III. 1.

History of the Conversion of the Anglo-Saxons to
Christianity.

SACRED history contains nothing more edifying than the account of the conversion of the AngloSaxons. "It has often been remarked as a pecu"liar merit of the christian religion, that it neither "arose from ambition, nor was propagated by the "sword. It appealed unoffendingly to the reason, "the sensibility, the virtue, and the interest of ❝ mankind; and it established itself in every pro"vince of the Roman empire. When the torrent "of barbarians overspread Europe, to the destruction ❝ of all arts and knowledge, christianity fell in the "general wreck. Soon however in some districts "she raised her mild and interesting form, and the savages yielded to her benign influence.

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Among the Anglo-Saxons, her conquest over, "the fierce and wild paganism, to which our an❝cestors adhered, was not begun, till France, and " even Ireland, had submitted to her laws; but it "was accomplished in a manner worthy of her "benevolence and purity.

"General piety seems to have led the first mis"sionaries to our shores; and the excellence of "the system they diffused, made their labours "successful."

With these expressions, our learned friend, Mr. Sharon Turner, introduces his account of the propagation of christianity among the Anglo

Saxons*. I beg leave to transcribe doctor Fletcher's succinct history of this event; nothing of my own could be more true, or would be so elegant. I transcribe it from one of the sermons, addressed by him to his congregation, at Weston-Underwood, in Buckinghamshire.

"About twelve hundred years ago, and above "nine hundred years before the introduction of protestantism, Augustine, with his companions, "brought the light of faith into this island. They "derived their commission from the great, and only acknowledged, source of spiritual authority; and in their faith and communion, they were united with every orthodox community "of the christian universe. Their faith, my "brethren, was the same which you and I adore at

present. In their private and public characters, "they were men eminent for their virtues, prac"tising, not only the precepts, but the counsels of "the gospel; despising all earthly satisfactions, and "attentive only to their own salvation, and to the "salvation of their neighbours. Their employments, when not engaged in the active occupations of their ministry, were prayer, watching, penance, and mortification. As for their con"duct in the sacred ministry, it was such as be"came apostles,--men deputed, by the command " of Heaven, to convey the blessings of the gospel

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*Turner's "History of the Anglo-Saxons," 2d edition,, book xiii. c. 1.

+ Doctor Fletcher's "Sermons on various Religious and "Moral Subjects," vol. 2. p. 14.

"to pagan nations. They preached, and acted, as "did once the first envoys of Jesus Christ. Fired "with the love of God, and animated with charity "to their fellow-men, they joined the ardour of zeal "to the tenderness of benevolence. They gained "proselytes, but it was by the eloquence of truth, "assisted by the eloquence of meekness, humility "and piety; verifying, in the whole series of their "conduct, that pleasing sentence of the prophet,"How beautiful on the hills are the footsteps of "those who bring glad tidings!""

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"Neither were the exertions of their charity "unattended by the approbation of Heaven. Not

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only contemporary historians attest, but several "protestant writers allow, that God rewarded them "with the gift of miracles. Even the fierce enemy "of every thing that is catholic, the martyrologist "Fox, admits this fact, a fact, which confirms "both the holiness of the lives of these apostles, "the lawfulness of their mission, and, by a most logical inference, the truth of the holy religion "which they were labouring to establish. • The King,' says Fox, considered the honest con"versation of their lives, and was moved with "the miracles wrought through God's hand by "them *???

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"Under the influence of the sanction of such "authority, united to the influence of the methods "by which these holy men propagated the maxims "of religion, it is easy to imagine what would be'

* Acts and Monuments, col. 2.

"the fruits and effects which resulted from them. "The fruits and effects were striking,-such pre

cisely as that zeal is calculated to produce, which "is blessed by the approbation of Heaven. A ss people, hitherto rude, savage, barbarous and im"moral, was changed into a nation mild, benevolent, "humane and holy: Every thing,' says Collier, "brightened, as if nature had been melted down "and recoined.""

With these accounts of the conversion of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, an English reader must be pleased. In eighty-two years from the arrival of St. Augustine, this mild, holy and beneficent religion, which he preached, was spread in every part of Anglo-Saxon England.

In the course of time the Anglo-Saxons themselves became missionaries; and, with the same edifying zeal and prudence which had distinguished their first apostles, carried the faith of Christ into many foreign nations, then involved in idolatry. In less than a century from the death of St. Augustine, the converts made by him preached the faith of Christ on the banks of the Oder, the Rhine and the Danube. St. Wilfrid preached the gospel in Friesland; St. Willibrod to the Frisons; St. Boniface to the central and southern Germans, St. Willihad to the northern; his disciples to the Danes ; St. Sigifred to the Swedes; and Haco, the king of Norway, was assisted by Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the conversion of his subjects. Many of these. apostolical men suffered martyrdom in the exercise of their religious labours. In all these missions the

preacher was either originally sent, or subsequently invested with missionary powers, by the see of Rome*.

An account of the literature and arts of the Anglo-Saxons is foreign to these pages: I invite all the readers of these letters to a perusal of what is said on this pleasing subject by doctor Lingard. They will acknowledge, that a much greater progress than could have been expected was made by the Anglo-Saxons in the sublimest sciences; in many useful and ornamental arts; and in almost every other pursuit that has a tendency to increase the well-being of mankind †.

III. 2.

Conformity of the Religion preached to the Anglo-Saxons, to that now taught by the Roman-catholic Church.

THE religion of a nation may be divided into its creed, its ceremonial, and its morality.

1. The Apostles' creed was taught by the AngloSaxons as it is now taught to us. How large a proportion of the articles of their and our faith are contained in this venerable document! The doctrines of our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, respecting the supremacy of the pope ; the real presence of Christ in the eucharist; the seven sacraments; the invo

**See doctor Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church, c. 13.

† Ibid. c. 10. I have the greater pleasure in referring to doctor Lingard and Mr. Sharon Turner's works, on account of the authorities with which they always favour us.