The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury. By W.
Farquhar Hook, D.D., Dean of Chichester.
Vol 1. Anglo-Saxon period. Bentley.
This is the opening volume of a work of great
historical and literary value, and one which, if the
writer should be enabled to complete, will be a
standard contribution to our national literature. Of
the early history of the English Church but little is
known among us; indeed, the general knowledge of
our secular history at the Anglo-Saxon epoch is
somewhat superficial and uncertain. Yet the
Romans, in their palmiest days, cherished the song
and legend, however fabulous, that told of the
valour of the barbarians who founded their city,
and it ill becomes us, from the pinnacle of our
modern greatness, to look with scorn or lack of
interest on the achievements of our Saxon fore-
fathers. In them, whatever their disasters or lack
of unity and civilization, we may trace the sturdy
independence of character which has made us what
we are. We find the same intolerance of foreign inter-
ference, and watch the influence of some of the great
principles which have rendered our constitution in
every age the object of wonder and admiration.
The mere outline of events, indeed, and the names
of the principal monarchs, we may gather from
our school histories, but of the internal jurisdiction
of the country, and the feelings which animated
the populace, and still more of the constitution of
the Church in the Anglo-Saxon period, very
little is generally known. This ignorance or indif-
ference Dr. Hook has undertaken to disperse. He
remarks that to the national history subsequent to
the Norman invasion, an especial interest is im-
parted by our chief historians, through the art
with which they have grouped their facts round
one central figure, and have pourtrayed the leading
features of the age in connection with the characte-
ristics of the monarch. Following the example of
Hume and his successors, Dr. Hook has selected
for his principal personage the Primate of our
Church, intending "to connect with his biography
the ecclesiastical events of his age, and thus asso-
ciate facts which are overlooked in their insignifi-
cant isolation, and customs, which abstractedly
considered, are valued only by the antiquary."
From an early period of his life he has, he tells us,
entertained this idea, but arduous duties
in the manufacturing districts demanded all
his energies, and only allowed him to make the
study of ecclesiastical history his recreation. Now,
however,"the increased leisure of advancing years
has enabled him to resume his favourite pursuit, and
we trust he may be spared for the full accomplish-
ment of his laborious but lofty project ; a project
for which he is eminently qualified, not only by a
clear and luminous style, and a vast fund of anti-
quarian knowledge, but by a spirit of comprehen-
sive benevolence, founded on an enlightened tolera-
tion for the weaknesses and inconsistencies of frail
human nature, which is rare among the best writers,
and is seldom the especial qualification of digni-
taries of the Church. In his interesting introduc-
tory chapter this characteristic is particularly ap-
parent, when he discourses on the failings and errors
of our predecessors, and cautions us against rash
judgments or hasty censures, by reminding us of the
malignity of modern controversialists, and the fana-
ticism of many branches of our own religious world.
The early history of our Church, he warns us, is a
history of its gradual corruption in doctrine, in
ritual, and discipline; its foundation having taken
place at the time when the Western Church, of
which it was a branch, was in a state of transition
from its primitive simplicity to the complicated
and uncertain doctrines of a later time. Its origin,
as is well known, is due to Gregory the Great; and
the chief of the, rst band of missionaries, and first
Archbishop of Canterbury, was Augustine, who has
been styled " The Apostle of the English." Of
this great man, the author, though admitting his
eloquence and ability, does not take so high an esti-
mate as some others have done. But although he
is always ready to make allowances for the spirit
of the age and the conflicting opinions of the time,
his duty, as a fair and candid historian, prevents
him from awarding equal praise to all the holders
of the archiepiscopal dignity. That his opinion of
the successive archbishops is impartial and unex-
travagant the following passage affords evidence :
"Among the archbishops there are a few eminent men
distinguished as much for their transcendant abilities as for
their exalted station in society; but, as a general rule,
they have not been men of the highest class of mind. In
all ages the tendency has very properly been, whether by
election or by nomination, to appoint safe men,' and as
genius is generally innovating and often eccentric, the
safe men are those who, with certain high qualifications,
do not rise much above the intellectual average of their
contemporaries. They are practical men rather than
philosophers and theorists, and their impulse is not to per-
fection, but quiets non movere. From this very circum-
stance their history is the more instructive, and, if few
among the archbishops have left the impress of their mind
upon the age in which they lived, we may, in their
biography, read the character of the times which they
_ --I.olvmsa y w nna tneua
zealous, but not enthusiastic ; on the revival of learning,
whether in Anglo-Saxon times or the fifteenth century,
they were men/ of learning, although only a few have
been distinguished as authors. When the mind of the laity
was devoted to the camp or the chase, and prelates were
called to the administration of public affairs, they dis-
played the ordinary tact and diplomatic skiil of profes-
sional statesmen, and the necessary acumen of judges; at
the Reformation, instead of being leaders, they were the
cautious followers of bolder spirits; at the epoch of the
Revolution, they were anti-Jacobites rather than Whigs ;
in a latitudinarian ago they have been, if feeble as gover-
nors, bright examples of Christian moderation andcharity."
