ferred from a hermit to a monastery, from a monastery to a nation. Maron, a saint or savage of the fifth century, displayed his religious madness in Syria; the rival cities of Apamea and Emesa disputed his relics, a stately church was erected on his tomb, and six hundred of his disciples united their solitary cells on the banks of the Orontes. In the controversies of the incarnation, they nicely threaded the orthodox line between the sects of Nestorius and Eutyches; but the unfortunate question of one will or operation in the two natures of Christ, was generated by their curious leisure. Their proselyte, the emperor Heraclius, was rejected as a Maronite from the walls of Emesa; he found a refuge in the monastery of his brethren; and their theological lessons were repaid with the gift of a spacious and wealthy domain. The name and doctrine of this venerable school were propagated among the Greeks and Syrians, and their zeal is expressed by Macarius, patriarch of Antioch, who declared before the synod of Constantinople, that sooner than subscribe the two wills of Christ, he would submit to be hewn piece-meal and cast into the sea. A similar or a less cruel mode of persecution soon converted the unresisting subjects of the plain, while the glorious title of Mardaites, or rebels, was bravely maintained by the hardy natives of mount Libanus. John Maron, one of the most learned and popular of the monks, assumed the character of patriarch of Antioch; his nephew Abraham, at the head of the Maronites, defended their civil and religious freedom against the tyrants of the east. The son of the orthodox Constantine pursued, with pious hatred, a people of soldiers, who might have stood the bulwark of his empire against the common foes of Christ and of Rome. An army of Greeks invaded Syria; the monastery of St. Maron was destroyed with fire; the bravest chieftains were betrayed and murdered, and twelve thousand of their followers were transplanted to the distant frontiers of Armenia and Thrace. Yet the humble nation of the Maronites has survived the empire of Constantinople, and they still enjoy, under their Turkish masters, a free religion and a mitigated servitude. Their domestic which may be found in the methodical table of Pocock. He was not actuated by any prejudice against the Maronites of the tenth century; and we may believe a Melchite, whose testimony is confirmed by the Jacobites and Latins. t Concil. tom. vii. p. 780. The Monothelite cause was supported with firmness and subtilty by Constantine, a Syrian priest of Apamea, (p. 1040, &c.) Theophanes (Chron. p. 295, 296. 300, 302, 306.) and Cedrenus (p. 437. 440.) relate the exploits of the Mardaites: the name (Mard, in Syriac rebellavit) is explained by La Roque; (Voyage de la Syrie, tom. ii. p. 53.) the dates are fixed by Pagi; (A. D. 676, No. 4-14. A. D. 685, No. 3, 4.) and even the obscure story of the patriarch John Maron (Asseman, Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. 496-520.) illustrates, from the year 686 to 707, the troubles of mount Libanus. In the last century twenty large cedars still remained; (Voyage de la Roque, tom. i. p. 68-76.) at present they are reduced to four or five. (Volney, tom. i. p. 264) These trees, so famous in Scripture, were guarded by excommunication: the wood was sparingly borrowed for small crosses, &c.; an annual mass was chanted under their shade; and they were endowed by the Syrians with a sensitive power of erect. ing their branches to repel the snow, to which mount Libanus is less faithful than it is painted by Tacitus; inter ardores opacum fidumque uivibus a daring metaphor. (Hist. v. 6.) y The evidence of William of Tyre (Hist. in Gestis Dei per Francos, 1. xxii. c. 8. p. 1022.) is copied or confirmed by Jacques de Vitra. (Hist. Hierosolym. 1. ii. c. 77. p. 1093, 1094) But this unnatural league ex governors are chosen among the ancient nobility; the patriarch, in his monastery of Canobin, still fancies himself on the throne of Antioch; nine bishops compose his synod, and one hundred and fifty priests, who retain the liberty of marriage, are intrusted with the care of one hundred thousand souls. Their country extends from the ridge of Mount Libanus to the shores of Tripoli; and the gradual descent affords, in a narrow space, each variety of soil and climate, from the Holy Cedars, erect under the weight of snow, to the vine, the mulberry, and the olive trees of the fruitful valley. In the twelfth century, the Maronites, abjuring the Monothelite error, were reconciled to the Latin churches of Antioch and