Chapter LXXIII: Summary.--Declaration of the Author (2)

Some of the leaders of the Reformation have left suspicions that they taught with insincerity, that they did not themselves believe what they preached, and that they had no other object than to deceive their proselytes. As I am unwilling to have it imputed to me that I have made this accusation rashly, I will adduce some proofs in support of my assertion. Let us hear Luther himself. "Often," he says, "do I think within myself that I scarcely know where I am, and whether I teach the truth or not (Sæpe sic mecum cogito, propemodum nescio, quo loco sim, et utrum veritatem doceam, necne)." (Luther, _Col. Isleb. de Christo_.) And it is the same man who said: "It is certain that I have received my dogmas from heaven. I will not allow you to judge of my doctrine, neither you nor even the angels of heaven (Certum est dogmata mea habere me de cœlo. Non sinam vel vos vel ipsos angelos de cœlo de mea doctrina judicare)." (Luther, _contra Reg. Ang._) John Matthei, the author of many writings on the life of Luther, and who is not scanty in eulogies on the heresiarch, has preserved a very curious anecdote touching the convictions of Luther. It is this: "A preacher called John Musa related to me that he one day complained to Luther that he could not prevail on himself to believe what he taught to others: '_Blessed be God_ (said Luther) _that the same thing happens to others as to myself: I believed till now that THAT was a thing which happened only to me_.'" (Johann. Matthesius, _conc._ 12.)

The doctrines of infidelity were not long delayed; but would it be believed that they are found expressed in various parts of Luther's own works? "It is likely," says he, speaking of the dead, "that, except a few, they all sleep deprived of feeling." "I think that the dead are buried in so ineffable and wonderful a sleep, that they feel or see less than those who sleep an ordinary sleep." "The souls of the dead enter neither into purgatory nor into hell." "The human soul sleeps; all its senses buried." "There is no suffering in the abode of the dead." ("Verisimile est, exceptis paucis, omnes dormire insensibiles." "Ego puto mortuos sic ineffabili et miro somno sopitos, ut minus sentiant aut videant, quam hi qui alias dormiunt." "Animæ mortuorum non ingrediuntur in purgatorium nec infernum." "Anima humana dormit, omnibus sensibus sepultis." "Mortuorum locus cruciatus nullos habet.") (Tom. ii. _Epist. Lat. Isleb._ fol. 44; t. vi. _Lat. Wittenberg_, in cap. ii., cap. xxiii., c. xxv., c. xlii. et xlix. _Genes._ et t. iv. _Lat. Wittenberg_, fol. 109.) Persons were not wanting ready to receive such doctrines; and this teaching caused such ravages, that the Lutheran Brentzen, disciple and successor of Luther, hesitates not to say: "_Although no one among us publicly professes that the soul perishes with the body, and that there is no resurrection of the dead, nevertheless the impure and wholly profane lives which they for the most part lead, show very clearly that they do not believe that there is another life. Some even allow words of this kind to escape them, not only in the intoxication of libations, but even when fasting, in their familiar intercourse._ (Et si inter nos nulla sit publica professio quod anima simul cum corpore intereat, et quod non sit mortuorum resurrectio, tamen impurissima et profanissima illa vita, quam maxima pars hominum sectatur, perspicue indicat quod non sentiat vitam post hanc. Nonnullis etiam tales voces, tam ebriis inter pocula, quam sobriis in familiaribus colloquiis.)" (Brentius, _Hom._ 35, in cap. 20, Luc.) There were in this same sixteenth century some men who cared not to give their names to this or that sect, but who professed infidelity and scepticism without disguise. We know that the famous Gruet paid with his head for his boldness in this way; and it was not the Catholics who cut it off, but the Calvinists, who were offended that this unhappy man had taken the liberty to paint the character and conduct of Calvin in their true colors. Gruet had also committed the crime of posting up placards at Geneva, in which he charged the pretended reformers with inconsistency, on account of the tyranny which they attempted to exercise over consciences, after having shaken off the yoke of authority on their own account. This took place soon after the birth of Protestantism, as the sentence on Gruet was executed in 1549.

Montaigne, who has been pointed out as one of the first sceptics who acquired reputation in Europe, carries the thing so far, that he does not even admit the natural law. "_They are not serious_ (he says) _when, to give some certainty to laws, they say that there are any laws fixed, perpetual, and immutable, which they call natural, which are impressed on the human race by the condition of their peculiar essence_." (Montaigne, _Ess._ l. ii. c. 12.)

We have already seen what Luther thought of death, or at least the expression which escaped him on this subject; and we cannot be astonished after that, that Montaigne wished to die like a real unbeliever, and that he says, speaking of the terrible passage: "_I plunge my head, insensibly sunk in death, without considering or observing it, as in a silent and obscure depth, which swallows me up at once, stifles me in a moment with powerful sleep full of insipidity and indolence._" (Montaigne, l. iii. c. 9.) But this man, who wished that death should find him planting his cabbages, and without thinking of it (_Je veux que la mort me trouve plantant mes choux, mais sans me soucier d'elle_), was not of the same opinion in his last moments. When he was near breathing his last, he wished that the holy sacrifice of the Mass should be celebrated in his apartment, and he expired while making an effort to raise himself on his bed, in the act of adoring the sacred Host. We see that he had profited in his heart by some of his ideas with respect to the Christian religion. "It is pride," he had said, "that leads man out of the common path, and urges him to embrace novelties, loving rather to be the chief of a wandering and undisciplined band, than to be a disciple of the school of truth." In another place, at once condemning all the dissenting sects, he had said, "In religious matters it is necessary to adhere to those who are the established judges of doctrine, and who have legitimate authority, not to the most learned and the cleverest."

From all that I have just said, it is clear that if I accuse Protestantism of having been one of the principal causes of infidelity in Europe, I do not accuse it without reason. I repeat here, that it is by no means my intention to overlook the efforts of some Protestants to oppose infidelity; I do not assail _persons_, but _things_, and I honor merit wherever I find it. In fine, I will add, that if at the end of the seventeenth century a considerable number of Protestants displayed a tendency towards Catholicity, we must seek the reason for it in the progress which they saw infidelity making,--a progress which it was impossible to check, at least without holding fast to the anchor of authority which the Catholic Church offered to the whole world. I cannot, without exceeding the limits which I have marked out for myself, give a circumstantial detail of the correspondence between Molanus and the Bishop of Tyna, of Leibnitz and Bossuet. Readers who desire to become thoroughly acquainted with that affair, may examine it partly in the works of Bossuet himself, and partly in the interesting work of M. de Beausset, prefixed to some editions of Bossuet.

NOTE 14, p. 86.

In order to form an idea of the state of knowledge at the time of the appearance of Christianity, and become convinced that there was nothing to be expected from the human mind abandoned to its own strength, it is enough to recall to mind the monstrous sects which every where abounded in the first ages of the Church, the doctrines whereof formed the most shapeless, extravagant, and immoral compound that it is possible to conceive. The names of Cerinthus, Menander, Ebion, Saturninus, Basilides, Nicolas, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus, and so many others, remind us of the sects in which delirium was connected with immorality. When we throw a glance over these philosophico-religious sects, we see that they were capable neither of conceiving a philosophical system with any degree of concert, nor of imagining a collection of doctrines and practices to which the name of religion can be applied. These men overturned, mixed, and confounded all; Judaism, Christianity, and the recollections of the ancient schools, were all amalgamated in their deluded heads; what they never forgot was, to give a loose rein to all kinds of corruption and obscenity.