St. Augustine's success was extraordinary, and he
was fortunate in being warmly supported by
Ethelbert, King of Kent, who had married a Chris-
tian princess, daughter of Charbert, King of Paris.
It had been stipulated that she should enjoy the
exercise of her faith, and she came to England
attended by her chaplain. The way was thus pre-
pared for the Italian missionaries, and the conversion
of the King and establishment of the Christian
church in Kent soon followed. The conversion
of Northumbria was not so lasting in its results.
It was accomplished in the reign of Edwin, one of
the most powerful of the northern monarchs, and
its chief instrument was Paulinus, first Arch-
bishop of York, He accompanied Ethelburga,
sister of Eadbald, King of Kent, to the Court of
Edwin, whose wife she became, and he succeeded
in persuading the King to favour the new faith.
It was impossible, however, to establish it in his
domains without the consent of the witan, which
was accordingly convoked. The following passage
is interesting, as showing the support which the
new religion met with from those who might have
been expected to be its fiercest antagonists, and
also from the proof it affords of the antiquity of
free discussion among us :
"The Witenagemot was held. The account of its pro-
ceedings is preserved in Bede, and is deeply interesting
as the earliest report in existence of a parliamentary de-
bate. The first speaker was Coifi, the chief priest of the
Northumbrians. It was to this effect 0 king, con-
sider what this is which is now preached to us ; for I
verily declare to you that as to my own experience, the
religion which we have hitherto professed has no power
nor utility in it. For none of your people has applied
himself more diligently to the worship of our gods than I ;
and yet there are many who receive greater gods
and
higher honours from you than I do, and are more prospe-
rous in all their undertakings. Now if the gods were good
for anything, they would rather assist me who have
been most careful to serve them. If, therefore, upon
examination you find those new doctrines which are
preached to us, better and more efficacious, it only remains
for us immediately to receive them without any delay.'
" This speech is of much importance, since it enables us
to account for the subsequent renunciation of Christianity,
which was as sudden and complete as its reception.
"Paulinus had made a grand mistake by encouraging
Edwin, Coif!, and the 'other converts to believe that the
merits of a religious scheme were to be tried by the tem-
poral advantages which followed its reception. Success in
battle, the attainment of political power, the acquisition of
wealth,—these were the rewards held out by Paulinus,
from his first interview with Edwin, at the palace gate of
Redwald, until his late victory over the West Saxons and
Cuichelm their king. Edwin at that time promised to
embrace the Christian faith if he obtained a victory, and
the victory was claimed by Paulinus as an evidence of
Christianity. We perceive the effects of teaching in
the speech of Coifi, who had evidently conferred with the
archbishop; and we shall see hereafter that the overthrow
of Christianity in Northumbria, on the defeat of Edwin, is
attributable to this error, one into which enthusiasts have
frequently fallen.
" We are gratified by the wiser speech of one of the
witan, who may be regarded as the representative of those
who are converts from higher motives, and who, when the
time of trial came, were ' faithful found amidst the
faithless.'
" ' The present life of man upon earth, 0 king I seems
to me, in comparison of that time which is unknown to us,
like to the swift flight of a sparrow through a room wherein
you sit at supper in winter, with your ealdormen and
thanes, a good fire having been lit in the midst, and the
room made warm thereby, whilst storms of rain and snow
rage abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door, and
immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe
from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair
weather, soon passed over, he immediately vanishes out of
your sight int-) the dark winter from which ho had emerged.
So this life of man appears for a short space ; but of what
went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant.
If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more
certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.' The
other niers, and king's counsellors, spoke to the same
effect."
Before many years had elapsed, however, King
Edwin lost both his crown and his life in an
adverse field, and the total extirpation of the
Northumbrian Church followed. Paulinus had
made a grand mistake in his teaching; he had, as
the author observes, " based the evidence of Chris-
tianity on the Jewish principle, making temporal
success the test of truth. What was the fearful
inference which men who acted on the principle
of Coifi were to deduce from the fatal fight on
Hatfield Chase ?" The feeling expressed in the
beautiful saying of Bacon, that " Prosperity is the
blessing of the Old Testament, and adversity of
the New," seems to have been either unknown or
wilfully overlooked by most
of these early teachers.
