the walls of it, all shields of mighty men. For we desire father, for the sake of us simple ones, and that are slow of understanding, you would be pleased by your study, to gather all these arms into one place, that they may be the more readily found, and more powerful to resist these monsters. I must inform you also, that those of them who have returned to our church, tell us, that they had great numbers of their persuasion scattered almost every where, and that amongst them were many of our clergy and monks. And as for those who were burnt, they, in the defence they made for themselves, told us, that this heresy had been concealed from the time of the martyrs and that it had existed in Greece and other countries."

The letter of Evervinus had all the effect upon Bernard that he could desire. The mighty champion immediately prepared himself for the combat. He was then publishing a set of sermons on the Canticles, and in the 65th and 66th of them he enters the lists most vehemently with these heretics. He is extremely offended with them for deriding the Catholics because they baptised infants, and prayed for the dead, and asserted purgatory-condemns their scrupulous refusal to swear at all, which, according to him, was one of their peculiarities—upbraids them with their secrecy in the observance of their religious rites, not considering the necessity which persecution imposed upon them-finds fault with a practice among them of dwelling with women in the same house without being married to them, by which we are no doubt to understand, that they did not think it necessary to solemnize their marriages according to the ceremonies of the church of Rome, though he expresses himself as knowing very little of the manners of the sect; and from the numberless rumours propagated against them, he suspects them of hypocrisy. Yet his testimony in favour of their general conduct seems to overbalance all his invectives.

“Il,” says be, "you ask them of their faith, nothing can be more Christian; if you observe their conversation, notbing can be more blameless, and what they speak, they prove by deeds. You may see a man, for the testimony of his faith, frequent the church, honour the elders, offer his gift, make his confession, receive the sacrament. What more like a Christian ? As to life and manners, he circumvents no man, over-reaches no man, and does violence to no man He fasts much, and eats not the bread of idleness, but works with his hands for his support. The whole body, indeed, are rustic and illiterate, and all whom I have known of this sect are very ignorant.” Such was the testimony of the great Saint Bernard in their behalt,

Dr, Haweis loses all patience with his brother Milner, for attempting to introduce the great Berpard into the calendar of saints. “I am astonished," says he, “at bis attempt to enrol Bernard in his catalogue of evangelical religion. Saint added to such a name would be impious. Howe Ever orthodox some of his sentiments may be, can false miracles, lying prophecies, bloody persecutions of the faithful, and servitude to the papacy and ber dominion, constitute a saivt of the first water? A protestant divine disgraces his page by these commendations, and renders even the truths which he supports and contends for as evangelical, snspi. cious." Impartial Hist, vol. ii. p. 230. In all this I fully agree with Dr. Haweis; but then it furnishes me with a powerful plea against his own consistenry, who has no scruple to enrol in his catalogue the names of Athanasius apd Augustine-men equally renowned for their lust of power, their persecuting principles, their false miracles, their lying prophecies, and abject servitude to the prevailing corruption of their re spective times.

To the character of Bernard, however, let us not be unjust. He was not a blind and slavish supporter of the court of Rome, even in those days. On the contrary, be used the greatest freedom of speech in lasting the vices of the clergy of his time, and made himself extremely obnoxious to them by his free remonstrances. “Who at the outset," says he,“ when the order of monks began, would ever have imagined that monks would become so wicked as they since have? Oh, how unlike are we to those in the days of Anthony? Did Macarias live in such a manner? Did Basil teach so? Did Anthony ordain so ? Did the fathers in Egypt We have some additional information concerning these people, given us by Egbert, a monk, and afterwards abbot of Schonauge, who tells us that he had often disputed with these heretics, and that he had learned still more of their opinions from those who had, through the force of torments and the threat of being burned, renounced their communion. He says, “ they are commonly called Ca. thari, [Puritans] a sort of people very pernicious to the catholic faith, which, like moths, they corrupt and destroy.” He adds, that they were divided into several sects, and maintained their opinions by the authority of scripture. He takes particular notice of their denying the utility of baptism to infants, which, say they, through their incapacity, avails nothing to their salvation; insisting that baptism ought to be deferred till they come to years of discretion, and that even then those only should be baptized who make a personal profession of faith, and desire it.* “ They are armed," says he,“ with the words of the holy scripture which in any way seem to favour their sentiments, and with those they know how to defend their errors, and to oppose the catholic truth;

