No More Learning

It is
told that the king, while he rejoiced at their conversion and their faith,
yet compelled none to embrace Christianity, but only showed more affection
to the believers, as to his fellow citizens in the kingdom of Heaven. For
he had learned from those who had instructed him and guided him to
salvation, that the service of Christ ought to be voluntary, not by
compulsion. Nor was it long before he gave his teachers a settled
residence suited to their degree in his metropolis of Canterbury, with
such possessions of divers sorts as were necessary for them.




Chap. XXVII. How St. Augustine, being made a bishop, sent to acquaint Pope
Gregory with what had been done in Britain, and asked and received
replies, of which he stood in need. [597-601 A. D. ]


In the meantime, Augustine, the man of God, went to Arles, and, according
to the orders received from the holy Father Gregory, was ordained
archbishop of the English nation,(118) by Aetherius,(119) archbishop of
that city. Then returning into Britain, he sent Laurentius the the
priest(120) and Peter the monk(121) to Rome, to acquaint Pope Gregory,
that the English nation had received the faith of Christ, and that he was
himself made their bishop. At the same time, he desired his solution of
some doubts which seemed urgent to him. He soon received fitting answers
to his questions, which we have also thought meet to insert in this our
history:

_The First Question of the blessed Augustine, Bishop of the Church of
Canterbury. _—Concerning bishops, what should be their manner of
conversation towards their clergy? or into how many portions the offerings
of the faithful at the altar are to be divided? and how the bishop is to
act in the Church?

_Gregory, Pope of the City of Rome, answers. _—Holy Scripture, in which we
doubt not you are well versed, testifies to this, and in particular the
Epistles of the Blessed Paul to Timothy, wherein he endeavours to show him
what should be his manner of conversation in the house of God; but it is
the custom of the Apostolic see to prescribe these rules to bishops when
they are ordained: that all emoluments which accrue, are to be divided
into four portions;—one for the bishop and his household, for hospitality
and entertainment of guests; another for the clergy; a third for the poor;
and the fourth for the repair of churches. But in that you, my brother,
having been instructed in monastic rules, must not live apart from your
clergy in the Church of the English, which has been lately, by the will of
God, converted to the faith, you must establish the manner of conversation
of our fathers in the primitive Church, among whom, none said that aught
of the things which they possessed was his own, but they had all things
common.

But if there are any clerks not received into holy orders,(122) who cannot
live continent, they are to take wives, and receive their stipends outside
of the community; because we know that it is written concerning the same
fathers of whom we have spoken that a distribution was made unto every man
according as he had need. Care is also to be taken of their stipends, and
provision to be made, and they are to be kept under ecclesiastical rule,
that they may live orderly, and attend to singing of psalms, and, by the
help of God, preserve their hearts and tongues and bodies from all that is
unlawful. But as for those that live in common, there is no need to say
anything of assigning portions, or dispensing hospitality and showing
mercy; inasmuch as all that they have over is to be spent in pious and
religious works, according to the teaching of Him who is the Lord and
Master of all, “Give alms of such things as ye have over, and behold all
things are clean unto you. ”(123)

_Augustine’s Second Question. _—Whereas the faith is one and the same, are
there different customs in different Churches? and is one custom of Masses
observed in the holy Roman Church, and another in the Church of Gaul? (124)

_Pope Gregory answers. _—You know, my brother, the custom of the Roman
Church in which you remember that you were bred up. But my will is, that
if you have found anything, either in the Roman, or the Gallican, or any
other Church, which may be more acceptable to Almighty God, you should
carefully make choice of the same, and sedulously teach the Church of the
English, which as yet is new in the faith, whatsoever you can gather from
the several Churches. For things are not to be loved for the sake of
places, but places for the sake of good things. Choose, therefore, from
every Church those things that are pious, religious, and right, and when
you have, as it were, made them up into one bundle, let the minds of the
English be accustomed thereto.

_Augustine’s Third Question. _—I beseech you, what punishment must be
inflicted on one who steals anything from a church?

_Gregory answers. _—You may judge, my brother, by the condition of the
thief, in what manner he is to be corrected. For there are some, who,
having substance, commit theft; and there are others, who transgress in
this matter through want. Wherefore it is requisite, that some be punished
with fines, others with stripes; some with more severity, and some more
mildly. And when the severity is greater, it is to proceed from charity,
not from anger; because this is done for the sake of him who is corrected,
that he may not be delivered up to the fires of Hell. For it behoves us to
maintain discipline among the faithful, as good parents do with their
children according to the flesh, whom they punish with stripes for their
faults, and yet they design to make those whom they chastise their heirs,
and preserve their possessions for those whom they seem to visit in wrath.
This charity is, therefore, to be kept in mind, and it dictates the
measure of the punishment, so that the mind may do nothing beyond the rule
prescribed by reason. You will add to this, how men are to restore those
things which they have stolen from the church. But let not the Church take
more than it has lost of its worldly possessions, or seek gain from
vanities.

_Augustine’s Fourth Question. _—Whether two full brothers may marry two
sisters, who are of a family far removed from them?

_Gregory answers. _—Most assuredly this may lawfully be done; for nothing
is found in Holy Writ on this matter that seems to contradict it.

_Augustine’s Fifth Question. _—To what degree may the faithful marry with
their kindred? and is it lawful to marry a stepmother or a brother’s wife?

_Gregory answers. _—A certain secular law in the Roman commonwealth allows,
that the son and daughter of a brother and sister,(125) or of two full
brothers, or two sisters, may be joined in matrimony; but we have found,
by experience, that the offspring of such wedlock cannot grow up; and the
Divine law forbids a man to “uncover the nakedness of his kindred. ” Hence
of necessity it must be the third or fourth generation of the faithful,
that can be lawfully joined in matrimony; for the second, which we have
mentioned, must altogether abstain from one another. To marry with one’s
stepmother is a heinous crime, because it is written in the Law, “Thou
shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father:” now the son, indeed,
cannot uncover his father’s nakedness; but in regard that it is written,
“They twain shall be one flesh,” he that presumes to uncover the nakedness
of his stepmother, who was one flesh with his father, certainly uncovers
the nakedness of his father. It is also prohibited to marry with a
sister-in-law, because by the former union she is become the brother’s
flesh. For which thing also John the Baptist was beheaded, and obtained
the crown of holy martyrdom. For, though he was not ordered to deny
Christ, and it was not for confessing Christ that he was killed, yet
inasmuch as the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, said, “I am the Truth,”
because John was killed for the truth, he also shed his blood for Christ.

But forasmuch as there are many of the English, who, whilst they were
still heathens, are said to have been joined in this unholy union, when
they attain to the faith they are to be admonished to abstain, and be made
to know that this is a grievous sin. Let them fear the dread judgement of
God, lest, for the gratification of their carnal desires, they incur the
torments of eternal punishment. Yet they are not on this account to be
deprived of the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, lest they
should seem to be punished for those things which they did through
ignorance before they had received Baptism. For in these times the Holy
Church chastises some things with zeal, and tolerates some in mercy, and
is blind to some in her wisdom, and so, by forbearance and blindness often
suppresses the evil that stands in her way. But all that come to the faith
are to be admonished not to presume to do such things. And if any shall be
guilty of them, they are to be excluded from the Communion of the Body and
Blood of Christ. For as the offence is, in some measure, to be tolerated
in those who did it through ignorance, so it is to be rigorously punished
in those who do not fear to sin knowingly.

