Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1860-10-26


BY Henry Hart Milman, d. D., Dean oC ST,
Pauls in vols. Vol. |. l2mo PIP. d.. $l2
" York: Sheldon i CO. Richmond Stake
II CardnZa.
NO such work" says the Quar;eci: Re.
view (Fol. NCI. p. 39) has appcarcdin English
Ecclesiastical l.i,cra:ure-nonc which combines
such breadth Of view with such depth Of re-
searcll--w!ih such literary and artistic eni-
ncnce, with Sach patient and elaborate avcSti
sation-S"ch appreciation Of tie various forms
Of greatness and goodness, with such force Of
conception and eXecuton-noAc which cyfi
bits so large an amount Of tha; iearlcssnc>S Of
results which is the necessary condition .: in.-
partial Judgment and trustworthy statement"
"Dr Milman' SAYS the North British Re
view Vol. NNll, p. I'D has many o! the
qualities CT 4 great historian, and stands in
the foremost rank among modern writes {:
Church History. His studies Of the times
which he Describes, is complete; no oriyina!
source seems to have escaped the very wide
range Of his reading and the opiaio"s .! mo
dcrn writers. especially those OF Germany. have
been duly weighed, and, where necessary, no.
ticcA And TO this careful research and hnnc>;
judgment, he adds that poetic livclncss oi
| imagination. which makes each man, and each
period live, as they pass before us.
From other sources Of like rrpu;e this work
has also received the highest commentators;
and the general and non-proieSsional reader,
no less than the theological student can peruSr
it with pleasure and profit 1t is, in iac,, the
history of Medieval Europe in its most ia
portant aspect, exhibiting the rise, The Lcrc.
| lopclncnt and the domination of Latin Chris
tianty in It's bearing upon civilization, philoSo-
| ply and ars The aversion ofGbbon to every
thing which bore the name of Christianity. and
the comparative indifference Of Italian. have
given cololing 10 the pictures which they
have respectively drawn Of TIE sane period.
the one so greatly distorted, and tho other so
imperfect, rs to demand that the whole Srihicct
should be rccaSt ina different mould and by an
artist capable Of discriminating, without pre-
iudice or partiality between the precious a:'i
the vile.
Dr. Milman touches but lightly upon Tie
| history of Christianity prior 10 the extension
Of pagansm in the Roman empire. yet sui:i
cient to show Tow, when, and by what means,
Rome gained her aSccndancy. Though tie
great sphere of Latin Christianity vas West
ern Europe, yet during the first seven or
eight centuries, it was so mingled up with t!i:
| 1 A. Il. tha ,,-n.. M
| Western Europe by The Mohomedans, ana the
| CrusadcS 50 involved il again in the Affairs OF
the East that in is influence at least II extend
| cd TO the limits OF the whole world. He has
shown that Latin Christianity from its com.
mrnc.ncut and in all the circumstances OF It's
develoremcnt. had IN irresistible tendency 10
monarchy. Ii capital had for ages been the
capital OF the world, and it still remained that
Of Western Europe. This monarchy reached
its heish, under IIildcbrand and Innocent VII.
The history Of the Roman pontfcatc thus be
comes the centre Of Latin Christianity. Eut
the successive steps by which it reached IL
highest cul.ninatinc point-how Judaism and
| Gnosticisn and Manich:ciSm and other forms
of oriental philosophy-its Mysticism and As.
ccticiSm--had given rise to subtle and varied
controversies, which were referred to the Bisl-
op of Rome, rs occupying the most important
and commanding post. How the outward
pnsition of the Church towards the State, and
to its internal organization, government and
discipline, instead Of being kept distant and
apart, led 10 their being blended together
giving, in effect, the power Of the sword TO the
Church for the suppression Of hercsicS--ac-
counting all those opinions as heresies which
varied from the dictn OF the Roman See. How,
when, and by whom notifications were intro
duced, not only into doctrinal theology but
into the outward forms Of worship essentially
affecting the principles, order and government
Of thu Church, as originally reycaled--are
among the matters which Dean MlInan has
treated with remarkable clearncss and il his
subsequent volumes shall equal the one now
before us, we shall learn from him mucl more
than wc now know respecting that Latin Chris,
| tianitv which was for ten centuries The re!i-
rion Of the Western natives OF Europe when
Latin was the religious languagc-whcn the
Latin translation Of the Scriptures was the re-
Irious code of mankind--and when Latin the
olocy alone. inc1haustibly prolific, was held
with wide and unshakcn authority.