perience had shewn him the efficacy of these solemn and
pompous rites, to soothe the distress, to confirm the faith, to
mitigate the fierceness, and to dispel the dark enthusiasm, of
the vulgar, and he readily forgave their tendency to promote
the reign of priesthood and superstition. The bishops of Italy
and the adjacent islands acknowledged the Roman pontiff as
their special metropolitan. Even the existence, the union, or
the translation of episcopal seats was decided by his absolute
discretion ; and his successful inroads into the provinces of
Greece, of Spain, and of Gaul, might countenance the more
lofty pretensions of succeeding popes. He interposed to pre-
vent the abuses of popular elections; his jealous care maintained
the purity of faith and discipline ; and the apostolic shepherd
assiduously watched over the faith and discipline of the subor-
dinate pastors. Under his reign, the Arians of Italy and Spain
were reconciled to the catholic church, and the conquest of
Britain reflects less glory on the name of Caesar than on that of
Gregory the First. Instead of six legions, forty monks were
embarked for that distant island, and the Pontiff lamented the
austere duties which forbade him to partake the perils of their
spiritual warfare. In less that two years he could announce to
the archbishop of Alexandria that they had baptized the king
[AD. 597] of Kent with ten thousand of his Anglo-Saxons, and that the
Roman missionaries, like those of the primitive church, were
armed only with spiritual and supernatural powers. The
credulity or the prudence of Gregory was always disposed to
confirm the truths of religion by the evidence of ghosts, miracles, and resurrections;[1] and posterity has paid to his memory the same tribute which he freely granted to the virtue of his own or the preceding generation. The celestial honours have been liberally bestowed by the authority of the popes, but Gregory is the last of their own order whom they have presumed to inscribe in the calendar of saints.
and temporal government
Their temporal power insensibly arose from the calamities of times ; and the Roman bishops, who have deluged Europe
- ↑ A French critic (Petrus Gussanvillus, Opera, tom. ii. p. 105-112) has indicated the right of Gregory to the entire nonsense of the Dialogues. Dupin (tom. V. p. 138) does not think that any one will vouch for the truth of all these miracles; I should like to know how many of them he believed himself.
Italians for tramontane singing. Alpiiia scilicet corpora vocum suarum tonitruis altisone perstrepentia. susceptæ modulationis dulcedinem proprie non resultant:quia bibuli gutturis barbara feritas dum inflexionibus et repercussionibus mitem nititur edere cantilenam, naturali quodam fragore quasi plaustra per gradus confuse sonantia rigidas voces jactat, &c. In the time of Charlemagne, the Franks, though with some reluctance, admitted the justice of the reproach. Muratori, Disseit. xxv.