_Augustine’s Sixth Question. _—Whether a bishop may be consecrated without
other bishops being present, if there be so great a distance between them,
that they cannot easily come together?

_Gregory answers. _—In the Church of England, of which you are as yet the
only bishop, you cannot otherwise ordain a bishop than in the absence of
other bishops. For when do bishops come over from Gaul, that they may be
present as witnesses to you in ordaining a bishop? But we would have you,
my brother, to ordain bishops in such a manner, that the said bishops may
not be far asunder, to the end that there be no lack, but that at the
ordination of a bishop other pastors also, whose presence is of great
benefit, should easily come together. (126) Thus, when, by the help of God,
bishops shall have been ordained in places near to one another, no
ordination of a bishop is to take place without assembling three or four
bishops. For, even in spiritual affairs, we may take example by the
temporal, that they may be wisely and discreetly conducted. For surely,
when marriages are celebrated in the world, some married persons are
assembled, that those who went before in the way of matrimony, may also
partake in the joy of the new union. Why, then, at this spiritual
ordinance, wherein, by means of the sacred ministry, man is joined to God,
should not such persons be assembled, as may either rejoice in the
advancement of the new bishop, or jointly pour forth their prayers to
Almighty God for his preservation?

_Augustine’s Seventh Question. _—How are we to deal with the bishops of
Gaul and Britain?

_Gregory answers. _—We give you no authority over the bishops of Gaul,
because the bishop of Arles received the pall(127) in the old times of my
predecessors, and we must by no means deprive him of the authority he has
received. If it shall therefore happen, my brother, that you go over into
the province of Gaul, you are to concert with the said bishop of Arles,
how, if there be any faults among the bishops, they may be amended. And if
he shall be lukewarm in keeping up discipline, he is to be fired by your
zeal; to whom we have also written, that aided by the presence of your
Holiness in Gaul, he should exert himself to the utmost, and put away from
the behaviour of the bishops all that is opposed to the command of our
Creator. But you shall not have power to go beyond your own authority and
judge the bishops of Gaul, but by persuading, and winning them, and
showing good works for them to imitate, you shall recall the perverted to
the pursuit of holiness; for it is written in the Law, “When thou comest
into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest bruise the ears
with thine hand and eat; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy
neighbours’ standing corn. ”(128) For thou mayest not apply the sickle of
judgement in that harvest which thou seest to have been committed to
another; but by the influence of good works thou shalt clear the Lord’s
wheat of the chaff of its vices, and convert it by exhortation and
persuasion in the body of the Church, as it were, by eating. But
whatsoever is to be done by authority, must be transacted with the
aforesaid bishop of Arles, lest that should be omitted, which the ancient
institution of the fathers has appointed. (129) But as for all the bishops
of Britain, we commit them to your care, that the unlearned may be taught,
the weak strengthened by persuasion, and the perverse corrected by
authority.

_Augustine’s Eighth Question. _—Whether a woman with child ought to be
baptized? Or when she has brought forth, after what time she may come into
the church? As also, after how many days the infant born may be baptized,
lest he be prevented by death? Or how long after her husband may have
carnal knowledge of her? Or whether it is lawful for her to come into the
church when she has her courses, or to receive the Sacrament of Holy
Communion? Or whether a man, under certain circumstances, may come into
the church before he has washed with water? Or approach to receive the
Mystery of the Holy Communion? All which things are requisite to be known
by the ignorant nation of the English.

_Gregory answers. _—I do not doubt but that these questions have been put
to you, my brother, and I think I have already answered you therein. But I
believe you would wish the opinion which you yourself might give and hold
to be confirmed by my reply also. Why should not a woman with child be
baptized, since the fruitfulness of the flesh is no offence in the eyes of
Almighty God? For when our first parents sinned in Paradise, they
forfeited the immortality which they had received, by the just judgement
of God. Because, therefore, Almighty God would not for their fault wholly
destroy the human race, he both deprived man of immortality for his sin,
and, at the same time, of his great goodness and loving-kindness, reserved
to him the power of propagating his race after him. On what ground, then,
can that which is preserved to human nature by the free gift of Almighty
God, be excluded from the privilege of Holy Baptism? For it is very
foolish to imagine that the gift can be opposed to grace in that Mystery
in which all sin is blotted out. When a woman is delivered, after how many
days she may come into the church, you have learnt from the teaching of
the Old Testament, to wit, that she is to abstain for a male child
thirty-three days, and sixty-six for a female. Now you must know that this
is to be received in a mystery; for if she enters the church the very hour
that she is delivered, to return thanks, she is not guilty of any sin;
because the pleasure of the flesh is a fault, and not the pain; but the
pleasure is in the copulation of the flesh, whereas there is pain in
bringing forth the child. Wherefore it is said to the first mother of all,
“In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children. ” If, therefore, we forbid a
woman that has brought forth, to enter the church, we make a crime of her
very punishment. To baptize either a woman who has brought forth, if there
be danger of death, even the very hour that she brings forth, or that
which she has brought forth the very hour it is born, is in no way
prohibited, because, as the grace of the Holy Mystery is to be with much
discretion provided for those who are in full life and capable of
understanding, so is it to be without any delay administered to the dying;
lest, while a further time is sought to confer the Mystery of redemption,
if a small delay intervene, the person that is to be redeemed be dead and
gone.

Her husband is not to approach her, till the infant born be weaned. An
evil custom is sprung up in the lives of married people, in that women
disdain to suckle the children whom they bring forth, and give them to
other women to suckle; which seems to have been invented on no other
account but incontinency; because, as they will not be continent, they
will not suckle the children whom they bear. Those women, therefore, who,
from evil custom, give their children to others to bring up, must not
approach their husbands till the time of purification is past. For even
when there has been no child-birth, women are forbidden to do so, whilst
they have their courses, insomuch that the Law condemns to death any man
that shall approach unto a woman during her uncleanness. Yet the woman,
nevertheless, must not be forbidden to come into the church whilst she has
her courses; because the superfluity of nature cannot be imputed to her as
a crime; and it is not just that she should be refused admittance into the
church, for that which she suffers against her will. For we know, that the
woman who had the issue of blood, humbly approaching behind our Lord’s
back, touched the hem of his garment, and her infirmity immediately
departed from her. If, therefore, she that had an issue of blood might
commendably touch the garment of our Lord, why may not she, who has her
courses, lawfully enter into the church of God? But you may say, Her
infirmity compelled her, whereas these we speak of are bound by custom.
Consider, then, most dear brother, that all we suffer in this mortal
flesh, through the infirmity of our nature, is ordained by the just
judgement of God after the fall; for to hunger, to thirst, to be hot, to
be cold, to be weary, is from the infirmity of our nature; and what else
is it to seek food against hunger, drink against thirst, air against heat,
clothes against cold, rest against weariness, than to procure a remedy
against distempers? Thus to a woman her courses are a distemper. If,
therefore, it was a commendable boldness in her, who in her disease
touched our Lord’s garment, why may not that which is allowed to one
infirm person, be granted to all women, who, through the fault of their
nature, are rendered infirm?