Rome, and the same alliance has been frequently renewed by the ambition of the popes and the distress of the Syrians. But it may reasonably be questioned, whether their union has ever been perfect or sincere; and the learned Maronites of the college of Rome have vainly laboured to absolve their ancestors from the guilt of heresy and schism. MENIANS. IV. Since the age of Constantine, the IV. THE ABARMENIANS had signalized their attachment to the religion and empire of the christians. The disorders of their country, and their ignorance of the Greek tongue, prevented their clergy from assisting at the synod of Chalcedon, and they floated eighty-four years' in a state of indifference or suspense, till their vacant faith was finally occupied by the missionaries of Julian of Halicarnassus, who in Egypt, their common exile, had been vanquished by the arguments or the influence of his rival Severus, the Monophysite patriarch of Antioch. The Armenians alone are the pure disciples of Eutyches, an unfortunate parent, who has been renounced by the greater part of his spiritual progeny. They alone persevere in the opinion, that the manhood of Christ was created, or existed without creation, of a divine and incorruptible substance. Their adversaries reproach them with the adoration of a phantom; and they retort the accusation, by deriding or execrating the blasphemy of the Jacobites, who impute to the Godhead the vile infirmities of the flesh, even the natural effects of nutrition and di pired with the power of the Franks; and Abulpharagius (who died in 1286) considers the Maronites as a sect of Monothelites. (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 292.) z I find a description and history of the Maronites in the Voyage de la Syrie et du Mont Liban par la Roque. (2 vols. in 12mo, Amsterdam, 1723; particularly tom. i. p. 42-47. p. 174-184. tom. ii. P. 10-120.) In the ancient part, he copies the prejudices of Nairon and the other Maronites of Rome, which Assemannus is afraid to renounce, and ashamed to support. Jablonski, (Institut. Hist. Christ. tom. iii. p. 186.) Niebuhr, (Voyage de l'Arabie, &c. tom. ii. p. 346. 370-381.) and, above all, the judicious Volney, (Voyage en Egypte et en Syrie, tom. ii, p. 8-31 Paris, 1787,) may be consulted. a The religion of the Armenians is briefly described by La Croze. (Hist. du Christ. de l'Ethiopie et de l'Armenie, p 269-402.) He refers to the great Armenian History of Galanus, (3 vols, in fol. Rome, 16501661,) and commends the state of Armenia in the third volume of the Nouveaux Memoires des Missions du Levant. The work of a Jesuit must have sterling merit when it is praised by La Croze. b The schism of the Armenians is placed 84 years after the council of Chalcedon. (Pagi, Critica, ad A. D. 535.) It was consummated at the end of seventeen years; and it is from the year of Christ 552 that we date the era of the Armeniaus. (l'Art de verifier les Dates, p. xxxv.) The sentiments and success of Julian of Halicarnassus may be seen in Liberatus, (Brev. c. 19.) Renaudot, (Hist, Patriarch. Alex. p. 132303.) and Assemannus. (Bibliot. Orient, tom, ii. Dissertat. de Monophysitis, c. viii. p. 286.) A. D. 537-568. gestion. The religion of Armenia could not derive | the death of the patriarch, the two factions upheld much glory from the learning or the power of its their respective candidates. Gaian was the disciple inhabitants. The royalty expired with the origin of Julian, Theodosius had been the The patriarch of their schism; and their christian kings, who pupil of Severus: the claims of the Theodosius, arose and fell in the thirteenth century on the con- former were supported by the consent fines of Cilicia, were the clients of the Latins, and of the monks and senators, the city and the prothe vassals of the Turkish sultan of Iconium. The vince; the latter depended on the priority of his helpless nation has seldom been permitted to enjoy ordination, the favour of the empress Theodora, and the tranquillity of servitude. From the earliest the arms of the eunuch Narses, which might have period to the present hour, Armenia has been the been used in more honourable warfare. The exile theatre of perpetual war; the lands between Tauris of the popular candidate to Carthage and Sardinia, and Erivan were dispeopled by the cruel policy of inflamed the ferment of Alexandria; and after a the Sophis; and myriads of christian families were schism of one hundred and seventy years, the transplanted, to perish or to propagate in the dis- Gaianites still revered the memory and doctrine of tant