusium, who, though he was not himself entirely free from this allegorical contagion, yet censures [d] See for an account of these two authors, Simon, Histoire des Principaux Commentateurs du Nouveau Testament, ch. xxi. p. 300. V. PART II. judiciously, in many places, those that abandoned CENT. the historical sense of the Old Testament, and applied, universally, all its narrations and predictions to Christ alone. But none went greater lengths in censuring the fanciful followers of Origen, than Theodore of Mopsuestia, who not only wrote a book concerning allegory and history, against Origen [e], but also, in his commentary on the prophets, did not hesitate to apply the most of their predictions to various events in ancient history [f]. This manner of interpreting scripture was very ill received, and contributed, perhaps, more to raise the general cry against him, than all the erroneous doctrines with which he was charged [g]. The Nestorians followed the example of this remarkable and eminent man [h]; and still continue to consider him as a saint of the first order, and to preserve his writings with the utmost care, as precious monuments of his piety and learning. VI. The doctrines of religion were, at this Didactic time, understood and represented in a manner theology. that savoured little of their native purity and sim [e] Facundus Hermianensis, De Tribus Capitulis, lib. iii. cap. vi. Liberatus, in Breviario, cap. xxiv. [f] Acta Concilii Constantinopol. II. seu Ecumenici V. tom. iii. Conciliorum, p. 58. edit. Harduini. [g] Theodore, after his death, was considered as the parent of the Pelagian and Nestorian heresies; though during his life he was held in the highest esteem, and died in the communion of the church. [h] This appears by the testimony of Cosmas Indicopleustes, a writer of the sixth century, who was undoubtedly a Nestorian. For this author, in the fifth book of his Christian Topography, which Montfaucon published in his new collection of the Greek fathers, maintains, that of all the Psalms of David, four only are applicable to Christ. And to confirm this his opinion, he affirms boldly, that the writers of the New Testament when they apply to Jesus the prophecies of the Old, do this rather by a mere accommodation of the words, without any regard to their true and genuine sense. V. CENT. plicity. They were drawn out by laboured commentaries beyond the terms in which the divine PART II wisdom had thought fit to reveal them; and were The mana controversy examined with that minuteness and subtilty that were only proper to cover them with obscurity. And what was still worse, the theological notions that generally prevailed, were proved rather by the authorities, and logical discussions of the ancient doctors, than by the unerring dictates of the divine word. It does not appear that in this century any attempted to form a complete system of theology, unless we give that title to six books of instruction, which Nicaeas is said to have composed for the use of the Neophytes [i]. But as we have already observed, the principal branches of religion were laboriously explained in the various books that were written against the Nestorians, Eutychians, Pelagians, and Arians. VII. The number of those who disputed in gers of the this century against paganism and infidelity was against the very considerable, yet not greater than the exigans, and gency of the times, and the frequent attacks made Sectaries. upon Christianity, rendered necessary. Jews, Pa Theodo ret, in his ingenious and learned treatise, De curandis Græcorum affectionibus, Orientius, in his Commonitorium, and Evagrius, in his Dispute between Zachaeus and Apollonius, opposed, with fortitude and vigour, those that worshipped images, and offered their religious services to the Pagan deities [k]. To these we may add Philip Sedetes and Philostorgius, of whom the latter attacked Porphyry, and the former Julian. Basilius of Seleucia; Gregentius, in his Controversy with Herbanus; and Evagrius, in his Dialogue between Theophilus and Judæus, ex [] Gennadius Massiliensis De Scriptor. Ecclesiast. cap. xxii. p. 28. edit. Fabric. [k] See for an account of Orientius and Evagrius, Histoire Litteraire de la France, tom. ii. p. 121, and 252. |