She must not, therefore, be forbidden to receive the Mystery of the Holy
Communion during those days. But if any one out of profound respect does
not presume to do it, she is to be commended; yet if she receives it, she
is not to be judged. For it is the part of noble minds in some manner to
acknowledge their faults, even when there is no fault; because very often
that is done without a fault, which, nevertheless, proceeded from a fault.
Thus, when we are hungry, it is no sin to eat; yet our being hungry
proceeds from the sin of the first man. The courses are no sin in women,
because they happen naturally; yet, because our nature itself is so
depraved, that it appears to be defiled even without the concurrence of
the will, a defect arises from sin, and thereby human nature may itself
know what it is become by judgement. And let man, who wilfully committed
the offence, bear the guilt of that offence against his will. And,
therefore, let women consider with themselves, and if they do not presume,
during their courses, to approach the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of
our Lord, they are to be commended for their praiseworthy consideration;
but when they are carried away with love of the same Mystery to receive it
according to the custom of the religious life, they are not to be
restrained, as we said before. For as in the Old Testament the outward
works are observed, so in the New Testament, that which is outwardly done,
is not so diligently regarded as that which is inwardly thought, that the
punishment may be with discernment. For whereas the Law forbids the eating
of many things as unclean, yet our Lord says in the Gospel, “Not that
which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of
the mouth, this defileth a man. ” And afterwards he added, expounding the
same, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. ” Where it is abundantly
shown, that that is declared by Almighty God to be polluted in deed, which
springs from the root of a polluted thought. Whence also Paul the Apostle
says, “Unto the pure all things are pure, but unto them that are defiled
and unbelieving, nothing is pure. ” And presently, declaring the cause of
that defilement, he adds, “For even their mind and conscience is defiled. ”
If, therefore, meat is not unclean to him whose mind is not unclean, why
shall that which a woman suffers according to nature, with a clean mind,
be imputed to her as uncleanness?

A man who has approached his own wife is not to enter the church unless
washed with water, nor is he to enter immediately although washed. The Law
prescribed to the ancient people, that a man in such cases should be
washed with water, and not enter into the church before the setting of the
sun. Which, nevertheless, may be understood spiritually, because a man
acts so when the mind is led by the imagination to unlawful concupiscence;
for unless the fire of concupiscence be first driven from his mind, he is
not to think himself worthy of the congregation of the brethren, while he
sees himself burdened by the iniquity of a perverted will. For though
divers nations have divers opinions concerning this affair, and seem to
observe different rules, it was always the custom of the Romans, from
ancient times, for such an one to seek to be cleansed by washing, and for
some time reverently to forbear entering the church. Nor do we, in so
saying, assign matrimony to be a fault; but forasmuch as lawful
intercourse cannot be had without the pleasure of the flesh, it is proper
to forbear entering the holy place, because the pleasure itself cannot be
without a fault. For he was not born of adultery or fornication, but of
lawful marriage, who said, “Behold I was conceived in iniquity, and in sin
my mother brought me forth. ” For he who knew himself to have been
conceived in iniquity, lamented that he was born from sin, because he
bears the defect, as a tree bears in its bough the sap it drew from the
root. In which words, however, he does not call the union of the married
couple iniquity, but the will itself. For there are many things which are
lawful and permitted, and yet we are somewhat defiled in doing them. As
very often by being angry we correct faults, and at the same time disturb
our own peace of mind; and though that which we do is right, yet it is not
to be approved that our mind should be disturbed. For he who said, “My eye
was disturbed with anger,” had been angry at the vices of sinners. Now,
seeing that only a calm mind can rest in the light of contemplation, he
grieved that his eye was disturbed with anger; because, whilst he was
correcting evil actions below, he was obliged to be confused and disturbed
with regard to the contemplation of the highest things. Anger against vice
is, therefore, commendable, and yet painful to a man, because he thinks
that by his mind being agitated, he has incurred some guilt. Lawful
commerce, therefore, must be for the sake of children, not of pleasure;
and must be to procure offspring, not to satisfy vices. But if any man is
led not by the desire of pleasure, but only for the sake of getting
children, such a man is certainly to be left to his own judgement, either
as to entering the church, or as to receiving the Mystery of the Body and
Blood of our Lord, which he, who being placed in the fire cannot burn, is
not to be forbidden by us to receive. But when, not the love of getting
children, but of pleasure prevails, the pair have cause to lament their
deed. For this the holy preaching concedes to them, and yet fills the mind
with dread of the very concession. For when Paul the Apostle said, “Let
him that cannot contain have his own wife;” he presently took care to
subjoin, “But this I say by way of permission, not of commandment. ” For
that is not granted by way of permission which is lawful, because it is
just; and, therefore, that which he said he permitted, he showed to be an
offence.

It is seriously to be considered, that when God was about to speak to the
people on Mount Sinai, He first commanded them to abstain from women. And
if purity of body was there so carefully required, where God spoke to the
people by the means of a creature as His representative, that those who
were to hear the words of God should abstain; how much more ought women,
who receive the Body of Almighty God, to preserve themselves in purity of
flesh, lest they be burdened with the very greatness of that inestimable
Mystery? For this reason also, it was said to David, concerning his men,
by the priest, that if they were clean in this particular, they should
receive the shewbread, which they would not have received at all, had not
David first declared them to be clean. Then the man, who, afterwards, has
been washed with water, is also capable of receiving the Mystery of the
Holy Communion, when it is lawful for him, according to what has been
before declared, to enter the church.

_Augustine’s Ninth Question. _—Whether after an illusion, such as is wont
to happen in a dream, any man may receive the Body of our Lord, or if he
be a priest, celebrate the Divine Mysteries?