provinces of Persia. Under the rod of oppres- their founder. The strength of numbers and of sion, the zeal of the Armenians is fervent and discipline was tried in a desperate and bloody conintrepid they have often preferred the crown of flict; the streets were filled with the dead bodies of martyrdom to the white turban of Mahomet; they citizens and soldiers; the pious women, ascending devoutly hate the error and idolatry of the Greeks; the roofs of their houses, showered down every sharp and their transient union with the Latins is not less or ponderous utensil on the heads of the enemy; devoid of truth, than the thousand bishops whom and the final victory of Narses was owing to the their patriarch offered at the feet of the Roman flames, with which he wasted the third capital of pontiff. The catholic, or patriarch, of the Arme- the Roman world. But the lieutenant of Justinian nians, resides in the monastery of Ekmiasin, three had not conquered in the cause of a heretic; Theoleagues from Erivan. Forty-seven archbishops, dosius himself was speedily though gently removed; and Paul of Tanis, an orthodox monk, Paul, A. D. 538. was raised to the throne of Athanasius. The powers of government were strained in his support; he might appoint or displace the dukes and tribunes of Egypt; the allowance of bread, which Diocletian had granted, was suppressed, the churches were shut, and a nation of schismatics were deprived at once of their spiritual and carnal food. In his turn, the tyrant was excommunicated by the zeal and revenge of the people; and none except his servile Melchites would salute him as a man, a christian, or a bishop. Yet such is the blindness of ambition, that, when Paul was expelled on a charge of murder, he solicited, with a bribe of seven hundred pounds of gold, his restoration to the same station of hatred and ignominy. His successor Apollinaris entered the hostile city Apollinaris, in military array, alike qualified for A. D. 551. prayer or for battle. His troops, under arms, were distributed through the streets; the gates of the cathedral were guarded, and a chosen band was stationed in the choir, to defend the person of their chief. He stood erect on his throne, and throwing aside the upper garment of a warrior, suddenly appeared before the eyes of the multitude in the robes of patriarch of Alexandria. Astonishment held them mute; but no sooner had Apollinaris begun to read the tome of St. Leo, than a volley of curses, and invectives, and stones, assaulted the odious minister of the emperor and the synod. A charge was instantly sounded by the successor of the aposTournefort, (lettre xx.) and, above all, Tavernier, (tom. i. p. 28-37. 510-518.) that rambling jeweller, who had read nothing, but had seen each of whom may claim the obedience of four or five suffragans, are consecrated by his hand; but the far greater part are only titular prelates, who dignify with their presence and service the simplicity of his court. As soon as they have performed the liturgy, they cultivate the garden; and our bishops will hear with surprise, that the austerity of their life increases in just proportion to the elevation of their rank. In the fourscore thousand towns or villages of his spiritual empire, the patriarch receives a small and voluntary tax from each person above the age of fifteen; but the annual amount of six hundred thousand crowns is insufficient to supply the incessant demands of charity and tribute. Since the beginning of the last century, the Armenians have obtained a large and lucrative share of the commerce of the east in their return from Europe, the caravan usually halts in the neighbourhood of Erivan, the altars are enriched with the fruits of their patient industry; and the faith of Eutyches is preached in their recent congregations of Barbary and Poland. V. THE COPTS V. In the rest of the Roman empire, or EGYPTIANS. the despotism of the prince might eradicate or silence the sectaries of an obnoxious creed. But the stubborn temper of the Egyptians maintained their opposition to the synod of Chalcedon, and the policy of Justinian condescended to expect and to seize the opportunity of discord. The Monophysite church of Alexandria' was torn by the disputes of the corruptibles and incorruptibles, and on See a remarkable fact of the twelfth century in the History of Nicetas Choniates. (p. 258.) Yet three hundred years before, Photius (Epistol. ii. p. 49. edit. Montacul.) had gloried in the conversion of the Armenians λατρεύει σήμερον ορθοδοξως. The travelling Armenians are in the way of every traveller, and their mother church is on the high road between Constantinople and Ispahan: for their present state, see Fabricius, (Lux Evangelii, &c. c. xxxviii. p. 40-51.) Olearius. (1. iv. c. 40.) Chardin, (vol. ii. p. 232.) so much and so well. f The history of the Alexandrian patriarchs, from Dioscorus to Benjamin, is taken from Renaudot, (p. 114-164.) and the second tome of the Annals of Eutychius. g Liberat. Brev. c. 20. 