carry themselves so ? How is the light of the world become darkness? How is the salt of the earth become unsavory? I am a liar," says he, “ifl have not seen an abbot having above sixty horses in his train! When ye saw them riding, ye might say, ' These are not fathers of monasteries, but lords of castles-not shepherds of souls, but princes of provinces !-Oh, vanity of vanities ! the walls of churches are glorious, while the poor are starving.” Even the popes themselves were not spared by Bernard, He wrote to Eugenius and to Innocent the Second, imputing to them the blame of all the wickedness in the church,-though he approved of its constitution, and defended all its rites and ceremonies. This inconsistent conduct gave rise to a saying which passed into a proverb, and was common for centuries after, viz. Bernardus non vidit omnia-Bernard does not see every thing.

• See his Sermon against the Cathari in Bib. Pat. tom. ï. p. 99, 106. Danver's Hist. Bapt. p. 249.

though in reality they are wholly ignorant of the true meaning couched in those words, and wbich cannot be discovered without great judgment. They are increased to great multitudes throughout all countries, to the great danger of the church-for their words eat like a canker, and, like a flying leprosy, runs every way, infecting the precious members of Christ. These in our Germany we call Cathari; in Flanders they call them Piphles; in French, Tisserands, from the art of weaving, because numbers of them are of that occupation.”*

Thus by comparing together these several fragments of information, we may acquire some distinct notion of these Cathari. They were a plain, unassuming, harmless, and industrious race of Christians, patiently bearing the cross after Christ, and both in their doctrine and manners condemning the whole system of idolatry and superstition which reigned in the church of Rome, placing true religion in the faith, hope, and obedience of the gospel, maintaining a supreme regard to the authority of God, in his word, and regulating their sentiments and practices by that divine standard. Even in the twelfth century their numbers abounded in the neighbourhood of Cologne, in Flanders, the south of France, Savoy, and Milan. “ They were increased, says Egbert,“ to great multitudes, THROUGHOUT ALL COUNTRIES," and although they seem not to have attracted attention in any remarkable degree previous to this period, yet, as it is obvious they could not have sprung up in a day, it is not an unfair inference that they must have long existed as a people wholly distinct from the catholic church, though, amidst the political squabbles of the clergy, it was their good fortune to be almost entirely overlooked.

* Dr. Allix's Remarks, p. 150.

The same Egbert, speaking of them, says, “Concerning the souls of the dead, they hold this opinion, that at the very instant of their departure out of the body, they go to eternal bliss or endless misery, for they do not admit the belief of the universal church, that there are some purgatory punishments, with which the souls of some of the elect are tried for a time, on account of those sins from which they have not been purified by a plenary satisfaction in this life. On which account they think it superfluous and vain to give alms for the dead and celebrate masses; and they scoff at our ringing of bells, which, nevertheless, for pious reasons, are used in our churches, to give others warning that they may pray for the dead, and to put them in mind of their own death. As for masses, they altogether despise them, regarding them as of no value, for they maintain that the sacerdotal order has entirely ceased in the church of Rome and all other catholic churches, and that true priests are only to be found in their sect.”*

Throughout the whole of the twelfth century, these people were exposed to severe persecution. The zeal of Galdinus, archbishop of Milan, was roused against them to such a pitch, that after making them the objects of unrelenting persecution, during a period of eight or nine years, he, at length, fell a martyr to his own zeal, dying in the year 1173, in consequence of an illness contracted through the excess of his vehemence in preaching against them.

Towards the middle of the twelfth century, a small society of these Puritans, as they were called by some, or Waldenses, as they are termed by others, or Paulicians, as they are denominated by our old monkish historian, William of Neuburg, made their appearance in England.

Sermon I. p. 889, in Bib. pp. Colon. ed. quoted by Dr. Allis, p 152.