_Gregory answers. _—The Testament of the Old Law, as has been said already
in the article above, calls such a man polluted, and allows him not to
enter into the church till the evening, after being washed with water.
Which, nevertheless, a spiritual people, taking in another sense, will
understand in the same manner as above; because he is imposed upon as it
were in a dream, who, being tempted with uncleanness, is defiled by real
representations in thought, and he is to be washed with water, that he may
cleanse away the sins of thought with tears; and unless the fire of
temptation depart before, may know himself to be in a manner guilty until
the evening. But a distinction is very necessary in that illusion, and one
must carefully consider what causes it to arise in the mind of the person
sleeping; for sometimes it proceeds from excess of eating or drinking;
sometimes from the superfluity or infirmity of nature, and sometimes from
the thoughts. And when it happens either through superfluity or infirmity
of nature, such an illusion is not to be feared at all, because it is to
be lamented, that the mind of the person, who knew nothing of it, suffers
the same, rather than that he occasioned it. But when the appetite of
gluttony commits excess in food, and thereupon the receptacles of the
humours are oppressed, the mind thence contracts some guilt; yet not so
much as to hinder the receiving of the Holy Mystery, or celebrating Mass,
when a holy day requires it, or necessity obliges the Mystery to be shown
forth, because there is no other priest in the place; for if there be
others who can perform the ministry, the illusion proceeding from
over-eating ought not to exclude a man from receiving the sacred Mystery;
but I am of opinion he ought humbly to abstain from offering the sacrifice
of the Mystery, but not from receiving it, unless the mind of the person
sleeping has been disturbed with some foul imagination. For there are
some, who for the most part so suffer the illusion, that their mind, even
during the sleep of the body, is not defiled with filthy thoughts. In
which case, one thing is evident, that the mind is guilty, not being
acquitted even in its own judgement; for though it does not remember to
have seen anything whilst the body was sleeping, yet it calls to mind
that, when the body was awake, it fell into gluttony. But if the illusion
of the sleeper proceeds from evil thoughts when he was awake, then its
guilt is manifest to the mind; for the man perceives from what root that
defilement sprang, because what he had consciously thought of, that he
afterwards unconsciously endured. But it is to be considered, whether that
thought was no more than a suggestion, or proceeded to delight, or, what
is worse, consented to sin. For all sin is committed in three ways, viz. ,
by suggestion, by delight, and by consent. Suggestion comes from the
Devil, delight from the flesh, and consent from the spirit. For the
serpent suggested the first offence, and Eve, as flesh, took delight in
it, but Adam, as the spirit, consented. And when the mind sits in
judgement on itself, it must clearly distinguish between suggestion and
delight, and between delight and consent. For when the evil spirit
suggests a sin to the mind, if there ensue no delight in the sin, the sin
is in no way committed; but when the flesh begins to take delight in it,
then sin begins to arise. But if it deliberately consents, then the sin is
known to be full-grown. The seed, therefore, of sin is in the suggestion,
the nourishment of it in delight, its maturity in the consent. And it
often happens that what the evil spirit sows in the thought, in that the
flesh begins to find delight, and yet the soul does not consent to that
delight. And whereas the flesh cannot be delighted without the mind, yet
the mind struggling against the pleasures of the flesh, is after a manner
unwillingly bound by the carnal delight, so that through reason it opposes
it, and does not consent, yet being bound by delight, it grievously
laments being so bound. Wherefore that great soldier of our Lord’s host,
groaned and said, “I see another law in my members warring against the law
of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in
my members. ” Now if he was a captive, he did not fight; but he did fight;
wherefore he was a captive and at the same time therefore fought against
the law of the mind, which the law that is in the members opposed; but if
he fought, he was no captive. Thus, then, man is, as I may say, a captive
and yet free. Free on account of justice, which he loves, a captive by the
delight which he unwillingly bears within him.




Chap. XXVIII. How Pope Gregory wrote to the bishop of Arles to help
Augustine in the work of God. [601 A. D. ]


Thus far the answers of the holy Pope Gregory, to the questions of the
most reverend prelate, Augustine. Now the letter, which he says he had
written to the bishop of Arles, was directed to Vergilius, successor to
Aetherius,(130) and was in the following words:

“_To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Vergilius;
Gregory, servant of the servants of God. _ With how much kindness brethren,
coming of their own accord, are to be entertained, is shown by this, that
they are for the most part invited for the sake of brotherly love.
Therefore, if our common brother, Bishop Augustine, shall happen to come
to you, let your love, as is becoming, receive him with so great kindness
and affection, that it may refresh him by the benefit of its consolation
and show to others how brotherly charity is to be cultivated. And, since
it often happens that those who are at a distance first learn from others
the things that need correction, if he bring before you, my brother, any
sins of bishops or others, do you, in conjunction with him, carefully
inquire into the same, and show yourself so strict and earnest with regard
to those things which offend God and provoke His wrath, that for the
amendment of others, the punishment may fall upon the guilty, and the
innocent may not suffer under false report. God keep you in safety, most
reverend brother. Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year of
the reign of our most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the
eighteenth year after the consulship of our said lord, and the fourth
indiction. ”




Chap. XXIX. How the same Pope sent to Augustine the Pall and a letter,
along with several ministers of the Word. [601 A. D. ]


Moreover, the same Pope Gregory, hearing from Bishop Augustine, that the
harvest which he had was great and the labourers but few, sent to him,
together with his aforesaid envoys, certain fellow labourers and ministers
of the Word, of whom the chief and foremost were Mellitus, Justus,
Paulinus, and Rufinianus,(131) and by them all things in general that were
necessary for the worship and service of the Church, to wit, sacred
vessels and altar-cloths, also church-furniture, and vestments for the
bishops and clerks, as likewise relics of the holy Apostles and martyrs;
besides many manuscripts. He also sent a letter, wherein he signified that
he had despatched the pall to him, and at the same time directed how he
should constitute bishops in Britain. The letter was in these words:

“_To his most reverend and holy brother and fellow bishop, Augustine;
Gregory, the servant of the servants of God. _ Though it be certain, that
the unspeakable rewards of the eternal kingdom are reserved for those who
labour for Almighty God, yet it is requisite that we bestow on them the
benefit of honours, to the end that they may by this recompense be
encouraged the more vigorously to apply themselves to the care of their
spiritual work. And, seeing that the new Church of the English is, through
the bounty of the Lord, and your labours, brought to the grace of God, we
grant you the use of the pall in the same, only for the celebration of the
solemn service of the Mass; that so you may ordain twelve bishops in
different places, who shall be subject to your jurisdiction.
But the
bishop of London shall, for the future, be always consecrated by his own
synod, and receive the pall, which is the token of his office, from this
holy and Apostolic see, which I, by the grace of God, now serve. But we
would have you send to the city of York such a bishop as you shall think
fit to ordain; yet so, that if that city, with the places adjoining, shall
receive the Word of God, that bishop shall also ordain twelve bishops, and
enjoy the honour of a metropolitan; for we design, if we live, by the help
of God, to bestow on him also the pall; and yet we would have him to be
subject to your authority, my brother; but after your decease, he shall so
preside over the bishops he shall have ordained, as to be in no way
subject to the jurisdiction of the bishop of London. But for the future
let there be this distinction as regards honour between the bishops of the
cities of London and York, that he who has been first ordained have the
precedence. (132) But let them take counsel and act in concert and with one
mind dispose whatsoever is to be done for zeal of Christ; let them judge
rightly, and carry out their judgement without dissension.

“But to you, my brother, shall, by the authority of our God and Lord Jesus
Christ, be subject not only those bishops whom you shall ordain, and those
that shall be ordained by the bishop of York, but also all the prelates in
Britain; to the end that from the words and manner of life of your
Holiness they may learn the rule of a right belief and a good life, and
fulfilling their office in faith and righteousness, they may, when it
shall please the Lord, attain to the kingdom of Heaven. God preserve you
in safety, most reverend brother.