23. Victor. Chron. p. 329, 330. Procop. Anecdot. c. 26, 27. Eulogius, A. D. 580. tles; the soldiers waded to their knees in blood; and two hundred thousand christians are said to have fallen by the sword: an incredible account, even if it be extended from the slaughter of a day to the eighteen years of the reign of Apollinaris. Two succeeding patriarchs, Eulogius" and John, laboured in the conversion of heretics, with arms and arguments more worthy of their evangelical profession. The theological knowledge of Eulogius was displayed in many a volume, which magnified the errors of Eutyches and Severus, and attempted to reconcile the ambiguous language of St. Cyril with the orthodox creed of pope Leo and the fathers of Chalcedon. The bounteous alms of John the eleeJohn, A. D. 609. mosynary were dictated by superstition, or benevolence, or policy. Seven thousand five hundred poor were maintained at his expense; on his accession, he found eight thousand pounds of gold in the treasury of the church; he collected ten thousand from the liberality of the faithful; yet the primate could boast in his testament, that he left behind him no more than the third part of the smallest of the silver coins. The churches of Alexandria were delivered to the catholics, the religion of the Monophysites was proscribed in Egypt, and a law was revived which excluded the natives from the honours and emoluments of the state. and decay. Their separation A more important conquest still remained, of the patriarch, the oracle and leader of the Egyptian church. Theodosius had resisted the threats and promises of Justinian with the spirit of an apostle or an enthusiast. "Such," replied the patriarch, were the offers of the tempter when he showed the kingdoms of the earth. But my soul is far dearer to me than life or dominion. The churches are in the hands of a prince who can kill the body; but my conscience is my own; and in exile, poverty, or chains, I will stedfastly adhere to the faith of my holy predecessors, Athanasius, Cyril, and Dioscorus. Anathema to the tome of Leo and the synod of Chalcedon! Anathema to all who embrace their creed! Anathema to them now and for evermore! Naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I descend into the grave. Let those who love God, follow me and seek their salvation." After comforting his brethren, he embarked for Constantinople, and sustained, in six successive interviews, the almost irresistible weight of the royal presence. His opinions were favourably entertained in the palace and the city; the influence of Theodora assured him a safe conduct and honourable dismission; and he ended his days, though not on the throne, yet in the bosom, of his native country. On h Eulogius, who had been a monk of Antioch, was more conspicuous for subtilty than eloquence. He proves that the enemies of the faith, the Gaianites and the Theodosians, ought not to be reconciled; that the same proposition may be orthodox in the mouth of St. Cyril, heretical in that of Severus; that the opposite assertions of St. Leo are equally true, &c. His writings are no longer extant, except in the Extracts of Photius, who had perused them with care and satisfaction, Cod. ccviii, cexxv. ccxxvi cexxvii. ccxxx. cclxxx. the news of his death, Apollinaris indecently feasted the nobles and the clergy; but his joy was checked by the intelligence of a new election; and while he enjoyed the wealth of Alexandria, his rivals reigned in the monasteries of Thebais, and were maintained by the voluntary oblations of the people. A perpetual succession of patriarchs arose from the ashes of Theodosius; and the Monophysite churches of Syria and Egypt were united by the name of Jacobites and the communion of the faith. But the same faith, which has been confined to a narrow sect of the Syrians, was diffused over the mass of the Egyptian or Coptic nation; who, almost unanimously, rejected the decrees of the synod of Chalcedon. A thousand years were now elapsed since Egypt had ceased to be a kingdom, since the conquerors of Asia and Europe had trampled on the ready necks of a people, whose ancient wisdom and power ascend