In the spectacle of these ages, a wide field is opened to the conjectures of true philosophy. What would have become of human knowledge, if Christianity had not come to enlighten the world with her celestial doctrines; if that divine religion, confounding the foolish pride of man, had not come to show him how vain and senseless were his thoughts, and how far he was removed from the path of truth? It is remarkable that these same men, whose aberrations make us shudder, gave themselves the name of Gnostics, on account of the superior knowledge with which they supposed themselves to be endowed. We see that man is at all times the same.

NOTE 15, p. 115.

I have thought that it would not be useless to transcribe here, word for word, the canons which I have mentioned in the text. My readers may thereby acquire for themselves a complete knowledge of what is found there; and there will be no room left to suppose that the real sense of the regulations has been perverted in the extracts which I have given.

CANONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS,

_Which show the solicitude of the Church to improve the lot of slaves, and the various means she has used to accomplish the abolition of slavery:_

§ I.

_A penance is imposed on the mistress who maltreats her slave_ (_ancillam_).

(Concilium Eliberitanum, anno 305.)

"Si qua domina furore zeli accensa flagris verberaverit ancillam suam, ita ut in tertium diem animam cum cruciatu effundat; eo quod incertum sit, voluntate an casu occiderit; si voluntate, post septem annos, si casu, post quinquennii tempora, acta legitima pœnitentia, ad communionem placuit admitti. Quod si infra tempora constituta fuerit infirmata, accipiat communionem." (Canon 5.)

It must be observed, that the word 'ancillam' means a slave properly so called, and not any kind of servant. This appears, indeed, from the words _flagris verberaverit_, which express a chastisement reserved for slaves.

_They excommunicate the master who, of his own authority, beats his slave to death._

(Concilium Epaoense, anno 517.)

"Si quis servum proprium sine conscientia judicis occiderit, excommunicatione biennii effusionem sanguinis expiabit." (Canon 34.)

This same regulation is repeated in the 15th canon of the 17th Council of Toledo, held in 694; even the words of the Council of Epaon are there copied with very slight change.

(Ibid.) _The slave guilty of an atrocious crime was to escape corporeal punishments by taking refuge in a church._

"Servus reatu atrociore culpabilis si ad ecclesiam confugerit, a corporabilibus tantum suppliciis excusetur. De capillis vero, vel quocumque opere, placuit, a dominis juramenta non exigi." (Canon 39.)

_Very remarkable precautions to prevent masters from maltreating the slaves who had taken refuge in churches._

(Concilium Aurelianense quintum, anno 549.)

"De servis vero, qui pro qualibet culpa ad ecclesiæ septa confugerint, id statuimus observandum, ut, sicut in antiquis constitutionibus tenetur scriptum, pro concessa culpa datis a domino sacramentis, quisquis ille fuerit, expediatur de venia jam securus. Enim vero si immemor fidei dominus trascendisse convincitur quod juravit, ut is qui veniam acceperat, probetur postmodum pro ea culpa qualicumque supplicio cruciatus, dominus ille qui immemor fuit datæ fidei, sit ab omnium communione suspensus. Iterum si servus de promissione veniæ datis sacramentis a domino jam securus exire noluerit, ne sub tali contumacia requirens locum fugæ, domino fortasse dispereat, egredi nolentem a domino eum liceat occupari, ut nullam, quasi pro retentatione servi, quibuslibet modis molestiam aut calumniam patiatur ecclesia: fidem tamen dominus, quam pro concessa venia dedit, nulla temeritate transcendat. Quod si aut gentilis dominus fuerit, aut alterius sectæ, qui a conventu ecclesiæ probatur extraneus, is qui servum repetit, personas requirat bonæ fidei Christianas, ut ipsi in persona domini servo præbeant sacramenta: quia ipsi possunt servare quod sacrum est, qui pro transgressione ecclesiasticum metuunt disciplinam." (Canon 22.)

It is difficult to carry solicitude for the lot of slaves further. This document is very curious.

_They forbid bishops to mutilate their slaves: they order that the duty of chastising them should be left to the judge of the town, who, nevertheless, could not cut off their hair, a punishment which was considered too ignominious._

(Concilium Emeritense, anno 666.)

"Si regalis pietas pro salute omnium suarum legum dignata est ponere decreta, cur religio sancta per sancti concilii ordinem non habeat instituta, quæ omnino debent esse cavenda? Ideoque placuit huic sancto concilio, ut omnis potestas episcopalis modum suæ ponat iræ; nec pro quolibet excessu cuilibet ex familia, ecclesiæ aliquod corporis membrorum sua ordinatione præsumat extirpare aut auferre. Quod si talis emerserit culpa, advocato judice civitatis, ad examen ejus deducatur quod factum fuisse asseritur. Et quia omnino justum est, ut pontifex sævissimam non impendat vindictam; quidquid coram judice verius patuerit, per disciplinæ severitatem absque turpi decalvatione maneat emendatum." (Canon 15.)

_Priests are forbidden to have their slaves mutilated._

(Concilium Toletanum undecimum, anno 675.)

"His a quibus domini sacramenta tractanda sunt, judicium sanguinis agitare non licet: et ideo magnopere talium excessibus prohibendum est, ne indiscretæ præsumptionis motibus agitati, aut quod morte plectendum est, sententia propria judicare præsumant, aut truncationes quaslibet membrorum quibuslibet personis aut per se inferant, aut inferendas præcipiant. Quod si quisquam horum immemor præceptorum, aut ecclesiæ suæ familiis, aut in quibuslibet personis tale quid fecerit, et concessi ordinis honore privatus, et loco suo, perpetuo damnationis teneatur religatus ergastulo: cui tamen communio exeunti ex hac vita non neganda est, propter domini misericordiam, _qui non vult peccatoris mortem, sed ut convertatur et vivat_." (Canon 6.)

It should be remarked, that the word _familia_, employed in the two last canons which we have just cited, should be understood of slaves. The real meaning of this word is clearly shown us by the 74th canon of the 4th Council of Toledo.

"De _familiis_ ecclesiæ constituere presbyteros et diaconos per parochias liceat ..... ea tamen ratione ut _antea manumissi libertatem status sui percipiant_."

We see this word employed in the same sense by Pope St. Gregory. (Epist. xliv. l. 4.)

_A penance is imposed on the master who kills his slave of his own authority._

(Concilium Wormatiense, anno 868.)

"Si quis servum proprium sine conscientia judicum qui tale quid commiserit, quod morte sit dignum, occiderit, excommunicatione vel pœnitentia biennii, reatum sanguinis emendabit." (Canon 38.)