“Given the 22nd of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our most
religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth year after the
consulship of our said lord, and the fourth indiction. ”




Chap. XXX. A copy of the letter which Pope Gregory sent to the Abbot
Mellitus, then going into Britain. [601 A. D. ]


The aforesaid envoys having departed, the blessed Father Gregory sent
after them a letter worthy to be recorded, wherein he plainly shows how
carefully he watched over the salvation of our country. The letter was as
follows:

“_To his most beloved son, the Abbot Mellitus; Gregory, the servant of the
servants of God. _ We have been much concerned, since the departure of our
people that are with you, because we have received no account of the
success of your journey. Howbeit, when Almighty God has led you to the
most reverend Bishop Augustine, our brother, tell him what I have long
been considering in my own mind concerning the matter of the English
people; to wit, that the temples of the idols in that nation ought not to
be destroyed; but let the idols that are in them be destroyed; let water
be consecrated and sprinkled in the said temples, let altars be erected,
and relics placed there. For if those temples are well built, it is
requisite that they be converted from the worship of devils to the service
of the true God; that the nation, seeing that their temples are not
destroyed, may remove error from their hearts, and knowing and adoring the
true God, may the more freely resort to the places to which they have been
accustomed. And because they are used to slaughter many oxen in sacrifice
to devils, some solemnity must be given them in exchange for this, as that
on the day of the dedication, or the nativities of the holy martyrs, whose
relics are there deposited, they should build themselves huts of the
boughs of trees about those churches which have been turned to that use
from being temples, and celebrate the solemnity with religious feasting,
and no more offer animals to the Devil, but kill cattle and glorify God in
their feast, and return thanks to the Giver of all things for their
abundance; to the end that, whilst some outward gratifications are
retained, they may the more easily consent to the inward joys. For there
is no doubt that it is impossible to cut off every thing at once from
their rude natures; because he who endeavours to ascend to the highest
place rises by degrees or steps, and not by leaps. Thus the Lord made
Himself known to the people of Israel in Egypt; and yet He allowed them
the use, in His own worship, of the sacrifices which they were wont to
offer to the Devil, commanding them in His sacrifice to kill animals, to
the end that, with changed hearts, they might lay aside one part of the
sacrifice, whilst they retained another; and although the animals were the
same as those which they were wont to offer, they should offer them to the
true God, and not to idols; and thus they would no longer be the same
sacrifices. This then, dearly beloved, it behoves you to communicate to
our aforesaid brother, that he, being placed where he is at present, may
consider how he is to order all things. God preserve you in safety, most
beloved son.

“Given the 17th of June,(133) in the nineteenth year of the reign of our
most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, the eighteenth year
after the consulship of our said lord, and the fourth indiction. ”




Chap. XXXI. How Pope Gregory, by letter, exhorted Augustine not to glory
in his miracles. [601 A. D. ]


At which time he also sent Augustine a letter concerning the miracles that
he had heard had been wrought by him; wherein he admonishes him not to
incur the danger of being puffed up by the number of them. The letter was
in these words:

“I know, dearly beloved brother, that Almighty God, by means of you, shows
forth great miracles to the nation which it was His will to choose.
Wherefore you must needs rejoice with fear, and fear with joy concerning
that heavenly gift; for you will rejoice because the souls of the English
are by outward miracles drawn to inward grace; but you will fear, lest,
amidst the wonders that are wrought, the weak mind may be puffed up with
self-esteem, and that whereby it is outwardly raised to honour cause it
inwardly to fall through vain-glory. For we must call to mind, that when
the disciples returned with joy from preaching, and said to their Heavenly
Master, ‘Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy Name;’
forthwith they received the reply, ‘In this rejoice not; but rather
rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. ’(134) For their minds
were set on private and temporal joys, when they rejoiced in miracles; but
they are recalled from the private to the common joy, and from the
temporal to the eternal, when it is said to them, ‘Rejoice in this,
because your names are written in heaven. ’ For all the elect do not work
miracles, and yet the names of all are written in heaven. For those who
are disciples of the truth ought not to rejoice, save for that good thing
which all men enjoy as well as they, and in which their joy shall be
without end.

“It remains, therefore, most dear brother, that amidst those outward
actions, which you perform through the power of the Lord, you should
always carefully judge yourself in your heart, and carefully understand
both what you are yourself, and how much grace is bestowed upon that same
nation, for the conversion of which you have received even the gift of
working miracles. And if you remember that you have at any time sinned
against our Creator, either by word or deed, always call it to mind, to
the end that the remembrance of your guilt may crush the vanity which
rises in your heart. And whatsoever gift of working miracles you either
shall receive, or have received, consider the same, not as conferred on
you, but on those for whose salvation it has been given you. ”




Chap. XXXII. How Pope Gregory sent letters and gifts to King Ethelbert.
[601 A. D. ]


The same blessed Pope Gregory, at the same time, sent a letter to King
Ethelbert, with many gifts of divers sorts; being desirous to glorify the
king with temporal honours, at the same time that he rejoiced that through
his own labour and zeal he had attained to the knowledge of heavenly
glory. The copy of the said letter is as follows:

“_To the most glorious lord, and his most excellent son, Ethelbert, king
of the English, Bishop Gregory. _ Almighty God advances good men to the
government of nations, that He may by their means bestow the gifts of His
loving-kindness on those over whom they are placed. This we know to have
come to pass in the English nation, over whom your Highness was placed, to
the end, that by means of the blessings which are granted to you, heavenly
benefits might also be conferred on your subjects. Therefore, my
illustrious son, do you carefully guard the grace which you have received
from the Divine goodness, and be eager to spread the Christian faith among
the people under your rule; in all uprightness increase your zeal for
their conversion; suppress the worship of idols; overthrow the structures
of the temples; establish the manners of your subjects by much cleanness
of life, exhorting, terrifying, winning, correcting, and showing forth an
example of good works, that you may obtain your reward in Heaven from Him,
Whose Name and the knowledge of Whom you have spread abroad upon earth.
For He, Whose honour you seek and maintain among the nations, will also
render your Majesty’s name more glorious even to posterity.

“For even so the most pious emperor, Constantine, of old, recovering the
Roman commonwealth from the false worship of idols, brought it with
himself into subjection to Almighty God, our Lord Jesus Christ, and turned
to Him with his whole mind, together with the nations under his rule.
Whence it followed, that his praises transcended the fame of former
princes; and he excelled his predecessors in renown as much as in good
works. Now, therefore, let your Highness hasten to impart to the kings and
peoples that are subject to you, the knowledge of one God, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost; that you may surpass the ancient kings of your nation in
praise and merit, and while you cause the sins of others among your own
subjects to be blotted out, become the more free from anxiety with regard
to your own sins before the dread judgement of Almighty God.

“Willingly hear, devoutly perform, and studiously retain in your memory,
whatsoever counsel shall be given you by our most reverend brother, Bishop
Augustine, who is trained up in the monastic rule, full of the knowledge
of Holy Scripture, and, by the help of God, endued with good works; for if
you give ear to him when he speaks on behalf of Almighty God, the sooner
will Almighty God hear his prayers for you. But if (which God forbid! ) you
slight his words, how shall Almighty God hear him on your behalf, when you
neglect to hear him on behalf of God? Unite yourself, therefore, to him
with all your mind, in the fervour of faith, and further his endeavours,
by that virtue which God has given you, that He may make you partaker of
His kingdom, Whose faith you cause to be received and maintained in your
own.