beyond the records of history. The conflict of zeal and persecution rekindled some sparks of their national spirit. They abjured, with a foreign heresy, the manners and language of the Greeks every Melchite, in their eyes, was a stranger, every Jacobite a citizen; the alliance of marriage, the offices of humanity, were condemned as a deadly sin; the natives renounced all allegiance to the emperor; and his orders, at a distance from Alexandria, were obeyed only under the pressure of military force. A generous effort might have redeemed the religion and liberty of Egypt, and her six hundred monasteries might have poured forth their myriads of holy warriors, for whom death should have no terrors, since life had no comfort or delight. But experience has proved the distinction of active and passive courage; the fanatic who endures without a groan the torture of the rack or the stake, would tremble and fly before the face of an armed enemy. The pusillanimous temper of the Egyptians could only hope for a change of masters; the arms of Chosroes depopulated the land, yet under his reign the Jacobites enjoyed a short and precarious respite. The victory of Heraclius renewed and aggravated the persecution, and the patriarch again escaped from Alexandria to the desert. In his flight, Benjamin was Benjamin, the encouraged by a voice, which bade him expect, at the end of ten years, A. D. 625-661. the aid of a foreign nation, marked like the Egyptians themselves with the ancient right of circumcision. The character of these deliverers, and the nature of the deliverance, will be hereafter explained; and I shall step over the interval of eleven centuries to observe the present misery of the Jacobites of Egypt. The populous city of Cairo affords a residence or rather a shelter for their indigent patriarch, and a remnant of ten bishops; forty Jacobite patri arch, of the wal monasteries have survived the inroads of the Arabs; | ment of the cross. A metaphysical religion may VI. THE ABYS. m VI. The Coptic patriarch, a rebel to the Cæsars, or a slave to the khalifs, still gloried in the filial obedience of the kings of Nubia and Æthiopia. He repaid their homage by magnifying their greatness; and it was boldly asserted that they could bring into the field a hundred thousand horse, with an equal number of camels; that their hand could pour out or restrain the waters of the Nile;" and the peace and plenty of Egypt was obtained, even in this world, by the intercession of the patriarch. In exile at Constantinople, Theodosius recommended to his patroness the conversion of the black nations of Nubia from the tropic of Cancer to the confines of Abyssinia. Her design was suspected and emurelated by the more orthodox emperor. The rival missionaries, a Melchite and a Jacobite, embarked at the same time; but the empress, from a motive of love or fear, was more effectually obeyed; and the catholic priest was detained by the president of Thebais, while the king of Nubia and his court were hastily baptized in the faith of Dioscorus. betardy envoy of Justinian was received and dismissed with honour; but when he accused the heresy and treason of the Egyptians, the negro convert was instructed to reply that he would never abandon his brethren, the true believers, to the persecuting ministers of the synod of Chalcedon. During several ages, the bishops of Nubia were named and consecrated by the Jacobite patriarch of Alexandria: as late as the twelfth century, christianity prevailed; and some rites, some ruins, are still visible in the savage towns of Sennaar and Dongola. But the Nubians at length executed their threats of returning to the worship of idols; the climate required the indulgence of polygamy, and they have finally preferred the triumph of the Koran to the abase This number is taken from the curious Recherches sur les Egyp tiens et les Chinois; (tom. ii. p. 192, 193.) and appears more probable than the 600,000 ancient, or 15,000 modern, Copts of Gemelli Carreri. Cyril Lucar, the protestant patriarch of Constantinople, laments that those heretics were ten times more numerous than his orthodox Greeks, Ingeniously applying the πολλαι κεν δεκάδες δεύοίατο οινοχοιο οι Homer, (Iliad 11. 128.) the most perfect expression of contempt. (Fabric. Lux Evangelii, 740.) The history of the Copts, their religion, manners, &c. may be found in the Abbé Renaudot's motley work, neither a translation nor an original; the Chronicon Orientale of Peter, a Jacobite; in the two Versions of Abraham Ecchellensis, Paris, 1651; and John Simon Asseman, Venet. 