"Si qua femina furore zeli accensa, flagris verberaverit ancillam suam, ita ut intra tertium diem animam suam cum cruciatu effundat, eo quod incertum sit voluntate, an casu occiderit; si voluntate, septem annos, si casu, per quinque annorum tempora legitimam peragat pœnitentiam." (Canon 39.)

_They check the violence of those who, to revenge themselves for the asylum granted to slaves, take possession of the goods of the Church._

(Concilium Arausicanum primum, anno 441.)

"Si quis autem mancipia clericorum pro suis mancipiis ad ecclesiam fugientibus crediderit occupanda, per omnes ecclesias districtissima damnatione feriatur." (Canon 6.)

§ II.

(Ibid.) _They check all attempts made against the liberty of slaves enfranchised by the Church, or who have been recommended to her by will._

"In ecclesia manumissos, vel per testamentum ecclesiæ commendatos, si quis in servitutem, vel obsequium, vel ad colonariam conditionem imprimere tentaverit, animadversione ecclesiastica coerceatur." (Canon 7.)

_They secure the liberty of those who have received the benefit of manumission in the Churches. The latter are enjoined to take upon themselves the defence of the enfranchised._

(Concilium quintum Aurelianense, anno 549.)

"Et quia plurimorum suggestione comperimus, eos qui in ecclesiis juxta patrioticam consuetudinem a servitiis fuerunt absoluti, pro libito quorumcumque iterum ad servitium revocari, impium esse tractavimus, ut quod in ecclesia Dei consideratione a vinculo servitutis absolvitur, irritum habeatur. Ideo pietatis causa communi concilio placuit observandum, ut quæcumque mancipia ab ingenuis dominis servitute laxantur, in ea libertate maneant, quam tunc a dominis perceperunt. Hujusmodi quoque libertas si a quocumque pulsata fuerit, cum justitia ab ecclesiis defendatur, præter eas culpas, pro quibus leges collatas servis revocare jusserunt libertates." (Canon 7.)

_The Church is charged with the defence of the enfranchised, whether they have been emancipated within her enclosure, whether they have been so by letter or testament, or have gained their liberty by prescription. They restrain the arbitrariness of the judges towards these unfortunate persons. It is decided that the Bishops shall take cognizance of these causes._

(Concilium Matisconense secundum, anno 585.)

"Quæ dum postea universo cœtui secundum consuetudinem recitata innotescerent, Prætextatus et Pappulus viri beatissimi dixerunt: Decernat itaque, et de miseris libertis vestræ auctoritatis vigor insignis, qui ideo plus a judicibus affliguntur, quia sacris sunt commendati ecclesiis: ut si quas quispiam dixerit contra eos actiones habere, non audeat eos magistratus contradere; sed in episcopi tantum judicio, in cujus præsentia litem contestans, quæ sunt justitiæ ac veritatis audiat. Indignum est enim, ut hi qui in sacrosancta ecclesia jure noscuntur legitimo manumissi, aut per epistolam, aut per testamentum, aut per longinquitatem temporis libertatis jure fruuntur, a quolibet injustissime inquietentur. Universa sacerdotalis Congregatio dixit: Justum est, ut contra calumniatorum omnium versutias defendantur, qui patrocinium immortalis ecclesiæ concupiscunt. Et quicumque a nobis de libertis latum decretum, superbiæ ausu prævaricare tentaverit, irreparabili damnationis suæ sententia feriatur. Sed si placuerit episcopo ordinarium judicem, aut quemlibet alium sæcularem, in audientiam eorum accersiri, cum libuerit fiat, et nullus alius audeat causas pertractare libertorum nisi episcopus cujus interest, aut is cui idem audiendum tradiderit." (Canon 7.)

_The defence of the freed is confided to the priests._

(Concilium Parisiense quintum, anno 614.)

"Liberti quorumcumque ingenuorum a sacerdotibus defensentur, nec ad publicum ulterius revocentur. Quod si quis ausu temerario eos imprimere voluerit, aut ad publicum revocare, et admonitus per pontificem ad audientiam venire neglexerit, aut emendare quod perpetravit distulerit, communione privetur." (Canon 5.)

_The enfranchised recommended to the Churches shall be protected by the Bishops._

(Concilium Toletanum tertium, anno 589.)

"De libertis autem id Dei præcipiunt sacerdotes, ut si qui ab episcopis facti sunt secundum modum quo canones antiqui dant licentiam, sint liberi; et tantum a patrocinio ecclesiæ tam ipsi quam ab eis progeniti non recedant. Ab aliis quoque libertati traditi, et ecclesiis commendati, patrocinio episcopali tegantur, a principe hoc episcopus postulet." (Canon 6.)

_The Church undertakes to defend the liberty and the property acquired by industry of the enfranchised who have been recommended to her._

(Concilium Toletanum quartum, anno 633.)

"Liberti qui a quibuscumque manumissi sunt, atque ecclesiæ patrocinio commendati existunt, sicut regulæ antiquorum patrum constituerunt, sacerdotali defensione a cujuslibet insolentia protegantur; sive in statu libertatis eorum, seu in peculio quod habere noscuntur." (Cap. 72.)

_The Church will defend the enfranchised: a regulation which does not distinguish whether they have been recommended to her or not._

(Concilium Agathense, anno 506.)

"Libertos legitime a dominis suis factos ecclesia, si necessitas exegerit, tueatur; quod si quis ante audientiam, aut pervadere, aut expoliare præsumpserit, ab ecclesia repellatur." (Canon 29.)

§ III.

_The Church shall regard the ransom of captives as her first care; she shall give their interests the preference over her own, however bad may be the state of her affairs._

"Sicut omnino grave est, frustra ecclesiastica ministeria venundare, sic iterum culpa est, imminente hujusmodi necessitate, res maxime desolatæ Ecclesiæ captivis suis præponere, et in eorum redemptione cessare." (Caus. xii. q. 2, canon 16.)

_Remarkable words of St. Ambrose touching the ransom of captives. To perform this pious duty, the holy Bishop breaks up and sells the sacred vessels._

(S. Ambrosius de Off. lib. ii. cap. 15.)

(§ 70.) "Summa etiam liberalitas captos redimere, eripere ex hostium manibus, subtrahere neci homines, et maxime feminas turpidini, reddere parentibus liberos, parentes liberis, cives patriæ, restituere. Nota sunt hæc nimis Illyriæ vastitate et Thraciæ: quanti ubique venales erant captivi orbe....

Ibid. (§ 71.) "Præcipua est igitur liberalitas, redimere captivos et maxime ab hoste barbaro, qui nihil deferat humanitatis ad misericordiam, nisi quod avaritia reservaverit ad redemptionem."

Ib. l. ii. c. 2 (§ 13.) "_Ut nos aliquando in invidiam incidimus, quod confregerimus vasa mystica, ut captivos redimeremus_, quod Arianis displicere potuerat, nec tam factum displiceret, quam ut esset quod in nobis reprehenderetur."

These noble and charitable sentiments were not those of St. Ambrose only; his words are but the expression of the feelings of the whole Church. Without referring to numberless proofs which I might adduce here, and before I pass to the canons which I mean to insert, I will copy some passages from a touching letter of St. Cyprian, which contains the motives which animated the Church in her pious enterprise, and gives a lively description of her zeal and charity in these admirable efforts.

