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contents of the passages so omitted. The text adopted by Smith was founded upon four manuscripts; one in the Bodleian Library, (N. E. F. iii. 5;) one belonging to Magdalen College, Oxford; a third in the Royal Library, then at Westminster, and now in the British Museum; and a fourth in St. John's College, Cambridge. Petrie has adopted this text, collating it with two copies of the eleventh century, belonging to Sir Thomas Phillipps. An examination of Smith's edition with the Royal MSS. 13 A. xi. fol. 89, 12 D. iv. fol. 79, and 12 F. ii., all of the twelfth century, shows its general accuracy, and warrants its adoption as the basis of the present translation.

§ 105. THE EPISTLE TO ECGBERCT, abounding with curious notices illustrating the state of monachism in England, as it existed when Beda wrote, is given from Smith's text, the present editor not having had the opportunity of collating it with any manuscript copy.

J. S.

VICARAGE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD, 20th April, 1853.

THE

LIFE OF THE VENERABLE BEDA.'

BY AN UNKNOWN WRITER, OF GREAT ANTIQUITY.

THE PROLOGUE.

§ 1. AMONG the Catholic Expositors of Holy Scripture who have shone forth as lights of the world next after the Apostles, Beda, a presbyter, versed in biblical learning, and a monk of exemplary life, holds a name and place of distinguished honour. And justly doth the holy church admit him into the number of those doctors, whose diligence of application in the study of the holy Scriptures the true Israelite sets before him as an example, by which he is encouraged both in his contemplations and in his writings, to consecrate the greater part of his sacred functions to the defence and ornament of the house of God. For he has published many volumes in explanation of holy Writ, which are seasoned with apostolic salt; and these being founded upon the rock of steadfast faith, cannot be shaken by all the violence of the gates of hell. The name of this person, indeed, previous to his decease, seeing that he resided out of the world, in an island of the ocean, was veiled in obscurity; but after his death, when God, as the Scripture saith, brought the clouds from the ends of the earth, wheresoever the voice of the apostles has reached, he lives, by his works, in the memory of believers; and as a candle set upon the candlestick of the church, he gives light to all that are in the house of God, that, through the grace of God cooperating with his writings, he might illuminate the church, his mother, who by regenerating him in Christ Jesus, had illuminated him. So that while he takes his seat on high, on the score of his learning, along with the most eminent men of the churches, and occupies amongst them a glorious throne, everywhere speaking aloud with them, and lirting up the voice of the gospel like a trumpet, even then the vast renown of a person so illustrious might seem to be obscured by a cloud of depression, if his origin, or his character, or his life, or the end of his life, should pass the ears of the church unheard, like something unprofitable, or even ignoble, which had better not be told. Far be the breath of such a suspicion from that vessel of election and instrument of the Holy Spirit; for, as faith is strengthened by knowledge, so by the example of his life (provided it be made known) the love of faith shall yet be the more ardently inflamed. Planted from his very cradle in the house of the Lord, through the influence of grace he put forth the blossoms of righteousness, like an expanding palm-tree, daily setting forth the mercy and faithfulness of God on a psaltery of ten strings, joining with the anthem of words, the harp of

1 It is not easy to decide when or where this life of Beda was written; but there seems reason to believe that it is the production of an author who lived on the south of the river Humber, and who wrote before Beda's remains were translated at Durham in 1104, (see Preface, § 42.) no allusion being made to this circumstance. The information which it furnishes is of little value, for it only retails, in inflated language, the particulars mentioned by Beda regarding himself and the monastic establishment with which he was connected. Yet it seemed to merit a place in our collection as the earliest of the various lives of Beda with which we are acquainted. It is here translated from Smith's text, (p. 815,) collated with MS. Harl. 526, fol. 28; Harl. 367, fol. 76; Harl. 4124, fol. 82b; MS. Cott. Nero, E. 1, fol. 394; all of the twelfth century; and MS. Harl. 322, fol. 153, of the thirteenth century. Some of these copies omit the prologue; in other respects the variations are unimportant.

good works. For, brought up among saints, and by saints, under monastic discipline, and imbued with polite literature, holy with the holy, and innocent with the innocent, he trod the path of life, and aimed with all his might to keep himself unspotted from the world.

§2. In testimony of the certain truth of these assertions, we have laid together, in our description of a perfect man in Christ, both what he himself as well as others have written concerning him; for we have drawn our facts from various sources, like the different parts of the members compacted into one body. For the series of recorded facts, which, by being interrupted here and there in the works of various writers, had deprived the reader of an acquaintance with this remarkable man; by being linked together, as the order of the incidents requires, more vividly depicts his character by the force of a composition lucidly arranged. And assuredly the difficulty of this task, which even the unflinching diligence of able writers will readily acknowledge, far exceeds our abilities, who have nothing to boast of either in eloquence or learning. But as all things are possible to him that believeth, we will not shrink from the word, who believe in the Word, I mean in Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God; and that we may be thought worthy to have Him for the beginning and end of our work and discourse, may his mercy vouchsafe to prevent with its inspiration, and to further with its help all, that we shall do and say.