1729. These annals descend no lower than the thirteenth century. The more recent accounts must be searched for in the travellers into Egypt, and the Nouveaux Memoires des Missions du Levant. In the last century, Joseph Abudarnus, a native of Cairo, published at Oxford, in thirty pages, a slight Historia Jacobitarum, 147. post 150. About the year 737. See Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 221, 222. Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. p. 99. Ludolph. Hist. Ethiopic, et Comment. 1. i. c. 8. Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 480, &c. This opinion, introduced into Egypt and Europe by the artifice of the Copts, the pride of the Abyssinians, the fear and ignorance of the Turks and Arabs, has not even the semblance of truth. The rains of Ethiopia do not, in the increase of the Nile, consult the will of the monarch. If the river approaches at Napata, within three days' journey of the Red sea, (see D'Anville's Maps,) a canal that should divert its course would demand, and most probably surpass, the power of the Cæsars, Church of Christianity was more deeply rooted in the Abyssinian empire; and, although the correspondence has been sometimes interrupted above seventy or a hundred years, the mother-church of Alexandria retains her colony in a state of perpetual pupilage. Seven bishops once composed the Ethiopic synod: had their number amounted to ten, they might have elected an independent primate; and one of their kings was ambitious of promoting his brother to the ecclesiastical throne. But the event was foreseen, the increase was denied; the episcopal office has been gradually confined to the abuna, the head and author of the Abyssinian priesthood; the patriarch supplies each vacancy with an Egyptian monk; and the character of a stranger appears more venerable in the eyes of the people, less dangerous in those of the monarch. In the sixth century, when the schism of Egypt was confirmed, the rival chiefs, with their patrons, Justinian and Theodora, strove to outstrip each other in the conquest of a remote and independent province. The industry of the empress was again victorious, and the pious Theodora has established in that sequestered church the faith and discipline of the Jacobites. Encompassed on all sides by the enemies of their religion, the Æthiopians slept near a thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten. They were awakened by the Portuguese, who, The Portuguese turning the southern promontory of Africa, appeared in India and the Red sea, as if they had descended through the air from a distant planet. In the first moments of their interview, the subjects of Rome and Alexandria observed the resemblance, rather than the difference, of their faith; and each nation expected the most important benefits from an alliance with their christian brethren. In their lonely situation, the Æthiopians had almost relapsed into the savage life. The in Abyssinia, A. D. 15251553, &c. A The Abyssinians, who still preserve the features and olive complexion of the Arabs, afford a proof that two thousand years are not sufficient to change the colour of the human race. The Nubians, an African race, are pure negroes, as black as those of Senegal or Congo, with flat noses, thick lips, and woolly hair. (Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. v. p. 117. 143, 144. 166. 219. edit. in 12mo, Paris, 1769.) The ancients beheld, without much attention, the extraordinary phænome. non which has exercised the philosophers and theologians of modern times. P Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. 329. The christianity of the Nubians, A. D. 1153, is attested by the sheriff al Edrisi, falsely described under the name of the Nubian geo. grapher, (p. 18.) who represents them as a nation of Jacobites. The rays of historical light that twinkle in the history of Renaudot (p. 178. 220. 224. 281. 286. 405. 434. 451. 464.) are all previous to this æra. See the modern state in the Lettres Edifiantes (Recueil iv.) and Busching, (tom. ix. p. 152-159. par Berenger.) The abuna is improperly dignified by the Latins with the title of patriarch. The Abyssiniaus acknowledge only the four patriarchs, and their chief is no more than a metropolitan or national primate. (Ludolph, Hist. Ethiopic. et Comment. 1. iii. c. 7.) The seven bishops of Renaudot, (p. 511.) who existed A. D. 1131, are unknown to the historian. I know not why Assemannus (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 384.) should call in question these probable missions of Theodora into Nubia and Ethiopia. The slight notices of Abyssinia till the year 1500 are supplied by Renaudot (p. 336. 