"Cyprianus Januario, Maximo, Proculo, Victori, Modiano, Nemesiano, Nampulo, et Honorato, fratribus salutem. Cum maximo animi nostri gemitu et non sine lacrymis legimus litteras vestras, fratres carissimi, quas ad nos pro dilectionis vestræ sollicitudine de fratrum nostrorum et sororum captivitate fecistis. Quis enim non doleat in ejusmodi casibus, aut quis non dolorem fratris sui suum proprium computet cum loquatur apostolus Paulus et dicat: _Si patitur unum membrum, compatiuntur et cætera membra: si lætatur membrum unum, collætantur et cætera membra._ (1 ad Cor. xii. 26.) Et alio loco: _Quis infirmatur, inquit, et non ego infirmor?_ (2 ad Cor. xi. 29.) Quare nunc et nobis captivitas fratrum nostra captivitas computanda est, et periclitantium dolor pro nostro dolore numerandus est, cum sit scilicet adunationis nostræ corpus unum, et non tantum dilectio sed et religio instigare nos debeat et confortare ad fratrum membra redimenda. Nam cum denuo apostolus Paulus dicat: _Nescitis quia templum Dei estis, et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis?_ (1 ad Cor. iii. 16), etiamsi charitas nos minus adigeret ad opem fratribus ferendam, considerandum tamen hoc in loco fuit, Dei templum esse quæ capta sunt, nec pati nos longa cessatione et neglecto dolore debere, ut diu Dei templa captiva sint; sed quibus possumus viribus elaborare et velociter gerere ut Christum judicem et Dominum et Deum nostrum promereamur obsequiis nostris. Nam cum dicat Paulus apostolus, _Quotquot in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis_ (ad Gal. iii. 27,) in captivis fratribus nostrus contemplandus est Christus et redimendus de periculo captivitatis, qui nos de diaboli faucibus exuit, nunc ipse qui manet et habitat in nobis de barbarorum manibus exuatur, et redimatur nummaria quantitate qui nos cruce redemit et sanguine.

* * * * *

Quantus vero communis omnibus nobis mœror atque cruciatus est de periculo virginum quæ illic tenentur? pro quibus non tantum libertatis, sed et pudoris jactura plangenda est, nec tam vincula barbarorum quam lenonum et lupanarium stupra defienda sunt, ne membra Christo dicata et in æternum continentiæ honorum pudica virtute devota, insultantium libidine et contagione fœdentur? Quæ omnia istic secundum litteras vestras fraternitas nostra cogitans et dolenter examinans, prompte omnes et libenter ac largiter subsidia nummaria fratribus contulerunt.

* * * * *

Misimus autem sestertia centum millia nummorum, quæ istic in ecclesia cui de Domini indulgentia præsumus, cleri et plebis apud nos consistentis collatione, collecta sunt, quæ vos illic pro vestra diligentia dispensabitis.

* * * * *

Si tamen ad explorandam nostri anima charitatem, et examinandi nostri pectoris fidem tale aliquid acciderit, nolite cunctari nuntiare hæc nobis litteris vestris, pro certo habentes ecclesiam nostram et fraternitatem istic universam, ne hæc ultra fiant precibus orare, si facta fuerint, libenter et largiter subsidia præstare." (Epist. 60.)

Thus the zeal for the redemption of captives, a zeal which was exerted with so much ardor in later ages, had appeared in the earliest times of the Church; this zeal was founded on grand and sublime motives, which render this work in some measure divine, and secure to those who devote themselves to it an unfading crown. Important information on this subject will be found also in the works of St. Gregory. (V. lib. iii. ep. 16; lib. iv. ep. 17; lib. vi. ep. 35; lib. vii. ep. 26, 28, and 38; lib. ix. ep. 17.)

_The property of the Church employed for the redemption of captives._

(Concilium Matisconense secundum, anno 585.)

"Unde statuimus ac decernimus, ut mos antiquus a fidelibus reparetur; et decimas ecclesiasticis famulantibus ceremoniis populus omnis inferat, quas sacerdotes aut in pauperum usum _aut in captivorum redemptionem prærogantes_, suis orationibus pacem populo ac salutem impetrent: si quis autem contumax nostris statutis saluberrimis fuerit, a membris ecclesiæ omni tempore separetur." (Canon 5.)

_It is allowed to break up the sacred vessels, in order to devote the price of them to the redemption of captives._

(Concilium Rhemense, anno 625 vel 630.)

"Si quis episcopus, excepto si evenerit ardua necessitas pro redemptione captivorum ministeria sancta frangere pro qualicumque conditione presumpserit, ab officio cessabit ecclesiæ." (Canon 22.)

The following canon informs us that the Bishops gave letters of recommendation to the captives; they are desired to state therein the date and price of the ransom; they are requested also to mention there the wants of those who are thus restored to liberty.

(Concilium Lugdunense tertium, anno 583.)

"Id etiam de epistolis placuit captivorum, ut ita sint sancti pontifices cauti, ut in servitio pontificibus consistentibus qui eorum manu vel subscriptione agnoscat epistolæ aut quælibet insinuationum litteræ dari debeant, quatenus de subscriptionibus nulla ratione possit Deo propitio dubitari: et epistola commendationis pro necessitate cujuslibet promulgata dies datarum et pretia constituta, vel necessitates captivorum quos cum epistolis dirigunt, ibidem inserantur." (Canon 2.)

_Excess into which some ecclesiastics allowed themselves to fall, by an indiscreet zeal in favor of captives._

(Synodus S. Patricii, Auxilii et Isernini Episcoporum in Hibernia celebrata, circa annum Christi 450 vel 456.)

"Si quis clericorum voluerit juvare captivo cum suo pretio illi subveniat, nam si per furtum illum inviolaverit, blasphemantur multi clerici per unum latronem, qui sic fecerit excommunionis sit." (Canon 32.)

The church employed her property in the ransom of captives; and when the latter had afterwards acquired the means of repaying the sums advanced for them, she refused all reimbursement and graciously gave up the price of the ransom.

(Ex epistolis S. Gregorii.)

"Sacrorum canonum statuta et legalis permittit auctoritates, lici res ecclesiasticas in redemptionem captivorum impendi. Et ideo, quia edocti a vobis sumus, ante annos fere 18, virum reverendissimum quemdam Fabium, Episcopum Ecclesiæ Firmanæ, libras 11 argenti de eadem ecclesia pro redemptione vestra, ac patris vestri Passivi, fratris et co-episcopi nostri, tunc vero clerici, necnon matris vestræ, hostibus impendisse, atque ex hoc quamdam formidinem vos habere, ne hoc quod datum est, a vobis quolibet tempore repetatur, hujus præcepti auctoritate suspicionem vestram prævidimus auferendam; constituentes, nullam vos exinde, hæredesque vestros quolibet tempore repetitionis molestiam sustinere, nec a quoquam vobis aliquam objici quæstionem." (L. 7, ep. 14, et hab. Cuas. 12, q. 2, c. 15.)

_The property of the Church served to ransom captives._

(Concilium Vernense secundum, anno 844.)

