mon-place. In short, wherever the heart is to be poured forth in thoughts that breathe, and words that burn,' St. Chrysostom is without a parallel. I do indeed think, that, since the days of the apostle St. John, no man ever possessed more sublime views of the dignity and happiness of Christianity than he. On subjects calculated to raise the mind of a speaker, his was as capable of being raised as any, probably, that ever resided in a merely human bosom. . . . St. Chrysostom had not St. Augustine's philosophical understanding, and, as surely St. Augustine wanted his winged and almost seraphic soul. The talents of these Doctors of the Church were great in their several ways; I do not know which we could best be without-I love Chrysostom most; but I greatly value Augustine. Between them, they make up, as I have already said, a scheme which approaches to the perfection of Christian wisdom." Dr. Jebb, to whom the above eulogium on our Saint is addressed, observes: "Among all the Fathers of the Church, St. Chrysostom may be fairly styled the father of rational and manly interpretation. I rejoice to find my opinion of this man confirmed by the judgment of an illustrious German scholar: "Among the Greek, not to speak of the Latin Fathers," says C. F. Matthæi, "St. Chrysostom has no equal for eloquence, learning, and practical Christianity : HE RANKS NEXT AFTER THE APOSTLES." LIFE OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. JOHN, surnamed CHRYSOSTOM [Golden-Mouth] on account of his eloquence, was born at Antioch, in the year 347. On his mother's side, he was descended from a wealthy and distinguished family. His father, Secundus, who held an important post in the army, died while he was yet an infant. The city which gave birth to our Saint, was one of the four great capitals of the Roman empire, the seat of institutions devoted to science, and the resort of men from all quarters of the globe. Like other great cities, it was a centre of moral corruption, to the contagion of which youth were particularly exposed. Christian mothers, animated by the spirit of the Gospel, exerted themselves in the education of their sons, and anxiously sought by the aid of religion to guard their tender years from the contamination of surrounding vice. Many of the holy men who illumined the church during that age, would not have acquired their high distinction, if pious mothers had not implanted in their opening |