Defiling with barbarians, they endeavoured to
render their teaching comprehensible, by reducing

the rewards and promises of their faith to tangible
advantages, and the character of the people seems
to have been perplexing to them. " They were
offended," says Dr. Hook, " even more by the
independence than by the rudeness of the people
with whom they had to deal." Because they were
Romans they expected kings and nobles to bow
before them, and were affronted with the sturdy
self dependence which even then distinguished
the insular character. But as the author reminds
us " we are to give them credit for self sacrifice,
when, refined and civilised Italians, they took
up their abode among a semi-barbarous race."
To one of St. Augustine's successors, Theodorus,
we are indebted, according to Dr. Hook, for the
foundation of English scholarship. He took pos-
session of St. Augustine's monastery, and made
it a school of learning. Hadrian, an African monk
who accompanied him, was also instrumental in
this great work.
The indignant Wilfrid embarked for the Continent,
and appealed to Rome, whither he repaired. This was a
direct violation of the Church principles of the age ; for
the patriarch of Rome had jurisdiction only where both
parties agreed to refer the cause to him. To appeal from
a national English synod,—from an English king and an
English metropolitan,—was not to be tolerated by the free
spirit which pervaded the land. And consequently, when
Wilfrid returned with the papal decision in his favour, and,
on the strength of it, demanded to be restored to his
diocese, the king convened a council of the nobility and
clergy of his kingdom, and by the clergy and the laity then
assembled it was unanimously determined that the appeal
was a public offence, and the papal letters an insult to the
crown and nation. Wilfrid was condemned to nine months'
imprisonment, and became for many years a wandering
outcast."

It is remarked that in the schools founded by Theo-
dorus, and carried on by his disciples, the grand
principle of education laid down is still the char-
acteristic of English schools and universities • " not
to impart knowledge but to exercise the mind, not
to sow the land but to plough the soil, not to bur-
den the memory but to give vigour to the intellect."
The rule of Theodorus is also remarkable for an in,
stance of the national jealousy of foreign intervention.
Wilfred, Bishop of York, had opposed the Primate
on some point of ecclesiastical reformation, and was
consequently deposed from his see.
"In Hadrian Theodorus found an able coadjutor. He
is described by William of Malmesbury as a fountain of
letters and a river of arts.' Both these great men under-
stood the importance of creating a learned clergy; they re-
garded civilisation as the handmaid of Christianity, and of
civilisation they knew that learning is the parent. They
found the English people eager to be instructed and appe-
tent of knowledge. They gathered around them a crowd of
dispikoles, and, as Bede says, there daily flowed from them
streams of knowledge to water the hearts of their hearers.
Through their influence all the larger and better monas-
teries were converted into schools of learning, in which
the laity as well as the clergy imbibed a respect for litera-
ture, and in many instances a love of it. Even the monas-
teries belonging to the fair sex were converted into semi-
naries of learning, and the Abbess Hildelidis and her nuns
were, in the next generation, able to understand the
Grocisms of Aldhelm in his Latin treatise, De Laudibus
Virgihitatis,' written for their especial edification. In the
time of Bede, as the historian himself informs us, there
were scholars of Theodorus and Hadrian who were as
well versed in the Greek and Latin languages as in their
own. When literature was almost extinguished in France,
Alcuin could boast of the learned men and the noble
libraries of England. So indefatigable were the transcribers
of ancient manuscripts in these English schools, that from
them Charlemagne himself solicited assistance, when he
laboured for the revival of letters in Gaul."

The stormy days when the country was overrun -by
the Danish hordes were at hand, to be happily
succeeded by the wise and enlightened rule of the
greatest of our kings. Religion and knowledge,
which had suffered during the days of oppression,
flourished again under the sway of Alfred, whose
rigour in only preferring men of learning left
many sees vacant at his death. Further on we
come to the life of Odo, the Danish archbishop,
whose association with the miserable story of Edwy
and Elgiva proves his barbarian ancestry. Dunstan,
his successor, has been elevated to the dignity of a
saint, although more eminent for his administrative
capacity than for his Christian humility. Dr Hook
ranks him with Becket, Wolsey, and Laud, in the
first class of ecclesiastical statesmen. His labours
at least resulted in practical benefit to the country,
as the following passage testifies :
" The result of Dunstan's vigorous administration was
such as must have afforded him that satisfaction which is
enjoyed by men, who are permitted to see that, though
they have laboured sometimes amidst doubts and difficul-
ties, yet they have not laboured in vain. Under the
reign of Edgar the Pacific, Northumbria was divided into
earldoms instead of kingdoms ; the Danes were either
subdued or conciliated ; the sovereignty of the Anglo-
Saxon king over the Scots was established ; the navy was
placed in such a state of efficiency, that no enemy
ventured to attack the coast ; English pirates who had.
infested our ports, were restrained and punished; while at
home, trade was encouraged, family feuds were suppressed,
and men were compelled, instead of taking the law into
their own hands, to submit the decision of their quarrels
to the magistrate. Regular circuits were established for
the administration of justice, forming a court of appeal
from the inferior judges. As Athelstan had reformed the
coinage, so now standard measures were made and depo-
sited at Winchester. Steps were taken in behalf of the
heen, to annihilata the wolves which still abounded in themonntz-y. Even to trivial matters could the mind
of Dunstan descend ; finding that quarrels arose very fre-
quently in taverns, from disputes among the topers, as to
their share of liquor, respectively, when they drank out of
the same cup; he advised Edgar to order gold or silver
pegs to be fastened in the pots, that whilst every man
knew his just measure, shame should compel each to con-
fine himself to his proper share."