"Ecclesiæ facultates quas reges et reliqui christiani Deo voverunt, ad alimentum servorum Dei et pauperum, ad exceptionem hospitum, _redemptionis captivorum_, atque templorum Dei instaurationem, nunc in usu sæcularium detinentur. Hinc multi servi Dei penuriam cibi et potus ac vestimentorum patiuntur, pauperes consuetam eleemosynam non accipiunt, negliguntur hospites, _fraudantur captivi_, et fama omnium merito laceratur." (Canon 12.)

Let us observe in this canon the use which the Church made of her property; after having supported the clergy, and maintained divine worship, she devoted it to succor the poor, travellers or pilgrims, and to redeem captives. I make this observation here, because the opportunity offers; not because this canon is the only proof of the excellent use which the Church made of her property. Indeed, a great number of others might be cited, beginning with the canons called Apostolical. It is necessary also to remark the expression which is sometimes made use of to stigmatize the wickedness of the spoilers of the Church, or of those who administer her property badly; they are called _pauperum necatores_, 'murderers of the poor;' to make it well understood that one of the principal objects of this property is the support of the necessitous.

§ IV.

_Those who attempt to take away the liberty of persons are excommunicated._

(Concilium Lugdunense secundum, anno 566.)

"Et qui peccatis facientibus multi in perniciem animæ suæ ita conati sunt, aut conantur assurgere, ut animas longa temporis quiete sine ulla status sui competitione viventes, nunc improba proditione atque traditione, aut captivaverint aut captivare conentur, si juxta præceptum domini regis emendare distulerint, quousque hos quos obduxerunt, in loco in quo longum tempus quiete vixerint, restaurare debeant, ecclesiæ communione priventur." (Canon 3.)

We see in this canon that private individuals, by too frequent attempts, employed violence to reduce free persons to slavery. At this time, on account of the irruptions of the barbarians, the state of Europe was such, that public authority, weak in the extreme, did not, properly speaking, exist. This is the reason why it is so noble to see the Church struggling every where to support public order, to defend liberty, and excommunicating those who attacked that liberty, in contempt of the commands of the king.

_The same abuse repressed._

(Concilium Rhemense, anno 625 vel 630.)

"Si quis ingenuum aut liberum ad servitium inclinare voluerit, aut fortasse jam fecit, et commonitus ab episcopo se de inquietudine ejus revocare neglexerit, aut emendare noluerit, tamquam calumniæ reum placuit sequestrari." (Canon 17.)

_It is declared that he who leads away a Christian to sell him, is guilty of homicide._

(Concilium Confluentinum, anno 922.)

"Item interrogatum est, quid de eo faciendum sit qui christianum hominem seduxerit, et sic vendiderit: responsumque est ab omnibus, homicidii reatum, ipsum hominem sibi contrahere." (Canon 7.)

_The traffic in men, practised at that time in England, is proscribed; it is forbidden to sell men like ignoble animals._

(Concilium Londinense, anno 1102.)

"Ne quis illud _nefarium negotium_ quo hactenus in Anglia solebant homines sicut bruta animalia venundari, deinceps ullatenus facere præsumat."

We see, from the canon which I have just cited, to what point the Church had attained in all that affects true civilization. We are in the nineteenth century, and it is considered that a great step has been gained in modern civilization by the consent of the great European nations to sign treaties to suppress the slave-trade; now the canon which we have just cited tells us, that at the beginning of the twelfth century, and in that very town of London, where the famous Convention was lately held, the traffic in men was forbidden, and stigmatized as it deserves. _Nefarium negotium_--detestable trade--it is called by the Council: _infamous traffic_, it is called by modern civilization, the unconscious heir of the thoughts and even the words of those men who are treated by it as barbarians, of those Bishops, whom calumny has more or less represented as a band of conspirators against the liberty and happiness of the human race.

_It is ordered that persons who have been sold or pledged, shall immediately recover their liberty by restoring the price received; it is ordained that more shall not be required of them than they shall have received for their liberty._

(Synodus incerti loci, circa annum 616.)

"De ingenuis qui se pro pecunia aut alia revendiderint, vel oppignoraverint, placuit ut quandoquidem pretium, quantum pro ipsis datum est, invenire potuerunt, absque dilatione ad statum suæ conditionis reddito pretio reformentur, nec amplius quam pro eis datum est requiratur. Et interim, si vir ex ipsis, uxorem ingenuam habuerit, aut mulier ingenuum habuerit maritum, filii qui ex ipsis nati fuerint, in ingenuitate permaneant." (Canon 14.)

The text of this Council, held, according to some, at Boneuil, well deserves to have some remarks made on it. The beneficial regulation which allowed a man who had been sold to regain his liberty by paying the sum received, checked an evil which was deeply rooted in the customs of Gaul at that time, for we find it at a very early period. We know, indeed, from Cæsar, whose testimony we have cited in the text, that many men of that country sold their liberty to relieve themselves from difficulties. Let us also remark the regulation contained in the same canon with respect to the children of the person who was sold; whether it be the father or mother, the canon prescribes, in both cases, that the children shall be free; and it here departs from the well known rule of civil law: _partus sequitur ventrem_.

§ V.

_It is forbidden to give up to the Jews the slaves who have taken refuge in the churches; it matters little whether they have chosen that asylum because their masters obliged them to things contrary to the Christian faith, or because they have been maltreated by them after having been once withdrawn from the sacred asylum under the promise of pardon._

(Concilium Aurelianense tertium, anno 538.)

"De mancipiis Christianis, quæ in Judæorum servitio detinentur, si eis quod Christiana religio vetat, a dominis imponitur, aut si eos quos de ecclesia excusatos tollent, pro culpa quæ remissa est, affligere aut cædere fortasse præsumpserint, et ad ecclesiam iterato confugerint, nullatenus a sacerdote reddantur, nisi pretium offeratur ac detur, quod mancipia ipsa valere pronuntiaverit justa taxatio." (Canon 13.)

_The precept given in the preceding canon is renewed; a precept contained in the canon which we have just cited._

(Concilium Aurelianense quartum, anno 541.)

"Cum prioribus canonibus jam fuerit definitum ut de mancipiis Christianis, quæ apud Judæos sunt, si ad ecclesiam confugerint, et redimi se postulaverint, etiam ad quoscumque Christianos refugerint, et servire Judæis noluerint, taxato et oblato a fidelibus justo pretio, ab eorum dominio liberentur, ideo statuimus, ut tam justa constitutio ab omnibus catholicis conservetur." (Canon 30.)

_The Jew who perverts a Christian slave is punished with the loss of all his slaves._ (Ibid.)

"Hoc etiam decernimus observandum, ut quicumque Judæus proselytum, qui advena dicitur, Judæum facere præsumpserit, aut Christianum factum ad Judaicam superstitionem adducere; vel si Judæus Christianam ancillam suam sibi crediderit sociandam; vel si de parentibus Christianis natum, Judæum sub promissione fecerit libertatis, mancipiorum amissione mulctetur." (Canon 31.)