341. 381, 382. 405. 443, &c. 452. 456. 463. 475. 480. 511. 525. 559. 564.) from the Coptic writers. The mind of Ludolphus was a perfect blank; Conversion of A. D. 1626. Their vessels, which had traded to Ceylon, scarcely | ascended the throne under the name of Segued, and presumed to navigate the rivers of Africa; the ruins of Axume were deserted, the nation was scattered in villages, and the emperor, a pompous name, was content, both in peace and war, with the immovable residence of a camp. Conscious of their own indigence, the Abyssinians had formed the rational project of importing the arts and ingenuity of Europe; and their ambassadors at Rome and Lisbon were instructed to solicit a colony of smiths, carpenters, tilers, masons, printers, surgeons, and physicians, for the use of their country. But the public danger soon called for the instant and effectual aid of arms and soldiers, to defend an unwarlike people from the barbarians who ravaged the inland country, and the Turks and Arabs who advanced from the sea-coast in more formidable array. Æthiopia was saved by four hundred and fifty Portuguese, who displayed in the field the native valour of Europeans, and the artificial powers of the musket and cannon. In a moment of terror, the emperor had promised to reconcile himself and his subjects to the catholic faith; a Latin patriarch represented the supremacy of the pope ; " the empire, enlarged in a tenfold proportion, was supposed to contain more gold than the mines of America; and the wildest hopes of avarice and zeal were built on the willing submission of the christians of Africa. But the vows which pain had extorted, were forsworn on the return of health. The Abyssinians still adhered with unshaken constancy to the Monophysite faith; their languid belief was inflamed by the exercise of dispute; they branded the Latins with the names of Arians and Nestorians, and imputed the adoration of four gods, to those who separated the two natures of Christ. Fremona, a place of worship, or rather of exile, was assigned to the Jesuit missionaries. Their skill in the liberal and mechanic arts, their theological learning, and the decency of their manners, inspired a barren esteem; but they were not endowed with the gifts of miracles, and they vainly solicited a reinforcement of European troops. The patience and dexterity of forty years at length obtained a more favourable audience, and two emperors of Abyssinia were persuaded that Rome could ensure the temporal and everlasting happiness of her votaries. The first of these royal converts lost his crown and his life; and the rebel army was sanctified by the abuna, who hurled an anathema at the apostate, and absolved his subjects from their oath of fidelity. The fate of Zadenghel was revenged by the courage and fortune of Susneus, who Mission of the t Ludolph. Hist. Ethiop. 1. iv. c. 5. The most necessary arts are now exercised by the Jews, and the foreign trade is in the hands of the Armenians. What Gregory principally admired and envied was the industry of Europe-artes et opificia. u John Bermudez, whose relation, printed at Lisbon, 1569, was translated into English by Purchas, (Pilgrims, 1. vii. c. 7. p. 1149, &c.) and from thence into French by La Croze, (Christianisme d'Ethiopie, p. 92-265.) The piece is curious; but the author may be suspected of deceiving Abyssinia, Rome, and Portugal. His title to the rank of patriarch is dark and doubtful, (Ludolph. Comment. No. 101. p. 473.) x Religio Romana.... nec precibus patrum nec miraculis ab ipsis editis suffulciebatur, is the uncontradicted assurance of the devout emperor Susneus to his patriarch Mendez; (Ludolph. Comment. No. 126. more vigorously prosecuted the pious enterprise of p. 529.) and such assurances should be preciously kept, as an antidote y I am aware how tender is the question of circumcision. Yet I will affirm, 1. That the Ethiopians have a physical reason for the circum cision of males, and even of females. (Recherches Philosophiques sur les Americains, tom. ii.) 2. That it was practised in Ethiopia long before the introduction of Judaism or christianity. (Herodot. 1. ii. c. 104. Marsham, Canon Chron. p. 72, 73.) "Infantes circumcidunt ob con suetudinem non ob Judaismuni," says Gregory the Abyssinian priest, (apud Fabric. Lux Christiana, p. 720.). Yet, in the heat of dispute, the Portuguese were sometimes branded with the name of uncircumcised (La Croze, p. 80. Ludolph. Hist. and Comment. 1. iii. c. 1.) |