HERE BEGINS THE LIFE OF THE VENERABLE BEDA, PRESBYTER, AND MONK OF JARROW.

BOOK I.

§ 3. Jesus Christ, the author of man's salvation, was sending forth his labourers into the harvest of that multitude, which would give ear to their holy preaching; and the grace of the gospel was already shining upon every creature throughout the whole world, when the province of Northumberland also, though far removed to the very outskirts of the globe, became a partaker of divine knowledge, and even in the frozen region of the north it glowed with the Saviour's holy fire. For the Lord came to send upon earth the fire of his Holy Spirit; and because no one can hide himself from the heat thereof, it darts into remotest nations, and enkindles the flames of its love in the hearts of men, that, departing from the old life, they may become a new creature in Christ. And, at length, when faith had supplanted infidelity, which, as the Scripture testifieth, hath its dwelling in the apostate north, [Ezek. xxxii. 30, even there was founded the city of the great King, which, rejoicing with exultation, proclaims, to the whole world, in praise of its Founder, "Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised in the city of our God." [Ps. xlviii. 1.] For, to begin with the rulers-the very kings of that province, as soon as they acknowledged their Creator, held their crowns the more securely, by how much the more devotedly they rejoiced in being the subjects of Christ, the King eternal; and the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem which was to come became the servants of Babylon by bearing, by a constrained service, the burdens of public government. Witness the fervency of king Edwin, and his pious regard for religion. Witness, too, Oswald's invincible constancy in the faith, who, while he gloried in nothing but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by that cross triumphed over the foes of the holy cross; and by devoting his treasures to the support of the needy, entered heaven adorned with the double crown of charity and martyrdom. In his brother Oswy was kindled the zeal of God's house, insomuch that those tares, which the enemy had sown among the good seeds of the gospel by means of heretics and schismatics, he cut away with the sickle of catholic truth, and pulling them up by the roots, wholly cast them out of his kingdom. I pass over the labours of his son Ecgfrid; I pass over his wisdom and goodness exhibited in founding monasteries in various parts of his kingdom. Authentic records attest that he was a man of eminent piety, and beloved of God. To omit other things, this alone raises him to the highest pinnacle

of fame, that he caused that excellent man, of angelic life, St. Cuthbert, to be elevated to the episcopate.

§4. I may say that the condition of that province was then happy, and indeed blessed, to which the holiness of life and the learning of Christ's priests, and of those who held high stations in the church, were at once an ornament and a defence. For, to pass over those prelates of distinguished sanctity whom that province enjoyed before, or subsequently, it was blessed with glorious fathers of its illumination and salvation, I mean Wilfrid, Eata, Cuthbert, John, who were contemporaries, and illustrious bishops of incomparable merit. Under those double rulers of church and state, while a zeal for religion daily gathered strength, churches and monasteries were everywhere freely erected, in which the future citizens of the holy places and the servants of God being united together, that they might live spiritually in the flesh, denying themselves and all that belonged to them, carried their Saviour's cross in their conversation, and wholly consumed themselves in the flames of heavenly love, as a burnt-offering of a sweet savour unto the Lord.

§ 5. Among those sworn soldiers of Christ, who fought against the world and the prince of the world, one of the most eminent for his distinguished acts in Christ was abbot Benedict, having received from the Lord the grace of benediction which is implied in his name; for, in order that when he should be ready to enter into the joy of his Lord, he might increase the number of the talents that had been committed to him, he founded two monasteries, which, nevertheless, by the indissoluble bond of peace and love, were made one of these he caused one to be constructed at the mouth of the Wear, in honour of Peter, the blessed chief of the apostles; the other at Jarrow, in honour of Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles. It is needless to add more. After the example of holy Abraham, many of the sons of God that had been dispersed abroad, quitting the world and all connexion with the old and worldly life, there met together, and with a view to the erection of the tower of evangelical perfection by holiness of life, voluntarily renouncing all they had, followed, as paupers, a penniless Christ. And thus a numerous and noble swarm of monks speedily united together as soon as it had experienced the delightful charm of that happy brotherhood of which the psalmist speaks, "How good and pleasant a thing it is for brethren to live together in unity!" [Ps. cxxxiii. 1.]