_Jews are forbidden to have Christian slaves henceforth; as to those who are in their power, all Christians are allowed to ransom them by paying their Jewish masters twelve solidi._

(Concilium Matisconense primum, anno 581.)

"Et liceat quid de Christianis qui aut de captivitatis incursu, aut fraudibus Judæorum servitio implicantur, debeat observari, non solum canonicis statutis, sed et legum beneficio pridem fuerit constitutum; tamen quia nunc item quo rumdam querela exorta est, quosdam Judæos, per civitates aut municipia consistentes, in tantam insolentiam et proterviam prorupisse, ut nec reclamantes Christianos liceat vel pretio de eorum servitute absolvi: idcirco præsenti concilio, Deo auctore, sancimus, ut nullus Christianus Judæos deinceps debeat deservire; sed datis pro quolibet bono mancipio 12 solidis, ipsum mancipium quicumque Christianus, seu ad ingenuitatem, seu ad servitium, licentiam habeat redimendi; quia nefas est, ut quos Christus Dominus sanguinis sui effusione redemit, persecutorum vinculis maneant irretiti. Quod si acquiescere his quæ statuimus quicumque Judæus noluerit, quamdiu ad pecuniam constitutam venire distulerit, liceat mancipio ipsi cum Christianis ubicumque voluerit habitare. Illud etiam specialiter sancientes, quod si quis Judæus Christianum mancipium ad errorem Judaicum convictus fuerit suasisse, ut ipse mancipio careat, et legandi damnatione plectatur." (Canon 16.)

* * * * *

The preceding canon is almost equivalent to a decree for the entire emancipation of Christian slaves; for if, on the one hand, Jews were forbidden to acquire new Christian slaves, and, on the other, those who were in their possession could be redeemed by the first Christian who came, it is clear that the charity of the faithful thus finding a door open to it, the number of Christian slaves who groaned in the power of the Jews must have diminished in an extraordinary manner. It is not said that these canonical regulations of the Church from the first moment obtained all the result which was intended; but, as she was the only power that remained standing at that time, and the only one that exercised influence on the nations, it cannot be doubted that her regulations were infinitely advantageous to those in whose favor they were established.

_Jews are forbidden to acquire Christian slaves. If a Jew perverts to Judaism, or circumcises a Christian slave, the latter becomes free without having any thing to pay to his master._

(Concilium Toletanum tertium, anno 589.)

"Suggerente concilio, id gloriossimus dominus noster canonibus inserendum præcipit, ut Judæis non liceat Christianas habere uxores, _neque mancipia comparare in usus proprios_....

"Si qui vero Christiani ab eis Judaico ritu sunt maculati, vel etiam circumcisi, non reddito pretio ad libertatem et religionem redeant Christianam." (Canon 14.)

This canon is remarkable, both because it protects the conscience of the slave, and imposes on masters a punishment favorable to liberty. This manner of checking the arbitrary power of those who violated the consciences of their slaves, is found, during the following century, in a curious example contained in the collection of the laws of Ina, queen of the West Saxons. It is this:

_If a master makes his slave work on Sunday, the slave becomes free._

(Leges Ynæ reginæ Saxonum Occiduorum, anno 692.)

"Si servus operetur die dominica per præceptum domini sui, sit liber." (Leg. iii.)

Another curious example:

_If a master gives meat to a slave on a fasting-day, the slave becomes free._

(Concilium Berghamstedæ anno 5^o Withredi regis Cantii, id est Christi 697: sub Bertualdo Cantuariensi archiepiscopo celebratum. Hæc sunt judicia Withredi regis Cantuariorum.)

"Si quis servo suo carnem in jejunio dediderit comedendam, servus liber exeat." (Canon 15.)

_It is definitively forbidden for Jews to have Christian slaves; all contravention of this order shall deprive the Jews of all their slaves, who shall obtain their liberty from the prince._

(Concilium Toletanum quartum, anno 633.)

"Ex decreto gloriosissimi principis hoc sanctum elegit concilium, ut Judæis non liceat Christianos servos habere, nec Christiana mancipia emere, nec cujusquam consequi largitate: nefas est enim ut membra Christi serviant Antichristi ministris. Quod si deinceps servos Christianos, vel ancillas Judæi habere præsumpserint, sublati ab eorum dominatu libertatem a principe consequantur." (Canon 66.)

_It is forbidden to sell Christian slaves to Jews or Gentiles; if such sales have been made, they shall be annulled._

(Concilium Rhemense, anno 625.)

"Ut Christiani Judæis vel Gentilibus non vendantur; et si quis Christianorum necessitate cogente mancipia sua Christiana elegerit venundanda, non aliis nisi tantum Christianis expendat. Nam si paganis aut Judæis vendiderit, communione privetur, et emptio careat firmitate." (Canon 11.)

No precaution was too great in those unhappy times. It might appear at first that such regulations were an effect of the intolerance of the Church with respect to the Jews and Pagans; and yet, in reality, they were a barrier against the barbarism which invaded all; they were a guarantee of the most sacred rights of man; so much the more necessary, as all the others, it may be said, had disappeared. Read the document which we are about to transcribe; you will there see that barbarism was carried so far, that slaves were sold to the Pagans to be sacrificed.

(Gregorius Papa III. ep. ad Bonifacium Archiepiscopum, anno 731.)

"Hoc quoque inter alia crimina agi in partibus illis dixisti, quod quidam ex fidelibus ad _immolandum_ paganis sua venundent mancipia. Quod ut magnopere corrigere debeas, frater, commonemus, nec sinas fieri ultra; scelus est enim et impietas. Eis ergo qui hæc perpetraverunt, similem homicidæ indices pœnitentiam."

These excesses must have occupied the active attention of the Church, as we see the Council of Liptines, held in 743, again insist on this point, and forbid Christian slaves to be given up to the Gentiles.

"Et ut mancipia Christiana paganis non tradantur." (Canon 7.)

_It is forbidden to sell a Christian slave out of the territory comprised within the kingdom of Clovis._

(Concilium Cabilonense, anno 650.)

"Pietatis est maximæ et religionis intuitus, ut captivitatis vinculum omnino a Christianis redimatur. Unde sancta Synodus noscitur censuisse, ut nullus mancipium extra fines vel terminos, qui ad regnum domini Clodovei regis pertinent, debeat venundare, ne quod absit, per tale commercium, aut captivitatis vinculo, vel quod pejus est, Judaica servitute mancipia Christiana teneantur implicita." (Canon 9.)

This canon, which forbids the selling of Christian slaves out of the kingdom of Clovis, for fear that they should fall into the power of the Pagans and Jews, and the other of the Council of Rheims, cited above, which contains a similar regulation, are worthy of remark, under two aspects; they show, 1st, the high respect which we ought to have for the soul of man, even of him who is a slave, since it is forbidden to sell him where his conscience might be in danger: a respect which it was very important to maintain, both in order to eradicate the erroneous maxims of antiquity on this point, and because it was the first step towards emancipation. 2d. By limiting the power of sale, there was introduced into that kind of property a law which distinguished it from others, and placed it in a different and more elevated category. This was a great step made towards declaring open war against this property itself, and abolishing it by legitimate means.

