uncle Rivold, was murdered by his own foster-father, Cerealtine.*

Such a complication of villanies meeting in the murder of Melor, the son of a king, and a king himself in consequence of the death of his father, and a Christian, as bred up in a monastery, induced, says Whitaker, the Christians of Cornwall, his and his father's subjects, to consider him as a martyr in their minds, and to rank him as a martyr in their calendars. There are many similar instances in British history, of innocent sufferers being ranked among the martyrs, and canonized as saints, although they bore no particular testimony on behalf of religion. It was thus, in a subsequent age, with Edward, the son of Edgar, assassinated by the queen, his step-mother, A. D. 978.

* Leland's Itinerary, Life of Melor. See Whitaker's Cornwall, Vol. I. p. 281.

CHAPTER V.

The History of the British Church during the fifth century. Account of Pelagius-the rise and progress of

his errors.

THE beginning of this century was remarkable for the disputes respecting the peculiar tenets maintained by Pelagius, and his adherents. At the head of those who opposed him, and stood in defence of orthodoxy, were the celebrated Augustine, Bishop of Hippo in Africa ; and Hieronymus, generally called St. Jerom, a person of great learning, and whose name is highly celebrated for his skill in Hebrew literature, and his Latin version of the Bible. Both these holy men, for such they have been considered, whatever may be thought of their general piety, and transcendant abilities, appear very deficient in that kind of wisdom which St. James considers as essentially connected with meekness and gentleness. Pelagius, it will be acknowledged, notwithstanding the irascibility which has been looked upon as an essential ingredient in the composition of a Cambrian, conducted himself with greater coolness, and displayed a greater share of good manners, than his opponents.

As the British churches were deeply implicated in this controversy, I think it not irrelevant to the design of the present work, to give some account of Pelagius, and the errors attributed to him. In doing this I have principally to depend on the learned primate, to whom

I am so deeply indebted throughout the whole of these ecclesiastical researches.

As to Pelagius himself, it is generally agreed upon by authors of antiquity, that he was a Briton: but as to the affirmation of certain writers of a more modern date, respecting his being one of the monks of Bangor, (meaning Bangor Iscoed in Maelor,) there is a mistake which is easily detected. The monastic institution being hardly yet introduced into Britain, he could not have been a member of any monastery; although in the progress of this century many of those institutions, known among the Britons by the name of Bangors, were either founded, or newly regulated. But Bangor in Maelor on the river Dee, or as it was after called Bangor Dunod, from the prince who founded it, was not known until the ensuing century.

One of the earliest institutions for theological learning, in this island, was probably that at Lantwit Major, or Lanillut, so called from Iltutus, after he was set over it by Garmon. At that place called Caer Worgan, the Emperor Theodosius, according to some old British accounts, had established a seminary of learning in the preceding century, soon after the defeat of Maximus, or about A. D. 388. At such a place Pelagius may have received the rudiments of his education. This person's British name was Morgan, or perhaps Morien, which, as it signifies maritime, or bordering on the sea, may have been easily latinized into Pelagius. The county of Morgannwg, or Glamorgan, was so called on account of its maritime situation; although, according to others, it received its name from one Morgan, a prince of that country.

This celebrated character was, in all probability, a native of that part of Wales, from whence the name has become very common in all the adjoining counties; but

is hardly known in North Wales. I may be excused for the remark, that the district which I suppose to have given birth to Pelagius is still noted for the proneness of its inhabitants to religious controversy. That country has produced some eminent characters of recent date; of similar endowments with Pelagius; who was admired for his learning and good deportment; and said to be a man of a subtle and metaphysical genius, even while he was condemned for his errors. He, with many besides him, who secluded themselves from the bustle of the world, from a desire to addict themselves to study, were called monks. Such were Basil and Chrysostom, whom friendship, piety, and learning, knit together in the strictest bonds of fraternity. Chrysostom was compelled to quit his solitude to undertake the pastoral charge; the important and arduous duties of which he has so ably depicted in his excellent treatise on the Christian priesthood.

Whatever may be said respecting the errors of our ancient Briton, it is but common justice to allow him, like any other accused party, every plea which candour may offer on his behalf: it is, therefore, fair to observe, that his most vehement opponents fail to fix a blot on his moral character. Origen, whom he in some respects resembled, was renowned for the greatness and extent of his learning, as well as the most amiable manners, while his errors were neither few nor small.

At what time Pelagius left the land of his nativity, it is not easy to ascertain; but it must have been some time previous to the close of the fourth century. He resided for some time at Rome, where he was greatly respected previous to his being charged with maintaining erroneous doctrines.

The rise of the Pelagian heresy, according to Będe, was in the year 394; but, according to both Vossius and Usher, not until 405. The latter date will, perhaps,

best apply to the time when Pelagius was generally known to avow the sentiments which he had for some time secretly entertained, and which had been previously propagated by Ruffinus. Pelagius was the author of certain works well received even by those persons who afterwards opposed him. He was honoured with the correspondence of Augustine: and when the famous John Chrysostom heard of his falling into erroneous tenets, he greatly lamented him. In his letter to Olympias, and which was penned in his state of exile in Armenia, A. D. 405, he thus expresses himself: “My grief is great on account of Pelagius the monk: think of how many crowns are they worthy who stand undaunted, when we see men who have lived with so much piety and strictness drawn away." It would appear from hence that he did not bring his errors with him from Britain, whatever there might have been in his turn of thinking, which might dispose him the more readily to imbibe the opinions which he afterwards propagated.

At Rome Pelagius met with Celestius, an Hibernian Scot; and this man afterwards became his principal coadjutor, or, as Jerome was pleased to stile him, his Cerberus. He became acquainted also with one Julian of Campania, who made himself very active in disseminating his heterodox principles.

As to Celestius, he himself acknowledged, at the council of Carthage, that he received his doctrine, concerning original sin, from Ruffinus; who, after living thirty years in the east, returned to Rome, A. D. 396. It was there he was condemned by Anastasius for main ́taining the errors of Origen, but not before he had met with many adherents.*

* Ruffinus translated many of Origen's treatises into Latin; and that author had very high notions of the Autoxousia, or free-agency, of man. The Greek fathers were strenuous abettors of that doc