§ 6. Moreover, the pious care of parents commended their hopeful offspring to Benedict, to be by him brought up for God, that being trained by holy discipline, they might forget their people, and their father's house : and that thus, while in tender age they were presented as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, they might begin to serve the Spirit before they could know the things that pertain to flesh and blood. Of these, one little child, nay, the only one, in comparison with the rest, of a virtuous disposition, was, while yet in his seventh year, carried by his parents to the monastery, and committed to the aforesaid holy person, to be specially qualified for the holy ministry. For he was a native of an inconsiderable village in the territory of Jarrow, past which sweeps the deep river Tyne, which falls into the ocean at no great distance.

§ 7. The year of his birth, as we gather from chronological computation, is found to be the 677th year of the Incarnate Word; which was the seventh year of the reign of Egfrid, king of the nation of Transhumbria, and the fourth from the commencement of the aforesaid monastery of St. Peter. And here at first, but afterwards in the monastery of the apostle Paul, his infant age was trained under the curb of discipline; and after the example of blessed Samuel, who was of old "lent unto the Lord," the child of God abode in the temple, that he might afterwards declare to the people the secrets of God's word, which had been told to him in the ear of his heart. But though at that period of life little or no advantage might be expected from his literary studies, yet even at that age, through the blessing of God, sparks of singular intelligence discovered themselves, from the force of natural genius. But as soon as he had acquired a knowledge of the liberal arts, and had cultivated his understanding by habituating it to the grasp of loftier subjects, he likewise set himself to pierce into the

mysteries of the holy Scriptures, and upon their investigation he expended all his powers with untiring energy, adding prayers to the prayer of the psalmist, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may see the wondrous things of thy law." [Ps. cxix. 18.] And as he asked in faith, nothing doubting, there was bestowed upon him by the Father of lights that best gift and perfect gift of wisdom; but not the wisdom of this world, which cometh to nought, but that wisdom of God which the apostle declares to be hid in mysteries. For he received, for the furtherance of his work of continual meditation in the law of the Lord, a wakeful eye, endowed with amazing perspicacity; to which, along with stores of religious books, there was joined the careful and uninterrupted instruction of masters, distinguished for their ecclesiastical learning. And thus were the earlier years of this memorable person cultivated by those who had planted and watered in hope of good fruit; and, while God gave the increase, a fruitful olive-tree is preparing in the house of God, that is, the church.

§8. But all this, perhaps, some incredulous people will scarcely believe, since, as even the author of secular eloquence affirms, Everybody readily assents to what he thinks he can easily perform; but regards as fiction all that exceeds it. For who will not stand amazed, or even consider it as beyond belief, that such spiritual gifts should abound even to overflowing in a remote corner of the world; that there the holy Scriptures were not only read, but their mysteries explained, and thence diffused throughout the length and breadth of the globe! where, if the name of Christ had never been heard, certainly it would have been no wonder; whither, to speak poetically,

"Boreas comes with drooping wing."

But hence piety lends strength to tottering faith, which declares that the majesty of the Omnipotent Spirit is extended by no amplitude of space, is limited by no boundaries, but is everywhere present to all; whose Almighty power bestows the grace of its inspiration where it pleases. "Whither," says he, "shall I go from thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from thy presence?" [Ps. cxxxix. 7.

§ 9. I will briefly relate, then, by whose ministry the breath of the Holy Spirit breathed the riches of his mercy upon these remote shores of the ocean, so that where they had known nothing else than to speak like barbarians, there those that searched into the wondrous testimonies of the Lord, pronounced with their lips all the judgments of God's mouth. That man of venerable life whom I mentioned above, Benedict by grace and name, while he was making several visits to Rome (for he made five journeys thither, for the sake of the monastery), carried back thence, besides many ornaments which he had brought for the beautifying of the house of God, a vast collection of books, as is reported, of every sort. For whatever, in the way of ecclesiastical utility or decoration, could not be had in England, that France or Rome either had voluntarily presented to the pious merchantman, by his friends, or offered it to him for purchase at an easy price. Besides, he experienced the liberal munificence of those glorious pontiffs of the apostolic see, Vitalian, and afterwards Agatho, towards the protection of the monastery which he had built, and towards the magnificence of the public worship of the church. And he likewise, at the command of pope Vitalian, brought to England archbishop Theodore, and his colleague, abbot Hadrian, truly apostelic men, and very fit ministers of the word of God, seeing that they were well versed in the knowledge both of secular and ecclesiastical philosophy, and that, too, in both languagesGreek and Latin. Who, having traversed the whole island, wheresoever the race of the Angles inhabited, and having collected crowds of disciples, daily poured forth the streams of saving knowledge for the watering of their hearts; so that, besides the volumes of holy writ, they imparted to their hearers the knowledge of poetry, astronomy, and ecclesiastical arithmetic. And such as desired instruction in holy learning had masters at hand to teach them. And as a proof of this it may be observed, that many of their disciples survived them, who were as well acquainted with the Greek and Latin languages as with their mother tongue.

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