_Clerics who sold their slaves to Jews are severely reproved: they are threatened with alarming punishments._

(Concilium decimum Toletanum, anno 656.)

"Septimæ collationis immane satis et infandum operationis studium nunc sanctum nostrum adiit concilium; quod plerique ex sacerdotibus et levitis, qui pro sacris ministeriis, et pietatis studio, gubernationisque augmento sanctæ ecclesiæ deputati sunt officio, malunt imitari turbam malorum, potius quam sanctorum patrum insistere mandatis: ut ipsi etiam qui redimere debuerunt, venditiones facere intendant, quos Christi sanguine præsciunt esse redemptos; ita duntaxat, ut eorum dominio qui sunt empti in ritu Judaismo convertantur oppressi, et fit execrabile commercium, ubi nitente Deo justum est sanctum adesse conventum; quia majorum canones vetuerunt ut nullus Judæorum conjugia vel servitia habere præsumat de Christianorum cœtu."

Here the Council eloquently reprimands the guilty; it continues:

"Si quis enim post hanc definitionem talia agere tentaverit, noverit se extra ecclesiam fieri, et præsenti, et futuro judicio cum Juda simili pœna percelli, dum modo Dominum denuo proditionis pretio malunt ad iracundiam provocare." (Canon 7.)

§ VI.

_Pope St. Gregory the First gives freedom to two slaves of the Church of Rome. Remarkable passage, in which this holy pope explains the motives which induced the Christians to enfranchise their slaves._

"Cum Redemptor noster totius conditor creaturæ ad hoc propitiatus humanam voluerit carnem assumere, ut divinitatis suæ gratia, diruto quo tenebamur captivi vinculo servitutis, pristinæ nos restitueret libertati; salubriter agiter, si homines quos ab initio natura creavit liberos et protulit, et jus gentium jugo substituit servitutis, in ea natura in qua nati fuerant, manumittentis beneficio, libertati reddantur. Atque ideo pietatis intuitu, et hujus rei consideratione permoti, vos Montanam atque Thomam famulos sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ, cui Deo adjutore deservimus, liberos ex hac die civesque Romanos efficimus, omneque vestrum vobis relaxamus servitutis peculium." (S. Greg. l. v. ep. 12.)

_Bishops are directed to respect the liberty of those who have been enfranchised by their predecessors. Mention is made of the power given to Bishops to free their slaves who deserve well, and the sum is fixed which they may give them to aid them in living._

(Concilium Agathense, anno 506.)

"Sane si quos de servis ecclesiæ benemeritos sibi episcopus libertate donaverit, collatam libertatem a successoribus placuit custodiri, cum hoc quod eis manumissor in libertate contulerit, quod tamen jubemus viginti solidorum numerum, et modum in terrula, vineola, vel hospitiolo tenere. Quod amplius datum fuerit, post manumissoris mortem ecclesia revocabit." (Canon 7.)

_What has been mortgaged or alienated from the property of the Church by a Bishop who has left nothing of his own, must be restored; but enfranchised slaves are excepted from this rule: they shall preserve their liberty._

(Concilium Aurelianense quartum, anno 541.)

"Ut episcopus qui de facultate propria ecclesiæ nihil relinquit, de ecclesiæ facultate si quid aliter quam canones eloquunter obligaverit, vendiderit, aut distraxerit, ad ecclesiam revocetur. Sane si de servis ecclesiæ libertos fecerit numero competenti, in ingenuitate permaneant, ita ut ab officio ecclesiæ non recedant." (Canon 9.)

An English Council ordains that, at the death of each Bishop, all his English slaves shall be freed. The solemnization of the obsequies is regulated; to terminate the funeral ceremonies, each Bishop and abbot shall enfranchise three slaves, by giving them each three solidi.

(Synodus Cellichytensis, anno 816.)

"Decimo jubetur, et hoc firmiter statuimus asservandum, tam in nostris diebus, quamque etiam futuris temporibus, omnibus successoribus nostris qui post nos illis sedibus ordinentur quibus ordinati sumus: ut quandocumque aliquis ex numero episcoporum migraverit de sæculo, hoc pro anima illius præcipimus, ex substantia uniuscumque rei decimam partem dividere, ac distribuere pauperibus in eleemosynam, sive in pecoribus, et armentis, seu de ovibus et porcis, vel etiam in cellariis, _nec non omnem hominem Anglicum liberare, qui in diebus suis sit servituti subjectus_, ut per illud sui proprii laboris fructum retributionis percipere mereatur, et indulgentiam peccatorum. Nec ullatenus ab aliqua persona huic capitulo contradicatur, sed magis, prout condecet, a successoribus augeatur, et ejus memoria semper in posterum per universas ecclesias nostræ ditioni subjectas cum Dei laudibus habeatur et honoretur. Prorsus orationes et eleemosynas quæ inter nos specialiter condictam habemus, id est, ut statim per singulas parochias in singulis quibusque ecclesiis, pulsato signo, omnis famulorum Dei cœtus ad basilicam conveniant, ibique pariter XXX psalmos pro defuncti animæ decantent. Et postea unusquisque antistes et abbas sexcentos psalmos, et centum viginti missas celebrare faciat, _et tres homines liberet et eorum cuilibet tres solidos distribuat_." (Canon 10.)

_A curious document, which shows the generous resolution made by the Council of Armagh in Ireland, to give liberty to all the English slaves._

(Concilium Ardamachiense in Hibernia celebratum, anno 1171: ex Giraldo Cambrensi, cap. xxviii. Hiberniæ expugnatæ.)

"His completis convocato apud Ardamachiam totius Hiberniæ clero, et super advenarum in insulam adventu tractato diutius et deliberato, tandem communis omnium in hoc sententia resedit: propter peccata scilicet populi sui, eoque præcipue quod Anglos olim, tam a mercatoribus, quam prædonibus atque piratis, emere passim, et in servitutem redigere consueverant, divinæ censura vindictæ hoc eis incommodum accidisse, ut et ipsi quoque ab eadem gente in servitutem vice reciproca jam redigantur. Anglorum namque populus adhuc integro eorum regno, communi gentis vitio, liberos suos venales exponere, et priusquam inopiam ullam aut inediam sustinerent, filios proprios et cognatos in Hiberniam vendere consueverant. Unde et probabiliter credi potest, sicut venditores olim, ita et emptores, tam enormi delicto juga servitutis jam meruisse. Decretum est itaque in prædicto concilio, et cum universitatis consensu publice statutum, ut Angli ubique per insulam, servitutis vinculo mancipati, in pristinam revocentur libertatem."

It is thus that religious ideas influence and soften the ferocious manners of nations. When a public calamity occurs, they immediately find its cause in the divine anger, justly excited by the traffic which the Irish carried on by buying English slaves of merchants, robbers, and pirates. It is not less curious to learn, that at that time the English were barbarous enough to sell their children and relations, like the Africans of our days. This frightful custom must have been pretty general, as we read in the passage quoted, that it was the common vice of those nations: _communi gentis vitio_. This makes us better understand the necessity of a regulation inserted above, that of the Council of London, held in 1102, which proscribes this infamous traffic in men.