“Besides, we would have your Highness know that, as we find in Holy
Scripture from the words of the Almighty Lord, the end of this present
world, and the kingdom of the saints, which will never come to an end, is
at hand. But as the end of the world draws near, many things are about to
come upon us which were not before, to wit, changes in the air, and
terrors from heaven, and tempests out of the order of the seasons, wars,
famines, pestilences, earthquakes in divers places; which things will not,
nevertheless, all happen in our days, but will all follow after our days.
If, therefore, you perceive that any of these things come to pass in your
country, let not your mind be in any way disturbed; for these signs of the
end of the world are sent before, for this reason, that we may take heed
to our souls, and be watchful for the hour of death, and may be found
prepared with good works to meet our Judge. Thus much, my illustrious son,
I have said in few words, with intent that when the Christian faith is
spread abroad in your kingdom, our discourse to you may also be more
copious, and we may desire to say the more, as joy for the full conversion
of your nation is increased in our mind.

“I have sent you some small gifts, which will not appear small to you,
when received by you with the blessing of the blessed Apostle, Peter. May
Almighty God, therefore, perfect in you His grace which He has begun, and
prolong your life here through a course of many years, and in the fulness
of time receive you into the congregation of the heavenly country. May the
grace of God preserve you in safety, my most excellent lord and son.

“Given the 22nd day of June, in the nineteenth year of the reign of our
most religious lord, Mauritius Tiberius Augustus, in the eighteenth year
after his consulship, and the fourth indiction. ”




Chap. XXXIII. How Augustine repaired the church of our Saviour, and built
the monastery of the blessed Peter the Apostle; and concerning Peter the
first abbot of the same.


Augustine having had his episcopal see granted him in the royal city, as
has been said, recovered therein, with the support of the king, a church,
which he was informed had been built of old by the faithful among the
Romans, and consecrated it in the name of the Holy Saviour, our Divine
Lord Jesus Christ, and there established a residence for himself and all
his successors. (135) He also built a monastery not far from the city to
the eastward, in which, by his advice, Ethelbert erected from the
foundation the church of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul,(136) and
enriched it with divers gifts; wherein the bodies of the same Augustine,
and of all the bishops of Canterbury, and of the kings of Kent, might be
buried. Nevertheless, it was not Augustine himself who consecrated that
church, but Laurentius, his successor.

The first abbot of that monastery was the priest Peter,(137) who, being
sent on a mission into Gaul, was drowned in a bay of the sea, which is
called Amfleat,(138) and committed to a humble tomb by the inhabitants of
the place; but since it was the will of Almighty God to reveal his merits,
a light from Heaven was seen over his grave every night; till the
neighbouring people who saw it, perceiving that he had been a holy man
that was buried there, and inquiring who and whence he was, carried away
the body, and interred it in the church, in the city of Boulogne, with the
honour due to so great a person.




Chap. XXXIV. How Ethelfrid, king of the Northumbrians, having vanquished
the nations of the Scots, expelled them from the territories of the
English. [603 A. D. ]


At this time, the brave and ambitious king, Ethelfrid,(139) governed the
kingdom of the Northumbrians, and ravaged the Britons more than all the
chiefs of the English, insomuch that he might be compared to Saul of old,
king of the Israelites, save only in this, that he was ignorant of Divine
religion. For he conquered more territories from the Britons than any
other chieftain or king, either subduing the inhabitants and making them
tributary, or driving them out and planting the English in their places.
To him might justly be applied the saying of the patriarch blessing his
son in the person of Saul, “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning
he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. ”(140)
Hereupon, Aedan, king of the Scots that dwell in Britain,(141) being
alarmed by his success, came against him with a great and mighty army, but
was defeated and fled with a few followers; for almost all his army was
cut to pieces at a famous place, called Degsastan, that is, Degsa
Stone. (142) In which battle also Theodbald, brother to Ethelfrid, was
killed, with almost all the forces he commanded. This war Ethelfrid
brought to an end in the year of our Lord 603, the eleventh of his own
reign, which lasted twenty-four years, and the first year of the reign of
Phocas, who then was at the head of the Roman empire. From that time, no
king of the Scots durst come into Britain to make war on the English to
this day.





BOOK II




Chap. I. Of the death of the blessed Pope Gregory. (143) [604 A. D. ]


At this time, that is, in the year of our Lord 605,(144) the blessed Pope
Gregory, after having most gloriously governed the Roman Apostolic see
thirteen years, six months, and ten days, died, and was translated to an
eternal abode in the kingdom of Heaven. Of whom, seeing that by his zeal
he converted our nation, the English, from the power of Satan to the faith
of Christ, it behoves us to discourse more at large in our Ecclesiastical
History, for we may rightly, nay, we must, call him our apostle; because,
as soon as he began to wield the pontifical power over all the world, and
was placed over the Churches long before converted to the true faith, he
made our nation, till then enslaved to idols, the Church of Christ, so
that concerning him we may use those words of the Apostle; “if he be not
an apostle to others, yet doubtless he is to us; for the seal of his
apostleship are we in the Lord. ”(145)

He was by nation a Roman, son of Gordianus, tracing his descent from
ancestors that were not only noble, but religious. Moreover Felix, once
bishop of the same Apostolic see, a man of great honour in Christ and in
the Church, was his forefather. (146) Nor did he show his nobility in
religion by less strength of devotion than his parents and kindred. But
that nobility of this world which was seen in him, by the help of the
Divine Grace, he used only to gain the glory of eternal dignity; for soon
quitting his secular habit, he entered a monastery, wherein he began to
live with so much grace of perfection that (as he was wont afterwards with
tears to testify) his mind was above all transitory things; that he rose
superior to all that is subject to change; that he used to think of
nothing but what was heavenly; that, whilst detained by the body, he broke
through the bonds of the flesh by contemplation; and that he even loved
death, which is a penalty to almost all men, as the entrance into life,
and the reward of his labours. This he used to say of himself, not to
boast of his progress in virtue, but rather to bewail the falling off
which he imagined he had sustained through his pastoral charge. Indeed,
once in a private conversation with his deacon, Peter, after having
enumerated the former virtues of his soul, he added sorrowfully, “But now,
on account of the pastoral charge, it is entangled with the affairs of
laymen, and, after so fair an appearance of inward peace, is defiled with
the dust of earthly action. And having wasted itself on outward things, by
turning aside to the affairs of many men, even when it desires the inward
things, it returns to them undoubtedly impaired. I therefore consider what
I endure, I consider what I have lost, and when I behold what I have
thrown away, that which I bear appears the more grievous. ”

So spake the holy man constrained by his great humility. But it behoves us
to believe that he lost nothing of his monastic perfection by reason of
his pastoral charge, but rather that he gained greater profit through the
labour of converting many, than by the former calm of his private life,
and chiefly because, whilst holding the pontifical office, he set about
organizing his house like a monastery. And when first drawn from the
monastery, ordained to the ministry of the altar, and sent to
Constantinople as representative(147) of the Apostolic see, though he now
took part in the secular affairs of the palace, yet he did not abandon the
fixed course of his heavenly life; for some of the brethren of his
monastery, who had followed him to the royal city in their brotherly love,
he employed for the better observance of monastic rule, to the end that at
all times, by their example, as he writes himself, he might be held fast
to the calm shore of prayer, as it were, with the cable of an anchor,
whilst he should be tossed up and down by the ceaseless waves of worldly
affairs; and daily in the intercourse of studious reading with them,
strengthen his mind shaken with temporal concerns. By their company he was
not only guarded against the assaults of the world, but more and more
roused to the exercises of a heavenly life.