Stigand, the last archbishop of the Anglo-Saxon
epoch, assisted at the consecration of Westminster
Abbey, and the poem on that event, translated from
Norman French, which is given here, will interest
the antiquary. Stigan d died a prisoner in the hands
of the Conqueror, in chains, and as some say in want
of the common necessaries of life. With his death
terminates the first volume of Dr. Hook's history,
a work which, if it should be fully and fairly car-
ried out, will rank among the most valuable historical
undertakings of the present day. A few:years ago
its compilation would have been difficult, owing to
the obstacles which then attended any access to the
original authorities. These difficulties have now
been removed by the publication of the " Monti-
menta Historia Britannica," which has placed the
ancient writers within the reach of the modern
student. Of these authorities Dr. Hook has largely
availed himself; and though dealing with one of
the least interesting portions of his subject, he has
succeeded, by the aid of antiquarian research and
literary ability, in worthily inaugurating a great
ecclesiastical history.

The Prince of Wales in Canada. By N. A.
Woods, the Times' Special Correspondent.
Author of " The Past Campaign." Bradbury
and Evans.
Among the events of the past year which the
historian of our country will have to chronicle,
few will surpass in interest the visit of the Heir-
apparent to the Anglo-Saxon race beyond the
broad Atlantic. In this book we meet with a graphic
account of the whole affair, which is written for the
most part impartially, and with spirit and viva-
city. Short as the time was that elapsed during
the visit of the Prince, it is probable that he re-
ceived more striking impressions and beheld more
instructive and interesting scenes than during all
his previous life. Almost every variety of scene was
outspread before him, from the gay ball-room to
the lonely prairie, from the brilliant reception, as
he passed down the Broadway at New York, to the
majestic sublimity of Niagara Falls. Among the
amusing episodes here' mentioned is the ball at
Quebec. In consequence of the crowd, there was
hardly more space for dancing than on an ordinary
tablecloth, and it is said, " during one of these
terpsichorean struggles the Prince caught his
spurs in a lady's dress, tripped and fell, he was up
again in an instant laughing heartily, and dancing
away more vigorously than ever." This was far
too wonderful an event to be passed over by the
news-mongers, and so we learn that five minutes
after its occurrence it was telegraphed to the jour-
nals, in one of which appeared the subjoined series
of headings :—" The Canadian Commotion—Splen-
did Splurge of the Quebeckers—The Prince at the
grand ball given by the city,--he danced twenty-
two times—tripped and fell, his beautiful partner
rolling over Honi, soit qui mal y pense'—
the Prince immediately picked himself up, and
continued the dance—terrible flutter of crinoline.'
It is a relief, after all this show and glitter, to
peruse the account of the visit to Niagara, where
there was a lull " in the whirlwind of addresses, re-
views, processions, state balls, and noisy Orangemen.
There is great truth in this remark : "It was, on the
whole, quite as well that royalty was incog . before
Niagara ; the shout of a mob or the tinsel of a pro-
cession would have sho wed :poorly by the side of
that great Altar of Nature, where a misty incense is
always rising to heaven and the eternity of water
speaks only of One. Amid that scene, princes,
powers, and denominations are all forgotten as you
stand before the Falls of Niagara, which pour down
with such a majesty of power that you can only
gaze with solemn awe upon the grandest and most
terrible of all God's works in nature." An ani-
mated description is given of the Prince's reception
in New York. "It was, in fact, marked by such an
ovation as has seldom been offered to any monarch
in ancient and modern times ; it was not a reception,
it was the grand impressive welcome of a mighty
people, it was one vast concourse of citizens such as
few people have over seen assembled together, such
as is not likely to be seen again in our time. When
the Prince entered this great avenue of human
beings a long, deep cheer went up, such as could
only be given by hundreds of thousands of enthu-
siastic people, it seemed less a cheer than a pro-
longed outbreak of welcome—the welcome and
greeting of an empire." An interesting fact is
related regarding the attendance of the Prince and
suite at Trinity Church, New York. During the
service prayers were offered up for her Majesty,
the Prince Consort, and Albert Edward Prince of
Wales, which was the first time such a prayer bad
been made for the Royalty of England since Dr.