_It is forbidden to change the slaves of the Church for other slaves, unless the exchange procured their liberty._

(Ex concilio apud Sylvanectum, anno 864.)

"Mancipia ecclesiastica, nisi ad libertatem non convenit commutari; videlicet ut mancipia, quæ pro ecclesiastico homine dabuntur, in ecclesiæ servitute permaneant, et ecclesiasticus homo, qui commutatur, fruatur perpetua libertate. Quod enim semel Deo consecratum est, ad humanos usus transferri non decet." (V. Decret. Greg. IX., l. iii. tit. 19, cap. 3.)

_A Canon containing the same regulation as the preceding; and whence, moreover, it appears, that the faithful, for the salvation of their souls, were accustomed to offer their slaves to God and the Saints._

(Ex eodem, anno 864.)

"Injustum videtur et impium, ut mancipia, quæ fideles Deo et sanctis ejus pro remedio animæ suæ consecrarunt, cujuscumque muneris mancipio, vel commutationis commercio iterum in servitutem secularium redigantur, cum canonica auctoritas servos tantummodo permittat distrahi fugitives. Et ideo ecclesiarum rectores summopere caveant, ne eleemosyna unius, alterius peccatum fiat. Et est absurdum, ut ab ecclesiastica dignitate servus discedens, humanæ sit obnoxius servituti." (Ibid. cap. 4.)

_Freedom shall be granted to slaves who wish to embrace the monastic state, yet without neglecting useful precautions to ascertain the reality of their vocation._

(Concilium Romanum sub S. Gregorio I., anno 597.)

"Multos de ecclesiastica seu sæculari familia, novimus ad omnipotentis Dei servitium festinare, ut ab humana servitute liberi in divino servitio valeant familiarius in monasteriis conversari, quos si passim dimittimus, omnibus fugiendi ecclesiastici juris dominium occasionem præbemus: si vero festinantes ad omnipotentis Dei servitium, incaute retinemus, illi invenimur negare quædam qui dedit omnia. Unde necesse est, ut quisquis ex juris ecclesiastici vel sæcularis militiæ servitute ad Dei servitium converti desiderat, probetur prius in laico habitu constitutus: et si mores ejus atque conversatio bona desiderio ejus testimonium ferunt, absque retractatione servire in monasterio omnipotenti Domino permittatur, ut ab humano servitio liber recedat, qui in divino obsequio districtiorem appetit servitutem." (S. Greg. epist. 44. lib. iv).

_The abuse of ordaining slaves without the consent of their masters had spread; this abuse is checked._

(Ex epistolis Gelasii Papæ.)

"Ex antiquis regulis et novella synodali explanatione comprehensum est, personas obnoxias servituti, cingulo cœlestis militiæ non præcingi. Sed nescio utrum ignorantia an voluntate rapiamini, _ita ut ex hac causa nullus pene Episcoporum videatur extorris_. Ita enim nos frequens et plurimorum querela nos circumstrepit, ut ex hac parte nihil penitus putetur constitutum." (Distin. 54. c. 9.)

"_Frequens equidem, et assidua nos querela, circumstrepit_ de his pontificibus, qui nec antiquas regulas nec decreta nostra noviter directa cogitantes, obnoxias possessionibus obligatasque personas, venientes ad clericalis officii cingulum non recusant." (Ibid. c. 10.)

"Actores siquidem filiæ nostræ illustris et magnificæ feminæ, Maximæ, petitorii nobis insinuatione conquesti sunt, Sylvestrum atque Candidum, originarios suos, contra constitutiones, quæ supradictæ sunt, et contradictione præeunte a Lucerino Pontifice diaconos ordinatos." (Ibid c. 11.)

"_Generalis etiam querelæ vitanda præsumptio est, qua propemodum causantur universi_, passim servos et originarios, dominorum jura, possessionumque fugientes, sub religiosæ conversationis obtentu, vel ad monasteria sese conferre, vel ad ecclesiasticum famulatum, conniventibus quippe præsulibus, indifferenter admitti. Quæ modis omnibus est amovenda pernicies, ne per Christiani nominis institutum aut aliena pervadi, aut publica videatur disciplina subverti." (Ibid. c. 12.)

_The parish priests are allowed to choose some clerics from the slaves of the Church._

(Concilium Emeritense, anno 666.)

"Quidquid unanimiter digne disponitur in sancta Dei ecclesia, necessarium est ut a parochitanis presbyteris custoditum maneat. Sunt enim nonnulli, qui ecclesiarum suarum res ad plenitudinem habent, et sollicitudo illis nulla est habendi clericos, cum quibus omnipotenti Deo laudum debita persolvant officia. Proinde instituit hæc sancta synodus, ut omnes parochitani presbyteri, juxta ut in rebus sibi a Deo creditis sentiunt habere virtutem, de ecclesiæ suæ familia clericos sibi faciant; quos per bonam voluntatem ita nutriant, ut et officium sanctum digne paragant, et ad servitium suum aptos eos habeant. Hi etiam victum et vestitum dispensatione presbyteri merebuntur, et domino et presbytero suo, atque utilitati ecclesiæ fideles esse debent. Quod si inutiles apparuerint ut culpa patuerit, correptione disciplinæ feriantur; si quis presbyterorum hanc sententiam minime custodierit, et non adimpleverit, ab episcopo suo corrigatur: ut plenissime custodiat, quod digne jubetur." (Canon 18.)

_It is prescribed to the Bishops to confer liberty on the slaves of the Church before they admit them into the clerical body._

(Concilium Toletanum nonum, anno 655.)

"Qui ex familiis ecclesiæ servituri devocantur in clerum ab episcopis suis, necesse est, ut libertatis percipiant donum: et si honestæ vitæ claruerint meritis, tunc demum majoribus fungantur officiis." (Canon 11.)

_It is allowed to ordain the slaves of the Church, liberty having been previously conferred on them._

(Concilium quartem Toletanum, anno 633.)

"De familiis ecclesiæ constituere presbyteros ut diaconos per parochias liceat; quos tamen vitæ rectitudo et probitas morum commendat: ea tamen ratione, _ut antea manumissi libertatem status sui percipiant_, et denuo ad ecclesiasticos honores succedant; irreligiosum est enim obligatos existere servituti, qui sacri ordinis suscipiunt dignitatem."

§ VII.

We have shown in the text by what means, with what wisdom and perseverance Christianity abolished slavery in the ancient world; Christian and Catholic Europe was free at the time when Protestantism appeared. Let us now see what Catholicity has done in modern times, with respect to slaves in other parts of the world. We can present to our readers in one document, which is the evidence of the ideas and feelings of the Sovereign Pontiff Gregory XVI., an interesting history of the solicitude of the Roman See in favor of the slaves of the whole universe. I mean the apostolical letters published at Rome, November 3, 1839, against the slave-trade; and I recommend the perusal of them. It will be there seen, in the most authentic and decisive manner, that the Catholic Church, on this important subject of slavery, has always showed, and shows still, the most lively spirit of charity, without in the least offending against justice, or for a moment departing from the path of prudence.

"_Gregorius P. P._ XVI. _ad futuram rei memoriam_.