For they persuaded him to interpret by a mystical exposition the book of
the blessed Job,(148) which is involved in great obscurity; nor could he
refuse to undertake that work, which brotherly affection imposed on him
for the future benefit of many; but in a wonderful manner, in five and
thirty books of exposition, he taught how that same book is to be
understood literally; how to be referred to the mysteries of Christ and
the Church; and in what sense it is to be adapted to every one of the
faithful. This work he began as papal representative in the royal city,
but finished it at Rome after being made pope. Whilst he was still in the
royal city, by the help of the grace of Catholic truth, he crushed in its
first rise a new heresy which sprang up there, concerning the state of our
resurrection. For Eutychius,(149) bishop of that city, taught, that our
body, in the glory of resurrection, would be impalpable, and more subtile
than wind and air. The blessed Gregory hearing this, proved by force of
truth, and by the instance of the Resurrection of our Lord, that this
doctrine was every way opposed to the orthodox faith. For the Catholic
faith holds that our body, raised by the glory of immortality, is indeed
rendered subtile by the effect of spiritual power, but is palpable by the
reality of nature; according to the example of our Lord’s Body, concerning
which, when risen from the dead, He Himself says to His disciples, “Handle
Me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me
have. ”(150) In maintaining this faith, the venerable Father Gregory so
earnestly strove against the rising heresy, and with the help of the most
pious emperor, Tiberius Constantine,(151) so fully suppressed it, that
none has been since found to revive it.

He likewise composed another notable book, the “Liber Pastoralis,” wherein
he clearly showed what sort of persons ought to be preferred to rule the
Church; how such rulers ought to live; with how much discrimination they
ought to instruct the different classes of their hearers, and how
seriously to reflect every day on their own frailty. He also wrote forty
homilies on the Gospel, which he divided equally into two volumes; and
composed four books of Dialogues, in which, at the request of his deacon,
Peter, he recounted the virtues of the more renowned saints of Italy, whom
he had either known or heard of, as a pattern of life for posterity; to
the end that, as he taught in his books of Expositions what virtues men
ought to strive after, so by describing the miracles of saints, he might
make known the glory of those virtues. Further, in twenty-two homilies, he
showed how much light is latent in the first and last parts of the prophet
Ezekiel, which seemed the most obscure. Besides which, he wrote the “Book
of Answers,”(152) to the questions of the holy Augustine, the first bishop
of the English nation, as we have shown above, inserting the same book
entire in this history; and the useful little “Synodical Book,”(153) which
he composed with the bishops of Italy on necessary matters of the Church;
as well as private letters to certain persons. And it is the more
wonderful that he could write so many lengthy works, seeing that almost
all the time of his youth, to use his own words, he was frequently
tormented with internal pain, constantly enfeebled by the weakness of his
digestion, and oppressed by a low but persistent fever. But in all these
troubles, forasmuch as he carefully reflected that, as the Scripture
testifies,(154) “He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth,” the more
severely he suffered under those present evils, the more he assured
himself of his eternal hope.

Thus much may be said of his immortal genius, which could not be crushed
by such severe bodily pains. Other popes applied themselves to building
churches or adorning them with gold and silver, but Gregory was wholly
intent upon gaining souls. Whatsoever money he had, he took care to
distribute diligently and give to the poor, that his righteousness might
endure for ever, and his horn be exalted with honour; so that the words of
the blessed Job might be truly said of him,(155) “When the ear heard me,
then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me:
because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that
had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came
upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on
righteousness, and it clothed me; my judgement was as a robe and a diadem.
I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the
poor; and the cause which I knew not, I searched out. And I brake the jaws
of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth. ” And a little
after: “If I have withheld,” says he, “the poor from their desire; or have
caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself
alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof: (for from my youth
compassion grew up with me, and from my mother’s womb it came forth with
me. ”(156))

To his works of piety and righteousness this also may be added, that he
saved our nation, by the preachers he sent hither, from the teeth of the
old enemy, and made it partaker of eternal liberty. Rejoicing in the faith
and salvation of our race, and worthily commending it with praise, he
says, in his exposition of the blessed Job, “Behold, the tongue of
Britain, which only knew how to utter barbarous cries, has long since
begun to raise the Hebrew Hallelujah to the praise of God! Behold, the
once swelling ocean now serves prostrate at the feet of the saints; and
its wild upheavals, which earthly princes could not subdue with the sword,
are now, through the fear of God, bound by the lips of priests with words
alone; and the heathen that stood not in awe of troops of warriors, now
believes and fears the tongues of the humble! For he has received a
message from on high and mighty works are revealed; the strength of the
knowledge of God is given him, and restrained by the fear of the Lord, he
dreads to do evil, and with all his heart desires to attain to everlasting
grace. ” In which words the blessed Gregory shows us this also, that St.
Augustine and his companions brought the English to receive the truth, not
only by the preaching of words, but also by showing forth heavenly signs.

The blessed Pope Gregory, among other things, caused Masses to be
celebrated in the churches of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, over
their bodies. And in the celebration of Masses, he added three petitions
of the utmost perfection: “And dispose our days in thy peace, and bid us
to be preserved from eternal damnation, and to be numbered in the flock of
thine elect. ”(157)

He governed the Church in the days of the Emperors Mauritius and Phocas,
and passing out of this life in the second year of the same Phocas,(158)
he departed to the true life which is in Heaven. His body was buried in
the church of the blessed Apostle Peter before the sacristy, on the 12th
day of March, to rise one day in the same body in glory with the rest of
the holy pastors of the Church. On his tomb was written this epitaph:


Receive, O Earth, his body taken from thine own; thou canst
restore it, when God calls to life. His spirit rises to the stars;
the claims of death shall not avail against him, for death itself
is but the way to new life. In this tomb are laid the limbs of a
great pontiff, who yet lives for ever in all places in countless
deeds of mercy. Hunger and cold he overcame with food and raiment,
and shielded souls from the enemy by his holy teaching. And
whatsoever he taught in word, that he fulfilled in deed, that he
might be a pattern, even as he spake words of mystic meaning. By
his guiding love he brought the Angles to Christ, gaining armies
for the Faith from a new people. This was thy toil, thy task, thy
care, thy aim as shepherd, to offer to thy Lord abundant increase
of the flock. So, Consul of God, rejoice in this thy triumph, for
now thou hast the reward of thy works for evermore.


Nor must we pass by in silence the story of the blessed Gregory, handed
down to us by the tradition of our ancestors, which explains his earnest
care for the salvation of our nation. It is said that one day, when some
merchants had lately arrived at Rome, many things were exposed for sale in
the market place, and much people resorted thither to buy: Gregory himself
went with the rest, and saw among other wares some boys put up for sale,
of fair complexion, with pleasing countenances, and very beautiful hair.
When he beheld them, he asked, it is said, from what region or country
they were brought? and was told, from the island of Britain, and that the
inhabitants were like that in appearance. He again inquired whether those
islanders were Christians, or still involved in the errors of paganism,
and was informed that they were pagans. Then fetching a deep sigh from the
bottom of his heart, “Alas! what pity,” said he, “that the author of
darkness should own men of such fair countenances; and that with such
grace of outward form, their minds should be void of inward grace. ” He
therefore again asked, what was the name of that nation? and was answered,
that they were called Angles. “Right,” said he, “for they have an angelic
face, and it is meet that such should be co-heirs with the Angels in
heaven. What is the name of the province from which they are brought? ” It
was replied, that the natives of that province were called Deiri. (159)
“Truly are they _De ira_,” said he, “saved from wrath, and called to the
mercy of Christ. How is the king of that province called? ” They told him
his name was Aelli;(160) and he, playing upon the name, said, “Allelujah,
the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those parts. ”

Then he went to the bishop of the Roman Apostolic see(161) (for he was not
himself then made pope), and entreated him to send some ministers of the
Word into Britain to the nation of the English, that it might be converted
to Christ by them; declaring himself ready to carry out that work with the
help of God, if the Apostolic Pope should think fit to have it done. But
not being then able to perform this task, because, though the Pope was
willing to grant his request, yet the citizens of Rome could not be
brought to consent that he should depart so far from the city, as soon as
he was himself made Pope, he carried out the long-desired work, sending,
indeed, other preachers, but himself by his exhortations and prayers
helping the preaching to bear fruit. This account, which we have received
from a past generation, we have thought fit to insert in our
Ecclesiastical History.




Chap. II. How Augustine admonished the bishops of the Britons on behalf of
Catholic peace, and to that end wrought a heavenly miracle in their
presence; and of the vengeance that pursued them for their contempt.
[_Circ. _ 603 A. D. ]


In the meantime, Augustine, with the help of King Ethelbert, drew together
to a conference the bishops and doctors of the nearest province of the
Britons, at a place which is to this day called, in the English language,
Augustine’s Ác, that is, Augustine’s Oak,(162) on the borders of the
Hwiccas(163) and West Saxons; and began by brotherly admonitions to
persuade them to preserve Catholic peace with him, and undertake the
common labour of preaching the Gospel to the heathen for the Lord’s sake.
For they did not keep Easter Sunday at the proper time, but from the
fourteenth to the twentieth moon; which computation is contained in a
cycle of eighty-four years. (164) Besides, they did many other things which
were opposed to the unity of the church. (165) When, after a long
disputation, they did not comply with the entreaties, exhortations, or
rebukes of Augustine and his companions, but preferred their own
traditions before all the Churches which are united in Christ throughout
the world, the holy father, Augustine, put an end to this troublesome and
tedious contention, saying, “Let us entreat God, who maketh men to be of
one mind in His Father’s house, to vouchsafe, by signs from Heaven, to
declare to us which tradition is to be followed; and by what path we are
to strive to enter His kingdom. Let some sick man be brought, and let the
faith and practice of him, by whose prayers he shall be healed, be looked
upon as hallowed in God’s sight and such as should be adopted by all. ” His
adversaries unwillingly consenting, a blind man of the English race was
brought, who having been presented to the British bishops, found no
benefit or healing from their ministry; at length, Augustine, compelled by
strict necessity, bowed his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
praying that He would restore his lost sight to the blind man, and by the
bodily enlightenment of one kindle the grace of spiritual light in the
hearts of many of the faithful. Immediately the blind man received sight,
and Augustine was proclaimed by all to be a true herald of the light from
Heaven. The Britons then confessed that they perceived that it was the
true way of righteousness which Augustine taught; but that they could not
depart from their ancient customs without the consent and sanction of
their people. They therefore desired that a second time a synod might be
appointed, at which more of their number should be present.

This being decreed, there came, it is said, seven bishops of the
Britons,(166) and many men of great learning, particularly from their most
celebrated monastery, which is called, in the English tongue,
Bancornaburg,(167) and over which the Abbot Dinoot(168) is said to have
presided at that time. They that were to go to the aforesaid council,
betook themselves first to a certain holy and discreet man, who was wont
to lead the life of a hermit among them, to consult with him, whether they
ought, at the preaching of Augustine, to forsake their traditions. He
answered, “If he is a man of God, follow him. ”—“How shall we know that? ”
said they. He replied, “Our Lord saith, Take My yoke upon you, and learn
of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart; if therefore, Augustine is meek
and lowly of heart, it is to be believed that he bears the yoke of Christ
himself, and offers it to you to bear. But, if he is harsh and proud, it
is plain that he is not of God, nor are we to regard his words. ” They said
again, “And how shall we discern even this? ”—“Do you contrive,” said the
anchorite, “that he first arrive with his company at the place where the
synod is to be held; and if at your approach he rises up to you, hear him
submissively, being assured that he is the servant of Christ; but if he
despises you, and does not rise up to you, whereas you are more in number,
let him also be despised by you. ”

They did as he directed; and it happened, that as they approached,
Augustine was sitting on a chair. When they perceived it, they were angry,
and charging him with pride, set themselves to contradict all he said. He
said to them, “Many things ye do which are contrary to our custom, or
rather the custom of the universal Church, and yet, if you will comply
with me in these three matters, to wit, to keep Easter at the due time; to
fulfil the ministry of Baptism, by which we are born again to God,
according to the custom of the holy Roman Apostolic Church;(169) and to
join with us in preaching the Word of God to the English nation, we will
gladly suffer all the other things you do, though contrary to our
customs. ” They answered that they would do none of those things, nor
receive him as their archbishop; for they said among themselves, “if he
would not rise up to us now, how much more will he despise us, as of no
account, if we begin to be under his subjection? ” Then the man of God,
Augustine, is said to have threatened them, that if they would not accept
peace with their brethren, they should have war from their enemies; and,
if they would not preach the way of life to the English nation, they
should suffer at their hands the vengeance of death. All which, through
the dispensation of the Divine judgement, fell out exactly as he had
predicted.

For afterwards the warlike king of the English, Ethelfrid,(170) of whom we
have spoken, having raised a mighty army, made a very great slaughter of
that heretical nation, at the city of Legions,(171) which by the English
is called Legacaestir, but by the Britons more rightly Carlegion. Being
about to give battle, he observed their priests, who were come together to
offer up their prayers to God for the combatants, standing apart in a
place of greater safety; he inquired who they were, and what they came
together to do in that place. Most of them were of the monastery of
Bangor,(172) in which, it is said, there was so great a number of monks,
that the monastery being divided into seven parts, with a superior set
over each, none of those parts contained less than three hundred men, who
all lived by the labour of their hands. Many of these, having observed a
fast of three days, had come together along with others to pray at the
aforesaid battle, having one Brocmail(173) for their protector, to defend
them, whilst they were intent upon their prayers, against the swords of
the barbarians. King Ethelfrid being informed of the occasion of their
coming, said, “If then they cry to their God against us, in truth, though
they do not bear arms, yet they fight against us, because they assail us
with their curses. ” He, therefore, commanded them to be attacked first,
and then destroyed the rest of the impious army, not without great loss of
his own forces. About twelve hundred of those that came to pray are said
to have been killed, and only fifty to have escaped by flight. Brocmail,
turning his back with his men, at the first approach of the enemy, left
those whom he ought to have defended unarmed and exposed to the swords of
the assailants. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of the holy Bishop
Augustine, though he himself had been long before taken up into the
heavenly kingdom, that the heretics should feel the vengeance of temporal
death also, because they had despised the offer of eternal salvation.




Chap. III.